I have been posting on my other blog about things to do instead of watch tv or play video games during TV-Free Month, which we are doing for the month of August.  You can read them at www.nclighthousekeeper.blogspot.com

I have been trying to decide what to do with this blog. I started blogging on blogspot when homeschoolblogger was having such server problems last spring and I couldn't access this blog.  But now that the problems are fixed, I hate to give this one up. There are things I like about both sites. And I have over 2 years worth of entries here.

I thought about dedicating this one to homeschooling and the other to family life ~ but how do I divide those two? They are intertwined!  Any other ideas?

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Check your local movie theater for free or greatly reduced Kids Summer Movies.  The theaters in this area all have a summer series on Tues. and Wed. mornings at 10:00 AM, showing movies from earlier this year.  They are free at some theaters, but  others in the area charge $1 - $2.  If you go to the theater's main website, look for something like Kids Movies or Summer Series.

The Marquee Cinemas at Wakefield have free admission, with two movies to choose from.  They make money off the Kid's Snack Special, which is a 12 oz. drink and box of popcorn for $3.25. Still a good deal!  And it is air conditioned!!!  Here's what is playing there this summer:

July 10-11   Ant Bully ( PG )   or   Over the Hedge ( PG)

July 17-18  Charlotte's Web (G)  or  Unaccompanied Minors (PG)

July 24-25  Barnyard (PG)  or   Flushed Away (PG)

July 31-Aug.1  Happy Feet (PG)  or  TMNT (PG)

Aug. 7-8   Open Season (PG)  or   Are We Done Yet? (PG)

Aug. 14-15  Monster House (PG)  or   Zoom (PG)

Aug. 21-22  Everyone's Hero (G)  or  Night at the Museum (PG)

http://www.marqueecinemas.com/Default.aspx?tabid=570

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Family Life and Focus on the Family are two organizations that have provided much information, wisdom, and encouragement to me as a Christian woman, wife, and mother over the years. I used to listen to their radio broadcasts almost daily when my kids were little, but just don't have that time in the afternoon anymore. However, the ability to listen to broadcasts online still allows me to tune in occasionally. Mostly, I now benefit from articles and email newsletters. One that I receive now is called "Moments Together for Couples". It is short but pertinent, challenging me to work on my marriage and bless my husband and walk my talk!

http://www.familylife.com/
http://www.family.org/

I happen to have the best dad in the world. Now I'm sure you all had really nice dads. But mine is the best, well, because he's my Dad! Daddy was a high school physical education teacher and football coach. He loved his school and his students, but his family was his number one priority. Daddy was stern and tough at times, but we always knew he loved us and wanted only the best for his family. My dad is the most loyal man I know. He is a man of integrity and compassion, loved by everyone who knows him. After retiring from teaching, he still remained very involved in the athletic program at his high school, and they even named the high school football field after him for his dedication. He served the community through leadership in the local Lions Club. He is a part-time bakery chef at Victoria Station Cafe ( owned by my sister and brother-in-law). And he is an awesome Grampa!

It was HOT and HUMID here in North Carolina today, so we went to the ice skating rink! What a great place to cool off on a day like today.  Jason had 2 friends spend the night last night, and Amanda had 1 friend stay the night, so I took the 5 of them and they had a great time! I considered joining them out on the ice, but talked myself out of it, and ended up chatting with friends in the snack bar area instead.

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We recently spent a week at Walt Disney World in Florida. We camped at Fort Wilderness Campground in the park, and spent a day each at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM, and Animal Kingdom. Everyone , from the 8-yr-old to the 22-yr-old to the parents had a great time!

My friends, Jerry and Eileen, are in the process of adopting three children from Ethiopia. These children will join the five they already have ~ three biological ( one is married now ) and adopted twins. Their story is amazing. Read about it on their blog ~ www.jobsdaughters.blogspot.com

Well, I drove Alex to work this morning, came home and spent an hour on the computer reading email and blogs, and then got started on my bedroom. I filled 2 bags with trash ( so far ) - papers, broken knick knacks, holey socks, etc. etc. - and cleared out one corner of the room, pulled out dressers from the wall and vaccuumed BEHIND them ( true confession - I wore a dust mask! ) I had planned to spend all afternoon in there, but.......
The phone rang and it was Page, the nurse at summer camp.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your plans for the afternoon, but it looks like Eric has dislocated his finger!"
Eric is my 17-year-old, who is working at camp as a counselor-in-training ( CIT) He was playing tetherball with another counselor after lunch, and slammed his finger into the other boy's palm. The joint of his left index finger dislocated, looking quite crooked and ugly when I got there to pick him and take him to the doctor. We were quickly sent on to an orthopedist, who X-rayed the finger and determined that nothing was cracked or broken. He then injected numbing medicine into the hand and proceeded to wrestle the joint back into place! AGH.... not something for the squeamish to sit and watch. It popped back into place after what seemed like an hour but was probably 30 seconds. A splint and prescription for pain medicine, and we were on our way back to camp, where Eric was playing dodge ball with his charges in the gym a couple of hours later!
The splint can come off at the end of the week, and he should be good as new! The doctor did suggest protecting that finger with the splint for any future tetherball games or anything similar this summer.

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Yesterday, Amanda and I went to a Pure Fashion Show held at the Marriott Embassy Suites hotel in Cary, NC.  We went with some friends, after reading about it on the local homeschool email loop about a month ago. Here is the statement from the Pure Fashion website:

Pure Fashion is an international faith-based program designed for girls in grades 8-12 to help young women rediscover and reaffirm their innate value and authentic femininity. Pure Fashion is a developmental program that enhances not only a young woman's external appearance, but more importantly her internal beauty. Our goal is to emphasize a young woman's inherent dignity and therefore create in her a desire to dress and act according to that dignity.

Girls must apply to be "models" in the program, and then participate in monthly training sessions which give instruction in areas such as etiquette, public speaking, hair & makeup, and Christian leadership. The year-long program culminates in a fashion show featuring stylish but modest fashions provided by local boutiques and dept. stores.  We didn't know any of the girls participating this year ~ it was the first year the program was held in Raleigh.  But we were very impressed. The quality of the fashion show was very professional!  The MC was Rachel Lee Carter, a professional model and Christian speaker.  Mike Long spoke on the value of purity, and the responsibility of parents and grandparents to set a standard and support our young people in that area. Christian recording artist Joy Williams provided entertainment.  A delicious dinner was catered by the hotel on beautifully decorated tables.  The girls definitely enjoyed themselves. 

Pure Fashion

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There is a blog called MommyLife that I enjoy reading on occasion, and she has an article called Two Dozen Easter Traditions that has some great ideas for meaningful family activites to celebrate the Easter holiday. 

http://mommylife.net/archives/2006/04/two_dozen_easte.html

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On Sunday afternoon we went to Elevation Baptist Church in Raleigh to hear the Appalachian State University Gospel Choir ( 135 members strong - including my 19-y-o daughter ), along with the Gospel Choir from ECU and an ensemble called Divine Unity made up of students from NCSU, St. Augustine's, and Shaw U.  It was a loud, boisterous, hand-clapping, uplifting 3 hours of praise and worship in a style quite different from what we are used to, even in our contemporary,  non-traditional Southern Baptist church.  S is really enjoying being part of the ASU choir this semester, and I could see why. 

Whew! Duke has won a couple of games now, so J is feeling much better.  Mark and E went to the game on Sunday afternoon to see Duke play Georgia Tech.  Mark went to grad school at GT during the days of Coach Cremins, Mark Price, and John Salley, and that's where we first got hooked on ACC basketball. So I think he was silently rooting for the Yellow Jackets. 

Our homeschool boys varsity, girls varsity, and girls middle school teams played in the state regional homeschool tournament last weekend in Fayetteville, NC.  The boys lost against a very tough Raleigh Hawks team in the first game of the day, and then beat Fayetteville in the consolation game later that afternoon.  We were playing without one of our starters, who was home with a bad case of bronchitis, and another starter was playing with a strained neck... but that has been typical of our season.  The boys played well though, and won the second game in overtime. Both girls teams won their games, and advance to the state finals next weekend in Greensboro.

We have been battling sickness here at home too.  J had a virus 2 weeks ago ~ headache, sore throat, fever, cough.  It has been hitting this area hard recently.  Am had it first, but not quite as bad, and I have a touch of it now.  J got over the first bout, but woke up this morning with a fever and headache, and has thrown up a couple of times today.  So this seems like something different. yuck.   Hopefully Sarah didn't take it back to college with her yesterday.

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Well, Duke lost ANOTHER heartbreaker last night, this time to archrival UNC.  The young Duke squad jumped out to an early lead, which they maintained for 3/4 of the game, but then the bigger and stronger Carolina team inched ahead and won the game by 6 points.  My poor 8-y-o, an avid Duke fan, is definitely experiencing the "agony of defeat" ( remember the Wide World of Sports?).  I keep telling him to hang in there ~ when you are a fan, you cheer for your team when they are up and when they are down.  He's gone to bed in tears three games in a row now. Hopefully there will be an "up" soon. 

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A few years ago, we started a habit of having our kids "count off" when we got in the car during a trip, to make sure everyone was there! 

"One... two... three...four...five!"

Well, we all climbed in the car on Sunday night to go for a drive and look at Christmas lights, and I got to say "Count off!"   And five voices answered back... "one... two....three...four...five!"  Ahhhhhh...okay, so little things make me happy.  It is so good having the two oldest home from college for a couple of weeks!  I am cherishing these times more and more, because I know that they are rapidly coming to an end.  This time next year, Alex will have graduated from college ( Lord willing!) and will be getting ready to leave for who knows where with the Army.  The predictable pattern of school vacations will come to an end, at least for him.

Well, I spent all day today out shopping.  NOT my favorite activity.   But I do make a deliberate effort to enjoy the preparations for Christmas ~ if we can't enjoy them, why do them???  At least the weather is mild and we haven't been buried by 2 feet of snow!  I pray that all the stranded travelers in Colorado can find a way to get to their destinations in time for Christmas!  As a parent of college students, I especially feel for students trying to get to their families, and families trying to figure out how to get to their children. 

We are officially on Christmas Break for 2 weeks.  I need to spend some time next week sitting down with the books and the calendar and getting ready for the 2nd semester.  First semester was one of the roughest I've had in many years, as far as sticking to a schedule and covering the material I had planned. My saving grace was the co-ops/ classes we are involved in this year. At least those subjects got regular attention! But each day is a new day ~ so come January, we'll take a deep breath and start anew. 

Today we drove out to Boone, NC and back in order to wish my 2nd born a very happy 19th birthday, bring her presents and a Too Much Chocolate cake, and take her out to dinner at the Dan'l Boone Inn.

Seven hours in the car for about 3 hours of visiting ~ that's how much we love our girl.     It was quite a blustery day, but very mild for the 1st day of December.  But the weatherman says that colder temperatures are on the way!  

Happy Birthday , Sarah!!!