As a Yankee (from Michigan) transplanted to South Carolina after a four-year stint in Florida, this video just cracked me up!  Check it out!

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From Robert's mother, my Aunt Becky:

Tuesday night was another rough one for Rob. Temp of 104, throwing up, shakes.
They almost have to kill him to cure him.  He is hanging tough.
Radiation today and one last day of ATG - the bad one.
Nurse Jayne just stopped by and told me his fevers are due to the fact he had such a strong immune system.  The treatment has to tear it down so he will be able to accept JB'S cells without too much of a fight.

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This note came from my mother last night:

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My husband is a yard sale junkie.  That's usually a good thing, but never as good as yesterday!  Wow!

He brought home two large boxes full of books.......which he got ABSOLUTELY FREE!  And even better, these books were unabridged classics.  And even better yet, 27 of these titles are books that are on the Ambleside Online curriculum booklist!  I was like a kid in a candy store as I was cataloging these books yesterday!  You can't even imagine what a great time I had checking off books that we now own....and marveling at all the money we'd saved!

So I'm truly counting my blessings today, in spite of many trials.  (I couldn't find the Bing Crosby version of this song on Playlist, but I hope you enjoy the one playing now.) 

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My mother greatly senses the need for prayer to cover her right now.  She is in the middle of her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer and appears to have a yeast infection (she wakes up with a white film covering her teeth and mouth) and is fighting a cold, which is not good when you're already immunocompromised. 

Also, while she trusts her oncologist, this man has no bedside manner (or much of a personality, according to Mom), and this makes communicating with him and getting information from him difficult -- not good when you're already fighting for your health.  She is also noticing problems with her vision, which may be chemo-related.

Please pray that God will heal her cold, that this yeast infection goes away quickly with the new medication she's just begun to take, that God will protect her organs (including her eyes), and that any other complications would be kept at bay. 

We truly appreciate your prayer support through this trial!  Thank you.

(Also, for those praying for my cousin Robert, I've corrected the link to his CaringBridge page below.  We appreciate prayers for Robert, also!)

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For those who are following my cousin Robert's progress, please take a moment to visit his CaringBridge page.  There you will read more of his story and diagnosis, and even get a feel for what a fun kid he is :-)  

Here is a picture of Robert, so you can put a face to this young man we are praying so fervently for:

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This is supposed to be a homeschool blog.  Specifically, a Charlotte Mason homeschool blog.  Even more specifically, an Ambleside Online Charlotte Mason homeschool blog.  But summer has obviously distracted me, and what was once 75% homeschool/25% personal has become 0% homeschool/100% personal ;-)

So I decided to get back to blogging about our homeschool journey.  This is a small first step:

Here is Anna cleaning out the aquarium.  We moved our tadpoles into this aquarium several weeks ago, creating a very nice habitat for them.  Two weeks ago, we released the frogs back to the duck pond.  I didn't get any pictures of that.....not sure where my head was.  Watching the metamorphosis of these tadpoles was a wonderful science education for everyone in the house, from Daddy all the way down to little Drew.  I'm sure we'll do it again next spring!

Under the category of handicrafts, Claire and Anna enjoyed an impromtu sewing project a couple of weeks ago.  They took some old rags, needle and thread and created some Barbie clothes.  Here is Claire's proud creation:

I was impressed!

Besides these, Claire is continuing math through the summer, getting "caught up" after our switch to Math-U-See a couple of months ago.  We are also continuing history, so that we can start on schedule next month, when Claire will begin 5th grade (and Ambleside Online's Year 3) and Anna will begin 1st grade (and Ambleside Online's Year 1). 

I'll post more of our schedule and the books we'll be using on another day.

For now, I'll post two fun books I've recently acquired to supplement our homeschool studies.  I found both at Sam's Club.  I don't have time (or patience with kids in tow) to browse large bookstores, so I enjoy the selection Sam's Club offers me.

About a month ago, we found a bird book that even two-year-old Drew loves.  The Backyard Birdsong Guide is part field guide, part audiobook and is truly a wonderful book!  You can actually see the picture of a bird and listen to its song.  I've discovered that we have more birds in our neighborhood than I normally see, thanks to this handy audio field guide!  We are still having a lot of fun with this supplement, even a month later, and I'm sure we'll be using it often in the months and years to come.

Yesterday, we found Then Sings My Soul, a book of "150 of the World's Greatest Hymn Stories."  We learn one hymn a month throughout the year (this month's hymn is "The Sweet By and By," which is why that will show up on our current PlayList), and I'm thrilled to have found this book!  It has a devotional-type history for each hymn.  I'm always trying to find some historical information to go with each new hymn, and this book has just that.  It also includes music and words to the hymns and a CD containing the music to several of them.  I think this will be a good supplement to our hymn study for years to come!

All right, then.  Now I feel like I can justify keeping a homeschool blog ;-)

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For the second year in a row, we spent the evening of July 4 with several neighbors.....enjoying our own little community fireworks display.

Here are the kids just before we left the house. 

The men put on our own fireworks display.  Between that and the other displays other neighbors and neighborhoods were igniting, we had quite a show!  Claire and Drew loved it....he giggled the whole time. 

Anna covered her ears during the loudest crackers, though she enjoyed everything else.

After a while, Audrey decided that she did enjoy the sparklers, after all.

Then, we walked back home and tucked everyone in bed....no traffic jams!  I may like this better than the big city-sponsored events!

Happy Birthday, America!

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Claire officially turned 10 in March.  She wanted a pool party.  Not just any pool party.....a PIRATE pool party.  Even here in the southeast, it's too cool in March for a pool party.  So we postponed her celebration until this past weekend.  Claire and Drew had a combined party.....a pirate party, of all things!.....and fun was had by all!

A man from church made the pirate cake.  We were impressed!

Claire and Drew blew out the candles together.

Drew and friend Daniel sparred by the pool.

Happy Birthday, Claire-Bear and Bubby-Boy!  We love you both!

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My sweet baby is two years old today!   He's been such a joy.....the kind of baby that makes you want dozens more just like him!   Here are some highlights from his first two years.....

Happy Birthday, Bubby!

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This just came in from Mom:

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My mother sent this update today.  I'm sharing it here for all who are following her recovery and praying with us toward that end:

"Finishing up a lot of last minute details here.  Heading to Berkley Springs to stay at an inn this weekend.  David gave this to us as a Christmas gift.  Spa massages included.  Must pack and clean up.  Will stop by my parents on way up or down or both. ...... I don't know when I will get to see them again with this chemo and thought I'd better go now before I feel worse, if that happens, or my hair falls out. 

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Twelve years ago today.....

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Our 23-month-old was eager to tell the family what we were having for dinner last night.

"Anna!  Come eat sketti.  Daddy!  Come eat sketti."

Six-year-old Anna, in her most mature, doting voice, told Daddy, "That's so cute how he says that!  When he gets bigger, he'll say it the right way, with the "Buh."

Daddy (age left off intentionally) nodded in agreement.  "That's right.  How will he say it when he's older?"

"Buhsketti." 

Of course.

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Today my mother begins her first round of chemotherapy.  She has recovered from her surgery (double mastectomy) and has had a port installed.  Please pray with us that she will be healthy through this, that the chemo will not make her sick, and that all of the cancer cells will be destroyed but everything else will remain unharmed. 

We truly appreciate your prayers as she goes through this great trial!

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"Mom?  Can I do another page of math now?"

Those words, uttered last week by my oldest daughter, were music to my ears!  Math had become such a challenge.  I was fighting tears, boredom, frustration, every single day.  The spiral program we were using was not working. 

After months of researching different programs, I finally settled on Math-U-See.  I was attracted by the mastery concept (the spiral approach frustrated my daughter) and I especially liked that Math-U-See came with a teaching DVD.  We watch this DVD together.  Usually, I don't have to do anything else with this daughter.  It's like giving me a break!   My 6yo daughter is doing very well with this program also.  It's been a wonderful transition!  How often can you switch your curriculum and go from hating math to loving it?  From math being the most dreaded subject to it being the favorite subject? 

Yes, I'm one happy homeschooling mom right now!

Plus the blocks are just fun!

 Can I count this as geography, too? 

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A year and a half ago, a very sweet little guinea pig joined our family.  Dumbo weighed maybe two pounds, but he made a big impression on us.  He always greeted us with an upraised head and a glee-filled squeak.  He loved to have his head scratched.  Every evening, as I made lunch for my husband, Dumbo squealed with joyful anticipation of the carrot or apple or kale that he knew would soon be coming his way.  The kids loved to take him out and pet him.  He loved to be held and petted, and would squeal in glee when certain parts of his little body were petted.

I had never owned a guinea pig before.  Little Dumbo seemed especially taken by me.  Maybe because I was the one who gave him his evening treats -- and many more throughout the day -- but Dumbo especially loved just laying across my chest, cradled like a baby.  He practically purred.  I'm sure he felt safe and warm there, maybe even smelled my mommy milk.  He enjoyed his time outdoors, too, grazing in his little pen on the fresh, warm grasses when the weather was good. 

My husband assures me that Dumbo had a good life, even if it was short.  But I miss him.  The girls were not the only ones sobbing at his little backyard funeral two days ago.   And tears are pouring down my cheeks now as I write this simple eulogy. 

We got Dumbo as a gift for our oldest daughter's baptism and our second daughter's birthday.  How significant it seemed as we buried this little guinea pig in our butterfly garden that he came to us for a baptism.  The old life dies and a new creature emerges from the waters of baptism. 

My children pray every night now that Dumbo is in heaven with Jesus.  And I haven't done anything to discourage those prayers.  I have to admit, every part of my being wants to believe and hope that our beloved pets will be waiting for us in eternity.  I want to imagine sweet little Dumbo in a field of fresh grass, frolicking with Phoebe and Petey, the cat and parakeet that meant so much to me many moons ago. 

God gave us the capacity to love deeply.  Even two-pound guinea pigs.  We miss you, Dumbo.  Thank you for being a bright spot in our lives, even though it was such a short time.

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Yesterday, I was served breakfast in bed.  Today, Brian cooked a big breakfast for the family.  I've received lots of hugs and kisses and Mother's Day wishes, several handmade cards, Drew's framed handprint from Sunday school, and little flowers in pots from the girls' Sunday school.  And last week, Audrey had the opportunity to make a special Mother's Day gift during her Daddy & Daughter outing to Home Depot (and Starbuck's).

Happy Mom's Day to all you special homeschooling moms out there!

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The pool opened last weekend.  The kids talked about this for a month before the actual event!  Everyday, I heard, "How long until the pool opens?"  Every single day.  Then, the infamous day arrived -- and the temperatures were quite cool.  And the next day it rained.  You've never seen four more disappointed children!

But, the weather changed, and we made it to the pool twice this week, then again today.  Nothing motivates my children to make beds and pick up toys like a trip to the pool!

Here are a couple of shots of the kids in the pool today.  The water is only 74 degrees, which means that Mom will not be swimming for another month, or 10 degrees, whichever comes first!

I couldn't get Claire and Anna to stay still long enough for a picture of them.  So, if you have three minutes to spare, here's some video of all of them in the pool.  Anna is at the other end of the pool, so you never really get to see her.  If you listen closely, you may pick out some of Drew's sentences. 

Summer has officially begun!

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