Life at Oak Grove Academy...
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Jul. 4, 2008
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Photo of the Day ~ Garden Tour
On Monday my mom held a mystery garden tour for 14 members of a seniors group in the neighboring town :) They had no idea where they were going and when they arrived they were all so happy that they got to make the trip up to see her gardens and it turned out to be a perfect day.
The weather was scorching hot so some of the ladies took refuge underneath the willow tree and umbrella alongside the waterfall.
To wind up the tour they had tea and goodies in the gazebo and we got them to stand for a group photo *grin* Hopefully next week we will be able to take this picture to the newspaper and have them run it with a little caption about the mystery garden tour. It will be good advertising for mom's gardens and the ladies were all excited that they would have their photo in the paper, so it's a win win situation :)
Blessings,
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Jul. 3, 2008
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Show And Tell Friday~ Noah's Birthday Last Week
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It's that time again...
Last week my 3ds Noah turned 10 ! I can't believe it has been a whole DECADE.
We had a lot of fun. Our friends that were visiting us this last week arrived on his birthday. We had a treasure hunt, cake , presents, and good times.
Now....
*** Remember in Show and Tell Friday ...the best way to get a comment is to give a comment. ***
If you want to join us
just...
~Make a Show and Tell Post and make sure it is wholesome. It can be pretty much what ever you want to share. It could be about you ...or your family ....or what is going on in your homeschooling.
~Some how link me ( Canadagirl ) so others will know where to go to join S&T.
~Come back to me and let me know you posted your S&T by using Mr. Linky. ( I need you to tell me each week that you want to participate , okay ? )
~If you want the S&T button to put on your blog go HERE
~Then , please go visit other gals wonderful Show and Tells !
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Jul. 3, 2008
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She Fits Right In
Posted By
Sombra
I guess I haven't told you all yet, but God blessed me so much this week. As I was standing in line to register Rourke for camp on Monday (Rourke, Rylan and Dylan are all at camp together), Lyndee's mum asked if I'd like Lyndee to come for a few days this week to help out with the littles in Rourke's absence.
Well, at first I pulled the little bravado thing.. "NA.. I'll be ok by myself.." but then as the hour progressed, and Lyndee was helping with things like getting the kids up the stairs, or getting them into the car to come home.. I realized that, ya, maybe this would be a good thing. She called me later that night, and mum delivered her the next day.
So, Lyndee's been here since Tuesday afternoon, and yup.. I think we should change her last name to Wilson -she's definitely one of us. Today while she was doing some dishes for me, she told me about a practical joke she had heard about - tape the spray hose at the kitchen sink into the on position, so that when someone turns on the water, they get sprayed. So I said, ya, we should do that so that the boys get sprayed when they get home from work. Lyndee was so keen on doing this she couldn't wait for us to go pick up the boys from work.
When I got home, I found the tape and rigged the system, then went to the ladies room. Trent came upstairs from working on the water pipes and wanted to check and see if what he had done worked. I was in the bathroom, so he went to the kitchen, flipped the tap up and WEE! I missed it, but came in just after.
So a few minutes later, I asked Myles to wash up the few dishes that were in the sink. I was cutting onions on the counter, Myles flipped up the tap, got sprayed, but quickly grabbed the sprayer to move it away from himself, and managed to spray Lyndee on the way. We're all laughing!
Jokes on me though, Trent grabbed me and held me in the line of fire, and Myles hosed me down. - Got Janney too.
No one has wiped up the mess on the kitchen floor yet though.
And yes, she's fabulous - so nice to have a girl around who sees things that need to be done. This morning she tidied the mudroom of all the junk that was lying around and worked on the laundry all day.. and helped me to move furniture so I could super clean Stuart's office while he's away.
And she's managing to cope well with the stinky boys and their stinky boy behaviour.
Many thanks to Sue for the loan.. I might have to pay some overdue charges on this loan... I might not be able to bring her back on time for her due date.. you know how library books get lost.. I might have to lose her.... on purpose.
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Jul. 3, 2008
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Crayola Rocks
We love everything Crayola. And living in PA, "the factory tour capital of the world", we've had opportunity to visit the Crayola Factory a few times. Craft supplies everywhere - definitely a form of paradise! So, I was thrilled to see this giveaway. Head on over and find out how you can win this:
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Jul. 3, 2008
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The Theme for Show and Tell ( only if you want to)
Posted By
Canadagirl
Tomorrow is my 39th birthday. So in the spirit of it all I thought I would have a theme for those who want to join me. I thought it would be fun to have something related to birthdays in our Show and Tell's. If you don't that is fine too. I just thought it would be fun.
Blessings and ((HUGS)) !!!
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Jul. 3, 2008
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Current Reads
I haven't done a Booking Through Thursday topic in a LONG time. But, this week's was easy, so I thought I'd participate:
It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s keep today’s question simple–
What are you reading? Anything special? Any particularly juicy summer reading?
I don't know if anyone noticed or not, but I removed the "on my nightstand" section from my sidebar. I loved sharing my current reads with you, but I just do not have the time to keep up with it. And, all my books later get featured on my blog anyway! So, I liked this question, as I can share what I'm reading this week:
Sisterchicks Go Brit by Robin Jones Gunn ~ this is my first Sisterchicks book, but I've heard good things about them. I'll be reviewing it on the 14th.
Love as a Way of Life by Gary Chapman ~ this is a "follow-up" to his Five Love Languages book, but actually it's more of a prerequisite. I'll be reviewing it on the 16th, along with hosting a giveaway, so be sure to check back! |
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Jul. 3, 2008
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Hungry Hungry Caterpillars
With all of the excitement over our baby Robins I completely forgot to update you on how our butterfly larvae was doing! So I'm going to recap what happened since we have raised and set them free already :) Calling them hungry is an understatement, try starving! All day long they munched and crunched, so loud in fact that they could be heard clear across the other side of the room. On top of their little food container they came in was a piece of breathable woven mesh type fabric separating them from the lid and one of the little rascals or maybe it was more than one actually chewed holes through the material resulting in one escapee.
Do you know how a caterpillar chews? By opening and closing its jaws just like a pair of scissors!
As our caterpillars ate and grew their skin did not grow with them and grew tight. To tight in fact that they had to 'molt' or shed their skin and a new skin would form. And each time our caterpillars molted they grew twice their size and then they would molt again! Do you know what a caterpillar does with the skin that it sheds? It eats it! It is full of good nutrients that help the caterpillar grow. The stage in between molts is called an 'instar' and during this time they continue to eat like crazy. On average a caterpillar goes through 4 different stages of molting.
The above photo is just about 10 days after they arrived at our home. They had just began to get ready for their last and final molt. When a caterpillar is ready to form it's 'pupa' or 'chrysalis' it finds a nice place to hang upside down, and from out of it's spinneret it shoots sticky silk (just like a spider) creating a little button from which it sticks its abdomen to. Once they were all ready, having glued themselves to the top of their little home they began their last molt by splitting open their skin and from underneath their 'pupa' formed.
Their skin splits right in half from top to bottom and the 'pupa' appears and becomes a hard protective shell for the caterpillar to change into a butterfly. The caterpillar actually turns into a liquid inside of the 'pupa' as it's body re-organizes itself into the butterfly that it will emerge as. They are very strange looking to. Look ours has spikes on it!
Did you know that caterpillars don't see very well? They can only see light and shadows through their clusters of eyes. Another interesting bit of info about caterpillars is that once they have formed their pupa sometimes you can see movement from inside of it! This happens if they get bumped or moved. They can actually startle and means that they are in tune with what is happening around them. Isn't that neat!
Make sure you check back for the last update on our caterpillars when the emerge from their pupas as butterflies.
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Jul. 3, 2008
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Photo of the Day ~ Budding Artist
We have been enjoying many afternoons lazing around at Omi's house sitting outdoors at the patio tables drawing, reading and laughing :) Ahhh, the lazy days of summer!
Baby M has finally graduated from crayon munching maniac to budding artist *grin* He is loving every minute he gets with his new crayons, with the emphasis on CRAYONS.....
markers are strictly off limits for obvious reasons! LOL.
Blessings,
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Jul. 2, 2008
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Finally - The SEPTIC TANK IS IN!
Posted By
Sombra
I've got pictures galore - for all you who just might be fascinated with a backhoe and digging holes.
A before picture of the driveway, and also, that tree (see the orange thing on the ground) that tree used to be in front of my bedroom window. Jim pulled it out for me. Instead of it giving me shade in my bedroom, it lay down after too much snow burdened it one winter, and lay across the driveway, causing us to go around it.. so I had Jim pull it out for me!
First we start with the septic sucking service (for all our Red Green Fans our there)... emptying all the yuck that was down there. At the end of that brown wall is where the tree USED to be..
We then had to sequester ourselves inside so that the littles wouldn't get hurt by the moving backhoe, or fall in the hole.... so these photos are taken from inside. See that big cement box out there in the yard, there's another one just like it down in the ground. The backhoe is just breaking it apart, not actually bringing it up in one piece.
Once all the original septic tank bits were removed, and the hole cleared, they laid a layer of sand on the bottom to make it flatish.
That's one deep hole.
Next, the truck that dropped off the septic tank LAST week in the rain, came back and picked it back up, loaded it back onto the trailer, and brought it to the hole.
 
 
Jim got on there and checked it - it was 3 inches too high. They had to take it out and remove some sand, then try again. Finally he was able to install the pipe which connects to our outflow from the house.
When it was properly set and piped, they slowly started to pack in the sand around it to make sure it was stable.
And then refilled the soil.
Now it's time to retrench the lagoon pipe. It goes all the way out to the pasture where the grey water goes.. (grey water? I don't know if that's the right term - it has no poop in it, but it's not clean enough to reuse in any way). That USED to be my driveway there.. go back and look at the first picture.
They've gone now, but I haven't taken a picture of the aftermath yet.. I'll put it up tomorrow.
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Jul. 2, 2008
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CFBA Featured Book ~ July 2-4
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This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingLove Starts With Elle(Thomas Nelson - July 8, 2008)
by
Rachel Hauck
 Elle's living the dream-but is it her dream or his?
Elle loves life in Beaufort, South Carolina-lazy summer days on the sand bar, coastal bonfires, and dinners with friends sharing a lifetime of memories. And she's found her niche as the owner of a successful art gallery too. Life is good.
Then the dynamic pastor of her small town church sweeps her off her feet. She's never known a man like Jeremiah-one who breathes in confidence and exhales all doubt. When he proposes in the setting sunlight, Elle hands him her heart on a silver platter.
But Jeremiah's just accepted a large pastorate in a different state. If she's serious about their relationship, Elle will take "the call," too, leaving behind the people and place she loves so dearly. Elle's friendship with her new tenant, widower Heath McCord, and his young daughter make things even more complicated.
Is love transferrable across the miles? And can you take it with you when you go?
If you would like to read the first chapter, go HERE
 Rachel Hauck is a forty-something, a child of the '60's, '70's, '80's, '90's and '00's, who roller skated through the '70's into the '80's with Farrah Fawcet hair and a three-speed orange Camero. She graduated from Ohio State University (Go Buckeyes!) with a degree in Journalism.
After graduation, she hired on at Harris Publishing as a software trainer, destermined to see the world. But, she's traveled to Ireland, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Australia, Canada and the U.S. from California to Maine.
Rachel met Tony, her husband, in '87, at church, of all places. They married in '92.
They don't have any children of their own, just lots of kids-in-the-Lord and they love them all. However, they do have two very spoiled dogs, and a very demanding cat.
With a little help from my friends, my first book was published in ' 04, Lambert's Pride, a romance novel. My current release is Sweet Caroline from Thomas Nelson. Romantic Times Book Club gave both books their highest rank of 4.5 stars, with Love Starts With Elle being honored as Top Pick!
HEIDI SAYS: I wish I were a speed reader (because I have a TON of books here that I need to read). However, I am not, and this book just arrived in my mailbox yesterday afternoon. I can tell you that it looks like a great book, but I don't have a "real" opinion yet~ I'll try to come back and share my review in a bit.....
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About Me
3 boys, 1 girl... future pator's wife, homeschooler, nurse, driver, encourager,... bottom line I am a professional juggler! |
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