We are home from a wonderful vacation.  I am relaxed, refreshed and READY to begin our school year!  I love this feeling!  When we left town I did not even want to THINK about school yet!  I took all my teaching manuals with me and got really excited after reading thru the 1^st few weeks.  I knew when I ordered this year’s curriculum that this would be a fun year.  Now I’m even more excited about our year long history (His story) unit study- Creation to the Greeks.  We will travel back in time to Old Testament times as we learn about the history & culture of Israel & other civilizations; Egypt, Greece and Babylonia.  I am looking forward to recreating the feasts commanded by God that the Jewish people celebrated.  I hope to better understand these Jewish practices as the year progresses. 

We will begin school next Tuesday.  The first week we will learn about the Shabbat or Sabbath.  Wow!  There is A LOT of preparation for this 24 hour day of rest!  I’ll be exhausted & ready for a day of rest by the time we get all that done!!  haha

Before we start school I have a few more goals I need to achieve this week!  Haha  My big goal is to get all of our closets & drawers cleaned out then get the boys rooms cleaned & organized again!  I know I just did that at the beginning of summer!  WHAT HAPPEN?!!  ;o)  IF I can get all that done I will have accomplished every “summer goal” except cleaning the garage!  I’ll wait for a cool Autumn day to tackle that one!

I haven't loaded vacation pics on my computer yet but I'll post some soon.  All 3 boys learned how to waterski this week.  We also had a blast at Schlitterbahn!!  My favorite was getting some REST!!  NOW I'm ready to think about school!!  Keep us in your prayers as we begin our new school year.

Check back soon for pics....  Closets are calling me.....

It breaks my heart to hear a mom say…  “I can’t wait til they go back to school!” or “Only 3 more weeks til school starts!”  My mind just does not comprehend that kind of thinking!!  I cannot imagine counting down the days to send my child to someone else’s care everyday!  Not only that – I just LOVE SUMMER!!! 

I love everything about it!  It can’t get too hot for me.  I love the heat, the sunshine, the green grass & flowers!  I love swimming and no schedules to follow!!  I was thinking tonite about my 1^st summers as a Mom.  I love the memories of T being 18 months old and me being pregnant with N.  I remember sitting in the back yard with T playing in his 1^st kiddie pool.  We would play a while then go take a nap together, get up & play some more.  I remember being so tired at the end of those hot summer days but thinking to myself….  THIS is what life is about!

Now I spend my summer days watching my boys get up to be in the pool by 9:30!  I love them running in & out all day!  Thank goodness for storm doors that close slowly behind them – until they wear out the shock!  haha  In my day we heard Mom yelling…  “Quit SLAMMING that door!” as the old wood frame screen door SLAMMED every time we went in or out!  Ahhh… memories!! 

I love staying up late and sleeping til we’re ready to get up every morning.  I love 4th of July!  I love going to the lake & baseball games!!  I love back yard camping & letting the boys sleep in the basement so they can watch movies all nite!  I just love letting them be KIDS!!  I thank God every nite for the memories my boys are making!  Why would I want to RUSH through summer?  NO WAY!!  I’m STILL saying at the end of the day… THIS is what life is about!

Yes, I’ve got LOTS of cleaning, organizing & redecorating done this summer.  And yes, I get anxious when I look at the calendar & see that I am running out of time to do all I had on my “to do” list for this summer!  But I know that all that cleaning & organizing will be there WHENEVER I get to it!! 

I have also spent this summer watching my very good friend prepare for her oldest daughters’ wedding in August.  As we’ve homeschooled our kids together the past several years we never dreamed this day would come SO SOON for her!  This week she bluntly said to me…  “17 summers is all you get!  Make them count!”  So with that thought in mind, I put down my dust rag and ENJOY the short time of summer that we have left!  No I won’t be sending my boys off to school in 3 weeks.  In fact we won’t even be starting our homeschool year in 3 weeks.  No, this Mom says…  “Oh no!  ONLY 6 more weeks of summer!”  I wish I could make it go slower, but I can’t, so I’ll just enjoy every day that God blesses us with!!  When I hear a mom make those comments that I don’t like to hear I say a prayer that God would help them realize they are rushing through that child’s life!  Not long ago I had a mom say to me…  “I can’t wait til she’s 18!!!” – the daughter is 10 years old!!!  I told this mom…  “Don’t say that!  You need to enjoy her while she’s a kid!!”  I won’t share her response becuz it made me want to take that little girl home with me!!

I AM excited about starting our school year.  I ordered our curriculum & organized all the school supplies this week.  So technically, we are ready, but in my heart I’m nowhere near ready for summer to end.

So with all that said.  I say to you….  ENJOY your summer!  Don’t wish it away!  You’re gonna miss this!

Here's a few summer pics...

DON'T LEAVE YET!!  THERE'S MORE!!!

THAT'S NOT ALL!!  You gotta check out these pics too....

 Have a GREAT Summer!!!

Boy have we had a HARD time catching up on REST and getting back into a routine!!  We are almost back to “normal” this week. 

Reflecting back over the trip we really do have some awesome memories.  We did SO MUCH in 10 short days!!  The only thing we did not get to do that the boys really wanted to do was go up in the Washington Monument.  I don’t know why we did not do that but we did get some very pretty pictures of it.  I was also disappointed that we did all the DC monuments at night.  Most of them are beautiful at nite but I don’t think my boys understood what they were seeing at the Vietnam Memorial becuz it’s a black wall & it was dark with no lights to light it up at night.  But they can say they’ve been there.

Thinking about funny things that happened or funny things that some of the kids said, I have to share some of them with you…  When we landed in Baltimore our awesome bus driver picked us up at the airport.  We all loved our bus as soon as we saw it.  We began our journey right then.  We all laughed when they told us they were taking us for MEXICAN food for dinner!!  Of course East coast Mexican is NOTHING like New Mexico Mexican food!!  It was very good though.  On the way to the restaurant one of the girls said… “This is NOTHING like Lovington!”  Indeed, it is VERY DIFFERENT, everything from traffic to clothes.  In DC the AVERAGE commute time to work is 3 HOURS then they drive 3 HOURS back home in the evening!!!  We ladies noticed at all the buildings we visited all the ladies working there were wearing very high stiletto heels!!  My feet were killing me wearing tennis shoes!!  And these people WALK a long way from their transportation to the office!!

I did not mention in my daily blog from DC all the security lines we stood in.  EVERY building in DC has a security line just like at airports to get into the building.  It is good that they do this but it is not much fun for those on a tour like we were.  Every line takes at least 30 min to get through.  We stood in line for 1 ½ hours to get into the House of Representatives!!  Yes, that was the day we had no food or water!!  We were very grumpy & became grumpier with every security line!!  We didn’t get lunch that day until around 3:00 and our guide insisted that we stop at the Supreme Court before going to lunch!  As we were going into the court house S said…  “Is this a restaurant?  PLEASE let this be a restaurant!!!”  I did not hear him say that but some of the other moms did and they laughed about that all week.  We were all thinking it, but only a child can say it and get away with it!!  Haha  That nite at dinner the waiter asked all the kids a question- I can’t remember exactly what it was but N & Heidi both quickly answered – A POLAR BEAR - and WON a big piece of chocolate cake!!  YUM!

On day 3 as we walked around the White House a lady was walking toward us.  Remember there are 20 of us and we are enjoying our stroll around the block.  This lady was very rude when she got right in S’s face (a 5 yr old!) and said… “STAY TO THE RIGHT!”  Of course he had no clue what she meant by that.  It became quite a joke for some of us the rest of the week.  Someone would just proclaim…  STAY TO THE RIGHT and we would laugh!

I am adding loads of pics from the trip for you to enjoy.   On day 4 N & S DID NOT want to get out of bed at all.  T pulled S halfway off the bed and he just slept like that until Daddy finally got him to wake up.   On the nite of day 7 we arrived at our hotel and T came running out of the bathroom and said…  MOM, you GOTTA come take a picture of this!!  He was so impressed with the fancy way they folded the toilet tissue and towels!  haha

I have to tell you how very proud I am of my boys!  They did so good on the trip!  I got so many compliments on their good behavior.  Sometimes I wonder…  Are they learning ANYTHING???  I feel as if I’m always on to them about something!!  I guess they do listen to me when I think they don’t.   I thank the Lord for my boys and I thank Him for the opportunity to homeschool them.   I feel like this trip was a chance of a lifetime for my family and I am SO GRATEFUL to all the people & businesses that donated to help us get there!  Going back to being proud of my boys… They did NOT complain one time about anything (except being hungry) the whole 10 days!  They just took it all in & enjoyed every minute of it!!  I was complaining after the 1^st day of my feet hurting!  Their little legs walked many more miles than mine did and none of them complained until on the airplane coming home S said…  Mom, my legs hurt.  So here I have to thank my Lord for blessing my boys with good health & stamina!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blogs.  Here are 3 slideshows of pics…  Enjoy…     

Well, today was the last day of our trip.  Seems we've been gone from home for a month!  But then... it all happen so fast!

This morning was our last trip thru the Lincoln Tunnel from New Jersey to New York.  I got a nice picture of the NY skyline from NJ.  I tried every morning & they were always blurry but today I finally got it!  Just before getting to Central Park we saw where John Lennon was shot.  His apartment building is very pretty & I'm sure the view of Central Park from all his windows is beautiful.  I got some really cool pics of street signs throughout this whole trip.  The pic of the Central Park street sign has John Lennons apartment in the back ground.

Cental Park had thousands of police officers there and we assumed it was that way everyday, but we found out later that Pres. Bush was arriving there anytime but we left before he got there.

S stopped to talk to a man playing his guitar on a park bench.  We all had a nice stroll thru the park.  It is so big and beautiful.  I got some really nice pics.  A very peaceful place to go to get away from all the hussle & bussle of NYC life!  They say that Central Park is the people's back yard becuz they don't have yards like we do!  I couldn't live like that!!

We left the park & went to a big church that was really pretty.  N drew several pictures on our trip.  I will take pics of them & post them later.  This morning he drew one for our bus driver.  It was the bus driver & the bus.  Our bus driver has a 3 yr old son that he has been away from for 10 days, so he had fun with our boys & he loved the picture N drew for him. 

On the way to the airport we got a bus tour of Queens & Harlem.

We flew out of La Guardia airport.  We ate lunch at the airport then after getting on the plane we sat on the run way for about 50 min waiting to take off.  We were all very sleepy!!  After finally getting in the air, Daddy & the boys all watched the movie they showed while I slept.  Then we arrived in Dallas where we had to wait on the runway for 15 min becuz our gate wasn't ready for us!  So guess what???  All 20 of us had to RUN to catch our next flight!!!  Just what my feet wanted to do!!  UGH!!!

We made it to Midland, ate supper there then came home!  We all slept SO GOOD last nite!!!  On the plane from Dallas to Midland T said...  I can't wait to sleep in MY bed!!  We got to sleep til 9:00 this morning which is 11:00 NY time!!  We would probably still be sleeping but S had a soccer game this morning!  So now I believe I'll go take a nap!!!

I've been making a list of stories I want to share with you all.  I'll try to blog them in the next few days.  But for now I can't think of anything but SLEEP!!

Today was a FULL FULL day!!!  We began w/a bus tour of downtown Manhatten (thank Heaven we didn't have to WALK) then we WALKED the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhatten to Brooklyn.  It was fun, cold & beautiful!  The cars were driving under us!  It was cool!!  After walking all the way to Brooklyn we turned around and walked all the way BACK to Manhatten!!  WHY you ask?  I HAVE NO CLUE!!!  haha  Just to say WE DID IT that's why!  Oh and our tour guide told us too!  She loves to torture us!!

We went to a church across the street from Ground Zero.  During the explosions every building around the WTC was damaged except for this church!!  It didn't even have a cracked window pane!!  Today I got a good picture of a cross that is actually an I-beam from the World Trade Centers.  When it came crashing down the cross actually landed the way it is in this picture!!  Just 2 more reminders that God is always in control!!!  We had seen the cross on another day but I didn't get a good pic of it.

From there we had lunch under Rockefeller Center.  Then it was on to a tour of Radio City Music Hall that has been restored to it's original 1932 condition.  WOW!!  What an amazing theater for that time period!!  It's amazing even for 2008!!  We got to go backstage and on stage!  I wanted to break out in song but the tour guide wouldn't be quiet long enough for me to!  haha  We saw Rockette costumes, Roxy's suite and we even met a real live Rockette!  Daddy was 1st in line for a picture! 

When we got out of Radio City Music Hall we actually had 2 1/2 hrs FREE TIME!!!  WooHoo!!!  We walked some streets of Time Square & found Fox News, Ed Sullivan Theater & the Hershey store.  Todd even found the perfect place to get a picture for Bub!!  hahaha   Every 5 min N was telling me...  Mom, this is where Spiderman did this or that....  He was loving seeing all the things he's seen in the Spiderman movies.  We saw a dog park!  The dogs are happy to be there out of their crowded apartment buildings but the people look miserable!  It stinks like dog wee!!  Imagine that!!  While walking and taking it all in S said...  Mom, is this a real city or are we dreamin'?  Ahhhh.....  

To add more magic to this "dream" we went ice skating at Rockefeller Center.  FUN, FUN, FUN!!  The longer we stayed the better the boys got at it.  T was doing spins & leg lifts.  N was in his own world & S finally got the courage to let go of Daddy's hand and he was going VERY FAST!!  The video is too cute of him.  It was like he was thinking.... I can't stop... I can't stop.... 

For dinner we went to Mars 2112 and ate w/the aliens!!  Then it was off to the Empire State Building!  Most of my pics were blurring cuz I was SHAKING so bad!!  But it was fun and VERY COLD!!

Well stayed tuned... tomorrow will bring more excitement as we end our trip....

We finally made it to New York!!  Before I go into our day...  Several have emailed wondering how we are feeling.  We are doing fine!!  VERY TIRED but the sinus & cold problems are just about gone.  Thanks for your prayers!!

We had to get up early to head to Ellis Island & The Statue of Liberty.  We were on our way there and we began to see "her" in the distance.   Now let me back up to last May...  All those months we were raising $ for the trip, people would ask...  What are you gonna do there?  S would tell them...  We're gonna see the Statue of Liberty!!!  This morning as we began to see her in the distance S said...  Daddy, my heart is starting to beat fast.  He was SO EXCITED!!!  He has waited for this day for a long time!!

We took the ferry from New Jersey to Ellis Island & learned a lot about the immigrants that came to this wonderful country & how it really was not so wonderful at that time.  Then we went on to the statue.  We didn't go inside becuz the security lines take forever to get thru.  So we just walked the base of it.  I was happy with that.  Daddy really wanted to go inside but no one else wanted to take the time to.

We rode the ferry to Manhatten and ate lunch at a deli across the street from Ground Zero.  The deli was very overwhelming for some of us!  Me especially!!  I did not like all the YELLING!  You just yell out what you want & it appears, you pay for it & move on!!

From there we took pics of Ground Zero, walked to the New York Stock Exchange & saw the church in National Treasure (N loved that).  As we were walking we saw a homeless man in a wheelchair holding out a cup.  N ran to me and said...  Mama, do you have a penny I can give that guy?  I told him no.  He kept asking me for the next couple of hours if we would ever go back there.  Finally when we were on the bus I asked him what he wanted to go back and see.  He said...  Can we take up a collection and take it back to that man?  Oh my baby has such a HUGE heart!!  I told him the best thing he could do is PRAY for that man.  He prayed at bed time tonite and he did pray for that man!!! 

Later in the afternoon we went to China Town, found a place to SIT & have a snack then did a tad of shopping.  Then we were on to dinner in Little Italy.

Now for the Grand Finale....  A Broadway show!!  THE LION KING!!  It was SO SO SO AWESOME!!!  The boys were in awe the entire time!!  T was even in tears he was so overwhelmed.  Everyone loved it!!  They say that it is a sold out show every nite!  Now we know why!!

There is SO MUCH more I want to tell you, but it is 1:30 in the morning and we have to get up EARLY again!!  Maybe I'll remember all the little stories I wanted to share and I can blog them when we get home.

Love & miss you all!!!

Well, today we had a wonderful grand finale of homes!!  Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson is a fabulous place!!!  For those that tell me that my house is big…  well, this one would swallow my house about 10 times!!  It is the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen and it was my favorite of all the homes we’ve seen on this trip!!  The view from the house is beautiful all the way around it.  It is very high in the mountains and that’s amazing when you remember that when people actually lived there, the transportation was horse & carriage!!  I would not want to get up to that house in that way!!

Now we are on our 8 hr ride to New York City, but we just discovered that we just drove 1 ½ hours in the wrong direction!!!  Oh my!  Our guide just told us we would get to our hotel by midnite!  I told T to sit back & enjoy the ride and he said…  I can’t enjoy the ride!  Well, he’s gonna have to!!  Haha  Daddy is enjoying the ride cuz he’s NOT driving!!

Since we were already running behind we went to Shenandoah National Park.  Wow, we think we have pretty mountains in NM.  Oh these mountains are very pretty!!  They are all very high and there's a lot more than there are in NM!

We drove about 2 more hrs before stopping somewhere in Pennsylvania for dinner.  The boys had McDonald’s twice today!!!  We stopped at a shopping center w/several choices to eat at for lunch, so we picked McD’s for the boys sake.  Had we known we would get that for supper we would’ve chose something else!  HA

Now we’re on the road again…

We had to get up at 6:00 today.   It was only a 30 min ride this morning to our destination but all 5 of us went to sleep before we got there!! Today we went to JAMESTOWN where it all started!!!  Jamestown was the 1^st English settlement on North American soil.  It was fun to see the actual forest that Squanto lived and hunted in.   We just realized today that Jamestown became a settlement on S’s birthday!!  May 13, 1607. 

While a guide was telling us the story of Pocahontas, T spotted an EAGLE in a tree!!  He was upset with me for not getting a picture before it left the tree.  I did get a pic as it was flying but it got too high too fast to get a really good picture.  We saw eagles flying above us all day but never did see another one sitting in a tree.  We went through a Powatan Indian village and went aboard a replica of one of the ships, the Susan Constant, that sailed to Jamestown from England.  All 3 ships are on display but we only got to go on one, seems we’re always RUSHED!!

After leaving Jamestown we went to Yorktown and stood on the “surrender grounds” where the British surrendered to George Washington to end the Revolutionary War, October 19, 1781.  WOW!!!  The boys had a blast playing in the trenches the soldiers dug during the war and they were amazed with the cannons also.

As of tonite I have taken 552 pictures on this trip.  Just today I FINALLY found some scrapbook paper and stickers for the pics I’m taking!!  WooHoo!!!  Only my Scrap Pals will understand my excitement!!  haha

Tonite we are staying in the beautiful mountains of Charlottesville, Virginia.  Stay tuned for more.  Tomorrow we have an 8 hour bus ride to New York City…

Today was the best day yet!!  (Well, of course, it’s Sunday the best day of the week!)  We woke up feeling much better!  Most of my soreness is even gone!  We spent all day in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia which was the 1^st Capitol of the U.S.  It is an awesome historical place to visit.  The people working there did a great job of taking us back in time.  They dress and talk as if they are living in the colonial days.  My boys learned some proper English!!  We started the day learning how to properly greet those that we meet.  It was fun!!  We got a tour of the different trades of the day… blacksmith, book binder, printing press, cabinet/furniture maker, wig maker, gardener, apothecary & millenry.  We saw the House of Burgess and walked on the actual streets that Thomas Jefferson and George Washington walked on!   We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at a Colonial Tavern then strolled through the streets again.  It was so relaxing!!!  “George Washington” invited S to sit beside him for a talk.  He asked S if he was having a good day.  S said… NO.  GW said…  “I was a lad once too.  Please understand, you can tell me anything.  Now what is it that has you uncomfortable today?”  S shrugged his shoulders.  GW made a few guesses and S assured him each time that was not it.  So GW asked…  “What is it that would make you happy?”  S thought for a minute and said…  CHRISTMAS! 

For dinner we traveled about an hour to Norfolk, Virginia.  It was way cool to drive through a tunnel that goes under water through Chesapeake Bay.  Once there we ate seafood by the seashore!!  All the kids LOVED playing on Virginia Beach, even though it was VERY COLD!!  We had lots of shoes full of sand!!  After dinner we traveled back to Williamsburg and had a guided Lantern Tour of the town at nite.   It’s now 10:30 and this is the earliest we’ve seen a hotel room on this trip!! 

Everyone had a hard time getting up this morning!  Today was rainy and cold.  We spent all morning at Arlington National Cemetery.  We walked A LOT and were soaking wet but the rain set the mood and made the day more memorable.  After a guided tour of the Lee Mansion at the cemetery, we went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.   We got to see the Changing of the Guards AND a wreath laying ceremony.  It was beautiful!!  Of course, during the playing of Taps, I got teary eyed AGAIN (I’m doing that at about every memorial on this trip).  These soldiers not only gave their lives but they also gave their identity for our country!  How sad that they have no one that actually KNOWS them to come to their grave to pay respects!  It is awesome that our country gives these men the highest saluting honor for their sacrifices. 

After the cemetery we went to the Iwo Jima Memorial.  It too is BEAUTIFUL!! 

From there we traveled an hour to Mount Vernon, the Home of George and Martha Washington.  Oh my, what a wonderful place to live right on the Potomac River!!   We saw a baby goat that was born just minutes before we walked up to the barn!!  We all saw him stand for the 1^st time!  Too cute!!!

S has an awful sounding cough and doesn’t feel good.  He’s been asking since noon today…  “Are we going to the hotel NOW???”  Poor little guy, he’s so cute!!  I brought medicine but we’ve about used it all.  I’m hoping we can find a store to get some more tonite.  Our guide says we’ll get to bed early tonite!  I hope so!  We need sleep so bad!!  Most of us are so sore we can hardly walk!!  There’s about 4 of us Mom’s that bring up the rear everywhere we go becuz we just can’t walk fast anymore!!  HA  My sinuses are really bad.  I don’t know if I’m trying to get sick or if it’s allergies.  Please keep us in your prayers that we will stay well enough to enjoy the rest of the trip.

As I type we are in route to Colonial Williamsburg, a 2 hour drive.  It is sunset here in Virginia and it is here that I realize how magnificent a NEW MEXICO sunset is!!  I can’t see the sun setting but I can see the orange glow through the trees.  Most everyone is watching a movie on the 3 TV screens in the bus, some are reading, some are blogging, some just gazing out the window and others are SLEEPING!  Which is what I believe I’ll do now….   

Well, it’s now 11:00 actually 12:00 with the time change & we JUST got to our room!  We did find a Kmart and get some medicine!  But we did not get to bed early!!  I got no sleep on the bus and I am feeling very sick!  I’m going to bed!!  Good nite….  

Everyone is HAPPY today!!  SORE but happy!! 

We started our day at the White House.  Didn't get to go in, not even inside the gate, but it was beautiful to see!  We walked all the way around it.  T thought it was WAY COOL when we spotted a "guard" in the bushes not 10 feet from us!  I'm sure there were way more than that one that we did not see and I know no one else in our group even saw the one we did.

We saw Vice President Cheney leave his office building.  It was fun seeing all the police go from visiting together to QUICKLY jumping on their motorcycles and escorting the VP away.  The coolest part was seeing the pedestals that go across the street (T was jumping over them just a few min before) SINK into the ground so the cars could drive thru then they popped back up!

Next we went to the National Archives.  We were the 1st group in line and had the whole place to ourselves.  I was amazed at how big the documents are!  I guess I thought they were written on regular size paper.  I have to admit I got a little teary eyed when I actually looked at the signatures of our Forefathers!!  WOW!!  From there it was on to the Smithsonian Museums.  We started at the Air & Space Museum, 2nd was the Natural History Museum next was the American Art Museum then last was the National Portrait Gallery.

After an Italian dinner we went to the Jefferson Memorial.

Mom's feet are KILLING her but today was a very nice day!!

Today was very chaotic but we survived!!  14 hours of straight sight seeing with no food or water made lots of thirsty, hungry, tired & grumpy people!!  It was entirely TOO MUCH for one day!  But it was fun!!  HA

We met Senator Dominici & got a "professional" group picture.  Our family got to stand RIGHT BY him in the pic!  WooHoo!! Then his kind staff took us to the Senate Chamber.  S went to sleep during that.  It is kind of boring.  LOL  We rode the Senate Subway under the Capitol Building.  Later we got a tour of the House of Representatives & the Capitol Building by 2 of Steve Pearce's office personel.  They were VERY KIND!  S made a great buddy with one of them!  They took us to the House Chamber.  If you watched CSPAN today you saw what we saw live!

We saw inside the Supreme Court.  It is beautiful.  N went to sleep in the court house then feel down the steps outside as we left!  He was WEAK from not eating!!  haha  We toured the Library of Congress.  This normally would have been my favorite but I was TOO tired & hungry to enjoy it.  We tried to go to the Library of Congress in the morning but it was closed becuz the King & Queen of Jordan were getting a tour.  So we had to go back later in the day.

After a wonderful French dinner we went to the Vietnam & Korean War Memorials and to the Lincoln Memorial again.  Needless to say Mom DID NOT climb those stairs again tonite!!  haha

Here's some pics of Day 2...

Day 1 was a BLAST!!  We took off in Midland & N shouted... WE'RE OFF THE GROUND!!!  Everyone on the plane laughed for a good while at our boys excitement!!  The pics explain our day, so enjoy!!

As soon as N saw the Washington Monument he said....  Mom, that's the building Jimmy wants us to climb!!  hahaha

Check back tomorrow for Day 2 pics....

Well, the time has flown by as we prepare for our trip.  I dug out the luggage on Monday and have added a little each day to keep me from staying up all nite the nite before we leave!  The boys are SO EXCITED!!  S asks everyday... Do we go on our trip TOMORROW?  None of the boys have flown in a plane before so this will be an adventure from the minute we walk out the door on Wed. morning!!  I'll be posting lots of pics when we get back so be sure to check back for them.

February has been very busy! (I say that EVERY month don't I!) On the 1st Daddy, T & N went Barbary Sheep hunting.  Daddy got a really nice one on the very 1st day of the hunt!  It was lots of hard work getting it out of the rocky terrain!  T decided he didn't want to go back the next day to get one for himself!  They were all sore for several days after that hunt!! The boys are all taking music lessons.  Tuesday afternoons are completely full for us beginning with Music Theory class, followed by Lea County Homeschool Choir, then finally T & N both have guitar lessons while S has violin/fiddle lessons.  THEN we end the day with baseball & soccer practice!!  We've had to cut out karate this semester.  Just TOO MUCH to do!  We have our 1st choir program this coming Sunday.  We are singing songs from the wonderful classic The Sound of Music.  Would you believe that I myself had NEVER seen the movie until I watched it with my boys a few weeks ago!!!  I know, I know!!  I can't believe it either!  I don't know how I've lived without seeing it!  hahaha  The boys have also enjoyed learning about the Middle Ages, they go to a Middle Ages Lapbook class on Fridays.  The most interesting thing they have learned is that magnets were used in the walls of castles to trap the knights in their armour... I can just see knights flying off their horses and slamming into the wall as they ride by the castle!!  LOL

Already this year God has called more people Home out of our lives than He has over the past few years!  In Jan. we lost 4 people that we've been blessed to have known. Then in Feb. a dear friend of mine passed into Glory as I held her hand and wiped her brow.  I was gently reminded how precious LIFE is!  It is so very important HOW WE LIVE!!  Applying that life lesson to my schooling I have once again realized how I get so caught up in the "three R's" of schooling that I push our daily Bible time to the back burner without even realizing it!!  What a sad thought that I would not even notice that I put school work in front of God!!!!  This week that realization brought me to my knees AGAIN!!! If we do NOTHING else everyday, we have GOT to spend time in God's Word everyday!!  The goal of education is a LIFE, not a LIVING!!!  How can my boys have a life without God their Savior by their side everyday?!  THEY CAN'T!!  God will provide the living if we trust in Him and give Him all the glory!  I've been reading lately several publications by Corrie Ten Boom.  Her writings can definitly change your life, make you realize what you take for granted AND bring you closer to God!!  THANK YOU CORRIE!!!

Well, I'll attach some pics here for ya... then I'm off to do MORE PACKING!!!

This week was full of "manuel labor" lessons... We are building a block storage house in the backyard.  The brick layer enjoys the boys being out there.  He showed them how to lay brick & let them help.  Now they look forward to him coming back!  Daddy took the boys to work a few afternoons.  The big project for this week was welding lessons!  Not planned lessons, it just fell into place.  They LOVED it!!  T has welded before with his PaPa but this week he got to make something he can keep.  N learned to cut the rod w/a cutting torch while T welded them together.  They made a roping calf - horns & all!  Too cute!!  Then T decided that N needed to learn to weld so he taught his brother how to do it.  I didn't know they were doing all this until it was all done.  I would have loved to have gotten pictures of them working so hard.  I did get pics of the finished product.  As you can see they are dirty & tired but they are so proud of their 1st welding projects!!  Enjoy...

Well, my camera broke the week before Christmas and I did not get any pictures of my boys acting debut's.  The Christmas play was the BEST!!!  They did so good!!!  T & N both had leading parts and S sang his little heart out.  We did get it all on video thankfully!

Christmas is over, all the decorations are put away, the beautiful Christmas music is fading and life is about to return to "normal", whatever that is.  haha  I love celebrating my Saviors' birth, but I'm always a tad depressed to see it all end.  The house seems so bare w/out all the decorations and quiet w/out the boys excitement awaiting the Big Day.

But as we begin 2008...  It's official...  I'm 40!!  WooHoo!!  I made it!!  I've been looking forward to the big 4-0!  I'm no longer a "young lady" in her 20's or 30's - I'm a 40 year old WOMAN that deserves respect for all I've been through in my 40 yrs of life!  I LOVE being 40!!

As I look back at 2007 I see how wonderful God is to us!!  He has blessed me & my family more than I ever thought I could be blessed!!   I've heard people say for years... "You can't out give God".  I am finding out how true that is!!  Seems the more we give to Him of ourselves, our time, our money, the more we get in return!!!  We serve an AWESOME God!

This is our last weekend as we prepare to begin our Spring Semester of school on Monday.  It's going to be an exciting 2008.  We leave March 5 for our trip to Washington D.C.  We are going to be reviewing American history throughout Jan & Feb.  My personal goal for school is to improve T & N's handwriting!!!  UGH!!!  S is beginning to read and I look forward to finishing this year of Kindergarten and seeing him blossom into a fluently reading 1st grader! 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!! 

Life in the Collins Home has been BUSY, BUSY, BUSY.  I haven't got to blog like I want to but I'll catch up now....  S. attended a Pumpkin class in Oct. where he made a Pumpkin Lapbook and learned a lot about those neat orange things.

In Nov. we studied the Human Heart while making Lapbooks.  I especially enjoyed seeing the boys learn how to take care of their hearts and what foods are good for the heart!  They now realize that McD's is not the best place to eat!  HA

While learning the letter D, S. studied about dinosaurs and made a cute dino Lapbook.

Dad and the boys went deer hunting in Nov.  This was T's first time to carry a 'real' gun.  He passed hunter safety in Feb, got his gun for his b-day in Sep and shot his first deer in Nov!!!  Dad is STILL about to pop with pride!!  What a special hunt that was!!!

We went to visit my Dad & PaPa for Thanksgiving.  It was nice to get away for a few days.  My brother & his family went with us.  The boys loved having their baby cousin around for a few days!!

We've enjoyed being in the Lea County Home School Choir this semester.  We performed twice, once with Dr. W's Community Band and just last nite we performed a Christmas Cantata at our association's Christmas party.  All the kids did a really good job.  I am so thankful for the opportunities this is opening up for the boys.

As of today we are officially going to Washington DC!!!  It is PAID for!! We did it!!  We raised $12,000.  I am SO proud of the boys!  They worked so hard selling raffle tickets, waiting tables, selling lemonade, serving food at banquets and this week we loaded 4,000 lbs of scrap metal on a trailer to sell!!  We missed several days of "school" to go out and raise the $.  But I have no doubt that the boys learned more while fundraising than they would have at the kitchen table!  What a LIFE LESSON!!!  One thing is for sure...  They will go on this trip and KNOW how hard they worked to get there!  When they are my age they will look back and appreciate every moment of it.  No lesson from a book could teach them that!!  There are 13 kids and 7 parents going on the trip.  We are all very excited!!

The boys will perform in a Christmas play at church this Sunday.  I will post pics of that next week.

Maybe after this weekend life will slow down a tad.  I am ready to listen to beautiful Christmas music, make candy and enjoy the season!

Here's some pics of our last few months of 2007....  Enjoy....

Seems this study lasted forever!!  In reality it was only 2 weeks but we covered A LOT of info in that time.  Each of the boys made a solar system mobile and an Astronomy Lapbook. S learned to make a sun dial.  This was the 1st time we've used the internet for our research.  The 2 older boys caught on to that pretty quick - much easier than looking it up in the encyclopedia!  haha  Overall, it was a fun study.

Praise the Lord!!!  I know someone has been praying for us!!  I was beginning to get really nervous that we would not raise all the $ we need to go on the trip to Washington D.C. with our homeschool group!

My boys have worked SO HARD!!  I am so proud of them!!  This week we went out on Tues & Wed going door to door to businesses asking for donations.  My boys actually acted like little gentlemen in EVERY place we went!!  (That's another answered prayer!  haha)  God has blessed us for not giving up yet!!  In 2 days we raised $1,588!!!!

GOD IS SO GOOD!!! 

Keep us in your prayers!  We only need $5,000 more!!