In 1997 we took a step of faith and began our homeschooling journey. At that time we said we were just taking it a year at a time. At the end of each school year we would evaluate how the year had gone and commit to another year of homeschooling. The Lord faithfully met us in our homeschool, providing for every need and filling in my gaps as our children's teacher. Whether it was a class on dvd, a co-op class offering advanced science classes or a class at the local community college -- the courses that were needed were available to us.
This past Saturday, Bethany Louise graduated from high school after being homeschooled for 12 years. She was one of 182 graduates who took part in the graduation ceremonies at the NCHE conference. What a privilege to have John Stonestreet give the commencement address. At a time when the main question our graduates are hearing is, "What will you do next year?" He challenged them with the question, "Who will you be?" It is our prayer that Bethany will shine for Christ in whatever she does.
Here are a few pictures from Graduation Day!
David and I presented Bethany with her high school diploma.
She gave me a rose.
One Happy Girl!!!
Bethany and two of her dearest friends, Flora and Mary Kathryn.
I have so much to blog about but it's just a very busy time in our home. This week I am preparing for an open house to celebrate Bethany's upcoming graduation after being homeschooled for 12 years. Through the years I have watched my mother-in-law bake ahead for events and then freeze cakes, cookies, etc. On Sunday she shared her secrets with me so I've been busy baking ahead and freezing.
This year Bethany has loved being a part of Lenoir Rhyne's Professional Youth Choir. The spring concert was this past Sunday. Three of their videos are on YouTube. I thought I would share one here. Enjoy!
My guess is that my sweet friend, Mary, woke up with a smile today. It is her 60th birthday and her family and dear friends gave her a wonderful surprise party on Saturday. I don't think I've been to a party with more creative touches; so I thought I would share them with you.
When we walked in the door we were handed two things: The first were little tags, that we were to wear, with the number 60 and each had a picture of Mary in the 0.
The second were paddles with pictures of Mary, in different stages of life, that we were asked to put in front of our faces when she walked in the door as part of the surprise!!!
The tables each had a theme of Mary's favorite things or hobbies. A few examples were her grandchildren, gardening, family, reading, and baking. There were framed pictures of her at each table too. The entire room was a tribute to her.
Her son, Sam, put together a beautiful hard covered book for Mary at www.blurb.com. It sat on a pedestal the entire party so that we could look at it and sign it -- similar to a yearbook. Mary cried when she opened it -- a few of us cried with her.
I just loved the cake. It was one of the prettiest cakes I had ever seen. The baker calls it a Quilt of Life Cake. Can you see why?
When we left we had our choice from an assortment of seed packets (flowers and vegetables). They were in a small bucket with a sign that read, "Grow Old With Mary." I chose Morning Glories.
Happy Birthday Mary! I am thankful for our friendship and appreciate the godly example you are to all of us!
Over the week-end David's dear uncle passed away. I met Uncle Dennis when David and I began dating and I was a part of Thanksgiving and Christmas family meals. He always engaged me in conversation and made me feel very welcomed. Over the past 23 years he took an interest in our ministry and family. He touched many lives -- more than his family even knew and discovered during these past few days with the visitation and funeral. Over and over people shared how Uncle Dennis had ministered to them. What a wonderful encouragement for his two grown children and grandchildren to hear these stories.
Yesterday, before the funeral, Uncle Dennis's church had a luncheon for his family members. David and I enjoyed seeing family that we hadn't seen in a long time. The fellowship hall had round tables of eight with table clothes, clothe napkins and centerpieces of lovely greenery. It was clear that they had gone the extra mile to make this luncheon special. When we got to the buffet I was so surprised! They had 2 tall stacks of fine china plates. They truly had gone the extra mile!!! The food was delicious with platters of homemade fried chicken, ham, potato salad, green beans, macaroni and cheese and more! The iced tea was served in fine crystal. We were all in awe of all that these dear ladies had done for our family. When we thanked one of the ladies she said, "The way I see it is this is one last way I can show Christ's love to this person (the deceased)." We left that luncheon with full stomachs and very full hearts.
As we drove to the funeral, and then the cemetery, cars stopped in their tracks as the funeral procession went by to show respect. I thought of Uncle Dennis and what a fine man he was. He loved the Lord and loved all he came into contact with. I thank the Lord for his life -- a life well lived.
I mentioned in a previous post how there were two little Pine Siskens at our feeder (back deck railing) that just let me scoop them up and hold them in my hands. They seemed to almost be tamed. So around here my new nickname is Snow White.
It turns out that these birds, along with many more throughout North Carolina and Tennessee have a form of Salmonella and are dying. There was an article on our front page this morning. I found this one through google.
The two birds at my feeder had all of the symptoms that the article in our paper mentioned: Affected birds sit on feeders and are not scared when people approach. Birds may have difficulty swallowing, congregate around a water source , display ruffled feathers and have a general "sick" appearance. The article also mentioned that this is a natural occurrence among the finches.
So, it looks like I will be cleaning our decks today and getting rid of old sunflower seed shells. I'll also be praying that I don't see any more sick birds.
This is our fourth day of rain and I'm really trying to be thankful; but I'm really needing some sunshine. They say it will shine tomorrow. Until then...
Orange Julius is a wonderful treat for the warmer days (or any day for that matter).
It is a family favorite around here and I wanted to share it with you!
Orange Julius
1 can of orange juice concentrate (6 oz if you can find it or just half of the larger one)
1 cup of milk
1 cup of water
1/2 cup sugar
2 or 3 drops of vanilla extract
9 ice cubes
Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until all is mixed well.
Enjoy!!!!
With temperatures in the 70's over the week-end you know where we were... our back porch of course!!! I could hardly wait to get out there on Saturday; but first I had errands to run and groceries to buy. Once all of that was accomplished I got a large stack of devotionals, my Bible, nature journaling books and my North Carolina Bird's field guide and I settled in for a wonderful afternoon in the sunshine. Here are a few highlights from the week-end:
Bethany and I were chatting and she noticed a bird that she hadn't seen before. Her eyes are better than mine so I had to use the binoculars to see it. Sure enough it was a beautiful Cedar Waxwing. A few years ago my friend Ruth called me telling me to grab my binoculars and come over to her house to see some beautiful birds. Her trees were covered with Cedar Waxwings. But I had never seen one in our backyard before. The porch off of our kitchen is very high up and my field guide mentions that Cedar Waxwings like to hang out in the tops of very high trees. So that is how we were blessed to be able to view this lovely bird. Go here to read about the Cedar Waxwing
I noticed a small finch on our railing and it seemed to be in some kind of distress. Samuel walked right up to it and didn't fly away. So I went over and scooped it up to check to see what was wrong. We took it to the front yard so we could sit in the grass with it before we released it. I cleaned it's beak off as it had gunk all over it and then it started chirping. It's right leg didn't seem right either so we prayed for it and considered taking it to the nearby wildlife lady. But it flew up into a tree and finally flew away. When I went back outside to the backporch the same bird was back eating seeds and drinking water. He stayed for most of the afternoon. I tried to reach the wildlife lady and she didn't answer her phone. He eventually flew away and I didn't see him again. What a treat to hold him! We identified this bird as a Pine Sisken,
We enjoyed our first dinner on our backporch in 2009. David grilled burgers (he makes the best burgers) and I made potato salad and baked beans. We had a wonderful time around our table!
While running errands on Saturday I paid a visit to my favorite nursery and bought some violas. Yesterday I planted two containers of violas and have enjoyed the color they add to our backporch.
David is doing a sermon series on the Psalms. Yesterday he was in Psalm 19:1-6. "The heavens are telling of the glory of God: And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; it rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end of them; and there is nothing hidden from its heat." Readers - the heavens are continually declaring what God has made with His almighty hands. His ambition from the beginning has been to reveal Himself to us. How wonderful that the Awesome Creator God desires a personal relationship with us. Draw near to Him today. Marvel at His beautiful creation. He is closer than your very breath and loves you right where you are.
