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Providing field guides, binoculars, blank books for nature journals, and your enthusiasm will help tremendously in nature studies. Reading stories of how others have studied nature is encouraging too. We have a family of Eastern Phoebes who have built a nest under our porch. My daughter, Anna, loves observing them and photographing them. She spent a long time trying to get pictures of them. She watched them make a nest then saw the eggs they laid. She was excited to see the eggs hatch. Now she sees the mom and dad feeding the babies. She hopes to see them learn to fly. The prettiest bird we have seen this spring is the Summer Tanager. Its bright red color is easy to spot. Its call is loud and clear. We thought it was funny when the Tanager in our yard answered the call of the Tanager we were listening to on our computer. |
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Mark and I had a weekend away last weekend and it was very nice. We delivered a table Mark built to a family in South Carolina and we stopped on the way back in Pigeon Forge, TN. We rented a cabin there.We had wanted to do that for our 25th wedding anniversary but it never happened so this was our 26 and 1/2 anniversary getaway( our anniversary is in July).  We enjoyed the beautiful view of the Smokey Mountains from our log cabin. The cabin was cozy and nicely decorated. It's funny though, Mark and I were commenting on how our home was more isolated than the cabin. It was kind of like being in a subdivision. We didn't actually see any of our "neighbors" but we heard them driving by.    Not to be critical of our whole weekend... it really was nice to get away... but we didn't care for Pigeon Forge. It was SO CROWDED. Maybe we have been in our little, one stop light town too long. It didn't help that there was a "Rod Run" weekend while we were there. This is where tons of hot rod cars come to town to drive around in circles, clogging up traffic for hours.(At least that is what it looked like they were doing) I didn't see the attraction. I did enjoy shopping all day Saturday. I am not sure Mark "enjoyed" it but he was sure a good husband about it. We wanted to go hiking that day but it was rainy so since I needed a dress for the wedding, we shopped. I found the dress I needed so that is one more thing to mark off my wedding to do list. I teased and said, " We shopped till Mark dropped." He was tired by the time I finally found my dress. Of course, Mark had driven 12 hours the day before, so he had a right to be tired. On Friday we had driven through Maggie Valley, NC and the Smokey Mountains on our trip from SC to Pigeon Forge. It had some beautiful views. We thought driving through the mountains would be nice after being on the interstate all day. And since we have lived in KY for almost 9 years we are used to curvy roads. Well, we have never been on that curvy of roads before. I was just glad none of my girls were with us in the back of the van or they would have been throwing up. It was interesting driving into Cherokee, NC. You are on these two lane windy roads and all a sudden there is this 15 story hotel and casino. It is starting to look like you are on the outskirts of a big city then you are back on little two lane roads again. Weird. My husband was so nice to give us a weekend away. It was relaxing and we got lots of talking time. We got to eat out a lot, which was a treat. I even got a Chick-fil-a sandwich twice! (the closest Chick-fil-a to us is about 2 hours away) We listened to a couple of John MacArthur's sermon CD's. His CD on "Seeing God's Purpose in Your Trials" and "God's Purpose in Our Pain" are excellent! My girls did an excellent job of holding down the fort while we were gone. They took care of Anna and Grandad all weekend. It was nice to getaway and nice to get home. |
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I have some friends and family who are going through a hard time. As I was reading Romans 8:28-29, I wrote this poem which I added music to. My daughter, Elizabeth, helped me with the music. I love to sing, but I don't play any instruments. I sat at the piano for a long time pecking around to find a melody to go with the poem. music is to just pull out her guitar and start strumming and singing. She has written several very good songs this way. I know the tune could have been more creative. My girls didn't like the tune but I wanted it to be something anyone could sing and something easy to sing. It isn't about the tune anyway, it is about the words. It is my heart's desire to be conformed to His image. I don't always like the journey to that conformity. It does help me when I have struggles to remember that He is using this difficult thing in my life for my good and then I am able to thank Him for the trial. So, here is the song I wrote and after it is the link to
Conformed to His Image (see Romans 8:28-29) by Pam True This difficult time That we're going through All of the pain For me and for you God’s using to mold us To make us like Him Conformed to His image As I yield to His plan Chorus: Yes! Conformed to His image Till all can see The heart of the Savior Is beating in me (Verse 2 )God is working things Together for me Things for my good Just wait and you'll see He’s going to mold me To make me like Him Conformed to His image As I yield to His plan Elizabeth singing this song:
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 Hingle Family I know that a couple of other ladies have blogged about this but I wanted to tell about the Hingle family too. They have been some of our best friends since we moved to KY almost 9 years ago. They have kids my girls ages so we see them weekly. Three of my girls work at their Cafe on the Square in Columbia, KY. (If you are in Columbia don't miss it. The food is great and the service is good too.)They just opened in January 2008.   Cafe on the Square in Columbia, KYThis is a precious family who loves the Lord. They have 12 children, six boys and six girls. They are one of the most hospitable families you will EVER meet. Not a week goes by that they don't invite someone over to their home.
The Hingles are having a rough time right now. The father of the family, Steve, has cancer, lymphoma. He was also recently hospitalized with double pneumonia and sepsis. Please pray for them: for healing for Steve and strength for the rest of the family. Also, pray for them as they have big medical bills and no insurance. Steve was in the hospital for over two weeks. Their hospital bill is huge not including the doctors, radiology, etc.
To take the burden off Ellen (the Hingle mom) and the kids, I am collecting the money and we will deposit it in an account for them. When Ellen isn't taking care of Steve, she spends a lot of her time working on keeping their Cafe on the Square open and running. The kids are busy at the cafe and keeping the house in order and meals cooked. They are all doing a great job, but they don't need anything else to have to keep up with.
If you are interested in giving contact me at
or you can contact Misti Konsavage at
Thank you so much!
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My last blog was about the accident my daughter, Grace had in her Nana's car. Read the previous blog for that. Now we have more to be thankful for. Grace's accident happened on Monday morning. By the afternoon the insurance adjuster was there. That was fast! We live in a little town but we do have about 5 used car dealers. I started looking on Monday for a car to replace the one Grace wrecked, assuming it was going to be totaled. I looked at different dealers throughout the week but I didn't see anything that would be what Nana needed. Nana only wanted a car with a gear shift on the steering column. That is hard to find. One of the car dealers said he was going to an auction and would look for one for us. By Thursday the insurance company said the car was totaled and they would have a check for us on Friday. Also, on Thursday I went looking for a car again. Grace and I had been to most of the car dealers. I just thought there wasn't one in our town for her. We had other errands to run and Grace asked if I wanted to stop by this one other dealer. I wasn't sure they had used cars but I figured it wouldn't hurt to stop. Not only did they sell used cars they had a car almost exactly like the one that was wrecked. It was an '02 Buick Century Custom. The one Nana had before was an '03 Buick Century. I explained to the car salesman that I was looking at the car for my mother-in-law. He asked if I lived in Burkesville. I said I did and he asked if I wanted to drive the car home and let her look at it. He said I could bring the car back the next day. ( Only in a little town! He didn't even ask to see my driver's license) This car was in excellent condition inside and out. It looked new! It was in the price range of what she was going to get from the insurance claim too. So, I drove the car home. Mark took his mom for ride in it and she drove it some. Mark thought it sounded good and the motor looked good. Nana liked it and I loved it. On Friday after getting the car checked out by a mechanic and picking up the insurance check, we went to the dealership and made the deal. Nana got her car and still had a little left over from her insurance check. All this happened from Monday to Friday!! We didn't have to go out of town to look for cars for hours and hours. The nearest other dealerships are at least 45 minutes away. So even though the wreck was not something we would ever want to happen, we see how good the Lord has been to us this week. He kept Grace safe. He caused the insurance company to act quickly. He provided a great car in our town. Oh, and they had just received that car on the car lot that day! Thanking the Lord, again.  The new Buick Century '02. What color would you call that? |
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Today we are very thankful for the Lord's protection of Grace. It could have turned out so differently. Grace had a wreck on the way to work in her grandmother's car. Grace was shaken up but not hurt. She had just turned on to our main road going up the hill. She was only going 30 or 40mph. It was a straight part of the road and here in KY there aren't many straight stretches on these country roads. She isn't sure what happened. She looked down for a second and ran off the road at a place where there isn't a shoulder, I mean NO shoulder. She went off the road side swiping a telephone pole. The pole probably kept her from rolling the car. She hit it at the front fender and it raked down the whole passenger side. It messed up the hood, cracked the windshield, took out both windows,and messed up both passenger side doors. Mark and the towing guy both thought they would total it. She landed in a gully several feet off the road. They had to pull the car out. We are thankful that Grace was O K. Thankful that she was still close to home. Thankful that Mark was home. Thankful that no one was with her. Glass was all over the passenger side. Thankful that the car had collision insurance on it. It is scary to think we could be at the hospital or worse right now. Grace doesn't know why she was looking down but it was a hard way to learn a lesson ( and expensive). We made sure all the girls saw it. Mom's warn your kids about paying attention while they drive. If you drop something let it go. Don't mess with the CD player or radio while you drive. I have heard that some kids text message while they drive. Don't do it. Please pay attention! One other thing. Give your kids a hug . I hate to think I could have lost one of my girls today.  The car in the gully. You can't really tell it, but the bank was steep. You can see the telephone pole she hit. That's the sheriff on the road. The telephone pole The smashed car being towed out. |
 Me ready for the slopesI survived the ski trip!! None of our group had any broken bones or anything. It was a great day for skiing and we had a great time. I really enjoyed skiing. I didn't have much instruction but I watched others and got a few pointers from people. The main thing I learned early on is how to stop, snow plow. The first couple of trips down the bunny slopes were scary but I finally caught on. I only fell a couple of times. My 10 year old daughter, Anna, made me feel bad. She went down the bunny slopes twice and moved on to the ski lift and bigger slopes. I stayed on the bunny slopes a lot longer than that. Finally I graduated to the big slopes. I waited to ride up with someone who knew what to do on the ski lift. At the top of a big slope I stood there wondering if I could make it down without majorly hurting myself. It looked a lot bigger from the top than from the bottom. I wasn't too sure about going down but they won't let you ride the ski lift down. There was no choice but to try it. I did it! It was so much fun and it felt great to fly down the hill with the wind in your face. I skied for about 3 hours before I stopped for lunch and then just walked around taking pictures of others in our group. Since the slopes are spread out I hadn't seen much my girls. I found them and took some pictures then watched the crazy snow boarders for a while.  Elizabeth H and Anna Anna flying down the slopesIt was a very fun day and well worth the trip. Maybe I will make that my annual birthday trip.  On the way home I survived another first. This was just as scary as standing at the top of the big slope. First a little background.. in Feb.2000 I had a stroke like thing happen -kind of like a TIA but they called it an RIND ( Reversible Ischemic Neurological Deficit). It was scary but I recovered with no problems. Then in June of the same year, I was driving in Atlanta ( a scary place to drive on a good day) and I felt faint and weird again. I was o.k .but since then I have times when it really bothers me to drive, especially on interstates. So back to the story.... We had ridden up with the Hingles in their big van. On the way home Ellen Hingle got very tired while driving. (On the way up her son had helped drive but the big kids stayed longer skiing than we did.) So Ellen is very tired and I am the one who needs to help. I need to help drive Ellen's 15 passenger van, an hour north of Lexington, at night, on the interstate, I 75. I have never driven anything bigger than a 12 passenger before. So as I see Ellen drooping more and more and I am praying for a way out of this more and more, I realize this is a test, a trial. I told Ellen I would drive. The whole van is full of kids and everyone is sleeping. I am driving this unfamiliar, huge van through Lexington on I 75 at night and praying -lots and lots of praying. After a while, I felt God's peace and was actually able to thank Him for the trial. I thanked God for having to drive this big van on the interstate in the dark and most of all for His peace in the midst of it. It was even cooler than coming down that big slope on snow skis! |
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We have been busy around here with wedding plans. Grace finally found her dress. It is so hard to find a modest wedding dress now. She wound up getting a bridesmaids dress in white. Now we just have to work on making the other girl's bridesmaid's dresses. I will be glad when that is done. I haven't even looked for a dress for myself yet. I am waiting until the summer things come out. Guys can get a suit and wear it to all the weddings. Not fair! Grace has chosen coral as her bridesmaid's dress color. I don't know what color dress I can get to match that and I don't look good in any color close to coral. I was bemoaning the fact the other day that I will never get to be the mother of the groom. Maybe it will get easier with each girl though..... I can dream can't I? At least with this wedding we have had more time to get things done. I know it seems like a long wait to Jordan and Grace but it is just about the right amount of time to get everything accomplished without feeling rushed. In other news... I am going snow skiing tomorrow. I may regret it but I am going. I know 50 , almost 51, is not a good age to take up snow skiing but it is better than, say, ski diving. I wouldn't be trying it except Anna really wants to go and I need to be with her. She hears the other girls coming home from their skiing/snowboarding trips excitedly telling all about it. She wants to go and get some tales of her own. I think she will catch on quickly. She is pretty athletic. I, on the other hand, may not catch on quickly. I can water ski so maybe I will like snow skiing. I will let you know when I get back... if I survive. I hear they have a nice lodge where I can sit if I don't like it. One other thing... I am speaking Thursday at a Mom to Mom meeting on courtship. After the meeting I will post my notes on here. |
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Wow! when I look at other people's blogs I wonder how they find time to write so often. Maybe it's because they don't have to share the computer with as many people as I do, especially older kids and a husband who does business on the internet. I have been trying to write out my blogs in a notebook and then type them in but that's not working. Guess I could get up earlier, no that won't work... Mark gets up at 4:45AM. Guess I could stay up later, no that won't work either...the girls stay up late. Maybe I could ask for a lap top for my up coming birthday. Yeah, right. I think I already spent my birthday money , if not, I have a mother of the bride dress to spend it on. Oh, well, I guess I will just have to wait for opportunities like today. Mark and the older girls are at work. Anna is happily playing outside with a neighbor. I'm sure the family won't mind if supper is a little late, and the house is a little messy, at least they can have the computer when they get home. |
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After writing about my quirky habits, I thought I would expand on one of them, my nature collections. Since I was little I have enjoyed taking nature hikes in the woods or on the beach. I like to bring things home that I find along the way. I haven't always kept my collections displayed neatly but I am trying to do better. Nature collecting can be educational and fun. The kids don't think of it as school, usually.We pick things up as we hike, then take them home to identify and display. The kids usually catch my enthusiasm. I say usually, because there will always be those in a family who are more interested in nature than others. It is a good time to talk about the Lord and what a wonderful creator He is. One of my favorite collections is our wildflower collection. This collection isn't displayed in my house. We have taken pictures of them and pressed some of them, but mostly we have just identified them and transplanted them around our land. We have identified over 150. I have tried to display my other collections in shadow type frames. I usually find these at thrift stores or yard sales. I know you can get them at hobby type stores and maybe at Walmart. I hot glue the items to the back of the frame. My seashells I hot glued to a round piece of particle board. There are lots of neat ways to display things. In case you are wondering, most of these collections are in our living room. The ocean type things are in my bathroom. Here are some Indian artifacts from our land:  Arrowheads from our land  Fossils from our land and nearby creeks  Nests, fossils, antlers rocks, arrowheads and a skull  sea shells and sand dollars  Horseshoe crab, shells ,and sand dollars  fossils and rocks outside on our porch  Turtle shells my girls painted to look like quilts. We didn't kill the turtles, we just found the shells on our land. It was my neighbors idea to paint them.It is fun to do.  This is not really a collection but this is how we displayed an animal skeleton that we dissected out of an owl pellet.One of my girls and I hot glued it on card stock and framed it. Some of my girls think it is gross ( since it came from an owl pellet) but I thought it was neat.  and last... a collection we don't really want to add to... rattlesnake rattlers killed near our land. I know my friend Meg will love this one.  |
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I was tagged by Christy The rules for this meme are: (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website. I will attempt to do this: 1-I hate math! Not just a little...I don't even like to add and subtract in my checkbook. 2- I love sports, especially football and volleyball. I love to play, not just watch these sports. Now, I can still play these, but sometimes I don't because it isn't worth the soreness I will feel the next day. 3- I like to collect nature things (fossils, rocks, animal skulls, antlers, nests, sea shells, sand dollars) If you have been to my house you have seen these. I am sure some folks think they are my girl's collections but no, they are mine. 4-Blue is my favorite color. I will choose it for everything- home decorating, clothes, everything 5-I love to read. It is almost an obsession, if I am not careful. My idea of a great day is a good book, a few magazines, and time to read. I couldn't think of anymore so I asked my family for #6 6- I like to fold corners of paper and I like to doodle when I am on the phone. One daughter said I am a passionate doodler. I guess I didn't realize it was that bad. Now you know more about me. Since I am new here I don't have anyone to link to.
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I know I'm not really losing my girls but sometimes it feels that way. It seems I just got finished training the older girls. I had a few years when I could sit back, if I wanted to, and everything still got done with the house- meals and dishes done, laundry done, bread made, house cleaned...everything. Now, I did still help, usually with more organizational things or deep cleaning jobs, but I could leave home for a week and not worry about it. Then about 2 years ago Lydia got married. One big helper, and a good one, GONE. So one gone, four helpers still here, well 3 1/4 helpers here. ( Anna is in training and Elizabeth is not fully trained) Next, Grace gets engaged and is gone to SD for weeks at a time. She will be leaving permanently in June. Some friends open a coffee shop and need help so she is working there now too when she isn't in SD. Then Miriam graduates and starts teaching piano and guitar. Her schedule isn't too busy until she also starts working at the coffee shop. Of course Elizabeth wants to work at the coffee shop too. She also helps with a neighbor's kids 2 mornings a week ( she and Grace switch with helping) So it's Anna and me holding down the fort. And I am just figuring out that Anna's training is not up to par. I thought I had taught her the difference between tsp and Tbsp , guess not. What else did I leave out? We'll find out , I 'm sure. I really don't think it's fair parents spend 15-20 years training our kids and then they leave. It should be mandatory that they live with us until they are say... 30 or so. That would give us payback for the years of training we put in. Really I am glad to see my girls grow up, meet godly young men and get married, and find jobs they enjoy. The main problem really isn't that I want them home to work and clean. I really do remember how to do that! The problem is I miss them. They are my friends and we have fun together. We enjoy being together. I miss them. |
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Below is a devotional from Miles J Stanford in his series None But the Hungry Heart. My husband, Mark, and I have read them off and on for years. This year at Christmas we got the girls one, Lydia and Quinton one , and one for Jordan. The devotionals are set up for a year's worth of reading. We challenged the girls ( and boys ) to read them each day and to think and pray. This series is deep and not always easy reading like some devotional books can be. Miles quotes some of the best authors on Christian growth. (I would also recommend his book ,The Green Letters.)
"Blessed are they that . . . seek Him with the whole heart" (Psalm 119:2). Once the Holy Spirit instills within our hearts the hunger for God's very best, all must and will become secondary to this supreme goal: " . . .the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14). Our puny, worthless all exchanged for the One who is All in all! "For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen" (Romans 11:36) . "A sage of India was asked by a young man how he could find God. For some time the sage gave no answer, but one evening he asked the youth to come and bathe with him in the river. While there he gripped him suddenly and held his head under the water until he was nearly drowned. When he released him the sage asked him: 'What did you want most when you were under the water?' 'A breath of air,' he replied. To which the sage answered, 'When you want God as you wanted the breath of air, you will find Him.'" -G.G. "Every Christian will become at last what his desires have made him. We are all the sum total of our hungers. The great saints have all had thirsting hearts. Their cry has been, 'My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God....' Their longing after God all but consumed them; it propelled them onward and upward to heights toward which less ardent believers look with and entertain no hope of reaching." "For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Psalm 107:9)
(This devotional series can be read online . Look up Hungry Heart Devotional by Miles J Stanford. I haven't learned how to put the link in yet) I pray this year that we each would have a heart hungry for the Lord. I know our lives get busy and we don't always take time each day to sit at His feet. I pray we would make the time, that we would have such a hunger that we have to spend time with Him. Not I, but Christ, Pam |
 I guess you could say I am a veteran homeschooler. I have always homeschooled my girls. I am in my 18th year of homeschooling. Wow ! that sounds like a long time.Three of my girls have graduated so I only have two students left to teach. Let me introduce my family...My oldest daughter, Lydia, 22 is married to Quinton Carpenter ( a homeschool alumni) and lives in TN. The next in line is Grace, she is 21 and engaged to Jordan Cutler( homeschool alumni). They will be married in June and live in far away South Dakota. Nineteen year old,Miriam, is my third graduate. She has around 20 piano and guitar students. Elizabeth is 16 and only has a year and a half of schooling left. She loves to sing and play guitar. Anna is my last student. She is 10 and loves the outdoors and horses.  My girls and QuintonI have a hard working husband, Mark, who works in town at a hardware store and has a woodworking business. He builds sturdy tables for large families and beautiful heirloom quality hope chests. ( kyhillswood.com and kyhillscedar.com) He built me a beautiful unique quarter-sawn sycamore and walnut table this summer. I love having a table with leaves in it for when family or company visit. Before I write more I want to try posting this and see how the pictures do. I sure appreciate Misti helping me learn to do the blogging stuff. |
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Ok this is the third time I am trying this and probably the last. I keep hitting something that deletes all that I have written. So instead of the nice long blog I was going to do, I will just write this short note to see if I can get it on without deleting it. After a home school mom's meeting where I was one of the only ones without a blog , I caved in to peer pressure and am attempting a blog. Thanks to Misti ( raising sweet savages), Christy ( imasharp) and Shari ( ebergs) for their encouragement. |