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J9's Native American Picture Writing with Draw Write Now (she also narrated it and took the photo & video)
Posted 4/19/2007 at 1:3 PM
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Please click here (or click here and scroll down to Estares) for updates.
Fundraiser Community Event for our friends - see also this article in a local paper, The Pelican, page 24, (Volume 23, Issue 17, April 20-26, 2007) Posted 4/19/2007 at 11:54 AM
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A Call to Prayer for Virginia Tech Tragedy Other thoughts:
Posted 4/18/2007 at 6:23 PM
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| Cozi.com Shopping List - I read about this in a family magazine and thought I'd try it. The free feature I was most interested in was the one where you can store your shopping list online and if you forget your list while you are at the store, you can call or text message Cozi and it will give you a voice or text message with your shopping list to your cell phone. For whatever reason, sometimes I end up rushing out the door without my list and hope this helps... Posted 4/17/2007 at 10:0 PM
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| A Weird Way to Prepare for Hurricanes - In a quasi home inventory, I started to make a list of favorite homeschool resources we have collected over the years that I would ideally like to either take with us or get replaced in the event of a hurricane or other disaster. Speaking of weather happenings, we have a weather alert emergency radio lantern from Sam's Club hooked up in my bedroom all the time. (Can you tell I've never been in a hurricane before??  , well, we had tsunamis when we lived in Japan, does that count? I've never had to be evacuated though...) The other night it was raining and the alarm kept going off several times in the middle of the night due to "marine warnings". I wish the thing could distinguish between land and marine warnings...I really didn't need to know that I shouldn't be in a boat at 3am...I just want it to tell me when a big hurricane is within 200 miles, so we can jump in the car and start driving to California  ...OK, Ben will want me to stop joking around and saying that...Posted 4/17/2007 at 9:50 PM
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| Recall: Listerine Agent Cool Blue Plaque Detecting Rinse - Thanks to my friend Janet K. from Iwakuni, Japan days for letting us know about this recall. (She and her husband are both dentists, her husband is a Navy dentist). We have a bottle of the Bubble Blast flavor up in our bathroom and didn't know about the recall, so it was helpful info...
Posted 4/17/2007 at 6:31 PM
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| I've been in a bit of a groggy fog today after driving Ben to the airport early this morning at 4:30am. He took a taxi the other morning during the unsuccessful attempt, so he really couldn't do that again. At least he arrived ok this time...It's funny how nothing ever happens when he's around, but as soon as he leaves town, the unusual happens...like J11ds and J7ds were folding laundry in my room, played "baseball" with their (clean) underwear, and somehow J7ds managed to lock all of us out of my room! Fortunately, right before I was going to call Maintenance or someone for help since I couldn't unlock it with a paper clip, J11ds managed to unlock it. Then the "maintenance required" light goes on in the van after we just took it in a couple weeks ago...
Posted 4/16/2007 at 9:58 PM
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| I ran into a homeschooling neighbor at Walmart today and she told me she was shopping for printer ink, lamenting how much ink a homeschooling family needs to use. I was telling her that we have had success with refurbished inks. We bought some at an Amazon.com Marketplace (3rd party seller), TFP International (TFP = The Fine Print). The ink we purchased came out to about $12 including shipping, much cheaper than the $20-30 new price, even from Sam's Club or Costco.
Posted 4/16/2007 at 9:49 PM
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| Ben has an upcoming work-related trip to San Diego. His original flight was cancelled due to severe weather problems in the connecting airport, Dallas/Fort Worth and then the subsequent flights were booked, so after many hours of waiting in the airport and trying for various flights over two days, he will have to depart 3 days later early tomorrow morning.
Posted 4/15/2007 at 9:26 PM
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| I have a heavy heart after hearing about my friend here S.'s husband D.'s medical condition. They are friends we met through Lillian's family and from Perdido Fall Baseball and the homeschool group. They have 3 young children about our kids' ages. D. has been suffering from a rare disease which required him to seek medical treatment at John Hopkins in Maryland. Recently he is experiencing life-threatening and severe complications. He is in the ICU on a ventilator and dialysis. S. is up there with him and the children are here in Pensacola staying with family and friends. Please pray for a miraculous healing for D. and peace for the rest of the family during this time.
Posted 4/15/2007 at 9:13 PM
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Friends from Sigonella, Sicily Days - Last Friday we went to visit our friends from Sigonella days, the Z.'s and also the G.'s who stopped by while on a road trip from Illinois, near St. Louis, MO.
Posted 4/15/2007 at 8:54 PM
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Friends from Sigonella, Sicily Days - Last Friday we went to visit our friends from Sigonella days, the Z.'s and also the G.'s who stopped by while on a road trip from Illinois, near St. Louis, MO.
Posted 4/15/2007 at 8:9 PM
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| Navy widens language bonus program Navy Times article - Thanks to our friend Rich Q. who gave Ben this article.
Posted 4/12/2007 at 10:5 AM
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| Time Magazine 51 Things We Can Do to Save the Environment
Posted 4/11/2007 at 9:46 PM
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Reading to Siblings, a Latin Table Blessing, Pirate Party, and the NFL: This morning the 2 younger Js shared a tender moment when J7ds read to his little bro.
Here is J4ds reciting a table blessing in Latin from a program we are trying to start called Latina Christiana Benedic, Domine, nos et haec tua dona quae de tua largitate sumus sumpturi per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. I bought the program used off of Ebay after borrowing at my friend Lillian's set. It's kind of funny at first because the teacher in the dvd has a southern accent (I think they are from Kentucky), but it really doesn't matter since Latin isn't spoken in everyday speech. We like the way she says "largitate" with a southern accent...kind of like "large-ih-tah-tae"
Last weekend we went to our neighbor's Pirate themed birthday party:
Our friend's (the birthday boy's) grandfather, Edd Hargett played in the NFL (a few decades ago) for the Saints and in college for Texas A & M. Here he is with J4ds.
Posted 4/11/2007 at 1:41 PM
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| Outsourcing a Class or Two - We are looking into some educational options for homeschoolers in our area. One is a weekly "blended school" science program at the local zoo for the older 3 Js in the fall and maybe a couple of online classes for J12ds this summer (writing and keyboarding, and later computer classes). To prepare, I've been filling out reams of forms and paperwork and yesterday we took the kids in for their school physicals and shots. They were real troopers getting their immunizations, nobody cried and later they celebrated with kids meals at Sonics...(was that bribery or positive reinforcement?) We didn't realize before that J7ds had trouble reading the eye chart, so he'll get to visit the optometrist soon. He was actually excited about the possibility of getting glasses, like his big sister...
Posted 4/10/2007 at 10:31 PM
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| Happy Easter! Christ has risen indeed!
Posted 4/8/2007 at 2:40 PM
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| to you
Posted 4/7/2007 at 10:41 PM
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Mark Schultz - Walking Her Home - I was cleaning up in the kitchen today and heard this song on the radio...I think it's about the songwriter's grandparents who were married for 60 years. It reminded me of my parents and especially of Ben's maternal grandparents. Halabuji (sp?) (Grandfather) was so faithful to his wife of many years, even (or especially) during her years of declining health in a nursing home, he would visit her everyday, sing and read to her, and take care of her so joyfully and tenderly...We have friends in CA and it also made me think of Jim's older brother who passed away last week and the brother's wife of 65 years passed away today, just a few days after her husband during the evening after she heard about his death. After I asked Ben to listen to it, we were thinking of other tearjerker songs and this is another one for me, this one about a father and his growing-up daughter: Bob Carlisle - Butterfly Kisses Posted 4/7/2007 at 7:33 PM
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| We have been trying out this program called Joost, free internet TV from the makers of You Tube. We didn't want to promote even more electronic screen use around here by paying for cable and then feeling obligated to watch it, but since this is free, we figured we'd try a National Geographic or other documentaries once in a while...
Posted 4/6/2007 at 2:39 PM
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Time Magazine Article Local vs. Organic - I was thumbing through this Time magazine the other day at the library and enjoyed that issue's last page commentary (sorry I can't find it online at the moment)...The author was mentioning that she wanted to make better consumer choices...that instead of wasting so many fossil foods transporting, for example, bananas from Ecuador, which her family loved, she would substitute them with some locally grown apples. I started to think about that...We also eat a lot of bananas (probably from Ecuador) (J7ds' favorite) and we like red grapes from Chile (esp. the ones from Sam's Club)...but I've been slowly trying to substitute those with Florida oranges  . I'm starting to look at the package labels more carefully...The frozen tilapia I bought from Walmart came from China. Yikes...I suppose the environmentally prudent thing to do would be to TRY to buy locally, when possible and sacrifice/substitute/do without those products from far away...Although I suppose an argument can be made in support of globalization, world trade, etc. Well, of course there will always be some items that are just not available locally-coffee, international foods (e.g. Asian seasonings/spices), etc. I don't think we're ready to forego all of those yet...
Posted 4/6/2007 at 1:22 PM
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Some of the kids were thinking of submitting something for an upcoming Military Appreciation Month Contest coming up. For J7ds' level, he can draw and either copy an existing or make up his own unit insignia logo. He wanted to copy his dad's. (Do you get it? It's a ram, because the program is called RAM, Residency in Aerospace Medicine Photo: L to R, J9dd's drawing, J7ds' drawing, and the real thing. I think J7ds needs to color his in with markers...
Posted 4/6/2007 at 10:21 AM
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When we're up to it, we try to ask the same questions on every birthday. Here are J12's answers: I like to...play video games Mothers are...They read a lot. My favorite food is...pizza. My favorite place is ...home. Daddies are...busy and enjoyable. Today I feel...happy. The best thing about my home is...the electronics. I love to...play computer games. My father...is learning how to fly. My mother...is reading me questions. I wish people wouldn't...interrupt me. (said as J4 starts to be silly and tickle his biggest brother during the interview When I grow up, I...don't know. I wish I could...fly. My favorite song...none. My favorite meal...I already said pizza. My favorite sports...basketball and football My favorite book...I don't know. My favorite movie...I haven't watched any recently. My favorite TV show...We don't get cable. My favorite color...red. Posted 4/4/2007 at 3:58 PM
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| This morning the kids ooh'ed and ahh'ed over these Robert Krampf's Science videos...We tried the one predicting orange slices and it worked! (Ours was 12).
Posted 4/4/2007 at 3:35 PM
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Newsweek Article: US Troops' Last Letters: 'If You're Reading This...' The letter no family wants to receive. I picked up this magazine at the library today. It's a very sobering article and really puts life in perspective... Posted 4/4/2007 at 3:32 PM
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Even though it's a bit early, we had a birthday cake with neighborhood friends this afternoon for J12ds:
Auntie Nancy and family sent J4ds a belated b-day box full of goodies, including a new suit, which he can wear to upcoming cousins' weddings in CA:
Posted 4/3/2007 at 6:52 PM
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Here is J7ds' latest "poker face" or at least eyes!
J4ds likes this Spanish song of colors and vowels from La Clase Divertida (a program we're borrowing from my friend Lillian). He was singing it really loudly like this the other day when we were waiting for our oil change in the waiting room...(The loud, "I know!" is J7ds in the background "talking" to his spelling cd as he's correcting it...)
Posted 4/2/2007 at 11:18 AM
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| Creative Easter Ideas from a Tupperware Director in Madison, WI
Posted 4/1/2007 at 7:29 PM
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Examining Roadkill - On the way home from church this morning, there was a dead opossum in the road and her baby. We turned around and took a photo of them. I found a website where teachers and students study roadkill. Some people even dissect them...I guess we're not quite at that stage yet... Posted 4/1/2007 at 5:6 PM
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| I was reading this newsletter from Family Life and came across this article entitled Guarding Our Daughter's Moral Purity, A Nervous Father Interviews His Daughter's Date by Dennis Rainey. I was trying to imagine Ben having to do this for J9dd in 10 years or so...
Posted 4/1/2007 at 2:57 PM
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My friend Lillian asked me for my recipe...I hope I don't offend any Korean culinary purists with all my short-cuts and easy modifications, but I've included it below, in case you are interested. It was also funny to discover more friends around here than we thought (Lillian, Cary, Susan E.) who actually like kimchi! Chapchae (Vicki's modified super-easy version) (Vermicelli Noodles with Vegetables)
large package of chapchae dang myun or Korean sweet potato vermicelli noodles
sesame oil
sugar
salt
pepper
garlic powder
sesame seeds
soy sauce
onion, chopped
shredded carrots
broccoli slaw mix
Any shredded/diced/chopped veggies
any seafood/meat (shredded/diced/chopped), omit if making vegetarian version
eggs 4-6
1. Boil noodles as directed on package, about 5-10 minutes, until al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water and place in large bowl. Season the noodles: Drizzle a few tablespoonfuls (~4+) of sesame oil until it is mixed in (you can always add more later). Also add sugar (~2 T or to taste) and liberally add salt, pepper, garlic powder, sesame seeds to taste. (Optional: you can use soy sauce in place of some of the salt, but if you use too much it may discolor the noodles and make it too watery).
2. Chop/dice/shred veggies or meat, if necessary. Stir fry them all together in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and garlic powder, until veggies are limp. Scramble eggs, add 1/2 t of sesame oil and a bit of salt, then fry to make a thin sheet, slice. Add cooked veggies/meat/eggs to noodles and mix well. You may need to add more seasonings (sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt, pepper, sugar, garlic powder, etc) to taste.
Note: if you use beef and/or shiitake mushrooms, you may want to marinate them in a teriyaki sauce with a bit of sesame oil before step 2.
You can save time and do both steps 1 and 2 concurrently.
Posted 3/30/2007 at 4:36 PM
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| My friend, Mrs. Zojoandcompany, e-mailed me this info about how to survive a crocodile attack...It could come in handy someday, esp. living in FL...
Posted 3/30/2007 at 3:40 PM
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I was showing the kids some of our old photos from a trip to Naples, Italy and Pompei of real mosaics. They are realizing how intricate and time consuming it is to fill in each space with (in their case) colored eggshells...This project is perfect timing...maybe I can salvage the eggshells from upcoming Easter eggs... Posted 3/30/2007 at 10:0 AM
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| J9dd drew an Arctic coloring book for her baby brother...He must be just a tad spoiled...He wanted another one with fire engines instead... Posted 3/29/2007 at 10:57 AM
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Last night we went fishing (only "caught" some seaweed ) and had sort of a mini-reunion with friends Ben used to work with back in our Camp Pendleton days, 10+ years ago (Lillian and family and Rich Q). We thought Ben was going to be leaving this weekend for a work related trip to Groton, CT (which ended up getting postponed until the fall) so we stuck in a little pre-birthday celebration for J-soon-to-be-12 ds, since we thought "Dad" was going to be away next week... J7ds kind of went crazy with the camera. He took the next one of himself and also the rest of the photos:       Posted 3/29/2007 at 9:51 AM
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 Here's one last mention about the audio book we just finished in the car, Where the Red Fern Grows...One day J9dd came home and drew the tree that gave Billy the inspiration for his dog's names... More Fishing Photos (from another day when we didn't catch anything, except a big, dead jellyfish:     Posted 3/27/2007 at 8:52 AM
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 Unfortunately, this is NOT our puppy...J4ds is with his friend M. and his family's new puppy, Fisher. Sunday March 25, 2007
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 Our Used Books or Items For Sale or Swap (Pre-Moving Sale! Everything Must Go! :-) Knowledge Quest Maps List Of Some Favorite Links  Please visit our family blog at http://www.xanga.com/leebenvic. For security purposes, we recently started replacing our children's names on this blog with more non-descript initials. <BR> J.12.ds = our oldest son, age 12. He likes computer/video games, Basketball, Football, and Lego.<BR> J.9.dd = our only daughter, age 9. She likes drawing, crafts, stuffed animals, and reading.<BR> J.7.ds = our middle son, age 7. He likes photography, animals, bugs, and nature.<BR> J.4.ds = our baby son, age 4. He likes fire trucks, Bob the Builder, enjoys saying hi to people in uniform.<BR> <BR>We'll be in Pensacola, Florida for about 2 years while Ben works on his second residency in Aerospace Medicine (He is also a Family Medicine Physician). Most of our extended family live in Southern CA. After Pensacola, Ben will probably have to be deployed on a ship for 6 months...Hopefully we can be stationed on the West Coast near family while he's away. We are an Asian-American (Ben is originally from South Korea and Vicki's grandparents are from Japan), military (US Navy) family who enjoys anything "children-related", home schooling, Bible study, Tupperware Home Business, attachment parenting, traveling, swimming, camping, fishing, reading, journal writing, scrapbooking, digital photography, computers, casual get-togethers with friends, simple/frugal living, trying different kinds of ethnic food, learning about different cultures, languages, etc. Our current homeschool methods include a somewhat relaxed, Charlotte Mason/Classical style using a mix of resources: Thomas Jefferson Education, Ruth Beechick, Cindy Rushton, Sonlight (for Literature, History), Story of The World (for history by Susan Bauer, author of The Well Trained Mind), Institute for Excellence in Writing IEW (for writing and spelling), BraveWriter.com, Math-U-See, Elementary Apologia Science, Handwriting Without Tears, Start Write, Audio books/cds (Jim Weiss, Classical Kids, Audio Memory, etc.), Tae Kwon Do, Awana, Girl Scouts, swimming, and of course, everyday life learning lessons... Recent Posts
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