we usually school year round but in the summer we try to pull back a bit and do a lot more as far as natural science and outdoor-friendly activities. we recently went camping and had a great time taking pictures of all the different bugs and creatures that surrounded us. we would discuss things like species and habitats and what this or that thing would eat. (the mosquito diet was obvious--US!)

we talked about trees and flowers and grasses, birds, insects and all sorts of nature related things. we also talked about camping and outdoor survival, fishing, and canoe use and safety. Love pitched her own tent and took care of all her belongings. we even got some history in while talking about how camping 'began' and what it was like to camp in the past. all in all i'd say it was very fun and very educational!

when we arrived home we were very tired, hungry and itchy. we unpacked and talked about lists and storage and cleaning things and taking care of things right away. laundry and cleaning coolers as well as food and meals and how a menu isn't just for while you're away, you need to include the days preceding and proceeding your trip. a whole lot of general, practical skills that make for a well-rounded lady were reinforced. yay for camping 'field trips'!  

i'll post some pics soon and i'll also show you how well my first ever veggie garden and my flowers are doing! :D

lately we have been doing all we can to keep on track with our schooling so we can get an early start on 9th grade this summer. that means a lot of time at home and a lot of 'nose to the grindstone' time. i'm pushing Love a bit more than i normally would and requiring more from her the closer we get to 9th grade. if i start ramping up now, i'm hoping it will be an easier transition once we start to really have things count and when the requirements for mastery are greater. that's the plan anyway. she's complained a little at times but i know she knows it's necessary. i also know she understands it WILL get harder and i think she's becoming more content with where she's at for the time being.  :) 

Love really has been doing great at trying to stay on task this year. i help her when she needs (and when I can) and when i can't, dad steps in. well, ok, he helps continually with Math and Science. i am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who takes time out of his day to help with school. he doesn't criticize me for not being fluent in those subjects either! he's usually pretty patient and tries to make learning fun for the both of them. it's been a great bonding time and i think they are actually enjoying eachothers company. isn't that sweet?!

Oh my has this last year gone by fast! My little puppy is all grow'd up. (At least she'll stay small.) She's a purebred Mini-Daschund. She loves cuddling, snuggling, hugging, kissing, running, barking at her reflection, jumping, taking walks and car rides, playing keep away, playing with the ferrets, people, sleeping in the sun and chewing her raw hides.  We've trained her to sit, stay, shake, twirl and fetch. She has brought us hours and hours of fun, laughter and love. She is a great blessing to us all and we are so glad to have her as a part of our family.

~Happy Birthday Sweet Puppy!~

So, I've always been intrigued by the 4H club and was always wanting to join but never really had the time or money to add one...more...thing! Some friends joined awhile back and that sparked my interest again. Then even more recently ( last week actually) we decided to jump in and join! We've been to one meeting and one workshop and it's been a lot of fun. Love is really excited about learning more about all sorts of things, but we are starting with horses and photography and then we're adding a communications curriculum as well. I think it will prove to be very interesting indeed! I just got the books and I'm looking forward to going through them w/Kayla. She does have a lot of other things she's working on (Math is a big challenge for her right now), but she says she wants to give it a go.

Sooooooooo, here we go!!!

traci  :)

So, today I occupied my day with cleaning out the cupbaords and rearranging them. Oh does it feel nice to declutter and organize! I wouldn't say all things are in there 'final' spots, but they are much closer than before. Ahhhhhhh..... 

One of the things that prompted this (besides trying to overcome my 'I've-been-meaning-to-do-that' syndrome) was the fact that we, as a couple, not only decided on a dinnerware set we liked (see above pic) but we actually went out and were able to buy it! The whole set of them! Dinner plates, salad plates, creal bowls, coffee cups and...and they all match! This great color goes so well with my newly painted kitchen (pink cupboards and green walls w/antique white trim). They also match the pink accent pieces I've been finding too. Think Depression Era pink and green glass and you'll have the colors I chose to use in my kitchen/dining room. Along with chrome and dark brown woods. I'm trying to keep with the 1950's look of the house (built in 1954). Oh it is coming together so nicely! I never in a million years, nor anyone else who knows me, would have thought I could atually decorate something that looks pretty good and isn't plaid and polka-dots! I was never known for being fashionable or having any sense of style. Ecclectic to the eye-sore extreme was me. I thank the Lord for how far I've come!

I know in the grand scheme of life it doesn't matter, but there's something about having a few 'luxuries' like matching dishes. I am usually pretty thrifty and am not looking to store up treasures here on Earth, but I really like having some nice, new things. I usually scour the clearance aisles and racks looking for things we need and how awesome was it that the set was on sale too! I really like pretty things now, so it's fun when I can have a few pretty things of my own. I feel so very blessed!

ok, so i had a great little post and it kinda got lost...and i don't even remember what i wrote...ok, well, i know i ended it with a little prayer. something like this:

Praying for a great 2008!

traci  :) 

ok, so you'd think that by this age i wouldn't need to do a whole lot in the area of training my daughter, let alone keeping her so close. well, yes...and no. you see, parenting skills have i not of my own, but parenting skills must i learn and make them my own.

when i had my daughter at the tender, naive age of 19, i didn't know what to do or what i was going to do. so, i prayed, went to a church, found the Lord and started a journey toward becoming who Christ intended me to be. it's only been the last few years that i have even really begun to know and understand who that is. i've spent many years climbing to the top of the rubble heap that was my life in order to 'find myself'. i have by no means arrived per se, but i have a much clearer picture to look at and a reference point that is not so clouded. i did not grow up in the way, and it was never modeled for me, of parenting the way God intended--even with the mistakes. so my only references needed to be erased and replaced with those of the Lord and His word and not the ways of man or the world. not as easy to do as it is to say by any stretch of the imagination. i have struggled for many years trying to do what's right in raising my daughter and even though i wish there were 'do-over's' i still press on, trying not to look back and regret.

many prayers and petitions has the Lord heard me cry from the depths of my heart for this child (and me). and because God is Who He says He is, i am who i am today. she is who she is today. yes, there's room for more, much more, but I thank the Lord for what He has done for us thus far. He is so worthy of my most humblest praise. for without Him, we would be as the grass...gone. God be praised!

traci

so, school has been back in session and so far...so great! we have completed most if not all of the subjects and a few extras every day. I am so determined to be better at things this year than ever before-with everything really. I am using a few things to help/encourage me. I just got a copy of Teri Maxwell's Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit and I have been reading a borrowed copy of her Managers of Their Homes (thanks Ali). Along with a few other things from the Maxwell's and my list of 'to get to' books(Charlotte Mason Companion, Shepherding A Child's Heart  , Raising Godly Tomatoes and visiting The Woodshed Message Board, others) and my new Bible devotion time I have been/things have been changing...for the better.

I took the summer 'off' from blogging, people and anything extra with church so I could find a focus for my life and home. I am still discovering what that whole picture is going to look like, but I have a much clearer picture to start with. I think as I go along things will start to define themselves more and more and I will have a firmer foundation to draw from. The key to all of this is building on the cornerstone. My faith in Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior is the beginning point from which all other things must start and flow from. Without that, all is in my own strength and in vain.

I only have a moment to spare as I haven't quite gotten my personal schedule to the point where I can do a whole lot of 'extras' yet. YET. I do plan on coming back around a bit more frequently as I really see this as a tool to grow in and share with. This is a good Christian Homeschool community and I'm so glad to be a part of it!

blessings,

traci  :)