If you are breathing you are aware of the state of our economy in the U.S., and I'm sure everyone is feeling the effects of it in some way or another.

 Hard times are here and getting harder, how are we going to prepare our children? Are not their futures going go to be even more of challenge? If you think that by just having a college degree is going to get them through, think again. (It will help certain individuals, that's true, but it is NOT the answer to  their survival in the coming generation.) 

Paranoid? A bit off the wall?? Yes, I guess there are people that will describe my views in those words. But you know what? I don't care, my purpose in posting this on hsblogger is to hopefully help others begin to think along the lines of what they really need to be concerned with as hsing parents.

As much as academics are important, they aren't the end all. I'd rather be lost in the forest with someone that has survival skills, than with someone  whose only experience with fire is their gas grill, or the only thing they can knot is a tie!

Americans are NOT exempt from all the horrible things happening throughout the world.  To think otherwise is just foolish.

As we are preparing for a new academic year in the Fall, I've changed our prospective completely.  Yes, I still have a senior taking 2 college courses at the university, and a middle schooler who will be taking some freshman classses.  However, that is NOT our final goal, nor will it consume every last thought and action throughout the coming year. As my grandmother used to say,"we've much bigger fish to fry". 

We've always worked on giving our children the truth as it is, not as a fairytale existance that too many parents try to create for the children. Why do that? It only helps to cripple them in ways we as parents will regret.  Children need to be "protected" from the ugly things, not the REAL things.  I hope others join me in my conviction that we as hsing parents have a great responsibility  to raise our children to be prepared to think and act quickly and intelligently in all situations, without a sense of "entitlement" to anything.

Make the most of each oppurtunity that life gives each day.

Hey everyone,

I'm so glad a couple of you commented on my last post. You deserve recognition, you've done well!

My oldest dd is driving when she can, and of course I'm the nervous mom, having her call me when she leaves anywhere. I'm not ready for her to go outside our little town though, so I am being a little over protective. Can you blame me?!

We are getting ready to go to the beach!, yea, I can't wait, I'm such a beach person more so than the mountains.  I'm going to refresh myself while there and enjoy the beauty of the ocean and thank God he gave us such a restful place to commune with him. I really think that if we live our lives so busy we can't see what God has put out there in front of us, we're wasting our lives. It's not meant to be spent  wasted on daily worrying and such. Now if only I can remember that and put it into practice "after" the summer break. ;/   

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer break so far and I'll catch up on everyone's blogs when I get back.  You all are a terrific bunch of people.

Blessings to all.

Hey everyone,

It's been a while for me since my last entry. As I've said many times before, life happens and time just flies.

My oldest dd turned 16 the other day, and up until her b-day, we were running here and there getting her drivers class completed, dual enrolled in the university for the Fall, and preparing her for the DL test.  In fact most of Spring revolved around getting things in order for her.  Her SAT scores came back, she did really well, and we were able to get her into the classes, time and days, we both were hoping for.  She got her license and of course is ready to ride away in the sunset! Okay, not really, but she is willing to "go for" to pick up anything! LOL

Do you remember those days too??  Also, she has a couple of boys interested in taking her on a date.  For our family, the rule is dating is allowed after the boy comes over for dinner and can make good eye contact, great conversation, has at least a 4.0 GPA, drives a newer vehicle, participates in church, brings a letter of reference from his youth pastor and the senior pastor.

I'm just kidding, but that's what we want to do, or my dh will just be cleaning the ol' shotgun when the lad comes to the door! LOL

Don't get me wrong, all the these changes have their place on the excitement scale, but for me, this has been probably more challenging than when she was a toddler!   I feel like that commercial, "Life comes at you fast", BAM!  

It's not that I'm one of those people that refuse to let her children grow and go, I was "teen shocked" for lack of a better term, and let me tell those of you that don't have teens yet, they will wear you out, more than any child experience so far. 

Kids might keep you young, but teens add grey hairs, extra pounds, and a huge dent in the wallet.  But you know what? I wouldn't change a thing about the last 3 months.  I'm proud of my dd's and love them very much, they're pretty neat people to know, and I'm loving to see some of the fruits of my labor.

I'll be lounging by the pool without guilt for a few days, (okay, it's a small pool, but it will do!), and giving myself a much needed pat on the back. I've done a good job so far and am proud to announce it.

You too, need to congratulate yourself, why not?  Every year teachers all around the country are given recognition, and we deserve to have some for ourselves. I think the best thing we can do IS recognize we've done a terrific job.  Academics aside, just raising our children is enough for a standing O. 

I hope everyone had a terrific day with their dads and husbands.

p.s., leave me a comment praising something you did that you are patting yourself on the back for doing. 

In case you haven't guessed, (look at my avatar), I love the beach, ocean, seashells, anything having to do with the beach.  I used to live in Florida( for 24 yrs), and not too far from the ocean. At times we were only 5 min. from the beach, at other times 25-30 minutes.  In Florida, March is the "kick off" month to start heading to the beach to work on the summer tan.  Of course all year round is a great time for the beach since it rarely gets or stays cold down there.  I love the beach!

With all that being said, we moved from Fl. by choice to the beautiful foothill mountains of SC.  Talk about a change of life!  Don't get me wrong, the mountians are amazing and make for a wonderful landscape of scenery even in the winter months, however, this time of year(summer), has me longing to spend some time at the seashore.  I even have a lot of seashells, starfish, and beachy themes throughout my house. This of course adds to my desire to be sitting somewhere on the beach with my toes in the sand watching the waves as they lazily come in and go out.  Beachcombing is also one of my favorite passtimes at the beach.  My largest nicnac collection is anything I've retrieved from the ocean.  There's nothing like finding a whole sand dollar, starfish, conchshell, or coming across a tidepool that contains these majestic creatures.  I know, majestic is usually reserved for mountians, canyon vistas, etc., but in my mind, shells and the like are a sight to behold. 

Just writing about the beach I can taste the salt  air on my lips, feel the balmy ocean breeze gently brushing my skin, hear the song that only the ocean knows how to sing with a chorus of seagulls in the background echoing it's rhythm.  Falling asleep to and waking up with the ocean in front of you is something to be experienced at least some time in ones life time. 

Although we love where we live now and appreciate all that nature has to offer in her lush green hillsides with towering Oaks, Magnolias, and Pines, my most treasured place to recoup, relax, and regroup is at the beach.  So until I can get there this summer,(and I will ), I will bask in the memories of the pleasures that only the seashore has to offer!

I can't believe summer is here!  What a great time of year even if we don't slow down too much anymore.  I love being outside and with warmer weather my family is out a lot.

Family time is the most precious to me since I know each day is a memory in the making and I want to make sure they're mostly good.  This time of year we're always busy planning family outings, time with friends and of course vacation! 

I love meeting new people and I think it must run in the family, since all of us are constantly meeting someone new. I met an interesting lady while waiting on my dd to finish with a class the other day and come to find out she has hsed all of her dc at some point in their school years.  (You never know who you'll meet just by saying hello to someone!)  At the same time dd met her dd in the class.  We all exchanged info and plan to meet up again. Whether you call that networking or just being friendly, we all should try to be more open when we're out, since we never know when we may meet a new friend.

Today my youngest dd and I had the blessing to teach Sunday School class to the little ones. What a blast! I love working with little children and I think my dd has that gift also.  Sometimes we are more blessed helping in the church than just sitting in the church, I sure was!

Since it's been a busy couple of weeks here, I'm keeping this short, I want to stop by my on-line friends and say hello. I hope everyone is having a good start to summer and life is going a little easier for all.

p.s., as for the Subway apology, I think it was out of pressure, not sincerity.  All hsing families could use excersice equipment too, plus being the friendly types we all are, of course we'd share with plenty of other children.  Just my 2cents. I'm still not eating there, imho the damage has been done, and it's a business not a person, so I don't feel abliged to let it pass.

I recieved the following info with the links regarding Subway's writing contest for elementary age children from a home school info group I am signed up through. Although I no longer have children in those grades, since we are homeschoolers, I did go to the main site(first link), and sent them an e-mail letting them no we will no longer patronize their business. It would be nice if homeschoolers from around the country voiced their opinion on this matter to the company. If a lot of homeschoolers do this, they should get the message.

Also, their $5 footlong is NOT worth patronizing them for until they stop discrimination against homeschoolers. I really hope you join me in protesting this biased restriction against homeschoolers and pass this along to other homeschoolers.

MESSAGE:

http://www.subway. com/subwayroot/ index.aspx

http://www.subwayfr eshbuzz.com/ kids/contest. aspx

At the bottom of the page you will see this paragraph

"Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with
children in either
elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home
schools will be
accepted."

# # #
--
Susan Ledford, Editor
Homeschool Resources Directory
Listowner

First I'd like to let everyone know that our pup is doing much better and should completely recover in a few more weeks. Thanks for your comments on this.

Then believe it or not I was looking for my lost pic and documents files on my hard drive and much to my amazement I actually found some of them!  I will keep searching for the other missing pics and docs and I think I can find those too.

Okay, so why the "revision" title?? Well, the post I had up for a while today covered the above but the big deal about that one was I had stated that we were considering sending our youngest dd to school next year, but weren't sure what to do.  I do not like schools and this goes against my normal train of thought, but I wanted to express it publicly, reread it and contemplate the enormity of what I'd written. 

I'm the type to solve a problem head on, search for answers immediately, and basically be pro-active in a conflict.  So in a span of about 3-4 hours since that orginal post, I spent a lot of time considering where I should begin my quest in finding some facts about both hsing and public school, as in going in the system from homeschool. Of course I know the difference and should be able to snap these answers off without thinking, and I probably would have done so if I'd been discussing the pros of hsing verses public school with someone else. However being the very reflective person I am,  I took pause, a very long pause to answer this. 

I've been scouring websites for ideas, suggestions, or anything dealing with this issue and I stumbled across a few good sites I'd never visited before.  One of them has a ton of links to send away for free educational materials, albeit not your ordinary "school books". These are informational materials that are a great rescource using as a curriculum.  (I have to stop here for a minute to let you know that one of the things I mentioned in the phatom post was the cost of curriculum, and hsing in general). The owner of the site also has some famous quotes sprinkled throughout this data base.  As I was reading through I came across the following quote and it hit me like a ton of bricks!

"It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts...............it is to teach them to think." Robert Hutchins

Well can you guess where that put me with my internal debate?  Is sending my dd off to a place that is all about grinding a lot of useless facts into her mind, stripping her of imagination, self esteem, and basically having her "taught" by other 8th graders, basically taking away her individuality worth it in the end?? No, I don't think so, and all it took was the one little quote to jarr me back to reality!  

We still have issues that need to be resolved as every family does, but I'm excited to tell you the phantom post was a "vent" for me, a way to really mirror my thoughts and if someone did happen to read it, that's alright and maybe it will let them know that they're not alone when they have those doubts and start to consider putting their child back in school. That is normal!  What's not normal is to put them back in out of frustration, burnout, or just plain boredom.  Look for encouragement from others, websites, books, blogs or anything that will help you start to refocus.  If you are meant to homeschool your children, the desire will come back, maybe not in a day or maybe not even in a  week, but it will return. 

One thing I am going to stop doing is not reading hs magazine articles that make me feel inadequate in any way.   If it's not lifting me up why read it?

People can be a storm on your picnic too, so I'm going to avoid those people as much as possible.

That's just some of the things that I've come up with to help encourage myself. Of course prayer first, but we need to put action to that most of the time, so like the Nike commercial says," Just Do It"!

Well thanks so much for listening to the" deep confessions of a homeschooling mom".  Hmmm, I think I may start another blog by that title................I'll let you know!

 Check out the freebie queens website(take some of it with a grain of salt ) @

http://www.educationalfreebiequeen.info/id8.html   

Hope all are having a great week so far.

I've had a very trying week, from last Friday to this Friday, it's definitley been a test of patience for me. However, I'm not so sure I've "passed" with flying colors but I have survived a trying week.

Last Friday my tiny 5 lb. chihuahua was visciously attacked by 4 dogs and we weren't sure if he was going to live. Thank God and a neighbor near by  he did survive after being in the vet hospital for a while and a lot of recovery(still in progress) at home.

On Wednesday my computer crashed, need I say more??? I was just starting to relax from the dog ordeal, then bam!, there goes the computer. I don't know about you, but I totally go nuts when something goes wrong with my computer, and not being a techie the panic sets in full force.  However, this problem was resolved after staying  up an entire night completely restoring my computer to it's orginal state.  I ended up losing all of my pictures and documents , having to reinstall every software program etc. . Phew!!! How much can one take in a week??  Of course losing my pics (4 yrs. of my family's lives to be exact!), is what I'm so upset about, why didn't I back all of them up???    If I can find an expert on computers, I think they may be able to extract those pics and documents from somewhere deep inside the hard drive. But for now I'll have to wait on that, techies do not come cheap!   

I'm very happy and feel blessed that in the end each situation has been resolved( or is in the process anyway), although not exactly as I would have predicted, but isn't that the way life goes?   You're going along in life things are calm, routine as usual, then here comes trouble. When it rains it pours, but in the end I appreciate the rainy seasons of life, they make me appreciate the good things, and what's really important in the end.  Maybe I'm not the easy going gal I like to say I am in all situations, but I do bounce back really quick and I like to think that every trial I go through(even at my age), will help me through the next big hurdle that comes my way.   My dad likes to remind me when I'm experiencing tough times that I've climbed bigger mountains, and he's right!

Oh yea, in case you are wondering, I am no Polly Anna!!! I  really do bounce back quickly!!

So if you're going through something big or small (they all seem like big deals while you're going through it, right?), hang on, get through it the best you can, thank God for being with you through all things and know that "this too shall pass".

I hope everyone has a great weekend, we're having a yardsale tomorrow,(Sat.), then I'm taking a break!

Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"!

Since I'm updating my blog(the best I know how!), I've changed my playlist. Check it out  I'm sure there is a song for almost everyone, from a clip of "The old rugged cross", the full version of Mary  Mary's, "Shackles", a fun Randy Travis song, and even Kutless!  Yes, they all have a "story" that I could tell to go with each, but I did say no more memory lane entries! LOL  (did I promise??)  Anyway, I hope you enjoy listening.

Here's a couple pics of the "real" me with my dh, and dd's. Taken this past Sunday. So if you were wondering if you knew me, here's the time to erase all doubt! LOL

Here's what I found in a kindly reply to my e-mail to the leaders:  Apparently, the co-op leaders feel justified in their pricing, claiming they pay their instructors, (no mention of credentialed or not), $30.00 a class. However, I was also told they do not pay for the use of their building.    I was also told "not to judge" before asking questions and what they do is a ministry.

I was very tempted to reply and point out that Jesus never once charged for his teaching, but I decided to leave it alone.  Instead this is what has been on my mind all day:

  Maybe I need to  take a long look at myself and wonder if I'm in some way holding out, being a tad on the selfish side when it comes to helping others in the name of God, be it with homeschooling, or any other area God is speaking to me about.  Funny how something that starts as an outrage against others turns to a reflection of ones self!

"Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have." 2 Corinthians 8:11

I have just had a tremendous shock at something I read. While checking updates for next years co-ops and events in my area I learned that a local co-op pricing for middle and highschool classes far out charge the local community colleges! 

As I stated before in a previous blog, I like to plan next school years schedule(roughly!), ahead of time and I was planning to have my youngest dd attend a couple of co-op classes. So imagine my suprise at seeing each class is $200.00, plus purchasing the teachers manual and student book, plus a $75.00 registration fee!!!  The textbooks are pricey (as we all know too well), and when it's all said and done, my youngest dd's classes would cost more than my oldest dd that is going to attend the community college for a couple of classes.

Am I over reacting? I guess if you are in a high income tax bracket it would seem so, but I am not, as most homeschoolers I know sacrifice financially to be able to homeschool. 

Since I was so disappointed in these high prices, I decided to send an e-mail to the person in charge expressing my opinion on their prices.  Was I trying to get into the classes at a cheaper price? No, I just get so tired of our kind(homeschoolers), being taken advantage of. In my opinion, I think that those that try to make their profit offering homeschooling help, whether it be from books, seminars, classes, etc. and charge beyond what is reasonable for most, then they may need to rethink their initial purpose in starting out.  Homeschooling for profit is not and should not be a "get rich quick" scheme. I know that most people that are in the homeschooling for profit business do mean well and price according to what their overhead is, and to those I say thank you.

But for a class that meets once or twice a week, and gauges people in the wallet, well, it's just not where I can put my money. I know this a "rant" type post, and I'll try not to make this a habit, it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Thanks for listening. On the good side, my mother's day was relaxing, and our last day of school is Wed.!  So, God is good, and life goes on, I know that through prayer I will be led to whatever activities, classes, materials, etc. that we are supposed to do.  In  His time, not on mine.

This week is going by so quickly, we're planning a garage sale in two weeks and there's so much to be done before hand. Going through everything deciding what to give up and what to keep, all the pricing and sorting, phew, that's a big job. Thankfully, both of my dd's are almost finished with their lessons for the year, so I have them to help me with this task.

Throw in running errands, putting up volleyball net, playing volleyball, taking dd's to  some activities, visiting with friends and still adding little details to my "new look" room, I'm ready for a quiet Mothers day.

I don't want to go out to eat, (too crowded), and I do not cook or clean or anything on Mothers day, since it's the only true "holiday" for a mom! I just refuse to do one thing I don't want to do on that day, so of course it is my favorite day of the year! LOL(my own dear mother lives out of state, so I will call her and my favorite aunt, but this day is truely to be relished as a ME day!)

After church Sunday I plan to leisurely browse through three magazines that have come in the mail this past week that I haven't even cracked open for a tiny peak, so that's what I'll be doing. What about lunch/dinner? It doesn't really matter, peanut butter will do  just fine as long as someone else makes it for me!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

For those of you that were curious as to what my room actually looks like, here's a glimps of what I've done so far.  The top pic is the cake I created for my dd's 13th bday. It's a pair of jeans in case you're wondering. I'm not an expert but I do like to have fun with "creating" things.

Sorry about the huge pics, I'm not sure what happened on the upload.

For some of us that take the summer off from hsing,(at least in the traditional sense), the time is getting closer.  Personally I'm ready for a long break. There's so much to wrap up this time of year with portfolios and paper work going to the umbrella school or homeschool association that it can get a bit overwhelming. If you're like me your already scouting for next years curriculum and co-ops, etc.  Although there so much going on in the homeschool department that much needed break is on the near horizon. For us it's in a few short weeks! Yea! 

What do I do help me through this last minute crunch? Besides prayer, a lot it, I like to take time in my day to read some great homeschool magazines and books.  Here's a few of my recommendations:

1. The Old Schoolhouse Mag. (even the older issues are encouraging.)

2. Homeschool Enrichment Mag. This comes every month and full of ideas, encouragement, and activities along with some great educational info to sprinkle in your curriculum.

3. I Saw the Angel in the Marble, by Chris and Elleyn Davis. This is absolutely the best homeschool book yet. They  used to have the Elijah Co., but now their website is www.homeschoolmarketplace.com   you can order this book from there. Buy it used if you can find it. I personally will not give mine up permentaly. I lend it out on occassion, but when I get it back, I'm tearing up the pages again like it's my first time reading it. You have to get this book! (no I'm not being paid to say that).

4. http://home-educate.com/unschooling/index.shtml  This is a website with tons of encouraging articles. Take the time to read through some, you just may get a different perspective on homeschooling??

5. The link online homeschool magazine. I'm not sure of the website, but easy to find if you google it. They'll send you a monthly newsletter with everything from curriculum ideas, crafts and homeschool news.

That's my top 5 and I enjoy going to these rescources to recoup and gather my thoughts. Of course the best course of action is to get in a quiet place(okay, I know that's really hard to do, but it can be done), spend some time in prayer being thankful for the oppurtunity to be able to homeschool(even if finances are tight, if you're homeschooling, God is providing!), and then ask God what direction he'd have each child to take. Keep a notebook and pen handy. If you pray believing, the answers do come!

Let's all hang in there and know that break is on it's way!

I didn't want to use time flys, so I did my own spin on that over used phrase.

Time is flying by though for me and my family. We've had an extremely busy weekend that has overflowed into our week. In case you don't know, I don't like to be really busy with too many things on my plate, but that's life sometimes. 

I've been painting my bedroom all day long and need  to finish up tomorrow. My youngest dd is turning 13 on Thursday, so I have a cake to bake, banners to hang, and plan the special day for dd.  Since hers(between my two dc anyway), is the only birthday that falls during our "school" year, I mark that day off as a holiday and we take the day off and do whatever she would like(within reason, of course  )during the day while dh is at work.  Sounds uncomplicated doesn't it? Well unless you have a 13 yr. old, drama queen, you would be suprised at how complicated this birthday outing is to plan for.  Oh, don't get me wrong, my dd isn't a spoiled little girl that has to have her way or else, (we don't go there in my family!), it's just that for me adjusting to having teenager #2 come along so quickly is a shock to my momma system.  This birthday for dd, there will not be gifts to unwrap, at her request, instead, she wants to go shopping! That's it, no big fanfare, no request for a cell phone, dvd's, cd's, just a little shopping trip.  I was just getting used to her not playing with dolls, which of course has been some time for that even.

Dh and I could have told her no to this birthday request, but we decided to do this since this is a turning point birthday for her and us!  We did manage to sneak one little item that she'll unwrap that she doesn't know about, and I can't tell you what it is, since she sometimes reads my blog! LOL

Flying time??? You bet, and I'm just trying to keep up. 

Btw, in case you're curious, my bedroom color isn't too far off from this green! I had no idea it would be so bright, but since I spent the $$ to buy it,(why didn't I just buy the inexpensive "oops" paint in a nice demur blue?? ) I'm finishing the job and just plan to turn the room into a beach retreat at home for me and dh. What else can I say, when life hands you a lemon,,,, or my case a lime..................................... maybe pics to follow??? Let me get used to it first, I may be wearing my sunglasses inside for a few days or 100!! LOL

Thanks to all that have stopped by to comment, I enjoy reading everyones comments and your blogs too.

I've been playing around with this avatar trying to get my background pic in, I think I have it!

These avatars are a fun way to express your personal style.  The background I chose is a street market.  When I have my choice, I'd much rather be outside surrounded by all different sorts of people, places and experiences. You never know what will happen when you're at one of those.  The smell of a bakery, coffee shop, and all the visual stimuli of the colorful shops full of arts and crafts are just too hard for me to resist.  The local mall just cannot compare to an outside market for a great day of  window shopping and people watching.  I always meet some interesting folks along the way too! 

The clothes my avatar  is wearing is normally what I would wear to the street market and in my hand you'll find me with a delicious smoothie or iced coffee.  (okay, so that's not a treat that I get often and that's fine, but sometimes I'll have just enough "mad" money to splurge on something like that).  

About the real me:  my name of course is not mumumomma, LOL, and no, it's not in reference to a cow. As much as I like those bovine beauties, I really don't think being compared to one is the best compliment out of the entire animal kingdom a girl could get.   So, my blog name is just something I made up after recieving  a mumu as a gag gift. The type you see (usually) elderly ladies wearing around.  I tease my dd's and tell them I may wear this out when I'm with them.  It's great fun to see them panic at that thought sometimes!  So when deciding what blog name to use on here, that just came to mind and it stuck.   BTW, I must admit I did wear the mumu around my house one evening(curtains drawn tight of course), and it was comfortable, but I don't think I'm ready to toss the jeans just yet!     I'm known by my friends as Michelle, as this "is" my birth name, but I'm sort of getting used to this mumumomma name, and will file this away in my list of "grandma" names I may want my (waaaay in the future), grandkids to call me.

Hope you enjoyed that little tid-bit about me, but enough about me, what's  your story?

Below is an article I recieved today from the Alliance for Seperation of School and State. I'm choosing to blog this, with their permission of course, because I feel so strongly about this issue.  There is a strong argument that if there weren't public funded schools what would "fill in the blank" part of society do with their children?  My personal response to this is: they would have to start parenting!  Take responsibility for their own families and quit being so "me" involved.  Most people get themselves into their own sticky situation, i.e. marry the bad boy that they know won't stick around, live by their selfish desires and feelings of wanting more, etc. 

Are those harsh words? Maybe, but I  have  myself  been faced with personal tragedy and difficult times.  I've made it and my family has made it, so I do know what I'm talking about and am well aware of the implications of doing away with state funded schooling.  I do not feel that my family should be legally robbed(property taxes) nor elderly folks that need that money taken away by  forced tax that goes to public schools, that money should be able to go to each family for their own needs. Charity is not charity when it is forced.  Below is the article:

Special Interest Groups Love Compulsory Schooling

I'm playing around this evening trying to figure out some of the html stuff for myself. My oldest dd is the one that has been helping me, but right now I'm on my own.

So I've added some pics to the right of my blog(I hope!), to help me tell a story and I'm offering a tempting pie recipe!

The Raggedy Ann dolls with red hair I had recently won in a drawing here in my little town. I had forgotten all about entering this, so I was pleasantly suprised when I was notified that I had won. These cute dolls were handmade by a local doll maker.

The yellow haired Raggedy Ann and Andy were also handmade, but many, many years ago. My special aunt had them made for me when I was very young. Although they are special to me they had been banished to the "keepsake box" for quite a few years since it's been that long since my own dd's have played with them.

When I won the new dolls I was curious as the similarities and differences in each set, so I freed the yellow haired raggedy's from their airtight prison and placed them side by side for comparison. Yep, as you can very well tell, there are noticable differences.  Does Little Red Riding Hood's voice come to mind?? "Grandma, what big eyes you have!" LOL 

While the new dolls are adorable and I'm happy to have won such a carefully handcrafted prize,(the little girl in me was so excited!), the yellow haired couple pulls at my heart strings remembering the time when I recieved each doll within the same year from my aunt.  I love this aunt dearly, and I'm happy to say that yes, she's still alive but we haven't seen eachother in a few years since we're seperated by location and various circumstances have kept either of us from being able to visit.   We do talk on the phone quite a bit, and now that I've pulled these dolls out, it will give me wonderful story to tell her about my new dolls and reminisce with her about our wonderful times we've shared and time she gave those dolls to me.  I will tell her again how much I love her and just how special she is to me. 

Some may look at my dolls and see just a couple of old rag dolls, I look at them and see the great times I shared with my special aunt. 

Changing gears, you have to try this authentic Florida Key Lime pie.  This was first time I've ever attempted to make my own  key lime pie from scratch.  It will rival any Key Lime pie you can get in Florida.  As a former Floridian, I speak of what I know, if you love Key lime pie, you have to try this for yourself. 

Disclaimer: this is not my recipe, I found this at www.allrecipes.com  submitted by: Marion McWhorter

The graham cracker crust is easy to make, but if you're not sure how, just google graham cracker crust for exact measurements.  grahams, butter, sugar.  Or you could cheat and buy the premade kind, but your children will have fun crushing the grahams for you, or you might have fun crushing them.

FLORIDA KEY LIME PIE:
2 (8oz.)packages creamcheese softened, 2 (14oz.) cans sweetened condensed milk, 3/4 c. keylime juice, 1 tsp.grated lime zest,

In large bowl, whip creamcheese until fluffy, add condensed milk,lime juice, lime rind and salt. Whip until mixture is smooth. Pour into graham cracker crust , cover w/ plastic wrap and chill thoroughly.

Mmmm, mmmm,mmmmm    (this recipe also comes with directions for making the whipped topping, but since I didn't make it for mine, and that's a fairly basic recipe anyway, I didn't include it. This pie tastes wonderful without anyting extra. As you can see from my picture, I did top w/ lime wedges. I chose to put mine into a square pan so we could have smaller pieces by cutting into squares! (some one push the easy button on that note! LOL)

Btw, for those of you that I've mentioned to about droping some lbs. on your blog, while this is what I'm working on and I realize key lime pie is just about the death of any diet,  I had control over portion size! One good thing about this dessert is it's just too rich to have too much of.  And it freezes well too!

Speaking of diets, I've mentioned starting a diet blog, if I start one will anyone else be interested in participating?  If so, hurry up and make that pie, eat a piece while considering it then let me know. LOL

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity for my family. The weekends are the norm for more activety than during the week for us, so this in itself is not unusual.  What was different this weekend? My youngest daughter attended her first dance. She's ending her 7th grade this year and was able to attend our homeschool associations annual Spring Dance.  It was a bitter sweet moment for me as I looked at my "baby" all dressed up, looking more grown up than I've ever seen her.  She was stunning, and my feelings were mixed between a sadness that she's no longer a little girl, and a pride at how lovely she has become, not just on the outside but who she's becoming inwardly.

Of course, both of my daughters are beautiful and God gifted and I'm proud of both of them.  But there is something about realizing your "baby" is no longer a baby!  I know that the growing is not over spiritually and intellectuallty, but the time has come for me to let her start to make the more difficult decisions that a teen has to make, and be there for support.

My oldest daughter is at a new season in her life as well.  She is outgoing, ambitious, God loving, kind and fun.  As she'll be entering her last year of highschool in the Fall, and attending college for dual credit next year, along with driving and working a part time job, I'm happy that I've been blessed to help her into the young woman she's become.  I know she has growing left to do as well, but she's on the right track and so far has made wise choices in friendships and how she chooses to spend her time.   She has a wide variety of friends both at the church and with in the homeschool community as well as volunteer experience in our local community as a whole.

There's always going to be times when I do need to step in and and "veto" some decisions they make or want to make, but over all I believe that giving them wings are the best way to parent.  There is a Proverb that tells us(parents), not to provoke our children to wrath.  So I strongly believe that even though it's hard sometimes to let them make their own mistakes, for them to be able to grow we have to lighten the reigns, trust God and our training we've given them thus far, and let them start to shoot out on their own.   I've never believed in keeping children on a tight chain (for lack of a better expression), as this will only cause unnecessary rebellion.  Raise them right while they are little, and they will want to do right when they get older.

All of this isn't to say my children won't ever cause me a heartache, (I think that goes with being a parent at some point), but I know I'll always love  them regardless.  As this weekend has been the first of many firsts to come , I'm looking forward to what lays ahead for our relationship as mother and daughter, and watching both grow into whom they are meant to become as adults. I'm happy to be a part of these wonderful people's lives.