In the Spring, we enjoy watching the wide variety of birds that migrate through our part of Oklahoma. These neotropicals are interesting and fun to learn about. The Painted Bunting is one of these that our family has taken a real interest in. We usually spot them where our pasture fence starts at the end of the backyard. Fortunately, the kitchen window looks out over the backyard, pasture, and lake in the distance so I am the one who spots the buntings first. I always keep binoculars on the windowsill so that I can get a closer look and then call the kids to come take a look. The birds are so colorful and are also known as the Mexican Canary. Buntings are in the Finch family and the Painted Bunting winters in South Florida, the Bahamas, Mexico, and Panama (what a life). Is there a particular bird that you and your children enjoy watching?  Blessings, and I hope all you Moms had a wonderful Mother's Day! 

We live in the country and fortunately near another homeschooling family that we have a KONOS coop with. This family takes care of our pets and livestock when we go on overnight trips and we do the same for them when they travel. I watch her children when she and her husband go on dates and vice versa. It has worked out great! When we began this a couple of years ago I noticed a comment that friend would say to her children before leaving, "Be a blessing." I asked her about this after hearing it several times and her reply was convicting and motivating. In a nut shell, she told me that she desired that her children would be a blessing to those around them by being helpful, courteous, considerate, and respectful. Her children are and it is evident that they are taught this at home.

I find it so pleasing when a child opens the door for me or responds with a 'yes, maam' or 'no, maam'. When calling someone on the phone, I find it irritating to have a child pick up the phone and rudely ask who I am or not use good phone manners. Being a blessing is about good manners but also it is about putting others first. It is alarming to me that as christians and homeschoolers I have observed rude behavoir when groups of us get together. Please don't read that I see my children as perfect or that they should be. My gripe is with the parents that sit by watching while the rude behavior is being demonstrated by their children to other children and even adults and nothing is done. Recently, while at a 4H speech competition, an adult friend was remarking to me that he had noticed my seven year old daughter had gotten glasses. He asked if she had been teased yet. I said yes and mentioned the name of the girl (also homeschooled) that had called my daughter a granny twice to her face and how this had bothered my daughter. I honestly did not realize the mother of this child was near and listening. The mother then laughed calling my attention to her and asked with a big smile on her face if I thought she should talk to her daughter about it (her daughter is 11 years old!). I looked at her with a straight face and said that it was not my business to train her child, she as a mother should know what is best for own child. Again, my kids have been rude and hurt other's feelings but I have been diligent to make sure that they tell others that they are sorry when I am aware of the offense. 

I believe that training to treat others with respect begins as soon as a child can talk.  My husband and I have tried to instill the behavior of acknowledging that someone has spoken to you with at least a smile from very early on. We tell them they don't have to carry on a conversation or even give a hug, but that they should respond positively when spoken to. This was harder for my son and until he was three and a half it was a constant battle of wills to keep him from growling at people when they just looked at him. But I believe because of constant training in this area he has finally started responding appropriately. Also he knows what we expect from him because of the consistency of training in good manners. I don't take pride in the positive remarks that we get from diners in restaurants or other businesses. I feel that as a parent I am expected to raise up my child in the way he should go. Nope, they are not angels and here at home sometimes I think how can they be so ugly towards one another.  It is of course a constant battle, but at least we are active in the battle of teaching them to be blessings.

Blessings to you and yours, Julie  

The house is quiet except for the washing machine. Tim has taken the children to town and won't be back till noon. He walked out the door this morning with a smile on his face and said, "I love you and relax." I don't nearly give him enough credit as being a great husband and father. He is though. He is also a fantastic teacher and many times has substituted for me while I had an afternoon of "me" time.  Tim used to be a practicing veterinarian but now teaches veterinarian pathology at our local university. He holds two doctorates and has worked very hard for them. My husband is extremely intelligent and most of what is on my blog in the way of pictures and slideshows is due to his helping me. We've had some "rough spots" but I honestly don't know a couple with more than ten years under their belts that hasn't. So with all that said, I would like to commit to my husband:

more hugs

smiles just for him

less arguing and nagging

more interest in his day

less critical remarks and more praise

to laugh more at his jokes

to pray for him more often

to thank God for him

and the really big one...

to show him more respect

I love you, Tim

You say we are going to work on getting this house cleaned up today and we will not stop until it is completely cleaned up and (gasp) the kids agree. Yes, it is that bad I am embarrased to confess .  Usually, there is unrest in the ranks, lots of groaning, moaning, and resistance. But thankfully, they are on my side and feel the need also to tame this beast that used to be our lovely home. Clean clothes have not been put up for over a week and have piled up on the loveseat, the kitchen countertop is covered with canned goods, an assortment of bills and school papers as well as whatever is hiding beneath these things! The floors are hideous and too bad to even describe (think- dining room floor- underneath kitchen table- after small children have eaten rice, shredded wheat, gloppy jelly sandwiches). Much, much more but I do not  want to horrify bore you with all the details and besides I must go and find the vacuum cleaner. Have a wonderfully clean house day and know that by this evening, we will be back in the land of more organized, sanitized, and saner living. Blessings, Julie

Just wanted to mention that we saw a tornado yesterday evening approximately 4 miles SW of our house. The kids were in the cellar and hubby and I were watching it from the cellar steps. It was strangely surreal because as we were watching it we were listening to the weatherman on the radio down in the cellar describing where it was and who in the area needed to take cover, namely us. We didn't get to watch for long as golfball size hail started raining down on us. Fortunately, no real damage to speak of just a greater appreciation of God's awesome power! 

Wow, it's midafternoon here, windy, and hot. It is Oklahoma after all so the wind is a given. You've heard the song I'm sure. Hubby is going after three more calves this afternoon, one for D2 and the other two for some friends that also participate in the bucket calf project. D1 has named her calf, Rodeo. He is a spunky little thing. Amazingly they are different in temperaments and intelligence. We have had some that are so curious and will watch our every move with interest while others just want to be fed and left alone. And then there are others that don't seem to have a lick of sense. They usually cause the most problems (constantly turning their water buckets over etc...).

Before sitting down to write this, I was in the vegetable garden getting some tomato plants and bell pepper plants staked. The kids were on the other side of the yard jumping on the trampoline. I find working in the garden more pleasant when I can hear the children laughing and getting along with one another and not interrupting me with trivial disputes as just recently happened. Usually I am called to referee these with a long Mooomeeee!!! Sometimes I ignore, hoping they will work it out on their own and I will not have to walk over to the other part of the yard (knowing that I will have to walk back across the yard to resume working on whatever I was 'working on'). But alas they still haven't learned the valuable lesson of conflict resolution. Any help out there for constant bickerring among siblings? It really gets to where it wears me slick. 

Besides our little domestic disputes, all is well here on our forty acres. School is going to go longer than I had planned but I am okay with it and letting the kids take a day off today to enjoy the sunshine and warm day. It seems a bit strange that May is already here, April sped by. I guess our being so busy last month caused it to seem that way. I hope all of you are enjoying Spring, hot Summer temperatures will be here before we know it. Blessings! Julie  

Hubby is on his way home tonight with a five-day-old Holstein bull calf. The calf is for my oldest daughter who will bottle feed it until he is weaned at approximately 10 to 11 weeks old. The next youngest daughter will also get one within the next few weeks. Both girls will show the calves in our county fair this Fall. The calves shown below the playlist are last years calves, Speck and Cupid. They were sold soon after the fair last Fall. The girls are both actively involved in 4H and the program that the girls will be showing in is called the Bucket Calf Project. Children are supposed to purchase their calves in the Spring and raise them throughout the Summer. The child must halter train the calf to lead, journal weekly on the calf's progress, as well as feed the calf and clean it's pen. We have found this program to be such a beneficial and affirming project for the girls. Last year our oldest daughter won the showmanship award in her age group. She was awarded a very nice buckle with a $50.00 cash award. We were all so proud.

There will be times that I will have to remind them to go out and walk their calves or remind them repeatedly that they need to journal, but that too seems to be part of the experience. This is our third year participating and it really does seem like a group effort. We all get attached to the calves and somewhat emotional at the time of sale, but I know the children are all learning a valuable lesson in responsibility. I'll let you know how it goes.  Blessings! Julie  

     We are back from our fun filled vacation and trying to get back into our former routine. I must confess it hasn't been easy for me. The house somehow got so dirty and cluttered while we were gone! I guess staying in hotel rooms where your room has been magically cleaned for you while your'e out and about spoiled me pretty quickly.

     We started in Claremore, Oklahoma with the Will Rogers Museum. My husband is a big fan, but we were all thoroughly impressed with the museum and I would recommend it to anyone passing  through northeastern Oklahoma. Then onward to Branson, Missouri we traveled and arrived at our hotel early enough for the children and hubby to play in the indoor pool. Next morning we went to the Butterfly Palace (a bit pricey, but for me worth it as I love buttertflies) where we saw over a thousand exotic butterflies flying in a large beautifully landscaped room with feeders all over so you could observe the butterflies close-up and even have them land on you. My husband's favorite was the Blue Morpho and mine was the large White Morpho that looked like a tissue being bobbed around the room by someone holding an unseen string. After lunch, we headed out to Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake for a sales presentation on time shares (long groan here and told hubby never again will I waste over two hours of my life willingly being manipulated for a discount on hotel fares, just not worth it for me as I feel we live sooo conservatively year around). 

     Anyway, kids played at the pool when we got back to the hotel and I got to relax a little. Next morning we went to a camp that my husband had worked at as a college student called Kannukuk and toured. It's a wonderful christian camp for both boys and girls that focuses on athletics, christian discipleship, and responsibility. They have a large number of homeschooled children attend and the director and his wife also homeschool. I could possibly see sending our children in the future for a week.  We spent the afternoon at Silver Dollar City riding rollercoasters, walking up hills and down hills, riding more rollercoasters and more walking up and down hills. I enjoyed watching the kids have fun more than anything! After SDC, we went to the Dixie Stampede which is primarily a wild west show with a large meal that you eat with your hands. Sounds odd I know but it was great and we loved it as a family. The whole next day was devoted to SDC and I'm sure you know what that looked like (rides, waiting in lines, amusement park food, kids tired and bickering, adults tired and bickering, need I say more...).  After SDC, we drove over two and a half hours east northeast into the Missouri Ozarks. Now, I'm originally from southwest Oklahoma which is the lower region of the Great Plains and traveling through the Ozarks at 30 and 45 mph speeds because of tight curves and hair pin turns was not easy and I seriously think I wore a place in the carpet of the van where I kept putting on my imaginary brake. 

     Our cabin on the mountain was beautiful and the outside scenery even more beautiful. I think this was my favorite part of the vacation as we got to relax and enjoy God's creation. On our way back we stopped at the Missouri home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and museum. As we walked into the museum, the first thing that I saw was Pa's fiddle and I cried. Silly to some I know, but if you've read all the books I think you would understand. It was the best way to end our vacation for me and well worth the stop. We were all ready to get home and as I said we're still trying to get back into our routine with school. Thanks for your kind comments and well wishes ladies. Blessings, Julie 

     We will be leaving to go on vacation in a few days. After a brief visit with the pastor that married Tim and me, we will be heading toward southwest Missouri. The children are looking forward to Silver Dollar City (an amusement park), husband is looking forward to us staying one night in a cabin on a river, and I am looking forward to no housework, no cooking, and just getting away from the everyday routine. Now normally I am a homebody. I seriously just enjoy being here with my husband and kids more than anything else in the world and this may sound a bit silly but I'm already getting excited about getting back from vacation because we will not have to go anywhere else for a long while. I have many friends that are going all the time and it truly doesn't bother them that much and many that have to go go go or their bored. Not me. Maybe it's just part of getting older or maybe not. I do have a friend that is four years older, homeschools, lives in the country and they are always on the go visiting family, friends, and the children are all actively involved in lessons, clubs, and athletics. So maybe its not the age thing. Maybe it's just me. I am after all a homebody.

I'll get pictures of our Funfest and maybe even a short video and post it when we get back.  Blessings to you! Julie

     I haven't been here at homeschoolblogger long but in the short time that I have been here I have made some very interesting friends! I'm so proud of you all. I mean it, and want to direct others that might stop by this humble little blog to some "real good" reading. First of all, let's start with a good laugh. Corey, at  sixfolks made my husband and I laugh out loud with her March 28th post "Funny".  Need some encouragement about the youth of today? Check out a beautiful young lady at Eyebright, who definitely has her head on straight, and a "bright" future ahead of her. She's got to have a great sense of humor too, check out that avatar! Melissa's blog, melissal89, is pretty to look at and has some inspiring nature lessons and observations (loved the squirrel video). Last and certainly not least, Tirza has a very thought provoking and deeply introspective entry at Queenbrownshuga entitled, Sharing Some Thoughts of My Heart , have tissues ready. So, just had to brag on these ladies and say thanks for being my friend . Of course there are others (blogs that I'm enjoying), and will keep popping in to post comments as I hope you will come by every so often to say howdy (language we use here in OK.).

By the way, the no TV week was a huge success! The kids are celebrating by watching Veggietales right now . We have decided only one television program a day. Well, I'm off to hoe rows in a garden. Seriously!  Blessings to you and yours! Julie 

This is one of my favorite lines in all of literature. Of course many of you know this comes from Frances Hodgson Burnett's, "The Secret Garden".  Sadly, I didn't read this classic until I was an adult and I am now reading it to the children. They love it and we discuss what we've read after every chapter. Even my four-year-old son has been totally captivated by poor, neglected Mary's story. When we got to the part where Mary finds the hidden door to the forbidden garden and lets herself in, he began to jump up and down exclaiming, "She's in the garden! She's in the garden!" 

I think I love this story so much because of the way Mary learns to love others through nurturing "her garden".  I see so much in a garden and can't help but use the analogy of raising a garden with raising children. I mean think about the work that goes into breaking up the soil and amending it so that it produces healthy blooms, vegetables, or fruit. With children it also takes much effort, time, patience, and much prayer to see good fruit. We then must nurture the garden by keeping the weeds out and make sure the garden is well watered. With our children, we must be diligent in training them, loving them, but not over-indulging. It takes such a balance and I am constantly trying to find that balance.

So as we read about Mary and her garden, I am thinking upon my own little garden and where I need to be paying a bit more attention, providing more love or a bit more pruning.  Another line from this story that I love is,  "In the garden", and that is where I am. I am in my garden, tending my blooms, looking ever so earnestly to the Master Gardener for wisdom and strength to keep my garden nurtured and healthy.   Blessings!  Julie

That"s right, no Curious George, no Arthur, and no Super Why. That also means no March Madness (college basketball championship tournament) and no This Old House as well as Antiques Roadshow. Whew! I depend on these shows to keep people occupied so that I can get things done without being interrupted. But, the kids have gotten to the point that they are arguing over who gets to watch what and when, which is driving this old school marm nutty! So I've put a ban on the TV in hopes of more harmony in the household and more time for my hubby and I to spend together. He was all for it BTW.

The little cherubs are out in the pasture now catching butterflies and grasshoppers with their butterfly nets and popping each poor creature in their bug boxes. Pre-TV ban they would have been sitting on their behinds watching Curious George at this time. So they are getting exercise and studying God's creation (P.E. & Science). What more could I ask for?  Of course most of this was written tounge in cheek, we were watching too much television and schoolwork was starting to suffer and I didn't want just one more distatraction so eliminating TV for one week seemed the simplest. Actually, it hasn't been missed that much thus far - We"ll see how it goes. Blessings! Julie