Thursday, August 28, 2008 - Little Sparrow
Little Sparrow, frail and small,
Hear your Savior’s call,
Reach out to Him,
Be freed from sin,
His blood covered all.
Little Sparrow, with wings to fly,
Heed your Master’s cry,
Be reborn
Released from scorn,
His love will lift you high
Little Sparrow, leave the nest,
Receive your Father’s best,
Joy and peace
Within your reach,
Your life will be blessed.
Little Sparrow spread the Word,
Let His Song be heard,
Within your heart,
A brand new start,
His Promise is delivered.
Little Sparrow, chosen one,
When your life is done
No more sorrow,
A new tomorrow,
Rejoicing with the Son.
VMD
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Heaven waits
With open Gates
To welcome one and all.
Receive Him in
Released from sin
Simply answer His call.
VMD
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008 - Homeschool Memoirs-Homeschool Agendas
For this week’s Homeschool Memoirs we are to share our 2008-09 homeschool agendas and plans. We have not changed much from my original plan posted July 18, Book Choices. I had forgot to add Vocabulary Cartoons-SAT for my son to the list. Also, after looking over the SOS History for my daughter, I have decided to create some different studies for History. She still wants to do SOS, so she will do both. We have slowing added the ‘extra’ subjects over the past few weeks, easing into a full schedule. This has proved to make the first weeks of school a little more hassle free. I have also begun to score their work a bit different than I had in the past. Instead of checking the work for errors immediately like I had done in the past and having them make corrections right away, they are now correcting their work the following morning before starting that day’s assignments. For some reason I have noticed that less mistakes are made and they have a more positive attitude towards making the corrections. There seems to be a whole lot less arguments and frustrations. Go figure. I always thought it was better to correct everything as we made the mistakes but the way we have been doing it this year seems to be having better results.
I chose most of the books this year after much research and prayer, trying to match the kids’ learning styles with the curriculum. Some things we have been using right along, like Saxon Math, LLTL, Spelling Power and Apologia Science and others are very new, like the Power Glide Spanish, US History Basics, Movies as Literature and Write with the Best (all HS courses).
I have finished entering all their lesson plans for the year into my Homeschool Tracker. While this was originally time consuming, it has made and will make it so much easier to assign the work and keep track of it. So far, so good.
Proverbs 15:22-
Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - Funeral for a Tractor
I am always in awe when I see how my God works in our lives and how He takes all kinds of situations to mold us into who He desires us to be. Case and point:
My husband has been under a great deal of stress with family issues and in his job. His feeling of helplessness to change the situation has led to the frustration in his life spilling over into our basic family life. After having an exceptionally trying week last week there was an incident that could have made him blow his top. He had just begun to mow the lawn while my son was weed-whacking, when all of a sudden, BANG, BANG, BANG! I was inside doing laundry when I heard the racket. I thought he had run over something the dogs or kids had left out hidden in the grass and it had got caught up in the blades. My daughter and I went down to see what had happened. He hadn’t run something over. The motor had caused all that noise. It had a huge crack across the front of the engine and smoke and oil was pouring out of it. We had this lawn tractor for only about 8 years and I was sure that he was going to be upset. But when I looked at him there was a peace about him. After evaluating the situation and pronouncing the thing officially dead, I took my cue from his reaction and I began to ‘sing’ taps. He took his cap off, placed it over his heart and just smiled. There we were in the backyard, paying our last respects to this lawn tractor. As crazy as it was, it kept the situation in perspective. Ok, so now the grass will stay tall for a while until we can replace the thing. No big deal. The dogs love to play hide and seek in it. And, yes, those things aren’t cheap. But what I took away from it was the example he had set for our children. No matter what life throws you, God is in control. It will do no good to throw a fit and rant and rave over things that just happen. It is what it is and it is what you make of it. In that moment of silliness I saw God working in my husband and it was awesome.
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Monday, August 25, 2008 - Blogger Friend School-Giveaway
Blogger Friend School is getting ready to begin again and they are starting the year off with a wonderful giveaway. To celebrate BFS’s 3rd year, they have put together a great Nature homeschool package. It’s easy to enter and you have an opportunity to have multiple entries. I plan to continue participating again this year and invite you join the fun. I have made some wonderful blogger friends this way. I have enrolled in the 2008-2009 Blogger Friend School and am participating in the Back to School Giveaway. I encourage you to do the same. Stop by the Blogger Friend School site, read what it’s all about, and have a blast with all the assignments. I think it is going to be a wonderful year.
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Friday, August 22, 2008 - Flashback Friday- Saturday Afternoons
Kellieann hosts Flashback Fridays. Swing by and join us while we stroll down memory lane.
When I think back over my childhood days, I often remember Saturdays with fondness. Growing up we had only a few TV channels, 3 or 4 I think. There was no cable so whatever signals our antenna on the roof could pull in, that’s what we had. One particular channel was our Saturday afternoon favorite. WVLI, channel 56 from Boston came in like a charm. So, most Saturdays, after doing our chores, I remember settling in, my dad in his chair, my mom reading her book, and we kids, sitting on the floor, waiting for:
Some of you may disagree, but I enjoyed those old monster movies. The good guys always won and it was so surreal, who would take them seriously. Two series of movies were my favorites.
and
I still enjoy a good monster movie every now and then, but today’s movies are way to scary, so I’ll stick with the old ones.
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Thursday, August 21, 2008 - Homeschool Memoirs- All About You
The Homeschool Blog Awards is hosting an interesting meme that a whole lot of people are participating in. It’s called ‘Homeschool Memoirs’ and it looks like it will be fun. For our first assignment we are to tell about our family, our home and ourselves, and how long we’ve been homeschooling and why we decided to homeschool.
Those that stop by here regularly probably know all about us between my posts and tags, but for those that may be new around here, here goes.
I am an over 40, stay-at-home, work-at-home, and school-at-home mother of 3 children. I have a 22-year old son, who is out making his way in the world, a 14-year old son who loves fishing, the outdoors and is currently working on his Boy Scout Eagle Badge, and an 11-year old daughter who enjoys figure skating, Girl Scouts and listening to the Jonas Brothers. I am also a Brownie Girl Scout leader and avid crafter. I have been playing guitar and writing my own songs for over 30 years. I enjoy all kinds of writing and have a few of my copybooks in the Schoolhouse Store. I married my best friend 24 years ago and he is still my best friend today. My husband drives a tanker hauling cryogenic liquid, mostly oxygen and nitrogen. He has been a truck driver for more than 30 years. He has supported me in every endeavor I have ever led him on. 5 years ago, when we begin to notice different things at the school where I was working and my children were attending, it wasn’t a hard decision to make to homeschool. While my younger children and I finished the school year, our oldest son came home to finish his senior year. That was our first step into what has become the best decision we have made. I am passionate about homeschooling. When others ask me about it I am eager to answer their questions and try to equip them with information to help them make the decision that is best for their family. Whether it is homeschool, private school, or public school, I firmly believe that everyone should have the choice and should seek God’s guidance to make that decision. Not everyday runs smoothly. Life has a way of adding to the educational experience in ways I had never imagined. But in this stage of our life I can’t imagine doing anything else any other way.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - Lullaby
Close your eyes, my little one,
Rest your weary mind,
Drift away on clouds of dreams,
Leave this day behind.
Sleep my child in peaceful bliss,
Wrapped up in my love,
Tomorrow soon will be today,
With newness from above.
So let the gentle slumber,
Wash over you tonight,
God’s blessings soon will greet you,
In the morning light.
VMD
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Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - And so it begins...
Today will be a trial run for whether or not the kids will be participating in sports. We have been playing with the team from the school where I used to teach. This year they have re-vamped the school and how they are doing things. Volleyball season will begin soon and they want to get homeschoolers involved again. This year, however, they are having practices for 2 hours 2 days a week in the morning, Tuesday and Thursday, 9-11. While this may be fine for some, we are not so sure it will fit into our schedule. Tuesdays are when the kids have ice-skating from 12-1, so this may pose an academic scheduling challenge. I have basically left the decision in the kids’ hands. They are going to try it out for this week to see how they will work this into their lives along with keeping up with schoolwork and their other activities. They are very aware that academics come first. They know they are not going to be professionals in the sports world, but enjoy playing just the same. While I would love for them to do what they enjoy, they must be willing to put the effort forth needed to make it work. We’ll see how it all turns out, but as for now, so it begins.
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Monday, August 18, 2008 - Tomato Braggin'
I have not had the best of luck this year in my garden. While I have learned to keep weeds to a minimum, the invisible insects seemed to really enjoy the beets, peas, beans and squash I had planted. I just pulled out the last dead remnants of them this week. They went along nicely for so long with lovely flowers and everything, and then WHAM! They were dead. We got a really nice crop of cucumbers, but they too have since succumbed to some unknown pest. The only things that have survived are my son’s banana peppers, the green peppers, which are almost ready for picking, and the tomatoes. And boy, the tomatoes have done beautifully. We are getting a steady ripening and the fruit is beautiful. I wanted to share what I picked the other day because I was delighted to find 3 totally unblemished Beefsteak tomatoes(all be it not to beef-steaky, but nice just the same) and a yummy batch of Jellybean tomatoes. Maybe we will have better luck with the other crops next year, if I can figure out what killed them.
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Friday, August 15, 2008 - Flashback Friday- Birthdays
Kellieann hosts Flashback Fridays. Join the fun and share your favorite memories.
The middle of August is filled with birthdays in our family. Today one of my sisters will be celebrating hers. In this picture she is about 4 months. Check out the adorable matching sailor outfits my brother and I are in. 
Next my sweet sister-in-law has her birthday on Sunday. I just adore her and couldn’t have picked a better SIL if I had tried. She is such a blessing to us. This is such a cute picture of my husband holding his baby sister. 
We have one more special birthday coming up this week. Wednesday, my husband will turn 29, again, for the who knows how many’eth time. The guy never seems to age. He’s just as handsome now as he was then, although a bit taller and thinner and a whole lot more hair.
So Happy Birthday to them all. I love you all very much!
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