Sep. 28, 2009 - A Yucky Start - with an Energizing End!
Sonlight!
We are all over the place this week... We are working off of weeks 5 and 6 schedules - Antarctica and Japan for the most part.
Alexis was sick again in the beginning of this past week with a bad cold, and we also had a field trip that took the entire day Friday. My goal for this next week is to try and get her back to the normal SL schedule - whichever week that turns out to be...
Math is getting a little harder, so she is slowing down a bit with it. I am still happy we are only using SL Language Arts. I have not yet felt the need to use our additional LA resources (Rod and Staff) that I had purchased at a used curriculum sale, "just in case." Science is going well too. I'm glad we are using Dinah Zikes Great Science Adventures to go with Sonlight's Core 5 science books. It is a good fit for us.
Last week I mentioned that I had checked out and started watching "Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey" from Netflix. Alexis thankfully did not seem interested in watching it, so I viewed it on my own. It took forever for me to carve the time out of my life to finish seeing this, as it is 290 minutes in length, (that is just Part 1,) and I rarely watch TV anyway. I was able to take some time yesterday evening to see the rest of the documentary.
Alexis not wanting to see it truly ended up being a God thing. There were some - let's just say, bare, scenes. That was not something I wanted her to see, but believe it or not, this is not what disturbed me the most. What was hard/painful for me to process was to see how unreached many of these islanders were, and I am certain, still are. Sadly, the brothers who produced the film spent a decade island hopping and embracing many of the religious cultures they filmed. I was stunned to view the evil forces present in these areas. I don't think I've ever felt such raw emotion about a cultural presentation before. It has given me a new found respect and perspective for missionaries who work so hard to share the Truth of Jesus to such sad lost people. I am in awe of what they are willing to do for His kingdom, as what they face is unadulterated evil in the most grievous sense. There is one particular religion represented in the film that presents itself to today's Americans as "peaceful" and "harmless." After seeing this film, (again one which the brothers who produced it in what they would consider a positive light,) I can truly say that this particular doctrine (calling it a religion bothers me) is anything but peaceful and harmless. (Not that I agreed with it's philosophy in anyway before,) I just have never witnessed the demonic forces behind this belief with my own eyes before. I am glad I watched it, and probably will see the 2nd dvd - later. But, I will not allow Alexis to view it. At least not for another 5 years or so...
In addition to school, we had our 3rd week of co-op. Alexis is having fun with that, and will miss it when we take a break. It is nice to visit with many of the moms there. Some I only get to see while co-op's are in session.
Keeper's is going well too. Another mom has taken over setting up the badge schedlue for moms and girls. I am slowly backing out of my leadership responsibility there, as my Home Educators group leadership responsibilty has increased somewhat. The girls are working on their scrapbooking badge. Alexis has done this before, but it was a little different. The first time around, the girls focused on their photo and decoration presentation. This time the emphasis is on journaling.
We had a great field trip experience last week. Alexis said it was her favorite field trip ever! It was fun, and unexpectedly, I participated too! (One of the families who had signed up did not go, so there was an extra mom ticket.)
Originally I planned to sign up to go too, but the mom in charge of the field trip sent this You Tube video of what the field trip experience would be like before I registered, so I chickened out and did not add my name to the list. After we got there, I regained my confidence in tree climbing and went for it. We had a blast!!! The video is only Coure #1. Our trip included the 2nd course, which was higher in the trees, and a more challenging course with an extra zip line.
Here are some photos from our day:
Happy little friends looking forward to a fun day!
Alexis during "Instruction" time.
2nd part of the 1st Course
Me - before I started out.
1st part of the 1st course.
Alexis walking the tight rope. A UPS truck drove under her feet just as she was
at the 1/2 way point of this section. That was a Kodak moment missed!
Zip Line
Alexis moving her cables from section to section.
Course #2
Course #2 for me too!
Continuing on... Almost finished!
Last Zip Line! Yeah!!!
After this, Alexis, one of her friends, and I went to Cracker Barrell for lunch. I was so very glad to have my feet on the ground - sitting in air conditioning! 
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Sep. 20, 2009 - Happenings at our House
We are on week 5 of Sonlight Core 5. We should have been on 7, but got behind, (see previous posts and you can easily figure out why.)
The Eastern Hemisphere Explorer is going well, we both really like it. The spectrum of facts and interesting trivia is wide - holding Alexis' interest well. I think one of the keys to keeping her content with it is that I don't let things get to the point of frustration for her. If she can't find an answer to a question it poses, I have her skip it. Then she goes back at the end to look for her answer once more. If she can't find it then, we look it up by 'googling' it or go to the answer key. I bolded "we" because I believe it is important that I do this with her, hopefully narrowing down sites to look at - helping her to find her answers faster.
Last week for a writing assignment, Alexis used the World Book to look some information up on the kangaroo mouse. (Unrelated to the EHE.) It was kind of funny because she was quite surprised to see that WB had information about an interest she was pursuing. It was one of those light-bulb moments.
The reading and history assignments are enjoyable right now, and are much more manageable then in the 1st few weeks.
So far, Alexis really likes Core 5's Language Arts assignments - and looks forward to them. I am thrilled about this! Writing is one of our main goals to focus on for improvement this year, and SL's Core 5 LA program is certainly centered on writing assignments. As I laid out Alexis' school schedule on paper back in late July and early August, I became quite concerned with the quantity of writing assignments this LA program has. I forced myself to calm down as I looked further and saw that these were quick assignments - not long drag outs. I also remined myself that I am in control of Alexis' schedule and can adapt if need be. Much to my happy surprise, however, she has exceeded my expectations, and is doing an absolutely wonder job! I am loving Core 5 LA!
We've seen lots of Netflix movies over the last several weeks:
Right now I have checked out - Ring of Fire - It was released in 2003, and seems a bit dated, but still quite interesting. For some reason Alexis hasn't taken to it. Some of the island cultures have oddities that I am not quite ready to explain to her - so I haven't pushed her to watch it.
For fun we saw Kangaroo Jack - I'm sure to many it would be considered twaddle. There is one scene that I wish we had fast forwarded through. I saw it coming, but just couldn't fathom that what I was afraid would happen would really happen.
Sigh... it did... Yes it was twaddle, over the top corny, but in a strange way, if they had cut this one scene, (okay maybe more than 1, but especially this one!!) it was sort of a fun movie to see.The Silver Stallion was another movie we viewed. It was okay, though it was not one of our favorites. There was a lot of 'mother earth' talk in in (for lack of better words.) I am curious to know if the early (though for some, somewhat current) beliefs of the Aboriginees spilled over into what would be considered the western culture of Australia? Or, has this belief always been a part of all in this region? This film was released in 1993 - before so much of our western culture regarded the earth as the source of all animate and inanimate things.
We also watched Discovery Atlas Australia Revealed - Russell Crowe narrates it. This was one of our favorites. Though again, like the movie above the cultural views saddens me.
Australia the Beautiful - was good. It has breathtaking scenery, and unique information about this great country's unique wildlife.
Other things happening...
Alexis had a fun field trip! The students took an art class and learned about printing using a special linoleum tile, paper and ink.
Here are a couple of photos - not real great, but they were taken on my phone, as I forgot my camera!
Aside from all of Alexis' school stuff... David (son) is getting settled with school. We miss him very much, but are so proud of all of his accomplishments. He is working at the college this year in a work study program. In addition to this, David just got a "real" job at a lovely church - working with the youth!
Sometime before he finished his sophmore year, David decided that he would like to take some classes to explore the possibility of pursuing a minor in Student Ministry. (His majors are Political Science and Communications.) Since he graduated from VBS in the 5th grade - David has been involved in student ministries of all sorts. Much of the time it has been helping me with my Sunday School classes, or the church with VBS, or various other venues including some great programs he worked with during school last year - but it all has been an amazing and blessed opportunity to watch him grow spiritually and deepen his commitment to the Lord. I am excitedly anticipating what else He has in store for my boy!
Amanda is doing great! She is working so hard - and still has 2 jobs. One of them has lots of baked goods that are served fresh daily, so on the nights that she closes, if no one comes to pick foods up to take to charitable orginazations, she is able to bring goodies home, as they would otherwise go in the trash. She and her sister have enjoyed every bit of that - Amanda has even taken yummy foods to her grandmother. In addition to that, she was kind enough to bring some extras home for me to share with some of the homeschool moms at a meeting. I hope everyone enjoyed!
School is going well for Amanda, and she expects to be able to stay on schedule for the rest of the year. (The college she is attending anticipated that it should take students 2 1/2 years to do the work she is trying to complete in 2 years.) Right now she needs to begin to try to firm things up for the college she will be attending next year. Time is flying fast!
One of the other leadership moms in our homeschool group and I conducted a workshop last Monday night. She did hers on portfolios, and I did mine on Sue Patrick's Workbox System. It has been an invaluable orgizational tool for me and Alexis both - one which I began sometime before our last school year ended. It's kind of funny--- I almost did not start right back up with it as Alexis began school this year, but she actually encouraged me to fill the boxes. As I began working with it again, it became clear to me how much the system was helping us. So much so, that I thought it could benefit other moms in our homeschool support group. I happily volunteered to do this workshop, then as it got closer, I began to feel a bit inferior - since I am a homeschool mom of 1 - teaching a group of homeschool moms of many. Thankfully, my sweet friend Leslie took time out of her busy life to give me some tips about how to use the Workbox System with multiple students, and shared about some of the many things she adds to her children's boxes. She gave me great ideas and encouragement. My presentation went well - and I am so pleased that I had the opportunity to share this great system with my homeschool group's moms.
In addition to Leslie's help, Sue Patrick, when I e-mailed her to ask a question, generously offered to send me some hand outs and an outline that helped me to cover important points in my presentation. It was very kind of her to do this, and more! I hope everyone will be encouraged to go out and buy her book, and try her fantastic orginazational system!
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Sep. 4, 2009 - Back to our Homeschool Routine!
I had hoped to post updates on Alexis' school experiences this year on a regular basis - however, that has not happened yet. We have had a few things going on in our lives the last several weeks. Instead, I am sharing all the notes from our school year to date in this one blog post. I have posted similar messages about these weeks on the Sonlight Boards -
I found that the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer took a lot of time. Too much time... So, I quickly made some adaptations to the way Alexis works with it. I really cannot take any credit for these help tips. I gleaned them off of the Sonlight Boards. I hope though, that these suggestions can be helpful to others!
***Because*** I want to make the most of each day, we may not use the SL IG schedule for the EHE in order, but by day 5 we will have covered all lessons with the exception of the *Book Box section. Please see below to understand why.
After I take a look at our week ahead and determine how much time we can spend each day on it, the following is how we plan to utilize the EHE for now:
For the study of specific areas - i.e. Island Study, Great Barrier Reef, Ring of Fire, etc. Alexis will spend about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour to search for the information in the World Book. If she has not completed all the questions, but feels that she had found everything she can find, I will look through WB to see if there are any answers remaining. (Not all information in the EHE can be found in the WB.) If there are more answers to be found in it, I will give her clues - like look in the 2nd paragraph, look under the caption "Government" etc. When we have determined that WB resources are spent, I may have her Google, with me right there, (not a good idea to let your child do this freely - it is unbelievable what yuck can be found sometimes.) Or I will pull the answer right out of the answer book and give it to her. This is something that has taken me many years to feel comfortable doing, but it helps to remind myself that she will spend an entire year practicing her research skills with the EHE, so I stay keenly aware that this is a process. How often did we come home from school with some tough homework and a family member gave us some help?
If our day is full - I may copy a page out of the answer guide, cut the answers out for the page that she is working on, (a good example would be a Just the Facts page,) then Alexis will go through the questions and find the cut out answers - many she already knows just from watching a few Netflix DVD’s - and glue them to the page. What she doesn't know she looks up in the WB - and will glue the answers in her book as she goes. We do this for convenience, but this suggestion was given from a moms with a student who doesn't do well writing in small spaces.
The mapping pages are what I would consider a little difficult to do solo from the start for an average 5th - 7th grader. Because many moms concur with this on the SL Boards, I decided to give Alexis the map from my book, and have her use it as she goes through the instructions in her book to fill in the map. If I handed her the globe instead and said go - it could easily throw our entire day/week off. She is still learning by doing this... She is following directions, and finding locations and information as requested. Important skills to have. When Alexis is finished with her map, we look it over and compare it to the globe to see how it fits spatially from the perspective of looking at the whole planet. Mapping is actually one of her favorite things to do.
Even though the *Book Box pages are scheduled prior to a book being read all the way through, Alexis does the Book Box after she has finished reading the entire book. This is a much easier way to complete the information requested from this section. However, it does require remembering to go back in your book - even a week or so later.
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~Week Ending August 28th, 2009~
Monday started out great. Tuesday we went on a field trip to Bruster's Ice Cream for a back to school kick off, and also enjoyed some bonding time with David shopping at Wal-Mart to load him up with food and goodies to take to college.
The evening before David was due to leave; Alexis began getting a cough and sore throat. As he and his Dad were packing up his car and our van to leave for school Thursday AM, I was taking Alexis to see a doctor. She has the flu. We did manage to get home in time to see David off. - He is a junior, so you would think I would be used to him leaving by now, but I am not. 
Alexis when first ill, was preferring to listen to me read over watching TV. (How can you turn a sick child down?) So I have read all read aloud readers through The Master Puppeteer, and finished Call it Courage reader. I even read September's book club book to her.
I am thankful for Alexis' desire to "hear" the Sonlight stories and other books while sick. Although it will ultimately make life easier catching up with school when she is well again, it has been a sweet time spent together too.
Monday and Tuesday, we began Alexis' Spelling and Latin lessons, but they will probably have to be repeated when she is well again. We "checked out" Nim's Island from Netflix to end our "Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia Island Adventure," and watched it over the weekend. Alexis made Pavlova to kick off our "Australian Adventure." I even ate some. (I could use the excuse that I didn't have dessert on Amanda's birthday.) It had sugar, but no wheat!!! We all loved it, and hope Alexis makes it again!
Alexis and a friend enjoying ice cream on their 1st field trip of the year.
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~Week Ending August 21, 2009~
So far, so good. The Eastern Hemisphere Explorer is going about as well as I had expected. I'm still working with Alexis on it, but I see progress with her researching information. I had hoped we would have completed 3 weeks of the Core, but it is more like 2+. With Amanda getting her tonsils out, naturally, my attention needed to go to caring for her, so most of our homeschooling stopped for a few days.
We've finished Henry Reed, Inc. as a read aloud. Loved it. Both Alexis and I laughed the whole way through. It was a great way to start the school year. We listened to Island of the Blue Dolphins on cd - because Alexis read it last year for her girl’s book club. We are still plugging away with Torches of Joy, and will wrap up with Seabird next Monday. I am pleased with her response to Core 5. She seems to be enjoying everything we are doing!
We liked watching Wild Pacific - both DVD’s were worth viewing. They were close to 3 hours each! I don't think I've watched that much TV in a week’s span in years! We fast forwarded through some of the details at the end of the 2nd DVD. Although interesting to some I'm sure, it was not for us.
Another great thing! Alexis has completed 3 weeks of math, and is enthralled with Teaching Textbooks - which is a bonus. Although she has always been good at math, she hasn't always liked it. This year it is one of her favorite subjects! We will add Spelling and Latin into her schedule next week.
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***Note I did not update the week of August 14th. We had a productive week of school. So productive in fact, that I did not take time to post to the Sonlight Boards.
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~Week Ending August 7th, 2009~
We are off to a pretty good start, though not as impressive as a few of the other SL ladies!
With Amanda having her tonsils out on Thursday, our plans were to do 3 days of school this week. We didn't get it all done, but it's all good. We will start back on Monday and hopefully have a good full week of school.
We opened a Netflix account this past week. They have been great with the turn around on the movies! We first watched an I-Max movie called Hidden Hawaii - and thought it was just so so. I guess I expected more out of an I-Max movie. We also saw Molokai: The Story of Father Damien and thought that it was very good. I wish I had taken a few notes while watching - there are a couple of scenes that I think would be great for discussing our Christian worldview. One scene in particular stood out, where Father Damien spoke about something very similar to a scene in the book Bruschco. His response was very much like Bruce Olsen's too. Interesting. We have the Wild Pacific on its way as well. We're looking forward to it, as it was recommended highly from several of the SL ladies.
We skipped the intro to 100 Gateway Cities. This was an extremely astute suggestion from a veteran Core 5 mom from the boards. (I read through it myself last week, and we talked about some about what I felt was noteworthy briefly during the week.) Core 5 begins at a fast pace, and this helped give us some breathing room to work our way into a routine.
We started and ended the majority of our 1st school day before 12:30 - so we could go have lunch with some friends. That afternoon, we had our annual eye exams. The plan was to get back to the EHE after dinner that evening.
Prior to the beginning of school, I loaded World Book onto the computer, and checked out the fundamentals of navigating around it. I also opened up the Eastern Hemisphere Explorer - and attempted to find answers to the 1st 3 questions in "Search Smartly." No problem, I thought!!! Found them! I assumed that my research skills were solid, and closed the program and book. I did not try opening anything again, until Alexis and I sat down that evening. I showed her how to open WB, and where to find the information to type in a search. She easily found the answer to the 1st 3 questions, (like me,) but then got to the 4th question - and could not find the answer anywhere. Neither could I!!! 
No granted, we both were blurry eyed because of our exams, so I went to my trusty answer guide to try to find out what we needed to know. No help... My answer guide does not include the answers to "Search Smartly" in it. The thought of continuing on in a book when you can't find answers to the practice page is a bit intimidating.
However, we forged ahead with the EHE and had no more problems. Alexis said that she had a fun 1st week, so I consider it a success!
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Sep. 2, 2009 - Healing and Birthday Fun
Amanda's tonsillectomy went extremely well. We are so thankful for the many people who prayed her through this. She woke up fast from the anesthesia, and I happily took her home about an hour before we expected to leave. She has been mostly healthy all of her life, so it almost felt odd to take care of Amanda. At the same time, I was glad to be able to "baby" her just a bit as we nursed her back to health.
She seemed to stay comfortable through the days following the surgery. That was truly an answer to my prayers. She told us after everything was all over that this did not hurt as bad as when she was away at college with strep and tonsillitis. 
I am glad this experience was better for her, but it makes me sad to know that she was so uncomfortable before.
Amanda celebrated her 19th birthday 10 days after her surgery. David, (son) worked at Sea World during his summer break, and was given some tickets to use at any of the Busch parks as part of his Seasonal Employee package - so being the nice child that he is, he took us to Busch Gardens for Amanda's birthday.
Photos from our day:
The cute little baby that I "hatched" 19 years ago...
My family (2nd and 4th rows) enjoying a loop on a roller coaster.
Not the best picture, but one with all 3 siblings together...
Dad and daughters on the Skyride
This is supposed to be the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world.
Without any of us thinking about it being too rickety for Amanda just 10
short days after her tonsillectomy, letting her ride it probably wasn't the
brightest thing we've ever done. Her throat and neck hurt afterwards
- and gave us a good bit of a scare. Thankfully all was well.
Photos of some of the animals we saw at Busch Gardens:
A pretty little seagull
In this photo and the next 2, we watched a couple of birds build their nest.
One would gather from the ground as the other positioned their nesting
materials just so in the tree.
Then they would switch places. This one is now adding their material
while the other goes to gather.
It was a great day for a Safari ride. A tropical storm was heading up the
Gulf Coast that day - so we had bearable weather. We did experience
1 downpour, but it was worth putting up with, knowing that the
temperatures we were experiencing were much cooler than normal.
An elephant eating lunch!
Zebra 1
and Zebra 2
After the Safari, we walked around to see more animals. A busy
orangutan slowed down just enough to let me take this picture
Not my favorite animals, but this is a good photo of the hyenas.
Cute little things... I wish I could remember what they are!
Beautiful lioness
We enjoyed celebrating Amanda's birthday with her at Busch Gardens. I am thankful for the Lord allowing us to be her parents for 19 amazing years. She is a loving daughter - with a good sense of humor, and has a great desire for fun and adventure. Her eyes sparkle when she talks about new experiences or accomplishments. She is extremely smart - with just a slight competitive streak. She is a people person, and a hard worker. She loves being around children. I could go on for hours telling about Amanda's wonderful qualities, but I will wrap it up by saying that the most precious thing about her above all, is her love for the Lord.
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Jul. 25, 2009 - Complete Restoration or Answered Prayers
Having received a call from the doctor's office I was told that the latest CT scan on my lungs was all okay. I was extremely thankful for those answered prayers. However, I immediately began a new prayer~ actually a continuation of an original prayer. I asked the Lord to please let this be the last CT scan I would have to have for the problems that began more than a year and a half ago. Yes, He has already done so much for me - but this felt like an important final step.
One thing about the internet, if you search for answers to your medical problems, you will bluntly find the risks involved in the procedures that can ultimately help you. I read probably too much, and trusted probably too little. Nevertheless, I do not want to be x-rayed in excess if it is not 100% necessary.
I read too, how when diagnosed with a spot on the lung, most people have to have rechecks for quite a while after the initial problem is found. Often it is only scar tissue that they are keeping their eye on, but without invasive surgery - they can not know this for certain, so more CT scans are done over the course of several years to stay safe. This information was confirmed to me by my Pulminary physician after I was asked to do my first follow up CT scan.
Last week, I showed up for yet another follow up appointment with the Pulminary physician after the CT scan. I must have really been feeling the peace and presence of the Lord, because I was actually looking forward to this visit. When I had seen him just one short year prior to this appointment, (with several appointments in between) I was a mess. I had been ill for over 9 months. I had just finished my 5th round of steroids, I was using an inhaler, nasal steroids, and a nebulizer with 2 types of medications. This doctor had also sent me to an ENT physician who was treating me with a megadose of antibiotics. Then, the ENT physican, I truly believe, played a key role in the Lord's answer to my prayers - when he suggested I see his allergist. It was initially thought that my asthma - which no one or nothing seemed to be able to control, was viral induced. That is possible - but for the most part it appears that it was allergy related. At that point in time in my life though, I did not care "why" it had happened - I just wanted to feel well again. My prayers included asking not just for healing, but for complete restoration so that I would not have to take these medicines anymore.
Less than 4 months after my initial visit with the allergist, other than the allergy shots I was taking, I no longer needed medication! Those weekly shots, a diet that avoids as much yeast as possible, staying clear of food molds, along with a lot of prayers was giving me what I had prayed for - restoration. I can not express how deeply thankful and appreciative I am to the Lord for allowing me to feel healthy again.
I do not mean to sound ungrateful, but one thing was left looming over my head. How can I completely feel full restoration, when I know that 6 months down the road it will be time for another CT scan? I suppose that aside from the worry of excessive radiation, I wanted to know that the Lord had given me what I prayed for - complete restoration. Was that asking a lot? Too much, maybe? Which leads me back to the prayer that I mentioned in the beginning of this post - Asking God to allow this to be my last CT scan for this situation. I knew if those prayers were answered, they were the last link to having complete restoration from a very difficult illness.
Again, for some odd reason I was happily anticipating this doctor visit. He walked into the room, looked at my charts and told me that the CT scan showed the nodule on my lung was once again gone. He did not say that it was there but had not grown - like scar tissue. It was clear - the 2nd CT scan in a row! The Pulminary physican listened to me breathe - with no medications in my body to aid my breath, and told me how great it sounded. This actually was not the 1st appointment with these good results, but just a happy affirmation that my healing is continuing to stay hold.
Then the doctor told me 2 things that brought tears to my eyes. He said that he believes what I experienced is a miracle, and that I should be thankful to God for this healing. He said that he has seen many cases of asthma as bad as I was having it, but never does it turn out this well. Normally people are on medication for life! He also told me that because the CT scan was completely clear 2 times in a row, I would not have to have any more. COMPLETE Restoration. Incredible luck? I think not. God is too big for that. Jesus gives us a promise - if we just ask...
(NIV) John 14:13-14 "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
As my Pastor would say - "You take it to heart."
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