Called Home - Homeschool Blogger

something to think about....

Tue, 1 Sep 2009 20:20:00 -0500

Have you heard of this??

Thu, 14 May 2009 15:17:00 -0500

We all search....why not earn free stuff while we do.

Try it out.....

©
Copyright 2008 Called Home

something to think about.....

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 16:25:00 -0600

A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have."
--Gerald Ford (sometimes attributed to Thomas Jefferson, but I could find no proof of that)

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.
Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
Thomas Jefferson

© Copyright 2008 Called Home

we'll just go with the monthly thing for now....

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:35:00 -0600

I had the best of intentions to blog more but it looks like I'm going with a monthly update once again.

February is a busy month for us. There are 4 birthdays, valentines day and this year the Sparks O Rama for AWANA.

I started the month by turning....(are you ready??).....40!

There was the Father/Daughter Dance around Valentines Day. This is something the girls love.
They got all dressed up

fancy hair and all (do you KNOW how long it took me to do this??? I am not a fancy hair mom and her hair is so long and heavy)

and had a great evening with their Daddy (and friends).

Youngest Dd also took part in the Sparks O Rama. It was her first one and the team took first place.
She had such fun.

I think the Sparky crawl is the funniest game.

We closed the month out by our oldest turning.....16!

She had a "sweet" 16 party, where the theme was sweets.   She even had a candy cake.

Happy Birthday sweetie!

Add in crazy hair night at AWANA,

finishing up two lapbooks (marsupials and WWII- which I'll post soon) and life and school, we had a busy
month.

(the other two birthdays were my mom and dads- we were all born 10 days apart- me, my mom and dad )

Tomorrow starts another month. March and spring is due to arrive here! It's actually been beautiful
southern Cal weather already. Can't beat it.

Blessings,

© Copyright 2008 Called Home

a great read

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:26:00 -0600

GOD vs.Science A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, "Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand. "You're a Christian, aren't you, son?" "Yes sir," the student says. "So you believe in God?" "Absolutely. " "Is God good?" "Sure! God's good." "Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?" "Yes." "Are you good or evil?" "The Bible says I'm evil." The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?" "Yes sir, I would." "So you're good...!" "I wouldn't say that." "But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't." The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?" The student remains silent. "No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. "Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?" "Er...yes," the student says. "Is Satan good?" The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No." "Then where does Satan come from?" The student falters. "From God" "That's right.. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?" "Yes, sir." "Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?" "Yes." "So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil." Again, the student has no answer. "Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?" The student squirms on his feet. "Yes." "So who created them?" The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?" There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. "Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?" The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do." The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?" "No sir. I've never seen Him." "Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?" "No, sir, I have not." "Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?" "No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't." "Yet you still believe in him?" "Yes." "According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?" "Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith." "Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith." At the back of the room another student stands quietly for a moment before asking a question of His own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?" "Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat." "And is there such a thing as cold?" "Yes, son, there's cold too." "No sir, there isn't." The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees." "Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it." Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer. "What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?" "Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?" "You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light,but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word." "In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?" The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. "So what point are you making, young man?" "Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed." The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?" "You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought." "It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it." "Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?" "If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do." "Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?" The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed. "Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?" The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. "To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean." The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter. "Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir." "So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?" Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith." "Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues. "Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?" Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil." To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light." The professor sat down. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 � Copyright 2008 Called Home

this, that, and the other...

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:36:00 -0600

It's been almost a month since my last entry so this will be a catching up on what we've
been up to post.
We finished up our 12 Days of Christmas lapbook. I'm so glad we got it done before the 12th day! (but
it was close).

I won't bore you with all 12 days....but all the kids worked on this lapbook together and
it turned out nice.

The weather here has been .....great! ( sorry all you folks covered in ice and snow!)
We had some almost 80 degree days a while back and enjoyed the local park. (counts
as p.e.!)

We also used our zoo passes and had a field trip.

The pandas were moving....(they mostly sleep)...

The bears were swimming.....

And the Koala's were.....doing what they always do. Youngest Dd so wanted to see
them and was bummed they didn't DO anything....but she got to see this one too!

We are half way through Tapestry of Grace year 4. We studied WWI and made a lapbook to
recount what we learned.

The big kids haven't really wanted to do alot of writing in the lapbooks, but do enjoy the
art side of it so I've been typing up the info and they glue it in. We use them as review of what
we've studied.

We did a one day lapbook on Veterans' Day too. I usually plan ahead but this time just printed this one
off that day and the little ones and I did it.

I also dvr'd the inauguration and as we watched (fast forwarding the boring stuff) and put together a
lap and note pack I got free from Curr-click that day.

It was neat to lap/note book about the part of the inauguration and then watch that part on tv.

So...if you've lasted all the way down to the bottom of this entry you're either
related to us or love lapbooking.

I'll close with how my youngest girl "dressed" and got ready for school the
other day.

Blessings!!!

© Copyright 2008 Called Home

Happy 2009!!

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 20:34:00 -0600

wow! It's 2009!
We started out our new year doing several things.

Youngest dd learned to ride withOUT training wheels. She took to it right away.

(none of the coming at me shots were clear!)

I started out by playing with my new "toy".

I got a proclick binding system and made my first project in a little over an hour.

I predict there will be many more projects coming soon. That was just too fun!

We are still working on our 12 days of Christmas lapbook and I'll post that soon.

Blessings to all in the new year.

(me and my little guy)

© Copyright 2008 Called Home

let it begin!!!

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:17:00 -0600

Advent starts tonight. Today is the fourth Sunday before Christmas so the Advent readings start tonight.

That meant I had to dig out the necessary items from the Christmas boxes.
We'll do the real decorating next weekend but I needed the advent stuff.

The book we're doing this year......

and the wreath....(notice I didn't get to the store to get new candles, we'll use these until I do) all set
up on the buffet and ready to go.

And the kids calenders all set for tomorrow.

The little two get the chocolate ones and the big kids get these.

Its an idea I got from here. Mine is real simple but the kids liked it.

They open up and inside is gum. A piece a day.

So....Let it begin!

Only 25 days till Christmas!!!

© Copyright 2008 Called Home

I'm baaacckk....and some catching up on our lives

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:52:00 -0600

It's been a while, and to be honest, I almost decided it had been too long and I just wouldn't
blog anymore. But since you're reading this you can see I changed my mind!
I enjoy keeping our friends and family updated on our lives this way (it sure is easier than separate emails) and it is a great record of what we learn and do.
Soooo......I'm baaaaack!

And here's what we've been up to.

We are almost all settled in our place. Just a few boxes left and pictures to hang, but then again
I may just leave those boxes packed and pictures down until the new year.

We did have a fun time at our churches harvest fair. We haven't dressed up in a while and had to scramble to make costumes that involved what we had on hand.

Oldest son was "static cling"

Young Daughter wore her "prairie girl" outfit.

Youngest went as a "donut" (he didn't want me to take his picture)

and I was an IPhone (can you tell we had lots of cardboard around!)

I wore this like ds wore his donut.

We also have made our annual trip (which we missed while in VA) to Knotts Berry Farm.

The big ones spent most of the time doing this....

and the little ones (and myself) doing this...

and this.

Thanks Knotts for honoring Veterns in this way. What a blessing.

And I'll end this update with a glimpse into what I go through to get a good picture.

All I said was "hey, go sit by the fountain and I'll take your picture".

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

© Copyright 2008 Called Home

remember

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 11:00:00 -0600

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
By: Edward Mote

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteous;
No merit of my own I claim
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils his lovely face,
I ret on his unchanging grace;
In every high and story gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, his covenant, his blood
Sustain me in the raging flood;
When all supports are washed away,
He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When he shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in him be found,
Clothed in his righteousness alone,
Redeemed to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

© Copyright 2008 Called Home