Morningstar Academy Ranch - Homeschool Blogger

Catching Up

Sun, 9 Nov 2008 17:13:00 -0600

Time DOES fly...all too quickly. Here it is November - I've not blogged for almost 3 months - and the holidays will be here in a blink. In talking with a friend today after church service, we both were sharing about how much "chauffering" it seems we do with the children. She told me that some days when her husband returns home from work and asks her what she did all day, she states matter of factly: "I drove"! How much time do you spend in your vehicle in a week's time? This past Wednesday I put 80 miles on my car. Praise the Lord that the fuel prices have maintained a steady downward descent!

In addition to running hither and yon, we HAVE been busy with school at home. We are enjoying using Jeannie Fulbright's Exploring Creation with Zoology 1 with another home school family. Together we made ant habitats- and since doing that last Monday, my kids have been watching in awe as the busy, red ants move sand, make tunnels and even carry the dead bodies of some of their habitat mates - to where, I'm not sure. Mom (that's me) has gotten to be the official ant feeder, as no one else in the family seems to be brave enough to lift the cheese cloth cover and and drop the apple pieces in. It's been an interesting endeavor, and we have had fun watching the ants. I just pray that they don't get loose in the house.

The mama deer and her twins have been frequent visitors to our home. One morning last week, they were camped out under our crab apple tree for the longest time. A four-point buck was with them (which is quite an unusual sight for daylight hours) and he appeared to be "standing guard" and not doing much eating. Soon the crab apples will be nothing but rotting mush in the lawn and on the drive, and I suspect we won't see our deer family so much. We'll look forward to more babies next Spring! Back to my lesson planning.

More updates later.

Happy Trails!

Changes

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:13:00 -0500

Following In Momma's Shadow Nothing ever stays the same, and that's a good thing. This mama doe and her young one were scampering across our front driveway area a month or so back. They live in the neighborhood near the river bottom. Just this evening -as I was driving back from town - there they were again, only this time they were munching fallen apples from a neighbor's tree. I could not believe how the little fawn had grown in such a short time. Yet it was still right under it's mama's watchful eye. I wonder if she is aware of the changes?

The time we have with our precious children is so short. Daily I am reminded of this as I see critters in God's creation change right before my eyes. This transformation causes me to pause, to reflect, to make mental notes about spending more time with my young while they still remain in the safety of my shadow. Yes, I know, God is ultimately responsible for their lives - He holds us all in the palm of His hand. I think I'll take a bit more time today and relish the gift of my children, enjoying the simple truth that they are near.

Before we realize it, they will be having families of their own - with little ones walking in their shadow.

Photos of County Fair "08

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 08:56:00 -0500

Fair week has come and gone, and we are all exhausted. The girls had wonderful experiences this year with their horses and can't wait to do it all again next August! Here are a few pictures of them in action with their buddies.

Groom Squad competiton was held the first night of the fair. A team of 3 (my daughter is in the middle)

took a filthy horse and made it sparkling clean. This year it was no small challenge, as the horse they used was grey to begin with. These 3 young women look pretty happy about the result, wouldn't you say?

The next day my younger daughter competed in horse judging, horse bowl, and hippology. These events require the 4-H youth to "know their stuff" when it comes to horses. Miss A. says everything is a-okay!In 4-H, the parents are not allowed to help with the horses in any way (unless of course the matter at hand is a safety issue). Here my girls are working together to get Kody ready for his showmanship class. He looks more interested in what's going on over at the arena.Way to go! A blue ribbon for showmanship. All that cleaning and primping payed off, and Miss M. did the pattern just right too!Showmanship class for Miss A. was a success as well, and her horse is always ready to perform. Amazing to think that this Arabian is 23 years old! What a wonderful friend she has been to both my girls.Riding English is probably Miss M.s favorite riding discipline. Here she holds up her high blue ribbon that earned her a place in the championship round.A high blue ribbon for her Western Equitation class as well. Miss M. was thrilled to find out that she once again has made the state team in the senior division for performance riding. Now it's back to work to get ready to ride at the state fair in September!

Even though the week was quite tiring, we enjoyed the excitement of it all. Thanks for stopping by to share in our memories!

Updated Slide Show

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:24:00 -0500

The photos of our home school happenings and my children were 2 years old, so I decided to enlist the help of my oldest daughter to get them up-to-date! Since she is a computer wizard (and I unfortunately am quite technically challenged) she was more thatn delighted to help me whip a new slide show into shape for my blog.

County fair begins for us this week, so we'll be just about living there. I have one son away at church camp, one gone to Boy Scout camp and the girls home - working dilligently with their horses. Competitions begin tomorrow.

My hubby has been the in-house home remodeler for the past couple of weeks and he has the children's bathroom almost completely re-done.

And then there is this year's school to start thinking about...well, maybe not just yet!

Happy Trails!

Summer is Flying!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:54:00 -0500

Where has the time gone? I cannot believe that it has been a MONTH since I posted here. From the time school ended in mid-June, our family has been living life at what seems like the speed of light. Ever have weeks like that?

June not only brought the final of days of schoolwork for our clan, but also many family birthdays to celebrate, and Father's Day too. Then came an 8 day father/son CA. skate boarding/boogie boarding road trip for my hubby and two boys. (And for the curious - no, my husband does not skateboard.) Next up, it was my and the girl's turn to hit the road...or, um, skies at it were. My two dds and I flew to Wisconsin for 6 days to visit with dear friends - and be eaten alive by mosquitos! (Enduring the peskiness of these tiny, blood seekers was well worth getting to be with those we love.) Upon our return form the mid-west, my hubby was smack dab in the middle of a bathroom remodel and my boys had headed off on a Boy Scout canoeing adventure down the John Day River in Central Oregon. Whew! And that's not all.

July began as June ended - with a flurry of activity. We spent the 4th of July roasting marshmallows and making S'mores, while sharing fireworks with our neighbors. The same weekend, it was off to Worldview Academy Leadership Camp for my two oldest children. (What an awesome week they had! Go to www.worldview.org to learn more about camps for your students for next year.) Now here it is, almost the middle of July, and I'm still waiting for the "lazy dog days of Summer to begin". I think I've resigned myself to the fact that those "days" will only come as I consciously put forth the effort to make them happen. Yesterday afternoon - for example - I donned my bathing suit top, a pair of shorts, and set off for the lush-green front lawn with my towel, book and peach, iced tea in hand. It was a short lived respite (only about 35 minutes), but for that sliver of time it did indeed seem like I was enjoying a "lazy dog day".

Got to scoot. Time for horse chores. Until next time - Happy Trails!

Show Season

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:43:00 -0500

What a happy trio! Grandpa came to see our

sweet girl ride her 23 year old Arabian in an open horse

show a few weeks back. The day was warm and full of

good memories for all the riders and their mounts. Our

girlie earned several 2nd and 3rd place ribbons that day

and had a visit from her Sunday school teachers too.

It was a joyful day we will all long remember! Now it's

time for both our girls to start getting ready for the county fair -

it will be here before they can say "nay"!

Book Sale

Mon, 9 Jun 2008 10:41:00 -0500

It's our annual, local home educator's used book and curriculum sale this week! The gigantic pile of "stuff" to be labeled and priced is awaiting my attention in the basement - oh joy! It is a task that needs doing, and with the dreary, drizzly weather outside, getting the job done won't be as much of a chore as if it were a sunny day. My dd is going to help me and this should make things go more quickly. One can only hope! This year I have 120 items to sell and I am praying that they all find new homes. The monetary reward for selling my items is definitely worth the work. So I'm off to get the job done!

Website For The Frugal Minded

Tue, 3 Jun 2008 13:43:00 -0500

Hi Blog Friends!

I have not posted in such a LONG time. What have I been doing? Just living life, I guess. The Spring months always seems to be a mighty crazy time of year for our family - but then, what time of year is not this way for the average home school family?

I want to let you know of a fabulous website that I happened upon. (Not quite sure how I landed there - but I did.) It is called Living On A Dime and you can access it at:

www.LivingOnADime.com

Tawra has some unique and creative ways to help us stretch our monthly budgets! She covers everything from: finding great deals at the grocery store, to pairing down our wardrobes and making the most of what we have. In these times of rising costs, it is becoming even MORE important to live carefully. I encourage you all to pop by the Living On A Dime website and spend a few minutes. You won't be disappointed.

On a frugal note, do you ever have broken and slightly stale graham crackers that you are not sure what to do with? After seeing the price of a prepared graham cracker pie crust in the grocery store the other day, a light went on in my brain. I immediately saw the ziplock bag of broken graham crackers that I have been stashing in the back of my pantry. I hadn't been sure what to do with them, but I did know that I couldn't throw them out. Upon returning from the grocery store, I pulled out my bag of crackers and my food processor and began pulsing those neglected and set- aside crackers into several cups of graham cracker crumbs. In less than 10 minutes I processed enough crackers to have crumbs for making 3 pie crusts right in my own kitchen - and for a lot less money. This is probably a no-brainer to many of you veteran, frugal-minded gals, but it was an exciting, new discovery for this lady!

Hmmm...I think I'll whip up a pie for dessert tonight!

Snow Vacation

Sat, 8 Mar 2008 23:28:00 -0600

Playing In The Snow...

A Vacation TO the snow or AWAY from the snow you ask? Why to it...of course! All of our kids LOVE to snowboard and tube on the Central Oregon "white stuff". We spent 3 glorious days there having fun: boarding, tubing, drinking hot cocoa in the lodge, and hot tubbing and relaxing at the cabin. And how can I forget the inhaling of giant, homemade ice cream cones at our favorite ice cream shop? What a blessing to have a time to go away together as a family and enjoy God's amazing creation and of course, one another.

My hubby and I left the "extreme sports" to the young ones and we spent the majority of our time cheering them on! God is so good - we thoroughly loved spending time together in the brisk, beautiful surroundings of Central Oregon.

Back at home this week, my goal has been to get caught up on the laundry - which I call my "Mt. Never-rest"! So it was from the glorious mountains of Oregon, back to my laundry mountain at home I traveled. Every day is a new adventure and indescribable blessing from the Lord! See you all again when I conquer my sky-high laundry pile.

Pampered Cat

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:06:00 -0600

Okay...so I spoil my kitty. Mr. Murphy - our barn cat - arrives at our kitchen, deck window every morning precisely around 8:30 AM. While the kids and I are finishing up our cereal or waffles, guess who shows up begging at the window? Normally he will jump up on the window sill and stare in at us, with a look on his face that begs, "Where's mine?" I suppose it is the nurturing momma in me that prompts me to set aside my own breakfast for a moment, run for the fridge to grab the milk, and then quickly retrieve his white bowl from the sill. I Fill the bowl half way with milk, pop it in the microwave for 8 seconds, and then plop it outside for my tubby feline to lap up. On this particular morning - for whatever reason - Murphy decided to stand on his hind legs to have his morning treat instead of hopping upon the window sill. How could I not snap a photo? His antics are just the start of this mom's normal home school day - and I love spoiling my cat as part of it!