My 2 Kids For Him - Homeschool Blogger

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 15:48:00 -0500

Ok, so I'm back to finish catching up my blog. Part 2 is only a week later than I had said I'd be . Other happenings going on in our household....Dd took a cotillion class with our co-op group and they had their Promenade at the end of their semester.
The next picture dd is trying to teach her dad some steps when they had father/daughter dance...I think he finally caught on.
I'm not going to share the picture dd took of me dancing during the mother/son dance. Not my son...one of the mom's have twin boys, so he asked another mother to dance....me. And I never did get the steps down. It was quiet hilarious.
Next was the play the all girls drama team did for Mother's Day. They had a Mother Daughter Tea for us and presented the play Hairum Scarum. It was such a funny play. Some of you may have heard of it. It's actually from American Girl. Dd was a hairdresser....
Next was dance recital. Here's a few pics from dd's clogging routine....

This clogging routine won them a trip to National's coming up in about 3 weeks.
And a few pics of their ballet dance. Dd with her peach roses we gave her after recital.

Then came Spring Piano Recital. Below is dd playing Etude Tocatta
And a duet of My Favorite Things
And lastly I have survived my baby girl taking driver's ed. Yes, it absolutely blows my mind that my little girl is fixing to turn 15. She has completed her driver's education and is counting down the days till her birthday when she can get her learners permit. I am not. It makes me so nervous to think about her being on the roads. Needless to say, I want her to drive with her daddy....and she says the same. I think I drive her crazy when she drive's with me. Here's a picture of her by the driver's ed car before they left out one morning.Yes, she got to drive a camaro. I'm sure that was fun, but now it's back to the mini-van. No, just kidding, she'll be able to drive our car too....but it's certainly not a camaro:)

Mon, 25 May 2009 18:46:00 -0500

Yep, I fell off the bloggy-world for a few months, but now I'm back. I'm sure I've lost all my readers, but that's ok. I'll come back tomorrow and read it myself. I've spent the last hour or more trying to choose a new template and going through my friends' and links list. I deleted all the ones that no longer blog and just tried to clean it up a bit. I have lots of pictures to share....my way of sharing what's been going on the past few months. The first pic is one I took during the Easter play that my dd directed. The name of the program was Alive.
This is something that she had asked to do and we were excited for her to do it. She did a tremendous job with the 7 to 10 yr old kids. The kids really did a great job and the play was a blessing to the congregation. On Easter Sun., dd also played and sang I Will Rise. She played with no sheet music, she picked the chords out by ear. I know you can't see the piano, the player or the singer, but just listen to the words of the song. Don't ask who was videoing. (Ok, for some reason, I can't get the video to post here, so it ill be at the bottom of this post.) Oh, and guess what.....I snapped a picture of my son. He never wants me to take his picture, so I do it by surprise. I just don't get a smile....
Handsome little fellow, don't you think? Looks kinda like he's unhappy with mom taking a picture. I guess the next thing would be dd's choir performance of which I have no good pictures. Here she is doing her solo part and here's the homeschool choir....
Next in our household happenings would be the news that we finally painted dd's room. After years and years of her asking it is finally done. This pic is before anything was hung on her walls.Colorful. Very colorful. No really, it is pretty. I wasn't sure how the turquoise, lime green, and purple were all going to look together, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I really do like it. I also must say it never would've happened if my dear friend Rhonda wouldn't have offered her help. And I must say her *help* turned into doing the majority of it by herself. Unfortunately, while we were painting, ds had an accident and had to be taken for stitches. Right in the middle of the day.
Yucky picture, I know. I really wish I would've taken one before we we left home. You would not believe how completely different it looked. He had a chunck of meat that had to be pushed back down in his leg. It was absolutely gross. He had to have 5 shots before they could fix him up. After 2 weeks the stitches are out and it seems to be healing nicely.
Well, this blog entry is getting kinda long, so I think I'll just do a part 2 either tomorrow or the next day. Don't want to get too boring. Especially since I may be the only reader. If I wouldn't wait two months in between entries, I wouldn't have this problem.

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:02:00 -0500

I don't really have much to blog about. But my sis-in-law has been letting me know what a bad job I'm doing of keeping a blog. Hmmmm....last entry was Jan. 21st.....maybe she's right! Anyway, since my last entry we've had 2nd semester co-op classes to start back up, a youth group skating party, a couple of orthodontist appointments, kids had physicals for the first time in years, Dd was sick and had to go to the Dr. for the first time in years, we've had revival that was scheduled for 4 nights but ended up going 6 nights, we had another snow...this one bigger than the last, our youth barbecue fund raiser, and Dd had a dance competition. Now, let me back up and say a little more on some of those happenings :) For co-op classes this semester my daughter (a freshman) is taking a Civics class, public speaking, an all girl drama, choir, (also voice which isn't part of the co-op), and Cotillion. Everythings going good except for Civics.....she is not loving the studying and the testing. Two things I haven't put a lot of emphasis on during our homeschooling years. Before this year, I've never been big on test.....we correct as we go and don't move on until we get it....so I held off on testing much until the highschool years.I'm wondering, if I had it to do over, would I change that? Nope, I don't believe I would. But I am glad she's getting the chance to see what it's like to be accountable to some one else besides mom for some school work.
On to the ortho appointments I mentioned. If you've followed my blog any length of time you know my daughter wore braces for 3 1/2 years. Well, she now has 3, yep three braces on her back teeth. Sounds crazy I know, but her dentist wanted a tooth in the very back uprighted, so the orthodontist is trying to fix it. Next I believe I mentioned my daughter being sick....for 2 weeks she just didn't feel good, coughed, low energy and just wasn't herself. I finally gave in and got her antibiotics and in no time she was better. I also told you both my kids had physicals for the first time in years, and they also had a couple of shots to catch up on. They weren't scared or nervous, but my son nearly passed out after leaving the Dr.'s office. It was really kinda weird. Anyway, he got over it and was fine after about 20 minutes or so.
And as you know, I can't make an entry without a picture. So here's a picture of dd's class rehearsing for the competition....My pictures didn't turn out worth a hoot from the competition, but at least you can see what their outfits look like here. They clogged to Soul Man and won 2 trophys. High Gold and a trophy of Distinction.
A few more pictures to share....My son is.....well, being himself. My daughter is....well, being herself too:) (Only she will get that) My daughter's charger to her laptop is broken, so I've been blessed with a massive amount of pictures from her camera onto my computer and these were 2 of them.
Well, I didn't think I had much to say, but this entry has turned out kinda long. But I do hope my sis-in-law enjoys.

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:24:00 -0600

It's been well over a month since my last entry so I'm gonna play catch-up and mostly blog about the month of December. It was a very busy month as usual. Dd was in our county theater's Christmas play. I will share a picture of her least favorite part, but she actually looked the happiest in this scene because she found it so funny.I know you actually can't see her, but she would almost get tickled every time they did this part. (This was one of the rehearsals.) She was one of Santa's reindeer and they had to go across the stage wearing the reindeer ears and singing a song. Anyway, this play consumed a big chunk of our time with all the practices and 4 performances. That same week of dress rehearsals the homeschool choir had their Christmas performance.The following week dd played the paino for the nursing home. This is what their teacher wanted them to do instead of a recital this year. I felt like this was a good thing for the students.
That same week we had our Christmas program at church. Ds chose to pull the curtains so as not to have to take a part in the program:)That was the only picture I could get of him, because as usual he refused to smile for the camera. Dd sang a song with the little kids.And she was also one of the carolers in the program.
That was also the same week of our Christmas dinner at dh's moms. Here is our yearly picture of the grandkids.Grand total of 17 kids ranging from 22 months to 18 years old and as you can see, the girls are outnumbered:). On Christmas day we had our dinner with dh's dad and step mom. Here is a picture of the grandkids with their grandparents.There are 12 grandkids in the picture, one was missing that day.
Christmas Eve we had Christmas with my parents. First a picture of my plate...Yummy, yummy. Makes me hungry just looking at it. My mother is a wonderful cook. Should've took one of the desserts too:) Here are the kids exchanging gifts at their grandparents...Yep, only 4 kids on my side of the family. Big change from dh's. And here is our yearly family picture...We always go back to my parents on Christmas morning for a big breakfast but this year it didn't happen. First time since we've been married. Mom woke up with a stomach virus and daddy was in the other bedroom sick with fever, sore throat, etc. They spent Christmas Day in the bed

Now, on to Christmas morning. We had a wonderful blessed Christmas. Against my better judgement, I'll share the picture dd took of dh and myself.I got a PINK (my favorite color) Dirt Devil broom vac...(I love that thing), a fluffy throw, and a new Vera Bradley. You probably can't see it, but it's sitting on the back of the couch. Oh yea, and a bag of my favorite candy....little Reeses cups. Dh got a Wii hunting game, 2nd season of Mork & Mindy (thats what he asked for) and 2 pair dress pants. For some reason we didn't take hardly any pictures, but here are the kids opening their stocking stuffers.Dd got lots of clothes, pocketbook, and to be honest I can't remember what else Ds got some clothes, airsoft pistol, holster, bullets and can't remember what else:) They also got this....a go-kart. But unfortunately haven't been able to enjoy it yet. It was sooo muddy Christmas day that ds only rode for a bit and dd not at all. Then someting happened to it and now we're waiting for it to be fixed

Now that I have filled in the month of December I must share that we had snow today! Only about 2", but we were still excited. This tree was one of the prettiest...the snow had fallen from the other trees by the time I got out to take pictures. My kids and their cousins went WAY back in the woods to sled, but by the time I headed down there to take pictures they were headed back for some lunch:( So here they are walking back. My sons already asking if we can have another day off of school tomorrow:) But that's not gonna happen. There's not much snow left but I did tell him he could go sled some before school....he still wasn't real happy:)

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:46:00 -0600

Just wanted to share the pictures we had made today. First time in a longggg time we've had their pictures made together.

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:20:00 -0600

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you had a blessed day. We spent the day at mother-in-laws, had a yummy lunch, and ate the leftovers for supper:) Then we brought 3 cousins home with us as they all get together tomorrow at their peepaws to help them put out all their Christmas decorations. This has become a yearly tradition. Even though their grandfather works them, they enjoy spending the day together. Believe it or not, I didn't get any pictures today but hopefully dd will get some tomorrow.
Ds got his first dear last week.....
It was a spike but he was rather tickled with it:) And we were tickled for him. He looks upset in the picture but it was just the headlights blinding him. Dh got his biggest one ever last week.....
This deer was huge for our area and dh was quiet beside himself with his *trophy buck* All the meat is at his dads. Call me crazy, but I'm just not real big on deer meat.
Since it's 12:28, and Thanksgiving Day is officially passed, I'll go ahead and tell you that we put our tree up last Sunday night. Here are the kids decorating...and here is the finished product....
Lastly I want to share some pet pics:) You've seen my dh's baby in some pictures, but he seems to have gotten huge just over the last month. Here he is with ds sitting beside him to kinda give you an idea of how big he is.
He's an English Mastiff. Here's a pic of his face when he was looking in the house...And finally a picture of kitty kitty (at least that's what I call him) sitting comfortably on the couch.He cracks me up. He'll sit however you put him. He's our outside kitty that was just inside for a short visit. Actually he came in to see if he could find any extra food in our indoor cat's bowl:)

Tue, 4 Nov 2008 22:40:00 -0600

I don't know about you, but I'm a little (actually a lot) sad with the outcome of the election. So history was made tonight, and I feel led more than ever to pray for our country. But I know God is still on the throne. As I sat thinking about it, I made myself even more sad (nothing to do with the election)........I was just thinking about how when the next presidential election rolls around, my dd will be able to vote. Wow, that was a lot for me to swallow. Some of you probably sit back and smile at me because you have kids already there:)
Anyway, I need to change the subject. We finished ds's room a few weeks ago. What I like most about his "new" room, is I don't have much money in it. For the first time, I refinished a few pieces of furniture. Of course with my mom's and dh's help.:) And it actually turned out quiet nice. We sold his bed on craigs list, (You should try it if you need to get rid of something. We've sold quiet a bit of things on there.) So I ordered him a new bed....a platform bed, bought a new comforter set, new drapes and curtain rod, and a new floor lamp. Nothing else in his room is like brand new. He wanted to set the fish tank back up in his room, so we dug it out, got it ready and dh took him to get some fish. Here are the before pics....

and the after pics.....

Well, you can get a idea of how it looks.
Once again, I waited almost a month between blog entries, but I'll try to do better....yea right. I've kinda been wrapped up in facebook here lately. Anyone have a facebook, let me know and I'll add you. But of course I like my blog of over 2 years much better. My online journal is fun to look back on. Kinda helps me remember some things over the last couple years, that I may would've otherwise forgotten:)
Lastly, I would like to thank those of you who prayed for my grandmother. She did go home to be with Jesus the Friday after my last blog.

Tue, 7 Oct 2008 22:19:00 -0500

I'm still here....it's been over a month since my last blog entry. Not a whole lot to tell since my last entry but I have do have some things to share. First I have a prayer request. Unless the Lord has other plans, my grandmother will not be with us much longer. One week and 2 days ago she fell and broke her leg. And from then on it's been a downhill battle. She was admitted to the hospital that day and needed surgery on her leg, but her lungs were not strong enough (she has COPD). Next day, they said she had pneumonia, when that was better they still didn't know if she was strong enough for surgery but they went ahead with it last Thursday morning. She hasn't been off the ventilator since.......until this evening. They unhooked her a little after 5:00 today. They said it could be hours or it could be days. Please pray for her to be comfortable and that she doesn't have to suffer. Please pray for my mother and her 4 sisters. I wasn't sure of Grandma's salvation, but my mom said Grandma said she was ready to go home. And Monday my cousin shared with me the time she gave Grandma a tract and went through the plan of salvation with her. My aunt said that Grandma always said a prayer that the lord would help her not to fall everytime she got her bath. She's 82 and still living by herself, of course with someone checking on her almost daily.
Ds got his braces a few weeks ago. I had planned to get before and after pictures that day but I took the before and forgot the afters. For those of you who know him, you might not recognize him in this picbecause he's being normal:) But....I was wanting a picture of his teeth....so here's the next oneand here's pics I took tonight to use as my after pics:)He didn't want to stop doing whatever he was doing long enough to just give me a smile, but I finally got this

It's a fake smile but I'll catch him smiling later. I had second thoughts about these braces after 3 days of complaining from him. I told him I was taking him back and getting them off but he asked me how soon and would I go ahead and call them now. He told me he didn't need them anyway, his teeth were fine. But things are better now, the pain and discomfort is gone until the next appointment:)
Lastly I'll share a picture of dh's deer. You probably don't want to see it, but here it is. I must share his brags:)He bow hunts and he got this one hunting back behind our house.

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:12:00 -0500

Last Sunday, after our morning church services, we left for vacation. This was our 20 year anniversary (which we celebrated on Wed. the 27th) gift to each other . First we traveled to Chattanooga, TN. In Chattanooga, we enjoyed seeing Rock City, The Incline Railway, and Ruby Falls. (Great history here, so yep, I counted these as school days)
What we didn't enjoy was the rain that fell nearly our entire vacation. (but thank you Lord, I know it was much needed) Thankfully, we were still able to see all that we had planned. Also, while we were in Chattanooga, we did the Southern Belle Riverboat Dinner Cruise which we really enjoyed. From Chattanooga we went to Sweetwater to the Lost Sea. And from there we went to Gatlinburg to spend our last two nights. There we did Ripley's Aquarium, Hollywood Wax Museum, and we did the Earthquake ride which was a huge waste of money. Other than the Earthquake ride, we enjoyed everything (except dd did not like the Incline Railway), had a great family vacation, a great 20th anniversary and made lots of memories together.Thank you Lord for allowing our family to enjoy a great vacation and for keeping us safe!

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:50:00 -0500

Did you stay up to watch the meteor shower Mon. night/Tues morning? Our nephews spent the night and we waited and went out about 1:30 - 1:50 am and we were able to see some of it. If you look closely in the 1st pic, you'll see my ds and nephew. The next pic is nephew, dd and dh. Dd had her arms in her t-shirt because she was freezing:)

Not much to share tonight so I thought I'd share some pictures of our pets:) First off I'd like you to meet Amos.
He is a Shih Tzu and he smiles. Can't you see his happy grin. He's very hyper. Next is Knikki....She is our biggest shih tzu, but still she's small...and sweet too. See Amos smiling in this picture with her? The next one is Angel, also a really sweet shih tzu... Our 4th and last shih tzu is one we have taken in and not yet had groomed. His owner was not able to care for him, so we took him and he is still not yet completely used to us. He has a really bad under bite, but he will be much cuter once he is groomed. Next up is my dh's baby. I say baby, but he's huge and will get much bigger. Meet Bruno He looks like those pictures they put on notebooks/folders:)) He really is a big baby. Here is our outside kitty, M&M...and here is our indoor kitty , Princess...She's sitting on the bathtub, admiring herself in the mirror. She's a beautiful cat who pretty much has zero personality. She's a touch-me-not unless she comes to you for a very short head rub....but never to sit in your lap. Last of all is a pic of dh's pet... No, not really. It's a black snake he found under something on clean-up day at our church fellowship building. YUCK! Yes, he's crazy for holding it....he carried it to the woods and let it go.

Now that I've bored you with pics of all our pets I want to tell you what I just went through an hour or 2 ago. My mom and I just cleaned out a refrigerator/freezer that was full of food and meat that hasn't had any power to it in....I'm guessing 4 months. (This person passed away and obviously no one felt the need to do it.) This was like NOTHING I've ever experienced and hope I never experience again. We had face mask and rubber gloves, but I just can't even begin to describe it.....for that fact you probably don't care to know. We didn't wash it yet....it will have to air out a few days first. We did spray it down with cleaner though. We're just hoping it can be salvaged, but if we can't get rid of the awful, horrible stench then it will be trashed:( If you have any ideas to help completely get the smell out, let me know. I know we can get it to appear clean, but I'm worried we will never get rid of that smell. I'm sure it was a perfectly good refrigerator.
Well, I think I'm going to get in the tanning bed for a bit. We're supposed to go to the water park Thursday and chances are I'll get fried if I don't tan some first.