The Homeschooler Next Door - Homeschool Blogger

The New Baby

Thu, 5 Mar 2009 08:33:00 -0600

I opened the bedroom door to find the kids were already up and active throughout the house. The oldest was working on cereal for the little guys and the little guys had already thought of a chasing game to play. This morning sickness really starts my day behind schedule, but Jim was so happy to hear we are having another baby. The kids were looking forward to having another member of the family.

So we start our day and start the assembly line to get the kids fed and dressed and ready for school. In the front yard, I checked the mail and there was a letter from the government, putting it aside I called Jim to see if he was expecting anything, he said to just leave it until he gets home that evening.

More work to do with the kids and follow up appointments with the doctors since they require extra testing now that I’m over 32. Wish they would just be happy for me having my 4^th child and not worry so much about my high risk category. The kids want to know more about the new baby, so we watch a PBS special on the development of the baby that I had recorded when the last one was due 3 years ago. God is so good in the miracle of these babies.

After schooling, the kids are busy playing outside while I’m getting dinner together, which is harder to do nowadays. Jim is fabulous at grilling during these first few months of pregnancy, knowing I can barely handle getting everyone fed without tossing cookies. With the kids settled into a bath routine, Jim is working on today’s mail and paper work when he opens the letter from the government. He let’s me know he needs to talk about it once the bed time stories are done.

Coming downstairs, I see that he face is ashen. “What’s the matter? ““You better read this letter,” he replies. I take the letter. “With your maternal age over 32 and your high risk pregnancy, along with the fact that you already have more than the assigned 2 children, it has been determined that this pregnancy is not to the benefit of the community. You are hereby required to report to the Planned Parenthood Abortion Clinic at 3PM tomorrow for termination of this pregnancy. Failure to show up will result in your arrest and confiscation of your house and your children remanded to Children’s Protective Services.”

My heart stops as I awake in a cold sweat. And I hear in my thoughts, it was only a dream, only a dream. Yes, it’s only a dream, if this story had been true, we would be living with National Health Care.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:32:00 -0600

President's Radio Address

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, Americans gather with loved ones to celebrate Thanksgiving. This holiday season is a time of fellowship and peace. And it is a time to give thanks for our many blessings.

During this holiday season, we give thanks for generations of Americans who overcame hardships to create and sustain a free Nation. When the Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving nearly four centuries ago, they had already suffered through a harsh and bitter winter. But they were willing to endure that adversity to live in a land where they could worship the Almighty without persecution. When President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, the United States was in the midst of a terrible civil war. But in that hour of trial he gave thanks -- because he believed America would weather the storm and emerge into a new era of liberty.

During this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom. America's men and women in uniform deserve our highest respect -- and so do the families who love and support them. Lately, I have been asked what I will miss about the presidency. And my answer is that I will miss being the Commander-in-Chief of these brave warriors. In this special time of year, when many of them are serving in distant lands, they are in the thoughts and prayers of all Americans.

During this holiday season, we give thanks for the kindness of citizens throughout our Nation. It is a testament to the goodness of our people that on Thanksgiving, millions of Americans reach out to those who have little. The true spirit of the holidays can be seen in the generous volunteers who bring comfort to the poor and the sick and the elderly. These men and women are selfless members of our Nation's armies of compassion -- and they make our country a better place, one heart and one soul at a time.

Finally, I have a special note of thanks to the American people. On this, my last Thanksgiving as your President, I am thankful for the good will, kind words, and heartfelt prayers that so many of you have offered me during the past eight years. I have been blessed to represent such decent, brave, and caring people. For that, I will always be grateful, and I will always be honored. Thank you for listening.

# # #
From ME:
May you be surrounded with family, friends, food and the spirit of the Lord as we give Thanks to the Lord for He is Good!

Great re-launch

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:27:00 -0600

Well, I actually forgot to let the homeschool blogger group know about the relaunch. My apologies.

The show was GREAT! We have decided to put the show on talkshoe which allows people to call in. It also has chatting that the wonderful Cindy Rushton has made famous. The show is every Thursday from 2-3PM CENTRAL time (adjust as necessary for your timezone).

We had Malia Russell from http://www.homemaking911.com as we discussed how to have frugal holidays and still make it wonderful for your children. She had some great ideas and promised to put some recipes on her website for our listeners to check out.

Next week we will be discussing Support Groups: do they help or just take up space? So book mark the show and let us know your thoughts on support groups.
http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/31631

Back in the Saddle Again

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:06:00 -0500

Hope your fall has been a great one of adventure,
great books and
children lighting up in discovery!

After a hiatus for almost a year, we are about to relaunch
The Homeschooler Next Door.

We will be relaunching in November,
same bat time,
different bat station
at 2PM Central time on Thursdays.

Yes, we will take off for Thanksgiving.

So have your tea ready, have the playdates set so you can gather around your computer for an hour of The Homeschooler Next Door, the kitchen table of homeschool talk.

We have many surprises for you that we will be discussing here on the blog and on line. So stay tuned as we get back in the saddle again!

Where have all the Homeschool radio shows gone?

Mon, 19 May 2008 11:59:00 -0500

Well, I was feeling bad, not having done a radio show in about a year, when I checked on the other shows. Seems podcasting was a big thing in 05 and has since deminished over the last several years.
Was this a fad? Or was the hard work necessary for radio shows just too much for hard working homeschool Moms and Dads?

Yes, it does take someone with a producers hat to line up guests. It takes an editor 5 hours to edit a one hour interview. It takes a PR person to let everyone know that the radio show has a new entry.

For our show, I was the producer and host and pr person. My kids were the editors. They went to college and keep saying that I'm not allowed to edit the shows since I make the changes to abruptly,

But we had fun doing them, I have 10 more that need editing, and Yes, I really really would love to put this on REAL RADIO, but need sponsors.

I think that was the downfall of most homeschool radio shows. There was no money in it, it had to be your passion. Even the well ad supported shows have since gone numb. It just was not enough to hire an editor and pay for the audio server and the website server and take AAALLL that time from your kids.

If anyone knows of an Investment Angel who would like to see Homeschool Radio show, please have them contact me. I'm ready to continue and do this on the real airwaves (perhaps satellite radio!!)

I can dream.