On Saturday Brooks escorted Bekah to the Confederate Christmas Ball.  She had an amazing time.  Brooks said she didn't stop smiling the whole night.  She told me all about all of the dances (Virgina Reel, Patty Cake Polka, Gallop, Carolina Promenade etc...)  She can't wait to go again.

And here she is with Grandma and Grandpa.

Our sweet Happy dog would have turned 8 years old today.  At the first part of September we found out that Happy had cancer.  The vet told us she might live two days or two months but her time left was short.  She lived just over the two month mark.  She gradually got worse and worse.  Her sight was the first thing to go.  It was amazing how well she adjusted to being blind though.  A short time later her hearing would come and go.  On Tuesday of this week, Happy couldn't walk.  Her back legs would still work but she couldn't get her front legs to move in the position she needed them to to be able to actually walk.  So on Tuesday afternoon we took Happy to the vet.  The children each wrote a note to Happy and put it in the box with her.  The notes were so beautiful.  I wish I had known how sweet and precious they were as I would have copied them.  I didn't read the notes ahead of time.  Each child read their note at a little funeral we had for Happy.  So here is a little walk down memory lane of our sweet Happy dog.

On Thanksgiving Day while at Nana and Papa's house, Mark was looking through the advertisements.  He found one for an Nintendo DS Lite for 50.00 (pre-owned)  Off and on he mentions wanting one of these but Brooks and I didn't have any plans to make this purchase for him.  He has been saving his money this year and had saved $60.00.  He said 'if this is 50.00 then I'll have $10.00 left over -- well, a little less with tax"  Yep, that's right buddy.  He asked if he could purchase it and we told him we would discuss it. 

Brooks and I decided that we would let him purchase this if that's how he wanted to spend his money.  We told him he would have to get up early on Friday morning.  So at 5:30 a.m. on Friday morning, I woke Mark and asked if he still wanted to go.  He was in a sound sleep but he flew out of the bed in no time.  He looked outside and saw that it was still dark and asked me "Can you drive in the dark?"   

We got in the car and off we went.   While the store was crowded, we didn't have to wait in line outside the store or anything.  We returned home and he is very happy with his purchase.

We have rules for it and he has been obeying the rules without any problems thus far. 

Bethany Grace continues to battle on-going sinus infections.  It's not uncommon to find her like this in the middle of the day:

So I am beyond thrilled when she is feeling better and can make it through the day without a nap or needing a rest.  She has been feeling really well the past couple of weeks.  Last week I snapped this picture of her as we were getting ready to go out for the evening to enjoy the "flipping the switch" of the lights at Gaylord Opryland and then off to see the Rockettes.

We recently were finally able to get together with our precious friends, The Hall Family, -- well, a portion of the family.  We had a great time catching up and are reminded how very sweet our friendship is.  God is so good to bless us with so many wonderful friends.

Mark enjoying  some time in the pool:

The group gathered to pose for a quick picture before we had to leave. 

We've been close friends with this family since Mark was born.  It's so great to reconnect.  The children can't wait to do it again.

I recv'd this today from HSLDA e-lert service:

November 20, 2009

Senate Will Vote on Health Care Bill Creating
Home Visitation Programs--Urgent Calls Needed!

The U.S. Senate will vote at 8 p.m. Saturday, November 21, on whether
to proceed regarding H.R. 3590.  If 60 senators vote for cloture,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will then substitute his 2,074-page
bill, "The Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act," in
place of H.R. 3590.  This bill will become a shell for the Senate's
version of health care reform, which it will debate and may ultimately
approve.

Majority Leader Reid's bill, the "Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act," is the fifth of six health care bills created by
leaders in Congress that has included federal funding for new home
visitation programs.

While HSLDA does not normally urge its members to act on legislation
relating to health reform, we see the "Patient Protection and
Affordable Health Care Act" as a serious threat to parental rights.
This $848 billion bill calls for home visitation programs which would
empower government officials to teach parents how to raise their own
children.  Although these programs will not be mandatory, parents may
feel pressured to participate, allowing the federal government
unprecedented access into private homes and involvement in early
education. To read more on how "The Patient Protection and Affordable
Health Care Act" threatens your right as a parent to raise your
children as you see fit, please see our preliminary analysis on the
bill at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7260 .

ACTION REQUESTED

Please call your senators today and urge them to vote against cloture
on "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" in H.R. 3590.  You
do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler. You can use some
or all of the following message:

"I am opposed to 'The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,'
substituted in H.R. 3590 because Section 2951 creates home
visitation/early education programs through grants to the states.  
Parents, not federal or state officials, should make child-rearing
decisions for their children. Please vote no on cloture."

You can reach your two U.S. senators by calling the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Or find contact information for your
senators by using HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at
http://www.hslda.org/toolbox .

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith, Esq.
President, HSLDA

Our fall soccer season has come to an end.  We had another wonderful season with some good life lessons along the way. 

The girls had a great end to their season.  They won the championship.  It was even better because Brooks was their coach.

Here's the team giving high 5 after a goal:

We had an amazing goalie, Hannah. 

Here's the whole team with their championship trophies:

And my girls --

Bekah was feeling really good and had asked Brooks if she could play.  He told her that he would put her in toward the end of the game.  She can run and play but she is supposed to avoid falling.  Not too long into the game, one of our players got hurt so Bekah went in and played the whole game.  She was out of shape from no activity since the end of August but she did a great job and the girls really enjoyed playing the final game of the season together. 

Mark had a great last game.  Here he is with his buddy, Jackson:

And Mark and Brooks:

Sam's team almost made it to the championship game.  They lost in a shoot out in Friday night's game.  Sam's coach said a small little something about each player as he gave the trophy.  When the coach gave Sam his trophy he said "Sam I can play any position (last name)" Here is Sam receiving his trophy:

We have a couple of months of no soccer.  Sam will play indoor winter soccer and that begins in January. 

I was able to snap a few pictures of Mark at his game this weekend.  He and Sam almost always play at the same time.  Between trying to watch both games, cheer for both boys, video both games and snap pictures -- well, I don't do a very good job of getting all that done.  :-)

Mark and Jackson

I took this picture to show the green on Mark's face.  He had very much enjoyed the snack of a fruit roll-up thing.  The green doesn't show as much in the picture.

Bekah had surgery to repair her collar bone.  It's hard to believe it's been five weeks; however, for her, it has definitely felt like five weeks.  She hasn't been in pain but the restrictions have made that five weeks seem like ten weeks to her.  She had a follow-up appointment yesterday and the doctor was very pleased with her progress.  In fact, he released her and she doesn't return to see him until the spring.  He said she might even be able to play spring soccer.  She is now free to run but must be careful.  He told her he still doesn't want her taking a fall and no contact sports.  She is so happy to be able to run and play.  As soon as we returned home yesterday she was outside running and playing. 

Here are her x-rays from yesterday:

Last week Mark took his first official Math test.  I haven't been giving him any tests because I know if he's mastered the material or not and he's just in Kindergarten.  He wants to be just like the "big kids" and that means doing school like they do (on his own as much as possible) and taking tests like they do.  So last week he finished his Pace and took his test on Friday.  He was soooooo excited.  He ran to tell Bethany, "Bethany, I get to take a test tomorrow.  I finished my pace and I get to take a test tomorrow.  I love this school.  I love this school.  I love this school"  He was jumping up and down shouting how much he loves "this school", which translates to this curriculum.  It's funny because he has completed several other books but they were all thicker and didn't bring nearly as much excitement.  Something about these small paces and finishing one and starting another really bring him joy. 

Here he is with his completed test:

He was very happy to begin his new pace today and was sure to ask me "Mommy, do you have a lot of these for me?  I am going to be needing more very soon." 

It's such a joy to see Mark growing and learning more and more each day.  Yesterday morning while getting ready for church he had some "issues".  He wasn't happy about the pants he needed to wear.  He ended up getting them on but still had a bit of an attitude about it.  We went on to church and planned to deal with it when we returned home.  As church began, he still had an attitude and would pull away if I touched his shoulder.  I instructed him that he was being rude and he needed to get his heart right.  The service went on and we listened to the teaching etc....  It came time for communion.  During our quiet time to prepare our hearts for communion, Mark came to me and asked me to forgive him for being rude and not showing love.  He then went to Brooks and asked Brooks to forgive him for having the attitude about the pants (Brooks was the one dealing with that)  I thanked the Lord for working in the life of Mark and for Mark hearing and responding to the Lord working in his life.  God is so good to give us these glimpses along the way.  It is an encouragement to continue on this hard work that is before us.