Spirited Sons

Welcome to My Blog!

Schooling two active boys has never been more... interesting. That's the word I'm looking for! I love my boys! God has given them the blessing of strong, active bodies and minds. We continually pray the first will remain intact, and the second will remain engaged with Him first, and then the school work. You'll meet my sweet sons, both entirely different, but both loving God to the best of their ability in the way He made them. I lovingly refer to them as my Bell Pepper Boy and my Habanero or Hambone. That should say it all! This blog is an eclectic mix. The events, conversations, and the thoughts behind it all will be in here. Every once in a while I'll try to capture something I don't want to forget. I hope you find things you enjoy. Please let me know if you do! Blessings!

Our Curriculum

Mystery of History vol. 1
Saxon 5/4
Horizons Grade 2
A Beka Language
Spelling Power
Apologia Zoology 1

Books I'm Reading

The Bible (Isaiah)
Invitation to the Jesus Life
Discover Your Child's Learning Style
The Way They Learn
Archimedes and the Door of Science
(all things Trojan at the moment)

Favorite Links

Friday, November 7, 2008

HEY!

Posted in Due to Technical Difficulties Beyond Our Control. . .

In the true sense of "Where's Waldo?" in the Blog Universe, here I am! I'm here! Can you see me? Do you see my little 5' 2" frame hopping up and down and waving at you? I'm the little speck of a jumping bean you see on your Blog Universe map three light years to the right of Sanity! ;')

I hope you're well. This has been a trying technology season for me, as many of you know. Our little-laptop-that-could computer was "sick" for several weeks. Me, being the fabulous technology diagnostician that I am, figured there was something I could do to fix my laptop. So, I set to work . . . earnestly! Me and my "Fix It Software" would conquer all things . . . with and in Christ, of course. ;')

I eliminated duplicate files. (Is this "two" much of a good thing?)
Cookies that couldn't be eaten were sent to the Recycle bin. (Yes, I ate cookies!)
I cleaned my drives. (Which was DRIVE-ing ME crazy!)
I maximized my RAM. (Where's my thicket with a replacement?)
I minimized my file clutter. (Which of my precious files should go? The agony!)
I got to the end of my rope! (Tie a knot and hang on, baby!)
My speed was still "blazing" at 3.0 - 13.0 mbsp. (Think drips of water . . . from a shower!)
(Yeah, I didn't know what that meant other than "agonizingly slow"!) :'P

The problem? Well, my Dashing Hero noticed his computer was running slightly slower in the house, too. What? Is it possible this was contagious? Had I "shared the wealth" in a way that was going to take his work-provided laptop down a similar path of slow, painful death? Oh, Father in heaven, please no!

Those who have wireless connections in their homes know there is a bit of complexity to the set up for the convenience. There are different parts to the whole set up, most of which I cannot name. To me, "parts is parts" in the 10,000 foot overview of the deal. Well, I stand corrected. Parts is *not* parts, no matter which way you look at it.

Let me introduce . . . the router!

I didn't know what the router does. I still don't. I'm okay with that. I know this: a poorly functioning router matters a great deal. A router functioning like a well-oiled machine is not a little thing! It is a blessing beyond measure when you get down to it. I praise God for the Craigslist router that appeared for a mere $35. That was a cheap fix compared to the hundreds for a new laptop. (Not that I would have cried if we replaced the one I'm using.)

So, what have I learned from all of this? Perhaps the real problems we face in life present themselves in ways that are a bit misleading. If I diagnosed the problem based on my RAM stats alone, I would be wrong every time. This was a hardware problem in a whole other location, not one of those intangible, imaginary problems because of software, files, cookies, or whatnot.

Someone who knows something is more valuable than someone who knows very little. The time of an expert, or even half an expert, is ever so much better than the wheel-spinning I was doing on my own. Ugh! If only I had been talking to my husband more frequently about my own results. He probably would have picked up on it sooner. Ultimately, the Dashing Hero figured this out. I give him the credit. I'll give God the glory. :'D

Is everything perfect? No. There is another part to the parts, and it would change things dramatically, I hear. I think this means we have the equivalent of a Ferrari hooked up to our system, and our system needs some kind of connector to free the Ferrari to its full potential? (Yeah, I'm a tech-ie! You know it!) We are working with a system that has not yet reached its full effectiveness. This isn't different from our lives on this little planet, at least, not much. ;')

So, it is possible that I will be able to blog now. The only thing standing in my way is time. I'm hoping to get some of that. We'll see.

Yes, I remember promising a whole batch of pictures and such. I'll be working on that. I promise!

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Friday, August 15, 2008

Calling for a Do-Over!

Posted in Due to Technical Difficulties Beyond Our Control. . .

Ugh. That's about all I have to say. Isn't that the appropriate response when things take an unexpected turn and throw you for an emotional loop? Okay, maybe it's not the most appropriate response. It's probably the natural one. The Godly one is something like Psalm 121:1-2.

Last night we had one of those moments that could have been prevented. It didn't have to happen. It shouldn't have happened. A moment of mental lapse, and it's all over. Nothing can be done to fix it. *sigh*

I'm still calling for a do-over (loudly in my head)!

We have a greyhound. Our lovely greyhound has something called prey drive. We know this. We are very careful with small things . . . usually.

For more than two years we've had a button quail named Basil. He was the cutest thing on one and a half legs! (He came to us as a cast off that way.) He loved to be scritched under the chin and on top of the head. He loved to sit in Habanero's hands to be loved and petted. His awkward little walk, his cute little calls, his amazing impression of Darth Vader . . . this was a cool little bird!

A momentary lapse of judgment, a brief distraction, and Basil is no more.

I miss the little bugger. He was my favorite bird (especially since I wasn't allergic to him). As much as I miss him, Habanero misses him more. Add to the whole thing that Habanero had him out just moments before, and it's just tragic. I came home last night to a confused and devastated household. The wailing will be with me for a while, I think.

I'm tired. I want a do-over. In my do-over, I want to be here to change just one moment in time. *sigh*

Sterling, the diamond dove, misses his buddy, too. All night and all morning, the calls of a sad dove lingered in the house. Sad.

A moment of silence for the Basil bird . . . .

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Saturday, July 5, 2008

The House Sitter

Posted in Due to Technical Difficulties Beyond Our Control. . .

Wasn't there a movie about a house sitter? I vaguely recall something like that, but whatever the drama was in that tale simply cannot compare to the drama we've had. Really. You think I'm probably overreacting, but please know that this is one of those things that just doesn't happen in real life. Right?

Come, listen to the tale, and then tell me what you think.

We are preparing for a trip. Some of you know we have several animals, a mini-zoo shall we say. Well, this complicates our trips every time. We know this. We have accepted it. (Well, most of us have accepted it.) We don't always have an easy time finding someone we trust to take care of the menagerie. And, sometimes people are a little intimidated by the thought.

Alas, we began the search some time ago. Most of our regular options weren't an option this time for various reasons, so we were charting new territory, breaking new "house sitter ground" in our search.

We found a lovely church staff friend who volunteered to do it for us. She, however, was very allergic. Honestly, she had encountered more than her normal share of dogs in that day, but I just couldn't get peace about her being able to breathe . . . or not.

Our second choice was fabulous. She's a young girl, a daughter of a close friend. She came to visit, and it seemed she would be great with the whole process of feeding and such. No problems. The dogs even liked her. All was well . . . until she was struck by a terrible virus which landed her in the hospital two days ago. Last night, the call was made. No go.

I was prepared to stay home. Really, I was just resigned to the fact that God was communicating something. I was starting to take it personally. :'P As a last-ditch attempt on the whole thing, I asked one of the guys at church if he knew anyone, and he pointed to another guy. Well, I know this guy's family, so that was a conversation to have with him. He's agreed!

He's coming over tonight to get a feel for the lay of the land. Barring any unforeseen instances (puking, plague, personal injury), I believe we have our house sitter!

You just can't make this stuff up! I promise you. I can't write that well!

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Saturday, May 31, 2008

Necessity Is the Mother of. . .

Posted in Due to Technical Difficulties Beyond Our Control. . .

Education? Sure. Let's say that necessity forces me to take a moment and learn a thing or two. Those of you who regularly read along know I've had a bit of "graffiti" on my lovely blog home. Thanks to my dear friend Jenn, I learned I could ban someone from my C-box.

But, did you know you can specifically ban someone's IP from your blog? Friends don't let friends blog blindly. For some odd reason I feel like I was supposed to know this; however, I was one of the few who must not have read all the directions and didn't know all my options in the HSB Universe. Now I know one more. :'P

I tinker; therefore, I am! *lol* (More likely STUMBLE!)

For your own precious knowledge and future reference, you would find it under settings. :')

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