May. 28, 2009 - church sign
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May. 28, 2009 - My son, the church pianist :)
My 14yo son recently accepted his first job as a church pianist! He began lessons at age 8 and has always loved to play. We were not seeking a job for him when this opportunity came along. In fact, he was not at all interested when the offer was first made. But we did some praying and the next thing we knew, we were at a different church and he had a job! And he loves it!
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May. 28, 2009 - Teaching Literature
On my local homeschool loop, someone posted a question asking HOW to teach literature, in this case, to a 6th grader. Here are my thoughts on "teaching" this subject:
I think the most important thing for literature is to read good books. Read them, tell about them (oral narration), discuss them with someone else who has read them, write about them (written narration), etc. You can also learn a little something about the author and the time period that he/she is writing in or about, and the region he is in (that adds history and geography). Study guides such as the ones from Proginy Press are nice to do occasionally if you want to add in some vocabulary and such. I would not do all of this for every book, just for some. Sometimes they just need to be left alone to enjoy the book without the pressure of a "lesson".
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Apr. 10, 2009 - Awards Day
Our local 2-year community college recently held it's Awards Day ceremonies and my daughter was awarded an Outstanding English Student Award and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society for the Two-Year College. This is a picture of us at one of the ceremonies. She is majoring in English now, and after her time at this school, she plans to transfer to a nearby university to major in journalism; Lord willing, of course :) She also works part time in an after-school program at a local elementary school and is a lifeguard during the summer. We are so pleased with her accomplishments. We began homeschooling when she started second grade.
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Apr. 10, 2009 - Thankful for homeschooling
Crosswalk Homeschool News
IN THIS ISSUE
Washington Times Op-ed-Withdrawing Kid During Term OK
by J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President
One of the trends I am seeing in homeschooling that I didn't see in the early years involves the timing of when families begin to homeschool. More and more students are being withdrawn during the school year.
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The bottom line is parents need to know they have the right to remove their children from public school at any time. This does not mean parents won't be challenged by some school districts and given misinformation, but the day is over when parents should be fearful of removing their children from public school so they can provide them with an education that is proving year after year to produce graduates who are better educated and socialized than the average public school student.
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The above includes the first and last paragraphs of an article from Crosswalk Homeschool News. It just reminded me to be thankful for all those homeschool pioneers in the 1980's who paved the way for me to be able to homeschool my children today. Until 1996, the year we began homeschooling, we had NEVER met ONE homeschool family. Not only were there fewer homeschoolers back then, but homeschooling in general was nowhere near as "out in the open" as it is now. There was a time when public officials were hostile toward parents who homeschooled. Even today, there are those who are against what we are doing. May we never take our freedom for granted.
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Mar. 16, 2009 - It's been a long time...
Wow. It's been a long time since I've posted here. I had just begun to blog, hadn't even quite gotten the hang of it, when I stopped posting altogether. I read other blogs and they seem so interesting. I'm not sure I really have anything to share that would be interesting or helpful to others.
Another reason I haven't posted is because I finally decided to join facebook and boy is it addictive! I find myself wanting, needing, to check in during the day to see what others are doing. It's crazy! Anyway, if you're on facebook and want to be friends, let me know!
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Jan. 21, 2009 - Long Term Menu Planning
I just finished reading about menu planning in the latest issue of "The Homeschool Minute". Menu planning is something that I really enjoy doing. In the beginning I would plan meals for the week but then I started planning for the month and found that I really liked that.
First, I would print out a monthly calendar page from www.donnayoung.org (Don't you just love that website?). Using my list of meal/dish ideas, together with input from my husband and kids, I begin filling in the days. Not every day, mind you. I would leave days open to be filled in with anything from sandwiches to leftovers to eating out. I would spread the more demanding meals out over the month and fill in with simple ones. The time consuming meals would also be planned on days that I would normally get to stay home or at least had little to do outside of the house. Since I sought after the input of my family, each person would get their requested meal(s) sometime during that month. Planning this way also allowed me to have a really good meal (which may cost a little more) one evening and then follow with a more economical (cheap!) meal the next. This helps me with the grocery budget without anyone feeling deprived of good meals! I will also add that I PENCIL in the meals on my calendar pages since life does happen and things do have to be changed. I love to plan but I am also VERY flexible.
I enjoyed this monthly planning so much that I eventually began quarterly planning. Crazy as it sounds, this year I am tentively planning for the entire year! I have printed out all 12 months of calendar pages from the donna young website and have them in my "Household Management" 3-ring binder. Now of course I have not planned every meal for the year and don't really intend to, exactly. Having the entire year to *work with* allows me to get in a wide variety of meals. We can easily get stuck in the rut of Mon-Spaghetti, Tues-burgers, Wed-... and that is exactly how I used to do it. While there is nothing at all wrong with that, I began to tire of the same old thing all the time, week after week. There just wasn't enough variety. When I sat down and listed all the things we like to eat, I saw that there was no way to plan only for a week. So the weekly plan became two weeks, then a month,... It just grew! I do *tweak* my menu A LOT because, again, life happens. If money is tight one week due to an unexpected expense, I erase and redo. If I see a really good deal on chicken breasts when I had planned on pork chops, I erase and redo.
This might sound a little obsessive but it's really not! It's not much different than planning the school year. We plot our course and purchase the books. For the most part, things somewhat go as planned, but because homeschoolers are a flexible people, we add and delete things along the way in order to make it work. 
I hope someone has gotten some ideas that might work for your family. Thanks for listening!
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Nov. 28, 2008 - Strained Relationships
I'm feeling *blue* today. Perhaps I ate too much yesterday? 
(Thanksgiving) Probably, but I don't think that's what's causing me to feel this way. Is it just me or are relationships hard?
There are some strained relationships in my life right now and I would love nothing more for Christmas than for God to repair those relationships. If you're reading this, will you pray for me today? Although I cannot control the feelings and/or actions of others, I can work on controlling my own. But I need to know what the Lord wants me to *do*, if anything. I always feel as though I have to *do* something to fix things (and other people?). Hmmm... Could that be contributing to the problem?
I am by nature an emotional person (it's inherited 
) and I have an incredible desire to please people. But of course everyone is not pleased with me all the time. It's even a ridiculous idea, now that I think about it, that anyone could possibly please all people at all times. So why does it bother me so? I'll tell you why! If I give 100% of myself and it is still not enough for some people, it upsets me. It's like saying that MY BEST is just NOT GOOD ENOUGH. How much more can I give than my all? But it is one thing if they are not pleased with me; it is quite another to always let it be known that they are not pleased. After a while, I figure it's best to spend as little time around them as possible. Then comes time for family gatherings and I don't know what to *do*. Is it best to attend with everyone miserable? Is it best to decline? *Sigh*
Is it just me or are relationships hard?
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Nov. 22, 2008 - Romans chapter 1
The church I attend recently had a revival service at which the guest preacher used Romans 1:18-32 as his text. A fellow church member and homeschooler posted a comment about the sermon on our local homeschool email loop and sparks flew! The discussion touched on racism and slavery then turned into an ugly debate about abortion. I should probably add that said sermon was delivered on election night, as was the original post, which only added fuel to the fire because of opposing views on both abortion and the outcome of the election. The original post, by the way, made no mention of racism, slavery, or abortion. Likewise, I do not intend to talk of those things in this particular post. Since that discussion, I have read and re-read Romans 1:18-32 several times. I would like to talk about what I have been thinking about this passage of scripture which, in my Bible, is titled "God's Wrath on Unrighteousness".
First of all, let it be known that I believe that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and that we are to love one another (1 John 4:11, 20-21; Matthew 22:39). God certainly proved His love for us when He gave His Son (John 3:16) and I believe that Jesus displayed love and compassion during His earthly ministry and that we are to follow His example. With that said, we cannot get around the fact that Romans 1:18 says "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men..." The remainder of the text (thru verse 32) goes on to list a number of actions which brought on the wrath of God and "...that those who practice such things are worthy of death..." as are those who know "the righteous judgment of God" and "approve of those who practice them". Three times in the NKJV (in this text) it is stated that "God gave them up" or "God gave them over" ; to uncleanness, to vile passions, to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting, etc. This text is often used to point out that homosexuality is a sin (v. 26-27) and also any sexual immorality and murder (v. 29). What has caught my attention in this passage, however, are some of the other actions that are listed so I would like to point them out, along with the definitions of some from Webster's 1828 Dictionary.
Let's begin with "covetousness" which is defined as "A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good; usually in a bad sense, and applied to an inordinate desire of wealth or avarice." "Inordinate" can be defined as excessive. "Avarice" is the same as covetousness. So I will define covetousness as greed.
Next, "maliciousness" (malicious): "Proceeding from extreme hatred or ill will".
"Full of envy": "Pain, uneasiness, mortification or discontent excited by the sight of another's superiority or success, accompanied with some degree of hatred or malignity, and often or usually with a desire or an effort to depreciate the person, and with pleasure in seeing him depressed. Envy springs from pride, ambition or love, mortified that another has obtained what one has a strong desire to possess." More definitions of envy are "rivalry; competition; malice".
"Strife": "Exertion or contention for superiority; contest of emulation, either by intellectual or physical efforts. Contention in anger or enmity; contest; struggle for victory; quarrel or war. Opposition."
"Deceit": "The leading of another person to believe what is false, or not to believe what is true, and thus to ensnare him; fraud; fallacy; cheat."
"Whisperers": "One who tells secrets; a backbiter; one who slanders secretly."
"Backbiters": "One who slanders, calumniates or speaks ill of the absent." In case you are like me and don't know what "calumniates" means, it is "to charge falsely and knowingly with a crime or offense; to propagate evil reports with a design to injure the reputation of another."
As much as I want to keep going, I have got to get going instead! Duty calls! I'll continue on another post.
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Oct. 22, 2008 - Finishing it
We finished reading the book, Created for Work by Bob Schultz and it was just wonderful. My husband and I enjoyed it so much that he says we are going to read through it again. The last chapter is titled "Finish It" and it was very convicting for me. It was about the importance of completing a job. Unfortunately, it is known around my home that I love to start new projects but I often do not finish them. I'm not sure what happens, really. I start out excited about doing something new and different then I just fizzle out. The chapter titled, "Maintenance" would apply here, also. But back to the final chapter. He reminds us that Jesus' last words were, "It is finished". Jesus had a job to do and He did it. Completely. The book reads, "Aren't you glad that Jesus didn't work halfheartedly at saving you from sin? We have confidence that He is able to save us to the uttermost because He finishes what He starts." (Thank you, Jesus!) So that's my newest goal. I am going to set out to complete some unfinished projects and not start any new ones until I am done!
Now, where do I begin?
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Oct. 18, 2008 - Snowman
This is our cat, Snowman. The best cat in the whole world . He's just a big, sweet ball of fur!
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Oct. 18, 2008 - Levi's Birthday
Our youngest son, Levi, is now 11 years old! Where have all my babies gone?!
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Oct. 18, 2008 - Kyle's Birthday
My son, Kyle, turned 14 this year!
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Oct. 18, 2008 - Kara's Birthday
This is my daughter, Kara, the day she turned 19 years old!
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Oct. 7, 2008 - Over the Weekend
Well, we had planned to go to the harvest festival at Homestead Hollow on Friday but, unfortunately, those plans fell through. It just didn't seem to be a good day for anyone in our small group to go. The kids were disappointed, of course, that they had to do schoolwork instead of taking a field trip but it was a good life-lesson. Sometimes things just don't work out the way we plan, right? We will try to make the Christmas in the Country festival in November.
Saturday was a beautiful day for soccer. Levi's team played early and Kyle's game was postponed so we had the rest of the day free. I baked a cake from scratch for my husband's birthday and, I have to admit, it turned out great! It was a cocoa cake with cocoa fudge frosting. Yummm!
I went by myself to check out our new Books-a-Million at the Mall Saturday evening and I had such a great time. I just lost all track of time and ended up spending about three hours there. I could have stayed another three hours but I received two calls from home while I was there so I thought I should go. I'll save the rest of the store for another day. Coffee and books just go so well together! 
Sunday was my husband's birthday and we celebrated by going out to eat after church. It was a nice, although busy, day. We also attended a funeral that afternoon for a member of our church. As of last weekend, he and his sweet wife had been married for 67 years! That's commitment! I think she will be lonely now that her husband is gone. Can you imagine taking care of someone for 67 years and then, one day, they're gone? 
Until next time...
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Oct. 2, 2008 - Books We're Reading
We've been reading aloud each night from the book, Created for Work by Bob Schultz and it is wonderful! Although it was written primarily with young men in mind, it is full of valuable lessons for Mom and Dad, and even daughters. Last night's reading was about "The Plumbline". The author talks about how this simple tool is so valuable to builders and that as Christians, we too have "a plumb line that determines whether our affairs are upright before God." This tool, of course, is the Bible. I highly recommend this book as a read aloud in your home, especially if you have young men.
My husband and I are in Week 5 of a 10-week financial Bible study. We are participating in a Crown Financial life group at our church. If you've never heard of this, I would encourage you to visit the Crown Financial Ministries website at www.crown.org to learn more. This study uses the book, Your Money Counts by Howard Dayton. The book itself can stand alone, however, the workbook and the small group study make it even better. We have daily homework and meet with our group weekly. Each week a different topic is studied: debt, counsel, giving, work, etc. We are also working on a spending plan, debt elimination plan, etc. using forms that are provided. Having the weekly assignments helps to keep the tasks from being completely overwhelming. Did you know that there are more than 2,350 verses in the Bible related to money and possessions? I haven't counted them, and don't plan to, so I'm going to take Howard Dayton's word for it! How we handle the resources God gives us must be pretty important if He has so much to say about it, and we are learning that HIS way is NOT society's way.
Last night I checked out a book by Tracie Peterson from our church's library. It is a contemporary fiction novel titled, Where My Heart Belongs. I got started on it last night and it's already good!
Well, it looks like I have a lot of reading to do tonight so I better get off this computer now and get some work done!
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Oct. 1, 2008 - My family and me
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Oct. 1, 2008 - October!
Today is the first day of October 2008 and it is a beautiful day in Alabama! It is currently sunny and around 65 degrees. Today should be in the mid-seventies. I love it! We still have some hot days to go, but hopefully not too many more.
This past weekend we celebrated our youngest son's birthday and this weekend we will celebrate my husband's birthday. That'll be it for our birthdays for this year so we'll begin thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas. Food, family, gatherings, and gifts. Then the school year will be half over! Time really does fly by, doesn't it? For now I will try to enjoy the nice autumn weather because it, too, goes quickly.
Some friends and I are planning to take our boys to the harvest festival at Homestead Hollow on Friday. We've been studying pioneers and the 1800's using the Prairie Primer so this will be a great field trip. The festival features handmade crafts and pioneer demonstrations. I would love to have a craft that I'm really good at so that I could set up a booth there someday. Here's a link if you want to check it out: http://www.homesteadhollow.com/main.html
