The Heart of the Home seeks to equip women as they study God's Word and encourage them to treasure God with all of their heart (Matt 6:19-21), and guard their heart (Prov. 4:23), by recognizing that they are the heart of the home.

Have you heard abut NASA's plans for early tomorrow morning?

Apparently Nasa is planning to send a rocket to the moon. But this time they are intending to actually hit the moon!

Does this seem a little strange to you? I mean do we really have a right to fire a rocket at the moon and damage it all in the name of science? And what if their plans go wrong? And how will this change the moon?

I understand what they are attempting to find out with this little experiment of theirs. They are hoping to find water beneath the surface of the moon. I for one am very curious to see how this goes and will be watching tomorrow morning news about how we attacked the moon.

You can read more about it here. And there is an interesting video called "Planning the Assault: Why Bomb the Moon"

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Don't forget about the Homeschool Blog Awards for this year! 

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Have been thinking about Chris Klicka this morning. I remember when he came to speak at the OCEANetwork Conference a few years ago. In farewell and blessing, we (all the conference attendees gathered in the sanctuary) sang him this song. It was beautiful, and poignant, and I'm glad the Lord gave him a few more years after that on this earth, to be with his family and friends. Still, it is a comfort that for him, "to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Praying God's peace for him and those who love him.

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

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Fall is in full swing!  A Southern wind on Tuesday became a North wind on Wednesday, and morning lows dropped from upper 60's to mid 40's in two days' time.  Brr!  Possibilities of a low in the 30's this weekend is a little bit of a concern, as my tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes.  Just a little early to be quite that low.  Yikes!  We'll see what happens.  The garden has wound down in many respects.  Squash are almost completely done, and cucumbers are nearly so.  Tomatoes will keep going until the frost hits.  My melon are mostly done, and the corn crop was a total dissappointment this year.  Pumpkins, too.  I'm hoping my pole beans do well.  There are loads of blossoms, but I had a hard time finding any for the festival.

Speaking of the festival, last week was busy, but fun.  We entered 72 items in the fair...an average of 9 per person participating from our household.  Much of our produce did well, with 13 yo son earning first place ribbons on all of his entries.  5 yo son picked a watermelon, and got a grand champion ribbon on it.  I got lot champion ribbons on my yellow pear tomatoes and on my "Long of Naples" winter squash (28.2 lbs.).  13 yo entered the big (31.2 lbs) watermelon, which got a first.  10 yo dd earned several ribbons with her sculpey clay artwork, and with her decorated cake.  I entered some of my last year's poems, one of which received a second and a reserve lot champion.  The judge's remarks indicate that he/she wasn't all that taken with most of them, as the one ribbon-winning entry said, "At last...continuity"...oh, well.  The poems with Christian reference seemed to receive the worst marks and comments.  The ribbon winning one, "The Quiet Sounds of Evening".  Gotta laugh, though...many of my poems are a little disjoint because of the manner in which they come together, reflective of a busy Mom who must grab the moments as they present themselves.  New strategy next time I enter more than one item:  package and print them all differently so as not to cause the judge an attitude if they dislike one or more.  Grin!

Fall in our corner of the desert means birthdays, and we have two coming this month.  We will also be watching our flock of turkeys fatten up for Thanksgiving and beyond, Lord willing.  One of the hens had a limp, and perhaps hurt its leg.  We butchered it yesterday.  14 lbs. after cleaning it.  2 years ago, the hen we had for Thanksgiving dinner weighed in at 30 lbs. after it was butchered and cleaned.  It had nearly 2 more months to fatten up, though.  Turkey cooking tomorrow, and a little time to wait before the next one. 

Soccer is still busy, kicking back into gear after the Fall Festival break.  14 yo dd has 4 games to go before the high school JV season is finished.  The other kids have games through the first week of November, and then playoffs for the older 2.  Busy, chilly weeks ahead.  And, that's the news for now from the ranch!  Blessings!

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My very first post here at HSB was in 2005... My illustrious writing career (snort) began with some banter about a trip to Wal-mart and crayons being on sale!

Much has changed in my life over the past 4 years, but one thing has stayed the same.  I am still homeschooling!  And seriously, that is a big deal!  We all know that homeschooling is quite a commitment and a huge responsibility.  It is easy to get overwhelmed and have the occasional dream about sending our kidlets on that magical yellow bus that comes down the street every morning.

I am thankful for all of my friends here at HSB and in bloggyland!  Y'all have been such an encouragement to me in my homeschooling journey over the years.  And honestly, it is just plain FUN to hang out with other homeschooling families, even if it is a virtual living room.

I have decided to take a new direction with my blog here at HSB-- and that is to post ummm... well, about HOMESCHOOLING!  Shocking, isn't it?

So here is where you will find a greater focus on Our Homeschool, rather than Other Such Happenings. :)

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David and the boys have been on a Lucky Charms kick lately.

Back in the old days, I remember the ensuing hullabaloo when purple horseshoes were added to the mix. How could they even think of changing the classic marshmallow composition like that?!

But they did.

Then they massacred the recipe even more when they added more...

And to make it worse, they are trying to distract us with phrases like "Good source of calcium and vitamin D" and "whole grains."

WHATEVUH.

Three weeks of Lucky Charms for a bedtime snack inspired me to conduct a possibly frightening quasi-quackish-scientific experiment.

Just call me a health nut.

QUESTION: What is the marshmallow to cereal ratio in a typical bowl of Lucky Charms Cereal?

HYPOTHESIS: Approximately 8 years ago, I conducted a similar test with Frankenberry Cereal. My hypothesis is that Lucky Charms will yield similar results of a 50/50 ratio of marshmallows to cereal.

(Note to self: Do not audition to be a hand model unless it's for a robot hand.)

(Post-note to self: Be weary of saying or writing all of your spontaneous thoughts out loud lest people think ye are whacko.)

EXPERIMENT: Carefully separate the marshmallows from the "whole grain" cereal pieces, while exercising great caution as to not eat the materials.

Hmmm... I wonder which bowl is hiding the "calcium and vitamin D"???

Halfway through the bowl, the ratio is neck and neck.

DATA ANALYSIS: My family's typical bowl of Lucky Charms contains more cereal than marshmallows.

CONCLUSION: I hereby conclude that Lucky Charms is healthier than my initial supposition. Consumption of said cereal at the Drews house may continue.

It's a lifestyle of learning, y'all.

And you thought Saturday nights at my house would be boring! I bet you are totally kicking yourself right now.

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On... Sep. 25, 2009
my friend... Char5
wrote about...Back At It...Cozy Home Academy 2009

Here we are back to homeschool for another year. I am sorry that I have been AWOL from blogging for so long. I have had a bit of a health crisis; I had a hysterectomy in June. I am healing well but find I have times where I am zapped of energy. I am diligently trying to get back to my writing interests as well as our homeschool endeavors. 

Yesterday we joined a group of our homeschool friends for a new weekly Gym Class that is being taught by one of the moms. She is a veteran Physical Ed instructor with 4 years teaching experience at a Christian School. She is now homeschooling her children and is offering the classes free of charge. This is exactly what my rambunctious little student needed!!! He had such a GREAT time! They did exercises together, played a game of PIG basketball, ran around the court and played with hoolahoops. He met some new friends and is already looking forward to next week. 

We have been doing more "unschool" this year and are going to get involved with our local 4-H group next month. Caleb got a camera for his birthday in April and LOVES to document his daily activities as well as those of our cat-whether she wants him to or not-LOL. I have been checking out the 4-H Photograghy curriculum and think it is just what my aspiring "shutter bug" could sink his brain into. I am anxious for him to get into this group. 

I will close for now and will do my best to write again soon. I hope that you are having a wonderful and productive homeshool year, so far, at your house, too. 

Hugs from WV, 

Char  

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On... Sep. 25, 2009
my friend... Marsha
wrote about...Thursday Thirteen
in... General Ramblings

Crazy days mean bullet posts-- yay!

1. I put Thursday Thirteen in the title but my tired brain cannot remember if that is a for real linked-up thing to join or something that I am just imagining. My tired body says no way are we going to mess with the clicks and typing it requires to actually look it up.

2. I am missing my cutie-patootie nephew Caden. That is one happy, smiley baby that loves his bath!

3. I am halfway watching Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz while I am typing this post. It makes it harder to come up with 13 things.

4. We will be having our first day of the new school year on Monday! While I know what material we will be using, I have ZERO plans or schedules written out. Not good. I hope to remedy that soon, preferably before Sunday night.

5. Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan should be required reading.

6. While at MD Anderson for treatment, my uncle developed pneumonia, contracted West Nile, and has some other issues. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for his recovery and for strength and encouragement for his sweet wife.

7. Before we left for DC, I realized that our dog Snowball was pregnant. Last night, she delivered one puppy. The scrawny white puppy died late this afternoon. We believe that it was a little underdeveloped and born prematurely. I didn't think I would be so sad about it dying, after all God made creatures to live and to die. I am glad that Austin and Noah didn't get attached. I guess I got a little attached while trying to warm the poor thing and stimulate it with some glucose water. (Please pardon this choppily written paragraph. Could there be less flow to it?)

8. Skip-Bo is a fun and addicting card game. For the record, I was the CHAMPION of the game last night against my mom and dad. (Let's not mention that I did not win a single game the night before.)

9. Are you intimidated or offended by my wild and crazy Tuesday evening? (see #8)

10. Old Navy (in-store) has an extra 50% off their clearance items right now. I'm just sayin'...

11. I'm thinking I should have put this post off until Friday so I could participate in 7 Quick Takes Friday instead.

12. Has anyone tried this alarm clock? It's a bit pricey for a clock but might be worth it if it would help me to wake up in the mornings. But then again, laying off the caffeine and going to bed at a decent hour is practically FREE. Maybe I should try that first instead.

13. I wish we had tetherball. Even though David would school me in it. Just call him Napoleon.

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On... Tuesday, September 22, 2009
my friend... Suzanne
wrote about...Blogging Confusion
in... Ramblings

I know I'm goofy.  I can't help it!  (Don't tell my parents, but I come by it honestly!  )

I blogged over at one of my other blogs today.  Please come check it out!!!  (And, please leave me a comment -- or two or three.)

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On... Sep. 21, 2009
my friend... Marsha
wrote about...Reflections
in... Encouragement and Other Thoughts

There was much to reflect upon during our visit to Washington DC.

World War II...

My uncle's sacrifice in Vietnam...

The Korean War...

And what my children see when they look at me...

What are you reflecting on this week?

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