"Mrs. Diamond" and I have been getting to know each other through our blogs. Her "Diamondettes" (I refuse to cal them lumps of coal), have been blog friends with my girls for awhile now. It's fun to meet families as a family on HSB!
Now there are TONS of blog posts I could link you to, but I had such a hard time deciding what to go with. I've opted to link to categories, that way you can see a bunch of posts at one time.
The first category up is Emily's 400 Questions, and Mrs. Diamond isn't kidding when she makes that claim! Some of the questions her daughter comes up with will surely make you chuckle and wonder where that question came from. Others are very thought provoking. All are fun to read! Now if Mrs. Diamond would put the answers she'd have her own Q & A Encyclopedia!
Ever wonder what it's like to live in the desert? Then the category Life in the Desert is what you want to click on! It's hot, it's cold, and it's always full of blessings--and lessons from the Lord.
With the holidays coming up you are more than likely looking for some new recipes. Try this little recipe "book" Recipes From My Kitchen. The recipe that is a family favorite for my family is the Dutch Baby. Yummo!
My all time favorite category though is Diamonds and Other Gems. Wow! There are some lessons to learn here! Like the worth of diamonds--and souls.
Please click on over and say hello to my friend, DiamondsInTheRough!
• Nov. 7, 2009 - "All you need is FAITH & TRUST, and a little bit of ...."
Posted By jlobullard
It's been over a month since I last wrote a blog. Yes, I've been busy, but aren't we all? Actually, I just haven't had the time to process all that has been going on in the last 30+ days. My husband and I have embarked on another journey in our life together. This one is requiring a lot of FAITH & TRUST.
For many years, we have been leading marriage small groups, and mentoring couples in our home. We have a great desire to help couples draw closer to our Creator, and to each other.
Approximately 6 years ago God gave us an idea for a Marriage Retreat. Since then, He has continually told us to “wait” because it wasn’t the right time. About a month ago, our prayers were answered with a “YES” b/c He had all the details in place for us to start planning!
Now comes the FAITH & TRUST part.
We must have FAITH that God is going to provide the couples that need and want to be a part of this event. We must have FAITH that God will provide the number of couples needed for us to re-coup the costs that we have already spent. We must have FAITH that God will give my husband and I the wisdom and words to effectively communicate w/ these couples during our teaching time that weekend.
We must TRUST others that we have asked to co-labor with us for this event. We must TRUST in their abilities. We must TRUST that they will do what they say they will.
"And my righteous ones will live by faith...." Hebrews 10:38
"Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper." Psalm 37:3
Now what else did Peter Pan say that we need? "A little bit of............pixie dust?" That may have worked for the Darling children, but for us, all we need is the Creator of the Universe. He alone is the author and supporter of this journey. We will trust HIM with all our heart.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5
Well today has been a pretty great day! Me and my friend woke up this morning watched some TV and ate some leftover pizza and then we went and fed the animals and then went outside played and hung out, later that day after lunch we had to take him home . Later in the afternoon I started cleaning the house because my grandmother is coming over tomorrow to visit for a day. That's all for today talk to y'all later!
I gave in and got the H1N1 vaccine for two of my daughters (my oldest and youngest) and for me, complete with Thermisol (mercury) for my older daughter and me. I have very well-managed asthma that has occasionally gone totally South on me in the past. Real misery. 30-40% reading on my peak flow meter kind of stuff. And my eight year old has CVS, which she has gotten sick before from a cold and it causes her to not be able to keep things down at all, once for almost a week. So, despite my misgivings, and outrage at them STILL putting things like Thermisol in our vaccines, I got the vaccine. My littlest daughter got the one without thermisol, but it was "unavailable" to us who are older. We even had a flu like thing come through our house, but not everyone got it and it wasn't that strong or long-lasting, so I'm figuring it wasn't H1N1.
In the end I just figured I was going to worry about which was the right decision and I'd just get the vaccine and then put the worry behind me.
Abigail was cute as can be. Kids were there screaming before they even got the shot, just in anticipation. She, at first didn't know what was going on. Then I got a shot and Natalie (8) got a shot and then I picked up Abigail (2) to hold her. What a smarty she is. I pulled her sleeve down to bare it and she immediately grabbed her upper arm muscle to cover it. So smart. We all feel alright so far.
Dentist
Jon went to the dentist. We belong to an HMO. He called for a dental cleaning and they told him it was three months or today. So, he took today. In customary fashion, nothing wrong with his teeth. I tell you, he brushes his teeth so fast and only once a day and isn't consistent about flossing. But, never any cavities or any other problems. He tells them about the difference between him and I. I don't know why Jon tells me these things, but he tells me he says they say it's just how you take care of your teeth. He tells them about how many cavities I have gotten when pregnant. They tell him that extra cavities associated with pregnancy have only to do with being distracted. You have got to be kidding??? These people just frost me! (Am I not supposed to say that on a blog?) I brush my teeth like a maniac when I'm pregnant. They tell Jon there is no nutritional basis for cavities and that teeth cannot have minerals leached from them. What are they smoking??? (Am I not supposed to say that either?) I suppose weak teeth have no possible connection with weak bones either...as in how badly I broke my wrist... Oh...my, I do need to brush my teeth like crazy. That's true. But, it is my belief that I have some genetic thing going on with both my teeth and my bones and my moods that I best do something about. The medical community can be so narrow minded sometimes. Medicine + a thoughtful (rather than bureaucratic) look at nutrition = powerful. Medicine the way it is = unhelpful.
My grandpa, my Papafather's dad, was a country vet. He had a little office off the side of the house where he did small animal surgery, and exams. He made house calls all around the country, some trips taking him an hour or more to reach the animal in need of help, be it cow, horse, sheep, or pig. Very often he would have one of his children in tow. He had 10 of them so there was no shortage of helpers. It all sounds very James Harriot like, and in a way it was. James Harriot's stories are popular with that side of the family and each story reminds them of one like it that grandpa experienced.
Grandpa's office was, as I said, just off the house. Just off the kitchen to be exact. My grandma had a dutch door put in so that she could just open up the top half to talk to him and yet keep the little ones inside. Think about that. A vet's office, just off the kitchen. Do you recall how a vet's office smells? That smell still lingers in that office to this day and it's been over 10 years since my grandpa died.
Aside from the smell, I never gave grandpa's office much thought. We would traipse our way through it on the way to play outside, to gather in the clothes from off the line, to pick grapes, collect eggs, or to find grandpa. The office doubled as grandma's laundry room so I suppose that's why it didn't seem like a room that needed much attention. I never spent any time in it other than to get from point A to point B. Which is strange now that I think about it, all those fascinating instruments, chemicals, medicines, and the like just within reach. I never touched them or was ever tempted to do so.
One temptation I did give in to was a special barrel out back that held two skunks. Grandpa would warn us to leave those skunks alone. My numerous cousins and I would stand around the barrel peering in, and those skunks would peer back. The lot of us cousins would look for only a moment and then run away as fast as we could before we got sprayed. I didn't find out until I was much older that those skunks couldn't spray because my grandpa had "deskunked" them. I don't know if my cousins were aware of this at the time or not, they ran just as fast as I did. Grandpa's warning hadn't been for us, he had been worried that we would torment the skunks.
Skunks actually make a great pet and are positively darling, if you can legally keep them. My uncle kept one for awhile. She was just like a cat, had a litter box and everything. Her name was Rosie, and then some, but I won't repeat that part.
We have a family story, told every couple of years or so I guess, about grandpa and one particular skunk he was de-scenting. While in the process of removing the gland that contains the hideous skunk musk, it was ruptured. It squirted all of its contents right in my grandpa's face. He came into the kitchen to clean up and the only thing he said was, "It's such a beautiful color." Apparently skunk spray is an amber color, and my God fearing grandpa could still recognize the beauty of God's handiwork even in a skunk's musk.
Funny, while my aunts and uncles roar with laughter about this story every time they tell it, I don't remember anyone talking about the smell lingering in the kitchen or what on earth my grandma said or did. I'll have to ask them about that.
After the laughter dies down, someone will always mention how my grandpa was such a quiet, gentle, and patient man. Oh he had his moments when a cow would stomp him, but how many men do you know who would take it from a skunk and only comment on it's beauty?
• Nov. 6, 2009 - Homeschooling Only One ~ In Honor of Our Veterans
Posted By HomeschoolBlogger Company Blog in
hsingonlyone
It is so sad that events occurred yesterday at Fort Hood, north of state capital Austin, near Killeen, Texas, during the same week that we had chosen to honor our Veterans and write about honoring them. I'm assuming by now everyone has heard that a shooter, a psychiatrist major, opened fire upon his fellow soldiers, killing 12 and wounding 31. Thankfully, he was stopped before the statistics became higher, and in this case, he survived and is in stable condition (as of Thursday night). It is sad that for whatever reason he snapped. Sadder still that he happens to have an ethnic name, helping others to automatically put blame towards domestic terrorism. (Although things are coming out that his religion, Islam, might have contributed to his thoughts and actions.)
Last night, I was at my dog class, which is held at an National Guard Armory in Fort Worth. In fact, due to the Fort Hood event, they were asking us to lock the front door behind us as we came and went. We voiced our support to them. Being there and having to be in a "lock-down" situation helped to put a face on those who serve us by being willing to protect us and our country.
You never know when your path will cross with those who have served (or who are serving). I want to encourage you to voice your support and appreciation for and to them. It can be a simple "thank you for your service;" it doesn't have to be anything elaborate or overly formal. (I usually include our police officers and fire-fighters also, since they serve and protect us "closer to home.")
Reach out to those who come across your path and show them your appreciation for their service. They deserve our respect and gratitude.
Donna Conner lives in Fort Worth, TX with her husband, Glenn, their son, Mike, Donna's mother, Charlotte, and their dog, Lucia. Donna and Glenn have been homeschooling their son since the beginning of his education. Mike completed his homeschooling in the fall of 2008. Donna is an artist and has always enjoyed writing. She wrote Homeschooling Only One in 2003, after discovering that there were many other families homeschooling only one child. Her website is devoted to those with only one student in their homeschool, with listings of online resources. You can find these free resources, including a message board for those who HOO, on her website at http://donnac.com and read her blog at: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/DonnaC
Why join the military? The money isn't terribly good. Starting pay is nice but it doesn't keep up with the private sector. The locations are great but even a tropical island is blah after the third holiday you don't see your family. Then there is boot camp and the continual physical tests and challenges that are just plain hard. So why join the military?
I can tell you why we did. My husband and I both chose to serve. Someone must stand on the line and say no further. I will protect my family and friends. I will stand up for my rights and those of my neighbors. I chose to serve because it is a responsibility as a citizen of the United States of America that I am able to fulfill.
Times change and now we are no longer in the military. I am glad that I had that chance. Now how can I continue that sense of service to country? This year we are looking into sending packages and cards to soldiers around the world.
I would like to thank the veterans out there! Thank you for your dedication and willingness to serve and protect. God bless!
Heather lives in West Virginia. She and her husband have been homeschooling their 5 children for 8 years. Due to a genetic disorder their children have multiple special needs. Living life to the fullest for the glory of God is their goal! Visit Heather's page at www.homeschoolblogger.com/gfcfmomofmany/ or at Special Needs Homeschooling.
• Nov. 6, 2009 - Molly's November Digest - Family Photography
Posted By MamaDuke
One of the “school” projects that we’re going to work on next summer (okay – I’m disguising schoolwork as fun!) is digital photography.My two children already fiddle with my camera but I’d like to spend extra time with them in learning how to set up a picture and get a really good photo, not just another snapshot.The November issue of Molly’s Digest is going to really help me out with our lessons.I’ve been learning tips from how to set up a photo, how to suit the photo subjects to how to get interesting angles and perspectives (i.e. getting down on my knees).All of these tips will help us in learning how to take great photos – ones that are really interesting.
Let’s not forget that once you get finished taking the pictures you need to do something with them (other than storing them on your hard drive).I can hear the gasps now but I don’t scrapbook.Of all the craft projects I’ve ever tried, scrapbooking just isn’t my thing.I simply don’t have the time and when a project begins to mount and mount, I just look at the pile and let it sit.It’s too overwhelming sometimes.But, I still love to take pictures.Instead of making beautiful pages for a scrapbook I simply slap them into a photo album (by date order) and I’m done!However, after reading Molly’s November issue, I have been enlightened to the many ways to organize a photo album (by trip, event, by child, etc.) other than just by date order.These tips are really going to come in handy since we just got back from a week’s vacation in DC.What timing!!!Again, the November issue has really got some great ideas for digital scrapbooking (which is probably much more up my alley) including listing many websites that offer free digital scrapbooking supplies. In addition, I’ve got many new ideas for organizing photo albums and pictures waiting to go into photo albums.I can’t wait to get started!
And what edition of Molly isn’t complete without recipes!?I’ve promised myself that at least once a week I’m going to pull out my crockpot and “fire it up” (so to speak).I forget that I have one even though I know how easy it is to prepare a meal and let it cook on its own while we handle school work, errands and even work itself.There are so many wonderful slow cooker recipes in this issue that my mouth was watering while I envisioned these dishes in my own crockpot:Slow-Cooker Lasagna, Vegetarian Chili, Cheesy Chicken, Pot Roast and more!!As Rachael Ray would say, “Yummo!”
If you haven’t ordered your November issue yet, don’t wait and order it now.It’ll definitely be worth the small investment!
On Oct. 1st the kids and I were in the car headed to the pumpkin patch! They were all dressed in fall t-shirts and I was ready to take some great pictures! Then it started raining...I pulled over and made a few quick calls to the homeschool friends we were suppose to meet. We all decided to go another day. Little did we know it was going to rain for 30 days straight! (I am exaggerating a little here, but honestly this is the wettest Oct. I have seen in my life!) Meanwhile we were in the middle of moving. The rain meant we were moving in the mud and the last thing I wanted to do was trek out into a pumpkin patch and collect even more mud. As the month headed to a close I started to realize a trip to the pumpkin patch was not going to happen. So I did the next logical thing...I decided to have a Pumpkin Party! LOL
What is a Pumpkin Party??? Honestly it's something I made up. But, we had our first one on Nov. 2nd with 97 people in attendance! Thankfully the rain finally stopped and we found a park with lots of concrete to keep us out of the mud. The party was a huge success and a LOT of fun! Here are the highlights....
We started out with the kids each decorating a pumpkin cookie.
Then they ate their cookies while waiting for the pumpkin story to start.
Next we listened to the Pumpkin Gospel You can read all about the story at the link below http://ginaconroy.com/ginablog/wordpress/2007/10/30/the-pumpkin-gospel/
Then we played pumpkin games!
Pumpkin Parachute Game. I got a package of Fun Foam Pumpkin and made a smiley face on one with a marker. Then they would put all the pumpkins in the parachute, throw them up in the air and the person who found the smiley face got a piece of candy. Repeat until everyone wins!
We also had Pumpkin Hot Potato.
And we had Pumpkin Relay Races!
We finished off the party with lots and lots of pumpkin food! Everyone brought a pumpkin dish to share. We had pies, breads, cakes, cookies, pumpkin dip. The food was amazing!
It was a great day and I am sure we will have many more pumpkin parties in the future.
. Later in the afternoon I started cleaning the house because my grandmother is coming over tomorrow to visit for a day. That's all for today talk to y'all later!
You can read all about the story at the link below
I got a package of Fun Foam Pumpkin and made a smiley face on one with a marker. Then they would put all the pumpkins in the parachute, throw them up in the air and the person who found the smiley face got a piece of candy. Repeat until everyone wins!
The kids loved this! I got the idea here: 
