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.

     Well, it's down to the last few days before Thanksgiving & we are trying to get in our last few things before we start up our December studies. We are  almost finished. Just a bit more reading. Shouldn't have a problem with that Monday & Tuesday of next week.

     Today we went to our local baseball park & met our HS group & we played baseball with them. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. I think there are some great prospects for future baseball players in the group. They all hit good, & some of them have a good arm on them for throwing the ball.

     Tonight we are all kind of doing our own thing, playing, watching a bit of TV, washing clothes, & on the computer. That about sums us up. Until next time, Traci

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

     Well, we haven't been getting to much schooling this week. My sister is expecting a baby & she has been having contractions, already started dialating, & she'ss not due until DEc. 9. She has been having to go to the Dr. a lot & being put on monitors to monitor the baby so I have had her other children. My nephew is only 23 months old. Sometimes he gets to be a hand full.

     I told my DC we'd get back on course when Aunt Amanda had the baby. Until then we'd just do what we could & the rest would come later. That's the beauty of homeschooling.

     Better go, just wanted to update. Have to get off here to check on my nephew. Don't want to leave him unattended too long. Until next time, Traci

Here are some Christian reviews of the Twilight series. One of the reviews is by a Cristian woman who was formerly deeply involved in the occult.

A Girl and Her Vampire: The Frenzy over Twilight

Twilight Obsession

Responses

Review of book New Moon

Prices do not include shipping. All books in used condition.
There are a few more, but I can't finish uploading right now.

$1 per book or 3/$2



Troll Illustrated Classics -
*The Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
*Peter Pan by James M. Barrie
*The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
*The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett



*The Twits by Roald Dahl
*Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary 



*Dear Mr.Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

***************I actually have four more Beverly Cleary,  I just don't have pictures.*********************



*Second Grade Ape by Daniel Pinkwater
*Alone in His Teacher's House by Marvin Redpost
*Horrible Harry and the Dungeon by Suzy Kline



*Don't Do That, Dexter! by Jodee Mcconnaughhay
*Rockin Reptiles, The Gator Girls bk.2 by Stephanie Calmenson
*Arthur's Underwear by Marc Brown



*3 copies of Green Wilma by Tedd Arnold



*Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London
*Froggy Eats Out by Jonathan London



*Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
*Blabber Mouse by True Kelley
*Sherman Crunchley by Laura Numeroff
*Imogene's Antlers by David Small



*Amazing & Incredible Counting Stories by Max Grover
*Trashy Town by Andres Zimmerman



*Daniel's Dinosaur by Mary Carmine
*The Monster Bed by Jeanne Willis
*Dinorella by Pamela Duncan Edwards

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2775/4097787315_90e4695e4a.jpg[/img]

*Let's Go Home, Little Bear by Martin Waddell
*The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush by Tomie dePaola

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2450/4099063178_8abd0ba0f2.jpg[/img]

*A Pocketful of Stars: Poems about the Night by Nikki Siegen-Smith
*The Spring Rabbit by Joyce Dunbar

     We had a great weekend. We have been working on our house all weekend, except yesterday, we went to church. We are almost done with our decluttering. It's amazing how much joy can come over you just seeing your house all neat & tidy. I'm happy!

     We have finished our schooling for the day & are on our way out the door to the library to meet our HS group for our children to give their monthly book report. This month their book reports had to be on the origens of holidays. My DD chose Thanksgiving & my DS chose Independence Day.

     Well, they just informed me that they are all ready so until next time, Traci

     My DD is sitting here with me & when she saw the title of my blog she said, "You aren't kidding!"  I think she's insinuating that I've been making them clean too much.

     My home just seemed like everything was just piled up & I got a belly load of looking at it so I told them we are going to get this junk out of here. I have sent 10 Walmart bags & 2 garbage sacks full of stuff out already. I have 6 more Walmart bags & 1 more garbage sack of stuff ready  to go out. It is amazing how much stuff you can collect without even realizing it. We still have a little ways to go. My house already looks & feels cleaner.

     I love to have a clean, neat, organized house. With being a homeschool family, we all know how that goes. One minute it is so tidy & the next it is out of control. I suppose we need to be more disciplined & it would stay tidy all the time, help me Lord.

     Thanks to our long hard effort, we'll have a great looking house for Thanksgiving. We'll be ready to get Christmas things right out after Thanksgiving & start decorating with no cleaning before.

     Our schooling is going great! We should be finished up with our books that we are reeading about Thanksgiving right on schedule.

     That about sums us up for now. Until next time, Traci

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.