following Him home

Finding the Old Testament God in the New Testament Christ

2012-01-27T06:18:00.000-08:00

People often portray Christ as a kind of hippy, love everyone type of "good guy" in order to fit Him into their idea of what God should be. This is a dangerous and untrue thought process.

In my Bible study this morning, this was brought home. I have been slowly going through the book of Malachi, and today I was focusing on Malachi 2:17-3:5. In the first part of Malachi, God has been letting Israel have it for their lack of faith, and their deceitful ways. He has pointed out how they have turned from God and are practicing a kind of false worship. Then in chapter 3, He reminds Israel of the coming Messiah. He then asks: "But who can endure the day of His coming?" Mal. 3:2. It goes on to describe Christ's return as a refiner's fire, one that purifies. It will weed out all evil so that only a pure offering will remain. That offering is Christ's church.

Many try to say that the Old Testament God and the New Testament God don't match up. They point out things like Malachi talking of God's wrath, and then try to portray Jesus in the New Testament as only love and accepting of all. But look at Matthew 23:1-39. Here you see a similar display of anger and wrath, and words of judgment. He is still the refining God of the Old Testament. He is still angry about false worship and idolatry.

"For I am the Lord, I do not change..." Malachi 3:6

Thankfully, although we are all worthy of His anger, He has provided salvation to ALL who will seek it. That salvation is through faith in Christ and His work on the cross, and that alone. (John 10:1-30)

"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:9-10

"I and My Father are one" John 10:30

Christ is love. But you cannot define that love by our frail, human terms. His is a righteous, timeless love. One that demands refinement in His holy flame.

Book Review: The Ale Boy's Feast

2012-01-26T14:06:00.000-08:00

The Ale Boy's Feast is the 4th book in The Auralia Thread series. I received this book before I had read any of the other books in the series, but after reading just a few pages I was interested enough to find the previous three to read.

This series is well written, and engages the reader. The way the writer pulled characters from the entire series into the final book was inspiring. It is definitely a recommended read if you like fantasy.

Book Review: We Be Big by Rick Burgess and Bill Bussey

2012-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

I was given a copy of We Be Big by Book Sneeze to review. Honestly, it has taken me much longer than usual to review this book. I never could get through the entire book because it just wasn't an attention grabber.

It is a biography of two radio personalities collectively known as Rick and Bubba. The writing style left a lot to be desired. Throughout the book, the narrative shifts from Rick to Bubba, and back again, leaving the reader disjointed in trying to piece which narritive went to which person.

Generally, I enjoy a good biography. This one just couldn't hold my attention long enough to get to the end. I just can't reccomend this one.

Curriculum Review: Take Five! For Language Arts

2012-01-16T08:14:00.000-08:00

I received Take Five! For Language Arts to review through Library Thing. It is a book containing 180 "bell ringers" or activities to engage middle and highschool students in learning about different language arts concepts.

As a homeschool teacher of 2 middle school students and one high school student, I am always looking for creative ways to present lessons. Take Five! is a great resource for short, uncomplicated exercises that fit well into both a classroom and a homeschool setting. The book is geared towards the classroom, with an emphasis on meeting the standards required in an engaging way. In spite of that, this book can be easily adapted to homeschool use.

It is nice that the activities generally require no special materials, and the author has included links to websites that can further enhance the lesson. The short length of the activites keep them from being a drudgery added to the regular lesson, and instead are a welcome enrichment.

Book Review: Pompeii by T.L. Higley

2012-01-16T07:35:00.000-08:00

Pompeii by T.L. Higley

A few months ago, I picked this book up at LifeWay to read. I love historical fiction, and we are currently studying this era in history.

Pompeii is part of Higley's Seven Wonders series, and does a decent job of bringing the time period to life. She incorporates a coming to Christ storyline that isn't cheesy, and a romance that isn't too gushy. It makes for a great combination. This was a quick, easy read for me and left me wanting to read the other books in the series. I also handed this book to my teen daughter to read this week as part of her school work. (I include historical fiction relating to the area of study whenever possible)

I would love to see more authors write historical Christian fiction, that isn't some sort of Amish love story.

Overall, this was a good read.

Artwork for Sarah's Room

2012-01-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

I drew this tonight and Sarah claimed it for her room after we move :)

New Years Eve

2012-01-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

We got to ring in the New Year with some dear friends of ours. I'm going to miss them all so much...but they have promised to keep in touch, and maybe even come visit us.

This is the youngest member of their family. She is just SO photogenic, and so cute I just want to eat her up!

Some of the girls' close friends were able to come as well (despite the fact that they had driven ALL day to get home from a trip to New York)

Weird focus photos are what you get when you are trying to sneak quick pics of reluctant teens while chasing the baby around with the camera.

And this was just too sweet.

Photos from Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T09:24:00.000-08:00

Goofy photo of Tom and I..

Tom carving up the prime rib (ala Pioneer Woman)

Sarah getting her Amazon gift certificate

Kelsie and her new laptop

The Sound of Music was on...I thought this was funny...Maria is horrified at the wrapping paper mess.

Miranda and her new iPod.

Sarah

Kelsie

Miranda

Transition

2011-12-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

It is New Year's Eve, and naturally I begin to think about the past year, and the new one that is coming around the corner. 2011 is not a year I would really like to repeat. It has been one full of unexpected problems and changes.

I've had a hard time, as the year comes to a close, trusting God as much as I should. My sinful nature likes to rear its head, and it has a sometimes ugly past chained to it. I have given that past over to Christ, but for some reason I like to go hunting for it again, only to drag myself down into despair. It's times like those that I seem to wallow in all the bad things, and forget how blessed I really am. I need to remind myself to trust in God. He directs my paths, and His will is perfect and good.

This year has had trials. But it has also had huge blessings.

My husband landed in the ER with a life threatening illness that required emergency surgery and follow up surgery. There was a time that I thought I would lose him.
-but his life was spared.
He has had to deal with chronic pain that has worsened greatly this year.
-but he has learned to lean on God even more.
We had a dear friend diagnosed with terminal cancer and given only 6-9 months to live.
-a year later, he is still with us AND has been able to inspire others with his ministry.
We are moving away from some dear friends that we have made here.
-we have a chance to have the farm we've always wanted, and we will be close to old friends and family again.

and more blessings:
We have so many people that have touched our lives. We are blessed that God allowed us to know them.
Our three daughters are bright, healthy, and beautiful (both in spirit and in appearance).
We have everything we need, and we have many of our wants.
And most importantly of all...we have the Grace and Mercy of Christ. Even when I am wallowing in my own self-pity, I have Him to drag me out.

My prayer is that no matter what 2012 brings, God will show me the blessings. I pray that we walk in His will and seek Him always.

Curly Girl No Poo Hair

2011-12-29T09:51:00.000-08:00

For the past several months, I've been experimenting with the Curly Girl methods of hair care for my crazy hair. I tried going without shampoo last year, but I had trouble. Looking back now, I think it was because of the conditioner I was using. Anyway, I've avoided shampoo for several months now and the results are great. When my hair gets too oily (which it sometimes does) I wash with a baking powder paste and follow up with a diluted vinegar rinse. Otherwise, I just rinse well each shower, and about every 3 showers I scrub with a conditioner.

Today I trimmed up my hair into layers and the curl just popped right out. (I had seen it lurking in the under layers of my hair, but the top layer was just fried) I don't go to a salon any more. After 30 years of bad hair cuts I just decided to do it myself. I do a better job :)

Here is a photo of my hair about 18 months ago...

This is this morning...(still a little damp from my shower and a weird angle)

And the back....

My hair has gotten MUCH curlier...it was almost like getting a perm after I cut my hair!

Digging through a sketch book

2011-12-26T20:08:00.000-08:00

In a fit of boredom tonight (everyone is buried in their electronic Christmas gifts, and a lot of my hobby stuff is packed up) I picked up an old sketch book with the intention of doodling a bit. As I flipped through it, I ran across an outline sketch, with the resource photo, that I had never finished. So I sat down and began working on it. Here is as far as I got before my hand started cramping up. I'll post the finished drawing when it's completed.

...

Cookies as an art form?

2011-12-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

After making cookies with the girls last week, and spending WAY too much time on Pinterest looking at gorgeously decorated cookies, I decided that I would make my first serious foray into cookie decoration. I spent a couple of days researching Royal Icing recipes (and settled on one from the Sweetopia blog) and trying to find the perfect sugar cookie recipe (snagged from Allrecipes ) I felt like I was ready to give it a whirl.

On Tuesday morning I made up a batch of sugar cookie dough and put it in the fridge to chill. That afternoon, I started baking my cookies...and shooing away the children it seemed to draw. I declared the sugar cookies off limits, and no kids would be allowed to help. These were Mom's cookies to decorate! (I'm not a complete ogre...I did toss a pan of chocolate chip cookies from a tub in the oven for them to nibble on)

The baking went fairly well, after I worked out a method for rolling out the slightly sticky dough. I found it best to roll them out on my silicone baking sheets, cut them out there, and just pick up the excess dough. No transferring the cookies and ruining the shape. I did, however, find out that 2 of my silicone sheets get lumpy in the oven and that distorted some of my shapes.

During all the baking and such, I watched some videos, also on Sweetopia, on icing consistency, piping straight lines, and flooding techniques. I was armed and ready to make my cookies into works of art! I made a big batch of Royal Icing and tinted small portions of it. I also discovered that I need more piping tips, and that icing glazes over pretty quickly.

Even after all my video watching on the correct icing consistency, I still managed to get it too thick. It did ok for piping lines, with the exception of the #1 tip...it got clogged easily. But for flooding it was way too thick. I ended up squeezing it out into bowls, thinning it with water, and painting it on with some new, clean paint brushes.

Here are some of the cookies in the in-between stages. First, I piped in the outlines and let it dry to the touch. Then, I flooded the cookies with one color at a time.

These are some of the finished cookies. I experimented with wet on wet techniques (piping a different color onto wet flooded color), marbling (piping stripes onto wet icing and dragging a toothpick through it), and wet on dry (it makes a 3D type decoration). It was fun, but extremely time consuming this go around. I learned a ton, though, and I think that next time will go faster and more smoothly.

It's official..

2011-12-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

Our house is now officially on the market! I will miss this house...

And I will miss a lot of people here. But new adventures are around the corner, and some old friends will be there to share them with us.

We've been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, and enjoying a non-rushed Christmas this year. The past two years, Christmas was spent moving or traveling. This year we have no where to go, so the pace is a little slower. We've had plently to do, just no rushing around.

Last Friday, our homeschool group visited the nursing home to perform for the residents and make ornaments with them.

Sarah played Amazing Grace and Away in a Manger on the piano. She did a great job!

Kelsie sang What Child is This in duet with Ashlie. They sang beautifully!

Several other teens performed pieces as well. The residents seemed to really enjoy it!

Kelsie hit it off with one of the residents during craft time. He apparently had been having a rough day (according to one of the nurses) but seemed tickled to have an extended conversation with Kelsie about knitting hats.

Christmas is near...

2011-12-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

Time seems to be whipping by lately. I cannot believe that Christmas is next week. Our short time left here in Texas seems to be running out fast. I did at least squeeze in some Christmas cookie baking with the girls today!

Tom had his surgery last week, followed by 5 days in the hospital. He is doing great, and recovering well. There is a great deal of pain, and his poor abdomen looks as if someone took a knife AND a baseball bat to it, but it is within the realm of normal for the surgery. Most importantly, all the plumbing is now functioning normally.

I am so grateful to God for pulling Tom through this whole thing, and for the doctors that He used to heal him. I'm not sure I could have held up as well, if I hadn't known that God would take care of him, no matter what the outcome.

And I have to say, the girls have been just awesome through this ordeal. Kelsie kept a level head when I had to rush out in the middle of the night to take her dad to the ER. All three of them patiently waited for hours on end, with no family around, to find out whether or not their dad would be ok. They have taken care of themselves (and the house) like mature young ladies, and have been very understanding when they haven't been able to go and do much the past couple of months. I've been very grateful for what great kids we have.

So now, the counting down really begins. A few days until we list the house for sale. One week until Christmas. Eight weeks (roughly) until we move. I have a feeling that I'll blink, and 8 weeks will be gone.

.

Our new adventure

2011-12-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

It's been quiet around here, I know. There has been so much going on in our lives that I just haven't had the mental energy to post. But I'm hoping that will change after things get settled down again in a few months.

The past few months have been full of decisions and healing. Tom has had a lot to recover from with his colon and neck surgeries. It was taxing in both physical and mental ways. He will begin the final step in that healing with another surgery next week to reattach his colon and hopefully get rid of the ostomy.

In the midst of this health scare, we've come to realize the need to be closer to family. While living here in Fort Worth has been an awesome experience for us, it is horribly far from any of our family. When you have a close knit family, that is hard. So, our first major decision was that we are moving back to Tennessee. It will be a hard move, as we have made some great friends here.

The second decision stems from something we've wanted to do for a long time. We have been talking for years about wanting a small farm. We both grew up on one, and feel the pull to go back to that slower pace of life. It's the pull of working with your hands, and seeing the proof of your work at the end of the day. We want to see our kids experience it too, before they are grown and have their own families. We've almost waited too long.

Our trip last week to Tennessee was to visit with family for Thanksgiving, but it was also to find a place to land when we move. The place we have found has everything we need, even if it doesn't have everything we want.

The property is beautiful, and has all the barns, garages, chicken coops, and out buildings we'd need to get a good start on our little mini farm.

The house, it will take some adjustment. It is small. It is old. But it is sturdy and has no major issues.

So we are giving up our nice, big house with no yard, for beautiful land and a chance to do all the things we have only talked about over the years.

Come February, we will begin this new adventure.
I pray that God will bless this move, this life change, as He has blessed our last one.

Our new algebra adventure

2011-10-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

For the rest of this year, we are diving into a new (to us) algebra text: Elementary Algebra by Harold Jacobs.

So far, I love this textbook. After trudging our way through Saxon's Algebra I, this is a breath of fresh air. The explanations are written in a way that is easy to understand, and the WHY of how things work is actually explained.

For Kelsie, I am using this as a review before we jump into Jacobs Geometry in the spring. For Sarah and Miranda, this is their first venture into Algebra. We will see how ready they are for it and go from there. So far, they are really enjoying it.

Some of the things we've liked so far:

Problems presented as puzzles. Each lesson has at least one problem presented as a brainteaser style puzzle. These have been fun to do, and have my kids wanting to do more. Here's an example: http://askdrcallahan.com/blog/2009/11/26/have-a-math-y-thanksgiving/
Cartoons at the beginning of each lesson. These are brief, funny little comics that lead into each lesson.
The range of problems to choose from. There are a lot of exercises given with each lesson, but it isn't required to do them all.
The plain language that Jacobs uses to teach the lesson. Unlike Saxon (where you almost need a math degree to understand the most basic of lessons because of the language used), Jacobs writes in an almost conversational style.
This book just isn't intimidating at all!

Kelsie's Essay on Alexander the Great

2011-10-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

The Prophecy and Fall of Alexander the Great

By Kelsie H.

In 356 B.C, Alexander the Great was born to King Phillip II of Macedon and one of his wives, Olympias. An equally handsome and stubborn boy, Alexander grew up in the capital of Macedon, that is, Pella. Though not directly part of Greece, Macedon was very similar because of religion and language, and Phillip II soon was very eager to control Greece. Soon several city-states of Greece were under his rule.

Alexander's mother, Olympias, was a very big influence in his life, and although he probably loved his father as well, She seemed to have much more favor in the young prince's eye. When Phillip got married to a new queen, Alexander began defending his mother, getting mad at his father, and eventually throwing a cup of wine in his face. This earned him exile, and seriously threatened Alexander's shot at the throne. But in 336 B.C. , he was crowned king when his father was murdered by assassins. The reign of Alexander the Great had begun.

Having been tutored by Aristotle as a young boy, Alexander was fairly smart, if not a little impetuous. Alexander went with his troops and soldiers into many a battle, and was slowly conquering kingdoms around the Mediterranean sea. He captured many cities and towns, even small empires in his quest to rule. One of his greatest enemies was Darius III, the ruler of Persia. They had several battles, and the Persians were defeated three times. Still, Alexander pursued the retreating armies, determined to beat them. After the last battle, as Alexander was tracking them, he came upon the body of Darius, who had been stabbed to death by his own army on sight of Alexander's approach.

In the book of Daniel, there is a chapter that many historians believe to be about Alexander the Great. Daniel 8: 3-12 gives a vision that Daniel received from God, in which he sees a ram with one large horn, attack a ram with two horns. The one-horned goat defeated the other, and grew very great. But at the height of its power, the horn was broken and four others came up from it.

Many commentaries state that that the goat with two horns was Persia, and the one-horned ram was Alexander the great. But what did Alexander himself think of it? According to Josephus, a Jewish historian, Alexander came to Jerusalem and was shown the verses. Josephus later wrote that he was pleased and left Jerusalem unharmed. Many historians wonder, however, if he read the second part, prophesying his downfall.

In the prime of his reign, at the young age of thirty three, Alexander the Great suddenly died. He was struck ill by Malaria, a mosquito transferred disease that causes sudden bouts of fever and chill, and sometimes led to death. It was untreatable in that age, when they didn’t even know the cause. As in the prophecy, the ram's horn was broken.

Alexander had a young wife, Roxanne, who was with child at the time of his death. The child, should it be a boy, was to be the future ruler of the empire. Seeing as the child was too young to rule, a dim-witted half brother of Alexander, Phillip, was chosen to act as regent. For a while, things went as planned, with Phillip being controlled by four generals. But when young Alexander was nine, Phillip was murdered by Olympias, Alexander the Great's mother. Roxanne and Alexander IV were moved to a house by the officials, for "safe keeping". Three years later, a cup of poisoned wine killed both Roxanne and her son, leaving no evident heirs.

In a great political struggle, four generals came fourth and split the land. Ptolemy took Egypt; Demetrius took Macedonia; Seleucus the Seleucid empire; and Lysimachus with Thrace. Alexander's kingdom had been split in four. These empires reigned for quite a while after their forming, but never became as conquering as Alexander's nation had been. Alexander the great was forever preserved in history as a glorious leader: a man who set out to take over Asia, and very nearly succeeded. He is remembered as a strong military leader, never retreating from fights and battles, and seeing through his victories with his soldiers, instead of just directing them. He was truly worthy of his title: Alexander, the Great.

Bibliography

The History of the Ancient World, by Susan Wise Bauer

The Holy Bible; Daniel, ch. 8

Josephus The Complete Works, translated by William Whiston

Mystery of History, by Linda Lacour Hobar

Alexander the Great, by Robert Green

Nineteen years...

2011-10-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that these two kids...

Would have made it through so much, and come so far...

Happy Anniversary to us! I love you Tommy.

Miranda's Research Paper: The Boston Tea Party

2011-10-06T12:42:00.001-07:00

The Boston Tea Party

By Miranda

The Boston Tea Party was a very important part of American history. Most people don't know that it is what lead to the Revolutionary War and American freedom.

When the French-Indian war happened, England was in a lot of debt. So England decided to put taxes on the Americans to get the money they needed. First, they made the Stamp Act were you had to buy stamps for all the pieces of paper or even playing cards. The people in America were very angry because they had no say in how much the taxes were or who had to pay them. The people started fighting in the streets and tearing the stamps of all the paper. Later they removed the Stamp Tax and created the Townshend Act.

The Townshend Act taxed all tea, paint, lead, paper, and glass. The people were more angry than before. Some people stopped buying all the things that were taxed. A man named Samuel Adams formed a group of young and old men called the Sons of Liberty. They fought to get the tax off the people of America. Some of the women even formed a group called the Daughters of Liberty, who decided to make sure to not buy anything from England. They made homebrewed tea called Liberty Tea, and they handspun some cloth to make clothes out of.

Then the king of England decided to send the Redcoats (British Soldiers) to America. There were many fights in the streets between the Redcoats and the Americans. The worst one was the Boston Massacre. On March 5, 1770, a fight broke out in the streets and a soldier called for backup. When they arrived, more people were there and the fight got worse, then someone from the crowd yelled "Fire!", thinking it was the officer, one of the soldiers shot his gun and the others followed. In the end 5 people died and 9 more were injured. That day, the king of England took off all tax except the tea tax. He was in for a surprise when he heard of the Boston massacre.

When the king heard about the Boston Massacre, he sent three ships full of tea to Boston harbor. They reached the harbor on November 28, 1773 . The Sons of Liberty held a meeting and decided to get rid of all the tea. So on December 16, 1773, the sons of liberty dressed as Indians and went to the harbor with axes. Once everyone was there they went aboard the ships to destroy the tea. They took their axes, split all the crates of tea open, and poured it into the sea. The Sons of Liberty made sure that only the tea was harmed and they left the ships to go home.

When the news of the Boston Tea Party had reached England, the king was furious with the people in Boston. He closed all the docks in Boston and made sure the no ships could get in. The other colonies sent supplies to Boston so the people would not die. There were still other tea parties in the colonies, and some left the tea to rot on the harbors.

A year after the Boston Tea Party, the Revolutionary War started and soon America was free. The Americans finally got their freedom.

Bibliography

· America Land I Love By Kurt A. Grussendoff, Michael R. Lowman, Brian S. Ashbaugh

· The Boston Tea Party By Dennis Fradin

· The Boston Tea Party By Trudi Trueit

Prayers needed.

2011-09-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy week.

Last Friday, my husband Tom went in for a planned spinal fusion surgery that went well. He came home after one day and was healing well. On Tuesday, he felt well enough that I felt comfortable leaving him home with the twins for a few hours while Kelsie and I went somewhere. By the time I got home, he was in severe pain in his abdomen. By 11PM he told me to take him to the ER. They eventually did a CT scan (after they couldn't get his pain under control AT ALL). The scan showed an badly inflamed bowel, and a perforation in his colon. He had to have emergency surgery Tuesday morning to remove a section of the colon. He has a (temporary for 2 months or so) colostomy now, and a great deal of infection (periontitis) to heal up.

This wasn't a result of the spinal surgery, but rather an undiagnosed problem that had been brewing without his knowledge. Please, keep him and our family in your prayers. This one was a shock to us both.

...

Art Class: Typography in Art

2011-09-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

This month's Art Class focused on using typography in art. After showing some very cool examples (see my Pinterest board for a few), the students set out to make their own projects. We used newspaper, magazines and old books (after making sure they were not rare/important books). After they got over the fear of cutting up a book, they got pretty creative!

I didn't get a chance to get the students with their work in these photos, but got some quick shots anyway.

Awakening

2011-09-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

We sang this at church yesterday, and as it usually does, it reminds me of where I've been compared to where I am now. It sings about Jesus bringing us out of the dark and into the light. That is so true of what He did in my life.

When I think back to my life "before", it's dark. My life was full of dark thoughts, dark times, and a dark outlook on my life. I always seemed to be peering through a dark cloud at my life. When Christ yanked me out of that abyss, I could see the change, the light. My life is full of light and joy.

^{Matthew 5:13} “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Yes, there are hard times. My life since then has been one upheaval after another, and there have been some bad things happen. However, I have a light shining on it. My thoughts are of a bright future. A future not weighed down by material things.

A life in which God's hand is at work.

I've seen Him, in prayers answered and in ones unanswered. I've seen Him in my kids and my husband. I have felt a taste of His grief over what our world has become. I've gotten a glimpse of His redemptive plan in Christ. I've seen the tiny thread of my life in the tapestry He weaves. My eyes have been opened to His love and His grace. They have also been opened to see the blindness all around me, the dark induced blindess that once inflicted my own life.

^{John 3:18} “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

It is an Awakening.

....

Art Class: Paper Mache Masks Part II

2011-09-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

The class with their finished masks. They did a great job!

So many books!

2011-09-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

We have books. Lots of them. This is the aftermath of my dh's recent purchase of a minister's library. He got some good stuff out of it, but we are only keeping about half. The rest...well there will probably be a yard sale. The wall of pictures you see there is now a wall of bookcases from Ikea. (anyone else love that place as much as I do?!)

In the lot of stuff that we plan on getting rid of was a bunch of binders from various conferences. Since we are ditching the contents of said binders, I confiscated them for our homeschool use. The kids asked if I got a little binder happy....

Our School Plans for 2011/2012

2011-08-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Although we school year-round, there are points in the year where we have a kind of re-boot and start the next levels of curriculum. This appears to be the time this year.

So for Kelsie, our plan has shifted a bit. Although we have NO requirements here in TX, I am choosing to follow the TN requirements for high school graduation and using a TN umbrella school for record keeping purposes. I figure this way we'll have our bases covered should we move to another state again before she graduates. (This is always a possibility for us) We kind of did some 9th grade work last year, and it went pretty well, but we have decided to use this year as the official start for her high school transcript. If she finishes early, great! But she felt a little pressured to finish ahead of her peers (not intended on my part at all) and feels better about calling this her freshman year. So what does her class load look like?

For English she will be using BJU English 9. We are already about 1/3 through this one, so she'll go right into Enlgish 10 when she's done. With all the Grammar programs we've tried, the girls all seem to like this one the best. It is in workbook format, with each concept broken into small bits. This is not one of her favorite subjects and she likes the smaller lessons.

For science Kelsie is using BJU Biology. This is probably her favorite science topic, so I think this will be a good science year for her. Biology is typically a 10th grade subject, but she chose this one to do because it appealed to her the most. We also got her the lab kit from HomeScience Tools. It was FULL of things needed to do the lab work for this course. We are still wavering on whether to do all the disections, although we have the specimens if we do.

For math we are continuing through Algebra 1. We are about 2/3 of the way through this text, and I am not sure what route we'll go after we are finished. Using Algebra I and II in Saxon covers Geometry, but doesn't appear so on transcripts. This is the subject Kelsie struggles with the most, so I need to make sure we approach it in the best way possible with her. We have tried several other math programs, but keep coming back to the hated Saxon because it works. She actually learns, although it is a painful process. My goal is simply to get her through it with enough knowledge to do well on the SAT/ACT. This has been the bane of our homeschooling experience.

In addition to her English program, Kelsie is also going through the One Year Adventure Novel Curriculum. Her heart's desire is to be a writer. This has been a great learning experience for her, and something she loves doing.

For foreign language she is going to do Latin Alive book 1 and 2 this year. We had started on this last year, but realized we needed a brush up on ENGLISH grammar before diving into Latin. Doing the two books at this level will be enough for 1 Latin credit. We'll move on to something more difficult next year for her year 2 credit.

She is also taking Acting I class at Travis Academy of Fine Arts. This is something she has wanted to do since leaving public school. She loves drama (the acting sort, not the girl drama sort) and fits right in with the quirky actor type.

As part of her PE, she is taking Tae Kwan Do classes. She has earned her first belt and is on her way to earning her second.

There are some subjects that all the girls are doing, I'll list them below:

History this year will be a coninuation of our World History studies. We will go through Mystery of History I and II this year, with many supplemental reading assignments. I'm also including some ancient literature reading for Kelsie in this. So far she has read the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey, along with many Greek myths.

Our Bible study is an ongoing family thing. We read from the Bible each night and have discussions. The girls are also required to read a chapter from the Bible each morning.

They are also taking an Art class that I teach to our homeschool group. Lots of hands on art projects, and a smidge of Art history where I can sneak it in.

On Art class days, once a month, they also participate in a Writers/Book club that discusses books they've read and works toward producing a magazine.

Ok, for Sarah and Miranda, they are kind of floating between 6th and 7th grade.

In math they have just started Saxon 8/7 and are doing great. Math is definitely one of their strong points. We are planning to take this book slow and steady, giving their minds time to mature before tackling Algebra. Young brains have to reach a certain level of maturity before they are able to fully grasp the abstract thought required in Algebra, and rushing into it can cause more problems than it is worth.

They are also using BJU English, only in grade 6. They are also about 1/3 of the way through this book and will move on to the next around mid-year. I have to say I LOVE the teacher's manual for this text. It is scripted with lots of reinforcement ideas if a child is struggling with a concept. I wish the high school level was that helpful. They like this workbook style too.

All of the girls are reading through the Story of Science series. For Kelsie it is just a supplement to history, but it is the main portion of science for the younger two this year. I'm also supplementing with other books, such as the History of Medicine and scientist biographies. They are also playing around a lot with our science equipment and the plethora of experiment books we have. I'm holding off on formal science for another year or two for them.

Sarah is taking piano lessons and is doing very well. She's working on two pieces right now for the October recital. She is also taking Elementary Singers, a chorus class, at Travis.

Miranda is taking Drawing II at Travis. This wasn't her pick, as she wanted the Art class, but we took what we could get. It is important to her to take a class and have an interest that her sisters aren't involved in. This has been my biggest goal for her. She needs to feel a bit more independent from her twin sister.

Over all, I have been very happy with the progress the girls have made in their schooling over the past 3 years. Homeschooling definitely agrees with our family.

Art Class: Paper Mache Masks

2011-08-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

This fall I am teaching an Art Class to a group of middle and high school students at my home. Our first class was today, and it turned out great. We are working on Paper Mache masks, which will be a two class project. Here's one I did for an example:

We used milk jugs cut in half (or even more for some masks) as our foundation. The kids plan out what type of mask they want to make, and cut it into shape.

At this stage, they also add any structures like ears or noses made from cardboard, tape, foil, or other objects.

Then they built up the mask using layers of Cellu-clay, newspaper, and glue. The glue is just flour and water.

Now the masks will dry until next week, when we will paint and embellish them!

Sigh...

2011-07-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

My not so baby girl before a Teen Social tonight.

She was rockin' the flippy hair....

Then smooshed it down with a fedora...

But I have to say...the fedora was pretty cute too.

...

The Nursing Home

2011-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

One of the best things our homeschool group does is visit one of our local nursing homes. We go once a month and do a craft with a group of folks at the home. We have been there often enough now that they know us by name, and look forward to our visit each month.

It has been good for the kids, as they are getting to know and interact with people that they wouldn't encounter in their day to day lives.

They are learning patience and compassion.

And they are learning that older folks can be pretty interesting!

I enjoy seeing the interaction, and I've learned about a few rather interesting lives.

One benefit...many of them seem to think I'm one of the kids :) I often get reactions of disbelief when I tell them that 3 of the kids are mine, including one of the teens. It's quite funny.

And I have to include a picture of the scene stealer. Miss cuteness here often gets the attention of the women there, some even asking if they can have her!

Garden stuff.

2011-07-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

We've spent the last two weeks digging out a small garden in our back yard. (Which the 15x15 plot takes up about half of our grassy area in the back..we have a SMALL back yard). I am going to see just how much edible vegetation I can squeeze into our small space. Initially, I was going to do mostly containers, but I've discovered that it is VERY hard to do in this climate. It is just too hot and too dry. So, we decided to put in a small plot in the back where it is sunny for about 3/4 of the day, and shady the rest. It will offer some protection from the brutal heat. It also is in the middle of about 3 sprinkler heads for the yard, so watering is easy.

We are one of the fortunate few in our neighborhood to actually have some soil under the grass. Many of our neighbors are on landfill and have to import dirt. I did a soil test, and was pleasantly surprised with the results.

I've planted some seed, which I'm hoping will make it through the August heat to be a productive fall garden. So far, so good. Everything is coming up except the leeks...which I knew would be a gamble. It's really too hot for them to germinate well.

Some of my plants are being nursed back to health after the container experiments. These pepper plants are doing well...

This cucumber was brought back from the dead. It had died back to basically the stem and a leaf...look at it now!

Same for this strawberry. I had written it off...it had been left on the deck by accident and not watered. By the time I noticed it, there was nothing left but completely brown, dead leaves and stems. I moved the pot by another that I was watering, and the overspray was enough to revive it. A week or so later I noticed new leaves growing in the middle of the pile of brown. I've moved it to a shady spot, but haven't planted it in the garden. I'm making a separate bed for them so they won't take over everything.

...

Girls, cooking, and why my kitchen is always a mess...

2011-07-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

I've said before, I love that my girls cook.

But sometimes.....

This kitchen was CLEAN this morning. It couldn't stand up to grilled cheese, homemade chicken soup, corn tortillas with fruit salsa, pots of beans (my doing for dinner tonight), greek yogurt with fresh cherries, honey butter toast, oatmeal, coffee, etc. When they all CAN cook, they all DO cook what they want for breakfast and lunch.

I admit, part of that mess is mine...the crock pots anyway. The nice part is, they also clean up in the evenings.

Because I make them.

Of peaches and funnel cake...

2011-07-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday the girls and I went to the Peach Festival in Weatherford. We headed out early (as in 7:30AM!) to beat the heat, and I am glad we did. It was already in the 90's when we arrived.

Weatherford has a nice set up for the Peach Festival. There are multiple park and ride locations with free shuttles running all day. The girls enjoyed riding a school bus again, but decided it was a bit more uncomfortable than they remembered. (That is what happens when you reach adult sizes...that bumpy ride isn't as much fun!)

There were a ton of vendors to look at, but we were a little disappointed in the lack of peach related vendors or activities.

We did enjoy the walk around Weatherford looking at some of the older buildings.

The best part: funnel cakes!

I'm glad we went, but we probably won't go back next year...unless we are just really craving funnel cakes!

What we've been up to....

2011-07-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

It's been another busy month here at the Herrell house. Just when I think my life might slow down for a week or two, a half dozen things pop up to do, to be done, or to plan for! But we are enjoying the summer time here in TX. (Although it's been about a month of 100+ weather and NO rain!)

We've spent time hanging out with friends...here's another movie day. This time it was two Tron movies: the original and the new one. The overwhelming majority said the new one was MUCH better.

We've also added another glasses wearing gal to our pack. Kelsie got reading glasses a couple of weeks ago. Now if I can just get her to remember to wear them! (And wow....does she look like me!)

These are the tomatoes that I wish I could say I grew in my garden. (oh wait...those two little tiny things on the end? THOSE came from my garden...I managed to snatch them before the birds did) Thankfully I have a friend from our homeschool group that had tomatoes coming out her ears and was happy to pawn a few off on me. I made a big batch of salsa for the Fourth, and it was OH so good! You just can't make good salsa with store bought tomatoes.

Speaking of the Fourth, we had a great time! One thing we've missed so much since moving here to Texas is the annual 4th of July cookout we had at our house. We still missed our friends and family back home, but were blessed to have a houseful this 4th. We will be eating leftovers for years. We had my famous ribs, brisket, hot dogs, coleslaw, baked beans, and a TON of sides and such that friends brought. Yum!

Scrap Hat

2011-06-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at making this style of hat. I think it turned out pretty cute! It's made from old t-shirts.

In the garden 6-14-11

2011-06-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

Texas seems to love sunflowers. They grow wild here all over the place. We had several pop up in our back yard...

My zucchini has really taken off.

And the bees are enjoying the stonecrop blooms.

The Second Simon

2011-06-14T18:48:00.000-07:00

Our first Swallowtail caterpillar (that the girls named Simon) died. However, we are lucky enough to have a second one on our lemon tree. This time I'm not doing anything with him until he turns into a chrysalis. I think it will be fairly soon since he's gone from devouring all the leaves to just kind of hanging out on a stem.

The self-defense mechanism for the swallowtail caterpillar is quite cool. They arch and shoot out red antennae. The antennae emit a noxious smell (that is kind of like rotten citrus)

A Rubbermaid Giveaway

2011-06-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a cool giveaway over at The Coupon Engineer. They are giving away a 20pc Rubbermaid Lock-Its set.

Homemade instant hot chocolate

2011-06-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's hard to find instant hot chocolate without a list of ingredients a mile long. When you do, it's usually expensive. I made a batch of homemade instant hot chocolate for less than .25 a serving today.

Instant Hot Chocolate Mix

2/3 c. Cocoa
2 c. Dry Milk (you can use more if you like it milkier)
1.5 c. sugar (my measurement is using evaporated cane juice, if you use white sugar you may need to adjust a bit)
1 tsp. salt. (if you don't add salt, it will be very bland)

Mix all the ingredients well. I used my food processor because I think that it makes it dissolve quicker. Use 3 tbs. of mix per 8oz of hot water.

Spoiled Rotten

2011-06-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Really, it's no wonder our dog is such a brat. I mean look at this....

She ate something gross outside (cat hairball anyone?) and yakked on my floor this morning. And this is what she gets....because she's "sick". I think she's milking it.

Book Review: The Boat and the Sea of Galilee

2011-06-06T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Boat and The Sea of Galilee was an insightful look into the years it took Moshe and Yuval Lufan to get an ancient boat rescued and preserved from the Sea of Galilee. This book is very informative, and goes into great detail about the process of retrieving a nearly 2000 year old boat from the bottom of the sea.

I felt the book was well written, and the photographs of the process were plentiful. This is a great library addition to anyone interested in archaeology.

Swim Meet Saturday

2011-06-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we got to go see a swim meet. My friend's son, who is also in our homeschool group, was delighted to have someone besides mom and dad come watch. That's him on the right side of the photo. It was my first real-live swim meet. (I've only watched on TV). He did great, and improved his time. I hope that I can go again, and perhaps get into a better position for some cool photos!

Sarah..

2011-06-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

Sarah got her ingrown toenail removed Friday. She did outstanding. She watched while they did the injections to numb it. She even watched the beginning of the procedure. It did get a little gruesome though, so she played Plants Vs. Zombies on the iPad instead.

There was squirming, gasping, and twitching, but that was all done by me....

Her surgeon was awesome and had the best bedside manner. (thank you Dr. Thomas!) He joked and talked through the whole thing. He also was very good about telling her everything he was going to do, so there were no surprises.

She was VERY sore once all the numbing meds wore off, but as of Saturday she was doing her normal stuff.

I'll spare you the gruesome, gruesome toe. There should be no photographic evidence of that. Instead I'll share Sarah's new 'do'. (Miranda got one too, but she is awfully hard to pin down for a photo)

Life...

2011-06-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

We have been SO busy this past month.

First, my husband's parents came in for a visit. We enjoyed having them here for a week, and got to show them around Fort Worth a little. I think their favorite was the Botanical Garden.

Then, the same week they were in, the girls had Field Day with our homeschool group.

Next, the whirlwind visit from some of our friends that moved to Seattle began. Zack and Aidan flew in for 17 days, and of course the kids all wanted to spend as much time with them as possbile. First on the agenda was kidnapping Zack for a surprise visit with our piano teacher, and a visit to the nursing home.

Then we went on a 3 day camping trip to Mineral Wells. It was probably one of the best camping trips we've been on. The girls had the best time, and we all came home exhausted!

Prom finally rolled around, after much anticipation. I was lucky enough to get to take pictures, so I could hang out all night and watch the kids have fun!

Then there were trips to a laser show (Pink Floyd!), the waterpark, park days and more. Then it was time to say goodbye to the Graves boys...

(I have to add that this wasn't actually a goodbye photo, but a good representation of the hugs involved..hehe.)

Sarah and Miranda also celebrated their 11th birthday, although it felt a bit like it got lost in the chaos of this month....We had cupcakes on the camping trip, and a trip to the American Girl Store the next week.

We've also had a lot of medical appointments this month. My husband Tom is dealing with severe back and neck pain, and is undergoing treatment for that. The twins got their braces this month. Kelsie began allergy shots. And Sarah had a toenail get infected and ingrown. She will be going in to have the ingrown part removed tomorrow. Fun times.

More flowers

2011-06-01T08:37:00.000-07:00

A couple more flowers today.

Tradescantia pallida 'Purple Heart' (Purple Wandering Jew) - this just popped up beside our fence. I'm not sure if it's creeping in from our neighbors yard, or something that was planted here before. It's interesting though.

People always look surprised when I tell them that okra has gorgeous blooms, if they've never grown it. I think it's the prettiest veggie I have growing right now!

Flowers around the house

2011-05-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

I don't have a lot in bloom right now, but here are a couple of photos.

From my garden

2011-05-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

This year is my first attempt at gardening in Texas. We are growing in containers this year because we just bought this house, and weren't sure where we wanted a bed. It's going just ok. The growing was hampered by some horrible potting soil. I replanted in better soil, and the plants are making a slow recovery. Okra is doing fairly well, and a couple of my tomato plants are doing good. My squash, zuccini and cucumber plants are not doing well at all. Miranda's cucumber is doing much better, but it had good soil from the start.

glassware

2011-05-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

perched at the park

2011-05-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

A friend's sweet little boy.

TOS Review: Read for the Heart.

2011-05-27T06:24:00.000-07:00

TOS Homeschool Crew Review

***Disclaimer***

I received this product for free for review purposes. The following review is my honest opinion of the product, and I received no further compensation other than the product itself.

TOS Review: Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson

Cost: $17.00

Age: Geared towards parents of children and teens.

Have you ever struggled with picking out wholesome books for your children to read? Or for good books to read aloud as a family? Then the book Read for the Heart may be what you are looking for.

This book is a guide to age appropriate reading in many categories. She goes over Classics, Living Science, History and more. The guide is well thought out and well written. She lists books by category, then by author. Each listing contains information about the book, other books recommended by the same author, and also any cautionary statements about the book (such as dealing with death, or the presence of magic).

This book is a great addition to the homeschool library.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Read for the Heart.

Home grown

2011-05-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Miranda's first cucumber from her very own plant.

games with friends

2011-05-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Nothing like an evening of playing board games with a friend.

The thunder rolls....

2011-05-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

We watched some pretty strong storms roll through. The clouds were beautifully frightening. We also watched a huge wall cloud form shortly before it became a tornado a few miles away, but it was too dark for photos by then.

Movie Club

2011-05-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

A critical viewing of the original Karate Kid and the new Karate Kid

Jurassic Fun

2011-05-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Kelsie and friends fighting off vicious monsters before the Pink Floyd Laser Show.

Birthday Shopping

2011-05-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

Just one quick shot today from my little camera. The girls decided to get their annual American Girl Store trip for their 11th birthday.

the prom dress

2011-05-20T21:44:00.001-07:00

Birth of cookies

2011-05-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Oatmeal cookies in the making by the man....

For the record I was going to include the man, but he ran and hid, screaming something about his hair...

Baby Cuteness and her brother...

2011-05-18T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today's photo is of my friend's baby. Isn't she adorable?

And one of her big brother wearing my daughter's crazy hat...

Picture My World, restarted

2011-05-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today, I ran across some old photos I had taken when I was doing a photo a day a couple of years ago. (many of them are here: Picasa Album )I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the challenge of a photograph every day, and also how much it sharpened my skills. So, I'm starting it up again. Today I have two.

The first is a simple shot of an evil substance. It shrieks my name from inside the kitchen cabinets, and it tastes strangely like a Kit-Kat bar...

The second is of my new favorite mugs.

TOS Review: GoTrybe

2011-05-11T04:40:00.000-07:00

TOS Homeschool Crew Review

***Disclaimer***

I received this product for free for review purposes. The following review is my honest opinion of the product, and I received no further compensation other than the product itself.

TOS Homeschool Crew Review: GoTrybe.com

Age Range: Elementary through High School

Cost: $19.95/year with a free one month trial.

Go Trybe is an online fitness program geared towards kids. It utilizes informational videos, workout routines, chat and forums, and avatars.

My kids really disliked this program. First, they thought that the teen avatars were not appropriate, and ended up picking the younger versions. Secondly, they hated the idea of exercising to a video on the computer. The informational videos were not appealing to them either. Since none of these things appealed to them at all, they had no interest in participating in the forums or friending other people on them.

This program wasn't a good fit for our family at all. My recommendation is that if you think this is a program you want to use, use their free trial offer before purchasing.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Go Trybe.

TOS Review: Nutrition 101

2011-04-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

TOS Homeschool Crew Review

***Disclaimer***

I received this product for free for review purposes. The following review is my honest opinion of the product, and I received no further compensation other than the product itself.

Nutrition 101 by Growing Healthy Homes

Price: Printed book $99.95, CD-rom $79.95, Book and CD-rom $129.95

Age: all ages

Nutrition 101 is a health and nutrition course designed to be used by the whole family. It is a year long course that incorporates science, anatomy, nutrition and more. The book is broken down into chapters that are meant to be completed over the course of a week. There are many activities to go along with the lessons, and an appendix full of resources.

Here are the things I really liked about this curriculum:

It is well written, and breaks things down into manageable chunks.
It goes over a part of the body, and then talks about how food and nutrition can affect those parts.
There are recipes to try with each section.
It has a great goal of getting families to work together to improve their health and nutrition.
It makes an attempt at making nutritious foods kid friendly.
It is packed FULL of information (over 400 pages worth!)

The biggest drawback: the price. It seems a little pricey for a health/nutrition course.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Nutrition 101.

Our Weekend

2011-04-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend here in TX. Yesterday the weather was perfect for the Japanese festival we went to at the Botanical gardens!

Fed some Koi and a few turtles

This one had a missing leg!

Drank some Ramune

Ate a little Sushi

Listened to an awesome drum performance

Miranda bought a bamboo plant

and we watched a little swordsmanship.

Then we went and got Kelsie's hair cut:

And wrapped up the day by watching Toy Story 3 on the lawn at our church...kind of a mini drive in!

Christ IS my savior.

2011-04-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

A post from A Holy Experience made my brain start picking away at my life this morning, as her posts usually do. I admit, I skim over most of them because they tear open the parts I don't want to see. But today's post hit a nerve with her question:

"Am I an evangelical Christian who isn’t an evangelist? When is the last time I looked someone in the eye and whispered, “Do you know Him? How He holds all things together with the nails and the love?"

I don't hide my faith, but sometimes I feel that perhaps I don't let it shine like I should. The good news that I should be shouting from the rooftops is often left unspoken.

So today I share.

Who is the cornerstone of my life? Christ. He reached down into a pit so filled with darkness that I couldn't see the bottom, and He pulled me into the light. Into life.

What has Christ done for me? Only made me whole. Only took my life and spun it completely around so that it pointed to Him.

He took my failures, my ungodliness, my sin, my brokenness...He took it from me and replaced it with grace, forgiveness, healing, and holiness that is not my own. He gave me a rock to stand on, a foundation that is unshakeable. He became an anchor to hold me steady when the storms hit. He became a beacon that draws me to Him when I can't find my way.

I know you've probably heard the gospel before, but do you truly understand?

God is real. He is the creator of ALL things. He is Holy and perfect. And He created us with the freedom to love Him. To choose. Because, I believe, He wanted real love. Not something He forced upon us. He created us knowing we wouldn't choose Him. He created us knowing that He would suffer at our hands. And yet, He loved us enough to create us anyway.

And we choose. We choose to disobey, to love ourselves instead of Him. We choose to wreak havoc on His creation, to hurt, to kill, to lie and cheat, to mock Him, and to turn away. And yet He still loves us.

He gave us His Word, to guide us to Him, to help us live without sin. To point us to Christ. And we still turn away. We took His Word and made it into a religion, losing sight of the reason it was created.

Knowing all this, He still gave Himself to us. He became one of us. Jesus lived a sinless life to show us the way. Then He allowed us to mock Him, torture Him, and hang Him on a cross. He gave Himself to us, to be payment for the sin we are drowning in.

And still....all we have to do is CHOOSE. To choose to accept the payment. To choose to turn away from our sin, and turn towards Him. To acknowledge His love, His sovereignty, that He is indeed God. To choose to spend our eternity with Him, instead of eternally separated from Him.

As the Easter holiday draws nearer, I hope that you'll spend some time thinking about Jesus, and what He did for us. What He continues to do. He changes lives, drags them out of pits and sets them into light.

TOS Review: Latin Alive!

2011-03-30T10:28:00.000-07:00

TOS Homeschool Crew Review

***Disclaimer***
I received this product for free for review purposes. The following review is my honest opinion of the product, and I received no further compensation other than the product itself.

Latin Alive Review

Latin Alive! Book 1 Bundle by Classical Academic Press

Cost: $139 for the bundle which includes a Student book, DVD set, and Teacher's Book

Age: Middle and High School

I was excited to get this review product, and couldn't wait to get started. We've been studying Latin through another program, and I felt it was going VERY slowly for us. This curriculum looked like it was at a better pace for us, and it has proven to be so.

This set includes DVD lessons, which I was a little apprehensive about. The girls have a history of really disliking DVD lessons for some reason. However, after getting them past the 'oh *groan* not another DVD lesson!' we have actually learned a lot with these. The instructor is pleasant to listen to, and she does a great job of explaining the lessons. (She's even kind of funny sometimes!)

The student book is laid out very well, and is easy to follow. It is also PACKED with information. Everything from United States Seals, to Roman history is included. The Teacher's book includes the full student text, the answers to exercises, extra notes, and reproducible worksheets.

I have ZERO Latin background, so I am learning right along with the girls. This program has been easy to use, even with no prior knowledge.

My ONLY complaint about this program is that they don't have a Greek Alive! too.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Latin Alive!

Passing the time....

2011-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Each Thursday we spend 1.5 hours at piano lessons, and we've found various ways to pass the time. Doodling and drawing seems to be our favorite, like this quick sketch I was working on of Kelsie at the piano during her lesson.

A repeat episode

2011-03-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

Just felt like reposting this here, from my old blog.

This is the story of how I found my way when I didn't even know I was lost.

Early on in life, I came to a crossroads of sorts. There were a wide range of road choices to take. Some looked boring. Some were scary. Some looked interesting, but I didn't like the people on them. Some were just too crowded and full of sheep (aka people just following the crowd). So I took the little road off to the side. No one was going with me; I could just be myself and decide where I wanted to go.

I had friends that came along and said "Why don't you come walk on our road with us?" "No," I'd say. I have my own road and I'm content with it. "But do you know where it's going?" They'd say. Well, not really, but that was half the fun right? Then others came along and tried to force me on to their road. They said their road was better. That everything that was enjoyable on my road was wrong, and I should be on a road without those things. Well, that wasn't very convincing, so I just fought them off and walked even faster down my road. Sure, there were a few wrong way signs posted here and there, but how did THEY know it was the wrong way?

Along the way, as I traveled, I picked up souvenirs. I kept them in a pack on my back. They weren't all good souvenirs, but they reminded me of the things I'd seen and the places I'd been. Some of them I had tried to leave behind, but for some reason they kept appearing in my pack. Sometimes, as I would look through my pack, a bad souvenir would turn up. Usually, I'd just cram it to the bottom and put the good ones on top. Did I mention the bad ones were REALLY heavy?

Before long, I ran across someone I thought would be good company on my walk. I could talk to him and we'd often go to the same places. We made a pact to walk together for the rest of our lives. He'd be my walking mate. But eventually I realized that we weren't on the same road at all. His was just beside mine. Then our roads began to part. At first it was only for short times, and the two roads would meet back up. Then the parting would be longer and longer until it got to a point that we hardly knew each other when we'd meet back up. We weren't comfortable with each other any more. And his souvenirs were different. His didn't seem to be as heavy as mine. (Of course I told myself it was because he was a big strong man).

Then I came to another crossroads. One road joined up with his. The other went off in another direction, one that you couldn't quite see what was around the bend. I chose to see what was around the bend and left him behind on his own road. I didn't know him anymore any way, and who knows what was ahead for me on my own road!

Now the sign folks got really crazy here because there were wrong way signs EVERYWHERE. But they seemed unimportant and not meant for me. So I began to ignore them. I should have paid attention….because the bridge was out ahead. I fell. It was a dark ravine, and I couldn't see the bottom of it. I was able to catch hold of the side, but the weight of my pack was pulling me down. I tried to pull it off, but I couldn't. Over the years, it had become stuck.

I cried out for help and a hand pulled me back over the side. I didn't see who the hand belonged to, but I could tell it was someone much more powerful than me. I turned to look at the ravine. There was a path that led down, and I could see the road went on past it. But I couldn't see what was in the bottom of the ravine, nor could I see where the road itself led. What other pitfalls were ahead? Maybe I did need a guide. I started to head back towards where I knew my walking mate had been. But I couldn't quite figure out where he'd gone. Then, in the distance, I saw him walking towards me.

He was still on his own road, but it was beside mine again. He handed me a map. I looked at it and said, how do you KNOW this is the right map? Just look at it and you'll see he said. See…it shows you how to get on my road. But I thought, do I really want to be on that road? It seemed so full of people that I didn't want to walk with. I turned around to continue on my own road. But there was a HUGE bill board in the way. It said, WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO SAY TO YOU? It was then I realized that I was missing the point. It was still MY walk. It would be my road if I chose to walk it. And I had a map that showed me where this road ended up. And it also showed me that my family would be there at the end.

I went to the crossroads again. Strangely it was still a hard choice to make. But finally standing there, I could see clearly the two roads. One looked like a good road at first, but you could see it was desolate, lonely. And there were huge areas that were so dark. The other road was worn, even bumpy in places, but the sun shone on it the whole way. And there was a Great Man at a weigh station that was taking everyone's pack for them. They weren't being drug down by the weight of their souvenirs. This was not a road you walked alone. I could finally see the choice I had to make. So I asked Him to take my pack from me, and thanked Him for the road. I still can't see everything that the road will lead me to, but I know where it ends, and who'll be there with me.

Reason # 342 why I love homeschooling

2011-03-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

My teen daughter actually talks to me.

We have real conversations, a real relationship that bears none of the tension that parents of many teens face. I know about her hopes and fears. I know what she's struggling with, and where her successes are. We have many wonderfully ordinary moments throughout each day to learn and teach each other.

The rush and stress of busy school days, homework, cattiness, un-Christlike teaching, fitting in and all the rest, are absent from our lives. Instead, our daily living embraces learning, Godliness, kindness and not toeing the line.

My kids are learning to LIVE life, not simply get through it.

Book Review: Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick

2011-03-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick

I was given the book Sun Stand Still by Blogging for Books to review. The book is about Furtick's experiences in planting a church, and living a life that allows God to do great things in it. I liked the premise of the book, and the idea behind it (giving your life over completely to God).

It did, however, get a little to catch-phrasey for my liking. Things like "page 23 vision" and "Sun Stand Still Prayer" got a lot of page time, and turned into clichés in my mind before the end of the book.

Overall, I think the book is still worth the read, and does remind us that God can, and will, do great things in our lives if we let Him.

TOS Review: Who is God?

2011-03-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Who is God? from Apologia
Age: Elementary and up
Cost: $39

Although I've always liked the curriculum I've used from Apologia, I wasn't really looking forward to reviewing Who is God. This was mainly because I don't work well with bible curriculum geared towards children. I often find it far too dumbed down for my kids, and we all get bored with it.

This hasn't been the case with this book. So far we have really enjoyed the lessons, and the way they are presented. For the most part, the language in the book isn't dumbed down or childish. (there are a few childishly written things in the story illustrations, but they are appropriately used)

The curriculum itself approaches the study in a way that opens up real conversation with your child about God, and what He is like. There are multiple questions within each lesson, and an opportunity for your child to write about his or her thoughts.

The side bars are also quite interesting, giving a little insight to the Bible passages or extra illustration to the lesson.

We haven't gone all the way through the book yet, but so far I haven't found anything out of line with our beliefs.

The girls and I are looking forward to finishing this book, and are considering buying the next in the series.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Who is God?

School's back in session...again.

2011-03-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

Seems like the past couple of months have been very on again off again with school. So many things going on! But we are trying to get back into it this week.

One of the requests from the girls is to have more hands on projects to go along with our history and science. We used to do a lot, but kind of quit while we were living in the rental. Now that we have the space, it's time to start doing them regularly again.

Our first one involved play-doh, which has been sitting in a box untouched for over a year. I think they enjoyed goofing around with one of their old favorites :)

Their task, by the way, was to create a new creature and come up with a name. (since we are starting our history from the beginning this year, and of course the beginning is creation).

Book Sneeze Review: The Shelter of God's Promises

2011-02-27T18:40:00.000-08:00

The Shelter of God's Promises by Sheila Walsh.

Usually, I tend to shy away from books geared toward women because they often end up with a soft tone that I don't care for. Sheila Walsh has done a great job in getting her point across without being overly emotional and sappy. She writes well, and the book is engaging.

In The Shelter of God's Promises, Walsh explores what it means to rely on what God has promised us through Christ, and to use those promises to guide us through the hard times in life. In this exploration she uses scripture, illustration, and personal anecdotes to take you through the promises of God.

While this book is written as a study of God's promises, it is also an exploration of Jesus' life. She exposits scripture from the New Testament in a way that brings the scripture to life.

In the back of the book, an in-depth Bible study guide is included. This is great to use as you read through the book, and can lead you into further study of the Bible.

I enjoyed reading this book, and found it to be a good addition to my library.

**Disclaimer**

I received this book through BookSneeze.com for the sole purpose of providing my honest review. I received no further compensation for this review.

Hanging with my gnomies

2011-02-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

My gnomes seem happy in their new home. My step-dad started this minor obsession. He gifted me with gnomes. Now that he's gone, they remind me of him...you know white beard and all. I think I need a few more.

Snapshots

2011-02-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

from the past couple of weeks....

We painted the town red....well, Kelsie's room anyway.

Miranda and Sarah in their new room.

Enjoying breakfast in the sunroom

Catching up on some reading

Comforting the dog (who is still not sure what's going on....)

Finding a use for the giant mirror in my office area

Enjoying the gorgeous weather and the huge driveway

Our first blooms at the new house

A mom brag...

2011-02-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had the girls take their first Standardized Test since I brought them home for school. I did this for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to see how my teaching was holding up. It just gave me a bit of a confidence boost that we are doing ok, and it pointed at some areas that we could work a little more on. Second, if anything should ever happen to me, I would like some sort of record of their progress should Tom have to send them to school.

Now for the bragging part....they all three did GREAT. Everyone is above grade level in every subject, with most subjects falling far above grade level. I'm proud of my girls :)

Change of Scenery

2011-02-20T14:39:00.000-08:00

After a crazy two weeks, we have bought and moved into a new house. (yeah, that was fast!)

I really need to get around to taking some pictures, but for now, here's the standard real estate listing photo:

Home Sweet Home

We spent the past week making about 5 million 1 mile trips moving all our stuff a pickup truck load at a time. The girls were a HUGE help, and we are ALL exhausted. We also owe a big thanks to some great guys from the seminary for doing the heavy lifting for us. (They have a good ol' southern style BBQ feast coming their way once I find my kitchen)

So now, the next week or so will be spent putting the new house in some sort of order. For the moment we spend about 50% of the time wandering around trying to find stuff.

We really like the new house, and are SO glad to be out of that rental.

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TOS Homeschool Crew Review: Vocab Ahead

2011-02-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

Age: Highschool
Cost: $12.99 for the book and MP3s, $24.99 for the DVD

For this review I chose the paperback book version, as we tend to work better with a book in hand than by watching a DVD.

My 14 year old daughter read (and giggled a bit) through this book, and declared that she liked it. She enjoyed the cartoons, and she really liked how each word had information about it and was used in multiple examples.

A huge bonus for us are the videos and MP3s. These are available through their website. Although my daughter has a large vocabulary, due to the enormous amounts of reading she does, she doesn't always know the correct pronounciation. Therefore, listening to the videos is a great help in that area.

SAT Vocabulary Words | GRE Vocabulary words - Videos for GRE SAT Prep Vocabulary Videos Remorse

There's also a study room on the website with virtual flash cards to test your skills.

I brought this book out when I had several homeschool moms over a few weeks ago, and they were impressed by the method and how the book was written.

So overall, I would recommend this book and it's website to any student needing to study vocabulary.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Vocab Ahead!

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TOS Homeschool Crew Review: Roman Town

2011-02-04T03:54:00.000-08:00

Roman Town by Dig-It! Games

Age: 8+

Cost: $39.95

***Dig-It games is offering Roman Town to TOS Review Crew readers for 20% off the 2010 price of $24.95. The code is TOS2011. You can purchase it HERE***

Roman Town, the computer game was a hit at our house. This is an educational video game where kids can be virtual archaeologists unearthing an ancient Roman town. The game leads you through an excavation, and then allows you to learn more about the life and time by exploring the artifacts you dig up.

I let my 10 year old daughter Sarah review this one for me. Here's what she said:

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Roman Town!

My life

2011-02-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

So, what's been going on in my life lately?

The biggest event recently, has been our decision to make Fort Worth our home a little more permanently. We are in the process of buying a house and settling in. While the process of house buying is really just a form of torture, I'm really looking forward to getting out of our current house, and settling down a little bit.

Our decision came about after a lot of thought about how much we really enjoy it here. Our church feels like home, and we feel like that is where we belong right now. We've made some great friends here that have welcomed us like family. The opportunities for the girls are endless. It just didn't seem right to plan on leaving any time soon. (Plus, I really like the warmer climate!)

Ironically this is our warmer climate right now:

Even the dog is trying to keep warm:

I'm very thankful I have a roof over my head right now. We are having trouble getting our heat to keep up with the cold, and our pipes are frozen. But we have food, blankets and shelter. I'm trying to keep that in perspective!

We've been plugging along in school, getting through this year's Core, and finishing up the math text for Sarah and Miranda. I'm thinking that we are going to go a little more relaxed with the SL core this year, and also explore interest driven science. I want to free up some more time in our schedule for Bible study and physical activity. Some of the work we've been doing lately feels less like learning and more like checking boxes and I really want to get away from that.

My biggest priorities for our homeschool are a strong Bible foundation, excellent writing skills, a firm grasp of higher math, and a love for learning. Everything else is gravy. There are SO many options out there, that I have to be careful of over doing the curriculum. I think it's time to reel it back in and get back to the basics.

Our friend John continues to heal after his major spine surgery. God answered many prayers for him, and I have faith that He will continue to do so, in one form or another. We have another dear friend going through some health issues that they cannot find the cause of. Please add him to your prayer list if you can, his name is David.

Now, to go check on the pulled pork in the oven, and see if Tom has turned into a hubby-cicle up in the attic (trying to thaw out a pipe!)

TOS Homeschool Crew Review: Ten Marks

2011-01-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

$10 a month

$49 for 6 months

$89 for 12 months

Ten Marks is an online math curriculum for elementary school through high school. It has an engaging interface, and fun games.

When you first log on, you take an assessment to see what level you are at. Then it will set up a series of lessons with videos and worksheets. After you complete several worksheets it unlocks games. The girls have really enjoyed the games, and like the worksheets as well.

Ten Marks will also schedule a certain number of worksheets to be completed each week, and remind you via email to complete the work. The nice thing is, you can pause the program at any time to be resumed later.

There are also tests to gage your progress.

The girls really liked the little men that gauge your progress on various concepts. It is easy to see progression in the program.

We are primarily using the program as a supplement to our main math curriculum. It has been a fun addition to our school, and worth the expense I think. This could stand alone as a math program, although it's not particularly rigorous.

I would recommend this program to anyone looking for an engaging, easy to use math program for their homeschool.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Ten Marks!

TOS Homeschool Crew Review: Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids

2011-01-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids
Age: 5-10
Price: $14.99 at LifeWay Christian Stores

We were excited to receive this book from LifeWay for review since we love reference books, and are always looking for ways to expand our Bible studies.

This Bible dictionary is fully illustrated with graphics that engage kids. While not a complete reference, there are enough entries to keep kids learning about the Bible for hours. It is also chocked full of detailed maps, and has phonetic pronunciation for each entry (a huge plus for some of those more difficult names and places).

The quality illustrations, combined with photography and a easy to read layout, make for an engaging book that isn't dry or boring. I think this is a good first Bible Dictionary, and could be useful even for middle school aged children. I recommend it as an addition to your library.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids!

How to avoid temper tantrums (or how Mom avoids Homeschool burn out)

2011-01-23T16:00:00.000-08:00

How to avoid temper tantrums (or how Mom avoids Homeschool burn out)

You can see it coming.

Schoolwork gets thrown to the ground.

The fists clench up, the eyes squeeze shut, the face turns red, the feet begin to stomp.

There may even be flat out laying on the floor and kicking of the feet.

No, I'm not talking about toddler temper tantrums. I'm talking about what happens to Mom when she's had enough, and Homeschool Burn-Out sets in.

HBO usually occurs sometime in late January to early February. The combination of cold/nasty weather keeping everyone indoors, post-holiday stress, and having been at school work for a good long stretch of time takes its toll. Tempers get short, school work seems boring, and everyone is craving a warm day out in the sun.

How can you avoid HBO? Here's what we do.

First, we school year-round. That may seem counter intuitive, but actually it makes for a much more relaxed year. We take breaks when we want, and we aren't pressed to hurry up and finish a curriculum before a certain date. It's hot here in Texas during the summer. REALLY hot. So we school through the summer and take breaks when the weather is cooler. This year we also took off the entire month of December. I've learned in the past that nothing really gets done in December anyway, so I'm not really losing any ground there. So, by the time January rolls around, we are actually ready to start school back up.

Second, I like to change things up fairly often. Don't get me wrong, I have a schedule and a routine that keeps me sane. But I like to try new things, and we often change some little things in our school work so that it doesn't become too monotonous. This may be doing things on a different schedule, trying a new book or curriculum, or some other activity. I just try to keep the core subjects the same as much as possible so we aren't jumping around everywhere.

Third, we take the time for fun. We go to different activities with friends, take field trips, or just have a "running around" day where we window shop. You don't have to spend a ton of money doing this either. Libraries, hikes, parks, etc. are free. You can even take advantage of free admission days at many museums. Don't forget that just being goofy and cutting up is a great tension reliever.

Fourth, we keep God a priority in our school. I pray about our school, we have Bible study, and we attend church regularly. Keeping Him as a focus, helps give us strength when we are coming to our wits end.

Doing these things helps keep me going. Sure, I still have bad days, and so do my girls, but they pass quickly. Taking a break to bake cookies, or take a walk can save a bad day. So next time you see a temper tantrum coming on, grab a bite of chocolate, tickle a kid, and take a walk :)

He does hear

2011-01-17T19:10:00.000-08:00

I always like to note when God answers prayer in tangible ways.

We've been praying hard for our friend John, who was found to have a tumor in his spine right at Christmas. At first the prognosis didn't look good, as his health and mobility rapidly deteriorated. John, his family, and even his doctors feared that there were multiple tumors and an unknown rate of growth. Prayers were sent up all over the country for him.

Further tests revealed only one tumor (with other symptoms due to bone spurs and disc issues). A prayer answered.

Today he had a long surgery to remove the tumor. He came through the surgery fine, and the doctors think that the tumor is benign. Another prayer answered.

We continue to pray for his recovery, and that he regains mobility.

This is one reason I like to write my prayers in a journal. It is awesome when you can flip through the past prayers you've had and see how God has answered. It isn't always the answer you wanted, but the answers do eventually come.

Allergen Free- several months in

2011-01-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

So how's it going? Well I think.

We've been on an allergen free diet since before Thanksgiving, and it's finally beginning to feel normal. Planning meals and snacks isn't as hard as it was at first. We've found some favorites and some real losers.

We are beginning to feel much healthier, and even the twins have decided to join us. (much to my husband's dismay...he thinks I won't feed him any more..hehe...)

The most frequently asked question, after I rattle off the list (corn, wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, shellfish, peanuts, sesame, and anything vaguely related to a melon) is WHAT do you eat?

Actually, we eat really, really well. More veggies and fruit. Rice, potatoes, rice pasta, meat, poultry, fish...etc. There are also many flours out there that do not contain wheat or corn...you just have to get used to baking with them.

We've cut out bread and pasta as a main food source, and base our meals on protein and produce. Rice and potatoes are the only starches we really eat now. I'm trying to get the family to eat quinoa, but they just aren't there yet. I, however, love the stuff.

The kids are learning to grab fruit for a snack instead of junk. They are also thinking much more about the health benefits of what they eat instead of that instant gratification of junk food.

Here's a list of our meals this past week:

Breakfast:
Rice cereal with almond milk
Oatmeal
Fruit
Buckwheat pancakes

Lunch:
Soup
Rice with spagetti sauce
leftovers from dinner
sunbutter and jelly sandwhiches (made with buckwheat pancakes as the bread)
fruit
Eggs (except for Kelsie)

Dinner:
Pulled pork, roasted potatoes, green beans, salad
Taco Salad
Fried Rice (with lots of veggies chopped into it)
Chicken and Rice soup.
Pork loin, broccoli, salad
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, peas, salad

Dessert:
Jello with fruit

Book Review: Finding our Way Again

2011-01-12T13:25:00.000-08:00

Finding Our Way Again by Brian McLaren

This book is the first in The Ancient Practices Series, published by Thomas Nelson. It is a book designed to look at early spiritual practices and how they can be implemented today, and is supposed to introduce the series.

As a conservative Christian, this book did not appeal to me at all. The first part of the book has a very "all paths lead to God" feel, and neglects to emphasize that Jesus is the only path to salvation. As a self-proclaimed Christian writer, this should have been the foundation of such a series.

I also felt that the book lacked coherence. I finished it wondering what point he was trying to make. He uses a lot of metaphors and imagery that don't seem to flow well. There ends up being very little information about the spiritual practices he's talking about, or in fact any real clue as to what they are.

His personal anecdotes didn't always seem to mesh with the point he was trying to make either. Or maybe I just didn't get it.

I wouldn't recommend this book at all. It doesn't seem well founded on Biblical doctrine, and would be very confusing to someone that wasn't strong in their faith. It left me with no desire to read the rest of the series.

This book gets 1 out of 5 stars.

**Disclaimer**

I received this book through BookSneeze.com for the sole purpose of providing my honest review. I received no further compensation for this review.

TOS Homeschool Crew Review: Virtual Nerd

2011-01-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

Virtual Nerd

Cost: Varies from $5/one day use to $129/3 months

Age: middle/high school

What is Virtual Nerd? It is an online video tutor to help students learn mathematic concepts. The levels range from pre-algebra to physics, and there are a multitude of videos on many topics.

My daughter found the videos helpful and well thought out. She is easily turned off by unpleasant speaking voices, boring lectures, or unclear explanations. The Virtual Nerd videos had none of those qualities, and she thought they were easy to watch.

There is a search feature to help you find the topic you are looking for, and you can also click on links beside each video to learn more about a concept. You may have to occasionally dig a little to find a topic (like we did when we were trying to find out how to graph a set of equations with two variables), but the information is there.

The only drawback to this program, for us, is the cost. It is more than I would pay for a math help, but is probably comparable to hiring a tutor. The upside is, you can purchase a day at a time for $5, so if you are just stuck and need a little help, you can see if it will work for you without a big investment.

Overall, we think it's a good concept and a very nicely done program.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Virtual Nerd!

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Working while homeschooling.

2011-01-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

This week's TOS blog cruise topic is working while homeschooling.

While I don't hold a full time job while homeschooling, there are things I do and have done that need to be fit in around our homeschooling. Either now, or in the past, I have:

Ran a part-time photography business
Been a review blogger for various things.
Freelanced web design.
Worked for an online scrapbook store.

All these things have required dividing my time between my "work", homeschooling, and running a household.

For me, one of the biggest things is planning. I keep a schedule for our schoolwork, and what I plan on getting accomplished each week. Saturdays and Sundays I gather materials, print worksheets and schedules, and look over lessons I need to teach. My kids are a bit older, so I take advantage of independent work whenever possible. I also take advantage of breaks from school to do long term planning.

Another thing that has helped is multi-tasking. The girls spend 1.5 hours each week at piano lessons, and I usually bring along some work to do. (This may be lesson planning, writing, reading, etc.) I also try to condense errand days. When we have an activity to go to, I try to run any errands the same day that are in the same area.

As for household tasks, we share the workload. The girls have set chores to do each day, and also help with various things around the house. Working together lessens the time spent on cleaning and laundry, giving us more time for other things.

When it comes to feeding our brood, I try to plan meals a week at a time, so I know ahead of time what I'll be cooking that week. I don't always stick to it, but it's handy when you have to throw together something quick. I try to keep the basics on hand, and I'm working on teaching the girls how to cook as well.

Some other things we have to work around with our homeschooling are my husband working from home, and going to seminary. We often need to be flexible with our schedule, so that he can be at school, or study, or work. One thing that has helped immensely is the fact that he has an office with a door. When the door is shut, the kids know dad is at work or studying. This keeps us from distracting him (or him from distracting us!)

I also have a friend who is working full time outside the home, while homeschooling her two teenage daughters. She has an evening schedule, so she is able to be there during the day. She also cooks meals ahead of time and spends the weekends catching up. She has also utilized online courses to help with schooling.

I think there are many approaches to doing this successfully, but I believe the keys to any approach are as follows:

Preparation - Know what you have to do ahead of time, and make sure you have what you need to do it.
Organization - Don't waste precious time hunting for something, or trying to remember what you need to do next. Have a place for everything, and write everything down! Computer calendars and schedulers are a life saver.
Flexibility - When life throws a wrench in your well planned week, don't freak out. Be flexible and work around it. And take advantage of unplanned opportunities!
Delegation - Don't try to do it all yourself. You can't. If your children are old enough to talk, they are old enough to help. If friends or family offer a helping hand, take it and let them be blessed by helping you!
Prayer - This is the most important. Make time for God your first priority.

Going Home

2011-01-10T05:58:00.000-08:00

There was a great deal of anticipation for the trip home at Christmas. Our entire family had looked forward to it for most of the year. We missed our friends, our family, and trees! We couldn't wait to see how much kids had grown, how much towns had changed, to hug people in real life, and to sit and have a conversation.

We arrived tired, but happy after a 14 hour drive, welcomed by family. The kids HAD grown, the town had changed a bit, the hugs were great, and conversations were had.

But it all seemed bittersweet.

I think it was the shift of change while we were away. When you are always together, you don't notice the gradual change of personalities, and priorities. You don't notice how the lives of the ones you love grow and change each day. But when you've been apart for a while, those changes seem so sudden, so strong, even when they may seem subtle to the ones you've left behind.

It's not just the people we visit, it's more obvious in ourselves as well. We've changed too. This move has molded us.

It makes you realize that things change, and what you left isn't going to be the same as what you come back to. No matter if we go home, stay where we are, or end up somewhere new, there will be change. Adjustment. Loss. Renewal.

This trip has made us stop and really think about where our lives are taking us. It has made us listen even harder to hear where God would have us go, because sometimes it's hard to hear over our own wants.

This time next year, I don't know where we'll be living. It's kind of scary to say that, but it's true. We have no idea where God will send us. But we know that we can rely on Him to see us through whatever He sends our way. (or sends us to)

A Quote

2011-01-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

As I was reading this morning, this devotional from Oswald struck me, and I thought I'd share.

January 10th

The opened sight

To open their eyes, … that they may receive … Acts 26:18.

This verse is the grandest condensation of the propaganda of a disciple of Jesus Christ in the whole of the New Testament.
The first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words—“that they may receive remission of sins.” When a man fails in personal Christian experience, it is nearly always because he has never received anything. The only sign that a man is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ. Our part as workers for God is to open men’s eyes that they may turn themselves from darkness to light; but that is not salvation, that is conversion—the effort of a roused human being. I do not think it is too sweeping to say that the majority of nominal Christians are of this order; their eyes are opened, but they have received nothing. Conversion is not regeneration. This is one of the neglected factors in our preaching today. When a man is born again, he knows that it is because he has received something as a gift from Almighty God and not because of his own decision. People register their vows, and sign their pledges, and determine to go through, but none of this is salvation. Salvation means that we are brought to the place where we are able to receive something from God on the authority of Jesus Christ, viz., remission of sins.
Then there follows the second mighty work of grace—“and inheritance among them which are sanctified.” In sanctification the regenerated soul deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s interest in other men.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year, NIV edition. (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Co., 1993).

TOS Review: Tiny Planets

2010-12-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Tiny Planets Web Site

Age: 3-12

Cost: Free for the basic site. Keys to purchase to unlock various parts of the site are $1.95/10 and up.

I remember my girls watching this show on TV several years ago, and thinking it was cute. Bing and Bop are two aliens that explore other planets, learning new things along the way. The website, TinyPlanets.com, extends that learning with interactive games, TV episodes, online books, and a virtual world.

The virtual world seems to be the biggest draw for this website. Kids can design their own aliens, planets, space ships and more. Then they are able to interact with other "cadets" in a safe environment while playing games. Keys are available for purchase to unlock items to use in the virtual world, and to unlock various other things throughout the website.

This website is a great place to introduce young computer users to online games and activities. There are no ads, or outside links that I've seen. The site is fairly simple and visually appealing. Little ones might even learn a few things while there.

I do have to say that the age range seems a little off to me though. My 10 year olds thought it was way too "babyish". I tend to agree that there really wasn't much to hold their attention. They've been playing computer games for some time now, and this just wasn't appealing to them. There was also the fact that they remember Bing and Bong as a little kids show. I think they would have loved it 3 years ago. So, to me, a more appropriate age range would be 3-10.

This site is definitely worth checking out if you have young children that are ready to start playing online games.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about Tiny Planets!

14 years couldn't have passed any faster

2010-12-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

On December 11, 1996 at 6:36 PM our first daughter came into the world, and my life was forever changed.

She's taught me how to laugh at myself, and how to love unconditionally. She's shown me the fun side of life.

And now, I realize that she's showing me how daughters turn into friends.

When she was small, I couldn't imagine what she would be like when she grew up. But now I see it. A lovely young woman, who loves God and family, and truly lives by Jesus' commandment "Love your neighbor as you love yourself".

I can't wait to see what the next 14 years brings her.

TOS Review: ALEKS

2010-12-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

ALEKS

Grades: 3-12

Cost per student: $19.95/month, $99.95/6 months, or $179.95/12 months (family discounts available)

ALEKS is an interactive online math program for grades 3-12. It covers basic math skills through Trigonometry.

Here's a quote from the website that explains what ALEKS is:

Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system. ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics she is most ready to learn. As a student works through a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that topics learned are also retained. ALEKS courses are very complete in their topic coverage and ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions. A student who shows a high level of mastery of an ALEKS course will be successful in the actual course she is taking.

We began our trial by having the girls take a pretty comprehensive assessment quiz. You selected the grade level, then began the assessment. This quiz allows you (and the program) to see which areas the student needs to work in, and which ones they have already mastered.

After the assessment, the student is taken to a screen where they get to see their "pie". The pie is representative of the skills they have mastered, and the ones they need to continue working on. The student selects a piece of the pie to work on, and ALEKS guides them through learning the new topics.

There is also a lot of review built into the program. Each time you log on, ALEKS will present the student with problems from past lessons to work before moving on to new ones.

For Drill Mastery, Quick Tables are used in the elementary levels. Quick Tables utilizes drills and games to help the child master the basic math facts.

What we liked about ALEKS:

We liked that ALEKS graded and tracked each students progress, and sent reports summarizing what has been done. You can select how often you want to receive the reports. The set up of the lessons seem to work pretty well, only giving as much help as you need. This allows you to move faster through topics you know, or understand quickly, and to spend more time on the ones you have trouble with.

This seems like a pretty thorough program, although not particularly rigorous. This type of program works very well for students that are average or struggling with math.

What we didn't like as much about ALEKS:

For us, getting the hang of the computer interface was a bit of a frustration. I think it was just because we are so used to our math being a hands on, pencil to paper activity, that it was hard to transition it to a full computer activity. My oldest daughter really enjoys doing her math on the computer, but my younger two prefer the hands on math.

The other thing that frustrated my younger two was the review. The review problems weren't varied enough. It seemed like they kept having to work the same problems over and over, on things they had already earned their pie piece on. Constant review of topics already learned is something that frustrates them, and that we've had to work around with other math programs as well. However, my oldest needs that type of review, so this works better for her.

The price is a little high for us as well. With three students, $179.95 per year is too much for a math program, even with the family discounts. The ability to pass a used math text down to younger students is lost with this program, and it's something our family needs to be able to do.

Overall, my impression with ALEKS is that it's a strong, but not particularly rigorous, math program. If it were in my budget, I believe it would work very well with my oldest daughter. I do believe that for my younger two math savvy daughters, this wouldn't be a good fit for very long.

So, if it's in your budget, and you have a average to struggling math student, ALEKS may be just what you are looking for! ALEKS does offer a free trial, so you can decide if it is right for your student before purchasing.

They also offer monthly subscriptions, and a 6 month subscription, so you aren't locked in for an entire year.

See what other TOS Review Crew Members have to say about ALEKS!

Book Review: Lies the Government Told You

2010-12-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Lies the Government Told You by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

Lies the Government Told You is a book that digs through the deceptive practices and actions of our government. Judge Napolitano selected 17 "Lies", and spends each chapter explaining how these commonly believed statements made by our government simply are not true.

Throughout the book, Judge Napolitano uses various examples from actions of members of our government to prove his point on each lie. From Abraham Lincoln, to Barack Obama, he has summarized the mistruths often purported by the men in power.

Judge Napolitano also is careful to explain what the Constitution and other government documents actually said, how it applies in each situation. He also cites various court cases, and articles to back up his thoughts.

In reading this book, I've gained some insight into how our government really works, and have even learned more about our Constitution along the way. I also found it to be a fascinating insight into American History.

There were a few points I didn't care for in this book. One, it's obvious from the beginning that Judge Napolitano has an axe to grind, and the book has a definite bias against the current government. He doesn't try to hide it, however, and it's easy to keep that in mind as you read. Secondly, he spends a fair amount of time mentioning his other books throughout this one. Something about the self-promotion just didn't sit right with me.

Overall, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. It is definitely worth reading, but keep in mind why the author is writing it. Take it as a challenge to learn more about how our government is run, and what the men running it are really doing.

**Disclaimer**

I received this book through BookSneeze.com for the sole purpose of providing my honest review. I received no further compensation for this review.

Christmas Photo Shoot

2010-12-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

Today the girls and I headed downtown for an impromptu photo shoot. The main goal was to get a decent shot to send with the Christmas Cards this year. It was a little chilly, quite windy, and once again I mananged to pick a day when they were having some sort of marathon AND a scavenger hunt for a set of new car keys. However, we did sneak in a few good shots.

(said Christmas Card shot will remain under wraps though)

...

Barbara Stories: Christmas

2010-11-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

I've spent the last several hours trying to find a photo. It's of my Mom laughing with joy over a much wanted Christmas gift. Still haven't found it, but I thought I'd go ahead and write this post while it's on my mind.

My Mom loved Christmas with a child-like glee. Every year our house was decorated with tinsel, Santas, and even that fake spray on snow. She would start her Christmas wish list (verbal, not written) sometime in oh....August. She reveled in buying us a living room full of gifts to unwrap on Christmas morning. I think part of her enthusiasm came from the lack of Christmas festivities as a child.

Looking back now, it's almost funny how childlike she was about the whole thing. And suddenly, I've gained a bit of a new perspective on my Mom. I think emotionally she stayed a child. Right down to temper tantrums when things didn't go her way. This spilled over into Christmas. I think she built herself up each year to her vision of a perfect holiday, and when it didn't meet those expectations then came the melt down.

But the melt downs are not what I remember the most.

I remember how she would sneak around with our gifts (although I knew they were stowed in her closet).

I remember how she would pull each decoration out of its box and smile before positioning it in just the perfect spot.

I remember how she would look through the giant Service Merchandise catalog with us when it came in the mail.

I remember how she would search our faces as we opened our gifts for the reaction, smiling with us when the gift was a hit.

I remember how she would actually squeal like a little girl when she would open that one gift she really, really wanted.

I remember how we weren't allowed to sing Christmas carols until after Thanksgiving, but then it was a free for all.

I remember homemade fudge.

I remember handmade decorations that were saved year after year.

I remember the joy that seemed just out of her reach....

I wish my Mom could have seen at the time where the true joy was. That it hadn't been so elusive to her for most of her life. I wish she could have stopped and seen all the blessings in her life that were there each day, waiting to be realized. I pray that I learn from her and don't keep searching for the joy that is right here around me. And I'm so thankful that I realized the joy of Christ at this stage in life, instead of like her, at the end.

I'm thankful for my Mom, the lessons she taught me, and those that she has continued to teach me now that she's gone.

TOS Review - Illuminations by Bright Ideas Press

2010-11-22T07:45:00.000-08:00

Illuminations 1 High School by Bright Ideas Press
Cost: $165 for a full year.
Age: 9-12th grade

What Illuminations is:

• A scheduled curriculum for history, geography, language arts, Bible, and Life Skills

• Literature Guides

• Activity guides

What Illuminations is not

• An open and go curriculum
• A complete package
• A textbook

Illuminations is a History based curriculum that uses a grid scheduling system, and lays out each day's assignments for you. There are additional books to purchase, but they are easily found both used and new.

What we loved about Illuminations:

The Year I set that we reviewed used Mystery of History as the History spine. We already own these books, and have looked forward to using them. The guide has the lessons all laid out. It also has corresponding literature to read.

I loved the literature guides. These guides walk the student through each book with discussion questions, vocabulary, and activities. There are some meaty books in there too like The Iliad, and The Trial of Socrates. There's also a poetry section that allows you to use whatever resources you have. The way the subject is presented, it's almost like a treasure hunt.

Geography is also scheduled using The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide. I thought the schedule and lesson layout was pretty thorough.

Another neat feature is the Netflix and Drive Through History Schedule. It lists movies/episodes that correspond with the Mystery of History readings.

It's also easy to pick and choose which elements of the program you would like to use, without extra work on your part to reschedule.

What we didn't use, but may be useful to others:

Write Shop and English from the Roots Up schedules are included with the Illuminations package. (The books are purchased separately) The schedules make it easy to assign lessons, and there are also some printable activities included.

Life 101 is a guide to reading various books that guide a teen to making wise decisions. They include books by Joshua Harris, Crown Financial Ministries and more.

There wasn't much I didn't like about this program, but there is one thing I found less than appealing. I really didn't care much for the grid layout of the schedule, but I'm rather particular and have been known to retype things to suit myself. (On the plus side, it IS in an editable PDF file, so you can tweak to your heart's content).

If you are looking for a curriculum that is more than a textbook, but that is laid out for you, this may be the one for you. We will definitely use this program in our studies.

To read what other TOS Crew members thought visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

TOS Review - KB Teachers

2010-11-19T05:10:00.000-08:00

TOS Homeschool Crew Review

KB Teachers

Cost: $29 per year.

Ages: PreK-Highschool

With a Premium Membership you get (copied from the website):

* One click worksheet generators and alphabet factory
* Create an unlimited number of engaging printable activities - For all ages and grade levels
* No watermarks and unlimited access
* Exclusive graphics and clipart - Decorate your websites, Blogs, activity sheets etc...
* Diverse educational resources - From simple ABC worksheets, to 20 pages exams
* Intuitive activities online or off - At home, at school or in study hall
* Free 24/7 Support - If we don't have it, we'll create it - or help you find it
* Answer Keys - Proofed and checked quality materials you can trust
* Updated regularly - New features and member created content added every week
* Nothing to download, instant access - From any internet connection

Most of the work sheets are seem to be geared towards early elementary students. This would be great for PreK - 3rd grade, when handwriting and math worksheets can be very useful. Above 3rd grade, the topics are a little more sporadic, and I would like to see more added for the upper levels. However, I have found that we've naturally moved away from worksheets as the girls have gotten older, so that may not really be needed.

There are some History exams that could prove to be useful, provided you looked them over prior to your course of study and made sure you covered the exact questions.

They also have Webquests for each month that allows you to explore various topics throughout the month. The Webquest topics range from the fun (bittersweet chocolate with almonds) to the historical (Latvian Independence) and each topic has a worksheet with questions to answer.

To add a holiday spin to your daily work, there are fun seasonal printables such as games, invitations, posters and stickers. The Thanksgiving ones this month are very cute.

There are even clip art selections to aid you in creating your own worksheets, and to use in various projects.

Overall, I think KB Teacher is a great deal for anyone that uses a lot of printables in their school work. I know that when my girls were younger, I would have used it nearly daily for basic skills reinforcement. For Middle School and up, I think the usefulness wanes, and isn't worth the premium membership.

Remember the Food Dehydrator Giveaway

2010-11-18T06:29:00.000-08:00

In this post Nourishing Days was giving away a dehydrator, and I WON! So, I'll let you know how much we love it when we get to play with it.

Gratitude Challenge - November 12

2010-11-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

Today, I am thankful for friends, both old and new. I have friends back home that I miss dearly, and I know they will be there to welcome me home. I also have new friends, that have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome in a strange place. Thank You God, for placing these people in my life.