Learning Out of the Box

I DARE you to read my testimony!

2009-10-20T09:05:00.007-05:00

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things, I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know the power of Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."
Philippians 3:7-11

I would like to testify to all that will read this that my Lord Jesus is real and mighty and powerful! He has done such an amazing work in my life that I am overcome with joy and want to shout it from the mountaintops! He has revealed himself to me in a mighty way!

I have to tell you that as a Christian I have been trying to live in my own power and have been miserable. I have never felt true peace and true joy that we are promised through his word. I never understood what that was like but I have always desired it. My entire life has been spent *trying* to do all the right things that I thought God desired of me. Trying to please him in my own power, but not truly surrendering to him. Because of this I now know why I have struggled with depression my whole life. I now know it was because my soul knew something was out of whack and desired something more.

I would see Christians who were so on fire for God and I would think, "Why don't I feel like that?" I have also thought, " Why don't I desire to read his word, why don't I feel excited to go to church, why do my prayers feel so empty? Many times I would sit in church and just cry during the singing and not know why.

I have always believed in God and was taught to love him and respect him and try to please him. I mentally accepted Christ at the age of nine and was baptized. Then my family went through some difficult times searching for God in different denominations and I was baptized in what I would call a cult and then in another denomination. So I had been baptized 3 times in 3 different churches by the time I was 13. I have had to sort out some very strange thinking that I was exposed to during those years. Then through my teen-age and early adult life thinking if I did A, B, C and D.. I was right with God. Almost thinking like a modern day pharisee. But never really experiencing his power.

God has been faithful to me through all those years and I can look back and see how he has used experiences to mold and shape me and draw me to him. I really don't know at what point I was truly saved, but what is important is that now I KNOW for sure. Was I saved way back at age 9 and have just been a baby Christian all these years and being messed up by strange thinking? Was it at the point when I truly felt his joy and peace and power? I don't really know, but that is not important.

Like I said before I have always read my bible off and on and prayed off and on and gone to church etc and have sometimes felt close to God but mostly just living a selfish life. Focused on me, me, me and my problems, worries and concerns.

I have felt his presence and love all throughout my life but can tell you that I never truly surrendered my entire life to him. I am so amazed at how the Lord has drawn me to him over the past year or so. In so many ways he has been shouting out to me,"I am supposed to be your best friend and you have been ignoring me!!"

I will share with you some of the ways that God has revealed himself to me and has made me feel his presence. About a year or so ago, not sure of exact time. I was really down in one of my low times. Going through the motions, not feeling a thing. Too depressed or stressed out to read my Bible at all. I'm sure I cried out to God many times to take these feeling away, but I never could get out of it. Sitting in church and just crying.

One day at church I just happened to pick up the little daily devotional book called, "Our Daily Bread." I took it home and I know this may sound gross, but I put it in the bathroom and every morning when I went in there I would read the short little devotional. This was the only consistent godly thing that I did everyday. And each day as I read that, those little devotionals started speaking to me and chipping away at my hurting heart. I started to desire Gods word more and more.

Another thing that God used in a mighty way was, believe it or not the book, "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan. I started reading it with Callie in our home school curriculum at the beginning of last school year. Several years ago I picked it up thinking I should read it because it was a Christian classic and I just could not read that thing. The old english just seemed too hard to wade through so I gave up. But now HAVING to read it with her it has truly blessed my life. I came to the point in the book when the character 'Faithful' was speaking to 'Talkative'. This man Talkative knew the gospel inside and out. He knew the Bible inside and out. He wanted to talk about the knowledge of God and his ways. This is a quote from Talkative,

"To talk of such things, is most profitable, for by so doing, a man may get knowledge of many things as of the vanity of earthly things, and the benefit of things above....by this a man may learn the necessity of the New-birth, the insufficiency of our works, the need of Christ's righteousness, besides, by this a man may learn by talk, what it is to repent, to believe, to pray, to suffer, or the like, by this also a man may learn what are the great promises and consolations of the Gospel, to his own comfort. Further, by this a man may lean to refute false opinions, to vindicate the truth, and also to instruct the ignorant."

Faithful was amazed at this mans knowledge and understanding of all God's ways but when he talked to 'Christian' he was told that this man was greatly decieved and said,

"Remember the proverb: They say and do not: but the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in POWER. He talketh of prayer, of repentance, of faith, and of the new-birth, but he knows but only to talk of them".

Faithful went back to speak with Talkative and asked him about the 'power' of his religion...Talkative replied that the Grace of God made him cry out against his sin. Faithful asked him if it caused his soul to Abhor his sin. Faithful explained the difference:

"A man may cry out against sin, or policy but he cannot abhor it, but by virtue of a godly antipathy against it: I have heard many cry out against sin in the Pulpit, who yet can abide it well enough in the heart, house, and conversation"

I hope this has not all confused those who are reading this...but I have to tell you after reading this something truly convicted my heart. I was so moved by these words and I realized that I was guilty of this. I was just talking about wanting to truly know God on a deeper level, there was no power in my Religion. I was 'sorry' for sin but did not abhor it. All my life the verse, "Faith without works is dead" was drilled into me but there was no power in the understanding of it.

I cried out to the Lord as David did in Palms 139 "Search me, Oh God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Immediately the Lord brought to my mind past sins that I had not truly repented of. I wrote every single one of them down on a piece of paper and cried out in repentance of these. I told the Lord that if he convicted me to act on any of these I would follow him without question. In a few instances God convicted me to go to certain people and make things right with them. The guilt of some of these things had been keeping me from a powerful relationship with the Lord and fueling my depression!

What a release I felt as I gave these over to him! I felt like a completely changed person. I felt his presence and his power in a way I never have before. The scriptures became precious to me and I could not get enough of them. The Lord drew me to the book of Phillipians. I have been reading that book and only that book for about 3 months. Meditating on it each day....Reading Warren Wiersbe's and J Vernon McGee's commentaries on the book. And through that God has given me the JOY that I had always longed for!! Praise his Holy name!

Whereas before my prayers were selfish inwardly focused of: please help me here, help so and so, blah blah now I feel the power of my prayers. I long to spend time in prayer and just praise him for what he has done in my life and to intercede for others. Wow I am seeing amazing things happen! I listened to Brother Lawrence talk about "Practicing the Presence of God" which are the writings of a 17th century monk who described how to meditate on God all throughout the day and how that every small task we do brings him glory!

During this time of spiritual renewal God has used many other things and people to wake me up and speak to me at the same time and these were : preaching and teaching from Christians at church, Christian music, like the song, "The Motions by Mathew West", christian biographes like "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom, Preaching on the radio/internet: specifically Chip Ingrim's messages called "Ancient paths to intimacy with God" and "Counterfit Christianity" and many others.

Now as the scipture says that I listed at the beginning, I count everything as loss and rubbish compared to Christ Jesus my Lord! I can earnestly say that, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the POWER of God for everyone who believes." Romans 1:16 This 'Good News' is not just that I will be saved from hell....it is so much more than that...it is that I am His child and in continual fellowship with him. I have truly found the key: My life is not about me anymore it is about Him and serving others through HIM. Each time that I have stepped out in faith, I am seeing how God is blessing me and other people. Things that I would have been too timid to do before God is giving me his power to do.

The most AMAZING thing of all is that God has worked simultaneously on my husband's heart at the exact same time as mine! Drawing him into a closer relationship with him as well. I can't even begin to describe the transformation I have seen. This has been such an answer to prayer and has been such a confirmation of God's love and direction to me. It is a beautiful thing to walk in and serve the Lord together. Our marriage has never been better than it is today because of the Lord. Not only that, but I am seeing the Holy Spirit move in other members of my family as well and I am overjoyed!

I pray that all who are reading this who desire a deeper relationship with the Lord will cry out to him because HE WILL ANSWER! I pray that anyone reading this who has never been Born Again and recieved the Lord as their savior will do that now! A saving faith is more than just believing that Jesus died on the cross to save the world from it's sins and that he rose from the dead. Even the demons know that! Going through certain rituals or belonging to a certain church won't save you.

You must admit to God that you are a sinner and repent, turning away from your sin.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"Therefore repent and turn back, that your sins may be wiped out so that seasons refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19

Believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son and accept God's gift of forgiveness from sin.
Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life, No one comes to the father except through me. "John 14:6

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."Acts 4:12

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:8-10

"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in this name, he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor a husbands will, but born of God. John 1:11-13

Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord, " and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:9-11

Working IN Christ Jesus
Remember Jesus says: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
James 2:14-26

"For we are God's workmanship, created IN Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
Philippians 2:12-13

Growing in Christ
Read the Bible daily for this is how God speaks to you and tells you how to live today. Pray that the Lord will lead you to a church that accurately teaches the word of God. Be baptized to show the world of your new birth as the Bible teaches! Become friends with people who are on fire for God and follow their example! Immerse yourself in the things of God and he will make the desires of the world grow dim and conform you to the image of his Son!

Dear Lord, I pray that I will never just 'go through the motions' again!

I challenge ALL Christians to be excited about our Lord and spreading his Love...post your testimony too and see how God will use it!

Charles Allan Avant

2009-04-17T08:27:00.002-05:00

I just saw a story on the news about a lady who was reunited with her father who she has not seen since she was two. I always love to see things like that because I am in a very similar situation. I have not seen my father since I was two as well. The news story told how the father had seen a movie where a man did a search of his own name on google. After watching the movie he did a search on his own name and found a message from his daughter online!!

I have been searching for my father, Charles Allan Avant, for about 18 years off and on. Wow...has it been that long? I began my search when I went away to college and ever since then, every few years the bug will bite me and I will try again. I have always come to dead ends.

So this post is my attempt to put his name out there on the web, just in case he ever searches for his name! So here I go:

If you are Charles Allan Avant and had a daughter named Cheryl Ann born on May 2, 1973, then I am your daughter and would love to meet you and get to know you. You have 3 beautiful grandchildren whom I have told about you and are also hoping to meet you one day! We have wasted too much time in our lives already! Please contact me by replying to this post!

I know you were born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and were adopted by Charles Agen Avant and Dorothy Baker Avant. You lived in Sheridan Arkansas and went to high school there. I have recently found one of your good high school friends named Joe S. on facebook who says he has been looking for you too!

Slow Food

2009-03-22T08:48:00.004-05:00

Watch CBS Videos Online

I have never heard of this woman named Alice Waters...but she sounds wonderful. I love everything she stands for and believes in. I hope this way of thinking sweeps the country! Yippy for President Obama for putting in that organic veggie garden! I found this video from a blog called Food Renegade from the Real Food Media website. The blogs listed on the website are WONDERFUL! I can't wait to dig in and start reading them.

I caught the fever of the traditional whole food mindset a couple of years ago and have slowly been dabbling in it. It is true that people are truly brainwashed to believe that this lifestyle is too hard or impossible. So not true. I feel that most people are unhealthy because they eat junk. Let's go back to how God intended our food to be.

Let's teach our children from an early age to grow as much food as they can themselves and and make better choices in what they buy. You can eat economically this way with a little preparation and planning. You can actually find some organic food for the the same price or even sometimes less if you look. I just joined a group where a lady is teaching us all the tricks of using coupons. I'm finding lots of coupons for organic products which will save me even more!! Cooking things from scratch with healthy ingredients can be much cheaper than eating out at fast food restaurants or buying unhealthy boxed chemical laden foods.

Please don't freak out when you hear the words "from scratch." It sounds horrifying to some people. I did not grow up eating this way at all and no one sat down and taught me. I am slowly teaching myself a little at a time. Don't do it all at once! Do one thing at a time and once that habit is established, add on another one....take it slowly...baby steps! Trust me I still eat out and eat junk food sometimes...I just have a rule that I *try* not to bring it into the house.

The interviewer in the video makes a big deal about the fact that Alice does not have a microwave....well neither do I, and I have not missed it. I am learning to make my own "fast food" by cooking things we eat a lot of in big batches and freezing them. Like yesterday I made a big batch of chicken stock, used some to make soup and then froze the rest for later use! The other day my husband paid me such a compliment by saying that my meals have been tasting so wonderful lately! I told him...it's all in the homemade stock! And really.....it's so cheap to make...You just use your leftover chicken bones and throw in some veggies!!! So healthy for you and makes your house smell great while it is simmering all day!

What's the big deal in waiting an extra 10-15 min for something to be heated up in the oven or in a saucepan, as opposed to the 1-2 min nuke in the microwave. I'll take my nutrient dense food wait over the one min dead food any day of the week!

Yes busy moms, it is possible! It won't hurt your kids to wait a little extra for healthier food. Kids need to learn more patience these days and not have instant gratification all the time anyway :) Or if you're really in a bind and they are screaming, "Mom I'm hungry I can't wait!".... and you just can't take it anymore..try giving them some of God's fast food, you know an apple, banana, glass of healthy milk. Boiled eggs are a really cheap and very healthy snack or meal! I keep a bowl of them in my fridge for ready made snacks!

Farm and Gardening!

2009-03-16T23:58:00.005-05:00

Since everyone in the world (it seems) is on spring break this week AND since we all have spring fever so bad...I have decided to do some light homeschooling. My mom is planning on taking Callie and James camping for a couple of days this week while I stay home and spring clean and organize.

Today we had a nice time visiting a friend at her farm! She is selling free range eggs that we are going to start getting! They are so yummy! Much better tasting and healthier than store bought eggs. We had so much fun petting all the animals. They have: horses, chickens, goats, ducks, bunnies, pigs, turkeys, cats, and a dog. Whew..I think that is all.

Then we came home and the kids played in the backyard while I planted some seeds in the garden. Last week I planted: lettuce, sugar snap peas, green beans, radishes, morning glories, sunflowers, and zinnias. Today I planted more radishes, spinach, and carrots. I started seeing my first lettuce sprouts poking through the soil today!!!

This year we are doing the square foot gardening technique. In the past we have always done the rows...so we will see how this goes. We also have some earthboxes that we put things in....usually all our tomatoes. I'm really excited about all the new things I'm going to try this year. I have always just planted everything all at once...but this year for the veggies that do well with this...I will be planting new seeds every two weeks so we will have a more spread out harvest! I also plan to plant: cantaloupe, eggplant, cucumbers, okra, and do tons of various herbs!! It just thrills me to work outdoors in nature and watch my garden grow!

Callie's 8th Birthday

2009-02-10T22:33:00.009-06:00

We had a wonderful time celebrating Callie's 8th birthday at the Rainforest Cafe in Dallas. Oma, Grandad, Aunt Martha, Uncle David, Max and Kyla were there with us to party!

Callie and her volcano cake, minus the sparklers!

Aunt Martha, Justin, & Callie

Cheryl and the gang

GRRRRRR!

All the cousins!

I love frogs!!!

Healthy Traditions

2009-01-30T18:47:00.003-06:00

I've started yet another blog. Yes, in an effort to find more order in my life I have to put all the subjects of my life in nice neat little blogs. That just makes more sense to me. So my new blog is all about cooking and is called Healthy Traditions. I plan to document all my fun little "experiments" that I try from the book, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Basically it's all about whole food, traditional cooking. Lots of flour soaking, yogurt making, seed sprouting, and sauerkraut fermenting kinda stuff. Not your boring old recipes!

James and I made popcorn today....you can see the post here!

Lost Tooth and Prayers

2009-01-30T18:28:00.007-06:00

James lost his first tooth this month! He was so excited that this meant he was getting older. He has also recently learned to whistle! I remember how mad he was that he could not whistle like Callie and then all of a sudden one day his little whistle came out. Oh how he danced around the room. And now today I heard him whistling "Oh what a beautiful morning" to Clovie our parakeet in perfect tune.

I just had to come back and write the sweet little prayer that James gave tonight: "Dear Lord, thank you for my family, thank you for this beautiful world you created, for the rainbows, the light, the dark, thank you for sending your son, Jesus, thank you for the hot and the cold, AMEN!" I need to start writing down his prayers because sometimes it can really amaze me what can come out of that sweet little mind. Like once he said we needed to pray for his future wife....like WOW...that coming from a 5 year old! I was awestruck!

While I'm on the subject of prayers, this made me think of how Joshua's prayers have evolved and I wanted to write it down before I forget! I have always said a good night prayer with him every night. Slowly over time he started saying parts of the prayer himself, like just the AMEN part. Then he would say the same memorized prayer each night like, "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Callie, James, Joshua, AMEN" Then I remember one night he said his very own prayer...I mean...he thought it himself! I was so excited...and this was the prayer: "Dear God, Thank you (for) Burger King! Amen! We had eaten at Burger King that day and it must have really made an impression on him. HA! And then another time he prayed, "Dear God, thank you (for) Chuckie Cheese! AMEN! HA! HA! Yes he likes to eat!

Now each night he says his prayer and he goes on and on talking to God and I can't understand half of what he says, but I'm smiling in my heart....knowing that I planted the seed of his relationship with our Lord!!!

Blogging on the Brain

2009-01-09T07:59:00.005-06:00

I have a dear friend that is working on her first blog. Isn't it amazing what a phenomenon blogging has become? It is such a fun way to keep family and friend connected. Whether you live in the same town or far away from one another. There are so many reasons people blog. Some to share fun family events, some use it as a journal, others a witnessing and encouraging tool. The possibilities are endless.

I told my friend some things I consider when writing a blog that I hoped would be helpful to her. One was that I did not put my entire name or the specific place I live. That just makes me feel safer knowing that anyone from the entire world could possibly be reading the blog. I know there are other people who only let people they know have access to viewing their family blogs.

Another thing I mentioned was, to think about the audience of your blog. In other words, before I write something, I imagine everyone I know reading it. Would they cringe and think..."Too much information.!!!" I have read some way too personal things on other people's blogs and thought, don't they know their MILs are reading that? HA!

I have recently started using blogs as a way to organize some of our homeschooling things and other things that I don't want to forget. I thought it would be too much disorder to just put it on one blog. These are mainly for me, so I will have the information neatly organized in a place I can refer back to as I homeschool all my children through the years. However if others can benefit from what I am putting together, that is great too. Here is a list of my new blogs if anyone is curious:

Helpful Homeschool Treasures: Internet resources I have found to help in homeschooling

Blog of Centuries: I plan to make an online record of all the historical things we learn about

East Texas Fun: I plan to list all the fun things to do and see in the East Texas and surrounding areas with an emphasis on FREE!

Callie and James have begged me to have their own blogs as well. I have put them off saying that we would just put everything on the main family blog. But now I have decided to go ahead and let them take ownership of their own blogs and use it as a learning tool. I think it will be great for Callie to practice typing out her thoughts and to practice spelling and sentence formation. I am going to do my best to have her do as much on her own as possible. I am hoping that this will be a completely child led learning activity. James' blog will mainly be a place for him to put all of his favorite and silly links.

Ups and Downs

2009-01-07T23:30:00.003-06:00

I almost fell out of my chair when I heard Callie tell her best friend on the phone that she would have to call back because I was reading her a story and she wanted to hear the end of it! Never for a thousand years did I think I would ever hear that. I was reading her our lesson from the book "Our Island Story" about how the evil King John of England got excommunicated by the Pope and then later signed the Magna Carta, much to his dismay. I told her I was so proud of her for choosing to get back to her school work and she said it was just getting so exciting! She has never really gotten excited about this particular book before.

And then...James invented his own math game, which I think is pretty clever. We were playing War with some of his math cards and he said why don't we get some change and play war with all the different kinds of coins. And it has turned out to be a wonderful game to practice the names and values of each coin!!!

So this homeschooling momma had a blessed day of attentive children. If only all our days were like that.

I'm trying to count my blessings and not dwell on the fact that my house is one giant Fly Lady Hot Spot!! Oh how I wish that the Fly Lady and Charlotte Mason would come to my house and program some Habit training into my brain. I have to train myself before the children! Ok...Stop sounding whiny! I hate that. I promised myself I would not go into whiny mode on this blog. So stop it Cheryl...slap..slap..slap. Think baby steps...baby steps....Hey that reminds me of a funny psychobabble movie I saw years ago called "What About Bob" All I remember is that it had Bill Murray in it and that I laughed my head off. I don't even know if I would find it funny now or not. I think I will look it up on Netfix...I need a good laugh.

Christmas Fun

2009-01-01T10:45:00.009-06:00

Cookies for Santa!

Christmas was nice and relaxing for our family this year! We made Christmas cookies and made a special plate for Santa on Christmas Eve. After the kids were snug in their beds we heard Santa up on the roof!! (aka Daddy) You should have seen the look on James' face.....priceless. This is the first year that Callie was in on our Christmas secret. She figured it out last year and now enjoys helping in the fun tradition for the younger ones.

Christmas morning was full of excitement as the gifts were ripped open. Joshua's favorite gift was a new guitar from Oma and Granddad.

James' favorite gift was a new hot wheels set that has loopty loops!

Callie was so excited to to get a parakeet. She named it Clovie. It is very sweet. We are trying to teach it to sit on our hand and hoping it will learn to talk.
Memaw, Pawpaw and Uncle Mike came over and we had a big breakfast. Then they left and went to Hot Springs to visit family there. We had a nice relaxing rest of the day. To view more pictures visit my facebook album here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155825&l=25c07&id=1384546354

Last weekend we decided to go to Jefferson to ride the Christmas train and drive through Marshall to see the lights. I love Jefferson! Every time I go there I feel like I have gone back in time. Before it got dark we drove around looking at all the old homes.

This was the first time we had ever ridden the old steam engine! When we got on Joshey freaked out and started to cry and I could tell he would not be happy. So I ran in and got a refund so he would not ruin the ride for everyone else. He loves trains so I don't know if it was the fact that it was cold and dark that scared him. Justin was so sweet to walk around downtown and look at lights with him while I rode the train with James and Callie. It was fun, but cold and we were wrapped up in blankets to keep warm. As we rode the train we saw pretty Christmas lights along the route and they even shot off fireworks!

Then we drove into Marshall. It had been several years since we had gone there to see the lights. It seems like there are not as many lights or maybe we did not go to the right neighborhoods. Or maybe I had seen so many lights already that it was overkill?! It just didn't seem all that great to us. Josh and Callie fell asleep as we were driving around. James, my night owl, finally fell asleep on the way home. Ah, that was a nice, quiet, peaceful ride home!!

Violin Recital

2009-01-01T09:38:00.009-06:00

Callie and James were both in their first violin recital on December 16th. They both played versions of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Callie played with the bow and James played pizzicato style, which means plucking the strings. We have really enjoyed our lessons so far and are looking forward to when we will be able to play really well!

***Sorry Oma, I've been trying to upload a video clip of the recital but I am having technical difficulties. So I'll let you know when I get it up!

December Festivities

2008-12-21T03:54:00.006-06:00

We had a nice day today (12-20)visiting Oma, Grandad, Aunt Martha and Kyla today! We met in Canton and had lunch at a great little place called Canton Square Bakery and Cafe. If you are ever in Canton it is worth a stop. It is right across from the court house. Poor Max was sick so he and David could not come.

Since we would not be together for Christmas we met in the middle and exchanged our Christmas gifts to take back and open on Christmas day. I wish I had my camera.. there were so many great photo ops there at the courthouse with the Peanuts characters and other Christmas decorations. The kids are going wild with excitement!! But I can't put the gifts under the tree yet because Joshey has been ripping them open prematurely

Oh that reminds me....I need to send out Christmas cards. It's probably too late to get there by Christmas. I am so bad about that. I don't think I did it last year. I printed out a cute picture last year but never mailed them. Maybe I could put them in this years late card. HA! When will I get it together?!! Oh probably when the kids leave the house. Or at least when Joshey is about 5...I keep telling myself.

After we left Canton we decided to go make a quick trip to the zoo and take advantage of our season passes. The weather was in the 70's today...perfect for zoo walking! We all had a great time. The kids were disappointed that Santa was not in his workshop(Even though they have seen him twice already this year), but they did get to make some cute Christmas tree ornaments there.

We have had lots of festive holiday merry making this month, going to several Christmas parties, looking at light displays, and visiting Santa. Here are some pics of the kids visiting Santa at the courthouse.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154180&l=285c2&id=1384546354

We have really been enjoying listening to Handel's Messiah this year. I sang it each year in High School so I have fond memories of it. I think it is becoming a Christmas tradition..(smile)..It is so fun to see Callie dance around the house singing, "For unto us a child is BOR, hu, hu, hu, hu, hu.... N. If you have heard it you know what I mean! I have it on a playlist on youtube so we can watch all the parts together here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DDDEEC5BDB4BFFE5

Christmas is just in four days and I still need to buy some last min. gifts!!!

New Creation in Christ!

2008-12-21T03:19:00.009-06:00

On December 7th we celebrated Callie's baptism! Justin and I are so thankful for her desire to follow our Lord's example and be baptized. It was in the 40's when we left the house that morning and our church has an outdoor baptistry...so it was COLD but memorable. Thankfully the water was heated. Memaw, Pawpaw and Uncle Mike were there, along with our church family, to witness the event. We went out to eat afterwards to celebrate!

Before she was baptized Justin and I gave her a little cross necklace to commemorate this special day. Now she can look back on that and remember that she was baptized wearing it and perhaps pass it down to her daughter on her baptism day. Too precious!

This was such a beautiful day for our family and I will always cherish it in my heart. It was so special to us that Justin was the one who baptized her! As I watch my beautiful daughter's faith continue to blossom, I am humbled at the important task we have as parents to teach them about the Lord and his ways.

To view more pictures of this event click here to go to my facebook album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=154331&l=e4365&id=1384546354

Part 1

Part 2

The last four months.....

2008-12-04T00:06:00.030-06:00

Oh my goodness....it has been 4 months since my last blog. Isn't that horrible. So if there is anyone out there actually reading this I thought I better update. So I pulled my cyber rear over here and actually logged in to do it.

I would like to put a plug out there for facebook. I have recently joined and absolutely LOVE it. It is so fun and easy to find long lost friends and family on there. It is also very easy to stay connected and communicate with all of them. So much easier than reading through a million blogs all the time. Anyhow I only accept people that I know as friends on there. So if you know me...search for my name on facebook.com.

Now for my update:

In August James had a wonderful swim party with a giant water slide thanks to Daddy:

Justin also took James for a Father/Son camp out to Caddo lake this month. They both had a wonderful time. Justin took some gorgeous pictures of the Lake!

I have to brag about how beautiful my flower garden turned out this year!!! Thank you Oma for all the wonderful seeds. I am hooked now and have to plant them every year!

October was a fun filled month:

Fishing with Daddy at Lake Gladewater

We went to a neat festival in Jefferson called Buckskins and Bar-B-Q where they had old time reenactments. We then had fun walking around Jefferson looking at the sights and eating ice cream at the old general store!

The kids went on a camping trip with my Mom and had a lot of fun.

Justin and Callie went to a Father/Daughter dinner at our church.

Halloween was especially fun at our church's festival called Farm Fair. James and Callie were both leopards and Josh was Tigger. MEOW!

In November we met some friends in Shreveport. The kids had fun playing at Chucky Cheese and we had a nice visit with our friends. We also walked around the Shreveport river walk area for a while. Here is a picture of the kids in a neat indoor botanical area.

We just had a wonderful Thanksgiving time visiting with family. My family was here at our house for Thanksgiving day and then we went to Dallas on Friday to be with Justin's family for the weekend. The kids really enjoyed playing with their cousins.s!I just learned to crochet hats! Doesn't she look cute?

This school year is off to a good start. We just completed our term 1 for the year. Our year is broken down into 3, 12 week terms. We are now in the midst of doing an Exam week where we review what we have learned during the first term.

Callie and James really enjoyed the home school soccer that they participated in the first part of the year and are really enjoying their violin lessons. I am also loving the lessons because I am learning along with them!!

And last but not least... today was Justin's birthday! We went out to eat and came home to celebrate with cake. My Mom, Step-dad and brother were here to help us celebrate. We put on a little violin concert for them for entertainment. "I can't believe I'm 36!! "

Today in real time.....

2008-07-30T23:19:00.002-05:00

Well I think I have finally caught up with all the major stuff I wanted to put in the blog from the past couple of months. I had some of the posts from June sitting in the draft folder and forgot about it. Just call me the "once a month blogger" I guess.

Let me tell you about what a lovely day we had TODAY...yes today..not last month. We went over to some friends house for a play date and got to play with their chickens! The kids had a blast and got to see some freshly laid green and blue eggs. I am so jealous. I wish I could have chickens. My friend gave us some of the eggs and I can't wait to eat them. I know they will be good because we sometimes buy fresh farm eggs from a lady I know.

Then we came home and I let the boys swim in the kiddy pool for a while. I was looking in our storage shed and discovered a little nest with 3 small eggs in it. I'm sure the nest must be very old but we are going to keep it open just to be sure. The kids got all excited and James would not leave it's side and started talking to the baby birds and planning how he was going to catch worms for them. I've been trying to look up what kind of eggs they are on websites and in books but am still not sure. They are very small white with brown speckles. They kind of look like cardinal eggs, (I think).

Then later James discovered a live Cicada that had just come up from underground. We picked it up and put it in a little box and got to watch it come out of its old shell. It was such a thrill for them to see the fresh green cicada come out and unfold it's wings! Of course I would have taken pictures put my batteries are dead. Arg!

I also had another thrill today...I got an email from one of my best high school friends! We have not talked is SO long. She now has two cute boys and I'm so happy to be back in touch with her!

Swim Class

2008-07-30T23:13:00.002-05:00

As I told you in a previous post...the kids had a blast at their swim lessons this year. Here are some pictures.

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-30T23:06:00.002-05:00

We had the best time on Independence day. We went to a picnic put on by a family from our church. They had a big blow up jumping slide, a train to ride, live music, and a great fireworks display. Poor Joshey did not like the fireworks. They were SO loud, he just held onto me and covered his ears in terror. Callie & James were right up there close to the front loving every minute of it!

Backyard Beauty!

2008-07-10T23:49:00.008-05:00

Here are some pretty pictures of scenes from our backyard . I have been really pleased at how my flower garden has taken off. I never knew zinnias could grow big and huge almost like sunflowers....my little baby zinnias that I started from seeds. I also planted some morning glories all along one of the fences and they have just taken over. It is so fun!

I just love dragon flies and we have so many bird friends that visit our bird feeders. Above you can see our friend named Welcome Robin. Everyday we see many hummingbirds, cardinals, finches, sparrows, blue jays, and chickadees. I really want to get pictures of all of them.

Our vegetable garden has done pretty well. Our tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, spinach, and green beans did well. We also had some corn come up. It was really sweet but not very pretty. The ears were underdeveloped. My sugar snap peas got eaten up by something. I planted some Swiss chard late that is now starting to get big. It is so pretty like rhubarb. I've never even eaten it before.

Republican Convention

2008-07-10T04:24:00.006-05:00

In June I went to the Texas Republican Convention as a delegate alternate. It was an interesting experience. I did get to vote a couple of times on the last day when some of the delegates went home early. Besides learning more how the political process works I would have to say the highlight of the trip was hearing Ron Paul speak and having him sign my copy of his new book!!!

Notice in the above picture I am wearing a shirt that says "The GOP Rules...Let's follow them" which means: Let's follow the GOP rules. After I got home I thought that people might have taken the shirt to mean, The GOP is cool...let's be cool like them. The whole point of wearing the shirt was to point out that the GOP has a hard time following the convention rules and we want to change that. However...they pulled the same "good 'ol boy tactics" If you're interested in what I'm talking about see the Fair Convention website.

Dr. Paul with his Sister-in-law

I'm sad that he dropped out of the race, but he has started a new organization called Campaign for Liberty in which he plans on spreading the message of freedom and supporting like minded candidates.

Now I am left with the problem of who to vote for in November as apparently Texas does not count write in votes. I have really been considering Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party. Everything I have read so far sounds like what I believe in. Some have been considering Bob Barr of the Libertarian Party, but I have heard some negative things about him that I will have to investigate further.

I no longer believe that I should vote for the lesser of two evils but should whole heartedly vote my conscience. How else will we bring about true change in this country and let people know that we have a mind of our own and can think for ourselves?! Of course I am not stupid to think that a third party candidate could actually win at this point in the game..not when the media and the other two parties do everything in their power to stifle them. But maybe one day.....that is what we have to work for. Or maybe the Republican Party will actually be changed by committed people who will bring it back to it's roots of liberty. Either way is fine by me.

Joshey's Zoo Party

2008-07-10T03:25:00.004-05:00

In May my sweet little Joshey turned 2 years old! We celebrated with a party at the zoo with family. He has really blossomed over the last couple of months with his talking skills. It is always such a miracle to me to see their language skills develop. It's like one day he woke up and he could imitate anything you could say and then started with the 2 word utterances and now he is saying little sentences. I think having a speech therapy background makes me analyze it more than most people would. HA!

He is definitely in the "terrible twos" getting into everything and making those little messes everywhere. His favorite words at the moment are: "NO!" and "My turn!" Sometimes he and James get into some screaming fights but other times they are the best of buds. It is so cute to watch when he and James are off playing and talking to one another!

Hello World!

2008-07-10T02:32:00.002-05:00

Well I am so behind with my blogging. We have been really busy with a lot going on. Some people slow down in summer but we have been even busier it seems. We are still schooling this summer except when we go out of town. I have found that I have so many interruptions during the school year that we end up taking several unintentional breaks and so I am having to keep plugging away so we can finish 1st Grade before we start 2nd in September! But I have found that I actually like schooling through summer. The kids don't get rusty on their skills and we can enjoy more vacation time when the weather is really nice in the fall and spring.

James will be an official Kindergartner this fall as well! I can't wait to make a big fuss over him and make our trip to the store and stock up on fun fresh school supplies. I always remember liking getting new school supplies for the coming year....pretty folders, colors, markers etc.

Tomorrow the kids have their last day of swim class!! Woo Hoo! They have been going for two weeks and I'm tired of taking them up there. I hope I remember to take my camera so I can get some shots of their last day. They have had a really good time and I can tell have increased their skills!

We were so exhausted today after all our running around that we all ate supper and fell asleep at 8:00! Then Josh woke us all up at 1:00 and I could not go back to sleep so here I am at 2:30, luckily everyone else went back to sleep. So maybe I can get caught up with my blogging :)

Choir Concert

2008-05-28T12:20:00.005-05:00

At the end of May Callie and James had their homeschool choir concert. They both had a great time being in the choir this year. Here are some pictures and video clips. I hope all you grandparents enjoy!!

I had some better clips than this but I could not get them to download. Oh well!

Picnic Fun

2008-05-28T10:54:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I went to a wonderful Ron Paul supporters picnic. We had the most wonderful time. I wish Justin could have come but he had to be on call that weekend. Callie has been begging me to ride a horse her entire life and she finally got to. Josh did too but James was so enthralled with the little kitten that he did not seem to care too much about the horse ride. Here are few pictures. My batteries died after only a few shots. ARG!

Sadness

2008-05-22T17:08:00.004-05:00

Our dear sweet cat Tiger got run over by a car one week ago today. Justin left for work in the morning and saw him laying out in the middle of the street. He said it had just happened because he was just out there and he was not in the road. We all loved Tiger so much. He had really become a part of the family. We recently started up our evening walks around the neighborhood and Tiger always went with us! He would walk right beside us the entire way. It was the cutest thing. It was such a joy having him run around the yard with us when we were outside. He loved to have his belly rubbed and would purr loudly anytime he came near. He always slept on a little cushion on the back porch and would jump up on the window ledge every morning meowing to be fed. He will be greatly missed! I have vowed that I will not have another cat as long as I live in this neighborhood. We live on a very busy street and the cars just speed down the street.

We buried him in the backyard next to Gracious and we decorated his grave with pretty flowers. We said a prayer over his grave thanking the Lord for the sweet time we had to spend with Tiger. James insisted that we kneel down by the grave as we said the prayer. Later he asked me if cats go to heaven and I told him that I'm not really sure. The bible does not say specifically if they do or not, but wouldn't it be wonderful!

Right before we left on our trip to go to West Texas, Tiger got into a fight with some animal and got all scratched up. I doctored his wounds the best I could but they later got infected anyway and so I took him to the vet and had him neutered while we were there. I gave him antibiotics and he was feeling better in no time. That was my birthday present, spending the money that we really could not afford, getting him better. And I would have done it all over again for such a sweet cat.

Callie drew this picture the day before Tiger died

More Lies from the Media....How lovely!

2008-05-18T08:30:00.006-05:00

Click here to see a video and read information that just really makes me mad and sad. I never really understood how the media is constantly lying to us everyday! How they influence the "group think" of our nation. It is truly scary. So next time you watch the news....ask yourself, "What are they NOT telling me?"

AND another thing you WON'T hear on the major media.....about the Nevada GOP just shutting their convention down when the Ron Paul supporters gain more delegates. There are many more examples of this treatment.

Like the man said at the first County Republican Club meeting I went to last week, "What about those Ron Paul people...what if they try to cause trouble?" We have a long battle ahead of us and we are not going anywhere....MWYAHA..HA...HA! (Scaring sounding laugh)

Blessings for Me in May!

2008-05-16T15:36:00.010-05:00

Earlier this month was my 35th birthday. We celebrated by eating my favorite pizza, the everything loaded (minus anchovies & jalapenos) from Pizza King! It is the best pizza in the world. Thin crust, hardly any sauce or cheese, just tons and tons of toppings. I love, love, love, it! I have tried to duplicate that pizza at home to no avail. I just can't get it to taste the same. I must be missing the MSG or something! HA! We also had my favorite carrot cake with cream cheese icing!

***************************************************************

Here is a sweet poem that Callie wrote for me for my birthday:

***********************

My Mother is Darling

************************

My mother is so sweet and pretty,

She is a garden, like a lily.

She teaches me God's Word in my arms,

She helps me with my school.

If she's sick I'll lay a hand,

and help her get a drink.

She has such pretty hair,

her eyes are like a blue bird's feather.

I love her so,

and I will do everything she says.

Last Sunday on Mother's Day I took Callie and James to see a play put on by the local children's theater. It was James and the Giant Peach! That is one of their favorite movies so I just had to take them. I left the house in plenty of time to get there but then the theater was not located where I thought it was and we were a little late. That was really frustrating! But we really did enjoy it when we got there. I will have to take them to more of their productions.

Yesterday was Joshua's "official" 2nd birthday, although we are not having his party until tomorrow. I can't believe my little baby is this old. Sniff! Sniff! It was also my maternal great grandmother's birthday. I think it is neat they have the same birthday. She passed away when I was 16. She was such a dear sweet lady. I can't wait to see her again one day. I always have fond memories visiting her as a girl and eating her chocolate cake with pecans on top. I also remember she always would make jello with bananas cut up in them. I was passing through the town she lived in last Saturday and I drove by her old house. The people that live there now have painted it green with purple shutters. Simply Horrid! I really miss that house and all the memories there. After she passed away my grandmother lived there for years and I spent a lot of time with her there. I loved her old timey...deep bathtub with the claw feet!

First Sleep Over

2008-05-16T15:11:00.007-05:00

Callie had her very first sleep over last month. Her friend Sarah was the guest of honor and they had a grand time. It was hard having "girl time" with little brothers wanting to be in the middle of things. They watched movies, pigged out on junk food, painted their nails blue, made some silly videos of themselves, danced around the room to music, and played out in the backyard! We all enjoyed her being here! Here they are after just falling asleep around mindnight. Oh to be a kid again!

The Revolution is Alive and Well

2008-05-15T06:58:00.003-05:00

Ron Paul Hits it out of the Park on CNN American Morning
4-28-08

Ron Paul #1 on New York Times Best Seller List
ARLINGTON, Va. — Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul's newest book, "The Revolution: A Manifesto," is number one on the New York Times Best Sellers list for May 18th, 2008. The ranking is yet another of the many successes Dr. Paul has had during his presidential candidacy spreading his message of personal freedom and constitutional government.

Upon its official release on April 30th, "The Revolution: A Manifesto" was the number one bestseller on Amazon.com and remains the number one bestseller in political books.

Almost Home

2008-05-03T20:00:00.005-05:00

On our last night camping we stayed at Lake Arrowhead State Park which is a few hours outside of Dallas. By this time, I was getting rather sick of camping and sleeping in the tent! I was so looking forward to coming home. We took a different route back and I really enjoyed driving through some old towns that I had never seen before. I loved seeing all the wildflowers along the side of the road. Then we drove to Justin's sister's house to visit with her and her family for a few hours. It was good to see them. Then we drove back to Oma and Granddands in Dallas to spend the night again with them. As much fun as we had on the trip, it was so good to sleep in a bed!

James and cousin Max!

After we left Oma and Granddads we were on our way home and Justin just did not want our trip to end so we stopped at one of his old childhood haunts called Samuel Farms. I had never been there before and it was so much fun! It is farm outside of Dallas where people go to have picnics, fish, hike etc. They have old tractors and barns all over the place and beautiful flowers planted everywhere. I went a little crazy with the picture taking! Here are some of my favorites!!!

Caprock Canyons State Park

2008-05-03T19:36:00.005-05:00

On our way back home we drove through Caprock Canyons State Park to see what it was like. It was not too far from Palo Duro. The scenery looked very similar to Palo Duro. They had a buffalo heard there that a man named Charles Goodnight donated to the state of Texas back in the 1920s. These are supposed to be the closest bloodline to the original buffalo that originally roamed in Texas way back when. They also had a neat nature center for kids with a really nice park ranger lady that showed us around. It looks like it would be a neat place to camp. They actually have a place to swim there, where palo duro did not. It also looked like a great place to go bike riding. It also had a nice play area.

Palo Duro Canyon Part 2

2008-05-03T18:04:00.006-05:00

I'm finally getting around to telling you about the rest of our trip!! We had such a wonderful time just walking along the trails in the canyon. We felt like explorers seeing all these new sights. Driving through the canyon we passed what looked like a large opening to a cave...well that could not be passed up, so we stopped the car and Justin just had to walk up to it to get a closer look. So he took Callie with him and I stayed with the boys. Several minutes later, I look up at the cave and I see that Justin and Callie had climbed up to the opening of the cave. I was in shock! I quickly grabbed the camera and tried to take a picture put it was so far away it did not come out too well. You can't tell from the picture but this is a pretty steep climb. When they got back they were so excited that they had climbed up there ,but thankfully he was not about to go inside because it looked too dangerous. Then James begged to go so Justin took him up there too. What a great adventure!

Before and after
the climb!

There was a nice little museum there that had an observation deck. It showed fossils as well as all the animals and plants found in the canyon. There was a lady there showing a real live owl to a group of school children. It had a room there showing how the CCC put down the road into the canyon and built the State park back in the 1930s.

I really enjoyed all the wildlife in the canyon. There were tons of turkey and deer that would just walk right up to us at our camp site wanting to be fed. Someone said that a coyote had walked through our campsite right before we got there! We also saw a lot of brown rabbits running across the road and tons of beautiful birds. We are studying birds right now so it was very thrilling seeing some that don't frequent our area.

We met some interesting people there at the campsite. There were several there from Canada who said they always came down south for the winter. One lady said that her relatives called and said the snow had melted and spring had come so she could come home now! HA! After we told her we were a homeschooling family, she said her grandchildren were home schooled too! I always love to hear about homeschoolers from other countries. I know it is illegal in some places. How sad!

Here is a slide show...it was hard picking from the over 600 pictures we took on our trip. We all love to take pictures so I think we overkill a bit but it is so much fun!!! Digital cameras are awesome!

Palo Duro Canyon State Park Part 1

2008-04-21T21:25:00.015-05:00

I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he!! Deuteronomy 32:3-4

It was such a contrast seeing the flat lands of the plains all around you and then coming over and seeing that you are on the rim of a canyon with an 800 ft drop! It was a little nerve wracking slowing creeping down the steep road that lead down inside the canyon. Especially with the warning signs about watching out for falling rocks! There were giant boulders that looked like they were suspended only by soft sandy rocks.

We had the best camping site in the whole park....according to the man at the park headquarters, and it truly was amazing. The beautiful hues of the towering rocks all around us on all sides contrasting with the blue sky and gorgeous landscape. Not to mention all the wonderful wildlife all around us! Callie, with her sharp little 7-yr-old eyes pointed out that someone had hung a cross at the top of the rocks right above our camp site! It was touching to see how excited she was about it. All the beauty reminded me of one of my all time favorite songs by Rich Mullins called "The Color Green" Oh how that song speaks to my soul! Actually all his songs are like that. He is such a beautiful poet/songwriter......I just have to put the lyrics down here:

You just have to watch the video here! And watch a tribute to him starting here!

What a man...what a life!

And the moon is a sliver of silver

Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop

And every house must have it's builder

And I awoke in the house of God

Where the windows are mornings and evenings

Stretched from the sun Across the sky north to south

And on my way to early meeting

I heard the rocks crying out

Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands

Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land

Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made

Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise

And the wrens have returned and they're nesting

In the hollow of that oak where his heart once had been

And he lifts up his arms in a blessing for being born again

And the streams are all swollen with winter

Winter unfrozen and free to run away now

And I'm amazed when I remember

Who it was that built this house

And with the rocks I cry out

Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands

Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land

Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made

Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise

Before we left I looked at the weather report for the week and it was supposed to be sunny all week and in the 70s during the day and 40s at night...so I thought, we can handle that with the tent heater! Well....It was much cooler than that and we had a horrible thunder/hail storm one night and a couple of drizzly days. But we STILL had a wonderful time. When we were cooped up in the tent I read the kids the book, Stewart Little by E.B. White. They really enjoyed it. I hated how it ended. I personally thought Charlotte's Web was 10x better....ok, I'm bird walking.....I'll write more about the trip in the next post...stay tuned!

Panhandle Plains Historical Museum

2008-04-19T22:40:00.004-05:00

After leaving Copper Breaks we traveled about another hour and stopped in Wichita Falls at one of the Texas Travel Centers. We were thinking of spending one day in Amarillo so we picked up lots of pamphlets and got one of the new 2008 Texas Travel Guides. I just love thumbing through those looking at all the neat things to do and see in each city in Texas.

We passed through Amarillo and ate lunch and thought we might see some of the sights there but later decided to go on to Palo Duro because the kids were getting cranky and we had to set up camp. Amarillo has several free things to see there like the zoo, art museum, the famous Cadillacs half buried in the dirt and then there were a couple of other museums. I had all these plans to go back one day and at least do the free things but once we got to the canyon it just did not happen. Maybe we will go back one day.

We then drove about 30 miles south of Amarillo to get to Palo Duro Canyon State Park which is near the town of Canyon. Canyon is a cute little college town home to the West Texas A & M University. But the most remarkable thing about Canyon is the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum which is located on the college campus. It is the biggest museum of its kind in Texas. Oh my goodness...I mean big. We went through it one day and we must have spent 4 hours and I still don't feel like I saw everything like I wanted. It was hard chasing Joshey around and he was getting very cranky there toward the end. I could have spent an entire day there really studying everything. James and Callie were awestruck!

Their collection of prehistoric fossils and dinosaur bones was just incredible. Did you know we had giant prehistoric sloths and camels living in Texas?! They had rooms of beautiful art, a huge gun collection, a wonderful native American collection as well as tons of local history. It just went on and on I think we may have even missed one of the floors. The basement was a recreation of an entire old west town with the buildings all decorated with period furniture and artifacts. They even had a couple of real authentic cabins moved into the building with all the contents. I think one is the oldest standing cabin in Texas. Simply wonderful..I can't say enough.

Here are some of the pictures we took there:

Copper Breaks State Park

2008-04-19T11:22:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we took a week long trip out to west Texas! We had the best time. Our primary destination was Palo Dura Canyon State Park which is right under Amarillo. It is an 8 hour drive there so we broke the trip up to make it easier on the kids. We drove 2 hours to Dallas and spent the night with Oma and Granddad and then got up and drove 3 hours to Copper Breaks State Park. We spent one night there before leaving and driving 3 more hours to go to Palo Dura. Copper Breaks is a nice state park. It was very dry there and we were under a burning ban during most of our trip. You can see in one of the slides below how the doc has no water under it!

They had a really neat little free museum with nature samples and history of the area. I was very intrigued by the story of Cynthia Ann Parker. Comanches captured her at the age of 9, and she was raised by them. It seems like the Indians killed her family and also took her brother. I think I remember reading that her brother came down with small pox, or some sickness, as a young man and the Indians abandoned him...but one of the women stayed with him and nursed him back to health and they settled down and had a family. Don't quote me on that, but I think that is how it went.

Cynthia Ann married one of the Comanches and had three children. In 1860 some soldiers came and captured her and her baby daughter. Her baby soon died of influenza and she missed being with the Comanche people. She stopped eating and died in 1870. This is so sad to me. Her husband and one son died as well not long after she was captured. But one of her sons, Quanah Parker, later became chief of the Comanches!! I just looked her up on Wikipedia and found out more interesting info. Here is the link if anyone is interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Ann_Parker I just love Wikipedia!

Cynthia Ann nursing her baby daughter, Prarie Flower, and dressed as Comanche

Her son, Quanah Parker

Here is a slide show of some pretty scenery and the kids playing on the little playground by our camp site. One rule of camping with little ones is...camp as close as possible to the bathrooms and the playground. We saw a lot of bats flying around that evening and we heard one in the little cone shaped thing over our picnic table. It left us some lovely guano on our picnic table...no we did not eat off of it.

I will soon post about the rest of our trip!!

Political Activities

2008-04-18T21:27:00.007-05:00

February and March were very busy for me with my new interest of political activism. It has been a real education for me being involved in the political process. I signed up to be a precinct leader for the Ron Paul campaign and was responsible for getting in touch with as many people as I could in my area and campaigning. I did this through phone calls, mailings, and door to door canvassing. Let me tell you...it really took me out of my comfort zone. Personality wise I am really an introvert so this was indeed a growing exercise for me. I had some very interesting conversations with people. I think it was good getting out and meeting new people. It was interesting to see the different people's reactions to me. Some rude, some very pleasant.

In February President Clinton came to town to speak and campaign for his wife. We went with a group of Ron Paul supporters to wave signs nearby. We saw his motorcade pass by. Someone said they saw him, but I didn't...no loss for me :) The kids have really had a good time waving signs and passing out fliers to people during the last couple months. Callie and James both really love to talk to people about any and everything.

In early March we had the Texas Republican primary. I stood out at the polls for an hour before Justin had to go to work. It was a very cold morning, like 32 degrees. I felt like my lips were going to freeze off. This is the nifty sign that I made. I stood there trying to talk to people and pass out info before they went in to vote. You would think that people had made up their minds before they went to the polls, but I learned that many people don't really know who they are going to vote for until they get there!!

Then in the afternoon Callie and I went to a different polling place, which happens to be the local elementary school, to talk to people as they went in. We had an interesting experience there...some school official came out of the school and told us not to stand in a certain spot but to cross the street. We were not within the 1oo ft rule, so I think they were harassing me. I just kindly complied, but we actually had better access to people across the street. We were soon joined by the local county judge who was campaigning for his son who was running for constable. He was a very nice man and was telling me all about this pet fox he once had. I had never heard of having a fox as a pet. He told me what kind of fox it was but I can't remember. It was some special breed..not your normal wild fox. But he said it was the sweetest pet, very affectionate. I thought that was neat.

When the polls closed on election day we had the Republican precinct convention. I never even knew such things existed before getting involved in the process. This is where the delegates are chosen to go onto the county convention and changes to the party platform are proposed and passed to go onto the next level. Everyone that was there were chosen as delegates to the county convention because we had like 30 slots to fill and only like 14 people showed up.

Then on March 29th we had the County Convention. It was much more formal that the precinct convention and the Robert's Rules of Order (parliamentary procedure) were followed more strictly. I had laryngitis that day and was very hoarse. I was very frustrated by the way the votes were taken. It seems that it only mattered HOW LOUD you screamed Yea or No. Not really how many people actually voted a certain way. Completely unfair if you ask me. The only time the county chairwoman would allow a standing vote and actually count them is if is sounded close to her ears!! Arg!

But I did get chosen as an alternate to go onto the State Convention in June. I am so excited about going. It will be a nice getaway for me. My mom is going to watch the kids and I will be gone from Thur. to Sat. A lady in my Ron Paul group is going to share a room with me in Houston. I think it will be a great learning experience.

People have asked me if I am disapointed that Ron Paul did not get the Republican Nomination and they can't understand why he is still officially in the race. Well to answer that...Yes, I am disappointed that he did not get the nomination...but I understand that his campaign is just the starting point for this new revolution of thought. He is plugging along with this campaign to keep promoting these ideas of Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity that have become lost to this country! Others will take up where he left off. More and more people with his mindset are starting to run for various offices and they have much support!!

Easter Smiles

2008-04-17T00:26:00.006-05:00

Coconut....did you help the Easter bunny?

We had a very nice Easter this year. I heard a rumor that the Easter bunny got up at 2:00 in the morning to go out and put eggs all over the backyard. After going to church we came home to a yummy roasted lamb with veggies, gravy, and mint jelly! I never grew up eating lamb, it seems like we always had ham for Easter. But actually lamb is so much more significant in a religious sense being tied to passover and the symbolism of Jesus being the lamb of God that takes away our sins! I think the first time I ever had it, it was made by Justin's Mom or his Aunt Leuna. It is very expensive and was like $8 a lb, but hey....Easter comes but once a year so why not splurge a little. I've decided that we are going to make it an Easter tradition every year. I also made some of our other family favorites: green bean casserole and pina colada cake! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Coloring the Easter Eggs the day before Easter. This is alway a fun tradition I always did as a kid. There's just something about the smell of vinegar that takes me back to Easters of long ago!

Our Easter day slide show for your viewing pleasure:

Spring Break in Galveston & Trinity

2008-04-16T23:19:00.003-05:00

In mid March we went to visit The Memaws & Pawpaw and also took another trip down to Galveston! WooHoo we had a great time. Here is a slide show of us in Galveston....yes I love to take pictures...lots of pictures...especially nature pictures!

When we got back from Galveston we spent several days there in Trinity and had lot of fun helping Memaw plant her garden, having an Easter Egg hunt and visiting with Memaw Fagan! Memaw even opened up her barber shop and gave the boys a much needed haircut. It's a good thing because people were starting to refer to Joshey as "she."

Snow in March!

2008-04-16T22:27:00.013-05:00

I am like a month behind on my blogging so I am going to try to get caught up. On March 7th we actually had some snow!! The kids were so excited. This was the first time James and Josh had ever seen real snow and Callie did not remember playing in it about 6 years ago when she was about 1.

I can't believe it actually stuck to the ground. The flakes were just beautiful....but it only lasted for a few hours and then melted away.

Growing up in Arkansas it seems like we got at least one good snow of several inches every year...sigh...I miss that. I have so many good memories playing out in the snow building snowmen, snow angels, making snow ice cream, looking at individual snowflakes on black vinal records.

After a little while of being out in the snow they were all screaming about how cold they were and wanted to come inside. They wanted to decortate a little branch with Easter decorations that Oma had given them. I think she gave me a little tree to put them on but it is somewhere in Our Little Family Vortex (kind of like the Burmuda Triangle of all our lost things)! So we just used a tree branch. Josh even got in on all the festivities and as Callie put it: "helped to UNdecorate the tree.

In Memory of Gracious

2008-04-03T19:28:00.007-05:00

Coconut, Tiger & Gracious

We have some sad news from our home....Our dear sweet cat Gracious died yesterday. Our next door neighbor called and said he was laying dead on the other side of their house. We could not tell how he died. No visible signs to give a clue. He was laying peacefully on his side. We are guessing he maybe got hit by a car or perhaps drank or ate poison somewhere.

The kids seemed a little upset but got over it quickly moving on to wondering what kind of pet should we get next...but me on the other hand, I seem to be the saddest about it. I'm trying to go on and not think about it but he was such a sweet loving cat. We only had him for 6 months but I feel like I really bonded with him. You know... I had not had a cat since I left home for college and since then I came to think that pets were too much trouble and could not relate to people who were so attached to their pets..I mean their just animals right? But I was wrong. Pets can bring so much joy to people's lives.

They say they improve your health and lower your blood pressure.

This picture was taken the day before Gracious died. Notice how Tiger is licking him!

We buried him in the backyard and the kids decorated his grave with pretty flowers. I thought that was sweet. I will miss him and I know Tiger will. They had become such great buddies. Always sleeping cuddled up and playing so cute together. Here is a video I took of them playing together on Easter.

Last week we had a major ordeal with Gracious which makes this even more sad to me. The day after Easter Gracious did not come to eat with Tiger and I did not see him for a while...then later that day I heard him meowing out in the woods behind our house but he could not get home. So I thought he was hurt out in the woods and went looking for him. I found him stuck about 60 ft. up in a tree and would not come down. Tiger actually lead the way and stood at the base of the tree! We tried everything to get him down. Justin made this pvc pipe contraption and hoisted some tuna up in a bucket to him and that did not work. He was so terrified to come down and just meowed and meowed.

On the fourth day he was up there I decided to call a tree service to see if they would get cats out of trees. The first place I called said they would come and do it for free! So they came later that day to get him down.....then more bad things happened. As I was showing them were Gracious was, Joshua got out of our fence and ran out into the street. A man who lives down the street stopped and then called the police. I am so thankful Joshua was not hit. I got to him before the policeman got there. That was very nerve racking to say the least!

Thankfully they got Gracious down from the tree just fine and after eating and drinking seemed like his old self. But that is not the end to the story....... Justin came down with a miserable breakout of poison something...ivy,oak or sumac, we don't know. It must have been the vine going up the tree Gracious was in. He broke out all over both his arms and on his chest and stomach!! He has been just miserable the last several days. But it is finally starting to heal!

So that is our sad story. Oh yeah.... and we found a hermit crab from our trip to Galveston last month and he died last week. We buried him out in the backyard too. Hermie...may you rest in peace as well :)

Happy Birthday Callie!

2008-03-08T23:13:00.004-06:00

My sweet little daughter turned 7 last month. Here she is getting her breakfast in bed on her big day. She is getting old WAY too fast. I just brought her home from the hospital and now she has just informed me today that her favorite color is NOT pink anymore. Her entire life, her favorite color has been pink and now it is GREEN....this is a momentous step in the life of a girl. She wants to get rid of all her barbies and baby dolls (which by the way she has never really played with anyway) and wants to make her room into a jungle rain forest room. She begs me almost everyday for some sort of reptile as a pet. She really wants a snake.....Ewwwwww. I told her no way and she would have to settle for some jungly looking fish. We got her some but they soon died. So when Daddy gets the fish tank "just right" we will try to introduce more.

I'm so proud of her individuality and adventurous spirit. Or should I say independent mind....she says she is "independent" like Thomas Jefferson. She checked out a really cute book from the library called, "John, Paul, George, & Ben" by Lane Smith. It is a very humorous look at how our founding fathers might have acted as boys. She has read that book over and over again. In our homeschooling we have studied American History by reading living biographies of George Washington and Ben Franklin by Ingri and Parin D'Aulaire. We have enjoyed them so much.

Several months before her birthday when I asked her what kind of party she wanted she said,"Mom, can I have a presidents party....you know...we could decorate the house with all the presidents and you could put them on my cake!" Now THAT makes a homeschooling mother's heart proud! I had a good laugh over that one....not letting on to her that there was anything funny in that! Of course she soon changed her tune to wanting a jungle party..but hey... the thought was what counted, right :)

Since all but me were sick around her birthday, we had to postpone her party to a couple of weeks later but she had a wonderful time with her friends!

We have a Tiger!!

2008-03-08T22:02:00.006-06:00

We have a new pet Tiger. He showed up in our backyard about a month ago and has not left since. He would jump up on the window sill and he and Gracious would stare at each other. Sometimes they would play with each other through under the glass door and sniff at each other when the window was open.

About a week after Tiger showed up he started limping around and I noticed he had an infected wound on his leg with puss coming out of it. I debated on what to do. I called the pound and asked what they would do and if they treated animals. They would have just put him to sleep. He seemed like such a sweet and loving cat. I decided to try to treat the wound and see what happened. So I put peroxide and antibiotic on it for several days and it healed up just fine and he stopped limping. I gave him a flea bath and he is now officially our cat. I thought about putting up pictures of him over the neighborhood to see if he belonged to anyone...but I can't think of parting with him now....he didn't have a coller on and he was hurt and I fixed him, he has been free to leave for over a month now and has not left...so he is ours!

It's a good thing Tiger and Gracious became friends because.......

Gracious started spraying in the house and Justin freaked out. Argh! Cat smell in the house is NOT a good thing. So I immediately wisked him off and had him neutered hoping that would help the problem. But then Justin swears he saw him do it again and Gracious instantly became an outdoor cat. And do you know it has been the BEST thing in the world!! No more litterbox to clean!! Gracious just loves being outdoors to climb trees, chase bugs, and explore. I was so worried he would run off and we spent so much time chasing him every time he would escape...but no more.. he is a free cat and has the best of both worlds. He and Tiger have become just like brothers. They play so well together and are so affectionate giving kitty kisses to one another.

We have been letting them come in and out during the day but when night comes they like to sleep outside. Sometimes they curl up side by side...so cute! Maybe they are out there catching mice. But they like to be out even if it is really cold. One morning really early before the sun came up I heard the front door shaking and I was afraid someone was trying to break in. I ran over to the door to make sure the deadbolt was locked and I heard, "Meeeoooow, meeeow!" What a relief to know if was just the cats wanting inside!

Kitty brothers: Gracious and Tiger (I just love his stripey tail!!)

Our Garden

2008-03-08T16:07:00.011-06:00

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At the beginning of February we started getting ready for our garden. For the last couple of years we have only done a container garden in Earthboxes, but this year we thought we would try to do it in the ground. Thanks to Oma and Granddad who gave us their tiller! Here are some pics of our yard after Justin tilled it up. I also had him till me an area by our fence for a flower garden. I planted some really old lily bulbs that I had in a pot that had belonged to Justin's Aunt Leuna from years ago. I also planted some gladiolas, freesias, and Cannas!!! I can't wait to see how it looks all bloomed out! I think I will plant some annual flowers in there around the bulbs until then. We tested the soil and it is basically devoid of all nutrients so we are going to have to fertilize like crazy. We really want to do everything organic. We are also going to try doing the compost pile thing. We had tried doing one in the past but did not do it right. So now that we have read up on doing it properly we'll have another go!!

It was such a nice day the kids came out and played. You know our crazy East Texas weather changes constantly. You can get spring like days in winter and really cold days when it is supposed to be warm! I like the change myself.

The kids helped me plant the seeds and we are growing them inside under lights until it warms up and they get bigger. We planted tomatoes, peppers, beans, several herbs, and some flowers.

Sickness.....ugh.

2008-01-29T10:20:00.000-06:00

The kids are all sick and I feel like I have cabin fever!!!! I have hardly been anywhere for a couple of weeks. Justin came home with a cold first, then James caught it, then Josh, and now Callie is miserable. I'm hoping and praying that I don't get it. I'm so surprised I have not come down with it already as I have been coughed and sneezed on constantly. Maybe it is all the broccoli sprouts I have been eating....and all the vitamins I have been taking. Who knows!

We were going to have a birthday party for Callie this weekend, but I have decided to reschedule it so everyone can get better. I would hate to give the guests a cold as their party favor!

Last week Callie fell and cut her knee open really bad. She was screaming at the top of her lungs and bleeding all over. It looked REALLY bad to me and I was freaking out....I thought it might need stitches. That was on a milk day when people were coming to the door to pay me for the milk (I started a raw milk co-op, I'll tell you about that sometime) Anyway I'm sure a couple of the people thought she was being murdered in the back room, she was screaming so loud.

Well all I could think to do was call Justin and have him come look at it. Then while I was waiting for him to get here I phoned the doctors office to get their advise. It turns out it was not that bad and was fixed with a couple butterfly bandages. I think she is going to have a big scar there. Ah the battle scars of childhood. I have some of my own. Like when I was four and my dad was moving my swing set. I got in the way and it got dropped on my heel and sliced it open. I still remember being rushed to the hospital and still have the scar.

Poopville part 2

2008-01-29T09:59:00.001-06:00

Well after I posted Poopville part 1, I found a couple of toothbrushes in the litter box. It seems someone was sneaking in there and having fun without my knowledge. I'm just glad he did not put them back in the bathroom!!!

I love my kitty cat but I hate dealing with the litter box! Then I remembered that cats can be trained to use the potty. So I have decided that after Joshua is potty trained, I'm going to train Gracious! Of course that may be a while, and it might never happen.....but it sounds pretty good to me now. Here is a good website I found:

http://www.karawynn.net/mishacat/toilet.html

She toilet trained her cat in 2 weeks and surely Gracious could do it that fast too. He is very smart. Well if I ever get around to doing it I will post about it!!!

Media Hates and Censors Ron Paul

2008-01-19T07:17:00.000-06:00

I am so sick and tired of how the media treats Ron Paul. At one of the debates he was asked if he were electable and listen how they all laugh at him. I think he gives an excellent answer. When fox showed the rebroadcast of this debate...THEY CUT THIS OUT!!! Ron Paul is the ONLY one of the candidates who makes any sense in my opinion. Look how the other candidates treat him and you will see their true character. He never laughs at them and is always very respectful.

If the only news you are getting is from the national media then it is very slanted and you are not getting the whole picture. They pick who they want and that's all they promote. I'm so sick of hearing from them how ALL the evangelicals just love Huckabee. That is absolutely NOT true. You hardly ever hear Ron Paul mentioned when he has just beat out Thompson and Giuliani in Michigan. Oh...I thought they were front runners! What does that tell you people? Boy have my eyes been opened about the ways of the world lately!

Adventures in Poopville

2008-01-18T01:30:00.000-06:00

I woke up to hear Joshey squeal with delight as he ran down the hall and I drowsily got out of bed. Walking down the hall I hear Justin say, "I changed his diaper for you" Oh how noble of him....I think to myself. He then added...."he pulled it off himself." Ah yes...he has entered the stage where he pulls his diaper off and likes to run around the house in the buff. Time to start the potty training!! Whoopee.

As Justin and I converse about where the potty chair is located, I notice one of my whole wheat scones has been dropped on the floor.....I bend down to pick it up....put my hand on it....wait a minute...that's not a scone!
....it's .....it's... "Eeeew yuck...Joshey pooped on the floor!!!!!

It gets worse...later that day I see a toothbrush laying on the floor. The bristles are all brown. I think to myself..We didn't eat chocolate today...what in the world. I pick it up and smell it...it has a familiar odor..no it's not scones. Eeeew......I wisk it away to the trash trying not to ponder all the possible ways this could have occurred. But I do know this gives a whole new meaning to the term "potty mouth"!!!!

Sign thief strikes again

2008-01-18T00:57:00.000-06:00

Ok... I'm fuming mad! Last Saturday night someone stole my Ron Paul yard sign...AGAIN! Let's analyze this...is this random mayhem? No. There are tons of county constable signs plastered up and down my street. Do they steal them? No.

By the way....I hate to sound ugly but...who really cares who wins the county constable position? I was impressed that both of the men running for office did come to my door and pass out their info. I'm sure they really want the job, but basically this is just an elected police officer/security job. I don't really give a hoot who wins the position, now if he were a friend of mine, I probably would put his sign in my yard...I guess.

Now this is what I don't understand. Why am I the only yard in my neighborhood that has a presidential sign in their yard? Where are all the Hillary, Obama, and Huckabee signs??!!?? I just find it rather amusing that everyone seems to care more about who wins county constable than they do about the presidential race which is by far more important. Well... except the person that keeps stealing my sign....they care. They care because they know what is at stake here. They know Ron Paul means business and will bring about great change in this country...change that some people find uncomfortable. They must feel threatened by Ron Paul...they should. Just like the mainstream media who think they can squelch him by ignoring or attacking him.

Bring it on Mr. or Ms. Yard Thief...the more you steal my signs, the more it makes me want to fight for Ron Paul!!!

New Years Happenings

2008-01-13T23:22:00.000-06:00

** I meant to post this earlier, but I could not get the video to work**

On New Years Eve Justin and I had a nice quiet evening together as the kids slept peacefully. Ahhhh....it was nice. Justin was so cute to make me up a little hors d'oeuvres tray to munch on. We also had cheesecake and a bit of wine to celebrate.

On New Years day we just relaxed and spent the day together as a family. We did have a little excitement and the kids had some fun acting out as you will see.............

Blackened waffles anyone?!?

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Our family theater presents, A play, in one act:

Green Eggs & Ham

Galveston is Great!

2008-01-13T20:26:00.000-06:00

After Christmas we took the most amazing trip down to Galveston with Memaw and Uncle Mike. Justin learned at the last minute that he was going to get time off at work and was able to go with us!!! We stayed in one of the camping shelters at the state park. The weather was cold at night, but we stayed warm and cozy with out electric heaters!!

We all had so much fun beach combing and collecting shells and other treasures. I had to put a baby leash on Josh to keep him from running into the water. On most of the days we were there it was in the 50's or 60's during the day but on the last day we were there it actually got up to about 75 degrees. Callie and James were begging me to let them wade in the water! Uncle Mike had already shed his shoes and was walking in the water and they just HAD to as well. So I consented and in their little toes went to squish between the mud. Slowly as the waves crashed in they got the bottom of their pants wet until they eventually ended up jumping in the water getting completely wet, having the time of their lives!!!

Each day we were there we went to see the sights at Moody Gardens. This place is so awesome!! It has three pyramid shaped buildings that hold different attractions. One building has the most wonderful aquarium. You walk through the aquarium and the fish are swimming over and around you. There were several sharks and many other forms of sea life. The kids really enjoyed getting to touch starfish and other sea creatures. They also had a huge penguin area and other aquatic animals such as seals.

The second pyramid was a wonderful rain forest with waterfalls, exotic plants, birds flying around, and other creatures. There was a sloth way up in a tree and other caged animals such as an ocelot and vampire bats lapping up blood!!

The third pyramid was a science museum that had an exhibit about music and instruments. I did not get to go see that one. But Justin, Mike, and Mom took the kids to it while I stayed back at camp recovering from a horrible migraine headache. Earlier that afternoon I took Mom out to eat at a seafood restaurant for her birthday while the boys watched the kids for us. We were going to have a nice mother daughter lunch when the migraine hit me. I could not even eat I felt so queasy. I had to go lie down out in the car while she ate her meal alone! I felt so bad. Then while I recovered they went to the museum and then on to ice skating!! After a couple hours of sleep I was completely better and scarfed down the yummy food I brought home in a doggie bag!!

We also got to see two IMAX movies! The first was a 3D movie about prehistoric sea creatures. It was wonderful. The kids were amazed at how they came out of the screen and seemed to be right in front of your face. James kept taking off his 3D glasses during the scary parts! I'm so thankful Joshey slept through the whole thing so I could really enjoy it. The second movie was a 4D version of Polar Express. The extra dimension gave us the experience of the seat shaking, flashing lights, having hot chocolate squirted in our faces and other water squirted at us. Poor Joshey got it right in the eyes! Not to mention...the hot chocolate smelled like dirty socks!

We also got to take a ride on a boat around the harbor and to see the most spectacular light display one night! We also enjoyed walking around at the shops in the downtown area. All in all it was a wonderful vacation. Mom bought us season passes so we will have to go back this year and get her moneys worth!!! There is so much more there to do and see.

Yippie...comments!

2008-01-13T19:58:00.000-06:00

Thank you CresceNet for posting your comments! Sorry I can't read your website. It looks like Spanish?! I noticed I got some new hits in Mexico and Oman. Waaaay cool! The kids and I were trying to learn Spanish last year but that fizzled out with everything else we were doing. I hope to pick it back up again. Our library offers free Spanish lessons online using the Rosetta Stone software. It really is a neat program. But.....they are not going to offer it next year so I need to take advantage of it now!!!

Ho Ho Ho

2008-01-11T21:10:00.000-06:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas season this year. Oh the anticipation leading up to the big day. Decorating the house...watching all those traditional shows..Rudolph, the Grinch, Frosty..I enjoy them just as much as the kids, and then my all time favorite...It's A Wonderful Life!! Many trips driving around the different neighborhoods looking at lights. Listening over and over again to all the Christmas songs on the radio and singing them. Getting that great Christmas card photo op at the local fancy light display only to get too busy to send them out. Trying to keep Jesus the reason for the season in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. "Mommy....I know why we put a star on top of the Christmas tree.....It's because the wise men followed the star to Jesus!!! says Callie. Ah yes....WISE men STILL seek him!!!

On Christmas Eve Memaw, Pawpaw and Memaw Fagan came to celebrate with us. Then on Christmas day Oma and Granddad came to visit. Santa brought Callie the camera she wanted and James a new scooter!! Joshey loved all his new toys too!

Oh my Christmas tree is still up...I hate taking Christmas decorations down after Christmas is over. But I hate looking at them too. "James stop turning the lights on....Christmas is over....NO....no more Christmas music....ARG!"

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2008-01-11T19:45:00.000-06:00

Justin celebrated his 35th birthday on Dec 3rd! We were blessed to have Uncle Mike there to celebrate with us. I made Justin's favorite Pina Colada cake and beef stroganoff!!! Yummy!

Gracious' First Christmas

2008-01-11T19:00:00.000-06:00

We were amazed to see how Gracious went crazy when we put the Christmas tree up. He immediately started climbing it almost all the way to the top. He had so much fun. And then when we put the ornaments on it was even more of a kitty wonderland. It was really fun to watch. He did this too many times to count during the Christmas season which actually resulted in the tree falling over a few times. Although some of those can be blamed on Joshey!! Callie picked out a toy mouse for him and James got him some little balls with bells in them for his first Christmas presents! We should have gotten him an ornament that says,"kitty's first Christmas," you know like they do for babys.....HA!

Please leave comments!!

2008-01-11T18:19:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to say that I would love for anyone to leave comments on any of my posts. I love feedback!! Whether you agree with something I say or think my ideas are loony......I don't care! I welcome constructive criticism. I know this blog is a hodge podge of cutesy family photos/adventures and at this time, political.... um....some might think....propaganda...but that is just what it is. My thoughts and ideas...which by the way are subject to change at any time as I learn more. I am very teachable and know that there is so much out there to learn and admit I could actually be wrong about things. So I want to learn from you.

Why am I doing this blog? For lots of reasons....to have a place to record our family fun, as a place for me to share ideas about what I think is important, to connect with other people, to have a place to put things that I learn that I don't want to forget.

I would also like to hear where you live!!! The kids and I are really into geography now. Santa brought us a nice globe for Christmas and it is fun looking up different places.

So....don't be shy...tell me why you think my hero, Ron Paul, is stupid. If you dare. Can you believe someone actually stole my RP sign out of my yard when I was out of town?! The NERVE! Well I put another one back up! And if they do it again.....I'll put another....and another....It must be the evil Neocons trying to sabotage his campaign. No, I am not joking!

Oh....I also figured out that if you want to see any of the pictures up close you can click on them and they will get blown up....cool!

Thanksgiving 2007 Memories

2008-01-09T15:29:00.000-06:00

We had a very nice Thanksgiving at Oma and Granddad Little's house with cousins Max and Kyla! The kids froliked in some snow flurries and screamed in delight. Too Bad in didn't stick so they could have some to play in. They were thrilled to death anyway. I don't think James had ever seen snow before and Callie was so young the last time it snowed she had no memory of it.

Baby pals Josh and Kyla hanging out. Let's throw out the toys and play with the box!

What a lovely Kodac moment!

My sweet little angel!

Here's a video of Joshey helping Grandaddy play the piano! We always love to hear him play! Hear the other wild monkeys in the background?

Music Class

2008-01-09T14:45:00.000-06:00

This last semester Callie took a music class through our homeschooling group. She had a lot of fun learning music fundamentals and getting together with her friends. Next semester she will do it again and they will sing and perform! I can't wait!!

Super Joshey!

2008-01-09T13:38:00.000-06:00

Name: Super Toddler aka: Joshey Age: 1 1/2

Catch phrase: Weeeeeeeeeee! Uh-oh! Yeahhhhhhhhhhh!

Side Kicks: Gracious the ankle biter, James the Joyful, Sissy the silly

Favorite Foods: Green Peas, Any meat, Grapes

Favorite pastimes: wall scribbling, throwing things in potty, climbing and dancing on tables, pulling sissy's hair out, pulling butcher knives out of dishwasher, running in streets, jumping on

beds!

One of Mommy's favorite Josh memories so far: Being awoken by many kisses on the face from Josh!

Christians For Ron Paul

2008-01-09T13:31:00.000-06:00

If you are a Christian and don't think Ron Paul is the best candidate....please see these websites:

Christians For Ron Paul

http://www.lewrockwell.com/

These Little Wonders

2008-01-06T00:47:00.000-06:00

Yes I am still alive. Just busy with the holidays. We have been on so many wonderful adventures since I posted last. I plan on updating you since my last post.

But first I want to wish you all a VERY HAPPY 2008!! Oh I was just lamenting to one of my friends how fast the past year went by. It just seemed to only last a few months. The older I get, it seems that time goes by so fast. Remember when you were a kid and summer seemed to last a lifetime. Ahh to be a kid again.

I'm actually very content in the age I am now. If I could just stop time right now. I have decided that this year, instead of making a long list of resolutions that fizzle out by March, I am only going to have one resolution. And that is: To live in the moment.

Not wish my life away for a better day or to wallow in past mistakes. But to embrace each day with an optimistic gusto. To enjoy every moment and know that these are some of the best days of my life. To live my life with no regrets. When pessimism rears its ugly head and I start getting discouraged about stupid things, that don't matter in the scheme of my life or eternity, I will do my best to put one foot in front of the other and go on.

Dear Lord I pray that you will give me fresh eyes to see each day in a new way and to live for you and cherish this gift of life you have given me with all its blessings!!!

On New Years Day my husband heard a song on the radio and then he ran to look up the lyrics on the Internet. He said I had to see them. The lyrics made some tears well up in my eyes because they are so true..................................................................

Listen to the song here

Little Wonders Lyrics
Artist(Band):Rob Thomas

let it go, let it roll right off your shoulder
don’t you know the hardest part is over
let it in, let your clarity define you
in the end we will only just remember how it feels

our lives are made in these small hours these little wonders, these twists & turns of fate
time falls away, but these small hours, these small hours still remain

let it slide, let your troubles fall behind you
let it shine until you feel it all around you and i don’t mind if it’s me you need to turn to
we’ll get by, it’s the heart that really matters in the end

our lives are made in these small hours these little wonders, these twists & turns of fate
time falls away, but these small hours, these small hours still remain

all of my regret will wash away some how but i can not forget the way i feel right now
in these small hours these little wonders these twists & turns of fate these twists & turns of fate time falls away but these small hours with these small hours, still remain, they still remain these little wonders these twists & turns of fate time falls away but these small hours these little wonders still remain

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-21T16:55:00.000-06:00

What I am Thankful for:

ALL the wonderful blessing in my life, including but certainly not limited to:

My sweet husband and children
Wonderful supportive extended family and friends
The faithfulness of God even when I'm not
Being able to home school my children
My kitty cat :)

I asked the kids to write a Thanksgiving poem and here they are:
ps: We don't kill our own turkey! HA!

Turkeys For Lunch

by Callie

We’re going to have turkeys for lunch
I got to keep all the feathers
They go gobble, gobble, squeeeeeek
I hate the part when Daddy takes a butcher knife
And tears the turkey apart
The turkey tried to get away
from Daddy with the butcher knife
And that’s the end of the turkey
Goggle gobble squeeeek!

I Love God

by James

I love you God
I love you so much
I love you the most

I appreciate what you say

And I do what you say

And I love you so much
Amen

Ron Paul Devotional ?!?!

2007-11-19T23:51:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know...everyone is thinking.."Cheryl is becoming obsessed with Ron Paul. She's turning into a political fanatic." My husband even said to me the other day,

"Did you do your Ron Paul devotional this morning?"

Ha....Ha...Very funny! (In sarcastic tone) Well it did make me think that I wished he was as gung-ho about it all as I am. He's interested but not to the point I am....YET! I'll keep working on him! It also made me think that it was going to take people being fanatical to get him elected! I had a very nice comment from a fellow homeschooler who supports Ron Paul on my last post! I appreciate the encouragement.

That comment from my husband also sort of cut to the heart and made me realize that I am putting my enthusiasm for this election above other responsibilities. Namely my relationship with the Lord. It seems like with all my responsibilities of being a mother, homemaker, teacher, wife, now Ron Paul enthusiast, I have been neglecting God in my thoughts and actions. I really pray that the Lord will forgive me and help me find that balance in my life.

This also made me realize that here I am wanting to get out and campaign for Ron Paul and I have not done a good job of "campaigning for Jesus Christ". I want so much to be a better witness to others for Him. It is so hard for me to talk with others one on one about spiritual things. So here I am laying it out on the line for all of cyberspace to hold me accountable.

Soon I will post my personal testimony to my blog. But before I do that, just in case there is anyone who is reading this post who would like to know about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ please click here and here. I think these are excellent explanations!!

Click here for a Very funny, but oh-so-true video I stumbled upon on Godtube about the excuses people give for NOT witnessing to others. I can so relate!

Political Field Trip

2007-11-16T16:37:00.000-06:00

Today we went to the unveiling of the new Republican headquarters for our county. Well in actuality it is the campaign HQ for a man named Keith Rothra, that is running for republican chairman. He says he wants to bring unity to the fragmented Republican Party. If he wins it will be the official Republican HQ. I think this is a good thing as we have no official place for the party now. I looked up the current chairman's website and all it is is a blank page with a place to send an email. I can't say that I know what the current chairperson has done because I have not gotten involved until now. At least Mr. Rothra wants to do something and bring about change. He seems very enthusiastic about it.
I read over his website and I agree with the majority of what he says except his stand on the war. This is not surprising since Ron Paul is the only Republican wanting to bring the troops home. At least he is willing to use his HQ to publicize ALL candidates and let our RP meet up group leader leave RP fliers/signs for people to take if they wanted them! We went to show support for Ron Paul and for homeschoolers. I think it is good for kids to see that political issues are important and to get involved as a family! Thank you Ron Paul for curing my political apathy!!

Fun at Memaws & Pawpaws

2007-11-15T23:30:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we made a quick trip down to visit the Memaws and Pawpaw. We were supposed to meet up with friends in Shreveport but their daughter got sick so they had to cancel. So since it was Memaw Fagan's birthday, we decided to go celebrate with her. The kids had fun fishing, chasing dragon flies, climbing a tree and catching bugs. We all went out to eat on Sunday afternoon.

Hello World!

2007-11-15T22:40:00.000-06:00

I want to say hello to whoever is looking at my blog in either Norway or Sweden!! I can't wait to show the kids on the map. This is going to be a fun geography lesson pointing out all the places that people live who view our blog. I also see a hit down in Malaysia (I think). The Internet has truly made our world a smaller place. I hope I don't bore you with all the American political talk. Of course it would be neat to learn about the political systems of all the different countries. I'm sure we will talk about it at some point in our homeschooling journey. I wish I had many lifetimes to learn everything I am now interested in!!

Values Voters and Huckabee

2007-11-15T14:00:00.000-06:00

Click here and here for a good article about how Ron Paul is so misunderstood by some Christians.

Click here and here for articles about why Mike Huckabee is NOT a good choice!

Oh, I Love You---by James

2007-11-04T22:35:00.000-06:00

Oh I love you
I goo you up
I do.... oh, I do
I give you slobber kisses.

Autumn Leaves ---by Callie

2007-11-04T22:21:00.000-06:00

Autumn Leaves

The leaves at Fall, fall down today
They have pretty leaves and colors.
A little gray and white kitten comes to play
Hoppity hoppity catch
The wind blows smoothly
The leaves fall gently
Oh how I love the fall!
The little kitten pounces on the leaves
He says,"meow, meow, meow," to the falling leaf that he caught.
He gets ready to pounce,
He meows,"My name is Gracious, leaf!"
And the leaf just waits there in his paw… silent.

October Fun

2007-11-03T07:46:00.000-05:00

Well here it is...three hours since I fell asleep last night. Thanks to my early riser, Joshey! I need to get my really strong black organic tea brewing and wake myself up to start my day. I have to climb Mt. Laundry among other things I have been putting off. But before I do that, I just had to share some of the the Halloween fun the kids have had over the last week....... and then I promise not to look at the computer ALL day....honest!

Last weekend we went to the Halloween birthday party for my nephew who turned 4 and my niece who turned 1! The kids had so much fun. Here they are with their cousins all dressed up:

We also had a very nice visit with Oma and Grandaddy and had lots of fun at the Dallas Arboretum frolicking among the pumpkin patch and the hay maze!

"Thanks for playing with me Grandaddy!! You're the best!"

Having fun at the church carnival on Halloween:

And last but not least....the pumpkin I carved of Charlie Brown & Snoopy looking at the moon:

I need my sleep.....

2007-11-03T02:49:00.000-05:00

Oh help! It's 2:51 am and here I am sitting at the computer.....reading blogs....surfing the web...blogging....this is so addictive! And...it's so nice to be ALONE, with no noise, no screaming kids. Just quiet, me and my thoughts and the thoughts of the information superhighway. But...I am going to be worthless tomorrow. Good thing it is Saturday and daddy will be here to help corral the kids..hopefully! My eyes are about to pop out.....Arg. I better go to bed. Goodnight and God bless!

Wake Up America!!

2007-11-02T23:33:00.000-05:00

I have just seen this section of 60 minutes about what trouble our nation is in economically. You have to watch it. It is an interview with our nation's head accountant. It's time for us to wake up!! It's like we are all walking around like zombies in this great national denial: the people, the politicians. We are not being told the truth! What kind of legacy are we leaving for our children?

Watch FreeMe.TV and campaign for Ron Paul if you love this country and your freedom!!!!!!!

Constitutional Immorality

2007-11-01T01:11:00.000-05:00

I am voting for Ron Paul and I urge you to as well because of . . .

Dr. Paul’s honest diagnosis of our country’s grave and systemic disease,
Constitutional Immorality

Please consider Dr. Paul’s own words below:
Before the House of Representatives, Jan. 18, 2006

Concerning the Abramoff scandal
“It’s been suggested we need to change course and correct the way Congress is run. A good
idea, but if we merely tinker with current attitudes about what role the federal government ought to play in our lives, it won’t do much to solve the ethics crisis. True reform is impossible without addressing the immorality of wealth redistribution. Merely electing new leaders and writing more rules to regulate those who petition Congress will achieve nothing.
Could it be that we’re all looking in the wrong places for a solution to recurring, constant,
and pervasive corruption in government? Perhaps some of us in Congress are mistaken
about the true problem; perhaps others deliberately distract us from exposing the truth about
how miserably corrupt the budget process in Congress is. Others simply are in a state of
denial. But the denial will come to an end as the Abramoff scandal reveals more and more. It
eventually will expose the scandal of the ages: how and to what degree the American people
have become indebted by the totally irresponsible spending habits of the U.S. Congress—as
encouraged by successive administrations, condoned by our courts, and enjoyed by the
recipients of the largesse.
This system of government is coming to an end—a fact that significantly contributes to
the growing anxiety of most Americans, especially those who pay the bills and receive little in
return from the corrupt system that has evolved over the decades.
Believe me, if everybody benefited equally there would be scant outcry over a little bribery
and influence peddling. As our country grows poorer and more indebted, fewer people
benefit. The beneficiaries are not the hard working, honest people who pay the taxes. The
groups that master the system of lobbying and special interest legislation are the ones who truly
benefit.
The steady erosion of real wealth in this country, and the dependency on government
generated by welfarism and warfarism, presents itself as the crisis of the ages. Lobbying scandals
and the need for new leadership are mere symptoms of a much, much deeper problem. . . .
Dealing with lobbying scandals while ignoring the scandal of unconstitutional runaway
government will solve nothing. . . .

For Ron Paul’s full statement see http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2006/cr011806.htm

Before the House Banking Committee, May 6, 2002
Opposing the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank
“Mr. Chairman, Congress should reject H.R. 2871, the Export-Import Reauthorization
Act, for economic, constitutional, and moral reasons. The Export-Import Bank (Eximbank)
takes money from American taxpayers to subsidize exports by American companies. Of
course, it is not just any company that receives Eximbank support; the majority of Eximbank
funding benefit large, politically powerful corporations.
Enron provides a perfect example of how Eximbank provides politically-powerful corporations
competitive advantages they could not obtain in the free market. . . . Enron has received
over $640 million in taxpayer-funded “assistance” from Eximbank. This taxpayer-provided
largesse no doubt helped postpone Enron's inevitable day of reckoning.
Eximbank's use of taxpayer funds to support Enron is outrageous, but hardly surprising.
The the vast majority of Eximbank funds benefit Enron-like outfits that must rely on political
connections and government subsidies to survive. . . .
It is not only bad economics to force working Americans, small business, and entrepreneurs
to subsidize the export of the large corporations: it is also immoral. In fact, this
redistribution from the poor and middle class to the wealthy is the most indefensible aspect of
the welfare state, yet it is the most accepted form of welfare. Mr. Speaker, it never ceases to
amaze me how members who criticize welfare for the poor on moral and constitutional
grounds see no problem with the even more objectionable programs that provide welfare for
the rich.
The moral case against Eximbank is strengthened when one considers that the government
which benefits most from Eximbank funds is communist China. In fact, Eximbank
actually underwrites joint ventures with firms owned by the Chinese government! Whatever
one's position on trading with China, I would hope all of us would agree that it is wrong to
force taxpayers to subsidize in any way this brutal regime. Unfortunately, China is not an
isolated case: Colombia and Sudan benefit from taxpayer-subsidized trade, courtesy of the
Eximbank!
At a time when the Federal budget is going back into deficit and Congress is once again
preparing to raid the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, does it really make sense to use
taxpayer funds to benefit future Enrons, Fortune 500 companies, and communist China?”
For Rep. Paul’s full statement see http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2002/cr050102.htm

For other information on Ron Paul see: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Interview of Ron Paul on MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec07/paul_10–12.html

***************Taken from an email I received. ***************

A Robustly Christian America

2007-11-01T01:02:00.000-05:00

I am voting for Ron Paul and I urge you to as well because . . .

Ron Paul believes in and is fighting for
A Robustly Christian America

Please consider Dr. Paul’s own words:
“Through perverse court decisions and years of cultural indoctrination, the
elitist, secular Left has managed to convince many in our nation that religion
must be driven from public view. The justification is always that someone,
somewhere, might possibly be offended or feel uncomfortable living in the
midst of a largely Christian society, so all must yield to the fragile
sensibilities of the few. The ultimate goal of the anti-religious elites is to
transform America into a completely secular nation, a nation that is legally
and culturally biased against Christianity. . . .”
“The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis
in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding
Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders’ political views were strongly
informed by their religious beliefs. Certainly the drafters of the Declaration
of Independence and the Constitution, both replete with references to God,
would be aghast at the federal government’s hostility to religion. The
establishment clause of the First Amendment was simply intended to forbid
the creation of an official state church like the Church of England, not to
drive religion out of public life.

The Founding Fathers envisioned a robustly Christian yet religiously
tolerant America, with churches serving as vital institutions that would
eclipse the state in importance. Throughout our nation’s history, churches
have done what no government can ever do, namely teach morality and
civility. Moral and civil individuals are largely governed by their own sense
of right and wrong, and hence have little need for external government. This
is the real reason the collectivist Left hates religion: Churches as institutions
compete with the state for the people’s allegiance, and many devout people
put their faith in God before their faith in the state. Knowing this, the
secularists wage an ongoing war against religion, chipping away bit by bit at
our nation’s Christian heritage. . . .”

The above excerpts are from Ron Paul’s article entitled "The War on Religion" and were published December 30, 2003. For the full article, see http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul148.html
For other information on Ron Paul see: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

for liberty, justice and the restoration of our republic

*****This was taken from an email I received. CL***************

Politics Smolitics

2007-10-31T22:29:00.000-05:00

Ron Paul: A New Hope

You may have noticed on the blog that I support Ron Paul for president. I know...I know...don't start in on the politics. But you know, there are some important things in life that are worth speaking up about. You know... the so-called hot topics that people avoid to remain congenial, namely politics and religion. I'll get on my soap box about religion later :) Have you ever asked yourself...What is REALLY important in this life? These ARE the issues that make life worth living. I'm tired of being complacent and going about my life mostly thinking of the insignificant trivial things. I want to make a difference. I don't want to shove anything down any one's throat but.... you have come to my blog on your own freewill so... I am writing about what is important to me. And of course I would like to persuade you to join the Ron Paul Revolution!!!!

I think the first time I heard of Ron Paul was when I heard part of one of the presidential debates. He mentioned how he was for bringing the troops home ASAP. I thought...wow...none of the other candidates talk like that. Especially none of the republican candidates. I have always considered myself a conservative republican. Mainly because of moral issues such as abortion. I guess I have just blindly followed the evangelical right end of the spectrum when it came to other issues. Just thinking they are godly people so they must be right. But you know...the older I have gotten I have come to realize that I have to think for myself on ALL the issues.

I remember when we were invading Iraq and all the sermons I heard on "just wars." It seemed like all the conservatives that I heard thought it was the right thing to do. But now I think we all have seen what a mistake it has been. But do they admit their mistakes? No, no, no.... they keep going down the same path to destruction. Ron Paul's views are such a breath of fresh air. Before I even heard of him I have thought to myself, "Why does America have to be the policemen to the whole world? Why are we invading other countries when our own borders are not properly secured? Why are we spending so much money in this war and other international affairs when we can not even take care of our own people? Why don't the conservatives see this?"

As I read more about what Ron Paul stands for I was overjoyed because he is SO different from all the others. He has always stood for what he believes in and has NEVER been influenced by lobbyist. He really wants to get rid of all the government's wasteful spending and focus on what is important to us, securing our borders and helping Americans take care of themselves. He wants to stop our dependency on foreign governments. He wants to give us the freedom back that has slowly been chipped away. And for the icing on the cake: he is a Christian pro-life conservative who actually thinks for himself AND he is very pro-homeschooling!

I invite you to learn more about Ron Paul and join with me in making a difference. Before you label him as "kooky" because his ideas ARE that radical, imagine what our country could be like if he was elected. His message is spreading like wildfire and he CAN win! If you agree with him, do all you can: donate to his campaign and join your local Ron Paul Meetup group!!

See his Jay Leno interview from last night!

Kids say the funniest things......

2007-10-25T07:39:00.000-05:00

"I love my baby brother so much...as big as an elephant!" -James

After hearing my Aunt praying with a lady on the phone Callie replied, "You can't talk to God on the Phone!"

While riding his bicycle the other day, James was bothered by a wedgie. After trying to pull it out he replied, "If you can't fix it I'll just have to ride my bike naked!"

We go to a health food store that has a dog groomer on one side and a beauty shop on the other. Last time we went Callie looked at the beauty shop and said, "Hey mom, there's a human groomer shop, you know where they make you pretty like the dogs."

"Mom, I'm soooo glad I learned to wipe myself....but I'm not glad the dinosaurs are extinct."-James

"I like how Pawpaw calls me 'little buddy', when I grow up and have a grandson, I'm going to call him 'little buddy' too" -James

While eating lunch the other day.....James said, "I think Memaw Fagan is missing me right now...She loves me soooooo much!"

They keep me in stitches!!!

An Island Story

2007-10-25T05:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, I am so excited to see the different places popping up on my hit map. You can see it on the left side of the page. Hello there in the United Kingdom....or is it The Republic of Ireland? It is hard to tell. But it's neat to have you view my page! I hope to come visit your countries one day.

This year we are reading a book called, An Island Story by H.E. Marshall. It tells the history of Great Britian. It's supposed to have been written for children, but I am learning so much from it too. You can also listen to it online here.

You might be wondering why we are learning about Great Britian's history first. Well, first of all it is on my Ambleside Online book list. :) I believe the reasoning is that since our country came out of England then it is our "mother country" so to speak.

Fire Station & Cookies

2007-10-20T23:59:00.000-05:00

"I want to be a fireman when I grow up!"

On Friday it was a beautiful cool day. We headed out at 10:00 to a field trip with one of our homeschooling groups to the oldest fire station in town. It's the only one that still has the classic sliding pole! As you can see they are fascinated by it. The kids had a wonderful time! We had a tour of the fire house and got to see where the fire fighters sleep, eat, and relax.

Check out the neat fire hat flag pole.

I thought it was very interesting that mostly all of the fire fighters are also EMTs or Paramedics. In our town if 911 is called it is the fire dept. that comes to call! They do so much more than fight fires. We got to see one of the firemen put on his fire equipment and we heard the siren that wakes them up. Then the kids got to crawl around on a REAL fire engine. How cool is that?

Then later that afternoon we made one of our favorite recipes: Soft gingersnaps!

Yum yum to my tum tum!

Goodness Gracious

2007-10-19T01:42:00.000-05:00

September 28th...a day that I will never live down the rest of my life! The day I brought home a kitten knowing full well my husband and I have a history of feline allergy. Knowing my husband *HATES* cats. What possessed me to do such a thing?!?

The story goes like this: The kids and I went to the dairy to pick up milk for our milk co-op. As I was getting the milk we heard this loud continuous, "Meeeoooow, meeeooow..." Of course the kids went on an expedition to find the source of all the commotion. "Mommy, mommy there's a kitten in a hole under the barn....I have to get it out!" says Callie. She pulls the poor little thing out...dirty...pitiful...scared of the big dog that had chased it under there.

She hands it to me and it clings onto me for dear life with that constant meowing!! All I can think of is that it must be a hungry stray. "Mommy, can we keep it...can we...pleeeaaaase?!" No we can't possibly....then it looks into my eyes still clinging for dear life. I think..let me call the owner and ask him if it's his....I leave a message saying we found a cat, a stray, I think. We'll take it home and feed it and bring it back if it is his and if it's not I had every intention of taking it to the pound if Daddy absolutley said No. I just couldn't leave it. The kids are so excited as we drive away...a cat in the car.. still meowing continuously.

I'm thinking we could make it an outside cat! That would work wouldn't it? "What should we name it Mommy?" I was not sure if it was a boy or girl kitten at this point. After arriving home we feed it some fresh milk which it scarfs down quickly. It's lunch time.... I hear the garage door opening....reality sets in, "Daddy's home!" Quick, throw the kitten in the laundry room! Don't say anything about the cat kids. Let mommy handle it! Daddy walks in...."Meeeoooow!" GULP!

"What in the world were you thinking Cheryl?! #$%&*"!!!! Well to make a long story short.. Daddy now tolerates the cat. He actually remarked to me the other day, "You know...cats really are fun pets..AND... you must be keeping it really clean because my allergies are not bothering me." *SMILE* He's even been known to play with it once in a while!

I decided to name HIM Gracious. To remind all of us to show Grace to others when difficult situations come up...for instance when your wife brings home something your allergic to. "We also showed grace to him by rescuing him, Mommy!" Yes, that's right! Then I realized Gracious is a Gray kitten!! A (Gray + Precious) Kitten...... Providence I would say!

Gracious has been part of our family for 3 weeks now. He has one of the sweetest cat personalities I have ever seen. So playful and loving. And so smart...he is only about 2 mo. old and he has never had an accident and actually meows and scratches at the door if he needs to go to his litter box! That is amazing to me. I now remember how comforting and therapeutic it is to have a cat purring loudly in your lap! AND...I never thought in a million years I would ever hear my kids fighting over who would get to take the poop out of the litter box!!!

Why I Home School?

2007-10-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

Happy blogday to me, happy blogday to me, happy blogday to Cheryl, happy blogday to me! Pass out the cigars....I have now been born into the world of blogging!

This blog is to record our wonderful homeschooling adventures as *WE* learn "out of the box." Emphasizing the fact that *I*, the mom, am included in the learning process. Learning along with the kids and loving every minute of it! The kids are bursting with creativity and I thought this would be a great place for them to express themselves and a place for me to record thoughts about my eagerness to seek out new knowledge and truths for myself.

I will give you a little background about why we decided to home school. It seems like I have wanted to home school my children forever. Ever since I heard of the concept of homeschooling it just seemed like I was meant to do it. I spent 5 years working in a public elementary school and 4 years in a private school (as a speech therapist) and the whole time planning to home school. It's not that I felt like the schools were bad. They were actually good schools, when it came to "book learning." Something inside of me just told me that was not for my family. I never talked about the fact that I wanted to home school with my colleagues at the public school because I felt like it was looked at unfavorably.

The main reason I feel the need to home school is because I feel like God has given *ME* the responsibility to teach and train my children. Why should I turn them over to state run institutions to school them just because that is what most people do? Our children are with us for such a short little while. Those crucial years while they are here should be a time not only for teaching the 3Rs, but also a time in which their most critical world view is shaped. A world view that knows what the true meaning of life is. That is, to have a personal relationship with Christ and to love their fellow man. To truly learn these important things it must be "caught and not taught." Modeled by a loving family on a consistent day to day basis. This is my hope and prayer. I know God was the perfect parent and Adam & Eve still rebelled! So we just have to do the BEST we can with whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

I want to teach them so much more than what they would get from public or even private school. I want to give them a thirst for knowledge that I never had growing up. I want to teach them to think for themselves and not to just blindly follow what I or anyone else teaches them but to test everything against the standard of God's word. I want to build strong family bonds that will last a lifetime. I want to be there not only for the first word and first step, but also for the first time the word "butterfly" is read and for all the times I hear, "Mommy, mommy teach me how to......." This is music to my soul!

I also want to give them a broader education than what is given in traditional school. We use a curriculum called Ambleside Online which follows the philosophy of Charlotte Mason. In addition to our daily bible reading and 3RS, *WE* are also learning about the martyrs of the early church, the history of Great Britain, great literature, poetry, art and music study; as well as studying nature. Not bad for 1st grade? :)

We are a family of 5 with 3 little sponges constantly wanting to soak up everything that life has to offer! Daddy Justin, Momma Cheryl, "Sissy" Callie 6 1/2, James 4, and Joshey 17 mo.
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I would just like to add to this post that I know homeschooling is not for everyone. I don't want anyone to think that this is the only way to raise wonderful children. Every family is different and unique... this is just what is right for us!