Things that fall into the category of WHAT ARE WE THINKING....

Those of you who know me know that I don't whine much. I'm easy going and I pretty much accept things the way they are and don't spend a lot of time lamenting what could or should be. Today I was struck by a couple of things that really irked me and I want to tell you about them. So if you bear with me to the end of this post, I will teach you how to make a smiley face. *Ü*

First, I took Seth to a birthday party at a place called Wonderland. (Think Chuck E Cheese on steroids) They have mini-golf, play areas, laser tag, and games and tickets galore to spend on little piece of plastic junk that costs three cents to make and 600 tickets to buy. Let me say that I hate those kind of places. I hate seeing kids running up and trying to get more and more tokens. It just breeds greed and a desire for more. I don't like places where everything looks so fun, but they make you pay for everything you do. But, if someone else wants to pay to have their birthday party there, I guess I'll drive 40 minutes across town to drop him off. I wonder what message do we send our kids in a place like this? Blech!! What are we thinking?

Second, I went to the mall to kill some time. I am not a shopper. I wouldn't have even gone to the mall, but I had to return something. I went into one clothing shop because I had a $10 coupon, and I couldn't find one thing I wanted. I gave the coupon to two teen girls who thought I gave them the winning lottery ticket. They were excited, and I made a bee-line for Barnes & Noble, which is the only place in the mall I really like to be. I finally got my copy of this with the B&N educator's discount! Woohoo!! On my way, I passed a crowd of people watching some young girls performing their dance routines. The costumes these girls were wearing were terrible. The routines were sleazy and these girls were attempting to shake things they don't even have yet! They were caked with make-up and it disgusted me. What kind of message are we sending young girls when we dress them up like that and clap for them. Blech!! What are we thinking?

So, there is my whine for the month. My day got better when I picked up Annsley at her friend's house. They were filming a "talk show" project for one of their classes about the lost colony of Roanoke. They wrote scripts, researched information, and put together a nice presentation. They were so innocent (and properly dressed) that it warmed my heart!!

Good, clean, wholesome, educational fun, now THAT's what I'm talking about, people!! No need to overstimulate or underdress them.

In order to make the smiley face, you have to put the number lock on and then push "alt 0220" with an asterisk on either side. *Ü*

Top Ten things...

...that I haven't blogged about lately and think I should, but just don't feel like putting much energy into my blog, but know that pretty soon you will just stop checking if I don't post anything (I didn't think all that would fit into the subject line!)

1. My sweet daughter turned 10 last Saturday. Dang, she is a nice girl. And, she has nice friends. At her party they giggled and flitted and squealed as only 10 year old girls can do. They put on a little American Girl play for each other. They came in costume and they made me smile!

2. Spring is here, and my flowers are purty! The weeping cherry outside my kitchen window makes me smile.

3. We put water and electricity at our property (we own 6 acres about 5 miles out of town) and Danny has been working hard to make a huge garden area. This will be our summer family project.

4. I don't like yard work, but Danny does and the kids are excited about all the planting and growing, etc. Did I mention I'm not overly fond of yard work?

5. I only have seven more weeks of the school year (which translates to 13 more class sessions, plus end of the year conferences). This is going to FLY by!!

6. My parents opened their swimming pool today. It isn't heated yet, but it makes me excited to spend time in one of my favorite spots in the whole world, my parents' back yard!

7. I start my new masters' classes tomorrow. This is my LAST quarter.

8. I love homeschooling my kids. It seems that many people talk about spring burn-out, but I honestly rarely feel that. I love what we do at home. I love having a summer vacation from my job but I don't feel the need to take a summer break from homeschooling. However, I do shorten our days up to allow maximum pool time.

9. Today I learned how to make this symbol. *Ü* I think that is a cute smiley face.

10. My dear friend (who is 50 years old and never been married) met the love of her life on the internet and she is engaged to be married in August. I got to meet the guy this weekend, and the whole thing makes me smile. (like this: *Ü* ) She has been a faithful servant of God all these years, never settling for any number of guys who were less than God's best for her. This guy is a definite reward for her faithfulness. Not just because he is a fine Christian man, not just because the guy is loaded and bought her a gorgeous rock! Not just because he is a widow so she doesn't have to deal with the "ex". Not just because his kids (older teens)really like her and she will get to be a mother. Not just because he totally treats her awesome. Not just because he is a fine looking 6 foot 8 inch guy.

The guy has SEASON TICKET TO THE SEAHAWKS!!!!! Now THAT is my kind of guy.

Please keep coming back.

I just realized that....

my new classes don't start until April 30th. That seems like a long break!! You will not hear me complaining. I finished my courses a couple weeks early since the term ended while we were on our vacation. Guess what....this is my last quarter. And then, I will have my master's degree. I'm not sure what voice in my head told me I should get my master's degree while home-schooling my children and teaching part time, but I listened to it. And now, I can't believe I am on the home stretch! Getting my master's degree has always been a secret goal of mine. And, when I quit teaching there was never a compelling reason to go back and get it. But, since I have started teaching again, a $1200 dollar a year stipend seemed like a pretty good reason. :-) So, next year I will proudly deposit that check. Sure, it'll take a few years to pay for that tuition, but a personal goal satisfied....priceless!

Home Again....

When most people come home from a long vacation, they say, "It is good to be home." I can't believe that the people saying that are mothers. Being home means cooking, laundry, cleaning, unpacking, etc. Our trip was great and our sweet daughter said, "I want to give my children the exact same childhood that I have had." Talk about a compliment!!

We had the coolest experience at the Museum of Natural History in Jackson, MS. We were there early on a Monday morning and there weren't many people there yet. One of the employees came out and started talking to us about the different fish in their wonderful tanks. She then asked if we wanted to go back behind to the staff only area. She showed us the most amazing things. The kids got to pet the alligators (small ones), and feed the fish live worms. It was amazing and she spent about an hour with us just teaching us things and showing us interesting things. She fed a horseshoe crab a worm for us. The whole experience was one of the highlights for our family.

I can not honestly say that it is good to be home, but my bed is sure comfy!! And routine is a good thing in the end. We logged just over 3000 miles on the trip but it didn't feel like we were in the car all that much. Go figure! Next year....the mid-west.

Hello from Mississippi

Remember when you thought you were the coolest thing in the world because you could spell Mississippi really fast? Well, here we are in the capital, Jackson. This is actually our second time in Jackson, and we really like this area. The drive called Nachez Trace is an absolutely gorgeous drive that we took today.

Yesterday we went to the Space Center in Huntsville, AL. It was a neat place and we had a good time learning about rockets and space travel in general. Then we drove to Tupelo....Elvis's birthplace. :-)

We went to church this morning in Tupelo and the people were so friendly we couldn't believe it. It was true southern hospitality. We had many people come up and basically stand in line to talk with us. It was kind of strange, but very nice!! The music was beautiful, although I was amazed at how serious everyone on stage was. I'm sure they had the joy of the Lord in their hearts, but it wasn't coming out on their faces. It made me realize the importance of a warm smile from people who are leading worship!

He is risen!

He is risen, indeed!!

Happy Easter, friends.

Sweet home, Alabama....

I am sorry that I have not been more regular with the trip updates! Either we have arrived at the hotel too late, or we don't have a good internet connection, or....I have been too lazy!! We went to the Museum of Science and Energy, which is a GREAT museum in Oak Ridge, TN. Do you like my new hair-do?

There was a lot of great exhibits at this museum and we learned a lot!

We have done so many little things along the way, but I'm just going to touch on a couple of highlights. With our friends from Kentucky we went to a bourbon distillery. Since I know absolutely nothing about the difference between a bourbon or any other kind of beverage that tastes more or less like rubbing alcohol, it was very interesting and I learned a lot. I was really glad that our friends had kids the same ages as our kids, cuz' I don't think the bourbon flavored chocolates would have been enough to make the tour all that terribly interesting to the kids. (Although, they made me pretty happy!) The Kentucky countryside was gorgeous, and exactly like I always pictured it!

We also spent a little time hiking in the Smokey Mountain Range. It is COLD here right now. At the top of the 3rd largest mountain peek east of the Mississippi it was VERY cold! But, it was worth the hike to see the view.

There are many other things I could tell you about, but one of the highlights of the trip so far was the Cathedral Caverns in Alabama. They were absolutely breathtaking!! I don't always get how evolution (the billions of years stuff) works together with Creation, but all I know is that God is an amazingly creative God, and whether he made it 10,000 years ago or longer than that, it does not change that He has made some amazing things to see. It makes me stand in amazement of Him all the more!

We are off to the Space Museum in Huntsville, Alabama!

Hello from Nashville

We had a great time staying with my old college roommate in Arkansas. It was great to catch up, and for some strange reason her mom still had an old tape of the two of us singing a duet in her church 20 years ago. (That fact that she knew right where it was was scary indeed!) It was fun to hear it even though the quality was what you might expect from a dubbed copy of an old tape.

This morning we crossed into Tennessee and began the day in Memphis. Some of the things we had planned on doing were not open yet, but we got a feel for the city. We drove by Graceland although we just couldn't bring ourselves to drop $24 per person to go in and tour the place. My pilgrimage to Graceland ended at the gate! Blogger isn't letting me add pictures right now, or I'd show you my Elvis.

Next we headed to Nashville and toured the Grand Ole Opry. I can now say that I have sung on the stage there. Sure, it was only Happy Birthday, but I sang way louder and stronger than anyone else in our tour, and I'm pretty sure they wanted me to make an album. But, I'm pretty busy right now. I'd show you a picture, but it'll have to wait.

The kids had fun swimming in the hotel. They are such great sports!! How exciting can hearing about Minnie Pearl be for them? But, they make the best of it and count down the minutes in their heads until they can be in the hotel swimming pool. Annsley was pretty excited to have "performed" (Happy Birthday) on the same stage that Carrie Underwood has performed on. OK....I admit it, I thought it was kind of cool too. :-)

Tomorrow we will be crossing into Kentucky, bringing our grand total to 34 states. We will officially be 2/3 of the way to our goal of touching all 50 states. Did I mention that we literally spent 2 minutes in Kansas? No offense to anyone from Kansas, but we didn't have time this trip to spend there, so we drove up so we could touch the border of Kansas and Missouri and then headed back down. It counts!!