Good Morning

Doncha just love summer?!?

• We are deep into cleaning around this place. I set out a schedule for the summer and so far we are right on track!! I LOVE going into my kids rooms and seeing everything in its place and organized and so tidy!! The funny thing is that they like it too, so why don't they just keep it that way?
• We are doing lots of reading out loud. Right now we are into Fellowship of the Rings. In the car we are listening to Long Way to Chicago.
• We are doing lots of history reading this summer too. I would highly recommend Story of the World 4 for anyone who kinda gets modern world history but needs to put all the pieces into place. It has really done this for me.
• Do you think I would take better pictures if I had a better camera? We are toying with the idea of getting a super-nice digital. Or, could it be that no matter what kind of camera I have, my pictures will be mediocre? That is my fear.

Have a delightful summer day!!

What's that sound?

SILENCE!! The kids spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house last night and I have an empty house this morning. The number one change in my personality as I have aged is a strong need to be.all.alone!!!

• We got a new (used) car. It is your basic non-descript champagne color four door sedan. I know I will lose it in the parking lot because it looks like every other non-descript car and I can never remember where I park to save my life! It isn't fancy but it has all the features I need. CD player, powerlocks, and a good cup holder. What more do you need?
• We had such a great time in Seattle! It was too short, and yet it felt like such a nice get-away. I seriously kept wishing I could see more people (you know who you are!!) but it just wasn't the trip for that. After our long driving trips, Seattle just seems like a hop, skip, and a jump!
• Wednesday morning I passed my oral exam for my masters' degree!! :-) I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect, but it was just an enjoyable phone conversation with two professors. I still have to finish my last two courses (will be done end of July) and then I will be done!!
• I got my first pedicure yesterday. I had a gift certificate from Mother's Day. It was nice. (Not $40 nice, mind you, but if someone wants to give me a gift cert. I wouldn't turn them down!)
• Today I finish Annsley's room and start on Seth's. How can so many bags of garbage come out of one small room? We are putting the stuffed animals up on a high shelf and most of the dolls are getting put into a bin. (Sniff.....she is growing up!!)
• I'm off to enjoy my quiet time!

Dang, I love summer!!

Oh yah!! THIS makes me want to wear my glasses.

Without the glasses, I look like.....



And with the glasses.....


By the way....Elton John called, and he wants his glasses back!!

Now, I have a complex.

Is Anyone Out There?.....

I don't blame you if you have left for good, thinking I abandoned this blog project altogether here, but I'm still here.

• All the kids activities (they really only have one each, for a grand total of 2) are done for the year. Woohoo!!
• I taught my last classes of the year last week. This week we just have end of the year conferences.
• How did I get a 3rd and a 5th grader? Please tell me that!!!
• I finished my comprehensive final test for my masters degree and sent it off. I have to orally defend it on June 20. I still have to finish my last two classes, but then I'll be DONE!!
• Even in the spring, I still love homeschooling and my job.
• We are going to Seattle this weekend. Danny has a meeting and so we are going to drive over with him and do some fun Seattle-y kinds of things.
• I started my major cleaning overhaul. I usually take 1-2 weeks in the fall before school starts again and do this, but I decided I might spread it out over the summer this year. However, usually, once I get started, I can't stop. I have done our school room and my office (which are two of the rooms that needed it most!) I clean everything. Every drawer, every wall, every blind, every baseboard, every closet....EVERYTHING! I love the feeling of looking at a room and knowing it is so clean.
• How do laundry rooms and washing machines get so dirty?

I'm going to post more this summer since I will have more time! Unless, of course, I am enjoying my parents' pool and the sun.

American Idol chat....

Overall, I would give the results show a C- (and really, I think I am being generous). They tried to copy last years show, (which I gave an A for entertainment) but it just didn't quite work. The silly Idol awards seemed forced and just didn't work like they did last year. (Although the picture of that monkey was pretty funny).

The guests they brought in seemed so random. Bette Midler?!? Don't get me wrong, I like Bette, and back in the day, I can confess to weeping at the movie Beaches. (I went to see that movie in college with my three roommates after bra shopping. Talk about the ultimate girl bonding day. I'm sure there was chocolate involved, too!) But, come on, Bette.....you were waving your arms around like a bird. I get it....wings, but if you are going to impress me, you will need to sing your most famous song in tune, not flap your arms in an attempt to take off.

I LOVED, LOVED Tony Bennet. I would highly recommend his latest duet CD. It is great, and I thought he was a class act!!! I also liked the six guy finalists singing together. I thought they were good, and it was fun to see them all back.

The old idols just were not working for me. I didn't really enjoy any of their performances much. (Remind me again how Taylor Hicks got so many votes last year.) Carrie Underwood-gorgeous. Love her. Not so crazy about the song choice for last night. Kelly Clarkson-she seemed like she was shouting and I wanted her to stop.

I liked Blake's beatbox song last night. I think they should have made Jordin do that in the finals since they made Blake sing that ballad. I will never understand why they would take a song that was obviously written for someone like Jordin and expect Blake to sing it. But, I'm over it.

I'm happy for Jordin. You know, she just seems so darn nice. And, Blake was so classy in his defeat. I get the feeling that those kids are all good friends and they are going to love being on tour together.

But where does that leave me on Tuesday/Wednesday nights, eh?

Prom Queen?

I work with a crazy fun staff!! (Did I say crazy?) Every Christmas we have a bad sweater party. You know the kind? Red sweaters with kittens and gold stitching or pictures of Santa? This spring we decided to have a prom party. We planned it on the night that one of the teacher's sons had his senior prom so we could meet at her house and embarrass the heck out of him in front of his date!! But, we decided to go 80's prom!! So, I dusted off my prom dress from 1985 (junior) (that I can still fit into, I might add. Never mind that I didn't breathe much due to the expansion of my rib cage from birthing too children...it fit! That is my story and I'm sticking to it!) My friend's son told his parents he hated them....and then proceeded to call several of his buddies to tell them to *not* come see what his parents and friends had done. So, of course, they came.

We then went to a Mexican restaurant where people got a huge kick out of our strange party. After dinner we went to a place where there was dancing. (OK, it was a bar, but I don't really like typing that since I'm not really a bar kinda' gal!) There was a little dancing, but mostly just laughing at one of the guys who is willing to make a fool out of himself for our enjoyment!!

My dress is sort of Gunnysack (remember Gunnysack dresses?) meets Madonna circa 1985. There was LOTS of blue eye shadow involved. (I seriously don't think I have put on eye shadow in 15 years!) I also borrowed a hairpiece to add to the "up-do" look which gave me a little extra height! It didn't quite match my hair, but....oh well!

I did get a compliment from a woman (who I believe had been spending a fair amount of time in the bar before this moment) in the bathroom. She asked if I was in a wedding. I explained, "No, just some friends dressing up in prom dresses." She replied, "YOU are GORGEOUS!" (in a slightly gushing inebriated fashion.) But, I am not one to turn down a compliment, no matter where it comes from.

A good time was had by all!! I was home in bed by 10:30.

It really is all about attitude!

Am I bitter that I had to spend part of my Mothers Day WORKING at our property? Nope! Guess what? I actually enjoyed it!! (Shhhhh. Don't tell my husband lest he think I want to do it every weekend! :-)) Yesterday we worked side by side on the sprinklers and I just kept thinking how nice it was to work and chat with my husband. I chose this week to help Danny by going the extra mile at the property and volunteering to go with him and help him without complaint. His love language is "acts of service" so I knew that by doing this I was telling him I love him. And he heard it loud and clear! The most amazing thing was that by choosing this and choosing a good attitude I began to enjoy myself in the process. I know that lesson. I have learned it before, but sometimes I just needed to be reminded of it. Choose joy.

I have a good life and I know it. I have a lot to be joyful about and I don't take it for granted!! But, I still have to relearn that lesson occasionally.

Choose joy.

Maybe there is a little farmer's wife in me after all....

After all my whining and complaining about working so hard at the property lately, I have had the experience of working out there at sunset the last three nights. Let me just tell you that it is one of the most gorgeous place on earth at sunset. I was going to bring my camera last night, but I forgot. Here is a picture from last summer at sunset. I don't think it does the place justice, but until I remember to take some new pics, it is all I have!

Another discovery that I had to add to my enjoyment of the work is the fact that I could bring my MP3 player along. (Duh!!) You can't believe what a difference that makes in my mental outlook. How can you possibly be grumpy when you are unloading manure from the back of truck while you are overlooking a sunset and listening to the swelling exalted sounds of Josh Grobin? Huh? Or Randy Travis singing How Great Thou Art. Or Tony Bennett? Or....(confession time) the songs from High School Musical? (Yes, I know....I have extremely random and varied music on my MP3 player).

Well, I might never aspire to be a farm wife, but if you have to unload manure, I recommend sunset and good music!

Tuesday Ten

1. I am wondering if this afternoon will be the first "dip-in-the-pool day" at my parents. It is supposed to nice and my Dad heated the pool.

2. My parents' back yard is one of my top three favorite places in the world to be. All the relaxation and none of the responsibility!

3. I was not ever meant to be a farmer's wife. I know this because we have been working very hard at our property (six acres) and I am just not cut out for all that hard work!! I would consider myself to be a very hard worker most of the time, but put me out there with a shovel and expect me to clear out the trenches for the irrigation for six hours? That is not my cuppa!

4. The kids are learning how to work hard out at the property and that is a valuable skill. Danny was a born farmer. He can work from dawn until dusk out there without complaint. I know that at the end of this process we are going to have one "bitchin" garden, but honestly I'd prefer if someone else did all the work. (They can pick the veggies and weed too if they want.)

5. I am happy with my life.

6. Happy Birthday to two of my very favorite cousins!!! I love you, Pam and Krina.

7. I was just invited to be a part of leading a conference in Rhode Island this summer. I felt so honored to be asked-it was quite a compliment. However, I think I will decline because it is a big time commitment, and quite honestly, one thing I like about going to these conferences is my lack of having to be in charge of anything. I was still very flattered.

8. I love cell phones. What did we do without them?

9. Do you want to stretch your mind a bit? Play Sudoku here.


10. Time to get the day started. It is going to be a beauty!

Miming

If you think miming is as disturbing as I do, then you will probably be laughing out loud at this! (May 7th post)

This guy makes me laugh!! And think. Imagine that!

Cousins Chronicle

My kids were inspired to make a newspaper and so they have been planning with their long-distance cousins to put one together. We just published the first issue. It is called Cousins Chronicle and you can view it by clicking on the link and downloading it. There are a few typos and mistakes, but all in all, they did a great job. Through this project I learned how to use Microsoft Publisher, convert a document to a PFD file, and upload the file to www.savefile.com. This has been a great project for all of us.

Now listen, people....

I expect you all to blog every day. Some of you have been quite negligent, ignoring your blogs for several days at a time! I don't know why someone would do something so terrible. It just comes down to priorities, people. Don't tell me you are busy enjoying spring, teaching your children, going on vacations, or focusing on real life. Just get to blogging so I can be entertained!

(This goes for *all* of you.....but, of course, not for me. I'm really busy!)

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!!

Oooooooook la-ho-ma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...

Howdy (can you tell we've been in Texas?)

We arrived in Dallas yesterday to "severe thunderstorm warnings!" So, what do we do? We decide to go up to the top of the Hyatt Regency. Here is what it looks like on a nice evening...

But, it didn't quite look like that last night!! It was raining (although warm) and foggy, but that didn't stop us, no-sir-re-bob! Here is what it looked like for us. If you notice the terrified faces of my children, it is because we just saw the BIGGEST lightening I have ever seen in my life...right in front of our faces. And because we were up on the concrete observation deck, the thunder sounded like a major explosion. OK, I confess, it wasn't just my children that were terrified. Was there a reason that we were one of only two other people up on the deck?

Even though Danny wanted to stay a little longer, I put my foot down and got h-e-double-hockey-sticks off that tall building!!



This morning we went to the spot where JFK was shot and went through the Sixth Floor Museum. It was fascinating, and we learned a ton about what happened. I didn't really know much about it (other than knowing there was a grassy knoll involved somehow!)

This afternoon we drove to Tulsa and our hotel room has a view of.....this! This is the Oral

Roberts University Prayer Tower. Can I just say....Wow! I have never seen a gilded college before. It is quite sump'n! But, what do I know? Maybe people thought the same thing about that bell tower at Biola. (That joke is only funny if you have actually seen the small bell tower at Biola University. For those who have not seen it, think....small bell tower, no gold.)

The drive was about four hours and it was great to be together in the car. The kids had their organizers strapped onto the back of the seats in front of them, and they read, drew pictures while listening to Story of the World Ancients on CD, played the license plate game, etc...Great fun!! Tomorrow we'll be in Arkansas!