A Nice Start to the Day . . .

I woke up with the Mr. Head Contractor, to make him some lunch and wish him a good day, but when he left, I found a comfortable place on the sofa. I easily shut my eyes and the next thing I know, Helper was waking me and asking me if she could make breakfast. Of course I did not see any reason why not, so she proceeded to make scrambled eggs, sliced strawberries and bacon. It was wonderful. She set the table and gathered everyone.

( of course, this isn't a picture of her meal, her's was much prettier )

Thanks darling daughter!

Great Men . . . Inspired Leaders . . .

"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

George Washington

"My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."

George Washington

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life." Abraham Lincoln

"Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." Abraham Lincoln

~ ~ ~

Happy President's Day

Enjoy!!

Conference/Convention Time . . .

Hello all! I hope you had a great and relaxing weekend. This post is basically a call for opinions, if there are any out there. For the last couple of years, I have attended a Home Education Conference in a neighboring state and even though I really, really enjoyed the time there, I want to attend other surrounding conferences or conventions and get a feel for what is out there.

There is a convention in our state that takes place the first weekend in June that I have strongly been considering attending. It is sponsored by the Christian Homeshoolers of Idaho State, otherwise known as CHOIS. It is held at the College Church of the Nazarene in Nampa. I just wanted to get any feedback from anyone who has attended this event; likes, dislikes, etc.

Also, one of the main speakers will be Mike Farris, Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association. I have enjoyed many of his written works and also his work with patentalrights.org and the Parental Rights Amendment.

So, any information will help. I mentioned in past posts that I was interested in some form of conference or convention in our part of the state and am still currently planning such an event, so any insight will help.

A Day of Love . . .

We have never really been big on celebrating Valentine's Day. Last year, I did want to do something a little extra for them and I decided to carry it on this year. I think it is another perfect day to spend extra, extra time together as a family. So, after pink, heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, we completed our morning routines and then met Dad for lunch.

This covers two fun things; eating out and lunch with Dad. After enjoying our favorite local pizza and pasta buffet joint, we headed home for a few more tasks and piano lessons. When Dad got home, we settled in with some popcorn and a few other fun treats to watch a couple of movies.

Something that we love is snuggling together on the couch and laughing at a great show. Hope you had a great day with your loved ones. Enjoy!

P.S. A must see film, Courageous. This isn't the one we watched with the kiddos, but after they went to bed. Absolutely amazing!!

A Little Vitamin D . . .

Although our winter has been very disappointing, as far as snow levels go, we have had just enough snow to be able to have ski lessons. Our local ski resort does a "homeschool ski group" each winter. We heard about this last year, but was not able to participate. We took the oldest two kiddos out last year when our congregation skied one evening and they loved it so much that they asked for skiing lessons for Christmas this year.

So, at the end of January, we started our first lesson ( once a week lessons) and this week was our third and last lesson of the season. Ky and Bugaloo have had so much fun and have really learned a lot.

Bugaloo did great! She is our extra brave kiddo and sometimes, she makes my heart race, but always comes through perfectly.

Ky did awesome also. She is our "perfectionist". Always doing the correct and perfect moves, but having a great time also. So proud of them!!

We still have a full day of "free" skiing to do in a couple of weeks. This was also a part of their lessons. We are all looking forward to this and hopefully we can get out a few more times before Spring really comes to stay.

Enjoy!!

Working Toward Changes . . .

We spent most of the day cleaning, organizing, and throwing things away. We have had some plans in the works and with Spring coming ( is it really coming? ), we decided to get a start on the beginnings of our plan. When we moved into our current home, we kind of knew that it was not our "permanent" home. There were other things we were looking for, such as:

Maybe even a little ( or a lot) of this:

Open space, privacy, nature, trees, all of these things are in our plan ( and more ). But first, we need to sell our current home. We have loved living here and cherish the neighbors and friends we have made while living here, but feel that now is the time. So, over the next few weeks, the head contractor and I will be putting in some extra time to get some things done to list the house, hopefully by the first of next month. Hmmm . . . . .

. . . and so it begins. Enjoy!!

A Comfortable Day . . .

When I decided to post tonight, this title suddenly came into my mind. Why? I am not so sure, but I'll roll with it. It was a fine day. I started out this morning with the pressure of a small arm laying across my face. Jr. had decided, once again, to grace us with his presence in the middle of the night. Though I don't really enjoy sharing my side of the bed, and consequently having a bit of a sore back as a result, rolling over and looking into the brown eyes of a smiling 4 year old, is an unforgettable moment.

After my sweet, "Good morning, Bubba," and his usual reply of, "What's for breakfast", ( do boys always eat this much?), I willed myself up and out of bed to start the day. After getting food for the hungry foursome, I headed downstairs to subject myself to the torture of the day ( exercise ). When this was done, we all jumped in to a quick and thorough cleaning of the family room; dusting, vacuuming, and all.

I sat down to mend a pillow and looked over to see little man wrestling and punching a cushion. So, I suggested that he shoot a little basketball and before too long, the whole crew was lining up. I could see that the confines of the family room was not sufficient for such an undertaking and so I quickly suggested that they dress warm, with shoes and hats, and head to the garage. I proceeded to drag the B-ball net up the stairs and out to the garage and after a few initial requests, the kiddlings settled into playing in the garage ( aka gym, arena, etc.).

With this silence, I finished the pillow, vacuumed the basement, switched laundry, and was starting lunch when the newness and fun wore off and the children stated to flow back in. After lunch, I settled onto the sofa with Peaches and Jr to delve into a stack of books chosen by the aforementioned sprites. My tongue was numb from Fox in Socks, but my heart was melted by Miss Twiggley and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Ky and Bugaloo took advantage of the moment and quickly put on the next Harry Potter book to listen to as they tidied their room. I treated the kids to a couple episodes of Adventures from the Book of Virtues, while I took a nice relaxing bath.

Later that evening, the "Man of the House" and I decided to celebrate our "Valentine's" a little early and went out. We shared a delicious chicken salad for dinner and then made a theater stop ( rare for us ), to see "Red Tails" ( very, very good show). We came home to angels already in pj's and ready for family prayer. Kisses, hugs, stories, and off to bed.

I hope your day was as good as mine, and so yes, I would say it was quite a comfortable day. Enjoy!

Sunny, Cold Mornings . . .

Sunny, cold mornings. A sad way to describe the beginning of a new day, yet it means so much. Starting each day a new with a bright outlook on the tasks and possibilities before me, is how I have been taking each dawning. Yet, the chill and cold of the day seems to seep in at one place or another. So much so, that a constant prayer throughout my day, to be a blessing as a wife and mother, is always there. It's hard.

The ideals and dreams that we have for the life of our family seems delightful and within reach. Most days, the sun can be felt from all around. Children joyfully and deeply involved in their lessons and tasks; happy words and deeds shown everywhere.

The beams of light seen streaming through the brisk day as a devoted sister reads to a little brother, simply because she wants to and it brings him joy. How I love the warmth of those moments!

Enjoy!