Saturday, May 31, 2008

Photobucket Preparing for the Bridegroom

This afternoon was our PWOC "spring" Tea. Our theme was Preparing for the Bridegroom. We fondly remembered those things we did in prep for our weddings and marriages. These women are good! Several mentioned learning what they could about the military lifestyle as they were about to become military spouses. WOW - I hadn't thought of that and it tied in with how we can spiritually prepare for our Spiritual bridegroom. We can learn about his lifestyle, study how we can be fit to help etc. We then talked about having a Tryst - "a secret, arranged meeting between lovers"; instead of a "spiritual discipline". I thought of passing out silky pjs but figured these ladies may not know me well enough for that. ::snort::

Trish had sent me the "insides" for 3 of the journals she makes. Thanks Trish.

The afternoon was fun...though I was a tad bit spacey. I loved that I didn't have to do anything except show up at 1:40. Here are some glimpses:


Vera & Debbie did all the set up. Everything was so pretty. Vera invited us into her lovely home.

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Yolanda, made the elegant flower arrangements....and we all brought finger foods to add to the scones, crackers, cookies and drinks that Vera and Debbie had provided.

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I'm not sure if you'll be able to see this little lady. I knew she would be the perfect hostess gift for Vera. She says "ready for love" and we talked about being ready to receive and give love to our Bridegroom. My children thought it was inappropriate for Miss Vera....but she seemed to love it.

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I loved how God worked out the Tryst Journal doorprizes. Laura (nearly 20), Yolanda (30's?), and Evelyn (older than 30) all won.....isn't that great? Trish, all liked them. And there I am on the right in my new dress...I look rather matronly with my hair up and all. I was surprised how many didn't recognize me. I really need to get out of jean jumpers and capris more often. ::snort::

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Photobucket Saturday Summary

The day began early as I prayed through what I would say at our PWOC Tea.

Our United co-op order is coming up. I sent out emails about that, set up the order form at google docs, sent the link to everyone, fielded questions from several new members and then....

Jamin wanted to drive to work. He's driving with a permit and will soon have a license. I jumped in the shower so that I wouldn't be caught in pjs at the mall.

I decided to run into the mall and find a couple of springy dresses that would fit me in my fluffy stage. ::snort:: I also bought gift bags for door prizes at the tea.

Standing in Halmark I realized I was shaking, my head was light, my muscles were rubbery, and I was sinking. Hmmm. I hadn't eaten and it was 11:30 a.m. I suppose I need to face the fact that metabolism is not the only reason I need to remember to eat every few hours. I seem to be having wild sugar swings. I came home and Mike stuffed a banana in my mouth. I told him I'm going to find a medic bracelet to wear that says, "If I seem spacey - FEED ME CHOCOLATE - QUICK!" ::snort::

I ate a banana. I prepared door prizes and a hostess gift. I made a fruit tray. I loaded things up and left for the tea.

I'll do a seperate post on the tea.

The littles and I went to price above the ground pools. It's HOT around here and only getting hotter. We also checked for a local spot that can print 12 x 12 prints for us.....no luck so far.

I shopped online for spots to print out 12x12 digital pages. I've checked 9 spots and have lots of factors to compare now.

Mike got home and fixed my mouse so that I could work on some digital pages. BEFORE I began that we went out for a powerwalk. He has longer legs than I - that isn't very fair. ::snort:: I haven't made it to the gym for 4 days so I knew something drastic like this would be coming my way. It was fun to huff, puff, talk, and get a workout in. It was more of a workout for me than him.

I made 10 pages in an hour while we waited for the call to come to pick up Jamin at work. That's 24 pages since 4 p.m. yesterday!

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Friday, May 30, 2008

Photobucket Friday continued....

We watched a Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis movie from Netflix: Artists and Models. The kids put on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

I decided to whip out some more pages. I've done 13 since 4:00 p.m. It takes about 5 minutes for me to do a page (remember the photos are ready to go on my computer, have already been edited for previous blog use).

I think this will be great. I THINK I'll be able to work on scrapbooks anywhere I have my laptop.....nothing else to carry or take with me. Nothing to take out, put back....

Here are a few of my favorites from the night, the photos will be familiar:

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Photobucket FRIDAY!!!!!

Produce co-op is growing and that is nice. It's my big social outing of the week. ::snort::

Sherri brought me her catalog so I can pick out perfect paper to match the albums I have and get started on my new style.

Deja and I decided to get our kids together this afternoon. They have the best yard in town....however I am content with our small yard...less to mow. Right? Right!

Here are some photos for THAT - can you believe it? Not more than 10 minutes and they are ready to print.
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Our little mechanics cracked me up. They were playing and then the truck quit working...in nothing flat they were kicking tires and such - and it worked.
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Tonight we'll eat pizza, watch movies, play games......Tomorrow's the PWOC tea. Oh NO - I just realized today was the SACHSA End of Year Pool Party. Oops.


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Photobucket Scrapbooking!

Less than 5 minutes to do these pages! Can you believe it? The photos were on my computer, I dragged them and wala......

These are random photos I took yesterday - a sample of our day:

I'm not sure you can read the text here...but the recipe is even on this page! LOLPhotobucket


Any room can be the school room
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Thanks Cindy for calling me this a.m. and telling me I needed to try this! ::snort:: Go visit Cindy to see more layouts she has done. I think I'll continue with my current plan for the "hard photos" and then go digital when I hit the digital years.

I had no clue Smilebox did PAGES as well as slide shows. I can have these printed at a local store for less than it cost to buy paper, pages, stickers. The best thing is that Smilebox is running a free promotion for teachers. Go here to find more details. If you can't get in on the free thing - it's $39 a year - and you get TONS of templates for FREE on your computer. I can take ONE laptop to project night and scrapbook.


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Thursday, May 29, 2008

ALEX (Barton that is) Is SPECIAL

This story really disturbs me, you can hear it on The Early Show as well. I cannot fathom an adult who would think it o.k. to stand a 5 yo up in front of a class, let all his peers say the things they don't like about him, and then VOTE on if he should be in the class. She meant it as "discipline".....um....I have to say that if this is the sort of socialization the "experts" are after, I think my children will fare just fine in their home. Of course, before the mama bear in me completely takes over I will admit that I still believe this teacher's lack of discernment is the exception and not the norm.....and I AM woefully uninformed as to current trends having never seen any of the reality shows that are all the current craze. I do know children; and this appears cruel to me.
Since the incident in class Alex has been saying over and over, "I'm not special". Barbara, at Mommy Life, has started a campaign to collect cards from children and adults that specifically tell Alex he IS special. You can click either the photo of Alex or the link above to get the address and read more about this drive.
While I do not think this treatment is appropriate for ANY child in ANY school , at least not elementary school, I find this even more unthinkable as the young child is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrom and the teacher knew this.


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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Photobucket An Example....

Below is an example of how devotional reading of the Word, the quickening of the Holy Spirit, my tryst journal and worshiping God with my mind, all work together in my life. Many fear that doing word studies will somehow make their walk with God dry or intellectual....I hear this in my workshops. I thought it would be helpful to show you how it worked on one a.m. in my tryst.

I try to read a Proverbs a day. This is devotional; not an in-depth study. I sometimes focus on one topic a month...currently I'm simply reading.

Proverbs 28:13 , "He who concelas his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."

I grabbed my journal and jotted the verse in the Proverbs section of my tryst journal. I knew from past word studies that "sin" is translated into at least three Hebrew words and each means something a bit different. I knew that "transgression" meant rebelling against the standard.

Holy Spirit Zinger - "De'Etta have you been rebelling against my standard in your life?" OUCH. I haven't been changing to keep up with a relationship as fast as I should. God has given me some clear instructions and I am TRYING but I keep "falling" right off the wagon....and really it is a case of rebellion. My standard is the "golden rule" - well do unto others as they've done unto you? ::snort:: In a book I read a few months ago the Aurora Colony lived by the "diamond rule" - making others' lives better even at your own expense. God has told me to quit defending my rights. Phil 2:3-8 - I'm to look out for others and be concerned for their welfare, more than I'm concerned about my rights.

This thought led to me flipping to a prayer page in the tryst journal. You don't need to know my specific prayer....and confessions.

Then my "mind" took over (though I believe that is intertwined with the Holy Spirit at this point) and I thought, "well I shouldn't cover or hide my rebellion...there's a list here." I should confess, forsake and then find compassion. "

I did a few quick word studies. These notes went in my reading page of the tryst journal (and I've learned to jot the date and section of other spots in the journal that relate to the same passage - my own "chain")

confess - #3034 yadah - acknowledging what is right about God and what is not right about myself and my sin.

You need to know that in the past few months the Holy Spirit has clearly dropped into my spirit on this one issue over and over the phrase "don't go there". Mainly I want to go to a place where I can bathe in self-pity and feel sorry for myself. It's rebelling against His clear standard.

forsake - #5800 leave, abandon, go to a new location (don't go THERE), ONLY ONCE but in Nehemiah this word is used to mean restore/repair This means that the most common use of the word is leave....abandon...go to a new location....but it isn't beyond imagination that it includes the concept of restoration and repair

compassion - #7355 compassion - mercy, the word pictures a deep kindly sympathy and sorrow for another who has been struck with an affliction or misfortune - and a desire to relieve the suffering

I need this. God offers this...if I confess and forsake my rebellion. Hmmm.....wonder what prosper means. I KNOW what prosper means. Well, I have the tools here....maybe I should check.

prosper - #6743 - made mighty and powerful through the Holy Spirit's presence, victorious, a successful person.

Wow - there was more there than I thought.

So what? Does it matter? Why spend all this time doing this? Because God pressed me to understand this verse deeply. That it would help me in my goal to be a victorious, powerful, mighty person due to His infilling presence.

It's time to take the definitions back to the verse. This is what it spoke to me this a.m.

Rather than covering or hiding my rebellion agasint God's standard, which will lead to me not prospering, not being the victorious Spirit-walking person I desire to be - I must acknowledge what is right about God's standard and what is wrong about my actions, I must leave my action; go to a new location, restore and repair what I can and THEN I will find compassion and mercy. God is one who sympathizes with my affliction and has a desire to relieve my suffering. He may even send other Christians to do the same.

Then I realized this had applications in my parenting....not just in my own struggle with rebellion against the standard.

*A child who rebels against God and/or his family's standard won't be victorious/mighty/successful

When he/she rebels I must lead him/her to

~acknowldege what is right about God's/family's standard

~abandon the place he is in and restore and repair what he can of the mess his rebellion has caused. Help him go to a new location.

~That child will then find from God compassion and mercy. *I* MUST be sure to extend cmpassion, mercy and sympathy for his plight...and I must pray that I am filled with, and communicate with the child, a desire to relieve his suffering.

It's not a formula....but it is an easy process of principles for me to remember.

Oh, I also added the verse to the Memorize section of the tryst journal.

It mattered a lot in my personal struggle. It also mattered in my parenting today. You may find it hard to believe but I had opportunity to help a child acknowledge his rebellion against God and family standards.....I was able to explain that he needed to go a new direction....and I was sure to remember to show compassion and mercy.

It all works together to help me on the path to being transformed into His image......Mark 12:30, 31...I worshipped God this a.m. with my heart, soul, mind and strength...and I loved a child exactly in the same way I had been loved earlier in the day. It doesn't have to be one or the other...emotionalism or legalism....it can be balanced....as we worship God as He calls us to - with all that He has given us.

I didn't make it to the gym this a.m. That is FINE - this was more beneficial.

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©2008 D.R.G.
Photobucket Wednesday Already?

I didn't make it to the gym. I got carried away this a.m. in my tryst time.

I attended Nolan's ARD appointment. This meeting is held annually for the school district to make their recommendation as to what services Nolan needs. I accept or reject the offer. We HAVE to do this as our insurance won't pay a thing for speech unless we do this. I knew they were evaluating speech yesterday. It appears they also evaluated a few other things. I accepted their offer of 30 min a week of speech therapy at the school with a few other students.

I rejected their thoughts that Nolan has vocabulary problems. I couldn't quite believe they thought that. This child talks all the time! We read a LOT of GOOD books to him. I asked for examples and it cracked me up. We evidently haven't been studying the typical course of study. He could talk at length about the social strata of Ancient Egypt, he can explain parental rights/child rights in the Spartan society, he can tell you more than you want to know about Ancient Greek warfare and weapons, he can explain Passover, he can explain the mummification process, he can explain Japanese fish prints....but they are right, he doesn't know that a trumpet should never be called a horn and that a compas is not a funky clock. I'm not overly worried. This is bound to happen when your methods do not match the traditional scope and sequence.

They kept saying how great the socialization would be for him to have group therapy at the school. "He'll make friends and be able to play soccer with them after school." Well....HE HAS FRIENDS NOW. I DON'T KEEP HIM LOCKED IN THE HOUSE!" ::snort:: Hmmm.....maybe that shirt yesterday (see below) wasn't a good thing. I'll be sure to check his clothes very carefully before therapy next year. ::snort::

We got a lot of school done today. Isn't it funny that we are getting more school done in the summer because we don't have HoF, speech, Bible Study, drama class and whatever else we were keeping busy with? I plan to do extra work on vocabulary this summer. I'm a good homeschooler. I jumped right to and put in an order of vocabulary and spelling material from Rainbow Resource. ::snort:: ::chortle:: We'll get started with it now - because you know we homeschool sorta year round like. ::giggle::

I got produce ordered and the group email sent out.

We ate a few times.

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GREEN BAGS!

I can't possibly be accused of sounding like an infomercial because I don't own a television and hadn't even heard of these gems until Linda left a comment on one of my posts. I happened to see a set of these in a clearnace aisle somewhere around town. It was worth a try......

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I put some produce in baskets. I think this is going to be most helpful for the extra cauliflower that everyone left me at produce co-op (and really we don't like it much - though you can sneak it in with other veggies it's sort of the sponge of veggies).

The key test was the bananas. We LOVE bananas but we get 4 shares of produce a week and with the weather warming up were finding we couldn't eat them fast enough. This photo is pretty convincing. All the bananas were the same green color at the start. The ones on the top were left out. The one on the bottom was stored in a green bag. YES! We are going to have perfect, slightly green bananas all week long. My family doesn't like to eat them when they start to have spots - which is silly - but true nonetheless.

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Note - if you store your bananas in a green bag; they grow ipods. ::snort:: Thanks for the tip Linda. We NEED this many bananas but didn't want them going bad at once. I don't need 6 heads of cauliflower but now I know they'll stay until I use them.

For more of my WFMW posts click here (there ain't many yet). To view hundreds of this week's tips from others go here.

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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Photobucket Mini-Vans or....

Mike is seriously thinking of getting another car for me to drive when I don't need the 15 pass van. The gas is killing us.

I was thinking a Honda Civic. Tonight he mentioned a mini-van so I could take the 5 younger ones with me as needed. I told him I didn't think they got very good gas mileage. He poined out even 20 mpg would be twice as good as what I get now. He plans to begin asking folks as they get into their mini-vans what their gas mileage is. I told him I thought a blog post would give us lots of info too.....without him having to catch folks getting into their vans.

His clunker Honda gets 40 mpg....but I can't drive it well with my aching joints.....

Would those of you with mini-vans leave a note as to what you get for gas mileage, and which one you have? If you have another car that gets over 20 mpg would you leave the info - and how many people it would sit - max with a car seat?

I was sort of pushing for a convertible.....but Mike points out I can roll the windows down and get the wind blown feel, and the roof will save me from sun stroke. ::snort::

Tonight we realized that our two drivers may be staying here when we move so I haven't a clue how we'd get the new car to a new town...but we'll worry about that later......and yes...we'll pay cash for whatever we get, so it has to stay in the IRS refund/stimulus price range. ::snort::

Thanks!

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Photobucket FULL DAY

Early in the a.m. I went to the gym with Jamin (17). I love spending time with my young men. He drove us there. He also drove us to base on Sunday, and to work today. I think he'll have his license by the end of the month.

I got home and raced into the shower. Nolan and I ran for the local public school for his speech eval. It seems we have to do this to exit the program......they kept us waiting. Nolan cracked me up as he wore this shirt and smiled shyly at all the children who paraded by us.

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You can click here to order your own. ::snort:: Neither of us realized what he was wearing until it was to late. LOL

The therapist was late. They concluded the same as rehab. He has one sound left to master. However, they disagree on the correct plan of action. It appears that there is a window to learn this sound. The lady said she knew Nolan would be disappointed but she felt that he needed more therapy. She had tears in her eyes - I think she really cared. Or maybe I was being more aggressive than I planned. I am NOT the timid new homeschooling, young mom that I was 15 years ago. I asked exactly what they would do differently than rehab, and told her exactly what I would and wouldn't be pleased with. This therapist has over 20 years of experience. She said that she's only seen ONE child master the R sound on their own if they haven't gotten it by 3rd grade. Nolan is finishing up 3rd grade. I have an ARD appointment tomorrow, but I think I will opt for therapy at the local school in the upcoming year.

Josiah blessed my heart greatly today. He asked if he could take Stacia and Zander to the park. The rest of us were able to get a lot of school done while they were gone. I'm sure they made memories with their big brother. We're all glad to have him home more now that he isn't racing to college early each day. Stacia still hasn't stopped talking about the slide and swing.

I took Jared to the gym. I love spending time with my young men.

Mike got home. I love spending time with my old man. ::snort:: ::gasp::

Seriously, Mike and I took Nolan out on a date tonight. We spelled out all the speech options. He likes the idea of going to the local school once a week and working with a couple of others his age on his speech. We're relieved. I thought he'd be very let down. What an answer to prayer. Thanks Diane, our SHS speech therapist, for giving me your opinion. Thanks SHS moderators for praying with me as to how to approach it with Nolan. All is at peace.

Mike is reading the end of The Last Battle to the boys, I think. The house is quiet. Ah.....

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Photobucket Healing Promises Winners

Linda McDonald and Lauri (Burnin up the Ice) are winners of Healing Promises.

Note: Please be sure you leave some way for me to contact you when you enter giveaways. If you have an email address set on your profile, or a blog that displays - I can contact you.....if there is no way to contact you, I must draw another winner.

Thanks! I totally forgot about needing to draw a winner for these books until I saw them still sitting in the pile to mail. I went back and don't see that names were ever picked.

I promise to do this on Friday afternoons from now on. LOL

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Photobucket Tribute to Military Chaplains - My Savior Lives Military Style




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Photobucket Web Publishing

I started this post to simply announce my first "real" post at HSBA.

Schooling without a Schedule, my first monthly article/post about homeschooling a large family can be read at Homeschool Blog Awards (click title).

Web publishing has been a topic around our house and I suddenly reazlied that I've been WEB PUBLISHED. ::snort::

The Vision of His Fingerprints is posted on the PWOC website.

What's in a Title? is also on the PWOC website.

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Monday, May 26, 2008

Photobucket Summer is HERE!

Hmmm....what does that mean in our home?

It doesn't mean school is out. We will probably school a few more months. I did check out the syllabus for next year and printed a list of books I will keep an eye out for.

It doesn't mean it's going to get hot - it's BEEN hot!

It doesn't mean the girls are home. They consider WA to be their home now. We plan to meet them in the mountains of CO for a week this summer. OH - CO FRIENDS AND FAMILY - I am trying to remember to email you.

It DOES mean that we are dreaming of a home with a pool. We are fondly remembering the big above ground one we had in Hardin, MT. We ARE dreading hot, hot dog days.....but we hope to be able to take a few days here and there to go camping.

We won't be hiking much this summer...or tent camping...those are fall/winter activities down here. The snakes are out now....I can sense this. ::snort:: I need to keep looking for some countryish pool, sun, cactus graphics.

I love the change of seasons.....down here it isn't quite as marked as I'd like....but the calendar says to me - "Summer TIME!"

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Photobucket CAP Remembers our Fallen Heroes



Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
They were on the news tonight. I'd send a link but I can't find one. LOL They looked great. Jared was interviewed and looked at ease in front of the camera.
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