Another day....

I have felt like a slug today. I've felt totally unmotivated. I've felt like I'm living on an adrenalin rush. I've proven once again that I can't trust my feelings - except for that heart-racing, adrenalin-rush thing.
We have already finished over 1 week of school - in all subjects including TOG.
We've finished several Chinese projects. Today I printed out all the directions for our Ancient Greece and Rome Kit.
I sent out info for our United co-op. I revised and sent out a newbie letter to our new co-op members. I put an order in for a lady without computer access.
I've been missing Alaska...it's only 4 days until the dogs race through downtown Anchorage...the Iditarod. Christmas lights come down when the last dog reaches Nome. We couldn't keep that tradition down here. ::snort:: I've been getting things ready for us to track the race.
Ah, the joys of having an older homeschooled brother - Jared made a Grecian sword and helmet for Zander.

He's Home....

Mike's home, and I'm on the computer because Zander came in with tears in his eyes and said, "We're waiting for Dad". LOL Mike reads to them each night as they go to sleep - and they've been waiting for his return. What a great Dad - he got up (and he's DEAD tired) and went to read to them.
We baked today.....


We finished our Dragon Puppets and decided to move on to Greek projects now. We'll come back and do the projects from Tibet and Indonesia later.  The kids want to do some fun projects from Greece. I'll be pulling that together tomorrow.


Mike DID get home tonight. I was at Bible Study. When I got home, he pulled his suitcase into the living room and the kids gathered around. He always has gifts (mostly from Mom this time - they were a hit, Mom). It was hilarious when Zander pulled the piano stool up for a front row viewing.

That's a wrap on this day....surely they'll be done reading soon. OH - Mike brought home "Kerplunk" by Patrick McManus. He says it's for our next camping trip, but I bet we read it sooner. He also brought news that the girls have two weeks off in August, and they are planning on meeting us in CO for camping. I'm not 100% sure that the girls are thrilled with this plan - but it will be fun to have them on a camping trip again. ::snort:: Something to look forward to: August is only 6 months away - I can live 6 months without seeing my babies.

The Perfect Homeschool Mom....

I woke up this a.m. determined to be the perfect homeschool mom. I needed to build some confidence as I'm saying a few words tonight at Mom's Night Out. If you read this before or between 7 - 9 p.m. TX time (what is that Eastern/Mountain time?), feel free to pray. Jamin says I need to FOCUS more....just what that means, I'm not sure. I plan to take a prop and focus on it. ::snort::
Anyway, I began the day with a work out. Stacia and Zander like to work out with me. As I was pulsing (lunging with my weights), STACIA dropped a weight on ZANDER'S tummy.
I went to make them a smoothie.  While I did that, the dynamic duo found a can of root beer in the depths of the pantry. I LET THEM DRINK IT! It WAS organic.
Then Zander decided to blow bubbles with his and make maps on the table - geography - who can pass that up?

As I was cleaning up soda....I heard a scream in the back yard....
What is an ARM doing in the dog kennel????
Ah - OK - a head too - it's only Nolan....STUCK FAST. He can't explain WHY he was in there - it seemed like a good thing to do. Another clear case of T-Poisoning.
Lower him GENTLY
Crawl out - he couldn't. I began to imagine Nolan having to drag the kennel along with him until Mike got back to town, while Jared helpfully offered to spray him down with water and someone else suggested Coconut Oil. We pried him out.
I remembered speech in the knick of time.
We made these Japanese dolls from our Hands and Heart Ancient Far East history kit.
We began work on dragon puppets.
We did finally start Greece. We got our reading done then Arielle and Nolan kept reading and reading...we're ahead.

Jamin is working 40 hours this week (Stock Show/Rodeo)...so he's not doing "school." Jared asked what he should do. I told him to come up with a list of things he'd like to do that he hadn't been able to do yet (they are several weeks ahead of us and are done with Greece). He came up with a great list, hands-on projects, books.....on GREECE.

I need to do something about dinner and get presentable - AND make it to MNO on time...better hop to it.

You Be the Judge!!!

Have I lived in TX too long as my sons mercilessly claim? I stopped on our way home from dinner last night (with friends) to take this photo. THEY say they are scrawny trees, no mountains blah blah blah.....
I say they are "respectable beauty" - So....have I been in TX too long?

BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Experiencing the Resurrection by Henry and Melvin Blackaby

I will usually offer a book giveaway when I review the book for a blog tour. However, I'm supposed to post the review of this one during the week of 17 March. I would think someone may appreciate having this book BEFORE Easter.

If you would like this brand new copy of Experiencing the Resurrection, leave a comment. Be sure your blog url or email address is included so that I can reach you.

We will randomly draw a winner on Wed. I can't tell you more about the book - I'll begin reading it in the next day or two.

Saturday - Tests, Swings and Other Such Things

I've obviously been writing book reviews. ::snort::

We cleaned the house this a.m.

Jared missed a CAP safety briefing a few weeks ago because Mike was out of town, and I had a dinner to attend. I needed him to watch the little ones. We tried every solution we could think of - and he was very understanding when none of them worked out. Because he missed that CAP meeting, he was not able to participate in today's stock show parade. We didn't realize that at the time. YEAH - the CAP took first place in the parade. Hurrah! The Sr. Leadership did allow him to come after the parade and do the PT tests. We ran up to base, and he did that. He passed them all and now has all the qualifications to promote to Senior Airman. You have to hit the dates just right for all the tests in order to promote - he was relieved to have passed the PT test, or he would have had to wait another month to promote. He's been waiting several weeks for a chance to take the PT tests.

While Jared tested, I took the younger ones to a swing set. I'd say "park,"  but we discovered we no longer have a public park on this base. They tore down the one and had made a nice new one, but it is behind a fence for the CDC's use. Maybe they aren't done building and the fence will come down in a few months. I had promised the youngers we'd play.  Thankfully, there is one play area that the After School program uses that isn't fenced so we swung on the swing set and made big tunnels in the sand. ::snort::

We grabbed lunch, went to the commissary, came home for dinner and movies, tucked kids into bed, studied for upcoming events this week, and now I'm waiting for the older boys to get home from work. They'll both be working long hours this week as this is the Stock Show and Rodeo week - they actually let kids out of school for this. Really.
I did get Mike's car home from the airport.

Sharing the Easter Faith with Children - Carolyn Brown

(pub by Abingdon Press - click photo for link)

Yes, I'm on a roll. This is another on my Ever-Changing 2008 Reading List.

Sharing the Easter Faith with Children is divided into 4 parts: Telling the Easter Story to Children, Keeping Lent and Easter with the Congregation and Family, Study Session for Parents, Teachers, and Worship Committees, and Easter Resources for Children and Their Adults.

This book is a treasure trove for ME - I think it may be for others, as well. I am excited about this book because it contains SERVICES for children - that can be used at home, in Sunday School, Children Worship or even at special celebrations. There are services for Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. These are services that I think would clearly communicate to CHILDREN. They are unique and fun from a Palm Sunday Parade (different stations and such) to several suggestions for a Tenebrae service. I plan to do several of these activities either at home or at the chapel.

The author began with explaining how Easter often is jumbled in a child's mind because parents aren't sure how to deal with topics such as betrayal, crucifixion, death and resurrection with their children. Many children hear the hoopla of Palm Sunday - and then Easter Sunday the excitement of Resurrection, but they know nothing of the Passion of Christ and are left wondering what all the excitement is about. This is just what I had been feeling was going on for our younger children.

A chart is presented that SHOWS which parts of the Easter story various ages can understand from Birth - 12. They idea is to share the Easter Season at each maturity level. For each age level, she suggests the heart of the Easter message for that age, the most significant Bible stories, themes and activities for that age, key Easter words to learn and meaningful activities for that age level. This will help parents who worry about over-exposing children to death at a young age. I found this chart to be helpful as I often tend to overwhelm our youngest two with info that our youth can understand. For instance at Stacia's age (18 - 36 months) the author suggests the heart of Easter would be "Jesus is Alive,"  most significant stories to focus on are Palm Sunday and Jesus is Alive, terms would be Easter, Hosanna, Alleluia, suggested activities are waving palm fronds, opening surprise eggs (Resurrection eggs), hearing Easter music and experiencing forgiveness. The authors' focus is in allowing our children to learn more each year - always keeping their age in mind as you share.

I'm also excited about the Devotional book that you can make for your children/students. Pages are included to copy along with items to purchase for the students to attach as the week goes by. We will do this at home and may do it at chapel too on Palm Sunday.
There are lessons to share with those who work with children - themes and suggestions on how to deal with difficult topics in a way that is age-appropriate.
There are also pages of book suggestions in the appendix. Some are from the early 90's, but I think most are available. I will take this list to the library with me next week.
At this point this is my favorite find.