Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Margaret Chase Smith

I don't have lots of bloggy time tonight.....just home from a fun PWOC. Tonight I'll simply answer my question of yesterday. ::snort::

Margaret Chase Smith (December 14, 1897–May 29, 1995) was a Republican Senator from Maine, and one of the most successful politicians in Maine history. She was the first woman to be elected to both the U.S. House and the Senate, and the first woman from Maine to serve in either. She was also the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for the U.S. Presidency at a major party's convention (1964 Republican Convention, won by Barry Goldwater). She was a moderate Republican, included with those called Rockefeller Republicans. When she left office, Smith had the record as the longest-serving female senator in United States history.

Many are telling me this has been on television lately. I wouldn't know. ::snort:: I first discovered this interesting fact while the littles and I explored the election process. Here's a quick homeschool or life tip...visit your local children's library. The non-fiction picture books for youngsters are often quick to read, full of easy to grasp facts and colorful (I like color). ::snort:: The older students and I will often grab a biography or an adult non-fiction to further explore a topic after our attention has been grabbed by a children's book. I enjoyed this book on the right. Click the book cover for more info.
I'd like to read more about Margaret. I found her early life to be fascinating. I am currently looking for Politics of Conscience: A Biography of Margaret Chase Smith....but I don't want to spend $30. I want to find it at our library, unfortunately our library has NO adult biographies on Mrs. Smith...another great reason to check out the youth biographies...they tend to have a wider selection. I guess adults read only romance and westerns??? ::snort::
There you go - a worthwhile and educational post - they aren't all about picking noses and such.

©2008 D.R.G.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Photobucket Monday - huh! Imagine that - another Monday....

Let's see.....I didn't make it to the gym because with Jared gone there is one less adult to help juggle schedules with littles. I'll go tomorrow.

I did get a lot of WORD STUDIES finished this a.m. - BEWARE THE WORD STUDIES (just a warning for my PWOC ladies). ::snort::

Nolan had speech. I continue to closely observe the various classes that come into the library during this time. Today the librarian told her second class that you have to be a "legal citizen and 21" to vote....I wonder if I should tell her that isn't quite right....I also wonder if I should tell her that Hillary Clinton was NOT the first female to attempt to win a major parties nomination???? Any of you care to guess who was the first female to run for her party's nomination? She obviously didn't make it - and it was decades ago.

We zipped through some more school...studying Islam this week...and voting. We had a good look-see at an absentee ballot today from the state of Alaska.

AH - the big news is that the new AK plates for the Toyota have arrived. I'm excited. I think folks like AK drivers better around here...or maybe I'm a bit zippier in the Corolla - but I'll be happy to have my AK plates. LOL

I spent a LOT of time getting 3 weeks of produce co-op and one month's organic co-op finances ready to deposit...only to discover the bank closes at 4:00 p.m. LOL

Nothing exciting...but it WAS rewarding....and I miss Jared. I can't find any photos yet on the website....

©2008 D.R.G.
Moms of Many Exercise Challenge Weekly Fitness Goals (click button for more info)

Here's my Moms of Many Exercise Challenge update.

EXERCISE -

Monday - 60 min AMT (670 cal), 8 min on bike (35 cal) - total 68 minutes - 705 cal
Tuesday - 65 min AMT (745), 9 min bike (39 cal) - total 74 minutes - 784 cal
Thursday - 25 min ellip (245 cal), 40 min AMT (445 cal) - total 65 minutes - 690 calories
Friday - 20 min famil walk - 100 cal
Saturday - 20 min AMT (250 cal); 40 min bike (205 cal) - total 60 minutes - 455 calories

Weekly Totals -287 minutes/2734 calories

Weight -


For more entries click here.

©2008 D.R.G.
PhotobucketA Couple of Things....

I have felt a strong call to prayer for our nation and all the candidates running for various offices in November. It has been such a strong call that I'm quite sure I'm not alone....however....I thought this a.m. I'd mention it....remember, the Bible calls us to pray for our leaders and for those in authority over us. Pray as you are led. I know that I've been led to pray for safety of all our Presidential candidates, among other things.

If you have hotmail and have not received emails you are expecting from me - I'm clueless! Hotmail is returning all emails I send out as undeliverable. If anyone cares to share how I could fix the problem on my end - I would.

©2008 D.R.G.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Photobucket Thank You!

Though I don't blog for awards (it's all about relationships), awards are fun to receive. It's doubly fun when the awards arrive from readers with cute graphics. ::snort::

Kristine at Mama Archer's Blog - gave me this award. I've not been able track down much about this one...but I know she gave it to her top 5 commenters. I can't get THAT widget to work on my blog...but I like the idea. Your comments are such a vital part of blogging and so I'll follow Kristine's lead and mention those who comment quite a lot. Hmmm....it appears that many who comment frequently are also owners of blogs I love.... ::snort:: SOoooooo...
Yvonne and Becca sent this affirmation along. Don't you love the graphic? I would think I could list 10 -15 blogs here.
Here are my picks:
Seriously, if I comment on your blog with any regularity (like once a week or every other week), you can assume I love your blog...Feel free to grab the logo. ::snort:: Should I list your names? You KNOW who you are! I DO love your blogs.
I KNOW that this will probably go through the SHS group, so I'm going to try to pick some blogs that aren't SHS to make it easier for my SHS friends to pick their awardees. LOL
Michelle from Dei Gratia inspires me with her honesty about her family's adoption adventures. Michelle has been a military spouse mentor for me, as well as a homeschool inspiration.
Kristine - Mama Archer - often has thought provoking posts...and she's newly moved to the land of our heart! LOL
Amy from The Word from the Herd - is one of the very first of my blog readers to find me in REAL LIFE and INTRODUCE herself...at SPEECH THERAPY. She thought she recognized me from somewhere. ::snort::

Melinda is a fellow PWOC enthusiast, military spouse and obsessive blogger. She blogs at There's No Place Like Home.
Heather has two blogs that I love....one is her photoblog and the other is Heather's Home....sneaky aren't I? Two for one. ::snort:: Heather, feel free to use the graphic wherever you'd like.
Linda of the MacDonald Clan has darling children and wonderful photos.
OK, I should stop and post or this will wait another week. I deliberately did NOT list SHS readers....but if you've not been tagged within a week come back and grab it under the first paragraph clause. LOL
And here are the rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate your favorite blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of those you’ve nominated

©2008 D.R.G.
Jared or The Power of a Vision
This post will brag on Jared. He's gone at World View Academy for a week and will not see it for a bit of time. Therefore, he won't be embarassed.

I overheard a conversation today at chapel.
To Arielle, "You'll be a teenager soon."

Mike replied, "Not in OUR HOME!"

At which point I jumped in to save the day and clear up confusion as to what we were planning for poor Arielle's future. I explained that in our home we have "young adults" and not "teenagers". I realize many feel that this is simply a matter of semantics (like using the term kid/child). It is more for us. By consciously calling our 13-19 year olds "young adults" we keep before us our goal to raise YOUNG ADULTS....and we remind ourselves that they should be taking on more adult freedoms along with their extra responsibities.
By voicing to our children that we "don't have teenagers in our home", we communicate with them our vision of what they will act like, who they are maturing into, who they are IN THIS VERY SEASON....They are YOUNG ADULTS. Visions/expectations are powerful. My expectations will influence my communications and responses with my young adults. My children and young adults will live up to my communicated expectations for them. Do not be deceived.....verbally or non-verbally your vision/expectations are communicated.

What does this have to do with Jared? Jared was the typical 11-13 yo. However, at about 13 he really began to mature...to grow into the leadership potential we had seen, to stop wanting the privileges of adulthood without the responsibilities, to begin taking the initiative to lead and help at home and elsewhere. It's been fun to watch.

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We'll miss Jared this week while he is at camp. We are praying he has a safe, fun, beneficial time at World View.

Yesterday he sucessfully tested for Master Sgt. in the Civil Air Patrol.

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Last weekend the local CAP went to Midland to help out with an air show. Jared was allowed to lead one of the "flights". This was a big step in leadership for him.

I love this time of transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Yes, there are a few rough months along the way. We TELL our children that we are on their side, that they will most likely have to learn to deal with raging hormones and that we'll love them through it all. LOL It seems that girls deal with hormones by becoming "a bit" moody and must learn to deal with emotions in a godly way. Our young men have all gone through a time where they seemed to become aggressive and have anger surges....which I chalk up to hormones....and they've had to learn how to deal with this in a godly fashion....but honestly.....these years are wonderful years.....

People used to tell me, "Just wait unitl they are all teens - you'll regret having so many." That's been proven false in our home. We've had up to four young adults in our home at a time. They've all been huge blessings as they matured. If you are looking for some encouragement on raising young adults, I recommend reading this free article, Myth of the Teenager, and "Age of Opportunity" by Paul David Tripp. Of course, I probably don't agree with all the thoughts shared in either...but the Myth of the Teenager, helped to set our vision for the "teen years" when Bre was just 8 years old.
Today, a tribute to the youngest adult in our family. You make us proud, you make our family life much easier by sharing our family vision, by embracing our vision for this season of your life.
For more Super Size Saturday entries click here.

©2008 D.R.G.
Photobucket Misc Glimpses....

A few photos of things I "meant" to blog about but haven't gotten around too...all from last week....

NOTHING says "new year" as well as a new box of crayonsPhotobucket

I purchased berries from a farm in OR.....YES....yummy blueberries...I would have purchased more but I don't have room in the freezer. I got a box of blueberries, boysenberries and strawberries. I highly recomend Bithell Farms from Boring, OR.
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Stacia smiled and said, "I'm such a GOOD Mommy - like you, Mom!" Ahhh.....
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Jousting - school time
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I haven't a clue - some plan of Mikes.....
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May as well go with it.
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©2008 D.R.G.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Photobucket Is it Friday????

PAC meeting today.

Gym.

Table School.

House of Faith.

Piano Lessons.

Civil Air Patrol.

Final Prep to mail The Leper King to Operation First Novel.

©2008 D.R.G.
Photobucket Operation First Novel

Jamin has kept quite an ambitious writing schedule the past 6 months. He has written every night after work until midnight or 2 a.m. He's gotten up early and worked on editing etc. He's done this while keeping up with his other school assignments.

It all comes down to this: his novel is on it's way to Operation First Novel. Jamin would, of course, love to win or place as a finalist. We'd love that for him. Jamin has paid for his membership in Christian Writer's Guild, for he and Mike to attend Writing for the Soul conference last Feb, and has recently paid for college credits he is taking through Taylor University. I'd love for this little novel to make him some $$$$.

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The Leper King, Cover letter, backup and SASpostcard
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I decided that Jamin should have the fun of actually mailing the novel, so we stopped on our way home from dropping Jared off at Civil Air Patrol.

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It's Off...now we WAIT and PRAY a bit longer.
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©2008 D.R.G.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Photobucket Besides School?????

Monday - Mom's Night Out. Deja had a panel in to discuss how to live on a budget, or live cheaply....something of the sort. I found it fun and interesting. I loved that the ladies on the panel were not ladies that I've heard a lot from in the past. I'm excited that next month one of our "homeschool warhorses" is going to share how her son started a business at 11 and hired his 8 year old brother....how the "teen" years can be far more than we "expect". I think it will be a cool night...but it's a month away.

Tuesday - PWOC. We finished up our study on Kinsman Redeemer. Our growth is holding steady and it's a fun group.

Wednesday - Our field trip (see below). Mike and the kids bought me a MP3 player on Mother's Day.....which I received this week. I'm now trying to figure out how to get music and lectures transferred to it.

That's about it......I'm operating at about 60-75% normal energy level. I think I'll sleep the next afternoon I can snatch and see if that will help. ::snort:: I've begun to wonder if I have mono.
©2008 D.R.G.
Photobucket STOP THE PRESSES....SENATOR GOING TO DC TO WORK?

I had thought we were finding our stride. Unfortunately, I believe our stride this year is going to resemble an attempt to sprint through sludge and quick sand. ::snort:: This
may have something to do with the bug I'm fighting.....who knows? Maybe I'll be full of energy in a week or so.

Today, Arielle, Nolan and I headed over to our local Newspaper office. Our homeschool support group had hoped to have enough children for one tour group. We ended up with enough children for four groups. LOL Here are a few shots. I was totally AMAZED at how this field trip has changed from the "ole days" when *I* was in elementary school. No type setting (and really looking at a room of computers is a bit boring), one small room to contain old articles and photos as most are now archived on (again) the big computers, not a lot of reporters running in an out (beause news feeds and computers mean we need fewer real reporters)....but some things never change. The printing room is still impressive. ::snort::

I had a fun discussion with another mom (hi, Yvonne), on one of my more passionate homeschool topics - old fashioned homeschooling. Poor Yvonne has READ my thoughts and wanted to hear MORE. ::snort:: I met a homeschool dad from the early 80's and it was fun to remember.....how far the movement has come!

Anyway - a few photos:

Explaining how to find old photos
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Testing their hands at "throwing papers"
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Big rolls of newsprint
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The Printing Press
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This was REALLY interesting...a pallet of papers in prep for Sunday...
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Arielle finally got to be FIRST to read the Sunday Comics
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We found it interesting to see pallets with sales flyers for the next 3 weeks.... (Keep your eye on JC Penneys).
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We headed home and worked on some history. I fell asleep. I'm simply no good in the afternoon. I need to do the read alouds EARLY and save hands on activities for the afternoon.
Arielle did story hour with the little ones.
We continued our discussion of the process of electing a President. (Deja, we need to talk.)
I cut out several more booklets to speed up the process for Zander. He's interested in his knight and voting books...but he has a limited amount of time each day that his hiney can be in contact with a chair....so I figure I can help by doing much of the cutting.
I listened to Sean Hannity while I cut...and heard that Sen. McCain is going back to DC to ....WORK....go figure. ::snort:: OK....this does interest us as we are studying "campaigns" and um....is he really abdicating the campaign....for how long? A weekend? A week? A month? Will this cause him to gain or loose momentum? Will they turn my gal Sarah loose on the trail? All questions of grand interest for those of us doing a unit study on elections. Have I mentioned the LAST TIME our family did a unit study on elections was 2000? You know - the year we didn't know the results for several weeks and I had told the kids they could stay up until the President was announced. ::snort:: I wonder if we've jinxed this orderly election cycle by determining it was time to do another unit study on elections?
Hmmm...we were all prepared to watch a debate on Friday - appealed to those studying elections AND to those studying formal debate.....I wonder.....Seriously, I need to go do some online news reading as I can't imagine what it means that Sen McCain is "suspending his campaign"....I mean really.....how long? Until the economy is "fixed"? I'm intriqued.

©2008 D.R.G.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Photobucket ADVENT INDUCTIVE STUDY

Ladies - forgive the random posts, my life is rather random on Tuesdays. ::snort::

I will have 3 weeks between the end of our next PWOC study and our Christmas break. I'm wondering....has anyone ever done the Advent Inductive Study that many of us use at home each year, in a group setting? Could it be done in 3 weeks? It would be a GREAT way to mentor Moms in how to teach the meaning of Advent to their children....and I think it would have enough meat for our childless women to enjoy it too....though I KNOW it's written for families....its an idea I had.

Has anyone ever done this? Or are you aware of another Advent/Christmas study that may work? Last time we had a break like this I ended up writing a study on Judges....I'm thinking waay ahead this time to avoid writing a study during that busy time of the year. LOL

UPDATE: Oops, I should have included a link to the 2007 Advent Inductive Study (Click the title). This study has been updated yearly in the past.

©2008 D.R.G.