OH...MY....GOODNESS!!! It has been so HECTIC around here! We have been busy not only with school, but we have had a bacherlorette party, a rehearsal and dinner, and a wedding to get through these past 2 weeks. And let me tell you.......IT WAS AWESOME!!!! We have had such a wonderful time of fellowship with friends and family we have not seen in quite awhile.
I will post more about our happenings and some pictures from the wedding as soon as I get them uploaded.
If you like contests as much as I do, go on over and visit MontanaMama. She is giving away something that would help pass time during the loooooong winter months to come. She has chosen something that is near and dear to her heart, Created to be His Helpmeet and the companion Journal. You better check it out quickly. Her contest ends September 21, 2007 at 6am.
MOM
You gave me the best present ever, Mom...the gift of life, and I will never forget all of the unconditional LOVE you have given me. All the good times you and I shared. The times that you were my shield, my comfort and my friend, will always be remembered. You already know that I LOVE YOU with all of my heart and I will never forget you, because the day you left me, you took a big piece of my heart with you. Until we see each other again in heaven, I will keep the memories, all the kisses, and all of the warm hugs in my heart. I will love you……….ALWAYS AND FOREVER.
Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era. The homesteading way of life has always fascinated me and I have always wished I could have lived back in that time. My family thinks I am a little crazy though because I am trying to live like that now. It is not only because I enjoy making my own laundry detergent, hanging out the clothes, and cooking a weeks worth of meat at one time out on the fire to save using the electric, etc that I do these things, it is out of necessity. Going back to being a one-income family is not an easy task.
When Skippy and I decided to homeschool Kiddo, I resigned from my Sign Language Interpreter/Special Education Teaching Assistant position after 11 years. It has been a big adjustment for ALL of us, but it has been an extremely rewarding experience. Not only that I get to be home with Steven, but I am also getting to spend more time with our girls as well. That is something I did not 
Monday: Pigs in a blanket, brown sugar baked beans,
and chocolate chip cookies for dessert
Tuesday: Spaghetti with sausage and homemade tomato sauce, salad,
and foccacia bread
Wednesday: Grilled fish, rice, zucchini w/bread crumbs & lemon pepper,
chocolate velvet cake for dessert
Thursday: Breaded pork chops, homemade mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots,
chocolate velvet cake for dessert
Friday: Sausage & peppers over rice (yummm..........one of my favorites)
Over the summer, David, Steven, and I had the awesome privilege of attending our local Little League's girls T-ball team (5 & 6 year olds) play a softball game. David had been the league president for 6 years prior to this and was given tickets to attend this event. This was not your ordinary T-ball game played on your ordinary softball field. This was T-ball game was played on the South Lawn of The White House with President George W. Bush.
Luray was picked from a random drawing done by Little League International. What an honor for these girls and their coaches to be selected! The families and board members were also invited.
When we arrived, we were all given a tour of The White House, then lead out to the South Lawn where the games would be played. We were shown which bleachers our team's cheering section were to sit, where we could then choose our own seats. As we were walking up the stairs, we noticed two RESERVED tickets on the end of the row. One said Michelle Griffith (she is the softball Commissioner) and the other said The PRESIDENT. "David.....look who will be sitting right there! Quick, grab that bench!" We sat in the next row back so we could get a good shot 
, I mean a better look at him.
After President Bush made his announcements, the Jonas Brothers sang the National Anthem, which was followed by the first pitch. The temperature that day was a STIFFLING 98F in the shade with a bad storm quickly approaching. The President and Ms. Griffith then took their seats in the bleachers. After everyone was seated, we let Steven go sit on the steps like we always do at the games. He hates being confined. Well, Steven was sitting there for a few minutes watching the game when President Bush reached over and touched him on the shoulder. He started talking to him and asking him questions. David and I said...."Oh no! He is going to start talking about SpongeBob and video games!" To our amazement, he didn't. Guess what he DID talk to him about? He said, "My mom is going to homeschool me! I can't wait!" President Bush said...."Your mom is doing what she thinks is best for you!" He then asked Steven if he wanted to take a picture with him? He said...."I need to ask my mom first." He then looked over to me and shouted..."Is it okay if I take a picture with him?" I smiled and nodded my head. "Okay, thanks!", yelled Steven, and then he gave us a 
. He went over to the President and I swear, that child looked like he was going to sit right down on top of his lap. He almost did but then turned and decided to kneel down right beside him where the President then put his hand on Steven's shoulder. Steven looked up at him and they both started to smile.
~WHAT A KODAK MOMENT!!~
Even though it was extremely hot that day, EVERYONE that went that said they had a WONDERFUL time.
Thank you President Bush and Little League International for giving all of us this awesome opportunity.
Name: Laura
Birth Date: February 7
Age: 18-24 25-29 30-49 50-69 70+
Marital Status: Married and LOVIN' IT!
Anniversary: November 23, 1986
Husband’s Name: Skippy
The most influential person in my life has been: My mother - I miss you, Mom!!!
I like to spend my free time: Being with my kids, reading, spending extra time with my chickens, gardening
These prayer requests are dear to my heart:
Ongoing Needs: My family's health and spiritual well-being
Immediate Needs: To financially be able to continue to stay home
Family/Friends in Need of Salvation: My brother Richard, and my close friend, Sonya
Beverage: I have two....Sweet tea and Diet PepsiDessert: I know this must sound crazy, but it's Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch
Cartoon Character: Wile E. Coyote....who else!
Magazine: Mary Jane's Farm
Book: My Bible, The Left Behind Series
Author: Beverley Lewis/Wanda Brunstetter
Interest/Hobby: Asperger's Syndrome, gardening, quilting,learning html and graphic design so I can design my own blog and eBay templates
Bible Verse: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future!" Jeremiah 29:11
Good morning on this glorious day!
the birds are chirping....
coffee is brewing....
and the cows across the field are moooooooing. What a wonderful way to start the day!
We decided to do things a little differently this week. I thought we would do some HOME schooling as well as home SCHOOLING. Skippy and I felt that Kiddo should start taking on a little more responsibility and a little more helping around the house. He already helps with putting away the silverware, feeding the animals, cleaning his room, vacuuming the family room, and a few other chores. We want him to learn and develop more life skills for later on.Kiddo is learning how to cook and he is doing a FANTASTIC job. He made scrambled eggs for breakfast and it was DELICIOUS! Then I showed him how to unload and load the dishwasher correctly, NOT the way he thinks it should be done. Boy, is he a quick study!!!
We then worked on some of his regular subjects before we headed off to do something FUN with my sister and her kids. After that, we did a quick run to the grocery store to pick up meds and a couple of things before we went home and had a dinner of leftovers. I love having leftovers as it makes dinner fast and clean up a lot quicker.
Homeschooling has been a remarkable and exciting journey for us. I can't wait to see what unfolds next year!
We just found out today that my 5 year old niece, Boog, has strep throat. Between hitting the yard sales and Erik's birthday, we have been around her quite a lot the past 3 days. Please pray that she recovers quickly and that the rest of us don't get it.
Thank you!
WE LOVE YOU, ERIK!
Aunt Laura, Uncle Skippy, Goose, Bean, Kiddo, Paws, Bailey, Baby, Mouse, Hope, Rascal, Simba, Emma, and Kitty
Here are some pictures from Nemo's birthday party today.
And a GREAT TIME was had by all!
I was random blogging when I came across one that made me remember something Steven had said to me not to long ago. We had just gone to pick up one of my daughters from work and she had not come out yet. While Steven and I were waiting in the car, I decided to call my close friend Sonya. She is 44 and I am 42. We talked about her move and then how so many things have changed since when we were growing up and, where we were now at this stage in our lives. I looked over at Steven playing his Gameboy and said to her, "I wonder what Steven will be like when he is our age?" Well, without looking up or missing a beat, but with a HUGE smile on has face he said................... "I WILL BE OLD!"
Kids...........you gotta love 'em!
You hear me talk about Kiddo a lot because he is the one that I am hmeschooling. However, Skippy and I have two other children and I would like to tell you a little bit about them:
Bean is our beautiful, loving, fiery spirited, , I don't have my life figured out, rebellious daughter. She graduated in '06. She just turned 19 in July. Working as a tour guide for the caverns here for about a year was interesting for her and she liked meeting people from all over the world. However, the walking 8-10 miles a day was wearing a little thin. After that, Bean moved out for a few months to NC. I thought I would die. It broke my heart and I cried for about a week. Two months later she came back and is home now where she belongs, safe and sound......PRAISE THE LORD!!!! After the caverns, Bean worked at Wal-Mart for awhile. She left there, and is now contemplating whether or not she wants to be an Interior Designer, Chef, or......hmmmmm, I'm not sure. One thing I do know is that whatever she decides to do, she will do it well.
I often wonder about what kind of lives they will lead as adults, but I am content in the fact that I know I do not have to worry, for GOD IS IN CONTROL!!!!!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......today was a good day. MUCH BETTER than Monday and Tuesday had been. Kiddo woke up before me, ate breakfast, then sat down at the computer and started doing his lessons on his own. WAY TO GO, KIDDO!!! He did not like the fact that he lost his game privileges both days because of his refusal to do his assignments. He said that I was the one who was being unfair by making him have to do school work.......BAD MOMMY!!!
No one comes between me and my coffee!!!!!
Can anyone help me? I want to change my blog template to a beautiful one I found, but I can't get it to work. Is there something special I need to put into the template code? Any assistance you could give would be greatly appreciated.
Blessings~
Laura
We all woke up this morning in great spirits, looking forward to a having a great teaching day. I wanted S to finish up the rest of his history lesson and then move onto doing some research and index cards for his Explorers report he has coming due. So after breakfast and a little bit of free time while I threw in a load of laundry, S sat down to start his school day.
On our way home from Florida on Wednesday, we decided to stop in Atlanta, Georgia and visit with my sister B and my niece, M. We stayed with them until Friday afternoon. B is a second year cadet in The Salvation Army School for Officers Training in Atlanta. She will be commissioned as an officer in June 2008 and will graduate with the rank of Captain. B dedicated her life to Christ when she was 8, and to become as minister for the Army has been a life-long-dreams of hers. We are so PROUD of her and can't wait to see where she will be stationed. We are praying it will be in VA, but M feels that they will be sent to Florida. I hope WE are right. That would be sooooooooooooo AWESOME!!!! :>)
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Monday morning, B & P were up 5:00 and at the hospital b 6:00 a.m. DH and his brother S, were there by 8:00. They got there just before they brought him to surgery. P and I waited in the waiting room until about 12:00, when the Dr. came in. He was smiling from ear to ear. He said everything went very well, and he was extremely pleased. B was in recovery and we should be able to see him around 2:00. PRAISE THE LORD!!!By 3:00, B was in a room. He was hoarse and in pain, but was in good spirits. He slept on and off for awhile, waking up to get a drink of water. P, his wife, was by his bedside just doting on him. It was so sweet to watch! We left the hospital about 6:00 to go have dinner and then went back. They had decided to give him solid foods to B's delight. He had not eaten for 4 days. When we returned, he had eaten and looked a whole lot better and had some color to his face. B said he was feeling good! So, about 8:00, DH and I took S back to the hotel to swim for about a half hour before it closed, but S said the water was too cold, so we went back to the room to play video games. He LOVED that!Tuesday morning, P was up bright and early and was at the hospital by 8:00. We overslept and didn't get there until 12:00. When we arrived, B was in a lot of pain and he had been extremely nauseous all night and all morning. He was not able to eat anything accept jello. After while, P said that he looked funny and went and felt his head. She said he is burning up, so I went and got the nurse and they checked his temperature. It was 103*F. They immediately called the Dr. He said he was not worried at this point, that this was somewhat normal, but that they would keep a very close eye on him because of his medical history. They also want to make sure he drinks LOTS and LOTS of water so he does not get dehydrated.Skippy, Kiddo, and I are back at the hotel right now. B wanted to sleep, so P asked if we would go do something fun, so we came back to go swimming. Unfortunately, it started to rain so we are just relaxing right now watching tv, playing video games, and blogging, waiting for it to pass! I will update when we find out more information on B. He was supposed to go home tomorrow, but on that, we will have to wait and see.**********************************************************************
Wednesday morning, we woke up late. I hate those hotel curtains......they keep the room so dark you think it's really early......... BUT IT'S NOT! :>0 We arrived at the hospital about 12:30, where we then spent the next 45 minutes driving in circles in the parking garage looking for a place to park. When we arrived at B's room, he was sitting up in bed looking much better than he did when we left him the evening before. His color was better, he was eating some, his fever was gone, and he was generally just feeling better! This was wonderful to see. OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!!!!! Since B was doing well, we decided to get S home. Schooling has proven to be somewhat difficult while here under the circumstances, but we have had a chance to do some work. We even did the M&M experiment using probability, estimation, averaging, etc. Dad, Uncle Sam, and grandma had NO trouble helping him with this project! :>) (yummmmm!) Well, with things quiet and S getting ready for bed, I will take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who had kept B and his family in their thoughts and prayers. He was extremely touched by all the people that were praying for him. Please keep B and his family in your prayers as he will be undergoing a kidney transplant once he has regained his health. Also, please pray for my DH. He has volunteered himself as a possible donor for his dad's transplant. He is praying that God give will give him the wisdom and guidance to make the right decision.Thank you again!
Blessings~
Laura
I read this recently on OldPathsMom's blog and I just had to share it with you. All of the links you will find will take you to the website A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling where it contains an article(s) on that particular issue.
On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can you homeschool legally?"
On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE, what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "They'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?"
On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "What about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation, they'll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they're missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?"
On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied: "They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have graduation, we don't like the prom, we do it cuz we like it, they are missing nothing, we'll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!, We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized, AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!
On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me, "How can I get started, why didn't you tell me, where do I buy curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE'RE STRANGE? I think we can do this, if you will help us, we'll join a sports team, and we'll homeschool legally."
I started this blog for quite a few reasons and I PROMISED myself that I would write something down EVERYDAY. It didn't matter whether two lines or fifty. Whether it be talking about my relationship with God, about the different aspects of our first year homeschooling, (which I am COMPLETELY enjoying by the way, and so glad that we did) the kids, my feelings, my DH, my need for coffee and chocolate, just venting, getting great science experiments from others, etc. (breathe, L)
Well, I am not going to make that same promise again knowing that I will not be able to keep it, but I will promise to make the best effort I can to keep this updated.
We have been in school now for three weeks and we are just LOVING IT!The contest is over and we are waiting for the winner's name to be announced. You can check to see who won by going to:
http://hskubes.blogspot.com/2007/09/fall-back-into-homeschool-giveaway.html to enter the drawing.They gave away the following items:
A set of colored pencils
A set of drawing pencils with erasers
A personal size pencil sharpener
A spiral sketch book
A set of pretty notecards
A homeschool bumper sticker
A years subscription to Birds and Blooms magazine
Today was a laid-back kind of day for us. Not a lot of work, just some reviewing. We also watched a video on Albert Einstein as we just did a section in science on him. Kiddo is not very much into watching anything unless it is VeggieTales, POKEMON or cartoon related so this proved to be a somewhat difficult task. However, I did throw in some popcorn and that seemed to ease it somewhat.
A good majority of Asperger's Syndrome (Autism) kids have a fixation of some sort. Kiddo's is on video games. He can repeat the dialogue and mimic every move on these games verbatim. How he can memorize things is just incredible to me, when half the time I can't even remember my own name!!! He definitely does NOT get that from me! One of his favorite games is Guitar Hero. I really like it too....It is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cool!
Kiddo was not feeling well today. It started out with a sore throat 2 days ago, then came the fever, now a runny nose and an earache as well. Poor guy! (this is where the laid-back part came in) It actually worked out well for him not to feel well today because a teacher friend of mine just started back to school and her daughter got sick as well. Soooooo they spent the day together. Which, by the way, worked out great because all he wanted was to have a friend over anyway!
HURRAY!!!! Another week of school under our belt and it is going so well. On our trip to the library on Wednesday, we found out they have a homeschool reading group that meets once a week and so far there are only 3 kids involved. (Kiddo and my sister's 2) But as Kiddo said......"That just means that we get more of the M&M's the Librarian has!" (hey, do you think they would notice if a 6'1" blonde sat with the group? )
My Skippy Man and I feel that this is what God has called us to do and with his guidance, we CAN accomplish this awesome opportunity. What better learning environment for any child, than a "school" filled with a love for God, a love for learning, and love for each other!
For the past few weeks, I have been trying to get my house cleaned and in some kind of order. I wanted to have everything ready beforehand not only for school, but for a bridal shower my daughter was having for her best friend. I thought this would help so we all wouldn't feel so stressed. (With 3 kids, will that feeling ever go away?)
Well, with everything going on, I neglected to mow the lawn. We have 4 1/2 acres and it can take a few hours to finish which means missed calls. So today, I decided to take my cell phone with me. Guess what? Not one call the entire time. I did, however, stop for a moment to text D and ask him if he wanted to attend the evening service at our church.....www.rileyvillebaptistchurch.org I then put my phone back in my pocket and hung my glasses on my shirt like I always do. Well, somehow, my glasses wound up in the yard where I must have run them over and shot them into the woods because they are NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!! Between our cat Rascal and myself, I have lost (he has hidden) 6 pairs of glasses. -o-o-When Steven heard about my eyeglass mishap, he was happy. "If mom can't see, we can't start school tomorrow!" he said. Let me tell you, Wal-Mart has some nice, inexpensive reading glasses.
"SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION!"
Blessings~
Laura
Has anyone else had this problem? I JUST PAYED OFF MY CAR LOAN AND NOW MY CAR IS FALLING APART! This is not the first time this has happened. I think the car dealer and the bank are in it together. They probably have a button under the desk and when they get that FINAL payment......THEY PUSH IT! ha ha ha
YEAH.......WAHOO.......WE DID IT! I know it was only the first week, but I am THRILLED that it went as well as it did, seeing as we had NO CLUE really what we were doing. We did have a couple of snags, but nothing that we couldn't work through. The biggest thing is trying to get S to realize that when I tell him what his assignment is, just because you say "No thank you, I don't want to work!", doesn't mean that you don't have to! 
I wonder where he got that from......hmmmmmm?
S had 3 quizes his first week: one in History - 99%, one in Math - 100%, and one in Science - 100%. WAY TO GO, STEVEN!!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!! Keep up the good work!
I have truly enjoyed this past week being home with Steven. We have had the opportunity to talk about many things and learn some new things about each other. I know in my heart, without a shadow of a doubt, that my DH and I made the right decision to homeschool Steven. What a JOY and a BLESSING he truly is!
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From the book Prayers for Homeschool Moms by Michele Howe:
Dear Lord, I must come before you in the deepest gratitude for I finally understand that you are the sole provider of my strength. Any confidence that I might possess stems directly from you. Thank you for graciously giving me the courage I require to take this momentous step. It is hard to enter into unknown territory. There are moments, many of them quite frankly, when I am paralyzed by a sudden fear that leaves me frozen. I'm not certain I'm up to this challenge of education my child. Yet, there is another part of me that recognizes that you equipped me to parent my family even in this new way. I believe that you are able to teach me as I begin instructing my child. Thank you for the knowledge you have given me. I would ask that you continue to guide our steps and that we would bring honor to your name in all that we do. This new phase of life will usher in joy I'm sure. I come to you, Father, rejoicing that as parents we have this option. Thank you for placing us here, at this time, when so many others are choosing this same road upon which to travel. Let me be humble enough to seek out the help I'll require. And encourage me to seek out assistance when need be. Restrain in me attitudes of pride and self-sufficiency that may hinder my abilities to best influence my family. I commit my loved ones once again into your faithful hands. Be with me, give me your good words of wisdom, and instruct me in the way I should go. Amen.
Boy.....I thought I had our first day of school all planned out. Getting up early, making a pot of coffee, pancakes and maple sausage for breakfast, and throwing in a load of laundry (with homemade laundry detergent) before Steven woke up at 7:00. Well, it stormed ALL NIGHT, keeping Steven awake. Everytime I tried to get him out of MY bed and back in HIS, the thunder would crack, scaring him half to death. Needless to say, when we FINALLY WOKE UP at 10:30....I just laughed.
OFF TO SCHOOL WE GO........My DH and I are using the Alpha Omega Switched-On Schoolhouse 8th grade CD-ROM Curriculum. Steven has poor fine motor skills which make writing difficult for him. He is a whiz on video games and the computer, so this just seemed the most appropriate way for us to go. Our school day went something like this........ He reviewed transposing written words in to numerals, and numerals to written words. He finished 2 lessons very quickly.During the day while we were doing our school work, our youngest daughter, Sarah, was busy preparing us a DELICIOUS, homemade dinner of pork BBQ, cole slaw, and peanut butter brownies. Both her and her sister, Amanda, love to cook. YEAH! They are both chefs in the making!
After dinner, the storm had passed and we were ready to start Science. However, Steven had another agenda........SLEEP! He was sound asleep on the family room couch. AWWWW! What an angel!
TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY!!!
