A broken heart...

The past few days have been extremely difficult for me. My heart is overflowing with sadness as I remember the death of my parents.

Eight years ago yesterday my Mom died. Cancer destroyed her body, but Christ called her home on September 25, 2001 to deliver her from that pain.

One year ago tomorrow my Dad died. Alzheimer's disease destroyed his body, but Christ called him home on September 27, 2008 to deliver him from his loneliness and pain.

The 7 years that separated their deaths were difficult as we watched Dad get worse and worse. It is a relief knowing that they are once again reunited in Christ, but it's so hard to be the one left behind!! It's so hard knowing that I will never get to speak with them again on this earth. I will never get to pick up the phone and share my every day stuff with them...the things that most people take for granted!

I think I cried yesterday harder than the days that they died. I cried so much it hurt. I just felt such a loss, such loneliness and such abandonment. Besides my husband and children, I have no one. I have family, but I don't see or get to speak with them often. I have friends, but most of them don't understand what it's like to feel such a loss. I know I'm not alone...many people have lost loved ones...but for me this is obviously personal. It hurts!

Music soothes the soul, and I have been listening to a lot lately...maybe not the wisest thing since it does bring tears to my eyes, but I also find it comforting. Here's one of my favorites sung by Kim Hill..."You Alone"


In You alone is where I find my comfort. In You alone, You're my only hope
In You alone my heart has found a resting place. In You alone...In You alone

Amen!

Washington

If you have children in the early elementary grades (K-3), I highly recommend the book "Boys and Girls of Colonial Days".

From the book: "From the young pilgrims in Holland to youngsters at Mt. Vernon this reader will provide today's child with a better understanding of how the events and personalities of colonial America affected the lives of young people who lived during this time of history. Includes great stories about children encountering great Americans such as George Washington. Also includes stories of brave little American rebels who would not stand for British tyranny. Delightful reading for young families."

We have been studying all about early American history this year with the Teaching Character Through Literature series, put out by Beautiful Feet. We are truly enjoying this series as the books have been so enjoyable. Lately we've been learning quite a bit about George Washington and the early days of our country and how it was established...through this simple child's book. I not only love the book, but the illustrations are great as well...they're very sweet.

Today we read about how George Washington was a General, yet a servant. He never used his important role to benefit himself. He always put others first. One of the rules Pres. Washington always tried to live by: "Make sure you are doing what is right with God - then do it with all your strength." The Bible verse we learned during our lesson today says: "He that will be chief among you, let him be your servant." Matthew 20:27

One of my favorite portraits of George Washington was the one painted of him praying beside his horse while at Valley Forge. This may or may not have happened as it's portrayed, but I believe we can surely say that this was a great man of God who did take the time to pray for our country on his knees!

After our lesson, I had Sweet-Pea draw a picture of President Washington. So...without further ado...here he is....the 1st president of the United States of America...



Gotta love it! I think this version would look better on the dollar bill, don't you?

Lost in Austen

Sweet-Pea and I watched TV this morning while eating our breakfast. Lionel is away for the day at a quiz meet with church, so we are having a girl's day while watching Jane Austen. What movie did we watch?? None other than the great movie Becoming Jane....a movie all about Jane Austen! Sweet-Pea is almost as passionate about Austen and her books as I am. (I'm working on it. ha ha!)

I'm trying to find a great curriculum that incorporates the wonderful classic Jane Austen novels with school. If anyone knows of anything, please post a comment. I'd love to read through them all with Sweet-Pea and use them as a learning tool. I've got unit studies for three other great series of books....Little House on the Prairie, The Chronicles of Narnia and Anne of Green Gables. I think a Jane Austen one is in order, don't you!?!

If you're vaguely aware of any of these people and places, you just may be an Austen fan too.....

Pemberley, Mr. Darcy, Barton Cottage, Tom LeFroy, Mr. Bingley, Anne Elliot, Captain Wentworth, Mansfield Park, Elizabeth Bennett, Netherfield, Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Lady Bertram, Lady Dalrymple, Bath, Norland Park, Fanny, Sir John Middleton, James Morland, and Col. Brandon.

OK, time to go watch more Austen. If you're not sure what movies to watch, here is the list in order:

• Sense and Sensibility (1811)
• Pride and Prejudice (1813)
• Mansfield Park (1814)
• Emma (1815) 1996
  
• Northanger Abbey (1817)
  
• Persuasion (1817)
  

Once you've completed that list, watch these...

• Becoming Jane
• Miss Austen Regrets

There are many different versions of each movie. My favorites?

• Sense & Sensibility -1995 version is the best, but the new 2008 is also good, but some parts are a little different though. I personally like Emma Thompson as Elinor better.
  
• Persuasion - 2007
  
• Pride & Prejudice both 1995 and 2005 versions are great, but the 2005 is the best one.
  
• Mansfield Park - 1999 is the better version
  
• Northanger Abbey - 2007
  

Have fun getting lost in 'Austen'!

New England

New England is simply gorgeous in the fall. The leaves haven't quite turned colors yet, but they're just beginning to show a glimmer of what's to come. I LOVE fall...it's my favorite time of the year. Crackling fires, beautiful foliage, hot cocoa, pumpkin pie, walks in the woods, crisp cool air and an overall feeling of coziness!

Yesterday I went shopping and walked around town with a friend from college. We had a blast. The weather was perfect and it was the first time in a long time I could relax and not worry about the kids, school, the dog or anything else for that matter. I feel refreshed once again and am ready for fall to 'officially' arrive!

The drive to town...gotta love New England's tree lined roads!


A nearby farm...


Just a pretty house we passed on the way...


I can just picture the lamplighter coming by on a brisk evening in the 1700's to light this lamp, can't you?


Such pretty historical homes lined the streets in this town.


In the center of town was this beautiful church.




This was an old warehouse from the mid 1600's!! It was right on the water, but since then, the water hasn't been as high.


Here's the cove that the warehouse is on...


Pretty ducks were walking all over...


I think a trip back there is in order once the leaves turn to their brilliant red, orange and yellow colors. Usually early to mid October is the best time. God's creation is simply amazing...He is truly a master artist!!

Feelin' Fishy

What an incredible aquarium!!! If only we could experience and enjoy God's beautiful creation like this all the time!

(For optimum viewing: let it load fully and expand it to full size screen.)

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world -

"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth." Genesis 1:20-22

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A day we choose NOT to forget...

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." II Corinthians 12:9

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Motivation....

Can dogs smile??

I don't know if they really can, but this looks like a smile if you ask me! Cody has been such a happy 'doodle' these days. He's still pretty cheeky when it comes to sniffing around the dinner table (something we're working on), but he is such a people person and he LOVES to get attention!!



I just took this photo of him tonight. He was sitting on the floor of our school room and as I walked in the room to take a photo, he looked up and made this face as if to say 'cheese'....or rather 'treat'??

Gotta love dogs...they know how to make a person feel loved!

Everybody loves Ice Cream!

Saturday was a long day for us. We spent several hours going through all the moving boxes that the movers 'dumped' put in the basement. If you've ever moved, I'm sure you know the boxes I'm referring to...the ones you have no idea where to put because the labels aren't 'room-specific' so you can't take the chance by putting them in the garage where they'll get hot, and you can't put them in the attic, simply because there's not enough room...even if you could lift them high enough to get 'em up there!

After going through most of the boxes, we determined that we moved quite a few things we shouldn't have. We don't know why we even spent the time packing them up, but we did so now we have to deal with them!! Hind-sight is 20/20.

After our busy day, we decided that we needed a fun break, so we got in the car and drove to an ice cream parlor in a quaint little town nearby. This is what I call a 'kitschy' ice cream parlor...it's got all sorts of toys and games from the 60's-70's displayed, giving it a vintage feel. The kids enjoy going here for the ice cream. Edward and I enjoy going here to see all the old toys we used to play with when we were young. =) Ahh, the memories!



If you look closely, you can see the toys on display around the room, complete with train track!


Enjoying our ice cream!


MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!




Edward met a new friend, but his friend seems to be a little uptight. =)


Well, it was a nice break and we had a great time together, but it's back to reality now!! Back to more boxes, more junk and more backaches. Can you say ebay?!?

No more "ice mice"!!

No, I'm not talking about real mice...I'm talking about the hoards of kids that visit the rink during the summer months. School is back in session and the rink is once again empty!! Yahoo!

The other nice part...there are no more summer hockey camps to contend with. Can I get a 'woot-woot'?!? Not only was it chaos when we'd get to the rink with the boys running around, the entire surface of the ice was destroyed, making it nearly impossible for figure skating. The Zamboni cleaned up the ice a bit, but not nearly enough. I won't even mention the awful smells. Have you ever smelled 40 teenage boys after playing hockey??? 'Nuf said!!!

Here is Sweet-Pea on the ice with her wonderful coach, 'Miss J'!!! They have such a great relationship, and Sweet-Pea adores her. Take note...there's NO ONE else on the ice! She had the entire place to herself.


Working on her balance. According to Wii-Fit, she's got nearly perfect balance already. =)


Skating and stretching at the same time...silly girl.


Here she is working her way into a spin. (If you look closely enough, you can see Lionel hanging out in the bleachers).


While Sweet-Pea is on the ice, I'm usually standing at the end of the rink (with camera in hand, of course) watching her skate. I'm so proud of her and am very thankful that God has given her the talents and abilities she has. Pretty soon Lionel will be starting up his violin lessons again...one more reason to be proud!

Children are definitely a treasure from the Lord, and I'm learning more and more each day how we need to guide and direct them with love and encouragement. They are with us only a short time, and before you know it they grow up and are out on their own. I am NOT looking forward to that day. I love being a stay at home Mom. I love homeschooling them, and I love spending time with them. So many parents these days are anxious to send their children off to school every morning...not me! Seeing them learn, grow, mature and develop into what God wants them to be is something I do NOT want to miss!! I am blessed!!!!



(For the record...I did not come up with the phrase 'ice mice'...it's actually a phrase well known in the figure skating community.)

Fun Field Trips

Everyone loves a good field trip, especially homeschoolers! Since most public schools are in session and the summer crowds are dwindling, we decided that it was time to venture out and enjoy a few. Some trips we take on our own, others we take with the homeschool group we lead. Either way, they are so much fun and very educational.

The first field trip we took together as a family. We went to a local Fort that was built during the Revolutionary War, but was also used during the Civil War....pretty amazing!

The memorial flag court. Us Flag, Cross of St. George (Colonial period), Grand Union Flag (American Revolution), Fifteen stars and stripes (War of 1812), Thirty-six starts thirteen stripes (Civil War period).

Civil War Drawbridge - it allowed troops to enter and leave over the moat...it did not lift up, it rolled back.

The Moat


There were a couple silly looking statues near the flag court...I don't know WHAT the artist was thinking when he made them!! hee hee hee




K...A...B...O...O...M...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Entrance to the bomb proof shelters


Standing on the gun mounts, these three must be on the look-out for war ships!


Oh no, they're turning on each other!!! =)


Sweet-Pea enjoyed the beach next to the fort. It was about 97 degrees this day, so the breeze felt good.






On Wednesday we went on a field trip with our homeschool group to a nearby park. This park is run by the Army Corp Engineers which do regular testing in the area on the local lakes, brooks and ponds. They test for several things: E Coli, nitrates, phosphate, oxygen saturation, PH levels, temperature and turbidity. The scary part was that the lake right next to the park has been closed due to high toxic levels. The Ranger who led the field trip told us that she would never swim in it. Scary!

We learned a lot about testing water, and how to clean the toxins out of the water through filters, water tablets and boiling. Frankly I wouldn't drink the stuff if you paid me, but I guess if I were stranded in the wilderness, I'd boil some water to stay alive - as long as it boiled for a minimum of 15 minutes!!! We tested the samples right from the neighboring pond, and we found high levels of E Coli and other dangerous toxins. As you can imagine, all the moms pulled the antibacterial gel out of their bags and passed it around!! It was a lot of fun though and we learned quite a bit.

Yeah, it looks pretty, but it's filled with disease!!






I loved all these trees, stripped bare but simply gorgeous!




Waiting for our 'class' to start. Lionel is on the right in the yellow shirt towards the back...just behind Edward...in green.


'Edward' helping Sweet-Pea and her group. They tested the Oxygen levels.


These two cracked me up! They were testing for PH levels and they didn't want to be photographed...so secretive! =) Yup, that's Lionel on the right...but shhhh...you didn't hear that from me!


We're looking forward to many more field trips this year. The kids learn so much from these hands-on experiences, plus they are SO much fun! Homeschooling does have it's perks, that's for sure!!!