Want More Time To Your Day? LG DoublePlay

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LG DoublePlay™ for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I wish I had more time in my day. Between homeschooling, freelance writing gigs, and just plain cleaning the house every day - Anything that saves me time and allows me to stay connected to friends and clients is welcome. If I have no other contact with a human being over the age of elementary school every day, I consider my social networking sites a healthy outlet - Not to mention how often I have to log on just to share my work.

Imagine what it would be like to multi-task, like surfing the web while catching up on Facebook and emailing in a breeze. Some days just call for a text a minute (that's quite a few by the end of the day), and sometimes a phone call to a friend is just necessary therapy to propel me through the day.

I have run across something that I am very excited about. Have you heard of it? LG DoublePlay™ is a time-saver that allows all this, plus it has a dual touch screen and split QWERTY keyboard (yes, QWERTY is here to stay and easier than ever to use).

Here's what a typical day in my life looks like:  After I wake up early to get some writing done, if the weather is nice, we head off to the park and to run errands.  If not, there's other options.  However, I cannot tell you the number of times I have been at the park and wish I had my camera, or the ability to take photos and immediately share them with others while the rest of my "to-do" list flies through my head.

This LGDoublePlay allows you to take pictures with the built-in 5.0 megapixel camera.  Not only that, it has an LED flash and a 720p Video camera, which amazingly allows you to film your little darling learning to swing herself for the very first time, and quickly upload it to your social networking sites while multitasking other details of your life.  Fantastic!

You will be amazed at the time you save.

Do you stay connected with numerous text messages and Skype? Now, you can enjoy these communication tools while enjoying Cloud Text and Group Text, which allow you to upload from a PC or tablet, and to group chat with others.  In addition to these time-saving social functions, LG DoublePlay offers Android 2.3 Gingerbread (no, we're not talking little edible houses).  However, this feature does allow you up to 9 touchscreen shortcuts along with 7 home screens all in one-touch navigation (which is useful when juggling a toddler, and might allow you the time you need to actually finish that Gingerbread house kit).

Check out the LG DoublePlay for yourself.  It is available only through T-Mobile. It won't be long before your fingers will be enjoying it's 3.5 inch and 2.0 inch dual touchscreen as you share your excitement.

Leave a comment below telling how you think the LG DoublePlay would change the way you text and interact with your social networks.

Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? Can Santa Dance the Hora, I mean Can Can?

As a homeschooler, we tend to study history and uncover the truth behind every day traditions.  Perhaps this rings most true this time of year.

I was raised in a Christian household. It wasn't Catholic. It wasn't Presbyterian. It wasn't Lutheran. It wasn't Baptist. It wasn't Methodist. It wasn't Pentecostal. It wasn't Assemblies of God. It wasn't Church of Christ. It was Christian. We used to joke amongst ourselves that we were the world's largest non-denomination denomination. Simply called, Christian.

Within this upbringing, we celebrated Christmas. We celebrated it as Christ's birthday. It was a grand celebration, second only to Easter. We put up the tree, lights and decorations, sung carols, gave each other gifts. And, yes, my family even did the whole Santa thing - kit and kaboodle (to which I was not devastated or ever questioned my parents' truthfulness when I found out the Santa truth).

When I became a parent myself, my husband and I discussed whether to play up Santa Claus to our kids. When my oldest was a baby, we came to the decision that we would give him gifts on Christmas morning, but we would not make up a big story about the elves, the reindeer, and on and on. We would merely give him gifts on Christmas morning. If he asked, we would be honest and tell him where they came from. This was one of the toughest decisions about celebrating Christmas....So we thought.

In recent years, we have encountered not only Christians who believe Santa is evil, but Christians who do not celebrate Christmas.

Of course, I knew Santa was never the true meaning of Christmas (though there was a real St. Nicholas).  But, there are those who will argue vehemently that the true meaning of Christmas isn't even Christ's birthday.  True, no one knows the exact date of Jesus' birth.  And, I was taught growing up that the wise men really weren't at the manger scene.  But, what's wrong with celebrating Jesus' birth?  I mean these same people celebrate their own birthday.  And, if they did not know this date, a day would have to be chosen.  So, apparently the problem lies in the date of December 25 being associated previously with pagan celebrations.  These Christmas naysayers argue that Christmas is nothing more than a pagan festival that has been created and sugar coated to deceive Christians. While, others say that it was originally designed by the Catholic church to redeem the day.  Is that so wrong?  To some, the answer is a vehement yes, and they will also point to scripture to prove how wrong you are to think otherwise.  At stake are symbols and traditions that surround the Christmas tree, the yule log, and other traditions that I have always believed were rooted in Christianity, not paganism. But, have recently become confused.

In recent years, especially since the birth of my youngest (our miracle baby, born on the Sabbath of Rosh Hashanah) I have begun to question what I really believe. The awe that surrounded my youngest child's life and entrance into this world stunned me. I began looking seriously into Jewish customs, and Old Testament feasts. Did they have meaning that I had not been taught?

You see I hold dear to my Christian faith and its Judeo-Christian roots. I have a deep love for God's chosen people.  Most of all, I want to please my maker and obey what He commands.

I'm still searching to find what the truth is.

In my search, I have encountered some very loving people and some not-so-lovely ones. I have discovered that to follow the letter of the law is difficult. I have found unloving people who call themselves Christians, quick to jump down the throats of those who seek Judeo-Christian links in how they work out their faith. And, I have seen unloving folks who make comment after comment on people's Facebook posts regarding festivals and Jewish laws and traditions. It reminds me of the Pharisees and those who seek to create foolish arguments instead of seeking after love. Both camps have unloving people who speak in the name of love. Both camps, fortunately, also have lovely people who offer grace and understanding to those seeking after the truth (like me).

So, with all these thoughts swirling around in my head like sugar plums (pardon the Christmas-based reference), my children and I went to a house nearby ours tonight to watch a light display. They have put 70,000 LED lights to music. When you pull up to the house, you can tune your radio station to 89.7 and listen to a music accompaniment to the lights. One of the songs we enjoyed was called The Christmas Can Can by a group called Straight No Chaser. My children and I found relief in the humor behind it, and I thought you might like some levity as well. When we returned home, I found the song on Youtube.  Enjoy:

A Positive Note on Homeschool Socialization

I admit it.  I'm a proud mom of 3 kids, whom in my opinion, are amazing.  So, my opinion may be slightly slanted in their favor.  However, something I observed last night sparked a thought that just maybe it happened the way it did because they are homeschooled.

Here's how the story goes:

My two girls take dance lessons from a teacher I absolutely adore. This woman knows how to keep the songs clean, cheap make up off of the girls' faces, and offer encouragement to make dancing fun while providing proper instruction.  In all the times I have known this dance teacher (my oldest began dancing at age 2 and is now almost 10), I have never seen her lose her cool even when a student pushes and tests her limits.  She remains upbeat and positive.  Last night, something happened.

My two girls are in a class with four other girls, making up 3 sets of sisters.  The idea is that they will present a "sister dance" at the recital.  My girls are 4 1/2 years apart in age and have been homeschooled all of their lives.  The other two pair of sisters are slightly closer in age (roughly 3 years difference in age).  One set of sisters attends public school.  I believe the other set attends a private school.  So, we have a wide representation of educational means.

For ease of understanding, we will call them:

Sister pair A
Sister pair B
And my children - Sister pair C

The dance teacher was giving instruction, to which I noticed the little sister in Sister Pair A was not paying much attention.  I then, looked up to see Sister Pair B's 'lil sis had been crying.  The crying sister soon began to poke at her older sis.  This went on to the point that while they were dancing, little sis would pull away and refuse to even hold hands with her big sister.

I dismissed it as just a little sibling dispute until my attention was drawn to my two girls.  Every step they danced was in complete unison (I'm not exaggerating).  They turned at the same time, and connected in perfect harmony and rhythm.  They smiled and laughed as if they thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.  This was a familiar sight to me because they dance together at home all the time.

After the class was over, the teacher commented to me about how my girls were the only ones who listened to her with complete attention, and they were the only two who were in harmony with each other without forced requests.

I thanked her, but inside I couldn't help but wonder.... Does this have anything to do with the fact that they are together 24/7 and have become good friends - not just sisters?  They do not leave each other to go off to a separate classroom every day.  They are together to build a relationship, from sun up to sun down.

It was just another notch I added to my opinion that socialization in homeschooling is superb and relationship and family building.

• Through homeschooling, my kids are not separated simply because of their age difference.
• Through homeschooling, my kids learn to work together and build each other up  instead of competing ruthlessly with each other.  Yes, this sometimes comes after an argument.  But, the point is that they are given the chance to disagree and work it out and are encouraged to see the good in the other.
• Through homeschooling, my kids get to know each other and deal with conflicts day in and day out.

To me, this is true socialization at its best.

Today's featured homeschool entrepreneur is Patsy Brekke.  Patsy owns and operates a writing tutorial service called Writing Foundations where she is "taking the mystery and misery out of learning to write."  Her story is inspiring!  Please read the "long version" to receive the full impact of what she does and who she is!

Find her listed on the Teachable Scotts Tots Homeschool Business Directory Page.  Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Her name is Patsy Brekke, but just about everybody calls her Ms. B.  She is a business owner and homeschooling mother to three children:  Josiah (18), Zoe (15), and Anna (12).

Here's what she has to say:

How long have you been homeschooling? The decision to homeschool was made when I was pregnant with my first child. Friends from church homeschooled, and my husband and I were super impressed with their family relationships and lifestyle. I was an award-winning teacher in the San Diego City Schools at the time, but my greatest heart's desire was to be a stay at home mom. Thus, when my son was born, off we went. I have been homeschooling for 18 years!

What made you start up writing tutorial service?

The short version: 

Shortly after the birth of my third child, I needed to go back to work. I bumped into the teacher-training videos from the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and Writing Foundations was born from there.

The long version: 

Unfortunately, shortly after the birth of my third child, my marriage fell apart. I was devastated, but with no-fault divorce laws, there was very little I could do about it. I had just begun formally homeschooling kindergarten with the oldest. At that time I prayed that the Lord would show me what to do - I vowed to follow whatever He brought along, trusting that He loved the kids even more than I did. I laid the kids, so to speak, and homeschooling, on the altar before the Lord. In the interim, I started a tutoring service for any subject from my home as my youngest was still too young to even attend preschool. Eventually, I decided to offer a self-designed week long writing workshop at my church. A homeschooling mom found one of my flyers and called to ask if I was using the Institute for Excellence in Writing, which I had not yet heard of. I told her that I wasn't, and she said, "Well, I have all the teacher-training videos; would you like to take a look at them?" Then she added, "I'll be in your neighborhood this afternoon. I'll drop them off."

The minute I plugged in the first video, I was hooked. I remember praying, “Lord, this is the wheel I've been trying to reinvent!” That winter the kids and I enjoyed our last few months with me as a stay at home mom. We snuggled in bed together and watched Mr. Pudewa through all 9 units, just waiting for every one of his silly jokes. I took copious notes and started dreaming of all the possibilities.

On my way to an inner healing conference that spring, I once again lifted the kids up to the Lord and asked Him to show me what to do. In the most miraculous way, I felt like He directly asked me, "What do YOU want to do?" I burst out crying so hard, I had to pull over.

"Oh, You KNOW what I want to do!" I cried. "I want to homeschool them!" 

The divorce was still in process, so I was still home with the kids, waiting for things to fall into place for the next school year.  In June of that year, I was able to meet Mr. Pudewa at a local homeschooling conference. I shared my situation with him, and he loaded me up with materials, direction, and great advice, “Write your own lesson plans, and start teaching classes to other homeschooling students.”

 

Because my kids were so young, I wasn't very familiar with the local homeschooling community yet – especially at the teenage level, so finding a connection was my next challenge. The state homeschooling handbook clearly forbid soliciting among its group listings, and I had no desire to violate those terms. “But,” I prayed, “Lord, how do I tell them that this is what I have to offer?” I thought they must have some venue for it, so I decided to randomly call one of the group leaders and just ask about how/where to share my info. I left a message with the contact person, and the next day she called me back. She shared a bit about her co-op organization, a tutorial service for homeschooled teens in the metro area. Then she asked about me. I told her what I had to offer, and when I finished, there was silence on the other side. After a few seconds, she gravely responded, “You are the one we have been praying for. We have one language arts position yet to fill, and you are the one.”

At that moment, Writing Foundations was born. The co-op administrators adopted my whole family; they helped me set up child care for my kids while I was teaching, and from then on have provided business advice and support the whole way through. Writing Foundations classes have multiplied from three groups in 2001 to fifteen classes in 2011 via multiple co-ops and as far away as Shanghai via a webinar setting. I tell the Lord that as long as I have to work, I am so grateful that He has given me my "dream job".

How do you manage? 

Lots of prayer is number 1!  When the kids were younger, I taught only 8 classes per semester. That left 3 week days at home together, which we strictly guarded. As soon as they were able to, the kids also started taking co-op classes. The kids learned very early to keep track of their work and self-management skills. Workboxes, spreadsheets, and checklists have been a wonderful part of that. Saturdays are our "tie up loose ends/finish that chapter day".  

I work very hard to not compare myself to any other homeschool moms, and just do the best at what I was called to do - at what I was blessed to do. If at any time through this journey I could have quit teaching Writing Foundations classes and just be home with my kids, though, I would have in an instant. However, I will never give back the lessons and the growth that we as a family have learned and gained. 

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