My Dramatic Silent Movie Star Voice Over Daughter

I find it difficult to focus my brain on anything today other than the health of my friend's husband who remains in ICU awaiting a miracle and I along with several other prayers await updates from an exhausted, stressed and extremely worried friend.  If you are reading this, please do nothing else until you send up a prayer for my friend's husband.  His name is Fred.

After you're up off of your knees, run and hug and kiss every one of your children.  Thoroughly take in and absorb every second of the life you are given.

In the meantime, I really needed a pick-me-up.  So, I thought I'd share with you my daughter's dramatic escapades.  There were 2 clips, but one of them failed to upload correctly.  So, I'll be satisfied with just the one.

My older daughter is voicing as my younger daughter lip syncs and gives dramatic emphasis.  She looks like a silent movie star to me.  I found it hilarious and hope it lightens your day.

Enjoy, and I hope it makes you smile.

Solar Eclipse Something to Behold

It will be in the shadows or crescent-shaped images appearing at your feet.  That sounds profound and certainly falls within the category of logging some science hours.

Apparently the solar eclipse that is set to take place on Sunday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time will be something unusual to behold.  But, don't even think of looking at it without welders or other special glasses or telescopes.

This article I came across is very informative about what to expect:

http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2012/05/16/nasa-says-solar-eclipse-this-weekend-is-something-to-see/

My Obsession with Flower Photos

Years ago, before children, I had a passion for crafts and photography. I went to a few craft shows in the area and one of the items I sold was framed pictures I had taken. I blame it on Georgia O'Keefe, but for some reason, I am drawn to flower photograpy.  Well, that and benches. I cannot resist taking a picture of a bench or a rocking chair or Andirondack chair from behind.

And, OK, some are actually considered weeds.  The purple one my daughter referred to as "awkward" looking.

I thought you might like to take a look at some of my most recent flower pics.

These were taken during one of my walks around a nearby lake that I took with my children. It works as PE for them and helps me try to realize my vision of fitting back into the clothes I recently tucked away.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and that it inspires you to photograph things that interest you. Of course, they could also spur on an impromptu art lesson if you still need some credit hours to log for your homeschool.

They also make a great background for scripture memory - Especially scriptures about all things opening up and lifting our hands in praise.  The petals always remind me of God's amazing glory and it inspires me how they bloom forth as though reaching up to the heavens.

Five Things To Do To Celebrate Last Day Of School

Our homeschool's last day of this school year was last week.  The kids had already finished all required hours and curriculum, but I extended it a few days so I could offer the last day of school as an extra birthday gift to my son.  We are officially on summer break (if there truly is ever a break from learning when you have an eclectic educational style like us).  It dawned on me that we usually do something special to celebrate our last day of school.  This year, it sort of melted into a birthday celebration.  However, there are other things we have done over the years that usually involve ice cream.

Here are some ideas for celebrating the last day of school:

1. Take a picture - We always take a first day of school picture, but a last day of school picture is a nice idea s well.  It's especially fun to compare the two and see how much your child has changed over the course of just a few months.
2. Celebrate with a pizza - Either go out to your favorite pizza place or make your own.
3. Go out for ice cream!  Even though my children are still flabbergasted at the realization that their mom (me) does not really care for ice cream too much, we still have found a way of making this into almost a tradition.
4. Go to the park - Public schools host field days.  Homeschoolers go to the park and enjoy the quiet playgrounds, fields and pathways before their public and private-schooled counterparts flood and crowd the areas in just a few short days.
5. Make someone smile - Celebrate the day by reaching out to someone in the community.  Go to a retirement center with special gifts for the residents (check with the home before you show up unannounced) and make someone's day.  Go to a hospital ICU floor and leave a box of bottled water and fresh fruit with a note to help yourself (again, check with hospital first to make sure they will allow this).  For some reason hospital waiting rooms often have no available water and is one of the most needed items for those waiting anxiously to hear news of a loved one.

These are just a handful of ideas.  Be creative and enjoy your last day of school.

Monday Morning Rambles - What's On Your Mind?

Here I am at Day 13 of the Blogathon and not sure what I will blog about that will be interesting enough to capture your attention or be meaningful enough to even post.  So, I decided to just write what's on my mind.

Thought #1:  Above is a picture of our centerpiece at the mother/daughter luncheon.  We thoroughly enjoyed that there was a live cricket/grasshopper on our table's flower.

Thought #2:  As I type I am waiting for the fridge repairman to come.  He just called to confirm he is on his way.  I am the only one awake in our household waiting.  This repair is one of several.  We love our refrigerator, but are so thankful we went the extra mile and actually purchased the service agreement on it.  It has more than paid for itself in ice maker repairs alone.  It's true that fridges without the ice maker require less maintenance and repairs.  However, ice is essential in our house.  This is why we would not fare well in Europe.  Hopefully very soon I can once again tuck away the plastic ice cube trays and rely on my fridge to spit out the cubes automatically.

Thought #3:  My weekend received a bit of a shock to it.  I logged onto Facebook to post some pictures of the mother daughter luncheon I attended at my mom's church only to see that my friend had posted that her husband was ill and in the ER.  They thought it was kidney stones.  We were preparing to watch a movie with the kids, so I posted that we would pray.  I turned off my computer, watched the movie & we did pray.  I was shocked when I logged on the next morning to see my friend had endured a nightmarish night.  She went from sitting at a dance recital with her daughter to watching her husband go downhill fast and very unexpectedly.  He went into respiratory failure, his lungs filled up with fluid and his vitals were horrific.  They told her she would lose him and she had to sign off on a procedure that could actually kill him.  There was a very good chance of this.  This poor woman went from dance recital mom stress and happiness of the anticipation of seeing your daughter on stage to staring widowhood in the face.  The moment I saw her update  I began to pray and ask others to do the same.  It was hours before I heard from her again.  This time with better news, but nothing close to where it needs to be.  He became more stable and they believe his problem stems from a mass they found on his kidneys/adrenal glands.  Now the prayer is for complete healing.  He needs to have a strong enough heart to make it through any procedures needed to fix the root of the problem, and pray it is not cancerous....  If you are praying folk.  Please pray for this man and his family!  They recently only began their journey of homeschooling and the daddy has not even reached the age of 40 yet - Far too young.

Thought #3:  Mother's Day was a gorgeous weather day in my town.  My husband worked, so I had to wait to get my true gift of the night off to myself.  Though, it ended up being taken up with another gift - an iPhone4S.  Woohoo!  We have entered the texting world (at least for the time being.  We will see how much we really need and use texting before deciding if we want to keep this feature forever).  In the meantime, we are having a blast playing with the Siri feature.  Someone told me to tell it that I loved it.  So I did, and the voice responses were hilarious.  Apple actually programmed in a feature to respond to a voice command like love.  The phone responds like:  "All you need is love and an iPhone" or "Duly noted, can we get back to business now", or "you hardly know me".  It is great entertainment.

Thought #4:  We are done with schooling for the year.  Well, we are done with official schooling for the year.  True learning continues always - At least that is my hope.

If you have made it to the end of my Monday morning rambles and believe in prayer, please say a prayer, or two or two thousand prayers for my friend's husband.  Thanks!

American Girl Doll Store and Mother's Day

A trip to the American Girl Doll Store is an amazing trip and all the more special when it's Mother's Day weekend.

Today, we celebrated Mother's Day with a trip to my mom's church where there was a luncheon.  On the way home, I surprised my daughters by stopping by the American Girl Doll Store (brand new store in our city).

They were thrilled.  It was such a sweet experience and a really fun thing to do on Mother's Day weekend.

We didn't end up buying anything this time, but plan to return for my youngest's birthday as the girls have decided she looks a lot like McKenna (the American Girl Doll of the year 2012).

Free Garden Lapbook

I don't know if you are like me and start seeds every year as part of a science lesson and then end up putting these seedlings into a backyard garden, but the process is always exciting in our household.  I logged onto email yesterday and was delighted to find a link to a free gardening lapbook.  I then went searching to see how I could share this link with you, and this is what I found:

Free Gardening Lapbook

Flower File Folder Game

More Garden Lapbooks

More Lapbooks from Currclick

This year, we have started our seedlings and they have been rapidly growing inside our house by the window.  Yes, we need to get them into the outside garden.  However, our weather has been so strange that the motivation just isn't there.

We never really had a winter to speak of.  Many people were excited about this, but I remain concerned that we will pay for the mild winter with extra bugs, mosquitoes and hot humid summer days.  Then again, I prefer it a bit chilly and should probably just go ahead and move up north to make everyone around me a bit happier.

When spring sprung early despite the ground hog's predictions (I guess that's what happens when a sleepy rodent is allowed to become meteorologist for the day) it suddenly became hot.  We had 90 degree days, or close to it, in April and May.  This did nothing for my motivation to go outside and weed a garden.

This week has been resort weather - Perfect temps and low humidity, but it was also my son's birthday and Mother's Day weekend coming with plans to celebrate with  my mom and sisters.  So, once again weeding and preparing the garden for planting got pushed down on the list.

Don't worry!  It's o.k. with me if we don't actually get much of a crop out of what we planted, though it is mighty fun to pick a pepper from a plant we started.  It was a fun science endeavor as is.  Though, as I type and glance over at our greenery bending toward the morning sunshine pouring into the window I feel a twinge of motivation to get these plants in the ground.

Encouraging and Uplifting Book: Homeschooling Why and How Review

As a homeschooler, do you ever question if you have made the right decision?  Or, are you considering homeschooling and don’t quite know how to begin?  I received a review copy of a book recently that has re-ignited a dormant flame in my personal decision to homeschool.  Homeschooling Why and How by Gail Nagasako is such an enjoyable read.

The book has three chapters that cover it all.  The first chapter contains letter after letter from a variety of students (not just homeschoolers).  Some of the students were public or private schooled.  Others were part-time homeschoolers.  And, some never stepped foot in a school and never plan to.  The letters are interesting to read as they step inside the mind of the child or parent who wrote them.

The author expresses her honest views and experiences with “home-based education”.  She takes more of an unschooled (or “free learning”) approach as part of her personal experience.  However, she didn’t start out this way.  She started like most parents do, wanting the best for their child.  She fully intended on presenting her child with the best Waldorf or other educational experience.  What she learned along the way is what inspired her to write the book.

There are days when I am 100% confident I have made the right decision to homeschool my children.  Then, there are other days when that magical yellow school bus looks like the answer to all my woes.  This book has helped re-ignite a spark of excitement and a sense of confidence that I have made the right decision with my children.