More of the ABCs - J to R

To set the record straight - We will not officially start school until September. We are still on our summer "schedule", which this year has been very relaxed. We are still working on our memory verses, though.
We're almost done!

End of Summer?

Make a Smilebox slideshow

These pictures were taken on a trip I took with the kids to visit my parents in Dallas, GA and celebrate my brother, Wesley's birthday and my sister, Leah's birthday in her newly renovated basement.

CCMA people

These are some pics I snapped this Sunday after church. Here's part of Lutfi's lovely family.


A twosome of Terri's troup, one of which is very tired.

Just a portion of Jeramy's jewels. I just can't figure out what Meggan's expression is all about.

And outside, there is a bird on the ground . . .

and a boy in the tree?

Which flock does he fly with? Do you know?

Goodbye to the Little House on the Prairie

We just finished reading Little House on the Prairie.

That was our read aloud for the summer.

At first it was hard for me to get into it, because the real story is

quite different from the TV version, which is what I was use to.

If you haven't read the book, don't read any further, because I give away the ending.

...

At the end of the book, they have to leave their house, the well they dug, the garden they just planted, and papa's plow and a cow and calf. They didn't sell those things, they were just LEFT BEHIND. It made me think about what's really important and how we cling to earthly things. Maybe you don't but I do. I think of it as being resourceful. I keep an item, because I might need it SOMEDAY. SOMEDAY I won't even BE HERE. And all THIS STUFF won't matter at all. The interesting thing is that the stuff the Ingalls left behind were things that someone could use, not just used up old stuff either. They lived simply, not alot of clutter, not alot of unneccessary things. They did have special things - pa's fiddle, ma's cooking things and cupboard, but everything they had, except the plow, fit in the wagon. Could we fit everything we had into a covered wagon? I don't think so. It barely fits in our house.

So, I hold what I have with open hands, willing if God sees fit to take it, or tell me to LEAVE IT.

Doggie Dress-up

Today, Hannah turned Little Lady into a princess.

She wore her dress and tiara like a princess,

but she had trouble walking and eating like a princess.

47. I'm thankful that Little Lady puts up with all the attention the kids give her.

48. I'm thankful for the changing of the seasons. In summer, we get a break from the usual. In fall, we get to begin learning something new. In winter, we get to curl up under comforters and read books. In spring, we get to see beautiful colors and celebrate finishing another year of learning.

Alligator Encounter - 2000

In Lake City, Florida there is a place where an old man

raises alligators.

In the year 2000, I was there.

I posed with this statue.

I posed with the real life alligator that Tarzan wrestled with in the shows I watched as a kid. The "alligator man" showed us the hole in his snout, which was used some way to keep his trap shut during the filming. He moved quite slowly as he was very old.

I still can't believe I got that close to a real live alligator. The "alligator man" would not even get close to this one though. He had some baby ones inside a building that he was showing us and they were only about 6 inches long. He asked if I wanted to hold one, so I thought it would be one of these little babies. He left the room and came back with this "cutie".

I said, "Are you sure?"

He said this one was very tame. He takes it to schools and does talks, etc. He put him on my arm and instructed me to rub him on the back of the neck. Actually I don't know if it was a he or she. I smiled and through my teeth said, "Theron, take the picture quick. No one will believe this unless I have a picture."

Now that was a close encounter!

Southeast Homeschool Expo

45. I am so thankful for the encouragement and new ideas

I come home with after a homeschool conference.

46. I'm extra thankful for the new shoes that my husband

got for me just before this expo, that helped with a

heel pain I was having.

. . .

Sorry, you'll have to wait for 48.

. . .

It's always fun and tiring going to an expo, and this one was no different.

Josiah was able to sit quietly during a workshop and color and draw.

We went to one on Lego robotics (something for Theron and the

kids) and one on math with the human calculator, Scott Flansburg (he

taught us some interesting things about numbers).

Josiah really liked this booth (Cochran Mill Nature Center).

We hung out there for a while looking at the alligator and snakes.

I told him that I had been to an alligator farm one time and held an alligator that was about the same size as the one in the cage. Scary, huh?

Hannah loved this workshop on making your own books. She's been trying to do this for some time. Today, we learned how we can create and bind our own books from Valerie Bendt.

Knight's Bookshop always has these cool science things. Today I got the kids some rubber sea urchins that were marked down.

They had fun tossing them and squishing them.