I love Spring....all the new green growth and the FLOWERS!!  One of my favorites is wisteria. It is blooming all over the place right now. This isn't a real good picture...I just stopped along the road one day and took it. I love how it is vined all through the trees, but I realize it can be a pain too. Regardless, it looks and smells wonderful!!

Last Friday our homeschool group went on a field trip to Faith Radio and the Jr. Museum in Tallahassee.

Faith Radio.....

We got there in plenty of time, so the kids had time to visit and we even practiced the songs we were going to sing.

Tamara with her friends Bethany and Anna.

Billy Farran, one of the volunteers with GEMS prison ministry, got this field trip arranged for us. He is good friends with the station manager and is there quite often. We were the 2nd group he had taken in this month. 

 Before we went inside we all gathered in a circle for prayer.

Scott B....the station manager and DJ, doing his thing!

Kay told a little about our group and each of the kids and parents got to say their name. The kids also said their age! 

The kids sang two songs. Scott asked for the title of the first song and Kay told him it was "Absolutely Nothing". That got some laughs!! The second song was taken from Isaiah 41:10, "Do not Fear". The kids did a great job for only practicing 3 times! And we don't normally sing together, so I wasn't sure how that would go. But it was great!

The tower that sends the signal!

That's the group...minus a few parents!

From there we went to the Jr. Museum in Tallahassee 

 Loved the dogwoods that were blooming there!!

In a 1-room schoolhouse.

The girls singing in the church....love their different expressions!  

I imagine in a few weeks this garden will be full of color!

The garden was in front of this big house....LOVED the front porch!!

These buckets were pretty heavy (and they weren't even filled with water!!) Tamara didn't think she would like that job!

After we toured the old village, we went through the animal exhibits.....

 It was after lunch and most of the animals were just relaxed and calm! Some were hiding somewhere probably sleeping.

 A wolf~

Bro. Billy trying out his "wings". This was the pattern one kind of goose (I think??) flies. 

A bald Eagle ....love their majesty!

~A panther~

This was part of the trail we took through the animal exhibits.

 

Ally-gator 

There was a room full of different things for the kids to do and see.....

 After the field trip, the kids and I drove to my friend Candice's house. She was having ladies there to help arrange bouquets and corsages for the Ladies Fundraiser Tea the next day. We had fun and got a lot accomplished. Dan came and picked Danny up and they spent the night with one of the board members while Tamara and I stayed with Candice and her daughters and her sister-in-law and her daughter, for the night. We ordered pizza in for supper and just spent the evening relaxing and talking!!  It was fun just having a "girls night"!

 Candice and I got up early the next morning to get over to the Golden Eagle Country Club to set up for the Tea. Some of the men from GEMS (Gospel Express Ministries South) were there to set up the sound and help carry heavy items. The country club had all the tables set and ready, we just had to decorate them. 

 I have pictures, but they are on my other camera, which I am waiting for a USB cord for. Hopefully I can post them soon! The cord should get here today or tomorrow!! So I think I will stop for now....I can tell more about the Tea with the pictures!!

 

 

 

5:30 AM- after hitting the snooze a time or two I got out of bed, packed Dan's lunch and had my devotions...

6-7 AM- computer time....I am slowly catching up on my emails. I had 200 NEW emails and close to 900 in my inbox! I know, I know!! 

8:00 - Kids and Mom are up and dressed....eating breakfast.  Cinnamon Toast Crunch this morning! And a glass of Vitamin C....

9:00 -School starts...an hour and 15 of Math....and then break time. Back again in about 10 minutes....2 pages in English (they are working through the same book on parts of speech) We are on Prepositions. Today it was finding the noun/pronoun that the preposition is talking about. Then Tamara did a page in her cursive writing book while Danny copied another days lesson from his copy work book. 
 The poem he is copying, which Tamara informed me she had to do earlier in the year, really tugged at my heart....I'd like to share it with YOU!

 

You Forgot My Soul

You lived next door to me for years;

We shared our dreams, our joys and tears.

A friend to me you were indeed;,

A friend who helped me when in need.

 

My faith in you was strong and sure,

We had such trust as should endure.

No "words" between us could impose;

Our friends were like - and so, our foes.

 

What sadness, then, my friend, to find

That after all, you weren't so kind.

The day my life on earth did end, 

I found you weren't a faithful friend.

 

For all those years we spent on earth,

You never talked of second birth.

You never spoke of my lost soul

And of the Christ Who'd make me whole.

 

I'm lost today eternally

And tell you now my ernest plea.

You cannot do a thing for me -

No words today my bonds will free.

 

But - do not err, my friend, again -

Do all you can for souls of men.

Plead with them now quite ernestly,

Lest they be cast in hell with me.

 

What a good, but sobering reminder!!

I am really liking the copy work books I got for the kids this year. Thematic Copywork for Boys and Thematic Copywork for Girls They have so many good quotes from famous people, quotes about character, good poems and lots of scriptures.

That concluded our "book work" for the day.

12:00- Danny announced that he would like to make lunch, so I left him to work alone!  I think his sister hung around to cheer him on...no, they really like to do things like this together. She likes to be there just for company's sake. She doesn't mind if he does all the work!!  And he doesn't either for that matter!

Macaroni and Cheese and Hotdogs were our lunch!  
 

While they were doing that, I was doing some more research about curriculum for next year! Oh joy!!

2:15 PM - Left the house.....stopped at the PO to ship two more Ebay sales. Dropped off Tea tickets and graded Bible Studies with a friend and then went to RCC (RiverTown Community Church) for our second week of Tae Kwon Do with our homeschool group!!

 We are doing this as a 6 week class. A young lady who used to attend our church and who is a black belt, consented to teach us basic self defense. We will have our "white belt" till we are done!!  I'm telling you, the exercise part of it is about to beat my tail!!

 We start out by doing LOTS of stretches!! We have to touch the floor with our hands....then spread our feet farther and try to get our elbows on the ground! (Or, if you are flexible like Ashleigh, you can put your elbows on the floor in the first stance!!!) I am NOT there yet!!! Ouia! That pulls in the back of my legs!!

There are 3 of us Mom's taking the class!!  

Tamara looks like she is in extreme pain!!   We were supposed to be pulling our feet towards our body...

More stretches.....

This is one of the weird stretches....called a fish flop....and it looks like a bunch of fish, too!! 

We learned all the basic kicks and blocks these first two weeks. Now I feel like a genuine Karate Kid.......NOT!! Haha....more like a bruised Granny!

4:00 PM - Class is over, and we are joined by a few other families to practice singing. On Friday we are going on a field trip to a Christian Radio station in Tallahassee and we are going to sing 2 songs on the air!!  So, if you are local, tune in to 90.1 at 10 AM Central time and you may hear us!  Or listen online .

 Amy, the lady in black on the right, got the songs together and is the leader. However, we found out today that she is needed in NC over the weekend, so Emily G. (lady to her left) is taking over.....whew!! Glad I don't have to!

Silas chillin' with his Momma's phone...

Practicing a somewhat "sane" standing arrangement....

4:45 PM- Home again....making supper.

5:00 PM- Hear shooting outside our house.....two neighbor guys are shooting a snake on the road out in front of our place!!  We looked at it later and aren't sure what kind it was....kind of reminded me of a rattlesnake, but there were no rattles!??

5:30 PM- Eating supper....hamburger stroganoff it was! And a salad!

6:30 PM- The family is going for a bike ride....a 45 minute bike ride! If I thought I was sore already, this has only added to it. I might stay in bed all day tomorrow!!!

Pretty much goofed off the rest of the evening....the dishes will wait till tomorrow (that is if I can get out of bed!!)

 So now, it's time to get everyone in bed.....that was a glimpse into my day!!  Tomorrow will probably be totally different!  Big stuff coming up this weekend!! Yay!!

What a change in the weather!! Last night got down to 38 here. We haven't seen the 30's for a couple weeks. We haven't had to run the heat for a couple weeks either, but last night we did....it got quite chilly in here! 

 I never did get back on here to write more last week. I had something on my heart that I wanted some input on, but I have not been gifted in eloquent "speech" and when I type stuff like that it just doesn't come out right....and later I think of bits and pieces I should have added or things I shouldn't have wrote. I think I like to talk one on one better. But, I know there are many of you, my Xanga friends, who could give me good feedback! Maybe I'll try one day!?? 

 I'm loving this Spring weather we've been having! I need to take my camera along next time we go to town and get some pics of all the trees in bloom! So pretty!!

 Last Tuesday was the kids last sign language class. They learned quite a bit and can talk faster than I can follow!! I'm glad they had this opportunity to learn a bit of signing...but now I should keep them brushed up on it, so they don't forget what they learned!!

 Friday was Park Day for our homeschool group and we had a big turnout again! A bunch of us Mom's took a walk around the .8 mile track around the park...some walked, some rollerbladed. I think I should learn how to rollerblade. It's not that much different from ice skating, right??  Except I don't know if I could ice skate anymore either!! HAHA!

 Saturday morning Tamara and I went to yard sales and thrift stores with a friend and her daughter. We had lots of fun and I was able to get some clothes for both the kids!! The local Pioneer Settlement had their fundraising Rummage Sale! SO MUCH STUFF!!!!  It was kind of fun there, really full of people, but I found a few good deals. 
 Then we came home and did some cleaning and babysitting. Dan had a BUSY week! He is finishing up another semester of school and had a big paper due last week. So, every night last week he worked at the paper! He got it done Saturday late afternoon and was ready to do something fun to rest his mind from all that research! Well, soon after he said that, our friends, Eric and Yolie called and asked us to come over for soft pretzels. Who could turn that down??   So after the kids left that we were keeping,we went up to their house. Had a good time visiting and took a ride in Eric's loud pickup. It started raining about the time we decided to go for a ride, so we went anyway and got a little wet!!  Good memories!!

 Today we worked at school in the AM....might still do a little history this afternoon. Tonight we pick up with our Ladies Encouragement Night. We had missed a few months since Heidi was living at the beach while Rocky had a job there. But they are done with that (mostly) so we are back to our monthly Bible Studies again. I am looking forward to that!

 Tomorrow we are starting a 6 week Tae Kwon Do class.....should be quite interesting!!  Our homeschool group is also practicing 2 songs that we will be singing at our local radio station in 2 weeks! Another first for us....I know I'll be nervous! 

 Work awaits, so I shall close for now! Y'all have a great week!!

 

Some pretty sunsets last week!!

A touch of spring outside our house.... 

Yesterday the kids and I went to Tallahassee to spend some time with my friend Candice and her kids.

I was trying to remember how/when I first met Candice. I think it was through GEMS (Gospel Express Ministries South). Candice coordinates and plans 2 yearly fundraisers for GEMS, a Ladies Tea in the spring and a Banquet in the fall. I'm sure you've seen my pictures from those events before. She has extreme talent in that area. Candice is also a sister in law to my friend, Kay. In the past 2 years we have become closer friends and I enjoy spending time with her. She has a kind, quiet spirit about her!

 We went with the intent for me to teach her how to sell on Ebay and accomplished that! Then we also had time to just visit and she showed me what all she is putting together for the Tea! Bless her heart, it's a lot of work!!

 The kids had a fun time! Not sure what they all were doing on the top bunk? 

The table set for dinner! Tamara said she felt like she was in a mansion!!  

Lena and Tamara playing a Wii game with animals ....just the perfect thing for girls this age!! 

Danny and Logan playing games on the DS. They also had fun playing outside in the beautiful sunshine!!

Realized I didn't get a picture of Candice or sweet little Leia! 

 On the way home, I started feeling kind of shaky, so we stopped for gas and I got something to eat and drink. When we were almost home, I all of a sudden had a dizzy spell wash over me! I quick pulled off the road and had to sit there a few minutes till I felt well enough to keep going!  Tamara also complained of being dizzy and Danny didn't feel well for a little while. I don't know if we had some kind of a virus or what. I didn't eat supper and laid on the couch for awhile. Till bedtime I felt better. Strange!! 

This week I got a flat of strawberries from Marilu W. So I made 4 batches of freezer jam. 3 of just strawberry and 1 of strawberry-blueberry. Mmmm!!

Danny adding the Certo and Lemon juice mixture to the strawberries and sugar....

All that SUGAR!!!  But it's sooo good!!

The finished product....minus one half container that was in the fridge. When I took them out to the freezer, I realized we still have quite a bit from previous years. Guess we need to either eat more jelly bread, or share!!

Don't know how well you can tell the difference between these next two pictures? The were taken different times of the day but only 4 days apart. The leaves have really shot out of our Crabapple tree and the grass is getting more green by the day! 

Well, I'm not done, but we need to leave for the kids last sign language class. Might blog more tomorrow. We also have our Mom's Night Out tonight, so I won't be home much the rest of the day!  ~Later!!