Friday, May 29, 2009

The Boys Of Summer



I cannot believe May is just about done and June and summer time is upon us! This last month has really been a blur of activity. We are finishing up with school and getting ready for next year as well. I need to get some new bookshelves so I have started to look into that. I would love to get some heavy duty ones that will hold all of the books that we are collecting with our Tapestry of Grace studies. I love books and I thought I had a bunch, but now I really am getting more because of our Tapestry curriculum. I want to find just the right bookshelves to hold the books.

I have also been really sick this week. I think I must have picked up something at the NC Homeschool Conference last week in Winston-Salem. The kids and I had a great time. Dear son went to many of the Teen track classes, the kids swam in the indoor pool and went to the Talent showcase one night as well. We stayed right next to the convention center so once we arrived the car stayed parked for the entire time. It was a great conference, very different from the other two times I have gone. This year was very laid back because of having the children with me, I did not make every session I wanted to do, but I got to the ones I needed to hear. The kids got to experience the book fair, but I did not buy a lot in the way of curriculum this year. I bought just a few handwriting books and phonics books. I did make one major purchase from Summit Ministries. Bradley and I listened to the a speaker from Summit named John Stonestreet. He was amazing to listen to as he lectured about world views and the importance of having a Biblical world view as a Christian and what that really means. I also enjoyed talking to him in the book fair at great length. I got the curriculum to work through at home with dear son. We are both excited about it.

After the conference crazy Mom decided we should fit some time in at the beach as well. We drove from Winston-Salem to Pine Knoll Shores for some beach fun with the my in-laws. The kids had fun with cousins and we got a little too much sun. The weather was cloudy and some showers so we kept wiping on and off the sunscreen and ended up a little crispy! It was a good peaceful time, and I enjoyed the Sunday Memorial Day service at Bogue Baptist church. I had a difficult time over the holiday weekend and going to the beach and being at the service at Bogue Baptist were the things God used to show me His love for me as I walked through this stressful time. He is such an amazing God, so intimate and personal to me. Even the music on the radio made me feel loved and held by Him.

I praise God as we head into this new month and into the summer time... I know He has much to show us as we start off our summer. I hope that I can embrace all that He has to teach us with as much enthusiasm as the boys of summer in this great picture!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Colonial Field Day Fun!


Our TOG Co op group had their Unit 3/4 Celebration last week. We celebrated with a Colonial Field day with all of the festivities and fun. The lower and upper grammar students participated in games such as ninepins, lawn bowling, horse shoes and croquet. The dialectic and rhetoric students were the "colonial guides" and led the other students in the games. It was great! We all ate lunch together and celebrated with cake. We will take the summer off from TOG and begin anew with TOG Y3 studying from Napoleon up to Teddy Roosevelt in the fall. I am already excited about the new year, but I am grateful for a pause to regroup and organize and REST.

The kids and I will be attending the homeschooling conference in our state later this week. I have never taken them before and I am really looking forward to seeing their reactions to all of the people and the book fair. I will post about our experiences at their first homeschooling conference.

Eloise Indeed!


Dear daughter had her end of the year recital, "Pages from Childhood" Each class performed a dance to coordinate with a classic children's book. Dear daughter's ballet class did the book Eloise. It was a fun dance and the girls did a great job! The night was special as her bf, Grandmommy and dear Uncle and Aunt were able to attend the opening night's performance.

May Festival Time!


We headed to our town's May festival for some fun on a cloudy, humid Saturday. Dear daughter had her bf with her and of course dear son tagged along as well. The girls enjoyed visiting a lovely lady who makes doll clothes for their American girl dolls and having tea at the tearoom. They picked out some church clothes, pj's, patriotic dresses and a blue jean jacket and hat ensemble. It was fun shopping for the dolls!

Dear son pet every dog walking by, of course only after asking,played all of the games, like hole in one golf and fishing for a prize, and got a homemade bow and arrow set. He also taste tested some yummy Granddeddy Dave's Barbecue sauce with Mom! He got a fireman's hat, a Hawaiian lei and stickers. We ate famous local hot dogs with chili and had old timey glass bottled Cokes as our lunch treat. Just a little different from the girls' strawberry soup and tea!

When we all got back together, the kids made their own candles, guess who had the most colorful one ? While waiting to let the wax harden we walked around awhile and listened to a band for a bit. Then we went back to get the candles and headed on home. Where else could you have all of that fun? We had a great May festival, and I even was able to find a parking space without too much trouble.

Dear son had his picture taken with Granddeddy Dave's barbecue pig!

The Blues Brothers...



The brothers got in on the fun at the birthday party, one was forced. I think they could pass for the Brothers Blue, well maybe not, but they sure make my life an interesting adventure with all the craziness having 2 boys can bring. What a blessing it is to have some boys mixed in with my girly girl. A good time was had by all!

Scattered Pictures...


We celebrated another birthday at the end of April. Dear daughter is now in double digits! She was so looking forward to this birthday. She got a special call from her dear Dad. What a present that was. The family celebration included all of the usual suspects, plus dinner at one of dear daughter's favorite restaurants. She was definitely the birthday princess!

Let There be Posting

Well, about another month has flown by and I have had every intention of posting on my blog, but no time to put my intentions into actions. My dear husband is missing the postings so I need to catch up again and hopefully I can really try to stick with once a week in the future. We have had another birthday, beginning of baseball and puppy training class, the end of our first year of TOG Year 2 (Tapestry of Grace for all of you who may not know), and the winding down of the school year. I am going to post some pictures and more comments with the pictures as soon as I find the cord to go with the camera! That should be later on today. Now we are off to the YMCA to let the oldest take his swim test for summer water activities in Scouts!