My Faves

Where have I been?  There has been a lot going on here.  Much like everyone else.  The days are swallowed up in what seems like mere seconds.  It has been nothing more than the daily grind here.  We are working on finishing our homeschool curriculum sometime before July.  It is the first year of high school for my son.  He is completely right brained and an artist and I am trying very hard to incorporate that into a Classical Education model.  He was participating in an amazing art class but his teacher had to drop the class. It was quite sad for him.  She was a perfect fit.
Samples of his work:

Portraits of characters from the tv show Smallville.  He is mostly self taught in portraits.

Some comic book art

This is his passion.  He enjoys creating and has started working on some custom figures from his favorite comic books.

Although my posts have been scarce I have been spending some time reading some amazing blogs.  One of my favorite bloggers is Edie from Life in Grace.  She is a rock star and her every post is filled with amazing insight.  Her posts are as chic and eclectic as her home style and I am continuously blessed and inspired when I read her blog. She is my go to on what to read next.  A professed C.S. Lewis fan, she chooses some of the most amazing books and I am continuously challenged by her reading lists.

From Edie's blog I was introduced to Paige's blog, Simple Thoughts.  Many of you may be familiar with her blog and her story.  It is truly amazing and I have been so blessed to read her posts.  I have been reading through the archives.  Her blog is filled with beautiful photos, thought provoking posts and words to inspire.

Following links on Paige's blog I was blessed to find Sibi's blog, Pearls and Grace.  Her blog is filled with stories of God's grace and goodness towards us who are so undeserving.  Her story is a true testimony of God's unfailing love, even when we feel alone and abandoned, He is there and knows our every pain.

Last but certainly not least is Jaime of Crafty, Scrappy, Happy.  Her blog is filled with so many good things. Complete eye candy.  She shares amazing projects that turn her house into a home and inspires me with her style.

These are a few of my favorites.  My go tos.  The ones I can't go without.  I hope that you take time to visit them.  What are some of your favorites?  Who or what inspires you, challenges you and encourages you?

Convention Time

This past weekend my daughter and I were here.  The convention is always a great time of encouragement and inspiration.  It helps to give me the needed energy to finish the school year strong.  This year I am so thrilled with all that we have accomplished.  One of our weakest areas is geography.  This year we have completed a couple of different geography books and it has gone well.  This is something that I do with both of the kids at the same time.  Geography is the same all around.  We have had fun with it.

There were some amazing speakers at the convention this year.  I attended many of the sessions and purchased cd's for the ones that I couldn't attend.  One of my favorite speakers was Diane Craft.  She was spectacular.  As I sat there listening to her speak, it seemed like she was describing  my son.  He was diagnosed with amblyopia, lazy eye, when he was in third grade.  It was too late to correct it.  His brain had completely shut that eye off.  We did not know he had lazy eye because his eye looked normal and he had depth perception.  Usually, the pupil will fall to the inside of the eye.  The eye doctor thinks it is amazing that he has depth perception because most kids with amblyopia do not.  This has affected his learning.  Listening to Diane Craft speak was so encouraging.  She shared many techniques and tips to help him to improve his writing, math and reading.  I now have some reading to do to equip me with a better understanding of what is happening while he struggles to learn.  I am excited to have these tools and knowledge to help him.  I would not have known about it without attending the convention.  I am so thankful that I was able to.

Jim Stobaugh was another amazing speaker.  He is very knowledgeable and I wish I could write faster as I was trying to take in everything he had to say.  Our daughter used his British Literature curriculum last year.  It was challenging but the vast amount of classics that he covers was well worth it.  

I usually attend the convention with my daughter.  We have a good time together.  We drive up together of Friday morning, fill up on some Starbucks and then head to the convention.  We are fortunate to have everything we need close to the convention center.  Once we arrive I park in the parking garage and do not have to drive again until we head home.  We enjoy staying together overnight.  She is a great help as I choose the best curriculum.  Last year, she was able to choose most of her own curriculum.  This is her senior year and I will miss her next year.  It won't be the same.

As our daughter heads off to college I feel a bit of sadness.  We have enjoyed homeschooling.  Watching her grow and her accomplishments over the last few years has been exciting.  I am thrilled that she is focused and looking forward to college but will miss her here with us each day.  It will give me more time to focus on our son and his needs.  I am looking forward to it.  Homeschooling is a blessing.  We have our difficult moments but we work through them.  It is such a gift to have the opportunity to do this.

Neglected

My blog and all of blogland have been neglected over these last couple of weeks.

What's keeping me away, you might wonder.

There are a few things~

A couple of weeks age my daughter and I were here for the weekend. We really enjoyed it and

I was thrilled to purchase some of the best curriculum for next year.

It will be a bittersweet year~my dd will be a senior.

It will be a challenging year for both of us.

Transcripts, college, SAT's, and regular classes will be on our plates.

One day at a time~

This is the other project that has kept me away. With the help of my remarkable brother we are doing some much needed and long awaited home improvement projects.

One wall was closed off~a closet built~

Lots of plastering and painting

But wait, there is still much more.

I am anticipating the moment when it is all finished and I can reveal how wonderful it all looks.

I can't forget all the homeschooling going on here~

We are finishing the year strong~

Our math curriculum is completed~Grammar books completed~we are well into our second Wordly Wise books~

Science is moving along~

classified animals

Labeled the human body

We've even taken the chance to watch this sunset

Longing for some quiet moments. There are more projects that will be completed before then.

We are taking this weekend as a time to relax and recoup. It is nice to just be for a couple of days. The work will still be there on Monday.

I am linking up with Patty at Finding Serendipity.

I want to wish all the mom's

a fabulous

MOTHER'S DAY!!!

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Nature Walk

We decided that this year we would make an effort to get outside and enjoy nature.  We have had some fun on our latest walks.  Everything is so beautiful~the colors are brilliant.  We are lucky to have a small park across the street.  It is used mostly for softball and soccer but there are open areas and a walking path.  

Love the sunlight in this picture.

We have had quite a few rainy and windy days so the trees have shed most of their leaves.

Found some interesting mushrooms due to the abundance of rain here lately.

We saw this nest way up in a tree.  It's not a bird's nest.

This little guy lives there.  He was watching us closely and warning us to stay away.  He actually made some "growling" noises at my son.  He was still cute~while he was up nice in high in the tree that is.

This is my daughter's nature journal sketch and entry.  She says she can't draw but I think this is great.

My son's journal entry and sketch.  He loves to draw.

Hope you are enjoying nature all around you.

~History Fun and Field Trip~

We are currently studying early American history and the Revolutionary War.  Although the kids have different history curriculums they are both at this time period.  It is one of my favorites.  Studying history is one of my favorites and early American history is rich with men of great character and honor who gave so much for their country and for future generations.  They had a vision for a country that is honorable, noble and free.

A couple of weeks ago I chose to include the HBO John Adams miniseries as part of our history.  It was fabulously done and so true to the story.  We enjoyed it immensely.  I only wish it was ours because I would watch it over and over again.  But thankfully, our wonderful library had this available for us.  I recommend it for anyone who is learning about this time period.  

What could be better than visiting the John Adams Historical Park once we were finished watching the series.  We set up a date, invited our dear neighbors and headed out to Quincy, MA.  We were so thankful that the weather was wonderful on that day.  If you are at all able I would recommend this wonderful trip.  Once you arrive at the visitor's center you can purchase your ticket and wait for the arrival of the next trolley to take you to the actual homes of John Adams and his family.

Our trolley awaits.  We board and are headed to the homes.  Look at the gorgeous day.

We arrive at the first house.  It is still located on the original site.  The homes were in the Adams family until 1979 when they were turned over to the National Parks Department.  They are amazing historical landmarks. The home pictured below is the birthplace and home of John Adams during his early years.

This is the home where John and Abigail started their married lives.  It is the birthplace of our sixth President~John Quincy Adams and also the birthplace of the Massachusetts Constitution.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get a better picture because there is a very busy street there now. 

Once the tour of the birthplaces was complete we boarded the trolley once and again and headed to the Old House.  This is the home where John and Abigail lived when they returned from Europe.  It was the home of four generations of the Adams family.

The Old House

This is the carriage house.  It is one of the few remaining farm buildings of John and Abigail's time.  John farmed the land that he owned at the time.  There were barns and other farm buildings and an orchard that John loved.
Love this door to the old house.  It has a gorgeous porch and there are two identical entrances.  Abigail had an addition put on the house while John was away.

Gorgeous gate~Like the doors there are two identical gates.  I love them!!

There is a stone library on the property.  John Quincy Adams requested that a fireproof structure be built separate from the house for his books and papers.  This is a weathervane from the old Hamilton church given to the Adams's when they funded a new church building.  This is a replica.  The original is stored away but was on display for hundreds of years.

Window to the library.
English garden that Charles Francis Adams had made for his wife.  This is the site of John Adams's apple orchard but Charles wanted his wife to have a proper English garden.

You are not able to take any pictures inside the homes.  Everything in the Old House is original and belong to the Adams's.  The cane that John is portrayed carrying in the miniseries is there by the door~it is the original.  There are so many wonderful features of the home that I wish I could share but am not allowed.  If you aren't able to visit in person you can take a virtual tour here.  I hope you have enjoyed our visit.  

We had such a great time with our neighbors.  Even with my poor sense of direction I was able to find our way out of Quincy into familiar territory where we could have a nice lunch together.  It was such a fun experience.  The kids and I had so much fun and laughed so hard.  They are the best neighbors anyone could ask for and tons of fun.

~On the Bookshelf~

Let me begin this post by saying that I love books.  I have books everywhere in my home and can never find enough places to put them.  Since we homeschool there is a need to have great books on hand.  As a someone who loves creating I need books for inspiration.  Of course, my husband would need another job if he were to be able to support my book habit, and that is why I love our library.  We have a great system and I can request books from any library in our state and they will bring them to my local library for me to pick up.  It is just amazing for me, a lover of books.

Here is a sample of what I have been dreaming through lately.  I picked them up yesterday.

I love just about everything in this book.  I had better get busy.

Great projects in this book.  I love their simplicity.  The pictures are absolutely wonderful.  I can look at them over and over again.

This is my kind of style.  Flea markets and yard sales are filled with so many treasures.  Great photos to dream by.

I love the title of this book.  Another wonderful book to sit and dream with.  Great photos to inspire you.

I have been crocheting for a very long time but I am self taught.  I have a lot to learn and this book has all the answers.  I love it.  Such great pictures and diagrams to help you.  I think this will be on my need to buy list.

I loved this amazing book.  I read it all and knew that it would fit in with our theme for this year.  I have been wanting to have nature as our theme for a while now.  I am looking forward to trying some of the wonderful suggestions in this book.  My kids are older but I know that there is definitely nature deficit disorder there.  I want to get them outside and enjoying everything nature has.  I look forward to incorporating this into our days more and more this year.  I have also requested Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.  I am so excited for this book to come in.

I purchased these Note Sketch pads at our homeschool convention and we will use them as our nature notebooks.  I am determined to remain focused on our theme for the year and incorporate projects that include nature and follow our lessons.  This my be tricky with one student in high school and one in middle school but we will try.  I will keep you all updated on this project.

The only bad part about our great library is that in the end the books must be returned.  I keep a list of those books I truly loved to either purchase them eventually or borrow them once again.  

Do you have a love for books?  What's on your bookshelf now?

No one Visits When Your House Is Clean!!

Isn't this the truth?  Your home can be just cleaned, everything in it's place and no one comes to visit.  Let your regular day to day life, that resembles a hurricane, take over and be sure there will be a knock on the door.  

This past weekend the gas company came to do some work on the gas meter and such.  We knew they were coming and were prepared.  The basement was cleaned and everything out of their way.  It took them longer than expected but it was done.  Or so we thought.

Monday morning I get a phone call.  It happens to be the gas company~they need to come back and test the work they did here on Saturday.  Ok~I thought I would have a few minutes to get things organized and moved before he came.  Nope~he's right outside the door.  He happened to be working in the neighborhood.   With no time to spare I had to let him in. We are working hard on finishing our school work for the year here.  Things were chaotic at best but it only got worse. There were all kinds of things jammed back where he had to work.  His way was completely blocked and he was none to happy about that.  There were the usual "thank you, mam" and "it's alright, mam" while I apologize profusely for this messy clutter, but his eyes told a different story.  I really believe he was thinking~Please get me out of here!!   Got that all out of the way and came upstairs. The dog decides she wants to play with the nice gas man and goes downstairs.  I have to drag her back upstairs.  Finally, back upstairs I try to get the kids back on track with school work.  I can handle this small distraction.  We'll be fine~or so I thought.  While reaching for my daughter's book at the same time she does, my whole extra large, just filled coffee mug tips over. Coffee everywhere~dripping off books, papers, onto chairs, the floor, splattering the curtain. Won't you guess it~while the melee of trying to contain it and clean it up is happening~the gas guy has to walk right through that area. He tries to make it to the front door and leave but somehow through all of this the coat rack got moved~I'm thinking it was gremlins~and his big bag of tools gets caught on it.  It's tipping over and almost hitting him on the head.   I think he left heaving a great sigh of relief.  I think we need a bigger house with a school room.  

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! just another one of those happy homeschool days. LOL~This maybe why some people think homeschoolers are weird.  I am sorry to all my fellow homeschoolers out there.  I never meant to add to the "homeschooers are weird " value permeating everyday society.  

Why is it that no one visits when the house is clean and we are having a good day?!

I would love to read more stories of those who have been in this same predicament. Please do share~I don't want to think I am all alone in this.

Gone FIshing

One of the homeschool moms in our group set up a wonderful field trip with the local Department of Environmental Management.  We were able to go fishing as a group at the Carolina Trout Hatchery.  It was fun.  Our son says he would like to go fishing and hubby is not a fishing man.  This was ideal because they provided everything.  When we started out early in the morning it was cloudy and beginning to rain.  During the ride it was pouring~it didn't look to promising. Once we got there the rain did hold off.  

Ds standing with the totem pole at the entrance to the hatchery.  You can see the trout raceways behind him.

Ds did enjoy fishing but dad had to do all the dirty work~baiting the hook with slimy worms and taking the fish off were not his thing.  I guess he didn't want to get those little artists hands tarnished.

Here are the boys after they cast out the first line~patiently waiting.

The first catch.

After the first one they were all jumping on that hook.  He caught three more.  No sooner did he think he was on a roll when the fish got wise and started stealing the bait.  It didn't matter how well my husband hooked that worm the fish were stealing them left and right.

After about six or seven times of losing their bait with no catch, the novelty wore off.  It was quite cold so we headed to the car to eat our lunch and head for home.

Busy, Busy!!

We had a fun but very busy week last week. I was thrilled at how much we were able to accomplish before the Thanksgiving holiday. I had so much on our list that I didn't think we would come close to getting it all done. I was so excited when Thanksgiving came and everything on the list was crossed off.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was fun and completely stress free. My in laws usually come over and then we visit my brother's house later in the day. I decided this year that we would have my in laws over but would stay home afterwards. It gets to crazy running from place to place.

The kid's busy at work. My work spot is near the window and I always have stacks of work and projects.

My side of the table where I work is always pretty messy.

This is a baby blanket I finished for a lady who works with my husband. He calls her his work "mom" and this is for her first grandchild. I was glad to finish it and send it to it's new home. I hope they enjoy it.

The kids worked on Thanksgiving activity books. We read many of the different presidential Thanksgiving Proclamations and some less known facts about Thanksgiving history.

This is my dd's cover.

This is ds's back cover. I don't know why it's turned. It isn't on my computer only here.

This is the inside cover of my son's book. We burned the paper's edges to antique it.

The front cover of ds's book. He likes to keep things simple. Not too much detail.

This is dd's inside pages.

The back cover of dd's book. That looks yummy. I did make an apple pie that looked that good. It is one of my favorite things to bake but I don't eat it. I don't like it. I just love the smell of it baking. Weird, I know.

I started this table runner last year but never finished it. I wanted to finish it for this Thanksgiving. I had completed it but was nervous about doing the backing. It was my first time.

I finally attempted it on Wednesday night and I think it worked out well.

Here is the finished product. I used it on our table for Thanksgiving dinner.

Working on some clothes pins for a swap.  They will make great Christmas card clips.

On Friday we put up our Christmas tree and I did all the indoor decorating. Just a few things left to finish. I still have to put up the outdoor decorations.

I participated in my first apron swap and spent most of Saturday and Sunday putting the finishing touches on it. I sent the package out just in time on Monday. I will post pictures once I know she has recieved it. I was so excited to participate. It was fun adding all the little extras. I do hope she enjoys it.