The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling and Ice Days

Today we woke up to 20 degree weather (those of you up north can stop laughing now). It rained most of the night so the roads were icy and schools and businesses were closed down (okay, I will pause a second while those of you up north can catch your breath from laughing so hard). Better? Okay. So, as a homeschool mom do we take an "ice day" or keep schooling?

Our deck in the backyard.

My wishing well up front. (Ignore the Christmas lights, we will get to them eventually.

Well, if it had been snow and the kids would have been occupied outside then we would have taken the day off. But, ice just causes them to have nothing to do inside and so school keeps them busy and engaged. However, there are some pros to homeschooling too. It was very cold today. So the boys were up early and started a fire. I love my fireplace and can sit next to it all day on a cold day like today.

Another advantage of homeschooling is that we can still do school but we can do it in front of the fireplace. Here we are doing writing class in the family room right across from the fireplace. We are all dressed very comfortably and warm. Anything we have to get out for we can do tomorrow.

I am not sure the kids agree with these thoughts, but I have loved sitting in front of the fire doing school.

Tim Hawkins Live

We were blessed with the opportunity to see Tim Hawkins Live tonight. He is such a great comedian and seeing him live is an experience! He did a lot of his material from his most recent DVD "I'm No Rockstar" , but he had some new stuff too. His physical comedy just makes his show.
The kids all wanted to meet him and get his autograph. J got an autograph for herself and for a dear friend . When she told Tim she wanted it for her best friend he signed it, "Hi Emily!" Tim Hawkins. Now imagine him saying it as he signed with a big flourish to his signature.

C told him to just sign Tim Hawkins to which he replied, "Why didn't I think of that? I was going to sign another name. James Burley!" As you can see he had the boys cracking up.

Phillip asked if he could take a picture with all the kids and Tim was so gracious and jumped right up to pose with them. As you can see, He was classic Tim Hawkins!

We all had a great night with lots of laughs. If you get a chance to see him live, I recommend you go. We also got to see Cleto Rodriguez who is another comedian that performs with Tim Hawkins and the improvisational group HimProv . Tim used to perform with Himprov before he moved on. If you get a chance to see them they are fun and quick with their wit.

Today was a better day.

Yesterday we had a pretty bad scare. My dd J had a migraine headache. So did I so I was not surprised. She began throwing up pretty violently so we decided to give her phenergan so we could ease her stomach enough to give her some pain meds. She fell right to sleep. As I had already taken pain meds, so did I. My oldest A realized I was not in very good shape and neither was J so she called her dad and he came home. Thank God she did this. While I was sleeping and thought J was sleeping she had stumbled downstairs. Phillip found her on the couch. When he asked her how she was doing she could not talk and was making no sense so Phillip came and woke me up. He brought her to me and her tongue wasn't working, she couldn't talk and she was not making sense. We immediately called the doctor. While on the phone they told us to give her benedryl, which we did. We noticed that her right arm was no longer working and it was "posturing" (held in a position she could not change). This is a neurological sign. At this point the nurse had us hang up and call 911.
When the ambulance got her the paramedics checked her over and wanted us to send her to the hospital. No problem. I could not go as I was still very ill so Phillip hopped in the ambulance but they made him sit in the front seat. They were not going very fast and had only one light flashing so it seemed okay at that point. Then Phillip heard movement in the back of the ambulance and one of the guys told them that everything was fine but to bump it up. So, all the lights and sirens came on and they were speeding to the hospital. Once at the hospital she was already starting to do better. While in the ambulance she could not answer simply questions like, name, age, birthdate or answered wrong. She told them she was 9??? She was talking more clearly in the ER but her arm was not working well. It was working some. They did a CT Scan to rule out any brain problems and she was fine.
She is allergic to phenergan. She was sent home with a different med for nausea.
Today she is back to her same bubbly self but a bit sleepy. She had an awful lot of medicine pumped into her yesterday.
It was definitely not the way we had planned our day but the Lord was fully aware of it. There were so many things that just fell into place.
A called her dad to come home and he could come home.
For some reason J stumbled downstairs.
Phil checked on her just at the right time.
With me sleeping and thinking she was upstairs sleeping there would have been no reason for me to go check on her. She could have had this reaction and no one would have known.
I could not have gone with her to the hospital even if I had called 911, if Phillip weren't home I don't know what we would have done.
God had it taken care of. We had so many people praying and all turned out well. Thank you to everyone who lifted her up to the Great Physician. She has always been in His hands and that is a strong tower of protection for her.

Smart Cookies...

Mom: J, we need to get you through Algebra 1 so you can take the PSAT next year.

J: What's the PSAT

Mom: It is the pre-SAT. Remember you need to take the SAT for college. If you do well on the PSAT you can get scholarships etc.

J: Really?

Mom: Yes, I was a National Merit Scholar and was automatically accepted into the colleges I applied for and received a few full scholarships.

J: (Looks at mom amazed or shocked, one of the two)

Mom: I know I may not look like it but your mom is one smart cookie.

J: (pointing to self) smart cookie!

C has walked in during the end of this conversation....

Mom turns to C: C, are you a smart cookie?

C: I'm a tough cookie,... but I don't know if I am a smart cookie.

At this point all I can do is laugh. How does he come up with these witty replies so quickly? LOL!

100% No Broken Bones......still

With 4 kids you might expect to have at least 1 broken bone in the bunch. Well, so far so good. Yesterday we almost lost that record. R managed to jam his finger while on the trampoline ( I know, I know, I am a nurse and know that trampoline injuries are quite common. We have had one for years and this is the first incident.) It did look misshapen but afer x-rays we were assured it was just a lot of swelling and he will have to wear a splint for a few days until it starts to feel better. Here is the splint that R says is VERY limiting to his activities.We sent him to AWANAS tonight with instructions to be careful with his finger. Well, he was. However, his hip was not in the stipulation and he is now in bed with ice on his hip where he landed on it. It is swollen and bruised and painful to the touch, but once again, not broken.

In the Hands of a Child - Kit Pack - Sale Announcement

Jeff and Kate Estes are an intregal part of the homeschooling community and have faithfully supplied needed projects to help many homeschools run more smoothly. They have served by putting together many wonderful history kits with all the needed items including some hard to find items so that homeschooling parents, like myself, can save time as we school our children. It is with great saddness that I post here to help this precious family. They run the company Hands and Hearts.
Below you will read about a new law going into effect on Feb. 10 that will prevent the Estes' from continuing in the business. Please read the notice below and help this family and other homeschooling businesses if you can as they try to sell off their inventory. For those of you who do not know the Estes, they are Noah's (see sidebar) parents, whom many of you have been praying for.

From another Company - "In the Hands of a Child"
January 12, 2009

Dear Valued Customers,

Due to the new CPSIA law In the Hands of a Child for the time being, is discounting our Kit Pack inventory in order to lessen our possible loss in the event that an exemption is not granted.

While we are still praying for this situation to work out for all small businesses we feel that it is in our best interest to lessen our possible loss. And what better way than to pass the savings on to you, our wonderful customers, who are praying with us through this difficult situation!!

Please help us clear our shelves and enjoy a 35% savings on all Kit Packs!! Savings will be automatic! Spread the word and help us empty the shelves!!

This sale will continue until our Kit Pack inventory has been exhausted, so purchases will be on a first-come-first-served basis.

Once they are gone, they are gone!

In the event the law is modified, In the Hands of a Child reserves the right to bring back Kit Packs in the future at full price without any discount, implied or expressed, during this sale.

Cannot be combined with any other offer, special, discount, coupon or sale.
Super Member discount DOES NOT apply to this sale.
Tax and Shipping not included in calculating discount price.
Not valid toward prior purchases.
No rainchecks.

DO YOU HAVE A BLOG? YOU CAN RECEIVE A FREE KIT PACK!

Help us spread the word by posting the above notice on your blog. Then place an order for at least 1 Kit Pack, email us the link to your blog where the notice is posted along with your order number and your choice of Kit Pack and we’ll add it to your order. How easy is that?*

*Please note customer is responsible for shipping costs for free Kit Pack, shipping will be combined with original order if email is received same day as order is placed notifying us of blog posting.

Sunday Catch up

Since I see Monday as the first day of the week, Sunday is my wrap-up day. We started the week cold and icy which turned out to be a good thing. It kept us home, by the fire and all working well on our first day back to school.

The kids were focused and worked really hard on their school work and were up most days doing their schooling without any prompting from me. I was sooooo proud of them.
We didn't really get out the rest of the week except for our usual bible studies etc. but we have had a lot of family time together.
We have introduced the kids to "Hogan's Heroes", an old sitcom about a WW 2 POW camp. The kids needed a little background and an understanding that this show is a comedy and in NO WAY reflects the truth of the matter. However, we don't really hit WW 2 until next year in our studies.
Today we enjoyed worship and fellowship and then came home and napped and relaxed. When I woke up it was back to the Christmas decorations. It took awhile and the effort of all involved but we did get it done.



All in all it was a really good week. I need to get prepared for next week. I also have some further musings on the New Year and Resolutions, habits, thoughts but that is for another post, another time.

Back to School, Pencils and Ice

We started back to school today. The kids were up and going and were very diligent in their work. I was really proud of them. We finished up school shortly after 3. It was a long day but a productive day.
While teaching writing today I noticed an odd site.

I don't know how this pencil was sticking to the wall or how or why it got there. Unfortunately it peeled a little of the paint off when we pulled it off. But it was a nice distraction and a good laughing break in the middle of a long school day.

It was a good day to start back to school. It was cold, rainy and icy outside. No one wanted to go out for any reason so it was easy to focus on school. The boys had to make several wood runs to keep the fireplace going and came in exclaiming the icicles on the trampoline and all over the trees. It really was one wintery day.
Here is a picture of our pecan tree and the crepe myrtles covered in ice. The picture does not do the beauty of the scene justice.

It was a good day all in all and we are back to school full force.

Holiday in the Park at Six Flags

1-02-09
We have made several attempts to attend "Holiday in the Park" this year. We finally made it and it was the most beautiful day we could have gone. The weather was perfect and the park was not crowded. We were able to take a couple of the kids "cousins" with us and so it was me and 6 kids. What a blast! We started our trip on the carousel like we always do. However, those pictures are on another camera and I have learned that if I wait to blog until I get all the pictures it will never happen. So, here are a few highlights of our day.
Here are the kids on the Teacups. I love this picture!

While some of the other kids rode the Superman, A and R rode the "Gunslinger" or "The Big Swings".

Snow Hill is part of Holiday in the Park. It is some of the only "snow" we will see here in Texas. As you can see by the short sleeve shirts it was not exactly snow weather. LOL! I went down first so I could take pictures.






The Tony Hawk is a new ride. We all wanted to ride this one. It was so much fun. Here are the girls who rode in one car....

and the boys and I rode in the other.

Most thrill rides at Six Flags have a station on the ride that snaps pictures as you are riding. However, they have stepped up the pictures on the Tony Hawk. On this ride there are four seats. Two seats facing two other seats. In the middle of the four seats are 2 video cameras. One facing the first set of seats and the other the second set. The boys said the ride was okay but watching me scream made it all the more fun. Thankfully, the cameras were NOT operating that evening. God is good. LOL!
After the Tony Hawk, we only had 15 minutes left to closing so we ran across the park to ride the Yosemite Sam. This is a boat that floats you through a Looney Tunes story of Yosemite Sam stealing the gold. Well, it was definitely relaxing.

After the Yosemite Sam I had promised the kids Funnel Cakes for dessert. We had 4 minutes until the park closed. Where do you get Funnel Cakes? Back at the opposite end of the park from the Yosemite Sam! So we were off and running again. I definitely had my workout for the day.
Here they all are enjoying their funnel cakes and a wonderful ending to a wonderful day at Six Flags.

The Year in Review Blog Challenge

I saw this on DeEtta's blog. She saw it on Lisa's blog who found it at Small World. I thought this looked like a fun way to summarize 2008. 2009 begins my third year of blogging. I began in March of 2007. In 2008 I posted 93 entries. I realized that I have had many blogging marathons where I spent a considerable amount of time catching up on blogging. My goal is to do better this year.

How to Play.
1) Look back to your archives for 2008.
2) Collect the first sentence you wrote every month for the whole year. (This doesn't have to be the literal first day of the month--just the first post.)
3) Entertain us on your blog, link back here , and post a comment here with the link to your blog. (And if you're blogless, just remember the first sentence you spoke every month for the whole year and post it here. LOL)

Jan. For years we have had a New Year's Party at my house with 4 families from my college days.
Feb. Monday started out with everyone grumpy and not quite as obedient as usual.
Mar.Earlier I blogged about an event that happened last weekend called a GeTOGether.
Apr.Since my birthday is between A and J’s BD’s and Easter is usually in there, it is not uncommon for me to forget.
May I just realized it has been almost a week since I last blogged and it was a blogging marathon.
June Today in worship our communion talk was about Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-36).
July Okay, Today did NOT start out well.
Aug.Week 1,
Clean and reorganize my bedroom
Clean Office, Set up kids computer/work room/empty bookshelves
Finish Family Room (We had already rearranged and cleaned the room but had all the bookshelves and school supplies and books to take care of)
Empty and clean out understairs closet (Now this was a major ordeal!)
Clean and rearrange Dining Room/Living Room (ie Front Room)
Sept. What a week we have had. J has been in the hospital since Sat.
Oct.After J was hospitalized we were finally able to take a long awaited vacation.
Nov. My sister let me know that she has noticed my lack of blogging.
Dec. While trying to get out Christmas decorations down we realized the garage needed cleaning.

Happy New Year!!!!! 2009

As another year rolls in we return to where we started the year, back in our home celebrating the New Year with dear friends and family. Every year we celebrate with 4couples who have known each other since college. We figured out we have known each other for 28 years. We have not always been together. We have had moves, hardships, and health issues but it is something we look forward to every year. This year we were blessed to have everyone here. There is no greater joy than the bond of friendship that can only be made through our common bond of loving and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. We have our ups and downs but when we come together on New Year's each year it is a time of celebration, laughter, fun and general silliness. Here is a sneak peek into our celebration....
The Faces of New Year's
Who is that Masked Woman?

Relaxing as we wait for the clock to count down.

Can't wait to celebrate!

Even our nurses join in the celebration.

Captain "Dad Pants"!

Live Long and Prosper.

A smile that will steal your heart.

Grandma Jo waiting to bring in the New Year.

Aubrey does not want her picture taken!


Ringing in the New Year
Laura is ready to snap a picture as the New Year comes in.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!



G blowing her horn!

Wendall all dressed up and bringing in the New Year. G's nurses have always been a part of our New Year's celebration and are such a blessing to us all.


Toasting the New Year (It's Ginger Ale! LOL)
After ringing in the New Year we lift our glasses in a toast to the many blessings the Lord has brought to us. Not the least of which is the promise of eternity with our dears friends and loved ones.

Marc and Laura were able to join us again this year. We were so blessed to have us all together again! God is good!

G was able to enjoy some giner ale too!

Our "children" are not so little any more. They are growing up to be such wonderful young adults.


Relaxing took many different forms after we rang in the New Year. Reading, uploading pictures to the computer and general snacking and conversation could be found in all corners of the house.

Enjoying Tim Hawkins "I'm No Rockstar" This picture was taken just as it was starting. Once it started we were all laughing too hard to think about taking pictures. LOL!

After our big celebration, laughter, eating and fun...All is calm....


The Next Morning we were treated to a wonderful breakfast of quiche, cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls compliments of Laura. Many sat down to a relaxing game of "Electronic Monopoly". They use Credit/Debit Cards and transfer money electronically. There is no cash! The pieces are an LCD TV, a Segue, a puppy in a purse, altoids, the space shuttle and a baseball cap.

They use Credit/Debit Cards and transfer money electronically. There is no cash! The pieces are an LCD TV, a Segue, a puppy in a purse, altoids, the space shuttle and a baseball cap.


The New Year has already started out as a wonderful blessing. We will continue to thank the Lord daily for the blessings He gives us throughout the year. May you all know the Lord and the blessings that He offers.
Have a blessed New Year!