Maybe We Should Move to Wyoming

To homeschool all you have to submit is a letter of intent each school year. Hhmm.....

Firsts of the Season

Nothing smells as good as clothes hung out on the line.
Our washer is broken and I had to go to the laundromat. I had a lot of laundry to dry but only had $1.25 left after washing it all. I used that to start the towels drying (nothing feels worse to me than a towel hung on the line soaked, only to dry like sandpaper). I brought everything home and most went on the line. Jeans and unmentionables went in our dryer at home.

The washers at the laundromat don't hold as much as mine so I don't like this option. Kirk went looking for a used washer and found one. It was $500 brand new, is three years old and they want $250 for it. We looked at new washers without fancy settings and they were $350 - $399. Still thinking which route to go.

It was very hot in the afternoon, about 85 degrees and Noelle decided to enjoy a cooling trek in the creek.
When its hot like that I do not like to turn the oven on or stand over a hot stove to cook dinner. We did a fend for yourself night and then had sherbet for dessert.

I love this kind of dancing!

Yesterday

Owen is now 4 years old. Isn't he handsome? We think so. We could have done something special for him but I don't think he noticed :-)
I carved out a corner in our multipurpose room for my sewing space. Its nice to have a place all set up and ready to go. I got the table at a yard sale last year.
In a post last March I said we were going to make this room into our bedroom but it just never happened. We need a new bed and it has to be taken through the window to get it down stairs, so we're waiting until we get a new bed. Hopefully that will be soon as it really is shot and it doesn't help with Kirk's back and neck problems. He gets up and goes to work everyday even though he's usually in a great deal of pain. Prayers for him would be appreciated.

I finally finished the sewing portion of my first CQ block.
Now I need to do the embroidery over the seams and any embellishment I want. You can see a finished example here. I joined an online group called CQembellishers because that's the part I'm looking forward to the most. They refer to it as eye candy. I use to cross stitch before the kids were born and when they were little. I always meant to learn other embroidery stitches and they are what you use in CQs.

For dinner I made what we call Breakfast Pizza. Its really simple but good!

Breakfast Pizza

1 tube crescent rolls
1 pound sausage, cooked and drained
4 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press crescent rolls into the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread sausage over crust. Whisk eggs and milk together, pour over sausage. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for about 15 minutes.

I actually did a variation on this yesterday. I used bacon, cooked and crumbled, in place of the sausage and used shredded swiss cheese instead of the cheddar. It was really good but I think I may have to increase the amount of eggs to 6 or decrease the amount of bacon to half. I served it with fruit and yogurt.

So Sweet!

God Lives at the Post Office

Our 14-year-old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.

She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could, so she dictated these words:

Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick...

I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her. You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love, Meredith

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, "To Meredith," in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, When a Pet Dies. Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.

I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,
God

Our Saturday

Its a beautiful day out today! About 70 degrees and sunny with a breeze. It feels so good to be outside again, especially since they are calling for rain the next two days.

Kirk and the kids did yard work and I gave Owen a bath which is always a challenge. I like to clean him up using a kiddie pool and the hose because he is too big to get into my claw foot tub and then out again all wet. Then I took him for a walk and then back home to trim his toenails. As you can imagine I don't do this any more than I have to ;)

Well, off to enjoy the fresh air some more. Have a great day!

One of Four

A crocus finally bloomed in my yard!

The Truth Project

Our church is beginning classes on this tonight.

Happy Easter!

Easter Comments
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Don't know why

but I really like this song.


Anastasia - Once upon a December - MyVideo

Why Public Schooling

Is Better Than Homeschooling
(author unknown)

1. Most parents were educated in the underfunded public school system, and so are not smart enough to homeschool their own children.

2. Children who receive one-on-one homeschooling will learn more than others, giving them an unfair advantage in the marketplace. This is undemocratic.

3. How can children learn to defend themselves unless they have to fight off bullies on a daily basis?

4. Ridicule from other children is important to the socialization process.

5. Children in public schools can get more practice "Just Saying No" to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.

6. Fluorescent lighting may have significant health benefits.

7. Publicly asking permission to go to the bathroom teaches young people their place in society.

8. The fashion industry depends upon the peer pressure that only public schools can generate.

9. Public schools foster cultural literacy, passing on important traditions like the singing of "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg..."

10. Homeschooled children may not learn important office career skills, like how to sit still for six hours straight.

Treasure Hunting

I just found out about Letterboxing and think it sounds very interesting. We love being outside and this would be a great way to explore new areas. There is a book called The Letterboxer's Companion by Randy Hall that introduces you to this. Our library doesn't have it but another library in our county does so I'm going to reserve it. There is also a Wikipedia page on it.

Have any of you done something similar to this before?

Tidbits of Life

The kids and I have been on a Doctor Who kick. Some of the episodes we were able to watch instantly on Netflix and others we had to get in the mail. I love the imagination and quirkiness of the show!

I also found a new website, Kids in Mind, to help us know more about movies we are considering watching. Although we are discontinuing Netflix at the end of April. Its time for more outdoor pursuits with the coming warmer weather.

We are also looking into buying another vehicle. The van is really nice but with all the gadgets, the insurance is too high. Ever since I saw one on a car lot last summer, I have really wanted a Ford Taurus X, so that is what we are looking for now. A Ford dealership is going to a Ford auction this week and will look for one for us.

I still haven't started my crazy quilt project but did check out Stitch Sampler from the library to help learn some new stitches. Noelle confiscated my one prom gown for dress up and now I don't have the cream satin material I needed. Hopefully yard sales will start back up soon and I'll find what I need there.

We're going to my Aunt Patty's house for Resurrection Sunday and it looks like the weather will be fairly decent. We have snow on the ground now but its supposed to be better by Sunday. I sure pray so!

Awana had crazy hat night Sunday and I'll leave you with what Noelle came up with.

Noelle's Birthday Celebration

Katlyn's birthday is 6 days before Noelle's so it was a double celebration. They both got some flip flops, candy, a Webkinz horse, Faith Girlz books, and went out to dinner. While waiting for Katlyn's parents to pick her up the girls jumped on the trampoline and still didn't want the day to end when they showed up.

Here's a video montage of the day. Enjoy!

Picture and Video Sharing

I've been on Blogger for over a year now and just discovered Picasa 3 photo/video software. I think it may be because I use to get Flickr Pro for free with my ISP (quite irritated that I now get almost nothing extra for all the money I pay them). I didn't want to lose access to my photos original sizes (which you don't have with their free version) so bought a one year subscription. It will take me at least that long to remove the over 3,000 photos I have on there. Since I have my blog on here I thought I'd do a little exploring of Picasa and really like what is offered. I will be switching all my photo sharing to Picasa Web Albums. Keeping everything in one place should make my life a little easier. Oh, and thanks to our new computer I will be able to store my photos and video originals on DVDs.

Indoctrination

Far from failing in its intended task, our educational system is in fact succeeding magnificently, because its aim is to keep the American people thoughtless enough to go on supporting the system.

~ Richard Mitchell, The Underground Grammarian