Busy and Happy

So, the week began with a field trip. Pretty cool, huh? Yeah, it was. After doing the main protion of our schoolwork and chores, we headed to the local airport to learn from the Air Evac team. They fly the care flite helicopter that transports injured people to hospitals. We got to see the helicopter, talk to the pilot, nurse and paramedic crew. it was really fascinating...plus the pilot was so funny!
Then our week progressed fairly normally. We learned and played and laughed and rode bikes. We also got some much needed rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. it was gray and cold and totally soggy, but we have been under water restriction for MONTHS so this was very welcome. In fact, we won't complain if we get an event like this every week or so....just saying.
By Thursday we made a trip into rockwall to get our Azure order, play hunting games at Bass Pro and buy dress fabric for Emily. We also had a fabulous visit with Apple Orthodontics and decided they will get our business.....just as soon as those last 2 teeth descend enough for brackets. We also got Emily's birhtday party supplies.
Friday we had school as usual, but ended the day with boys shopping with grandparents for Jordan's bithday gift while we hosted a houseful of girls for a birhtday sleepover. FYI--it is a waste of money to rent a movie for a houseful of girls. Give them some hair accessories and nail polish and candy and their ipod and they are good to go! We hardly heard from them. But all but two did get to sleep by midnight, and rose at 7:30 for waffles with whipped cream and strawberries. It was a very fun time.
This is Jacob putting away his schoolbooks on Friday.
And the littler ones doing an art project. We learned to combine paint to make tints and shades.
Here is the nail salon portion of the party.
And here is the dancing part.
And ehre are all the lovely ladies after a night of little sleep and lots of fun. They left, and we were glad to have just our family of 7 in the house, so we all celebrated by taking a 2 hour nap.

THE END

Apples!

So apples are good in more ways than one! We saw Apple Orthodontics today and LOVED them. In a few months we will be investing in Emily's beautiful smile, there. I highly recommend them.

Also, the apples of my cheeks just glow when I have purchased gorgeous fabric to make the eldest daughter some spring dresses. (Have you seen the mess they sell in the stores for junior sizes??? Seriously? Who dresses their daughter like a tramp? Apparently lots of folks.) So now that the rant is over, the sewing shall commence.

And Azure Standard and Bountiful Baskets sell the BEST apples ever! BB also had awesome brussel sprouts which I never liked until I got their fresh ones---cook them with onion and smoked sausages and enjoy tremendously!

Ok, that is all i have to say because I have a daughter having a 12th birthday and a friend coming over to buy an old sewing machine, so have a blessed evening! Longer post with photos coming real soon.......

Reporting Live from Scoggins Academy

Good morning. Today we have several things to report.
First story of the day: Children get fascinated while looking at bodily fluids on a microscope slide. yes. it is true. Snot and plaque and blood are fascinating. And you heard it here first.
In other news, the filming of The Red Bat ceased about a week ago and there has been burning of dvd's today for distribution. get yours before they run out!
Today's weather is bright and sunny with a few clouds and no precipitation expected. But hold onto your hats, folks...rain, and I mean a good soaking rain, is in the forecast in about 24 hours! Yes! You heard right! Rain...and a good bit of it!
In our food segment, the children were not terribly excited to see the leftover smoked sausage served with baked beans for lunch. However they did enjoy the oranges and pomegranate. Amazing, since they had just viewed snot and plaque.
The midday news brings us many answered prayers for our friends Will, Scott, and Dan.
In our birthday segment this week, we are happy to report the 12th birthday of the oldest girl. A movie night is planned with pizza and ice cream later in the week.
In financial news, the search is still on for an affordable and reasonable orthodontist. And the bank has received sufficient funds to cover the upcoming replacement of laminate wood flooring. In business news, the provider received a very high rating on performance review and will be travelling more. He also received praise for being one of the most ethical people to work with. Kudos!
There is really nothing to report in travel news, though a couple of trips are being planned to a wildlife museum and an ice skating rink for the upcoming month.
In education news, the students are performing well, and plans are being made for the next fiscal school year. One will be an 8th grade graduate in the next several months, too. Unbelievable!
There will be some outreach later today at the jscoc facility and we have word that a performance of Step in Time will be occurring at a local dance studio later this evening. Also, barring any complications the Life Flight demonstration will commence shortly.
That is all we have for today's midday news. Make it a great day!

Mid-January and All is Well

This is my morning ritual--drink coffee and walk the dogs. Actually, they walk me.
Hanging out with Nick and the boys
Above and below the girls are all having fun.
This is Kim's dress I made form some cheap eyelet.
And this is my produce co-op share for this week....only $15!

You know, i read several blog things this week about making money with your blog. That sounds really nice in some ways but the truth is, this is like a personal journal for me and my family and friends. I really don't want it to be out there in that way....at least not at this time. And truthfully, I don't want to invest the time and effort. Lazy? No. Just busy with the important stuff of life right now. I really want to focus on my husband and kids and their activities and needs. There will come a time when other things will catch my fancy.
So, what has been going on, you ask? Wellllllll....this week we learned about the human body, got out the microscope to study slides, learned more about Genesis, worked on writing skills in journals, helped those learning about homeschooling, went to the park, watched some good movies with freinds and family, Jacob finished his first movie .... The Red Bat, and so on...
Red Bat is about 30 minutes long and we gave the first copy to Dakota. She is going to be in a new film with him this summer with a medieval feel to it. He is writing it now. We are going to make other copies for family members to have...gotta get some DVD's. You want one so someday you can say you knew him back when...He is brilliant! (yes, i am bragging a bit--)
This week we made some great homemade bread, and joined a produce co-op. That was great!
Today Emily has a girls get together at a friends house, and we had unexpected friends this morning which was FUN. The girls are into the new girly lego sets called Friends. Emily bought one today. Speaking of Emily, she had a 12th birthday coming up in 4 days. She is having a sleepover with pizza and ice cream and strawberry belgian waffles.
We are gearing up for February which will hold some more fun things to do. Tomorrow is our first day of LTC practice. you can find out all about that at www.ntltc.org. It makes for a busy but fun filled Easter weekend.
Jordan has been busy building lego, and shooting his BB gun this week. He also rode his new scooter all the way to the fire station and back. He is reading well and playing a lot.
Lizzy has been dancing and practicing ballet in hopes of joining ballet in the fall if they have space. She also got her first American girl doll from her friend Faith. it was a handed down doll but in great shape and Lizzy is THRILLED. She has been reading Little Women, too.
Kimberly has been doing kindergarten things and dancing all day. She got her new ballet shoes this week and LOVES them. I truly think she wants to dance or teach ballet some day. She also wrote a sweet note to a neighbor who shared a storybook with her.

So... the coming week will be fun. We will learn at home, and do some outreach, and dance, and get our Azure Standard order, and buy dress fabric, and get an ortho consult, and visit Bass Pro for some fun, and end with a birthday party.

Warm in January

My son, the artist, drew this for a script he is working on. This is the character he wants his friend Dakota to play. She likes medieval stuff so he is working on that for her. We just need a sword....
the window before...and Jacob being inspired by Hans Zimmer (one of his favorites).
Building skeletons for science time.
Emily's favorite hat--an owl! She loves it!
CUTE!!
Clay applying the window covering.
Lowe's castle project. Jordan.
Kimberly.
Elizabeth.
Fun with leaves...JUMP!


Life marches on around here. We are all SO glad to be back in dance classes and out of karate. Why do homeschool classes always seem to happen during the school day? Do people think we don't school? Do they know homeschoolers have work to do as well? Oh well, I am glad to have a less busy Tuesday and a happier boy. (karate was from 2-4 on Tuesdays)
The past week was about normal. We got our semester going with a study of Genesis for LTC, began working on writing skills by journalling, got back into piano lessons, enjoyed having the playroom downstairs, downsized the curriculum piles, did some sewing and planning for sewing, cut back our computer time (but the teenager still has some work to do on that one), and spent more time as a family. We also covered the big window with a new film that looks like stained glass and ordered some new wood laminate flooring. 12 mm this time, no more cheap junk!
I think I may finally be coming to grips with the kids growing up. After all, the oldest only has 4 more years to go....he is so wonderful, too. Prayers for all the kids said daily, for their future spouses and for the people raising those future spouses. For their purity and for God's direction in their daily lives. Nothing can prepare them better for the future than doing what the Lord sets before them today, and doing it well. Today's challenges prepare you for the unknowns in your future, so focus on today instead of always wishing tomorrow would come. And if the past couple of weeks has taught us anything, I think the biggest lesson is that God cares about our lives, down to the smallest details and He is faithful to hear our prayers and answer them. We have been seeing evidence daily of a powerful God working on our behalf, because He loves us and we love Him.
So, I am going to share some life pictures and enjoy the rest of my Sunday!

Life in pictures last week.....

We LOVE to go bike riding.
We also love to stay up late on holidays playing loud games on wood floors with golf balls!
Or cool board games like Clue! or battleship, or stratego, or scrabble, or monopoly jr, or life, or payday, or ....welllll, i'm sure you get the idea.
Cousin Gracie had a horse riding party so the four youngest went. Jordan got help from grandpa.
Kim pets her horse.
Jordan and Emily wait to ride.
Gracie and Kim hanging out.
Lizzie and Jordan riding in the arena. It was terribly dusty and I had a 2 day headache from that.
This is the Red Bat...aka Jacob.
Clay and Emily on piano.
Youngest three working on an Old Testament feltbook.
And the large living room window shade fell down so we tested some decorative film samples. Going to get the one on the far left.

Room Changes

Above, you see the girls downstairs bedroom that has been converted...stay tuned...I'll explain in a minute...just keep reading!
This week began with a holiday-New Years. We did the traditional staying at home thing. We also spent Monday visiting friends whose son is in ICU. But as of tonight he is making slow progress and that is good. School began early on Tuesday...before 9am. And that is new for us. But it went fairly well except for the youngest ones fighting (tiredness, I'm sure). The girls also decided they wanted to move their room upstairs. Not sure what brought that on, though. But the planning began and by friday we were hauling furniture up and down the stairs. The girls room became a playroom/workout room and the upstairs became the girls new room. We have now ordered bed frames from IKEA for them, too. And we sent Jacob off to another fun filled JanKay retreat weekend. Sunday night has arrived and all the chicks are home and doing well. School will begin again tomorrow and we are ready. It was great to get back into dance classes and even got to meet with the co-op team at the park Saturday. We just got spoiled to really warm weather this past week, so cold weather might send us into shock.
Here is the girls new bathroom....No shower, but girls kinda need a place to do...girl stuff, ya know.
here is a view of the door, dormer, and closet.
And here is the sleeping area and dressers.
And this is the work area wired for internet, but complete with a sewing machine, crochet supplies, and scrapbooking box. I like the half wall separator.

In other news, we have decided to jump in and buy new wood laminate for the living areas. It is on sale with an install price we like, so we have chosen a high quality floor to replace the very thin, cheap mess we put in 5 years ago. This current flooring moves, has too much slide space and regularly has floor gaps of 2 inches all over the place where you can see the underlayment! We constantly kick it back in place to close the gaps, sometimes injuring feet. So anyway, that is all I have to report. This week I will add some photos of the kids. Forgot to take the camera to Home Depot workshop on Saturday though.
Hope your week is blessed...don't forget to pray!

Quick Life update

So it has been quite a year! A dear friends' son has been in ICU at Children's since New Years Eve and remains there for probably 2 weeks at least. He is 16 and had several medical issues since birth, but had a cardiac arrest and was not getting oxygen for about 8 minutes so they are waiting to see how this will all play out. He is covered in prayer and love, and I know God is good and will do all things for this boy. He is a wonderful christian, future church leader.
School has also started here, with earlier mornings than we have ever kept, and a little less outside activity, which is wonderful! Weather is beautiful, friends are everywhere, kids are growing and changing. Life is good.
Here at home changes are coming. The girls are moving to the upstairs bonus room this weekend and the playroom/workout room is going downstairs. Got to do that now since DH is going to Texas Back institute this week and we want all the damage done before he begins treatment of some kind. He has been in almost constant pain for years. So far, nothing has worked for him. It is time for relief. We are also in the process of searching out an ortho for Emily. I am not into the ortho standard of perfection but she does need some work done, but I want it to be reasonable. Both in procedure and price point.
So, that is where we are this week. WIll post more next week.

Ahhh, schedules!

I love schedules. I love having a plan. I am good at scheduling things. There is just one problem. Life doesn't happen according to a schedule. Every semester since my third kid was born I have used Managers of Their Homes and made a monstrous schedule that I loved, even though i have never fit in everything I wanted to fit in. Then about a day before the implementation I freak out wondering if I am crazy? Where is the time for playing dollhouse, and painting, and nature walks, and building blocks, and board games, and trips to grandmas? Why do they have to change and grow up so stinking fast??? AAAAAAAHHHHH! And then I talk to God some more and He assures me that a schedule is a good thing, but IT IS ONLY A TOOL. I am not supposed to be a slave to it. If I am, I will lose my mind and lots of great memories. So I trudge forward, and realize that tools are there to help you focus yourself. Life without a plan is chaotic (and I LOVE orderliness). But life that is a slave to a plan is not really living at all. It is a stressful mess for everyone.
So as tomorrow approaches I am going to look at the lovely plan (that I am still tweaking, by the way) and let life happen, and teach the kids, and make time to play with them, and follow their interests. School in the form of homeschool does not happen only between 9 and 3. It extends into evenings of game time and family baking and bike rides, and sometimes into late night documentaries or stargazing. It may be an early morning dog walk with a nature journal in hand to sketch. Maybe it is when you are about to have a cool lesson on China complete with making jade bead necklaces and eating with chopsticks that grandma and great grandma decide to come for a visit, so you can include them or put it off and go with the flow. Either is acceptable and none of it is scheduled. So what if we end devo and decide to go paint our bible lesson instead of do math first, or if we decide to just spend the afternoon reading some cool books instead of learning about quarter notes and paragraph structure. Maybe that lesson on medieval times prompts kids to dress like knights or Robin Hood and they act out medieval life in the yard for a day or two. Good! Kids need to learn by living, and I need to see that and photograph it, because in the blink of an eye, these precious years will be over, and they will be grown. And they will learn much and build relationships and memories that will last.
So here's to my schedule! Thanks for being there to help me be accountable, but also for being flexible enough to let us live a joyous life together!
Ready, set, GO!