Moments In Time

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-15T13:36:00.001-05:00

Panning for Gold

2012-01-23T18:16:00.001-05:00

We pulled out our Westward Expansion Discovery Kits from Hands and Hearts this afternoon and went panning for gold at the kitchen table. The bag of sand and rocks that came with the kit contained 8 pieces of "gold".

Helena went panning for gold first and found three pieces of gold.

Ella went second and also found three pieces of gold.

Beatrice found the last two pieces of gold.

She is a happy girl.

Then they decided to do it again using their hands instead of the pan. That proved to be a little more difficult, especially for Ella and Beatrice.

Crazy Video

2012-01-20T21:35:00.002-05:00

I have been going through hundreds of photos and videos that the girls have been taking. This little video of Ella and Beatrice made me laugh.

Blessing the Neighbors

2012-01-11T21:07:00.001-05:00

Helena and Abby both had a requirement in Awana to help a friend do a task. So, to fulfill their requirements they blessed our neighbors tonight by cooking dinner for them. They fixed ham and bean soup, cornbread and pumpkin pie.

Meanwhile Ben, Bea, Taylor and Ella were cooking up a storm in the basement.

Christmas

2012-01-09T21:25:00.000-05:00

We had a really wonderful Christmas this year. Laura, Jorge, Ariana, Ariela and Papaw came the Wednesday before Christmas and stayed until the Wednesday after Christmas. The girls had a wonderful time playing with each other.

Laura, Jorge and I spent hours playing Phase 10. It was competitive and addictive. We also put together the crazy knight puzzle that I bought several years ago. It is far and away the most difficult puzzle I have ever done. We stayed up until 3 am one night working on it. I don't think I will be up for doing that one again for several years.

Papaw did some electrical work for me, but was also able to spend a good amount of time reading on his ipad.

When we got home from the Christmas Eve service Laura and I prepared our big Christmas Eve meal. It was delicious... Honey Baked Ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, Kentucky corn, orange salad, pecan pie... We missed having Taylor, Beth, Kyle and Beth's mom, sister and family on Christmas Eve. They stayed in Charlottesville because sweet baby Kayla was still in the hospital. (She is coming home tomorrow!) They were able to spend a few hours with us the day after Christmas.

Christmas Day we got up and Paul read the Christmas story out of a story book Bible that my friend Karen gave the girls for Christmas. After that we opened all the presents. It was chaotic and fun.

The girls are listening to Paul read the Christmas story.

Christmas Treats

2012-01-02T20:00:00.002-05:00

The Tuesday before Christmas we had our annual baking day with the Pannecks. This year we made caramel popcorn, peanut butter cookies, pretzel treats, spritz cookies, and buckeyes.

Art

2011-12-21T22:53:00.002-05:00

After the first or second week of our co-op Helena's teacher mentioned that she knew an excellent local artist, Rachel Estrada. She thought that I should contact Rachel to see if I could get Helena in her art class. I had been contemplating on what to do for art but hadn't finalized any plans yet. I contacted Rachel right away to see if she had any availability. I also checked out Rachel's website and was blown away by her work. You can see her portfolio here.

Rachel agreed to come to our house once a week and teach Helena, Ella and the Panneck kiddos. I have been astounded at the work that all of the kids have been producing.

Here are the pictures that Ella has worked on this fall:

Ella is currently working on this picture.

Here are the pictures that Helena has worked on this fall:

Helena has been working on this picture for the last month.

Rachel, Abby, Helena, Taylor, Ella and Ben

Christmas Cooking with the McKinleys

2011-12-20T21:50:00.001-05:00

We went to the McKinley's and decorated ginger cookies. It was a ton of fun and the kiddos did an excellent job. We took the cookies to our Christmas tea that we had the next day with out homeschool co-op.

Ten

2011-12-20T21:43:00.001-05:00

Ella celebrated her tenth birthday on November 28.

She wanted to go to Bob Evans for her birthday dinner because they have pancakes and awesome hot chocolate.

She also asked for Georgetown Cupcakes.

Celebrating a birthday is always fun for everyone. They broke out into a crazy dance.

Ella loves to play pretend and was thrilled with her dinner plates and napkins that she received from Beatrice.

I just love Ella's little face because it is so expressive. Looking at these pictures made me smile.

We love you so much, Ella. You brighten up our lives!

Tree Fun

2011-12-18T21:43:00.005-05:00

I looked out my dining room window one day in late November and I saw feet hanging down from the tree. I had to go out and take a picture.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-18T21:35:00.004-05:00

This year we went to Kentucky and had Thanksgiving with Papaw, Daniel, Laura, Jorge and the girls. It was such a nice time of fun and relaxation. Papaw has a whole slew of beautiful granddaughters!

The day before Thanksgiving the girls had a great time shooting their guns from the deck. They also had fun riding around on Papaw's four wheeler. There are definitely some bennies to country living! :-)

Laura, Jorge and I spend hours playing Phase 10. It was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to a rematch when they come for Christmas next week.

We also made two trips to Variety Pizza in Jackson, Kentucky. The have the. most. insanely. wonderful. ham hoagies. The pizza is okay but just thinking about those hoagies makes my mouth water. They also have a bunch of other hoagies but not once have I strayed from the ham hoagie.

This is the road leading back to Papaw's house.

Kayla Helen Williams

2011-12-15T23:22:00.003-05:00

Our sweet niece, Kayla Helen, was born on Tuesday, December 13.

Please pray for Kayla. She was born a month early and is having some medical issues right now.

We love you, Taylor, Beth, Kyle and Kayla!

Hiking with the Pannecks

2011-11-20T13:32:00.001-05:00

Saturday, November 12, was an incredibly beautiful day. Paul and I went on a ten mile bike ride and then we went hiking with the Pannecks. Here are a few pictures from our hike...

They had a great time skipping rocks.

Ben is a fantastic trail guide and has an amazing amount of energy.

It is a blessing to have great friends!

We climbed to the top of this little cliff.

If you look carefully, you can see

Helena and Abby on the left side.

It was a little slippery, but we made it to the top.

I never cease to be amazed by the beauty of God's creation.

Twelve

2011-11-20T12:53:00.001-05:00

Wow, Helena turned 12 on November 15!

How quickly the years scoot by.... it seems like yesterday that she looked like this....

She chose to have Georgetown Cupcakes. They were super yummy!

being a goof

Beatrice got her PEZ.

This one is from Ella.

Easy-Bake microwave cupcakes and cookies

a very cool green ripstick

Thank You Veterans

2011-11-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

Letter to a Friend

2011-11-09T10:18:00.002-05:00

This is a letter Beatrice wrote to her friend Sara who she hasn't seen since July. I thought it was super cute. I am sure Sara will be very excited to find it in her mailbox tomorrow!

Halloween

2011-11-07T14:35:00.000-05:00

I have always been pretty good about getting Halloween costumes very early in October but this year it just didn't happen. The girls kept bugging me about how I was failing to get them costumes. My response was, "Have I EVER failed to get you costumes that you loved?" That didn't quiet their anxiousness much, so finally about one week before Halloween I took them to the Party Store and they each found a costume that they loved and I was forgiven (I think) for my tardiness.

Ella became a beautiful Greek Goddess, Beatrice was a Southern Belle and Helena was a ninja. We were so happy that Kyle came and joined us for trick-or-treating. He was a very cool ninja as well.

They got tons and tons of candy and I am so happy to say that I have not eaten one. single. solitary. piece!

very scary

More Pics from Great Country Farms

2011-11-02T15:06:00.002-04:00

Great Country Farms

2011-10-31T22:41:00.003-04:00

Cox's Farm

2011-10-13T20:49:00.001-04:00

Tuesday our homeschool co-op made our annual trip to Cox's Farm. The weather was very nice.... 70's and cloudy... which for this type of event is pretty near perfect. We have been when it was brutally cold and we have been when it was 99 degrees. I much prefer 70's and cloudy.

The first thing we always do is take the wagon ride with our entire group. We get to see aliens, trolls and other garish creatures.

After the hay ride we usually hit the blue and white slide. They always brings about lots of smiles.

Ella is searching for pennies here. They usually find a few tucked into the hay somewhere.

This is also a fun slide but as you can see from the expressions.... this one is a little rough on the bottoms.

Beatrice wanted to ride side saddle.

Ella got into a little trouble while we were there.....

Fall Schedule

2011-10-04T14:13:00.002-04:00

Well, we are 24 days into the new school year and we have settled into a pretty good routine. Helena is in 7th grade, Ella is in 4th grade and Beatrice is in 1st grade.

Mondays are pretty easy days right now. The only activity we have outside of our regular school work is swimming from 1:30 - 3:30 at the Herndon Community Center. The girls are enjoying this activity because the Pannecks are doing it with us. Swimming is always more fun if you can do it with friends. They are enjoying this more than they enjoyed the early morning swimming that we did last year. I am enjoying it more because we don't have to drag out of bed at 5 am. Helena and Ella get up at 6:30 every day and Beatrice just gets up whenever she wakes up.

Oops, I forgot that Helena started violin lessons on Monday afternoon. She will have a lesson every two weeks from our next door neighbor. No driving involved for me!

Tuesdays are co-op days. The girls LOVE co-op. Today Helena had a field trip to Ida Lee Park in Leesburg and Ella had a field trip to Claude Moore Park in Sterling. Today was their last day studying plants and trees. Next week we have a field trip to Cox's Farm and then the following week we start our unit on Colonial America.

Wednesdays are super busy. Helena and Ella have piano lessons from 11:00 - 12:00 and then we usually scoot through a drive through and eat lunch in the car while we listen to a story on the radio. We get home around 12:30 and try and finish off whatever school work didn't get done before piano. At 3:00 we get together with Pannecks. The last three years we have done science together but this year we decided to take on music and art. We spent the last two weeks on music discussing the Baroque Period and learning a little about Vivaldi and Bach. We also learned about the orchestra and discussed all of the string instruments. Fun! Beginning tomorrow we will spend the next 9 weeks taking art lessons from a fantastic local artist. I am super excited about this and will write more about it in a separate post. Wednesday evening the girls go to Awana from 7:00 - 8:15 pm and Paul and I go out for a dinner date! :)

Thursdays are a bit insane. The girls have begged and begged for quite some time to take ice skating lessons. Helena has been asking for about six years now. I finally gave in and told them they could take 6 weeks of lessons at Skate Quest this fall. The rink is open for free skating from 9 am to 11 am. Ella and Beatrice have a 30 minute lesson at 9:30 and Helena has a 30 minute lesson at 10:00 am. They spend the rest of the time practicing and playing with new homeschool friends. It has been fun to meet other homeschoolers who are not in our normal circle of homeschool friends. This activity pretty much eats up the whole morning. Then at 1:30 we are back at the Herndon Community Center for another hour of swimming. Whew. Needless to say, Thursdays are a light day for regular school work. Helena and Ella are required to have their math done before we leave for skating. We only have two more skating lessons and there is a HUGE part of me that wants to be done with it, but it has been a lot of fun to see their skills improving. Beatrice especially. She use to cling to the wall and now she is out there zipping around on the ice. I may sign them back up for lessons but even if I don't we will go occasionally for the free skating. (When I say "free skating" here that doesn't mean free as in it doesn't cost money. It just means the rink is open to the public at that time.)

Fridays are my only day with no extra curricular activities. It is a nice way to end the week!

So that's what is going on in our lives right now.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T14:31:00.000-04:00

Crash Landing

2011-09-11T15:28:00.000-04:00

I have been meaning for some time to do a blog entry about bike riding. Paul and I have really fallen in love with biking and try to ride 8 - 12 miles everyday. As you know from my last post we have had rain for a week and the creek turned into a river. On Friday afternoon the sun finally came and out and Paul and I decided to go for a bike ride as soon as he got home from work.

We have a loop that is about 8.5 miles that we do quite frequently and we decided to go that route. I particularly like this route because part of it is on the sidewalk alongside the road, part of it is on the W&OD bike path and the final part of it is on a path through the woods. Once we hit the path in the woods we could see obvious signs of the flooding from the previous day. There was even a tree down across the path that we had to carry the bikes over. The path also crosses across the creek a couple of times. Sometimes I just ride through the water and sometimes I walk along the cement stepping stones and just push the bike through the water. I don't really like getting my feet wet. :-)

We came to the first creek crossing and I was able to walk on the cement and push my bike through. At the second crossing the creek was higher than the cement stepping stones and the water was rushing pretty hard which makes it difficult to push the bike through because it keeps getting carried away by the water. Anyway long story short we decided to carry the bikes and just walk through the creek. I didn't feel like I could do that and keep my balance so Paul walked back through and carried my bike for me.

Once you get to the other side there are some curves and a bridge and then just easy path the rest of the way home. I was a little behind Paul so he went around the curves before I did. As I was nearing the curve where the bridge was I heard this awful crashing sound that makes me feel a little sick to my stomach when I think about it. It was one of those sounds that you just know instinctively is a really bad thing. I knew that Paul had crashed.

I heard his voice before I rounded the corner so I knew he was conscience. He was standing by the time I got to him and he immediately said that he had to go to the hospital and he told me to ride home and get the truck. I could see that he had sustained trauma to his face and knew that he did need to go to the hospital. But that decision to ride home and leave him was really tough for me because I wanted to just stop and find out exactly what all of his injuries were and make sure he was okay and wasn't going to pass out. I quickly rode home and got the keys for his truck and started driving down the bike path too him but didn't have to go far because he was making his way up to the street.

We decided that he should go home and take a shower before going to the emergency room because he was just covered with mud, sand and small pebbles. I just didn't think they would be able to clean him up enough at the hospital to insure that all of his wounds were cleansed and sterile. After he rinsed off we made good time to Reston Hospital. I have to give them a plug because they were really on top of it when we got there. I don't think we even waited for 5 minutes in the lobby before they took him back to the emergency room.

All the time as we were getting to the hospital I kept thinking that they would really know what to do and get him stitched up right away without too much problem. The first indication that my thoughts weren't accurate was when the nurse made a comment about the fact that she wasn't sure if she should irrigate and cleanse his face because she hadn't really seen a laceration like that before and she wanted the doctor do look at it before she did anything. The doctor came in and took a quick look and then the nurse came back and told us that the doctor said he didn't feel comfortable trying to fix his wounds and that he had called a plastic surgeon in from Maryland.

I was so thankful that he was willing to step back and admit that it was too much for him and so thankful that a plastic surgeon would do it instead. While all of this was happening some friends from church arrived and hung out with us in the emergency room for the hour that we had to wait on the plastic surgeon to arrive. We had such a nice, even fun time of laughing and talking with them. They really helped us to not spend that time feeling anxious.

Once the plastic surgeon arrived everyone cleared out and he started working on Paul pretty quickly. He started with the laceration on Paul's chin. As he was cutting away the tissue that just wasn't usable anymore I just kept thinking, "Wow, that is a really large hunk out of his chin. How in the world is he going to fix that?" But he did. I watched in amazement as he carefully stitched Paul's chin back together.

The doctor did a lot of internal stitching first, then he did the outer stitching and then finished with two stitched on the inside of Paul's lip from cuts from his teeth. He did mess up two of his teeth that will require a trip to the dentist. He also has scratching and bruising all over the front of his body with the exception of his left leg.

We finally got home about 1 am on Saturday morning. Thank you to my friend Kathleen who was so kind to get the girls and keep them for the night!

As I sat in the emergency room with Paul I fell in love with him all over again (not that I have ever stopped loving him :-) but I just thought about how I love him so much and would be willing to walk through anything with him. He is an amazing man and I am crazy about him!

Rain Rain Go Away

2011-09-08T21:28:00.001-04:00

I was totally bummed last week when I looked at the extended weather forecast and realized it was supposed to rain all this week. Such a bummer. I am not a lover of gray cloudy days.

We have had some light showers but also quite a few torrential downpours. There was a slight break in between downpours this afternoon so I thought I would take a look at my new flower beds and see how all my plants were fairing.

When I walked out the door I heard a really loud noise coming from behind the house. I wondered what in the world it was and walked into the back yard to check it out. I quickly realized that our little creek way down the hill from our house had turned into a raging river that I could see from the top of our backyard. It is an amazing sight.

It has not reached our fence (yet) and I hope it doesn't. That is a little too close for comfort.

Here are some pictures.

These pictures were taken just on the other side of our fence. On a normal day you can't even begin to see the creek from here.

The next few pictures were taken from the bike path down the street. The water was rushing like a mighty river. The sound was pretty amazing. I took a video but somehow deleted it. Bummer.

The girls with the neighbor boys from down the street. They are also homeschooled.

We went a little further down the street to another section of the bike path and there the water was very high and very calm for quite a distance. I let the girls get in and play with a few other kiddos from the neighborhood. They had a fantastic time. I couldn't take any pictures because by this time it was pouring the rain again and I didn't want to ruin my camera.

The forecast is calling for 80% chance of rain through the night and more thunderstorms tomorrow. Please pray that the water doesn't get much higher. They have canceled public schools for tomorrow because of flooding.

First Day

2011-09-08T21:02:00.000-04:00

Tuesday was our first day back to our TNT co-op. The girls were so excited to go and see friends that they hadn't seen over the summer.

Here is a picture from this year and a picture from last year. They were not at all happy about having to take a picture last year. Can't say that they were particularly happy about it this year either but they did manage to produce smiles rather than grimaces. :-)

2011

2010

This year our units of study are: plant and trees, Colonial America, Etiquette, Modern Bible History, Europe and the animal kingdom. They are particularly excited about colonial America and the etiquette units. We will have a very fancy Christmas tea party on December 13th as our conclusion to the etiquette unit. I hear the real china will be involved....

Bubbles and Flowers

2011-08-25T14:37:00.000-04:00

Helena made a cool bubble with my dish soap the other day. Here are a couple of pictures I was able to take before it popped.

I have been enjoying taking care of my new flower beds that Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Rachel helped us build. I love the flower pots because they have so much color!

I was totally surprised when I walked out one day and this little heirloom plant that Jim and Rachel brought had beautiful blooms on it. I am sure that they probably told me a zillion times that it would bloom but I had a hard time taking everything in and remember it all. Now that I have seen the bloom I won't forget about it. I took this picture from the side so you couldn't see all the ugly cords and stuff behind it. Soon it will be big enough to cover up all those ugly cords!

The vinca has done very well and I am so pleased that I have managed to keep it all alive. Truth be told I haven't had a great track record with caring for plants but it is amazing how different it feels when you can start from scratch and make it all look just the way you want it to look and you don't have to deal with other yucky bushes that someone else planted. I wish mom would have been able to see it. She would have loved it so much.

Ford vs. Chevy

2011-08-20T21:43:00.000-04:00

Drawings

2011-08-19T21:56:00.000-04:00

These are the pictures that the girls drew last night while we were reading history.

Bea

Helena

Ella

Sonlight Photo Contest

2011-08-14T01:13:00.001-04:00

I submitted a couple of photos for the Sonlight catalog photo contest today. I have submitted pictures three different years and each year one of our pictures has made the catalog. I must admit that I am really hoping to someday submit the cover photo because I would love to receive the $500 Sonlight gift certificate. Sonlight will post the cover results sometime in September.

Prince Snowflake

2011-08-09T21:19:00.000-04:00

On June 12 we got our sweet little rabbit Sparkles. Last week we finally got Prince Snowflake. He is a super sweet little white bunny that we got from the Pannecks.

Abby brought over one of their other bunnies named Squirrelly for a little bunny play date. Squirrelly is huge and also very sweet.

Despite my initial reluctance to have pets I have to say that I love our little bunnies and enjoy them immensely.

Photography 101

2011-07-25T15:14:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Ella and Beatrice asked to use my old camera. Here are just a couple of the 140 plus pictures they took. There were many more of the ceiling, the floor, feet, backs of heads... you get the idea. When Beatrice finally stopped after about 45 minutes of consecutive picture taking my camera was definitely hot to the touch. They had fun....

Isn't she beautiful!

I thought this one was fun...

Macro

2011-07-19T17:33:00.000-04:00

Paul bought me a new camera for my birthday. (Thank you Paul.) I have been playing around with the macro setting a little bit. This is one of the vinca flowers from my flowerbed. I was really trying to get the yellow center in focus but I got the petals in focus instead. I will keep working at it till I figure it out. Daniel if you have any words of wisdom let me know.

In the meantime we are off to Tara Thai for dinner. Yum. Yum. Then home for Georgetown cupcakes. Yum! Yum!

Before and After - Yard

2011-07-14T22:46:00.000-04:00

This is what our house looked

like last year when we bought it.

This is what it looks like today.

Now the big task for me is keeping all the plants alive!!! The thing that I love about these plants is that almost all of them are perennials (they come back every year) and will just keep getting bigger and fuller. This is the first time I have ever had my yard and flower beds exactly the way I wanted them to be.

Thank you so much Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Rachel for giving of your time and energy to make our dream come true. We love you!

Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Rachel

Jimmy and Paul worked very hard...

and laughed a lot.

Rachel and I got pedicures!

The girls loved their time with Jimmy and Rachel and were so sad to see them leave today.

A Job Well Done

2011-07-10T23:43:00.000-04:00

Paul did the sawing.

Jimmy measured, marked and laid the pavers.

Jimmy put a penny underneath the last

paver so we would never be broke.

The last paver going in.

A smile of satisfaction.

Paul and Jimmy celebrating a job well done.

Beatrice got in on the action.

beautiful

Beatrice is playing with a praying mantis.

Jimmy and Paul are cleaning up the saw.

More Sidewalk Picutures

2011-07-10T13:28:00.001-04:00

Work continues on the sidewalk....

Helping Hands

2011-07-09T23:08:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pictures of the work going on this afternoon. Helena, Ella, Beatrice and their friends Erica and Katie carried pavers from the pallets and stacked them around the sidewalk so Jimmy could get to them easier. They had a great little assembly line going. Beatrice would get the paver from the pallet and hand it off and it would go down the line of girls to Helena who would then stack the paver according to size. Many hands make light work!

Picture Update

2011-07-09T10:38:00.000-04:00

No time to write a long post, but here are some pictures of the current work going on in front of the house.

Sweet Sparkles

2011-07-07T14:56:00.000-04:00

Sparkles is such a sweet little rabbit. He/She doesn't mind (too much) being carted around like a baby.

What Once Was Is No More

2011-07-04T16:11:00.000-04:00

It was a perfectly fine sidewalk as sidewalks go, but it didn't really do anything to add to the curb appeal of the house.

Paul stood there thinking that there was no turning back once he made the first crack in the sidewalk. Then he remembered that he had already purchased 2 pallets of pavers and 2 pallets of stones... the moment for turning back was long past.

Bless our friend Sean who gave of his time and energy to help out. Our friend Derrick and his two little boys came over and helped as well, but I forgot to take a picture of them.

Two tons of sidewalk...

gone...

and we call this progress!

:-)

Happy Forth of July

2011-07-04T14:07:00.001-04:00

We are fixin' to have some ribs, corn on the cob, potato salad, baked beans, cole slaw and watermelon. Wish you all were here!

Gate

2011-07-02T15:26:00.000-04:00

Today Paul cut up the last fence panel and made a gate out of it.

When he finished the sun was shining down on it like a spotlight. I felt like God was cheering us on and saying "job well done". It was a long arduous process from application to completion but it is done and it looks great! Thanks Paul (and Taylor) for all your hard work!

This is the view of the house while standing at the fence. The fence you can see in the picture is the neighbors fence.

Fence

2011-06-25T15:16:00.000-04:00

In April we applied to our architectural review committee for permission to build a fence across the back of our property line. They are supposed to reply within 7 days, but didn't. We waited and waited and waited and waited some more... over 30 days when it was automatically approved through non-action. We still haven't received a response, but we (okay Paul and Taylor) are building the fence.

The first hole Paul dug was a breeze. The second, third and fourth ones took HOURS because they hit rocks and lots of them. Paul finally rented a jack hammer and that helped speed things up a bit.

I like that it is nice and tall. Since we back up to the park and trail it is nice to know that strangers can't walk up into our yard. It is nice to know that their dogs can't come up into our yard anymore either. Dogs are supposed to be kept on a leash but there is one particular person who always has his dog off the leash and the dog likes to come up in our yard.

We have been very blessed to have Taylor come and help Paul. It is a much easier task with two people.

More Sparkles Pictures

2011-06-18T16:30:00.000-04:00

The girls love Sparkles so much!

She is incredibly cute and sweet.

She does however like to

pee on us.

I'm not thrilled with that!

The neighbor's cat has been spotted lurking nearby!

We must protect Sparkles at all costs.

Whew, safe to play in the grass again.

Corn Husk Dolls

2011-06-17T21:42:00.000-04:00

Helena pulled out the historical crafts from Hands and Hearts the other day and made corn husks dolls for everyone. All three of them were really pleased with the dolls. Here are a few pictures....

Helena decided not to put a face on her doll

so she could imagine different expressions.

Drawings

2011-06-16T22:58:00.000-04:00

We have history class several times a week after dinner and the girls usually draw or color while we are reading to them. Here are pictures that they have drawn recently.

Paul was reading The Monitor and the Merrimac by R. Conrad Stein which is a fascinating account of the battle of the first ironclad warships in American history. The Monitor was the Union warship and the Merrimac was the Confederate warship. This is Ella's rendering of the Merrimac.

Helena just finished reading Bound for Oregon by Jean Van Leeuwen. The cover of the book has a covered wagon on it so that was her inspiration for her covered wagon.

This is Beatrice's first attempt at drawing a picture of Paul's truck.

Sparkles

2011-06-12T22:38:00.000-04:00

My friend Kari gave rabbits to her kids for Christmas. I laughed a little (ok maybe a lot) and said, "Not me." "I'm not doing that." Her three rabbits have since multiplied and turned into ten. The begging and pleading for a baby bunny quickly commenced. I remained steadfast in my "No!" Until Paul (rather emphatically) said, "The kids must have a pet!" "Ok, ok, they can have a rabbit," I said. "ONE rabbit!"

I must admit that the baby bunnies are very hard to resist. Helena quickly picked out a sweet little white rabbit that the Pannecks had named Princess. Helena added on the name Snowflake so now we call her Princess Snowflake. We were going to bring her home last Friday but it ended up that she needed to stay with her little bunny family a bit longer.

The girls were disappointed so I told them if we could find another bunny this weekend that they could have two bunnies. Yikes! What was I thinking! I found some baby bunnies on Craig's List and Paul went and picked up another sweet little bunny yesterday. The girls named her/him Sparkles.

The hutch I bought is pretty cool in that it is stackable so I will order another one for Princess Snowflake. Bunnies have a way of multiplying when they live in the same cage. :-)

In Need of a Stage

2011-06-07T23:37:00.001-04:00

A beautiful girl!

She needs a swig from my water bottle.

It's showtime!

That was fun!

She needs a stage!

Reading

2011-06-07T22:50:00.000-04:00

Papaw spends a good amount of time working on projects around the house when he visits, but I always try and have some books for him to read too. I didn't have a lot of physical books this time so I just gave him my ipad and let him read books I had downloaded for Kindle.

Laura and I were able to spend a good amount of time reading too since the girls were off entertaining each other! It was wonderful.

Mowing and Yard Work

2011-06-02T16:13:00.000-04:00

Helena mowed the front yard yesterday by herself for the first time. She did a really great job. It was somewhere in the vicinity of 100 degrees and her face was beet red when she was done. I think she actually had fun though. There is something really rewarding about mowing the grass.

We put some weed killer on the lawn and it did indeed kill some weeds but the grass seed we put down hasn't really taken very well. We have some bare spots and also some spots where we messed up the lawn when we were pulling all of the bushes out of the flower bed.

I can't even tell you how many lawn service guys have come to our door offering their services. The last guy was pretty rude. He had a look of distain on his face when I told him we didn't want his services. The lawn is like every other major project we have done in this house. It always looks worse before it looks better. The lawn and flower beds however are there for the world to see and not hidden away behind closed doors like all of our other projects. Oh well, this too shall pass in time.

I am looking forward to having my Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Rachel come in July. They have amazingly beautiful flower beds and they are going to pass on some of their knowledge and experience to us. What a blessing.

I have visions of beautiful flower beds dancing in my head.

Hopefully it won't be 100 degrees the first week of July!

Biker Men

2011-05-31T22:51:00.002-04:00

I like biker men. Especially these biker men.

Jorge, my brother-in-law, is a passionate cyclist. His enthusiasm is contagious! Paul has been contemplating buying a bicycle for sometime and seeing Jorge having so much fun riding was more than Paul could take. He finally took the plunge on his birthday and bought himself a bike. They had fun riding together.

This is what they looked like after their ride.

They were really sweaty but still so very handsome.

*******************************************************************

I have been on a little hiatus from blogging because I have been feverishly working on the yearbook for our homeschool co-op. I have been staying up until 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning working on it. I feel like I am in college again cramming for finals! The yearbook is due on June 3 and is almost done! It has been a fun process but next year I think I will work on it throughout the year instead of waiting until the month it is due.

All that to say that hopefully I will be blogging on a more regular basis soon.

Forts

2011-05-20T15:02:00.003-04:00

The girls have had a blast playing with their cousins. Yesterday they disappeared into the trees behind our house for most of the afternoon where they were busy working together building forts. I was impressed with their handiwork!

This is the larger of the two forts.

This one is smaller but has a "bench."

rear view of the larger fort

beautiful girls

Happy Birthday

2011-05-19T16:36:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday

Paul and Beatrice

Lost Tooth

2011-05-13T18:11:00.001-04:00

Beatrice's top two teeth have been wiggly for awhile. Yesterday I held her down and pulled her tooth out while she was screaming, "Mom, you are hurting me!" Hopefully in fifteen years she won't need to see a shrink about her lost tooth.

I have these pictures as proof that she wasn't too traumatized.

Little Indians

2011-05-10T21:45:00.000-04:00

One little...

Two little...

Three little Indians...

My Little Chef

2011-05-09T21:27:00.000-04:00

The other day I told Beatrice that I was going to cook some chicken noodle soup and take some of it to the neighbors. She wanted to help out so I put her to work.

She has no fear of working over the stove. She touched the hot pan a couple of times but assured me that she was okay and that it only hurt a little bit.

She is full of chatter these days.

She even helped to debone the chicken.

She had fun dumping in the peas and carrots.

They were the "bad boys."

Bea's soup was super yummy.

She never failed to remind me that it was her soup.

She doesn't want to be called Beatrice these days. She much prefers Bea or Bee Bee. She thinks spelling it Bee Bee instead of Bea Bea is humorous.

Seneca Schoolhouse Museum

2011-04-30T23:53:00.000-04:00

My friend Beth organized a field trip to the Seneca Schoolhouse Museum. Wow, what an amazing field trip! I can't say enough about what a great experience it was.

Here is some info about the Seneca Schoolhouse from their website:

Before 1865, Seneca children were homeschooled by parents or tutors, or received no formal education. In 1865, just as the Civil War was ending, Mr. Upton Darby, a farmer and miller (whose home still stands next to the Poole Store next to Seneca Creek) collected subscriptions from his neighbors to start a one-room school. Families contributed cash and skills. The Darby family provided two acres of land as well as the stone and wood for the building. Others offered to plaster and paint, or to dress the stone. Families with more limited means cut and seasoned oak for the woodstove. Others offered to board the teacher who moved from family to family each month.

The teachers were generally young unmarried men or women, and were paid a few hundred dollars a year. The teacher would recruit new students because their salary dipped if their class count fell below 25 pupils.

Near the Schoolhouse is the C&O Canal. Grain was taken by a small train along the Seneca Creek from the mill (where Old River Road meets Seneca Creek) to the C&O Canal. There it was loaded on barges and taken northwest to Cumberland and south to Georgetown. The canal lies alongside the Potomac River.

Although most of the students were drawn from local farms and settlements, many came from the barge families who plied the C&O Canal. During those winters of the “mini Ice Age” over a hundred years ago, the canal and river often froze solid. Barge families, who were forced to tie up and wait for spring, sent their children to school rounding out classes reduced by epidemics.

At the juncture of Seneca Creek and Potomac River was a quarry and a stone-cutting plant, which supplied the beautiful red Seneca Sandstone. There it was loaded on barges and wagons. This red sandstone is what the Seneca Schoolhouse is made of. The Smithsonian Institute’s Castle is built of the same Seneca Sandstone as the Schoolhouse.

The kids were able to experience a typical school day at the Seneca Schoolhouse circa 1865. When the teacher came out and rang the school bell they had to line up shortest to tallest. One line for girls, who entered first, and a second line for boys.

There were lots of girls!

The kids had to stand beside their desks until everyone had filed into the building and the teacher told them to sit down.

You can see a pile of wood to the right of the pot belly stove. Each student had to bring one piece of wood to school each day. If they didn't they were punished with having to sit outside until lunch time.

Each of the children had been assigned the name of an actual child who had attended the school. They pretended that this was the first day of a new school year and each child had to stand and tell the teacher his or her name and a little bit of information about their family.

The picture above is of Anne Marie, a friend of the girls, who we had the pleasure of keeping for a few days while her parents were out of town. She is introducing herself to the teacher. She was May whose family owned a lot of maple trees. They tapped the trees and boiled down the sap and made syrup and sold it to other local families.

Ella is introducing herself to the teacher. Her name was Mary and her father owned the livery stable on River Road near Seneca Creek.

Beatrice was Lena. Her father was the glazier and would cut and install glass for windows.

Helena was Hattie. She was named for her grandmother Harriet. Their family made and sold gingerbread. I was so incredibly proud of Helena because she didn't read aloud her little biography but just stood and introduced herself without looking at her paper. That was huge for Helena because she doesn't like to talk in front of people.

The teacher is explaining the calendar clock to the children.

After all the introductions were made they had recitation time. Any child who wanted to recite something could go to the front and recite. Ella was very brave and went up and recited a math problem.

Next they read aloud a story from the McGuffey Reader. As they read aloud the teacher wrote some spelling/vocabulary words on the board. After the reading was finished they had to pull out their slates and practice writing the spelling words two times each.

Isn't she sweet!

Next they had math class. Anne Marie had a

chance to go to the front and do a problem.

Beatrice needed a little assistance with retying her bonnet and apron.

class picture

After school was dismissed we had lunch in the yard. I brought butter sandwiches and apples for their lunch. They weren't thrilled with their lunch but it was a typical lunch for that time period.

Flower Crowns

2011-04-15T15:27:00.000-04:00

These are crowns made out of flowers. Helena made them especially for us - Ella and Bea. I think they are very very very very very very very beautiful. I think Helena was happy and having fun making them. I think they are special to Ella and me. I want to name my crown "Flowers". I like my flowers so that is why I am naming them that.

When Helena was at piano today I picked some other flowers and those are special to me too. So next time I hope we get to play there and pick some more flowers and keep them like we did today. It is fun outside picking dandelions. Those are my favorite flower weeds.

I am going to let Helena take them off and on so I won't break it again.

- Beatrice Williams (age 5)

"What is Memaw Doing in Heaven?"

2011-04-14T18:10:00.000-04:00

Beatrice likes to talk about Memaw being in heaven. This is how our typical conversation goes:

Beatrice: "What do you think Memaw is doing in heaven?"

Me: "I think she is praising Jesus."

Beatrice: "Why do you always say that?"

Me: "Because I don't think you can help but praise Jesus when you are in heaven."

Beatrice: "I think she is having a picnic with Mrs. Fisher."

Books We Are Reading

2011-03-31T23:01:00.002-04:00

We are currently reading such fantastic books that I thought I would share them with you.... :)

Beatrice is reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This version was adapted for young readers by Devra Newberger Speregen for the Treasury of Illustrated Classics. I love this story!

This is the description from the back of the book:

After her parents die suddenly, young Mary Lennox would rather be alone that in the company of others. She has no friends. But Mary's lonely life changes when she moves from India to England to live with her uncle. There she discovers an astonishing and mysterious secret garden.

Today Ella finished reading Secrets of Civil War Spies by Nancy LeSourd.

This is the description from the back of the book:

Disguised as a Yankee soldier and fighting with her regiment on Virginia battlefields, Emma goes undercover as a spy for the Union. In Richmond, her friend Mollie discovers a spy ring against the Confederacy. While the war tears the nation apart, both girls must decide wether they will risk everything for what they believe.

Ella really enjoyed this book. Several times while Paul or I have been reading aloud during history class Ella has exclaimed, "I read about that in my book."

Emma Edmonds, the heroine of the story, was one of several hundred real women who disguised themselves as soldiers in order to fight in the Civil War. She actually wrote a book called Nurse and a Spy in the Union Army that was published in 1864. At the time no one knew that it was an autobiography of her own experiences. I am going to add this one to my pile of must read books!

This is a picture of the actual Emma Edmonds. The picture below is of her dressed as a man.

Today Helena finished reading Freedom's Pen.

This is the story of Phillis Wheatley the first african-american poet. I bought this book because Ella became enthralled by Phillis Wheatley from watching Liberty's Kids which is an animated TV series on PBS about the Revolutionary War. Anyway, all that to say when I saw this on the shelf at the store I snatched it up right away.

This is the description from the back of the book:

In 1761, a little girl who came to be named Phillis was captured and taken from all she'd ever known in Africa, and brought to America as a slave.

Phillis Wheatley was just seven years old when she learned her first words in English and knew she wanted to learn how to make her writing sing. A natural gift for poetry led Phillis on journeys that would bring worldwide acclaim and many opportunities to share her faith.

By the time she was twelve Phillis had become famous, even coming to the attention of George Washington himself. She spoke clearly in favor of American Independence from Britain, the end of slavery, and faithfulness to God.

I am reading Escape to Liechtenstein by Ed Dunlop.

This is the description from the back of the book:

As a Jew in nazi Germany, the life of young Jacob is cheap. But what he is smuggling is valuable beyond measure - to him, to his people, and to the enemy.

To Gretchen, the Nazis can never be forgiven. They destroyed the most priceless relationship she had - and now she must fight for what she has left.

Hans knows it is worth risking everything for the three of them to get over the border in Switzerland. What he doesn't know is - will that be enough?

Paul is currently reading Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley.

This is the editorial review from amazon.com:

The Battle of Iwo Jima, fought in the winter of 1945 on a rocky island south of Japan, brought a ferocious slice of hell to earth: in a month's time, more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers would die defending a patch of ground a third the size of Manhattan, while nearly 26,000 Americans fell taking it from them. The battle was a turning point in the war in the Pacific, and it produced one of World War II's enduring images: a photograph of six soldiers raising an American flag on the flank of Mount Suribachi, the island's commanding high point.

One of those young Americans was John Bradley, a Navy corpsman who a few days before had braved enemy mortar and machine-gun fire to administer first aid to a wounded Marine and then drag him to safety. For this act of heroism Bradley would receive the Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor.

Bradley, who died in 1994, never mentioned his feat to his family. Only after his death did Bradley's son James begin to piece together the facts of his father's heroism, which was but one of countless acts of sacrifice made by the young men who fought at Iwo Jima. Flags of Our Fathers recounts the sometimes tragic life stories of the six men who raised the flag that February day--one an Arizona Indian who would die following an alcohol-soaked brawl, another a Kentucky hillbilly, still another a Pennsylvania steel-mill worker--and who became reluctant heroes in the bargain. A strongly felt and well-written entry in a spate of recent books on World War II, Flags gives a you-are-there depiction of that conflict's horrible arenas--and a moving homage to the men whom fate brought there. --Gregory McNamee -

We always have several books going that we read aloud to the girls as part of their Sonlight history. We are currently reading aloud Across Five Aprils, a Newbery Honor Book by Irene Hunt.

This is a short description from the back of the book:

The unforgettable story of Jethro Creighton - a brave boy who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War.

Tonight I read aloud chapter 5 which tells the story of 10 year old Jethro driving the 14 miles to town by himself to buy supplies for the family. As the chapter goes along you begin to feel concern for Jethro's safety on his return trip home. I glanced up once and saw Paul looking at me with a strange expression on his face. I asked him what was going on and he said that he was so caught up in the story that he started to pray that Jethro would make it home safely... then he remembered that it was just a story. Another fantastic read from Sonlight!!!

The other Sonlight book we are reading is Lincoln A Photobiography a Newberry Medal winner by Russell Freedman:

This is the editorial review from amazon.com:

This work is perhaps the most complete and enjoyable children's book ever written about one of the nation's most fascinating and important figures, Abraham Lincoln. Russell Freedman covers Lincoln's life and career in a balanced treatment that is enhanced by period photographs and drawings. The book won the Newbery Medal, the Jefferson Cup Award and the Golden Kite Honor Book Award, and earned a citation as School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Sonlight Catalog

2011-03-29T16:55:00.000-04:00

We received the new Sonlight catalog last week. I was so happy to see that they picked the picture that I submitted for the catalog. I think this is the fourth catalog that we have been in, but this one is extra special because Papaw and Memaw are in it.

The excitement is bittersweet since mom isn't here to see it, but I will treasure this catalog forever because she is in it.

We are at the top of page 100.

I miss her so much. She was such an amazing mother.

I hope to be like her someday.

Flying Kites

2011-03-28T16:49:00.000-04:00

Paul bought a nifty Red Baron kite at Costco a month or so ago and we finally took it out to the soccer field over the weekend. We got it up a couple of times but it really wasn't windy enough to get it up very high.

It looked pretty neat up in the sky.

Copybooks and Quill Pens

2011-03-25T16:36:00.000-04:00

Wednesday after science class we decided to do a history craft. We were going to make Jacob's Ladder games but six of the blocks were missing. Then we decided to sew copybooks and practice writing with quill pins.

We sewed the pages of the copybook together using some of the sinew that was left over from our leather pouches that we made back in December. It was pretty tough punching through the paper so I sewed Beatrice's copybook for her.

Then we mixed up some brown ink and the girls practiced writing in their copybooks.

Oh the drama and excitement of writing in a copybook with a quill pen. Ella could hardly contain herself.

Oh My!

2011-03-22T21:09:00.000-04:00

December 25, 1999

Food Chains and Owl Pellets

2011-03-18T21:51:00.002-04:00

We are still studying biology in our science class. Today we talked about omnivores, herbivores, carnivores, food chains and food webs.

The kids grouped pictures of omnivores, herbivores and carnivores together. Then they put them in order of the food chain. We attempted to put them in food webs but that got a little complicated. I think they got the general idea though.

It was a beautiful afternoon so we had class on the deck. We were in the middle of putting the pictures in order when a big gust of wind blew them off the table.

After discussing the food chains and food webs we learned about owl pellets. Basically all the stuff that owls eat and can't digest they keep in their gizzard and then regurgitate in the form of pellets. We dissected some pellets and founds some pretty cool stuff.

Beatrice is checking out her pellet. It was full of fur and bones. Her pellet was one of the smaller ones but had the largest skull in it.

Ben's pellet had three small skulls in it.

Beatrice is holding her skull.

Everyone founds lots of little bones...

and fur.

It was a fantastic day of learning!

Cousins

2011-03-16T21:49:00.000-04:00

He's my cousin (and my uncle). You figure it out.

What Would You Do Differently?

2011-03-14T16:34:00.000-04:00

What would you do differently if you knew a loved one was going to die?

Would you make more of an effort to see them or to talk to them?

Would you make sure that you always parted with kind words and feelings?

I regret that in those final days before mom's stroke I failed to call her when it came to mind. There were always "good" excuses... now they don't seem like such good excuses. I thought I had 15 or 20 more years.

How do you go about your "normal" life? I'm tired of dealing with the same schooling issues day after day after day. I want to just quit.... let someone else teach them while I curl up in a ball and cease to function... but I can't and I won't. But I struggle with the temptation.

Mom's Eulogy

2011-03-12T20:37:00.000-05:00

If you knew Carlene, you’ve heard her sing.

Mom sang all the time: in the kitchen, in the car, in the office . . . in the bathroom. She was afflicted with I.H.S. (Involuntary Hymn Singing) syndrome. She just couldn’t help it. There was a song in her heart, and she couldn’t keep it down.

Put a baby in her arms and she would always sing “Jesus Loves Me.” No doubt that’s the first music all of us children heard in this world. She was singing it to us before we were born.

In mom’s final days, after the stroke, she was paralyzed on one side and unable to speak, but she could still sing. Lynnea discovered that by accident as she was sitting with mom in the hospital.

Remembering how mother had always sung “Jesus Loves Me” to comfort us when we were children, Lynnea started singing it to her. Mom joined in immediately and sang right along. After that, there was much hymn singing in the hospital. When mom got too tired to sing the words, she would just hum. We know the singing gave her comfort.

Mom always felt that being a good mother--a godly mother--was her primary calling in life. She took the job seriously: she had five children.

One of Mom and Dad's remarkable accomplishments as young parents was making sure that our family of seven ate breakfast and supper together every day, seven days a week. That ritual of family meals didn't seem noteworthy then; but decades later, we realize what a powerful bonding time that was.

Often we would sit around the table for hours after a meal--especially on Sundays--talking, laughing, and telling stories. Most Sundays, there were plenty of other kids around our table too. Friends and fellow students knew they were always welcome.

Uninvited, unannounced, they would just walk into the house and pile up at the table with us. Many of them thought of mom and dad as their second parents. Mom just instinctively knew how to create that kind of environment.

Mother had a great sense of humor. She would often laugh with her sisters and friends until they had tears running down their cheeks.

I think you have to be a mom with a sense of humor to allow your children to keep a wild skunk as a pet. Mom put up with Stinky for a whole summer when we were kids. He slept in our laps, let us lead him around on a leash, and he ate out of the same food bowl with our dog and our cat. But on that last fateful day when he got spooked and let loose a stream of skunk spray, Mom’s patience reached an end. She made us release Stinky back into the wild.

Mom liked pulling pranks. My brother, Tim, reminded us of the time she called to him through the clothes chute in our upstairs bathroom.

"Tim, Tim, come here!" she yelled.

He thought something was wrong, and came running to the clothes chute where dirty laundry emptied into the basement.

"What?" he asked, looking up into the chute.

Whoosh! Mom dumped a glass of cold water on him from the bathroom above, cackling with laughter. That was our mom.

Mom and Dad first came to the mountains to attend Mt. Carmel High School. They both attended the same church in Cozaddale, Ohio, and had other church friends who were going to school here, so they followed along.

After Mt. Carmel, they moved on to Kentucky Mountain Bible Institute, graduating in 1959. They were married on June 20th of that year, and by October they had returned to begin full-time work here.

Mom began her work on this campus running the school laundry. In the yearbook she was always listed as “Laundress.” She hated that word.

Once her five babies all got into school, Mom started going to school with us, working as a cook in the Mt. Carmel kitchen. It was pretty great having our mom cooking meals at school. Along with head cook, Treva Leach, she and the other women in that kitchen made school lunches a daily feast. We had wonderful meals. It still amazes us that homemade yeast rolls and cinnamon rolls were regular fare. Everything was made from scratch, and it was always delicious.

In later years, Mom worked for a time as a secretary at the WMTC radio station. But the job she spent the most years at was her job as a bookkeeper here on the KMBC campus. At age 72, mom was still working full-time at that job until her stroke on February 24. Mom was a hard worker--diligent, joyful, and thorough; and she did her best to instill that work ethic in all of her children.

Our family felt special pride for mom when she went back to school in the early 90s to finish her bachelor’s degree. She and dad had graduated from KMBI in 1959, earning an Associate degree—the only degree the school offered in those days--but as soon as the college began offering an accredited 4-year bachelor’s degree, Mom decided she wanted to complete the work to earn that.

She didn’t necessarily need it. She just wanted it. So she began attending classes while continuing her job as bookkeeper. She graduated in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in church music, and I remember thinking on her graduation day that I had never felt so proud of my mom.

As many of you know, mom and dad lived on this campus for 47 years. But in 2004, dear friends gave them a small plot of land back in the holler to build a house of their own.

Watching that house go up was like watching an Amish barn raising. It was an amazing thing to see so many people come together to donate their time and skills for such a project. There were framers, block layers, brick layers, cabinet makers, roofers, electricians, plumbers, floor people, spackle people, bathroom people, window people--more people than we can name.

Many of those people are in this room today, and we want you to know that our words can never express how much we appreciate what you did for mom and dad in helping them build that house. It was one of the greatest joys of mom’s life. She absolutely loved it, she loved you for doing it, and she loved having you come to visit and enjoy the house after it was built--as many of you have done. She loved sharing it with all of us--her children, grandchildren, her sisters--Rachel and Karan--and all of her extended family and friends.

The new house gave mom new opportunity to enjoy her favorite pastime: gardening. She never met a flower she didn’t like. At her new house--thanks to help from her sister Rachel, her brother-in-law Jim, and lots of back-breaking labor from dad--her flower beds were bigger and more beautiful than ever. We’ve all spent many hours in the swings on her front porch, soaking up the beauty she and dad created.

Another of mom’s amazing gifts was her skill as a seamstress. In her years as a young mother, she made most of her own clothes as well as many of the clothes Laura and Lynnea wore growing up. When I was in the 8th grade, she even made ME a blue polyester leisure suit.

Lately, she had done a lot of sewing for her granddaughters, making them costumes and dresses that they delighted in. She was even teaching them to sew.

It’s difficult now to imagine life without mom. She was no saint. She had her flaws like everyone else. But on this day to honor her, we cherish the memories of all that we loved about her.

She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend and confidante; and we will all miss her more than words can express.

We know heaven rejoiced when she entered those gates Sunday morning. And by now, we’re pretty sure there are some new celestial flower beds set out with seedlings preparing to bloom.

Written by Daniel G. Light

Mom

2011-03-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

May 19, 1938 - March 6, 2011

Mom suffered a massive brain bleed in the night last night and went home to be with Jesus at 4:16 am. My heart aches this morning, but I have complete confidence that she is singing in heaven this Sunday morning.

Thank you all for your love and prayers.

Swallow Test Results

2011-03-04T20:15:00.002-05:00

Mom did not pass the modified barium swallow test today. She may be able to retake it on Monday.

Swallowing Test

2011-03-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

Mom passed her bedside swallowing test today!!!!

The speech therapist worked with her on learning to sing things that she wants to sing like ,"My name is Carlene". Mom was able to do that.

My brother, Daniel, created a blog for mom called Carlene's Corner. We will update it regularly with information re mom's recover.

Update on Mom

2011-03-03T11:30:00.001-05:00

Mom is still in the hospital at UK. She is making small improvements everyday. Our big concern right now is that she still cannot swallow. She will have a bedside swallow test today and possibly a modified barium swallow test before. She cannot go to Cardinal Hill (rehab hospital) with a feeding tube in her nose. If she does not pass the swallow test she will need to surgically have a PEG bag inserted into her stomach. We are hoping that she will be able to avoid this procedure.

My sister, Laura, is flying back to Texas tonight and she and her family will pack up and move back to Kentucky to help care for mom. The hope to be back sometime on Monday. Please pray for safe travel.

I am not sure when I will be returning to Virginia. I am so thankful for friends that have helped care for the girls and provided meals.

Mom

2011-02-26T13:13:00.000-05:00

I wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know that my mom had a stroke on Thursday, February 24. She is at UK hospital in Lexington, Ky. She is much improved today. She is awake and alert. She knows everything we are saying. She said three words today, but the doctor had hoped she would be speaking more.

She still can not move her right side on command, but my brother said she picked up her right arm in the middle of the night and laid it across her stomach.

We are much encouraged. She will have an MRI today to make sure there is no bleeding on the brain. I worked with her some today on her motor skills in her left hand. She was able to zip and unzip a zipper, unbutton buttons and pull Velcro apart.

Please pray specifically for speech to return, movement on right side and no bleeding on her brain.

It is such comfort to face human trials knowing that life is not about this world but about our eternal life in heaven and knowing that she is wrapped in God's loving arms.

I feel blessed today.

Scarves

2011-02-22T22:04:00.000-05:00

Grandma Pam made the girls a bunch of very cool scarves. I have been intending for quite some time now to take pictures of all the scarves and and post them. Time has gotten away and I haven't gotten it done. I did get a picture of Beatrice with one of the scarves. I think it is really beautiful. Thank you Grandma Pam for the scarves as well as the coin purses. The girls love them.

Before and After - Dining Room

2011-02-21T14:39:00.000-05:00

Here are some before and after pictures of the dining room. We ripped out the old carpet and had hardwood flooring installed. We put in crown molding, new 5 inch baseboards, a new light fixture, new curtains and of course new paint. Paul's brother, Taylor, has been such a blessing in helping us get all this stuff done! Thank you, Taylor.

I love the way it turned out. Now I just need to find more stuff for the walls and maybe a rug for the floor.

It feels good to get things done.

before pictures

I love the new light fixture.

Father Daughter Dance

2011-02-17T16:04:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday night Paul took the girls to a Father Daughter Dance at Reston Bible Church. RBC is the church where our homeschool co-op is held so there were lots of friends that attended as well. They had a time for crafts which was more of a hit for the girls than for dad. They also had an ice cream bar and of course lots of dancing.

We went shopping and found new dresses for all three of the girls at Burlington Coat Factory of all places. They were very happy with their dress choices and I thought they looked beautiful.

As has been the tradition for the past several of years,

Paul took them to dinner at Red Hot and Blue before the dance.

RBC provided corsages for each of the girls.

craft time

Helena led a line dance.

They had a wonderful time at the dance. In all the anticipation of the dance, once again I forgot that by the time they get home they are, shall we say, uhm tired. We'll leave at that. :-)

Writing

2011-02-14T16:41:00.001-05:00

Writing.... I hate it. I have never been good at it. The thought of "creative writing" sends chills down my spine... ok, not really chills, but did I mention that I. HATE. WRITING. Thus, it came as no surprise to me that I have a child that hates writing.

Unfortunately this combination does not work well for several reasons. One is because it is just too easy for me to say, "Oh, forget about that writing assignment" because I don't want to deal with it. Ugh. Another reason is because when I do push forward and require a writing assignment tears are almost always involved. And there is usually some yelling on my part that brings about even more tears. Double Ugh.

There is a point to all this....

One of our units in our co-op this year was a Writing Unit. This unit was different from our other units in that it actually requires homework i.e. writing. (Imagine that. Writing in a writing unit. Hmm. Clever.) Well, I was really dreading this unit because I knew it was going to be difficult. I asked my friend and fellow homeschooling mom, Kathleen, if she would work with Helena. She graciously agreed. Whew.

Helena chose to write about the fennec fox which lives in the Sahara Desert. After researching and writing her paper she had to present it to the whole class. She was pretty nervous, but she did a fantastic job.

Here is the board that she had to create.

She made a little burrow in the bottom of the board and glued sand to it. We were able to find a little stuffed fennec fox to put in the burrow. I thought Helena did a fantastic job and she came away with a positive feeling about writing.

Still Ahead

2011-02-01T21:18:00.000-05:00

Okay, I didn't make the 3.5 miles but I did walk 2.97 miles so I am still barely ahead! Yahoo.... not that we are competing or anything.....

Chapter Books

2011-02-01T14:45:00.001-05:00

Beatrice is a fantastic reader for a five year old. She just finished her first "real" chapter book entitled Riding the Pony Express by Clyde Robert Bulla. I guess she really read it twice because she read it to herself and she also read it aloud to me. So much fun!

Now she is reading The Secret Valley, also by Clyde Robert Bulla, about the California Gold Rush of 1849.

There is absolutely nothing more exciting than teaching your child to read and seeing a whole new world open up to them. I have had that pleasure three times now and I feel so blessed to be able to homeschool my girls.

Okay, after reading through my last paragraph again, I would have to restate that there is something more exciting than teaching your child to read and that is seeing them accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Can't beat that!

Well, the natives are getting restless... much running, yelling and pounding of the piano going on upstairs so I guess I better lay down my blogger hat and pick up my mom/teacher hat.....

Life couldn't be better.

Snow Cream

2011-02-01T14:20:00.001-05:00

When we had our big snow last week we made some snow cream with neighborhood friends. It was yummy.

Recipe

Huge bowl of snow
1 cup of sugar
4 cups of milk
teaspoon of vanilla
teaspoon of salt

My Sweet Loving Husband

2011-02-01T07:26:00.001-05:00

WALKED 3.5 MILES TODAY! GRRR. Not that we are competing or anything....... grrrrrrrr......

I love him so much. grrrrr....... Am I really going to walk MORE than 3.5 miles today? grrrrr.......

I love you baby! :) Pleeeeeeeease don't walk 3.5 mile tomorrow.

Bullseye

2011-01-26T21:28:00.000-05:00

This snowstorm got us. We woke up to a dusting of snow this morning and then nothing until about 3:00 p.m. when it started sleeting with some thunder and lightening. After it stopped sleeting the snow started and is still continuing. Paul and I were just outside shoveling and there was quite a lot of lightening but I didn't hear any thunder. One of the neighbors was out with a snow blower and he helped a lot with our driveway. It is a pretty fancy machine! We appreciate his help so much.

The girls are going to have a good time tomorrow!

Walking

2011-01-24T17:01:00.001-05:00

I have set a goal to walk 500 miles this year. I added a ticker from TickerFactory.com to the top of my blog. Hopefully seeing the ticker on my blog will be a positive reminder to walk everyday. Feel free to bug me about it if you don't see my snowman advancing along the ticker. :)

I'm Sorry

2011-01-19T22:46:00.002-05:00

I spend the vast amount of my time with the girls and I feel like I know each of them well. However, I discovered something several months ago that I didn't know and was reminded of it again tonight.

One night I was in my room just shortly after the girls went to bed and I heard one of the girls ( I think it was Helena) saying that she was sorry. I made a mental note to myself to ask her the next morning why she was saying she was sorry. When I asked her about it, her answer totally caught me by surprise.

Apparently, every night after they are tucked in bed and all the lights are out they all tell each other that they are sorry and that they forgive each other for whatever little grievances they had during the day. I was so surprised and moved that my sweet baby girls do that.

Range Card

2011-01-18T15:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we took the girls to the range to do a little shooting. We thought it would be a good time to go since it was a Monday morning but a lot of other people apparently felt the same way. It was packed. Helena and Ella both have their range cards but this was Bea's first time so she had to take the range test and get her range card.

She was a little scared at first

but she ended up having a great time.

Beatrice showing off her range card.