8th Grade - Here We Go!!!

Romans 12:2: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.

As we begin Alexis' 2011/2012 homeschool year, I'd like to think that this will be a verse that both she and I can focus on.  For me, it is a strong reminder and encouraging verse as a homeschooler who strives to follow the Lord's best for my daughter's education...

With only just a week of Sonlight Core 200 under our belts, I am already a tremendous fan.  Alexis finished, and enjoyed reading Pictures of Hollis Woods, and is working through the questions in The Westminster Shorter Catechism.  I began reading Flames of Rome to her--- and yes, I've already come across some (age inappropriate) controversial topics.  (I'm very thankful for the moms on the Sonlight boards who gave a forewarning.)   For us, some of the subject matter will require my editing, and some will most certainly require discussion.  Alexis and I still do Bible and History lessons together, and are especially liking The Story of Christianity and More than a Carpenter. 

History of God's Kingdom is a high school level Core, and we are without a doubt feeling the workload difference from the middle school Cores.  We hit the ground running this week, starting back with co-op, piano, and music/drama.  Added into the mix were dentist and doctor appointments, yet my daughter seems to have handled the workload quite well!

Abeka was our starting point this week for Pre-Algebra...  So far so good!  Alexis used Abeka for several years and did quite well - then she switched to Teaching Textbooks.  (Her request, and I had heard lots of good things about the curriculum.)  Although she loved doing her math work on the computer, she was not retaining the information the way she needed to.  Last year we tried to switch to Chalk Dust Pre-Algebra, and for various reasons, I did not feel she was ready.  So...  we backtracked a little - and now I am feeling much more confident that she is prepared.  I was given our Abeka books, and noticed that the print is larger than the Chalk Dust workbooks.  Alexis' eyes get weary with tiny print, so I've decided to try using the Abeka Pre-Algebra with the Chalk Dust DVD's as needed .  It remains to be seen if this will work or not.

Watercolors Co-op Class will probably be Alexis' favorite of the year.  Not just co-op either!!!  She has an incredible passion for art, and is so happy to be learning many new techniques.  I hope to take pictures of her artwork and post on this blog at some point.

Alexis' Apologia General Science class went quite well - I think...  :-)  This is a bittersweet moment for me.  It will be the final co-op class that I teach - where Alexis is a student!  No, this will not be the last co-op class that I teach.  I just do not plan to teach a high school level class.  I am fine teaching my own daughter, I'm just not comfortable teaching a class that will go on student's high school transcripts.  lol!!!

Next week we will begin Latin.  It is the only at home subject that was not covered this week.  That was intentional, due to the many appointments that kept us off schedule.

Writing and Public Speaking/Debate classes will start in a few weeks.  Alexis is looking forward to attending these classes all school year.  (Although next year I hope to go back to Write Shop, which I recommend highly and love!!!)  I am thankful to a wonderful friend for teaching these courses - so my daughter can grow in confidence in her writing skills, and can learn how to use her debating skills in an effective way.  I so understand her wanting to do that, as I too wanted to be able to spar with my brother and sister on equal platforms at that age, but being many years younger - it's sometimes hard to get taken seriously!

My bonus baby - Last Year's First Day of School Picture.  We are having problems transferring pics onto one of our computers - so I have delayed taking her photo until I can clear the san disc.

#21 - Happy Birthday Amanda!

Before the hustle and bustle of a hectic school year begins, we were blessed with one more relaxing get-away to the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort.  Our latest (and last for awhile,) excursion, was a trip to Bonita Springs to celebrate Amanda's 21st birthday.  Our first two days were spent around their pools - first at the lazy river - then over to the water-slide pool area with the hot tub.  Our girls used the hot tub, but I couldn't bear the idea of doing the same when we were already surrounded by 90 degree + temperatures.  We missed out on the rock climbing, but David and I enjoyed going over to the resort's private island on our last day while our children did what they seem to love to do best - sleep!  :-) 

Amanda and Alexis  in our hotel room

David

We ate some outstanding pizza on this evening, not too far from the hotel.  Then we drove over to Ft. Myers beach.  Although we missed the sunset, the sky was still shining with some amazingly beautiful colors.  Alexis seemed especially happy to be heading to the pier.

Not a great picture of our family, (the humidity was not nice to our hair) however, it has all of us in the pic, which is a rarity.

Loving the ice cream from Kilwin's

Looking up at Alexis while she's in a store strongly wishing she could buy a surfboard.

Amanda - the night of her birthday.  Back at the hotel after a delicious seafood dinner, looking forward to receiving her birthday gifts and key lime pie...

Heading to Big Hickory Island with my husband.

We thought this huge pelican was going to be the animal highlight of the boat trip over to the island until we saw.........

This!

A sweet little dolphin who seemed to like racing our boat!  I really wanted a picture of it's face - it jumped many times, but I just was not able to snap a shot at just the right moment.

Past the bridge is our island!

David's walking the beach looking for seashells.  We actually found several beautiful shells that day!

Our hotel - a view from the boat on our trip back.  Not long after we arrived on the island, a storm came out of nowhere - and if it had come our way, we would have been stuck there for much longer than planned.  Yes, they have shelter, and it's enclosed. 

My precious sweet grown girl.  She'll always be my baby!

I love you, Amanda!

21 Reasons that I thank God for Amanda!


1.  She was given the gift of liveliness.  Put Amanda in the mix, and you know you'll have fun!
2.  She was given the gift of adventure.  Amanda loves to experience new things, roller coasters, new places,  meeting new people...  Her eyes sparkle whenever she knows she is about to encounter a new endeavor.
3.  She was given the gift of giving.  Amanda blesses others with her time and talents.  As a young teen and beyond, she loved to volunteer in the nursery, at AWANA, help me with my Sunday School class, and assist in our church's special needs class.  At times she has gladly sacrificed a social life in order to meet the needs of others in this way.
4.  She was given the gift of swiftness.  Amanda began walking at 8 months.  I should have known right then that she would not be slow to move or learn.  She's always been so fast!  Fast to memorize, a quick reader, a speedy cleaner!  
5.  She was given the gift of happiness.  More than anybody in our family, Amanda stays stuck on happy.  That is SUCH a good thing!  It makes being around her absolutely delightful!
6.  She was given the gift of being able to easily forgive.  I think that is partially why she stays joyful so much of the time.
7.  She was given the gift of a hard working ethic.  Amanda takes her job seriously and responsibly.  She's usually the person that her employer ends up relying on to get the difficult tasks done.  She stays dependable and a steady to her job.
8.  She was given the gift of intelligence.  I'm not just saying that because she's ours...  Amanda is an exceptionally bright girl, and always has been.  I am sometimes surprised when she is surprised of her accomplishments.  I believe that she can achieve whatever she sets her mind to.
9.  She was given the gift of friendliness.  Although she has a tendency to be on the shy side, Amanda speaks comfortably and confidently to others.
10.  She was given the gift of being practical.  She at times can get carried away with a few too many trips to Starbucks - or a shopping trip that's not totally necessary, however, Amanda most always stays extremely practical - wanting to be a good steward of what God has entrusted her with.  
11.  Amanda is witty.  I love laughing with her.
12.  Amanda loves to be pampered.  It's a joy to see the pleasure she receives when we do something special for her.  It makes it so worth it!
13.  Amanda is truly creative!  She has a good eye for decorating, likes to make jewelry, and lately she tie dyed some incredible looking shirts.  For the most part she has laid her artistic/crafty abilities to the side while she is attending college and working, but I can't wait to see what she will venture into next when she has the time.
14.  Amanda loves being with her family.  Although she totally adores the hours spent out having fun with friends, Amanda does like to be with us.  I feel so extremely blessed that my 21 year old WANTS to devote time to her family.
15.  Amanda is a daddy's girl.  From the time she was little, she had her dad's heart.  Amanda still thrives on that - and feels most confident when he's encouraging and supporting her.
16.  Amanda likes to stay busy - and is always finding ways to keep herself occupied.  
17.  Amanda is our techno baby.  She has no hesitation to attempt repair on electronics, and often will fix our problems.  She's taught us how to run new gadgets, and if it were not for her willingness to teach me, I'm sure I would not be able to do half of what I can do with my computer.
18.  Amanda wants to be her sister's style mentor.  She loves helping her pick out and/or buy outfits, and if she is asked, will gladly share her clothes.  It's fun to watch them bond like this, because my sister and I did the same thing! 
19.  Amanda is extremely loyal to her brother.  With just 17 months between them, they grew up with a strong bond of  companionship and friendship.
20.  Amanda's most lovely feature is her smile.  She walks around carrying one - always.  Even when it is not intentional, she's smiling anyway.
21.  Above all, what I love most about Amanda is that she has given her heart to our Lord Jesus.  She loves Him, trusts Him, and desires to serve and honor Him in her life.

Milestones

Throughout the years, many of my son's milestones seemed more significant than the last.  I can clearly remember when he first discovered his hand - and that he had control over it's motions.  The first glimpse of his struggle to roll over felt a triumph when achieved, and we watched in awe.  The first time he sat up - I missed.  Noticing his pleased smile when I walked into the room to pick him up - I felt so incredibly proud to see my son sitting in his crib waiting for me to take notice of his great achievement.  He worked hard to stand, walk, run, and ride a bicycle.  On his first day of kindergarten - he looked so big and grown up to me.  All encompassing, I beamed with delight and ached at the swiftness of time.  Next, I blinked - and there we were...  With a lump in my throat, and tears in my eyes, I watched David graduate from high school.  Soon after, came the heart wrenching trip to move him into a college dorm.  His trip to China, gave his dad and me a keen reminder that his care is ultimately entrusted to the Lord's watchful eye.  After mulling over that reality check, David spent his first summer local to his university, rather than at home with his family, so he could continue working.  Then - the big day came.  The academic achievement that surpassed all others to date.  David's graduation from college.

I am thankful for each and every one of these milestones.  As a thread woven through David's faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, they gave my son a feeling of self confidence.  Each milestone helped prepare him for his adult life--- for the life God intends him to have.  I am incredibly gratified with all He has allowed my son to accomplish.  I cannot give thanks and praise enough to my Lord for the 22 years of milestones that we've been blessed to witness.

David walking across the stage after the President Interim shook his hand.

Our family of five.

Siblings

David with mom and dad

David with my sister and Grandmum

Solo

Look ma, no diploma!  David's degree is in Social Ministries with a minor in Political Science.

David and Grandmum celebrating at a restaurant after graduation.

Sweet sisters...

It is my sincere prayer that David will spend all of his days gravitating to walk in the Truth.  I pray that he keeps his heart, mind, and eyes focused on the One who gave him life, and Who blessed him with incredible, magnificent milestones.  

My son, if you accept My words and store up My commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds success in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones.  Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path.  For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.  Proverbs 2:1-11

Drama

The favorable kind -  Musical/Theater...  Alexis spent a good many days in the spring and summer practicing voice, skits, and more in preparation for, Voices of Joy, her Musical/Drama group's performances which were held in pre-schools and nursing homes around the community.  Our homeschool group is extremely blessed to have a talented teacher (who is also a homeschool mom,) work with our students teaching them skills that bless so many.

Spring Classes-----   Alexis playing the step-mother in Cinderella.  The girls in this scene played the step-sisters.

The entertainer is preparing to entertain with The Entertainer at a nursing home.

One of many songs performed as a group.  This is not the group in it's entirety.

Summer Camp-----  These girls are performing Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's rendition of Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World.  Alexis sang a part from Wonderful World.  Notice the ukulele  My daughter now wants to play one...

Alexis was preparing to speak about Cassie Bernall from the Columbine High tragedy in this drama.  The skit was written by the drama teacher's daughter (a high school student,) and emphasized our need to trust our Lord.  It was an amazingly well thought out piece, and I imagine her daughter will go far with the writing ability that God has given her.

Book Review---

This probably seems a peculiar place to add a book review, however, this recommendation evolved out of the skit mentioned above, so I want to make mention of it here.  Just looking at Alexis, should tell you that she's a deep thinker.  When something has made an impression on her, she inquisitively wants to learn as much as she can about the subject at hand.  Working on this drama piece made Alexis want to understand why Cassie Bernall was killed.  How do you explain evil?  Certainly she sees it exists.  We read the Bible, she hears current events, bad things happen.  This skit made the reality of a profound devastation feel a touch closer I suppose.  As the saying goes, knowledge is power, so I thought it would be helpful to Alexis to choose a few books for her to read on the subject.  The first one is obviously - She Said Yes  The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall  which Alexis is actually reading right at the moment.  The 2nd book purchased is  - Rachael's Tears the Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr Rachael Scott written by her mother, and the 3rd book, which is the one I'm recommending today - The Journals of Rachael Scott: A Journey of Faith at Columbine High. The author chose to use excerpts of Rachael Scott's own personal journals to create this book.  She did a really good job.  It is not long, Alexis had it read within a day.  The end of each chapter sums up Rachael's spiritual questions by asking the reader to think through those same inquires themselves.  Rachael was well on her way to being someone great, somehow, someway.  The writings are impacting to the heart, not just my daughter's but mine as well.   I'm not sure if I can ever accurately explain to my child why God chose to use this beautiful little girl in such a way. This child full of thoughts, hopes, and dreams, full of obvious love for Him, full of compassion and concern for others - with a sense of knowing she still needed to mature in Christ even though she was amazingly more mature than the average teen. I can only begin to guess at His answers to my child's questions concerning evil.  My sense is that by reading Rachael's story, we can see the hope that laid in the midst of an outrageous tragedy.  May God bless her family.  

Lido Key - A Lovely Laze

The opportunity for forty-eight hours of much needed rest and relaxation came our way this week.  A trip to Lido Key on the west coast of Florida is where we returned from our travels yesterday.  This morning I'd prefer to still be feeling refreshing salty breezes on the balcony of our hotel that overlooked the gulf,  however, I am so very thankful that my husband planned this special get-away time for our family of five.

With one child post college, another still working her way through college, and a third with a life full of activities, it is incredibly hard to find more than 1/2 of a day to spend together.  The moments that we can steal away together are incredibly treasured.  We are blessed.

Our girls walking in the sunset

A few sunset pics

So many seashells - they were very small, but pretty all the same.

My two favorite men - looking at cell phone pics.  Our hotel is in the background.

Amanda and me.

David and I walked on the beach each morning, enjoying the cool breezes and beautiful birds.

Lunch at The Columbia House - Yummy Spanish food.

Another beautiful sunset.

Proof of our early morning walks.  We were hoping to find a few large colorful shells that the west coast of FL is notorious for.  Good news!  Fantastic weather the entire trip.  Thus the reason we had no spectacular seashell finds.

Loved the many birds we saw making their early morning breakfast dives.

A seagull and it's shadow.

I had to go to whatbird.com to find the name of these unique creatures.  They are called Black Skimmers.  After downloading the pics, I was pleasantly surprised by their great reflections in the water!  I'll have to remember that when using the camera in the early AM.

Looking up the history of this 40' statue was slightly amusing - and disappointing.  We guessed at why this VJ-Day Photo turned statue look-alike was sitting in Sarasota.  Our hypothesis was way off...  As much as we hoped that one of the infamous strangers was a local to the area, we found ourselves altogether wrong.  As a matter of fact, it's problems are as big as it's stature.  After the city agreed to "accept" the kissing couple from it's artist, they found themselves in the midst of a lawsuit - as the man who was it's creator was being sued for making it just a little too much like the original photo.

Journey

Our radio mostly stays on Christian music.  It's a rare day that we listen to oldies.  When it happens, I smile and reminisce for a few moments.  Then after piecing together the true meaning of the song at hand, I usually become mortified by the lyrics I once joyfully sang as a child/teen/young adult - without having ever given it the first thought.  So- when Alexis came home from camp singing an old blast from my past 1981 Journey song, I thought it was time to "google" the lyrics to see if they may be a bit too edgy for our family's liking.  Did I mention - it was a church camp?  Did I mention that she's picking the tune out on the piano?

Don't Stop Believin'

Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train goin' anywhere

A singer in a smokey room
A smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night
It goes on and on and on and on

(Chorus)
Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights people, living just to find emotion
Hiding, somewhere in the night.

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

(Chorus)

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights people

Don't stop believin'
Hold on
Streetlight people

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights people

I can see how the youth pastors might use the song to interpret a life lesson about "what not to do,"  with an encouragement to keep on believing in our Lord.  It's a stretch, but okay...  I think I'll be speaking with Alexis to find out the context that surrounded the use of the song.  It amuses me to know that these kids were belting out a ballad from my generation.  Back in my day - that would not have been a cool thing to do.

While searching for the Journey song mentioned above - I realized that the band is still together, although Steve Perry is no longer the lead singer.  I really loved his passionate vocals, and just had to go on You Tube to see how the new guy compared.  When doing so, I found a single that Journey placed in the number 1 spot on an album (are they actually still called that???) called Revelation, which came out in 2008.  This song totally touched my heart, as I reflected on the many years I have been blessed to be my husband's wife.



After All These Years lyrics

A faded wedding photograph
You and me in our first dance
Our eyes are closed, we’re lost in one sweet embrace
Since those days the world has changed
But our love remains the same
God knows we've had our share of saving grace

And I'm proud of all the blessings you have given me
The mountains we have climbed to get this far
We've learned to take the laughter with the tears
After all these years

You make it feel brand new
After the fires that we walked through
Against the odds we never lost our faith
In a house we’ve made our own
Where our children all have grown
Precious moments time cannot erase

Make a living up and down the gypsy highways
The seasons that we’ve had to share apart
Somehow in my heart I always keep you near
After all these years

After all these years
You stood by me the days and nights that I was gone
After all these years
You sacrificed, believed in me and you stood strong
Cause with our love there’s nothing left to fear
After all these years

After all these years
You stood by me the days and nights that I was gone
After all these years
You sacrificed, believed in me and you stood strong
Cause with our love there's nothing left to fear
After all these years

Wanting to believe and hope in the best for people, I'd love to not just imagine, but know that the band has grown in a relationship with the Lord.  It would be awesome to know they have come to an understanding, a "revelation" - per say, (like the album's title) of Who it is that truly is the key to their "journey."  (Yes, that became an unintentional pun.)  All that to say, and maybe I'm romanticizing it a bit, but I would love to imagine that we grew closer to the Lord together.  Ah, to know that we would one day have Journey leading us in proclamations of worship to our Lord!  Who's famous voices will we hear singing praises to our God and King when we enter heaven?