A Spontaneous Field Trip

The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility to "go with the flow" and change your routine when unexpected events come your way. That said, I woke up this morning and heard on the radio that Laura and Jenna Bush were going to be in Winter Park signing copies of a new book that they co-authored. Sounded like a great time for a field trip - not that I didn't have many other things that needed my attention today, but hey, it's not every day you get to meet the president's wife and daughter! Little did we know the journey we were about to take. We arrived and got in line - just to get in the store. This entailed a very detailed bag search by very large Secret Service agents and walking through the metal detector (a funny note - all of my kids beeped and I didn't!!). Then, to go any further, we had to buy the book ("Read All About It" here) before getting our wrist bands to get into another line! Well, that line topped any Disney line of weaving back and forth that I have ever been in! Does this picture give you any idea??

We mapped that store back and forth several times over, before, after being there for a total of 3 hours, we came to our turn. The kids did what they love to do best anyway while we waited:

and we played some games, talked to people in line and talked to some of the Secret Service agents. Once we got there, we were told that we were not allowed to take posed pictures due to the time and the number of people still in line, but I snapped a quick shot of them, just to have evidence! They truly seemed as sweet and humble as you have seen them appear to be.

Jenna wanted to know the kids ages and names and what grade they were in and Mrs. Bush commented that we had a beautiful family. It was an exciting (and tiring!) day. We decided that we got in lots of school too!

Here is a pic of the kids with our signed book:

All in all, it was a wonderful experience!

A Trip to the Farm

Last week, a few of us in my homeschool group went on a wonderful field trip. Living in the Orlando area, we have lots of theme park stuff to do, but little in the way of rural, old fashioned values kinds of things that I want to have a part of my children's upbringing. That being said, we drove about an hour and a half to a farm and just had a great day. The kids were able to see all kinds of chickens and fresh laid eggs, pigs and bunnies:

(Isn't Amber's face so cute??!!)

There were goats that they were able to milk and kids to bottle feed:

as well as emu, ostrich, wild Florida animals like the panther, various rescued birds, etc.

We had a hay ride out into the middle of their pasture:

where the cows and llama came right up to our tractor to be fed.

Can you see the llama coming to get their share?

It was such a beautiful day and a wonderful field trip. We ended it with 2 hours sitting around talking and laughing at Chick-Fil-A. So, for any homeschool critics, we had Science, Social Studies, Math (counting all the various animals, paying for food, multiplying #of people by the group rate, etc), Reading, Map skills, PE, Logic and Reasoning, Real life skills and yes, even SOCIALIZATION - all in one day! And they were with wholesome, God loving people, were exposed to uplifting testimonies that hopefully encouraged and inspired them to live for Him and not introduced to anything that will tempt them to sin! WOW! God is so good!

Here are some of the children - Holly, Jonathan, MaKenna, Caleb, Sarah and Amber.

The moms - Helen, Tammy and Me!

An Archery Lesson

Have you ever read the verse that says: "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate" (Psalm 127:5). I have often used it in newsletters and other things, because it is so meaningful when you are a parent raising Godly children. I always thought of it like our children are designed by God, put into our home, our "quiver", and we are to mold them so that when they leave us and go into the world and deal with the "enemies in the gate" we will not be ashamed and they will be effective in what God has sent them to do. Well, I read something the other day that made this verse even more clear to me, so I want to share it with you! It talked about how when an archer takes hold of his bow and arrow, the closer that he is able to draw his arrow inward, the further and straighter the arrow will fly. So, by pulling the arrow in as close as possible, he is able to better aim it and send it to its rightful destination. Isn't that so like our children? If we hold them close and teach them diligently while they are young, they will be better able to become what God has intended them to become when we let them fly. Remember, the two most important things we can give our children: Roots and Wings! I pray that this blesses you as it did me!

A Wild Night

A few weeks ago, we were scheduled to have a Camping Trip to the Central Florida Zoo with Caleb's Scout troop. Unfortunately, due to lots of heavy rain and severe storms, the trip was postponed. Well, we rescheduled it for this past weekend and almost missed it again, due to weather! But, it did not turn severe, just lots of rain and we had our campout. We had such a great time - wetness and all! We set up camp first, then relaxed until our first tour. Here is a pic of the girls drying the tent floor:

After setting up, we looked around a bit and found railroad tracks that had such a pretty view that we paused for pics:

Our night tour started at 8:00 and was awesome! We went into the zoo with a guide and toured around viewing the nocturnal animals that are typically asleep when you are there during the day. So we were able to observe them awake and moving around! Some of our favorites were the cougar, the sloths, the ball python (Mark and Caleb!) and the kangaroos. We were not allowed to take pics, but we have our memories! It was a pretty rainy night and the tent leaked a tad, but not much and overall it was a great experience. The next morning, we had the zoo to ourselves for about an hour before they opened and were able to tour it again, even seeing some of the night animals still moving about. We were greeted right off by the howler monkey and it's very loud welcome to our group. We laughed so hard we cried over his antics and the more we laughed, the harder he performed! Some of our favorites:

The cougar was still out and about in the morning - he was beautiful!

Caleb asked lots of questions about the llama and found out about their teeth, what they like to eat and what people use them for.

The leopard was very majestic looking.

As much fun as we had, I must admit that it was so nice to get home and get a shower!

Busy-ness

The past few weeks have been so busy in our family and I haven't caught up here in a while! So, for a quick recap here are some of the highlights! The day after Easter, we had a field trip to the President's Museum in Clermont. I was so pleased that of all the questions our guide asked, my children were able to answer all but one of them correctly! The wax figures were a little cheesy, but the museum is full of artifacts and information that was just incredible. Even Caleb had a great time and learned a lot. Here are some funny pics of that trip:
With G. Washington, George W. and Laura Bush!

Holly with TJ - her favorite president.

All of us climbing Mt. Rushmore.

The weekend after Easter our church hosted a Youth Conference called Fusion. It was a weekend full of awesome services. Thursday night at practice, God's presence filled the sanctuary and brought our youth, literally, to their knees and their faces. They spent about an hour just being in the presence of Jehovah. In a day when most teens our out doing ungodly things everywhere, it is just overwhelming to see a group of youth submit to Him in such a powerful way and to watch Him transform their lives. Friday night of that weekend, after service, the 1000+ youth descended on the RDV, our local ice skating rink, for 2 hours of fun and fellowship. Mark and I worked their that night helping out wherever we were needed and had a lot of fun, even though we are a little "out-dated!"

Sunday, we went to the Lighthouse - the 3rd time in a month for the kids and I! But, it was Mark's first time and Jess got to go with us, which made it extra special to get to spend some time with her. AND, we finally got smart and purchased a pass - so the next time you come to see us, whoever you are, we will probably go to the Lighthouse! The only bad part to the day, besides the cold rainy weather, was for poor Holly - we stopped for dinner at Sonny's where their cups are enourmous and the waitress accidentally spilled 2 of those full of ice water on her lap! Oh, the memories!

Jess, Holly and MaKenna

Mark and I about to enter!

The girls at the top - such a cute pic!

Always a tree hugging, foot popping picture from this spot!

Daddy and Caleb inside the lighthouse.

So, we have been truly busy, but enjoying our time together and making the most of the time that we have! We pray that you are blessed as well in your busy-ness!