Shameless Gushing!!

There are few things more nauseating than a brand-new mother. They all think THEIR baby is the cutest, the smartest, the most cuddly, and on and on and on... You know what I'm talking about. Everyone else is going, "Yea, yea, yea...he looks like all the rest!" Grandparents are the only ones who appreciate this.

So far I have tried to refrain from gushing about my baby and making everyone around me sick. But a Mom can only do what she can do...I mean, give me a break here! So if you have a weak stomach you might want to jump to the next blog because this is going to be shameless!! I had some pictures of my darling baby boy that were simply begging to be posted. So at the risk of being completely annoying...here they are.



Laughing at something ...who knows what? Probably at one of his parents.


Taking a bath



Watching life go by


And lying around some more...


Boy, I wish I could lie around this much!


I know he was trying to quote Shakespeare



"Mommy, I love you!" (I told you this was going to be nauseating.)
Alright, that's all (for now). Is anybody still here...... Hey... where did you all go?

After One Week of Homeschooling...

I have learned:

* Children are smarter than we think.
* Parents are NOT NEARLY as smart as we think.
* School can be loads of fun.
* School is exhausting for the student.
* School is exhausting for the teacher.


This is what Breck looked like Friday afternoon. This is also what yours truly looked like Friday afternoon, although I don't have a picture of it. I've seen pictures of me sleeping... and lets just say that its something I should NOT put up on my blog. You. really. don't. want. to. see. it.!

Thankfully, by the second week we have gotten into "the groove" and are feeling like its a "piece of cake!" I have a baaaad feeling that statement is going to come back and haunt me.

The Find of the Week!

People, it doesn't get any better than this. While Breck was outside playing today he found nestled in our sweet little maple tree a Mourning Dove and her chicks. The nest was barely above my head and the foliage wasn't too thick so we were able to observe her for quite some time. At first I thought she only had one chick with but we soon discovered that she had two. I brought a step stool out and the kids took turns climbing up and watching her. She didn't squawk or try to get us to leave, instead she stayed perfectly motionless. Not even her eye moved.

Just as we were about to leave the little chicks began clambering for something to eat. So she opened her beak and they placed their beaks inside her beak to eat. We're not talking one at a time here...they both wanted it now! As you can imagine, we were delighted to watch them.

This year our nature study is focused on birds so this little lady is going to be Exhibit A. We plan to watch her and her babies closely every day to watch them grow. We'll be reading every book we can get our hands on that talk about the Mourning dove. This is, in my humble opinion, the best way to study Science.

Making Math Meaningful

I HATE math. No, that's not stating it strong enough. I'm afraid you won't get the idea...I loath, despise math. When you mention the word math I feel like there are spikes going under my fingernails. I have ALWAYS hated math. I do not have a mathmatical mind...I like to read, write, play the piano...you get the idea. I really needed daily beatings to get me to do my math when I was in school (although my Mother out of the kindness of her heart did not do so). I practically cried my way through Algebra and I'm not even certain to this day how I passed because I didn't learn a bloomin' thing! That is why when it came to homeschooling, the one subject that gave me cause for fear was....you got it-MATH. How on earth was I going to teach my child Math when I can barely stand the sight of a Math textbook?!

To the rescue (trumpets please...) came my older sister, Rhetta, who is a homeschool Mom. The Math textbook that she showed me forever changed the way I look at math and has become a God-send to me. No longer do I have fear and trepidation about teaching math; no longer am I afraid that my kids will hate it as I have. I actually enjoy teaching it! Imagine that!

Making Math Meaningful by David Quine is the curriculum you NEED to use for your children. If you are using one curriculum for all your subjects, such as Bob Jones or A becka (I'm not sure how to spell that-you can tell that's not what I'm using ;), you need to take the math book and pitch it into the trash. Tear it into little pieces so you won't be tempted to pull it out again and then go to your computer and order Making Math Meaningful!!! You will not be sorry. No, I am not getting paid anything from Cornerstone or David Quine to give this testimonial. (Although some free curriculum would be nice!)

Here are some reasons why this is the best math program out there. First of all, the math concepts are taken veeerrryyy slooowly so that your child has time to actually master the concept before moving on to something else. Secondly, they actually teach you WHY you do what you are doing. Am I the only adult out there that didn't know WHY we carry a number when we are subtracting??? You just do it because that's the way you're supposed to do it! Don't ask anymore questions!!! This book teaches the principles before you ever do any addition, subtraction, etc. facts. Imagine what's its like to actually understand what you're doing!

I'll just give an example: Breck has been learning about adding and subtracting. So the first thing they teach is the difference between things being equal and unequal. "If you have two towers of lego blocks that are different in height are they equal or unequal?" Answer: unequal. "What can you do to make them equal?" Answer: Add more blocks. "What's another way you can make them equal?" Answer: Take some away from the tall tower. Voila! They are learning the principles of addition and subtraction and having fun. What kid doesn't like building towers with lego blocks? This book will have your child adding and subtracting figures before they ever see a problem on a page. Instead of sitting and doing pages of math problems you work on math using blocks, straws, rocks, linking paper clips, etc. It is very hands on.

Another thing I love is that they teach how to do word problems starting in kindergarten, not high-school so that they become completely comfortable with doing them. Most kids are completely baffled when you try to teach them word problems because they were not introduced to them early on. In kindergarten they show that a letter can substitute for an object in doing a math problem...That's algebra!! (I think. ;) My sister's kids were doing pre-algebra in 2nd and 3rd grade and lovin' it. My neice, Charity, is not mathmatically minded. She's like me...she likes to read and write and play the piano, not do math. But she loves it.

These books are fun, clear to understand and very hands on...no long pages of multiplication here. Give it a try...you'll never go back.

Family Reunion 2: The Faces Of My Family

My brother, Ron. He got a terrible case of poison ivy and poison oak from helping my Dad clear some land. He had to wrap his arms to keep the wounds from weeping. He was feeling pretty miserable and bedraggled (bedraggled??? Is that even a word?)


Leland and Robert sharing an ice-cream cone (well, not shaaarring an ice-cream cone... sharing an ice-cream cone)


My brother Richard...notice what his shirt says, "I'm the kid your parents warned you about!" That's the truth!!!


The newlyweds-Richard and Jessie


Keith & Rhetta, Robert & Carrie. (I think Carrie's picking fleas out of Robert's hair)


My youngest sister Rachel


My Mom carrying Braden on our walk


Playing in the water


My Dad


Carrie doing what she does best-photography


Brennan and Jared resting after a game of football. (Notice what Jared's shirt says...*nod,nod*)


Breck and Kendrick- they are 6 months apart in age and very much alike in personality. They get along great together (as long as the other one is doing things EXACTLY right). hehehe


Autumn and Brianna-they are 2 months apart in age and were inseparable. I call them the "kissing cousins."


Cindi and Angel- Randall could not come to the reunion due to his job situation.


Leland playing with Kendrick


Kendrick, the card shark


Rondell got a serious case of poison ivy and poison oak while helping my Dad clear some land. She was pretty miserable, but she has some wicked pictures now!


My dear sister, Ruthie


Ruthie playing with her son, Michael.


Autumn just havin' fun.


Yours Truly and my wonderful husband. (I would have cropped the picture in but then you might actually see how fat I am, and since this is my blog I can do whatever I want!)


Leland spending time with Autumn and Breck


Rondell's boy, Cameron. This kid is so stinkin' cute... I can hardly take it. He was showing me how good he can wink.


He's pretty good at it...better than I could do! (cuter too!)

Family Reunion Highlights

Robert brought his ladder ball game which became the favorite activity for the weekend. Everyone from the men to the girls to the kids enjoyed playing it.


We wanted to take the kids for pony rides but the lady couldn't do it then. We were supposed to go back an hour later but it never happened. The kids enjoyed the pony anyway.




The girls' hike. The forest was absolutely beautiful!


How did this get in here?


This was the highlight for Braden...being held and snuggled continually. He really thought this was the life...in fact, when he got home he thought it should continue!



S'mores!!! We did these every night.


Michael somehow lost his glasses in a wide open field, much to the chagrin of his mother. All the kids were bribed with a dollar to help find them...some of them couldn't be bribed-not even with money. The glasses were eventually found unharmed and the kids received their dollars.


Michael, again, decided life wasn't exciting enough so he threw himself into the fire. Actually, his chair tipped over and his hand landed on the hot coals. His mother once again was not amused. He was very proud of his battle scars, however.