August 27, 2011

Asian Salad, Diet Failures, Homeschooling and Great Advice

Chicken soup in a straw #incourage #whateverworks

Just some random updates...

1. I don't know how many licks it takes to get to the center of the Tootsie Roll Pop for the same reason I don't know how many pounds you can lose on cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet. It's called lack of will power. Add that to a little laziness, and you would have my diet dilemma. I made it through about 2 days of exercise and about 5 days without chocolate... and about 10 without carbs and red meat... and then all bets were off. I lost 8 lbs. and then gained back 2. I think I am hovering at about 7lbs total... and I may or may not be removing ALL of my clothing to get that number. I'll let you know how much that plate full of chocolate cake affected my average tomorrow.

The good thing about this diet is that it has really helped me to eat healthier. I eat a LOT of veggies. I cook a lot of things from scratch - including chicken broth, chicken soup, gourmet salads, baked veggies like asparagus and cauliflower... and we generally eat healthier than we ever have and eat less processed stuff than probably 95% of Americans. We also have decreased our sugar intake by about 90%. The image of 150 lbs of white sugar in my garage was enough to really spur me on towards making changes. 150 lbs is how much the average American puts away in a year (.5 lbs per day). Our eating out budget has gone down substantially, too - and we are eating at healthier places like Jason's Deli, Chipotle, and local Greek food places when we eat out. It almost makes up for the intense amount of produce we have been purchasing.

Asian Salad with Pan Fried Rotisserie #incourage #17daydiet #4eu

2. Because I love you, I'll share my amazing recipe for Asian Salad. I'm going to merge my food blog in here when I find a designer who will work for free. Until then, I'm cooking lots of great foods and taking photos. Getting ready for the day when I have free time to blog about it all...

Asian Chicken Salad with pan-fried Rotisserie Chicken

(all ingredients are to taste - I don't measure)
red cabbage
green cabbage
shredded/grated carrot
chopped/julienned jalapeno
cilantro
chopped leeks
chopped/shredded bok choy
chopped celery (with or without leaves)
bean sprouts
chopped broccoli
chicken topping (pan fried rotisserie - pulled white meat fried in butter and garlic with pepper and garlic salt)
home made sesame dressing (soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, brown sugar, toasted sesame seeds, sesame oil, olive oil, dash hot sauce)

Oh, my dear it is wonderful... and the leftover chicken bones and dark meat made a wonderful broth for my chicken and rice soup (photo above). My kids said it was the best chicken soup with rice they had ever eaten. Eat your heart out Campbells. No more MSG for us. I've been freezing chicken broth off of our once-a-week rotisserie chickens for about a year now. I think we should probably invest in a rotisserie oven.

Day 9 #17daydiet #4eu can hardly finish this salad at Chipotle. Full!

As for teaching my kids?

3. We are entering week 4 of homeschool next week and so far we've managed to get 4 days of school done each week - which is great - considering last year... all year long. If you spread that out, school will take about 45 weeks to complete. That's if we actually do 4 days each week... and we really have to have a day off each week just for the sheer volume of laundry and housework we have keeping up with our little dudes. Sometimes we make up history and reading assignments on Saturdays, too. There are fun projects like computer illustration, free-time reading, sporadic book reviews, and kid-blogging on weekends, too. Life is all about learning. I'm feeling so much better about 'school' this year. It is a huge relief to me. So are these book cases - even if they aren't fully functional yet. It's all a work in progress.

I'm finding the joy. It feels like a long awaited healing of my soul.

trashing the house with his 2yo brother - yay for partners in PLAY #incourage

4. While I've been busy finding joy, the baby has been busy learning how to get his little busy grabbing hands a lot farther - a lot faster. My 6 month old is completely mobile now: crawling, pulling up, cruising, using two fingers to pick up and ingest small objects... you know the drill. This makes life very interesting and busier than ever. Good thing he's cute. He looks like my husband would if you shot him with a shrink ray and took off about 39.5 years worth of him. His smile melts me... both the big guy, and the little guy (and the two other dudes that live here). Morgan and I are outnumbered by all these good lookin' fellas.

Unseen #incourage

5. I wrote something over at the Homeschool Post this past week. It's great advice. Most of my best articles are just me giving myself great advice that's really difficult to follow. Working on following it and needed to hear it again (it is an old article I wrote for Heart of the Matter a few years back that I updated). Good advice never grows old.

You can also link your field trips up over there this week. Don't miss out!

Thanks for stopping in and sharing my crazy homeschool journey. I hope you have a super homeschool week!

August 22, 2011

Apologia Live Give Away... and Interview with Rachael Carman

apologia live banner

Have you ever heard of the Apologia Live conferences for homeschool mothers? They aren't blog conferences - they are more like RETREATS to encourage and fill a homeschool mom's heart and help her on her journey. I met with the Apologia team here in Austin for a pre-retreat luncheon about a month ago and was completely blown away by their program and ministry. I felt the presence of God when I was with those women, listening to them pour their hearts out about the vision they had of lifting up and ministering to homeschool mothers.

Apologia Live has conferences in four cities: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, and Chicago. These are NOT curriculum fairs - for vendors - nor are they Apologia-pushing fairs (they don't care if you use their curriculum - they just want to fill you up full of hope and encouragement so you can stay the course). For conferences, the price is very reasonable. Anyone who has been to a women's retreat would agree. They charge $119 for a conference ticket, but they have a buy one, get one free policy for friends so that you can purchase two tickets for just $78 each. That, my friends, is a steal!

I was thrilled to find out that there's a Live conference near me. I plan on attending the conference this year and if you are in the Austin area, I hope you'll put it on your calendar. It will be at the Crowne Plaza Austin on October 21-22, 2011 (of course, the other cities are on different dates - so check the Apologia Live website for more details). Speaker line up includes: Rachael Carman, Zan Tyler, Elizabeth Smith, Debra Bell, Jeannie Fulbright, and special guest Heidi St. John! The conference has three tracks: elementary, junior high, and high school. If you register, the price covers the conference/retreat from 5:30pm Friday until 4:15 Saturday, and includes one meal: Saturday lunch. Rooms are a separate fee and the Austin rooms are at a discounted rate of 119$ if you book by September 29th. Be sure to visit the travel page link in this paragraph to find out details about booking before you call.



After meeting the women behind the Apologia Live ministry, I was invited to get to know Rachael Carman better by interviewing her for the Apologia Live Blog Hop. They sent me two of her books and allowed me to pick her brain a little. Here below are her answers to some of my questions - from one homeschool mom to another... and that's what homeschool moms really need - mentoring and encouragement from those who are further along on the path. I can't wait for you to meet Rachael if you don't already know her:

Rachel CarmanRachael Carman... Q and A:


1. I loved the introduction and story you told in your book, "How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids". For the benefit of my readers, Tell me about yourself in a nutshell - the quick bio...

The quick bio-nothing too impressive here-after all we all have a story. Short bio, yikes-so, I had a happy childhood. I am the oldest of two children born to a preacher who moved around a bunch. I think we counted that I had close to 20 addresses before I got married.

Davis and I have been married since 1986 and we have been blessed with 7 children. This year Davis and I celebrated 25 years of marriage-it has been a wild ride!

I started speaking to women’s groups before I started home schooling. I really love to encourage moms! When we committed to home schooling for the long haul, I wanted to share my story and my passion with other moms so I started speaking and writing as a home school mom.

Along the way I have had the opportunity to write two books. The first was “Soundbites from Heaven: What God wants to say to you when you talk to your kids” with Focus on the Family. The second just came out this last March with Apologia, “How to Have a HEART for Your Kids”.

Since we purchased Apologia in 2008, I have taken on the new title of “President’s wife” a role I enjoy very much. Now we have the opportunity to travel across the country encouraging home school families together!


2. What led you to want to become a teacher? Do you miss the 'classroom' ideal?

Good question. I struggled in school. The moves we made as a family were probably to blame for some of my challenges, but I was also diagnoised with dyslexia in the 8th grade. My parents were able to get me into intense tutoring and I learned some techniques to help me in my studies, but it was not easy.

I also had a challenging high school experience, not at all fun. I was bullied and it was intense. I actually graduated high school a year early just to get out of the situation.

Anyway, I wanted to help those kids that people either just overlooked or the ones that people mistreated. I loved history and English, so teaching seemed like the perfect fit! God has an incredible sense of humor. I really loved teaching. I taught in TX and then when we moved to OH I did home bound instruction for two years. In OH I interviewed and was offered a grant position for ‘at risk’ kids which was my dream job. But by the time the offer came, God was already working on my heart and I couldn’t leave Charles at a daycare full-time. He was only a toddler then, but he had my heart and I had a great support system encouraging me to be a stay-at-home mom.

Just a few short years later God would give me a classroom again, in my own house, with my own kids. God always keeps His promises-He gave me the desire of my heart in my home. He is so good!



3. How did you meet your husband?

Davis and I met when I was home for the summer between my sophmore and jr years in college. I only had a couple of weeks left at home before I was to return to college when a friend invited me to a single’s Bible study. I really didn’t want to go. I wasn’t interested in meeting anyone, I was heading back to school.

But as I sat in the parking lot seriously considering leaving, some really cute guy parked his red sports car and walked into the building where the group was supposed to meet. I didn’t know if we were going to the same place, but I was curious enough to get out of my car and follow him to find out. And there he sat, at the table, ready for the Bible study.

When that ended and I admit, I have no idea what we studied that night, we all headed to Chili’s. He showed up late, but I was glad he was there. We finally got to talk and accidentally sat beside each other in a movie. On the next Sunday that same group went for pizza after evening service. I normally wouldn’t have cared, but he had my interest, so I went. He gave me a ride home that night and asked me out on a date for that next week.

This story is about to be longer than our courtship-we went out, my Dad predicted that Davis was ‘the one’ and that we would be married before Christmas, we were engaged in August and married December 20 of the same year.

We are grateful for God’s grace and mercy in our relationship as we didn’t know each other very long before we were married. Our journey has been eventful and challenging, but God has held us together and taught us so much. We are thankful and humbled by His faithfulness.


4. How many kids did you want when you first got married? How many do you have now?

Ahh, the kid question. Davis came from a family with 4 children and I had only one brother. (My Dad is one of 6 and his mother is one of 9.) I think that we discussed a number in premarital counseling, but I don’t remember what we said-remember it was a whirlwind!

We were excited to welcome our first child, the first grandchild on both sides too. But after a stressful and painful delivery, I felt done. Labor and delivery were much harder than I had been prepared for and I saw no need to repeat. Our son Charles then showed signs of being strong-willed by the age of 18mos and then I knew for sure I was done. He was a real challenge and I couldn’t imagine having another. We were all three first borns, Davis, Charles and I, so I felt like we could get along fine-we could all have our space and we could understand each other. (all of that is code for just how selfish I was! I didn’t like the idea of this child or any other subsequent children interfering with what I wanted.)

Even though Charles was strong willed, I came to think that it was selfish of me to make him an only child, he needed a playmate. So we had Anderson. Now I was really done. I liked it when we were Davis, Rachael and the boys. I liked the idea of being the queen-this is bordering on being a little too honest, but it is the ugly truth! Anderson was a dear child, compliant and a great companion for Charles. They were like a couple of puppies!

During this time we moved three times in as many years-really challenging time. It was during this time that the idea of a daughter began to appeal to me. Now I knew there were no guarantees, but I was willing to take the risk. Davis too had come to the place where he was willing to risk having a daughter-he had been terrified up until this point and God had been working in his heart.

So we welcomed Savannah Anne into our family. She had a profoundly positive affect on Charles from the beginning. It would have been easy to argue that we shouldn’t have had any more because Charles was so demanding, so defiant, so difficult, but it really didn’t work that way. Having Anderson and then Savannah Anne served him better than any more one-on-one time with me would have. He needed to be the big brother. He needed to lead. He needed to have to share. He needed to witness their natural cooperation and obedience and work through his rebellion.

About this time, Davis was beginning to sense the prodding of the Holy Spirit to have more children but we didn’t know anyone with more than three. So we arranged to meet with a family who had 7 after church one Sunday. The best summary of that meeting would be-life changing and personally challenging. From then on we didn’t ‘plan’ or ‘try’ the rest of our family, we let God do it. As a result we welcomed Molly, Elizabeth, Joseph and Benjamin. I am so grateful to have each one. I am humbled and honored to be their mom. And I am so glad that God got a hold of our hearts to ‘welcome the little children’.


5. What would you say have been your most difficult moments as a homeschooling mother?
Most difficult moments as hs mom? My most difficult moments have come when I have compared myself to others or when I have tried to hold on to perfection or when I have wanted what I have wanted and not what God was directing.

First, when I start comparing our home school to others, things start to head south. When I look around at everything everyone else is doing, I feel discouraged and start to doubt not just by abilities, but God’s will and
faithfulness to meet our every need. I must remember that God has a unique plan for each of our kids and therefore a unique plan for our home school. It really shouldn’t matter to me what every one else is doing, but rather, what is it that God would have me do?

Second, when I try to hold on to my perfectionistic tendencies, everyone loses. I have to remember that I am not perfect, nor does God require me to be. He desires for me to accept His perfect love and grace and walk in His peace. He asks me to trust Him and let all of my junk go. When I start valuing perfection I allow relationships to be neglected because I let stuff get in the way of people. I have to really stand guard on this one.

Finally, some times I still want what I want. I want the schedule to work perfectly, I want to stop having to tell everyone over and over to do the obvious, I want the house to stay clean, I want the kids to love the new
curriculum, or assignment sheets or whatever. I don’t want to be questioned, but obeyed. Now obviously being obeyed is an appropriate response from a child to a parent, which is not what I am talking about. I am talking aboutthose times when something is not working in our home school and choose to stay in denial rather than change because I liked the plan. That is the point when I have to step away and seek God. Usually the problem is that I didn’t seek Him to begin with, I just ran ahead of Him.

Homeschooling is a great adventure. There are portions of the journey that are relaxing and fun and enjoyable, times that are characterized by laughter, while others are characterized by tears. Some portions of the journey are relatively easy and flat with beautiful, breathtaking views, which should be soaked up for the road ahead. Other portions of the journey are much more rigorous and challenging, like trying to hike the Grand Canyon in a thick fog. It is important to stay on the course set out for us, keep Him and His will always in our sights and let everything else go! He will be there to greet us at the finish line-“Well done good and faithful servant!”


6. Has your husband ever wanted you to put the kids in school or try private schooling rather than continue to homeschool... or have you ever had any friction with family members - and if so, how did you handle it?

The whole issue of husband support and family support has been a split one for us. Davis has been whole heartedly supportive-it was actually his idea! But the extended family has been a challenge.

I realize that many couples struggle with this, but we have not. I recently joked that I have not considered putting the kids on the school bus, but I have considered escaping on one myself!! No, we pretty much drove a stake in the ground and decided several years ago that home schooling along with our Christian faith are two things that are going to define our family. Two things that we are not willing to negotiate or compromise.

Now extended family friction we have had. In fact, my parents were adamantly opposed for the first 8 years of our home school journey. They would quiz the kids, communicate their concerns about their acedemic progress and my health and shake their heads. We were encouraged to ‘think of the kids’ which was obviously exactly what we were doing. I had to come to realize that their concerns really weren’t not a judgement on me personally, they were actually based on their perspective, their experience. When my parents went to school the most concerning thing a student might do in class was chew gum. My parent’s schools had prayer, the pledge and the ten commandments. My parent’s schools were worlds apart from today’s.

Mom and Dad couldn’t imagine why I would not want my kids to have their experience and experience that isn’t available in today’s public schools. Over time we were able to discuss these disparities and ways they could support our home schooling. We sent them handwritten scripture verses, held end-of-the-year performances and recitals, and exhibited art work and science projects. Time was on our side. As Mom and Dad witnessed the changes in Davis and I and the growth of the kids both educationally and spiritually, they caught the vision too. They have been our best cheerleaders the last 7 years!


7. What led you to take on the ministry at Apologia? Can you tell my readers more about the Apologia Live Retreats and their mission?

What led to Apologia? Our journey to owing Apologia has been going on for years though we didn’t see it until 2006.

The mission of the Apologia Live Retreats is to affirm, encourage, challenge, inspire and celebrate the home school journey! We want to create a context in which home school moms can struggle well and finish strong. Home school moms often feel alone, discouraged and overwhelmed. It is our prayer that the moms who attend will return home renewed, rejuvenated, and refreshed.

At an Apologia Live Retreat we have six seasoned speakers woven together with worship and two sessions dedicated exclusively to prayer. Those seven women-6 speaker and 1 worship leader are all seasoned home school moms collectively representing over 100 years of home schooling. This year we have guest speakers Heidi St John and Pam Tebow joining us. We have expanded this year to four cities: Chicago and Austin in October and Baltimore and Atlanta in March. And to encourage moms to attend we are offering buy 2 registrations, get one free—go online to get the details!

The retreat itself is a spiritual, not particularly practical or ‘how-to’. So due to popular request we have added what we have named a ‘Nuts and Bolts’ pre-retreat program to run Friday morning 9-2:30. During this time we will be offering workshops led by the same speaker team for preschool, elementary, junior high and high school on a practical level. We want to reach out to the preschool moms who are already home schooling their kids and just don't know it yet... those who are interested in learning more about homeschooling... the moms who wouldn’t go to a home school conference but would come to this because it is smaller and less intimidating. This morning pre-retreat is only $25 and includes lunch and $10 at the Apologia book table. Now that is a deal!

After that program, we are excited to have a session featuring home school graduates who will give a brief presentation about their home school experience and then answer questions. At each of the retreats we will have home school graduates working and available to talk with you about your question and concerns. I could talk about this for a long time! All the specifics are at our website, apologialive.com. If you don’t find the answers to your questions there-you can email us at liz@apologia.com or call our toll free number-888-524-4724.



8. What is your favorite part about homeschooling?

This is an easy one: getting to know my kids and getting to see God at work every day! I often think that if other moms and dads would just try it for a little while, they wouldn’t be able to stop. The problem is that I know it isn’t that easy. The deal is that to really get to know your kids and to really get to see God work, you have to die to yourself, and that’s hard. Not many people want to do that.

There are many people who want to know their kids on their terms; they want it to be fun and easy. And they want to see God work, as long as He works within their comfort zone. But I haven’t found either to work. Getting to know my kids has been hard work and it mostly started with me getting over me, with me dying to me, with me embracing Christ’s example of selflessness.

Similarly, I have not ever seen God do something amazing within my comfort zone-no He demands that I leave it and come on out –beyond myself. I have said that when I get out way beyond myself-like where I cannot see me from where I am standing- that is where I can start to see God. It is out in the wilderness-the place that is barren of ‘me’ that is His promise land; that is where He dwells, where He shows His might.

I have often settle for fireworks in the distance which appear faintly and are barely audible. He wants to give me a front row seat for the flashes of light that take my breath away and the sounds that thunder and shake my insides. I am so grateful for this journey into home schooling. When I think of the relationships I would have missed with my kids because of my selfish pursuits. When I think of all of the provisions and all of the miracles I have witnessed in their lives and mine as God has worked out His purpose in them, I am humbled. So grateful to be apart of what God is doing everyday-so blessed. Living life abundant!


9. What curriculums did you use and what are your favorite homeschooling support books for encouragement?

I tend to be an eclectic person. I do not do anything exclusively. I generally follow a curriculum adding and subtracting to fit our family needs. There is no way I could list everything, but here is a smathering:

In the preschool years I love Five in a Row. I am debating putting this up in the attic this year as we have outgrown it, but I can hardly stand the thought of not having those books on a shelf to remind me of the by-gone snuggling days! One of the most wonderful memories surrounding those books for me has been how the older children would remember the books and ask to read ‘this week’s’ Five in a Row book to their younger siblings. The titles bring back so many warm memories. I already look forward to reading them to my grandchildren. I have all three sets and am only missing a few titles, though I still shop on ebay to try and make my sets complete.

Next we used Beautiful Feet. Again, I loved the teacher’s guide and the simplicity of the layout. I know I can count on their titles for good reading material.

Sonlight is another favorite. Talk about a great reading list-it is still a go-to for me when I plan each year. I own a couple of key year ‘core’ manuals which I plan to keep over the long haul. (FWIW-I use a sharpie to mark all of the readers as to the curriculum and the year so that I can easily sort them when I need to do so.)

Not surprisingly we use Apologia for science. We used it before we bought the company or even knew it was for sale! Everyone we knew used it, so we tried it and loved it like so many others. In addition to Apologia science, we also use the worldview series “What We Believe”. This curriculum was one of the first things we wanted to develop when we purchased the company and we are encouraged to hear from so many families who are being blessed by it!

As to support books, many of my favorites are ones that Apologia now publishes...that has been one of the benefits of expanding the company to press books. Many of the authors have been my heroes for years and now they are also my friends! Some of them are on our speaker team for Live, so you can meet them and get to know them.

Home schooling is a journey-I think I have mentioned that before. We have had to make some changes and adjustments along the way, but God has been faithful to guide us each year. It has been amazing how much I have learned along side my children.


10. Can you tell us about your parental difficulties raising children who were 'like' you / 'strong willed'? I'd especially like to hear more about this one... even if it is a brief summary in a blog post!

What about that strong-willed child, the one just like me? My first son was my first strong-willed child. (I have another, but that is still a work in process!) You could say that I gave birth to the answer to my mother’s prayer that I would one day have a child just like me-check! Charles and I are so similar. God has done a great work in both of us and again, I am so grateful. Try as I might I wanted to blame all of the friction between us on him, but I was the adult, supposed to me the mature one.

In reality, God was pursuing my heart, my hard, stubborn, selfish heart, through my son. God knew that I loved Charles and God knew that I loved me. And God loved me enough to challenge me to let go of me and take hold of Him. Charles showed signs of this strong will at a very young age, throwing himself on the floor, yelling and screaming, arguing and insisting on his way. He could dig his heels in so fast. (See I would watch Charles throw a fit on the floor and be appalled at his behavior all the time though I was throwing a similar fit in my heart towards God. I thought I was concealing it, but God saw it.)

I was so naïve that I thought that we were just going to get the terrible two’s over with early, no, actually we had just started them earlier! Those were hard days, long days, trying days. I was sure I couldn’t do this. I was just not cut out for it. I read every book I could put my hands on, but nothing seemed to work. Truth was, I was focused on fixing the wrong person.

Silly me, it is funny to look back. I loved Charles, but I wasted a bunch of time longing for him to be old enough to go to school instead of enjoying the blessing God had sent to me. When he was only two, I took a part-time job and had him in daycare so I could have some me time. Even after his brother was born, I had Charles in daycare so I could maintain my sanity.

I was deceived into thinking-like many moms in our culture-that the only answer to our relationship issues was time away and space apart. Oh how many times have I had some one comment to me that they could never spend ‘that much time’ with their kids, because they would kill them. That is what the world says, the world says that if your kids are tough, if your kids are challenging, send them away from you and let someone else dial with it.

Well, I did that for about 4 years with Charles and then we were confronted with crossroads. The intersection occurred his kindergarten year when it became apparent that the public school we had chosen to put him in, the one that was supposed to be the best in the district wasn’t where God wanted our son.

I tell the whole story in the introduction of my book How to have a HEART for Your Kids. In short, God interceded to save my relationship with Charles and his with me. We didn’t know it at the time, but God was pursuing both of our hearts. In the end, the wisdom of the world was dead wrong. And I do mean dead wrong. Had we insisted on following the world’s wisdom and refused to respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and leading, our relationship with Charles would have probably died.

To God be the glory that His way, His will is perfect. He directed our path and put our feet on solid ground, leading us way outside out comfort zone, out where we didn’t know anyone, where the only one we had was Him. It was an amazing time of blessing to experience first hand His blessing and His faithfulness.

Home schooling Charles was intense. And he was not the only one I had enrolled in the Carman Family Home School. There were times-many times-when I wanted to give up and throw in the towel. But in my flesh weakness, God was my strength and by His grace alone we persevered.

Charles will be 21 in October. It seems impossible that either of us survived the rigorous obstacle course God put us through. But on this side of it all, I clearly see His hands helping us up, holding us and leading us through it all. I have told our story-me and Charles- many, many times. I wrote and article about it entitled-“Waiting and Resting” (Apologia e-newsletter November 2010). Before I sent in the article I sent it to Charles since it was about him too. His reply was, “Mom don’t stop telling our story. There are lots of little boys out their that need their mommies to not give up on them.”

Charles and I wrestled and didn’t let go until we received a blessing-and it has been well worth the fight!




11. Can you tell us a little about your kiddos?
Here’s a short bio on the Carman Kids:

Let’s start with the youngest and head up. Benjamin is 7 and he loves drawing. I cannot keep him in sketch pads and sharp pencils. He has a dear heart. Ben has challenged me to be anxious to heaven; he was to be alive when the trumpet sounds—talk about a life dream!

Joseph is 9 and all things boy especially legos and paper airplanes. He is full of the joy of life much like his older brother Charles. He does everything full-boar. He and Benjamin are best buddies.

Elizabeth or Lilly Belle, is simply a dear. She has a shy, but beautiful smile. Lilly is a diligent student who loves to write letters to her pen pals and organize her desk. She also loves to help in the kitchen.

Molly also known as Molly Molly is a natural leader. She exudes confidence and competence. Molly is excellent on stage and enjoys participating in performances.

Savannah Anne is our oldest daughter and she fills the role nicely. She will be a sophomore this year. Savannah Anne enjoys ‘thinking hard and thinking well’ (taken from the Worldview Academy). She is an avid reader who seeks to honor God in all things. (Having never had a sister it is beautiful to see these sisters interact in the kitchen cooking and in the bathroom fixing each other’s hair.)

Anderson graduated this last May. He was raised outside of the box and is insisting on staying outside the box by taking a starkly non-traditional approach to his post-high school education. He has been gifted with unique talents for animation. His dream job is to work for Pixar as an animator. This fall Anderson will begin an 18 month online certificate program through Animation Mentor. While studying and living at home he will continue working at Chick-fil-a and Apologia.

Charles is 20 living in NYC and attending the King’s College. He is studying politics, philosophy, and economics. Charles is a member of the King’s debate team where he puts his natural love of logic and argument to good use. His favorite things to do outside of hang out with his family-his words-is to read and study.

All of my kids are a blessing to me and have taught me so much. Their achievements are a direct result of God’s grace in their lives-praise His name!


12. What do you like to do for fun - just for Rachael? What are your hobbies?

Just the thought of fun and relaxation is refreshing. I love to garden-I especially love to weed. There is something therapeutic. There are so many weeds in my life. I pray while I weed. It is generally a lonely job, not many people share my passion for it! So it is a great time of introspection for me.

I also enjoy reading a good book-there are so many to choose from that are inspirational and challenging. Lamplighter has some of my favorites but I also like anything by John Piper or John Mac Author, or Anne Graham Lotts and several others.

I enjoy writing. I do a fair amount of journaling about miscellaneous things. I love the challenge of tackling a new question or topic for an article.

Exercising is another thing that I do for fun. I would like to become a runner, just a 5k, no aspiration of a marathon here. I do a great deal of power walking, aerobics and weight training. It is a stress reliever for me; I have always liked to sweat and work hard.

I enjoy hosting parties at our home-we had three in June: Apologia company picnic, Anderson’s graduation and our 25th anniversary. I was just telling Davis that we need to get another party date on our calendar!!

I enjoy cooking, watching movies with the kids, sitting on the beach, slowly eating dark chocolate kisses, taking long hot bubble baths, listening to the birds in the morning and the cicadas at night, lunch with a friend, and a date with my man. These are a few of my favorite things!!

 :::::::::*:::::::::


I hope you enjoyed getting to know Rachael as much as I have. I also hope that you win this Apologia Live ticket - or a copy of her book "How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids". I'm giving away a ticket to any of the four Live conferences of your choice - and two of Rachael's books - for a total of 3 winners.



If you've been good enough to read through this post (probably my longest post ever), you can enter here for a chance to win a ticket (valued at $119) to your choice of Apologia Live Conferences - or a copy of Rachael's book (2 total copies given to two different winners)!

Here's how to win:

1. Leave a comment telling me about your favorite women's retreat and what was your favorite thing you did/learned/were encouraged by there. If you haven't been to one, then tell about what you hope to be encouraged on at the Live Retreat if you should be picked for the ticket.

2. You can get an extra entry each for following Apologia World on Facebook... or following Apologia Live on twitter. You can also get an extra entry for following me on twitter or subbing to my email feed. Each follow/sub is worth ONE extra entry if you include it in a separate comment below (one comment per entry - total of 4 entries per person).

You can go to www.apologialive.com for more information and to register for the retreats. If you register and then win this give away, they will refund you your ticket purchase price.

GIVE AWAY ENDS September 9th at midnight. Winners chosen by Random.org and notified by email (leave a valid email address or you will be disqualified). If the winner does not respond to claim the ticket/book in 1 week after being notified, I will re-draw.

Visit: Jenn at Daze of Adventure for another chance to win this week! Be on the lookout for more homeschool bloggers over the coming weeks to be offering ticket give-aways, too! Apologia Live is generously offering 8 different bloggers tickets to give away.

I can't wait to meet you in Austin this October! I hope you'll be there!





Disclaimer: The info here was not financially compensated for. I have gotten 2 books by Rachael Carman to review and will be getting a ticket to the Live conference in Austin in October. All opinions expressed herein are mine. Don't take my word for it - hop over to their site and register - attend a retreat for yourself to find out how wonderful they are!

August 20, 2011

W is for Waaaaaa!

Missing on @dazeofadventure #thsc2011 #roadtrip

W is for "Waaaaaa!" That's me and Morgan missing Jenn and Maggie after they left. We sure miss them.

W is also for waffles -- Jenn made gluten free waffles while she was here and I fed them to the baby this past week. It made me whine all over again about how much I miss her.

I have to wait until October to see her again. There are 2 very wonderful conferences we are going to -- Apologia Live in Austin, and Relevant in Harrisburg. When you stop and think about it, October is just a few weeks away...

I'm still reeling over the fact that it is nearly September. Seems like just yesterday it was February and I was miserably huge - waiting on my wiggle-worm to be fully cooked and make his appearance in the world.

We're all waiting for something... what's your passion? What are you looking forward to this school year?



More info about this alphabetical photo meme is below...

Join me at the Homeschool Post for the A B See Meme (an alphabetical photo meme) and a chance to win a prize each month (this month's prize is a personalized canvas print from Easy Canvas Prints). All you have to do to enter is upload your photos to their Flickr Group each week. You don't even technically have to be a blogger to play along... you just have to have an alphabetical themed photo and a flickr account!

Here are the links to the past few 'A B See' posts I have done here:
A is for antique.
B is for bugging big-sis.
C is for computer.
D is for digger.
E is for eat... and Elmers.
F is for fried rice.
G is for goofy girl.
H is for Heather.
I is for insect.
J is for joy.
K is for Kreative Spelling and Killer Homeschool Deals.
L is for live music.
M is for matryoshka.
N is for national cemetery.
O is for Orchids and Opryland.
P is for Pregnant.
Q is for quack.
R is for rocks.
S is for street.
T is for Train and Tunnel of Turmoil
U is for unwound.
V is for vanity.

Tip: Use the dictionary to get ideas if you are stumped on a letter. No excuses! Get to clicking!

August 19, 2011

Camera Phone Friday: Hodgepodge

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1. Plaid toes, 2. Lookalikes, 3. Target Tots, 4. Grandma and the Viking, 5. Goodnight, TX, 6. Sleepy Chunk, 7. Tweenish, 8. Prayer changes things #incourage, 9. Let them eat squash! #incourage, 10. Red Lamps, 11. Saying goodbye to Uncle Mike today. Love you, Mike., 12. Crawling ... Away. #incourage #letthecrazybegin

A little about each of these...
1. I have a fetish with painted toe nails. My daughter gives the best pedicures. I'm overdue.
2. The lookalikes actually do not like each other very much. Funny, but my 12 year old is closer to the 2 year old... and my 14 year old is closer to the 6 month old.
3. This was the first time the Viking rode on the big boy shopping cart seat... and the second or third time the baby rode in the cart at all. I love Target... but I love my tots more.
4. My kids call their grandma Chickie. She was "too young" to be grandma. Apparently, I was born when she was negative twelve according to her calculations.
5. I love a Texas sunset.
6. There's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby. I'm going to miss these snuggle days when they are gone.
7. Tweens are unpredictable. Mine keeps me on my toes.
8. My "Prayer Changes Things" plaque. Not much rings more true. Outside that kitchen window is a withering lawn. I'm -praying prayer will change it back in to a green, happy place - #praying4rain.
9. First baby foods are always fun. Most of them ends up on the kitchen floor - the bib - the face - the mama...
10. There's always something interesting to photograph. Panda Express lanterns are no exception.
11. Lost a favorite uncle in July. I wanted to take a picture of how I remember him...
12. The baby is not only crawling now at 6 months, but he's sitting up alone and pulling up to standing (at his own risk). The little guy is all over the place. Our homeschooling is about to get a lot more interesting.

These pictures are from my CAMERA PHONE. "The best camera is the one you have with you." Most of them were altered with a varied group of photo apps - and Instagram (like twitter for pictures). Do you want to capture your daily life and make collages or print keepsakes of them? Share them on your blog? It's easy. Just download Instagram on your iPhone. I'm @sprittibee on both flickr and instagram... look me up!

Speaking of Instagram... you are using the #incourage hashtag on your fave pictures, right? NO? Check out why you should in my Incourage Collage post.

Have a great weekend.

August 18, 2011

Social Media Awards for HOMESCHOOLERS!

Homeschool Social Media Awards

I actually got nominated for something! Wow! THANK YOU to whomever it is out there with such eclectic taste. It feels so weird to be on the nominated side of an awards... because as you all may know, I've been running the Homeschool Blog Awards now for six years. We're having the 7th Annual Homeschool Blog Awards this October. I've spent the past week getting prepared to start our PR drive for prizes and make sure our site is ready for the busy season. Haven't had time to just 'play' online. Imagine my surprise to see that someone loved me while I was away.

Here are the categories I'm listed in:

The Double-Take
You take a look at her status and ask, "Did she really just say that?"

Hahaha! My husband would laugh at that one ... I was thinking today about how much of my life is just "untweetable". Believe me - there are many moments around here that I'm at a loss for words over. Sorry for all the TMI when my iPhone is handy and brain is out-to-lunch.

Homeschooling Juggler
She manages to mix in walks with the kids, school lessons, and chocolate breaks and still be a constant, present force on Twitter almost 24/7.

Heavy on the chocolate breaks. And hey - if you haven't heard of "scheduling" tweets - you should try it... makes you look like you work real hard (or never leave the computer). Cooking gourmet meals should be on that description for me this past two weeks, though... because we've been on the 17 Day Diet and I can't eat any carbs but fruit before 2pm for 17 days. Carbs are like in... EVERYTHING. I've eaten more veggies this past 10 days than I have in my whole life, I think. I'm chalking it up to a great HomeEc lesson for the kids - who are helping me cook each night (whether they like it or not).

Shutter-Happy
Point-and-shoot. DSLR. Camera-phone. This person is willing to capture anything on camera and share it with the world, even your most embarrassing moments.

Yay! I heart peekshurs. And I heart that people like my peekshurs. Did you know that my photo made the cover of the Texas Homeschool Coalition's latest magazine? I was so pumped up about it. I love being a photographer - one who captures life's little moments. It's a passion for me and has been long before I started going "professional" with it. To me it's just a hobby on steroids.

Beautiful People

God knows when you need a little pat on the back. Thanks for being his hands today. You have positively made my day. [If I weren't on a diet, I'd ask you to bring brownies over so we could stuff our faces in celebration. Wait. I think I still might ask you to bring them over anyway. Please?]

So I would tell you to vote for me... but there are a lot of great people on that page -- and I love them (I've met like 13 or more of them in person and they really are every bit as wonderful as they are online)... so - just go vote for someone wonderful!

August 15, 2011

Found an Old Friend on Facebook

tiffy

I had looked for Tiffany forever. She was my second grade best friend in elementary school. Her last name was so generic that I knew it was going to be difficult to find her - and she was so pretty that I knew she'd be married and have a new last name, anyway. I looked up marriage records online and couldn't find her. The last time I had seen her, I think I was 16. Her family had moved. There was no telling where she had gone.

Every year on her birthday, I used to think about her and wonder where she had ended up... and if she had a family. Was she happy? Was she still alive?

One night after a fruitless search on Facebook after I had found most of my other high school friends, I mentioned having no luck finding her. Another Facebook buddy told me that she worked as the reunion people-finder for her high school class and asked me if she could help me locate Tiffany.

We couldn't find any marriage records in the county both of us went to school in, so we tried locating her sister's name instead. A record came up, but the last name was foreign sounding, so I wasn't sure if it was really her sister - or just a fluke. Amazingly, I remembered that her grandparents - where she spent a LOT of time as a kid - lived on a street called Moon Mist. The name of her sister's street on the marriage license just happened to be Moon Mist! I was elated. I knew it was her.

tiffy2

I had no idea of Tiffany's last name or where she had moved away to. So I thought I would try to contact her sister on Facebook. She wasn't there, but her husband was. He had photos of his family on his Facebook page and I recognized Tiffany's sister right away. I sent him a message - at the risk of sounding like a stalker - and as soon as he friended me, I could see Tiffany's profile picture in his "friends". We began emailing again soon after and then snail mailing to catch up. She even sent me some cool 1980's stickers that she had saved up over the years - we go way back! We used to show off our sticker collections to each other as young girls. You know - back in the pink, purple, unicorn days!

It was so great to get in touch - and such a noble use for Facebook, which has a bad rap these days because of other people's misuse of it.

It was only natural that we would meet up in real life again. She was coming home over Christmas holidays to see her parents and we were going home to see my husband's... so we planned to catch breakfast together at the Cracker Barrel.

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Her little girl was such a cutie.

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Pigtails and spunk. If only we lived closer so the kids could play more often and really get to know each other.

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My little leprechaun was a bit shy at first. That was back before we gave him his first hair cut this January. I miss those curls. {Now you can see how far behind I am with all my blogging topics since this meeting actually took place in December of 2010!}

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Our guys were the bystanders - but they thoroughly enjoyed a hearty pancake breakfast. I'm sure both of them thought we were a little crazy going on and on about the good 'ol days and giggling like school girls at the table. I can't imagine a guy being as thrilled as we were to find an old elementary school friend. Guys are not really in to friendships like women are... and my husband wouldn't touch Facebook with a ten foot pole.

His latest assessment of Twitter is: "It's a chick's dream come true. Everyone talking at once and knowing what everyone is saying about you." Ha!

tiffy7

Oh, well - I'm sure glad that social media helped me find a sweet friend that I've always had in my heart and thought I had lost. Even though Facebook has it's down sides, it certainly deserves a little pat on the back for bringing old friends together.

August 09, 2011

I Love Homeschooling: The School Year and a Slide Show

#Homeschool distractions. Oy.

Our 2011-2012 school year began without a bang yesterday. You see, we school year round, so we had only taken 2 weeks off ... and are just picking up on the path we were already trodding down a while back. No fanfare. No horse and pony show.

We still had a couple of distractions to deal with... which refused to nap. #gofigure

I kind of miss those elementary days when we had back to school breakfasts and goals days. I think we'll probably take one this week - just for old time's sake. We're also finding that we are in need of a few school supplies to get organized in our new space (moved to the dining room again now that the book cases are almost installed)... so I foresee a trip to Walmart for binders and mechanical pencils in the near future.

Our big thing yesterday was history review. I'm using Mystery of History, Tapestry of Grace, Story of the World, and a slew of other books and curriculums to make our way through ancients (still). Funny that art and history are my favorite subjects and I seem to tackle school like I do my plate at the dinner table : get all the unsavory stuff done first and THEN "dessert" or the favorite dish. That didn't work last year. History and art were shuffled aside (well, at least history - since both of my big kids draw like they breathe - on everything, including math scratch sheets).

I can't wait to show you the after photo of the dining room... when we finish painting and installing the shelves. Yesterday they brought in the middle piece and the counter for it... and screwed the cabinets together and to the walls. It may take another week or so, until the entire job is finished and the school and cookbooks can be moved to their new homes. The amount of time this new set-up will be saving mama is going to help our year ROCK! Already we noticed a big difference yesterday as little kids were able to play in the living room divided by the dining room half wall -- and still be SEEN and HEARD, even though the TV wasn't a distraction to my teens. Yay!!! It helps to be closer to the kitchen downstairs, too -- because teenagers need snacks and drinks to stay focused on tedium.

As for mama, I have some goals for this school year, too. One of them is to lose between 15 and 20 lbs by the end of October. I started the 17 Day Diet today (my husband started yesterday). We cleaned out our local grocery store's produce section last night (the poor checker was on her 2nd week of her first job and I gave her a real hard time at the register figuring out what all that strange organic stuff was). Eggplants may not be a really popular dish, I take it? The 17 Day Diet looks pretty good. I have a friend who has lost 22 lbs. on it in nearly 2 months... so I'm optimistic - and know that even a few pounds will be worth it.  

You wanna go on it with me? [If so, let me know. I'll start a Facebook Group and we can do it together.]

I have to get going and get back to my amazingly long list, the menu, the bills, the school schedule for today, and my never-ending laundry pile. Here's to 2011-2012... may this school year be the best ever!

Enjoy this little slideshow of some of Jennifer's and my photos from the THSC Convention:



I love homeschoolers!

August 04, 2011

Texas Homeschool Coalition Conference 2011: I Heart Conference Photography

thscconf7

Once upon a time I took pictures. And then there was a conference (Type-A Mom); at which I took photos - for free. And another conference (Blissdom). And another (Relevant). And then finally, I was 'hired' to do it (THSC). Which is so much 'funner'. Because if you are going to drive insane distances to go to a conference, you might as well get paid back some of your travel expenses. Right?

And now, after all these years, I finally found my dream job. Right under wife, mother, homeschooler, and eater of dark chocolate. I think conference photography might even trump blogging. But that's too deep of a subject for tonight.

thscconf3

It was so much fun taking pictures for THSC. I'm counting the days off until next year when we can do it again! Maybe somewhere in-between now and then I can upgrade my camera. Playing with so many great cameras has extended my wish list. Jennifer and I both had 2 cameras dangling from our bodies all weekend. It was a photographer's dream come true.

Later this week, I'll share the slideshow that they made from mostly Jennifer and my photos of the event. 

thscconf6

And this is my new best girlfriend that hired me to take pictures. Did I mention that I love her? And one day she's going to be a famous blogger. She's like Pioneer Woman mixed with Ann Voskamp - just waiting to happen online. You should have heard her tell the story about the missing barbed wire fence. Southern women are the best of the best. I love me some Texas twang, too. I can't wait to introduce you to her as soon as Jenn and I talk her in to starting her own blog. Give me a second and I'll let you know when we convert her.

The nice dude in the picture above tried to fix my hard drive that crashed. You know that "what can go wrong, will". And it did. My week-old hard drive crashed - along with all the photos of Jennifer and my trip to San Antonio (the Alamo and Mi Tierra's), the Bob Bullock History Museum, and our twitter meetups.

Thankfully, we have a few Instagram shots for the memories:

Mi Tierra's in San Antonio - a Texas Treat! #incourage

There's no telling what else was on the hard drive that I lost. Family reunion photos from June -- I can't even bring myself to think back to what photos I took in the past few months. Partly because I haven't slept good enough for deep thinking in nearly three years. But I digress...

Oh, yes - lost pictures.

I'm still not talking about it. The trauma is deep, people.  DEEP and wide.

I made a vow to back up my other hard drive this week on two different computers. And I'm probably buying a subscription to Carbonite. It pays to have multiple copies of your photos. I learned that this weekend THE HARD WAY.

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Blog conferences -- especially ones in which you must be everywhere at once -- are much easier to do with some assistants. These girls helped care for the nursing baby and kept us in stitches. And nearly made us pee our pants when they jumped out of the curtains in our room.

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Blog conferences -- especially ones in which you must be everywhere at once -- are NOT much easier with milk ticks. But you might have guessed that a 25 lb chunk of slobber might slow down a photographer. However, they make great subject material when you are testing your camera settings. One of the other photogs took this picture with a dreamy professional Nikon. He didn't have a business card. Someday I'll come back in here and give him proper credit. The baby, of course is my own property - but credits go to the Big Guy in the Sky for his creation.

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Isn't he cute? His mama, however, needs to go on a diet. Thankfully Jennifer knows to take photos from the waist up. God love her.

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And then there was this guy. Some of you may know him. He's like a homeschool rock star. TIM HAWKINS - the comic: @timhawkinscomic on Twitter. I had so much fun photographing him - and enjoying the show at the same time. He's even funnier in person than he is on YouTube. I couldn't believe that Jenn's little girl slept through his show.

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So did this guy. He and Maggie had their own laughs, though. They are the bestest of buddies. In fact, we tried to talk Jenn in to leaving Maggie in Texas, but she wouldn't hear of it. Apparently Maggie is a pretty good navigator - and Texas is a long way from Florida. I'm still crushing over the fact that Jenn drove so many thousands of miles to hang out and take pictures with me.

Alamo in 104 degrees. @dazeofadventure and @Sprittibee 's daughter ... #incourage

What a Texas sized bunch of conference photographer fun we had. I can't wait to take peekshurs with her again in October.

August 02, 2011

Aiming High

Reaching high.

What are your goals this year?

I'm reaching for the sky -- "taking joy" even though I know there will be setbacks -- having hope that the Lord will lead me on a path of success as I scribble the plans for this school year in my pink planner this week.

::Book cases still aren't finished.
::Babies never cease to add the busy to our schedule.
::Big kids are not thrilled with giving up the loose summer routine for a more directed and serious school year.

BUT...

Last I checked, the entire universe was still in spectacular order... from the starry skies to the tiniest cellular systems. I'm counting on the one who created the original 'to-do list' to order my year.

COME READ ABOUT MY RESOLUTIONS FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR AT THE HOMESCHOOL POST!

 

Disclosure

Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links or sponsored links. I receive a small commission whenever a product is purchased through an affiliate link. Sponsored links are paid for by a company who wishes to improve their Google ranking, but I always check to make sure these are reputable sites and never allow any links that are questionable to be placed.

The links in my "Sweet Linkage" section are either sponsored links or personal links that I find interesting (including the links to the blogs that both of my teen children run).

I occasionally run ads on my blog in exchange for money or traded advertising, or receive products in exchange for a review or giveaway posts. I also participate in campaigns by brands that offer to pay me to write about their products after using them. Any post that is sponsored will be noted as such. All opinions expressed on Sprittibee.com are my own, and any review, give-away, sponsored post, graphic ad, or product that I mention or link to are ones that I believe are reputable and worthy companies.

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