Memorial Day Weekend

So...the long holiday weekend has begun!  We look forward to the holiday and hopefully the end of our school year next week!

Saturday

We started out with a trip to the cemetery to place flags on the graves of veterans.  We do this every year with the VFW group.  I think this is very important to honor the veterans lost during and after service for our country.

For our family it is not just the placing of the flag but also calling out the name of each veteran remembered.  We were able to honor and commemorate the service of over 60 veterans today.  This is just a small fraction of over 1000 graves that were marked today by the VFW throughout our county.  It is our small way of saying thanks to the veterans.

We would have stayed longer but we has to return home to help with some yard work.  As it was, we arrived just as our neighbor was finishing the mowing of the property.  Everything was looking so nice, we were motivated to gather up some tools and trim back some of the hedges around the house!  It is so muggy today that we were only able to work a short time.  I hope to do more as the weekend continues...maybe start out earlier in the day or wait until later in the evening!

Sunday

Today we went to our little church in the woods.  We have an old cemetery on the church grounds dating with grave sites dating back over 100 years!  Each year we have a dedication and remembrance for all the veterans lost, especially those who died during wars.  We also had a special breakfast (actually this is the first year for breakfast...we usually have a potluck dinner) for everyone with special honor for the veterans.

During Mass, prayers were dedicated to those who served (past, present and future) as well.  I thought  Deacon Billy did a wonderful job of remembering the veterans...speaking of honor and respect...as today was also a day of celebration of the Trinity.  He talked of the importance of faith in all walks of life...and living up to the creed...our beliefs...our profession of faith...that should rule our every step in life.

The boys were right there assisting Fr. Joseph and Deacon Billy...so thankful for their opportunity to celebrate the military.  They were there to help Father in the blessing of the cemetery and knew to stand quietly at attention as the flag was raised and then slowly lowered to half mast, as well as recite the American Pledge.

Monday

We woke up early this morning to pick up Christina upon her return from Branson.  The two youngest in our crew decided this would be a good day to wash the sheets and couch cushions!  So this morning started out with a mix of fun!  We did not let us ruin our day...we just used the extra time to make a good breakfast before going about the rest of the day.

We made it to the VFW for the memorial service later today.  All seven children...9 months to almost 20 years old...made it to the service.  Why do I make such a big deal about this?  Because the thought of our children not understanding the importance of this holiday saddens me.  I hate that this day has just become about BBQ and a day of work.  The men and women of the military fought too hard to ignore their sacrifice.

I hate to be so annoying about this but when I go to these events and only see a handful of people it is upsetting.  I wish more people would realize the importance of the memorial events.  It is important to honor those fallen but also to honor those who are still with us.  Believe me...they notice and wonder if they will be remembered when they are gone!

A couple of years ago, we took a road trip that brought us to Washington DC and back...among the many adventures of that trip was a visit to the war memorials.  Christina was on that trip with us also and she was moved to write down her thoughts.  A few days ago we were reminded of that experience and we pulled out the journal we wrote during that trip to find her passage.  After reading it, Christina and I decided to re-work her words into a free verse poem.  I think this says it best and I am proud to share it with you.  This is what she wrote:

For Love of the Troops 

(upon viewing the memorials in DC during the summer 2010)

For the tears shed

For the loved ones at war

The screams in the middle of the night

For their mommies and daddies

For the loved ones lost

For the unknowns

For those trying to cope with hope

That their love will be strong enough

To bring their loved ones home again

The burning feeling inside knowing

There are many each day in war

Looking at the marble wall

Praying for every name as a tear is shed

Depressed fear is burning so strong

Fear for the brave who strongly love us

Knowing that destiny takes over

Pleading for no more tears

For they have lived a happy life

They are appreciated day by day

For their love of a nation

Remembered night after night

For their love of life

In spite of their memory

Bringing confusing feelings

 sadness and happiness

We care

We love

The Troops

Van Update

After our fun afternoon with out A/C in the van...our home away from home...I decided the best thing to do was go in first thing in the morning.  I was already waking up at 5am to take Christina to the school to meet the Branson bus (I hope we can update you on this trip when she returns...maybe we will have guest blogger <WINK>).  So, I decided to take the trek back to the dealer in the hopes that I could get it fixed before the children even knew I was gone.  Well, I had Zaira with me thankfully...because it took a lot longer to get the van fixed.

SIDE NOTE:  I love little Zaira...I have not taken a lot of time to brag on her sweetness as much as I would like.  She was so sweet...slept through the drive to drop off Christina and then to the next town to get to the dealer.  Since we arrived early, I decided to move to the seat beside her while we waited for the dealership to open.  Just as I began to drift off to sleep, Zaira woke up and decided to gently tap me on the arm to 'wake' me.  She just had the sweetest smile on her face!  Such a trooper!

So...as I mentioned...the repair took much longer than expected...mainly because we turned out to NOT be first in line to have our vehicle checked out.  After an hour wait without seeing my vehicle move, I spoke to a manager and then another hour of waiting...to find out that the problem was a plastic bag!  An odd coincidence...to have the bag end up in the vent system right after the van was serviced.  I guess I am just thankful it was not any thing more than that!

We left for home with A/C blaring as it is obviously starting to heat up in our neck of the woods!  I will never forget how much we appreciate this modern day convenience!  Praise God for air conditioners!!!!

From Nature to Broadway!

We spent our morning having our van serviced...only to have more trouble after we left.  We did not let it take us down as we had a busy day ahead of us.

We enjoyed an afternoon with our 4H group learning about pond management for our contest...see other blog for details.  And then helped to prepare a children's event for the museum.  Today's event had a focus on our woodland wonders!  We set up two art crafts, an outside activity, and snacks (of course!).  We finished just in time to pick up Christina and bring her back to the museum for the event.

It is always a joy to help the museum.  Today...All of the children enjoyed helping to weed the flower beds around the museum...with the guidance of our dear friend Mr. Johnny!  Henry helped teach the group how to make origami animals.  He is a pro at making origami swans thanks to Amanda's interest in this art.  They also made bunnies.  I was in charge of the pine cone bird feeders.  I was glad to teach some of what we learned from Ms. Ruth just a few days ago!

And...leave it to Henry to find an interesting picture of nature.  He was asked to take pictures of the children taking the suet bird feeders to hang on the trees.  Instead, he found a hawk feasting on its dinner...I am sure a little mouse if you look real close!

We finished in time to have our own quick bite to eat...oh the van was getting so hot and the loud noise when we turned the A/C on was terrible!  I pray that we can get the van back in to be fixed tomorrow!

We decided the best thing to do was get Christina to a cool place to stay nice for her concert...we headed to the school...an hour early but not a lot of options in 90+ degree weather.  I am so glad that we got to the school and got settled before we melted ...LOL!

As far as the performance...Great job Christina!!!!  I was so proud of her and the rest of the choir!  I can see why they are looking forward to performing on stage in Branson.

We enjoyed a wonderful evening of Broadway music, including two solo performances by the seniors in the group.  I think every especially enjoyed the tango music..."Hernando's Hideaway"...that included a wonderful dance routine by the entire group!  I wish we had been able to film that performance.  Also the beautiful rendition of "Seasons of Love" and "Defying Gravity" were amazing!

Not to forget the younger group...especially since we had the joy of knowing several of them from various events (namely...Megan!...who we had not seen in ages!)...we really enjoyed the way they sang "Over the Rainbow" and "I Won't Grow Up!"  Great job all around!

We were so happy to give Christina a bouquet of flowers for her great performance.  She was so happy with the small bouquet and took many pictures with them on our way home from the show.

We also enjoyed a quick stop at our favorite drive in for milkshakes!  A nice treat to end a great day!

Simple Machines

I could not be more proud of Christina today!  She turned in her final project for Physics today!  We learned a lot about simple machines and how to create a chain reaction from a single action over the last two weeks.  She tried several different ways to make this happen and persevered through trial and error to make it work.

The idea is based on Rube Goldberg Project, which uses the six basic simple machines to create a process with a specific goal.  Christina was asked to use the following simple machines:

• Inclined Plane
• Wheel and Axle
• Screw
• Pulley
• Lever
• Wedge

AND...she was asked to either turn on/off a switch OR raise a flag...OR fill a container.  She originally thought she would fill a glass with ice and Dr. Pepper (surprise! surprise!) but she never could quite get the process to work and we were running out of time.  She did try several different configurations without success but continued to try.  Finally, she decided to try a different goal of raising a flag.

This was a good idea and she took it above and beyond the simple flag raising by creating a patriotic theme, which included reciting the American Pledge as her finale!  She decorated the surrounding area with patriotic fans and had the boys recite the pledge with her in the background.  Amanda had the special job of starting the process and Katy encouraged her to "get it done!"  I got the job of filming the entire process which was also a big part of the assignment (to make a music video).

After the initial filming took place, we realized the video was way to short (it needed to be 2 minutes and we only had 30 seconds!)...SO...Christina and Amanda went back to the set up and filmed each simple machine separately.  This helped with the length of the video and was a good idea any way because it allowed each step to be highlighted in slow motion.

In walks the film editor expert in the group.  Katy showed Christina how to use a movie editing program that would allow her to create a video...adding music and pauses in order to hear her recite the pledge...also it allowed her to put the film in slow motion for the separate process steps.  I am not much on heavy metal music but I think the song was a great choice for this video and really set the tone for the entire video.

She was not done after this was complete!  Christina still had to type up a machine analysis to show the different types of energy and motions were used in the process.  I had flashbacks to my college years and was thankful I did not need to help her very much to get this part done.  All that potential energy in my brain does not transfer to kinetic energy as quick as it once did!  LOL!

We had a lot of fun and the boys learned a lot in the process.  I realized one more reason why we homeschool...so I don't have to stress out about deadlines and grades (although I do set them...I can be more lenient with our schedule.  I worried about her turning in the project...formatting and including all the parts...all day!  It really is not due until next week but she has other things happening this week (more on that later!) so we wanted to get it done.  So...I told her to show her teacher and see if she needed to change anything.

I don't know why I worried...the teacher loved it!  She watched the video and loved it!  So...great job, Christina!  Another class complete and only nine more days until school is done for the year!

If you want to see the video...take a look at my Facebook!

Puppy Love Second Time Around

So, we thought we were going to obtain our second puppy from Beulah's siblings.  This was not to be the case as these puppies were all given away.  I hope they all went to good homes!

Then we had a friend with puppies that were the same kind of mix so we asked for them to let us choose from the litter.  Then the storm came last week and in the attempt to keep her puppies safe, the "momma" dog hid the puppies.  The litter was down by half...then my friend's husband gave the remaining puppies away while she was gone!  I guess he did not know about our plans!  That's OK...it just was not meant to be that we have a puppy from that litter.

SO...we really wanted to have two puppies close to the same age.  We knew with our lack of animals that we needed to have a pair to keep them close to home while we were gone.  Animals just seem to do better if there are more than one.  A lot of trouble to have two puppies but in the long run it will be better for them.

That is when I finally made the chose to go to a breeder.  I have always loved Aussies and wanted to find a good dog that would be a good partner for Beulah.  I had actually been in contact with a breeder for the last year, and I had watched her puppies via the internet.  I knew this breeder had good puppies that were groomed and kept healthy.  So, I knew where to go and was excited to find that she had two puppies left from her latest litter.  What made it even easier was that she only had one male.

After making arrangements with the breeder to meet us at a halfway point, we were off!  I even convinced Amanda to stay awake through the morning to go with us!  Of course Christina would have loved to take off from school to join us, but I forced her to go to school and told her she would have something to look forward to doing when she got home.

AND...of course it was love at first sight!  We all were so excited to find our second puppy.  Lord Hank...as he was quickly dubbed...is a perfect match for our home.  He is also well behaved...waiting to pee after we made it to a halfway point home...even crossing his legs at one point it seemed.  He is also a good traveler...he perked right up after his pit stop but never left Amanda's lap to look out the window.

He met Beulah and they spent some time figuring out who is boss.  We are not quite sure who will be the lead dog but it looks like it might be Beulah.  However, we did make the mistake of not having a second food dish...which will be remedied soon...so that was a time when Hank refused to give up his spot.  The funniest part was when Hank tried to lay on the dog bed.  Beulah did not even like the thing but when she saw Hank on it, she decided it was the best thing ever!  Beulah laid on the bed and Hank decided he was going to have it, so he sat on top of her!  Beulah...not to be outdone...took a nip at Hank's bottom...he jumped so high!  However, in the end...Beulah tired of the game...gave up the bed to Hank.  I think I will try to get a new bed for her also.

So all are happy...looking forward to obedience training through the summer.

Prom Number Two!

It is hard to believe we did not have the prom experience with Amanda when she was in high school and now we have has two in less than two weeks!

I missed the prep before hand because of our trip to Lego Fest.  However, I heard all about the fun.  Th biggest difference this time was the prom dress fitting...Christina has to have her dress altered at the last minute.  It is a good thing Amanda works at a dress shop!  All was good and dress was worn without any difficulty.  However,  because of this...the girls had to meet me in town to take pictures.

After all the cool days we have had...today ended up being a hot humid day (high temp in the 90's!) so the girls did not want to take a lot of pictures.

The theme for Christina's prom was a masquerade so the girls all had masks they created.  The masks were very creative and matched their personalities well.

We did have a special gift for Christina.  Amanda made a corsage for her to match her dress.  Also, we bought a crown for her to wear.  First, she had to be crowned queen of Alunia (our children have an imaginary world on our property!), which she had hinted to be a part of the fun earlier in the month.  It was a lot of fun and a nice surprise for her.

I still want to take better pictures of all the girls in their dresses.  Maybe next week we can get them dressed up again and have a real photo session.  So, I will try to update the blog post then.

Now...I stay awake and pray that they get home safe.  They hope to go to prom and then make the proverbial trip to IHOP before coming home.

Lego Mania (I mean Fest!)

So...I did something very out of character for me...I set myself up to go into a crowded noisy room full of germs and potential hazards!  That's right...we went to the annual Lego Fest in Houston!  We had never gone before but the boys have begged year after year so I decided to treat them to this adventure for a late Easter gift.  We had it planned long ago and had the tickets put in their Eater baskets...maybe for a way to force the event on me.

I really should not be so negative but really I do not like going into crowded areas and take the chance of losing one of my children!  As you all know...our family has no problem with going on adventures. However, the thought of telling a police officer the description of one of my children has always been a dreaded nightmare!  I can only think of a few times when I have taken the children to an even like this without Michael's help.

In walks my hero...my brother...Nathan...OK...I really thought to treat him and my nephew Karson to the adventure and I will admit it was partly so I would not need to do it alone.  I was so glad to know that Karson has been counting down the days for the past month!  It was really nice to have this fun with them.

We did have fun also...only a few times when I felt like we were crowded and I only felt creeped out by the germ issue when the boys covered themselves in Lego's while visiting the massive pile at the center of the stadium.  We all stayed together and enjoyed seeing the creations as well as make a few of our own.

I think the most interesting part of the day was the presentation by the master builder.  He told the group how he got started building and then stuck with it.  He did have the benefit of having a father who was also a master builder; however, with only seven in the country...he must be pretty good on his own account.  We was great with the children.  He told them there are three lessons that all master builders must learn:

• Interlocking bricks to avoid breakage.
• Sideways building (better known as SNOT...studs not on top) to enhance the model with smooth sides.
• Balance to create a sense of symmetry for the model and to allow for more stability.

When we left, I asked what the boys loved the most.  They told me they loved playing and building.  I think the next time they get the idea of going to one of these events, I will take them to the store and let them each choose a set to take home.  I would come out ahead in monetary value and sanity (not to mention wear and tear on my vehicle).  Besides we already have our own big pile of Lego's so we would not need to take the chance of exposing ourselves to everyone else's germs and noise.

Karson and our boys did love the race car building.  I wish I had a picture of them racing their Lego cars.

It was an experience and I am thankful for the memories we will be able to share later.  No regrets just lessons learned!  The best lesson of the day...the Lego motto:

"The best is never too good!"