What it's All About!

Some 12-14 years ago we began participating in Leadership Training for Christ with Frankie and the amazing youth group at Owasso. Our sweet friends Jeff & Pam Durham told us about this great program that prepare young people to find their talent to serve in the Lord's church. We have been involved in LTC every year since.

One of the great things about LTC as a parent of a special needs child is that every child can exceed in something! The friendships Frankie made and the encouragement she received are beyond words!

As Caleb and Abigail have grown up they have seen Frankie's proudly displayed medals in her room of her years with LTC. It is one of the few things they all have in common. Sports, chess club, speech & debate were not in Frankies abilities, but LTC is one thing they all share!

At this point Frankie is a great help to me in teaching Bible Bowl classes and joyful spends time at the church building with the younger kids as they prepare.

Although it is often tiresome for Jon and I to be at every chorus, sign language, speech, drama, puppet, and Bible bowl class, the joy it brings Frankie is such a blessing!
.Friday night of LTC was sign language and Bible Bowl. For Sign Language the kids signed the song 'Soon and Very Soon.' Caleb and Abigail each received a gold medal.
.In Bible Bowl, the 3rd-6th grade participate in 3 rounds of 25 questions each. Abigail answered 74 out of 75 questions correctly. the 7th-12th participate in all 4 rounds of questions, Caleb answered 98 out of 100 questions correctly.

It still amazes me that the kids do so well year after year. This is Caleb's 5th year at Bible Bowl and I don't think he's missed more than about 5 any year. Want to know the secret? . . . . we study about 20 minutes 3 times a week consistently AND before every study we pray that God will increase their knowledge and retention as they focus on His Word, God is good!

"Teach them to your children and to their children after them."

Deuteronomy 4:9

Family Square Dance

Bow to our partner. . . . bow to our corner . . . circle left and circle right . . . . Dosado . . . and Promenade home. . . . Now Allemande Left. . .and swing to your right. . . right hand star . . .grand square . . . Ladies in, Men Sashay. . . Ladies Chain. . . . Bow to our partner. . . . bow to our corner . . and bow to your square! When Jon and I were making the decision to home school Caleb we weighed the benefits of home schooling versus what they might ‘miss out on’ in a public school setting. The one thing I told Jon that I hated they would miss out on is Square Dancing. I loved square dancing in 2nd grade gym class! (OK, you can stop laughing) One of our great homeschool moms put together a Family Square Dance Night! We had a great caller from Hoe Down Fun that taught us moves. The girls and I sewed square dancing skirts and Jon and Frankie broke out their ropers! It was a blast! The kids had a great time, and Jon was a good sport about it!

Round Two

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Today we played the same softball teem we played last week. Unfortunately last week they beat us, but this year we won 4-1! It was much more fun winning! Abigail played catcher for three innngs and had several great plays at home! The weather was perfect for a ball game!

My Little Gnome

We are quickly coming up on the performance of Big Bad: the Musical! In the play, Abigail is one of the enchanted woodland gnomes who is all the t.v. reporter covering the trial of the Big Bad Wolf. Today was their dress rehearsal on the way to drama, we had to stop and pick up snacks, so I made Abigail pose in the garden section!

"She is clothed in strength and dignity;

and she can laugh at the days to come."
Proverbs 31:25

Nasher Sculpture Center Home School Class

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Today was another great homeschool class at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas. Ms. Anna was our docent. We took in several of the new exhibits and revisited some old favorites. One of my favorites is outside in the garden and it looks like an army of men without heads. The artist wanted to depict how in a group setting often people lose the ability to think for themselves. In what was probably the only art we’ve been permitted to touch was the installation by British artist Martin Creed. Downstairs there is a room that is filled almost to the ceiling with approximately 9,000 yellow balloons. A docent lets you slide into the room sideways hoping to displace the least amount of balloons possible. This is not for the claustrophobic! It is like walking thru abnormally tall grass. The kids found this to be a lot of fun; I was freaked out by all the balloons pulling on my long hair.

Second game of the Spring season! This was a traveling game, Abigail's Dirt Devils didn't win but they are playing better! Next time!

Little Man

Tonight during evening worship Caleb gave the invitation! He did a good job! He presented the speech he will be presenting at LTC. It gave him the opportunity to speak in front of an audience. Several of the young men led singing, prayers and read scripture. It's really great to see how these men are growing up! LTC has really made leaders out of these young men.

Dirt Devil Baseball

This was Abigail's first game of the season! Abigail is catching again this season, however she is thrilled there is another catcher on the team! When those hot Texas summer games get into about the 4th inning it will be nice to have a back up catcher. The two girls are switching off on catching and on playing first base. Today was a special treat because Granny came down to watch the game and she brought Jess with her!

"She gets up while it is still dark; " . . . and drives 5 hours to see her granddaughter's softball game

Proverbs 31:15

Capitol Days in Austin

Today we attended Capitol Days sponsored by the Texas Home School Coalition. THSC staffers educated the youth about the legislative process, using skits and activities, and trained them to lobby—discussing current pending legislation with some role-playing for practice. Specifically we worked on HB 2557 which would restore parental rights.

Mr. Tim Lambert, President of Texas Home School Coalition gave the audience information about HB 2557. Recently bad judges in cases of death of a spouse have permitted the deceased parents’ parent (grandparents) to remove children from the custody of the surviving parent citing reasons of distress. This is not a case where the child is in danger or being harmed but in instances where the grandparents disagree with the decision to homeschool or the surviving parent’s religious beliefs. In some cases the case has been drug out knowing the surviving parent will run out of funding. One parent who spoke yesterday had her child removed for four years, before the courts ruled the charges unfounded! HB 2557 would force accusing grandparents to make their case with in 45 days, and the children remain with parent until such time that evidence is proven the child need to be removed.

. THSC staffers used skits and role playing to explain how a bill is introduced in committee and the process of going thru the House and on to the Senate. The kids attended classes in the morning and were given talking points about HB 2557. In the afternoon we broke up into small group and lobbied Congressmen and Senators for a favorable back of HB 2557. In the late afternoon we met on the south lawn for a debriefing and then attend a Parental Rights rally on the steps of the Capital. It was a very exciting day!

Metropolitan Detroit Youth Chorus

Tonight the Metropolitan Detroit Youth Chorus performed at McDermott Road. They had a great A'Capella performance! Towards the end of the performance they invited the youth in the audience to perform. We hosted two of the girls for the night, Lisa & Danielle. They stayed up with the kids and played board games. I asked the girls what they would like for breakfast in the morning, I think Coke and more oatmeal cookies was the answer . . . hmmm!

"Practice hospitality." Romans 12:13