Tonight was the first Church of Christ on McDermott Road Father &
Daughter Date Night.Girls and Dads
enjoyed a dinner of mac and cheese with Jell-o for dessert.Dinner was followed by craft time
together.Abigail and Jon really seemed
to enjoy their evening together!
Daughters of kings
are among your honored women;
at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.
At the 11th hour, on the
11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the guns of WWI fell silent and
"Armistice Day" was born. Eight years later a Presidential
Proclamation invited people to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies.
With the passage of time it was changed to "Veterans Day".
We have attended the
veteran’s day parade in 2008,
2009
and 2010.It is such a touching event to
honor these men and women who have ensured our freedom.Again this year we headed out with our
homeschooling friends to the downtown Dallas
Veteran’s Day Parade, waving flags, holding signs and cheering.
Abigail’s sweet friend, Baylor, turned 11 on 11/11/11!This morning when Abigail woke up her first
words were, ‘it’s Baylor’s birthday!’The girls celebrated at Amazing Jakes with 3 hours of Go-Karts, Laser
Tag, Bumper Cars, Miniature Golf, and Rock Climbing!Abigail’s favorite was the Go-Karts, which
she only crashed once!
They filled up on the pizza buffet and desserts!Sounded like they had a great time!
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy
good health and that all may go well with you,
even as your soul is getting along well. 3 John 1:2
We took a
little break from our studies today and headed north to Grisham Farms. It is a family owned farm and petting zoo. In the barn tour the kids
petted and learned about hedgehogs, sugar gliders, a bearded dragon, a leopard
gecko, a ball python, doves, bunnies, Russian chinchillas, hairless rats, tarantulas, and
more.
Outside the
kids learned the difference between the wooly sheep, the Painted
Desert sheep, and the dorper sheep. Abigail fell in love with a Potbelly
pig named Penny. There were plenty of goats, miniature horses, full size horses
and cows to visit.
Many of our
homeschool friends join co-ops where the meet together for a specific class or specialized
study. We have always enjoyed our field trips instead. We can take a break from
our work, and check out something new. A lot of times these field trips mean
school starts very early in the morning or it requires the kids to bring their
lap tops in the car as we drive to a field trip. And sometimes, too many
outings in one week mean they have to complete their studies on the weekend.
But for the most part they are a great enrichment to our learning, and an
excellent motivator to complete their work so we can play!
God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you.
One of our first field trips as a family was to the Frontiers of Flight Museum at
Love Field almost 10 years ago.We have
been to other aerospace museums including the Cavanaugh
Flight Museum, and the Tulsa Air
and Space Museum.But the Frontiers
of Flight Museum is the best, for one simple reason, all of the docents are
retired flyers!It is truly living
history, the men taking you on the tour built the aircraft, flew the missions,
they lived the history.
It is so humbling to know the man teaching your children
enlisted on December 7, 1941 because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor!Captain
Charles D. Mohrle, just one of the amazing volunteers tells the stories of
the 3 days of engagement he and the 510the squadron flew in the Normandy invasion.He showed photos of the 24 pilots that began
that mission and he is one of only 6 who survived those 3 days.The children shook his hand and told him
thank you as he told each of them, they were worth it.I had to hug him; a hand shake just didn’t
cut t for me.
The museum follows the flight plan of the earliest aviators
to modern astronauts.You can learn the
history behind balloons and Zeppelins, the Wright brothers, World War I & II,
commercial and general flight and the ongoing space program. There is a huge array
of artifacts help bring history to life; full-size aircraft including the
Apollo 7 Command Module, aircraft models, engines, missiles, space artifacts
including the only moon rock in north Texas, uniforms, trophies, posters,
helmets, art and many information kiosks.
Today our fifty PEACH
kids met true heroes! I think the web site shows it takes 30 or so minutes to
tour the facility; we spent 3+ hours there today and loved every minute of it!
Give to everyone what you owe them:
If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;
Today moms and sons from our homeschooling group PEACH, celebrated a special time of fellowship between mother and son in a picturesque
setting overlooking the lake in “The Lodge” banquet room located in the Bass Pro restaurant in Garland. The Lodge over looks the lake with a beautiful view of the fall leaves on the shore.
We got together for a special afternoon with inspirational live guitar music. During a great lunch two guest speakers offered encouragement & inspiration
as they talk about their mother and son adventures. In addition, Caleb was one
of the two young men who spoke encouraging words to the young men, with Richard being the other young man. Most of the sons were in that 10-13 year old category, so Caleb and Richard had the opportunity to encourage them in good works!
My son, obey your father's commands, and don't neglect
your mother's teaching;
keep their words always in your heart and tie them
around your neck.
Wherever you walk, their counsel can lead you; when you
sleep, they will protect you.
When you wake up in the morning, they will advise
you.
For these commands and this teaching are a lamp to light the way ahead of
you
and the correction of discipline is the way of life.
Although we have lived in the Dallas area for a decade, we have never visited the Thanks-Giving Square in Downtown. Thanks-Giving Square was designed by renowned American architect Philip Johnson, and completed in 1976. The peaceful courtyard, fountains, chapel and more are situated on a three-acre triangular block set amid soaring skyscrapers in the heart of downtown Dallas.
The chapel is an amazing spiral with a stained glass ceiling that spiral upward to 58 feet. The stained glass goes from darker colors to lighter symbolizing the lightness in your heart as you become more thankful.
There is a gold ring echo chamber where you can stand back to back with a friend and announce your thankfulness. There is a Thankful Stone, like a 'Blarney Stone' where you can inwardly express thankfulness.
There is just a lot to see and it is all surrounded by scripture and goodness. It is a very peaceful. I wish I had checked this out sooner!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34
Following
our visit to the symphony we headed over to Fort Worth to see the Kimbell Art Museum’s new Caravaggio: and
His Followers in Rome.Michelangelo
Merisi da Caravaggio [kara'vaddÊ’o] was an Italian artist active in Rome,
Naples, Malta,
and Sicily
between 1593 and 1610. His paintings had a serious influence on the Baroque style
of painting.
In
his early twenties Caravaggio moved to Rome
where, during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, many huge new churches were
being built and paintings were needed to fill them. During the
Counter-Reformation the Roman Catholic Church searched for religious art with
which to counter the threat of Protestantism.
He
burst upon the Rome
art scene in 1600 with the success of his first public commissions, the
Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew. After that he didn’t
lack for work, but his hot temper would get him in trouble.
In
1606 he killed a young man in a brawl and fled from Rome with a price on his head. At the age of
38, he died of a fever in Tuscany, while on
his way to Rome
to receive a Papal pardon.
Infamous
while he lived, Caravaggio was forgotten almost immediately after his death,
and it was only in the 20th century that his importance to the development of
Western art was rediscovered. The
Kimbell exhibit displays 10 Caravaggio’s along with 30 or 40 Caravaggisti
styled works.Several of the pieces were
on loan from the Vatican in Rome!
The
piece on display are stunning, the detail, and the lighting make them almost
three dimensional.If your headed with
adults it would take a good hour to hour and a half to see the exhibit.Today visiting with the kids I broke it up
into sections, today we looked at only the ten pieces by Carvaggio.We listen to the portable audio players with
the description of each piece.We will
go back again before the exhibit closes and spend some time viewing the ‘followers’
paintings.
Do not make friends
with a hot-tempered person,
do not associate with
one easily angered. Proverbs
22:24
Today was our first visit this school year to the Morton H.
Meyerson Symphony Center located in the Downtown Dallas Arts District and home
to the world-class Dallas Symphony
Orchestra.Today’s educational performance
was ‘The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.’
This concert featured Benjamin Britten's beloved Young
Person's Guide to the Orchestra and other selections which highlight the
families of instruments. Additional works will include Copland's Fanfare for
the Common Man and music by Mussorgsky and Mendelssohn.
The Myereson was completely packed today with students from
the Dallas
magnet, private and home schools.Usually we have been seated in one of the boxes on the 3rd or
4th level.Today we were
seated on the floor in the front row!
We all enjoy the symphony.When the kids were younger we would listen to the ‘Say Hello to
the Orchestra’ CD.It gives children
a quick overview of the four music groups and general concert terminology.As my children got older we found Beethoven’s Wig, and
still love them.The CDs have taken
great masterpieces and added silly lyrics to help children recognize the composer,
the name of the piece etc.Super fun,
you can even visit their website and stream some of the songs!
