First Day of School

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Ahh, the first day of school. . . . the commute . . . . meet the teacher. . . and roll call! :)

The Not-So Surprise Party

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So you remember the surprise pool party planned for Frankie, the day my mom had the emergency surgery to remove her large intestine, right. Good, then this won't seem quite as lame! Tonight after services we joined the Gungans and the Fishes for dinner at Taco Bell. Sis had a nice time with the girls, and of course, she loved the attention! So grateful for such good friends!

Tabitha Friends

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The young girls at church participate in a Tabitha class, after the Bible character Tabitha (Dorcas). You will find her story in the book of Acts, chapter 9 verses 36 to 42. Although there is not a great deal told about her, the little that is said is enough to show that she was a godly woman who was loved and respected in the Christian community of Joppa. We do know that she was well known for doing good and for helping the poor.
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The purpose of the girl's class is to teach them how to do good to others and how to serve other people. Part of the class includes a friendship program, where the girls are matched up with a lady from the congregation. Last year Abigail was matched up with a new member and couldn't remember her name. This year Abigail took her camera along, so she wouldn't forget who her 'friend' was. And of course it was Ms. Tami! Someone she knows very well!
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Baylor was matched up with Ms. Angela! At the end of the program the girls and their 'friends' will have a lovely tea!

Frankie's Birthday

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Another birthday, more photos of our 'birthday breakfast in bed.' The girls have a trundle bed in their room which makes it easier for all five of us and Padme' to fit! Frankie's breakfast of choice was pancakes, sausage and chocolate milk. While eating her breakfast in bed she opened her cards and gifts. Several of the gifts were new clothes, so we followed breakfast with a fashion show. The little kids and Padme' grew a little impatient with the costume changes, as evident by thier napping!!! Later in the day Frankie got to pick where we went bike riding, which princess movie we watched and what puzzle we put together, Little Mermaid!

Back-to-School Bash

Our homeschool group held it's Annual Back-to-School Bash. Marilyn Rockett the author of 'Homeschooling at the Speed of Life,' was our guest speaker. She was fabulous, lots of great ideas. There were also a ton of homeschool friendly businesses there with info, like piano lessons, swim team, science co-op classes etc. Snazzy Faces did face painting and was a huge hit! The kids loved her. Another hit was the ice cream sundaes! One of the benefits of me being on the board of directors is it always falls on one of the board members to 'store' the left over ice cream! We had RSVPs for 280+ people, but there were easily 300 homeschoolers in attendance!

The Maternity Ward

While at St. John's with my mom, I took the little kids up to the maternity ward where they were born. Jon, Caleb, Abigail and I were all born at St. Johns. It was fun to see the little babies and answer all their questions about, 'when I was born.' It's hard to believe they started out so small! And no, it does not make me want another one!

Frankie's Surprise Party

Frankie's birthday isn't until the end of the month, but this year I was prepared! We had plans for a 'surprise' pool party with several of the families from church. That was until we got the call that my mom had emergency surgery to remove her large intestine! We postponed the party and took the sheet cake with us to Oklahoma!

The Garage Sale

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Usually one weekend out of the summer we do a garage sale with the Gungans. Donna home is a great location for a garage sale, lots of apartments near by and lots of traffic. While Donna and I peddle our wares, the kids usually sell lemonade, water and cookies in the front yard. The kids help draw traffic to the yard sale and generally make $5 to $7 per child. In the afternoon when temperatures rise, the children play. This year we had great success with our yard sale. Everything that didn't sell the Veterans pick-up on Monday. Now our homes are cleaned out of the junk and we are ready to begin school!

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OK, for my friends reading this saying . 'Gungans?' that's not their last name. No its not, but the kids love Star Wars and that is what my children call their family!

Extra Innings

Each week includes a visit to Extra Innings to work on baseball and softball skills. Truth is Jon's a big kid and Caleb and Abigail let him play with them. Fall ball will start up again soon. Abigail is doing machine pitch with her 8U Blue Crush team.

Saxophone Lessons!!!

One of the signs that school is about to begin in the annual bookfair and homeschool conference. Caleb saved his birthday money in the hopes of finding a great stop animation computer program. I always know we will come home with a few unexpected items, this year there was the out cry for a saxophone and trumpet. There is a new homeschool band. Caleb tried percussion and wood winds and settled on the saxophone. Abigail had hopes for the trombone, but her arms could only reach the first four positions. Now we need to talk Jon into instruments!

Clone Wars, Lego Store & Lunch

I had plans for yard work and all sort of productivity when Carina called and invited us to a matinee! What a no brainer! We watched Clone Wars, well we watched all but the last 5 minutes of Clone Wars when the projector bulb broke. The theater gave us a refund. Following the moving we checked out the new Lego store in the mall. The Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower caught my eye, always the educator!