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Events, Homeschooling

Homeschool Blogging Nominations

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It’s time to grab your keyboards, a pot cup of coffee, and some chocolate and head over to Homeschool Blog Awards. The nominations for this year’s blog awards begin on Monday and continue through the 16th. Voting takes place in the beginning of December and there are prizes for the winners. Prizes, fame and more prizes.

prizes galore

Look at this great list of winning categories:

1. Best Homeschool Mom Blog
2. Best Homeschool Dad Blog
3. Best Blog Design
4. Best Artistic Content Blog
5. Best Crafts, Plans & Projects Blog
6. Best Family or Group Blog
7. Best Encourager
8. Best ‘Live-What-You-Believe’ Homeschool Blog
9. Best Unschooling or Eclectic Homeschooling Blog
10. Best Geographical Blog
11. Best Current Events, Opinions or Politics Blog
12. Best Homemaking or Recipes Blog
13. Best Teen Girl Blog
14. Best Teen Guy Blog
15. Best Teen Group Blog
16. Funniest Homeschool Blog
17. Best Cyber-Buddy Blogger
18. Best Curriculum or Business Blog
19. Best Variety
20. Best Thrifty Homeschooler
21. Best SUPER-HOMESCHOOLER
22. Best Nitty-Gritty Homeschool Blog
23. Best NEW Homeschool Blog

Wow! Did you even know there were that many different types of homeschool blogs? Of course, it seems like they are missing a few significant categories. How about these:

1) Blogger most likely to homeschool in her pajamas
2) Messiest school room blog
3) Most prolific blogger – who needs sleep when you can blog?
4) The Homeschool blogger you love to hate
5) Best Homeschool Worrier Blog – will my kids succeed, are we doing enough school, will they get into college?
6) Best “My Kids are Cuter than Your Kids” Homeschool Blog

Best Airport Homeschooling Blogger

A little blogging here, a lttle blogging there. Airport blogging with wi-fi is the best.

I figure I easily qualify for the Messiest AND the Sleepiest Blogger Awards. Did I mention there are prizes this year? Prizes. And fame. Oh, the glory of it all.

You’ll notice there isn’t a homeschooling category in the whole 2007 Weblog Awards. Education, yes, but not homeschooling specifically. I bet they don’t even offer prizes. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

No hanging chads in these elections, I’m sure. :)

Kathy

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Sleepovers, Sick Kids and Tolkien

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Joshua celebrated his birthday this weekend. Pay no attention to the fact that his birthday is in October and it’s November. Nothing like stretching birthdays out, I always say. Especially when it’s MY birthday. Oh yes, and I’m famous for it. Joshua is normally not as birthday obsessed as his mother but the college reunion trip to VA threw his party off by a few weeks.

Friday night Tim gathered Joshua and three of friends and took them out to the Duckabush for a Lord of the Rings movie fest. They met up with a Duckabush friend and spent the evening with Sam, Frodo and their cohorts. I hear they even went to bed at a decent hour.

Well, decent for a sleepover.

boys in the bush

Joshua and his friends, missing Austin, who had to leave early.

They managed to fit in two of the three Lord of the Rings movies, which I think is impressive. Grandma provided a delicious cake and there was plenty of food for meals and snacking.

In the mean time, back at home, Rachel was hosting her own little sleepover. Hearing that Joshua would be out of the house, she decided it would be the perfect opportunity to invite some friends over. Unfortunately, she was hit with the stomach bug that is going through our family. Daniel and I had it two weeks ago, Tim and Joshua suffered through it this week. It’s mild (no vomiting) but painful.

Early in the morning, or maybe it was late in the night, Rachel woke me up saying she was in pain and couldn’t sleep. Poor thing. Her friends were downstairs peacefully resting while she writhed in pain.

Not a pleasant way to spend the night hours. Needless to say, we won’t be posting any pictures of her time with Sarah and Jenny.

Argh!

Daniel expresses the family’s sentiments toward this little stomach flu with a hearty Argggghhh!

Praying that the little ones and all of the assorted sleepover guests don’t catch any nasty flu germs.

Kathy
Project 365 – Day 307

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Happy Halloween

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What a great day! The best costume all day? Our local Christian radio channel dressed up as a Christmas station for the day. Very creative. Although it was a bit odd to listen to Christmas music on Halloween.

heading to church

As we head to church for the Harvest Carnival, Daniel worries about proper Cape Etiquette.

Has anyone else pulled out Christmas cds yet? Tim and my brother, Thom, usually have a race to see who can start listening to Christmas music the earliest. Our competitive spirit reveals itself in strange ways.

Although the children could have dressed up very convincingly as college students, they chose something else for tonight’s Harvest Carnival.

college kids

My friend Jodi surprised us with a bag of William and Mary t-shirts. Five shirts, all different! What a fun reunion gift.

Joshua and David went as Civil War soldiers. Ask Joshua how many years he’s donned some version of this costume for Halloween.

david's soldier pose

brothers in arms

Sarah was beautiful in a Belle costume. Rachel went as a black kitty and Daniel dressed in a Zorro type costume. Rachel wasn’t sure about being a cat this year but David convinced her.

“Rachel, you look so cute as a kitty. I love it when you dress up like a kitten.”

Who could resist those sweet words from a little brother?

meow

The church carnival was a great success. Tim was one of the photographers – the church mails out each group a family photo and an invitation to attend one of our services. Joshua worked at a Clothes Pin Drop booth while Rachel helped deliver candy and took over games as necessary. The younger children mainly went around gathering treats.

let's go get some candy

Gathering energy before hitting the game (aka candy) booths.

The children had a fun time at the carnival. Rachel and Daniel went out and did some trick or treating along our street after the church party. Tim had David and Sarah help him deliver candy to the trick or treaters who came to our house.

A busy Halloween.
Kathy
Project 365 – Day 304 (Notice we are racing to the end of Project 365)

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Events

Rainy Virginia

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I have been told that this area of Virginia hasn’t had any rain since July. That all ends now and really, what better way to make Washingtonians feel at home than serve us Starbucks with plenty of rain. The Starbucks I had to pay for, but the rain was on the house (car, hotel, campus, college students, and on and on).

Did we bring umbrellas? Of course not. In Washington it mainly drizzles or mists, it doesn’t actually RAIN. Here we got a massive downpour lasting pretty much the entire day.

Did we walk around the campus, reminiscing about our college days?
No.
Did we stroll down the old parts of town, admiring the beauty?
No.
Did we buy the $22 umbrella in the college bookstore?
No, but it was a near thing. :)

Thankfully we are here for several more days and the weather is supposed to clear up by the end of the weekend. I’m sure we’ll enjoy that stroll down memory lane sooner or later. Meanwhile we visited with old friends, looked at hundreds of old Intervarsity pictures, made plans to see other alumni, enjoyed couple time, ate out, shopped, got soaking wet, and went to an Inter-Varsity Large Group meeting.

The Reunion Weekend is going well!
Even with the rain.
We miss our children and entertain people with stories of their antics; it helps us feel like they are close by.

Pictures coming.
Hoping for sunshine tomorrow.

Kathy

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Duracell or Energizer

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When you set out on a trip, you just never know who the Lord is going to place in your path. I’ve flown next to silent businessmen, focused on their newspapers or laptops, elderly women who chat about their grandchildren, college students heading home on break, moms with little ones, and everything in between.

I have never, and I mean, NEVER sat beside a fellow traveller who stores his AA batteries IN his ear!!

smile, you're on candid camera

Duracell in one ear and Energizer in the other.Yikes!

This young man celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday and was flying home to visit friends and family in New Hampshire. He slept most of the flight (Tim said I couldn’t sneak up and take pictures without his permission) but we had a lovely chat during the landing. He had suffered from a collapsed lung six months ago and still had a bad cough. I told him I had five children and they would NOT believe me if I didn’t have a picture of his ear, um, shall we call it, art.

Do not look at this picture if you are squeamish.
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I’m serious. It kind of freaks me out a bit.
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Okay, but I warned you.
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pinkie action

“What will your Mom say?” I had to ask my body pierced companion. “Has she seen your ears yet?”

“No,” he laughed. “She’ll be surprised.”

Ah, yes indeed. A very interesting young man, far more intriguing than the beautiful young woman sitting across the aisle on the next flight. I found it amusing to pair them up in my mind; what a couple they would make, I fancied briefly.

My next thought was sobering. God looks at our heart and not on our outside appearance. He cares about our soul, not our adornments. We look at a person’s hair, clothing, and accessories and we arrive at judgments and conclusions. If she does not know the Lord, the woman in expensive boots, cream sweater and gold jewelry is just as lost as the lip, nose and ear pierced, “residentially challenged” traveler from the first flight.

Jesus was born in the rudest of accommodations, and died while men gambled for his clothes (which were, apparently, His only possessions). Yet He is the Prince of Peace, the King of Glory. Surely we must learn to see like God with the eyes of our hearts, rather than looking on outward appearances as the world does.

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to who you belong? James 2:5-7

Lord, help me to recognize the lost and be bold in bringing Your light into their lives. Give me wisdom to know how to reach out in love and truth.

Kathy
Project 365 – Day 298

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