My girls never fail ...

to remind me of how I need to be! Sarah especially reminds me frequently of things I either need to be VERY proud of, or of things I need to mind my peas and ques over because she is watching me. She is watching me closely. I am an early riser, it just makes my day run smooth if I am rolling out of bed long before ole' Mr. Sol. And about the time I am sipping my first hot mug of coffee, here comes Miss Sarah, padding quietly through the house find me. Some mornings she sips a cup of tea, and some mornings she has a cup of coffee with me.

She is becoming more disciplined and organized everyday. Thankfully this is an area that she sees me take hold of the bull by the horns so to speak and handle the task at hand. She wakes up, has her tea or coffee, dresses to feed her pups, then comes in and exercises to her ballet video, showers and is at the table read for lessons - and I best not be late!

Chocolate Milk

I love chocolate milk ... I love everything about it ... UNLESS it somehow ends up in my keyboard, on my mouse, mouse pad, desk top, pens, well, okay let's just say on EVERYTHING within a 3 foot radius of my desk is just coated in the sticky residual effects of chocolate milk. And to top it all off, I have a three year old standing the other side of the dining table sucking her thumb, asking me through the slats of the chair back "your 'puter okay Momma ?? I can do Polie Bear lessons?" Now, I ask you ... how in the world can you be mad at that. I can't ... See she knew she was doing a no no ... She knows she isn't supposed to be on Momma's desk with chocolate milk. But the picture on Momma's computer was just toooooo enticing for her to stand. My fault, no ... but I have to cut her a bit of slack. I tempted her sorely with my pictures.



Well, I have a sticky enter key, but other than that everything seems to be drying to a super sticky state quite nicely. Chocolate milk is back at the table, and I still have my pictures scrolling by. And the funny thing is ... it was a picture of herself that was flashing by on my screensaver.



She is so funny ... I love the awe and amazement that fills her sweet face when she sees herself in pictures.

Carefree and Breathing in God ...

I thought about posting pictures of the kids today ... I hate studio pictures, they looks so posed and fake to me. I guess it is because no one has ever "caught" the spirit of my children on film in a studio setting yet. So, for Momma's Day last year, I gathered up my little sweetly dressed chicklets and took them out to the University of Texas - Permian Basin duck pond. I just let them go ... wander around ... be kids, carefree and breathing in the beauty of God's creation. But the best part of all of this is before I started, I took a moment and asked God to be with us, to be with me as I took pictures of my children, to help me not to stress over "perfect" shots. And it happened ... I took some of the best shots of my children I have ever taken ... a few they "posed" for but for the most part ... I just snapped them off as they came ...

Polar Habitats ... in West Texas ???

I don't know what it is about the cold this year ... but I am definitely not enjoying the winter this year. We have had a little snow, a good deal of ice, and a good deal of rain ... which I am extremely thankful for!! But I have not enjoyed the temperatures in the teens!! My ole' bones just do not handle it well, I guess. That and the fact that I do not appreciate not having electricity and phone due to ice and raid ... utterly ridiculous!!

Oh well, enough grousing 'eh ...

But we did get quite a bit of school work done. Thankfully, I had printed out most of my Polar Habitat unit activities where I could slowly get them cut out over time. I even enlisted the help of my dear Rooster ... that man can cut out fast!! He uses his utility knife like a chef carving up a turkey!! I couldn't believe how quickly he cut those little pictures up for us.

So, I had done, certain things for Miss Savannah and Mr. Jon ... on a preschool level. BUT, WOW, did I get into BIG trouble with them. I had to rework part of their lessons, where they "looked" like the big guys!!! LOL, it was definitely a challenge at last minute, but their joy at being like the big guys, was absolutely rewarding to the nth degree!! Ya'll don't ever forget that - ya' hear ... the littlies really need to have things that look like the more advanced levels. Thankfully, most of the activities had been "preschooled" during the co-op but those that had not got overhauled by me!! Being a Super Member at Hands of a Child has already paid off. I will definitely be renewing my membership with them!! Kudos girls for a great job!!!

We had a slight moral malfunction at our house, Mom hates to be lied to!! So, ole' Mr. TV has been very SILENT this week. The only time it has been on has been for a educational video to go along with our unit. We watched March of the Penguins, The Polar Bear King, and Eight Below. I absolutely ADORE all three of those movies, so it was definitely not a hardship to enjoy those movies along with the children. But, one thing I did realize, Miss Savannah has been watching way to much tv!! I am going to have to watch when my Rooster is on nights, he sleeps with the tv on during the day so the changes in house noise doesn't disturb his sleep. LOL, poor guy can sleep through Hurricane Children, but the moment it gets quiet in the house he wakes up!! Go figure!!


Well, I think that I shall sign off for now ... ya'll have a wonderful Saturday!! I'm off to wash a load of laundry!!

Just in case ...

you didn't know ... computers don't work real well, when there is no electricity. We have had one wild and woolly week! Sometimes, we have electricity, sometimes we have blinky lights, sometimes we have no lights ... ROFL ... and then part of the week I generated enough heat to create my own electricity I think. Not to mention run up a bill for my poor husband to have to worry about paying with a 3 hour trip to the E.R. Talk about feeling like a gizmo ...

Oh, well, here we are ... back on track hopefully if the weather will hold and I stay well.

Due to the inclement weather, of both the outside world and the inside of me, we did about ZIP in school this week. So, here I am feeling like I am behind the eight ball. While it is only the end of the third week of school for us, I still feel so guilty for not being there teaching my children all the things I had planned for the week.

But as I have slowly come to realize, Sarah still practiced her math facts, Nathaniel still read, GW plugged along learning to read. Learning to trust my children's early dedication to their own education is obviously an issue I need to deal with, quickly.

Well, for today ... I need to sign off ... but before I go just remember it isn't about "schooling" it is all about helping them to love to learn!!

in the Beginning ...

In the Beginning ... there was a young woman with a little girl called Pig-rami. She knew a man with character, honor, and Christian beliefs ~ she knew he could help her raise this little girl right. So, she set out one day on a mission to find out if this man would perhaps like to help her raise this little girl.

Unbeknown to her ... this man had loved her for a very long time! He just didn't know if she would love him and not break his heart again. Being very bold, bold like she had never been before, this young woman walked right up and planted a kiss and a big warm hug on this man. And to her pleasant surprise, he kissed her back and wrapped her in the warmest bear hug she had ever had. And thus begins the tale of Rooster and the Sandyhills Momma ...

One day Rooster's son came to live with them, and then his daughter, too. They were a very happy family, but something was still missing. They being silly people just didn't realize what all was missing. Over time the Lord blessed them with what was missing. A beautiful son called Bubba, a beautiful daughter called Smiley, a beautiful son called Wolfie, a beautiful son called Angel Bubba- God had other plans for Angel Bubba, so He took him back to heaven to wait on his family there after 10 glorious days with them, a beautiful little girl called Baby, and finally along came a grandson called Hisser that really needed a new home, so they adopted him. And that is how their little family grew and grew and grew ...

Shew ... I'm tired now ... hehehe ...

So, it hasn't been all roses and fairy tale kisses ... it has been hard work, tears, sweat, feast & famine ... just like any other family, but there surely is lots of laughter, hugs, kisses, smiles and joy. BUT ... I would not trade one second of our time together. We have been together for nearly 16 wonderful years.


I started this blog this morning to journal the homeschooling lives of our children. And bits and pieces of our family's daily lives on our little farm, too.

In our homeschool, we attack learning from a rather mixed view. We are a little Charlotte Mason, a little classical, a little hands-on un-schooler, and a bit unit-studies.

So, as I prepare for next weeks lessons ... I drag out CIMT math, Singapore Math, HOAC Lapbooks on Polar Habitats, Penguins, and American Revolution, oop History tomes that transport my children back to yesteryear, copywork to remind them of great lessons of our forefathers, grammar so they don't talk like their redneck momma (oh, I am so giggling here), I work on some lessons of citizenship to satisfy the great state of Texas, word lists for Spelling Time, and so on ... all neatly packed into a very fun, loud, rowdy morning ...

And so begins our blogging journey through the Sandyhills of West Texas!