Lunch With a Very Old Friend

What crazy timing!

I get in touch with my best friend from the 4th grade, who I probably haven't seen or spoken to in about 14 years, find out she's the founder of Bella Lucce, and then to top it all off, she tells me she's coming to Arizona for a speaking engagement!




This past Saturday, she treated me to lunch, and we had a fine time reminiscing about our fourth grade adventures and everything in between then and now. She seems to remember an incident that I must have forgotten after all these years. Even though I was usually a perfect angel, I guess I did get into a teensy bit of mischief every now and again. Lela made me do it!!! :)

An hour and a half just wasn't enough time to cover 14 years!







Thank you, Lela, for a great time and for the lovely gifts!!!

No Way!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LHoyB81LnEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LHoyB81LnE

The "Accidental" Discovery of Uranus

Before you all yawn a big yawn, I am writing about this amazing discovery because this greenish-blue planet was discovered by amateur astronomers--home schooled, amateur astronomers. We learned this during home school last year.

In 1781, German home schoolers, William Herschel and his sister Caroline, discovered Uranus purely by accident. On an ordinary day, these two kids were looking through one of their telescopes that William had actually built himself, and they noticed a light that looked more like a disc than a star. After several months of observation they realized it was indeed a planet and not a comet like they had originally thought.

This brother and sister became instantly famous!! They even got to name the planet. And I thought it was interesting that at first they didn't want to name it after a Roman god, which was tradition. They came from a devout Christian family and wanted to name the newly discovered planet after their king, George III. That didn't fly with everyone. Lots of folks wanted them to name it, Herschel, but unfortunately for some reason they did in fact choose to name it after another Roman god. I think it will be so neat to finally find out the real names of all of the planets God has made.

After their discovery the government paid them to be full time astronomers!! At the time they were both making money by singing and playing in the opera. (No, I don't think they had an astronomy certificate.) Caroline found many comets, and William discovered 2 of Saturn's moons, among other things. Eventually they did get something named after them. Mimas, one of the moons that William discovered has a huge crater that makes it look like the Star Wars "death star". Astronomers honored the work of the Herschels by naming this huge crater, Herschel crater.

Now isn't that just a snazzy, little home school story. I am on the prowl to find more!!!

One more thing--I know lots of very gifted people have been taught in the public schools too. I am not against public school. Just against gov. forcing parents to send their kids to it. I went to public school, ya know. (Hmm, maybe that is why I am not very gifted?? Oh well, that's another story. :))

The "Real" Papa Smurf

Wow, I was completely amazed by this story.

The Treasure Tree

I just finished reading this beautifully illustrated book, by John and Cindy Trent and Gary and Norma Smalley, to my 3 kids. Actually I have read it to my boys quite a few times, but Shiloh hadn't had the privilege of hearing it yet. She loved it!!! Thank you Honey for giving this gift to us almost 6 years ago!!

It's about 4 best friends who happen to be animals. A lion, an otter, a golden retriever, and a beaver set out on a delightful adventure in search of 4 golden keys that will lead them to the ultimate prize, the Treasure Tree!

Each animal represents a certain personality, and by the end of their journey they realize that the very best treasure of all was knowing how much they needed and loved each other.

Also, this book creates a fun way for parents and kids to discover their own personalities. It is especially kid-friendly because it focuses on the strengths of each personality type. :)

It was neat hearing the boys talk about which animals best described them. Lincoln has determined without a doubt that he is mostly otter with a hint of Lion. Mullin on the other hand is radically different, and he thinks he is part golden retriever and part beaver. I would agree with them, but they are still so young and things can change over time. ( I do think there's a bit more lion in Lincoln than he realizes, though.) When I was this age, I am sure no one would have ever guessed that there was a lion in the making! A shy little lamb maybe, but not a lion! Actually I would truly label myself at present as a beaver/lion. Sometimes I act more beaverish, and sometimes my lionistic nature takes over. Also, being Holy Spirit-controlled, I am definitely a tame lion, most of the time. In my opinion my hubby is without a doubt a golden retriever with a hint of beaver. He and Mullin are very similar in nature.

I highly recommend this book! Even though it has a very practical message, it is very entertaining. You will want to take your kids on all of these wild adventures. My favorite was the tastiest of the bunch, Blueberry Basin!!

Here is the personality checklist from the back of the book. Let me know what kind of animal/animals best describes you!!! Technically you are supposed to mark each trait that describes you or your child, and then total the marked answers for each specific animal. Of course the larger number represents the basic personality type.

Lion:

1. Is daring and unafraid in new situations. (This is the one thing about lion that is NOT me)
2. Likes to be a leader. Often tells others how to do things.
3. Ready to take on any kind of challenge.
4. Is firm and serious about what is expected.
5. Makes decisions quickly.


Otter:

1. Talks a lot and tells wild stories.
2. Likes to do all kinds of fun things.
3. Enjoys being in groups. Likes to perform.
4. Full of energy and always eager to play.
5. Always happy and sees the good part of everything.


Golden Retriever:

1. Always loyal and faithful to friends.
2. Listens carefully to others.
3. Likes to help others. Feels sad when others are hurt.
4. Is a peacemaker. Doesn't like it when others argue.
5. Patient and willing to wait for something.


Beaver:

1. Is neat and tidy and notices little details.
2. Sticks with something until it's done.
3. Asks a lot of questions.
4. Likes things done the same way.
5. Tells things just the way they are.


My final note: I know we are all created as very unique individuals, and none of us can fit into a tiny, little personality box. For example, as I stated before I am a beaver/lion, but that doesn't mean I am not kind or loyal. Also, someone else could be a beaver/lion and still be very different from me. So with that said have a little bit of fun and discover the animal in you!

**Don't forget to let me know what you are!

Dusting Will Never Be the Same Again

What I really want to be posting about is my trip to Cinch Hook, but I have tried about 7 times to upload pictures and they just won't upload. I want to rip this monitor from the wall and chunk it out the window right about now. But I will refrain since 1 Peter 1:3 is running through my mind like a broken record!!

Mark has already posted about our recent snow fun on his blog anyway, so for all the grandparents who wish to view our precious snow angels, go to his site.


Just so this post can be a wee bit interesting, I will leave you with this appetizing tidbit--

*Up to 90% of all household dust consists of dead skin. Mmmmm.

**No wonder there can be 5,000 dust mites in just one tiny speck of dust. It's and endless feast of their very favorite meal!!!

Too bad I can't upload a photo of those nasty-looking, spider-related, dead skin-eating critters!

I am sure my wonderful, computer-fixing husband will have everything working smoothly soon so I can upload pictures again.

(*Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. **The Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia)

Autumnfawn

One of my friends has asked from where the name "Autumnfawn" comes.


So, here in this post I shall reveal its origin.



Once upon a time, there were 2 very best friends. One was tall and lean with dark, brown eyes, long, autumn-brown hair and a freckled nose. The other was short and petite with a silky, blond mane and watery, blue eyes.



On the outside, they both appeared to be your typical, model students. They were smart, responsible, and very well behaved. On the inside, though, they were really just silly, little, giggly high-school girls with wild and fanciful imaginations.

They shared so much in common, even their love of American Indian culture. Mostly, it was just an infatuation with the romanticized version of that time period in American History. They read lots of books, fiction and non-fiction alike, and imagined that one day dark, handsome Indian Braves would carry them off into the sunset upon beautiful, wild horses. They even learned how to speak a few Cheyenne words and went to local Pow-wows.

To make their vivid imaginations come even more alive, they decided to give themselves "Indian" names. The blond was given the name, Sky Dancer, because of her dancing, sky-blue eyes, and the other was given the name, Autumnfawn, because of the shape of her face, coloring, and freckles. Such fun times--they even began signing all of their notes to each other with these names. To make it even more fun, they gave their other friends and even all of their secret "crushes" Indian names, too. "Wounded Doe" was one of their sisters who always seemed to have some sort of ailment, "Flaming Hair" was a red-headed friend, and I believe "Tall Oak" was one of their secret "crushes", just to name a few.

Many years passed and Autumnfawn and Sky Dancer eventually went their seperate ways, but Autumnfawn kept her name in order to keep her cherished memories alive.

Trick-or-Treat!

As part of a home school lesson this year I decided to do a study on the origins of Halloween. As a Christian parent, I want to instill in my children a desire to seek TRUTH on all matters and to test all things in light of Scripture.

Personally, I have never felt that is was blatantly wrong to dress up, carve pumpkins, and go door to door to receive candy. In fact, I really like that last part. Dressing up is so much fun, and if I had the extra $, I would even want to participate. I have always wanted to pretend to be Arwen, the Elven Princess! And pumpkins, well, I just think they are so beautiful! The carving part is a lot of work, but seeing the result with the candle glowing inside is fun. The pumpkin squeezed in between my boys was carved in honor of my love of M&Ms!

In all of my research on Halloween, I found out some very interesting things. Trick-or-treating for example, is an American activity that originated around the 1930's. It was created by local city clubs, such as the Boy Scouts, in an effort to control and displace mischievous pranks. Well, to me it is a good thing to provide alternative to bad things. So my views on this activity remain the same.

I did find out that the celebration of Halloween can be traced all the way back to the ancient Celtic Fire Festival, Samhain. Since November 1 was the beginning of their New Year, October 31st was to them as December 31st is to us. And yes, they did make animal sacrifices and crop sacrifices to their god/gods on this night. God knows my heart. When we dress up, trick-or-treat, and carve pumpkins, I am in no way honoring anyone but God alone. I am personally not going to get caught up in the "origin" thing, b/c then I wouldn't be able to celebrate Christmas or watch the Olympics, etc, etc...

Many things that have been practiced on Halloween have been nothing but pure evil, so don't get me wrong, I am not trying to promote this holiday as some holy event. I just think it is great, though, when Christians go to the trouble to provide wholesome alternatives to worldly activities!

For anyone interested in further research, I found a few interesting sites on the subject.

http://www.new-life.net/halowen1.htm

http://www.new-life.net/halowen2.htm

http://www.thercg.org/articles/totuh.html


I am sure there are plenty of other wonderful sites, but I just didn't have the time or energy to go any further!! Let me know what you think.

Diaper Trivia

Dedicated to all of us mamas changing the world one diaper at a time!!


Did you know: Americans throw away 570 diapers per second? That's 49 million diapers per day!! Wow!!

But, I have to say I am VERY thankful for disposable diapers, aren't you?

Wishbone

Ever wondered where the custom of making a wish while breaking a wishbone comes from??

This is one of the reasons I love homeschooling--always finding out cool little tidbits of information!!

I know you are on the edge of your seat so here you go. The custom was actually begun by the ancient Etruscans of Italy. It was their belief that hens were prophetic birds because they cackled right before they laid an egg. Eventually this belief led to the custom of making a wish on the bone of a chicken. Obviously we already know what is involved-- two people pull on the wishbone and whoever breaks off the larger portion is the winner of the wish. This is also where the phrase "lucky break" comes from. There is your lesson for the day!
Of course, I don't believe in the nonsense of wishing upon a bone and it coming true-- all in fun. It is kind of sad that people actually did believe in these sorts of superstitions.