There’s one thing on kids’ minds when they go camping and that’s Fire Early the next morning, Justus and Audrey got right to that. I can only imagine what it must have been like for the early Indians and pioneers who had to make gathering and cooking their food as a main part of the day. So much work! I wonder if they ever thought of becoming more organized and scheduling their days better? Somehow I just can’t picture that. Can you? After awakening from a cozy slumber and hearing the quiet sounds of twigs being snapped and the murmurs of Zachary, Justus and Audrey, I emerged from the tent to this gorgeous sight. Do you enjoy cooking when you camp? I do. I get…
We Made it Home by a Thread – Our Trip to Zion & Other Places
Friday, October 5th, 2012 at
7:53 am
Comments (5)
A Family Get-away Gone Awry
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 at
7:46 am
It was supposed to be a simple 3 day getaway – a special time in honor of Serenity for her 8th grade graduation. I’d bring all the food; we’d camp out; costs would be minimal. Simple. Zachary’s “boss of the year” cleared him and Seth (who is working with Zach for a few weeks) from working Friday, so the plan was for them to arrive home Thursday night and we’d take off Friday morning. Reality! After being gone all day, me and my wonderful assistant, Serenity, packed and prepare food till 11 p.m. By 12:30 we were all in bed but up again by 4. Red eyes with grit in them. That’s exactly how I looked and felt the next morning. Zion National Park…
How to Throw a Party in a Hotel Suite
Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 at
6:41 am
Have you ever thrown a party in a hotel? I have given one about once every 2 years. You see, our homeschool convention is held in Phoenix and they also do a jr. high graduation ceremony on Friday night… usually. This year, the graduation was on a Saturday, so we had to throw our party on Friday night… in honor of Serenity. We rented a suite and then got bumped up (courtesy of the hotel) to a hospitality suite. It was lovely and nice and perfect for the occasion. But let me show you pictures, since that’s the best way to “tell” you. At home you do as much as possible. It’s not fun trying to do it in a hotel! About 2 hours before…
Do You Have a Quiet, Easy-Going Child? Making Them Feel Special
Monday, July 23rd, 2012 at
1:46 pm
Congratulations to the sweetest of daughters, my Serenity. I feel a little bit amazed today. Our sweet daughter Serenity has graduated from the 8th grade and will now be embarking on her high school education. This weekend at our homeschool convention, Serenity went through the commencement program that they plan for 7th-9th graders. And you know what? She loved it!! She enjoyed it so much that she wishes she could do it again. Now that’s a big surprise coming from her because she’s quiet and doesn’t like attention focused on herself. After seeing Serenity’s reaction to her graduation, I was reminded me of a story Florence Littauer tells about her mother. Florence’s mother was a Phlegmatic, according to Florence’s division of personality types. In case you don’t know what phlegmatic…
Yes, This is My Last Post About the Subject – Youth Camp in Ohio – Part IV
Tuesday, July 17th, 2012 at
9:25 pm
Saying goodbye to everyone after a great week, and leaving camp for the last time (it’ll be a new location next year), we were all in a state of contentment as we headed for Michigan to a friend’s high school graduation party when about 30 minutes later, we were stranded on the side of the road… I’m still not sure what part went out – the idler arm pulley?? (I have been informed by my husband that there is no such thing as an idler arm pulley. However, he never did tell me what was the problem!) That ended up being a 2 1/2 hour stop. Because of the storm and loss of electricity, the Auto Zone was closed and the closest town with the…
A Life Spared
Monday, September 19th, 2011 at
8:34 am
We never know what the next moment holds but we are so grateful that we serve a Living God who’s a very present help in time of trouble. Russell and I and Zachary were in Flagstaff for a wedding yesterday. Zachary had went up on Friday, driving Seth’s truck, since he was going to be playing his cello for the wedding. So, Saturday night, around 7:15 – 7:20 p.m. we were driving along back home. We were ahead of Zachary with 2 vehicles separating us. Russell is always watchful of anyone that is following us, so he was looking in his rear view mirror to see where Zachary was, when he saw sparks and something funny happen. We were going into a slight curve at…
The Humble Egg McMuffin – the Quintessential Breakfast Sandwich
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 at
3:26 am
How is it possible to have written so much about how to make the little breakfast sandwich, the egg mcmuffin? Have I possibly made something that is quite simple – complicated? I hope not because I think everyone should try their own homemade egg mcmuffin at least once in their life. Notice, I said homemade. No McDonald’s version, okay? Egg McMuffins are great for a breakfast on the go or when you’re sitting down to the breakfast table. Although you’re trying to do several last minute things at once when you make these, part of the solution is to have everything ready to assemble and all your ingredients on the counter (mise en place) before you start cooking. In my list of “The Players”, I mention herbed…
Justus’s Phonics Trip to Lake Powell
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011 at
3:43 pm
The last few days has been spent trying to get Treasuring the Moments back up and running. But it’s up and no lost posts! Yea!! A few days after Zachary’s graduation, our family went on a get-away to Lake Powell. Lake Powell is an absolutely gorgeous lake with 1,900 miles of shoreline and is the 2nd largest man-made lake in the U.S. Here’s the reason we went… This little guy. Justus is 8 years old and has finished his phonics course which takes about 2 years to complete. When our kids finish their phonics we let them pick somewhere in Arizona to visit as a reward. Of course, the kids all love Lake Powell and so we have went there for almost everyone’s phonics trip. This trip was…
Another Son has Graduated High School! – An Evening Celebration
Saturday, August 27th, 2011 at
2:28 am
Well the big event is over. What a special evening we had celebrating Zachary’s high school graduation! We had about 145-150 people and plenty of food for all. With all the activity of family being around for Zachary’s graduation, I got too busy to be posting and then after the graduation dinner, we took off on a little get-away. More on our get-away in another post. The weather was beautiful, the night of the dinner with no wind or rain and the temperature about 70°. Of course there was lots of preplanning. Tables and chairs had to be brought up from the garage to the lawn, table coverings put on and chairs wiped down. You can see Russell in the background stringing up lights that he wired. Russ also built a platform for…
The Secret Tool to Planning a Variety of Occasions
Monday, August 15th, 2011 at
6:33 am
Preparations are in full swing around here for the coming weekend with Zachary’s high school graduation dinner on Saturday. The house will be full again. My whole family, except for 4 of them, will be here – even Seth is coming and staying for a week! Last graduation dinner (Seth’s) ,my sister came and masterminded the event. She’ll be coming again which I’m very grateful for. She stays working in the background while I get to enjoy the party. How sweet is that?! It may sound kind of sad for her but really our family enjoys planning and managing these kinds of events. So she’s pretty excited, too. Right, Sis? Just thrilled? Oh, that’s splendid! Although my sister is doing a lot of the planning on…
Are You Schooling for the Masses or are You Schooling for Your Divinely Created, Uniquely Gifted Child?
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 at
6:59 am
I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about my approach to high school. I have 6 children with my first 3 being boys, one already graduated and my second having his graduation party in August. Zachary (my second son) changed all my thinking about high school when he began several years ago. You see, he wasn’t like my first son, Seth. Seth was very faithful and diligent in his bookwork – following conscientiously his mothers high school plan for him, graduating and then going on to enter college for almost a year and doing very well on his entrance exam as well as his classes. In short, he was a model student. Zachary, on the other hand, did not enjoy sitting at his desk for hours on…
4,000 Miles, 76 Hours of Driving & a Look at the Tornado in Joplin, MO
Saturday, July 9th, 2011 at
8:14 am
We are home as of Tuesday driving a total of 4,000 miles round trip and 76 hours of driving. We had a wonderful time while in Ohio; it just went too quickly. I took a lot of pictures -one of the joys of owning a digital is you don’t have to worry about rolls of film and the cost of development. Also, my photos are what helps me remember things I would normally forget. I love my camera! There were 15 of us who journeyed to Ohio for the youth camp. Everyone was great travellers. No needing to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes, complaining because they were hungry or uncomfortable in their seats- they were all contented resigned to the fact that we wouldn’t…
Family Life Updates 5/16/11 – 5/28/11
Monday, May 30th, 2011 at
11:05 am
It’s Memorial Day weekend and I want to say thank you to all of those who have served in our military either in the past or now. We appreciate your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your families. Life has been kind of quiet around here. A kind of lull before I have to really get to work. There’s a young lady at our church who has asked me to cater her reception in July, so I’ve been doing lots of thinking about that and writing down any thoughts in my planner. Zachary, my 2nd oldest, is graduating from our homeschool high school in August and I am planning a big to-do for that and writing down all my thoughts in that planner book I just…
WWI Study – High School Speech
Friday, January 7th, 2011 at
2:31 pm
We’ve started our WWI study in preparation for a group of us getting together in August (not sure about the date yet) for a speech day where each of the kids will give a speech on something they’ve been studying related to WWI. To begin Wesley’s study he is reading Lusitania by Diana Preston. For our high school students we have started steering them away from giving an informative speech and are asking them to experiment with new types of speeches. This year they can choose from the following: Special Occasion Speaking (SOS): SOS is an event where students prepare a humorous speech on a timely and relevant topic. This can be influenced through news, politics, current events, trends, and so on. It must be geared towards a…
The Week in Review – 7/11/10
Monday, July 19th, 2010 at
7:16 am
Monsoons are starting to hit Arizona. I hear some thunder occasionally, the sky is overcast and there’s a cool breeze gently wafting over me as I type this post. It’s lovely. It has been quite hot here but not near as scorching as in Phoenix. Just this past Friday, Phoenix was 117° but thankfully we don’t live in Phoenix. We were actually 50° cooler than Phoenix where we live. We left our home Friday just when things were finally starting to cool down because of the monsoons, descended the mountain into Phoenix arriving in Tucson where we spent the weekend. Friday night was graduation night for some fellow homeschoolers… I couldn’t resist taking this picture. My niece reminded me of Mary Jane from Mary Jane…
These Strange American Traditions
Monday, December 14th, 2009 at
7:14 am
About 8 years ago a couple moved here to Arizona from Democratic Republic of the Congo/South Africa. He (Abel) was from Democratic Republic of the Congo and she (Hattie) was from South Africa. The morning after they were married they left South Africa. They came so that Abel could attend an aeronautical university and finally after this many years he has completed his course of study and was given his diploma on Saturday! Abel’s sister and brother-in-law travelled from Congo to the U.S. to be here. Now they will be visiting a few different states for the next couple of months. She was 14 when she married this man and he was 26. Can you believe it? My good friend, Hattie (his wife). My friend has only seen her mother once since she…
Wesley Graduates from the 8th Grade
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009 at
2:22 pm
I have a few pictures of the 8th grade celebration we had this past weekend. A surprise, I know that I would post pictures. Wesley went through the graduation ceremony for jr. high graduates our states homeschool committee puts together each year. Since celebrating milestones in life is important to me we participated in it. I don’t have any pictures of Wesley at the actual ceremony. They were too dark since we were at a distance from him. But I did get this one of Zachary and a friend. They look very guilty, don’t you think? They were making plans for when Wesley’s name was announced – and I caught them! It might be safe to say we were one of the loudest sections in the building….
Swimmin' at the Crick
Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at
1:53 pm
I have a few minutes before I need to get busy in the kitchen cooking up things for the graduation party we’re having tomorrow night, so I thought I’d post some pictures of the swimming hole we went to yesterday. I love the diversity of Arizona. Hot burning desert, sand, cactus and rocks usually come to mind when you think of Arizona but it really isn’t all that. I think I’ve heard it’s the 3rd state in the nation for its diversity – California & Florida being #1 and #2. To find complete privacy we hiked about 1/2 mile. With it being over 100°F we were good and hot by the time we arrived. Isn’t it beautiful? In a lot of areas the water…
Staying Cool?
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at
1:43 pm
Oh, the lazy days of summer, no, it’s the busy, hot days of summer around here. Today we’re off to a swimming hole and packing along a picnic lunch where we’ll get to cool off a little from this heat. I won’t be around much this week. Heading to our homeschool convention on Friday and so looking forward to it. But we’re also having a celebration while we’re there. Wesley will be graduating from the 8th grade and going through the ceremony they have at our convention. After the graduation we’re having a get together in our hotel suite where I’ll have some good things to eat. My 3rd child to enter high school. Our homeschool journey will be over before I know it. Oh, but wait…
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