Journey to Excellence

This afternoon Kyndal graduated from cosmetology school! Oh what a day!!! She started attending class on October 1st of last year and graduated at 12:45 p.m. today, September 16th. My mom, Collin, Dawson, Eli, Brynne, and I all drove up to school and watched her receive her certificate of completion and clock out for the very last time. Then we all went to eat lunch at Applebee's. It was such a great day and one that Kyndal has been waiting such a long time to enjoy. I am so proud of my girl and excited for her future! On her first day of kindergarten. On her last day of cosmetology school.

Our week started off much like last week. Brynne developed pink eye and then her virus moved a little further south. We just took Monday off. She put on her new prairie dress and apron, grabbed her rag doll and stuffed cat, and played with some of the new updates on Minecraft. I cleaned like a crazy woman. I disinfected every surface, door knob, cabinet pull, and did lots of laundry. I was determined to take a step toward getting this virus out of our house! It was a day well spent. She was feeling much better by Monday night so we got to bed early to get ready for a good day of school on Tuesday. And we did have a pretty good school day on Tuesday. We did all of our regular daily lessons: Bible (the building of the second Temple in Ezra), math (the area of triangles), grammar (quotations), current events, and reading (We finished Little House in the Big Woods . Brynne is reading On the Other Side of the Hill by Roger Lea MacBride. And Eli is reading Zeke Meeks vs. the Grueso...

1. I am thankful for the friendships I have with my children. In talking with teens and watching others I see how it is more than possible to be friends with your kids. Don't get me wrong, you have to be a true friend ... one who is willing to tell your kids what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear and holding them accountable for their actions. Isn't that the kind of friend you really want? But you can talk with your kids instead of at them. And you can fill their lives with encouraging words instead of criticizing them. We should definitely show our kids we love them instead of just telling them. All our kids really want is to know that we support them in all their decisions, even if they aren't the decisions we would personally make. Support through the good decisions draws you close. Support through the bad decisions and being there to help them should they fall draws you closer. I'm not talking about enabling bad behavior. I'm talking about...

Joining From this Side of the Pond for Wednesday Hodgepodge. On Thursday we pause to remember a dark day in history -- 9/11. Will you mark it in some special way? I will not make a big deal about it at our house. When we watch CNN Student News I am certain that will be one of the topics so we will briefly discuss it. I am sure I will be in quiet reflection several times throughout the day thinking back to what a devastating day it was for our country and, most specifically, for the families who lost loved ones. If I can find my decorative garden flag I will put it out to commemorate the day. Do you ever/still listen to an actual radio, watch a videotape (VCR), look up a number in a phone book, refer to a paper map while traveling, set an alarm on an alarm clock as opposed to your phone? I do listen to the radio in the car. We don't own a VCR but still have lots of videocassettes. I usually look up telephone numbers on the computer or my phone, but I do pull out the ...

What do they say about the best laid plans? Yeah, they are right. After such an amazingly successful week last week we were a tad disappointed with all of the obstacles of this week. First off we had a holiday on Monday. But even had we not I likely wouldn't have been much of a teacher as my arthritis was flared up and I was in bed all day (and had been on Sunday, too). That day Brynne really started feeling bad with the second virus the kids have all had, so she slept with me that night. We had a fitful night sleep and were neither one feeling good all day on Tuesday, so we had our first "Couch School" day of the year. We eeked out a full day of lessons, minus any projects that required much energy. On Wednesday we slept in a little later and didn't even start school until 1:00 p.m. I felt like Brynne needed some extra sleep to help her battle her virus and Eli needed some also to, hopefully, keep him from getting it. We were still not feeling too good but ma...

1. Eli got some bug bites this week ... one on his neck that he had an allergic reaction to which resulted in an inflamed rash and another under his eye that resembled a spider bite and has been swollen and painful. These resulted in a trip to the doctor and he is on antibiotics. Day 1 and Day 2 2. Rick installed my new screen door and did some more painting. I love it all! 3. On Wednesday night I took the kids to a nearby fall festival where they got to ride their favorite ride, the Cliffhanger. They call it the Superman ride. 4. I realize that I have certain staples in my pantry and refrigerator these days: spinach, blueberries, eggs, turkey breast, colored mini peppers, mini carrots, peanut butter, honey, greek yogurt, granola, oatmeal, sliced almonds, black beans, and bran cereal. I find myself eating these things most days. Do you have certain things you buy every week and keep in your kitchen for your meals? 5. I am glad this week is over and it is the week...

It's time for another bit of hodgepodge with From This Side of the Pond . This week's questions center around Summer, School, and Sports. What's something you wanted to do this summer that you never actually got around to doing? The same thing I want to do every summer that I never actually get around to doing .... purging and organizing. Share a favorite memory of your own back-to-school days as a child. I loved, loved, loved getting back to school! I wanted to take summer school every year but they wouldn't let me because my grades were too high. So I waited with boredom all summer until I could start school again. My favorite thing to do was to rearrange my school supplies in my school box. I can still smell the new crayons! On the first day of school the students would walk down the hall to their grade of classes and stop at each room and look at the list to see which class he or she was in and which friends were also in the class. It was such an exciti...