One of my own is joining the Military

Something that I never thought about while my children were babies or even while they were growing up, was one of them joining the military. My oldest daughter, Sophia, after much thought has decided that this is the path that she wants to take. My husband and I are behind her 100%!!
So far she has taken her entrance exam and passed with flying colors, has taken her physical and is now in PT (physical training) for the next couple of weeks to get her accustomed to sit-ups, push-ups and running. She is in very good shape so I believe that she will do just great on that. Her Sergent has been bragging about how well she is doing, which is a good sign.

Sophia will be leaving us to go to Basic Training on December, 29th for 9 weeks and 4 days. This is the longest that I will have ever been away from one of my babies, I realize she is 19 yrs. old, but she is still my baby!

When she graduates from Basic Training, we will all get to see her at graduation in Oklahoma. After that she will leave straight away for AIT in South Carolina for another 10 weeks and 3 days to receive her training in the field that she has chosen, which is Paralegal Specialist.

We are very proud of the decision that she has made and I see great things for her in the future. Please pray for her safety during training and beyond.

I am one proud mama!!

Walk Across Texas results

Well, after eight weeks of walking, the totals are in. Our home school group logged a total of 2,765 miles, which is the equivalent of traversing Texas more than three times. My kids and I had a total of 476 miles with my 15 year old son, Carlin racking up 144 miles on his own.

We enjoyed Walk Across Texas and plan to participate again next year. It was nice spending time as a family project and also having an exercise routine. So if you haven't started an exercise routine, start one now. It will make you feel healthier and more energetic!!

Walk Across Texas 2009

Today begins the annual Walk Across Texas program, It is an eight week program to help people of all ages support one another to establish the habit of regular physical activity. Walk Across Texas! is recognized as a Best Practice Physical Activity Program by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

For eight weeks, teams of eight people, school classes, or individuals walk 830 miles across a map of Texas.

Today, me and 4 of my kiddos will record all of our walking and bicycling each day for the next eight weeks.

Stay tuned!!

Jake's new hair cut

It was past time for Jake to get a new look. He had been thinking about getting a crew cut for the last month and finally took the plunge yesterday. He really likes his new "do" and so do I. I think it makes him look much older, what do you think?

BEFORE


AFTER

09~09~09

9-09-09 ~This date will only come along once in my life. In fact it won't happen again until 3009. Quite a long time from now, the next millennium.

Have you noticed that there are 9 letters in the word September?

Also 9 letters in the word Wednesday (which is today's date).

Also today's date represents the 252nd day of the year. 2+5+2=9.

I wanted to capture a picture of my kiddos on this date, so I called them all from whatever they were busy doing at the time to gather around and savor the moment of this special date.

New school year 2009~Thinking about college

Oh my, where does time go and why does it go by so quickly?

We started easing back into the school routine about four weeks ago although this year we are doing things a bit differently. Some of my children will start to acquire some college credits through the process of online classes and College-Level Examination Program also know as CLEP and DANTES test.
None of my children have a definite plan as to what they would like to major in at the moment so what we will be working on is getting some of their general education credits knocked out first and then we will re-evaluate to see what needs to be done.

When your children start getting older as mine are, I as a parent, start to worry about college, where will they go, what will they study and how will we PAY for it. College is EXPENSIVE. So in my hours of reading I ran across College-Level testing, the sound of it intrigued me. It is the best of both worlds-the kids learn, test and then get college credit (if a passing grade is made) and it does not break the bank. My children can acquire a degree in a much shorter time period and the cost is no where near as expensive as a four year college/university.

A very good book that I am reading is titled "Accelerated Distance Learning" by Brad Voeller. I highly recommend this book for any parent or student wishing to jump start their higher education at a faster rate of speed and for much less $$.

Learning to Sew

My little girl is going to learn how to sew. Oh, sure she has sewn things like pillow cases, little purses, small stuffed dolls out of felt. She has even hand-sewn a beautiful throw pillow for my bed from maroon and gold satin material complete with tassels as a gift for me this past Christmas. But now she will be learning how to sew clothing.
Molly (12) is in the Clothing & Textiles project in 4H and one of the things that she is to do is sew some form of clothing for the fashion show. I took her to town the other day where she spent about an hour or so picking out a pattern and material for her project. The project is under-way as she has started cutting out the paper pattern in the photo. I will up-date more photos as she works on her project. This is so exciting for me!! I hope that she will learn to love to sew and it will become a new hobby for her.

A New Year Begins

2009 is here-a new year-a fresh new start to things and boy do I feel the need for. I have big plans for this year (this is nothing new, I have big plans every year). Although, it is my hope to follow through on more of my plans this time around.
I want to be more organized, don't we all? So the plan is to take baby steps to getting our home, our schooling, my thoughts more organized.


We shall begin our schooling on this up coming Monday and boy do I have some new things that I will be implementing this year. I will write about them more as the year continues.

Until then--Happy New Year everyone!! May it be a wonderful year for us all! :0)