Our Southern Belles

This past week our family grew by 8 paws.  We welcomed 2 Lhasa Apso puppies into our family last Saturday, December 12th.  After communicating with the breeder for about a week, we traveled 3 hours, one way, to pick up these little bundles of fur. 

We had originally decided against getting them but the breeder asked if I would reconsider and not only take one but take her sister, also.  It was hard to resist 2 puppies who look at cute as these girls. 

Even only having them for just a week, they have brought joy and smiles into our family; along with some puppy incidents. 

We look forward to many years of puppy love added to our family. 

The one with white on her face is Missi Sippi Girl.  The all black one is Alli Bama Girl.  We call them Sippi and Bama...our Southern Belles.

Alli Bama Girl (Bama)

Missi Sippi Girl (Sippi)

Thanksgiving 2015

Well, it was a great Thanksgiving as usual.  We have so much to be grateful for and not just 1 time a year. 

Brother B, Brother C and hubby spent some time in Alabama with his parents.  They enjoyed their visit while getting to fish and hunt for a few days.  I stayed behind to dog sit a friend's furbaby. 

We traveled to my grandmother's and spent the day with my mom's family.  There were 31 of us total with 5 not able to make it.  It's always great to see everyone. 

My sister and her family were in town from GA and spent Thanksgiving Day until the Sunday after with us.  We enjoyed watching football on Saturday while feasting on our annual Thanksgiving tacos. 

We didn't get any pictures of the humans but I did get a picture of the sweet furbaby I kept. 

It's all Fun and Games Until...

That moment you try to be the fun, flirty wife. You leave a surprise note in his car at the location of his meeting:

"Come join me for a Shipley's donut
And so I can see your cute butt"

It's all fun and cute until you notice him drive by with his coworker in the seat you left the note.

Boys and Toilet Paper

I bought this toilet paper holder bc of the ease it provides when replacing. All that is required is to simply slip the roll onto the arm. It takes all of one step to complete such a task...1.simple.step!

Condiments

The boys playing around with the ketchup during lunch...

"Boys, stop playing with the condiments."

Brother B to Brother C: "What are condiments?"

 Brother C: "I think it's something Daddy uses."

Me: "What???!!!!???? What do you mean it's something Daddy uses?"

"Well, doesn't he like ketchup on everything?"

"Yes, yes he does."

Veterans Day 2015

Over the past several months through various activities, Brother B has become buddies with a WW II veteran, Mr. Mooney, who lives at local retirement home.

This past Saturday, Mr. Mooney hosted a Veterans Day event at the home in honor of the Vets, specifically WW II vets, who live at the home. Brother B was invited as his special guest to interview them and listen to their stories.  We enjoyed lunch with Mr. Mooney, also. 

I had my mom bring my grandmother to be a part of this as she is a WW II wife who supported my grandfather the 3 years he served in WW II. 

We all went to support Brother B, Mr. Mooney and the other Vets. We all left with a deeper ...appreciation for this generation.

Both my grandfathers served in WW II. And I am honored to keep their stories alive to Brother B.
Mr. Mooney and his fellow Vets consider it an honor to be remembered and they long for their stories to be remembered and retold. They fear that future generations will not remember the cause of WW II and the resolve this nation had in fighting this war. And, sadly, his worries and fear are well founded.

So today, I remember my grandfathers, the WW II wives, Mr. Mooney, his fellow WW II Vets and the many others who have served our nation with a resolve and a resilience that has made America the greatest nation to live.

Below, you will see Brother B with the WW II Vets and Mr. Mooney from Saturday's program.

 

Hark, the Herald Angel

Listening to Christmas music...

Brother C: "Momma, I like this song. It talks about, Hark, one of the angels at Jesus' birth."

"Who?"

"Hark. He sang at Jesus' birth."

"Son, there wasn't an angel named Hark. Hark means, to 'pay attention or listen'...so when it says 'Hark, the herald angels sing'...it means to listen, they are announcing his birth."

"Are you sure, his name wasn't Hark? This song says it was."

"No, baby, his name wasn't Hark...it was Gabrielle."

"Then why doesn't it say Gabrielle."

"I.Do.Not.Know."

The Science of Shells

The past few weeks our science chapter has been about mollusks. When finishing the chapter, we organized the shells we have collected from our past beach vacations.  It was fun going through our collection understanding what kind of shell it is and what kind of sea animal used to live in it. 

This wasn't a project suggested by the author of the book so I can kind of had to create this myself.  I had our boys take one of their shoe boxes and make small compartments to organize the shells within each compartment.  I intentionally didn't participate too much allowing them to use their own skills to create the actual box. 

It's always fun to see their finished products.  It is usually a direct reflection of each of their personalities.  Brother B is typically detailed and more analytical in his approach.  Brother C is typically a little more whimsical finding details to be overwhelming and restricting.  You will see the difference below in their final creation.  It makes me smile each time I look at it because I love each of their personalities. 

When we do these types of projects, I do not grade them and I usually do not make them redo them unless I know they intentionally didn't do their best.  But each of these boxes were done with intent, pride and care.  While the project was to reinforce the lessons we had just learned, it was also intended to reinforce creativity, problem solving and start till finish. 

It's assignments, projects and lessons like this, that make me enjoy homeschooling!


Brother B...organized and exact with details

 

 

 

 

Brother C...a little more 'whimsical' with less details

Vacation 2015

Well, it's obvious I've been on vacation from blogging.  But we really did recently go on an extended vacation....I just took a longer one from blogging. 

Our boys and I took a 2 week vacation with my parents in September.  Hubby stayed home bc he couldn't take that much time off.

We traveled to PA, visiting Gettysburg, Hershey and the Amish country.  We went as far north to Plymouth, MA visiting the Plimoth Plantation, the Mayflower II and whale watching.  We completed our trip in Williams, VA where we visited the Colonial Village. 

Hershey, PA was the most disappointing with the Amish country being the most serendipitous.  The Hershey factory was nothing more than an expensive candy store.  I did not know that you don't actually get to tour the factory.  They do have a theme park but it was closed during our visit.  The Amish country was pure natural beauty.  The Amish farms were beautiful and seeing the lifestyles of the Amish was intriguing.  We enjoyed shopping some of their goods and seeing their horse and buggy style transportation. 

Brother B even gained a pen pal friend.  We stopped at their road side 'stand' to buy some of their Indian corn.  Crist, one of the children, came over and eagerly conversed with us.  He was full of stories about his rabbit and his family.  I had been wanting to find a pen pal for our boys and his friendliness presented the perfect opportunity.  With permission of his parents, they have now exchanged several letters. 

We enjoyed the many other facets of our trip, seeing the beautiful countryside in parts of the country we had never been.  It was also an education trip for our boys as they were able to experience the living history of Plymouth, Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.  This kind of learning helps make the books we read come alive.  It was also such a great adventure that homeschooling allowed us to do during this time of year.