Thanksgiving Preparations!

We will celebrate Thanksgiving at my parents' house today. My parents and 95 year old Grandma will be there, along with my sister, brother-in-law & neice, and my brother-in-law's brother his wife. We usually have the traditional fare of turkey, dressing and gravy, but with some variations in the side dishes and desserts. For home economics this week, My Only Sunshine has been preparing most of our part of the feast. We are making corn & green bean casserole, sweet potatoe casserole, pistachio salad, homemade rolls (the only thing I'm making), and pumpkin pies. (This has been especially helpful since I've had "the crud" this week. :-( )

Thanksgiving is such a special time! For our "tea party" this week, My Only Sunshine and discussed the things we are thankful for over a cup of hot chocolate. Some of the things we mentioned were family, freedom, and technology. We also read this week's poetry selection, Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, and 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.

We have a wonderful family to share the day with, it's a beautiful day outside, and inside the house is smelling wonderful with the scent of pumpkin pie and bread! It doesn't get any better than that!

Tea Time

I surprised My Only Sunshine with our first official tea time today and it was wonderful!! We had nice warm tea for this cool fall day and we shared a piece of pecan pie. We enjoyed a relaxing visit, a couple of fallish poems, and we each chose some Scripture to read. I chose Psalm 95, she chose Isaiah 40:31and Proverbs 31:25-26, 29-30. She asked if we could do it every week, which I was hoping to do too. Ah, the joys of life with a sweet young lady!

Birmingham Botanical Gardens

Most of our nature study is done by reading about nature. I always have good intentions to get out into nature more, but don't act on them very often. But back in August, we had a day with several appointments in Birmingham so we planned a trip to the Botanical Gardens while we were in the area. We had a goal of finding and identifying three plants and three animals.

The critters we found were a dragonfly, a honeybee (see below), and a robin. We also heard a woodpecker, and saw it moving in the tree, but could not see it well enough to identify which kind of woodpecker it was.

The plants we chose to study more closely and draw were the water lily, the black-eyed susan, and the Japanese aster.

We also enjoyed the rose garden which was still blooming then.

Pay, Pray & Obey

"But how can this be God's plan?" This is what My Only Sunshine asked last night when The Referee comforted us by reminding us that the election result was part of God's plan for us. Additionally, The Referee reminded us that as christians we are obligated to respect and honor our leaders.

While we may be fearful about the future of our great nation, our gracious God does not leave us to flounder in that fear. He gives us instructions for how to live under our government, regardless of the kind of government it is. And in comparison, it seems to me that we still have more religious and personal freedoms in The United States of America than most any other country in the world.

Wayne Jackson has said that in relation to our government we are to "pay, pray, and obey".

We will spend time studying the following scriptures in the coming days and weeks. I pray you will find them helpful as well.

• Romans 13:1-7


• Titus 3:1-2


• 1 Peter 2:13-17

Three Rs

Have you ever had a time that you didn't realize how tired you were until you slowed down? Me too. Sometimes the fatigue is physical, sometimes it is mental, and sometimes it is emotional. Periodic rest, relaxation, and reflection are critical to our well-being.

Jesus and His disciples experienced this too. Mark 6:30-31 - "The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat."

The Referee is attending a convention in Florida with his softball work and he brought us with him! Softball has been a blessing in our life in so many ways.

I have been very busy for a very long time...but had not realized the toll it was taking. Until Saturday morning when we went for a walk on the beach together I didn't know how much I needed a break. There are no deadlines, no phone ringing too much, no housework, no school work, no unfinished projects. There is the beauty of the water and sand, and always the soothing sound of the waves on the beach. There is also time for reading and writing and resting, things I have had little time for in the last several months. And best of all there is time for family walks, watching movies with My Only Sunshine, painting fingernails & toenails, and having long talks about important things - or nothing. Yes, we always talk a lot, but our conversations are sandwiched in between other things. I crave time like this with just our little family, without all the interruptions of life.

This time of rest, relaxation, and reflection is reminding me yet again of the need for us to slow down and be more focused on the right things. When I evaluate our schedule and activities, I always debate with myself about how much is necessary and how much is too much. It seems that very often MOS has little or no discretionary time. The discussion in my head goes something like this: "Is it necessary for her to be so busy all day?" "Yes - she's in training to be a godly wife and mother!" "When does she have opportunity to practice the "feminine arts", do free reading, do Bible study of interest to her, correspond with friends, or just relax?" "Well...adult life really is that busy; I want her to be prepared." "I don't want to rush her through her girlhood years." "I can't waste a moment to train her for her future."

Isn't there a happy medium? I'm praying for courage and balance.

Making Plans

I've heard that the best part of an anticipated event is planning for it. As much as I enjoy the planning for a new school year, I can happily say that is not the case in this case. In the midst of the other things going on in our summertime, I am putting together plans and goals for My Only Sunshine's 10th grade studies (did I say 10th grade?!). While I make adjustments to fit her needs, interests and abilities, I continue to use Ambleside Online as the spine for our Charlotte Mason curriculum.

I have a homeschool friend whose son is a year ahead of My Only Sunshine in the AO curriculum. She kindly sells me their materials when they finish them, so gathering books is usually fairly easy. In addition to AO books, My Only Sunshine will study Apologia Phyiscal Science. She has chosen Hebrew for foreign language. We have a Jewish friend who knows Hebrew and has offered to teach her (well, probably both of us). She uses a one semester course, so we'll start koine Greek second semester and continue it through next year. In addition to our CM-style geography/map studies, we'll use some material from _The Ultimate Geography & Timeline Guide_ by Maggie Hogan & Cindy Wiggers. She will also use _Easy Grammar_ by Wanda Phillips. We will study the Old Testament with the face of a clock with _The Essence of Time_, an out-of-print book by Frankie Luper. She will learn some computer basics with free tutorial programs on the Microsoft website. I'm still working out the details of My Only Sunshine's Home Ec studies.

We'll resume lessons on August 18th, so I have a few more weeks to enjoy planning!

My Lovely Spring Flower

Shopping for modest clothes has not been the most enjoyable thing My Only Sunshine and I have done together in the last couple of years. ;-) We often haggle over what fits modestly and what we can afford.

But shopping for an Easter dress this year was such a pleasant event! Before going into the first store, we reviewed the guidlines of modesty and budget. We also both promised to be kind and understanding with each other. With only minimal reminding from me, she chose wisely what to try on.

Thirty minutes later we left the store having purchased the second dress she tried on!