Saying Good-Bye to Summer

Yep, it’s getting close to that time.  I officially have less than two weeks before we begin homeschool for this year.  Tyler will be 11th grade, Garret will be 9th, Courtney will be 7th, Seth will be 1st, and Emily is still our tag along.  She finished Kindergarten last year with Seth.  She did almost everything he did, just at a slower pace on her own terms.  I am sure she will do the same this year.  Next year will be her official start of Kindergarten.  But I must not jump ahead or I’ll have a nervous breakdown. LOL!
Cold, hard reality has hit.  I am not nearly ready for schooling to start.  I have time to get there and I have no doubt that I will get there.  It’s the GETTING THERE that has me a bit worried.  And the other thing…how can I do all of it…alone?  I’m not even sure that I am cut out for this rather large task.  So that brings me to this:
Philippians 4:13 “I can do ALL things which strengthen me.”
Really Lord?  ALL of it?  Alone.  Help me I am scared.  I am unsure.  Yes Lord, I’ll do my part.  Yes Lord, I’ll pray.  Yes Lord, I’ll come to You.  Yes Lord, I can do all things…but not without YOU.  I can’t do this alone..I don’t even want to try.  I need You.  More than ever.  This is the MOST IMPORTANT job in the world.  Not only the responsibility of their education but also their hearts. 
I have a big amount of things planned for the year. 
We are doing Sonlight’s  Bible/Apologetics course from their Core 300 for the older boys this year.  I purchased the books from Amazon however…LOL.  Free shipping and it was cheaper.  With titles such as “How To Ruin Your Life By 40” and “Know What You Believe” how could you go wrong?  LOL.
Both boys (older) are going to be doing these things as well:
Easy Grammar
Write Source/Writer’s Inc
Apologia’s Biology with Labs
Algebra 1
Learning to Love Literature by Weaver (AOP)
History of some sort…with two weeks to go, I haven’t decided if I’ll continue to allow them to sit with our Weaver unit studies-easier for me as far as planning and teaching OR doing a text book-easier for the transcript. 
Anyone see why I am a little nervous this school year yet?  That’s just the two older ones. 
Courtney will be doing a 7th grade Literature class from ABeka, Easy Grammar, spellling, Saxon Math 65 and will finish it and move on to the  next level, etc….she will be sitting with us on our Weaver unit studies.
Seth didn’t quite get learning to read last year.  So we will pick in phonics where we left off.  He will be doing Saxon Math 1, Spelling, I think I bought Easy Grammar for him.  Plus our Weaver Unit studies.  Oh yeah…there’s Explode the Code 1.
OK….I think I need to go, ahem, PRAY HARDER. 
Enjoy the picture.  No worries to those of you having a heart attack that I am allowing my 4 year old to ride her scooter in the middle of the road.  It’s closed off to traffic, privately owned by the US Army for setting up deployments and training.  She’s perfectly safe.  PROMISE.

Memorial Day

Most Americans have no idea what Memorial Day is all about.  From my vantage point, I think that most Americans consider it another day off from work, and have a big ole party/BBQ.  Of course, there’s nothing wrong with BBQ’s and parties (said tongue in cheek), BUT do we know what we are or rather ARE NOT celebrating?
Quoting from Wikipedia.com:  (copied and pasted)

This article is about the American holiday. For the holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador, see Memorial Day (Newfoundland and Labrador) .
Also called
Decoration Day
Type
National
Date
Last Monday in May
Observances
Remembrance of American war dead
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 25 in 2009). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. local time. Another tradition is to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at National Cemeteries.
Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars take donations^[2] for poppies in the days leading up to Memorial Day; the poppy's significance to Memorial Day is the result of the John McCrae poem "In Flanders Fields."
In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also used as a time for picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and sporting events. One of the longest-standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.
The National Memorial Day Concert takes place on the west lawn of the United States Capitol. The concert is broadcast on PBS and NPR. Music is performed, and respect is paid to the men and women who gave their lives for their country.
Some Americans view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day as the unofficial end of the season.
Memorial Day formerly was observed on May 30. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) advocate returning to this fixed date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address:
“
Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.^[3]
”
Since 1987, Hawaii's Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has repeatedly introduced measures to return Memorial Day to its traditional date.
So anyway….not preaching at ya….seriously, I am not.  All that to day, I want to thank the soldiers who have died for me to be able to live free.  We didn’t have a BBQ this year as we normally do. 
It’s been a nice day here.  It was 89* when I checked the temperature around 3:30 or so…the warmest it has been this season for us in Germany.  I am a little fearful that we are going to have a rather warm summer….we don’t have Air conditioning here….One summer in Stuttgart, it was SO miserable the whole summer.  :(
I made two LO’s today while the older kids were working on school work and after I exercised and showered.  Here ya go:
Kylie gave me most of this stuff…the pearls and ephemera came from my stash. 

This next LO is a group picture of the kids in 2005 with their Easter baskets…except Emily…she didn’t get an Easter basket that year.  Seemed silly….so we didn’t buy her one.

Still here....

It's been a busy few weeks with dental appointments and just life in general with the kids and schooling. I have kids bickering and carrying on. Such is life ya know. ;-) Did I mention 16 days and counting...of course, he's also leaving again three days after he arrives. UGH.

We had an online crop at OSU this weekend as well. That was so much fun! I actually scrapped this time. I don't think I've ever actually finished a LO when I am working these crops. LOL. I even started a project for a special someone.