Friday, March 27, 2009

My sewing project....





I am trying to learn to sew, and this is a dress I made for Liberty. My mom is an excellent seamstress. I am so proud of myself. I made a matching headband. It still needs buttons, and Liberty won't be able to wear it until later in the summer, but I am really glad it turned out nice!

Spring 2009

Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook: Spring 2009
Create your own scrapbook - Powered by Smilebox
Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I'm considering doing this....but can I?





This is a great idea! I spend too much time on the computer! Even a really good thing can turn bad when it gets to be too much! I am going unplugged after 11:00 am today till tomorrow! See you then!

A Great Book!


Jennie had recommended some books from her library that her children loved. This inspired me to go get some books for my boys and really start reading with them. This spring and summer in our family will be all about reading. When next fall rolls around we will be totally prepared from 2nd and 3rd grade! Here is one my boys loved (especially Caleb!) He loved every picture, and wanted to read it over and over again! Then he said, "Mom, what's a moon pie?" Moon pie's are not my favorite, but for my Caleb I will eat one. Moon pies for everyone!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Any ideas????



I have been trying for years to think of ideas to decorate our bedroom. I thought I would take a picture of our bed, and see if anyone had any ideas. I really would like to paint the walls, but would like to keep the bed as is. It's an antique and I love it!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Nice, Organized Laundry Room.....Thanks Flylady!




Check out this lady's food storage room....

All I can say is WOW~~~ Can I go live with this lady? Go here click on her food storage room link! I aspire to do this....if I had a bigger house!

Guest Post from my husband.....(I copied this from his blog!)

Party, Politics and Pragmatism or Principle - Where do you stand?
The year 2008 was a turning point for me. My eyes were opened and I saw the light so to speak. I voted for George Bush twice, and both times he won. However, the longer that he was in office, the more I began to see that voting for the lesser of two evils was no longer good enough. A supposedly Conservative President that had a supposedly Conservative Congress for nearly eight years, did little to nothing to return our country to the Constitutional Republic that it is supposed to be.

Massive Government spending, lip service on abortion, deceit in selling a war to the American people, a Patriot Act (ie. supposedly Patriotic) that opens the door to untold government intrusion into the lives of American Citizens, and the list could go on. All of this was done under the watch of a "Conservative" government.

As the 2008 elections neared, I had already made up my mind that I would no longer be a political party lemming and vote for the lesser of two evils. I saw in one Republican candidate the character to go against the grain. This candidate actually mentioned the Constitution when he gave answers to questions. This candidate vocally opposed the North American Union, and was vocally in favor of the USA retaining its sovereignty as a nation. This candidate had in each session of Congress presented a bill that would not only have made Abortion illegal, it also would have taken the issue out of the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. This candidate actually believed that there is no Constitutional authority for the US Dept of Education and a thousand other departments that politicians have created over the years. This candidate believed that the Federal Reserve is a dangerous entity that should be outlawed and a Gold standard re-established. This candidate was an actual LIMITED GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVE, who believed that the Constitution is the law of the land and no politician, including the President, should be allowed to go around the law of the land. This candidate was called Dr. No by many, because he always votes NO when Congress wants to spend more money unconstitutionally. This candidate was Ron Paul of Texas.

I already knew that the Constitution Party was around and that their candidate would be a true Conservative, and I had determined that if a true Conservative was NOT selected by the Republican Party that my vote would go with their candidate. Ron Paul was called a kook by the talking radio heads and many people followed their lead instead of thinking for themselves. Ron Paul was shut out of one debate by FOX News and was ignored in many of the other debates. Yet, he remained until the end.

Conservative fundamentalists went with Mike Hukabee, who now has a show on FOX, thinking that he was conservative, yet he was willing to pander to the CFR like most of the other politicians. Personally, I believe that Hukabee was in it to keep good Conservative people from voting for Ron Paul. Alas, the Republican Party ended up with John McCain. McCain no doubt was a great soldier and served this country valiantly, however as a politician he has been anything but conservative. He is so liberal that John Kerry approached him and offered him the Vice-Pres. position in 2004. In order to bolster his non-existent conservative credentials, McCain chose a soccer mom Governor from Alaska, Sarah Palin as his Vice-President.

At this announcement and after hearing her speak, many conservatives, like James Dobson, who were riding the fence swooned and decided to support McCain. Many stated plainly that their vote was for Palin and not McCain. However, if Sarah Palin was a true conservative, how could she join the McCain campaign? The answer is simple. Party loyalty and pragmatic politics.

The question that I must ask is this. When do Conservatives begin to once again stand on the principles of their beliefs? Is constitutional conservatism really worth standing for or is it optional?

The majority will say, "Well, if you vote for a third party candidate you're just throwing your vote away." That is exactly the thinking that has led us to the mess that we are in. Too many Democrats and too many Republicans cannot get past their political party to actually cast a vote that comes from their conscience. VOTING YOUR CONSCIENCE IS NEVER A WASTED VOTE! IT IS THE ONLY VOTE WORTH CASTING.

I decided at the beginning of 2008 before the candidates were chosen that I would vote my conscience. I was not going to be pressured by the threat of a Hillary Clinton or a Barack Obama in office, to vote for a Republican Candidate that I had no confidence in. This was especially true in light of the fact that there were great CONSTITUTIONAL Candidates to vote for.

Ron Paul was not chosen by the Republican Party so my decision was simple. Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party was still in the mix and his beliefs about our country matched mine so he received my vote. No, he didn't win, and didn't really have much of a chance at all, but when I lay my head on my pillow at night, my conscience is clear because I voted based on the principles that I believe in -- not Party, not Politics, not Pragmatism.

John Quincy Adams said, "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

Let us all put PRINCIPLE above petty party political pragmatism.

Peter Scheer, Jr.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Lessons to be learned....

Even as an adult, and especially a homeschooling mom, I find I still have alot of lessons to learn. These are becoming painfully clear the more I try to establish a routine with my home, school, and family... One thing that I have learned about homeschooling that is magnifies flaws, bad habits, and bad attitudes. I saw this quote and I am going to type it out and put on my refrigerator for a reminder!

The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; while she who lets their habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction with the children. -Charlotte Mason


Have a blessed day!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Blog all about the homeschool case in North Carolina

www.hsinjustice.com

Have you guys been reading this????

YOUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK
Judge rips homeschool mom's choice of churches
Quotes critics, calls their condemnation 'credible'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: March 17, 2009
10:31 pm Eastern


By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily


A North Carolina judge under fire for ruling in a divorce dispute that three children must attend public schools against their mother's wishes has cited critics of the mother's choice of churches in his ruling, calling their condemnation "credible."

The ruling came today from Judge Ned Mangum in Wake County, N.C., in a temporary custody order for the children, 12, 11 and 10, of Venessa and Thomas Mills.

As WND reported, the judge ordered that the children be allowed to finish this school year in homeschool with their mother. But by fall, he said, they must be enrolled in public schools, against the mother's wishes.

Mangum, when contacted by WND at that time, explained his goal was to make sure the children have a "more well-rounded education."

He also said the public schools could "challenge" what the children had been taught by their mother.

"I thought Ms. Mills had done a good job [in homeschooling]," he said. "It was great for them to have that access, and [I had] no problems with homeschooling. I said public schooling would be a good complement," he told WND.

The judge said the husband has not been supportive of his wife's homeschooling, and "it accomplished its purposes. It now was appropriate to have them back in public school."

Mangum said he made the determination on his guiding principle, "the best interest of the minor children," and he conceded it was putting his judgment in place of the mother's.

"It will do them a great benefit to be in the public schools, and they will challenge some of the ideas that you've taught them, and they could learn from that and make them stronger," the judge told the mother.

Vanessa Mills says she will appeal Mangum's ruling.

"EXPELLED": Get the hot new documentary that is blowing the lid off censorship of ideas in American universities - particularly anything to do with the fact that God might actually exist.

Mangum, who had admitted the children were "thriving" under Mills' instruction but said they need to be exposed to the "real world," demanded that all objections to his order be filed by Sunday, the day the mother observes the Sabbath.

Venessa Mills says she was unable to meet the deadline for two reasons – because it was Sunday and because she was up until midnight helping her estranged husband move out of the house as part of the judge's order.

The judge then cited a number of critics of the mother's church, Sound Doctrine Church, in his ruling.

He quoted Venessa Mills' mother, Dawn Lewis, and father, Dan, who said they were "concerned" about her involvement in the church. "The Court finds this is a credible statement," the judge wrote.

"In numerous sworn affidavits submitted to the Court, witnesses describe this group as a 'cult,'" the judge said. "The Williams (church leaders) encourage members to call them variations of mom and dad. Vanessa Mills does this. Her children refer to the Williams as variations of grandma and grandpa."

The judge quoted a "former member," Tina Wasik, who said, "Sound Doctrine is not a healthy place for kids to grow up it is run by fear and manipulation."

"Mothers, who are former members of Sound Doctrine, provided under oath to this court that Timothy Williams made several inappropriate sexual comments about girls as young as 4 years old," the judge wrote.

He also said the husband reported his wife's conversations consisted "almost exclusively of quoting scripture or parroting Sound Doctrine religious rhetoric," that Venessa Mills' mother was "concerned" about the children's emotional stability and Venessa Mills' father reported she was "domineering" with the children.

"The Court finds this as a fact," Mangum wrote.

However, church officials said they had provided a long list of affidavits rebutting each of the accusations, but the judge refused to quote from any of them.

Church assistant pastor Malcolm Fraser insisted to WND, "It's pure gossip allowed to run out of control and into a courtroom."

He cited the church's doctrinal statement on its website recognizing it is not the only church, and its members are not the only Christians, a statement few cults would publish.

"It is one of the reasons why we include that statement," he said. "We do not in any way, shape or form believe that this is the only church."

Fraser said the Enumclaw, Wash.-based worship center has been accused of being a cult before.

"It's not exactly new. Anybody who reads the Bible can see Christians in the New Testament were accused of being a sect," he said. "It's not unusual for gossip and slander to be circulated in this form. We try to make it very clear. Certainly we're conservative. Certainly we have strong beliefs."

The assistant pastor said the judge was stating as fact statements based on hearsay and gossip.

"I think it's pretty obvious what's going on here. None of these things was ever raised before Vanessa went public and pressure was brought to bear on the judge. Now all of a sudden his order is absolutely filled with this stuff, with no rebuttals from Venessa," he said. "We submitted affidavits on her behalf that thoroughly dealt with all these accusations.

"These affidavits showed this was gossip and not accurate, conjured up by ex-members with their own personal agendas and axes," he said.

A comparison by WND of the proposed order, submitted by attorneys for the husband, and the judge's, in fact reveal large sections added by the judge to address the mother's choice of churches.

Among other statements, the church's "truths" include:


Love, empowered by the Holy Spirit, for God and man is the most important matter and the essential goal in Jesus Christ. Everything else at Sound Doctrine Ministries has its foundation in Christ upon this.


The Bible is the inspired Word of God and only through the Holy Spirit may we understand it.


Only through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross can mercy be freely given by God to worthless sinners. Jesus paid the price of punishment for our sins.


The concept of Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, with each being separate yet fully God is supported in Scripture.
The church's website also quotes well-known 20th century evangelical minister and author A.W. Tozer.

The comments the judge included alleged church leaders directed a "boot camp" training for young children and multiple comments linking young girls to sexuality.

"Simultaneous with Venessa Mills' decision to join Sound Doctrine in 2005, she began to consider withdrawing her children from public school," the judge said.

The judge noted the father agreed to that on a temporary basis, and that under the mother's teaching, it was "clear to this Court that all three children are intelligent and have thrived academically."

The father's submitted a statement admitting adultery, but the judge's ruling said he "became completely miserable in the marriage" and attributed that to "Ms. Mills involving herself and [the] children in the Sound Doctrine Church to such a degree that [the] entire household was turned upside down."

The judge ordered that the children attend public school for the 2009-2010 school year, that each parent could expose the children to whatever religious practices they choose and custody would be shared.

A friend of Venessa Mills, Robyn Williams, told WND the judge's "findings of fact" "rely almost entirely on hearsay evidence directed against Venessa Mills church, for which no effort was made to verify. … Almost no material from rebuttal affidavits filed on behalf of Venessa Mills is included."

She said the judge was using the accusations against the church to "divert attention away from his own bad judgment on the homeschool issue."


One of my friend had sent me the first story that was reported about this family. This is a real situation. I know of a very similar situation that happen in West Virginia. The pastor of a church we know of got involved with another woman, and decided to leave his church and family. His wife had homeschooled their children, and their church had even started a Christian school. In the divorce hearings he wanted the youngest child to be put in public school. Total flip from his life he lived as a pastor (of an Indepedent Baptist Church)! The child had to go through psychological testing and everything. Finally I think he got to go to a Christian school. This is such a scary situation for moms! This situation scares me! We need to pray for this family! I am going to see what other news stories I can find.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day...We made lapbooks!

I decided that we were going to make lapbooks for St.Patrick's day. They were alot of fun to make! I hope to do more of these with the boys in the future!

This is Jacob's lapbook...
















This is Caleb's lapbook...









Monday, March 16, 2009

Some really great things....

The love of my life...best friend.... and many other things! :)




Flylady has made it so much easier to tackle my housework that piles up while I homeschool. I now have certain things I do everyday. I do my routines, zone work, and Kelly's mission everyday. This help to keep semi-order in my house. It has freed me up to actually take my time during the day rather than rushing to get everything done and not doing a good job...Check it out!

Lapbooks We haven't done many lapbooks in the past, but I was trying to find on to do on the pioneers and came acrossed this site. It has several free lapbooks to be downloaded. We are going to do some of the Christian character lapbooks. My boys are still at an age that they enjoy doing these.

The 912 project On Friday night we attended a "We Surrond Them" viewing party. We had alot of fun, and met some great people. Check out this link for more information! We do not like the way our country is headed. We refuse to let our nation become Socialist! We want to return our country back it the way our Founding Fathers wanted it! I'm working on some project for our family to do our part!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Free Couponing Class

CHoysterCash is offering a free couponing class. I found this link on Moneysavingmom.com's website. I am a newbie at couponing, and I needed someone to take be through step by step. Here is the link to sign up. Please leave me a comment to let me know you signed up! Thanks!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Liberty's New Best Friend and Jacob and Caleb playing Wii.....






Caleb




Jacob being Jacob...




Jacob and Caleb challenging each other in Star Wars...

Monday, March 2, 2009