Life is Like a Box of Chocolates....

So true you never really know what you are going to get, and I love Forest Gump. I have not blogged in a couple months. Shame on me. I will try to blog once a month at least like Robin says :) So much has been going on it is ridiculous!!

First, let's see....we have been studying Shakespeare here during homeschooling through the coolest series, it's called Shakespeare Can Be Fun. Trace and Avery made huge Shakepspeares and then wrote a letter from his point of view. It was very fun and cute.

Trace is obsessed with any war right now, pick one, he loves them all. A friend of ours, Trent, loaned us an awesome book called the Battle of Brittain. He was telling me about this series, and I am in love with all the books! It is the World Landmark Books series, you can find a lot of them on ebay. Most of the ones I have looked at were written in the 1950's allthough Landmark still makes good books now-here is a site of some of their books. We are also doing Mad Math Minutes on the web. It's fun for him to race against himself. For writing, I have found this awesome workbook called Draw-Write-Now. It is sooo cute! It just has blank pages for coloring accompanied by a lined page. They can make it into their own storybook. I added the link so you can check it out.

We have been putting off some things to pursue others lately. I am ready to get back into a nature study, I found a neat website for Christian Homeschooling mothers called http://www.cindyrushton.com/. It has articles on Charlotte Mason, (my fav homeschooling technique) and nature study, lapbooking, and a ton of other stuff. I just love it. I also am going to be doing a super fun nature series that my mom bought me at the coast last year called Suzanne Tate's Nature Series for Kids. It is all based on coastal themes, sea animals, etc. We go to Rockport every year for vacation with my parents, so we will do the series then. The kids just love all things outdoors.

This past month I missed a speaker at the Home School network I really wanted to see, but I am going to look into getting her book. Her name is Terri Camp and her website is www.terricamp.com She also works at or owns? not sure a bookstore close to me in Watauga called Creative Arts in Action. My friend Laura and I are going to check it out. She also has a workshop called "How to Seduce the Principal." I thought it was funny but Jason said, "No really, it sounds good." Men.

I am gearing up for a big book sale with the Home School group, too. I am really excited and have put off my little e-bay business for awhile until after the book sale. It is a swap, too! I have had some really amazing finds at the resale shop/goodwill lately. I found The Best of Lewis Carroll, two Shel Silverstien books, Aladdin and the Magic Lamp and other Tales from the Arabian Nights, and The Children's Book of Virtues. I will be keeping those finds for me! but have a lot of others to sale and am excited!!

We also have a new addition to our family. I have to get my camera up and working so I can show you just how cute he is-we got a hand me down dog from my brother. His name is Windsor, he is a teacup Chihuahua, and boy is he cute. And boy is he BAD!! He chews up my life. But I am hopelessly in love, so all is lost.

Also, last week was a little stressful for our family. After a recent biopsy on a spot on my back, we recieved news that it had come back as Melanoma. Jason and I met with a surgeon on Thursday and he said that the pathology report shows the Melanoma is shallow and they are confident they can remove it all. The surgery is scheduled for Monday the 17th. I will say that although it is stressful waiting until after surgery to get final results, I feel confident in the Lord and completely trust him. I also have gained much knowledge on Melanoma. Before this experience, Jason and I both knew very little about skin cancer. Melanoma is the most serious kind, but can be taken care of easily if you know what to look for. I hope through this experience to educate all the people I love and care for about Melanoma. Check out this website for information on it: http://www.melanoma.com/melanoma/index.jsp or here http://web.ukonline.co.uk/ruth.livingstone/little/melanoma.htm.

Also, I have to add that some of you know I have had terrible insomnia for a long while now. My neighbor, Marilyn, an Occupational Therapist, is selling this product called Monavie. It is a drink (juice really) that is like taking a vitamen supplement. I began taking it because all these people had reported that it helped with insomnia. Well, I am always skeptical, so Marilyn asked me to just try it. I have been taking it for a week or so, and have gone several nights now without any sleep medication. My fingers are crossed!! Hopefully I will begin sleeping like a normal person again.... Lord willing since I get most of my praying accomplished in the wee hours of the morning :)

Well, that is all, sorry this is the longest blog ever. Hopefully you can glean some helpful information or resources from our experiences!