Jun. 13, 2008 - Creation Museum was So AWESOME!!!!!!!!
Well Everyone,
I am back from my trip and it was totally awesome. If you have not been to Creation Musuem yet---GO!!!!. It is so worth the trip. It is packed full of the most wonderful things. The animation is state of the art. The videos are mesmerizing. The shows are captivating. And the Message is Life Saving. If you are planning a trip and can plan more than one day at the musuem I highly recommend doing that. They have a two day pass if you don't have a membership. The extra day gives you ample time to really take it all in. If you are new to the Body of Christ and do not have a lot of Bible knowledge then plan on two days. If you have Bible knowledge then one day may be enough but two is always better for taking it all in. There is something for everyone and every age. My son really enjoyed the whole experience. There are two food areas--one has snacks and the other has heavier food. Food is very reasonable and excellent. I had the BLT and it was wonderful. The gift/book shop has all the books by Answers in Genesis I believe. I found a few deals and was afforded the opportunity to do a hands on check of a few other books I am thinking of buying. So don't skip the shop. And don't skip the grounds either. They are very well laid out and beautiful. Dinosaur plant sculptures, and now a petting zoo has opened. A rope bridge for your crossing pleasure. All in all the museum is well worth the trip and as I said before Everyone should go.
If you get the chance to go let me know what you thought.
Tanya
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Apr. 24, 2008 - Winding Down is a lot of paperwork!!!!!
Hey Everyone,
Is anyone else out there winding down their year? We are here do to some traveling plans, and boy the paperwork to do. I am so glad I have Homeschool Tracker (www.homeschooltracker.com) or I would be at this for weeks. We will actually be finishing up next Friday. We have plans to go to the Creation Museum by Answers in Genesis. (www.creationmuseum.org) and to visit family while up there. A friend went just after the museum opened and she said it was such a blessing. I am so looking forward to seeing and experiencing this. We also have plans for snorkeling in the Bahamas this summer. I really cannot wait to share with my son the sites under the water. I am really looking forward to what we will see. I am going to buy an underwater disposable camera to record what we see. I hope this will be one of those remember all your life trips for him.
Back to school talk. We are finishing up several books, and several more lapbook studies and should be finished with all work by May 1st. Field Day is May 2nd. What fun we will have with the kids. We do some very strange Field Day gameshope the kids enjoy themselves. We will probably have a few less kids this year. Some are out of town and some are gearing up for a move across state. But those that come will have fun just the same.
Well must move on to other things now. Hope everyone's evening is great.
Tanya
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Sep. 25, 2007 - Just Back From Edisto Beach SC
We just returned back from a wonderful week in Edisto Beach, South Carolina, with my parents. We walked the beach looking for sea shells and sea turtles. We found shells and we found a roped off area where sea turtle eggs were. The area was undisturbed so I do not think the eggs had hatched yet. But it was neat to see. We really would have loved to have seen the little turtles make their way to the sea, but alas we missed it. Apparently the best time to see the momma's come ashore is in June and July-at night of course.We learned that during this time it is illegal for the folks on the beach to have their back lights on. Especially if they light up the beach. This opens the sea turtles to prediators more than just moon light does.
We also tried to see dolphin activity at sunset, but we never did. Although while we were looking my ds did find a hermit crab. And a nice man on the beach crabbing gave him a piece of chicken for the hermit to eat. The hermit held tight to that piece of chicken. We let the hermit go. We have enough animals at home without adding a hermit to the mix. But ds did enjoy the thrill of finding him.
If you get the chance to visit Edisto Beach do know there is very little there other than beach, fun, and sun. There is are a few resturants, a gas station, a Piggly Wiggly, and few other small store fronts. You do not go to Edisto to shop. You go to have beach time, family time, and relax and play in the waves. But if you must shop then Charleston is just an hour north and Savannah is just 2 hours south of Edisto.
We went to Charleston a few afternoons and found a nice thrift store for shopping. We also found the flea market type place. They had several dealers of the Sweet Grass baskets. The Gullah Island Sweet Grass baskets are beautiful.The tradition with them is so interesting. Apparently you can tell from which area in Africa a family comes from by the way they make their baskets. This is because it is passed down by weavers to the next generation and the only thing that seems to change is the ornamentation used.But the style stays the same in the family. We met a lovely lady named Lilly who had a stand on the side of the road going to Edisto. Lilly and her daughter did some beautiful work with sweet grass. They had earrings, bracelets, hair boubles, and of course baskets of all shapes and sizes and uses. She said the distinct smell of the sweet grasses does not disappear. All you have to do is wet it and it will perk up the smell. And quess what, it is illegal to just walk up and pick sweet grass even it is growing wild. Who knew? These baskets are so well made that they have been know to last a hundred years. They apparently get better with age.
At the flea market I found a neat little store with Civil War items in it. I bought my son a musket ball from there along with some great books. I cannot wait to use them in American History, especially when we study the Civil War and our Nation's Flag. I bought books on it also.
We also walked along The Battery in Charleston. Talk about a view across the water. At one point along the wall there is a stone that marks in which direction you can see different forts. Fort Sumpter, Fort Moultrie, and few others. It is really neat. It was while walking The Battery we saw a sea turtle in the water. It was so cool. I was looking down at the water and all of a sudden there he was. Not very big, probably about 12-15 inches across. We were so excited to see him. He stayed just below the water so pictures of him did not come out well. We have seen them in aquariums but never in nature so that was a real treat for us.
You see my son is just in love with turtles. He seems almost drawn to them. So when we see one we get excited. We even have a pet turtle now named Snappie. No not a sea turtle just an everyday run of the mill turtle from the local lake. Some friends of ours caught him as a hatchling and gave him to us. Even then he liked to bite. Thus the name. But he is called a red-earred something or other turtle.
We meet a fellow homeschool family while at Edisto. They were visiting from North Carolina and us from Virginia. It was neat to meet "neighbors".
Well that is all the cool things that happen on our trip to Edisto Beach. I hope you enjoyed reading my little yarn about trip.
Have a great day.
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Aug. 19, 2007 - Double Digits and 5th Grade
Well school starts tomorrow morning. Another year on the horizon and things are looking great. My son is excited even though most of his friends don't start school for a couple more weeks. He is like me in that I also loved going to school. I really enjoyed learning all I could. Yes, I was a geek. LOL But a cool geek, I hung out on the bus ramp. I hope when my son thinks back on his school years he, too, has fond memories of things we did and places we went.
We begin the 5th grade this year. I cannot believe my only baby is in double digits already. It seems just like yesterday he was toddling around the house getting into everything. And now I hear him having "deep" conversations about Poke`mon with his friends. In this summer between 4th and 5th grade there has been growth in this young man. God is working in his life daily. He has such a heart for God and His Word. He is ready for Awana to begin again. He is looking forward to seeing the book for 5th grade. He has heard it is hard.
His schedule for this year is full. His schedule will look like this for 2007-2008
Monday-Thursday
Bible, English, Latin, Math, Spelling, Vocabulary, Awana Verses, McGuffey Readers for reading out loud practice.
Monday and Wednesday only
History
Tuesday only
Health course for 7 weeks
Tuesday and Thursday
Reading,Science
Friday
Tests for chapters or units completed, Spelling Part E and Spelling Test
This does not include the extra curricular like: Tone Chimes, Children's Chior, Bowling, Soccer, Homeschool Group Activities, Awana meetings
I really give funny looks when someone says "What about socialization?" With our schedule he gets plenty of social skill work out. I think he is socialized plenty, and with other like minded children who are also Children of God. He does not lack social skills in the least. And it allows dear ole` mom some time with other grow ups.
Enough on that, now onto to fun things I will try out this year in school. We are going to add some lapbooks, notebooking, and a timeline to our studies this year. Mostly in the history and sciences but still it is new to us. I think it will be fun. I have gotten some great free ones from www.homeschoolestore.com and www.notebookingpages.com and bought a few from both of them and from www.handsofachild.com I really cannot wait to try them all out. I bought one from hands of a child to do in my Sunday School Class on Who is Jesus? I think the kids have had a great time doing it. I showed them my decorated folder today and they were all excited about putting theirs together next Sunday. We have worked on the material all summer. And next week is our last meeting for this term and we will be putting them all together. I can't wait to see how they look. So with this practice under my belt my son and I will begin a new year using some new tools to add a little more to our studies. I hope they create for him some really great memories of our time schooling together.
Well I will close for now. I hope to get back here tomorrow to fill you in on our first day and how things went. Have a great day or evening and Thanks for reading my blog.
Tanya
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Apr. 7, 2007 - Lessons on Trusting from God
My son witnessed God's provision first hand this past Wednesday night. We had gone to church to attend our Awana meeting. I did not pay attention on the way there to the gas tank, needless to say on the way home the gas light came on.
The story goes like this. On the way home I was following the Pastor's wife and had stopped at her house to ask a homeschool group question of her. When I got back in the car the gas light was on and the distance to empty was 0 miles the needle was past E and we had more than few miles to home or the nearest open gas station. So as I pulled out of the Pastor's driveway I told my son we need to pray for God to get us to the nearest open gas station.I said the words out loud and kept on driving. I was thinking out loud about the nearest open station and about how far away it was. My son all of sudden says "God gave some gas" we were up to 4 miles to empty. But we had further than 4 to go. As I drove along being mindful of my speed and driving so as to conserve gas as best as I could my son says "God gave us more gas". I looked up at the display and saw that in fact we had aobut 8 miles til empty. Were looking better but still need a few more miles in the gas tank to get the station. My son continued to watch the display and annouced over and over "God gave us more gas" it went from 8 to 12 to 20 to 22 to 24 and on up to 41 as we pulled into the gas station. As my son was annoucing with great joy what God had done for us I watched my gas needle rise from below E to about 1/8th of tank as we pulled into the nearest gas station which was about 6 miles or so past my home. And my home is about 13 miles from church. So me and son said a great big thank you to God for providing for us as He had provided for the widow and her son when Elijah had come to stay. I know God will provide this is not the first time He has gotten me to the nearest station when I was on fumes and something tells me it wont be the last with the prices of gas what they are. But I as so excited that my son who is only 9 has seen first hand how God provides when you are in need, even if that need is gas to get you the nearest station.
He is a great and wonderful God and I am so glad He loves me.
Tanya
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Mar. 15, 2007 - Spring is in the Air!!!
Hello Everyone,
Spring is in the air where I live. It was 80 today. I have worn shorts for the last two days. I am so excited about Spring and Summer coming are way. Although our winter has been fairly mild I do like the warmer weather of spring.
Spring for us means a winding down of school soon. Our end date is May 10th this year. As I will be off to Charlotte for Nationals in Bowling again right after that. Mom and I have such great fun at this and we get to bowl together.
My ds is doing great in school and will be testing soon. That will tell how well mom did at this teaching thing this year. And it will help to decide what we do next year. I have been thinking of adding Biblioplan as our History. We have been doing a modified Classical with lots of reading of various books in the right time line. However, I am beginning to feel that we are lacking. I want something with a little more accountability. Biblioplan follows the same time line. I would like to stay with that time line. I can not wait until convention to get my hands on one and really give it the once over. If anyone out there has some feed back on Biblioplan please let me know what you think of it.
Has everyone signed up for or gone to their state convention? I love ours here in Virginia. We have a really great used curriculum sale. I always find a really great deal in there on something I am looking for. Last year I found next years math for a steal. I was so excited. This year I am hoping to find my ds math for the following year at a steal. I am also hoping to find a few of the Learning through History magazines. We really have a great time reading them. If you have never gone to your state convention I highly recommend it. I really enjoy myself that day. We go for one day and do used and new shopping. If I really want a seminar I just buy it on tape, CD, or MP3 and listen at a later time. I put my ds in the kids program and he has a blast. We eat lunch together and then we go shopping for something special for him. He gets to look around and pick out something for the next school year. I have to tell you he picks great stuff. My mom joined us the year before last. She was free of course. Even she enjoyed herself very much. It is awesome to see all those fellow homeschoolers and all the new items coming out to make schooling the best it can be. I just love it.
Well I am going to close for now. Hope to get back again real soon. Drop me a line and say hello sometime.
Tanya
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Dec. 2, 2006 - Why do I believe in home schooling?
That question is a big one these days. It goes beyond just why do I home school and into why is so important for my family that we home school our son.
Home schooling is a big decision that no one should make lightly. I was lead to home school because of issues I had with the school system where we lived when I was pregnant with our son. All I heard from folks was what was wrong with the school, the teachers, the principal, the PTO. And I knew that I did not want my son going to school in this chaos. The only private school around was Catholic and well I am not. So this was not an option either. But before my son was even ready for school we moved. Yeah!! However when we decided to move back to Virginia to be near the grandkids the choice of schools came up again. By this time I had been informed of home schooling and it seemed like an answer to the problem. So I began researching what is this home schooling and how can I do it, and the big one can I do it?
So began the quest. I sat at the computer and did a search---homeschool----hit enter. Oh the things that came up. I was in it now. I began going through them one at a time. Learning the ins and outs of homeschooling. I read articles and checked out web sites with curriculum and so on. I wanted to know my state laws and find out about how others did it and how to get started. And for every answer I found up would come another question. I learned the benefits of home schooling were numerous to say the least.
I decided through all this that home schooling our son would be the best for him and that I could do this. I learned about learning styles and the advantages to being taught one on one. But I have to share that one of the biggest reason for going ahead with this home school thing was the relationship I would forge with my son. Something happens to the relationship when you send your kid off to school. You lose a closeness with that child or children as the case may be.
I know not everyone concerns themselves with this part of it but lets be honest. As home school families there is a special bond between the parent/teacher and the child/student that does not have to be shared with another person. Your son or daughter does not feel as if there are divided loyalities because they love their teacher. And this is the best. I am so glad that I was led down this path with my child. God put everything into place at just the right time and here we are. A home schooling family who learns together about everything including our Lord and Savior Jesus. And we don't have to worry who is listening as we pray or if they will have an issue with it or not. We start our day together with God and we end it together with God. And I thank Him everyday for the opportunity He has given me in raising my son to be a child of His and not only a child of mine.
I cannot think of a better reason to home school than that. All the other issues are great reason too. However I think this one is the best of all, don't you?
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Nov. 26, 2006 - Dr. Phil's Show of Nov 24, 2006
Who saw Dr. Phil's show Friday about Homeschooling? I did. I made a point of watching it. He seemed be not at all himself on this subject. I am not sure how I expected him to react but he seemed subdued on this subject. He brought in left wing extremist on homeschooling but not an everyday use a schedule and books family. He even had a not so radical unschooling family. But no everyday homeschooling family. I think like so many others he was trying to leave a bad taste in the mouths of others about homeschooling.
He kept talking about research shows that our kids are socially behind. Socially behind who? As a whole our kids are better socialized than most other kids. They can carry on a conversation with most anyone of any age. Our children are not afraid to talk to an older adult or for that matter an older child to play with younger kids. They don't think about it. They just have fun. No peer pressure to act a certain way because of who is around.
They seemed stuck on this socialization thing. When that is such a non-issue. As homeschoolers we are keenly aware of the need for our kids to play, hang-out,and learn from others. We just monitor closer what are kids are playing at, hanging out doing, and learning from others. This is not to say PS parents are not monitoring but let's be real here. You are not a fly on the wall of your child's classroom or playground all day. So you do not know what your child has been taught until it is already learned. This is not something we as homeschoolers have to undo at the end of the day.
Everyone seemed to think that homeschooling is a new thing that just started. Well folks read any history lately. Homeschooling was the only schooling all children used to get. The public school system has only been around about 200 years. The days of the past everyone was taught at home by mom and dad to read,write and decipher numbers. Most lessons were taken straight from the
Bible. You learned to read, write and do your math from the verses and stories of the Bible. And every child was taught according to their abilites and their readiness. No child was ever left behind or moved ahead of where they needed to be. And we grew some really smart people in our history this way. Some where along the way someone decided that parents did not know enough to teach their child and that the experts should do it. I am here to say that the experts don't know my child and his needs. Therefore they are not equipped to teach my child what he needs to learn. The experts are not willing to let my child go ahead in one subject but be on level in another. They are willing to let him learn at his pace and in his area of interest. They want to teach what they think he should know when they think he should know it. And as for the experts--they are not as smart as they used to be. There has been a backsliding in out education system for years. So there is no way a child graduating today is as smart as one from years ago. Our textbooks are missing large parts of out history and no one seems to mind. And math well lets just say kids do not know the facts anymore. They are not required to memorize the facts anymore. And what is this New Math anyway. What happen to 2+2 =4 and learning that. What idiot thought to teach a child to borrow in math on a two-digit number less than 20 that is something they should have memorized and do without thought. Not by borrowing. When you see 15-9 you should know it is 6.
Let's move onto peer pressure. As a homeschooler a child does not have to been so concerned with this. It is not a right of passage as so many think. It is a way of making the weak feel inferior and the strong just to get stronger. I am glad that my son will be able to discover who he is and become strong in that before he has to deal with the fool who just want everyone to follow him. I want my son to be strong in who he is in the Lord, Jesus Christ before he faces the world head on. This is done best without little Johnny whispering in his ear "Oh no one will know" But someone does know God knows and my son will know too.
Let's talk a little about my ability to teach my child. Everyone seems to think that parents are unable to teach their own children. Well who is it that potty trains them, teaches them to use silverware, read simple words, learn their numbers and letters, colors and shapes. The parent does. If I am able to teach them these things why not all things? And if I am keenly aware of my childs needs and I feel I need assistance in some area then I find someone who can assist me. As parents we teach our children those things they should know but then someone decides we are not good enough anymore and off to PS they go. What is up with that? When did I no longer have the skills to continue to teach my child? At this rate of thinking and with PK3 and Pk4 on the rise it won't be long before we are unable to raise them til they are ready for Pk3. We will give birth and then be deemed unable to teach or raise them. Someone from the PS system will come and take our child and enroll them in new born classes. I know this is extreme but can't you see it happening some day?
I am not sure where any on this will lead. But I am hopeful that if our homeschool children grow up to homeschool their children our world will become a better place. We will have a generation of self starters and free thinkers who don't just go along with the crowd. Our children will change the way people around the world think.
May God bless you in your homeschool endeavors. And guide you and keep you strong.
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Nov. 21, 2006 - It is almost Thanksgiving.
Hey Everyone,
How are things in your neck of the woods? I am still waiting for the leaves to finish falling from my yard of trees. This way I only have to call the yard man once for clean up. Oh how my sinuses pay for the falling and the waiting. We have rain today and chilly temps. My son is suppose to go with his golfing coach tomorrow and hit a bucket of balls but I have a funny feeling we will be rained out. However we should be able to reschedule for Friday.
Our Holiday Dinner is being cooked for us this year courtesy of my step-daughter and her cousin. And they have said we don't have to bring anything. Oh what a blessing it is. No covered dishes to carry across town, no clean-up at my house. I cannot wait.
I have been very involved in my church this year. I have been teaching our 3rd 4th grade Sunday School Class just of a year now. And I do enjoy the kids. Last year we did a wonderful kids study by Kay Arthur called Lord, Teach to Pray. We learned how the Lord's Prayer is a formula for our prayer time. I think the kids really enjoyed it. This year we are doing How to Study the Bible. We are playing detective and learning to decipher things in the Bible. The kids should get a firm foundation on how to get started studying the Bible for themselves. I know they will probably not use the skills just yet but they will have been planted for later use. We will be rotating these studies each year. And when they are done or summer is in we do different things to learn about God and His Son. This summer we are gonna do a lapbook called Who is Jesus? I cannot wait for to begin to put it together as we learn more about who Jesus is.
I have been helping out with Children's Church also. I tell you these kids are smart and know their Bible stories. I am amazed every Sunday how much they know and it brings a smile to my face. I love the faith of a child. And I know they are the example we should use when we come to Jesus ourselves. To be like a child at His feet learning and loving. Oh what a picture it brings.
I gonna close for now it is time to feed my young man his dinner. I hope to get back here more often and write more. Thanks for reading.
Tanya
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Jul. 1, 2006 - Well we have finally come home to stay.
I have to tell everyone the few months have been busy, busy. We have traveled from Virginia to Arkansas, Arkansas to Nevada, Nevada to Arkansas, and then Arkansas to Virginia. We saw a lot of things during our travels.The Crater was kinda cool. Of course they used the million of years aging but all in all it was cool. We did not get to walk around it as the winds were to strong and it was not safe. But we did go out on the walk to look out and in it. The musuem was small but fun. It had a display where you could pick the size and angle on entry of a meteor and it would show you what the impact would be. We blew up earth a few times on that one. There was also a large piece of molten rock from the impact. They said it weighed about 1000 pounds.But was small for its weight so it was very dense. In the store we bought some crater dust, a few rocks and a coloring book or two. We also bought postcards of it so we would have nice pictures instead of those mom takes.
After the Crater we headed for the Dinosaur Museum. It was nice. Someone had made 3-D models of a few dinosaurs. They did a nice job. My ds just loved having his picture taken with them all. We saw some petrified wood there also, a few real life buffalo. They are really majestic up close. And such a sweet face too. The store on site was nice too. It had some Native American artifacts set up and a dwelling replica to look at. The artifacts were awesome.
The next day we spent the whole day in the Petrified Forest and ended in the Painted Desert. I have to tell you seeing the Petrified Forest in the middle of the desert is a testimony to the flood of Noah's day. How else could such large trees be in the desert in perfect condition except for a world flood. It was totally awesome seeing them, te size of the trunks turned to stone a lying there on the desert like someone just cut them down.The variety of stones in the them causing a cascade of color was so beautiful to look at. We started a the western/southern end and went east. We began at the ranger station/musuem. There you could walk a little area and see them up close. We saw some neat desert animals there too. At least my son thought so. As we drove through the Forest we saw pictographs by Indians, Peublo ruins, and a dead snake in the road. At the end of our route was the Painted Desert. It was a delight see. The colors were muted but very beautiful. At the end of it is another musuem where we saw a long eared jack rabbit. They are big. I was surprised how big they and their ears are.Alas he was too fast for a picture.
Once we left there we headed back to Arkansas the next day. Spent time at my parents home and went to Branson Mo for some fun.
I hope you enjoy reading about our little trip west. We had a great time and made a lot of new memories. I hope you get the chance to head west and see what we saw.
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May. 22, 2006 - On Vacation Again
Well we are going to begin the second leg of our big trip tomorrow. We drove out from Arkansas to Reno for a Nationals Bowling Tournament. My mom and I bowled. We had a great time. It was my first time at Nationals and I must say the bowling stadium is awesome. I do look forward to bowling next year. My ds had a great time watching mom bowl and Grandma too. My dad recorded most of it for posterity. After bowling we went to Phoenix to visit family. We had a really great visit. We are heading out in the morning for The Big Crater, Painted Desert, The Petrified Forest, and a Dinosaur Museum. We will hit each one in some order on the way home. The first one will be the The Crater caused by a meteor that landed at sometime. After I get home I will write all about each stop. It should be great fun. I look forward to telling you all about it.
I will close for now. It is getting late and 6 am comes early on the west coast to my east coast timing.
Have a blessed day.
Tanya
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Apr. 11, 2006 - Florida Joe Being Released.
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Apr. 11, 2006 - Florida Joe our Butterfly raising experience
Well let me tell you about Florida Joe. He was a cocoon we purchased at Butterfly World in Florida. The man behind the counter told just what to do. We could not leave him in the car for any amount of time. Once he hatched we were to either let him go or feed him in few hours after he hatch. He was to stay in his cup until his wings dried. And that it would probably be about 3 weeks before he hatched.
Well let me tell you. My son, Steven, was the perfect little daddy to his cocoon. He never left him in the car and took him everywhere we went. He ate with us in resturants and went just everywhere we went.
We bought Florida Joe on Thursday and left for Mrytle Beach on Friday. We stopped at the top of Florida to visit a family member over night. On Saturday morning we headed out north. Not long after crossing over in to Georgia Steven decided to check on Joe. And guess what? Joe had hatched. So we were very mindful of Joe and kept an eye on the time. We let him out at the Mulberry Inn in Georgia somewhere. We pulled into a rest area and found the little Inn with potted flowers out front and let out Florida Joe to begin his new life. I will add a picture of the setting free of Florida Joe.
We hope he is living a great life there in Georgia. Oh I guess I should tell you that Florida Joe is a Zebra Butterfly which is the state butterfly of Florida. Just thought you should know.
Have a great summer watching all God's splender of spring and summer unfold.
Tanya
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Apr. 11, 2006 - On the way to Myrtle Beach
Hello bloggers,
It is me again with more vacation fun.
On the way from Florida to Myrtle Beach we stopped in Walterboro SC to see a new museum. This museum is run by a young couple who are just so pleasant to talk to. Their musuem is called Slave Relics Historical Musuem. Their web address is www.slaverelics.org It is a growing musuem. The Curator and his wife run this musuem. He told us he had traced his ancestry back to the 1800's and could go to some of the graves. They were on the island nearby. The musuem was great with its artifacts. They had the handcuffs, leg irons, ball and chain weight, along with documents and pictures. They also had a room set up like a the slave quarters and told us that up to 15 people could be living in this one little room. It was just hard to image how that many people could get rest in that small a space. There was a nice replica of a slave ship and billings of lay. Showing how much a slave sold for. If you are passing by Walterboro this summer you should stop in for a visit. The is nice too. And there a few other musuems about with little know local artifacts and information. We had a really nice visit in Walterboro SC.
The number to call the musuem is 843.549.9130
Thank you Mr. Drain and you wife for a trip back in time. I really enjoyed meeting you that day. Good Luck with your museum may many people come by for a visit.
Tanya
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Apr. 11, 2006 - Butterfly World Pictures
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Apr. 11, 2006 - Butterfly World is the Greatest.
Hello again,
More on our trip. If you ever make down to Fort Lauderdale you must go see Butterfly World. It is an awesome place with hundreds of butterflies, small parrots, coy fish, and hummingbirds of all kinds.
We were in there about 2.5 hours just taking in everything. We bought a book at the ticket desk for $2.00 it has pictures in it of the butterflies you will be looking at or for.They land on you and fly all around you. There were moths and butterflies of all sizes and colors. I have pictures of some.
The small parrots you could feed for a dollar. Once you get a cup of food they are all on you. Steven really enjoyed this. We have a pet cockatiel that he loves to hold so this was great for him.
We saw a coy trying to swim up stream. It was a little one. But they were nice to see also.
Then we went to where the hummingbirds were. I finally saw in real life one those hummingbirds with the long split tail. They had several different kinds of hummingbirds and various other types flying around. They were beautiful.
They also had a musuem of mounted butterflies and various bugs along with a live museum of a few bugs. I took pictures of the mountings because I did not know how many different kinds of butterflies there were. Did you folks know that there is a cocoon that is gold and that a white butterfly comes out of it? I really enjoyed going here. Be sure to look in the photos for the large stick bug.
Tanya
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Apr. 11, 2006 - Here are the animal pictures.
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Apr. 11, 2006 - Oh! What we found on vacation in Florida and South Carolina.
Hello Everyone,
It has been a while since I wrote. Between vacation, maintenance and getting back on schedule I have not written. But here I am ready to fill you in on what we have been doing lately.
Let me begin with our vacation with my parents to Fort Lauderdale Florida. We spent a wonderful week there at a time share my parents own. The resort had a mid week activity that was to good to pass up. An Exotic Animal Show which allowed petting.
I have pictures that I will attach for everyone to see. We got to see up close and personal the following animals:
Skunk, Albino Boa, Honey Bear Lemar, Lemar like on Zoobafoo, Porcipine, Parrot, Cougar, Big Toad, Spider Monkey, Scorpian, Alligator, Noctural Fox. It was so great to see these animals. The Honey Bear Lemar was new to me but oh so cute he was. The Noctural Fox was so cute you just wanted to take it home with you.
My son got the added pleasure of feeding two of the animals. He had some left over non-alcoholic strawberry dacqurie that the animal trainer allowed him to feed the Honey Bear Lemar and the Monkey. The Lemar likes really sweet things like honey where it gets his name from because he will use his long tongue to reach up into a bee hive and eat honey. The Monkey would not let go he liked it so much. And his little black gloved hands where so neat to touch. And what a grip they had on the cup too.
The scorpian was neat. Yes it still had its stinger and was about 6 inches long all stretched out. It felt like a madagascar cockroach. We were able to pet the porcipine but we did get to see him up close and get a good look at some quills. The skunk is kinda pretty if you can forget his perfume issue. But no spraying went on that day and tomatoe juice does not work. The smell gets in your skin and it just has to wear off with your skin which takes about a week or so to do. Sorry.
I have attached some pictures for you to look at. Enjoy.
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Feb. 21, 2006 - Creation Seminar Weekend
What a weekend me and my son had. We went to an Answers in Genesis Creation Seminar. We met Ken Ham and Buddy Davis. What a blessing it was to hear Ken and his new associate Jason speak on proof that God made the universe and to hear Buddy sing about it. If you have never been to a creation seminar for AiG you need to find and go. I learned so much this weekend. Not just Biblical but science wise to. Ken explained One Race not the many people think we have. Jason spoke on the universe and the vastness of God's creation. We talked about dinosaurs and how they are mentioned in the Bible. They are called behemoth and monster because the word dinosaur was not made until 1841. We spoke of how all living things before sin eat vegetation and nuts not meat. Therefore it was not a problem for dinosaurs and man to be living together. Once Adam sinned and everything was cursed then we had meat eaters where they once we all vegetarians. How neat to think about. And then the flood of Noah came. You might ask how did Noah get dinosaurs on the ark? Well he did not have to take full grown ones for this trip. Babies and teenagers would work just fine. After all some the biggest dinosaurs came from the smallest eggs. And why was the ark so big? Because there was room for other people too. Noah stayed with the ark door open for a week and no one else came. So God closed the door and the flood came. We learned about genetics and the color of our skin and the color of Adam and Eve's skin. It was so neat. I could never tell you all I learned. You have to experience it for yourself.
The Creation Musuem is opening next year. Everyone should plan on going. It is a days drive from 2/3rds of the country and days flight from 80%. Go to www.answersingenesis.org to check out everything and see if a seminar is coming near you. I just cannot say enough how much of a blessing it was for me and my son at this seminar. They had a free session for the kids and also a pay workshop to keep them occupied. But my son also did the regular seminars and gleaned much from them. He really loved the stars and planets that Jason spoke of. The pictures were great. And Buddy Davis. Oh how we love to hear him sing. I love the Platapus song and Soar and Daniel and the Lion's Den. Well I must close for now. I hope if you get the chance to go to a seminar or the museum next year you will go. Blessings to all.
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Jan. 26, 2006 - JUST FOR MOMS
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Even though I do not know who wrote this originally I surely do like it. On Tuesday I had a eye appointment. I need bi-focals. But anyway when it said occupation on the form I wrote SAHHSM. It caught the doctor's eye. He had to ask. So I told him what it stood for. He seemed impressed we had an acromnym for it. LOL Just thought I would share that little story. Enjoy the story below. I am sure most of us read it before.
This ladies we can add to our new resumes going out ... Just A Mom ? A woman, renewing her driver's license at the Motor Vehicle's office, was asked by the clerk to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself. "What I mean is," explained the clerk, "do you have a job or are you just a...?" "Of course I have a job," snapped the woman. "I'm a Mom." "We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation, 'housewife' covers it," said the clerk emphatically. I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised, efficient and possessed of a high sounding title like, "Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar." "What is your occupation?" she probed. What made me say it? I do not know. The words simply popped out. "I'm a Research Associate in the field of Child Development and Human Relations. The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and looked up as though she had not heard right. I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words. Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire. "Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest,"just what you do in your field?" Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice, I heard myself reply, "I have a continuing program of research, (what mother doesn't) in the laboratory and in the field,(normally I would have said indoors and out). I'm working for my Masters, (the whole darned family) and already have four credits (all daughters). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities, (any mother care to disagree?) and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money." There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she completed the form, stood up and personally ushered me to the door. As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3. Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model, (a 6 month old baby) in the child development program, testing out a new vocal pattern. I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy! And I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom." Motherhood! What a glorious career! Especially when there's a title on the door. Does this make grandmothers "Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations" and great grandmothers "Executive Senior Research Associates"? I think so!!!! I also think it makes Aunts "Associate Research Assistants." Please send this to another Mom, Grandmother, Aunt, and other friends you know. May your troubles be less, your blessings be more and nothing but happiness come to you. |
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