Hello everyone!  Yes, I am still in existence.  It didn't seems like  this summer was that busy, but I hardly got on the  computer execpt to keep up with some emails.  I am going to  try to keep up with the Blogger Friend School this year, so here is my first entry.

School....hmm...not sure I am ready to get back to it yet....

We are pretty excited about some aspects of it though.  We are going to be working on learning Russian together as a family, so that is pretty exciting.  Also, my hubbie is pretty excited about the Omnibus that the older two boys will be doing, so we are going to go through it with them!  Hopefully we will be consistent enough with it, as we will have to make time to do it in the late afternoons/evening time.  Dh is working from home almost exclusively now (PRAISE GOD!!) so we are trying to fit it in around 4-4:30, as long as he doesn't  have conference calls that interfere.  I have already learned so much!  It is rather fun to start kind of going back to school myself!

We started out our homeschool journey rather differently than most.  Hubbie and I were both homeschooled, so it wasn't really even talked about, just planned to do the same with ours.  I will be the first to admit that there are days that I wish I had a choice, but I don't let myself even think there is an option, because really, there isn't.  God has given me this responsibility.  Who am I to question that.  If you leave the door open a  crack, it is much easier to just give a little push and start heading down the slippery slope of neglecting your responsibility. No one else should be the main influence in my children's lives.

As far as comparing my childhood education to my children's education, even though I was homeschooled, it was very textbook oriented, and I don't remember much of it, particularly history.  I remember doing it, and what the cover of my book looked like, but there are only a few things that really stick out to me.  One in particular was the research paper I did.  THAT I remember.  I think it was because I chose the topic and enjoyed learning it!  I am trying to keep that in mind, and really help my children enjoy learning what they are doing, as well as letting them help me select what they are learning.  For example, my 12yo really wanted to learn about composers.  He is very musically inclined, and is very interested in history from that perspective.  He is still doing Omnibus with us, but he LOVES to do his "music" and will do it with no prompting from me.

Well, I could go on and on, but I need to get  some things done around here.  The older boys just got a job with the neighbor so they are off learning the ropes, and we have friends staying with us this week while they are transitioning between jobs and towns, so the middle three are outside  playing with their friends.  Now is a perfect time to actually accomplish something around here without too many interruptions!

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Right in line with my last couple of posts, here is a web cam link to see two baby eagles!  It just showed up in my inbox this morning. How cool is that!  We have lots of Eagles here in Alaska, but getting to see the babies up-close is a nice treat.

Click here to see the baby eagles!

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Here is a Chickadee that fed at the feeder this morning that Ivan made at Cub Scouts.

This is called a Dark-eyed Junco, and they appear to be nesting at the edge of the woods, right behind this picture. They nest on the ground, and we think we have spotted their nest.  We are going to  keep our eyes on it in hopes of seeing some babies!

Last summer, we had some woodpeckers nest in a tree right at the end of the driveway.  We haven't seen them yet this year, but are hoping they return.  One thing about woodpeckers, they aren't too hard to find when they are in the area.  Just listen for the rapping!

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The kids and I have been enjoying the spring here in Alaska.  We have identified two different birds today, and can recognize them by their songs.  Above is the White-crowned Sparrow.  I was able to get a great  picture of her sitting way up in a tree at the end of our driveway, singing away.

The other one we identified today is called a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  This picture I just found on the internet.

We will try to post more pictures  of the birds we identify.

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Here we all are!

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Let's celebrate
It's alright....

Yeah, I know, I'm weird!  What do you expect?  I grew up with four brothers, and now have FIVE boys of my own!  Yes, FIVE!!  And they are all wonderful, God-fearing, handsome young men.  (I almost wrote young me!  That would be a scary thought!)  I also have one beautiful young lady.  She is six.  She is my little shadow and my little helper.

Welcome!  We are a Reformed Christian Alaskan homeschooling family.  We live on six acres of the 23,000 square miles available in the beautiful Matanuska Valley.  My dh and I grew up looking at Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America, in our "backyard' in the little village of Talkeetna.  We also raised our family there for six years.  We are now living farther south, but still in the Valley.

We enjoy snowmachining (what you all call snowmobiling), Boy Scouts, gymnastics, playing instruments, and watching educational movies.  Recently we have watched Planet Earth, James Cameron's Expedition: Bismarck, 2002 and To the Moon: Nova.  We HIGHLY recommend Planet Earth!  It is a BBC film, and you have to overlook some of the environmentalist information that they say, but it is very little, and the cinematography is BEAUTIFUL!!  Definitely worth the watch!  I would like to purchase the set at some point!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into our lives.  Sit back and relax with a bowl of homemade tomato soup and grab some yummy Tortellini, Tomato and Salmon Salad too!

I hope you enjoy your time here!  Please let me know you stopped by, and feel free to ask anything you would like about Alaska!  Oh, and if you would like to exchange postcards with my kids, just email me your address!  We are trying to collect postcards from all over the world!

Party on, dude!!!

Grace

P.S. There are SO many prizes!  The ones I would LOVE to win are:

#48 — Story Package
Provided by: Cherish Bound
Prize details: Cherish Bound is offering a story package that will include: 1 Family Yearbook Story Starter, 1 Deck of Family Chat Cards, a coupon for a $68 hardbound 8.5 x 11 Family Yearbook and personal services and assistance to walk you through the process. A retail value of $90.

#91 — Burt’s Bees Naturally Ageless skin care line
Provided by: Geggie
Prize details: Geggie from So, What Else? What Else? What Else? is donating Burt’s Bees Naturally Ageless skin care line includes full size product of Line Diminishing Day Lotion, Skin Firming Night Crème, Line Smoothing Eye Crème and Intensive Repairing Serum valued at $100.

#100 — 3 books
Provided by: Jill Norwood
Prize details: Jill Norwood from Who Could Ask for Anything More is giving away three cooking and entertaining books bundled together in a fun striped tote bag, perfect for taking on an overnight stay or to the pool or beach. I’ll also be filling the bag with some goodies geared especially toward the winner’s taste (coffee lover, tennis player, scrapbooker, etc.) Jill’s Book Bag is a regular feature on my blog, so, if you don’t win this time, I hope you visit me regularly to enter another time.

#113 — Arbonne Pampering Basket
Provided by: The Truest Thing
Prize Details: Get ready to enjoy a Mommy-version Easter basket filled with lots of pampering goodies from Arbonne International!

#103 — 7 Pink Brick Box Play Sets (for my one daughter out of six children!)
Provided by: LEGO
Prize details: LEGO will give away 7 Pink Brick Box play sets, in honor of the 7 day long Ultimate Blog Party!

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We love thrift store shopping.  We don't get to go too often as we don't spend a lot of time in town, but we usually get good deals when we do.  One of the second hand stores is kind of pricey, and it's hard to get just what you want, so I frequent the clearance racks too.  Just the other day, Fred Meyer had additional 70% off the already marked down clearance price.  I bought my daughter several tops for less then I usually pay at the second hand shop.  They were about $4-5/item.  They were modest long tops too which are getting more difficult to find since they aren't as in-style.  I guess that's why they wound up on the clearance rack!

I also bought several long sleeve OshKosh shirts for the little boys.  I don't have to buy too much for my 2nd and 3rd boys, as all of my oldest's clothes just get handed down, but by the time they have gone through three boys, things are getting a little worn and stained.  So, when I can find good brand name clothing on big clearance sales, I pick them up.

I do find pants at a large used-stuff store in Anchorage, but I so rarely get in there anymore.  I tend to buy my boys pants at Sears, because they have the Kid Vantage program that allows you to exchange the pants if when the knees blow out.  That way, they last all of the way through all of my boys!  I have a rubbermaid tote full of jeans, just waiting for the next one in line.  The only problem I have run into is that my oldest fits a regular size, and my next two boys are more on the slim side.  Guess that's what belts are for, eh?

Off to get school started for the day.  We have violin lessons and Boy Scouts today.  Fortunately, the violin lessons are now here at home!  I tell ya, that's the way to do music lessons!  I LOVE not having to go out!

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I have jury duty this month.  Most people don't want jury duty.  They will try everything to get out of it.  Many people have told me that they were sure I could get out of it because I am a homeschooling mom, but I told my dh that I thought someone with a conscience should be on the jury sometime!  I got called in the first day.  I had to be there at 8am.  You have to go through security, like at the airport.  Several people had nail files thrown away.  I had taken one of the kids' backpacks so I inadvertantly took a fork in with me.  She didn't make me throw it away, but told me to leave it home next time.  I had to tear that backpack apart to find it!

Anyway, after you check in with the jury clerk, you have to fill out a juror questionairre.  It aske questions like your occupation, associations/groups you are a part of, how many kids you have, what ages they are, have you ever been part of a lawsuit, your list of employment, and lastly if you think police officers are more likely to tell the truth.  I thought that last question was interesting.  I answered it "Generally."

They also give you an "Alaska Trial Jury Handbook," which is a 25 page booklet which tries to answer any question you could possibly have about being a Juror.  There are five parts; General Information, Selecting Juries for Trials, The Trial, Deciding on a Verdict, and a Glossary.  It is very interesting!  I asked the jury clerk if I could take it home to my kids, and she said I could take as many as I wanted.  She also said that if they had any questions, they could call and ask her anything.  She also recommended that I bring the older ones in to watch a trial!  She suggested bringing them in for a DUI trial.  Her reason was, "They will never drink and drive if they sit through one of these!"  The judge also reiterated to us later that he likes it when people come watch the trials because it is so educational.  I am hoping to find a unit study that covers the court or justice system as my kids were very fascinated about it.  If anyone can recommend one, please let me know!

To make a long story short, I was selected to be on the jury, but the first morning before we were able to hear anything, the defendants pleaded to a lesser charge, thereby canceling the trial.  I learned so much through this experience, so I am hoping to post more of my experience in the next few days.  I have to be on-call all month though, so I could get called in again!

Oh, and things went great at home!  Dh was able to work from home, but the kids got their school done and did their chores before I got home!  The next day, I got home around noon, and they were already almost done with their school!  I told dh that maybe I should get a job, since they seem to do so much better when I am not there.  LOL!  He said emphatically, "No."  My second son said he liked it when I was gone, because he liked the responsibility.  That is just like him!

Off to try to find a unit study....

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