I'm hosting a bridal shower Saturday, so while searching the Internet for table centerpiece ideas, I found this cute idea of taking towels and making a cake out of them.  If it doesn't involve sewing or look overly complicated, I'm game to try it. 

I would have preferred smaller flowers; these are a little large.

If you want to try your hand at this simple project go to thinkwedding.com.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

I can't believe that I forgot to post some pictures of the desserts we served at Seth's graduation.  It looked wonderful, thanks to my talented sister.

I had to stand guard over the desserts till they were all placed on the table and then I had to beat them off until I got some pictures.  Seriously, there was a line stretching across the lawn.  I was surprised since it seems that people just usually wander over in small groups.  But not this night.  They were wantin' to dig in!

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

Justus, completely worn out from so many late nights this past week and battling a cold, was kind of emotional yesterday.  Last night at the dinner table he started crying, tears just flowing down his cheeks. 

When inquiring into the matter of what was wrong, he said, "Serenity called me Red." 

Oh, how dastardly!  We couldn't help it; we all burst out laughing.  Of course, this offended him more, so we had to try and take it seriously.  

So, where do you think he picked up that this was a very grave insult?

Scroll down to find out...

Think of a popular film for families/kids.

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Did you figure it out?

It was... Miss Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

What a wonderful evening August 16th turned out to be.  There was a threat of rain that never materialized until after the evening was over.  This was an answer to prayer since we had all our activities outside!

My sister, Rebekah, was indispensable.  Instead of her coming and being my right hand man it was quite the opposite.  At least I hope I was helpful to her somewhat.  She was simply incredible.  She made 5 different cheesecakes, seafood fettuccine alfredo, two homemade salad dressings and a beautiful fruit tower.  All her efforts were certainly appreciated, not only by me but those in attendance.  People were ooohing and ahhing over the taste and presentation of the food.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of her with Seth until the day after, when she was in more casual attire.

We started the evening with supper.

After everyone's bellies were full we moved on to the program.  

We have an African lady in our church that wanted to do an African tradition with Seth.  She presented Seth a lei with money pinned to it and then put a gray wig on his head to represent wisdom.  In the Congo they sprinkle powder on their hair but since Seth's hair is already blonde this stood out a little better.

Then I spoke.  Yikes! I am no public speaker but I figured I should at least do it for my son's sake.  I made it through and then my dh said a few words and introduced Seth.

Seth, the valedictorian and salutatorian of his class (ha!), gave a short but humorous speech.  I thought he did an excellent job.  He thanked me and even gave me flowers.  (Lest you wonder why your son doesn't do this for you - Russell had to give him a few suggestions.)

My husband then sang a song to honor all the mothers there - "Maker of the Home" by Beverley Bradley.  If you haven't heard her sing it, I would encourage you to get the recording.  It will bless you.

 My son played the cello, a niece the violin, and a friend on the classical guitar.

Since Seth has done quite a bit of memorization work, Russell thought it would be nice if he recited from memory the famous speech by Patrick Henry, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"  Seth did a fabulous job delivering all 7 minutes of it.

Seth's grandpa (my dad) said a few words but Russell's dad is in China at the present moment so unfortunately, he wasn't able to be here.

Then various other people spoke, including our pastor.  My brother-in-law, nephew and a good friend from Pennsylvania that could not be here videoed a message and sent it with my sister, so we played that too.

Serenity & Justus gave a short speech about their big brother Seth.  They were so cute!

Then we had the slide show that I spent about 48 hours preparing.  Wow!  Those things are time consuming but worth it.  And it was only about 13 minutes long!   

After this we presented Seth a diploma from the Bradshaw Mountain Academy (the name of our homeschool). 

That concluded the program.  People then visited and played volleyball and walleyball.

Here Seth is wearing the "wig of wisdom" with his cousin beside him.

I can hardly believe one of my children has graduated.  I remember going to the homeschool convention before I ever had children because I was always interested in it and now I have one graduated.  Amazing!

What an exciting evening it was for our family.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

This week has been pretty busy.  My sister flew in from Pennsylvania and we're getting ready for a celebration dinner in honor of Seth, our first high school graduate.  It's going to be a great day!

My sis is a wonderful help and I'm so glad she's here to bail me out!

Next week I'll try and get some photos posted on here of our dinner.

See you then.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

 From the Quotable Zachary (my son):

We had went to our state's Homeschool Graduation for High Schoolers.  They choose one graduate to give a speech.  Usually the speeches are outstanding.  But I was so disappointed in the speech this year.  There was no depth to it and several trite phrases were used.  Things similar to "Reach for the stars."

On the way home we were discussing it and saying how so many graduate from high school with high aspirations, and a few years later are flipping hamburgers.

Zachary pipes up and says, "They were reaching for the stars, and got a spatula."  This boy always makes me laugh.

On another occasion Zachary wrote the following:  "Many men have done great things, but there are few truly great men."

At our homeschool convention they were asking the audience for quotations and I gave this one.  I had forgotten it was my own son's!  The Quotable Zachary!

Of course, if there is an actual quotation of the above or something similar, I'd like to know.

And now, the final dose of humor for the day.  Well, not really for the whole day.  I hope.  Just from me.  I opened up my storage container the other day and this is what greeted me.  My dh would probably say it's slightly similar to the cooks expression these days.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

One book that has been very helpful to us as we contemplate college is College without Compromise, written by a homeschooling mom and dad.  It states on the cover "An encouraging guide to starting early, finishing economically, and protecting your homeschool vision."  I highly recommend this book. 

Chapter 3 - Faith, Purity, Character & Servanthood says this:

"If school can be polluting from kindergarten through twelfth grade, doesn't it also have the potential to be harmful in college?

Therefore, as parents, we must seriously consider the possible harm to those still under our care if we should send them out of town to a college to sit under potentially godless mentors and commune in the constant companionship of fools."

The book covers the different tests you can take for credit such as the CLEP (College Level Examination Program) and how to prepare for exams.  If your child is considering college, get this book.  It will challenge you to look at things in a less traditional view and will inspire you in your family vision.

The second book that has been helpful is the CLEP Official Study Guide.  This book lists the tests that are offered for credit by examination as well as the topics for each examination.  It has sample tests, how to use CLEP credit and questions you should ask colleges concerning their acceptance of  CLEP credits.

Now why would you want to CLEP out on a test and try to finish college in less time? Besides the obvious reasons such as time and money, the sooner you can get to the classes that pertain to your major. 

My son visited with several engineers, asking questions about what they liked and disliked about their jobs and leaning about their field of work.  One engineer said he learned more in the first day he worked than in the 4 years spent in school.

CLEP scores can be banked for 20 years until you decide exactly what college you want the scores transferred to.  They are a pass/fail test using multiple choice.  

A final thought - the less time they have to spend in an institution where God's Word is not the absolute, the better.

Seth arranged an appointment at our local college on Thursday, July 24 for orientation and testing.    I went along with him.  First thing was student orientation.  They were very nice and helpful.  I could see that if you were an older person returning back to school after a long period of time you would feel very comfortable.

Next, they took the students for their assessment exams.  There were 3:  reading critically, writing and math.  The exams were not the SAT; they were just to see what level of classes you should begin with.  Did I fret?  I was sweating bullets and my fingernails were chewed down to nothing.  No, of course not!  Why would I do something so useless as fretting?  Ha!  Okay, enough of that.  What do you think I thought about the most?  Reading, writing or math?

If you guessed writing you were absolutely 100% correct.  I think most homeschoolers feel that their weakest area is writing, and I'm no exception.  I did write a post about our approach to grammar here, if you would like to read it. 

None of my children have ever taken an achievement or assessment test in their life.  So even though I know they are knowledgeable about things, will it show on any tests they might have to take?  Worry!  It's a mothers prerogative, right?

The 3 tests were taken and Seth did very well!  Reading critically - no remedial work needed, Math - he can start in Calculus I, and Writing - he placed in the English 101 class or he could choose to take Honors English 101.  I was so happy!  The personnel told him he had did very well.  I know we probably shouldn't think we need these scores to validate us but can I be perfectly honest?  It really helped.

After the testing, the students were to go into another room to sign up for classes.  There were several people there to help everyone understand the process.  This was where we started to stand out in three areas. 

1.  He is under 18.

2. He doesn't have a high school diploma. 

3.  Seth is planning to take CLEP exams to test out of some classes; 

Apparently Arizona changed the law this summer.  If you're under 18 you have to pass 2 of the 3 assessment tests.  You cannot start at the remedial level unless you're over 18.  The lady  saw he was under 18 and had to go get clarification on the new law before she could say he could be admitted.

Then another lady saw he had not checked off the box for the GED or high school diploma.  That kind of threw her for a loop and she gave us the suggestion that he really should take the GED just so he could check off that box in future situations!  Too funny!  This little problem is being taken care of since we are issuing him a diploma (from our very own private school ) at his graduation dinner.

I found it interesting that CLEP's were never mentioned once as an option.  So when Seth said he wanted to try and CLEP out on certain classes they were kind of at a loss of what to say.  One lady didn't even know much about them.

The one lady that was more knowledgeable than the other finally told him.  "You're going about things differently then most people but what you're wanting to do can be done." 

It certainly pays to do some research before you go in, otherwise, you have no idea there are other options besides the ones they tell you.

Since this post is too long already,  I'll wait till next time to share about a book that has been helpful to us.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

Yesterday, I was invited to a lovely luncheon picnic.  I received a handwritten invitation that requested me to RSVP, which I did.  The luncheon took place outside with a blanket spread across the porch with lovely little teacups placed on top along with matching plates.

For lunch we had normal luncheon fare but to make it even more special my hostess planned live guitar music and a song played on the recorder/flute.  When the musicians finished, the sounds of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra filled the air as they played the composer Richard Wagner's pieces.

It was the most delightful luncheon I've had in a long time.

Thanks, my darlings.  You are so precious to me.

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments

As I said in my previous post, after I "graduated" Seth, this propelled him to action.  Unbeknownst to us, he started thinking hard about his future and weighing out what his prospects were if he went on to college or if he did not.

In weighing everything out, he came to the conclusion that college might be the best choice, naturally speaking.  But he also wanted to be sure it was the Lord's will.  So he spent a few weeks thinking and praying about it; he wrote Scriptures down on paper.  He wanted to be sure that his motives and objectives for going to college were right. 

Here are a few of his notes.

"I am thinking about college and I want to make sure it is the perfect will of God, and that I have the right motives.

Psalm 106:14-15 - Israel lusted for meat in the wilderness and God gave it to them but 'sent leanness into their soul.'  I need to make sure my motive is right.

Luke 12:31 - I need to make sure that I seek first the kingdom of God.

Daniel 6:7-11 - It is okay to be successful in this life, but we must keep our priorities straight.  Daniel prayed three times a day even though he ran a kingdom."

One evening he came to his dad and wanted to talk with him.  He gave him the notes he had written down and asked his dad to pray about him going to college.  Seth said he had been praying about God's will but he knew that God could answer his prayer through his daddy too.  Seth had prayed about it and felt it would be okay if he went on to college but he wanted to lay a fleece before the Lord that however his daddy felt he would take that to be the will of the Lord.

Russell (dh) has always felt that when the boys got old enough we would have a family home-building business.  The boys found this appealing, too.  But the real estate market is so flat that now is not the time to start a construction business.  Russ has encouraged Seth to just continue researching college options as we try to find the mind of the Lord. 

We cherish the blessing of being able to educate our children at home so the thought of sending him to an institution where ungodliness prevails is difficult to accept.

So that's where we're at now. 

Seth has been moving forward with testing, etc. and I'll share about that next time.

To be continued...

Copyright 2008 Treasuring the Moments