Dreaming with a friend

If you've never met 'Flower Patch Farmgirl' go read this post, enjoy her pictures, and laugh at her tongue & cheek antics. She's a cyber friend who has cut the edge off of many a stressful situation for me. She's an adoptive mom with the cutest kids. She's a realist. A dreamer. A writer. A 'Real' blogger. One who doesn't always sugar coat life. I always laugh when I visit her. Sometimes I cry, but I'm always glad I visited her.
Wander over to this link-- then wander on your own to your area of interest.

Vikings & Medieval History

I found a great link for the Vikings & Medieval History, that is kid friendly. This is one rough period of history & it often boils down to weaponry & fighting for boys. This site allowed us to load a boat with supplies that would meet the needs of the mission. Of course that mission involved weaponry & fighting but it did have numerous of first source references that really brought it to life. No surprise it's from the BBC. Check it out.

I've also been reading 'Repairing the Ruins- The Classical & Christian Challenge to Modern Education. ' -- 'an ordered summary of talks given at national conferences of the Association of Classical and Christian Schools.' Douglas Wilson, Author of 'Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning' is the editor of the written version of these presentations, with such speakers as Marlin Detweiler, Tom Garfield, Douglas Jones, Jim Nance, Chris Schlect, & Tom Spencer. Narratives from Douglas Wilson are also included.

So far I've read 2 in particular, one about the Grammar stage of classical education, and now I've moved into another about Logic & Rhetoric.

If you've ever wondered, thought about schooling at home, or wondered why your friends homeschool 'went to the trouble,' books like ones mentioned above are what convinced me. I also read Susan Wise Bauer & Jessie Wise's 'The Well Trained Mind' which actually walks you through what it takes roughly talking through graduation.

Sites like the BBC come about when you are entrenched in the day-to day of it, but there are some fundamentals that convict one why 'to go to all the trouble.'

Photo credit: Viking Rune Stone

Resource for teaching Viking History: The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer Vol. II

Still waters

Ann Voskamp shared in this post, the benefits of enjoying nature. I've also been re-reading The Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, an eye-opening read about the lack of exposure to nature in children today. But it's not just exposure, it's experience. Eric mentioned to me last night, while reading from the book, how he remembered the texture of the trees he used to climb. I can also. Those kind of memories are created when your mind isn't focused on perameters or safety. When you can wander.... and not be concerned about being hit by a car.

Inspiring Destinations

Sometimes 'the park' just isn't enough. So many times places of interest & purpose are overlooked in favor of the nearest bouncy house. But that's not what I'm talking about--I'm talking about site seeing, that which might be thought too much for little guys-- not interesting enough. But often turns out to be the best quiet evening you could have thought of.

Planted by Streams lives near enough to DC to wander to beautiful places, and while looking at her pictures, I tried to think of an inspiring place near us, for a day trip.

Then I remembered visiting the old church & cemetery in Lexington. It's not the National Cathedral, but I'm impressed. I think it's beautiful, especially at sunset. The boys were truly taken with the place. We are careful to be respectful of the graves. Conveniently there is a park directly across the street with room to run. But I think they enjoyed the tour through the cemetery best.

(The cross marker is from the CSA, Confederate Army)

Just in case you didn't read the update, we did not get a contract on the house. The hunt continues.....

An offer on a House

If you've ever made an offer on a house, the waiting game can be painful. We did. and it's well, uncomfortable. It is possible we'll receive a positive response, but there we're other offers. Perhaps better than ours, perhaps not better. For now, we'll pray, go camping & just wait for the outcome. Posession or the desire of that possession can consume a person. However, it's not my right to be consumed with that. Or frustration/anger if it doesn't become ours. I am to be content in all things. So we'll camp, play games, worship, keep the kids encouraged about our dreams & what's befor us today.
Isn't the house beautiful? a 2 over 2 with a nice addition. 1840's. yep. interesting.... Enough to keep me awake at night, several nights in a row.
Update as of 10/12/2010-- our offer didn't fly. But I'm really ok with that. We're going to keep on looking! Our home will be out there!