Fun Day

Every year our little town has a fundraiser for the volunteer fire department in the form of a "fun day".  This has always been a much anticipated event in our home.  I knew it was bound to happen.  When you have children so far apart in age, it's inevitable.  Last year, it began.  I took all the kids and the older kids were not quite as fascinated by inflatables, face painting and the like.  (Although the dart throwing was a hit!)  

This year, Tera and Daniel had a chess tournament on the same date.  They did not show the least bit of interest or grief about missing "fun day".   So, I left Michael at home with JP and they went together.  Michael had a fun day and so did Tera and Daniel. It's bittersweet, but I guess I better get used to this balancing act. 

Lessons from September

• Go with the flow!  

• September is the month that I need to have my toes in the sand somewhere...anywhere.

• “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Cor. 12:9

• Sometimes trying is more important than actually succeeding.

• Limiting activities is a good thing!

• Encourage your kids' passions.  (Unless they involve dangerous activity..then by all means, please discourage!) 

• When you have guests, invite them to join your routine.  It's a whole lot relaxing that way!

• Teaching your kids to cook will be one of the best things you'll ever do.

• You cannot tell your kids that you love them and you're proud of them, win or lose, too many times.  

• It's easy to lose balance when you are too busy.  

• Suffering brings us into the presence of God more than prosperity.  

• Good books are wonderful!

• There is nothing quite as glorious as singing Messiah in a large group.

• My husband is truly an awesome guy!  (One Piece of Marriage Advice)

• Sometimes you can just let things be and it's wonderful to see the results. 
  

• When all else fails, pray hard and sing at the top of your lungs.  

One Piece of Marriage Advice

Dear Young Lady Looking For a Mate:

I've been married for over 20 years.  Lots of people out there are going to give you all kinds of advice on who and "who not" to marry.  You're going to see lots of big, long lists of attributes you want find in a mate. I'm going to boil it down to one thing....

Marry your greatest supporter.  

The one that thinks you can do anything. 

The one that pushes you to do things you never thought you could do. 

The one that cheers you when you succeed with:  "I told you, you could do it!"  

The one that thinks you can do things that YOU know you can't do. 

The one that brags about you to all his friends/co-workers.  

The one that teaches your children to treat you the same way he does. 

The one that encourages you in your faith.  

The one that gives up their comfort and convenience for the things that are important to you!   

I did and it's made all the difference!

Sincerely, 
Me

Ribbons

Tera only had one disappointment on Saturday when we got a ribbon preview.  The one project that she worked so hard on (The American and Tennessee Flag project) didn't have a ribbon.  We got home today with all the projects and as she was taking off all her tags, she noticed the tag said 1st place.  She had indeed won 1st place for that project and the ribbon was lost!  Tera said she didn't even care about the ribbon.  She was just happy that all her hard work had paid off.  

This was Michael's first time to enter any projects in the fair.  He was so excited about all his ribbons!

Daniel won best in show for his class, which means he got more points (Blue ribbon-5 pts.; Red ribbon-4 pts.; etc.) than anyone else in the junior class.  

I'm so proud of these kids and all their hard work!  

Fair

  
Our first experience with canning....

When we went to enter our culinary items on Saturday, we took a sneak peek at our art entries.  

We stayed to "enjoy" the fair experience.   It was our first time to EVER go to the fair itself.  We've always just dropped our entries off and left.  I have to say that we are definitely the contest/agricultural type fair-goers.  The commercial side of the fair was really not our cup of tea, but it helps to make the fair appeal to a wider audience of people. I could go into all the things I didn't like, but I won't.  We ate some greasy fair food and then did what I said I would never let my kids do.  Ride something that has been traveling around the country on the back of a truck! 

I was not too hot on letting my kids on any of the rides, but JP wanted them to have that experience.  They each picked one ride.  I watched while Michael was on the merry-go-round (that's my kind of ride).  Then, I left JP to help the older ones pick their rides.

We watched as the kids' culinary items were judged and the winners announced.  The entries were lower this year, but our kids produced items that were ribbon worthy in any case.  10 out of the 12 things they entered won a ribbon.   

They worked really hard this year!

The cupcakes Tera was about to pull her hair out making yesterday. The cupcakes that had her saying she'll never work with fondant ever again. The cupcakes that we made her redo parts of because they just weren't quite there. Those cupcakes won 1st place. One of the judges came up to us after and said, they didn't even have to discuss it. They took one look at them and said "1st place!"  We pushed her to persevere and do a great job and it paid off.  

Throughout this process of entering the fair,  we run the gamut of experiences.

We're stressed....

We're tired...

It's hard work...

You deal with winning and losing...

We drive at least 30 minutes one way to a bigger city 3 different times in 2 weeks.

But in the end our kids:

impress us with the things they can do on their own.

learn that life's not always fair.

learn to follow recipes, follow directions and follow through.

learn to win AND lose well.

see their work in a larger community of artists.

For all those reasons, it's worth it!  

Dolphin Tale 2 Curriculum and Prize Pack Giveaway

Friday, September 12th is the day!

Dolphin Tale 2 is coming to a theater near you! 

I think every kid in the world is fascinated by dolphins. Hey, I'm fascinated by dolphins. Every time I go to beach, I scan the horizon in hopes of seeing a pod of dolphins swimming by. It's one of those things that makes your day when it does happen and always makes you anticipate the next chance you'll get to spot dolphins when it doesn't.

My son is so enthralled with dolphins, so it was very cool to find curriculum to go with the movie Dolphin Tale 2.  To be honest, I had never heard of the website Homeschool Movie Club.

There are 5 mini lessons with a short video and pdf file for each one:

Get to Know Dolphins
A Day in the Life of Dolphins
Dolphins in the Ocean
Aquarium Life
Dolphins and Us

These are easy lessons to incorporate into any homeschool science curriculum.  

What I liked best? Each lesson has activities for elementary AND middle/high school students!  Since I have students in middle school and a kindergartener, this is a really important thing for me.  

What I liked even better?  It's free!!!! 

What else is really cool? The 77 page Dolphin Tale 2 curriculum by Classical Conversations included as a free pdf file! 

Be sure to check out Homeschool Movie Club to find out if they have curriculum to go with your favorite movies!  There is a painless registration that you will need to complete before you can access the resources.  

What's the movie all about:

"It has been several years since young Sawyer Nelson (Gamble) and the dedicated team at the Clearwater Marine Hospital, headed by Dr. Clay Haskett (Connick, Jr.), rescued Winter. With the help of Dr. Cameron McCarthy (Freeman), who developed a unique prosthetic tail for the injured dolphin, they were able to save her life. 

Yet their fight is not over. Winter’s surrogate mother, the very elderly dolphin Panama, has passed away, leaving Winter without the only poolmate she has ever known. However, the loss of Panama may have even greater repercussions for Winter, who, according to USDA regulations, cannot be housed alone, as dolphins’ social behavior requires them to be paired with other dolphins. Time is running out to find a companion for her before the team at Clearwater loses their beloved Winter to another aquarium."

Resources: 

Group Resource Website:  Check out for ways to coordinate your own homeschool day!
http://www.homeschoolmovieclub.com/homeschool_day 

Official Movie Website: http://www.dolphintale2.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dolphintalemovie 

Twitter: @dolphintale 

From Homeschool Movie Club website:  

"Let’s Celebrate Homeschool Day 2014!

Homeschoolers made a huge difference for the first Dolphin Tale movie.  When our groups and communities showed up en masse to catch the matinée screenings on opening day, we caught Hollywood’s attention, helping make the original film a box office success and enabling Dolphin Tale 2 to be produced.


Inspiring and heartfelt family movies like Dolphin Tale 2 are only produced when we come together as a group and support them on opening day.  We are celebrating HOMESCHOOL DAY 2014 on Friday, September 12, to support Dolphin Tale 2."


Check out your local theater for special matinee performances on opening day, September 12th!                                      


GIVEAWAY!!!!

Enter to win a Dolphin Tale 2 prize pack (a cool t-shirt and a pair of sunglasses): 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dolphin Tale 2 looks like a great family movie!  If you are planning on seeing the movie, please leave a comment below and tell me your favorite part of first Dolphin Tale movie!  Don't forget to enter to win your own prize pack! 

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. 

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Fair Drop-Off Week

What a coincidence that our fair drop-off week happened on our week off from school?  We drove to the fairgrounds on Tuesday.  We were early for some categories, but the nice fair workers told us it was okay to leave our entries to be checked in when those volunteers arrived.  We had to be back home for choir practice, so we couldn't really hang around. 

I actually entered two categories this year:

Tera's entries: 

Michael's entries:  

Daniel's entries:  

This morning I helped the kids nail down their THIRTEEN culinary entries that are dropped off a week from Saturday.  Then, I went shopping for what I could find of the ingredients.  It will require at least one more trip out to get everything.  

Like I said, we had the week off from school, but honestly it has not felt like a relaxing week.  Tera and I had our first choir practices.  I have to say that I love being back in a choir!  

JP ordered something from Lowe's and it came in this awesome box.  Michael was so happy Daddy had it ready for him when we got home from swim lessons and chess yesterday.  

Speaking of swim lessons,  I'm pushing past all the anxiety and hanging in there.  Honestly, I never would have thought I would have gotten this far.  Some days I'm more scared than others, but I just get in there anyway. Sometimes,  I find myself closing my eyes and praying right before I push off from the side of the pool. 

In the midst of all the busy-ness, stress and craziness of life, God still sends us reminders of His goodness!