Hanukkah 2011

Hanukkah 2011

December 20-28, 2011

I believe this year Hanukkah spoke to me in a different way than ever before. This year I felt connected to the holiday by the similarity of circumstance.  Back in the time of Judah Maccabee they lived in a country that did not worship YHWH (the God of Israel) in spirit and in truth. Many assimilated to the beliefs of the people with which they lived, even though the many times the word of YHWH says specifically not to do such.  However, there were a few brave souls who did not just “go with the flow” and go along with the crowd. They stood strong on their beliefs of following YHWH’s “instructions to live by”, called the Torah. The would NOT defile themselves with the worldly pagan things. They suffered persecution and ridicule and even death for standing strong against oppression of the enemy, but they did not back down. I felt the strength of the story of Hanukkah for the first time this year. I too have been bashed for my beliefs to follow Torah, no where near to the extent of the Jewish people but enough to understand that if you walk (or attempt to walk) a path to righteousness, expect to be fought by the enemy. The story of Hanukkah inspired me to stand strong in the face of opposition.

Last year, Hanukkah was more of a “fun filled week” but this year I just felt differently about it so we studied more and played less. I try my best to just follow where the Holy Spirit leads me but I have a tendency to try to plan everything too, which usually gets a divine “rewrite” before the day is over. That is just how HE works sometimes.
Each year I decorate with blue, silver, and white because it reminds me of winter. I love it because in Texas we rarely get any snow or any real “feel” of winter so the best I can do is recreate the “feel” inside my home by the decor.

We did do a few fun things like bake cookies. I borrowed this “tradition” from my childhood holidays. We love making and decorating (not to mention eating) these cookies!

Blackforest Fall Hike

Blackforest Fall Hike

November 20, 2011

Thankful for fall to have arrived bringing with it cooler weather, we wanted to get outdoors as much as we could, so we find ourselves once again at Blackforest. As soon as we got out of the Tahoe I spot some loons floating on the water, some diving for their dinner.

I hear Stewart shout, “Hey, y’all check out this big bird, I think it is an eagle!”

Veteran’s Day Outing 2011

Veteran’s Day Outing 2011

November 12, 2011
Stewart was off work for a federal holiday we decided to go hiking and sight seeing over in Louisiana for something different. I looked up “Fort Jesup” and thought… Veteran’s Day…Fort… cool! We planned to stop by North Toledo Bend State Park on the way. As we were driving, we stumbled upon a Veterans Memorial Park which seemed out in the middle of no where, of course we stopped.

Stewart and I read the names on the monument while the kids checked out the tank and chopper.

Three Way Birthday Party

Three Way Birthday Party

October 29, 2011

 

I learned that with having all my children in the fall within two weeks of each other it is just easier to have the family birthday party all together. We don’t go “all out” like we used to on their party, just a simple cake and gifts with family. We do take them and do something special for them on their actual birthday but for the family to come over we one have one simple party. We usually just serve hotdogs and nachos so that it is quick and easy and a homemade cake. My cakes may not be as pretty as the store bought ones, but I promise they taste better!

 

 

Adam has been so excited all week about the party!

 

Austin turned 16 October 12th. So we start out with 16 candles. So Aust gets to blow them out first. He takes the slow steady approach.

 

Anna turns 11 November 14th. We remove five candles and relight them for Anna. One quick swoop she blew them out.

 

 

Adam turned 9 October 30th. We take away two more candles and relight for the last time. Adam blew them out just as fast as Anna.

 

Now their favorite part, GIFTS!

 

We bought them Nerf Dart Tag guns and shirts. It has the little bullets that have Velcro tips that sticks to the shirts so you know when you are hit. They love playing outside with the Nerf guns but usually get into an argument about who shot who and someone (the teenager) refusing to be shot! So we decided this was the best way to solve that problem.



After gifts were open and cake was eaten I sent them outside with glow bracelets to play while the adults sat around and visited. I don’t allow them to take their toys out of the package until the guests have left because I feel like they should have the right to be the first ones to play with their toys. So once everyone went home, the kids got to really check out all their stuff and since it was our “weekend” they had two whole days to play with it all without having to do school! Good Times!

THE END

Silly Times in Science

Silly Times in Science
October 20, 2011

Sometimes when I read lessons to the kids I make up funny voices... today I was a drill sergeant...

We are studying the bones in our Health/Science book “The Young Explorers Series Exploring Creation with the Human Body and Physiology”.

I shouted the question, " What is the difference between the first seven ribs and the last five ribs, RODENTS!"

(I was calling them maggots but “Corporal”Austin reminded me that the maggot is an invertebrate so the lesson would not apply, so I changed it to rodents)...

Austin’s “bar Mitzvah”

Austin’s “Bar Mitzvah”
October 15, 2011

Turning 16 is a pretty big deal. I wanted to do something for Austin to honor this “rite of passage.” We had all heard of a Bar Mitzvah from TV and so I looked into it a bit more. The word “Bar” means “son of” and “Mitzvah” means “commandments”. Now I am not big on following rituals and traditions from any culture but I kind of just took the idea and went my own way with it. In a nut shell, for Jews this is the celebration of a Jewish boy becoming a man and therefore responsible to keep God’s law and he is no longer under the covering of his parents spiritually. This usually happens around 12-13 years old. I would not have thought of my child as a man at 12-13 but at 16, I do. Austin is a very wise and responsible young man. I am extremely proud of who he has become and I do consider him mature enough to start making decisions for himself. What better way to tell him that… throw him a party!

I wanted him to be clueless to the fact that the party had anything to do with him. Just so happens this year Feast of Tabernacles fell on his birthday week.  I just had him thinking everyone was coming over to join in the feast day with us. His birthday is the 12th but Saturday worked out better for everyone to be able to make it.

 

We barbequed and all ate our fill outside by our “Sukkot”, then while I had Austin taking in some of the leftovers, I snuck his gifts out.

Gators! Martin Dies Jr. State Park

 

“Gators!” Martin Dies Jr. State Park

October 1, 2011

It was a packed house for the “Gators” class at Martin Dies Jr. State Park. A boy scout troop was there which is not the “norm.”

I had Austin sit by Anna to guard her from being bumped with her broke arm and Adam sat beside him. The place was so pack Stewart and I decided to stand at the back of the room to take pictures.

Once everyone got situated in the now “to small” building, Ms. Katherine began.

She asked for volunteers to help out with a skit. My kids being as shy as they are did not volunteer but Ms. Katherine called Adam, so he timidly went up, looking at me for reassurance. I give him a nod and a smile and he was fine.

 

Astronomy

Astronomy

September 25-27, 2011

We were studying about astronomy in science and so that took us out to the “Long Bridge” with our telescope in tow to see what we could see!

 

We set up the telescope and started to look around at the brightest stars.

End of Summer Hike

End of Summer Hike

September 24, 2011

This has been such a hot summer that with the 107* weather we have been cooped up inside under the air for too long. It was time to “GET OUT!” It is almost the end of summer and the weather cooled a bit so I was anxious to get on a hiking trail. The easiest one to go on was the little one at Boykin Springs. We have been here several times but it never seems to get old. Always something new to see. The wonderful thing about nature is it changes constantly.

 

 

The rocked spillway is mostly dry from the drought, we walk across the stone bridge without fear of getting wet .

Rope Safety Test–Failed

Rope Safety Test – Failed

September 26, 2011

The kids wanted to play outside in the nice fall weather. They wandered off to the pasture where Stewart had attempted to build a tree house a few months ago. He abandoned the idea when a storm came through and messed up the frame work. Adam had a bright idea to tie two loops on a rope and pull himself up with it to sit on the board. From what I can understand you was suppose to do this with two people one holding and pulling and the other with their foot in the loop being pulled up.

Anna being the big sister felt the need to test the rope before letting Adam on it. She put her foot in the loop and grabbed the other loop with her hand trying to balance her weight on it.

South Toledo Bend State Park

 

South Toledo Bend State Park

September 5, 2011

 

Wanting to have a change in scenery we headed to Louisiana.

The state park is probably about an hour drive from our house but the idea to go to a different state seemed to excite the kids.

Moody Gardens

 

Moody Gardens

September 2, 2011

 

A lady from church  was so kind to give us the free tickets to Moody Gardens that she had gotten from a radio station because she was unable to go. There was seven tickets so we decided to take along my sister and her kids who have never been. We drove the two hours it takes to get there and one of the coolest parts of the trip is getting to ride the ferry from Crystal Beach to Galveston Island.

 

While we were waiting to board the ferry (along with all the other cars) we started messing with the seagulls that were nearby. We tossed a crumb of a pop tart we had, out the window to a lone seagull that was wandering by. Unfortunately we forgot about the fact that seagulls hunt in packs so in a matter of seconds we had a flock of seagulls swarming our car. I am sure the man ahead of us who had just got out of his car for a quick smoke sure did not appreciate that very much…oops!

Time4Learning–A Review

Time4Learning – A Review

September 6, 2011

• I've been invited to try Time4Learning's online education program for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience! Find out how to write your own curriculum review.
• I've been invited to try Time4Learning for a month in exchange for a candid review. Their online program can be used for homeschool, as an after school tutorial and for summer learning. My opinion will be my own, so come back and read about my experience. You can write your own curriculum review, too!

It’s Just a Picture

It’s Just a Picture

September 9,2011

 

You know I seem to get really excited about the tiniest things sometimes. For example today as I was cruising down Facebook reading my morning “news'” I spotted a picture I recognized right away.

 

 

I recognized it because I had taken it a couple months back and it made the local news and today it was used in a blog.

Fishing Fun

Fishing Fun

August 21, 2011

We had such a good time fishing a couple weeks ago we had to do it again. This time we invited Matt to come along! We went back to the spot where the fishing were biting so good last time in hopes to have the same outcome.

Of course right off the bat Stewart catches the first little perch. He gets as excited as the kids do!

Vine Bird nests

 

Vine Bird Nests

August 31, 2011

I was looking at some crafting sights the other day on Facebook and came across how to make decorative twine balls. Well I am big on needing something to be functional to even bother with it and on top of that we have a love for nature so we improvised and came up with making Vine Bird Nests.

 

 

First you drag the kids out of the pool… or at least I had too! Then you give them a balloon and some non-poisonous vines.  I was worried to death they would grab some poison ivy and start working with it! That would NOT have been good!

Spelling City … A Review

Spelling City … A Review

August 31, 2011

 

As a homeschool mom anything I can find to make life easier when schooling is highly coveted! So as I was searching the web for Spelling words for the kids a month or so ago and I came across this really great site called Spelling City! After a quick review over the content, I paid for the premium service with out a second thought.

 

Summer Fun

 

 

Summer Fun

August 8, 2011

 

We were headed back to Martin Dies Jr. State Park, this time to take advantage of the fishing without a license in the state parks! I wasn’t all that into fishing so I told them let’s first hike and geocaching the Wildlife Trail then go fishing later.

 

 

Austin was dubbed “pack horse” for today.

A Day at the Beach House

A Day at the Beach House

August 13, 2011

“Why don’t you guys load up and come to the beach with us tomorrow. I could use some help fixing a fence and the kids can go to the water slide.” my father-in-law requested. And that is just what we did.

The kids love the water slide. Making their first trek up the hill, Adam is can’t seem to get up there fast enough!

Eat Your Cell !!

Eat Your Cell !!

August 5, 2011

 

We always enjoy projects in Science but I think the kids probably enjoyed this one more than most. It involved candy! In our Apologia Science (Health) book we had to make a cell. We’ve drawing the cell all week but this one was edible!

 

 

I gathered up all the things I needed to make a cell. I kind of felt like a mad scientist in my kitchen! To make a cell it takes Lemon Jell-O, Knox Gelatin, and an assortment of candies.

I Will Survive

I Will Survive

7-30-11

 

Once again we find ourselves down at Martin Dies Jr. State Park enjoying one of the wonderful hour long Saturday classes about nature. This time we are learning the basics on how to survive out in the wilderness if we get lost.

One thing she told us is to always have a “flight plan” and tell someone where you will be and for how long. We learned from past experience that it doesn’t take much to get “lost.” When we hiked the Kirby Trail and we accidently got on the wrong trail it was pretty scary to think about what all could have happened. The trail we ended up on was one that was open to hunters during hunting season which just happened to be when we was hiking. We could have gotten shot and no one would have known where to look for us because we took off without much thought of telling people where we were going. 

 

After the lesson Ms. Katherine had the kids put together a pamphlet about how to survive in the wild.

Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers

July 23, 2011

 

Here we are back at our favorite state park again for a Saturday class. This time it’s about Woodpeckers!

 

As usual we arrived a bit early and Ms. Katherine was kind enough to let Austin (being the responsible 15 year old that he is) use her ZPix hand held microscope to show the littler ones all kinds of neat things she had prepared for a different class. Of course we just had to order one of our own ZPix once we got home.

 

 

At first we were the only ones there but a little while after the class started another family showed up. Ms. Katherine told us how to identify the different kinds of woodpeckers, what unique characteristics only they have, and in the above picture she explained why there is sap found around the outside of the woodpeckers nesting hole.

Snacks for Snakes

Snacks for Snakes

July 10, 2011

 

After attending the “Snakes Alive” event at Martin Dies State Park, we just had to come back the next day to watch the snake feeding.

 

 

Arriving early (as we always do where ever we go) has been a blessed chance to explore the exhibits freely before others show up. Ms. Katherine took the time to show the kids her “Curiosity Boxes” full of neat things about nature, for example one contained an Owl Pellet which I mistakenly thought was scat at first.

Snakes Alive!

Snakes Alive!

July 8, 2011

 

We LOVE Martin Dies Jr. State Park! We have hiked all their trails, our favorite is the Island Trail and we geocached there as well. I had noticed that they held classes on the weekends about nature. I have been wanting to go and attend one of these classes for a while now but with Stewart working Saturdays it just has not worked out, until now. I am very happy to say we managed to attend a class they held in the afternoon called “Snakes Alive.”

 

 

 

Ms. Katherine is the Ranger who gives the class in the nature center and she does such a wonderful job! She involves the kids and adults, works hard to set up the nature center to be an interesting interactive learning center, not to mention she has a wonderful personality!

Geocaching and Gator watching

Geocaching and Gator Watching

(caution contains geocaching spoilers)

June 13, 2011

 

Anna’s boyfriend Matt has been asking about going hiking with us for some time now so even though it was HOT in the middle of June in East Texas, we decided to get up early and go hike the Island Trail at Martin Dies Jr. State Park and to add a bit of excitement to it, we wanted to geocache as well.

 

 

The sun was up and brightly shining in the eyes of my little hiker cachers this morning! They were excited none the less!

Balloon’s Make the World Go Around

Balloon’s Make the World Go Around

June 6, 2011

 

We started studying the solar system in science this week. The project was to make a solar system out of balloons. Of course any time you drag out the balloons there is going to be a good time.

Adam tried to blow up a balloon extra big. He succeeded, he blew it up so big it popped!

 

Each kid picked three planets to create.

Adam got the Sun (since he was so good at blowing balloons big) and Mercury, Pluto, and Neptune.

 

Anna got Saturn (she wanted to do the rings), Uranus, & Venus.

 

 

Austin did Jupiter (because he wanted to draw the storm on Jupiter), Earth, & Mars.

 

 

The book had us measure the distance around the balloons widest point to try to make it a true scaled model. The book had a chart we were to get the balloons to match. So during Science we had some math as well!

 

 

Then we colored each balloon to match the planet it represented.

 

There was a good bit of playing as well.

My silly little girl likes to stuff balloons up her shirt and play like she is pregnant.

 

Of course it is hugely oversized to her little body so we pick at her about having a litter. Scary thing is, there is a good chance of her to have twins when she really does get pregnant, twins run in my family and skips a generation. My Grandma had twins sisters but didn’t give birth to twins, my mom had me and my twin brother (he was still born), I didn’t have a twin, so when it is her turn and she has a chance to have twins. The look on her face is probably pretty accurate of a look if one day she does find out she is having twins!

 

Right after this picture, I walked up behind her pretending to pat her belly and said, “ Aww!” then POP! I stuck it with a needle I was hiding in my hand. The boys thought that was hilarious, they said her shirt poof-ed up then went flat. Of course Anna was not as impressed, I got the typical, “Moooomma!” Then Adam was enlisted to blow her up another “big belly.”

 

 

We finished the solar system and hung it from the ceiling. Anna was happy with her new belly, and Adam was stuffing one up his shirt as well. We had a blast. Yep, a typical day at school for us.

 

Remembering Columbia

Remembering Columbia

July 5, 2011

I wasn’t sure what to expect on our visit to the small town of Hemphill, Texas; home of the “Remembering Columbia” Museum. I figured like most small Museums it would have pictures and posters and a few pieces of memorabilia here and there. At first glance that may be what you see. But the real treasure lies within the story.

I can not begin to do any of these stories justice, you have to visit the Museum and hear it told by the women who were there. They tell the story with such passion and love because it is a memory for them who lived it and saw it with their own eyes.

Matt Evett, Anna, Adam, & Austin waiting for the doors to open.

The Husband Clan Geocaching

The Husband Clan’s Geocaching

June 8, 2011

We have taken up a new hobby, Geocaching! For those who don’t know what it is, this is how it is described on the box of my new Magellan eXplorist GC GPS:

“Geocaching is a high-tech version of the game “hide and seek”, where adventure seekers use GPS technology to hide and find physical objects, solve location-based puzzles, and share experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people of all ages and promotes a strong sense of community and support for the environment”

One video I watched on Geocaching a lady said “ It is a way to get nerds out into the wilderness.” I thought that fit me pretty good, even though my kids are undecided if I am a nerd or a geek.

Basically (in the simplest form) what you do is get at least a basic free membership to www.geocaching.com and put in your address to look up the nearest cache and either send it to your GPS or get the iPhone app (the app logs the caches for you.) Then drive in your car and just follow the directions until you get close, hop out and look for a cache. Sign the log book, trade trinkets if able, and log it onto the Geocaching web site and poof you found your first cache.

 

I was officially labeled the “The Nag-a-gator”, now to explain this: I have control of the iPhone or GPS and tell them where to try to look. Of course, I am suppose to be “the navigator” but a bad pronunciation and a little humor from my husband, I am now “The Nag-a-gator.”

Guided Hike ~Sundew Trail~

Guided Hike ~Sundew Trail~

May 13, 2011

I was looking around on the Beaumont Community Calendar hunting for something to do with the family when I saw there was going to be a guided hike on the Sundew Trail. I was excited, we had just studied about carnivorous plants in Science and the Sundew Trail had the Pitcher Plants and the Sundew plants which are both carnivorous. Although we had been to the Sundew Trail before it was in the fall and with the change of the seasons each trail can offer new and interesting things to study.

When  we arrived at the trailhead no one was there. The hike was suppose to start at 10 A.M. so we waited a little while. The kids occupied themselves taking pictures of random critters around the pavilion.

 Buck Moth larva

Some Gave All

Some Gave All

5-30-2011

 

I never had the pleasure of meeting my Uncle Pat, you see the war took him back in 1966. My oldest sister Barbie was the only niece from my dad he ever met, and she was just a baby, so she has no memory of him either. Brenda and I had never met him, but that doesn’t stop the tears from running down my face as I type this blog and it doesn’t stop the emotions from erupting from my heart as I edit the pictures of the articles my Granny clipped from the newspapers long ago.  To read the words quoted from my daddy as he spoke of his only brother and to see the pain of losing a loved one in the faces of my dad, Granny, and aunts has taken its toll on me today. I am writing this blog for Memorial Day. The day that was set aside to remember that some gave all.

My daddy, William C. McGee, had already served one “hitch” in the army. When he got out, he and Uncle Pat worked in construction for a while. Work was scarce one winter so January 1963 they decided to enlist together. They were stationed together for a while in Korea.

Our Donated Terrarium

Our Donated Terrarium

May 14, 2011

My wonderful niece Susan, who is more like a cousin because of our ages, was so generous to donate her 60 gallon terrarium and several things to go with it to our little classroom after the death of her bearded dragon. She knew Austin was into reptiles and amphibians so she thought of him when she was ready to get rid of the tank.

Austin wanted to keep it in his room but the shear size of the tank made that not possible, so into the classroom it went. Which is probably better so that we all can enjoy it.

Slipping and a sliding

Slipping and a Sliding

May 7, 2011

We went to a birthday party and the kids played on a slip and slid. They had a blast!

Adam went at it 100% all boy but Anna wanted to be a little timid and tried to be more graceful.