The Shadow knows...

I have, for the entire time we've been in this apartment in Lubbock, been vehemently against getting a dog.  First off, we have a perfectly acceptable, sedate cat named Rambo (no, we did not name him), or if you're my mother in-law, Fred.  Rambo has figured out how things are going to work in this house and stays within the rules.  We very rarely have problems.  Second, I feel kind of guilty keeping a dog in an apartment.  I've always imagined that they would be miserable not having a backyard that they can just run free in as their nature would seem to dictate.  It seems cruel to me.  Third, did I mention Rambo was sedate?  We get along that way.

So imagine my surprise when, today, I get off work after a 10+ hour shift and come out to the van with my wife and kids ready to pick me up to find a dog among their number.  Meagan, appropriately, named the black dog, Shadow.  So without further ado, I introduce the newest member of our family:

We were told that he is a Cocker Spaniel/Schnauzer/Pug mix.  We think he also has some Chihuaua in him as well. Shadow is an active puppy and seems to have really warmed up to the whole family.  Well, the whole family except Rambo, who is no longer the center of pet-ly attention, nor the only non-human occupant in the house.  He ranges from ignoring Shadow to hissing and swatting at him depending on the level of the perceived "infraction" that Shadow has committed (walking in the same general viscinity, existing, etc...).  No harm has been done, and Rambo still has the run of the house after everyone goes to sleep, but it has certainly been an adjustment for him.

- Josh             

Homeschooling adventure

Homeschooling?

So Josh and I have been praying very hard lately as to how to better be parents and teach our children and help them learn to teach themselves. We have noticed things that have been going on in the schools and, well, for a lot of reasons we decided to start the process of learning more about homeschooling. Our plan was to wait the year out and start the next year of school here in the home, but as life usually goes, our plan is not the Lord's plan and things happened such that we pulled Meagan out of public school last week and began our adventure. I was not ready and very nervous but it is what needed to be done. Jacob is still in school until the end of the year (unless the Lord changes THAT too...). 

We have had one week so far and lets just say there were some bumps but all in all a very good productive week. 

This is Meagan now and I LOVE homeschooling. One thing that sucks is I don't get to see my friends at school very often. I have the best teacher which is my mommy. She is the BEST!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to do new things next year. L8R!!!!!

I am still learning and I have a really great resource (my sister) to help me smooth the bumps along the way. She has been homeschooling for many years, and has given me great advice. 

One of the fun things we did was a science experiment using the scientific method to find out what makes the best material to use in a parachute, like the ones they use on the Mars rover to make sure the package arrives safetly. We used eggs as our package and tested cloth, newspaper, and plastic wrap. We dropped the eggs three times in each case and watched them crack, smash and some even scramble as they hit the ground. Oh by the way plastic wrap was the best choice!

The other "really fun" thing that we did, as Meagan says, is that she was not feeling well one day and instead of doing nothing, I thought that she could watch a movie and write a paper on the good vs. evil dynamic of the movie. She chose to watch Lord of the Rings, one of her favorites. Let's just say after her second draft, that paper really rocked. She blew both Josh and I out of the water with her thoughts and ideas. We both thought, "That came out of our sixth grader?" I wish I could write the whole paper but I won't.  I will, however, write her first couple of sentences:

"Everybody knows about the classic hero vs. evil stories. Does anyone know about the good and evil within ourselves? J.R.R. Tolkien has created a masterpiece to show exactly that....." 

She goes on to present a very convincing argument of how the movie shows this through the character Frodo Baggins and his struggle with the ring of power. It really was a great paper! We still have to work on grammar and spelling, but I am so proud of her.

This last week has had some really hard times (getting her to do math) and some really great ones but all in all I think that this adventure is going to be a good and rewarding one.

-Sarah