Official Start

Okay, after a lot of hours of hard work, I think we are ready to start school tomorrow. I have two weeks worth of lesson plans ready to go and they are in pencil, so if something doesn't work, it is easily changed. We are starting tomorrow with 2 of our 5 subjects and then we will add two more next week and the final one the 3rd week. I am excited and you should have seen Anna's face when I told her we were starting school tomorrow. She is so excited and jumped around and said "YEAH! I'm starting school tomorrow." It was so cute you should have seen her. Anyhow, I will let you all know how our first actual day was tomorrow afternoon. I think with only two subjects to start, it shouldn't be too overwhelming for either of us. Take care all and pray for a good first day. Thanks for all your support and blessings on this adventure.

Ranching Heritage Field Trip

Alright, we are getting ready to start homeschooling and we went on a field trip with about 30 other homeschooling children and their families. We went to the Ranching Heritage Center. It was HOT, but fun. In an attempt to cool off, several of the kids broke the rules and went on the grass to hit the sprinklers, which at 10 am should probably not have been on (or at least thats what the news always preaches...something about not watering between 10am and 6pm). In any case, the kids were so hot a few of us let them run through them for a few mintues. The following are some pictures of Anna thinking about it. She did eventually get in there all the way and get good and wet.

Here is one of Anna thinking about going in:

This one shows her first initial shock of cold water:

A little more brave, she is actually touching the water:

Cooling off in the shade with some new friends:

As you can see she had fun and also got drenched, but was dry before we left. It was a lot of fun, but my goodness it was HOT! We may need to re-think our field trips in the heat of summer. LOL! Next I will be complaing that it is too cold.

Update on homeschool starting: We have all the books, and I even have some bulletin boards set up and ready. This weekend I will be playing with the schedule and we will hopefully start our first subject on Monday. Praying that it will work. If not, there is nothing indicating we have to start at a certain time, so we may wait till after Labor Day. Time will tell. My planning time today is shot out the door with work, which I love, it just hurts my planning time. Maybe tomorrow with laundry? Who knows, but we will start!

Officially Part-time

Ok, I am officially part-time, but have had other more important things to post about. Now, it hasn't felt like part-time yet, since we have a lot of cleaning and errands to catch up on, but hopefully in a day or two it will feel more like part-time, maybe?? We haven't decided when to start our "school" yet, but we will start sometime in the next two weeks. I need to sit down and make us some sort of schedule to follow and to make sure we have everything we need by the end of the week. I think we have it all, but I need to sit down and make sure. Anyhow, our plans for today, like I said before, are errands. We have to pick up something, do laundry, get Cokes for Jeremy while they are on sale and go to the library, if we have time. I do work again tonight, so I am not sure how much of this we will actually get done, but we can always continue the list tomorrow. :-) Aslo need to add cleaning the house to it. Anyhow, I better go get ready for the day. Take care all.

Locks of Love

Today we did something that Anna has been begging me to do for 3 months straight. I mean everyday, most times 3-4 times a day the same thing. What was this thing you ask??? It was getting a hair cut. This was an easy decision for her, but not for me. I am very partial to little girls with long hair and love doing her hair up in the cute braids and pig tails, but after much debate and asking, I decided she could do it on one condition....that we donate the hair to Locks of Love. She had more than the required minimum length for it to go towards a hairpiece, so today we went for it. She went over to the hair place and we cut her hair. It was an experience and the end result is super cute. Anna looks really good with short hair. Here are the pictures...

Before haircut at church today:

(Look at her pretty bow!)

Before haircut, waiting her turn:

Looking at her freshly cut ponytail:

(the one we donated)

During haircut:

Right after haircut:

The end result:

Now, with an end result like that, who could say no?! I think it turned out super cute and I am really glad we let her cut it. Isn't she adorable?!

Please help my mom...

Please help my mom get started on this businaess venture. Really, it is all about using a special gode at this website and you get discounted name brand clothing for a good price. She eventually gets a portion of the profits, but only if people start buying using this code. With my mom's health the way it has been, this can be a good thing, if it will work. This is about all she can do, as it isn't much for her but sending it out on e-mail and such. Anyway, the following is a letter she sent out and the discount code has been highlighted by me. Go to the website and enjoy. Thanks for all your help.


Hi all my friends;
I would like to introduce you to Magickidsusa. This is my new job, I am a certified distributer for this company and I can truly say this is a great company.They offer quality merchandise at great prices directly to the consumer.I can't sell you on this, it will sell itself. All I ask is that once you see the great deals, that youpass this on to all your friends, co-workers, e-mailbuddies, and anyone else you can think of. Be sure to include my special code MK36148 so they can get the special discounts also. All you have to do is go to this web site. Look at the merchandise offered in sizes newborn to 16/18, and shoes. Decide what you want and how many. Then you place your order directly with the company, pay directly to the company. The company will then ship your order out within 24 to 48 hours of payment receipt. Make sure you put the discount code MK36148 on the order to receive the special discount and so they know that I referred you to the site. Yes it is that easy to save money on all these name brand clothes. That site is: www.magickidsusa.com When you receive your order and see all the great things you received for your money, you will want to order again and again. This site will be one of your favorite sites for years to come as their stock changes all the time. Please take your time and look thoroughly at their website. I am sure you will see something for your children, grandchildren, or that one in church who is struggling so hard to make it. With prices this low, now you can afford to help out. I thank you for allowing me to occupy a few minutes of your time, and please do pass this on and on and on. Allow all who can to share in the savings offered by Magickidsusa.
May God richly Bless every one of you.
Love Marion

Answers to Prayer

Alright, God sure does answer prayer. I was given more than enough money for her at church last night to cover Mom's doctor appointment on Friday, without insurance, plus we have enough to hopefully get her some medication or some food. I know she needs both. Still need some answers in her disability case, but the Lord is meeting her needs one day at a time. The church also covered Mom's water bill and we got her turned back on immediately yesterday. God is so good and faithful. I need to lean more on him in these times. It was amazing. Thank you all for your prayers and keep praying for swift decision on her disability appeals. Thank you all.

3 Days to Go & Family Woes

Ok, 3 days to go till I am part-time. I can not wait till after Saturday, although that means that I will not be making near as much money, but we also will not be paying out near as much in expenses. Anna will go to daycar for 3 more days. Today she will be roller skating, tomorrow is their "Stretch-N-Grow" day, and Friday they will be visiting a nursing home and playing games with the residents. She is really liking this new daycare, so I am really glad that I put her in there for the remaining weeks. She has yet to come home saying she is bored and she goes to bed so easy at night...no naps at the new one for her age group. It has been great. I am so glad she liked it. It was one of the best decisions we ever made.



Now for family woes...I am really worried about my mother. She has been fighting to get her short-term disability payments started since February, and has had no success. We are in the appeal time, but it has until middle of September to be finalized. How can they deny my mother these benefits that she truly needs?! I am appaled at what it is doing to her and have been watching my mother decling healthwise. She has not paid her mortgage since January, has had our churches help in keeping utilities on, the states help keeping utilities on, and everything. She has no medications left to manage her Multiple Sclerosis and we are all feeling the effects of it, not just her. The state will not help out with utilities anymore until she goes to the doctor, she can't go to the doctor because she has no means of paying them as her insurance has been gone for some time, and that means also no medications or financial help. She does not qualify quite yet for Medicaid, or she would go that route. How can I help her? I am so at a loss and so far away from being able to say come stay at my house for a while. I have asked her to move down here where we are so I can get her to appointments and such and she could get a 1 bedroom apartment for next to nothing here, but she is unwilling to leave her house at this point. She bought that house for her and intends to live there until they kick her out I am sure. I just don't know where else to turn to get her help. if anyone is out there reading this, I am asking for your prayers in getting a swift decision from the appeals group. We don't have till the middle of September. She needs her medications now. She can not function without them. We needs prayers for God's favor. We just need a lot of prayers. My mother's health and welfare really depend on it. Thanks.