Diary of a Woman Learning

So yesterday Kiddo and I went to visit a friend and her kids - she is new to homeschooling and is feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'll go ahead and fill you in on how God worked this out: I went to school with "M". She's now a mommy of three and lives just a few miles from me. Her oldest is 7 years old and she has been concerned about the quality of his education in the school he attends, so she decided to try out homeschooling. I offered a short while back to help her figure out how to get started but we didn't set up a time to meet because her family was going to Colorado for a visit before they got started. Well I haven't slept well the last several days and the other night was no exception. Hubby was super-thoughtful and offered to take Kiddo and I out to lunch so that I would not have to prepare something. We met him at aCity Bites sandwich shop, but we went to the one closer to his office - he reminded me that we wanted to purchase a dictionary and thesaurus ...

So in a sermon just a couple of weeks ago, our pastor was speaking of having been at Youth Camp and seeing each day one of our boys during his quiet time. Instead of going and picking a spot in the shade (which there was much of even with the many other students) this particular boy (who remains unnamed but I think I know who he is) would sit out in the middle of a field...and at certain times he would pick up his Bible and march in circles around his designated spot with his nose in his Bible obviously drinking in the Word of God. *Just a side note here: if it IS who I think it is, I can see WONDERFUL things ahead in a ministry for this boy. He is a light, full of joy and excitement and I love getting to see him growing in his faith!* Anyway, Pastor Ray was explaining that we go to camp to get away from outside distractions...many that we would call modern conveniences: cell phones, computers, television, etc. (And just so you know, I did already know this. It wasn't new to me, ho...

I am deeply blessed to have known a woman named Mariann Lovelady. She spoke at our church several years ago (she was a member already) about her difficult life and bad choices...but how she came to know God and His love and forgiveness. A few years after we became friends - you could not be a mere acquaintance with Mariann! :o) - she was diagnosed with cancer. She lived and breathed God's grace and mercy every moment of every day. Last night she passed away. I am so thankful that she is no longer suffering. She and I will meet again one wonderful day and I will give her a big hug - and get one tremendous hug from her. My life is not the same since you touched my life, dear friend. You were strong with God's truths and you were salt and light for Him. I love you, Mariann...and I look forward to telling you that again in person one day. Friends, please pray for her husband, Terry, and the family and friends that are without doubt grieving the loss of this amazing friend and woman...

Music Camp really was a huge hit and the performance was great. First all parents were invited to dinner at the church in the Fellowship Hall - of which I did NOT get pictures...ugh! It was decorated so nicely with candles in the center of all of the tables. We ate salad, lasagna, green beans, breadsticks and finished dinner off with a dessert of cookies and ice cream. Kiddo was NOT hungry and we barely even got him to eat dessert! I ate my salad and Kiddo's and skipped on dessert - that's okay, Hubby had TWO! :o) - and was so stuffed. It was nice...especially since we had been working so hard all week and I didn't have to cook dinner! The performance kicked off and the parents LOVED it. Hubby's parents (who attend church with us) were excited to attend and see Kiddo perform. First I will tell you that I edited a tiny bit of the clip so that it would fit better on here. First you will see Kiddo perform and then the girl that sings after him is one of the girls I taught ...

Today marks our twelfth anniversary - we have had many ups and downs, but we are stronger and happier because of them. *If you read this, Hubby-Nubby, I love you so very much and can't wait to see what the next twelve years bring!*

This year, our Worship Pastor and our Children's Pastor have worked together to put on a Music Camp for our kids from K-6 grades. The kids are learning about 7 different songs, and there are a few others who are involved in the drama - in only 4 days of practice, the kids are going to put on a musical! (It is a brief one, only about 30-40 minutes long.) It has been a lot of fun and we have 50+ kids enrolled. I'll tell you a little bit about it, but I don't have pictures right now...you know, since maybe you've gotten used to LOTS of them lately! :o) Monday - Day 1: At 9am we kicked off Music Camp in the auditorium. The kids got to hear the music (though most of the kids signed up early and already had a CD with the music to familiarize themselves with it ahead of time) and learned a few of the motions. We said a prayer and headed off to the classes, which consisted of Music Theory Games, Choreography, Song-learning (becoming more familiar with the words) and Recreation....

I am here, exhausted and a bit overwhelmed by trying to catch up on all the things I have missed - like REST! :o) - these last several weeks. However, I am so truly blessed! We traveled safely and had a great trip to Dallas, even spending less the whole weekend than we would have spent in one DAY at home! God is good and knew it would be a great break for our finances I think! LOL! On the way down to Dallas from OKC we saw two accidents - one was pretty serious but involved only one car that we could see. We never could figure out what caused it but it certainly slowed down traffic! Here's why: You don't see THAT often on a dry, straight road when no tires are blown out! This is a great picture of my friends Neeti and Shikha (I hope I am spelling her name right!). They are sisters-in-law. Akash (married to Neeti) is the older brother of Aman (married to Shikha - the one with glasses) and they were married just a couple of days apart in February 2008. I snapped this one of th...

*****Technical difficulties delayed this post until after we got back from Texas...I'll post about that in a few days - I've got a lot of catching up to do! :o) ***** *If you missed my previous post about Kid's Camp, please click here to get caught up. :o) * Okay, so Friday at camp started out much the same way as Thursday. Up early, breakfast from 8-9 and then Morning Bible Time. After Morning Bible Time the kids went to get ready for OWAM (Oh What A Mess!) and it was a blast! First they played "Bomb Ball". It's much like volleyball, but with beach balls and the person nearest the ball when it does touch the ground is out. Even the leaders got in on a game...I snapped a couple of pics and jumped in for a round or two. After Bomb Ball we went back down to the field and played some Bible verse memory games (?)... ...and then while some kids were ready to change and clean up for lunch, others stayed to play a bit of Wet Dodge ball. The kids had a great time.....

So let me preface this post by saying we'll do a couple of days at a time...otherwise this post would NEVER end! We left the church at Wednesday around noon to head to Quapaw, Oklahoma - it's a 3.5-4 hour drive from OKC. We took charter buses, so the youth took 3 buses and the kids (3rd-5th grades) had their own bus. It was a long, noisy trip but the modern conveniences of a traveling toilet and air conditioning, as well as the DVD-player made it doable. LOL! We arrived at camp, got our rooms set up and then took a mini-tour before dinner. These are some pictures of the room I shared with another female sponsor and about 10 girls. (Really nice place - especially compared to what I expected! :o) After dinner (pizza, breadsticks and optional salad bar) we went back to our cabins and got ready for our first Night Bible Time. After Bible Time we got ready for a Beach Party at the springs...this was the swimming hole - and the water was cold! Once the kids got used to it, thoug...

I am afraid that I have lost my mind . What am I talking about, you ask? I am talking about five days with 20+ children from 3rd-5th grades. And not only that, but a 3 1/2 - 4 hour drive just to get to camp ! What in the world , my friends, was I thinking ? Well, I will just tell you... I was thinking this: It is just about time I get over my really miserable experience at Falls Creek several years ago. It is certainly time that I invest in the lives of my child and many others at a place much like the camp where I myself had many wonderful church camp experiences as a child/youth. And it is high time that I got over MYSELF. So there. That about sums it up. But you know I won't leave it there! :o) Wednesday we are leaving to begin our camp experience. While we are actually going to share the campgrounds with our youth group as well as a smaller group from another (mysterious to me :o) church, we will have our own events/groups and will not participate with theirs. This is where i...

It seems that my posts since summer started have been hit-and-miss! I really wanted to post at LEAST as much as I had been but right now I seem to busy - and so exhausted - that I can't quite pull it together. Please forgive me for my infrequent posts - however, unfortunately it seems that they will be even more infrequent for the next few weeks as I am going to Kid's Camp with Kiddo and once we get back I am going to take a weekend trip to Dallas with Hubby and our wonderful friends Akash and Neeti - haven't heard about them in a while, huh? :o) They are great...we are going to help Akash's brother and his wife move from an apartment into a house. We will ride down with Akash and Neeti on Friday afternoon/evening, stay with Aman and Shikha (they are both just as nice as Akash and Neeti and we don't know them as well, so we'll have a great time, I'm sure) and we will even be able to participate in a Hindu home-blessing ceremony on Sunday before we come home...