Call the Fire Department

Today is my 36th Birthday....hard to believe that 20 years ago, I was celebrating my sweet 16 on this same day. Where has the time gone? Anyway, I digress....Today Kirk wanted us to come to his work as they were having a lunch (I cooked about 4 chickens for the thing...2 whole chickens and then various pieces in homemade BBQ sauce). This morning he told me he would have a birthday cake for me. I told him that was okay but I would rather not. Well he did it anyway, claiming it was for Edwards benefit. I get there and he has a beautiful 1/4 sheet cake with red roses on it. It says Happy 21st Birthday again on it. However my darling husband, decides to be the funny man and buys 3 boxes of 24 count birthday candles. He puts all 72 on them (he says this way no one will know my true age unless they knew to divide 72 by 2). Yep, I know know what a blazing cake looks like. When he started to light the candles they were so close to each other some actually were lighting others. He has them all along the left side of the cake and in the right hand corner, so they were stuffed together on the cake. I asked poor Edwards to blow them out for me because poor mommy was afraid she would have an asthma attack doing so. There was so much smoke afterwards that you almost need an oxygen mask to breath. Bless his heart, guess that is why I love him so much. It is just his way of being sweet.

We Are The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Here are the pictures from Vacation Bible School back in July of this year. The theme was Pirates. Edward had a blast. It was his first time to attend VBS, he gave his heart to the Lord during an alter call at VBS. Doesn't he make a cute Pirate?

Fall

In Science Class, we have been learning about plants, trees, leaves, seeds and so forth. Today as a part of our science lesson, we played in the leaves out front of our house. Then we took a nature walk; collecting leaves, doing bark rubbings and talking about the differences in the leaves and that some still have chlorophyll, while others have already lost all their chlorophyll thus turning them, their beautiful reds, yellows, oranges, rust, purples and browns. We are very lucky that we live on a street that has so many different deciduous trees. When we got home with our leaves, we sent them through our lamenator, to preserve them for further study.

Plays and Concerts

We went to church this morning. They announced that the children would be doing a Christmas Play this year. We signed Edward up to participate. His part wont be a huge one but he will still get to be in his first play. I can't wait. I will let you know how it goes. I hope that the play wont be until Nana is here, she is coming for Christmas this year. This will be her first Christmas with Edward. He is looking forward to sharing Christmas with her. Last year was his first Christmas to share with a Grandma. Grandma Bev came and he loved that. Now it's Nanas turn. It is so hard being so far away from family, especially during the holidays. So much we want to share with them.

He will also be having his first Choir Concert on the 22nd of November. He participates in Choir classes through our homeschool co-op.

Of course Mommy will be there, at both with her video recorder. :0)

Going the Extra Mile

Friday night we heard Edward in the kitchen, running the washing and what sounded like he was doing the dishes. We asked him what he was doing. He came out of the kitchen in his little footie pajamas, with his sleeves pushed up to his elbows...hands dripping wet. He smiled and came over to me, took my face in his hands and said "Mama, I am going the Extra Mile like the Elephant." This past month we have been learning about Obedience and there was a story about an Elephant who was obedient and had gone the extra mile. Amazing how much he absorbs. Once again, God reminding me that he is a little sponge soaking everything around him up (yep good and bad things). He then proceed to tell us that he was doing the dishes and was stacking them on the counter for us to load into the dishwasher later on.

Future Republican

Today Edward and I (with some members of our homeschool co-op) went to a Republican sign holding. We stood on the corner in our town for almost an hour and held signs for the Republican party. Edward will be going with me to the polls on Tuesday to vote and we might even go to another Republican sign hold that day.

Moses

Edward went to Awana's dressed as one of his favorite Bible Characters for Favorite Bible Characters Night.

No Soccer This Fall

I really need to find a good place for soccer. Maybe I am wrong but I don't think that 5 yr & 6 yr old children should be practicing soccer at 7pm until 7:30 or 8pm. Edwards bedtime is 9pm and I don't think he should be doing an activity that winds him up right before bedtime. This is another activity offered through our rec center. Parents are the coaches, we didn't recieve a call about the first practice until 3 days before it. She could even give me at that time set days for weekly practices. With our schedule we need set days and preferably earlier times. So we just ended up dropping soccer altogether this time and will be asking around about Soccer Programs. Edward will of course be taking the British Soccer Challenge again this summer. That is through the rec center but I must say it is the best program I have ever participated in through them.

Our Trip to Las Vegas

Edward holding the Limousine Sign from the Airport

Us infront of the Las Vegas Sign

Edward having a Coney Island Dog at the New York, New York (he ate almost all of it)

Edward and Kirk at the Luxor (for those who do not know this, Kirk is sort of a Egypt buff)

Edward at the Luxor

More Pictures From Our Trip To Las Vegas

Edward with one of the M&M Guys at M&M World

Edward with the Coca~Cola Bear at Coca~Cola World

Kirk and Edward with the Wax Replicas of the Blue Man Group (we saw them in concert)

A Living Statue at the Venetian

Gondola Ride at the Venetian

It Might Be Hit and Miss

Edward will be starting school next Tuesday, we have a full fall ahead of us with 8 weeks of Tap Dancing Lessons, Homeschool Bowling League, 15 weeks of Kindermusik Class (this is 1 of 2 semesters that he will be taking this school year...next year will be his last year and then it will be some sort of musical instrument lessons...these classes will help him to make a very educated decision as to what instrument interests him the most), Homeschool Co-op Classes (2 of which I am teaching), Church, 6 weeks of Soccer and not to mention school lessons. With all these activities, my computer time is going to be very limited. I will try my best to keep up with everyone but Edward, his education and social activities take place over computer time. He will be my soul focus for the next 43 weeks. Of course I will be posting here as much as I can about Edward activities, homeschooling adventures, and life in general to keep you all up to date the best I can.
We are also off this weekend for one last mini family vacation. Have a beautiful Labor day Weekend with your family and loved ones.

Edward's Newest Endeavors

Today was a big day for Edward, he got his first official Library Card. We will be going to our local Library once a week, so that he can learn how the library system works and how to utilize it. He is so excited that he has his very own Library Card.

Edward's newest interest is Tap Dancing. We watched Singin In The Rain a few nights ago and he loved the tap dancing portions. Kirk asked him if he wanted to take Tap Dancing Classes, at first he said no but he has agreed to give it a try. We found a beginner class that is 8 weeks long (once a week) at our local Recreational Center. We figure this will be a great way for him to see if it is something he truly is interested in.

Also, he will be playing soccer for the first time this fall. He took a soccer camp this summer and loved it. He has been begging ever since then to play soccer on a team. We found a team for 5 yr olds/Kindergarteners, also through our Recreational Center. There are 6 games, this means it should be 6 weeks long weather permitting. Of course there will also be practices. This is where we could get into trouble and may have to drop this idea all together, as we have a pretty full week with Kindermusik and Bowling League, in addition to Tap Classes. Will keep you posted and of course there will be pictures of Edward tap dancing.

Another Thompson Family Update

I just noticed that it has been 15 days since I have blogged....like others I use my blog to communicate with family and friends who live a great distance from us and are unable to share in our daily lives. I also use it as a way to keep record of our lives. I plan to print out my entries and make keep them for Edward to share with his children and their children.

We have been very busy this month preparing for the upcoming school year. Edward will be starting Kindergarten in just a few more weeks. Public School officially started here (also in OK and TX) last Thursday. I think that it is just to hot out and still to summery for kids to be cooped up in a class room. We will start our school year the day after Labor Day. Edward is looking forward to school. We will be using Sonlight this year for our curriculum, along with Horizon's Health (K), Math-U-See (primer), Character First (series 1), and A Reason For Handwriting (K). We will also be learning some Spanish this year using Teach Me Spanish CD. Next semester we will be learning some French using the same series. Then I plan for him to learn Hebrew the first semester of 1st grade. We aren't learning to write any of these languages yet, just what they sound like in familiar childrens songs. When Edward gets to 3rd Grade we will use the Rosetta Stone Homeschool Series to learn these languages more in depth. We will also be working on America Sign Langauge this year too. We are also going to be using Tatras to an extent to learn to read, this is also known as Vertical Phonics. I have heard good things about this. Thank you Renee for showing me this program...you are always so kind to share.

Edward starts Kindermusik Young Child 1 tomorrow. He starts Homeschool Bowling League on the 4th of Sept (he rocked during summer league...he bowled a high game scratch of 105, a high series of 196 and his game average was 81...he was 2nd highest in game average and in high series, would have been in high game scratch if he would have just bowled a 107 or better game. Not bad if you ask me). This will be our last year for summer bowling league. Next summer he and I will go bowling once a week together. He will be moving up that fall to the Batnam's League which is sanctioned and doesn't allow bumpers. We will be working during the summer to get use to bowling without bumpers, with out the distractions or pressure of being on a league. Plus there were somethings that I saw during summer league that I just don't want Edward to be around or see. I think a break will do us good and we will see about doing a summer league in 2010.

Our Homeschool Co-op starts on Sept 5th. I will be teaching 2 classes this semester. A Arts and Crafts Class for Pre-K to 2nd grade and an A to Z Animal Science Class (this is a curriculum that is through our local zoo) for K to 2nd grade. My Arts and Craft class is only 6 weeks long. The A to Z Animal Science Class is actually 2 semesters long, so I will teach that class all school year long. I am looking forward to it.

I just have to share what we are having for dinner tonight....stuffed head of tenderloin (as seen on one of Edward's Favorite Food Network Shows; Good Eats), this is stuffed with crumbled blue cheese....Kirk's mouth has been watering ever since he saw the show so I thought I would fix it for him. We will also be having Parsley and Chive Mashed Potatoes, Broccoliflower and Purple Cauliflower (we haven't had either of these so I thought they would be fun to try), butter and egg dinner rolls, and for desert petite strawberry shortcakes. Is your mouth watering yet? I will have to let you know how this dinner turns out. One night I also plan to make Swedish Potato Balls (Kroppkakor) for Kirk. His mom's parents use to make them when she was a kid and he remembers eating them when he would go to visit them. He has been talking about them. I also have Swedish on my side of the family, I think it would be great for Edward to taste some Swedish style foods. There a Swedish Community here in Kansas (Lindsborg....aka Little Sweden) that has a Swedish Festival (Svensk Hyllningsfest) once a year, I am hoping we will be able to go in either 2009 or 2011 (it's only done every uneven year). It is in Mid-October.

It is different with Sebastian gone, we all miss him so much. Thank you all for the well wishes and condolences. It has taken some getting use too. So far Bear and Storm seem to be dealing with it well.

We are off here over Labor Day weekend for a mini family vacation in Nevada. Pray everyone comes home in one piece and no one tries to amputate any of their body parts.

We wanted to wish Happy Birthday to Jim, Mom T (Kirk's Mom), Oma Du (my Grandma), Paige (our beautiful neice), and Charlene, who all have birthdays in August. Also Happy Anniversary to my brother and his wife.

For those praying for us, please remember that Kirk goes at the end of next month to see the Urologist. Will keep you posted.

In Loving Memory

Today was a very sad day in the Thompson Household. We had our almost 12 yr old Beagle, Sebastian, put to sleep this morning at the vets. The house is a little quieter, a little lonelier, just different. I guess it will feel that way for a little while. Kirk isn't dealing well with this, as Sebastian was his dog (mainly). Kirk is already talking about getting another dog. I said I don't want to right now. I have reasons, for 1 I don't want Edward to think that loved ones are replaceable and that you can't have time to mourn someone before someone new comes into your life. I want to give everyone (including Bear and Storm) time to adjust to the fact that Sebastian isn't here with us anymore.

Edwards Big Night

This week was VBS....the theme was Pirates. Edward has been enjoying himself. Tonight there was an alter call for anyone who wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Edward raised his hand and went up. He was the first child to go up. He prayed that Jesus would come into his heart and be his Lord and Savior. PTL! Yes, I had tears in my eyes. I know that Edward knew what this meant because he stated afterwards that this meant he would get to go to heaven and not to the bad place where Satan was. After Edward was done, it was like a flood gate was opened and about 10 more kids followed suit and got saved.

4th of July

This 4th of July, we went to a picnic at church. We had fun.

Swimming Lessons

This year Edward took swimming lessons again. This year was one step of where he was last year (this year he was a Goldfish). He did awesome. He will take this class again at the beginning of August. He has improved so much over last year. Even would jump into the water or go under water.

British Soccer Challenge Camp

In June Edward participated in a British Soccer Challenge Camp, he loved it. It was his first time to play soccer. His coach said that he was good on the defense. He had a great time making new friends. He says he wants to play soccer again. He seemened to enjoy it alot more than he did playing Blast Ball.

Let Me Count the Ways...........

Myspace Comments @ DazzleJunction.com


I thought it would be fun to share a dozen ways that I love summer and then hear yours:

1. The Smell of Hawaiian Tropic Sun Tan Lotion

2. The taste of Sun Tea

3. The sound of children splashing in a pool

4. The Feel of Running through a sprinkler

5. The sound of the Ice Cream Man coming down the street

6. The look on my sons face when he's eating a chocolate dipped cone

7. The fun of an inpromptu water balloon fight with my husband and son

8. The freedom to have old fashion fun summer seems to give to children of all ages

9. The smell of fresh cut lawns

10. The taste of so many lovely fruits combined together in a summer fruit salad

11. The smell of bar b ques cooking all over the neighborhood

12. The feel of floating down a lazy river

Our Parents Rights are in Jeopardy.

I found this on another persons CafeMom webpage but I feel it is exteremly important to get post it here, especially since Barak Obama is a huge supporter of the CRC. We need to put our foot down and stop this before we have NO SAY in how our children are raised. I personally have read the preamble and the 54 Articles that accompany it. Here is a link to the preamble and its 54 articles under this act : http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm When reading it some of it sounds great and I would support certain parts of it but not the CRC as a whole. It has to many loop holes that allows the government the right to come into your home and tell you how to raise your children, giving the child the right to say how they should be raised and allowing them the right to basically tell you to drop dead, they don't have to do as you say. We need to be praying and praying hard that this act is never put into place in our country. We need to take action as parents to insure that it wont happen. Please do what you have to, to insure that our rights as parents are not taken away from us.

From http://www.parentalrights.org/
October 15, 2007

WITHOUT OUR CONSENT: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
In 1995, President Clinton signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), an international treaty which requires that all decisions regarding children - whether made by the government, the community, or the parents - should be decided based on the "best interests of the child." According to Geraldine van Bueren, a principal drafter of the CRC, "best interests provides decision and policy makers with the authority to substitute their own decisions for either the child's or the parents."
Under the CRC, parental involvement essentially assumes secondary importance because the CRC places the primary responsibility on the state to ensure and protect the rights of children. Parents lose their ability to make decisions for their children, and surrender that authority to the government.

"THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND"
Under Article VI of the Constitution, treaties that have been ratified by the U.S. Senate become the "supreme law of the land." State laws and federal statutes are both subservient to a ratified treaty. The only law that can supersede a treaty is the Constitution itself, and the rights it explicitly grants to its citizens.
Thankfully, the United States has not ratified the CRC because no President has ever sent the CRC to the Senate for approval. But even if the CRC is never explicitly ratified, America could still be subjected to its provisions, under the anti-democracratic legal doctrine of customary international law.

WHAT IS CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW?
Customary international law is comprised of the customs and norms that have been generally accepted by the world society. Customary international law creeps into American society as an unwritten law and is compiled every year by a committee of international jurists and law professors who meet together to survey what they consider to be the significant trends in international law. Unlike treaties, which are drafted, signed, and ratified by sovereign nation-states, international law is simply imposed by judges.

IS THE CRC PART OF CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW?
There is mounting evidence that the CRC is being co-opted into customary international law. Two international tribunals - the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights - have both used the CRC to interpret other international treaties, and to define the responsibilities that the state has toward children. In its 2005 decision of Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court stopped short of declaring that the CRC had become customary international law, but it did cite the CRC as evidence that the United States now "stands alone" in its support of the juvenile death penalty.
If the CRC is co-opted into customary international law, the results will be severe. The CRC's emphasis on the best interests of the child allows the government to invade the private sphere of the home in ways that American law has never allowed. For example, the CRC empowers the government to:
Ensure that every child has the right to make their own decisions about religion and to decide who they associate with - even over the objections of their parents.
Require all teachers - whether public officials or private individuals - to teach certain "core" principles in their classrooms, including a love for diversity, adherence to the principles of the United Nations, and respect for the environment.
Collect private information - including medical records - and place it into a government database, to ensure that the CRC's requirements are met.
Remove a child from his or her home if the government deems that the parents are not making decisions based on the child's "best interests" or "evolving capacities."

MAKING OUR VOICES HEARD
Once ratified - or co-opted into customary international law - the CRC will become part of the "supreme law of the land," even though its provisions have been crafted and defined by the United Nations and foreign judges, not by our duly-elected Congress and President. The only way to prevent international law from injecting the state into the family is by amending the U.S. Constitution to guarantee that parents - not government officials - have the right to guide and direct the upbringing of their children.
Together, we can shield our children from the threat of international law. Join with us by encouraging your friends to get involved in the battle to protect parental rights. Forward this email to your friends, and encourage them to join the campaign today and sign the petition at http://www.parentalrights.org/pages/public/petition.aspx?071015.
SOURCES
Geraldine van Bueren, International Law on the Rights of the Child (1998)
UN Convention the Rights of the Childwww.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/crc.pdf

Get Your Pink On!!

Okay Girls & Guys;
June 23rd (always this day every year) is National Pink Day! Get out there and wear some pink. National Pink Day, a day where everything should be basking in pink splendor! It's easy to enjoy and to participate in National Pink Day. Bring your pink elephant out of hiding. Wear pink, and show off everything you have that's pink, from clothing and shoes to other possessions. Be creative. Use food coloring to make pink meals. Pink frosting on a cake or cookies will be a big hit today. There is no known creator, or the origin of this day. There is no known documentation confirming this to be a "National" day.....but since I love pink and you can find National Pink Day by doing a search on the WWW .... I am running with it as far as I can take it.
I LOVE PINK!!

National Childrens Day!

Did you know that today was National Childrens Day? NCD is the 2nd Sunday of June. During this time you are asked to make a commitment to your child(ren) or the child(ren) in your live. An example of that commitment is: As a parent/guardian, I will commit myself, in the coming year, to love, cherish, nurture(physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual needs), and affirm...
And No Kids this doesn't mean that there are presents involved except those that your parents have for you on their commitment cards. To me those are the best presents of all that a parent or someone that loves you can give to you.

Watch Out Edward is at the Wheel

Thought that you would enjoy this picture of Edward behind the wheel of a Go Kart. This if the first time that he has ever driven on by himself. He usually rides double with Kirk or I. He was so excited about this adventure. BTW, this was at Kirk's Works Company Picnic Yesterday.

Hold Your Children A Little Tighter

Please cherish every moment the Lord give you with your children because you never know when it might be your last. Yesterday morning I received a phone call from the head of our homeschool Co-op letting me know that one of my fellow homeschool moms passed away this morning. She was about my age (35) and had 3 beautiful children (a 12 yr old, a 8 yr old and a 4 yr old (approximate ages of the children)). Her name was Desiree also. There was no know reason for her passing this morning. I don't know when we will know. All I can do right now is think about those 3 beautiful children and the fact that they will never have their mommy tuck them, kiss them, laugh with them, cry with them, hold them when they hurt or rejoice with them when they accomplish something. Please keep her husband, their children and the extend family in your prayers at this time. Please hug your children and let go of the small stuff. Time is just to short.

************** UPDATE ***************added June 11, 2008******************
Desiree had been having some issues with fainting and her heart, they aren't sure if this is what took her life. I haven't heard about the results of the autopsy yet. A correction about her age she was 32 (born on Dec 1975...). When I was reading her obituary in the paper, I found it odd that not only did we both share the same first name, but our grandmas did too (Sylvia). She will be greatly missed. Please continue to keep her family in your prayers as they are facing some huge adjustments in their family right now.

Just Attended My First Homeschool Convention

Wooooo whoooo!! I went to my first homeschool convention this past weekend. I was unable to attend any of the workshops but that is okay because I was able to buy them on CD to listen to at my convenience. I can not wait to get started on that...I have 21 of them to listen 2 plus to others that I bought at a speakers booth on some subjects not covered at the convention. I was able to see so many products and pick the things that look right for us to use this year. Edward is now officially signed up to use the Sonlight K curriculum. Just purchased it. We are also going to be using Math U See (Edward is already begging to start this and I think we will), Character First, A Reason for Handwriting and A Reason for Spelling. I bought the newcomer on the Sonlight so the items I don't intend to use, I will be selling next year at the used book fair that our co-op puts on. I just had to share. Next year I plan to go both days and attend the workshops, Edward will be old enough to attend Adventures In Character that they have for 6 to 12 yr olds at the convention.
A Side note, Edward just started up his Summer Bowling League today. He is doing awesome. He got a 69 and a 74 today, that included 1 spare and a couple of very close other ones.