Dr. Ben Carson's Inspiring Words

If you want to be inspired to do hard things, then watch this video.  I just read about this man to my children.  The story is in the book, "Hero Tales:  Volume IV".  Dr. Ben Carson is a Christian who succeeded in spite of growing up in the ghetto and being the child of a single mother who didn't make it past 3rd grade.  There is a new movie out about Dr. Carson's life.  I saw excerpts from the movie on Youtube.  It looks like a great movie!  One of the morals of his story is to read, read, read!!

School Days

This is the cutest book, with beautiful pictures!

We LOVE floor puzzles!  Great hands-on learning.

Clayton got this book for Christmas from my Mom and Dad.  It is so cute and a lot of fun to fill out.  One great thing is that the words are right at Clayton's reading level:  not too hard, but fun to read.

Clayton coloring a picture the way Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel, on his back!

Carrington doing her "Michelangelo" artwork.  There was a piece of paper taped to the bottom of a pingpong table.  This was at Geography Club which is so fun!  We were studying Italy.

Baseball

Last Saturday was opening day for Clayton's baseball team.  He was thrilled to get to be in the parade.  Carrington was thrilled to have so much candy thrown at her. 

Clayton's first game was exciting as he hit a triple and had 2 RBIs.  Aren't you impressed that I know what that means?  Because of his big hit, he got the game ball.  All of the coaches signed his ball.  He has an awesome coach this year.

HAPPY SPRING !!!!!!

This is by far my favorite time of year!  The weather is perfect and I can open my windows.  I planted tulip bulbs in the Fall and I'm so glad I did.  It's so exciting to see them coming up.  I had pink tulips in my wedding, because they're my favorite flowers.  Our cherry trees are in full bloom right now.  It's a little glimpse of heaven on earth!  :o)

"Emma" My new favorite movie!

Carrington and I watched this movie last night.  We LOVED it!!!  My favorite scene is when Mr. Knightly asked Harriet to dance at the ball.  It was so sweet!  He has so much character and integrity.  We really enjoyed "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice", but I think "Emma" is the best.  Thank you Abigail for recommending the BBC version!  :o)

Hi this is Carrington. :) I have decided to go back to Framed by Faith. :) 

Have a happy Saint Patrick's day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day



Carrington made this today.  I bought the M&M's to do multiplication with Clayton, and Carrington turned it into Art!  :o)



This is a castle in Ireland, that used to belong to my distant ancestors (VERY distant family, but kind of cool none the less).  The woman in the picture is not me, by the way.  :o)  I would love to go see it some day.  Ireland looks like a beautiful place.  I have come to celebrate my family's Celtic roots in the last few years.  My daughter and I have become fans of the group Celtic Thunder, thanks to my nieces introducing them to us a few years ago.   

Picture from totalwealthcoaching.com.

  I love the story of St. Patrick.  It doesn't have anything to do with green beer and leprechauns.  You can read the real history of St. Patrick here:  http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/churchhistory/patricius_the_true_story_of_st_patrick.aspx

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would name a few famous Irish men and women:

Here is a quote from C.S. Lewis, author and Christian apologist,  (who was born in Ireland):  "A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."

Oliver Goldsmith, Irish writer, poet, and physician said, "Ceremonies are different in every country, but true politeness is everywhere the same."

James Hoban was an Irish architect who designed the White House.

Annie Moore, the first person to pass through Ellis Island's immigration system.

William Butler Yeats, poet and Nobel Laureate.

David O'Reilly, CEO of Chevron

Pierce Brosnan, actor, best known as "James Bond".

Sir William Johnson, pioneer settler of America.

I'm wearing green pajamas tonight, so my kids don't pinch me in the morning!

A Visit With Family and Field Trip

Civil War Museum and Cemetary

Lily Kate hanging out with Carrington. 

The boys played hard together and got very dirty.  :o)

I decided that we needed a change of scenery today, so we packed up some of our schoolwork and went to a restaurant to finish school.  It was fun, the kids loved it, and it helped in getting my boy to focus on getting his Math done and not daydream, play with his dog, stand on his head, or start playing with his Lego's.  :o) 

Tonight, Carrington and I had a girls night out.  We went shopping at our mall.   It was fun to have some alone time with her.  It is neat to see how your kids will open up and share with you about things that they might not share when other family members are around.  Carrington is an awesome girl, even when she is rushing me to hurry up and decide on what I'm going to buy!