Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm sorry I've been silent for so long...

I've been helping my younger sister, HA out.

This morning, at 3am to be precise, she had her 4th child.

A beautiful, healthy baby girl.

And I was there!

I promise next week I will be better about posting.

In the meantime, enjoy time with your family.

I intend to immerse myself in mine.

Many Blessings,

Swizz

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons!

I haven't talked much about JMonster's learning...

I've mentioned we LOVE homeschooling!

When we started this whole homeschooling thing, JMonster couldn't read.

Not one word.

He knew his letters.

He knew the sounds they make.

(Thank goodness for LeapFrog videos!)

We have been using the MOST fabulous book to learn to read.

After 20 lessons, JMonster could read a short book.

He absolutely LOVES the program by the way.

And BOB books.  We LOVE the BOB books.

We are 30 lessons or so in.  Yesterday I was making my grocery list.

"I'm going to get a piece of paper and make a list, too, Mommy!"

Off he went to get paper.

I figured he'd draw pictures and scribble a little bit.

"I'm going to add tomatoes to our list."

A minute goes by.

"See Mommy?  Tomato!"

"Tomato"

 

 

 

 

The scanner didn't do it justice, but he wrote TMATO the first time, and when I told him he left out the O after the T he wrote it again correctly.  On two lines, but spelled the right way!  Pretty darn good for a kid who has been reading for barely over a month!

WAY TO GO JMONSTER!

Still Working on Blog Design

Played around today with a new software called Gimp...it allows you to design a custom header for your blog for FREE!

Except you have to learn to use it.

And it is NOT user friendly.

I did a "quick" one to see if it would even be worth playing around with.

Here is my first attempt:

Just used pics I had easily available.

It's NOT what I want.  There are so many cute headers out there that look oh so professional.

I'll keep plugging away...

What style of header do YOU think I should design?  

Feedback!

Blog Template Mishaps

AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Okay, I thought that would make me feel better.

It might have if everyone in the house weren't already ASLEEP and I could have REALLY screamed!

No laughing...

I'm trying to do my own design for my blog.

Try a few things out to see if they will work.

So, being smart like I am, I started a whole NEW blog to test on.

Would hate to have this one get messed up, ya know?

I'm trying to learn how to put a background picture in.

Something cute.

Maybe a photo I've taken!

The one I'm practicing with is an adorable angel blogging writing...appropriate, don't you think?

(wink, wink!)

Except it's head is cut off.

Go check it out for yourself!

The blogging angel with her head cut off.

Then come back and laugh.

It's okay, I'm laughing, too...

Dear Mr. President,

Dear Mr. President,
When it was announced that Barack Obama, a black man, would be running for the next President of the United States, I was THRILLED!  What an exciting time to be alive, when we can put aside our differences and elect who is truly the best person to run for leader of the free world.

I had never been very interested in politics, but I made the decision to really dig into the issues for this election and research the candidates.  That's just how I am...when I do something, I try and go big.  I looked into both of your voting records (Really!?! 130 present votes?  Really!?!).  I looked at your backgrounds.  I asked other people lots and lots of questions.

I wanted to vote for you.  I really did!  But you made it absolutely impossible.  I won't go into all of that...the election is behind us and you are now POTUS.  Let's move on.

I would like to challenge you, though, to live the life you are "leading" this country toward.  If you truly believe what you espouse, you will do the following:

I challenge you, President Obama, to change your salary to reflect the median salary of your constituents...the people of the United States.  Put the rest of it toward balancing our budget.

I challenge you, President Obama, to require Congress to make the same change. 

I challenge you, President Obama, to utilize Obamacare.  To wait in the same lines, use the same doctors, try and pay for the same prescriptions with your median salary, and not have any special treatment because you are the POTUS.

I challenge you, President Obama, to require Congress to do the same.  If it's good enough for the rest of Americans, it's good enough for them.

I challenge you, President Obama, to continue to write books and make lots of money....and then give it ALL to the government to put towards our deficit.  Remember you make a salary?  You don't need the rest.

I challenge you, President Obama, to require Congress to do the same.

I challenge you, President Obama, to protect the innocent.  Abortion kills.  Especially late term abortion.  Support adoption reform and help make it more affordable.  A woman's right should not supersede the right of another human.  Especially an unborn, innocent one.

I challenge you, President Obama, to return to the church you were a member of for so many years.  Teach them that the stance they are taking in race relations is hurting, not helping.  If we want to really move forward we need to do so.  Together.

And while I'm at it...let's cut our budget of all of the fluff.  You ever see the movie "Dave"?  I believe it can happen!  We are getting more and more in debt to foreign countries; I don't want to see our Land of the Free and Home of the Brave taken away by debt holders.

I'm praying for you, Mr. President.

An American Citizen,
Swizz

The Sun and the Moon

I've been contemplating lately.

I know, dangerous, huh?

What I've been contemplating is a bit...deep.  So if you're not ready for deep you'd better stop reading.

If you ARE ready, grab a cup of coffee and let's chat.

As most of you know I am living with my identical twin sister.

She moved to town almost 2 years before I did.

She built her house in our neighborhood and got established almost a year before I moved in.

She has roots.  And friends. 

We all live in our own little solar systems.

Did you know that?

We all have our families, our friends, our jobs, our places of worship...

And most of us think of ourselves as the sun in our little solar system!

Our solar system may not be the same size, made up of the same types of planets, but it involves us and "revolves" around us.

Lately I've been a moon. A moon doesn't produce it's own light.  It REFLECTS the light of a greater source. I've been reflecting the light of my sister.

Now, that's not a horrible place to be, but it isn't where I was MEANT to be.

Her light is not MY light.

I'm beginning to remember that now.

I am, however, not aiming to become the sun in my solar system anymore.

I've decided to stay a moon.

I will not be reflecting the light of my sister...

I will be reflecting the light of a much brighter sun!

The Son.

Are you a sun or a moon?  

What do you want to be?

(Image courtesy of Nasa.gov)

Aggies Hockey Game!

You know when you have Texas A&M Aggies (WHOOP!) versus University of Texas in ANY sport, it's gonna be a showdown.  

When it is an ice hockey match?  It's bound to get ugly...

We met up with some other hockey fans...families we know whose kiddos also take hockey lessons...and had an early dinner.

Luke and JMonster

 

Dave, The Rev, and Steve..."The Guys!"

The computer is downloading the pictures slllooooowwwwllly, or I would show you a pic of the ladies and "Big Frank".  It was a HUGE hot dog.  Seriously!  Over a foot long!  And my friend Wendy ate an ENTIRE ONE!  So did her husband, but he's a guy. 

The game started innocently enough...

But soon the noise became overwhelming.  Notice the fingers in the ears?

Not the greatest photo...JMonster wouldn't stop moving!

The Aggies played an AWESOME GAME!  We scored, and scored, and scored.  

Poor longhorns.  They didn't.

The highlight of JMonster's night was seeing his coach, Nathan, play in the game.  

Or it might have been this:

Either way...we had a fabulous evening!

AGGIES 9

LONGHORNS 0

I voted...Did you?

(Provisionally!)

I went to vote today.

Gave the woman my driver's license.

No name in the book.

Hmmm...

Called the judge over.

She called voter registration.

Not listed.

What!?!

Didn't they ask me if I wanted to register when I got my driver's license?

You may vote...provisionally.

Your vote may not count.

But, you will be registered to vote.

However, it would be a good idea for you to fill in this form to register...just in case.

Bureaucracy at its best.