Excitement

I just discovered that my brother is now reading my blog, or at least here and there. Wow, that makes me feel great! And my mom has let it slip that she checks in every so often, too. I must be getting popular!

Speaking of feeling great, this week, I felt tremendous when I discovered that I won second place in the most recent FaithWriter's challenge! Oh, what a feeling! This was my first-ever fiction piece and I was a bit anxious over how it would be received. Fiction is tricky because not only does the writer have to get a point across (in 750 words or fewer) but believable characters with believable dialogue have to be developed, too. I submitted another fiction piece for this week - I'll find out this Thursday how I did. I already read through the other entries in my level - I think the competition is a little stiffer this week. But I did get my first comment on my story just this morning. The person that left it said that she enjoyed my "tender" story. I hadn't thought of it in that term before, but I can see it. I am just excited at how well my story from last week went over. I didn't make it yet into the "Editor's Picks" which are the pieces that will be published at year's end, but it's coming...sometime.

I went to the NICHE (homeschool) conference yesterday. This is the second or third year in a row now I've gone without Paul. It would be more helpful for me if he could make it one of these years. I found it somewhat stressful this year because I completely switched over the boys' curriculum in everything. We aren't using Bob Jones or Abeka anything this year, which is a first! The hardest thing for me was deciding on math for the boys. They both needed a change. The program I found that I really liked was also really expensive (Teaching Textbooks). It took me forever to decide - what should the deciding factor be? Should my children's' education or my bank account win out? I ended up compromising. I switched Will to Math U See for Alg. 2. I think it will definitely be a better thing for him than Abeka, which gave him fits this year. It's more audio teaching and they show every problem at the back of the teacher's book - the steps that it takes to get the right answer. And if he still has trouble this year, then I'll buy the other program for his Geometry next year. But for David, I went with the Teaching Textbooks. The price difference between that and Math U See, which he's been using for quite a few years now, wasn't that big. And you know what? I get home and that grouchy kid pouts, "But I wanted Math U See!" I could have smacked him, after all the mental energy I spent, deciding what to do.

I picked up two other books for Will that I wasn't planning on purchasing. One is called, "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution." I am excited about this - in fact, I plan to read it first. The book is fun to read and written from a Christian standpoint. I don't even fully understand the US Constitution. But if a person listens to the media long enough, they're going to come to believe that it's a fluid, ever-changing, open-to-interpretation document. And that's simply not true. So, I think it's important that he read this book. They had a bunch of "Politically Incorrect" guides - the the Vietnam War, the Civil War, global warming, Islam, and etc. I would have loved to buy them all!

I also bought him this book on recognizing bad reasoning (and thereby developing good reasoning skills, I would assume). It's so important that we're able to see through what people assert and be able to make wise judgements on it. So I think that will be good for him, too.

David was a bit irritated that I bought him a handwriting workbook (he was really grouchy last night!). I can understand that it's written for the beginning writer, but I cannot read David's handwriting, even though he is older. He is so gifted with writing and words and I find it terribly frustrating to try and read what he has to say. And then he gets offended when I tell him, "I can't read this!" So I think we need to go back to basics for awhile and get that mastered. Otherwise, how will he ever be able to write love notes to his future wife?

The conference outgrew its former location and was held in downtown Des Moines this year. I loved the new facility, but hated where it was located. It was difficult to find a parking spot and then I got hit up for money by a homeless woman on my way out. I could do without all that. But it was really nice to have all the vendors in one big conference hall and not have to wend my way throughout this huge church where it used to be held.

And of course, I got to see my friend, Kathy. We seriously had not talked since early Dec. when we went shopping last. We were marvelling about that yesterday, how we are so close, but hardly ever talk to each other (we're too busy for the phone and she's never on the computer). I told her, "I talk to people I don't like more than I talk to you!" So her husband left us alone and we had lunch in the skywalk together. And then last night she called me when I was already at home. She had two bags of clothes for Sam that she had forgotten to give me earlier that day. So, Paul and I drove up to Fazolis, met Rich and Kathy, and had a nice supper with them, which was an unexpected treat.

I'll close with probably the highlight of yesterday. I was wandering through the curriculum hall when I ran into a mother from my church. I was so surprised to see her there because I know she works full time and her kids go to public school. I expressed my surprise and asked, "Why are you here?" (duh!) She looked at me with tears in her eyes, and said, "I have to get my kids out of public school." She and her family are going to be making tremendous sacrifices to make that happen now. She was overwhelmed with all the curriculum choices and isn't even sure how she's going to make this all work. But she's stepping out in faith, believing that this is God's will for their family. That touched me so much. This past year I really struggled with keeping the momentum going with homeschooling. It was probably a harder year for me than even the year that I had Sam and was recovering from the stroke - and that was hard! I think a lot of my struggles had to do with Ben and the ordeal of getting him back into school. But I let my focus slip this year and found myself more concerned about how hard it was to do all this, rather than the why of it. This conference I didn't attend a single workshop or session where I'd find my energy and purpose renewed for homeschooling. I didn't need to. Mishelle took care of that for me.