Panel Discussion

Learning
Allposters.com




Last evening some Moms from our Homeschool
Co-op came out to spend some time in a
question and answer session.

Mrs. Rabe, our friend Susan, and Myself made
up the Panel. That was scary. Actually we have
done this every year for a while now so it wasn't
bad. All of the ladies are so sincere and so sweet.

Having the range of children that I have and am homeschooling
in our home, from willing but challenged, to unwilling but more
than capable, all the way to great involved student....I've
actually built a bit of experience.

Sometimes you have to think about it to realize that.

I get so insecure sometimes in what I know and how I am
going to get that information to the kids.

Will they know enough when they graduate....and all of that.

But, in helping the other ladies last night it became very
obvious that our "homeschool plan" is working and is a
good one. We are taking each child's strengths and weaknesses
into consideration and working within that.

So....while the purpose of the discussion was to help others...
I walked away encouraged as well. Hope they did....lol

I am trying to do much better about posting on Homeschooling at
Hospitality Lane. For the most part, I don't talk about our day
to day studies here...But, if you are interested you can pop in
over there. Perhaps there will be a little goody that will inspire
an idea or two.

Gotta run...I am off for more Continuing Ed for my Financial
Services Job. Never ending learning....never ending....

Thanks for stopping by....

Becky K.

A Lucy and Ethel Moment

It was nearly the stuff television is made of.

On Saturday I was scheduled to meet a woman at
her church to set up a Fundraiser Display for
a mission trip to the Native Americans on a
Reservation out West. This group goes out
and does vision checks and then gives out glasses
donated from the Lion's Club to those who need
them. A very neat mission.

Anyway, we were supposed to meet at 9:00am.
My Mother-in-law is hoping to go on this trip
and introduced the group to the candle fund raiser
so she came along to help set up.

As I pulled into the parking lot of this large
church facility, I was recalling the words of
Jean, "Just pull right up to the front door and
come in. You can unload from there."

Here is the problem. In front of the front
doors... was a hearse.

There were men in dark suits.

This was obviously a somber event... and there
I was in jeans and a trunk full of candles.

Georgia and I parked a short distance away in
the parking lot and then walked hesitantly to
the door. The closer we got, the more obvious
it became that there was no way we were going
to be sneaking in with our merchandise.

The family was just inside the door.

One older gentleman pointed us to some church
attendees out raking leaves and thought perhaps
they could help us.

So...off we went to question them.

One man was very helpful and called his wife
to get the phone number of Jean, the lady we
were to be meeting.

Georgia called, she got voicemail.

I returned to the van to wait.

Georgia assumed a post on the sidewalk
directly across from the front doors.
She just stood there watching everyone
come and go. I don't believe I mentioned
that Georgia was wearing bright red pants
and shoes. Not exactly funeral attire, if
you know what I mean!

I noticed that the family and friends of
the deceased truly knew how to dress.

You notice these things when you are terribly
under dressed for an occasion.

Finally, many minutes later, Jean appeared and
was quite apologetic as she had no idea there
was to be a funeral at the church today.

She directed us to a back door and I assumed
our drama was over.

Unfortunately...NO!

We carried everything into the room to
be set up on display.
No problem.
Unless you count the very handsome Priest
who got off the elevator
and nearly got run over by ladies carrying
bins of candles. Our hostess apologized
sincerely to him for our presence.
That felt good!

A little while later...
I needed something from the van.

As I headed out through the double doors
on the left, my head turned to peer through
a door on the right. One with a very large
window.

To my dismay, I was looking into the eyes of
the entire congregation at the funeral!

YES, I WAS!

That side door just happens to be the front entrance
for the sanctuary.

I ducked out the door as quickly as I could and
upon my return, I was relieved to see that everyone
was standing and facing the aisle in the church.
In my relief, I sped up and was not as careful
as I should have been and kicked a trash can
that was hiding in the shadows!

Big crash!

I rushed to the room of refuge and told no one...
until now... about kicking the can...(pun intended).

Can you just imagine if I had turned the
wrong way and actually entered the door that
led to the sanctuary?
See, there is always a
silver lining...

So, if you run into Georgia or I in the weeks or months
to come, we will understand if you want to refer to us
as Lucy and Ethel.
We have earned it!

Hope your day has no resemblance to an
"I Love Lucy" episode!

Yikes!

Becky K. (Lucy)

Whew!!!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

That is me lately.

It has been so fun, though.

Want to see a peek at what has
been keeping me busy?

This is one thing...
Hot chocolate candles.

And making marshmallows.
See that funky marshmallow mold.
Love it!
They look sooooo real!
People always want to know if they are real.



I made candles any available moment this weekend, and then there was Saturday evening with the family. Fun! We met Chelsea at her job to hang out for an hour until Jonathan got done...I bought 3 pounds of fudge there. That gave us 12 flavors!
Oh...my...goodness! This stuff is incredible. We took it to church to share at the fellowship meal. Some is left over and I swear that it calls to me.

Then we headed over to Gap. We had a fancy schmantzy dinner at the McDonald's.
Have to love their value menu!

After that we visited the Weis (Grocery) Market where we purchased the ingredients to make Mac and Cheese for the Fellowship Meal.

So, you can see that my offerings for the fellowship meal were calorie rich and awfully healthy....ahem ....yummy!

Sunday found us welcoming visitors at church. There were two lovely families. We were so delighted that one of them stayed for lunch. The other couple had a prior commitment.

Mikey shared his roses with us and I made a lovely bouquet for the welcome table. I cannot get over how wonderful his roses are still. Even after a lot of wind and some much cooler weather.



Soooo pretty. Even this morning when I took this picture in my dining room.

Anyway, back to yesterday.

The fellowship meal went long yesterday...but then everything went long yesterday...Sunday School and church....but they were sooo good! The reason they went long was because there was a lot of participation in the discussions in sunday school and in the prayer time in the Worship service. We have an open prayer time and those who wish to can pray out loud. We open with prayers of thanksgiving and then pray for the needs. It is sweet.

The other reason it all went long was because we had communion. With more people coming to church it just takes longer. That is fine because it is a wonderful time of reflection and quiet time with the Lord.

After church and the meal we came home to "rest" a bit before our Sunday crowd came over to join us. Some friends of ours, George and Sheila, from the State College area came to stay with Mom for a few days so I was delighted to get to go and visit with them for a while until the gang got there.

Sheila was often at the hospital with us while Daddy was in his final days. She was the "candy lady". She brought bags of Hershey's mini candy bars and was so sweet and comforting. Up until that point she had been Mom's friend from church and Bible Study....but from that time on she has been my friend as well. Love her!!!!

We enjoyed a sweet time last evening with the families here. It is unbelievable how lively a conversation can get among people who have spent so much time together already in a day. Oh, it was fun! And it was loud. There were seven adults and twelve children here most of the time with a pop in from Mom, Sheila and George. I think we scared them off with all of the noise.

We missed the other family that we are used to having with us...Kelly and Duane. But, I know they will join us again when they can. Next week we have chosen another house to invade...looking forward to it!

O.k., Mrs. Rabe...I am ready to do that "fun" little game you sent my way.

I have been tagged to tell six random things about myself....oyyyyy...you don't really care, do you?

Oh well, here goes...

1. My hair color is all messed up because I first went to the hairdresser's for a haircut and was met by a Russian Mennonite Hairdresser, named Alla who told me that I looked "mousy" and insisted that she color my hair and would not cut it. $95 later it looked "not mousy" and much blonder. That was ok...but not being willing to spend that much again when it needed touched up, I went back to the "box" I used to use and now am not happy with the color...I am spoiled. But I don't look "mousy".

2. I have one brother that I used to be able to push around when I was mad at him until one day, as a teen, he was bigger than me and shoved me harder. I haven't pushed him since. I even love him now. I am so proud of him and am glad he is my brother.

3. I love all things political and newsy. It is a great day for me if I can just putter around the house taking turns on the different news networks to hear the different perspectives and agendas.

4. I am a student of people and their personalities. I love to watch interactions and conversations. I love to see the expressions, the way people process information differently and how they go about their life. I suppose blogging lets us do that in a new way. It is cool. People are cool.

5. I never passed Algebra I. I took it two times. Once in High School and once in College. Weird? Maybe. But I just do not get it.

6. I have to sleep with my feet out from under the covers. My neck has to be all covered up...ever since that Missionary came to the church when I was a kid and talked about vampire bats in Brazil...but my feet have to be out.

There...random and strange things about me. I am not tagging anyone in particular but have fun with this.

Now, Miss Paula....all the way out there on the West Coast...has blessed me with an absolutely adorable award.

Check this out!!!!!



This one comes with questions....

1. Do you have the same friends since childhood? Not really. We moved a lot in the early years since Daddy was a Pastor. I have one friend, Karen, that I often think about. I really should get in touch with her.
2. What do you value most about your friends? Fellowship and laughter.
3. Are your friends your sounding boards? Sometimes... well o.k... often.

4. What is your favorite activity to share with your friends? Time hanging out as families...or occasionally a trip to the Cracker Barrel or some other fun spot.

I want to give this award to one of my newest friends...Kelly. She thinks so much like me that it is scary sometimes to watch. It is also a huge blessing to have her at church. She pitches in and gets things done.

This post has gone on and on. I guess this is the result of too long without posting...days...and well only the weekend.

Hope you have a totally blessed day.

Milestones....

Milestones in our lives can be
joyous or painful.

Yesterday was another one of those
painful days.

If Dad had lived, He and Mom would
have celebrated their 42nd anniversary.

Wouldn't it have been cool to have them
over for dinner and rejoice in all of the
years they have served together in churches,
at the radio station, in International
ministry?

But it is not to be.

Mom went up to visit my brother over this
time and to do some things at the grave site.
It makes me sad to think of her out there
alone weeding and planting and missing
Daddy. But, this is where she is in her
life and I cannot change it.

I suppose to want to is kind of like saying
that God made a mistake...and I know that
can't be...but to watch your mother grieve
is a very hard thing to do.

I am very thankful for the parents God gave me.

I certainly wouldn't trade them for any others,
even knowing that Daddy would go home to Heaven
so soon.

It just disconnects the heart from the things of
this world a little bit more every time we lose
one of these dear people.

On a very different kind of milestone...

Mikey has just discovered that it is just
over a month until he can get his permit...




He is such a clown!








Color him HAPPY!

Me too!

He will be a very good driver, if his foot
doesn't get too heavy on the gas pedal.

We have a State Trooper who lives in our
neighborhood. Perhaps there will be an
opportunity for some one on one with him
to learn the dangers and helpful hints to
being a great defensive driver.

Thanks for being there, you lovely bloggy friends.

I appreciate all the kind words about the blog
color changes. I love to mix things up.
Warren liked it better the old way. I told him
not to worry...I'll be changing it up again
before long.

Tears and smiles.

Isn't it crazy how they mix together to make
up our emotions and how quickly one can change
to another?

This is life.

How are you living yours?

Taking time for both?

Blessings on this day!

Blogworld vs. Real Life

When your blog life and your real life come together it is a bit surreal.

A couple of weekends ago that happened when Alan and Katie Smith happened to be in our area and made contact with our church. Mrs. Rabe posted about that here. It was so neat to meet this sweet young couple and their two boys. Dancing English Country Dance to the sound of Alan's Violin/fiddle was so much fun. Holding young Roni and watching little Brett play was great.

Today, a blog friend that I have not met in person will be arriving in PA from CA.
Only yesterday I was concerned as I read on her blog about the proximity of the epicenter of the earthquake in Chino Hills, CA. Now, in the next day or so, I will be giving Miss Paula a real life welcoming hug. Wow! That is so cool.

We have emailed our prayer requests and concerns to each other. We have had behind the scenes debates and discussions about church and our preferences therein. We have rejoiced in the lives of our children and sometimes tearfully shared concerns about the same. I feel as if Miss Paula and I are already great friends.

I wonder if our meeting will help or hinder our blog friendship. I am guessing it will make it stronger and help us to know each other's communication style. Often times when things are written it is easy to take it in a way that is not intended as we do not know the one who is writing. We do not know their inflections, sense of humor and background. Knowing these things can be helpful when reading another's blog.

I will never forget in my early blogging days, I commented to a dear woman who's daughter was going through "endo" (endometriosis). I had been an endodontic assistant in the dental field for a couple of years and immediately thought she meant her daughter was going to have a root canal. I told her that I hoped her daughter's endo would be behind her soon and that her mouth would feel better soon. I received a kind but perplexed response regarding my comment. Her daughter has endometriosis and it is not "in her mouth". We got a chuckle out of it and have built a friendship that may never have happened were it not for my misunderstanding. I am so glad this sweet lady said, "Huh?" O.k., if you knew her you would know she would never be so blunt. But, the point being that she followed up and did not allow my seemingly strange comment to sit be misunderstood.

I am ready to meet Miss Paula. Even though my home is not in its shiniest form...the Church looks good, though...all of my energy seems to be going there, of late. That is nearing completion.

By the way, as an aside, soon after my children, myself and two extra friends reached the bowling alley yesterday and had begun our first games, the trucking company called to say that the truck carrying the next load of church chairs was sitting at the church and wanted someone to come unload them. Frustration set in as I had been carefully waiting for this call but made the choice to attempt to go to bowling for just a couple of hours. Thankfully my dear husband was able to leave work and go meet the truck. Sigh....

Occasionally I read of another pair of bloggers who meet up, intentionally or otherwise. Those stories fascinate me. Part of the "fun" of blogging is being anonymous...but that does not last long. We are relational people and we tend to reach out to those who share our interests and we make friends. We find ourselves caring about chemo and radiation treatments, about each other's homemaking skills and techniques, decorating tips and so much more. We become a part of each other's lives....usually this is virtual.

Have you met up with a blog friend?

What did it mean to you?
Leave me a comment...and have a great day!

Note: I would not be quick to meet a virtual stranger, however, I am already great friends with her family locally so I am very sure of the person that I will meet in person. I would urge caution in meeting "virtual friends".

A Friday Adventure...

It was all to be so simple.
Our first trip, this season,
to the huge plant nursery
of our choice, Groff's!

This place is phenomenal!

Row after row of greenhouses, at least 12 massive
structures plus all of the outdoor perennials
divided into landscaped levels of sunny or shade loving.
Any plant your heart desires.
Truly!

The kids had their notebooks in hand
to continue their botany assignments.

We were ready.

We were traveling down the road and having
a good time. Both Moms were along for the
adventure. Suddenly the van became "possessed".
Not as in taken away, as in
gauges flickering, needles jumping, the radio
turned on spontaneously.
Strange!

I wondered out loud if it was the alternator or the
computer. I decided to pull over at a farm up ahead to
restart the engine and see if it cleared the problem.
My thinking was that if it was a computer problem
this could fix it...Warren always asks me if I have
"rebooted" the computer when I have an issue.

It did cross my mind that if it was the alternator it
would be very likely to not start again.

It didn't...start, that is.

There we were.

AAA cards were ripped from purses and Georgia was
the first to her cell phone. I walked the short
distance to the farm house to find out what road
we were on...oops. The tow truck said they would be there
in about an hour. So we sat and "enjoyed" the view.

After about 45 minutes I jumped up and said,
"What kind of Blogger am I?!?!?"

Then whipping out my camera I captured these for you...

aren't you glad I am dedicated to documenting every
story - LOL!




Soon after I snapped these pictures the farmer came over and asked if there was
anything he could do to help us...hmmm.
He was very nice, though.

Finally the tow truck arrived and thankfully
it was owned by my neighbor's parents.
He assessed the situation very quickly and put
a "magic" box under the hood, attached to the battery and the van started right up.
We drove home where the tow truck met us and reclaimed their "magic" box.

The van will be staying right where it is until my husband
returns home from his long, long trip.
I can't wait!

Not being the types to be easily put off,
we now headed back to the nursery in Georgia's car.
This time without kids.
Mikey had to go to work and the other two
had spent enough time with us...


It was crowded.

We parked. We began shopping.





My wagon full of plants.



It became apparent that the car
was going to be a "bit small" to
haul home the loot.

Georgia left and came back with the
TRUCK! Yep, this was what we needed!


We returned home and were unloading plants when the backhoe showed up to repair
the water problem at Georgia's. It is now fixed and other than some landscape repair we are thankful to have that mess fixed.

The kids and I were then off to a time of play with our church at a local school baseball diamond. They played, I watched and "encouraged" all the while chatting with my fellow "encouragers".

Finally, when it was too dark to see, we headed home. Several friends
came back to our place, where I served pizza and other snacks.

The kids made up a twist on the game of Pit by
playing keep away with the bell so that poor Mindy
couldn't officially win...since she couldn't ring the
bell. They wore themselves out!

Fun!

Taking your Mother-in-law to the ER

What I have learned.

This is for the long time
friends who know me and will
get how truly crazy this was...
never, never a dull moment!!!

It is not always a straight
forward proposition to get a
loved one to get the medical
help that they need.

When Georgia called Friday night
and said that she had another
obstruction she was pretty sure
that was the case...but...

when I got next door a few minutes
later, she thought maybe she felt
better.

I decided that we should buy a few
minutes by calling the Doctor to
get the advice to head for the ER.

The answering service agreed to
page the on call Doc.

We waited.
On the steps.
Beaux, Georgia's kitty, waited
with us...He would reach his paw
through the stair rails and pat
Georgia on the back.

It was the sweetest thing.
You see, Georgia just nursed him
through a horrible upper respiratory
infection that nearly took his life.

Now, he was caring for her....

I called the Doctor's
answering service
again. Then decided that
we should just head
in to the hospital.
Georgia's pain seemed to
be building again.

As we drove the phone rang.
The on call doctor seemed pleased
that we were on our way and said
someone would meet us there.

Great!

The closer we got to the hospital
the better Georgia felt.
I suggested as we turned the corner
just before the hospital that she
decide whether she really wanted to
go in...
after all, it is flu season and there
would likely be a long wait.

She decided to pass.

Now, I am thinking...
What did I just do?????

I am now headed the half hour back
home and figure that about the
time we pull into the driveway
the pain will be back full force.

I took the long way and drove
very slowly.
About halfway home...

there were groans of
discomfort coming from the
seat beside me.

I offered to head back to
Lancaster.
No definitive response.

I decided to "go medical".
"Georgia, on a scale of 1 to 10
what would you say your pain is?"

Every nurse knows this question...
Georgia is an RN!
She answered that it was about a 5.
She groaned again.
I made an executive decision
and headed
back to the hospital.

Flash forward to ER Room #8.
The x-ray just came back stating that
there is no blockage.
The nice ER Doc wants to be helpful.
We have told him that a CT scan
had been recommended but not completed
after her last obstruction.

He offers to order the test.
The only draw back is that it will take
another 4 hours.
It is now 1:00 am.

Georgia wants this test.
I want Georgia to have this test.
Georgia wants me to go home and
go to bed.
I am not going anywhere.

I need to convince Georgia that I will
go home and sleep if she will have the test.

She works it all out that
I will leave,
she will have the test and then sit in
the waiting room until I come back at
7am to pick her up...

Right!!!!

She agrees!

I then let her know that I am
going...
NOWHERE!

Ha! Joke is on her!

...and me....

We are up all night.
Actually, she dozed..a lot...
I was up all night.

Finally at 4:00 am the next ER
Doc on duty pops in to say
that this test has shown an obstruction.
They are preparing a bed upstairs.

We make it up there at 5am.
Meet Nurse Sue...a very nice lady.

Give her all kinds of personal info
as if we have been best pals forever...
instead of 5 minutes.

Lay our heads down...
Georgia on a pillow...
me on my folded up coat.

And sleep for one hour.

I wake up and scoot out to
a ladies breakfast.
I have never gone out
knowingly looking that bad
before in my life.

We had a blast.
I drank a 16oz mochaccino
and got silly.

Finally, you saw that post
that made just about no
sense that I posted when I
returned that morning.

I did not go straight to bed
at that point as I remembered
some people that needed to know
that Georgia would not be attending
a funeral as she had planned that
afternoon.

But, finally crawled into bed to
have the coffee keep my brain
whirling for another hour before a
blessed two hour nap!

You just never know what a day...
or night...
will bring!

The tree is back in the Box

So often just writing a list can help you to get motivated to do things that you would otherwise just keep putting off. That is kind of what yesterday's rant(post) did for me. It served as my "to do" list.

After our school work was done and Mikey was off to work, Chelsea and I began taking the ornaments off of the tree. She put them in nice neat piles according to their type as I handed them to her.

Having a faux Christmas tree is kind of nice, in some ways, but is kind of depressing when you have removed half of its limbs and there it sits waiting for you to personally take it out of existence for another year. You take of each branch and squish it as flat as you can, knowing that next year when you open the box you will wish that you did not need to "fluff" every one of those little branches.

Finally, the tree was down and everything was in the little boxes then placed into the big bins and ready for their trek back into the cold garage attic. They are still ready!
In my kitchen!
But they will get up there today.

OK, here is where it got fun. I started rearranging the furniture. For as long as we have lived here I have wondered what it would be like to have the sofa back up to the stair railing. I have not done it out of fear of a young child climbing up onto the couch and falling over the rail. We just don't get that many very young children here anymore. Our kids are older and so are most of our neighbor kids and friends' children. So, I risked it. Moved it all around. I think I like it.

Chloe is a little put out. She can't get to the picture window now...which I see as a huge benefit to me. Less doggie nose smudges on the glass. lol

I will be getting my window treatments back up. I go back and forth between wanting something there....and not. In these pictures, the window looks bare without it. I just love the tatouage above the window, though. I took this picture before I was finished so the sweeper chord and some school books are visible if you click on it and make it big.

I did spend just about "forever" trying to make the picture of the new arrangement into a new header. I have some learning to do but I will learn and it will be fun. So, in the meantime that will be a work in progress.

I made serious headway into the projects for the Homeschool Event coming up. We are having a speaker come in who will talk about the changing relationships in a Homeschool house as the students become teenagers. How to maintain peace and unity as things change. I love this topic since so often when people talk about homeschool and high school it is all about the academics. They are important as well, but if the relationships aren't healthy teaching is a lot harder! So I am designing a postcard that will go out to our 800 families inviting them to this event. How I pray that those who need it most will see these cards as they come in the mail and set aside the time to come.

As it relates to the Homeschool Board responsibilities I also got the article written that will announce the Graduation Speaker for this year. Now, a lot of that was copy and paste from the bio he sent over...but still...I did have to organize, edit and add what we wanted the readers to know. Each month our organization, CHALC, publishes a 45 plus page newsletter. We have a superb editor who does a great job. I have very few responsibilities when it comes to that actual work of this but we do oversee it and are responsible for meeting the deadlines on our submissions.

There is still a lot left to be to accomplished...but I am feeling much better about it all than I was yesterday. I was venting...sometimes the pressure builds and you can just feel it inside. Most of the time I do it to myself...I will fill my schedule as full as I think I can manage..and then something unexpected comes up and I am overwhelmed. When I finally learn to count on the unexpected I will be old and gray....actually, I hope I get that before then. This would be an excellent year to act on that knowledge, wouldn't it?

Blessings to all reading this.
Hope you have a productive and peaceful day wherever you are and whatever you are doing.
I hope you are not "overbooked".

Shelley and Becky - Forever Friends

O.k. You asked for it. This is my friend, Shelley. We raised our children in houses side by side for several years. Shelley was the one who took my preschool boys every day while I was on bedrest for many months while expecting Chelsea.
Shelley is the friend who fell through our ceiling while looking for a document in my attic that I needed to register Mikey for kindergarten. She was there because I am afraid of heights and she came to my "rescue". Warren patched the hole. lol
Shelley is the friend that came to visit one weekend when Warren was away and ended up caring for me while I had the stomach flu. I think if it were me, I would have hurried on back to State College!
Shelley is one of those friends that just picks up where we left off the last time when we talk.
If you don't have one of these extra special friends...go out there and get you one!
Oh, if it were only that easy...
I miss seeing this friend daily...but always know that she is there and will be available if I need her.

We are just nutty sometimes and this picture, unfortunately, captures that pretty well. I am on the right.