Simple Woman's Daybook

I have great ideas for blog posts when I am lying in bed right when I wake up in the morning, but by the time I actually sit down at my computer..... poof, gone. 

I have been wanting to get into a better blog routine again. There have been some long gaps lately.   And I struggle sometimes with the purpose of this blog.  Is it just a way to share family activities with extended family? Am I writing to be an encouragement to other homeschooling families? Is it a brain dump for my thoughts on everything under the sun?  Perhaps I should split into 2 blogs - one for the family activities stuff, and one for the homeschooling, parenting, health politics, fix-the-world stuff.  ( you know, the things us moms talk about in the parking lot after meetings, sometimes late into the night, as we fix all the world's problems! )

For now, I'll start with something I haven't done in quite a while, and that is an entry for the Simple Woman's Daybook.  ( my life might not be simple, but this is a great reminder to enjoy the simple things in life!)

FOR TODAY : June 6, 2011

Outside my window... the sun is shining through the leaves in the backyard; there are still some logs left next to the fire pit that didn't get burned, but the remnants of Saturday night's Graduation Party are pretty much all cleaned up! 

I am thinking... that I can't believe how fast my children are growing up!  My 4th child graduated from our homeschool on Saturday, and I only have 1 left to go!

I am thankful for...  a healthy family, and know that it is a gift not to take for granted! I am praying for a dear friend whose little boy was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes this weekend.

From the learning rooms...  we are on summer vacation right now , but last week I went to the North Carolinians for Home Education annual homeschool conference and heard Dianne Craft speak.  This week I plan to read the book I bought from her, Brain Integration Therapy Manual, 2010 ed. 


From the kitchen... I baked 4 kinds of cupcakes for Amanda's Graduation party -  Lime-Coconut (coconut cake w/ lime buttercream) , Mocha Cappucinno ( chocolate mocha cake w/ espresso buttercream) , Neopolitan ( vanilla cake filled w/ strawberry jam, topped with dark chocolate buttercream) , and Elvis ( banana cake, filled w/ chocolate ganache, with peanut butter frosting topped w/ candied bacon )

I am creating... I do not have a project going on at the moment, but I have a huge stack of photos we developed for Amanda's graduation board, so I'm thinking of breaking out the scrapbooking stuff ...

I am going... to bring some fruit and yogurt to my 3 kids who are working at New Life Camp this summer (thankfully only 10 minutes away) , but get tired of "camp food"

I am reading...  Brain Integration Therapy Manual  by Dianne Craft, and also Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis with my 12-year-old

I am hoping./ praying ... for my friends, the Craigs, who are in China right now to pick up their 3rd adopted child, a little 2-yr-old daughter, that everything goes smoothly with their trip and for their other children waiting at home for their return!

I am hearing...  ESPN Sports Center on TV, which is the first thing my 12-year-old does when he gets up in the morning!

Around the house... yesterday I was a slug (wiped out from a week of furious cleaning and cooking) so today I have to finish cleaning up from the Graduation Party

One of my favorite things... fresh strawberry shortcake... maybe for dinner tonight?

A few plans for the rest of the week:... Lighthouse meeting ( homeschool group ) tomorrow night with a panel of homeschool graduates talking about "life after homeschool";  my 16-yr-old niece is flying down from CT to go to camp next week, so we'll have her here for the weekend!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing..
Happy Graduation, Amanda! We love you and are so proud of the young lady you have grown to be!