Writing Assignment That Broke My Heart

On Tuesday of this week our oldest had a writing assignment to do.  Not a bid deal, right?  That's what I thought.  She was given the assignment of writing free verse.  She's pretty good at writing so I didn't give it another thought until she handed it to me to check over. 

here it is:

Gone Forever
It was the Fourth of July,
we went to my aunts house.
We probably shouldn't have gone
but how were we to know
what happened later.
We came home,
and we knew
something was wrong.
Dad checked the house,
but nothing was gone,
nothing was broken,
and nothing was moved.
So he moved to the backyard,
there he found the source
of our unease.
Our beloved dog, Simba, was gone.
We searched for weeks,
possibly a few months,
but Simba was gone.

Gone Forever.

I was bawling by the time I was done reading.  The truth is, I have never quit looking for Simba.  She was my baby before I could have babies.  She is still missed.

Soccer

Saturdays are filled with soccer for us.  We have all four girls playing on four different teams.  Can you say busy?  lol 

Saturday our games were one on top of the other with our oldest having an away game.  Steven took her to her game and I stayed for the other three.  Our youngest was first and she played pretty well.  She had a little trouble turning the ball around but had so much fun giggling with her friends.  :)

The 10yo was next.  I knew as soon as I saw the opposing team that we were in trouble.  I knew three of the players from the other team.  They are crazy good players.  The other coach is a great coach as well.  Our girls fought hard until the end.  They lost, but they were able to stiffle one of the opposing teams best players and keep her from scoring.  I was very proud of our girls for hanging in there and fighting.

The 12yo's game was going on while these two games were going and they only had 8 players show up.  We need 11 to take field.  :(  It ended up that the other team only had 9 players show up so everyone played the whole game!  Oh were they tired.  We ended up winning pretty decisively anyway.

By the time the fourth game of the day came around, I was done!  lol  Our 8yo was the last to play and you never know how she is going to play.  heehee  She likes to dance and talk on the soccer field. lol  So, I have had to learn to just sit back and watch with no expectations.  (not a bad thing to have to learn)  This day, she came to play.  She score three or four of the 6 goals.  She scored one with her left foot!  Another was an indirect kick that she shot over the opposing teams heads into the goal.  It was crazy!  She had a great time while doing it!  next week may be a different story! lol

We only have a few more weeks of soccer left.  Then some peace and quiet...Not!

Our Homeschool Performance

We belong to a homeschool group that we just love.  It is made up of about 15 families and around 55 kids!  We meet on Mondays three of the four weeks a month for classes.  We offer 4 classes for ages starting at birth all the way through high school.  The moms get together and decide the classes based on what their kids are asking for.  The classes change each year.  For the last two years though, we have had a choir class.  Last year we sang songs like a typical choir.  The kids did a great job.

This year, however, we did show tunes!  At the first class session, I let the kids listen to several songs that I picked so that they could choose the songs they wanted to perfrom.  The ages in the choir class were from 2nd grade up through high school.  When I started playing the songs for them, I kind of paniced!  They picked some of the hardest songs I played. lol  I should have known!

The songs they chose were All for the Best and Light of the World from Godspell; Go, Go, Joseph and the Prologue from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Not only were they going to sing, but they were going to dance!!!  Okay, so I only choreographed one song; but we only meet nine times and class time is only 45-50 minutes.  I had a big challenge in front of me.

Well, the kids pulled it off!  They totally rocked it.  They memorized all the songs and learned all the choreography.  A few of the kids had solos and ensemble work.  They were amazing!  I could not have asked for them to do any better.  They were confident and poised.  Plus, they had fun doing it!  What more could I ask for?

It was so much fun to see the light in their eyes when they accomplished what they started.  Woohoo! 

Forget Me Not Blog Tour Review and GIVEAWAY

A mother who cannot face her future.
THEIR ELUSIVE ENEMIES TOOK EVERYTHING. NOW THEY WANT MORE.

Crossroads Crisis Center owner Benjamin Brandt was a content man—in his faith, his work, and his family. Then in a flash, everything he loved was snatched away. His wife and son were murdered, and grief-stricken Ben lost faith. Determination to find their killers keeps him going, but after three years of dead ends and torment, his hope is dying too. Why had he survived? He’d failed to protect his family.

Now, a mysterious woman appears at Crossroads seeking answers and help—a victim who eerily resembles Ben’s deceased wife, Susan. A woman robbed of her identity, her life, of everything except her faith—and Susan’s necklace.

The connections between the two women mount, exceeding coincidence, and to keep the truth hidden, someone is willing to kill. Finding out who and why turns Ben and the mystery woman’s situation from dangerous to deadly. Their only hope for survival is to work together, trust each other, and face whatever they discover head on, no matter how painful. But will that be enough to save their lives and heal their tattered hearts?


My Opinion:

This was a really interesting book!  It was suspenseful from the first page.  The story was full of twists and turns and interesting plotlines.  It was just a little too short though.  I wanted more time to delve into the different aspects of the storyline.  It did make for fast reading, though. 

I would recommend this book.  AND I have one to give away!  lol  Since I am behind on posting this, I will draw a name on next Wednesday, the 21st.  Just leave a comment and you will be entered to win this great book!


This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.
http://www.randomhouse.com/waterbrook/bloggingforbooks/.

Trip To Cincinnati-TONS of pictures-BEWARE

I was able to meet up with some online friends last week and go to a Home School Convention in Cincinnati.  It was amazing!  We had so much fun.  It really felt like we had been friends in real life forever.  We discovered Caramel and Mocha Frappes from McDonalds, Caramel Machiatto's, and how to sleep in a coffin.  ;-D  Sweet memories that will last for a year and then we are going back.  Hopefully we can get some more online friends to go with us next year.

The crew: Laura, Donna, and Missy

Our Incredibly tiny room!

This is our kind of Math. heehee

Donna and her Taylor made cup of love.

Stephanie

Laura, Amy, Donna, and me with a dog butt. lol

Yeah, don't ask.  Trust me, you don't want to know!

Me, Lee, and Laura.  (Lee Binz is amazing, btw)

Julie

Guinevere

The vendor hall.  Something like 1400 vendors-WOW!

This is the sunset God painted for us on our way home Saturday night.

It was an amazing trip full of memories that are too wonderful for words. Thanks, ladies.  :-D

Some Catching up to do...

My brother gave this to me for my bday and I am just now getting it posted!  lol  I LOVE this shirt and wear it often.  :)

We actually posed for a pic this Easter.  I need to resize it, but I thought it turned out nicely.  Until...I noticed the youngest!  Oh well, at least it's the Bible that she is holding up.  heehee

Another...

Fun at Easter! 

I have other pics of the girls that I will have to post later. ;-)