Mood:  hug me

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Mood:  happy

The surprise anniversary party pictures are in. Thanks, again, ladies!

The Cake

The Silliness

The Fun

The Gift

What a fun time and what a Blessing!

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Mood:  not sure

What a strange feeling! I'm almost done with my homeschool Crew reviews for this year (one more to finish up), and I've written quite a bit about ministry and Compassion lately, so I thought that I would just write. You know. Write something that was on my mind. Just a typical blog post. But I can't think of anything! Nothing! Nada! Nil! Zilch! Nothing is coming to mind to talk about.

Tomorrow

Do I talk about what is going on tomorrow or do I wait until tomorrow night to write about it? We're going to Dollywood by the way. The kids are excited. Here's a synopsis of what they have been talking about.

• The last time Jacob couldn't ride on the bumper cars at all. This time he will probably be tall enough, but not to drive. Will that be a battle? Me thinks yes! Pray for us.
  
• Joshua has already asked if I would ride the Ferris wheel with him. Hmmm...I'm afraid of heights, but I used to when I was little. That's a maybe. Pray for me.
  
• John Allen has mentioned that he wants to ride on all of the roller coasters. He wants me to ride as well. That's a definite no! Pray for him.

Today

Should I blog about what happened today? A pastor/missionary friend of ours called and said that their dog was missing. They had just moved back into the area about 6 months ago. Sarah and I have been friends with them for years. We worked at camp together probably 17 years ago or so. Tim and Karen have been missionaries in two different countries and are now back with their family of 7 children and pastor a church a few blocks away from the mission.

Anyway, back to the dog. He mentioned that it was an English Bulldog with a red collar and the name of  "Moogie". Someone had seen it around our house. So I went out looking. The neighbor across the street just said that he had seen him walking down the road. So down the street I went. Sure enough there was a bull dog with a red collar in a yard. I had never seen Moogie before. He was living with another family until my friends got settled and they had just brought him home. So, I asked the people on the porch if that was their dog. When they said "No", I called for him. Immediately Moogie came with tongue sticking out.

Now, if you have never seen an English Bull dog, they are big, even at only a year old. And, Moogie was no exception. I came unprepared with a leash, so I grabbed his collar to try to get him home. He wouldn't budge! I tried again. He moved a few steps then sat down again. I looked into his face and said "Moogie, let's go! Tim and Karen are waiting for you." He gave me a big slobbery kiss and just looked at me. Finally I called Sarah. When she pulled up in the van he jumped up to greet her (he'd never seen her so I it must have been her irresistible beauty - Saturday's our anniversary.), but decided to stop before we got to the door. The only problem was he stopped in front of the van and there was a car behind her wanting to get by. Thankfully we live on a not very heavily traveled street. Finally, I had to physically pick of the hunk and put him in the van myself. He took up the whole passenger seat. I had to squeeze in beside him!

But, when we pulled up and Sarah knocked on the door it was all worth while. The joy on the kids faces was priceless. They were so excited to see him. There oldest boy was at soccer practice. He just happened to be the one that took Moogie's disappearance the hardest. So, Karen loaded up the kids and took Moogie to the soccer field to show him. She said that he would be overjoyed. We were happy to help out.

Yesterday

Or, should I tell you the story of what happened yesterday. We were surprised by Sarah's ladies at the mission...What?...I've already blogged about that? Oh I guess I did.

Oh well, I guess I really don't have anything to talk about. Can't think of a thing. Sorry. I guess you'll just have to go without reading anything interesting tonight. I just don't know what's wrong with me. How strange.

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Mood:  happy

The ladies of the mission that we direct just surprised us with a special  dinner in honor of our 17th anniversary! Thanks wonderful ladies. You are a joy to my wife and I. Pictures will be coming soon.

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Mood:  a-ok

I remember the days when summer was not only a break from school, but also a great time to catch up on reading the stuff that I wanted to read. I've mentioned before that I was blessed with a family that read all of the time, and summer was no exception.

As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew we have been blessed this year to receive a number of good books to read and review. Some I have read, others I have used as read alouds to the family, and still others I have divied out to different family members to read. Although some may rank higher than others due to family tastes and interests, there really hasn't been a lemon in the bunch. All would be great for summer reading from the first that we reviewed on down to the following.

Recently we received Andrea Carter and the Trouble With Treasure to review and I immediately turned it over to John Allen to read. Since he did such a good job on his last review, I thought I would allow him to write a review for this book as well. He didn't disappoint me. I am constantly amazed at how much his writing ability has improved this year. This time around in his reviewing he learned how to use spell check and the thesaurus to improve the quality of his writing. So, without further ado, here are his thoughts on the book.

This time I read a book called Andrea Carter and the Trouble With Treasure by Susan K Marlow. In this book three friends, Andi, Jenny, and Cory go on a camping trip searching for treasure. When they get into some trouble, and find a rattle snake things start to go the wrong way. They also meet up with some bank robbers and they get in a fight with a mean deputy. Go on the quest for gold and adventure with these three friends. This adventuress book teaches how to accept responsibility and take charge when needed. It is fun for young readers and old readers alike.

Although the main character was a girl, Andrea Carter, John Allen seemed to really enjoy this book. Thankfully it is part of a series, so when his reading load for this year lightens, I can purchase more of the titles in this series and can be assured that he will be reading good wholesome material. 

The Andrea Carter series is published by Kregel, the same company who published Bertie's War. They are know for only publishing family oriented material. The Andrea Carter books can be purchased for $7.99 a piece, and you can find them by clicking here or on any one of the hi-lighted links above. Some of the other members of the TOS Crew also reviewed Andrea Carter and the Trouble With Treasure, and you can find out what they had to say by clicking here. Remember, summer reading season is upon us. This would be a great book for your young reader. Happy Home Educating Summer!

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free copy of Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure in order to read and review on my blog.

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