The Old Sioux
One evening an old Sioux told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said "My Son, that battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, fear, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith".

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"
...
The old Sioux simply replied "The one you feed"

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For All of Those Families With Special Kids
Mood:  not sure
Topic: General

Two Kids on a Merry Go Round. Very thought provoking. I think the same thing can be said for all special needs kids.

 

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And Now It's My Turn to Present An Award!
Mood:  happy
Topic: General

As I've mentioned in a couple of posts this past week, I have been blessed by a couple of my fellow bloggers with two blog awards. They each come with a few things that go along with the acceptance of the award. The first award that I'm going to focus on is the "Sunshine Award" given to me from a great blogging friend Sheri from Homeschooling on Wing and a Prayer. Sheri actually maintains three or four different blogs and does a great job with each. I don't know how she gets it all done. Anyway, Sheri obviously hasn't seen me lately. Sarah says I have been anything but Sunshiny. In fact, she says that I've been downright grouchy! Oh well. Thanks for thinking of me Sheri! Please click on the link above to Sheri's blog and pay her a visit. You won't be disappointed.

 

Criteria Number 1 - I have to tell you seven unusual things about myself. Okay, here goes.

     ~I play a half dozen different musical instruments. Unfortunately none of them very well.

     ~I spent four years of my younger life in Peru, IN - Circus City. It just happens to be a railroad town where many a circus had their winter headquarters. Because of that many circus performers retired there. About 50 years ago, some of the retirees decided that they wanted to start a community circus. It has been going ever since. Only school aged kids perform. It is a big thing with scholarships awarded and everything. I always wanted to be in it, but, alas, we moved away too soon.

     ~I love to act - no, not act up - to act. I have been in a few rather large productions (at least large for our area). I love it, but don't have time to do it as much as I would like.

     ~I am turning 50 this year .

     ~I didn't get married until I was in my early 30's.

     ~My beautiful wife is 10 years younger than me.

     ~I worked at Disney World for 13 years and, for the most part, loved it. No, I didn't play Goofy! I worked in the shops.

The other part of the award is more fun than talking about myself. I get to present it to seven other deserving blogger. So, here they are:

     ~The first deserving blogger is Penny, my First Mate from last year. Penny was so helpful last year and has since become a great friend. She has a daughter who is autistic and is a wealth of information on autism. Please visit her site, Not New to Autism and tell her I said hello!

     ~On the homeschool crew we have two fearless leaders. Both of them work tirelessly and many times without thanks. What a lot of folks don't realize is that they have families of their own with children that they homeschool, and they maintain blogs of their own. So, in order to brighten their day, I am giving them both the "Sunshine Award" for all of their hard work. First our Chief - Heidi. Heidi is fantastic and takes a lot on her shoulders. Please visit her blog, Reviews by Heidi, to give her some encouragement.

     ~Second, is Brenda. Brenda does a lot behind the scenes as vendor liaison. She is in charge of scheduling reviews and working with the great companies that send us the products to review. She's having eye surgery this Monday, so encourage her by visiting her blog, Garden of Learning, and pray for her on Monday.

     ~Mrs. White has a fantastic blog that you will want to visit. She was a fellow crew mate last year and is a fellow First Mate this year. She has a lot of great ideas on her blog and a lot of spiritual insight. Please check out her blog, The Legacy of Home.

     ~Out of all of the folks that I know in the blogging world, I have known Merit the longest. We actually went to college together. She has a fantastic blog, Mission Possible, that you won't want to miss. Check it out.

     ~I have know Charity for almost as long as Merit. Charity used to go to the camp that I worked at for over 25 years. She and her husband are hoping to adopt very soon and she has a blog dedicated to that, Hodges Adoption Journey, and another blog where she writes about homeschooling. Please visit her blog and encourage her.

     ~Finally, last but certainly not least, is Matt's blog, entitled Matt's Losing It! Matt was brave enough to join the crew this year so I have another male to commiserate with. It's nice to know that there are other men out there that homeschool and blog about it as well. 

 

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Prop up Your Feet and Enjoy a Homeschool Conference from Home!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Homeschool Helps

Last year, I had he extreme pleasure of going to my first homeschool convention in Cincinnati! It was a blast and I'm looking forward to going again. However, big homeschool conventions only happen once a year, and the expense of going to a big convention can only happen once a year. Wouldn't it be fun to be able to get a refresher without all of the fuss of making hotel reservations, soothing tired feet, and rushing to make sue there's enough room in the session that you want to attend? Well, recently I was asked to promote a way that you can do just that! Instead of making hotel reservations, make reservations for the:

 

It's back to homeschool time and registration is open for the online Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. It's five days of top homeschool speakers, fellowship, and fun door prizes.

Save $5 per ticket! Register between August 16 and midnight August 22, and you'll pay only $19.99. Plus you'll receive over $200 in free E-Books.

You'll be inspired by speakers including: Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim Kautzer, Lee Binz, and many more!

A special teen track is planned--the entire family will definitely want to listen to these special sessions. We've also planned a special focus on a topic that touches every homeschool--writing. Plus, an array of other topics that will inform and inspire you throughout your homeschooling years.

Don't forget, MP3 copies of each session comes with your LIVE event ticket.

Two special preconference shows on August 24 and September 21 with Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, and Kim Kautzer!

Register starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 16.

The theme this fall is "Celebrate Homeschooling!" We're going to celebrate the unique blessings of homeschooling, the beginning of another school year, our families, and the freedom to tailor our children's education to best meet their needs.

If you cannot make the Live event,  then the October Expo To Go is just your ticket! You'll reserve MP3s from all of the workshops. This week only, pay just $14.95!

You can visit either of these links to get more information.
http://www.SchoolhouseExpo.com
or
http://bit.ly/aWHFiL

Now, all of the above stuff is their advertisement, but remember I promised long ago that I would always give my honest opinion and I would not promote  anything that I did not believe in on my blog. In the past year an a half I have grown to love The Old Schoolhouse and all that it represents and does. They do quality stuff, and their Expo's are no exception. What they promote above is what they will do. So, put of your dogs and give he Expo a try! See you there!
 

In full disclosure, I am receiving free Expo-To-Go tickets in exchange for this post

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It's Good to Have Friends in High Places!
Mood:  happy
Topic: Compassion International

Take a look at the boy above! That's our sponsored child, Marcelo. That's from the photo taken to update his Compassion profile. They take a new picture every two years and send a copy to their sponsors. We received that one a few months ago. This past summer our friend Kees, a compassion advocate, spent a couple of months in Bolivia working with Compassion. He was able to travel and visit a lot of the centers where the Compassions kids go on a weekly basis. Including the one where Marcelo goes. He wrote to me recently to tell me that he was able to talk with Marcelo for a little while and take some pictures of him AND get a video of him! We were so excited. Kees called me on the phone a few days ago to tell me that he had left Bolivia and to be looking for the photo of Marcelo in the next few days. I asked him where he was and he said HOLLAND! It's not every day that you talk for a half an hour to someone in Holland! He was visiting family and friends there (that's his home country) before flying back to the U.S. Unfortunately, since things are a little different in Holland than the U.S., he won't be able to send the video to us until he gets home to Florida. We can't wait to see it. I wanted to share the new photo with you now though. Remember, Bolivia is south of the equator and the seasons are opposite there so it is winter right now - hence the coat and scarf. In fact, La Paz, where Marcelo is from, is one of the coldest spots in Bolivia. There is much sickness, especially in the poorer areas like Marcelo's, since many houses, including the one Marcelo lives in, do not have heat. Please pray that they will stay warm and not become too ill. And thanks for praying for all of our kids - Marcelo from Bolivia is the one that we actually financially sponsor and we have four correspondence kids that we don't sponsor financially, but we are the ones who send letters to them, encourage them, and mentor them. Their names and countries are Feyber - Colombia, Somi - Indonesia, Emmanuel - Tanzania, and Ismael - Nicaragua.

 

 

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