This is Cheyenne and Ryley in the new rocking chair that was handmade by Great Uncle Hubert. I need to get a picture of just the chair too because it is just beautiful but mainly, Rob wanted to give Hubert a pic of Cheyenne rocking the baby in it.
Oh and you can't see them really well but those boots Ryley is wearing are John Deere boots that Aunt Bonni got her for Christmas8O)

Puppies, puppies, puppies! Princess last litter (ever, I assure you - my girl is getting too old for this and so am I;o) was a beautiful bunch of pups. There were 10 of them plus 1 stillborn. Everyone who has ever met Princess wants a Princess puppy so finding homes for them was no problem at all. Harmoni (in stripes) and Gini (in orange) named the males for King Arthurs knights of the Round Table and the females for midieval/fantasy princesses: Galahad, Lancelot, Gawain, Tristan, Bors and Dagonet for the males and Guinevere, Arwyn, Eowyn and Aria for the females. Ten points for whoever can tell me the source of all the female names8O)

A quick note to all my charity knitting minded friends. An epal has decided to send "Yellow Ribbon Hats", roll brim baby hats with a little top knot, to as many of our troops babies as she can. Gives a whole new meaning to the "til they come home" yellow ribbons. Just think of those mommies and daddies overseas seeing all their little ones (and maybe some spouses and siblings wearing their yellow "ribbons". I think it is a terrific idea so I've pulled out my yellow yarn and my needles and I'm stitching along. Want to join in? She has details (and a pattern if you need one on her blog. Here's a link:
http://yellowribbonhats.blogspot.com/
Or, if you are on Ravelry, she has formed a group called (wait for it...) Yellow Ribbon Hats;o)

SOCIALIZATION AGAIN... AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND....

When I first began homeschooling in 1992, people often expressed doubt about my sanity. Can you really teach your own child? But you didn't finish your degree! Boy, I'd go crazy if my kids were all home all the time!!! I was made to feel like there was something wrong with the fact that I loved being with my children and that I was arrogant to think I could handle the education of my (then) 8 year old son. Well, I figured I managed third grade just fine so it was worth a try;o) Actually, that is a whole, long 'nother story. Nowadays there are few who really question whether or not homeschooling can turn out well educated people; it has been proven time and again that it can and does. My topic today is socialization.I doubt there is a homeschooler on the planet who hasn't been asked, "Aren't you worried about socialization?" Frequently it is asked in a genuinely concerned tone while at other times it is more of an accusation. It took years for me to get through that question without flinching.I went through phases. At first, I would be intimidated. I would fumble around talking about how hard I was going to work at making sure Cameron was exposed to lots of activities with other kids. Then came the defensive/annoyed phase. Oh for pete's sake; you don't really think that kids are gaining anything valuable inthat area in public school do you? Puhlease! Lately, though, I think I have evolved. By golly, I may get all mature and stuff yet;o) Actually, what I got was educated on the subject.Hmmm, educated; yes, I learned something. I read and studied the writings of many different people on different sides of the education question. I studied the roots of American public education and its goals. And I didn't take a class to do it; I did it on my own because I had a desire to understand the subject. But I digress;o) Nowadays when I am asked about socialization, I ask a question of my own. What, exactly, do you mean by socialization? I ask this question in all sincerity; I'm not being sarcastic or snotty. The definition of socializationis thus:socializationA noun1 socialization, socialisation, acculturation, enculturation; the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture[from WordReference.com]May I also submit the definition of socialism:socialismA noun1 socialism: a political theory advocating state ownership of industryNow, the American education system was based on the Prussian system which was unabashedly formed to create good little socialist citizens. Noone pretended that independent thought or individuality was of any importance whatsoever. True academics were discouraged except for an elite few - about 8% of the children. Might socialization viewed in this light be seen as advocating the "state ownership" of our children? When we also consider the atmosphere and "behavior patterns" found in most public schools today, if I am asked if I wish my children to be encultured to the behavior patterns of the average public school, I answer no without apology.The thing I've come to realize is that most people mean something entirely different. And if they ask the question sincerely, I am happy to discuss it with them. What most people are concerned about is that kids who don't go to public school will never learn a) how to get along with their peers and b) to deal with adversity. I'll deal with these one at a time.First, we have getting along with peers. Well, I suppose we have to define peers first.peern 1: a person who is of equal standing with another in a group[syn: equal, match, compeer][from dict.die.net]Okey-dokey. Next, we must ask ourselves who are our child's peers? As far as their age-mates in the public schools, suffice it to say that my children are, thankfully, not of equal standing with them. They really feel very little in common or comradeship with many of those kids. Is that bad? Nope. Thank you Jesus. If there are age-mates around who share their values and morals, they are more likely to find them at church or at interest based activities such as leadership clubs, 4-H, scouting, rodeos, drama and improv troupes and singing groups among many others, not to mention the many sports and interest groups formed especially for homeschoolers.But are peers necessarily age-mates? Again, nope! I love being around homeschooled kids. When they are young, they are quite likely to be very exuberant and energetic. In other words, they would probably drive a classroom teacher crazy. But they are so much closer to what children really should be. Children are built to learn by doing and while on the move. But, again, that is another subject.As they get a little older, homeschoolers are just as likely to identify with elderly neighbor who teaches them to tie flies as they are the skateboarder on the next block. I've sat in quilting bees with grandmothers, young mothers and homeschooled kids. They chatted and had a blast. Do you think the public schoolers would consider this cool? Probably not. But who is better "socialized" in terms of society and the world?There is a misconception that young homeschoolers are never exposed to anyone other than the people in their parents' church. I find this to be very rarely true. We are devout Christians but we are friends with people who are Muslim, Pagan, Jewish etc. There are many different "peer groups" out there. I think the tragedy is that the average public school student is given such a narrow view of what his should be. Most public schooled kids are into their own little clicks of kids who are their same age, race, religion, economic background, etc. Who is better"socialized" in terms of a country commonly referred to as a melting pot?The second concern out there is that homeschooled children will not learn to deal with adversity. This is the one that leads to such brilliant observations as, "Kids will never learn to say no to drugs if they don't go to school where the drug dealers are" and "he'll never learn to stand up for himself if he never deals with the bullies in school." Alrighty then. I firmly believe that if I raise my child to love and respect his fellowman and to expect the same and to know that he deserves the same - as any child of God does - then when he is confronted with adversity, he will deal with it in a mature and responsible way. Period.We put these kids out there on their own for so many hours of their day from such a young age (and getting younger every year - 3 year old kindergarten anyone? Oh wait, that is called Head Start) that many of them become beaten down and confused before they ever reach an age or maturity level sufficient to stand for their convictions. By the time they go to school, do their homework, eat their supper and bathe, their parents don't have any time with them. So how are they to instill all the confidence, hope, faith and trust that they need to deal with those issues? We are, in essence, turning our children over to the teachers. There are many wonderful people in the teaching profession but conservative or individualistic values are given no quarter in public schools so parents who hold those values dear are fighting an uphill battle to pass them on. So the kids are left with confusing, conflicting views at a very young and impressionable age. Trial by fire is not a great philosophy when dealing with young children's lives.I saw a woman on Oprah one day who had seen the devastating effects of the public school attitude toward peer relations and bullying. Her son had been bullied for years, very badly at times. The school just seemed to think that the boy needed to learn to deal with it. The woman came in one day and found her son dead at his own hand. He had blown his face off with a gun. She said, "his outside finally matched the way he had been feeling on the inside all those years." How horrifying. But I will never forget what she said when Oprah asked her if there was anything she wished she had done differently. She said she wished she had taken him out of the school. She didn't really realize that she even had that right.So is socialization a problem that homeschoolers need to address? No, socialization is an issue that every parent had best give some serious time and thought to if they want their children to be "encultured to adopt the behavior patterns" of the kind of people they want their children to be. And you might want to take a long hard look at the culture that exists in their school. It is a whole different world than it was even ten years ago. Is it a culture that you wish your child to become encultured to? If not, do you really want them spending a minimum of 40 hours per week immersed in it?

THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS...

...or is it? I am open to discussion on this one. A Catholic School in Detroit has banned MySpace for their students. Sounds good to me! I really don't think that any sort of blogs or "social spaces" have any place at school. But here is the kicker: the students will be suspended if they are caught using MySpace at school or at home! My initial reaction to that is that it is patently absurd. And wrong. And dangerous precedent. My ONLY hesitation is because it is a Catholic School.I can't stand the idea of schools, or any other public institution trying to dictate the way that parents raise their children. I am NOT a subscriber to Hilary Clinton's "Village" raising my child. Thanks, but... umm NOT!!! Most of the "village" nowadays is.... let's just say, not what I want for my kids. And guess what, I still have the right to choose what I want my children to be exposed to in this country, thank you very much. My child is not the property of the state or the republic or any other institution. I do have the right (and the responsibility) to raise my child to the best of my ability with my world view. I personally believe that a really good, thinking parent will, as the child becomes able to assimilate it, present the alternatives and encourage the child to make his own responsible, informed choices. But I don't have the right to force every parent to do so. Amish can teach their children that being Amish is the only right way. The Catholics can do the same. We LDS can also teach that ours is the truly right way. The kids can then grow up and use the thinking skills and spirit that their maker gave them to decide that their parents are full of it. After they turn 18;o) I am not, of course, addressing so-called parents who abuse or neglect their children in a criminal way. Different subject altogether. I am under the working assumption that we are talking about responsible parents with different opinions and world views.How does all this apply to a MySpace ban? My kids are not allowed to use MySpace while they are underaged. I have the right as a parent to ban it. But I just don't see that it is ANYONE ELSE's right or privilege or responsibility to allow or disallow it. My quandry is that I do believe that private institutions such as private schools, churches, the boy scouts or what have you should have the right to have standards of behavior that are required to participate in them.So, I guess that my bottom line is that I believe that this school is misguided and is addressing a valid problem in an invalid, ineffective way but I guess they have the right to do it. And, were I a parent at that school, I would have to seriously consider the school's mission and methods.

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS

Exactly 110 years ago, 8-year-old Virginia Hanlon wrote to the (old)New York Sun to settle a question about whether Santa Claus exists.Many of her friends told Virginia that the answer to that question is,"no."Times have changed and newspapers, such as that version of the Sun,have come and gone. But the answer, published in 1897 by Sun editorialwriter Francis P. Church, is timeless:

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Every blade of grass and twig completely encased in solid ice.

This is where the electric meter used to be and the meter where it landed. Plus the actual power line that used to be attached to the meter now lying in the middle of the yard. OG&E turned the power back on to our neighborhood a few days later leaving us with a live power line lying in our back yard. Good thing that Bonni knows an electrician or we'd have been quite a bit more than 8 days without power.

Scenes from an ice storm - December 2007 - Bristow Oklahoma

Hey, Scrooge McNat here. I did get one little boost to my holiday spirits yesterday morning. I got up and Cheyenne was here, dancing around the living room with little Ryley, singing Christmas songs to her while Ryley gazed up adoringly at her with her bright blue eyes. It was a really sweet moment. I have missed hearing her beautiful voice. Even if she had a cold and was just singing softly to the baby, it did my heart good.

Have you ever had one of those weeks... um months... and months.... when you feel like you are in a never ending cycle of crisis and chaos? You don't dare say, "what next" for fear you'll find out? You are beginning to think there really is something to that whole "Law of Attraction" crap and you are on the wrong side of it? Yeah.

Here I am again just before Christmas, sitting here alternately crying and just wanting to, thinking, "Damn, I really didn't pull it out. I'm not going to be able to give my loved ones anything for Christmas unless I just flat refuse to pay the rent and buy groceries. What? You say I bring this on myself? I've been married to this man for over 20 years and hoping each year that he won't withdraw into a little incommunicative shell of wounded little passive/aggressive boychild by November 30th is getting sillier and sillier each year? If I just accepted that he is going to be unsupportive and ... just a huge pain every December, and just start planning for Christmas from around March then I wouldn't be in this fix? Is that what you think? I should count my blessings that nowadays it is just December that he goes over the edge instead of from early October on? Well... just... shut up.

Here is a little teaser from Harmoni's book. I have left her spelling and usage errors in since we haven't "edited" this section yet. I use her mistakes to teach grammar, spelling, etc.


ch 18 THE DUEL

As they disapeared Katie felt a pang of sadness and regret. As she turned to find Bobby she ran into jennifer. "Jennifer, have you seen Bobby?"she asked.

"Yes he's in the practice ring." Jennifer replied.

"Thank you".

She ran down the hall, she ran until she came to a dead end. "What...what is happening?" she asked herself.

"It is simple,"came familiar voice.

"Mike"she whispered.

"yes, thats right katie, I did this."

"why?"

So we could have a private fight."

"Alright, we will,"

"Good, get her a sword."

Clank. She turned around and there he was, just standing there wearing the false kings symbol. She took a deep breath and picked up the sword. You can do this Katie, you can.

Now, this is an 11 year old who didn't learn to read on her own until she was 8 1/2. She loved being read to, still does, but she just didn't care about reading. She was much more interested in numbers and music so I left her alone. Just when Dad and I were beginning to feel our commitment to following her natural learning rhythms, she decided she was ready to read on her own. Within a year, she was reading everything in sight up through junior high level. I really think her primary motivation for wanting to read was because she had all these amazing stories in her head and she wanted to be able to get them written down. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't write like an adult. But she sure writes like a pretty darn clever and imaginative 11 year old8o)

And while we are on the subject of Harmoni, the kid is growing like Jack's beanstalk!! She is now 5'7" and is outgrowing her size 12 shoes! I'm so sick of her having to wear ugly old mens' socks that I've decided to knit her some pretty socks. Socks are not my favorite thing to knit but by golly my little girl is going to have some socks that look like little girl socks once in a while!

I have a new favorite quote. I heard it on, of all things, Men in Trees! Now, I love Men in Trees but it is usually a pretty light diversion, not exactly deep, kwim? But this past episode, a character named Jerome had sort of an epiphany I suppose about who or what he had let himself become. It showed him looking at pictures of himself as a young man looking very successful and happy with important people. He is currently the town character that sits around the bar making pithy remarks. Follow me? Anyway, after his epiphany or whatever, he is sitting at a bookstore in a suit, all shaved and cleaned up and reads the following quote to a lady:

"The greatest loss of all, the loss of oneself, happens very quietly in the world as if it were nothing at all. No other loss occurs so quietly." ~~Kierkegaard

That hit me like a ton of bricks. In the middle of this light, fun show I was suddenly reflecting on how true that was. Nuff said lest I go on for days. Keep me as well as ol' Jerome (or his archetype) in your prayers that what was lost may be found. And may you all pay attention to who and what you are. Don't let it slip away. Be the person you truly mean to be.

Ryley's first Halloween. She was totally, seriously NOT impressed. Trey and Braiden had a great time. But then, they got to eat their candy... Mommy and Daddy took all of Ryleys8o) Gini opted not to go this year. She is 13 and I figured it was her call. Harmoni probably looked 13 to people (the kid is 5'7"!!) but she is just 11 and I guess she is now the last trick or treater amongst my kids. Unless you count Bonni (the one in the hat); she and her friends trick or treating was on a whole different level8O

Here are some of the portraits we had done at JC Penney. Ryley was one month old.

Left to right: Rob, Natalie, Cameron, Stefanie, Marilyn, Bill.
Cam and Stef Just Married! Sapulpa Oklahoma Courthouse, October, 9, 2007

HERE SHE IS... RYLEY BROOKLYN... ISN'T SHE ADORABLE!!!!

AN UPDATE ON ME AND A MOVIE REVIEW OF "FRACTURE"

I haven't posted in a while because I have been so discouraged by my difficulty in getting my picture posting problems solved:( I got an expensive digital camcorder that also takes stills only to find that it costs a mini fortune to get set up to upload from it to the computer. I am pretty much back at square one. But, on the upside, I'll be able to get tons of video of the new baby when she gets here. Cheyenne is due in only 3 1/2 weeks!

I have been having a really bad time lately with my MG symptoms. Plus, my left knee has been giving me severe pain for weeks. I went to the ER for something unrelated and they ran tests on the knee to make sure there were no blood clots (like my right leg has). No blood clots but apparently my knee is "bone on bone" and I'm s'posed to see an orthopod for it.

I'm working really hard at getting healthy these days. I am eating right but getting the exercise is tricky in my sorry condition. So far, I am just trying to do aquatic exercise in my little pool for at least 30 minutes a day. When I see the doc, I'll ask him what is okay for me to do. I just started a little over a week ago and I've lost 3.5 lbs. It's a start!

I went to the movies with Cheyenne and Bonni yesterday. We planned to see Pirates 3 but it didn't work out for us. We saw Fracture instead. It stars Anthony Hopkins (first rate by any standard) as a very wealthy and brilliant man who discovers that his young and beautiful wife is cheating on him. He plans and executes the "perfect murder". He shoots his wife in the face and then makes sure that the only officer admitted to the scene is Detective Nunally (played to moody and haunted perfection by Billy Burke). He turns over his gun and admits to shooting his wife and knowing that it was wrong. Only when Nunally turns to recover the body of the victim does he discover that it is his lover "Mrs Smith".

At this point, Ryan Gosling, as a very ambitious Asst D.A. is pulled into the maniac's clever web. He is poised to move on to a lucrative private practice but must first win this "open and shut" case to maintain his perfect record. Uh-oh. The ensuing cat and mouse manage a trois among the murderous genius, the grieving cop and the driven attorney is absolute movie magic. Oh, did I mention that wifey was not dead but only in a vegetative state?

If you love thrillers and edge of your seat tension without all the gore and serial killers in horror movies, you will love this. Ninety percent of the "action" in this thriller is in the mind. Which is just how I like it.

I have only 2 minor complaints about this movie. One, I had a really hard time "buying" Ryan Gosling as an ambitious ADA. Others may not but I did. Two, I wish the wife had a bigger role in the movie because I love Embeth Davidtz and believe her to be one of the most under-appreciated actresses around. Those are minor beefs about a very worthy movie. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good suspense yarn.

Bottom Line: 4.5 stars

Here are a couple of my latest FOs. At least the ones I have decent pictures of. Since it takes an act of Congress plus approximately $1000 to connect my vid cam to the computer, I guess I am still going to need to replace my digital camera. Aargh!!! Anyway, here is Harmoni in her new top that I made based on a design in an old magazine. I just changed it up a bit. The cell case is all mine. I'll post a free pattern later. I promise!! I really plan to have several free patterns up by the end of July.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARMONI

My baby girl is turning 11 today. She is my youngest child and my sweetheart.