Innovative Thinking?

I found this video on chistianlogic.com and thought it was so interesting.

I have been asked many, many times why I do what I do for free. Why would I offer my time to build a homeschooling community? Why am I not charging for my TJED Teens Club? Why do I spend so much time doing freelance projects - websites and blogs? Why am I a substitute and not a full-time teacher?

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Could this phenomenon be true? What do you think?



After watching this video...

If purpose is our highest level of motivation...is it so hard to see why people are drawn to deschooling and/or Thomas Jefferson Education (TJED)? The cornerstone to TJED is that each person has a mission in life...a purpose for living...a reason for existing. This mission or purpose is then transformed into a reason to be educated. Powerful stuff for human beings who want to be autonomous.

Silver Dollar City

We were blessed yesterday to be invited to use some buddy passes to go to Silver Dollar City amusement park. It was such a blast (literally)! Thank you Carpenter's for a fun filled day!

This park is nestled in the beautiful Ozarks near Branson, MO and Table Rock lake. I have to say it is the most beautiful amusement park we have ever been to. The day was perfect, in the high 70's or low 80's all day. No rain, which was a blessing since it stormed like crazy for two whole days before we went. The lines were short, if there was a line at all. Fabulous! I think the kids went on Powder Keg 6 times and Wild Fire about 8 times, plus all the other rides. We were able to go on any rides we wanted, as many times as we wanted. The only things we didn't get to do were the shows. All the retired folks keep those pretty full.

Enjoy our video!



I was so sad that Mike couldn't get the day off to go. I know he was feeling depressed about it all day yesterday. He has missed out on so much since being laid-off over 18 months ago. I love you, Mike! Thank you for being such an awesome provider. We missed you!

"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach - Performed by Nayna

Nayna has been so happy to finally have a piano...a real one not just an electric keyboard. She as been practicing several songs.

A Drive Through the Countryside

Sam and Chris

I was talking to my good friend Jane from Utah last night and was again surprised at how difficult it is to explain what life is like for us now. I really didn't understand until I started living it myself. Life is slower, yet still busy for basic family things. People are nicer, almost everyone holds the door open for each other. I've even had to convince people in line that they really were there before me and I have not been flipped off or honked at on the road yet, even though I never know where I'm going.

Nayna

One weird thing about living here is that the sky seems HUGE! There are no mountains to judge where I am at in the world. In the Phoenix Metro Valley there are mountains surrounding the valley that let you know where you are at. In Flagstaff we could always tell where we were based on the mountains and hills. Here in the Ozarks, it all looks the same! Every farm road and rolling hill looks exactly the same. Directions are given by stores and man-made landmarks as well as odd things like "stump of that big oak" on the corner of Farm Road 79 and Highway Z. I'm learning to give the right directions so people can find our house.

For all my Arizona friends and family, I thought you might enjoy a little view of "God's Country" as everyone calls it here. This is a small clip of a civil war driving tour we took a couple miles from our home. All our Missouri friends will just think we are being silly video taping the trees. LOL! It is about how Arizonans feel when people take pictures of themselves in front of cactus.



Beautiful isn't it!?! If only it was as cool (temperature) as it looks. It was actually a very humid and muggy day, but we had a blast anyway.

Cleaning Mess and 4th of July (A Bit Late)

It took me long enough to get my photos and videos off my camera this time. Lots of little things going on...getting in the way...like,oh, cleaning! LOL! Yes, we had some cleaning to do. We unpacked so fast that I can't remember where things are. *blush* So, I tore through a bunch of boxes looking for things that I thought we still had which created a very large mess. I still can't find my box of dry erase markers (which I need for educating the kids). Marlayna needed a bunch of camping things and I had to unpack the entire storage room looking for all the things. Now the task is to finish putting it all back.

4th of July
Now, you can't see much in this video, but the SOUND is what you need to hear. It sounded like a war zone for hours. Our fireworks were a bit lame...we will know better what to get next year. We got a great show from all the surrounding neighborhoods though.

Wipeout!

Our city has a pretty decent public pool with a surfing/boogie boarding feature called "The Huna". Our kids tried it out, but I only got one on video. :-( We invited some families we have met to come too. It was pretty fun, but public pools here costs a LOT more than the ones in Arizona. So, this will not be a daily or even weekly event.

Christian is one of the only active young men in our area, so we have not found him too many "dudes" to hang out with yet. But, I don't think he is complaining.

Marshmallow Canons

Chris LOVES making things. He says he is leaning towards becoming an Engineer. I think it would be an awesome career, based on his likes, dislikes, and abilities. He and his friend took apart the Marshmallow Guns he made the other day and made this...

Fawns Without a Mama

We first noticed these fawn standing in our front yard about 9:30 this morning. Then the neighbors came out and scared them over to a vacant house across the street. They have been hanging out there in the shade almost all day because they saw people in the direction they wanted to go. One of the fawns can't jump over the fence, so the other has stayed with its friend/sibling(?) all day. Our neighbor called the Game and Fish department, but they said eventually they will find their way somewhere else, mostly likely tonight when it gets dark.

Unfortunately our dog, Maggie, got out and chased them. We hope they are heading back towards the forest. I hated to see that poor fawn smash into the fence while trying to get away from Maggie. So sad!

Boom Baby!

Nearly every day has met with rain in the past two weeks. I love rain, so I am not disappointed. We have tried to enjoy the weather as much as possible since we are SOOO happy to be away from the oppressive heat of the desert that we have lived in for the past ten years. Here is a little video of our last attempt to go hiking...

I love the sounds of gentle thunder and small flashes of lightening. We are so much closer to the clouds that it often seems MUCH louder than when we lived in the desert.

Grand Canyon & Other Stuff

Grand Canyon
Last Wednesday (was that a week ago?) we went to the Grand Canyon with Les & Ronda's family. They stayed the night and we all got up early and drove about an hour to the canyon. It was such a beautiful day! Here are some pics from that trip. It rained on the way home, but at least we did not get rained on at the canyon.

Chicken Run (Nope, not about the movie.)
We worked on a fenced area for the chickens Saturday. They are getting bigger and needed room to roam...safely! We added a doggie door to the coop so they can get in and out of the coop as needed to get out of the wind, rain, and snow. Our bunny, Joey, decided he wanted to explore that area too and had a great time hopping around. He was hilarious doing some extra little hops and twists to show how excited he was to be out in the dirt. The bunny has a hard time with the doggie door, he sometimes slips off the ramp and takes several attempts to get into the coop/shed. I need to get that on video...it is so funny!

Bunk Bed
Chris got a bunk bed for his room off of Craigslist. It is one of those with a futon couch on the bottom. We spent hours putting that thing together on Saturday. *whew!* He is happy to have the couch so he can sit on that while he plays Playstation games and uses his Linux computer that we built together. We now have plenty of beds so come on up and visit!

Goat Barn Anyone?
We are looking for a large shed or small barn to house some goats. Marly is anxiously waiting for the right price on milking goats, but she needs a place for them to stay first so we can keep them safe (see More Nighttime Visitors). She has saved up close to $200 for the goats, but it is far from enough for a shed for them to live in. Heavenly Father has blessed us with several things to allow us to have animals and I believe he will send something our way when the time is right. Craigslist and Freecycle have been huge blessings!

"You Belong to Me" from Fireproof

Ok - by now you must all know that I am obsessed with the movie Fireproof. This is another song from the movie that I just L O V E! I wish they would make a soundtrack so I can just buy the whole CD and play it over and over in the car.

I am still reading The Love Dare, the book mentioned in the movie. I like the book as well and highly recommend it.

"While I'm Waiting" from Fireproof

I just love this song! I'm not a huge fan of Christian rock...but maybe I'm getting more into it now.

A Good Reminder

I enjoyed watching this video and hope you will too.

Hilary Weeks "My Favorite Things"

I copied Katie May on this once...she has it on her blog too.

Too bad my kids are too old for naps anymore! It used to be one of my favorite things too....

State Fair 2008

We went to the State Fair this year on the homeschool day and it was also Halloween. It was kind of lame. Everything was closed in the morning. Some of our favorite rides were closed and it was an incredibly hot 96 degrees that day! Come on! October 31st needs to be much cooler than that.

Here is a slide show of our pictures at the fair. We did enjoy the animals, as always, and the art exhibits.

Modern Day Revelation

I received this from a friend and felt it was important to pass along.



President Ezra Taft Benson also wrote a pamphlet called "The Proper Role of Government". I read this about 8 months ago and found it a powerful reminder of how far our country has come away from the original constitution. We are loosing many freedoms...without even realizing it. I believe this video is meant to remind us of the obligation we have to keep the constitution intact and to actively participate in our government.

We LOVE John Bytheway!

For the past couple of years I have been collecting John Bytheway (a motivational youth speaker) CD's to listen to in the van, since we drive so far to get to town this is a nice way to pass the time without listening to the worldy junk on the radio. We discovered that BYU TV has been airing John Bytheway specials. We have recorded them and the kids are watching them over and over! Almost like they did when they were little and a new Disney movie came out. (I can still sing every single Lion King song by heart).

Our favorites are:

• "What's in Your Backpack?" (His Barney Fife impression is repeated often in our home)
  
• "Standards Night"
• "The Best Three Hours of the Week"
  

You can also listen to his talks online at BYU broadcasting.

Jim Henson' Fantastic World Fieldtrip

We have been on a few fieldtrips lately having a great time with our family and friends. We had the chance to see the Jim Henson Exhibit at the Arizona Museum for Youth. This exhibit is owned by the Smithsonian Institute. We had a blast seeing how the ideas behind "Sesame Street", "Fraggle Rock", "Dark Crystal", and "The Muppet Show" were created.

I remember watching all of these shows, but I know that Fraggle Rock was on cable and not everyone had it. So, here is a clip of the opening scences for the show. Enjoy a flash from the past!

Renaissance Festival 2008

This week we attended a fun fieldtrip to the Renaissance Festival. It was on a student day where it is supposed to "toned down" with appropriate shows and costumes for children. For the most part it was, but we saw a few things that were not. I can't imagine attending on a regular day. The best show we saw was this guy playing what could be called an organ of bells, some as big as a typical church bell. He was really good and the music was fun!

Here is our slide show of pictures we took. I did not use my new camera, because I don't have a memory stick, so they are not as good as I would like.

"The Homeschool Family" video

I love this video made by Tim Hawkins. His website has some other funny clips of his comedy act so check those out too.

"The Homeschool Family" video