Free Diamond Earrings!

Okay, yeah, not real diamond earrings, but hey who has to know that??

I'm not a huge jewelry person. Truthfully, I only wear a small gold cross necklace and a wedding band. I don't even wear my diamond engagement ring because it catches on stuff. I'm a pretty simple person.

However I do have a couple of daughters one of which is definitely a jewelry person. So when I heard about FREE diamond earrings I was all in!

All you have to do is go to DiamondEarrings.org, sign up, blog about it, and pay a small ($3.77) shipping fee and there ya go!

Enjoy!

A Change is Coming

Once school starts around here things get a little disjointed. I seem to be constantly flitting from one thing to another and not really landing on any one thing.

Little algebra help here, little science help here, what's an adverb, you ask? video's about the American Revolution, Vikings, co op classes...and the list goes on.

My kids are older now, I don't really sit down with them and 'teach' them much anymore. They read through their required books and I'm around to help. It's nice, but different. I am reading Jane Austen's Emma to the girls. That's fun.

And the schedule of things is different. It used to be that we all got up and we all ate breakfast and we all started school. We did so much of it together that we really all were on the same page all day. Sometimes the older boys would do something and I'd work with the younger girls. That was how we did it for years.

Now? Not so much.

I'm not sure when the change happened. Maybe when Bryce started taking duel credit classes at the community college. That was probably the beginning of the change.

This morning, for instance, I get up with Dave at 7:30. Okay, I should rephrase that. Dave got up WAY before 7:30, but I got up to say goodbye to him when he left at 7:30. I go downstairs to check on the rest of the crew. Bryce is already gone as I expected. He's working this semester and saving up for Fire Academy which starts in the spring. His job starts at 7 am and it's about an hour away, so he's long gone with just the lingering smell of coffee to hint at his earlier presence.

Gunnar's the wild card. He has some Tue/Thurs duel credit classes, and he has a landscaping business, and he has a few co op classes and a few classes for me. Other than Tue/Thursday, I am never really sure where he is or what he is doing. I know he tells me, but honestly, unless I write it down it leaks out of my ears. I have been known to text him several times a day 'Where R U?" I'm sure that's annoying.

Today I got up, said goodbye to Dave and let the dog out only to find Gunnar and his partner already out in the neighborhood working. They have several jobs today so I guess they are getting started early. He also has homework to get done for his various classes. It's not unusual to get up and see he's already gone, hard at work. It's also not unusual for him to come lumbering out of his room at 10 am, and surprise me because I thought he was gone working.

It's a strange thing these teenage years. My boys have a lot of freedom because I trust them. I know they are where they say they are (if I can only remember) and doing what they say they are doing. I know they are staying on top of their school, well the one who is still in school.

So, often it is just me and the girls here at home doing school. And at 13 and 11 with the exception of math, they don't really need that much help from me. I'm just here to supervise, check over, and encourage.

This really is going to come to and end some day, isn't it? Some day I may have to decide what I am going to do when I grow up. Some day, my kids really will be on their own. I see it right over the horizon. I'm not sure I like it.

Good Help is Hard to Find

Gunnar got a call a few days ago from a gentleman in our church who owns a parcel of land nearby. He needed some one to come mow it.

Gunnar is the go-to mower guy. He asked the gentleman what equipment he needed to bring to do the job. The gentleman said he had all the equipment on site, he just needed the body to do it.

I got this photo from Gunnar this morning. This is an air conditioned tractor mower. I'm pretty sure Gunnar is never going to want to mow my lawn with the sad ol' push mower again.

Never Forget

A few months ago Gunnar and I watched a Nova program about 9/11. This was the first time he’s ever really gotten to see the extent of what happened that horrid day so many years ago. He was just a little boy of 7 when it actually happened. He and the other kids were too young to understand so Dave and I tried to shield them from as much of the media coverage as we could.

But this day, a few months ago, he saw it all. He was very quiet as he watched. At one point during the program they show a single firefighter standing on a giant pile of rubble. The sky was grey from all the dust and this firefighter stood on what was once a building, but was now just a pile of cement and debris. It was as if he was standing on the moon. There was no background noise, which is strange for New York. No cabs driving, no people talking, no horns honking, there was only one sound. An erie, high pitched sound that I didn’t recognize.



Gunnar looked up at me and said “That sound is the alarms on the SCBA tanks the Fireman wear.” That firefighter was standing on who knows how many bodies of his fallen brothers. Their alarms still ringing, and there was nothing he could do but stand and listen.

It made me cry. It still makes me cry just to think of it. It was the most haunting thing I’ve seen in my lifetime.

President Obama, and all other presidents who follow, please, we can NEVER forget. We can never forget, in the name of tolerance, that there is an entire group of zealots out there that wish us all dead. They’d happily give up their own lives to see America destroyed.

Let’s not put politics over America’s safety. Over my children’s safety. I don’t ever want it to be my sons who are standing on a pile of rubble listening to the sounds of their fallen brothers.

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “
- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

Educating Children is the Parent’s Responsibility

Did that title catch your attention? I thought it might. I believe it with all my heart. God gave you your children, you alone will have to answer for how they are educated and trained. It’s YOUR responsibility, from teaching them to say ‘mama’ to teaching them quantum mechanics. (Does that even exist? I don’t know.)

But here’s the kicker. While it is the parent’s responsibility, nowhere in the Bible does it say. “Thou Parents ONLY shall teach their children’. We all need help. We all rely on others around us to help. We all part out some part of our children’s education. Either in the form of Sunday School, or Grandma teaching little Suzy how to sew, or math classes at a co op, all the way to sending out kids to school for all their academics. There is no one right way for everyone.



I have many friends who have their children in public or private schools. They feel strongly this is what the Lord would have them do. I homeschool my children. I feel strongly that this is what the Lord would have me do. The two do not have to be mutually exclusive! The Holy Spirit guided my family to this way of life for a reason, as did he lead my friends to theirs for a reason.



Why must we argue about that? Why must we think our way superior; the only right way? How arrogant! How unhelpful to the body of Christ! How disappointing to God. I know people who send their kids to Public School and think that is the only right way. They believe that by homeschooling or private schooling, we are not taking God’s Word to be salt and light seriously. I know homeschoolers that think it’s nothing short of a sin to send one’s offspring off to the evil government schools.

I’m going to be honest with you. Homeschooling has some downfalls. It’s not perfect. My kids are missing things. It’s hard. Someday I want to give up. I also know that public schools have their downfalls. It is not a perfect option. It is hard. I know many parents who wish they could change something about their public school. Private schools have their issues too. I know parents who wish they could change things about their children’s private school. This side of eternity, no option is perfect.

Here’s the thing…can’t we have a little grace for each other? You send your kid to public school and I’m going to support you and applaud you for all you do in the school and for the teachers. You send your kid to private school and I’m going to support you and listen to you and be proud of you for all you do for the students and teachers. And I’m going to homeschool my kids and you can support me.

Arrogance never builds up. It only tears down. The Holy Spirit can lead my family one way and your family the other, and both can be right. That’s how God works.

'Fall'

I know I should really finish my Colorado Vacation stories. That was not hte end. There were several other blog worthy events that happened. The thing is, it makes me a little melancholy to think about it all. That was vacation, and it was cool and pretty. Now, it's school and hot and ugly.

Texas in September. Its a hard time. We're so stinkin' sick of the heat and humidity. School has started, people are calling it 'Fall' but really, there's no change. It's still hot and humid, the only difference is that you can't spend all day at the pool anymore.

And speaking of school. Annika is taking a quilting class at our homeschool co op this year. These are the fabrics she picked. Her theme is apples and polka dots. I can't wait to see the finished product!




The yellow fabric is the main fabric.






I better wrap this up now, I have these kids, and they need to be 'educated' and since it's 'Fall' I guess I should get to it.

Our Crazy Colorado Trip, Part 2

Once we got our tires replaced and had a little fun at the Cadillac Ranch, we headed off into the great blue yonder yet again. The first several hours were sort of boring because, well, it looked like this…



…for hours.

We played games, we switched off kids, we listened to Car Talk and Lake Woebegone podcasts. We are really klassy travelers.



Finally we started to see this out the window…





I must have taken 600 photos of this! We went a different way this time, going up into Albuquerque and then north to Durango. We saw a storm come through, it was just truly amazing.

When we left Tx, this was the temp.



When we were just barely north of Albuquerque, this was the temp.



It was glorious!

However, now that we were inching up on two full days of travel we were all getting a wee bit tired of being in the car. One can only listen to so much Lake Woebegone before even Garrison Keillor's voice becomes grating.

We were close to our next spot. It was a little known state park in Northern New Mexico I’d found online. WE were on track to pull in and get set up before dark and then have some dinner and enjoy the beautiful view the park promised in the photos online.

We found the park. We pull in and Dan comments on the fact that the bikes that were on a rack attached to our bumper seemed to be listing. We’d just gone over a gravel road that was not exactly smooth and they’d bounced around quite a bit. So before we go find the park host to get checked in and find our spots we check it out.

Huh.

Turns out, the weld that Dave’s friend did to attach the bike rack held very nicely. The bumper however, did not. The bumper was peeling off the camper! Sheesh! What next?

Dave, Dan and Gunnar got out the straps and strapped down the bumper so it would not come off the camper (See? Klassy!) and we took the bikes off and stuck them in the back of Dan’s truck. (Noticing a theme here? If we’d not been traveling up there with Dan and Ruth, we’d probably still be stuck in New Mexico!).

Once we got the bumper situation temporarily fixed we went in search of the park host. The Park Host was nowhere to be found. We did find out, however that this was not the section of the park we were after. Not to big of a deal though, we were in the right State Park, right?

Wrong.

We drove all over that stupid state park, washboard dirt roads and all with our bumper attached by straps. We drove to the marina, over the dam (That was scary!) back to the highway, around the lake, back over some dirt roads, through a creek. Yeah, in the dark, towing campers, we forded a creek! It was getting darker and darker and we were getting nowhere fast. We got out of the cars several times and conferred. Dan and Ruth had a GPS and at one point in our search for the park, the GPS had us in the lake! It was at this point we knew we were in trouble.

No one was going to say it, but we really needed a plan B. We drove around some more, coming up on a dark and scary looking, very narrow bridge. No…wait…it’s not a bridge. It’s the DAM! We drove around for three hours on back roads, dirt roads, over creeks, around a lake and ended up right back where we were!!!! I’m sure it has an official name, but we’ve taken to calling it The Damn Dam. It seemed fitting.

My Sister in Law, Ruth, who was about as sick of the car as I was, suggest we go back to an RV park we’d seen on one of the many roads we’d been on that night. We all heartily agreed.

We made our way to the RV Park, plugged in, fed the kids and then went to bed. What a day! We were in the car for 16 hours!!! We started the day in Amarillo at a tire shop and ended it driving aimlessly around a lake for 3 hours. Oh, My Heavens! What’s next???

On a happy note, all was not lost. We woke up to an amazing view we’d not been able to see in the dark the night before. We had a leisurely breakfast in the cool New Mexico morning overlooking an amazing view.

This was what we drove into. A dumpy little RV Park...



I had woken up early and stepped out of the camper just in time to see the canyon wall across the river lit up by the sun. It was the most brilliant orange I’d ever seen. It was such a nice treat to wake up to see a little bit of God’s majesty in a yucky ol’ RV park. It was a little gift we’d not expected.







Tomorrow, we’d head to our destination in Colorado, with (Please God!) no more catastrophes!

Our Crazy Colorado Trip, Part 1

Family vacations are always something to write about with this family. I don’t know why, but they never seem to go off without a hitch. There are hitches. Many hitches.

We left Dallas happily enough. We were leaving the 100 degree temps to go to the mountains where the temps don’t get above 80, what’s not to like?

Our plan was to get from Dallas to Amarillo on the first day, we were not leaving Dallas till 1pm, but it’s only a 6 hour drive so that should work.

We met up with Dave's brother Dan outside Ft. Worth. We were off! Two giant trucks pulling two giant RV’s heading for the mountains. Life was grand, the skies were blue, and all was well with the world…until the first blow out.

We suddenly hear Dan hollering over the walkie. “Pull over…something…tire…bad…” it was hard to hear.

So over we pulled.




Nice.

We got it taken care of and only lost about a half hour of travel time, there was much laughter about how this seems to happen on every trip, but still spirits were up, we were heading to the mountains after-all!

We hopped back in the car and headed out again. We’d gone about 4 hours so far but we were in the middle of W Texas and it all starts to look the same out the window after a while.

Within about 10 minutes…





Yes, again.

This one was trickier. The blow out was more severe, causing some damage to the underside of the camper, and our spare was already in use. We were pleased to find that Dan’s RV spare fit our RV, so after much taking off and putting on of tires in the HEAT of W Texas, we were on the road again. We were somewhat less jovial now. It was readily apparent to Dave and I that we needed to replace all the tires. We’d had one blowout on a previous trip and Dan mentioned that usually when one goes they all go. We decided not to replace them all though because they were not that old and seemed to have much tread left on them. It was a strategic and informed decision. And also the wrong one.

We began making phone calls to find a tire place in Amarillo that would still be open when we got there. We also began praying that no more tires would go out on either camper seeing as we had no more spares and were here in the middle of Nowhere Texas...



…for the next several hours.

The last few hours to Amarillo was a bit more somber. It would be really bad if another tire went. We were praying against that. Finally, about 2 hours later than we expected, we pulled in to the RV park. We were unable to find a tire place open at 9pm, but we were told if we got there when the place opened, they’d help up first.

I started my first official day of vacation getting up at 7am, sans coffee, to take our house-on-wheels to the shop. This did not bode well.

We got to the tire place, unhooked our house and left it there. We drove around Amarillo at 7 am aimless for a while. Well, not really aimless. Dave was looking for a car wash and I was looking for any place that sold coffee. We found the car wash and then, mercifully, Dave took me through the drive through at Whataburger for coffee. I think, maybe, possibly, my attitude may have been suffering.

We headed back to the tire place to find our house had been repaired. We tried not to think about the fact that we could have had our friendly neighborhood mechanic and friend, Carlin, replace them for half the price if we’d done it before we left. As we all know, hindsight is 20/20.

After we got the wheels on our house-on-wheels back on we called Dan to tell them we were ready to go. I tried really hard not to think about the fact that they had been enjoying a nice leisurely morning, undoubtedly with lots of coffee, while we ran around Amarillo.

We met up with Dan and family, at the Cadillac Ranch, just down the road from the RV park we’d stayed at.

We did our first official act of tourism that day.











The rest of the drive to CO went off without a hitch. Gunnar even got to drive the rig for a while into barren flats of W Texas.



Sadly that was not the end of the catastrophes for us…

Go Here for Part 2...

The Tale of Three RV's

I finally have my beloved computer back. She has more memory and fewer glitches. I have missed her terribly!

After I get caught up on the five million things I have not been able to do without my computer, I'll tell you the stories. The stories of two blowouts, a near collision, a dead battery and spewing oil. Oh, and mountains. How I miss the mountains!

I need a post vacation vacation.

We returned from the Mountains on Sunday. I have been buried under the laundry pile since.

It was everything you'd expect from a Hilltop Family vacation. We had two blowouts on the RV 10 minutes apart, the battery in our Excursion died, the bike rack ripped off the bumper of the RV though not while on the highway thank goodness, we got so lost looking for our of the campsites that we drove around for 3 hours until the GPS had us in the lake, and we gave up and went to an RV park, and last but not least, we developed an oil leak that caused my Excursion to spew a fine mist of oil all over the front and sides of the pull behind RV all the way home.

And finally, to add insult to injury, we left CO and it was 60 degrees. When we arrived in Dallas it was 107.

But somehow, we still managed to have a wonderful time!

My computer is in the shop, because we've not spent enough money on repairs so you'll have to wait a bit for the full story and photos.