Snuggly jammies, warm fire, Christmas lights, Disney movie, pizza and hot wings. Is there a better way to ring in the new year? Welcome 2012! We’re glad you’re here!!!
Lawdy, Lawdy
12.24.11
Well, it’s official. I’m over the hill. Or that’s what they used to say. Now I hear that 40 is the new 30. No black balloons or tombstones placed in my yard to celebrate this milestone. No, sir’ee.
Jeremy asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year and I said, “Nothing”. He came back with, “No, c’mon, I want to get you something.”
“I want nothing.”
“There has to be something you want.”
“Yes, I’m telling you what I want. I want nothing. Actually a couple of days of nothing would be even better.”
So that’s what I got for my birthday. Two days of nothing at a posh hotel in downtown Atlanta. It was exactly what this 40 year old body needed! Thank you, Honey!!!
Grand Opening
12.18.11
The grand opening of our new retail store, Anglers Warehouse, was this weekend. The doors were officially opened for business in August but we didn’t have it fully stocked, loaded and ready to go until now.
After the crash of the housing market 3 years ago, it’s so nice to see Jeremy find his passion again. He is a smart businessman and works hard to accomplish his goals, but what he really loves is people. He is at his most happiest when he is helping someone to achieve their own dreams. Whether it’s a guy making baits in his garage on weekends finally turning a small profit, or a life long fisherman who steps up to tournament level. Jeremy is there for advice and encouragement.
The same night as our grand opening we also had a Christmas party for our pro-staffers. We were so thrilled that 75 people came!!! Some from as far as Texas and Arkansas! We feel so thankful for them because they are the guys wearing our Tshirts, hats and jerseys on the weekends at their local tournaments. Our name is getting out there! Recently we’ve had orders to fill and send to Washington, Utah and Maryland! Isn’t that amazing???
I never imagined entering the world of retail sales, but we’re here. And we’re doing pretty well. I can’t wait to see what this year holds for us! And if you’re so inclined, please visit us on the web: anglerswarehouse(dot)com for all your fishing needs!
Keepers Christmas Tea
12.17.11
Last year Savannah and I were invited to be a part of a group called Keepers of the Home. We met monthly with other moms and daughters learning life skills, and focusing on the things that God designed us, as women, to take care of. Since I had never heard of a “Keepers Group” at the time of our invitation, I ordered the handbook. It didn’t take long after flipping through its pages to know this was something special.
Going forward into this school year I knew I wanted to continue learning in the Keepers handbook. But I hesitated returning to the previous group. Not because they aren’t the most gracious, fun-loving, God fearing women I’ve met through homeschooling. Because they most certainly are. They are wonderful! But that group was a very large group. Twenty or more girls if everyone showed up. And I knew some personal friends who I thought would also like to be a part of Keepers. I didn’t feel that it was my place to invite them into the other group, so I decided to branch out and start my own group.
The picture at the top is our new group (minus one lovely) taken at our Christmas Tea. I hesitated planning a December meeting but when one of the moms offered to give the girls a proper “tea”, I thought it was a great idea. They got all dressed up for the occasion and each girl brought a gift or two for a family we adopted from the local ministry village. After eating and hearing the story “My Child My Princess”, the girls wrapped their gifts and decorated Christmas cookies.
I am so pleased with how this group has turned out. An absolute answer to prayer. I love the diversity of their ages and family backgrounds as much as the girls themselves. And I can’t say enough good things about the new friendships I have made with their mothers.
Some other fun things we’ve done this year include how to grind your own wheat and make blueberry muffins, we’ve made our own travel pillows, we learned some healthy ways to take care of our bodies since they are the temple of the holy spirit and we also made our own Christmas cards. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year brings!!!
School Days ~ Writing
12.09.11
What can I say about writing? I personally have a love/hate relationship with it. When I have time to think clearly, be humorous, add style and entertain people… I love to write! But these days, I don’t have time for all that. I update this blog quickly, just so I don’t forget things. It’s far from entertaining anymore. It reminds me of a checklist. And that, I hate!
But I do like to teach writing skills. With a first and third grader, we are still doing a lot of basics. Savannah has very neat handwriting and so for her, I assign a lot of journaling and some copywork. She told me once when she was quite small that she wanted to be an author some day. She’s never mentioned it again, but gosh, does she love to write stuff! She fills up notebook after notebook with her thoughts and drawings and ideas and to do lists (I have NO IDEA where she gets THAT from!). On a normal school day, I have to continually remind her that she’s done enough writing for that day and she needs to move on to her other work or it will never get done!
Emery hasn’t been as eager to write as his sister. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s getting older or if she is rubbing off on him, but he isn’t as frustrated by it as he used to be. Neatness and taking pride in his handwriting is something I’m trying to develop in him. “It’s not just all about getting the assignment finished, son.” At the beginning of this year I hesitated to teach him cursive even though he was asking. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do it, but I could barely read his printing. I thought cursive would be even worse! Now I’m glad that I decided to go ahead and do it. Turns out, if it’s something he sincerely wants to learn, he will do what it takes to do it right.
I don’t know why this picture is so blurry. Knowing him, he probably wasn’t sitting still! The page was taken from his writing book called Writing with Ease (Savannah also uses the 3rd grade edition). These books have been great in reinforcing copy work, comprehension skills, and story narration. We do a lot of work finding the main points of stories and then condensing those stories in our own words. This is difficult because for Savannah, she wants to retell the story in complete detail including the color of flower petals that the main character passed on her way to the farmhouse. And Emery, knowing that whatever he narrates back to me about the story, I will write down and he will have to copy, gives me only 4 and 5 word recaps! (sigh)
But overall, I can already see a huge improvement in both their handwriting and their writing skills in general since the beginning of this school year. I am really looking forward to next year when Savannah will be old enough to participate in the Essentials Writing class that is offered within our homeschool group. I hear nothing but praise about it and I think with the program we’ve been using, she will have confidence in herself and will do very well in the class.
