RECA Camping Trip

BJ and the two eldest kids are headed to Bandy Creek in Big South Fork for a camping trip organized by Lily's school, River's Edge Christian Academy. There are about 200 students enrolled at RECA and there will be about 100 campers (students and family) going on this trip. Their biggest turnout yet! This will be Lily's and Schaeffer's very first camping trip. I hope they have a blast...and take it easy on their daddy. I hope to have some photos to share when they get back tomorrow night.

Pillow Talk

I love my husband for many many many reasons. One of the top reasons is his ability to make me laugh until I almost (read: slightly) pee in my pants. One of those moments happened just a few nights ago. We were trying to catch up on our long overdue conversation time - which mostly happens while we are lying in bed at night because the kids are also snug in their beds and the house is quiet. Our converstation drifted toward tatoos. BJ is always pitching a new tatoo idea to add to his existing artwork. Most days I think he's just brainstorming and being silly. I had the idea of using your body like a lot of people use their vehicles: a billboard for bumper stickers. You know, why not use it as a chance to spread a message or support a cause? BJ replied, "Yeah, how about a tatoo across my back that reads 'I heart my Shi Tzu.'" I just about rolled out of the bed laughing so hard. I couldn't stop. You know the kind of laughter that hurts your ribcage and you can't catch your breath? Hadn't done that in a while. It was awesome!

Playing in the Rain

One thing that every kid needs to do at least once in their lifetime (mine do it at least several times a year)...Play in the rain! I bet our neighbors wonder what kind of parents we are letting our kids run barefoot in the backyard in the middle of a downpour.

Workspace

How long have I lived in this house? Hmm...over 4 years. And I finally have a workspace of my own. The office has generally been BJ's domain. That's obvious by the coffee mugs, literary selections, and abundance of techie gadgets in the room. But now that I'm homeschooling, I desperately needed a prep/work space of my own. The dining room table wasn't cutting it. So I took over the large desk in the office. I still need to go through all the drawers and clean out a bunch of stuff to make room for school supplies so they don't crowd my workspace. But, this new workspace makes me feel so organized and efficient. I LOVE that!!

P.S. On the desk is a desktop computer and a laptop. My laptop is where I do most of my work. The desktop is quite old. About a year ago we had to completely wipe it clean because it was running like an old man. Now it works really great for just web surfing and a few other applications. We have kept the old man around for the kids' online learning resources and computer games. I feel the old man will eventually need to be moved to another location once the kids are old enough to crowd around it (and crowd me out of my workspace). For now it'll work just fine where it is.

Penny for the Arts

Check out Penny4arts.com for some local (Knox County) arts and culture events that your student can attend for just one penny. Pretty nifty and thrifty!

09.06.2010 Metcalf Bottoms

We spent Labor Day at Metcalf Bottoms in the Smokies with a whole slew of family: Grandmama, Granddad, Jonathan, Heather, Jacob, Ethan, Amelia, Matthew, Abby, Ciera, Nana Faye, and Heather's parents Rees and Betty. Grandmama and Granddad arrived early to secure us a good picnic location right on the river. And then they cooked us a big breakfast over a fire - eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and coffee. The rest of us brought lunch stuff and snacks for the rest of the day. We had a blast!

09.03.2010 Chattanooga Discovery Museum

BJ was able to take a few vacation days surrounding the Labor Day weekend. First stop: The Discovery Museum in Chattanooga...