Saturday, November 22, 2014

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

 I can't believe how big you are!  We love you so much are so proud of you!
 You are so thrilled with this knife with the paracord-wrapped handle!  I am thrilled for you, but please, please be careful!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

October Field Trips


 October was a super busy month!!

First, we took a short trip with some other families over to Athens, Tennessee to visit the Mayfield Dairy Plant, where we got to do some (fake) cow-milkin',

some (real) ice cream eatin', 
and some cool porch sittin'!
 And don't forget some funny-face-makin'!

 After this, we headed over to the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum to take in some relics from the past...


some old, 






some not so old!



It was a really sweet day
 with friends.























Later in the month, our whole family hit the road for a whole weekend of field trips near Johnson City.    

First, we visited the Gray Fossil Site & Museum.  They had some neat activities for the kids.  It was great to learn about fossils found right here in our own home state.


Next came an unplanned stop, a little gem we found out about as we browsed the rack of brochures when we stopped for lunch.  Just down the road from the fossil site, on the campus of East Tennessee State University, is a cool railroad exhibit.  The George Carter Train Museum contains a very large model train layout which was built and is maintained by volunteer staff.  We were all very impressed by its size and detail.  (And it's free!)  What a great find.



The next day, we headed down the road to Greenville to check out the home of the Constitution President!  (Okay.  I don't know how broadly he is known by that title, but if you're going to choose a nickname as president, it doesn't get much better than that!)

  The Andrew Johnson home offers a lot to see.  From a replica of his birthplace, to his  original (!!) tailor shop, to two homes he and his family occupied during different periods.  A lot of information.  I'm sure the kids did not absorb it all, but we always have fun looking around old homes.




Last, but not least, we stopped at Davy Crockett's birthplace, which is a state historic site.  As you can guess from the picture, this was by far Andrew's favorite stop.  He had the opportunity to fire Davy Crockett's gun!!!!














We enjoyed looking around the historical exhibits and cabin (a reconstruction)... and the kids especially had fun taking every chance to photo-bamb.  :)


Strike a pose!
Andrew Attack!!
Ta-da!

Reagan on the prowl... and not quite sure
what Andrew and Ellie are doing to each other here!
And to close, some wonderful words to live by, courtesy of Davy Crockett himself:










Thursday, October 2, 2014

September Field Trips

It seems that most, not all, of our field trips this month, either in part or in full, had a common theme: our nation in conflict.  We had an interesting time seeing how much the business of war changed from the 19th century to the 20th.  I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to visit these sites; our history lessons will be so enriched by these experiences.
1.  Fall Creek Falls Mountaineer Festival
5th-generation furniture maker!


This festival celebrating pioneer skills and lifestyle tends to be similar from year to year, but the kids won't hear of skipping it.  Since we all enjoy it so much (plus it's nearby and free), we make room on the schedule for it every September.  




Broom maker
We had the opportunities to talk with and watch a broom maker, furniture maker, several blacksmiths, alpaca farmer & his wife who spins and weaves, a sorghum farmer, and several members of a Civil War encampment.

Ready!  Aim!  BOOM!  
     
2. LST 325 World War II ship
We had a chance to see the real deal this day-- an actual ship from D-Day.  This floating museum was there on the beaches of Normandy that awful day of 1944.  We were first given an introductory history of the LST's and their important role in WWII.  Then, touring the ship, we saw various photographs and exhibits.  One exhibit that was a particular favorite of the kids was a detailed replica, made entirely of Lego-style bricks, of an LST unloading tanks and men onto a beach while under attack.  During the tour, it was a honor to meet and talk with some of the men who not only work to bring this museum to us, but many of whom are veterans, including one from WWII.

3. Chickamauga Battlefield

We attended the 151st anniversary weekend of the Battle of Chickamauga.  Now, I am by no means a Civil War buff, but I am forever fascinated by the history, the soldiers, the politics, and the family stories from this era.  This was a great opportunity to have a blow-by-blow walk-through of a significant battle by an extremely knowledgeable historian, Jim Ogden.  The park itself is really neat, too.  In the years after the war, veterans came back and verified the locations of certain important movements during this two-day struggle.  Many monuments (300+)  have been erected to show locations of the heaviest fighting of different divisions of infantry and cavalry, and to mark the places where high-ranking officers were killed or mortally wounded.  This place certainly warrants another trip; we spent all day here and yet left much unseen.
4. Hike to the base of Fall Creek Falls and "Dangers of the Wild" ranger talk
I love living so close to Fall Creek Falls!  We called ahead for this trip to the park and were able to meet with a ranger for guided hike and a presentation about wild animals.  We had a beautiful day for hiking and enjoyed a great time with friends, Misty, Aloni, and Anna.
First came the talk about animals in the wild, in particular ones that can pose a threat to our safety.  Then, Ranger Jon brought out a non-venomous snake for the kids to hold.  Marian's always game for this type of thing, but Drew and Ellie surprised me.  This was a first for them.  Reagan would not even touch it. :)
At the base of the falls
  After this, we hiked from the overlook of the falls to the base.  The kids and I did this hike about the same time last year, which was the first time for all of us.  This second trip was no less awe-inspiring.
In places like this Psalm 8:4 come to mind, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?"
These pictures don't quite do it justice.  As we hiked down into the gorge of the falls, the trail takes us along a towering wall of rock.  The ranger provided some interesting information about Indian movements in this area many years ago, but...
As I walked, my mind wandered back much further.
I tried to imagine the great flood... the fountains of the great deep... perhaps this very rock splitting apart... water gushing forth with tremendous pressure... the sound of the earth in trevail... and Noah & his family, far away, obediently (nervously?) waiting in a boat.  What an incredibly powerful God!

And even today, He meets us in the most surprising places.  Field trips!!

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Thursday, September 18, 2014

Football Mom

Andrew, #41, in a preseason game
Andrew, #60, team captain for the Manchester game

The football season is in full swing again!  Andrew and Dwayne are in their prime.

Watching my not-so-little boy out there is a nerve-wracking, proud experience. 

Left Offensive Tackle

Getting ready for the kick-off (Check out that scowl!)
He's learning so much... about the sport, of course, but also about himself, his team, and his place in that team.  I love seeing Andrew grow in his inner drive and ability to focus.





Unlike Dwayne, I've never been much into sports, but that continues to change as these kids of ours pull me into new and exciting fields of interest!😉
Running down-field on the kick-off
Play-by-Play with Reagan


        GO BLUE!!

And the Most Handsome Coach award goes to...

Friday, September 12, 2014

Five on Friday-- Highlights of My Week

1. Reagan and I read The Hungry Caterpillar several times this week.  His favorite projects included building this caterpillar (and others like it); discovering lots of things around the house that begin with 'c' like c-cat, c-cake, c-car; and making a hungry caterpillar lunch, consisting of apples, a pickle, sausage, and chocolate cake!  Which brings up an interesting question:
if Reagan gets to lick the beater...
  ...WHO gets to lick Reagan?



2. Our family Bible study this week centered mostly on Jesus as the Way.  So much food for thought here.  We talked about the many different ways we could travel to a nearby city, and that all those routes would successfully take us to our destination.  Jesus is not like that.  Jesus did not present Himself as a way, but as the Way.  "No one comes to the Father except through me."  We also discussed how the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom at the moment of Jesus' death.  This is such a powerful image to me.  It was not torn from the bottom up by man's hands, but top to bottom by God's power.  Through His death, Jesus provided the way by which we can each draw near to God, without a human high priest needed to intercede for us. (Hebrew 10:19-22)

3.  We added math to our home school schedule this week... and pretty seamlessly at that.  Marian does her math mostly independently.  Andrew seems to have a better grasp on things than he did at the end of last year, thanks to a summer's growth and God's mercy!  Ellie is not always a willing math student, but she is certainly more than capable.  As for Mom, math is her favorite subject!

4.  The girls' ballet classes started back up this week.  I am so excited to see how much they will learn and improve this year!  Also, Marian joined Bryan College Community Children's Choir.  The girl loves to sing and I am excited to give her this opportunity.
 Andrew is halfway through the football season now.  Sometimes he has a rough or discouraging practice, but he has come so far and I know that overall, he loves it.  And we love attending his games every weekend and cheering him on!

5.  Last, but not least, even though I've already posted about it, I'm still feeling the urge to brag over the first 5K that Marian finished with me.  First of many!!

Linking up with:
Weekly Wrap-Up
Random Five on Friday
My Week in Review

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Run, Mar, run!

At the start line
This past summer, Marian has been training to run a 5K with me.  Yea!  This past Saturday was The Big Day, a color run to benefit the Women's Care Center.

Marian started out the morning saying she did not want to get any color on her.  I assured her that she could just detour around the color stations during the course of the run, no problem.  Well, my mischievous side got the better of me... that, and I truly didn't want Marian's uncertainty to cause her to miss out on any of the fun.  Before the race, all the runners have fun "coloring" each other, and I found a couple of Mar's friends that were all too willing to let her share in the fun.  So here's how she looked before the race even started.   I couldn't be prouder!

Marian is a blue blur approaching the finish line!
As for the actual 5K, we didn't manage to run the whole way, but this one was just about finishing.  And finish, we did!  Dwayne and the rest of the kids were all waiting at the finish line to cheer us on and take our picture.  As you can see, we definitely did not bypass the color stations!
Check out the green "gloves"!!










Then the whole family went to 
Huddle House for breakfast.  
Now that's a good way to start the day!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Rules of the Road

Heard from the back seat as we traveled down the road
 on a partly cloudy (aka, mostly gorgeous) day:  

"I think.... if there's just one grumpy cloud in the sky, we should turn on the [head]lights."
Thank you, Reagan (age 4), for those wise words.  You'll be a fine driver someday... and a very cute meteorologist!