Our representative Congressman David Wu held a townhall in the little town right next to ours, so I thought I'd take the kids and see if I would get the opportunity to speak to him about my concerns. Not surprisingly, that didn't happen. Though we have a high school with a large gymnasium and several other venues he could have chosen that would have given many more people the ability to participate, there was only seating for 70 people inside the room where the townhall was held.
I'm still glad I went. Both kids were interested in the whole thing, and Ryan enjoyed reading all the signs and asking about what the meant. We had an impromptu civics and history lesson right there in the parking lot, and they got to see the democratic process at work. We didn't stay too long once we realized we wouldn't get in, but while we were there, it was pretty peaceful and respectful. It was frustrating to see (and hear) union employees who had their professionally made signs and who were bussed in from who knows where...but I digress.
The kids behaved very well and were patient with me as I lingered to listen to people talk and when I took the time to fill out a comment card, so afterward I surprised them and treated them to an ice cream cone at McDonald's. We ate ice cream and discussed the Constitution. I had a great time, and moments like those are what keeps me going with homeschooling, reminding me what a gift it is to be able to be there when the light bulb goes on.
I got a package in the mail today. Check out the postmark on it!
Everytime I feel overwhelmed with all the tasks at hand and discouraged by the lack of time I can devote to my blog or other "me" things, I am tempted to give up blogging. But then I look back over the past years' posts (I've been at it for four years now), and I'm so glad I didn't quit. I was looking up a date for something on Abby's old blog this morning and ran across this little gem. I had completely forgotten about the event, but it was such a sweet moment and I am so happy I took the time to do a post about it.
I wish there was an easy way to turn my blogs into a book because that would be incredible! But for now, I'll just keep plodding along with my blogs and hopefully catching those special moments that will be forgotten if I don't write it out.
Chris Matthews once said, "You’re not an American if you don’t cry when you hear Obama speak." At first I was insulted because I consider myself to be very patriotic had never once felt the urge to cry upon hearing Obama, but since the inaugeration and his first 200 days in office, I've been crying just about every time President Obama opens his mouth or signs some new policy of his, so I guess I have to let that offense go.
Some friends of ours from church live just a few doors down, and last month they asked Ryan to water their plants while they went away for the weekend. He was so excited to have his first job!
He had a great time and felt very grown up doing his job each day, and except for a few pointers I had to give him, he did a very nice job. Then he was overjoyed by their more than generous payment of $10!
African Violets must be a sturdy breed of plant because I can't seem to kill them, at least not in the last couple of years. I am not usually very good with houseplants, but when we moved to our new house we have a window that plants seem to like. My favorite violet is about nine years old, and when a friend gave me another one back in March, I decided I should transplant my old one into a bigger pot and put the new one in the old pot.
Much to my dismay, while I was removing the old plant, I accidentally snapped off the entire root system leaving only a small stump! I thought for sure I had killed it, but I decided to stick it in the soil and see what happened. It wilted and stayed that way for about a month, but then it slowly began to perk up a bit!
Now, just four months later, my plant is absolutely covered in blossoms! They have lasted for over a month now, and it is just beautiful. I'm surprised by how happy this little plant makes me!
All last week when the weather was incredibly hot (100+), this is what my son insisted on wearing! It's not just black pants and shirt, mind you, these are sweats! Now, we have air conditioning, but there is just something wrong about wearing black sweats when it's so hot outside. (I made him change whenever we did venture outdoors, by the way.)
designer : anniebluesky : blogu
