Life sure can throw a curve ball when least expected. 

Here we are about to embark on yet another venture.

I am looking forward to it although I am sure it won't go nearly as 

smoothly as I hope. 

The best thing about this whole thing is that

I will really get to use my creativity

to the fullest.

We have pulled our son, Titus, out of public school.

We did not make a hasty decision,

it is one that we discussed for quite sometime,

unsure how things would turn out in middle school.

You see Titus has autism and he struggles academically.

What we didn't know going into 6th grade-our

school system's middle school-

is that if the student can't keep up on grade level

they are pulled off of diploma track. There is minimal help

and in reality there isn't any support, except having an

 aide sit there and keep the child on track.

If that is unsuccessful then the brow beating begins and 

we just want so much more for our son.

Of course that means I am giving up my job in order to stay home.

The irony of it is that the school system has much trouble 

finding and keeping subs and other support staff.

And yet because we weren't fully made aware of 

the expectations, they are going to loose one more employee.

I realize I am not at all perfect, but I love kids and 

can manage them quite well. In fact this is why I 

was offered the Title One Aide position.

It also allowed the school to put me in a classroom if no

other sub picked up the job.

We have a daughter in 7th grade that does quite well

for herself and understands what the boundaries

with the school are. She knows when they are prying and 

realizes there are times when the school is

trying to get more information out of kids than is healthy. 

We are making many preparations including the obvious like 

choosing curriculum-or shall we say what course of learning we 

will embark on, rearranging the house and adjusting schedules.

Hang on tight because we are ready for take off!!!

Memorial Day 2013

What a blur the last few years have been.

We are starting our 3rd flock of chickens, the kids are in 4th and 5th grade, hubby has a new job, I survived breast cancer, and a heart attack.

I haven't done any sewing or crafting in that amount of time either, so I have started to clear out all the fabric scraps and things that I feel I have no time for now.

It's not that I wouldn't want to sew but with my treatments and my husband's surgeries I have needed to work as much as possible in order to pay off medical bills.

I started substitute teaching last Oct. and pretty much work everyday.

Life is good though and the Lord has been ever faithful.

I am so looking forward to the summer break although I realize that in the next few weeks I will be scrambling to get the garden planted and get 4-H projects done.

So hard to believe that the fair will start on June 28th-seems too early and getting veggies to grow by then is going to be iffy.

We are in the process of trying to sell off a few chickens so we don't have to 

butcher so many this time around.

 7 days of school left and then I will be starting summer school homeschooling.

This is an effort to avoid sending the kids to summer school which in 

my opinion robs the kids of  their break.

I suppose I better get organized for that too.

Have a great Memorial Day!

LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN!

It's hard to believe I haven't blogged since last year.

I've been on the Facebook kick, but I don't believe it's my cup-o-tea!

I do like reading others' updates though.

My kids are not wanting to return to school tomorrow. They went for a week then we headed off for vacation for 2 weeks. We went to Washington D.C. and attended the Restoring Honor Rally. There were hundreds of thousands of people there and it was actually quite relaxing. We planned well though and parked early and hopped the first Metro train at 7 AM that day. We really beat the crowds.

Although I must say that LOTS of other people did the same thing we did. We grabbed a seat under some trees and that helped alot, we were situated by 8 AM and the rally started at 10 then ran till about 1:30.

Very good message- GET BACK TO GOD!

Bring your children up to know what it is that God expects of them.

Faith, hope, and love- The greatest of these is love-put these values into practice-that is change we can believe in and need so desperately in this country!

We did just 2 days of sightseeing in DC, one day of ocean going then headed off to New Jersey and then proceeded to Philly to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, oh yes and the U.S. Mint. Of course we had to return to the ocean one more time-the kids really love the waves. Just too bad the threat of a hurricane put a dampener on things!

But everyone wanted to come home early so we cut it short by 2 days, I'm still tired but can't sleep so here I am!!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR JESUS

The kids are now in the shower getting ready for church. Kaylee is excited about the Birthday party for Jesus. They will play games etc...

Titus on the other hand really doesn't care for that sort of thing, too much activity.

He'll do OK though because we have wonderful people there to handle the kids.

Only three more days of school left until break. This means I better wrap lots of gifts the next couple of days so I'm not doing it on Christmas Eve.

I have all kinds of things I'd like to do for the season like bake cut out cookies, make some paper cutout ornaments and decorate some more eggs.

Today I went to Once Upon a Child with a bunch of stuff and they bought everything I took in. I had iceskates, a Build a Bear, doll house, foam puzzle, Tot-Loc chair, brand new diapers(cloth), a board game, ballet slippers, two books, you get the idea just a bunch of different stuff. The best part was the $40 some dollars they gave me in exchange...hope to take more in soon!

Carmel Corn disappointment!!

What a huge disappointment, both batches turned out grainy---ugh!!! Too bad teachers are getting it anyway. It'll still taste good but what a bummer. Steven finally has his facebook up- yeah!! It'll be good for him to post something now and then.

I've only got to assemble the teacher's gifts and plan on delivering them early. I still have to make the ornaments. I am doing egg ornaments from the green eggs our precious little easter egger chickens are laying!!

Christmas Cantata

Well here it is the night before our Christmas Cantata and I can't believe this month is nearly half over. Tonight was Steven's work Christmas party at the Elcona Country Club but he has been sick since last night:(

It's OK because the party just started an hour ago and I've been ready for bed for longer than that.

I took the kids out shopping for a bit just to get some odds and ends like ribbons and bows. I also picked up some very fine white glitter for the egg ornaments I plan on decorating. We are getting one to two eggs per day that are green. I've been blowing them out because I just can't bring myself to bust 'em up. The brown eggs really are pretty too, all different shades of brown. Some are even a bit pink looking.

Tomorrow after church I plan on making carmel corn for the teachers' gifts - then I can get those gathered together.

Harvest Happiness

Despite the fact that both kids are sick and I now have a sore throat and headache, I am so thankful for the provisions God has given us.

We are warm, well fed, and still have the right to speak our minds.

It has been very stressful with the new president trying to change the fundamentals of our nation. It wouldn't be so disturbing, but he has so many radicals doing his bidding. I really doubt he has what it takes to make the difficult decisions. Although I do believe he agrees with "changing" this nation. The sad part is the middle class will most likely suffer-because pardon the pun "we're stuck in the middle".

I absolutely adore Sarah Palin!!!

She is a super class act. We need more gutsy patriots out there to stand up and say what needs to be said & done to save our country!!!

My copy of "Going Rogue" should arrive any day now and I am looking forward to it! (Early Christmas)

I dabated for a long time about whether or not to put political opinions on The Witmer Chronicle, but I do believe I can not stay silent any longer.

Most of all I credit God, The One True God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, with giving me the strength to have come this far in my life and with restoring to me the quality of life that I really don't deserve. My goal is to serve Him not only in my heart but with my entire life-in anything I pursue.

Thank you Lord Jesus, Amen!!