Ordinary Life

I ran up to the local pharmacy tonight: I asked if there was a restroom I could use and was pointed in the right direction. There was graffiti on the wall.. my favorite line? "I LOVE JESUS !" Someone had written it in large letters, covering almost all of the door. I find this sort of vandalism a sad kind of funny. I also cannot understand those who hold entire conversations and especially arguments on bathroom walls. Is this really a form of effective communication? Dr. Phil says no. When I came out, the pharmacist that pointed me in the right direction asked "Did everything come out alright?" I wasn't sure how specific he wanted me to be! I replied hastily and returned to my shopping as far away from his counter as possible, wondering if perhaps there was a sale on milk of magnesia that I was unaware of. I have spent more time than I am willing to admit wondering whether he knew what he was saying or if he's just that graceful with words. It reminds me of ...

My Thoughts On Problems I have them. While inconvenient, most of my problems are not earth shattering. I continually brace myself for the inevitability of encountering the earth shattering variety. I don't really like to talk about my problems...unless you are a stranger in an elevator. I value problems for the lessons that come with them. I wish the lessons were a little more instantaneous. I am not very good at passing lessons on to others. I can only ever seem to say "Yep. Know what you mean" I would like to do less " yepping " and more honest to goodness helping. Problems I can Yep about: Money Shortage Health Problems Blended family woes Certain Types of Abuse/Mental Scarring Addiction/ AlAnon Loss of Religion (not loss of faith or belief... just loss of blind trust in ceremony) I don't believe I could share anything about the above problems and really make a difference to anyone facing similar struggles. I believe the lesson is found in the journey one...

While Logan was busy tapping and spinning, the boys took to the soccer field. They also fed the lone duck in the pond every stale scrap from our pantry. Poor Duck.

Logan started ballet & tap class at our local Y this past Tuesday. She says she likes both types equally. She is to have a recital 12/20. (more pictures should follow soon- classtime isn't very conducive to shutterbugs )

Supplies and highlights from today's rock candy crystal science project (cross your fingers and hope for success):

Look...Jesus! , originally uploaded by kellybrewer . I was slightly alarmed when I heard my eldest say "Look at the sky, it's Jesus!" (I mean, c'mon) Alas, it wasn't the Second Coming (yet), but some jet exhaust that, to my boys at least, was Jesus' cross.

Duck Crossing , originally uploaded by kellybrewer . An entire family of ducks held up traffic on Wednesday (11/28/07)...I am not sure all of the motorists found the man beckoning them to cross with a bag of bread as endearing as did I.

Logan found this giant leaf and I promised to preserve its memory before the LeafCrunch Monster (Fisher) got it. Thus far it is still intact, but should he find the leaf's hiding place, the parking lot at the Island's Professional Center is full of this large variety. They are pretty impressive in real life, if you go for fallen leaves. ( I most certainly do)

Shooting hoops before hitting the pool this morning... had to wait for water aerobics to let out... Camera Phone Pics

Hanging out with new friends from SUHN after last week's Shrimp Boat tour . It was the most lovely day-- there were so many dolphins playing near the shore, it was like our own little Sea World show. There was a lute player, good conversation, not one, but TWO compliments on home schooled children, beautiful weather and red beans and rice to boot! ~of course I didn't bring my camera for all of that... guess you'll just have to take my word for it~

Some paintings from our study of the pilgrim voyage this past month: Logan Fisher Chandler

I recently finished " The Ultimate Gift " by Jim Stovall . I was inspired to read the book when the movie came out. It looked like the makings of a heartwarming story and I decided I'd like to see it, but I have a strict policy regarding books and the movies inspired by them: Read the book first . Rarely have I broken my policy knowingly, and so to keep my record pure, I waited to watch the movie until I had read it's parent book, which took awhile because when it comes to books, I am forever adding one to the list which causes me to forget others previously on the list... but, thanks to a recent display of the dvd's in WalMart (the Devil) I FINALLY remembered to get the book (almost a year later) and am ready to watch the movie. Which, actually, I am STILL waiting to watch because I am thrifty (yeah, cheap) and seem to remain indefinitely in 9 th place on the waiting que at the library to borrow it. Moving on to my point (and I do have one)- I have again begun t...

* thanks to Family.org for

It wasn't Friday, but it was a beautiful Monday for a field trip, so we joined some other local homeschoolers / unschoolers /etc for a shrimp boat tour on Tybee Island .

In October, we made friendly with apples. We also drowned some in caramel and impaled them on sticks! For all the gorey details, Click On !

Aletheia Academy will now make an effort to become a blog unto itself. Wait until I leave the room to double over in laughter, please. "Old School Ways, Modern Days"

~Following is a transcript from my earlier rant concerning the circus sideshow some folks treat you like when they find out your "dirty little secret". I'm over it now, but perhaps you could use a laugh, or a grammar correction activity sheet for your fourth grader ? Help yourself: Homeschool is the Bearded Lady I should let it go, I know that. I am bigger than these silly trivial matters- or I should know how to be bigger by now, but like an "I Told You So" just bursting to get out, so too, is an "I Knew It" or an"I Saw It Coming"---or both."Aletheia Academy" had 'recess' at the park today. It was a beautiful day and we combined the play time with some learning activities- win, win, right?Sure, a perfectly suitable, and enjoyable I might add, educational and play time experience, until the fleet of mini van moms rolled in with their less than school age troupe and rained on our "before public school lets out" para...

We went to the Jepson Center for the Arts in September for a Friday Field Trip ®

Click HERE to see our first day of school.

Thanksgiving @ BeanBean & Todd's House in Evans. See also : Impromptu Baby Shower for Ashely and Uncle Nick's Appendicitis .

Aletheia Academy took a field trip on the 19 th to Captain Doug's Shrimp Boat, "Sassy C ." The Captain taught us a lot and everything was very hands on learning, which is why we returned home smelling quite fishy. * No, Aletheia's enrollment has not grown, we went with a local homeschool group.

Haven't decided whether I'll stay or not... or maybe do both...saw that my little bro gave it a try, figured it couldn't be all that bad...only time may tell: Me in my new WordPress Outfit

At Free Rice , a strong vocabulary is worth a bowl of rice. I played to 350 grains of rice before attending to other chores/chickening out. How full is your bowl?

I made a nylon stocking doll... Logan and I have named her "Francine"

"There's something about the heavens, makes me stand in awe again..." ~Ten Shekel Shirt Make a slide show, scrapbook or ecard

Fisher turned 5 on November 1st. We went to Chuck E Cheese and then came home for "Doggy" cake and presents. Everyone is still recouping from a stomach bug, so it was sort of a low key day, but still a special one- Happy Birthday, Little Buddy!

Halloween is a special holiday in our household and not just because we aren't "cat people". Our family's very existence can be traced back to the holiday and the first date pC and I shared(ten years ago this year). ~more notable is Fisher's BDay on the 1st because THAT was our second date- the one I swore I wouldn't go on... but I digress We attempted to celebrate in the traditional way, only to be cut short by a nasty stomach bug that announced it's presence with large volumes of *confetti, thrown haphazardly, and quite spontaneously near the laps of i nnocent hayride passengers (Like premarital counseling for the betrothed, I believe vomit cleanup should be a mandatory course when one wants a child...various levels would have to be mastered : Vomit out of carpet, Vomit out of hay, Vomit out of hair, etc. to determine the truly committed parental candidates) Though our night was cut short, there is some footage for your entertainment ( sadly, none ...

In a recent Worth1000 contest, I entered several rhyming lines about fall(per the contest guidelines) and while I didn't come in last place, I didn't come in first either--you can read the drivel here ( I'm not a huge fan of formalized poetry, but I had some credits to burn and an itchy pen) The point is, though I didn't score even close to the top (8 th , 10 th , 11 th and 28 th out of 29 entries) I feel validated because I've been chosen... not by the Jury (though some of my entries did receive their pat on the back- yay !) but by other contestants in a recent , neighboring photo contest. The idea was to choose a poem from the poetry contest and capture it in a photo... I received an email notifying me that someone planned to use one of mine :) But that's not all... When I went to see his work, I found that others had chosen me too . . . It was a nice surprise and a little kick of self esteem after bombing the text contest. Entries for Autumn Diversity: ...

A snapshot of our Boo -tiful "Cocky" pumpkin before taking him to live with our fellow Gamecock fan on the island, Miss Alissa the Librarian.