Ordinary Life

Fifteen years ago today, Chandler Brice Brewer took his first breath.    I was there.  He was tiny (I was not). Debuting as a featherweight at 5 lbs 14ozs and 18 in long, his current 150lb, 5'9" frame is proof that apparently pizza and macaroni DO count as vegetables after all.  We are blessed with our 'ChanMan' and enjoy getting to know the young man he is becoming.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANDLER!

Our Fall Term started last week. We rearranged our classroom. Started with coffee, of course...  Rye insisted she wanted "real" coffee in her cup... ... I think she liked it.  First Period: Individual Grade Photos FISHER KAI Fisher is in Jr. High now 6th-ish Grade LOGAN ALEECE   Logan is finishing Jr. High 8th-ish Grade CHANDLER BRICE: Chandler is a Freshman (& not very fond of having his photo taken)  2nd Period: Group Photo  AFTER SEVERAL ROUGH DRAFTS... ALETHEIA FIRST DAY FALL TERM 2014-2015   3rd Period: Group Work    A peek into one of our favorite classes: Rubber Pencil 101 (and a video about Earthquakes)  Pre-3 runs simultaneously in the same room:  Weather gal : Fidgets have been added to each desk space~ a listening aid, believe it or not:  A Book Butterfly: Riley in her " Music Appreciation " tent..a.k.a. naptime: She now says " I hate music appreciation! "  There were many other things not pictured, like a lesson...

Our FaceBook friend Mitch often posts poetic pictures of  the "Old Lady" tree near his home. And, it is a beautiful, old lady tree. See? Mr. Mitch is an interesting fellow and I often want to do and be and think and see in step with him.  So, imagine my delight when I discovered  that we have an Old Lady Tree too... See?  Okay, so she's a bit of a hag.  I surely wouldn't eat any apples from this tree. Mainly because it isn't an apple tree, bu t also because 'she' looks like the witch from Snow White, whose specialty was the Drowsy Apple.  See?  I have friends standing by - ready to call the right folks and administer the right meds for me if the lady in my tree turns out to be from another Disney franchise:  If I hear it speak, I am to repeat: "A tree may speak to me, but only metaphorically."  (...and so help me, if you ever find me running around in a buckskin dress...talking to the trees... wrap me up in my loooong sleeve pajamas please.....

David Levy Yulee   was the the first Jewish member of the United States Senate.  He was a sharp business man, serving as president of several companies. While living in Fernandina with his family ,  David Yulee founded the  Florida Railroad Company and became known as the Father of Florida Railroads.  Yulee served as a member of the Confederate Congress where his passionate speeches in support of Confederate causes  gained him another nickname:   "Florida Fire Eater"   .   These passions also gained him a 9 month imprisonment @  Fort Pulaski .  He was granted pardon and has since been named a "Great Floridian" 

I recently joined a local band of rowdy homeschooling mommas. Okay, so we aren't really rowdy. We're all rather reserved actually... unless you hit our hot topic or favorite curriculum  buttons... then we may have opinions to share... or mildly suggest. But, rowdy or no, we are banded together birds o' feather (who like to maintain our autonomous natures, thank you kindly.)  The important thing is we are ' banded together ' - something I had let go of for awhile  (Sometimes my 'autonomous' overflows and I forget that I'm not an island adrift nor The Lone Ranger.) It is nice to be back in community with like-minded yet completely unique folks again. It has been a little while since we were last plugged in with a group.  {Here's one time . This was another .}  Between my overflowing autonomy and busy, bustling every day life, it just didn't seem like we had the time. But alas, as is usually the case-some of the best things are things we MAKE T...

Two of Logan's photographs were featured in the Spring 2014 Edition of the FLVS literary magazine VIRGE. They can be found on pages 62 and 65.

Chandler and Logan were featured in the 2012-2013 Florida Virtual School Yearbook with their answers to the theme question: " What does the phrase Cherish Today, Challenge Tomorrow mean to you?" Chandler: "Take each day as it comes and be ready for the challenges of tomorrow."   Logan: " I think the phrase Cherish Today, Challenge Tomorrow means that you should seek out what you want to do with your life and to challenge yourself to achieve the goals you have set."  They can be found on page 5.

I recently finished merging all of the old blogs that I could find (and that I still remember the passwords for). This after a period of ducking into my shell... I can be very 'turtle-like', I know. Sometimes I'm okay with all the world seeing all the warts , other times I try to disappear for all I'm worth . As I merged the blogs, I enjoyed reading the old entries. Many memories and  moments were brought back to mind- some of it good and some of it slightly embarrassing... I have been too  many versions of me. One Two Three ...Count the Me's .. .   SeventySix ... NinetyNine ... One Thousand I have a terrible memory. If there isn't a picture or journal entry about it, it never happened or at least, not that I can recall.  Reading back over small, conversational details in some of the older entries had a shrinking effect. My eleven year old was suddenly four again, trying to fly like Peter Pan .   Years disappeared and in their place the taste of sweet sadne...