The Colorado Adventure
Archive for September, 2006
Saturday
Author: liese4
Day 2 of Grandma’s visit:
We went to Zios to eat lunch, here is Pikes Peak from there:
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Then we went to Focus on the Family. The kids love it there, the underground mine, puppet show, cave TV, playland, 2 story slide and airplane to play in. Lots of fun for everyone and we ate ice cream at Whit’s end soda shop. My camera lost it’s flash so this is the only picture that turned out good.
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From there we went to Garden of the gods park. It was just the right temperature. We saw a blue bird and 4 deer at the end of the trail.
 read comments (0)White fence farmsAuthor: liese409 30th, 2006
My Mom is in town and last night we went to White Fence farms to eat. It was sooo cool. There was a playground, carriage rides, a garden, a pond, a gift shop and lots more we didn’t see.
We ate a hearty meal with corn fritters, bean salad, beets, cottage cheese, coleslaw, fried chicken and liver and onions. We played in the tree-house, fed the fish and shopped while listening to C&W music.
We can’t wait to go back, here’s the last shot with Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence.
Yikes!Author: liese409 28th, 2006
I was contacted by 850 KOA to talk with them tomorrow about HS’ing. I wrote instead since I am picking up my Mom from the airport (also I don’t like to talk, I mean I do, but not in public!) Unfortunately tomorrow I am picking up my Mom at the airport. They’re are a lot of Moms in my HS group that are much more eloquent that I! (especially at speaking in public.) A short response is this: I Homeschool my 4 children ages 11, 7, 4 and 16 mos. because I feel as a Christian that God has given me these children to train up. If I shirk my responsibility to them by loving them at home for 4 years and then packing them off to pre-school how am I training them to be Godly men and women? I am not trying to raise geniuses, just Christian men and women of Godly and moral character who are good citizens and are responsible for what they say and do. The more I have Homeschooled the more my reasons have gone from purely religious to safety and the ability to give each child the individual attention they need to find out what they are good at and do it. Not just do it, but do it well. I have seen Moms sacrifice to stay at home and teach their children, single Moms, working Moms and traditional SAHM’s who are forgoing material things in order to give their children school at home. People ask me all the time how I can do this, I must have so much patience! No, I just love my children and want to give them the best I can, and that is Homeschooling. ( Thanks for responding and for sharing your story. Perhaps we can talk on the air down the road, April Z.) 1 more reason to homeschoolAuthor: liese409 27th, 2006
BAILEY – The Department of Public Safety confirmed to 9NEWS that a gunman, claiming to have an explosive device, is holding two female students hostage in Platte Canyon High School. This is about 25 miles or so from our house. 4 schools are in lockdown and students have been taken by bus to an (at first) undisclosed location. At least 1 shot has been fired, 4 hostages were released and he has 2 girls right now. He’s 53. How sad is this, it’s an adult and he claims to have a bomb. Not only that but the kids that were evacuated weren’t told where they were going and parent’s couldn’t tell where their kids were. I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about some nut bringing a gun into my classroom and holding my kids hostage while I can’t get to them. And let’s face it, I’d know if my kids tried to bring a gun into my classroom! This is NOT the only reason I homeschool-but it’s a darn good one and right up there in the top 5. Other reasons are Religion, no bullying/teasing of my child, family, no guns/drugs, so I can help them find out what they are best at and do it to the best of their ability. I’m not trying to raise a genius, just a Christian, a good citizen, someone who is responsible for what they say and do and someone who has strong moral values. An update at 4:30 a shot was heard, the swat team entered and pulled out the 2 girls, 1 in an ambulance 1 airlifted in critical condition. The gunman took his own life after shooting 1 girl in the head, she died at the hospital. The bag that was supposed to have a bomb in it had sex tpys and they think some of the girls may have been sexually assaulted (which could mean fondling to rape) Today (Sep. 28th) To Emily who died and her family, I’m so sorry that this happened. May God keep you in His arms and may His love create a warmth for your family to get through this time and the rest of your lives. ChurchAuthor: liese409 24th, 2006
Today we were finishing up Revelation. Our teaching Pastor, Alan Scott, talked about how Heaven will be Heaven because of the people there. We will be more joyful, more productive and be morally flawless and completley fulfilled. He asked us what we are trying to get “more” of here, more money, more love, more time. We won’t ever have a time when we don’t thirst or hunger until we get in Heaven, but sometimes being a Christian means saying “no” to some of our appetites. Maybe no to working longer hours so we can be with family, no to looking for fulfillment in things we shouldn’t. At the end he said, “If Heaven is about people who are there, how should we live now?” So this week I am going to try to be kinder, more gentle, and more joyful.
Here’s from a park we like:
We went to Washington park to pick leaves like these:
Bethany, Grace and Hannah enjoy a popsicle:
Hannah chases the geese:
Bethany and Grace pose:
and again:
HannahAuthor: liese409 23rd, 2006
 Presentation clubAuthor: liese409 22nd, 2006
Other presenters talked about: the water cycle, the carbon cycle, elephants, and foxes. A small group this month. Wordless WednesdayAuthor: liese409 21st, 2006
Cancelled due to snowAuthor: liese409 21st, 2006
Our Homeschool picnic tomorrow is cancelled due to snow. Darn! Why can’t more people be willing to drive in it? On the upside we’re 600 feet higher than Denver and there is a slight possibility we’ll get a light snow sometime Friday night/Saturday morning. Rock on!!
Some artAuthor: liese409 21st, 2006
He gets it!Author: liese409 19th, 2006
Yesterday we opened the grammar book and delved into predicate nominatives. (quick grammar lesson: That’s where a noun or pronoun gets identified, renamed or explained following a linking verb.) We’ve been over direct and indrect objects, adj., adverbs, linking verbs, transitive and intransitive verbs and helping verbs lately. So as soon as Joel reads the definition he’s off underlining all the pred. nominatives. To help him pick out the parts of speech we tried diagramming, but I never did that in school and Joel wanted to know ‘what is the advantage to drawing little lines and filling them in with he words of the sentence?’ I don’t know I replied. Couldn’t you just write the abbreviation for the part of speech above the word? Yes, that would work (and it’s less work for him.) So it must work for him because he sailed through this lesson and can pick out all those nasty grammar identifiers with ease. I also opened Joel his own blog where he can write and not use a pencil. Maybe he can take a typewriter with him to the CSAP test? Hmm…. I wonder. Bethany spent yesterday finding out about the Punic wars in Ancient Rome. She’s excited about Roman history, especially after she read the Magic Tree house book about Rome. She’s watched one video about Rome and made a map. I have a book of Roman myths, but they’re pretty gory, so I don’t know that we’ll use them. She’s working on some art for our Homeschool art show in October. She has a great painting of an abstract person and some music notes, it’s pretty cool. Next week she starts on a paper mache sculpture called worship. I’m thinking when she’s done we’ll paint it with fleck stone to make it look like a real sculpture. Grace is counting down the days till Grandma gets here. She’s the official keeper of the calendar. Every day she traces over a number on her sheet, we started with 30, we’re down to 10! She also copied her moon phase’s words and pasted them on her poster board for presentation club. I found this great font that prints out dashed letters so she can trace over them and come out with a respectable looking letter. Here is her Ed the Elephant picture: Hannah decided to become a connoisseur of markers yesterday. She started off with a black one; I guess it tasted very black. She then switched to a purple one (but at least she didn’t write on the walls.) Finally, she finished with an orange crayon and some paper. Her most recent thing to do is walk around the house with a step-stool and climb up on things. Her only problem is getting down, I’m sure she’ll figure it out by the end of the week. When we do school she likes to climb up in her slide fortress and read a book like this: Fall is here!Author: liese409 17th, 2006
With my window open in the afternoon enjoying the cool breeze this is what I sense: birds calling to their kin to fly away A flag ceremonyAuthor: liese409 16th, 2006
Saturday in the crisp fall air of Littleton, Colorado we watched a Flag retirement ceremony and listened to a Veteran from the Tuskegee Airmen squad speak. The KC’s were out in their red, purple and white finest, with swords drawn. A color guard marched in and a 21 gun salute was given. We heard what the 13 folds of the flag represent and saw each flag from America’s past represented. I didn’t know we had a “pine tree” flag? We also saw the transition from English 6 pointed star on the field to a 5 pointed French star, and of course the rattlesnake “Don’t tread on me” flag, which Ben Franklin wanted to keep because “The eyes of a rattlesnake can be seen in the dark and they have no eyelids, so their eyes never close, they are eternally vigilant” They had all the Veterans that were there go stand by their respective flag (POW/MIA, marines, Army, etc..) and we honored them. So today I just want to say Thank You to my Grandpa who was in the armed forces and fought to secure my right to be here, and my Dad and Uncles who were in the Marines and Navy, my cousins in the Army, my Step-Dad who was in the Navy and everyone else who was ever in any military branch. At the end the girls picked up a rose from the memorial bricks and we sang “God Bless America”, it was beautiful. WHY THE AMERICAN FLAG IS FOLDED 13 TIMES The first fold of our flag is a symbol of life. The second fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life. The third fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world. The fourth fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance. The fifth fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, “Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong.” The sixth fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that we pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. The seventh fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic. The eighth fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day, and to honor mother, for whom it flies on Mother’s Day. The ninth fold is a tribute to womanhood; for it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded. The tenth fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born. The eleventh fold, in the eyes of a Hebrew citizen represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon, and glorifies in their eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The twelfth fold, in the eyes of a Christian citizen, represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in their eyes, God the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. When the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding us of our nation’s motto, “In God We Trust”. After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the sailors and marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges, and freedoms we enjoy today. For September 11thAuthor: liese409 11th, 2006
Here we are holding a flag in hand, it’s stars and stripes flowing across the land. we hold it high and gaze to remember, all we lost one day in September. But, we also see a future bright as we hold it in our sight. one of beauty and things to come; and most of all, our Freedom. BlacksmithingAuthor: liese409 9th, 2006
Well Joel got to Blacksmith today and had a great time. It was about 68 degrees so not too hot for them in the barn with the fire going. The girls and I went for a hike and saw the last remaining round barn in Colorado. |
