Family In Town

My sister, her husband, and their two children are in town from Montana, so we've been quite busy. Almost as soon as the Summer Art classes finished, we were at our former neighbors' 50th wedding anniversary party at which it was lovely to see so many friends from my childhood; we lived in that neighborhood from the time I was six years old until three years after Keith and I were married. Several of these neighbors helped with our wedding reception held in my parents' backyard at sunset 23 years ago. The Lanhams, who lived across the street and whose Golden Anniversary we celebrated on Saturday, were the family who took me to church when I was eight and first introduced me to Christ. Their youngest son, Scott, was my age exactly and we went through school together from first grade until graduating high school. He gave me my first kiss and we used to play tackle football on his front lawn on summer nights. We truly grew up together. And then we saw other families whom we knew as I grew up, including a neighbor whom I had a huge crush on when I was in 7th grade. It was great to see all the old neighbors, and fun for my sister and her family to be here for the special event.

On Sunday after church at Lake Murray and our Logos meeting to discuss Blue Like Jazz, we had a family barbecue down at my parents' place in Pacific Beach, complete with our aunt and her husband, our uncle, and Mom's cousin, his wife and tennaged daughter, plus my brother and his two kids, my sister, her husband, and their two, plus Keith, myself, and our four kids. The deck was certainly full as we enjoyed grilled chicken, ribs, and sausages with baked beans and coleslaw with strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Then on Monday my parents and my sister and her family drove up the mountain to our home, and from there the kids and I followed their Surburban with our Sienna to my parents' cabin on Mount Laguna for a quick visit, and then we caravanned into Julian, a charming goldmining-town-turned-tourist-attraction. We enjoyed lunch and wandered through a couple of shops, including our traditional stop at the Cider Mill which has all kinds of great things to eat along with samples of cherry apple cider. We drove home from Julian via Cuyamaca Rancho State Park where we stopped near our old camping spot at Los Caballos Horse Camp which burned in the 2003 Cedar Fire at the Stonewall Gold Mine to take photos of Stonewall Peak, which also burned in the fire, and the surrounding area which used to be on our favorite riding trail over to Lake Cuyamaca. I'll post a few photos later this week on my photo blog.

Today was an at-home day, and I played catch-up with e-mail, laundry, and gardening. Tomorrow after Anglican chapel and a stop at Dr. Burns' office for a quick chirpractic adjustment, we'll go down to my parents' house for an afternoon on the beach then an evening at the San Diego Zoo which is open at night during the summer. We don't have anything really planned for the 4th of July, and after this busy week, we may just stay home and rest.

More later, and more photos to boot....

MLA Grading Is Finished ... What Next?

On May 22, I received 12 MLA research papers to grade from my Intermediate Writing Class on topics varying from Louis Armstrong's influence on American Jazz music, Astrobiology, and the existence of dragons to the origin and need for toilet paper, Cesar Chavez's revolutionary ideas, and the original intent of the US Constitution. Unfortunately, one student (a graduating senior) didn't turn in a final project (and thus failed this semester) and three other students failed; two papers received A's.

After grading papers until 4:15 AM, I turned all but the astrobiology back on the last Class Day, June 12, and on the same day received six more papers from my Advanced Writing Class. (Two students didn't turn in papers, one failing the class and one receiving a C- rather than the strong A she had earned over the course of the year). These papers covered the topics of the Wii gaming system, global warming, the physical effects of forgiveness, aliens as demons, the effects of obesity, and Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.

Well, after helping to plan, shop for, and then assisting at our art council's "Taste of Art" summer art classes consisting of woodworking, acrylics, and crafts this Monday through Thursday (will post on the MECAC site in a few days), I haven't had much time for grading. So it was today, the final deadline for Heritage Christian School grades, that at last I e-mailed the grades to the parents and to the school and also snail-mailed the papers back to my students.

Whew! So all of the work associated with Class Day is completed for the school year -- a fact for which I am intensely thankful. It's been a long haul this year, with reluctant students, failing grades given to homeschooled students for the first time in my years of teaching at Heritage, several non-supportive parents as well as the first time I've tackled teaching BOTH high school writing classes. In the past, I've taught one or the other class, not both, but with so many students wanting to take high school writing, I didn't have much choice. It's been a very tough year at Class Day which was made bearable and even pleasant at times by encouraging and thankful notes and gifts from a few of my most motivated students, including handmade earrings, a gift certificate to my favorite tea shop, and a lovely candle.

Although the deadline for my own children's grades for Heritage also was today, I simply have not had time to pull together the scattered forces of my mind to start totaling up math, Latin, and vocabulary quizzes and tests, not to mention E's high school courses for her transcripts. I'm planning to tackle the stacks of ungraded papers on the school table Monday and mail in grades by the end of the day, Lord willing. My plan was to be done with all homeschooling endeavors by July 1, so I hope to just squeeeeeeeeze in the remaining work on the final day of June.

Yes, I still have textbooks to order for next year's schooling, but I have a pretty good idea of what I need to purchase for each child, and with the exception of E's high school texts (especially Spectrum Chemistry), it shouldn't be too expensive. E will need ABeka's American History, SMARR's American Lit, and Spectrum Chemistry. I have purchased her Bible curriculum already (Jason Boyett's Pocket Guide to the Bible); she already has her Saxon Algebra II book as she already started it this year, and she's finished with foreign languages after two years of Latin.

T will be starting Saxon Algebra 1/2, so I only need to purchase tests for him (and remember to copy them so I can reuse them for the younger boys when they reach 8th grade). The other two boys only need the consumable student texts for ABeka Math for grades 3 and 6. We'll be buying the rest of the Sonlight 7 books we don't have from the old one-year SL 6, which will include literature, readers, history, and religion for all three boys. (B will need his own level of readers, but will participate in the remainder of the SL 7 books; his readers will be from the old SL 2 books I have on the shelf.) We are planning to study astronomy for science which I purchased at the homeschool convention in May. I need to find the boys a good keyboarding program (Mavis just isn't cutting it), plus I need grammar books for J and T. I'll also be putting J and T through my own Beginning Writing Course on the Thursdays we're not at Class Day. I'm still debating between Latina Christiana II or Traditional Logic, both from Memoria Press; I may teach the logic but review vocabulary from Latina Christiana I on a weekly basis; we'll see. So it's not too much to purchase this year and minimal planning still to do; I should be able to make all purchases on a single day if finances allow or just an hour here or there if we need to spread out the purchases.

I am seriously hoping to spend most of July researching and writing a chapter of my book. I need to buckle down and tackle one of the planned chapters, researching and writing as I go. I hope to have a serious piece of writing at least in complete rough draft form by July 31.

I'm just so glad to be finished with all of the grading for Class Day courses for this school year. Yay! (Imagine me jumping for joy, please.) And now it's off to read more of Blue Like Jazz and get the grades done for our own students. But a huge burden is gone now -- two burdens, actually, if we count the art classes plus the writing courses, both of which have been hanging over my head and have required significant output of time, energy, and brainpower. I'm DONE!!!!!

Update on California Homeschooling Case

From the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), dated today (6/25/08):

On Monday, June 23, 2008, HSLDA founder Mike Farris argued in defense of homeschooling in the California Court of Appeal in the now-infamous Rachel L. case. In February, this same court had ruled that homeschooling is illegal in California. The court later vacated its own decision in response to a request for rehearing filed by attorney for the father, Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation, with substantial assistance by Farris and other attorneys at HSLDA. Farris argued as a friend of the court on behalf of HSLDA's 15,000 member families in California, as well as Focus on the Family, and Private and Home Educators of California.

Farris was joined in his defense of homeschooling by lawyers representing the Attorney General and Governor of California, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, California’s three largest homeschooling groups (California Homeschool Network, Homeschool Association of California and Christian Home Educators of California), Pacific Justice Institute on behalf of Sunland Christian School, and Alliance Defense Fund lawyer Jeff Shafer, on behalf of the family.

“The weight of legal and scholarly authority presented to this court in defense of homeschooling is unprecedented,” said Farris, who has argued dozens of similar cases since founding HSLDA 25 years ago.

In addition to those who presented oral argument, friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the right of parents to homeschool were submitted by Pacific Legal Foundation, National Legal Foundation, Sutherland Institute, Liberty Counsel on behalf of 13 members of Congress, Gifted Homeschoolers Forum, et al, Seventh Day Adventist Church State Council, Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence (prepared by noted law professors David Llewellyn, John Eastman, and Erwin Chemerinsky), American Center for Law and Justice and The Western Center for Law and Policy.

Farris is guardedly optimistic that the three-judge panel will not repeat its earlier error, but he covets your prayers. “The homeschooling movement has been successful not because of the work of lawyers but because the Lord has blessed it,” noted Farris. “We must always remember Proverbs 21:1—‘The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever he wishes.’ ”

A decision is expected within a few weeks.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President

Our prayer is that homeschooling remains unchanged in the state of California. Although we occasionally have a "bone to pick" with our homeschooling Independent Study Program (ISP), we value their oversight and commitment to academic excellence. The vast majority of homeschooling families we know do extraordinary work in educating their children. There are always a few families who don't do a good job, just as there are some public school teachers who are rather useless (I had quite a few of them, including every mathematics teacher I had from 7th grade onward).

Our ISP mandates annual standardized testing, quarterly progress reports that cover grades in academics and conduct as well as number of chapters/pages covered in each subject. We submit an Annual Course of Study for each student which the school looks over to make sure that the basics are being covered, plus we also meet with the principal or registrar to go over high school requirements and college admissions. The Class Day courses that are available for nursery through Honors English are optional; some families attend one Class Day (twice monthly) and some attend two (weekly classes). Heritage Christian School also provides access to tons of field trips and academic contests in art, poetry, essays, science, spelling and geography bees, etc. There's way more available than one family could possible do, so we look on all of the "extras" as a smorgasbord: we take what we like and leave the rest behind.

So we pray that homeschooling will remain unchanged in California as a "private school option" and that we can keep on teaching our kids at home with excellence. And I need to start ordering our new textbooks for the fall, don't I? High school chemistry, here we come!

Don't Be Afraid of Dirt

For the past several years, we've been following the philosophy of health found in Dr. Jordan Rubin's The Maker's Diet. Our osteopath, Dr. Donald Adema, recommended having our entire family follow this program about three years ago, and although it was very difficult in the beginning phases, we've been fairly faithful over the years, the occasional "splurge" notwithstanding.

The Maker's Diet returns to the rules God gave to Israel, rules that were not just arbitrary guidelines but which Dr. Rubin shows leads to good health. So we cut gluten, pork, shellfish, and refined sugars from our diets and started eating Ezekiel breads, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and eat as organic as is practical. We drink only water and organic tea, with organic lemonade as a "treat." It was quite amazing to see the kids' eczema vanish as we ate this way, and T's asthma has practically disappeared. But Dr. Rubin's ideas go much further than what we are to eat and drink.

Dr. Rubin also stipulated that use of antibiotic soaps, etc., were harmful to the immune systems, especially to those of children who need exposure to different microbial sources in order to build a strong immune system. He discourages "excessive showering" (as in daily) as showering removes so much of our bodies' natural oils that we need to boost our immune systems. He says that weekly showers are all that most children need, with soap-free sponge baths in between if they get dirty. He also discourages swimming in chlorinated pools and use of scented products like body washes.

He encourages mild exercise -- walking rather than jogging. And he also advocates gardening without gloves. Getting our hands deeply into the soil is an elemental human activity, he states, and it also helps our immune systems to grow stronger. We are meant to be people of the earth and to have contact with the soil, on a daily basis, if possible. I was quite glad to discover this portion of his program as I love digging my hands into the dirt while gardening; I use gloves only as a last resort even if it means having to soak my hands to remove all the dirt from underneath my fingernails.

Dr. Rubin once again advocates a lifestyle close to the soil in today's daily e-mail:

Parents do everything they can to keep their kids from getting dirty, but in reality, our environment is much too clean! Immune cells that are not exposed to naturally occurring soil microbes tend to overreact when they finally come in contact with them. Too many adults and children have been denied this much-needed exposure. The immune systems of children and adults are overreactive because they are no longer being properly "educated" on the biological playground of life.

To make matters worse, we oversterilize everything with disinfectant dishwashing, hand soaps, and shower gels; disinfectant body lotions and skin bars; and "deodorant soaps" loaded with antibiotic disinfectants such as triclosan. And we sterilize our soil using pesticides and herbicides that destroy beneficial and harmful microbes alike. These substances harm the immune systems of all living things, including the very plants we try to "improve" with our technological advancements.

Our immune systems need regular exposure to naturally occurring soil organisms for long-term health! If I child isn't exposed to soil organisms early in life, his or her immune system may seriously overreact when exposed to completely benign intruders later in life. Loosing touch with our planet has had an unfortunate consequence: It has contributed to the development of allergies, autoimmune diseases, and certain types of asthma in children and adults alike.

So now I don't feel guilty about letting the boys dig holes in the side yard as they recreate World War I's "No Man's Land." And they can take a quick sponge bath before bed most nights; showers are for Saturday evenings before Sunday church. And playing in the dirt, whether it's the boys and their battlements or myself puttering about in my garden, is one of the healthiest activities we can do. I always knew gardening was good for my soul; now I know it's good for my health as well.

2008 Heritage Christian School Graduation

(Myself and Amanda, one of my writing students this year and also a longtime acquaintance from church)

One of the very best things about Heritage Christian School, with whom we submit our paperwork for homeschooling in California, is the senior high graduation. The very first graduation I attended back in 1996 (the spring before we started homeschooling with Heritage), I was so impressed by the twelve senior high graduates who each gave a two-to-five minute speech, thanking their parents, siblings, extended family, friends, and God. They were so well-spoken and earnest, these graduates, brimming with self-confidence, looking forward to their future of college education and serving God with their life's work.

Yesterday at 3:45 PM, I slid into the very last pew of College Avenue Baptist Church, our new graduation venue, feeling rather wilted after running errands in 100+ degree heat. And then I watched eighty-some students file in to "Pomp and Circumstance," proud in their deep blue gowns and caps with mortar boards. Eight of the graduates were in my writing classes this year and three of them are also part of our church, Lake Murray Community Church. I applauded as Hannah, Nathanael, Ryan, Michelle, Kris, Elise, Emily, Erin, Megan, and Amanda came forward to accept their diplomas and have a photo taken with our principal, Mary York. I very much enjoyed hearing several of them speak -- with eighty-some graduates, the graduation speech is now optional and has been shortened to 90 seconds.

After the graduation, I caught up with Johanna, as she has tutored several of the graduating students as well, and I also chatted with some of the parents and two writing teachers from a different Class Day site. (We commiserated over the "bad" year we had all experienced with our writing classes this year, so now at least we don't feel so alone in our frustration.) Heritage dropped the pot luck dinner idea this year and instead had Pat & Oscars cater dinner, and several juniors served cake afterwards and kept the water jugs full of refreshing ice. In the large fellowship hall, photos of the graduates were playing on two huge screens, including pictures of the senior formal, grad night, Class Day, baby photos, etc. It was a lovely evening despite the horrid heat, but the thought that kept coming to mind the entire day was that my own eldest will be here in just two years, a graduate ready to take on the world. Our educational experiences at home will be at an end, and she'll be ready to be her own person, to do what God directs her to do. And I felt, more fully than ever, to make these last two years really COUNT.

Congratulations, Heritage Christian School Class of 2008!

Logos Discussion Group

This month our Logos reading and discussion group at Lake Murray Community Church is on our last book of the year, Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz. Yes, our twelfth book and the end of our first year draws near, and I really couldn't be happier with the group we have. Well, I wouldn't mind having a few other people involved (and you know who you are!) but I also don't want to overwhelm the Belseys who have been so gracious in opening their home and serving absolutely scrumptious lunches to us all. So overall, I'm quite happy.

Discussing literature, whether it is distinctly Christian in content like Blue Like Jazz, Traveling Mercies, or The Screwtape Letters or just contains jumping off points to analyze the effects of sin (Picture of Dorian Gray), the power of persuasion (Persuasion, of course), the depths of hypocrisy (Shakespeare's Measure for Measure), the beauty of Creation (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek), strength of character (Jane Eyre), or the sin of prejudice (Cry, the Beloved Country and Their Eyes Were Watching God), sharpens us as believers.

We learn to see the world through someone else's eyes -- which can only help us draw others to Christ. We learn to value truly excellent writing -- which can only help us to improve our own. We learn to discuss our ideas and listen to other viewpoints -- which can only help us as we learn to give-and-take with non-Christians or Christians of different traditions. We learn of other cultures, other ways of thought, other times and places -- which can only help us relate to people of all ages, races, and creeds and thus presents us with potential opportunities for sharing the Gospel of Christ. We learn compassion, critical thinking, the heft and power of words. Discussing literature, while truly a pleasure in and of itself, also prepares us in our own Christian witness to better love and understand others and therefore be able to present the love of Christ more compassionately and more powerfully.

At our last meeting, I took down a list of potential books for our next reading list. It was very different than last summer when Kitty and I brainstormed a list with prayer and much thought. Although that experience was fun, I really like hearing the recommendation of others and perhaps read some books I haven't been exposed to myself. We have a lovely group of people attending the meetings, some who enjoy the art of the persuasive argument and revel in analyzing character and theme, some who would rather sit back and absorb and mull over the ideas presented by the work itself and by the discussion. I am so thankful that the discussion sometimes goes very deep and sometimes becomes quite spirited and that we feel free to disagree with each other while valuing each others' ideas.

So here's a list of the books our group mentioned. I'll be praying over this list over the next ten days or so as I pick up my just-arrived copy of Blue Like Jazz (gotta love half.com!) to reread before our meeting on June 29th. I also check the county library system to assure that the books we read and discuss are readily available for those who can't afford to buy them. If you have any feedback on the books listed, please feel free to leave a comment.

Possible Books for Discussion:
Gaudy Night -- Dorothy Sayers
Piercing the Darkness -- Frank Peretti
Life of Pi -- Marten
Kiterunner
All's Well That Ends Well -- Shakespeare (playing at the Old Globe this summer)
Cry of the Peacock
The Lovely Bones
Keys of the Kingdom -- A.J. Cronin
Mayor of Casterbridge -- Thomas Hardy
something by C.S. Lewis -- A Grief Observed, Surprised by Joy, Problem of Pain
Heaven -- Randy Alcorn
Beowulf -- Seamus Heany translation (also on CD and a movie is also available)
The Long Walk
North and South -- Elizabeth Gaskell
Cost of Discipleship -- Bonhoeffer
Dracula -- Bram Stoker or Frankenstein -- Mary Shelley
Uncle Tom's Cabin -- Harriet Beecher Stowe
Death Comes to the Archbishop -- Willa Cather
Joan of Arc -- Mark Twain
To Kill a Mockingbird -- Harper Lee
12 Angry Men (novel, not the play)
The poetry of Judith Deem Dupree and Kathryn (Kitty) Belsey -- it would be fun to have the poets come to discuss their work, and since Kitty is already our hostess....

I like to see a balance among Christian books, newer fiction, and classics, and if the books have movies as do To Kill a Mockingbird, 12 Angry Men, North and South, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Kiterunner, and Beowulf, plus the various incarnations of Dracula and Frankenstein (Would Young Frankenstein qualify???), then I give those works a bit more weight as our group does enjoy watching movies. I hope that we'll attend another Shakespeare production at the Old Globe this year as last year's trip to see Measure for Measure was so fun! I also pray about what we can focus our discussion on with each book -- some theme or character from which we can learn something about faith and Christianity. I have yet to add my book or two to the list, but I'm thinking I'll recommend:
The Cloister Walk -- Kathleen Norris
Imitation of Christ -- Thomas a' Kempis

So I'll be researching the library holdings, considering themes to discuss, and praying over the recommendations of the group. We'll see which twelve works God will lead us to read and discuss for the second year of Logos.

The New Indy....

[NOTE: Minor spoilers as to characters in the film but only minimal plot giveaway.]

Last Thursday I took the kids to see Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Overall, we really liked it, although at times it moved a bit too fast for me to keep up with every detail; it's definitely one of those films that require multiple viewings in order to sort out all of the little stuff. And seeing it on the "big screen" is a MUST. I simply can't imagine only seeing Indy 4 on a television only. No way.

The kids are bigger Indiana Jones fans than I am. I first saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theatre for my 16th birthday with my then-boyfriend, and the film terrorized me. We had not grown up seeing a great number of movies, and the most violence I had been exposed to up to that point was Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars (later rechristened A New Hope). So the snakes, the bloody bodies, the decapitation, and the melting faces made a huge impact on me -- or at least the glimpses I saw between my fingers impressed me greatly. I have watched it several times since and have enjoyed it far more, although I still close my eyes during the melting scene at the close of the film.

I saw the second and third movies once only when they first came out but not since and remember little about them beyond there being a little kid in the second and Sean Connery in the third. Although T received the boxed set for his birthday in March, I haven't watched the two sequels for many years and didn't care for them greatly since them anyway. (The third was definitely better than the second, thanks in large part to Sean Connery rather than anything George Lucas tried to pull out of his hat.) Therefore, I was not expecting to really like Indy 4 too much. We were celebrating J's birthday, and he wanted to see it (and go to the zoo the following day) in lieu of a birthday party, so off we went to a matinee after our final Class Day.

Well, the film was surprisingly good. Yes, many have complained that the film is just too unrealistic, and they are right. But who expects realism from an Indiana Jones flick? The film kept me guessing, although alien involvement was obvious from the very first ten minutes. The script was better than anything Lucas has written recently (like Star Wars I, II, and III, just to name a few), and the actors carried the kitschy lines well. Karen Allen's character was fun to see again, even if the years haven't been nearly as kind to her as they have been to Harrison Ford. Jim Broadbent was great as the dean of the college (he'll make such a great Slughorn as well when Harry Potter 6 comes out in November), but Cate Blanchett stole the show even more than Harrison himself and the good-looking young man playing Indy's son put together. Her stock-bad-guy role was played just like the Saturday serials which form the basis for the Indy movies -- with the lightest touch of humor and great facial expressions. The violence wasn't as gory as the first film, but the ants got a little gross and provided me the opportunity to watch from behind my outspread fingers.

I recommend seeing Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull actually **IN** the movie theatres, preferably with a large bucket of popcorn (light on the butter) and a small box of Junior Mints. (M&M's will do in a pinch.) The Saturday serial is resurrected in the 4th Indiana Jones flick, and it's well-worth the price of admission (matinee prices, anyway) just to see this bad boy on the big screen.

(Imagine the Indiana Jones theme music playing as you finish this post....)

Ecstatic Art

M.C. Escher, "Hand With Reflecting Sphere"

I'm quoting this from the September 2007 issue of Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity:

There is nothing that stifles genius like the concepts of originality or creativity as they are usually understood, for as soon as one lifts his[/her] hand intentionally to create something unique, he[/she] falls into -- and the oxymoron is deliberate here -- a new convention. Visit the dreary halls of the art department in the typical modern university. (After seeing them myself, I must ask, where does the artist go who is in love with nature, indeed, who is in love with the form of any thing?)

If our understanding of God is true, then man [and woman] cannot create; he[/she] can only procreate, and only in the sphere of procreation can genius express itself as such -- as something that listens before it speaks and repeats what it hears. The kind of creation that follows is an ecstatic addition of the self that arises unbidden from the depths of the created personality.

The artist can only make something new when he[/she] acts as though there is nothing new under the sun, and when, with the gift he[/she] finds within him, rejoices in what already is. This is why the greatest art never surpasses the making of children, which is its essence, and why the artist who begins his[/her] work in the attempt to overcome "convention" will generate nothing but monstrosities.
-- S.M. Hutchens, page 5

This is an intriguing idea, yet an ancient one. The Biblical motif found in Ecclesiastes -- "there is nothing new under the sun" -- can help the artist to rise above frustration and limitation to the discovery of the utmost freedom possible for the artistic eye and mind. There is indeed "nothing new under the sun;" but art is the expression of something familiar, via the written word or visual image, that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. Art helps us to see what is right under our proverbial noses with new revelation, fresh insight, surprising accuracy. It reveals Truth in all things -- brings to us unique thoughts regarding what has always been within our realm of experience and always will be. That's the gift of art.

First Day of Vacation!

For today (Monday, that is) being the first day of our summer vacation, I was certainly busy. I rose earlier than I usually do during vacation so I could have time to work on a project or two of my own.

It was a lovely day ... but hot. The thermometer hovered around 100 degrees from 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. I spent my morning prayer and Bible reading on the front porch, then watered the flower beds before sorting and starting the laundry. At least half an hour was taken by cleaning out the front flower bed as the snapdragons just started blooming but the bed was littered with stiff browned oak leaves. My email box was cleaned out, the bills paid, thank you notes and birthday cards written and sent, and six chapters of Numbers read as I fell sadly behind in my Bible Book Club readings last month. I also took care of some MECAC business by updating the blog and answering the phone very often to pre-register children for the "Taste of Art" summer program that our art council is holding next week. I helped E do dishes as she has cut her finger quite badly after Keith sharpened the knives this weekend. BIG difference (especially while cutting tomatoes).

The phone seemed to never stop ringing today. I gained two new tutoring students for the fall. I learned that our cable could be out for an hour or two today or tomorrow. I had a long chat with my dear friend from middle school -- we were both in Mr. Stan's English and History classes in eighth grade; I had called last week to alert her to the date and time of his memorial, but she and her family were out of town -- and had traveled north to San Francisco rather than southward to San Diego. A talk with Sheri caught us up on the items we needed to check with each other before purchasing materials for next year [GROAN! I'm so NOT in the mood to think about materials for next year when I still have this year's work to grade and submit ASAP). I found out that my chiropractor's wife is back in the hospital (but forgot to send an e-mail to Lake Murray -- something to do tomorrow -- or today as I'm composing this piece of writing after 3:00 AM) and needs prayer. I can't remember a few of the other calls, but as we're used to one or perhaps two calls a day, eight was a departure from the norm, and none were "junk" calls. Wow.

I started grading one research paper but became distracted when dinner was laid on the table -- stuffed peppers! Well-worth the distraction. So I'll have to get grading big-time tomorrow as the grades for the graduating seniors are due post-haste. I also have to add up the final grades for the Class Day class and grade their MLA research papers ASAP.

But today was a really great day. I could putter about, caring for my kids, my house, my garden. I could spend a loooooong time on morning devotions with no one to interrupt me (not too often, anyway). And I also prayed the Noon Office, the Vespers Office, and the Night Office throughout the day. And so went the first day of summer vacation ... and may all days be this productive and this relaxing.

Fathers' Day and Anniversary

Sunday was rather a double-celebration. Not only was it Fathers' Day, but it also marked my and Keith's 23rd wedding anniversary (which we'll be celebrating a bit later).

The Collect for Fathers' Day, from the service at Alpine Anglican Church of the Blessed Trinity, quoted from the weekly Beadle's Report:
O Lord our God, creator of heaven and earth, through your Son Jesus Christ you have revealed yourself as a heavenly Father to all of your children: Bless, we pray, all earthly fathers. Strengthen them to nurture, protect, and guide the children entrusted to their care. Instill within them the virtues of love and patience. Make them slow to anger and quick to forgive. And through the ministrations of your Holy Spirit, may all fathers be strong and steadfast examples of faithfulness, responsibility, and loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We headed "down the hill" to Lake Murray Community Church as usual, but the difference was in the service: our elders are trying a "summer schedule" of a Saturday evening service (contemporary music with praise band) and only one service on Sunday mornings (blend of traditional and contemporary music). The Sunday service was only slightly more crowded than second service usually is, but the Sunday School class was quite large. Rather than continue with a book of the Bible, the elders have arranged for different men to teach on different topics during "Equipping Time." I miss the more intimate experience of sharing prayer requests in our usual Sunday School, but with this being the only class offered, that's the way it's gotta be.

Afetr church we drove home, changed, gave the garden a quick sprinkling down since we had heat in the mid-90's, and then I drove the kids up the mountain to my parents' cabin.



It was a lovely day on Mount Laguna, albeit quite warm in the high 80's. My brother and his kids were there along with our parents, and we enjoyed the gorgeous weather, grilled burgers and hot dogs with baked beans, potato salad, and fruit with Keith's special blueberry cheesecake to finish off the meal. Keith came up just before dinner as he wanted to spend some time in the afternoon working on the stained glass window. The kids ran around, playing with squirtguns and chasing lizards. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.



You can see a few more photos from the cabin at my 365 photo blog. We drove back down the mountain to our little valley at its base before the sun set, and we opened all the windows to let in the cooler breezes and enjoyed a beautiful summer evening.

A delicious sense of freedom always comes over us when summer vacation begins. Two whole months before we start back into the 11th year of the wild and woolly adventure we call homeschooling. But for now ... AAAH! Freedom.