Some Homeschool Advice

Well, this advice is really good for any parent of a school-aged child whether homeschooled or not....

When creating the poster map of a country which includes major landforms, natural resources, and large cities, go ahead and spend the $7 at Walmart and buy the whole coffee beans to glue on to represent the coffee resource of that country.

Do NOT try to use the instant coffee grains you already have at home. When mixed with glue, they just make little puddles of sticky coffee instead of actually looking and smelling like coffee. You may end up with little brown wet splotches that make the countries look like they are mining miniature cow ploppers. (Am I allowed to say cow ploppers on a family blog?!)

Trust me. This is good advice.

A Little Something Extra

I took my son to the doctor this week. We were finished with the checkup and walking out of the medical center, when I glanced up and saw a sign that caught my attention.

Now, a definition.

Lagniappe (lan-yap) is a great Louisiana expression meaning a little something extra, such as a baker’s dozen. (datscajun.com)

So what is a Langiappe Room? Is it a place where I would like to have an appointment? How much does it cost for this lagniappe? What happens behind closed doors?

Anyone? Anyone??

His Great Love Changes Us

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane,
I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.


And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…


He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

(Baptisms in our church in August and September. I'm missing 2 other pictures, which I hope to add soon. Song~ David Crowder Band, Church Music cd)

Favorite Florida Sights

Guess where we've been!?!?

Florida Sights

I started the blog back up and recommitted myself to finding blog subjects and photos, then I left town. I don't have anything from Louisiana to share with you loyal blog-readers, but I can find a picture to take just about anywhere I go. These photos are from Florida, where we are currently visiting the in-laws.

They live about 20 miles from the beach, so I suppose it's normal for them to have the little seabirds on their roofs. I'd never seen it before, even when I lived in Florida.

Then there are the manatees. They are like the crawfish in South Louisiana...except they are grey in color and about a billion times larger than a crawfish...and you don't actually eat them either. I'm not sure they would fit in the pot to boil...

Anyhow, they are everywhere, and people really like them.

For All My Urbanite Readers

I grew up in Hialeah, Florida. It was all city. It was all Miami.

I also grew up in Clearwater, Florida. It was still city, especially when we visited Tampa.

I lived in New Orleans, Louisiana for three years while my husband was in seminary. We rode that interstate ALL the time.

I also lived in Fort Lauderdale, in the middle of 12 lane interstate. We would drive back and forth from West Palm Beach south an hour every weekend for a while too.

Busy, big, full, rushing roads were a part of life. We knew them. We were even comfortable on them.

I thought all my friends still living in those thriving metropolises would appreciate a view of my commute home from work now.

Occasionally I have to wait for another car at this intersection to make my left-hand turn.

Not this day~

I drive down the road between the soybean fields on either side.

When I get to the 5 horses, I know I'm close to home. (My kids have named all 5 horses~ Brownie, Brownie, Brownie, Brownie, and....Brown. Guess what color they all are?)

Ah, at last. We made to the neighborhood. Home.

So there isn't a difficult or trying commute. It's a pretty quiet, scenic little drive. Of course, there's no Starbucks...

The Gateway (and a mural to match)

Forget the Beltway. Forget about Broadway. You can hit the Highway because I live at the Gateway! It's the Gateway to the Great Southwest Prairie.

Painted by internationally recognized muralist, Robert Dafford, the design of this mural is reminiscent of old theatrical stage curtains where merchants would place advertisements around a focal scene. Dafford's "architectural Illusion" is realistic enough to make one think that the wildflowers are there for the picking.

(excerpt from http://www.crt.state.la.us/hp/mainstreet/oldweb/euwalk.html )

It is a really nice painting, isn't it? If you go walk through the fields, some of them still look the same as they are depicted here.