Tuesday, March 31, 2009

more pics from Floor 3



Taken with my Blackberry, so not sure about the quality...and everything really isn't in "it's place" yet...i.e. I don't see a big screen tv, do you?

more carpet



This is a LOT of carpet!!! This is a huge room.

books







On the 22nd, the girls ended their Speech Class with a "recital" of sorts. There were 8 kids in their class who met every other Wednesday afternoon throughout the fall and winter. They learned all types of speeches and created many original speeches that they had to perform for each other. This day they had to perform in front of families and friends. Brooke wrote a speech about "Going Green: It's all Hype" Moriah gave a speech about the history of legalized abortion in this country and tried to persuade listeners to agree with her logical objections. Haley gave a persuasive speech in which she argued that kids spend too much time watching tv.

I loved this class for them, even though all I did was drop them off every week. I would have liked to have stayed, but it was during Case's naptime. We are hoping to continue speech class next fall again!

House pics







Look at the new carpet! Ok, so I threw in a picture of the girls' bathroom for the fun of it, because it was clean.




More pics from March 2nd

So, it's the end of March, and here I am just now posting pics from March 2nd, when we headed to Des Moines to speak to our legislators. Thanks alot Nathan Reichert - you were in committee all day and we couldn't even see you. Oh well.

There was a very nice representative named Lance Horbach who showed Haley around the House of Representatives, and even had her sit in the Speaker's seat! (See picture below)

While Haley was working on her speaking skills as Speaker, Moriah and Brooke took a tour up to the rotunda. Lots of stairs and they said it was kind of scarey, but very cool!!! (see pic below)

We also had our picture taken with the House Minorty leader, Kraig Paulsen. His wife also homeschools, so he was very receptive to us.











pictures

We actually had a nice spring day earlier in March, and here are a few glimpses from that day. It reminds me that I really need to take pics more often!



Carpet!

We have carpet!

As we speak, the installers are finishing up on the third floor. It looks really amazing, and they are doing a fantastic job. Best of all, neither Dan nor I had to wrestle with a 600# roll (more than one was necessary) of carpet up two flights of stairs!

Yesterday, they installed carpet in all 3 of the girls' bedrooms, and man, why didn't we do this earlier??? It is so worth it. It looks so clean and neat! The doors need to be shaved a little in order for them to open and close, so once those go back on, I'll take pictures to post.

Again...we are hoping to sell our house, so if you know of anyone who wants a large 5 BR (New Carpet and paint!), have we got a deal for them!

Today we've been doing school - finishing up later with another chapter of Master Cornhill, which has been a great read - set in London, 1666, when the great fire destroyed most of the city.

Dan is in Des Moines at the public forum that will be held tonight regarding the bill that has made it out of comittee and will be voted upon this week on the federal deductability. It's another way the lawmakers are trying to squeeze out $600 million in revenue. I'm just wondering what they're planning on doing NEXT year when they want $600 million more??? Tax hike. The sad thing is that this bill, if passed, will actually effect many families making less than $40,000 a year, not the so-called "rich." I've done my part and emailed and called the statehouse. How 'bout you?

Well...off to the couch for some more reading time with the kids!

Linda

Monday, March 9, 2009

update and quote of the day

From Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline by Robert H. Bork (published 1996):

"...only science, technology, and the economy may be said to be healthy today, and it is problematical how long that will last. Improbable as it may seem, science and technology themselves are increasingly under attack, and it seems highly unlikely that a vigorous economy can be sustained in an enfeebled, hedonistic culture, particularly when that culture distorts incentives by increasingly rejecting personal achievement as the criterion for the distribution of rewards."



Update:

Things are progressing on the house. That's why I'm finally able to update. I will post pictures soon. We are thinking of selling with hopes to buy a house with more land, but the market/economy with the way it is, we might just sit tight.

Case, Brooke, and I are fighting a cold and we're now into our second week. It's very tiring, draining (in more ways than one), and comes with a nasty sore throat. I hope no one else gets it.

Case is growing...still not confident about walking on his own. We are working on nipping in the bud a problem we're seeing developing in his personality. He's hitting and doing a high pitched, "nooo!" when he doesn't get his way.

Brooke will start soccer again full force soon, and I've been nominated to be her team's "manager," which is a relief, because for a while there I was actually named as "coach." I know nothing about soccer, and didn't really want to learn it while trying to teach it! Now, I'm responsible for details, and I much prefer that. Brooke is looking forward to her season and hopes to add to her "goals scored" personal record.

Haley survived the emergency room yet again a few weeks ago. She had an "episode" at school during orchestra class, and she fainted, but it appeared to be a seizure at the time, according to witnesses. On the advice of our school nurse, I called our family doctor, who recommended I go to the ER. After a million tests (bill still to come), she looks fine and it was decided after reviewing all the tests, talking with our family doctor & a pediatric cardiologist, that she probably suffers from low blood sugar. Pretty typical of a young, skinny, female. Yep, that's Haley. She's doing much better now, eating more often throughout the day.

Moriah loves her violin and has been practicing quite often for a competition coming up in a few weeks. Looking foward to seeing her in action. Both girls have been competing in a travel volleyball league, and that has been time consuming, but rewarding for them. They are learning the pros and cons of team sports.

And my DH, Dan, is solid as a rock. He's been working diligently at the office and at home, without any breaks, except those few that require him to sit and hold Case. He's looking forward to having most of the big projects done around here and only a list of small projects left. He's also avoiding Menard's for as long as he can.

Till next time - have a great day/week/month...