Vacation details

When we visit my granddad, we stay at his cottage which is a short distance from his house on Mobile Bay. He has a wharf on the bay (which he recently had to rebuild because his old one was wiped out by Hurrican Ivan) and that is where we spend the majority of our time.

We left for Alabama Friday evening (at 11:00pm) and arrived at our destination about 12:00pm the next day. My wonderful dad did most of the night driving. That time also included a 1 hour lunch break at Cracker Barrel - where else? (Just a side note - do you fellow Springtownians and Boydians know that they're building a Cracker Barrel in Weatherford? And a Hobby Lobby in Lake Worth - that's what I'm excited about!!! Sorry for the distraction, now back to my travel log.) I really don't want to bore everyone with the details, so I'll try to make this vacation description short and sweet. During the week we had a few cookouts on the wharf with my dad's numerous Alabama relatives, played with my cousins Katie & Will, visited the gulf (you can still see hurricane damage from Ivan there), and played Rook in the evenings. I also logged in my yearly sports watching allowance. (Since we don't have a TV at home, vacations are the only time we ever watch network television. In fact, I have come to equate vacations with television.) I watched three basketball games (can anyone guess which ones? I was proud of Texas), a Ranger's game and the U.S. Women's Open (or whatever it's called - it was golf.) I didn't actually watch these sports events in their entirety; I more caught a few minutes here & there between my brother flipping channels and me exiting and entering the room. On our way home, we stopped in Natchez, MS. Dad and Mom love looking at old Southern architecture and Natchez is definitely a great place to do so. There are a lot of Southern plantations in Natchez that did not get destroyed in the Civil War. The sign entering the city says, "Welcome to Natchez: Too Beautiful to Burn," or something like that. (Another side note: Last year when we were coming home from AL we stopped at the Vicksburg National Military Park. They were selling Beloved Bride and Christ in the Camp at the bookstore there. I was surprised that bookstore would carry those Christian books.)

I want to write more about my vacation, but I have already spent too long on the computer. I would have already posted some pictures, but for some reason my Hello account is not currently working. I will try again later.

My Friendly Retraction

I have been thinking about the post I wrote yesterday, and I am afraid my enthusiasm regarding Texas was somewhat unchecked - particularly in regards to saying people from other states are rude. To be honest, I love Texas so much I am quite prejudiced regarding the behavior of its citizens. Of course, in my eyes Texans will always be the friendliest people I ever meet. How could they be otherwise?

Ironically, I think it was rather rude and unfriendly of me to call the citizens of other states (especially in the sunny south) rude and unfriendly. My humblest Texan apologies. (And I will admit, that I did come in contact with many nice, friendly people in my recent travels.)

The Vacation's Over

I have now returned from my wonderful vacation in Fairhope/Point Clear, AL. (I never have figured out which city my granddad's cottage is technically in.) Every year we try to travel to Alabama to visit my paternal grandfather (Dad's dad). This year's annual trip was wonderful. We feasted on seafood, swam daily in the bay, skiied, and did not have to do anything! Here are a few observations I made about Alabama vs. Texas. (When I say AL, I really mean Fairhope, and when I say TX, I am actually talking about Fort Worth.)

1. AL is not near as hot as Texas, though the humidity can be awful.
2. Men in AL wear their hair longer than most men in TX.
3. The mosquitoes in AL are atrocious.
4. People are so, so, so, so much friendlier in Texas. I told Josh that these people need to come to Texas and learn some manners. He said, "No they don't," meaning, of course, that we don't want rude people coming to our friendly state. The rude people weren't just in AL, they were in MS and LA also. We mainly noticed it in the restaurants. Of course, people in the south I am sure are much friendlier than people in the north, but people in Texas are the friendliest of all! After all, our state motto is "Friendship" and the name "Texas" did come from the Indian word "tejas" meaning friend.

More in another post on my vacation. I have a few pictures, but they are not on this computer. My sister, Amanda, has posted a couple of pictures from our trip. Right now I am just trying to get something up so that everyone knows that I made it back to Texas (and I am glad to be home)!

Vacation

I have been running around today like a chicken with my head cut off. Our family is going out of town tonight. A lot of preparation goes into getting our family ready for a long vacation. Not only do we have to take care of all of our personal responsibilities, but we also must spend a lot of time taking care of things at work. My dad is a small business owner, but just because he is going out of town, the company does not shut down. That means that we have to make sure everyone knows what to do while we're gone. I have been trying to finish up everything at work, and I am afraid I'm going to forget something. I think I've got at least another 30 minutes worth of work to do. And my mom's waiting for me to get home so I can help her finish packing. I really should not be blogging right now, but I am trying to de-stress a little. I posted a bunch of posts so that anyone reading this blog can have ample material to choose from.

Here's my vacation announcement I wrote yesterday:

We are going to my granddad's in Point Clear, AL and will not be returning until next Sunday. I am looking forward immensely to this trip. However, I will not have access to the internet (or a computer) and so will not be posting anything to this blog for the next week or so. (I may do an audio blog, but don't count on it.) Due to this circumstance, I have put up a lot of posts yesterday and today. I hope they will provide ample reading material for while I am gone. When I return, I hope to have lots of pictures and commentary on our trip. To be honest, I am looking forward to the break from the internet. I think it will be good for me.

I pray that everyone has a blessed week!!!

Family Letter

In case anyone was wondering what my family's like, here is a little letter that explains it all. I wrote this a little over a year ago. Life has not changed much since then. Our house has since been finished, Josh has graduated, Allyson has learned to count and Amanda has grown (nearing 5' now!) Big changes for one year. I still intend to finish reading Daughters of Destiny to Abigail. Maybe this summer. I must have been feeling somewhat lively when I wrote this. Without further ado, let me present the 2004 Spring Family Letter.

Family Letter – Spring 2004

Greetings from Texas! I am writing this letter to answer what I know is the most pressing question on all of your minds - what has the Inge family been doing?

We’ve been busy, busy dreadfully busy – you have no idea what we have to do. Or maybe you do. Imagine it. Seven people, house modeling (not remodeling - it was never originally modeled, and not really building – it’s already built, but modeling), home schooling, two kids in college, church, graduation committee, etc. etc. etc. etc…. I’ll stop here.

Mr. & Mrs. Inge, the wonderful, highly organized bosses of this her’ crew, just had their 21st wedding anniversary. They’re getting mighty old. However, they are not too old to begin learning new tricks, including eating and exercising tricks. Both of the chiefs of the five little Ingeans (pronounced “injuns”) have been losing weight. They look very well and are continually told how less fat they look (not quite skinny, though - yet). Brad has been going bike riding faithfully every Sunday afternoon, and Pam gets up early (6:00) to go work out at Curves 3-4 mornings a week. Most of Pam’s time has been monopolized by Joshua’s graduation committee. Somehow she ended up in charge of the whole ordeal (and it has been an ordeal). What exactly does this mean? Late night trips to Wal-mart to develop pictures for a slide show, endless phone calls, monthly meetings, and an anxious mother trying to micromanage everything. We will all be glad when Josh graduates. She has been doing remarkably well in keeping up with everything else, though. I haven’t had so much good home cooking in years. She says it’s because the kitchen’s finally finished and she can get in there and organize. Whatever the reason, I’m happy! Brad has been working hard. His company is growing and doing well (obviously due to his wonderful secretary that everyone loves). Houses and high-rises all over Fort Worth bare his stamp of quality. It is a stressful, yet rewarding career.

What has the youngest of the three Ingeals (kind of like angel, only Inge-al) been up to? Well, let me just say right now that she is the absolute cutest, smartest, most hilarious and stubborn little 2 year old that lives at the Inge homestead. We were in Home Depot last week when suddenly a realization hit us – there is no Allyson anywhere to be seen. Panic set in. Where could the child have gone? Why would she run away? Visions of a lost and scared child began to flood my thoughts. I could just see her wailing hysterically, wondering where her parents had gone. I began to wonder why I didn’t hear her crying – was she that far away? Wait – I do hear her. She ran out from the next aisle over and let out a ferocious “Roaaar!” Then she cracked up laughing and said “I hiding! I funny!” and kept laughing. It was soooo funny. We tried to be serious enough afterwards to explain to Allyson that she could not run off in the store and hide, but I don’t know how serious she took it (we were all giggling behind our frowns.) Ally’s growing up and I miss her little baby ways, but the toddler antics are just as fun. She loves all her big siblings, especially her roommate Abigail. Her all time favorite toy is her dollhouse. She plays with it all the time, and if you are in the room with her for more than a few minutes, you’re likely to hear “Come pay (play) doll house with me, pwease.” She has not quite gotten the hang of counting yet. It currently sounds like “Two, Six, Three, One, Four, Five, Six, Two, Ten.” She does remember people’s names and faces though, and knows who most of our friends are. The most annoying of Allyson’s habits is her continual insistence that she is a boy. Amanda will say, “Are you a pretty little girl?” and Allyson will say, “No, I little boy.” She says it every time anyone does her hair and as soon as you finish doing her hair she takes it out and again states that she’s a “little boy.” She will be a much neater child once she finally faces the truth that she is a little girl with hair that has to be styled.

The next up in the line of Ingeals is Abigail. This child never sits still. Ever. It is fun to watch her energy and enthusiasm, but hard to concentrate on anything while in the same room with her. “Abby, please stop jumping around.” “Okay.” Two minutes later she is doing another front handspring. She even does flips while we are in the car. In her seat belt. (Not really, it was just a funny thought.) She is taking ballet classes at co-op and practices that a lot in addition to her self-taught gymnastics program. Her schoolwork (3rd grade) is coming along well. She does very good at math, and is catching up in her reading. She reads sporadically throughout the day, randomly choosing the nearest reading material to practice with. Currently, I am reading the book Daughters of Destiny aloud to her and she absolutely loves it. Abigail is a very social child, and always seems to have a large group of girls around her wherever we go (and she is usually leading the girls). She loves doing things with Daddy, playing outside and talking (incessantly). She is so much fun to be with and is maturing more every day.

The last little Ingeal is Amanda. In just 6 months she’ll be 13. She is quieter than Abigail (not necessarily less talkative, just a quieter tone of voice and manner.) She is the most faithful girl I have ever encountered. She does her schoolwork and chores without being told, and then reports back to Mom if she doesn’t finish everything. How strange! Amanda recently joined the puppet team at our church and everyone thinks she is the absolute best team member. They all begged her to join. It is funny, though, because she is at least a head shorter than everyone else is. I wonder from whom she inherited that trait. Amanda doesn’t particularly like being short, but I keep telling her it has its advantages like – well um, like, um, well I can’t think of any right now, but it has got to have some advantages. (I wonder how can she have such a problem being short with such an encouraging sister as I?) 7th grade - 54 inches. Oh well, she will grow. I will say this for Amanda, though, she is the absolute best room mate. (Except for when it comes to bedtime – she hasn’t learned to appreciate the glories of staying up and reading all night.) She keeps her stuff clean, is fun to talk to, and even occasionally vacuums. She’s not overly demanding and will even massage my shoulders if I beg her real sweet like (and scratch her back in return). We have fun together.

Poor Josh! He doesn’t get to be a little Ingeal! I’m sure he’s heartbroken, but to make up for it, I’ll let him be an Ingean (remember, “injun”). What is an Ingean? Why, that’s the most coveted and prestigious title in the family. The Ingean gets to take out the trash, run errands, mow the grass, build cabinets, paint pillars, and even do the dishes if he gets a chance! Wow! Who would turn down a job like that? Really, though, it is a lot of work being the only guy in a house of girls. He gets all of the jobs that we don’t, or can’t, or pretend to can’t (I know - bad English, but I couldn’t think of another way to phrase it) do. This mainly includes building, and, of course, with my dad, there is always plenty of building to do. Josh is also finishing up his Senior year. He has previously taken two college classes, and is currently taking two more college classes. So far, his college GPA is 4.0. (That includes College Algebra and General Chemistry, and excludes all other classes.) Josh is probably going to attend UTA (University of Texas at Arlington) and major in Architecture. I am sure he will do great in that area. He plays the guitar all the time, as well as the drums, piano (a little bit) and bass. He also enjoys skateboarding and torturing his sister with uncontrolled Sponge Bob enthusiasm. (Personally, I hate Sponge Bob.) Though Josh isn’t quite as tall as most 17 year olds (there are those mysterious short genes again), he lifts weights a lot and is in great shape. And, of course, it is far better to be short and in shape, than tall and …well, I won’t continue this thought, it could lead to trouble. All in all, he’s a great brother, and fun to be with.

To conclude this little family bio, I will tell about my recent life happenings. I have been busy with school, work, sewing, cross-stitching, crocheting (my favorite hobby - it’s really fun to do during class), gardening, playing with my sisters, reading, cooking, writing family bios and just enjoying my fantastic life. I am never bored, and, in fact, my to do list stretches for miles and miles. If I ever find myself idle, I simply pull out a section of my list and pick an activity out of the many thousands available. In order to better manage my time and get more done, I have started multitasking. I listen to tapes while driving to school, memorize verses, poems and homework facts while driving to work, and I read anywhere and everywhere – the bathtub is my favorite place. (I don’t recommend reading too much while driving though, it is difficult to tell when the car ahead of you is stopping. No, I don’t know from personal experience, but I just thought I better warn everyone.) I crochet and cross-stitch while watching movies (a rare occurrence with my busy schedule), and clean my room while exercising. This last dual activity is a bit difficult to accomplish though, so I usually wind up doing one or the other. My latest passion is gardening and I am about to buy the seeds for a vegetable garden and begin planting them. Life is wonderful and everyday I thank God for giving me such a great home and family.

Now we have come to the end of this little Inge family update. If you have any questions, you can contact me at – Oh, wait, I’m not writing a business letter! Really, though, if anyone wants to e-mail or write me, I’d love to hear from you and I may even reply!

God bless y’all,



Miss Amy Elizabeth Inge

Twenty Reasons

Twenty reasons I, Lord willing, will homeschool any future children I have.

I should put a little disclaimer here. I know that there are a million-and-one problems people will find with my reasons to homeschool. I know that not every homeschooled student has the qualities that I list here. I know that many public and Christian school students do. I have met selfish, ungodly, ignorant, rebellious and lazy homeschooled kids. I also know godly, smart people who were not homeschooled. (My parents for example.) However, I am not talking about the exceptions. I am talking about me and my future family. I believe that homeschooling is the best way to train children up in the way that they should go. I know that I talk about homeschooling on my blog a lot. It is something that is very near and dear to my heart. It is a vital part of my Christian faith and my beliefs. I would much rather not ever get married, than marry someone who does not share these convictions with me. Okay, I'm done ranting now.

Here are the twenty reasons:

1. God gave the responsibility of educating children to parents, not the church and most certainly NOT the government. When we get to heaven, parents are going to be held accountable for how they brought up these most precious gifts.

2. The government has no business redistributing the wealth for the purpose of education. Of course, public education is so engrained in our U.S. way of life that very few people can imagine life without it. That fact, however, does not make public education right. I will do my part by not rendering under Ceasar what is not his. This blog has some post providing food for thought regarding government sponsored education here and here.

3. There is no such thing as neutrality. Every, and I mean every, educational system is going to be teaching a basic worldview through which every “fact” taught will be interpreted. Even if evolution were not explicitly taught in public schools (and, if what public school students have told me is true, I know that it is not taught in every school), the evolutionary philosophy and worldview permeates every part of the curriculum. History, economics, philosophy, mathematics, psychology, sociology, ethics, and many other academic disciplines are all taught from an evolutionary perspective (even when “evolution” is not explicitly mentioned.) I want the basis of my children’s education to be the truth of God’s word.

4. I want my children to have a strong relationship with their parents. Families bond best when they are together. Homeschooling allows the maximum amount of time for children to be with their parents and siblings.

5. I have a lot of unusual convictions that I want to pass on to my children. I believe that putting them in an environment that is, more than likely, antithetical to my beliefs will only undermine my endeavors.

6. I want to have control over what my children learn. In homeschooling them, if I want them to learn Latin as a foreign language, I can make that decision. If I want them to study Constitutional Law from a Christian perspective, I can teach it to them. If I want to have my children write an essay every day, or every week, as their teacher I have the authority to assign that to them.

7. I believe that discipline is best achieved when you can be consistent in training your kids. You have to be with your children in order to train them. If they are gone from you for the greater portion of the day, you cannot be forming their character and attitudes.

8. Every child is a unique individual and has his own way of learning information. You can not use a cookie-cutter approach to education. As a homeschooling parent, I can tailor my children’s curriculum and learning activities to meet their needs. I can slow down or speed up in response to how well the child is learning the material. I do not have an unchangeable syllabus I must rigorously follow.

9. I want my children to love one another. I want their best friends to be their siblings. If they are constantly with their peers, they will not have as much time (or even as great a desire) to formulate that relationship.

10. Bad company corrupts good morals. A companion of fools will be destroyed. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. For these reasons, among many others, I believe that children’s companions should be carefully selected. They should NOT be allowed to play with just anyone.

11. Classrooms, in my opinion, are not healthy for men-in-training. Boys, generally speaking, don’t do well sitting a desk all day. They need time and room to run, jump, play and conquer. Yes, there is a time for discipline and sitting still, but to chain boys to a classroom and desk is not wise. Why do you think that so many more boys than girls are on Ritalin?

12. Girls need to be trained how to run a household. If they are at home during their high school years, they can learn how to sew, cook, shop wisely, clean, take care of children and any other homemaking tasks. Of course, I certainly believe that girls can, and should, be as educated as possible, but not at the expense of learning practical real-life skills.

13. I want to homeschool my children so that I can learn. Even though I was homeschooled my entire life, amazingly I do not know everything. (I know that shocked everyone.) I want to study Scottish history and the human body. I need to refresh my knowledge of grammar rules. I can not wait to discover incredible books with my children – books that will be launching pads for learning about a variety of topics. Some parents are afraid that they do not know enough to teach their children. That is why you learn together.

14. Homeschool allows you to be flexible with your scheduling. If some opportunity were to come up for our family to be involved in (like helping out on a political campaign) we can reorganize our school schedule to allow time to be involved with that activity. We could take a month off of school to build a house if we needed to. We can do school in the summer. We can study at anytime, anywhere. If we need to travel during the middle of the school year, we can.

15. Homeschooling teaches children how to learn independently. My transition from high school to college was very easy. Since I had been teaching myself for the past few years of high school, I did not have any problem teaching myself material that would be on the college exams. I believe that the two most important things you can teach your children are how to learn and to love to learn. Once they develop these two traits, the possibilities are endless. They will be life long learners.

16. I want to have control over when my children learn information. As a homeschooling parent, I can create the world my children live in. I love what Mary Pride says in her book All the Way Home. “Look around you. This is your world. You control your home. You make the rules, and decide what books and magazines are brought in. You manage the citizens, settle their disputes, and reward or punish them. Now comes the 5 billion dollar question: Is this what you want your world to look like? I have often felt a sense of unreality reading about the degenerate world outside my home. Inside these four walls there is no such thing as pornography, drug abuse, bad language, punk rock, abortion, euthanasia, unwanted children, juvenile delinquency, sexually-transmitted disease, murder rape, embezzling, and so on…Inside my home we are building a Christian culture… We have Christian rulers (Mommy and Daddy), Christian laws, and Christian enforcement. We have Christian media: Christian books, magazines, and videos. Not all of these are produced by Christians, but they fit in with our Christian worldview.”

17. I want my children to learn to respect authority. I think one of the biggest hindrances to children learning to respect authority is when they are around other children that mock it. I want my children to honor their parents, grandparents, government leaders, church leaders, and any other authority in their life. I know that if I model that on a daily basis, they will follow my example.

18. I want my children to learn to socialize with all age groups. If they are constantly with their peers, they will consider the approval of their peers to be more important than that of their parents or other adults. They will adopt the attitudes and values of those they are around the most and love the most.

19. I want my children to know the word of God backwards and forwards. I want it to be their daily bread. I am so ashamed for the church in American because the vast majority of Christians are extremely ignorant regarding the contents of God’s word. Bible study will be incorporated into everything our family does. Bible memorization is also extremely important.

20. I want my children to know that all of life is to be brought under the authority of Christ. There is not a “sacred vs. secular” dichotomy in the Christian worldview. School and Sunday School are not two activities that should be kept completely separate. The word of God is relevant in every area of our life – including math, grammar, history, philosophy, science, art, music, work, bookkeeping, sewing, exercising, eating, driving, and everything else. Is there any area of life of which Christ is not Lord? Is there any area of our life that He should be kept out of? Why should God be completely irrelevant in the activity that is most relevant in our children’s lives? Why should we not care what God has to say about education? Why do we think it is acceptable for Him to be pushed out of the activity that has one of the biggest influences on shaping an eternal soul?

Conclusion: Now everyone knows what I think. If you actually read all of that, I am very impressed. Many of the reasons I listed overlap, but I think each one makes an individual point. I am going to close with another Mary Pride quote from All the Way Home, “If we want to make our culture Christian - its laws, art, education, entertainment, business, and so on - we can do it by making our homes Christian. Typically Christians who want to influence a culture strain their brains thinking of way to affect if from the top down. They meet legislators and press the flesh, give news conferences , start universities, and found groups called something like ‘Winners for Christ’ to target top athletes, students and other present or potential leaders with the gospel message. I’m not saying this all is wrong… It’s just that working from the bottom up is so much more effective in the long run. In fact, spreading Christian culture from the home out is the only method that works in the long run. God is the one who blesses or judges nations, and His evaluation begins with the ‘household of God’ including our literal households (I Peter 4:17)”

Great Expectations

Last Thursday I finished reading Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. I am still deciding what I think about that book. It was certainly easier to read than the other Dickens’ books I have read. It only took me five days to read it compared with seven weeks for Little Dorrit. There are four reasons I can think of for why it did not take me so long to read. 1. It was shorter. 2. It was written in a more straight forward manner. 3. I am getting used to Dickens’ writing style. 4. I am out of school and have more time to devote to reading. Great Expectations was a strange book. In one sense, I do not like it as much as the other three Dickens’ books I have read (David Copperfield – my favorite!, A Tale of Two Cities, and the aforementioned Little Dorrit.) It was depressing and seemed to have a darker theme. I especially disliked it immediately after I finished reading it, but I am now finding myself drawing mental lessons from the book. One of the main characters, Miss Havisham, locked herself up in her room and tried to keep life from continuing on after her fiancé did not show up at their wedding. The vivid details Dickens’ uses to describe her mental and physical state create a rather ugly picture. Thinking about Miss Havisham reminds me of what life can become if people become engulfed in self-pity, hatred, and bitterness. Yes we are treated unfairly in life, but you only make yourself miserable by refusing to forgive and move on. The main character, Pip, did not have a lot of qualities that made him a lovable hero. He was selfish, proud, and lacked self-control. In the end of the book he changes some, but by that point it is a little late. I was especially disgusted by his lack of control over his emotions in regards to the beautiful Estella that he fell in love with. I guess I do not have a lot of patience with people that have fallen “hopelessly in love” with despicable characters. (That’s why I liked David Copperfield so much. Agnes was a very lovable heroine and I quite admired her.) Overall, I am glad that I read Great Expectations, but I do not plan to re-read it.

Catching up with old friends

Yesterday we went to lunch with some people that we have not seen in 10 years. When we were younger, my brother and I use to play with two kids that lived down the street from us. We played the usual neighborhood games – tag, hide and seek, capture the flag, kickball, soccer, cowboys and Indians, hockey, and any other games we created. Anyway, ten years ago we moved from that neighborhood in Haltom City to Springtown. We had not talked to these old neighbors since then. About three or four weeks ago, my dad and I ran into a couple of the members from that family. Eventually, we decided to get together for lunch and that’s what we did. I enjoyed lunch and it was great finding out everything that had happened over the past few years. They are a home schooling family also and have seven children now. The mom had stage IV cancer a couple of years ago and was not supposed to live. However, the cancer is now all gone. Praise be to God!

Judiciary Tyranny

This post is a very articulate analysis of the "end the filibuster" endeavors of conservatives. I am somewhat uneducated regarding the myriad issues surrounding our Judicial monster, but I am learning. Maybe after I finish reading How to Dethrone the Imperial Judiciary, I'll have more opinions on what's wrong with our current system and how to fix it.

Property Taxes

Property taxes inTexas are outrageous. We don't have a state income tax, so a large portion of the state revenues come from property taxes. What is so frustrating about property taxes is that you can never pay them off. Every year they will be due again. If you don't pay them, you can get your house taken from you. In reality, we are just renting our property from the government. Personally, I think this is especially difficult for elderly people on a fixed income. Think about it. You work hard your whole life to pay off the mortgage on your house so that your living expenses will be minimum when you retire. However, when you finally do retire, you still have to pay the government a large chunk of change each year. In our area (a semi-rural town on the outskirts of the DFW metroplex) the property taxes on a 2500 sq. ft. house are around $4500 a year. That's almost $400 a month! And property taxes, unlike a mortgage, are never paid off and you do not get any return for your expenses. I should add that I recently heard that houses in Dallas have one of the lowest median prices of all the large cities, so that is a redeeming factor for this part of the country. However, if you plan on buying (or building) a house in Texas anytime in the next few years, be sure to include property taxes when determining the cost of the house.


P.S. I am grateful to say that our family has never, to my knowledge, used any property tax money. We pay property taxes and all of our own school expenses. And no, we do not want education vouchers for homeschoolers. Way to go Mom and Dad!!! That's what self-government is all about.

Discretion

One day I will learn not to be so hasty. I have been wishing that I put more thought, time & effort into those audio blogger sound clips. I think I should have written a script & put everyone on the same sound clip (a short one of course.) Then maybe the sound wouldn't have been so bad, Amanda would not have been caught saying "I don't want to say anything," and Josh could have found something other than purple elephants to talk about. Oh, well. What's done is done. In the future, I will plan better. I guess I was overly excited Friday and just wanted to put something up on the internet - even if that something wasn't very high quality. I am beginning to think that anything that goes on a blog needs to be carefully evaluated. Discretion is an important aspect of wisdom and should definitely be used if you're putting something on the internet that anyone in the world see. This post is mainly a reminder to myself that blogs are public!

Weekend Review with Pictures

We have had a full weekend. Here's a list of all the places we went
- Yamaha motorcycle shop (Just for fun!)
- Cabella's
- Wal-Mart
- Mineral Wells State Park
> Swam
> Barbecued
> Rode Bikes
> Climbed Rocks
- Clark Gardens
- Kelly-Moore Paints
- Mercado Juarez Restaurant





Allie at Cabella's



Outside of Mercado Juarez


Allie on 4 -wheeler - Just her size!



Girls on dirt bikes - Just their size!

So, Whatcha Think?

Okay, everyone in my family has now commented on my blog. In the future, I will not try not to use this feature excessively, but for the first night I decided to have a little fun with it!

What will be fun is when I write a speech, practice it forever, and then deliver it over the phone onto my blog. Um, I don't think I'll really be doing that, but it was a fun idea!

Josh

Mom

Abigail

Dad & Amanda

Allyson

Introduction to Audio Blogger

I have Audio Blogger now! I found out about this neat feature from Courtney at Courtney's Contemplations. I'm not sure how much I'm actually going to use it, but it will be fun to play with. I'm going to try to get Allyson (my three-year-old sister) to say something cute to post to the web. That could be difficult, but I'll try.

I'll be playing with this for the next few days.

Citizen

We got our July issue of Citizen magazine (published by Focus on the Family) in the mail yesterday. I was surprised to see who the author of the cover story was. The title of the article was "The Sons Remember" and it was written by Doug Phillips. It was related to the Faith of Our Father's Project. I would put a link up to the article, but it's not online yet. Anyway, I thought that was an interesting piece of news.

Note: If you don't know who Doug Phillips is you probably won't find this interesting.

Lights, Camera, Shutter

Okay, I got a new digital camera tonight. It is now undergoing a trial period. I have to decide if I'm going to keep it or not. So far, it's a yes. The price was right and it's easy to use. Since my old one broke, I've been having a most difficult time not being able to take pictures. I am making up for lost time. I am not going to combine all of the accompanying pictures into one post like I normally do. That takes a long time, and I am on dial-up right now.

~~ Miss Amy Elizabeth

See I can pretend to talk on the phone, take a picture, eat pizza (not shown) and drive.

Kids, don't try this at home. Oh wait, you can't.

Three sisters 

She was posing. 

Enjoying $4.00/med Domino's pizza  

Baby

"Love Light" (from Allposters)

I love babies! I want to hold a baby! Anyone want to loan me one?

My Favorite Bible Passage

I'm not really sure if I should say this is my favorite Bible passage because the entire Bible is the inspired word of God, but I do get particularly challenged and encouraged by these verses. Of course, I also love a lot of other verses.

I Peter 3:1-7, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women of also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement. Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered."

I love this passage! Oh, how I wish that I had a meek and quiet spirit!

I'm Not THAT Old, Honest

In just a few weeks (39 days to be exact), I will be 21. That may not seem old to other people, but it really has me nervous! I can remember so clearly being 16 and imagining what life would be like after a few years. It's not much different now than it was when I was 16. I've gotten older, read more books, completed more sewing projects, crocheted more afghans and eaten more food. Our family has built a house, added Allyson to our ranks, endured a church split, helped start a new church, endured another church split, graduated two students, added one student, and played a lot of games. Time continues to march on. If I could put it on hold, sometimes I think I would. If I could fast forward it, sometimes I think I would do that also.

Monday a guy I did not know came in the office. After a few minutes, he looked at me, looked at a picture of me and my 4 younger siblings (taken 3 years ago), looked back at me and said, "You have four kids!?!" I smiled and replied, "No, I have four siblings." I'm used to that by now. I don't correct most people when they tell me I have cute kids. Mom says I should. As I was saying, I'm getting older.

Amy the Sports Commentator (Or not)

I'm so depressed. Not really, but I am slightly disappointed. The San Antonio Spurs are in the NBA finals, while the Mavericks let the Suns beat them in the first semi-finals (in overtime!). I know this is really old news, but I am thinking about it because headlines about the NBA finals are shouting at me from every direction. I am sure that if the Mavs had made it to the Western-conference finals the Spurs would have beat them, but I still think it would have been fun to watch two Texas teams fight it out.

For some reason, our DFW teams haven't done anything astounding in the past few years. I've had my hopes up a few times, but they were quickly crushed. I really find it somewhat amazing that there are four big teams - the Mavericks, Stars, Cowboys and Rangers - within 30 miles (or so) of one another. Now if we could just win another Stanley cup, or go the the World Series or play in the Superbowl again or go to the NBA finals that would make me very happy. And I don't even keep up with sports. Call it home town pride.

One more thing. The Mavs were playing all of their playoff games during my college finals. My fellow classmates kept joking about how they hadn't been studying 'cause they were watching the games. I wish they had studied a little less. I needed a curve in Intermediate Accounting II.

Another one more thing. The last time I watched any sports game on television was ??????? We don't have a TV and that saves me a huge amount of potentially wasted time.

Okay, that really was the end.

My Weekend

I have had a wonderful weekend. Reading filled up the majority of my time. This may sound strange to some people, but I was reading five different books this weekend. I would read one chapter out of the first book, put it down, then read a chapter out of a different book. I'm not sure if I'm unfocused or just really believe that "variety is the spice of life." On Saturday afternoon, my parents, sisters and I went up to the local ice cream shop. Sunday our family went to eat at Joe T. Garcia's. That mexican restaurant has become a family favorite. When the weather is nice, we love to eat on the patio. The flower gardens are Joe T.'s are gorgeous. Often, my dad takes me there for lunch during our workday.

I didn't devote all of my weekend time to eating and reading. My siblings talked me into a game of Ultimate Frisbee and I had a great time. Dad even joined us for a few games. Playing frisbee made me think I need to start jogging. Running up and down our front yard wore me out.

That sums up my weekend. Now I am back to my regular work week. (Which, by the way, is soooo much easier now that I'm out of school. For some reason, I was extremely stressed last semester. I've always worked while going to college, but last semester was different. It was hard! But, as my dad says, I don't know if I would have studied a lot more if I hadn't been working. I probably would have just slept and read a lot of non-school related books! I really need to be more disciplined in my study habits.)

Bathing Suit

I know I haven't posted on my blog for a week, but I have been busy doing other things. Today I am just going to put up a couple of links and write a short post about my bathing suit.

Ah, yes. The infamous bathing suit. I have always hated them. One summer, I just decided I wouldn't swim so that I didn't have to deal with the bathing suit issue. When I was younger, I used to wonder why people threw such a fit when someone wore shorts to church but didn't mind one bit when they wore a "modest" bathing suit at the church swim party. Why is it okay to wear (or should I say not wear) clothing in or around water that is never acceptable anywhere else? Before I turn into a big hypocrite, I will hasten to add that I wear a bathing suit each summer. For the past 8 years or so, I have (generally) worn a one-piece bathing suit with shorts over it. I never felt comfortable even in that attire. Anyway, this year is different. I finally went and bought a swim suit that was specifically designed for modesty. It probably isn't as modest as I would ideally prefer, but overall I really like it. It's comfortable and I'm not going to feel especially conspicuous wearing it. Getting this bathing suit is a big relief for me since I am going to the Mobile Bay (in Alabama) in two weeks. Here's the link for the bathing suit I bought. Here's another link for other modest bathing suits. Here's a link for a book about modesty and swimwear.

Note: For some reason, the first bathing suit link isn't working right now. It has always worked before, so I expect that it will start working again later.

Here are a couple of links to homeschool related information that I came across this morning:

Seven Undeniable Truths of Homeschooling

Top Ten Commandments for Homeschoolers ( I really like these!)

Also the second place winner in the spelling bee was from Colleyville, TX, which isn't too far from where I live. Yes, he was homeschooled. (But the winner wasn't.)

Guest Blogger

Hello! Ha ha Amy. I got you back for writing on my blog. Now we are even. Amy wrote on my blog so I had to get her back. Now I have done it. I won't write on your blog any more as long as you don't write on mine.
~Amanda~

Reply: Okay, I will not write on your blog anymore.

~Amy~

Now if we can just get into Josh's account...