Jeff's New Toy

There is just something about men and motorcycles. I don't quite understand it, but most men seem to either already own a bike or dream of owning one. Well, I guess Jeff's dream has finally come true. He bought a 2004 Harley Davidson and has been having an awesome time riding it. One big surprise for me is that I am actually loving it too. It has been great fun to just take off and go for a ride. We have seen some incredibly beautiful places just in the short time we have been riding. One other person that is extremely excited about the bike is Miras. He LOVES to go riding with his Dad.

As if he needed another reason to think his Dad is cool!

Amazing Teenagers

The youth of this world are inundated by evil influences. So many immoral practices are made to appear harmless and acceptable. We are told we should learn to tolerate all kinds of things that really should not be tolerated at all. Our youth get so many mixed messages relating to the choices they should be making, it can be difficult for them to know what is right. Thankfully we have a way to know right from wrong. We have instructions for life given to us by God.

I am blessed to be able to teach a scripture study class for high school age youth. This class starts every weekday at 6:00 AM. Yes, that's right...... 6:00 AM. These youth come to our house everyday before school to study the scriptures. I am just amazed at the strength of these teens to strive to do what is right each and every day. It is quite a lot of work to prepare for these classes daily, but it is so worth it. They make the start of my day so much fun. To be honest, they teach me so much more than I teach them.

This year we will be studying the New Testament. I am excited to study Christ's life and to hopefully convey to my class how much Christ loves each of them. I want them to know without a doubt that they are cherished by our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. My hope, as they leave my class each day, is that they will go to school armored with the strength of God's love for them.

I Love These People!

Shane completed his first and second jumps for Airborne yesterday. I could hear the excitement in his voice when he called last night. He has always had a fear of heights and this was a great accomplishment for him to face his fear and come out on top. I am so proud of all that he has been able to accomplish so far in his military training. He has 2 jumps today and 1 tomorrow. The last jump will be in the dark with all his equipment strapped to him. Sounds scary to me, but he is confident that all will go well. I am so grateful to have a son who is willing to face his fears and sacrifice so much to protect our country.

Kelsey just returned from a trip to Nauvoo Illinois for EFY (a week long church youth conference). She flew all by herself and was able to navigate her way through the airport. She had a great time learning about the history of the church in Nauvoo and touring all the exhibits. She strengthened old friendships and made new ones. Basically she had an awesome time. I am grateful that she was able to attend EFY, but I am even more grateful to have her back home. I miss her upbeat energy and fun loving attitude when she is gone.

Miras has been a big help around the house lately. I am astounded at the things he is able to accomplish at the age of 10. He definitely isn't afraid of hard work and is always so willing to help. I am grateful to have such a willing and able little guy to spend my days with. He can always bring a smile to my face.

Freedom

This will be our 3rd year homeschooling Miras. I am very excited this year, because we will be studying American History. I have been gathering books all summer about American History. So far, I have biographies of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson.
I have books about Paul Revere, Christopher Columbus and the Northern American Indians.

I have a pioneer craft book and a Native American craft book. I have timelines and maps and many other resources.

I want Miras to be excited about American History and to have a great love for this beautiful country that we live in. I am hoping that through our studies this year, he will gain an understanding of the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom.

I am grateful to live in this great nation of ours and I am grateful for the freedom that I have to homeschool if I choose to. We are all incredibly blessed.

More than a Garden

I love my Garden. I love everything about being in my garden. Watching these big beautiful plants come up from such tiny little seeds is such a miracle to me. I love going out to my garden and picking the fresh veggies. I love sharing them with others and of course I love eating them. I think that my love for gardening came from my dad. He loved to plant a garden, although after it was planted, my mom did a lot of the work. My dad was a farmer at heart and after he retired, he and my mom bought a farm and moved to Kentucky. For the next 2 1/2 years he lived his dream of farming. He LOVED that farm. He loved his cows, his chickens, his barns, his tractor and his garden. In 2005, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. He began chemo treatments right away but nothing seemed to help. He became too weak to take care of his farm, so he had to sell it. We were all crushed. It was hard for him, and for all of us, because we knew how much he loved his life there. My dad lost his battle against cancer on September 25, 2006. We all miss him so very much, but I'll bet he has a bigger and better farm in heaven.
I guess I love my garden so much, because it makes me feel closer to my dad. I sure do miss him.

Our Love Story - The Condensed Version

Jeff and I met at a wedding. Our friends, Jim and Robin were getting married and we were both in the wedding party. I remember being instantly drawn to him. We didn't really get to talk much until the reception, when he asked me to dance. Since I had brought a date to the wedding ,I turned down his offer to dance, but I asked him to sit down and talk to me. We talked for a while and I found out he was leaving for 6 weeks to go to Italy for work. Bummer. In the weeks following the wedding, I talked to Robin about Jeff. I pretty much drove her crazy asking questions about him. When he finally returned, I found out that he had gone straight to Jim and Robin's house and asked about me. He called, we went out, and we've been together ever since. He traveled quite a bit and we would spend hours and hours talking on the phone.
I have never known anyone else like Jeff. He is the most loving, caring, giving, understanding, patient man I have ever known. He is my best friend. Everyday I wonder why God decided to bless me with such a wonderful husband and I am forever grateful that He did.

Catching Up

It's been a few days since I have written anything, so I thought I would try to catch up. Nothing exciting to tell, but this is our life. So here it goes............

Kelsey's at girls camp this week and I am sure she's having a great time.

Jeff is traveling for work all week and visiting Shane over the weekend. I am glad that he is getting to visit Shane, but I miss him very much.

Miras has played with Zach and Weston so far this week and will be going to Kings Island tomorrow. He's also had Judo and Cub Scouts.

Shane has started his Airborne training this week, which means he is jumping off ledges and towers.

I have been blessed to be able to help a friend paint her living room, pick up another friend who ran out of gas, chat with a friend whom I hadn't seen in a very long time, help my mom with a project on her sliding doors and go with my mom when she had to have her dog Jake put to sleep.