Although I wasn’t particularly happy about our “adopted wild chicken” digging up my mini- flower bed, I must admit that I’m grateful for the daily gift she leaves us…..Eggs can’t get much fresher than that!

(Note: I added a few eggs to the batch for the "thrill factor")

Last month we took a quick weekend  road trip to Houston for business as well as pleasure.  Our trip involved a business appointment, a few visits to family and friends and a field trip to  the Medical Science Museum. 

Though I enjoyed every aspect of our trip, the highlight for me was spending time with my late grandmother’s childhood friend who just celebrated her 99th birthday.  Amazingly, this dear friend has been connected with our family since she and my grandmother went to college together in 1930’s.  She had a delightful sense of humor and very sound memory.  I truly cherish her stories and the perspectives from which she shared. I really could have spent the entire afternoon hearing her stories about my beloved grandmother as well as my great-grandmother (born in the late 1800’s). 

I’ve mentioned in previous posts as well as produced a short series about the value of “family heritage.”  Naturally, we’re all busy and can easily overlook tapping into our ancestry.  However, I’ve found there to be great value in taking the time to seek and ask questions from a more experienced perspective. This pursuit of our family heritage is a small gift I can give my children that may open their eyes up beyond the world they’ve grown up in. It has surely expanded my vision and understanding of life. 

A few weeks ago I had the urge to take the family on a Nature Walk outing.  I have fond memories of my mother persistently requiring us to go on family Nature walks at least a few times per week.   Plus I was reading in a manual concerning Charolette Mason homeschooling method and how she encourages Nature Notebooks and Daily outdoor observation.  So we loaded up and sought out some nature trails near Lake Charles.  I must confess, I’ve been a bit spoiled by the beautiful mountains and wooded areas in Northern Cali & Central Tennessee but I’m learning to appreciate the generally flat and swamp-like attributes of Southwest Louisiana.  :-)

Overall, we  all had a great time at the new community park that Marlon discovered:

My how things have changed!  Though I only have a little over 3 decades worth of life experience, I do have fond memories of childhood strolls in the mountains behind our house and long afternoons exploring the creeks and their splendor.  I truly don’t ever remember spending long periods of time in front of the television or being concerned about the passing of time.  I certainly don’t remember being the slightest bit concerned about a possible predator (of the animal or human nature), lurking around.  And now here we are in the 21st century and I can say again, my how things have changed!

Aside from the sheer safety concerns of the times, I also notice that our culture has become far too technical when it comes to entertainment and exploration.  For example, I’ve wanted to erect a playground for some time in our backyard with slides, swings and a treehouse.  In the meantime my children taken their imagination and transformed themselves as the “boxcar children” or a group nature people that climb the trees and live off the land.  Yes, they make mud pies with marigold frosting and pretend to hunt some wild game (which is really our family chickens).  I’ve seen them devise some nifty transport vehicles and pulley systems.  They’ve also planted little pretend gardens and set up homemade tents.  Though it will be nice to having a backyard playground, nothing beats the combination of nature and imagination!

I value the importance of extracurricular activities, as long as they don’t interfere with the peace & function of the home.  I’ve had my share of ripping and running from one activity to the next which left things quite chaotic.  Now we’ve opted toward a more strategic approach to how we spend our “extra” time.

This school year we chose to participate in our Homeschooling 4H club and Local Chess group.  I really appreciate the community service based activities & projects from 4H as well as the socialization opportunities.  Our chess group also encourages friendships and many critical thinking skills that are beneficial for our children.

We’re also active with the Storytime and Book bunch programs at our local library as well as participating with the Book-It Incentive Program sponsored by Pizza Hut (www.bookitprogram. )

I have found that these activities are a good fit for our family and don't cause us to neglect the needful matters at home. 

Below is a short video clip from the 4H “Pet Show” held last month:

Several months ago I posted about “Manhood Training” and how grateful I am that Marlon is able to take the time to impart manly skills toward our sons.  The importance of this training is worth more than words can express, but the pictures speak volumes:

It’s no surprise that regular physical stimulation is essential to the health of children.  I was so grateful to have our older children participate in a fantastic Homeschool Physical Education (PE) program in Tennessee that explored everything from tag football to basketball.  But now that we’re here in the semi-rural deep South, I’ve had to get a bit more creative with our physical stimuli.  I do plan a few games of soccer or baseball, or I may coordinate some relays or trampoline time. However, I recently came across a slight dilemma…how do I avoid the sudden rush of adrenalin when I call “recess” and my crew of 7 charges out the door like they’ve been caged up for hours?  

For many years now I’ve told the children we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves during regular school hours, so we must be discreet if we’re outdoors during the hours of 8a-2p.  Though most of our neighbors know we homeschool, I still am cautious when it comes to the those who are unaware. So when our children dash outside for their daily dose of exercise, I’ve had to be very clear about setting guidelines to avoid unwanted attention.  One way I’ve resolved the matter is to occasionally allow each child some supervised time burning calories on the treadmill.  I set the timer to 10minutes and allow them some dedicated running time. This has proven to be an effective way to limit the intensity of energy while still maintaining order during “recess.”

Any tips to share about your creative techniques for PE? 

I’ve been inspired again!  A very kind sister shared some of her garden bounty and I was so blessed I wanted to share with you (see pictures)


 Aside from her kindness, I really appreciated her homekeeping abilities.  When I received her gift, it brought to memory the characteristics of the Proverbs 31 woman. It also gave me hope as I continue to plan and experiment with gardening and learn how to can foods.  I look forward to a thriving garden with an abundance to share with other families at some point in the near future (perhaps this Spring??)

Wow!  It’s been almost 5 months since I blogged last and I must admit, I missed the connection J

We are in the process of changing our Web Host, so Joyful Junction (aka “JJ”) has been on the backburner, but we’re diligently working on restoring my previous posts.  Last September marked my first official year of blogging and I had over 160 posts!  (If you didn’t know any better, you might assume I had tons  of time to dedicate to blogging, but that’s not so.  As I’ve mentioned before, it is a creative outlet for me and hopefully serves as a good source of communication for our family & friends.)

I’ll set a realistic goal to restore all 160+ archived posts by the end of 2010, (in case you want to search for a previous entry.)  In the meantime, if there’s a link or video you remember reading such as  vaccinations or backyard gardening, then then feel free to email me & I’ll try to dig up the link and send it to you.  

It may take a bit for me to get back in the groove of blogging, but here’s a go…