Have an extra Christmas Card?

Well, I was scrolling down my facebook this morning, and I noticed that two of my non-military friends have this posted as their status this morning:

When filling out Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address:
A Recovering American Soldier      
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center,      
6900 Georgia Avenue NW,      
Washington DC 20307-5001.
If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.

This is great... if the cards actually gets to the soldiers. I thought that they had discontinued the "Any Soldier" programs? I am sending one, just in case, but before I try to rally the troops, could someone that might know more than I do about this please comment?

Thanks,
Bridgit

Origami Homemade Advent Calendar Pattern

Origami Homemade Advent Calendar Pattern
We couldn't find our Advent calendar when we unpacked all the Christmas stuff, so Agnes and I are making our own thanks to the instructions on this blog.
Pictures soon!

Homemade Facial Mask Recipes

Homemade Facial Mask Recipes
I have been looking for some stuff to try to make for Christmas presents, and I came across this site. Pretty cool Stuff!

Homemade Facial Mask Recipes

Homemade Facial Mask Recipes
I have been looking for some stuff to try to make for Christmas presents, and I came across this site. Pretty cool Stuff!

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

Shutterfly

Well, I have been trying to figure out what to do for Christmas cards this year.
Shuttterfly.com has a nice deal on photo cards, and I am looking at quite a few designs, but my favorite so far is "Count Your Blessings." I love getting photo cards, and I thought they would be more expensive, but with the shipping special, the ones from Shutterfly are not any more expensive than getting store bought cards.
I will let you know what I decide...

Facebook more grandparent-friendly with ‘email’

Facebook more grandparent-friendly with ‘email’
This is a great article. Agnes posts everything on FB, and if her grandparents remember to check it... they know & can see pictures of what is going on in her life!

CurrClicl Give-Away

I am a big e-book user in my homeschool! I have currently become an affiliate for CurrClick. They had this great give-away on their blog!
This week is National Game and Puzzle Week, what a great idea for a week-long event, huh!
Games are a wonderful way to spend a fun and interactive evening with your family. A standard weekly “game night” is a great way to connect with your loved ones and simply have a blast together. Do you have family board game nights? Family Wii games that you like to play? We’d love to see a list of all your favorite games, whether they are board games, puzzles, video games, logic games like chess or Sudoku. My family is always on the lookout for new games to try, so I for one would love to read your ideas!
We have some great giveaways for this week! Everyone who leaves a comment or submits a blog entry will be entered.
**PLEASE BE SURE THAT YOUR PROFILE CONTAINS OR THAT YOU INCLUDE AN EMAIL ADDRESS. Unfortunately we have had to skip over several names that were drawn because we were unable to locate an email address. **
(If you are reading this on Facebook, be sure to leave a comment on the actual post.) This giveaway will be open until 10:00pm EST Friday, November 19th. Please see our rules for more details.

Prizes include:

Happy Scribe Copybook: Video Games by Westvon Publishing
Each copybook has twenty sayings, presented in three different common handwriting fonts: Classic Block Printing, D’Nealian Italic and Cursive. We have based these exercises on twenty day blocks, representing four weeks of five days, for one month of exercises. This copybook contains sayings such as: Sony makes the PlayStation 3; The Wii has motion sensing capabilities; Midway introduces Space Invaders to arcades; Nintendo released the Nintendo DS in 2004.
Treasure Hunts by Enrichment4You
This enrichment guide is designed to give you plenty of creative ideas for developing a themed based treasure hunt with varying mental and physical challenges. Treasure hunts are a fun way to introduce or reinforce a new idea, teach about different subjects and help the participants interact, brainstorm, problem solve and more. Includes the following: A Brief Overview of Treasure Hunts, Creating the Treasure Hunt Map, Developing the Theme, Treasure Hunt Scenario’s, Mystery Guests & Simple Props, and much more.
100 Thematic Word Search Puzzles Junior by Full Blast Productions
A reproducible ESL/Literacy textbook of 100 word search puzzles. Each puzzle is based on a theme. Each puzzle has ten words to be studied. There is an illustration for each vocabulary word. There is a space for your esl student to practice writing the words on it. The other has all the vocabulary words hidden in a grid full of letters. There is a complete Answer Key.
TWO winners will receive Creative Review Games by Toytown Treasures
Do you review? Whether you are an unschooler, use a complete curriculum, or mix and match, every student can benefit from doing review. The inexpensive, easy to create games found in Creative Review Games will give your student an enjoyable time of learning. You’ll find ideas for review, instructions for creating questions, and directions to play games. Reproducible templates and patterns are included in this e-book.

Be sure to share this blog hop & giveaway with your friends! Feel free to copy any of the text from this post!

Homeschool Stuff

 I got this e-mail from my IDEA Field Rep. 

Hope it helps some of the Fairbanks/ North Pole area homeschoolers!

 Homeschool Co-Op

November Homeschool Co-op Meeting

Tuesday, November 9th, 1-3 pm

We meet at Valley of Blessing Church on the corner of Airport and Market (3007 Airport Way).

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving, practicing Christmas carols to go caroling at the Pioneer Home in December, and sharing what Thanksgiving means to each of us.  Come for crafts, snacks, games, and new friends!

We hope you can join us!  All homeschoolers are welcome!

For more information or to RSVP, please contact Amy Temple at akteachermom@yahoo.com or Joyce Plummer at bobnjoyce97@yahoo.com by Monday, 11/8. 

_______________________________________________________________________________________

The Region F listserv is provided to promote homeschool-related communication between IDEA families. The content is provided by families and other interested parties.  Posting by IDEA does not imply IDEA endorsement or recommendation.  Activities mentioned are not sponsored by IDEA, however are open to all homeschoolers.  To have your message forwarded to the list, simply address it to sandy.blewett@ideafamilies.org   Write to the same address to be removed from this list. Thank you!  

PWOC- Protestant Women of the Chapel

 PWOC is an acronym for Protestant Women of the Chapel. I linked the PWOC International sight here if you want the official explanation of what it is. What I want to tell you in this blog entry is what PWOC has been to me.

 I am a hermit by nature. Don't get me wrong... I like to socialize, and I love to talk, but I thoroughly enjoy staying at home and just spending time homeschooling and being a housewife. It takes a lot to get me to leave my nice, warm, safe house ESPECIALLY during the dark, cold, harsh Alaska winters!

I started going to go to PWOC when Darren deployed the last time. I needed to be in a Bible Study, and I didn't know where to look. We were attending Chapel at Northern Lights, on Fort Wainwright, and all these women were talking about these really neat Bible Studies on Thursday mornings. I decided to get my butt out of bed and drag my daughter to this thing... All I could think was, "Wow, these women must either be morning people, or they must seriously love these Bible studies to do this every week!"

So I spent my first year in Alaska going to PWOC on Thursday mornings, and I grew stronger in my faith because of the fellowship I experienced with the women there. BUT I am not going to say that I got along with EVERYONE, and I am not saying all the women there treated me like a Christian woman should treat someone. There were certainly personality conflicts that first year, and the year that followed.

The next year I volunteered to monitor the Homeschool room. It was supposed to be for a few weeks... just until someone else came to take over. I was told that I should go ahead and start a Bible study because I would not have to be there every week. That "someone else" never showed. I felt abandoned by these women. I was left without any fellowship, except for the kids. Darren was still gone, and I was so self centered, I couldn't see that God was trying to get me to use my gifts for His purpose. It wasn't that no one wanted to spend time in the homeschool room. It wasn't that the other women didn't care about me starving for fellowship. It wasn't that the homeschool room was such a horrible place to be. I was just fighting God. I wanted to be the kind of woman I saw instead of the kind of woman He wanted me to be.

I spent a lot, A LOT of time in prayer about why God was letting these Christian woman treat me like this before I got the answer that it wasn't them. It was me. 

I was trying to be a "Beth," or a "Jenny," or a "Katie," but I wasn't being "Bridgit." I am blessed to think like a child, and I love learning and getting kids excited about learning. God was trying to get me to use that gift to teach these children. God wanted me to be the woman that gets excited about making slime to teach about polymers, and floating needles in pie pans to teach about magnets, and stuffing cotton balls in glasses of water to show how God designed EVERYTHING in this world to show us how AWEsome He is!

This year, I am monitoring the Homeschool Room, again, and we are doing Bible Science. We are going to be learning about salt, light, the body, astronomy, and a lot of other cool subjects! God is AWEsome, and He proves it again all the time in this wonderful world He created! 

I would invite any military spouse to check out your local PWOC, especially if you have had a bad experience the last time. Remember, the ladies there are always changing. The PCS seasons send some women away to other posts, and brings in new faces around the beginning of the school year, and again around Christmas. Even if the woman or women that hurt you are still there, maybe this is your opportunity to pray and find out what lesson God really needs you to learn. Maybe you are being asked to grow or use a gift you didn't realize was just what someone at your local PWOC needed. Maybe you need a gift that one woman at PWOC is trying to use. Or maybe, just maybe, God just needs you to NOT be that woman that hurt you for another woman who is hurting.

I have the time & place of the Ft. Wainwright PWOC on my Google Calendar

I would love for you to stop by and say, "Hello," if you decide to try out our PWOC. 

You can find me in the Homeschool Room.

These are just some flyers and forms I made for the PWOC Homeschool Room.

Just Sitting

Upromise Guest Shopping for Bridgit

Upromise Guest Shopping for Bridgit
Help me earn money for Agnes' college by shopping!
Message me if you want more ways you can help!

Attending College in High School!

This is an article I found from a Swagbucks search. I think I will need to re-read it over and over. It lists the benifits of taking college classes in high school. AAAARRRGGHH! Is Agnes in HIGH SCHOOL! And thinking about COLLEGE!!!

Attending College in High School!

Subject: Speech by High School Principal to students

I got this in an e-mail from my father. I wish I had this principal.

To the students and faculty of our high school:

I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.

First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships.

The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American. This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans.

If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity-, race- and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America , one of its three central values -- e pluribus unum, "from many, one." And this school will be guided by America 's values.

This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.

Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interesting in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.

Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here -- it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English -- but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.

Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.

Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way -- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago -- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately lucky -- to be alive and to be an American.

Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.

Still Editing the Travel Log.

I have posted a lot of our pictures on Facebook, but I am still working on the "Maiden Voyage" travel log.
We are very grateful for all those that prayed for our safe travels. Thank you!
Tomorrow we will be starting back to our regular homeschool schedule, so I will be busy at home most of this week.
I hope you will all enjoy the log.
More soon~
Bridgit

Knowledgebase - Green Valley Aromatherapy

Knowledgebase - Green Valley Aromatherapy
This is a great Essential Oil necessity kit! These oils are the first ones everyone needs to learn about when starting off with Essential Oils.

The Names of God

I was in an on-line Bible Study last year about the Names of God. It took me a little longer to go through it than the rest of the group, but it was a very good study. www.jesuswalks.com
I am now going to be following this blog/devotional.

PWOC Picnic Thursday

I would like to share this with my Fairbanks area, military family friends. PWOC stands for Protestant Women of the Chapel, but if you are a military spouse, you don't have to attend the post chapel to attend the Bible studies and have fellowship with a bunch of wonderful Christian women.


Please consider the invitation below.



Hello PWOC friends,

You are all invited to attend our end-of-the-summer/back-to-school PWOC Picnic at Pioneer Park on Thursday, August 12 from 9:30-11:30 am. We will meet for fun, food and fellowship. We will even get a sneak peak at the bible studies offered in the fall!! PWOC will provide hamburgers, hot-dogs and drinks. Please bring a side, salad or dessert to share. We will be in the pavilion right in the middle of the playgrounds. Kids are encouraged and feel free to bring a neighbor who might be interested in checking out PWOC.



The women on your PWOC board are so excited about this coming year and what God is going to do through our group. I know you will be excited too as you begin to glimpse God at work in our group and around Fort Wainwright.



Shine in His light,

Katie Payne

President

WARNING! Long Emotional Spew!

OK, I am goin' out on a limb here. I am going to bare my soul. I am going to be transparent... any bad cliche I am forgetting? If you do not want to read this long post, I understand. I am venting for therapy. Turn back now if you don't want to get involved.

I have been getting more and more depressed lately. I have battled depression for as long as I remember. I have looked to many people to help. I have looked for many ways to escape. I used to drink a lot. I used to exercise to escape. I have tried natural remedies. I have been medicated. Praying has helped.


I was deep in this last bout this morning. I was looking back at all my battlefields. I was so far in the pit and I was looking at all the people in my life over all the years that have turned away when I was reaching for their hand. If you know me, you may feel like this poem is about you. It may be. There are so many situations that replay in my mind. The characters in them are different in each stage of my life, but I keep allowing the same things to bother me.

I do need to say that I have superb friends and family. My parents are great, but I was not a great daughter. My husband is wonderful, but I am not a wonderful wife. My daughter is terrific, but I am not a terrific mom. My friends are super, but I am not always a super friend.

For those of you that have not ever experienced true, life-long depression, you may not understand the intensity of the emotion. It skews your perspective. We all talk about people that seem to be affected by someone looking at them “the wrong way.” When you are dealing with a true depressed person, everything is “the wrong way.” The words that you mean to show love only show criticism. The loving act you do only seems like you don’t think they can do it for themselves. There is nothing anyone can do for a truly depressed person except pray for them.

Many of you that know me are probably saying, “But she’s always so happy…” and need to remember that I was a Theater major for a reason. It is easy to hide unpleasantness behind a mask for a short period of time.

Anyway, this morning I felt the need to write it out. I remember Mrs. Stokes, one of my high school English teachers commenting on the poetry I turned in one year for the literary magazine. I actually pictured myself standing at her desk in the second classroom on the left, coming from the guidance office. She was asking me why her students only wrote poetry when they were sad. I don’t remember what I told her, but I remember showing her the 5-subject notebook I had filled with my thoughts. There were pages of emotions; most of them really depressed emotions. I was reaching out, and she was more concerned that my poetry would depress someone else. (Yes, she is one of the many people in this poem.) But if I could answer her question today, I would tell her that the reason for some of us is to put the extreme emotions in some kind of order. They are so overwhelming and they don’t make any sense.

Writing is one way to process them. It is a way to bring them into focus. When you are depressed, you get very isolated, you get very drawn in, and you don’t want to share. When you are very happy, you want to be with others, you express yourself, and you want everyone else to share your joy. But when you share your dark places, sometimes you find others that have survived the battle. Sometimes they see it for what it is. Sometimes when you force the chaos you are fighting into words, you start to feel the joy of victory. When you can make sense of the carnage, you can start to clean it up and deal with it properly. I do write when I am happy, but not as much. I do write when my life feels like it is in order, but when it is already orderly, I do not feel the need to make sense of it. It already makes sense.

So here it is… my re-living many depressions... my trying to put it in order… my attempt to slay these dragons from my past that are trying to burn down what I have built up in the present.

I Have Been Depressed

You have been with me all my life.

You are family.

You are friend.

You are here in town.

You are half way around the world.

You are all the people I reach out to for help.

You are everyone I look to for encouragement.

I feel this sadness like an actual physical weight, pressing in on me from every side.

It is the spinning in my head…

the ringing in my ears…

the spots before my eyes…

the lump in my throat…

the rock in my stomach…

the emptiness in my heart.

Oh how I want to escape!

Not in a bottle

Not in a needle

Not in a pill

I want to be held and protected.

I want to be told, “It will be alright.”

I want to feel comforted.

Your words are not comforting; they sting and slap and prick at me.

You are supposed to be my teacher and friend.

You are not loving.

You are mad and cruel.

You are just a phone call away, but you are too busy when I call.

You ‘like’ everything on-line, but you ‘dislike’ everything about me in person.

You ask me, “What’s wrong?” and then tell me you don’t have time to listen.

I try to do things to make you happy, but they are the wrong things.

You tell me how to do it better.

They are not enough.

You tell me to do more.

Instead of showing me love and kindness and intimacy

you show me anger and cruelty and pull further away.

You show tenderness to everyone else, but when I ask for your tenderness

you make sure I know it is a hard thing for you to do.

I ask for advice.

You just do it for me.

I probably wouldn’t do it right anyway.

I ask for companionship.

You tell me to get out of the house more.

I don’t measure up to your companions.

I tell you how I feel.

You tell me I am too emotional.

My feelings aren’t worth validating

I find something that makes me feel worth something again.

You tell me it distracts me from what is important.

My self-worth is not important.

I am not important.

My feelings are worthless.

I am not worthy.

What do I want from you?

I want your prayers.

When was the last time you really prayed for me?

I want your ear.

Do you really hear what I say?

I want your teaching.

Are you teaching me to fish, or just giving me one?

I want your affection.

Do you remember my “language”?

I know this darkness.

It has visited many times.

It will go away no matter how you treat it.

It always does, even though it seems to be hanging on with long, barbed talons.

It cannot hold on forever.

I will fight it and I will not be alone.

I have faith.

My Savior will send an army of angels to help me defeat the darkness.

Yes, He is reaching out to me.

I can see His hand… but I cannot quite reach it.

Why can I not use my lifeline?

Why can I not just have the faith to let this darkness fall away?

Is it my PRIDE?

I think I can do it alone.

Is it my NEED FOR APPROVAL?

Your opinion matters more than you know.

Is it my DOUBT?

I should have more faith.

I will pray.

I will pray for my PRIDE.

I can do nothing without God!

I will pray for my NEEDINESS.

God will take care of all of my needs, if I let Him.

I will pray for my DOUBT.

I will find reassurance in His Word.

I will see the Light

I will lift my hands in praise

I will bow down in worship

And the darkness WILL fall away.

August 8, 2010