Sheldon Churchill and The Cheerful Flowers

As any one of you that regularly visits here must know by now, I LOVE HOMESCHOOLERS! I love homeschooling and everything about it. It is my experience that homeschoolers are awesomely creative people; children and parents alike. Homeschoolers are unique in such an awesome way, and I am so proud to have had the courage to take the path that led to homeschooling on my personal life's journey. And, might I add, the courage to have stayed the course.

Homeschooling is not for the weak or faint of heart. It is for the brave and the bold. Homeschooling requires guts and persistence. It requires trust and honesty. Homeschooling definately requires thinking outside of the box, and what could be more cool? My favorite people, of all ages, are those that think outside the box as a normal part of life. Thinking outside the box is a natural part of life for the most interesting people around in my humble opinion. Free thinkers are interesting, inventive and creative.

Where am I going with this you might wonder? Why, to Sheldon Churchill and The Cheerful Flowers, of course. This film was created by Adrian's friend Kevin Rossi and the band he has with his brother, Two-Toned Sterence. You will see his parents are even involved as actors. I love this film and think it is truly inspirational. It is an eight part series that will require some time to watch in it's entirity, but it is so worth the view! Please take the time to support some really cool homeschoolers. Watch their film and up their views on YouTube. Be inspired!

Strawbale Studios

Yesterday was a TON OF FUN! I did forget my camera, though. You'll just have to wait until next time for me to post photos from our group.

Deanne is wonderful! What a kind and generous spirit. We managed to make a little progress on the children's cabin. We shaved wood, drilled holes, installed bolts, raised rafters, and took a walk.

Deanne had a cool discovery to show us. First she passed around a paper bag filled with something for us to see if we could guess what it contained. A few of us were right. It was a giant mushroom of sorts. A chicken mushroom to be exact. It was so cool! We viewed a short video on her computer in regard to the chicken mushroom, then we headed to the woods.

On our journey we learned about St. John's Wort as we passed it on the trail. It has small yellow flowers that turn your skin red when you rub them between your fingers. St. John's Wort has many uses such as fighting depression, eliminating varicose veins, steeping for tea, and so on.

A a certain spot she asked us to stop and see if we could spot the chicken mushroom. It grows on trees. So we looked, and were we amazed! It was huge, and I was SO regretting not bringing my camera. What a wonderful photo op!

We harvested two grocery bags full of the chicken mushroom by cutting it off the tree with a knife. While some cut the mushroom off the tree, others of us enjoyed picking and eating black raspberries from the surrounding area. YUMMY!

After we returned, Adrian gave me a tour of the Strawbale Studio. It is SO gorgeous, and I could easily call such a place home. It reminded me of a hobbit house or something from medieval times. It was so earthy.

We did a little more building, and actually went over a little so that we could get one of the supports on the top of the children's cabin. Progress at last!

Natural Building

Adrian is my environmentally minded child. He has been participating in a natural building project based out of Oxford, Michigan. Today is my day to be the parental presence. I am so excited!

The kids have been working hard on projects for about a year. This will be the first time I have visited the property and seen what they have done. One project I am looking forward to seeing is the straw bale house.

I will be sure to give a detailed update on what I learn. Maybe I'll even be able to share some pictures. I think I'll lug the camera with me.

Right now, I am off and running. I still need to pack a lunch for the day and run an errand before we hit the highway.

One Down; Two to Go

Well, the kids have started trickling back home. We got back this afternoon from picking Andrew up at Fort Custer in Battle Creek. He actually graduated from two trainings, POLA and Hazardous Materials. There was some type of mix-up that made it a bonus for him; two trainings in one with no extra fees. You have to love that! Now he will be able to advance more quickly. He just has to get his course work completed. He'll see E4 in no time.

Adrian is slated to arrive home sometime tomorrow afternoon. What a blessing it is to have a ride just "drop out of the air" for him. We have been saved from two early mornings and long travel days in a row. I think Pat and I will likely hit the pavement on two wheels in the morning. The weather is supposed to stay beautiful, so it should be perfect.

Do any of you women out there ride? I went down to Secretary of State and got my permit to get my cycle endorsement last year. I didn't ride enough and never got my license. Now, Pat is really bugging me to do it this summer. In all honesty, I really do want my endorsement. He just stresses me out about it, and we live in a VERY urban area with TONS of traffic. Talk about being thrown in with the sharks! Last year I just tooled around the neighborhood practicing stopping, going, and shifting. I just want to be proficient and confident before swimming with the big beasts. You know what I mean?

Anyway, back on track here. Thursday is our day that we pick up Amie from the airport. I am sure she will have plenty to share with us upon her return. Once we get her home, everyone that lives here will be present and accounted for.

Meanwhile, our one twin, Tammi, that lives in Indiana is coming home for a few days to visit with the little one in tow, Rocco. We don't see him often, and it takes him a little while to warm up to us since we are stranger to him than most. :-) We also got BIG news. When Pat talked to Tammi last she informed us that she is pregnant with number two child. That means that we will have seven children and five grandchildren, and we aren't even done raising kids yet! What in the world? People already look at me like I have three heads when I tell them our current family statistics. Initially, it is shocking enough to them that I am a Nana. Then, I get to tell them I have FOUR grandkids. Now I get to make that FIVE! Absolute insanity!!! BTW ~ I am a mere 37 years young!

Making Memories

About a week ago, Pat and I took two of our grandchildren, Harmony and Dustin, to the Detroit Zoo along with our youngest son, Adrian. What a great time we had! It was so much fun to see the kids get excited about the animals, the fountain, and the train.

Despite the fact that it was so hot that day it was pure joy for all of us to experience elements of nature that are rare and exciting. How often do we see a flamingo or a penguin? Harmony just loved the penguins. Although, it did take her a few minutes to warm up to the reptile house.

The highlight for Dustin was the train. Oh, how he loved the train! We had a great time sharing in his joy. Isn't it fun to watch the uninhibited enthusiasm of a child? He was so excited!

Our time was maximized due to the fact that we went prepared. We all had our hats, sunscreen, and plenty of snacks and water. We had everything that we needed to stay comfortable and healthy without having to spend a ton of money while we were there. Although, since our membership does give us a discount in the gift shops, we did get the little ones a memento from the day.

Despite the fact that they are two and almost three both of the young ones remember our day at the zoo. Harmony asks if we are going to see the animals every time she comes over now. Even Adrian, 14 years old, enjoyed the day and looks forward to going back. I am sure we will see many visits to the Detroit Zoo before our pass expires next year.