Pictures Of My New Mop--Oh, And My Baby Sister Too!

I had the nicest surprise happen upon my front door yesterday--my baby sister, Antoinette, was in the city and stopped in unexpected (and all the embarrassing very dirty house that goes along with that!). It's far too long and far too much water under the bridge to go into, but I haven't seen my sister in three and a half years. We only live an hour away, and over the past several months we've been emailing and a few phone calls. So three years means I've never met my two nephews, 2 and 1. She brought them along, her daughter is in school. I don't have her permission to post their photos, but if she gives it to me later, I'll show ya, they're extremely adorable.

The visit was far too short for me, hopefully she'll come again and I'll have the house better prepared (and baby proof!). I do have a few photos of us (It's very hard for me to post photos of me with NO eye makeup, but Antoinette looks beautiful, so here you go):

She was making fun of my photos on my blog, so we're posing for a blog shot up there--I don't know if she understood I'm not serious when I take those shots!

And here is where I see how ginormous my head is, I inherited my father's head. She didn't. BUT I did get the good nose, no doubt about it.

Y'all have been cracking me up with the mop comments. I really did get a mop! For Christmas too, but John broke it and bought me a replacement. What I didn't tell you (oops) is that I also got the ENTIRE series of I Love Lucy DVDs (OMGoodness I'm in heaven!) and flowers were delivered the Friday before. So don't hit him just yet, wait and see what he gets me for my birthday!

See? How happy am I? I've yet to mop anything. I will, but first I need to find the floor.

PS--I've been AWOL so much this is getting old, I know, but it really truly is going to get better. I'm taking several weeks off typing (if I even do go back, I don't know yet). That combined with school almost out, will give me plenty of time for BOTH digi and Jamee blogs.

I'll be over....and won't likely post again for a few days. John, Alex and I are going to the Omaha Zoo for some R and R...and room service and relaxation. JenGi, she'll be camping out with Ms. Aunt Bea. Have fun with that, ladies. Muahahahahahahahahah!

The Homeschool Homefront (And A Happy Birthday)

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (New International Version)

These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I'm thankful I don't live in California and I'm thankful that Governor Schwarzenegger has committed to speak out for the homeschool families that do. This is a scary development and as we were talking about it in small group tonight, the ends are limitless. Will we need to be graduates of seminary school to teach our children the Word of God? It sounds far fetched, but then again, so did the prospect of of partying like it's 1999.

Here is what Time said:

Parents of the approximately 200,000 home schooled children in California are reeling from the possibility that they may have to shutter their classrooms — and go back to school themselves, if they want to continue teaching their own kids. On Feb. 28, Judge H. Walter Croskey of the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles ruled that children ages six to 18 may be taught only by credentialed teachers in public or private schools — or at home by mom and dad but only if they have a teaching degree. Citing state law that goes back to the early 1950s, Croskey declared that "California courts have held that under provisions in the Education Code, parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children." Furthermore, the judge wrote, if instructors teach without credentials they will be subject to criminal action.

Luke Perkins has been living "two disparate lives," court documents say: one at school in Berthoud, ...

This news raised a furor among home schooling advocates, including government officials. "Every California child deserves a quality education and parents should have the right to decide what's best for their children," Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement today. "Parents should not be penalized for acting in the best interests of their children's education. This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don't protect parents' rights then, as elected officials, we will." "It's kind of scary," says Julie Beth Lamb, an Oakdale, California parent who, with no teaching credentials, has taught her four children for 15 years. "If that ruling is held up, this would make us one of the most restrictive states in the nation."

If you want to do something about it, head over to HSLDA and sign the petition. I think it's time I joined HSLDA, this is my wake up call.

Happy Birthday to my little sister, Antoinette!

A Very Special Day

Today would have been Jamee's 42nd birthday. Because this blog is a tribute to my very much missed and very much loved sister, Jamee, this post is for her.

It really is a pipe...it's okay, it was the 60s. The harlequin pants are the real tragedy here.
Yes yes, I could touch my toes. Jamee was the real gymnast in the family, she just didn't know it yet. A lot of you may not realize we have a younger sister (Antoinette). Jamee and I both carried her around like a doll when she was little.
As I pulled up these photos to scan, I realize this: It isn't my fault. Apparently the gift of being a retard in front of the camera is just part of my genetic makeup. I feel better about it tonight, I hadn't realized it until now.
One of my favorites, Dad and Jamee together.