Veterans Day

I'm glad I have the opportunity to teach my children about the sacrifices made by our service men and women around the world. It all started a few years ago when an older cousin they knew enlisted in the Army and ended up in Iraq. We made him a care package and in return he sent some pictures of their camp. When Sarah and Rebecca saw the pictures, they couldn't believe what they saw. Everyone looked hot, sweaty and dirty. Everything was "army" green. They didn't have real beds, they slept on cots. Sarah especially made it a point to write to this cousin as much as she could.

The same year, another cousin (from a different side of the family) delivered homemade cookies that she had her children had made to Fred's dad on Veterans Day in honor of his service in Vietnam. He was extremely touched. What a great mom you are Katrine! I figured if she could do it, so could I. We don't have any local family, so we decided to find out which of our neighbors were vets and deliver to them the next year. Needless to say, our efforts were graciously recieved.

In years past, we have gone up to the VA Hospital in Asheville with some other homeschoolers and the children have lead the pledge to the American Flag before the start of that ceremony. After that gathering they would roam the crowd asking men and women if they were veterans and presenting a card of thanks if the answer was "yes."

This year, our 4-H group wanted to do something locally, so we visited 4 different nursing/assited living facilities and delivered cards and flowers.





One my favorite parts of Veterans Day this year was when we delivered cookies to a gentleman in our neighborhood that we had never actually met. Shamefully, this man lives directly across the street from us. We both have very long driveways and I have actually only seen him a half dozen times in 5 years. Each time he has been driving to the mailbox, turns around and drives home - never smiling waving or cracking the window for a quick hello. We found out this year he was in the Army for 30 years before retiring, so naturally, we wanted him to get some cookies.

We arrived at his house and rang the doorbell. He peeked out of the window, but was reluctant to open the door. "Hi! We're your neighbors," I called out. At that he cracked the door and then the girls took over..."We heard you were an Army veteran, so we just wanted to wish you a Happy Veterans Day and give you these cookies we baked to say thanks for your service." What an instant change. A smile took over his face and he came out to chat with us about his time in the service and his job as a college professor after leaving the Army. Then he invited us over to go swimming in the summer when he and his wife got the pool ready. (I didn't even know they HAD a pool!)

The girls couldn't believe the complete turn in personality once he discovered we had done something nice for him. The girls remarked about it later that he had done something nice for them (by serving) before they were even born. I think they get it, and that makes me a happy mom!

Best In Show!

Rebecca is definately at home in the kitchen and has been working on bread making all year.

She had pretty much perfected an Artisian bread recipe. It's super crunchy on the outside and super moist on the inside, the kind that's awesome with olive oil and spices. Saturday, she entered it in the County 4H Bake Off.




Much to her surprise, she not only won the junior division, but also won Best of Show! In fact, when they were announcing the winners for the junior division, her face showed her disappointment when she wasn't announced as the 3rd or 2nd place winner. She said she was just hoping to get a ribbon, she didn't think there was a chance of her winning. Then to top it off, her bread was chosen over ALL the yummy cookies, cakes and breads that were entered.



Bread making definately takes practice. The first time she did it, it left much to be desired, but she was persistent and each time she made it, it got better. Now, after at least two dozen loaves, it is scrumptious every time, and the judges agreed. Yay for Becca!

Free Videos

Free videos for your middle/high schooler available from John Stossel.

Here's the link: http://stosselintheclassroom.org/selectdvd.php

Fall

We love this tree! We thought we lost it to a late hard freeze a few years ago. It has struggled, but has finally made a comeback. There are just a few straggling bare branches that we need to clip off if we can ever find a pole trimmer long enough to do the job.

In Laws Visit

Fred's mom and grandfather came up for 5 days in early October. We picked apples at Skytop Orchard, made applesauce, visited waterfalls, the trout farm, Biltmore, Carl Sandburg, watched a Gator game on TV and nearly completed a 1000 piece puzzle. The puzzle if Fred's grandpa's signature item. Wherever he visits, he starts a 1000 piece puzzle to leave behind for the hosts to finish after he leaves. I'm guessing we still have about 100 pieces to go. Hopefully, he didn't slide a piece in his pocket before he left, which he's been known to do! It's a real blessing that the girls can spend some quality time with a great grandparent who acts surprisingly young for his age. :-)

Flu :-(

A friend called yesterday and said she was missing my blogs.

Half of our family has been down with the flu over the past few weeks and with all the extra stair running and laundry and hand washing added to my normal mom/wife duties, I haven't had a minute to spare.

This week school is out (except for math) for a "teacher needs a break" week. Sarah has two days of make up work to do this week due to being sick last week and still isn't feeling great although today she is FINALLY fever free. I didn't want to pile her up too much - what's the point? We'll get the rest done eventually. It's really nice to be able to work around life's setbacks. Rebecca is doing a happy dance because she feels great and only has to finish math every day.

Farm City Day

Whoa! I haven't been around in awhile. I need to catch up. Let's see. October 3 we spent a lovely day at the local Farm City Day Festival. It's like a small town fall festival. They have vendors, a scarecrow contest, music, hayrides, ect. The 4H clubs have a big tent and each club provides an educational display and a craft.

Our group has been searching for something interesting that we could do year after year to minimize the planning and prep for this event. This year I think we've found it! One of our families has started "raising" bees. What would a farm be without a bee? Bare. That's what. No fruits or veggies without those little pollinators. So, they did a display about bees and their grandfather built us a small glass hive which was a huge hit with everyone. Who doesn't like looking at bees up close without the fear of getting stung?

Our craft was an easy pipe cleaner bee pencil topper.

Looks like next year the Hawks will be teaching about bees again. :-)