My 5 seconds of fame

Last September Tim, Rob and Jana and I went to NYC for a week. One evening, while the guys were at a Yankee game, Jana and I and our friends who live in NY were walking around near Grand Central Station when we saw a commerical being shot. We stopped and were peering over shoulders to watch what was happening. I was about 6 months pregnant and one of the crew members on the set wanted to put a pregnant lady in the shot. The commercial was a "truth" ad which talks about the evils of smoking. So, they told me to stand over here and do nothing, and if I made the final cut I'd get a $600 check in the mail.

It was a great experience. I stood next to "professional" extras who were very nice and asked all kinds of questions about me and my baby. It was actually dusk when I showed up on the set. I think they had been filming for quite awhile, but they took one final shot and that was a wrap. They had me sign a waiver, and gave me $1 for my time.

I totally forgot about this until a friend found it and sent it to me. I never got my $600 check and you'll see they blurred my face.

So watch very carefully...at the end of the commerical you'll see me, I'm wearing a brown sweater over an aqua blue shirt and blue jeans. If you blink you'll miss it.

Some people get 15 minutes of fame, I get 2.5 seconds with my face blurred out.

Oak Grove officially opens today!

Okay, I can say to myself there is more to my life than Oak Grove, but lately this hasn't been true. So much time, planning, prayer and preparation has gone into today, it really is staggering! It's the culmination of so many people's hard work, ideas and energy. What a blessing it's been to be a part of this new work! I remember saying a year ago, "If this school actually opens, I'm going to cry." Well, I didn't cry today, but I felt like it. Not only because today is the day we've been working towards, but because I'm missing Caitlyn already. This is something I haven't given much thought to. Oh yeah, Oak Grove will be a wonderful place to learn and grow, but that means I have to drop Caitlyn off each day. Even though she's 7 years old, she's been home with me for her first 2 years of school. I know because of that, I'm going to appreciate OG and the partnership aspect that much more. But right now Cole and I are missing her.

SWR Training- I'm getting it...

This last week has been a crazy whirlwind week for me. Next year at Oak Grove we are implementing the curriculum, Spell to Write and Read (SWR). I first learned about this curriculum from a friend after I finished homeschooling Caitlyn in Kindergarten. I remember thinking that it was a very organized and superior method to the one I had been using. I thought that I could teach her to spell later. I was more concerned about getting her to read comfortably and "fast". While I did successfully teach her to read, I've had to go back a little bit this last year to get her comfortable with her phonograms. I've been using SWR all year, but have felt that I've been doing it "wrong". The Lord in His graciousness, has blessed even my feeble attempts at this program. I recently tested Caitlyn and found that she was testing at 2.4 level. It wasn't as high as I was wanting, but very satisfactory considering we just finished first grade.

I admit that it is an overwhelming curriculum at first glance. After this seminar, I feel that I have a much better understanding of the philosophy of SWR and how to implement it.

So, with the start of Oak Grove we decided that we needed to hire a certified SWR trainer to come out and train all of us; teachers and co-teachers. This is where the craziness of the last week has come in. I've been running errands, making copies, sending e-mails, gathering materials, trying to track payments of those attending, cleaning in my house (the trainer is staying with me), put together packets for the parents and attend the seminar myself. In addition, I'm nursing Gracie so I get called out of the seminar every 3 hours or so to run home to feed her. I'm exhaused. But, at the same time I'm rejuevenated with enthusiasm for SWR.

I hope and pray that the parents and teachers at Oak Grove will see the long term vision here. It's hard! It takes some serious commitment on everyone's part, but I think the results will be worth it. I predict that if we stick to this program, we will have students who not only know how to read fluently (which is really the easy part), but will also know how to spell (the harder part) well beyond their years.

Isn't this part of the goal of classical education? We want to produce students who not only know "how" to think, but who also know how to communicate what they think, clearly and persuasively. How do we do that? We teach them language. I firmly believe that SWR will be one of those tools in our toolboxes of learning that will help us accomplish that goal.

As we seek to do this, may God get the glory!

Interesting Dinner Conversation

Last night I had the rare treat of eating out with my girlfriends. Because life has been so busy of late, I haven't been able to enjoy the company of these women in a long time. Over, pizza, salad and many refills of ice tea, we somehow got on the topic of what would be your dream job if you could come back in another life. Now, of course, being the Christian women that we are, none of us believe in reincarnation. I also know that each of us enjoy the privileges and great responsibilities that come with being home full-time raising our families. But, nonetheless, it was an interesting topic that revealed a lot about our dreams, aspirations and secret fantasies.



Jana, my long time friend, has no aspirations of being a rocket-scientist. Rather, she wants to grace the stage of Radio City Music Hall as long-legged Rockette. After watching the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular in New York City a couple of years ago, I can understand why. It did look pretty glamourous and fun.



Lisa, desires the more genteel times of Scarlett O'Hara and wants to be cinched in a corsette every day. She want to wear opulent gowns to afternoon tea and be waited on hand and foot. One caveat however, she wants running water, indoor plumbing and air conditioning. Good thing, those petticoats can get pretty hot.



Kelly, who never seems stressed out, or bothered much by anything, wants to be a famous French novelist. I can just see her relaxing at her laptop, sipping on a latte on her veranda, over looking the Eiffel Tower. (Can I change my answer and join Kelly?)



Amy, content with her life, would just love to pursue her innate talents. She'd like her own Food Network Show, and to become a famous photographer. Maybe we could combine the two somehow? She is a great cook, and photographer. Last time I was in her kitchen she had taken a photo of herbs, blown it up and hung it on her wall. They looked delicious.



Meredith and I are cut from the same cloth. We'd like to come back in our next life as Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel. You know the one? The cute blonde girl, brimming with personality. She is always imaculately dressed touring the sites of exotic locations. Even worse, she looks great in a bikini, and whenever I see her, she seems to be sipping on something wonderful on the deck of a cruise ship. It must be tough to be her. Jet-setting around the world, seeing in person all the things we only see on TV and dream about. I do wonder if she gets lonely, though. In my fantasy, I have a caveat too..., I want to take my husband and kids with me. We could homeschool on the road and let the world be our classroom.



Well, my life is far from that of Samantha Brown's. I stick pretty close to home and I like it that way. I'm not famous, and I don't think I'll ever wear a bikini again. Last night, I came home to my lovely home and family and went to sleep laying my head on my pillow in my comfortable bed. It may not be glamourous, but my life is good and consists of simple, sweet things.