Is Cursive Writing a Lost Art?

Disclaimer: This post is based on my own personal opinion and is in no way, shape or form meant to offend anyone.

What the heck is the deal with cursive writing these days. The first time I realized the kids weren't learning this skill in the public schools was back in 2004 when my cousin graduated from high school. We received a thank you note from her and it was written in print; even her name was printed. My mom and I wondered why, so after a quick phone call to my aunt we found out that she wasn't taught cursive writing in school. What?!? We couldn't believe this. I mean yes, computers are taking over the world, but not teaching cursive in school? Seriously?

So imagine my surprise when in 2010 my son (who is a third grader) starts learning how to cursive write. I was ecstatic. Yes, we had trouble regarding a silly pencil grip that was meant to correct his improper pencil hold; yes, AR was a nightmare and yes we couldn't wait to move on to fourth grade ~ but by golly that child learned how to write in cursive.

Fast forward to last week. R is learning the value of writing a good thank you note. This has not been a pleasant experience. I'm pretty sure he would rather have all this fingernails ripped out, and quite frankly it's pure torture for a momma who's trying to teach her child to be thankful. Recently, we have received numerous thank you notes from older kids (mainly high school age) and all but one has been written in print. Again. What?? Then I realized that the thank you notes R had already written were all in print. Yikes!!

So, what's a mom to do? I'll tell you what I did. I opened up Photoshop, created a cool thank you card, turned it over and lightly drew straight lines every 1/2 inch and proceeded to tell R that every note here on out was to be written in cursive. My boy has been working diligently for days on these cards. He is taking pride in his handwriting (which is very nice btw) and I figure if he can knock out a couple cards a day, he'll be finished in no time.

I'm pretty positive that R's third grade teacher will never read this, but I just have to say "Thank You" not just to her, but to all the teachers who take time out of their busy "Star" curriculum schedules to teach our kids cursive writing. I truly do believe it is quickly becoming a lost art ~

A Little Bit of Everything ~

The kids and I went to church with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law this morning. It was a wonderful service celebrating the Seniors in their church. I still haven't quite grasped the fact that my niece is graduating...more to come on this in a later post. Once we got home we couldn't pass up spending the day outside. It. Was. Perfect. Overcast and about 75 degrees; in my opinion it doesn't get much better.

Relaxing on the trampoline.

Meet Bitsy or Little Bit (depending on who you ask.) She became the newest member of our family back in January. Big R and I can't quite agree on her name. Apparently Bitsy isn't a name that my farmer can say and still feel masculine. Anywho, she's a sweetie with fur as soft as velvet, just don't cross her while she's eating a rabbit, or bird, or mouse. Trust me on this one.

You all remember Sam ~ isn't he a handsome fella? I took the brush to him today and brushed and brushed and brushed. I could probably still be brushing but my arm got tired. He is hands down the fluffiest dog ever. That said, the ticks love him. Sam is Tick Hilton these days. We've taken numerous measures to rid our pets and our yard of these disgusting pests, but we are still taking ticks off him on a daily basis. Now that Big R is busy planting the tick removing torch has been passed to me. Yes, I just scratched my head. I have really had to suck it up and be a big girl these last few days. I must say though, I've gotten pretty good at tick extraction.

Cocking the BB gun for a little target practice after sneaking out of the house with Brother's gun. She's determined to prove she is capable of handling a firearm. 

Several weeks ago K came home telling me about this really neat little craft she had come up with on the playground. We were eating supper and I asked the kids to tell me one nice thing they had done for someone that day; without skipping a beat K starts telling me about this wildflower bouquet bundled together with a leaf and wrapped with a stem (I'm paraphrasing of course.) She told us that she had made one and given it to her teacher. Very sweet. A few days later I go in to pick her up and see several little girls walking out with these little wild flower bouquets. She was so proud when she told me she had taught them all how to make them. Fast forward a few weeks to the day of the Teacher Appreciation Dinner. Miss S, our secretary at school, takes me into her office and shows me the cutest little vase holding a withered bouquet. She told me that K had given her one of her creations, she had kept them watered and they stayed alive and made her smile for several days. So, today when K came in with her little dandelion bundle she showed me how she makes them. I said, "K, do you know what this means?" She said, "Yes, I'm a crafter." I love this! I love that she's using her noggin to make beautiful things out of the simplest of supplies. I love that she's sharing her craft with others because she has a giving heart.

I know this thought is totally overused, but this kid is growing up way too fast. The last few times his daddy has mowed the yard, R has been right there taking it all in. Under supervision, he has made a few rounds. Well, today I decided we would surprise Big R and mow the yard. Once we got past my backing the thing out of the garage and running over the dog food container, R did a great job. He mowed the entire yard all by himself including emptying the bags (which is my least favorite part.) When he was finished with the yard, he took the mower out to the air compressor and blew it out just like his Daddy does. Proud of this kid!

I love our yard. It's big and shady and thanks to the recent rains, it's green and looks so pretty right after it's mowed. Here's to an amazing summer and many more beautiful Sundays...

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother’s Day. I had the honor of singing a very special song at church on Sunday morning. I still remember where I was the first time I heard it. I was about 7 months pregnant with R, standing in my bathroom getting ready for the day and listening to Family Life Radio. I knew as soon as I heard the words to “Hold Onto Jesus” it would be a song that would become a lifelong prayer to my children. Since that day, I have performed the song on a few special occasions; two of which being when R & K were baptized as infants. Over the years my babies have fallen asleep to the words of this song being sung to them by their mommy. I pray the message of this song follows them throughout their lives.

Hold Onto Jesus

You’re a little piece of Heaven, you’re a golden ray of light

and I wish I could protect you from the worries of this life,

but if there’s one thing I can tell you, it’s no matter what you do ~

hold to Jesus, He’s holding on to you.

The world will try to tell you that might is more than right

and beauty’s on the outside and being good’s a losing fight,

but remember what I’ve told you ‘cause the world will make you chose.

Hold to Jesus, He’s holding onto you.

Hold onto Jesus, and cling to His love.

Rest deep in His mercy whenever things get rough.

Don’t lose sight of His goodness

and don’t ever doubt this truth:

That when you hold onto Jesus,

He’s holding on to you.

Hear me dear Jesus

rock these little ones to sleep.

Keep them close when they’re scared,

give them grace when they are weak.

I know they’ll stumble, but I know they’ll make it through

if you hold on to them just like you said you’d do.

Hold them Jesus, so they’ll hold on tight to You.

Wheat Free Pancakes

Wow! Has it really been over two months since I posted to my blog. I finally sat down and updated my header. How depressing was that snow scene? Anyway, it's bright and cheery now and that makes me happy. One of the many reasons (excuses) I have for abandoning my blog has been Little Dribblers. This year both kiddos were playing and between practices and games I just didn't have a post worthy thought in my head. Being busy also did a number on my resolve to eat healthy. To be honest, I think it was just an excuse to jump off the wagon for a while and what's extra crazy is I ate my healthiest while away on trips. For some reason my will power goes into overdrive when it's tempted the most. Weird.

The other day I just wasn't hungry for my normal omelet for breakfast. I wanted pancakes. What does a girl who is trying to stay away from wheat (gluten) do when the urge for a pancake hits? She comes up with a wheat free pancake recipe.

I've always loved coming up with recipes with whatever I have on hand. Sometimes they turn out, sometimes they don't. I'm happy to say this one is a keeper. Since that glorious day a couple of weeks ago when I had my pancake craving, I've made these several times. Every time I love them more.

Gluten Free Pancakes

(I've really tried to come up with a witty name for these pancakes. It's not happenin'.)

1 egg

tsp half and half

1/8 tsp vanilla

1/16 tsp Xylitol

sprinkle of cinnamon

2 tsp almond flour

This makes one pancake. I mix the above ingredients in a bowl then pour into my cast iron skillet that's been melting a little coconut oil. (Did you really think I would share a recipe that didn't involve coconut oil?)

Before I assemble the above ingredients, I pour about a cup of frozen blueberries in a small saucepan add a pat of butter and let them cook on low while I'm making the pancakes.

You know I'm a fan of good healthy fats and what pancake would be complete without a nice pat of organic butter on top. The butter really makes it good, but you don't need me to tell you that.

Enjoy!

Being an Introvert and Other Random Thoughts ~

I'm an introvert. I even took a free personality test online last summer that confirmed this little fact. I've always sort of known this, but couldn't figure out how I could be a true introvert if I like to be around people. Several months ago I remember hearing a sermon on the difference between extroverts and introverts. For the first time I got it.

Extroverts get their energy from being around other people. Introverts get their energy from being by themselves. It really has nothing to do with whether you like to be around people or not. There are periods of time when I crave the solitude of my home and the quiet of being by myself; give me about a week of this and I'm ready to spend a day running errands, having lunch with friends and just goofing off (being somewhere besides my house.)

This very minute my dishwasher is running, I have laundry in the wash and I'm actually looking forward to tackling the rest of the house because I'm alone and it's quiet. We had a super fun weekend. It was busy busy busy...and now I'm filling my tank with solitude so I'll be ready to do it all again over Spring Break.

Before I tackle Spring Break,  I want to share a few pics of our last big adventure.

I don't know what we would do without the older kids on our show team. They. Are. Awesome! K thinks this girlie is the coolest! She's very patient with the little ones and is always up for a game on the iPad. Thank you T for being you!

When K is bored with all the other electronics, she reaches for my camera. It's hilarious to see the pictures she takes and totally cool to see life from her perspective.

San Antonio didn't have as good an outcome as Ft. Worth. Let's just say we learned "you can't win 'em all." I'm so glad I took a few pics of R with Fast Freddy beforehand.

We finally made it to the Alamo. It was pretty awesome. All I've heard my whole life is how disappointing it is. I disagree. It was amazing to stand in the very spot where so many lives were sacrificed for our Texas freedom!

Totally cool picture of one of the biggest trees I've ever seen. Keep in mind I'm not a world traveler. :)

It was a beautiful day ~ couldn't resist taking one of the Lone Star waving.

What trip would be complete without a visit to Bass Pro Shops?

Here's a little funny for ya (and no, I'm not above sharing the embarrassing things I do.) We were getting ready to check out of the hotel and head to the Alamo. R has been looking forward to this Big Time since they are studying Texas history this year. I start asking him questions and he's spouting off Alamo facts right and left. I am very impressed with his knowledge. I'm thinking to myself...what is that thing they say about the Alamo? For the life of me I cannot remember. So I ask ~ "What is it they say at the Alamo?" Both R's in unison, "Remember the Alamo!" It was hilarious! I bet I don't forget that for a while. :)

This reminds me of another funny...we were on a trip to Oklahoma to see my sister. Just me, my mom and the kiddos. We're driving along talking and somehow the conversation turned to mattresses. Mom starts talking about how comfortable theirs is since she put a...oh, what's it called? "You know that soft pad I have on my bed," she says, "I can't remember what it's called." I say, "You mean the 'memory foam?' Talk about hysterical. We laughed until we cried. What can I say, I am my mother's daughter.