Election is over. . .

I am so glad this election is over.  I really hate all of the mud slinging on both sides.  I voted and did my duty and I am sad my guy did not win.  I do know however, that God has a plan.  We are not privy to that plan yet but when he is ready we  will know.  I have faith that God is in control and that he will guide and protect my family and others that have that same faith.  Last night before bed I prayed and gave it all over to Him once again.   It is hard to see our great country in such turmoil and to have to read it all over Facebook.  I do know that God will bring us to our knees to remind us that we still need him and maybe this is the case this year.  We have forgotten, as a country, that there is only one in charge and he is in Heaven waiting for us to wake up.
I have seen a lot of posts on Facebook about freedom of speech and freedom of expression ect. . .   Yet these same people want to crucify the President of one fast food chain for his freedom of expression.   Why is it ok for them to express their feelings and beliefs and yet it is not ok for him?   One side has become overly tolerant and the other side has become intolerant.  Where do we go from here?
I will be spending a great deal of time on my knees in prayer.  I am not only praying for my family but everyone including the President.  I hope that he will take the next four years and actually do something to bring our country back to the Great Nation it once was.

Dave Ramsey class update

Finished the Dave Ramsey class and loved it.  I highly recommend it to everyone.  Dave is a very accomplished man and a good speaker.  He is not afraid to tell of his mistakes in the hopes that others do not fall into the same traps.  He has gone from millionaire to bankruptcy to millionaire on more than one occasion.   I realized I had made many mistakes myself when it comes to money.  My favorite quote from Dave is, "live like no one else, so later you can live and give like no one else." 
I am a big believer in giving to the Church and other reputable charities.   My dear hubby and I have always  given, since we were married.  There were times in the early part of our marriage that we struggled to make the ends meet but, we never changed our giving.  I firmly believe that we are where we are today because we give.  I guess that is why I like Daves' philosophy so much.  He wants to help people grow their wealth so that they can share their wealth with those in need.  Imagine what our world would be like if nobody was in debt and could share what they had with others.  WOW!!  How cool that would be.  I have been a fan of Dave's for many years but, was only able to take his class this year.   I will tell a tale on myself today, in all my years I have never balanced my checkbook.  I know, how dumb is that?  I am very proud to say that I now balance my checkbook and I do a zero based budget every month before the month begins.  Thank you Dave!!  Those little steps just give you so much power over your money.  The budget allows you to tell your money where to go, instead of saying at the end of the month, where did all my money go.   With the help of Daves' class and Craig our teacher we have no credit card debt and are paying like crazy  on the car and next is the house.  We are on our way to being debt FREE!!!!!!  Check out Dave's website       www.daveramsey.com   Just a little tip from frugal me, you can check his books out at the library and you can also pick them up at the used book store sometimes.   The first Dave book I bought was from the used book store.  Here are some of his titles that I like:  The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace Revisited, and The Complete Guide to Money.

Updates on the kiddos. . .

Been a while since I posted on my blog.  I have been crazy with the kids and all their activities.  That is what we are supposed to be doing anyway right.  I am going to try and get back on track this year with my blog so stay tuned.

The boys are both playing football right now.  Jack is playing for the Middle School and I am so proud of him for that.  He has worked hard all through the Summer during Summer work outs and has worked hard since school started too.   Thomas is playing community football and is doing really well.   He is quite the little "head hunter".   They are 1-2 right now they have a couple more games to play.    Both Jack and Thomas are doing well in school too.  It is very hard to be a student athlete, you have to work twice as hard as everyone else.  Those of you that have kids that play sports know this.  I give kudos to the student athletes and their parents because it is hard work to be at school all day and then go to ball practice and then come home to do your chores and school work.  
The boys are both involved in our Grateful choir at Church.  Thomas is more of a helper and photographer than singer though.  He does not like to sing in front of people.  He has a beautiful voice but, he gets nervous and self conscience in front of people.  Jack on the other hand, gets up there and belts it out.  They go to area Nursing homes and sing and talk with the elderly.  We have a great group of kids involved in our youth group and I am so proud of each of them.  They give so much back to our Church.  Since they have been letting Thomas take pictures he has become very interested in photography.  He wants a camera for Christmas, not just any camera, but a digital self focus "expensive" camera.  I told him he would have to start out small and he could work his way up to an expensive camera much later down the road.  Our youth coordinator told me she was editing the pictures he had taken from one of their outings and he had taken over 100 pictures.  HA HA HA HA!!!!  She said he had done really well and that she only deleted a few that were fuzzy and had his finger in them.  He cracks me up sometimes.

Stay tuned lots of news to come, I am taking the Dave Ramsey class and will be blogging on that later.

Grades. . .

I know I am a little late for this post but, for those following up about Sylvan I felt I needed to share this with you.  Thomas got 2 A's and 2 B's.  I am very proud of him for this it was a difficult nine weeks.  He brought his C in math up to  a B.   I did recently have him tested in Reading with Sylvann and it reinforced what I knew already.  He has a very good vocabulary but there are still some gaps in his skills that he is just not getting. 
I am very much against the kids being tested on a computer for Reading.  These children have enough problems reading the printed page much less trying to scroll through a story with the mouse or up and down arrows.   Thomas has yet to pass a bench mark test either in Reading or Math.  Yet, he is testing off the charts on the California Achievement test at Sylvan and is making A's and B's.   Do the schools not see a problem with this?  I  guess not since they continue to test.  Thomas did well on his Reading test like I said he does have some problems in comprehension but the problems he has is merely compounded by being tested on a computer.  I know I need to get off my "soap box" and move on but I cannot.  This is my child and if we don't stand up for them nobody else will.  Then you run the risk of them falling through the cracks of our messed up education system.
So Tom's trouble with comprehension is; he does not get the details of the story and the fine points.  Well, scrolling up and down on a computer would only make things worse for him as far as I am concerned.
I would love to here what anyone else has to say.  Any educators out there?  I would love to know your opinion on this.

School and Sylvan

School is still a struggle even though Thomas seems to be doing well at Sylvan.  Not sure what is going on there.   Thomas is in third grade and they are learning measurements using standard inches, feet, and yards plus they are having to learn the metric system of measurement.   They did all that in one week.  This week they are working on volume.  Using the standard gallons, pints, cups vs. metric; liters and milliliters.  Does anyone else think this is a little fast?  Or is it just me?  I would love to know your thoughts on this.  You may post anonymously and that is fine with me.  I would just love some feed back on the subject.  I do not remember Jack doing these in the third grade.  I was told today that the EOG could be given on the computer as early as two years.  Thomas is not doing well on the computer bench mark tests now and they are going to give them a test that they put so much emphasis on, on the computer.  I do not like this push of technology on these kids.  Sometimes we depend too much on technology.  I would love to know your thoughts on this one too.

Wrestling tournament

The boys competed in their first official tournament on Saturday.  It was interesting, I had only been to see one last year but it is different when you are competing.  Jack won two out of  the three of his matches and he was not that interested in going.  Thomas was ready to go but did not have success.  He lost all three of his matches but, he wrestled hard and did well.  I was terribly proud of both of my boys.  Thomas lost two matches by a pin and one in points.  The one in points he only lost by two.  He was so close.  They both had fun even Thomas.  I think they each learned something new.   Jack and Thomas were wrestling kids 8-10 lbs. heavier than them so that was a little harder.  Jack took the Silver in his weight class.  He was so excited about that and he didn't really want to compete.  They have a Takedown tournament this weekend that they are looking forward to.  
I was not really ready to be a "mat" mom but I guess I am.  There are a lot of life lesson that the kids can pick up with this sport and any sport really.  The one big lesson Jack learned was that it didn't matter how much bigger your opponent was you could still win.   He also learned not to give up and to keep trying and fighting to the end.   Thomas had a few hard lessons to learn.  His lesson was to keep trying and fighting till the whistle blows.
I am very proud of both boys, they held their heads high even when they lost and they kept their good sportsmanship attitude.  Thomas was disappointed but I think he will work harder next time.   It is easy to win and be a good sport, anyone can do that.  It takes character to loose and be a good sport.

Progress Reports. . .

Have the progress reports for both kidos.  Jack all A's  and Thomas 2 A's and 2 B's  Yeah!!   He brought his C in Math up to a B.  So glad for him.   He is having such fun and learning a lot at Sylvan.  I do recommend Sylvan if your child is struggling in any thing in school.   I have learned with Jack to never take the Schools' word for anything.  You have to do your  investigating, and never take anything at face value.   Don't get me wrong, our school system is better than most but they all have their issues and need to be checked up on.  So Moms stay strong and always look further into things before you accept someone elses word.  I took the bull by the horns and had him tested independently of the school and am glad I did.  His confidence is on the rise as well.  I am so glad for that too.   Our kids need confidence if they are going to go out in this big old world and stand against the enemy.  It takes confidence to say no to things. It takes confidence to resist peer pressure.  It takes confidence to stand up for what you believe in.  It takes confidence to step out of the box and make it in this world.  That should be number one or two on the Moms' job description, build your childs' confidence because without it they don't stand a chance.    Kids today must face more things earlier than when I was little.  My teachers were always loving, caring, and somewhat mothering of all the kids in class.  Today the teachers are a bit abrasive and they do not reassure the kids and some don't care how they talk to the kids.  Kids are smart and pick up on these things.    It is hard to explain to your child why his teacher is making fun of his writing.   When you know deep in your heart she should not be.   Encourage, encourage, encourage, Love, love, love those kidos!!!!