Book Club - Unshaken

We met for our 3rd book club this year.  We are meeting once per month.  So far, this is working well for our group.  It's a fun and not too heavy commitment for all of us.  This month, the book we read was Unshaken.  This is a book from the Lineage of Grace series which chronicles the lives of women from Christ's lineage.  This book was about Ruth.  It is a fictional acount based on the story from the Bible.  I've read one other book in this series which was on Mary which is also a great book. 



We spent time discussing the book at the beginning of our meeting.  Each girl is taking a turn being the hostess and coming up with the questions to ask.  My hope and prayer is that each young lady will grow more comfortable in expressing her opinions and that each would find this a place where they are comfortable being themselves. 

 

After talking, we enjoyed wonderful foods!  Pesto and pita bread (my favorite!), apple pies, cookies, nuts, raisin bread and grapes.  A delightful spread!



Thank you friends for hosting a fun-filled evening.  I look forward to these times.  Reminds me that I need to go look for the next book!  If you are considering a book club, I highly recommend it!  This has been a great addition to our calendar!

Blessings

Leslie

Lady Stars Volleyball

No posts in a few days because we have been busy with volleyball!  We travelled to Winston Salem for the NCHE State Championship games!  Girls volleyball and boys soccer were both being played over the week-end.  For our family, it was a girl's week-end.  Rebecca and I went up with friends on Thur night.  We had some free time in the hotel which was a great time for playing games with friends.



We were up early the next morning for breakfast and then headed out for games.  The JV and Middle School teams were playing in 2 different locations so we were able to be at most of the other teams games.  On the first day of play, it was double elimination within our division.  We had 5 teams in the East Division. 

The girls had time to warm up and hear from their coaches. 



They played the first game and won!  The second game was against their toughest rival.  They were the number one seed - and we were the number two seed.  We weren't expected to win and had not been able to beat them in the regular season. 







It was such an exciting game!!!  Each team won a set so it came down the the third set.  The Lady Stars played so hard and in the end ... they WON!!!  I don't think I can convey the joy on the parts of the team, coaches and families.  It was by far the most exciting game yet of the season!  Can you see it in their faces?  Oh, they won 26-24!



Since we played both of our games early, we were able to travel to the other site and cheer for the Middle School team.  It was also a thrilling match won by the same score as the previous JV game!  So, both teams advanced to the next day of play as the number one seed.  They are also both East Division Champions!  Way to go Lady Stars!







To celebrate, we went to have a team meal together at the Wake Forest cafeteria.  (We were playing on their campus.)  It was an all you can eat feast!  Due to it being Fall Break, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  We enjoyed the food and also the social time.



The final day of games, we were all at the same location.  Unfortunately, both of our games were at the same time!  This time we were facing teams from the West Division.  These were teams we had not played against. 







The JV won their game in two sets and went to cheer for the Middle School team.  The MS girls played so well, but weren't able to hold off their opponents in the third set.  They played so well and we are proud of them!  (I"m sorry I have no pictures!)

We had a few hours to wait until the final game.



We headed back to the hotel to check out, pack and eat lunch.  Then it was time for the Championship game.  We were not expected to be here.  We are so proud of the girls and all of their hard work.  Unfortunately, they were not able to win the last game.  They did receive a trophy for second place!



Way to go Lady Stars!!!  Great job!!!



We celebrated a wonderful season tonight with a dessert and appetizer banquet.  Some of us arrived early to decorate the room to be fun and festive.





Lots of wonderful foods - and some in team spirit!







The girls dressed up for this event.  Aren't they beautiful!



The Middle School team.



The JV team.



All of the Lady Stars!



Each girl was presented an award.  The coaches shared about each player and what she had contributed to the team.  Rebecca earned the Most Improved Award.  She was the only girl on her team with no volleyball experience.   I'm proud of you Rebecca!



Now the season is over.  We will gain back many hours in our week, but will miss seeing our friends on the team.  We are looking forward to the clinics that will be coming in the winter - and also looking forward again to next season!

Blessings

Leslie

Fun Friday and The Glorious Flight

This was from two weeks ago, but I'm still playing catch-up (and almost there).  We were rowing the Five in a Row title - The Glorious Flight.  I made plans for a fun end of the week activity - that they remembered doing several years ago with friends.  This time, with having a volleyball game to go to in the afternoon, we just went ourselves.



We visited the observation deck of our local airport.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we all loved being outside.  (It made me think that we just need to do this more often!)  It was fun to learn about airplanes and to pretend to be one!





The whole outing was just fun!



We watched planes taking off.



We had a yummy French picnic lunch to celebrate the story taking place in France.  We ate french bread, brie cheese, grapes, mini quiches and muffins.



We made and flew paper airplanes.  Well, Rebecca made all of the airplanes for us!





We even met another little boy who watched and then decided he wanted to join in on the fun.



If you are local, this is a fun, easy and free field trip!  If not, you could check to see what's available at your nearest airport.  I look forward to out next trip out there.

Blessings

Leslie

JDRF picnic

We attended a local picnic sponsored by the JDRF.  It was a nice event - bubbles, hula hoops and a bounce house. 











There were even sugar free snow cones!



The weather cooperated for about an hour or so and then the sky opened up.  We were eating dinner and decided to leave shortly after that. 

It was fun - even though we don't really know many people in this group.  I'm thankful for the JDRF and the work that is put into finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes!  If you are interested in joining our team for the walk - we'd love to have you join our group.  Joshua has been very excited each time we have gotten a new donation or a new walker to his team.  We are hoping to print t-shirts and got some helpful advice on this while at the picnic. 

For those who aren't familiar with Type 1 Diabetes, here are some facts from the JDRF. 

*Type 1 (T1) Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.  Its cause is not entirely known.

*Type 1 diabetes usually strikes children, adolescents, and young adults, but it can be diagnosed in adults as well. It comes on suddenly, causes dependence on injected or pumped insulin for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications.

*It requires constant attention.  To stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes must take multiple insulin injections daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump. They must also test their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day. While trying to balance insulin doses with their food intake and daily activities, people with this form of diabetes still must always be prepared for serious hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, both of which can be life-limiting and life threatening.

*It is not cured by insulin.  While insulin injections or infusions allow a person with type 1 to stay alive, they do not cure diabetes, nor do they necessarily prevent the possibility of the disease's devastating effects, which may include: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputations, heart attack, stroke, and pregnancy complications.

*It is a challenge to manage.  Despite paying rigorous attention to maintaining a meal plan and exercise regimen and always injecting the proper amount of insulin, people with type 1 diabetes face many other factors that can adversely affect efforts to tightly control blood sugar levels. These factors include stress, hormonal changes, periods of growth, physical activity, medications, illness/infection, and fatigue.

If you have questions about this disease or how it has affected Joshua or our family, I'm happy to answer.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  This disease really stinks in a a lot of ways and I'm thankful for the encouragement we receive from so many.

Blessings,

Leslie

Beyond FIAR Co-op: Betsy Ross #4

Well, I'm behind.  It's almost time for our next co-op and I want to get this posted before that!  LOL  We had our 4th and final co-op for Betsy Ross on the last 5 chapters of the book.  It was a wet and messy day so we ended up inside for the activities. 

We started with learning some about the herbs used for medicines during that time period.  It was wonderful to see examples of various things (that they could touch) and hear how they were used (as a tincture, powder, etc). 



The children drew a "sickness" from a paper bag and then would learn what the treatment for that would have been during colonial times.  Check out this doctor's kit! 



Some of the remedies worked well and others not as much.  There is always more to learn though and in the future people will probably be talking about how we treated diseases during this time period.  We learned about the life expectancy from the 1700s and it was sobering.  The children were asked to consider their own lives and if it might have been different had they lived then.  One of the children in that room would not have been there.  Joshua.  That brings tears just to write it.  Juvenile Diabetes is a horrible disease.  It is not something he will outgrow and there is currently no cure.  There is risk for so many things too.  I honestly try not to think on it.  I'm thankful, so very thankful for the advances that have been made.  I'm thankful for the continual work of the JDRF in working towards finding a cure.  Things are much better, yes - but we'd still love to find a cure.  Insulin is not a cure - it's a band-aid. 

OK, back to co-op.  We had a delightful snack - egg salad sandwiches, jam and crackers and molasses bread.  Yummy!!!  The children then had a mini "fair" with exhibits of things that they had made.  What a fun variety from dolls to pies, from drawings to pottery, from fudge to legos and more!



Each child was given the opportunity to share what he or she had made.  It was fun listening to each one of them.







The final piece of the morning was learning more of the timeline of the American Revolution.  The children had some quizzes in which they tried to figure out if someone was a Patriot or a Tory.  Next they did an interactive timeline.  (Look at my cute boys in the first photo!)





As always, this is a delightful way to learn.  We do things I wouldn't have done on our own.  I love the giftings and knowledge and creativity that each mom brings to the co-op.  Such a fun time!  I'm looking forward to the next one!

Blessings

Leslie