Visiting Six Flags Over Georgia

The way the prices have gone up I've decided I just can't afford Six Flags. Still, I sure wanted to take the kids there one time this year if it became possible. Sure enough, through Providence, we got cheap tickets on Foster Parent Day at Six Flags. It was so much fun!

Swimming at Cousin Ronny's

I am late posting this, but better late than never.  (It's December.) Anyway, these shots were taken at my cousin Ronny's neighborhood pool in Dallas, GA.  It's actually closer to Acworth, but he has a Dallas address.  Ronny and Carol are so fun to be around.  We always enjoy them...and their pool!

3 Reasons to Celebrate

Three reasons to celebrate. Reason Number 1: My cousin Ronny (who is more like an uncle to me), survived a near heart attack! Reason Number 2: We got to visit with him after months of not seeing him and his wife. Reason Number 3: He insisted that we swim in his neighborhood pool!

Plasma Car at the Mall

This summer the heat was unbearable, but the kids still needed exercise.  We had to do outdoor chores while it was not so hot in the morning.  So here it was their nap time, but they needed exercise more than they needed sleep.  How could we do it?  Where could we go?  To the mall, we decided.  But how do we get them to both exercise and rest when they needed to without stopping?  Simple.  Take two vehicles to the mall--a jogging stroller for resting, and a Plasma Car for riding!  Oh, and the rope came in handy, too!

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/plasmart/plasmacar.cfm

A Joyful Funeral

We are sad that our next door neighbor, Sybil has gone to be with the Lord.  Her funeral was actually a delight, though.  It was one of the most joyful celebrations of a person's life I have ever witnessed at a funeral.  It was so thrilling to see the full confidence everyone had of her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  No one doubted she was in heaven now.

Although we live next door to Sybil and her husband John, we never got a chance to really know Sybil.  You see, she came down with Alzheimer's disease shortly after we moved next door.  Her husband John proved to be such a faithful and loving husband to her.  It was touching to see what he was willing to go through with her.  He sometimes spoke to us about his anguish.

I want you to think about how frivolously people are starting to view life these days.  The videos below stand in stark contrast to each other.  See them and decide which man YOU would rather be like--Pat Robertson or Robert McQuilken.      

Riding Lessons

Heidi and Lisa are taking horse-back riding lessons from our neighbor and friend, Julia Connolly. It's really hard for the girls to get up early on Saturday for their lessons, but they sure enjoy learning about horses and riding Rio, the horse.

Accountable Kids

At the Spillers' house, we've started using Accountable Kids!
Accountable Kids is an excellent positive parenting program for teaching responsibility and accountability to children.  It is very adaptable to kids of different ages and personalities.

Up till now, we used chore charts and our children got money for every chore they did at the end of the week.  They were responsible for keeping records of what they did each day and we checked the charts at the end of each day.  This system worked well for the International students who were older, but since Hannah and Naomi were not able to read or keep records themselves, they were left out of a lot of the benefits of chore charts.  Also, as time went on, the kids--and us adults--got lazy about checking to see if everything was done as recorded.  We needed a system that worked for all age groups and that held us parents accountable more often for checking on the kids' progress.  Accountable Kids was the solution.  Now instead of a chore chart, we use a board with pegs and chore reminder cards.  The day is divided into 3 time periods--morning, daytime, and evening.  Basically, kids do a set of chores and then get a ticket for doing them.  They use that ticket to "pay" for leisure time so they can play.  Work comes first, then play, and the kids manage their own schedules by flipping cards over as they do each chore.  The ticket idea is a good one because the kids are required to ask permission to do their leisure activities and they have to use their tickets for that time.  For more information, check out their website and of course, view the slideshow I made.

Oh, one more thing.  We ordered 5 kits and each one came with the small board with 5 pegs and plenty of cards.  I needed to make a "bank" area for all the cards, so I purchased more pegs from Rockler.  I also didn't want that many holes in my cabinetry next to my refrigerator, so I custom made another layer of oak plywood and used a shelf jig kit to make the holes for the shaker pegs.   I didn't get around to varnishing it yet, as you can tell in the photos, but it still looks pretty nice, I think.

The First Day of School

School began today.  The kids were so nervous and also excited at the same time.  It looks like it is going to be a good school year for them.

Locker Move-In Day

With school starting soon, the kids needed to move things into their lockers, so we went back to the school for that.  The girls got to see their new classroom, too.  This year, the group of rising 6th graders was split into 2 classes.  We are so glad about that.

Daniel Returns

Daniel came back from his vacation in Korea today.  He will attend Dominion Christian High School again this year.  We had him for a couple of days before he went to live with his host family, the Fortier's.  It was good to see him again, and I am  happy that he is up to the challenge of studying abroad again this year.

First Trip to Shiloh

Here are a few shots from the first time the kids went to school since coming back from Korea.  For Stephen, it was his first time ever.