2010 Homeschool Convention

This was the fifth convention that mom has coordinated - and I think it was one of the busiest!! I believe we had a record number of people attending, as there were around 750 adults and teen registered, plus all the kids! The keynote speaker was Kevin Swanson, and Buddy Davis did sessions for the kids and a concert for everyone on Friday evening. They were both really good, and I enjoyed listening to them! In conjunction with the NDHSA Homeschool Convention, we had a "Pure Heart" Purity Conference going on as well. Mom let me be the coordinator for that (although she helped me out a lot!) and I really enjoyed it!

As you probably know, the convention was held in Fargo, ND at the Holiday Inn. The halls got pretty squished at times, but it was nice to have the hotel attached to the convention center.

Here is my friend Lydia U. sitting at the purity conference registration table. Her and her sisters were a huge help!! And we had several other great people helping as well - the Vest family (Amy Vest was the speaker for the purity conference), Anna, Elizabeth and Barbara!!! Thank you everybody! :-)

(Elizabeth, Anna U., Amy, Lydia U., Maria U., Anna, Barbara, me)

Here is the Great Hall, where Kevin Swanson spoke. He was a very animated speaker - he kept everyone's attention, and had some great things to say! I didn't get to hear all of his sessions, but what I did hear was very good. I hope to listen to his radio program more often now.

Here is mom speaking briefly on stage, with some of the other NDHSA staff/board members . . .

. . . and here's the homeschool choir, with me in the first row on the far right. We sang Just Over in the Gloryland, and it was a neat experience for me, since I'd never been in a choir before!

And here is Buddy Davis singing at his Friday night concert. Everybody loved him (especially the kids)!!!

Here's Amy speaking at one of her five sessions.

 

She did a demonstration here with a blender and some fruit. Yes, that fruit smoothie looks SO good (and we were all hungry!!) but wait a minute . . . if you put that icky dark stuff in it doesn't look so good anymore. In the same way, we may have a clean heart, but if we allow anything bad - no matter how small - to take root in our lives, it could ruin us!

If you attended the NDHSA convention, visit their website at http://www.ndhsa.org/ to give an evaluation. You can also buy MP3's and CDs on there of all the different speakers. Hope to see you next year in Jamestown!! (March 3-5, 2011, with keynote speaker Andrew Pudewa!)

P.S. A BIG thank you goes to Maria U. for taking all these pictures!!

Update on Caleb's Foot

Yes, I'm still here - things are finally settling down a bit from the convention - and I have good news about Caleb's foot!! The doctor e-mailed us the other day and said that he looked at Caleb's x-ray, and the bone is growing back pretty well, so Caleb doesn't have to have surgery!! YEAH!! He's very glad, as you can imagine! Praise the Lord!! Thank you all for your prayers!!

Pictures of the convention coming soon! :-)

Please Pray . . .

We just heard that there possibly will be major flooding next weekend in Fargo, Moorhead, and the surrounding areas. Thankfully we shouldn't be affected by it since we don't live by a river, but the homeschool convention might be!! People should still be able to make it, but please pray that everything will go smoothly, and also pray for the homes and safety of those living in the area! Thanks!

A field south of Fargo’s Microsoft campus is filled with water Friday after several days of snowmelt accompanied by rain. Most of the weekend is predicted to have less than a 20 percent chance of rain. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor photo from In-Forum.

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Mom of the Family turns ?

February 23rd was my mom's birthday, and to celebrate, she thought it'd be fun to go shopping. She had a gold necklace that was bought at a garage sale for 25 cents, so she exchanged it at a place that buys gold and silver and got over $100!!! So she had fun using that money to buy some new clothes for the upcoming convention. :-)

On her actual birthday she chose omelets and monkey bread for breakfast, and frozen pizza and cheescake for supper (healthy, I know, but we all tend to pick those kinds of foods for our birthdays because we usually don't eat them!!). She had a fairly relaxing day sleeping in, reading, talking on the phone, and watching Tim Hawkins, Fireproof and some of the Olympics. And she had to work on the convention, since it's coming up here in just a few weeks!

So here's some pictures of mom growing up, getting married, having kids, but staying young!!

Mom as a baby with her family - mom, dad, and five older brothers!

 

Mom and dad got married in '86, and they still look very young, don't you think?! Mom was 19 years old (not in the picture below, but at her wedding!). :-)

 

Happy Birthday Mom!! I love you!!

ND Homeschool Convention

Coming up on March 18-20 is the annual North Dakota Homeschool Convention. As most of you know, my mom is the coordinator, so around this time of year we are very busy preparing for it!! I would like to encourage all of you (who live at least within 5 hours!!) to come to the convention. This year our keynote speaker is Kevin Swanson, and Buddy Davis is our guest speaker and musician. We also have a purity conference going on during the convention (I'm in charge of registration so all you girls who are reading this better be coming!!) with Amy Vest and Loving the Lord Ministries. I'm am really looking forward to everything going on this year, and I can't wait to see y'all there!!! :-)

To find out more, visit the ND Home School Association website: http://www.ndhsa.org/.

By the way, check back soon for a post about mom's birthday!! :-)

Baby of the Family Turns 8!!

That makes ME feel old!!! :-) I can still remember the sweet little Native American/Hispanic baby we got eight years ago as a foster child, and now he's growing up (but he's still sweet . . . well, most of the time anyway)! God worked a miracle and we were able to adopt him and he's been such a blessing to us! He's the funny one, always saying something to make us laugh, like the time we were at a friends' house, eating really cold ice cream . . . "I've got an ice brain!!" he exclaimed after taking a few bites. Or the time he was trying to count in Spanish . . . "Uno, Dos, Tres, Squanto . . ." (he must have Indian blood in him). Or when I ask him to identify a dime, he says it's a "Diamond!" And the list goes on . . .

Here's some pictures of Ethan, from baby to big boy. :-)

Isn't he adorable?!

 

Funny little guy!

Ethan and I at a waterfall in Wisconsin probably 6 or 7 years ago

Yes, his hair stuck STRAIGHT up when he was little!! :-)

Our family in 2002

After a meal at the Golden Corral a couple weeks ago . . . why don't we ever learn? Every time we go there, we can hardly walk out!

Ethan with his "twin," Aaron, who came over the other night and celebrated Ethan's birthday with him. :-)

Opening cards and gifts . . .

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!