Here is Hannah and some of the apples we picked a couple of weekends ago. Yes, it has been awhile since I've posted :) Jeanne, Nancy, Hannah and I went to the orchard near us and picked apples. It was a cold morning, but thankfully it doesn't take long to pick apples. Hannah and I got over 100 pounds in less than an hour. You read that right, one hundred pounds. And yes, it is a lot of apples, but they are nearly all gone now. I have a freezer full of sauce, some cut for pies and frozen, some was made into apple crisp and we even ate a few as they are (and with caramel dip... yum.)

It has been a busy few weeks here. School always keeps us busy, but there has also been a lot of extra stuff going on. Nothing earth-shattering, but just stuff of life. I had a dentist appointment, Tim had a men's retreat, there were a couple of Ladies Book studies, a visit from the Swansens.... just stuff that keeps me going.

It has definately cooled off here. We have had a couple episodes of flurries, but nothing has stuck yet. It is a wonderful time of year in my opinion. I love wearing my bulky sweaters and my boots. I love the smell of Joe and Joanne's wood stove (across the street neighbors). The leaves are always pretty too. We had a lot of wind over the weekend, so nearly all the leaves are down at this point, but they were nice while they lasted.

Hannah enjoyed her first Junior High event with the Philadelphia youth group last Saturday. They went to a camp in New Jersey for a really cool event. She saw kids that she hasn't seen since we moved, so of course that was a joy for her (and them). We prayed about ways of getting her involved with some kids her own age since the church here just doesn't have much for youth. While looking at Philly's website I came across the dates for the Junior High winter retreat. We thought sending her on that for her birthday might be a fun surprise (it is the weekend after her birthday in February). After emailing Gil (the youth pastor) he also suggested the monthly Bible Study group and the occasional activity (like Saturday). So we are giving it a try. The retreat will be a surprise, but just going to the studies and these events has been a thrill for her I think. She has kept in touch writing letters and talking ont he phone, but actually hanging out with friends will be even better. I spent the time scrapping with Dorothy, so it was fun for me too.

And finally, we have Mr. Quin. He is up and rocking, but as of yet, not going forward. He managed to get himself under just about everything, but still goes backwards. He is quite frustrated by it and for some reason seems to think he needs to put his head down and his arms up in the air. He may do a flip-flop before really crawling.

Interesting Article

Cal Thomas' article today was brought to my attention... here it is in part:

As one who watches some - but less and less - TV, I observe a growing acceptance and promotion of violence in network "entertainment" programs.
The "CSI" series, which enjoys high ratings on CBS, as well as other crime shows on other networks, depicts graphic violence, blood and smashed brains. In an apparent effort to capture the necrophilia demographic, autopsies present naked bodies for the medical examiner (and the camera) to go over. In fact, murders appear to be rivaling situation comedies in the competition for our attention. One is banal, the other brutal. Local TV news is drenched in crime and blood.
Roberts did not have a profile that might have caused merchants who sold him the weapons and ammunition, or the police, to become suspicious. He had no criminal record, no documented history of mental illness and police say he methodically purchased his weapons and ammunition at local stores over a period of time, so as not to draw attention.
The 2006 school year is barely a month old and already there have been three fatal shootings, all within the last week.
The Bush administration has announced it will shortly convene a school violence summit to discuss possible federal action to help communities prevent violence and deal with its aftermath. Short of placing metal detectors and armed guards in every public and private school in the country it does not appear much can be done to guarantee the safety and security of students from sick minds that look for vulnerable schools to prey upon.
The danger now is that other unstable people will see this horror on television and think they can replicate the carnage in their towns to redress some past grievance or to give themselves a few seconds of significance or notoriety.
People who educate their children at home are likely to think they made the right decision in the face of tragedies like this one. Not even a seemingly safe Amish school can guarantee a child's protection from outside threats. Perhaps in addition to exploring ways to make schools safer, the Bush administration's summit on school violence might also recommend ways to make it easier for parents to educate their children at home. Individual states might join in by giving tax credits for home-school parents, since children educated at home do not cost taxpayers money in public schools.
Any analysis has to conclude that life is uncertain and that protection against evil is always problematic. No parent knows what might happen after a child leaves home for school and no child can be protected from every possible threat. But one does not expect something like this to happen in Amish country where education is an extension of the home.

Tax credit for homeschooling? Oh that it would be so. I've gotten so used to paying for something that we take no part in (public school) it seems hard to imagine that common sense would take over. We pay for public service for Jot, but legally the state does not have to provide them if they don't want to do so. They require us to jump through hoops to educate him at home because of his special ed label; the distict gets more tax money for him because of that label; but they won't provide any services. How is that right?

Co-Op and County Junction

We visited a new homeschool co-op today and I think we finally have found one that will work for us. It was a beautiful day to be outside. The group met for a monthly organizational meeting while the kids played at the park. It seems like a good group of folks and I'm encouraged that it might be something we can fit into our schedule. We had tried one last year, but it just was too far and too rigid in their structure to work for our needs. This one is very family driven and full of opportunities for just about any interest one might come up with and be willing to plan. There is a good sized "senior" group which is essentially middle and high school age and tons of elementary students. I think I was told that there were about 35 families involved. That seems like a good size to me.

It was at this meeting that I was shocked and sadded to learn that Country Junction had burned down this morning. We were planning to go there and get our pumpkins again this year. It was such a cool place and I actually did several layouts of our trips there. We even bought our leather recliner there. It is totally gone and so sad. Many of the animals both outside and inside died. It's sad to know that the $1.00 hot dogs and free movies won't be there now... not too mention all the cool stuff there was to see just wandering around. It was the first and largest of the Country Junctions. I hope they do rebuild, but even so, I can't imagine it could be the same.