Introducing Lynne and her family!

Hi!  Just a little house cleaning before I get started. This is my first ever blog post. Since I am a big ole introvert, this is difficult for me, but for you........my readers.......all 5 of you(for now anyway)........I do this for you in the hope that I can offer you something, whether it be a giggle, a smile, a new idea, a new recipe or just a bit of encouragement. May everyone who reads this blog be uplifted in some way. I apologize that my entry is so long. Short and concise, I am not! Go ahead and grab a cup of tea to sip on as you read.

I am the mom of these two precious children and my name is Lynne. Marissa is on the left and Joel is on the right. 

This next March my husband, Patrick, and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Before you start calculating how old I was when we had our children note the date on the above picture. :-) This is what my children looked like in July 1999, the year BEFORE we started our home school journey.This may be a good place to go ahead and say it, I am the oldie of the authors of the blog. It has to be somebody. :-/

This is Marissa and Joel's school pictures from last year. At that time, Marissa was a senior and Joel a junior. Sadly, I really don't take pictures any more. I don't even have a semi current picture of Patrick and me. I will get one soon and post it. Based on my inability to have current pictures of our family, you probably will not believe that I am a scrapbooker. Yep, I have pretty much all of our pictures in nice photo albums up until about 3 years ago. Soon I will knock those 3 years out. The beauty of being a scrapbooker - you have nice photo albums. The ugly of being a scrapbooker - you realize how behind you are so you just stop taking pictures! Problem solved! Well, sort of ....

:-/

Let me tell you about Joel. He is 17 years old and a senior in high school. He has grown to be a man of great integrity. He is extremely goal oriented and tackles his school work and chores without hesitation. You will never see Joel's bedroom in a mess. Never. Ever. Once his feet hit the floor in the morning he is in "game on" mode. Right now, he has an interest in pursuing a future in engineering, possibly mechanical. Joel was able to play football with a local private school for the last 5 years. We are thankful for the opportunity as it was very important for him to have a physical outlet for all his male energy! Joel enjoys Georgia Tech football, Atlanta Falcons football, Nascar racing and playing video games. Joel never attended any school other than the one at his home.

Marissa is 19 years old and is taking online college classes through College Plus. She desires a degree in Christian Counseling. She has a huge heart for people that are hurting, especially children in the foster care system. I have enjoyed watching her go from a timid young girl to a lady that knows what she wants. Marissa loves creative writing, current events, piano and the internet. She is full of spunk and will not back down from a good debate. She loves working with small children at church and tutors and babysits regularly as well. You will never see Marissa's room straightened. Never. Ever. Well maybe a few times. No matter what time she gets up, once her feet hit the floor, it takes about two hours for her to be in "game on" mode. But once she is ready...she is ready! Marissa attended preschool outside the home when she was 4. She did the rest of her school at home.

Even at 19 and 17, Marissa and Joel still have their moments of frustration, but I can honestly say that they are the best of friends. Their personalities are like salt and pepper but they complement one another so well. They truly enjoy spending time with each other for which I am thankful.

I really enjoy lots of things. Playing cards, gardening, dealing with my chickens, and exercising. I love things from the past - crocheting, knitting, fermenting, medicine making, soap making, pretty much anything using your hands. I enjoy a good cup of tea, but not from a tea bag. I love the loose herbs steeping in the water. (strain before drinking, of course) I prefer cloth napkins to paper. I have a thing for canning jars. I love being outdoors from spring till fall.

Patrick and I have been tossing around ideas about what I will do after I finish up with Joel. With Patrick's support, I will probably be doing some volunteer work, but I will need to find a way to support my volunteer efforts. Despite my wishes gas is not free! We are pondering ideas and I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Patrick enjoys football too. Georgia Tech and the Atlanta Falcons, specifically. I am thankful for him and the long hours that he puts in at his office. He has been a great help with schooling Marissa and Joel. He ended up taking over drivers ed for me when I just couldn't do it anymore. It is scary out there, you know. Those mailboxes are just too close to the road. He was a much calmer teacher than me. Patrick is excellent help when it comes to Joel's physics program. I scanned a problem for him yesterday and when he got out of his meeting, he called and discussed it with Joel. Problem solved. Patrick is also our first line of defense with math.  (Everybody needs a game plan with high school math and physics.) Patrick has a great laugh. When we are out and about somewhere and he is away from me, I always enjoying hearing him laugh from a far. 

Well, this is my family. As our reader/writer relationship grows, I will have more to share. I look forward to learning from the other authors of the blog as well. They are a fine group of ladies. 

Until next time.....

Lynne