Homeschool Conference

Well, it's been almost a week since we returned from our annual trek to the homeschool conference and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. We were so tuckered out when we got home and then we had to hit the ground running on Monday with a busier-than-usual week.

I've decided that getting our family ready to go on a multiple day trip is something akin to packing an aircraft carrier for a six month deployment or preparing for a Lewis & Clark-type expedition. The analogy breaks down when I realize that if in fact I do forget to pack something, I'll be near enough to civilization that I'll be able to purchase a replacement at a nearby store. However, the homeschool conference weekend is so jam-packed, there's really no time for even a quick dash into a store for a forgotten item--so maybe the analogy doesn't break down after all.

Anyway, we did indeed get packed for the trip. We left town last Thursday morning. We were able to meet my cousin and his family for dinner that evening. I only get to see them a couple of times a year, so it was really nice to have a little time to catch up. We got back to the hotel in time to get everyone tucked into bed at a decent hour as the conference started bright and early Friday morning.

Matt's parents joined us for the conference this year, so they finally got to experience first hand what we've been telling them about for the last eight years. Mom and Dad were also a tremendous help with our littles, ensuring that they got good naps in the afternoons back at the hotel so that the rest of us didn't have to miss large portions of the conference. Dad also took charge of our pizza dinner buffet that we put together for Friday night's dinner. Approximately forty five folks that came to the conference from our area attended the dinner. With only a little over an hour to eat that night between conference events, we needed to feed a lot of people fast, so Dad's help was immeasurable.

Our two oldest girls sang in the choral with approximately one hundred fifty other kids on Saturday night. It was really neat to the see the fruit of all of the voice lessons the girls have been taking. The songs the choir director chose for the choral to sing were very God glorifying. It was a lovely evening.
That night we were also blessed to be able to attend the after-conference banquet. This would not have been possible without the help of Matt's parents, who took our littles out to dinner and then back to the hotel while we stayed at the church for the dinner. Last year, we went to the banquet with littles in tow. Suffice it to say, it was not a very enjoyable evening. This year, however, was different. Other than the fact the Matt was absent for part of the evening (he and our friend Jon had to help some other friends stranded on the road home with car troubles) it was very nice. The food was excellent, the speaker was very good, the fellowship was edifying and my girls were over the moon by the time we left for the evening.

Grace and Elizabeth had the privilege of meeting and conversing with the Botkin sisters after dinner. The Botkin girls were very gracious to spend time with Grace and Elizabeth, answering their questions, posing for a picture and signing their books.

Sunday, we were able to make a detour to the zoo on our way home. Last year, we didn't make it to the zoo, much to the severe disappointment of Joel. This year, we arrived just in time to find one of the few available parking spaces and all the kids were delighted. Of course Joel loved seeing all the animals, but I was most tickled with Jude's responses to God's creatures.

When we arrived at the penguin tank, Daddy lifted Jude up to get a better view and Jude said, "Helllloooo penguin!" As Jude observed the Siamang monkey, the monkey decided to jump right at him. Had there not been a sheet of glass between the two, that monkey would have taken Jude down. Jude was pretty rattled, but soon recovered when the crowd of people who witnessed the event started laughing. When we got to the lion habitat, Jude hopped out of the stroller, uttered something like this, "*@#$% (baby gibberish), Yion!" He then performed his best karate chop, hopped back in the stroller and said, "Push, Mom!" I'm sure that lion was very intimidated.
We happened to be at the zoo when they were offering free rides on their beautiful carousel. Joel finally got to be a cowboy, if only for a few minutes. After the kids dismounted their horsies, I said to Matt, "I don't how much you paid to get into this place, but it was worth every penny for me to see that ear-to-ear smile on Joel's face."
As always, this year's homeschool conference was excellent--a time of encouragement to keep persevering in this grand homeschooling adventure and doing it all for the glory of God.