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The music world knows the importance of teachers. Whenever you read a musician's bio, it always mentions the teacher with whom the student studied. For instance, the famous classical guitarist, Christopher Parkening, in his Guitar Method, Vol. 1 book, tells the story of doing a master class with renowned Maestro Andres' Segovia. Parkening says, "The time I spent learning from him was one of the greatest experiences of my life."
I remembered that my neighbor up the street had a son in ice hockey, and had mentioned that she would like to get rid of some of his old skates. I knocked on her door and told her my request. She rummaged through the hall closet and pulled out a pair of well-worn skates that would likely fit an eight-year-old. Thanking her, I hurried home, but didn't tell the twins about the skates. That afternoon, I found another pair on sale for a great price..jpg)
...Inside, along with other items, was a magnificent (NASA) picture taken of the earth as the astronauts came from behind the Moon during the Apollo 8 mission of 1968. It's not the picture above, but is similar. We hung it in the homeschool room and I still love to look at it. .jpeg)
When the twins were little, I was always looking for ways they could serve people in our suburban neighborhood (depending on the season), whether it was picking up twigs, raking leaves or shoveling snow. Each spring the twins helped our next-door neighbor, Melissa, when she was out working on her garden. Whether it was to water, weed, or collect green beans. I talk about this, about being faithful teachers, and how God cultivates fruit in our children's lives in 
What I’ve come to realize, even without being a biblical scholar is that the more I learn about God, the more enthralled I am with Him. The more I meditate on Christ’s wondrous love for me, pouring out His great mercy on me, the more I am astounded by the depth and height of it. Even in the midst of deep sadness and great hardship (both of which were recurring themes in my life the last several years), I find that the wellspring of God’s kindness and the riches of His grace are sweeter to me than a life of ease and pleasure without them.
Although my role has changed in that I'm not teaching, facilitating and coordinating the homeschool study program that was such a huge part of my life, I'm definitely looking forward to encouraging you in the new year. Without you, there would be absolutely no purpose in the blog. Whether it's an occasional read, or you check out the blog frequently --- thank you! Whether you're new to homeschooling or are an experienced veteran, I would like to continue to provide you with a little bit of inspiration. 
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Having finished homeschooling my twins, all I can say is that teaching was one of the greatest ventures of my life. It was exciting and fun and adventurous at times. Like the time I said, "Guys, drop everything. We're going to the Frederick Airport." I had just read in the paper that some very impressive vintage airplanes were due to land and would only be at the airport for a short time that Friday afternoon. I abandoned the science lesson! We happened to be studying the principles of flight, so the excursion made total sense. The twins flipped their pencils in the air... "Alright -- we're there!" was the response..jpg)
How about turning your family room or dining room into a nice 'restaurant' for the night? A few nights ago, we moved our round maple table into the family room next to the hearth and had a simple meal by the fire. It was 30 degrees outside with snow on the ground from the night before, so it made the fireplace especially inviting. We turned the lights down low so that only the lights of the Christmas tree and fire were shining. We talked and laughed and ate on red plates as we enjoyed the warm ambiance...
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