Homeschooling in Montana

Today, I’m sharing about Homeschooling in Montana. Home education is a beautiful freedom we have here in America. While the laws for every state are different, any family can choose to homeschool whether it is for religious reasons or just giving children a more well balanced, individualized education. The range in what is required for each state is vast; some have very strict regulations while others are more relaxed and even requirement free. It’s been three years since moving and living in a state that is more relaxed than what was required in the past. This new found freedom for me was/is hard to get used to. At first, I felt like a rebel (I still do) for not giving achievement tests every three years and I still write my year-end progress report just so I can remember any changes in my son’s learning and any curriculum failures.

Pompey's Pillar and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

My love of American history is huge and living in Montana helps feed the love I have for this great nation’s history. While there are not as many ‘historical’ places like back home and up the eastern seaboard, Montana is home to many historical events that happened during the 1800’s. Pompey’s Pillar is just one of those places because it has the only physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition – William Clark’s signature.

Weekend Wanderings {The Forgotten Homes}

It’s been a while since my last Weekend Wanderings post because of rainy afternoons and my husband being out of town most of May with his job. But I’m glad to share what we’ve come across while driving around and enjoying our time together. This week, the Weekend Wanderings {THE FORGOTTEN HOMES} edition.

Custer National Cemetery and Little Bighorn

On Monday, we visited the Custer National Cemetery at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. We walked through the cemetery during our previous visits to the park, but Monday was special with it being Memorial Day. There were many veterans along with family members who have loved ones buried there. We even watched several families place small wreaths beside headstones of their ancestors who were scouts for the Calvary during the Indian Wars.

7 Things I Miss About Georgia

I'm a Georgia girl and that is all there is to it, I'll always have a  home in the South. While there are things about the south I don’t miss (pollen and the smothering humidity), there are many that I do. Today, I'm sharing with you 7 Things I Miss about Georgia.

Weekend Wanderings {The Back Road}

This weekend my husband and I enjoyed a nice long, bumpy ride. We went to check out the new Tractor Supply store in the area.  We got excited seeing the prices on a couple of things we've been saving for. They are about $40 cheaper than the local feed store and we are excited because we'll be saving money.

While many around here won't agree about the need of competition among stores to help keep prices low, we’re excited about a new chain store in the area.

Weekend Wanderings in Southeastern Montana

My husband and I miss our weekly dates to our favorite place to enjoy a milkshake back home. We’ve learned to get creative. Since we live in such a HUGE sprawling area with scenery that is just amazing, we enjoy our Weekend Wanderings after we stop for our favorite soft drink and a bag of popcorn and ramble up and down the open road just the two of us every weekend for a couple of hours.

Glacier County Honey - A Tour

Where we live, we have honey companies that drop off their bees in many of the fields around the county. Seeing the stacks of supers has made me want to see the harvesting process; I finally got my wish this past weekend. We visited the Glacier County Honey Company for their “Fill Your Own Bucket Day”. We bought 20 pounds of honey and sent some back home with my parents for them and for my brothers and sister.

I'm not a HUGE fan of bees! I guess after being stung over fifty times while cutting grass when I was young helped with that. But I do know without busy little honeybees there would be NO honey and we eat A LOT of honey as a family. My husband started me on it and after reading up on the medicinal usage of honey, I try to incorporate more of it in our diet. In fact, I try to eat a tablespoon of honey every day. I know a tablespoon sounds like a lot, but I normally spread three teaspoons throughout the day.

 

How Low Will the Temperatures Go?

We are in the middle of a FRIGID weather system. Our temperatures have been below zero for a several days now and hopefully will be rise above on Sunday. So far, the lowest our temperature dipped was -25. When this system moved in we received 10 inches of snow; YAY! I love snow and winter time, but I am not Mrs. Claus and really don't love the North Pole temperatures.

Yesterday, Jamie and I did a little experimenting with a pot of boiling water... My husband giggle at my broadcast. He told me I should become a news reporter. ~ yeah, right!

Curious why boiling water freezes? You can find the answer HERE.  When we started back into the house and opened the door... a wall of smoke came billowing out. The warm temperatures met with the colder temps and *poof* smoke.

Someone asked me if our furnace runs constantly with these temperatures. I'm sure a lot of  houses around here do, but we don't allow it to run constantly. With the price of propane almost $2.00 a gallon and having to buy a minimum of 200 gallons, we use several small space heaters to keep the furnace from burning through a tank. At night, when the smaller heaters are turned off for bedtime, the furnace will turn on and run some during the night. Of course, we all sleep better when the house is cooler and our skin and sinuses are thankful for not using the propane so much

For now, we are snuggling under blankets 

and sipping hot cocoa and enjoying our winter weather.

Having FAITH One Year Later

One year ago today, we drove into southeastern Montana. If you have not read about our move, you can read it HERE. We came on FAITH. No place to live and technically no job until an employment drug test was taken; BIG OL' STEP OF FAITH, I tell ya. But, the Lord provided in his time which was perfect timing for us even though we did not completely understand when he was going to work things out.

Glacier National Park Part 1

For our anniversary, my husband took our family to Glacier National Park in western Montana. When we lived in the Bitterroot Valley, we wanted to visit, but never seemed to have the time. It's kind of funny when I think back to how we thought three hours was too much for travel time to visit. We drove almost 10 hours from the other side of the state for this trip. Brace yourself, because this post is picture heavy. But when you see the scenery, you'll understand why I had to limit myself in sharing pictures.

I'll never forget the sensation that ran through my body at the first sight of glaciers when rounding the curve in the road. It was feeling of speechless awe.

It's Finally Spring

Within the past two weeks, spring finally sprung in this area. The temperatures are perfect for open windows and doors. When I say doors, I mean opening the main door and allowing the sun to come in through the glass door. With frigid temperatures during the winter and early spring it is impossible to be able to open the door for anything other than going in and out.

A Spring Weekend in Montana

For the past two weeks, it has been warm and beautiful around here. So nice, most of the days we enjoyed having the windows open along with the front and back doors. Yep, it was that warm! As many would say good things must come to an end and early this morning it began to snow. As of right now, we have about 4 inches of snow with a couple of knee deep drifts. :)

Since it was really nice on Saturday and we needed water, we went to Medicine Rocks State Park to walk.  We went the back roads and since Jamie and I have never been that way, we were amazed at the most beautiful sites we have seen so far for this area.

Water: Something We Take for Granted

We take so much for granted! Water is one of top things most people do not think about.

A Little About Church

This post has been playing through my mind for several weeks and I  really didn't know how to word it. I began writing this by just writing my thoughts down and hopefully I would be able to piece them together and make sense out of it all.

A Little Bird Watching

These are not the best photos. I'm not willing to brave -10 degree weather to keep from shooting through a window. Enjoy!

A Little More About Our Family

For many, the truth hurts. When the truth is exposed, these same people will begin to attack and do anything in their power to hurt the one exposing the truth. Today, I'm sharing how our family was attacked for speaking the truth and nothing more.

Makoshika State Park

Montana’s Makoshika State Park is home to badlands. A look at this wonderful state park.

Did You Miss Me?

I am so happy our internet was hooked up yesterday evening. I've been thinking about all the thoughts that have been rolling around that I wanted to write about and now that the internet is on, the thoughts have stopped rolling. Yep, I should have been taking notes on everything, but you know how it goes.

Just a Peak

Just a peek at life around here.