A Fun Way to Teach Flag Etiquette

My son, Rob, loves Cub Scouts. One of his Wolf achievements is to learn about the U.S. and State flag and proper flag etiquette. At home, we talked about the Pledge of Allegiance, what it means, and why it's important. When we got to the State Flag section, I thought I'd need to do some research, but Rob already knew a lot about it. He became my teacher as he told me what the symbols meant and how it's displayed. Of course, he knew it all because his awesome music teacher at school, Mr. Woodward, goes all out for Kansas Day and really gets the kids excited to learn about their state's heritage.

Rob has learned so much from his music teacher, he asked me if Mr. Woodward could teach him to fold and raise the flag, too. Mr. Woodward is the awesome kind of teacher who was willing to come to school early today to help my son. Rob was super excited to work with one of his favorite teachers and get to raise the flag for school.

Mr. Woodward taught Rob that the flag is lowered slowly while everyone else either salutes or puts their hands over their heart. Rob did a great job slowly lowering the flag. Then Mr. Woodward assisted him by unhooking first the state flag and handing it off to another student who helped. He then unhooked the U.S. Flag while Rob continued to hold the ropes, attentively listening as Mr. Woodward talked about respecting the flag, handling it carefully and not letting it touch the ground.







Next, Mr. Woodward taught Rob how to fold the flag. Together they folded the flag together twice. Then Mr. Woodward started from the red striped side and began the triangle fold. He talked with Rob about why the flag is folded in a triangle (how it looks like the hats worn during the American Revolution and shows no red). He taught Rob how to fold and tuck the end - Rob was excited to do that part!









Finally, Mr. Woodward taught Rob about unfolding the flag, how to hook it so it's right side up (because upside down is an international signal of distress!), and that when you raise the flag, you raise it briskly (the opposite of when it's lowered).  Then they did exactly that together. With a hand over my heart, I watched while my son briskly raised the U.S Flag & Kansas State Flag for his school. What a touching moment!








Mr. Woodward finished up with congratulations to Rob, signed off on some of Rob's Wolf flag requirements and I got a picture of the two together.



Today, I'm grateful for an incredible teacher who truly loves his students, an awesome son, and the opportunity to teach my children about the great country we live in. What are you thankful for?

Book Review: Lady Outlaw by Stacy Henrie

Lady Outlaw by Stacy Henrie
 No one would ever imagine a fresh-faced young woman could be robbing stage bandits of their ill-gotten fortunes. But Jennie Jones is desperate to save her family's ranch from foreclosure. And the risks seem worth it, until her upright new ranch hand offers a glimpse of how much is really at stake.
Former bounty hunter Caleb Johnson is ready for a new, clean start. With a woman like Jennie, he could build a future there in Utah territory. But only if his gentle faith can guide her in a choice between the land she's fought so hard to save and a future by his side.
 
 
 
 
My Review
 Lady Outlaw is a wonderful Love Inspired Historical novel. I enjoyed the old Midwest era and especially loved such a spunky main character! It was a fun twist that she's the one robbing stage bandits after they robbed stages. I could just imagine the surprise of a woman outsmarting the guys, just as if I were watching it on TV. Loved it! Of course, after meeting the handsome Caleb, Jennie starts to mend her ways. It was so nice to read a novel that focused on a friendship developing between the two love birds and a budding attraction that didn't push the bedroom boundaries.
If you enjoy romances that actually focus on the romance, rather than the steamy stuff, then you would love Lady Outlaw!


 
About the Author
Stacy Henrie has always had an avid appetite for history, fiction and chocolate. While she had a goal to write and publish a book one day, she turned her attentions first to graduating with a bachelor's degree in public relations. Not long after, she switched from writing press releases and newsletters to writing inspirational historical romances as a stay-at-home mom. Stacy loves reading, interior decorating, romantic movies, and most of all, laughing with her husband and three kids. She appreciates the chance to live out history through her characters, while enjoying all the modern conveniences of life in the 21st century.

 

Join Me for the Faithful, Fit & Fabulous 8 Week Challenge!

I am so excited! Connie Sokol is getting ready to start her next 8 week challenge that follows her Faithful, Fit & Fabulous book. I reviewed the book when it was released and was so inspired by it. I missed the last 8 week challenge and have just been waiting for another one to be announced. The info is below - and check out the awesome incentive for my blog followers!

Turn over a new leaf this fall by joining Connie Sokol's bi-yearly "Take the 8-week Challenge"! Get organized, fit and fabulous, a personal life vision and more. The first 15 people to register from this blog site will be entered to win a FREE 30-minute CoachCast in Week 1 of the Challenge!



Through the program, receive weekly online support through our podcasts, video segments, motivational posts, and surprise gifts for dedicated doers. Based on my Faithful, Fit & Fabulous book, each week you will set and achieve one goal, accomplishing a total of 8 goals that focus on 8 areas of your life.

This program works! Women have lost weight, organized their homes, strengthened relationships, created more joy in daily life and more. Here are two comments from participants:  

"Thank you so much for giving me the needed push to do something I've wanted to do for months & never completed. I got 10s on my goal reviews...that has never happened for me with goal setting. THANK YOU!" B.Bird. 

"As I've created my life vision, I've learned about who I am and what I want to do in my life. I've gained a new sense of happiness. My husband and girls have noticed the change in my attitude." C.Adams

Register today and begin making the life changes you desire by clicking here.

Who wants to join me and take this 8 week challenge?

Family Fun Night

For our weekly family night, we talked about family fun and why it's important.

Together we went through our family photo albums. We talked about playing outside together, going on vacation, silly jokes we tell each other, attending events together, etc. It was fun to look back and retell stories about the kids when they were younger. Then we talked about why all those moments were important. Here's what the kids came up with:

  • Having fun together as a family helps us to be good friends.
  • Having fun together helps us to later be able to talk to each other about problems we might have.
  • The fun moments are important so we can share the memories later with other family members, friends, future generations, and to have happy memories of family or friends who pass away.
  • Fun family activities help us love each other more.

After the lesson portion of our family night, we had a family carnival. Each family member created a game to share. I love how creative the kids are! Here are some fun pictures from the evening:

Dad set up the Angry Birds game he built.




 Rob created a spinner game. 
You earned tickets depending on if you landed on an even or odd number.


MJ put together a fairy fashion design contest.
Here are the four judges:


And the contestants:



Our friends Barbie and Sarah took 1st and 2nd place!


Anna created a matching game. She even drew all the cards - with kitty cats & puppies. So cute!

Then Mom set up a bowling game. 
Afterwards, the kids all pretended the pins were light sabers (of course!). 


PRIZES!!!
There were prizes worth 1 or 2 tickets, so everyone had to spend their tickets wisely. 


No carnival is complete without cotton candy. YUM!


What family fun activities do you enjoy?

From Distaster to Triumph - Preparation for Kindergarten

Anna Banana has been so excited for the 1st day of Kindergarten. As each of her older siblings decorated lockers, walked through school schedules and received new hair cuts, she just kept counting down. Mom trimmed her bangs, took her to buy a folder for her back pack, and even got her some new outfits.

But disaster struck the day before school started.

Our conversation about the disaster went something like this:

Mom (gasping for breath): Anna, what happened to your hair?

Anna: Nothing. It's just like it was this morning.

Mom: No, Anna. Your hair was down to your shoulders this morning and you had bangs. Did you cut it?

Anna: No, it fell out when I was jumping on the trampoline.

Mom: Honey, you're still in your pajamas and haven't been on the tramp yet today.

Anna: The magical scissors decided to make me look beautiful.

And the conversation continued. Until Mom took a picture of her to show her what her hair looked like. Oops. Thank goodness JC Penney Salons were running a free hair cuts promo. They were very kind and squeezed us in that evening.



Daddy thinks Anna Banana now looks like Peter Pan. When she got up this morning, she looked like a little rascal with her hair sticking up all over the place! But with some help of a water bottle, cute headband, and pretty flowers, Anna was a little sweetheart ready for her first day of Kindergarten.





Doesn't she look devious? All I can say is good luck Mrs. Deets!

Here are a few pictures from school drop off.




Happy first day of Kindergarten, Anna!