Minnesota's Military and the Mighty Mississippi

For Memorial Day we thought it would be fitting to visit the historical Fort Snelling, weather permitting.  The Weather Channel was calling for rain.  We had thunderstorms a good part of the night and woke up to a downpour but by 11:00 the rain was letting up and it was turning into a nice day.  We fed the kids lunch, packed a quick picnic supper, coated ourselves with sunblock and loaded up in the van.

 

The Fort was built to protect the frontier and the fur trade.  Some of it was original but most reconstructed.  We got to see some of the archaeological process via video and a section not reconstructed for that purpose.

This is still an active military base and was used fully during WWII for training purposes.  The Fort stands at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers many of Minnesota's firsts were located at this site including the first church and first school.  The Round Tower, still standing, was built to be the last line of defense should the fort be taken.  It is the oldest building in Minnesota.

The flag was noticeable before we entered the Fort.  JD counted 24 stars.  We were able to see what practice looked like on the parade grounds and learn about early military tactics and weapons.  A good soldier could shoot three shots a minute and the company as a whole was more important than a single man.  They had to be quick and precise in their movements.

Erin and JJ marching on the parade grounds.

We also got to see a timeline of U.S. Military uniforms and saw a demonstration of the changes in their weapons from the musket to the guns used in Vietnam.



Inside one of the buildings the kids were able to make poppies.  JR declined but the other two gave it a try.

The Fort is set up to call a number and hear "History on the Spot".  We did not try it out this time but since we bought the Minnesota Historical Society Membership, we will be back to experience more in the future.  Part of the phone tour is available around the Round Tower.

A view of Fort Snelling from the top of the Round Tower. 
The far building is another of the original still standing.

 We ate our PB&J supper with a view of the Mississippi.  Okay, the kids chose to put their backs toward it but it was still a lovely area.  The river is high right now and I preferred my little wanderer to sit anyway.  She makes me nervous.  The smells of BBQ ed meat smelled wonderful as we ate our PB&J but since we didn't know exactly what the day would hold we wanted to be prepared with a meal that could be eaten about anywhere.

We are westerners now you know, living on the other side of the Mississippi.  We drove around to find a picnic spot but hope to know the area better in the future.  The river is not real wide in this area but it is beautiful.  I wonder when it would be appropriate to read Tom Sawer and Huck Finn to my biggest.  It's hard to look at the Mississippi and not think about those stories.  I've seen the Mississippi in St Louis and now in St Paul.

 BTW...the Fort had a store.  In 1820 the next nearest store was 700 miles away in St. Louis.  The lady inside said it took a day to go down the river and 8 days to come back up.  I'm thankful to live a few miles from a Wal-Mart and two minutes from Cub Foods.

Thank You to our Military men and women through the years who have fought the wilderness and fought the enemy so we can live a life of freedom and comfort in the USA.

Home School Days

When we first moved all of our stuff was in boxes and boxes were everywhere.  The children did a lot of coloring on the abundance of packing paper.  JD decided to make his class so they could all be with him here in Minnesota.

Our unit on Tall Tales and Legends ended with the boys each writing their own Tall Tale.  JD wants me to type it all out for him.  Maybe that will be a future post.  JR's was very simple.

Last week we had the opportunity to go back to Madison Academy and witness an egg drop.  The fire department came in and dropped the eggs in contraptions built by each class to keep them from breaking.  There were three winners and JD's class was one of them.  I thought they had the best design but I didn't get any pictures to share.

JD wanted to do a Science unit about space.  We watched some Magic School Bus and did activities to go along with those and then he read a book each day about a different planet, the sun, or the moon and wrote a very mini report about it.

At the end we talked about stars and constellations and read a book about comets, asteroids, and meteoroids.  The boys made their own comets and had them orbit the living room.

JR did his own space project, a moon and stars mobile.  We added the planets to the top and he tested JD by asking him what color each should be.

You may have guessed that we watch a lot of videos for school. Sometimes I feel bad about that but the truth is that the boys get a lot of good information without me looking all over to find it. Also the video holds their attention better than me just reading facts from google or a book. We have found some amazing videos. This week they watched one about Memorial Day/Veteran's Day. It even talked about the tomb of the unknown solder and the tradition of poppies for these holidays. I didn't know where that came from. We made a flag for Memorial Day. JJ even got in on that project.

I've enjoyed this time of homeschooling and will do it again should the need arise for our family.  I don't feel led to do it full time.  I enjoy teaching my children what I want without the stress of making sure I'm giving them a well rounded education.  I like to supplement what they get at school and will continue to do so but for now I'm ready for school to be out for summer.

What was that? It must have been the Holy Spirit.

Many times I have heard our Mentor Mom from MOPS say that when you get random thoughts telling you to do things it is a message from the Holy Spirit and you need to follow it.  Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  I'm trying to be more aware and follow that voice.  This morning I saw the outcome of what happens when I do.

The week before Easter I had a random thought that said, "You need to send money to Mrs. Schwerin".  I am in Minnesota now, she is in Michigan.  I know only a little of what is going on in her life at this moment.  Each time that thought came to mind, my thought was, "I'll hold on to that and see what comes of it".  I didn't know if I would follow it or not.

One afternoon the kids were watching a Veggie Tale video while I was doing my own thing.  In the back ground I hear Bob say the verse for the day:  James 4:17  So then, if you know the good you ought to do and don’t do it, you sin.

Immediately after hearing that the thought about Mrs. Schwerin came to mind with an amount.  I thought, "okay, I get it, I'm listening", but I still wasn't ready to sit down and write the check. 

After the holiday weekend I sat down to do bills.  We just moved and haven't closed our Michigan accounts yet.  I opened that check book and the amount that had come to my mind was basically what was in that account.  I decided I better wright the check.  I wrote a note explaining that I didn't know if she needed it or if someone else did but I was passing on kindness that had been given to me many times over so if she didn't need it to just pass it on.  Then I looked for her address but could not find it so I sent it to the school knowing she would get it eventually.

Last night I got a voicemail from Mrs.Schwerin.  She wanted to talk to me about my card and it's contents.  I didn't sleep well hoping I hadn't offended.  This morning I got up and knowing she would be getting ready for work or  on her way I called her back.  Here's the  story she told me.

She got the card and was honored but did not feel she needed it.  But....

Last week she was home with her sick daughter.  She decided to look up a PBS documentary she had heard about to teach her daughter about some of the evil in the world.  The documentary was about the sex trade in Nepal.  They were disgusted as most of us are when seeing such things but like most of us they went about their lives and didn't think much more about it.  In the process of trying to figure out where my check was supposed to go a face book status popped up on the screen.  One of her face book friends is going to Nepal to work with people trapped in the  sex industry.  The young lady needs $1900 by the end of this week! Mrs. Schwerin just got my check yesterday! 

The whole time she was telling me the story of the documentary I was thinking, "no, no, it just can't be for some organization that is helping these girls.  I could have done that.  It has to be a personal connection that I don't know about."  When she came to the part about the face book status I got chills.

I would have no way of having a connection with this young lady.  Better Way Imports has brought the ministry helping those in sex slavery to my attention and I want to help but don't always feel I can or know how.  I'm so glad that at least once I listened to the Holy Spirit whispering in my ear.  The whole story and how it came about gives me goosebumps and tears.  Isn't the Holy Spirit amazing!?!

Check out this link to help women and children who have been rescued from the sex slavery.  http://www.betterwayimports.com/

A Pinkalicious Day with my Girl

Often as I am homeschooling the boys, JJ and time with her are pushed to the side.  I know this is a short term problem for our family but it is a problem.  She does some things with us but often I can't work with three at once.  Two is pushing it.  Today we had a girl day.  Just me, JJ, Pinkalicious, and two of our new friends.  I hope it makes up for some of the times I have been too busy.

Setting the stage for the Sunday.  On Saturday we made pink cupcakes.

Pinkerific frosting!

Sooo pinkalicious!

Our Pink cupcakes.  JJ really hoped she'd turn pink. 
We made pink body paint and she went to bed with a pink belly.

Can I have another?  Please? Please? Please?
No More Cupcakes!

Ready to go pink face and all.

Me and my best girl.

JJ and her new friend MS at the theater.

 No photos were allowed during the musical.  It was cute, maybe a little cheesy but what do you expect?  The girls really liked it.  As promised they got ice cream afterwards.

What could end a girls day out better than chocolate...
chocolate ice cream cones with sprinkles that is.