First foster placement

I forgot how small newborns are. We got our first placement this week~ a 2 day old little girl. Yes, 2 days old! Her mom tested + for meth, so she was placed directly from the hospital. She is absolutely beautiful.

Dr. Phil's Personality Test...

Click here to take Dr. Phil's Personality Test- this is what I got:

"Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful and
practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not
a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's
extremely loyal to friends you do make,
and who expects the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know
you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your
friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that
trust is ever broken."

Take time to watch...

Last night I was feeling kind of sorry for myself when I was standing in the rain, sloshing through puddles during Tyler's soccer practice. Then I read this post on my friend Robin's blog, and I suddenly was quite happy to be in rainy Oregon!!

courtesy of the Oregonian...

Teenage twin brothers from Gresham tell how they built a grass-roots Internet movement to support Mike Huckabee's surprising campaign

Sunday, March 09, 2008

By: ALEX and BRETT HARRIS

As first-time voters and teenage members of the Web-savvy Generation Y, we've been right in the middle of one of the clearest themes in the 2008 presidential primaries: More than Howard Dean in 2004, the Internet really does change everything.

From Ron Paul's impressive online fundraising and Barack Obama's slick social networks to Hillary Clinton's online "conversations" and the quirky CNN/YouTube debates, the Internet has played a bigger role in selecting our next president than ever before.

But none of these provide the best example of how the Internet is changing the political landscape. No, the true trail blazers of Election 2008 were the members of HucksArmy.com, an independent, national, grass-roots campaign for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the surprise candidate of the primary season.

More organized grass roots than grass-roots organization, Huck's Army built itself from the ground up starting last October, and by early 2008 boasted national campaign managers, regional coordinators and state coordinators in 49 states -- with hundreds of local chapters representing more than 20,000 active volunteers connected online.

For a candidate who started with little name recognition and who always operated with less staff and resources than his rivals, the impact of this new breed of grass roots was truly remarkable. It propelled Huckabee from his position as a political asterisk to eight primary wins, including a stunning upset in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses and a surprising five-state haul on Super Tuesday. Four days later, he shocked the world again, trouncing McCain in Kansas by a 3-to-1 margin, winning the Louisiana primary and placing a close second in Washington state.

When all was said and done, the down-to-Earth governor outlasted party "savior" Fred Thompson, the once-presumed nominee Rudy Giuliani and millionaire Mitt Romney -- winning hundreds of delegates and the votes of millions of Americans. Ask him, and Huckabee will tell you that Huck's Army deserves a lot of the credit.

"Huck's Army is the secret weapon of our campaign," he told us at a fundraiser at Chuck Norris' ranch in January. "They've supplied the force and energy that nobody from the national media has fully comprehended and understood."

Inspired by an "authentic conservative"

So, who are these game-changing soldiers to whom the Internet gave a voice? We may as well start with ourselves: two home-schooled, evangelical 19-year-old twin brothers from Gresham, and co-founders of HucksArmy.com. Our story is a testament to the power of ordinary citizens, and especially young people, in this new political age.

Though politically active throughout high school, we paid little attention to what we felt was a disappointing slate of GOP candidates. That is, until we began watching clips of Huckabee online and read through the issues section on his Web site.

Here was an authentic conservative who knew how to communicate, lead and govern. Here was a conservative who wasn't "mad at anyone about it," who could trade quips with the best on late night television, and who had innovative ideas for bringing a polarized nation together to address real problems: things like education, health care, our tax system, energy independence and environmental stewardship.

Our excitement led to our sending an e-mail about Huckabee to several hundred friends, encouraging them to check out his Web site and a video we had quickly pulled together of clips from his performances in the presidential debates.

Unknown to us, our e-mail found its way to martial artist and actor Norris. He soon became Huckabee's most visible backer, recording a campaign ad that was an instant YouTube sensation, appearing at campaign stops and in television interviews, and crediting "two teenage brothers from Oregon" for getting him on board.

Around that same time, convinced that the grass-roots enthusiasm we saw building around our candidate needed a place to gather, we launched HucksArmy.com. As our ranks grew and Huckabee experienced a national surge in support, these two teenage brothers from Oregon began to receive national media attention. Suddenly the major networks, radio stations, and newspapers from The New York Times to The Oregonian were curious about what two teenagers from the Portland suburbs had helped create. We're still amazed ourselves. Even four years ago it wouldn't have been possible.

Huck's Army used Meetup.com to organize its local efforts, but that's where the similarities to past election cycles' Internet grass roots came to an end. Along with our national grass-roots campaign managers -- 23-year-old David Schmidt of Fresno, Calif., and 28-year-old Jimmy Morris of Joplin, Miss. -- we built a near-complete national campaign infrastructure.

Besides our regional, state and local coordinators, we had liaisons to each of the popular social-networking sites, had supporters in charge of TiVoing and uploading all Huckabee television appearances to YouTube within hours, and turned out rapid-response news releases from our public affairs team, led by veteran journalist Lucas Roebuck.

Our days were largely spent on the phone, sending e-mails and discussing strategy on the HucksArmy.com discussion forum. During the stretch run, we had nightly conference calls with Jimmy Schmidt and Morris to share ideas that had made their way up from local groups that day and then broadcast them nationally. Sarah Lai Stirland of Wired News described the Web site as "a nerve center through which resources and ideas can flow almost instantaneously."

Grass-roots movement

Needless to say, Huck's Army was so much more than just us. It was tens of thousands of ordinary Americans inspired to go all out for a candidate, many for the first time in their lives.

It was guys like Michigan truck driver Randy Bishop, who gave his first political speech to a room full of voters and elected officials and won the room over for Huckabee.

It was young home school moms like Andrea Aaron, raising money online to throw a pizza party for volunteers in Iowa, flying a HucksArmy.com banner over the USC-Clemson football game in South Carolina, and making 2 a.m. connections to exchange campaign materials with fellow Huck's Army members.

It was twentysomethings like Jack Somers, Chris Schandevel and Shawn Troxel, who crisscrossed states from Texas to Virginia to deliver yard signs and campaign materials for upcoming states in the primary calendar.

It was voters in their 40s and 50s who were inspired to hope again after years of disillusionment with politics. It was lifelong Democrats tired of partisanship and looking for leadership. It was preteens and high school students too young to vote, but who made hundreds of phone calls for a candidate they knew was honest and real.

In recent days we've been asked repeatedly what all this means. With Huckabee leaving the race after McCain clinched the nomination on Tuesday, was it worth it? Will Huck's Army be anything more than a curious footnote in the virtual pages of Wikipedia?

We believe the answer is yes, and we're determined that it will be. The Internet may have made it possible, but Huck's Army was more than just the Internet. Huckabee inspired a movement. His message and ideas captured hearts and minds alike. And we're still here.

Members of Huck's Army can articulate issues, principles and a positive conservatism. We're a new generation of conservatives who recognize that a consistent conservative philosophy can speak to demographics and issues where Republicans traditionally have failed.

Huckabee was opposed by the Republican establishment and ultimately fell short, but his ability to connect with the people cannot be denied. It reminds us of another candidate who failed in his first presidential bid -- 12 years before we were even born -- but who spent the next four years building a coalition that led to victory in 1980 and 1984: Ronald Reagan.

Huck's Army may well be the start of a similar coalition for the next Great Communicator. Huckabee's supporters are not disillusioned; we're resolved. We will work to make the Republican Party strong because we work to make it right. Some of our members will one day hold office, but all of us will stay engaged.

Call us young idealists, but it was worth it -- and it's not over.

another article on "socialization"

An interesting article on socialization~

Homeschooling and the Myth of Socialization

By Manfred B. Zysk

One of the silliest and most annoying comments made to homeschooling parents is, "Aren't you concerned about how your child will be able to socialize with others?". What is being implied here is that the homeschooled child is some kind of introverted misfit who cannot relate to other people, children, and the outside world. In reality, most of the homeschooled children that I have known and met are not only outgoing, but polite and respectful, too. This is a sharp contrast to the public school children that I have known, who can't relate to adults and whose behavior is rude and inconsiderate. Realistically, there are some exceptions on both sides.

Isn't it interesting that amid all of the public school shootings over the past few years, the only comment that opponents of homeschooling can come up with is the red herring of "socialization"? You may have noticed, there haven't been shootings at private schools, or shootings inside of the homes of homeschooled children.

Opponents of homeschooling can't complain about average test scores, since homeschooled children consistently outscore public school children, so they instead make a problem that doesn't exist.

Who is responsible for creating this "socialization" problem? This myth has been perpetrated by sociologists, psychologists, public school administrators, the NEA (and local teacher's unions), etc., whenever they comment on homeschooling to the news media. These are the same people who give Ritalin (a very strong narcotic) and other drugs to schoolchildren, in place of discipline.

A family member asked my wife, "Aren't you concerned about his (our son's) socialization with other kids?". My wife gave this response: "Go to your local middle school, junior high, or high school, walk down the hallways, and tell me which behavior you see that you think our son should emulate." Good answer.

In order for children to become assimilated into society properly, it is important to have a variety of experiences and be exposed to differing opinions and views. This enables them to think for themselves and form their own opinions. This is exactly what public education does not want; public education is for the lowest common denominator and influencing all of the students to share the same views ("group-think") and thought-control through various means, including peer-pressure.

Homeschooling allows parents the freedom to associate with other interested parties, visit local businesses, museums, libraries, etc. as part of school, and to interact with people of all ages in the community. For example, my son goes on field trips with other homeschooling families in our community. He recently was able to visit an audiologist, a McDonald's restaurant (to see how they run their operation), and several other similar activities. He gets to meet and talk to people of different ages doing interesting (and sometimes not so interesting) occupations. He spends a lot of his free time with kids older and younger than himself, and adults from twenty to over ninety years old.

Meanwhile, in public school, children are segregated by age, and have very little interaction with other adults, except their teacher(s). This environment only promotes alienation from different age groups, especially adults. This is beginning to look like the real socialization problem.

My wife and I like to bring our son with us when we are visiting with friends and other adults. How else will he learn to be an adult, if he never has contact with adults? He knows what kind of behavior we expect from him, and the consequences of his actions. He is often complimented on his good manners by friends and adults.

In conclusion, homeschooling parents choose to homeschool for a variety of reasons, but I have never heard any homeschooling parent say that the reason they want to homeschool is to isolate their child from all of society. But, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea for homeschooled children to stay away from public school administrators, the NEA members, sociologists, and others who cannot properly "socialize" with children.

Go to your local public school, walk down the hallways and see what behaviors you would want your child to emulate.

c Manfred B. Zysk,
December 16, 1999

In the Oregonian today...

Front and center of our paper today, a positive and interesting article about homeschooling!
Click here to read today's article.

Hardly blogging, but trying to once in awhile!

Life gets so busy, particulary Oct-April, when we do the bulk of our curriculum and "school" stuff. The older two have been taking fantastic science classes downtown at OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) which gives me an hour with our youngest at the museum. This month an exhibit from China was here (dinos!) and Jacob and I had a great time checking out the fossils and doing a few activities. The older two have had a great time in their class dissecting squid, making acid rain (with scientist goggles on), studying plants and learning about salmon in the Pacific NW in their classes so far. I love that I can outsource science (not one of my strengths) and I can have special time with Jacob during that time. J discovers a fossil!

Kind of scary, actually!

Sprouting seeds at home- kind of fun in the winter when there's nothing green.

Making "spoon bread" (a food that pioneers ate) when we spent 2 weeks studying the Oregon Trail in January.

A Homeschool Family....

Click HERE to watch a short video called "The Homeschool Family" (words below)~ I saw this at "The Passionate Housewife", another fun homeschooling blog! Thanks, Sherry!


(To the tune of "The Addams Family")

Some people say we're goofy
Mysterious and spooky
Our neighbors think we're kooky
A homeschool family!

We drive a white conversion
We learn about the Persians
Our six year-old's a surgeon
A homeschool family!

We learn about creation
And classic education
We're sponsoring a Haitian
A homeschool family!

(deep Frankenstein-

type voice): Meek....unique....geek

The parents are the tutors
We build our own computers
We never go to Hooters
A homeschool family!

Have recess in the foyer
and then we read Tom Sawyer
Our nine year-old's a lawyer
A homeschool family!

We never leave our dwelling
Our children are excelling
They're champions at spelling
A homeschool fam--i--ly!

Enjoy this season!