Who are You?

A Valentine Video from Tim Hawkins

Our Valentine's Day Table

To make these cookie bouquets: I made our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and stuck a popsicle stick in each cookie before baking. When they were completely cooled I used decorating gel to make hearts on them, then I filled parfait glasses with beads and stuck the cookies in each one. I love it when things work out!

We presented the boys with throwing knives and a tomahawk this evening, along with Michael Pearl's instructional video and a tripod Tracey made to hold a log slice. They're out in the dark throwing as I type. I stayed out as long as is fit for a Mom. Actually, I would love to throw too, but with only two knives and one tomahawk, I figured I'd wait my turn 'til later. I love having boys.

Parental Rights

I don't normally get too political, but that may change with this new president. I am deeply concerned about this nomination, and ask you--even if you've never called a Senator before--to take just a moment to do so now. The link will take you to the HSLDA site where you can put in your zip code and find your senator's local number. It will literally take less than 5 minutes of your time, and the future of parental rights is on the line. Here is the information copied from HSLDA:

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

David Ogden has been nominated by President Barrack Obama to the
position of deputy attorney general of the United States, the second
highest position in the Justice Department. His hearings are scheduled
for today, February 5, 2009.


*Contact your senators now >>*
<http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6079>

*Note:* It would be best to call the local offices of your senators in
your state, as phone lines on Capitol Hill are tied up by voters
concerned about pending economic incentive legislation.

Home School Legal Defense Association urges all of its members to
immediately telephone both U.S. senators from your state to oppose the
nomination of David Ogden.

The most important reason to oppose Ogden’s nomination is his belief
that the rules found in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
<http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6077> are already binding on the
United States under the doctrines of international law.

In the Supreme Court case of /Roper v. Simmons/, 543 U.S. 551 (2005),
Ogden argued in a brief that the rules banning the juvenile death
penalty contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child were
customary norms of international law “binding on all states.”

For background information on this doctrine, see Michael Farris’
article, “A Deeper Understanding of the Threat of International Law”
<http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6078> in the November/December 2007
/Home School Court Report/.

This means that Ogden believes that the legal rules contained in the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child are already binding on the United
States, even though this treaty has never been sent to the U.S. Senate
for ratification.

Homeschoolers have long understood the dangers of this international
treaty, which contains the core principle that the government may decide
what it believes is best for each child without any proof of wrongdoing
by the child’s parents. Ogden promoted the use of this UN treaty in the
Supreme Court to reach the conclusion that America’s courts have the
power to overrule state law, using international law as their guidepost
for constitutional interpretation. Unfortunately, he was successful in
doing so in the Roper case.

It also means that Ogden is a proven advocate for the position that
international law should be used to interpret the Constitution of the
United States and bind the decisions of our elected officials.

If this weren’t enough, Ogden has a history of representing /Playboy/
and other purveyors of pornography in high-profile legal cases. He also
challenged the legality of using filters on library computers to protect
children from seeing pornography. It would be hard to imagine how Ogden
would faithfully enforce the nation's pornography laws if he is placed
in this position at the Justice Department.

The United States Senate needs to understand right now that the American
public will not countenance the idea of the nation being led by people
who believe that international law trumps American law.

Please call both of your U.S. Senators today to register your opposition
to David Ogden.

Sincerely,

Michael P. Farris
HSLDA Chairman

Tiny Tips

I'm joining Grueling Homeschooling's Tiny Tips Tuesday today. Hers is my #1 go-to blog of the day, so I wracked my brain trying to think of how to join her for the inauguration of Tiny Tips Tuesday. Without further ado, my tiny tip is this: I bought some of those "in" boxes that hang on the wall, one for each child and myself. They place any work they've finished and I need to check in my in box, and I place their schedules and returned work in their in boxes. And my desk remains clutter-free . . . well, maybe pile-free . . . or at least the piles are only of my own making and I can't gripe at anyone else . . .

Snow Days

As the ice began to fall here Monday night we got in the mood by creating our own indoor snowstorm. We used fishing line to tape our homemade snowflakes to the ceiling, and the effect is fun, helping to brighten these gloomy days of winter.

Public school has been canceled here the last three days. A "snow day" for homeschoolers simply means we get much more school done since we're stuck indoors! We'll have "spring days" to distract us later. We did have a snowball fight in the backyard, then went sledding with friends yesterday. Today the snow stuck enough for Micah to make a snowman, which met its end tragically through decapitation. Micah explained he was a sad snowman anyway because he was an archeologist who discovered that snow does not fossilize, but only melts.