Julie’s Journal

This is a blast from the past - 1968 to be exact. I’m the little squirt in the front with the striped dress and hat. This is in the days when being dressed up really meant something. My leotards (that’s what we called them in my day instead of tights) were lacy and white and I had on black, patent leather shoes. I also had a little draw-string purse that matched that dress and hat. I had white gloves, too, because no woman or girl who had any class would be seen out without gloves. I had so many pairs of gloves in different colors to go with different outfits.

Notice my sister on the right - now that’s stylish! Purse, gloves, belt, hat and shoes all matched! Grey and yellow were very popular during that time - as well as grey and pink.

My Mother looks quite stylish and fancy, too, in her black and white outfit and white gloves. See those glasses? They were bright red! I remember how much she loved those glasses. She also had “cat-eye” sunglasses that were white with rhinestones. They were very cool.

My Dad is in his probably one and only suit. He was not the dress-up kind of guy. He worked hard and only dressed up when he absolutely had to. Did you see that skinny tie?

I’m not sure, but I think we were in Cheyenne for a wedding. I do know that we are in my Grandmother’s house standing in front of her piano. That was the place to take pictures. I have many pictures of my family standing in the same spot over the years. Funny how we do that. I do the same thing now in my own home. We have “the spot” to take pictures! lol

I think what made me think want to take a look back is because of all the changes I’m seeing in our society. All the little niceties are far and few between. You don’t see women wearing gloves and hats anymore, or matching purses and shoes, much. This is not a huge deal - in fact - I’m so glad we don’t have to always wear a dress to church or dress up to go to the grocery store. I think what bothers me is the lack of respect, morals, and common decency that is so prevalent in our society. I see people on tv talking like guttersnipes (as my Grandmother would say, meaning a person of the lowest moral station) and I see commercials for things that are best left to the bedroom between married couples.

I may or may not be thanked for holding open a door for someone and I may or may not get the door slammed shut when I’m about to walk through behind a person. It depends a lot on the age of the person; older people tend to be more polite as they were raised to be.

It used to be that you were considered very immoral and not of good social or moral standing if you didn’t worship at your church of choice on Sunday. I can remember a time when you were looked at sideways if you said you weren’t a Christian or Jewish. It was expected that you were a believer in the one, true God or you were just not in the norm.

People knew that the communists and socialist weren’t right. We knew that America was the greatest nation on earth and we were thankful we were born here. We stood and put our hand over our heart when we saluted the flag. We were patriotic and cared about our country - we weren’t ashamed of it. We knew we were blessed and were so thankful. We treated our troops with the honor they deserved for risking their lives for our country.

Will we ever be able to go back to how it was or has too much been accepted in our society? I don’t know but I have hope. I do know that without the Lord blessing our country we have no hope at all. Our young people don’t understand what our country was founded on - the principles of the Bible - and they think there should be a separation of church and state. They don’t understand that this isn’t even in the Constitution. It’s been used so much that it’s just an accepted thing now by most people.

I’m praying for our country and our world. I hope you’ll join me.

God bless you - Julie

Today is my best friend’s birthday.  We met each other at our Ladies Bible study at church.  We were in the same group, both homeschooled and our son’s became friends, too, while in the classroom at church while we were in the Bible study.  This was 9 years ago and we are now more like sisters than friends.

We have seen each other through thick and thin.  She understands me and I understand her. We accept each other for who we are.  We both love the Lord and pray for each other.  What a blessing she is to me.

Sometimes when we get under stress from the complications of life, we kid around and say we’re going to hop in our car and go on a road trip - you know - like “Thelma & Louise” - only without the gigolo, the shooting or the car trip off the side of the cliff.  LOL  It’s silly, but that’s what’s fun about a good friend - you can be silly, too.  (Just to clarify this point, I’ve only seen the cleaned up version of “Thelma & Louise”!)

My friend is also an answer to prayer.  I prayed and prayed for years for a good friend that would be a believer, a prayer partner and just a good friend.  She is definitely all that.

Happy Birthday, my friend.  You are a wonderful friend and sister in Christ and I’m so thankful you’re my friend.  May God bless you always!!

Julie

Last week, Tyndale sent me their book, “Robot Wars - Death Trap” by Sigmund Brouwer, and asked me to review it. Here’s a little about the author:

Sigmund Brouwer
Whether writing youth or adult fiction, Sigmund Brouwer is a best-selling author of more than 40 fast-paced novels. Some of his works encourage young reluctant readers into the world of books, and others provide adults with riveting tales. His youth series include Mars Diaries; Short Cuts Extreme Sports; Lightning on Ice; CyberQuest; The Winds of Light; Dr. Drabble: Genius Inventor; and The Accidental Detectives. His adult fiction titles include Out of the Shadows, Morning Star, Thunder Voice, Double Helix, and Blood Ties.

Sigmund’s diverse background surfaces in the characters of his books as he inspires kids to get excited about reading. He grew up in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, and developed an early interest in sports like hockey, racquetball, and biking. His poor performance in high school English classes led him to receive a degree in commerce from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and not to pursue writing. When a professor in his undergraduate English course encouraged him to write, Sigmund did, and he eventually received a degree in journalism from Carleton College in Ottawa. After publishing several articles for U.S. and Canadian magazines, he turned to writing books for kids reluctant to read.

In 1993, he cofounded The Young Writers’ Institute with home education expert and author Debra Bell and conducts writing camps and seminars for more than 10,000 children every year. His commitment to his faith is an integral part of his creative goals, and Sigmund cites C. S. Lewis as one of his greatest writing influences. Although there is no overt Christian agenda in his novels, the deliberate underpinning of morality and redemption make his books more than tools of escape. He quotes C. S. Lewis, “There is no Christian way to write, just as there is no Christian way to boil an egg.”

Sigmund is married to Christian recording artist Cindy Morgan; the couple has two daughters. He writes five pages per day on his laptop, whether he is in an airport, hotel, or dividing his time between family homes in Red Deer and Nashville.

Robot Wars - Death Trap (Book One) is about a teen-age boy named Tyce and his life on Mars in an experimental community. Tyce is a virtual reality specialist in that he can play very well and has since he was very young. He also enjoys looking at the galaxy from the special telescope they have in the community. Soon these simple pleasures take a back seat to the life threating issue of the community losing oxygen - and fast!

I really enjoyed this book. It kept you guessing with each page and just when I thought things were resolved, another issue would crop up. There were also many surprising revelations in the book about Tyce and other members of the community.

I’m sure this book is geared more for the tween/teen set, but honestly, I really enjoyed the book and am anxious to read Book Two to know what happens next to Tyce, his family and this experimental community on Mars!

I also like that the book talked about God in a very real way. It’s very real in it’s sense of what God means to us and how we can turn to Him. The author made it a normal part of the story and it didn’t feel forced.

I highly recommend this book to others. It’s definitely a science fiction book, but I really believe that anyone would enjoy it, whether they enjoy the science fiction genre or not.

You can find a link to this book in my Amazon widget on my sidebar. I never put books there that I haven’t read and truly enjoyed. You can click on the book and it will take you to Amazon where you’ll find this book and others in the series. I hope you’ll read this book, too. Trust me, you’ll really enjoy it!

God bless you - Julie

The last two weeks have been mostly me hobbling around waiting for my knee shots appointment to come around. I had been just miserable with the pain I had and it really did feel like my bones were rubbing together - which they are, hence, that feeling! LOL Anyway, I decided while I was not able to do much in the running around department (this includes housework, laundry and the ilk - oh, boo hoo - lol), I would work on the projects for my new grand niece and nephew! I love working on baby items and having all these new babies come into our family, gives me the perfect excuse.

This first picture is of the baby blanket I made for my new grand-nephew, Daniel.  It’s really soft worsted (medium) weight yarn that has all the lovely baby colors.  I started it before I knew that Daniel was going to be a boy and chose something that would be good for either a boy or a girl.

Here’s the same blanket all folded up - doesn’t it just look soft and cushy?  It is!

These adorable booties are for my new grand-niece, Ariana.  (I just love the name they chose!) These are just so soft and fluffy!  I just can hardly stand how cute they came out!

These blue booties are for Daniel.  Same pattern but done with different type yarn.  Aren’t they just too cute done with the bluevariegated yarn?  Don’t you love those pom-poms?  Too cute!

Now these sock/booties are just the most adorable thing!  This is another new pattern I tried out and am so happy with them!  They are so different!  See the star pattern on the top?  I just think this has to be one of my all time favorite patterns!  Plus, they were easier than they look.  There is 1/8 elastic in the top of the sock/bootie to keep them on baby’s feet.  The cuff folds down over it so you don’t even notice it.

Here’s the booties with a head band I designed to go with them.  I had just enough yarn to do something to go with the booties and decided I could design something myself.  What do you think?

I so love making all these things!  It’s fun and so wonderful to give my family things I made especially for them.

Hope you enjoyed seeing what I’ve been up to!

God bless you - Julie

The new Summer issue of “The Old Schoolhouse” is out and on the newsstands - with my article in it! I was so excited to see it! I had picked up my mail before going to physical therapy and had to take it in to show all the therapists! LOL

Here’s what the front cover of the magazine looks like:

I’m so happy with how it came out, although, I was shocked at how large a picture they put in of my hubby and I!  LOL

Mainly, I hoping that my article will encourage others who have gone through illness or other hardships while homeschooling.  I give the Lord all the credit for getting us through the hard times.  Believe me when I tell you, without Jesus by my side, I couldn’t have done it.  That’s the truth, plain and simple.  Jesus gives me my strength and my confidence that I can make it through each and every trial that comes my way.

I have also updated my website and hope that you will visit me.  Please sign the guest book while you’re there, too!  I’d love to hear from you!

www.JulieDanielson.com

Until next time, God bless you - Julie

Here’s the Graduate! Cody wore his tux to the Graduation and looked quite handsome, in my humble opinion.

We had 5 cakes for the reception (which turned out to be way too much, but who knew?) and this was the one that was so special. They turned a photo of the Graduates into sugar and put on top of the cake. Isn’t that amazing? Such a beautiful cake and the centerpiece of the food area.

Here I am trying to gain my composure. I had been okay until I looked at my son and he had tears streaming down his face. That did me in. I had to stand there for a few minutes and then I could speak again. My hubby was no help. If you look closely, you’ll see the tears in his eyes, too.

Here we are handing him his diploma and his tassel. I got a beautiful diploma made and all the Graduates received a tassel. It was a very special moment.

Cody performed at the Graduation. Here he is with my other son, Shane, on the left and Cody’s best friend, Eric, on the right. They did two songs and Cody sang for one of them.

Cody picking out his solo here.

Another pickin’ picture. )

Here’s the proud parents all smiles before the Graduation. I really like this picture of my hubby and me. I plan on printing it out and framing it. I think my hubby is such a handsome guy!

Here’s Cody and his best friend, Eric, who happens to be the son of . . . .

my best friend, Kym. Here we are after the Graduation. I was so happy that she was there to share in my joy as I graduated my last child. She was a huge part of my homeschooling adventure. I’m very blessed to have such a wonderful friend.

Here’s the family after the Graduation. That’s me, Cody, my husband’s Mother, my hubby, and my oldest son, Shane. We had a hard time getting pictures of Grandma as she kept talking about cake and wanted to get to the reception hall! LOL

I hope you enjoyed seeing these pictures. The Graduation was a lot of work to put together, but it came out so beautifully and it was definitely worth all the work.

My homeschool journey is now at an end, however, I am going to still be a part of the homeschool community. It was the greatest thing I ever did or will ever do. As I said as I spoke at the Graduation, “I always said that I would be a success if, when my children are adults, they both loved the Lord, Jesus Christ, and followed Him with all their hearts. I can honestly say that as I stand here today, I am success.” Homeschooling gave me the opportunity to have the Lord in our lives every day and allowed my children to get to know Him on a very intimate basis. I’m very thankful for the past 10 years of homeschooling. It made our family better and made us all closer to the Lord. Thank you, Lord, for leading us to homeschooling.

God bless you - Julie

As promised, here are the graduation photos from my son’s homeschool Graduation. This first photo is the church sanctuary. We had to set up the morning of the Graduation as they had a function in the church the night before. All hands were on deck at 9:00 that morning. We had to move more chairs into the sanctuary to accommodate all the guests that were coming. We also had to move things from the stage area.

Thank goodness for my friend, Rose (shown here pointing), who was so organized about getting the sanctuary done. She wrote down where all the chairs came from and how many there were so we could return things to their proper place after the Graduation. She really was my right hand buddy throughout the Graduation preparation!

Here’s Cody getting his mike all set up for that night when he played his mandolin and sang. His friend, Josh, who was also graduating is an old pro at setting things up electronically as he’s been doing it for his youth group for years.

Here’s a picture of the reception hall after it was decorated. The class colors were Royal Blue and Gold. We were very blessed to find those colors at the local party store and found some really nice things. I bought two air tanks so we could fill the balloons for the reception. Hint: If you do this, get some of the gel to put in the balloons before the air (I got mine from Oriental Trading) as this will keep the balloons flying high for days and days! We wanted them to stay nice for the reception that night.

Here’s another shot of the reception room. One of the lades made gold table runners from beautiful, gold fabric. They really set the tables off nicely and gave them that extra touch.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the Graduation prep pictures. Stay tuned to see the pictures from the Graduation.

It’s my youngest son’s Senior year.  He’s going to be doing some practice SAT tests and, in fact, will do his first practice test today.  It’s amazing how nervous he is about this, even though it’s a practice test.  I’m really glad we will be doing this and preparing him for the real thing.  He’s taking it very seriously and I’m so proud of his attitude and diligence regarding his school work.

Going to visit my mother-in-law today.  I have a bunch of western books that I’ve picked up for her.  She loves Westerns and I love finding them for her.  Busy day ahead!