This winter we had the most gorgeous ice storm. I took pictures of it and posted them in an earlier blog. Tonight I am posting what it looked like a couple days later when the sun came out. I really couldn't believe how long the ice stayed on the trees. It was really beautiful. Our God is the most awesome Creator.
What have the Mangos been doing? Yes, we spend a lot of time working on speech and debate. I end up assisting and critiquing the children as they prepare. Our next tournament is April 7-8th. We are looking forward to it. Monday nights, Roger usually takes the three almost oldest children to the club meeting. The rest of us stay home and have some quiet together. What did we do tonight? Joan studied her macroeconomics as she has a CLEP test on Wednesday. T-Bob worked on dishes while he listened to 'With Wolf in Canada', a G.A Henty book that we have on CD. He loves the Henty books and is always reading or listening to them on CD. It is amazing how much history he learns this way. Elizabeth and I played games on the computer and read some books. We played Poppit and Sara's Cooking Class. We 'baked' a Chicken Pot pie and a carrot cake. She is much better and faster at working the mouse for these games than I am.
We are now into our third and final semester of school. We hope to be done before the end of May. I will write up our study plans for this semester as a separate blog post. Everybody seems to be coming along well. T-Bob is especially enjoying his reading books this semester. He enjoyed 'Little Women' so much that we have moved on to 'Little Men'. I find it harder to build up their love of reading with all the technology around. It was so much easier when the other children were young. I do sit and read with Elizabeth quite a bit which we both enjoy. She has finished 'Farmer Boy' and now we are working on "On the Banks of Plum Creek'. She also really likes 'Paddle to the Sea' by Hollings Clancy Hollings (What parent would ever name their child that, REALLY?!!). She is a big poetry fan. Her current favorite is A.A. Milne. (Of Christopher Robin and Pooh fame). 
If I want them to read, I have to set them a good example. I have been reading more lately. Some just for pleasure, light stuff and some more profitable. A book I got for Christmas was 'Love and Respect' by Dr. Eggerich. It is a book that I wish I would have read 24 years ago. I am planning to give it it's own blog post. I also am reading 'Large Family Logistics'. I am almost finished with it. I will probably blog about that also. (Can you blog about a book that was really written as a series of blog posts originally?) My reading tastes are varied. I enjoyed a book called 'Dead Men Do Tell Tales'. It is a book by a forensic anthropologist. He tells about a number of different crime skeletons that he was involved in solving the cases for, Even when they attempted to destroy the body. If you are a CSI fan, you would really enjoy this book. Crime is not always pleasant, but it isn't too graphic and there are no language issues. I am currently reading a missionary biography about the Logan family in Africa. As my DH says, "This was when men were men, nothing wimpy about those missionary guys!" This is one I will probably read to the children. I have been rereading for the umpteenth time my Stephen W. Meader books. They are such great stories. Very collectible because they were the favorite books of so many of us in our youth. I especially love his historical fiction. I have read (or reread) a couple G.A Henty lately. A well written children's book is a great way to spend an evening. 
I am excited because I recently bought a new memory card for my camera. I am hoping to be able to do a bit more videotaping of the children's speeches as well as taking more photos without having to stop and download them to my computer.
My parents are in the Philippines and my Dad promptly got bronchitis which turned into pneumonia after he arrived. He also had a bad fall in the San Francisco airport. A little old Asian lady was dragging her suitcase behind her and then quickly cut across right in front of him. He took a tumble and ended up with bruised wrists, hip and very sore ribs. Nothing broken, but when you have very sore ribs, pneumonia and coughing is just that much worse. He went and had blood work and chest x-rays in Manila. The total bill was under $20. Of course you had to pay at the time of service. Please pray for my parents, that they would recover and be able to enjoy their remaining four weeks there.
~Mom
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