Oak Tree Down

About a week ago we had a really bad storm go through during the night. The rain was pounding our bedroom windows I could hardly sleep. When we awoke in the morning it was still raining a little bit but not to bad. Mark had left early to go to a Chamber meeting. When I walked into the kitchen and looked out of the bay windows the huge oak tree was down on the ground. I thanked God for the direction the tree fell. If it had fell the opposite way it would have hit the house. I went outside to check to see if it went across the road but it hadn't. God's hand must have been over our house that night. I had been asking Mark to cut the tree down b/c you could go up to it and pull bark off of it. I told him it was rottening but he said it has leafs so it is still alive. Guess I got what I wanted!

Here are some pics of when it first fell. It has now but cut down, atleast most of it.

Dad and Lad 2009

A few weekends ago Mark and Zachary made the trip to go to Dad and Lad. Dad and Lad is where the father and son go camping together at camp dierks. Zachary is a wolf cub this year and this was the 2nd dad and lad they had attended. They had a really great time but said the food was just ok. Zachary loved the food pizza's and hot dogs. Here are a few pictures that Mark had taken.



If you have a young boy please consider scouts. It isn't as much time commentment as you think nor does it cost a lot. The boys develop friendships and learn a lot of skills. I have been a den mother for the past 2 years and will be the den mother for the Bears (Zachary's group) next year and I have enjoyed working with both my boys and their parents.

Update on Zachary's Schooling

I checked with Connections Academy which is my first choice for Virtual Public School to see if they had gotten the Out-Of-District letter signed by my superintendent. Well, They had not. They said that they were going to send a letter to my superintendent from the superintendent of the Houston ISD. This letter would also be specific to Zachary and no other child in the MPISD. Hopefully with the letter individualize the superintendent will sign the letter.

The other thing I found out is that Zachary was accepted into 3rd grade next year and also was accepted into the Gifted Language Arts, Math and Science courses. I am so proud of him for this achievement. In order to qualify for the gifted classes he had to take a 4th grade placement test. He pass these test with a 100%. What this says is that Zachary (Technically a 1st grader by age) is ready for 4th grade work. But what I love about Connections Academy is that they are keeping him with his age mates (somewhat) but letting him go deeper and faster with his subjects. The math program allows him to do 2 years of math in one year. The science makes him think deeper and do projects. The Language Arts allows him to do a Literature Study. He will also be able to talk to other gifted children.

I am considering if the school isn't able to get the superintendents signature to take this matter to the school board. I am hoping they will see that they don't offer these types of gifted classes and will sign the paper so Zachary can attend.