Dissecting a Beef Heart

Being a farm family has certain advantages. We recently took a closer look at a beef heart. It was rather interesting, but it was hard to learn much about it. This was a beef heart with the blood vessels removed, so we really only got a good look at the heart muscle itself, and the chambers in the heart. The disadvantage to being a farm family is at one point during the dissection someone asked, "Is this Buddy?" Sadly, it was.

Posted by Pam

A Little Excitement

A few days ago, Senora, our outside farm dog, chased a skunk up to our house. (As in front yard) She wouldn't leave it alone and was, as expected, sprayed with stink.

Ew.

We think that she was sprayed a couple of times and Dad and I actually witnessed it spraying, which was kind of neat. =) Dad shot it with a BB gun once we got Senora out of the way because Senora had already partially mangled it.

Thankfully, the smell didn't stick around too long, and it is wearing off of Senora quickly.

Mom made the comment that she was happy that dad was home. =)

And, since we are always looking for ways to have dessert at my house, I made brownies and decorated it with a marshmallow stripe, as illustrated in the picture below.

Longing for Warmer Weather....

I miss summer.




Sunny Days

T-Shirts

Flip Flops

Swimming

Smelling Freshly Cut Grass

Open Windows

Popsicles

Heat Lightening

Tent Camping

Campfires

And Flowers.


Don't get me wrong, I like winter too. It has things like:


Snow


Sledding


No Insects

Snowman Building

Singing Christmas Songs

Icicles

and the need for Hot Chocolate.




I just really don't think that 6 more weeks of winter is really necessary. =)




~Jenny~

Rolla Royals Girls' Varsity Takes 3rd Place!

Recently, (well, more like a month ago) Jennifer's basketball team played in a tournament in Lebanon. The competing teams were either home school teams or Christian schools from St. Louis, Springfield, Camdenton, Columbia, Rolla, and Lebanon . They played 5 games in tw0 days, with 2 games even back to back. In a couple of games the Royals came from behind and did not take the lead until the 4th quarter, for a very thrilling game to watch.


This is Jennifer's fifth year playing with the Rolla Homeschool Athletic Association (RHAA)basketball team. We have included a link on the side to their website. Be sure to check out their game schedules and photo gallery!

The team posed with their trophy. Jenny is in the back. By the way, she is 5' 10" now and usually plays the low post position.

~ Posted by Pam

Ancient History Time-Line

We have been using the Mystery of History series for our study of history the past few years. We decided to start at the beginning - with ancient history. It started with creation, and ended with the life of Jesus. We had a lot of fun with the time line, and felt free to take some "artistic liberty" with the figures. The best part was incorporating Biblical events and people with what else was happening elsewhere at the same time.The top section is the most "recent" history from the 800 BC's to 0 (AD)

The middle section is from the 2000 BC's to the 800's.

The last section starts with creation at the bottom (time unknown) to about 1000 BC. We are almost finished with the 2nd Volume (Early Church History and the Middle Ages) and hope to post that time-line soon.

Let the Eggs Begin....

Our "pullets" have taken a big step lately. They have graduated to "hens"! We are now getting nice brown eggs, courtesy of the hens. The trick is to bring the eggs into the house before they freeze!

Now, I want you to appreciate how clean and lovely these eggs are. The Williams household takes great pride in listing "egg washer" as one of their domestic abilities. It is a skill of whom few can boast. No, really. It is.