JacqueDixon's Xanga

Monday, April 14, 2008

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:31:09 GMT

I'm bringing Xanga back - drop a comment if you're with me!

Monday, September 24, 2007

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:52:48 GMT

Review The DaVinci Code Movie

Posted on Friday, September 21, 2007 at 7:54 PM

Posted in Reviews

The DaVinci Code The Movie

I did not read the book, though I would probably have the same issues of the storyline as I have with the movie.

Very intriguing movie, made on the order of National Treasure, which we liked very much. The Code has great adventure, lots of history, mystery, pretty decent acting... but, then you get to the heart of the plot, and you find out it is totally blasphemous. Not just a little issue here, like swearing or even nudity, much worse. The movie is interesting enough that you seem to not mind that it preys on the very idea you have of the Holiness of the Messiah. The pieces fall together so intruigingly that by the time you realize what the real storyline is, you want to know how it plays out.

Not only do they mock one of the biggest organized churches in history, but they present blasphemous lies in a soap opera-type story about Jesus and Mary Magdalene. I know, it's been done before. But, as filmmakers get better at making movies seem believable, so are the lies they present.

The bad thing is that there was enough truth presented in the historical aspect of it to make the lies believeable. That is where the deception is. They snare you with the truth. There was actually a lot of biblical truth presented. It was a great christian movie, until about 1/2-way through, when the whole story of lies is revealed. Most people don't know the Bible well enough or even about the Bible, and a majority of the rest are so steeped in the fact that entertainment is a greater god than, well, God, a story is spun that becomes truth to the hearer. And, then, what are they going to believe? Or know? Or remember?

blessings! -Jacque

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Basic Mr Linky

Posted on Friday, September 21, 2007 at 12:40 PM

Posted in HTML and Blogging

Ok.... I have had some questions/seen some questions about Mr. Linky. Let me tell you what I have learned.

First of all, you need a Mr. Linky acct. It is free, unless you want to display more than 1 Mr. Linky at a time - then it is only $5 for the basic subscription for a whole year. Not much for the meme addict, huh? ;)

Alrighty, the big question has been, "How do I get it onto my post??". Well, my experience has been with using the HTML Linky. It is simple, and it's what works with hsb. There are an abundance of different ones, though, to accomodate the different blog forums. I'm pretty sure that they work pretty similarly, since it is javascript.

Here on hsb, there is a little button on your Add Entry/ Edit Entry page. It is in the taskbar of the entry. See it? SOURCE. It turns your post into html. When you push that button, you open a whole new world of post design, lol!

To add Mr. Linky to a post, you simply push the Source button and scroll to the bottom of the page and paste the Mr. Linky code. If you need to hit enter to paste it on a new line, go ahead and do that. Be sure to paste both of the codes that were generated on the Linky Wizard. Push the Source button again. You're done. Mr. Linky will NOT show up on the Edit Entry page. It will show up on your Preview though, so you can check it there.

So, getting the Mr. Linky is pretty easy. After you sign up, you can go to the Wizard and start getting codes to paste into your entries.

To join a meme and put the linky on your post, it must be a shared meme. You subscribe to the meme on the linky by pushing the Suscribe Link. After you subscribe, you go to the Linky Wizard and get the code. It will have the meme id and your name on it. Paste it into your post, Voila! You now have a linky of your own for that meme.

If I have made an error in typing any of this up, please email me and let me know. Feel free to add any other info in the comments, too, as I have not used all facets of Mr. Linky!

.....Off to find out how to use it on Blogger!

blessings! -Jacque

Here is a Mr. Linky for my Saturday Psalm & Praise meme for this week... just as an example!

You're first!

This site is using auto-links. If you are participating in Saturday Psalm & Praise, enter your name and URL in the form below and press Enter. Subscribe Link

Your name:
Your URL:

Please leave a comment after linking... Thank you!
And have you read about Mister Linky's new features?

Learn more about Saturday Psalm & Praise here.
View More Saturday Psalm & Praise Participants

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Monday, September 24, 2007

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:50:45 GMT

Welcome to the 17th Homesteading Carnival!

Posted on Monday, September 24, 2007 at 12:02 PM

Posted in Contests, Fun Stuff and Our HSB Community

Welcome to the 17th Homesteading Carnival! This is edition is mainly about Autumn Harvests: Pumpkins, Squash and Apples... All signs that FALL is here! Fall is the time when the earth sheds it's summer coverings to prepare for the bare winter, and then the glorious spring. Fall is the time when we reap what we have worked for all summer and are now able to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Jocelyn has done a terrific job on the 17th Homesteading Carnival. You can read the rest of it at Amusing Reflections of a Country Girl.

blessings! -Jacque

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The Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival

Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 2:33 AM

Posted in Contests, Fun Stuff and Our HSB Community

Jacci, of The Educational Life, has started a very nifty carnival for homeschoolers!

The First Edition:
"The Great Outdoors"

I was wondering, have you ever seen the traveling
group post called The Carnival of Homeschooling? I've
been thinking that it would be great to have a
Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival! Is that something you
might be interested in? If you are unfamiliar with the
way carnivals work, it's fairly straightforward.
Different CM bloggers "contribute" links to one of the
posts they have put on their personal blogs. Usually,
there is a broad, preset theme requested for the
contributions. For instance, if I was hosting the
first carnival and I made the theme "back to school CM
style", all of the post submissions would have
something to do with that topic area. Then, after a
week of accepting submissions, the "hostess" would
post one long entry on her personal blog, writing an
article of sorts while working in the links for all of
the contributions that participating bloggers have
made that week. Then, there is that one post where
everyone can go to read through many different blog
entries all about one CM topic. It's a great way to
share and learn - not to mention get some increased
traffic to your site. Host blogs, in particular, get
the spotlight. Would you please let me know if you
would be interested in submitting a blog entry for a
carnival like this? Would you be interested in hosting
a carnival one week? :) Thanks!
Jacci (CM mama of 4)

blessings! -Jacque

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It Still Comes Down To Homeschooling

Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007 at 2:09 AM

Posted in Seeking Rest in Heart and Home

I wrote this when I went to the dentist about a month ago.
Did you ever notice all of the things you think about when you are sitting in the dentist's chair? I was sitting there with my head tilted slightly lower than the rest of my body (why do they do that?) with the dental tech asking me all sorts of questions about our children and going back to school. I hadn't had her before, and she was really inquisitive. She is from Poland, and a bit hard to understand with her heavy accent.

I think it was before she actually did anything to my teeth that she asked me about our kids and school to which I replied that we homeschool. I was pleasantly surprised that she thought that was really great. As she worked on my teeth, I was thinking about the homeschool records I have to get in order, still answering other questions about our family and school. She asked several, actually. The tech asking me questions was weird in itself, because I don't recall answering so many questions before while the tech was in the process of picking my teeth clean.

Hannah went in with me, which was another thing I was thinking about: how interested she was in an up-close view of my teeth as they were being cleaned. She got so close we had to tell her to get back so she didn't get poked in the face with the tool the tech was using. Homeschool: Dentistry 101.

She was glued to my side for about 15m straight, watching everything, asking questions about this and that of me. She was really interested when the tech used the mirror and the pick, because I think she could see better what was going on. It's interesting to see a child's face up close and wondering. She was in one of those "she saw my face, but not my face" modes.

And to think I actually was going to school for Pre-Dentistry. How funny. No thank you. I think I only chose it because it was a pre-med type of class, and I could make lots of money as a dentist. My dentist is a woman, actually. She is a friend from the church we attended about - wow, has it been 5 years already? Well, Heidi - Dr. Heidi - is a bit younger than we are and was 1 of 7 children in her family.

She commented over and over how thrilled she was to see our entire family in the waiting room, sitting all together. She couldn't believe last week when Matt scheduled a couple of appointments and we had had 2 more babies since I last saw her. Yes, that is 4 years. Well, I saw her when I had my wisdom tooth removed last summer, but I was in no mood to talk, and she didn't remove it. I went to an oral surgeon.

Anyway, as I sat there in the chair, I thought, "Wow, I actually have some time to think about some things." You are kinda' held hostage, listening to the 80's music in the background... did you know they now call that the 'oldies'?? I think the "oldies" was from the 50's and 60's, wasn't it? NOT the 80's!! LOLOL

So, she finished up, Dr. Heidi and I talked a bit, and I got ready to leave. The tech showed me a few things, and she said something about the baby... and how old was my oldest. I told her it was her last year of school, and she said something about Amanda going to college. I was surprised she thought it was a good idea that Amanda would be taking college courses from home, if she took them.
All in all, it was one of my better "Wow, you have a large family... oh, you homeschool?" experiences!!

blessings! -Jacque

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Back to HomeSchool Contest - How Do You Do It??

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:34:54 GMT

I have had such a wonderful response to the contest question:

Back to HomeSchool -
How Will You Do It??

   When I decided to run this contest, it really was out of a desire to encourage homeschoolers as we are entering a new year of homeschooling. We actually homeschool the whole year, but have an "official" start day coming up too.
   I thought if we could post our plans and what we are excited about, it would be exciting for us and for our friends! I have a list on my sidebar of some of the curriculum we will be using, but the most exciting thing I am looking forward to is SCRAPBOOKING our binders!!! YAY!! If you want an example, you can see one at the Heart of Wisdom blog.
   I have enjoyed reading all of the entries.
   Here is the list so far of those who have posted their HomeSchool plans for this year. Please take time to visit their blogs and "read all about it", as SuperAngel would say!

QuietCajun
Mommymezinda
CanadaGirl
Sweetie
MrsStevens95
MidwifeMom
Shadowbear
Babymakers
Jaminacema
Momanna98
Rebecca
Kympossible
TheHeartOfTheHome
HeartAndSoul
CreativeHSMom
BearingFruit
ClassicalEducation4Me
KyMentor
TheMagicSchoolhouse
Telmar
Mamma1420
ThoughtfulMom
Karendv
Suzanne
Sherrydhoneycutt
Aligirl
BluebonnetAcademy
Nitascool
REInvestor
TiredMom

10 Random Things About Our Homeschool

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 19:08:38 GMT

We home school all-year-round. Why not? We do so much that our children need to learn about in the summertime, why would I send them to the park or the swimming pool or try to plan other activities to take up time, when they can learn about life all summer, up close and personal?
We use the Bible as a large part of their schooling. I have studied books and listened to Cd's/watched videos by Vision Forum, SM Davis and the Bradford's - to name a few, and I am learning so many things I wish I had known when I started on the parenting journey! The Bible HAS to be the foundation for EVERYTHING! - Not just things that our culture tells us applies to faith, but EVERYTHING, from the way we look, to the way we think, to how we spend the time God Himself has given us. I feel I would be doing the children God gave me a disservice if I do not train them that way. I do not want them to have to re-train themselves as they train their children.
We train our children for life by training them around our home. If working is a part of life, isn't that one of the best ways to train a child? Give him a good work ethic. A boy will become a young man all too soon, who can help his Dad and Mom around the house. He needs a good (Biblical) work ethic if he will be a man with a wife and family. A little girl will soon become a young lady who can help around the house, too. Then, she will be a HelpMate to a Godly man. So, we integrate all of that into training our children.
We use our Family business to train our children also. It gives them skills they will use as an adult man or woman. It also teaches them to think in real-life situations before they are actually in that situation, so we can help them with a right decision.
We will be gardening all summer long and into Fall. This is an excellent way to teach science, math, home/life skills, history, and whatever else you add. It is hands-on, and if you do it properly, it doesn't have to be a chore. It can be fun, and children can see it is necessary even when it is work.
We have a 'reptile tank' on our porch. We turn a light on over the tank all summer and watch the bugs fly in and the frogs, toads and turtle eat them. We did have a turtle, but he died a couple of months ago. We were sad. He wouldn't get out of the water and eat, and then we found him dead in the water. We kept him all winter, and were hoping to keep him for awhile. 4ds9 just brought in one of our 2 salamanders - when we found them, they were about 5 in. long. This one is now somewhere around 9in. Wow. I guess all the earthwworms and crickets were what he needed. So, we have 2 salamanders, a small frog and 2 small toads. We just found the frog. We had another one all winter and he grew to about 4x in size since last summer. We let him go in April.
We have several projects that we have unschooled our children: quilting, sewing, baking, gardening, keeping a home. Matt teaches them about mowing the lawn, taking care of vehicles, building projects. We all took part - and still are - in siding, roofing, and drywalling our home. We will be tearing out and replacing some of the electrical wiring in the additon next week. All a part of learning, and unschooling is the best way to teach it.
Goats... They researched them and then had to find them. They earned the money to pay for them. They helped put up the fence, and now, they must take care of them. They will also be looking into how goats can benefit our family in the area of groceries and diet. Another area to research is what businesses goats can afford a family and what they entail.
The girls are still working on Algebra. We decided a year ago that we were not going to push them through it, but work it until they truy understand it. 1dd16 can work it mostly on her own. 2dd15 is hanging in there. She is working on Consumer Math, too.
4ds9 and 5dd6 are really craving to learn to read. I told 4ds9 that he has all the tools, and knows what he needs to know, he just needs to practice, thereby putting the ball into his hands. 3dd12 did this same thing. I was pushing her at 7 and 8 to read, and we were both just getting frustrated. She just was not ready. She read Caddie Woodlawn through on her own at 9. So, I am not worried, I think 4ds9 is getting the bug and will be blogging soon! And, 5dd6 will be right behind him, b/c she is just that way, God love her!! ( ;

Related Tags: Large Family, Bible , Homeschooling, Homeschool, Home School, Reading, Unschooling, Algebra, Work Ethic, Family Business, Goats, Gardening, Tiller, Tilling, Planting, Garden, Reptiles, Bugs, Salamander, Frogs, Toads

10 Random Things About Our Family

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 19:05:50 GMT

We are a family of 9. 2dd15 calls us the Fellowship of the 9, because we are also HUGE LOTR fans, but that will come later. We have 7 wonderful, children and are hoping to have more. We kinda' just expect it now, I guess. I don't know what we will do when the LORD says enough. It will be something to get used to. I am so happy and surprised and thrilled most of our days!; ) with the 7 He has already blessed us with. And, if He is truly in control of our lives, then He is. Of course, a few of the children are waiting for the boy-to-girl ratio to even out. Yeah, good luck with that. We will probably be welcoming little grandbabies in the next few years, too, and that will be quite the change! GRANDBABIES?? How old am I?
Most of us love dark chocolate-covered coffee beans, popcorn with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on - ok, a lot sprinkled on, um, let's see... I love Dr. Pepper, which is still weird to me, because I used to think people that stuck with 1 favorite soda flavor were just plain stra-ange and probably uncultured LOL ... but I have grown up -a little - since then, and I pretty much stick with DP. 2dd15 also likes DP, but 1dd16 and 3dd12 like Raspberry Iced Tea (Though 3dd does like Root Beer,too). 2dd15 and I think it tastes like fermented tea, when it has set out too long...uuuugghhh! And, of course, My Sweetie, Matt, is a Pepsi guy (he used to REALLY be a Pepsi guy-he worked for them for 15 yrs!). He likes it straight up, and if it has ice crystals, then that's all the better!
We love to scrapbook, but rarely can find the time. We actually find more time in the fall and winter months. I am a Creative Mem Cons. and we have a pretty well-stocked supply cabinet. The discount is wonderful, too, of course. I am strongly looking into Scrapbooking to Learn, and am going to implement scrapbooking more into our schooltime. Why not mix the 2 for the Littles? The oldest 3 girls already work on their own Albums, which includes art, journaling/writing, record-keeping and whatever else comes up. I am going to start picking topics for the Littles (the next 3: ages 9, 6, and 3in July) to scrapbook about. I'm not ready for them to help too much in their Albums that I will let them do it alone, though they do help some.
We breastfeed and use cloth diapers. I know; we are weird. I told Matt that I feel like an alien. The strange thing is that I don't mind. I know we are not alone in the rest of the world... but, in our family and other acquaintances, we are. I am tandem b/fing the 2 youngest, and BabyBoy is in cloth diapers. So, we do a lot of laundry in addition to the lot of laundry! ( ;
Yes, we are Lord of the Rings fans. We are JRR Tolkien fans. We read The Hobbit as a family - it was fun. Even the Littles sat and played and listened. We need to do that again. What have you read as a family? We have The Hobbit cartoon on video. All of us enjoy it. We have the extended versions of the LOTR, and we will pop it in the way we used to pop in kids' videos. No, we do not let the Littles watch all of it... some of it is not appropriate for them!
6ds2 has code words for I want to nurse. It is: "Mommy, I am very, very, very, tired." asdlkjfnhsdlhj! 7ds11m loves to pick up books and verbally read them. He is careful with the pages, and will smile at you and gibber on about them.
I sometimes am treated as a queen, with 3 Littles rubbing my favorite lotion on my feet. I like the Coconut Lime or the Warm Vanilla Sugar from BBW. My favorite was the Rice Flower and Shea butter, but they no longer carry it... ) ;
We will be spending our summer growing a rather large garden for the first time. We have many plants and just now have the place to put it. We just got a tiller of our own, so it will be in this week. Good thing, b/c all these plants we planted in little cups are just a-waiting!! Then, we plan to can and freeze!!
If you read any of our girls' blogs, you know we now have 2 Nubian Nannies. They are very friendly and have adjusted well. Myrtle has pictures of them. Her sisters blogged about them, too.
We also have our own business, as many of you on HSB do. My Mom and Dad do too... Hmm... So does my Sis and Bro-in-law. Anyway, we use it for - yep, school.

Hi There - A little about me....

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 18:16:49 GMT

I am wife to Matt for 17 1/2 years. He is the love of my life. I never knew what true love was until we married. Through all we have been through, our love is only proven over and over.

I am also homeschool Mom of 7 children, ages 16 1/2 down to 1. We have 4 girls, 3 boys. We teach a Bible-First, Unschooling approach.

I blog at Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths at HSB. I got this Xanga account to leave a comment, so it may not be too updated, but Seeking Rest will be. Our 3 oldest daughters, SuperAngel, 16 1/2, Myrtle, 15 and Tigerlily, 12 also blog there.

We own 2 home businesses:

Creative Memories. You can see my site at http://www.mycmsite. I can't actually link to it, so type this on the end: com/sites/jacquedixon.
And, our main business: SoulRest Educational Supplies, our Biblical Homeschool and Christian Resources Store. We just got this store, and I am still trying to figure out how to get the shopping cart on there. UGH! 0;

We live on 2 1/2 acres in SmallTown Indiana. I don't care for the winter, though they are beautiful!

We just planted a large garden - we do have 9 mouths to feed!

We also just bought 2 Nubian Nannies. Our 4yo dog, Ruby, likes them, too.

We hope to have more children, we breastfeed and homebirthed the last 2.

Anything else, you can find out at my other blog. ( ;

Many Blessings to you!! Jacque