Debate That!

Yesterday started very early. Courtney and I drove to Little Rock for a Round Robin, that is debate lingo for a practice tournament. The official season starts in about 2 weeks, so everyone who is participating is madly trying to hone their skills. Courtney looked great in the Goodwill find jacket and skirt. It cost more to get it dry cleaned, then the purchase price. It was one of those intense fun days of alternating between debate and speech rounds. Courtney was able to debate 3 times, give her gardening speech 3 times, and challenge an Apologetics topic (limited prep) 3 times. Of course the day ended with a Pizza Party. You all know that I am rather partial to homeschool kids, but I am even more partial to the speech and debaters. They are so fun and despite being highly competitive, they are very kind. Courtney left the Pizza Party with a handful of email addresses, the promise of new lifelong friendships and joy in her heart. Not to mention she won 2 out her 3 debates!

The girls have gone on a youth retreat. They left this afternoon and will return on Monday afternoon. I pray that it is a time that bears spiritual fruit. Meanwhile it was a rather quiet afternoon at the house. Stephen worked outside with his Papa, while Owen played with Legos in his room. As I was cleaning house I marveled that it had been a long time since I had spent a whole afternoon folding laundry, sweeping, and cleaning up the kitchen. Lest you think I live in a pigpen, the reason is, the girls perform most of the regular cleaning chores. I of course pitch in here and there, but no marathon Saturday cleanings, well at least not generally.

Hmmmm, but there is still a big pile of Christmas decorations in the front room. Though I am really not much of a decorator, I really like decorating for Christmas. We put lights in the window sills on the front of the house this year. I am trying to figure out a way to use the lights in a more generic way. I loved the glow they gave to the house as you would pull up at night. Which reminds me. I have still not uncovered the mystery of why a number of the older homes in the Camden area have a single candle in each window. Does it have some historic significance? Is it a southern tradition?

I am going to be teaching Arkansas history this spring and am having fun learning about our new home state's past. Camden has a Confederate Cemetery. I have not checked it out yet, but I plan to. I can tell you what all the stars on the AR flag mean. And did you know that Arkansas is the only diamond producing state in the nation? And the state song had to be changed due to copyright infringements? And AR produces 90% of the aluminum produces in the US. And Kim McClure's Uncle used to manufacture brooms here in AR (some family member still does). There is just all kinds of interesting AR trivia.

Back to the stars. The 25 that form a diamond represent AR being the 25th state admitted to the Union. The 3 blue stars represent the 3 countries that have ruled over AR and the fact that AR was the 3rd state formed from the Louisiana Purchase. The single star over the name Arkansas stands for it being in the confederacy. Now what do you think about that? The diamond shaped field stands for AR being the only diamond producing state in the Union, but you already knew that ;)

Oh, NO! I almost forgot to feed the horses. Gotta Go!