Last weekend I attended the Apologia Live Mom’s Conference with my friends Crystal and Crystal. To say it was an encouraging, refreshing weekend would be an understatement. The conference had everything, from great worship led by Anne MacCallum, to great speakers, to great food, the folks at Apologia really know how to host a quality event.

The theme of the conference was Standing Strong and the various speakers tackled different topics like Standing Strong for Your Marriage, Standing Strong for His Glory, Standing Strong with Teens, Standing Strong in Prayer and several more. Each speaker was so engaging, I felt like I was being encouraged by a friend in each of the sessions.

During the conference, a few of the speakers graciously sat down to chat with me. Even spending a short amount of time with these women was amazing! I left each interview with a refreshed vision and desire to serve my family.

Rachael Carman is an amazing woman whose face lights up when she talks about her children. I spent time with her and her family throughout the weekend and they were truly delightful. I asked her about the pressure homeschooling moms sometimes feel to graduate successful kids and what words of encouragement she had to help them trust God in the journey. She shared with me several stories about her own children, and explained that it was evident their successes were only because of God’s grace. She said she had learned over and over that often times God showed His plan to her children in spite of her, rather than because of her.

She gave me a copy of her book SoundBites from Heaven: What God Wants Us to Hear When We Talk to Our Kids and I look forward to reading it after I finish the Bible in 90 Days.

I have to admit I was a little nervous about meeting Zan Tyler for the first time. I have been reading her homeschooling articles since I started homeschooling and consider her a homeschooling pioneer. After meeting her I immediately felt at ease, as if I was talking with an old friend. We discussed the early days of homeschooling, the direction it is headed now, and some of her homeschooling memories. What amazes me about Zan is that even though she has finished homeschooling her own children, she continues to be a leader in the homeschool movement. While many mom’s happily take a (well-deserved) break, Zan keeps on leading, influencing, and encouraging homeschool families.

I asked her how she would encourage moms who are growing weary during the long days of winter and she had some great practical advice. Get out of the house. She encouraged homeschooling moms to take a few field trips, exchange childcare with another family, or just do something to break up with routine. After spending several months inside the house during the winter, a change of pace can be a good thing.

On Saturday I sat down and had a long chat with Debra Bell. Deb (and, yes I can call her Deb because we are friends now) is the author of The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling. If you are considering homeschooling, new to homeschooling, have been homeschooling for years, or know a homeschooler I would encourage you to read this book. Deb is smart, funny, engaging, and best of all she is the real deal!

Deb spoke on Standing Strong with Teenagers, and as a mom of two teenagers, I was excited to learn from someone who has four homeschool graduates. One thing that really impressed me was that all of Deb’s children were serving overseas or in the inner cities of America. I asked Deb if there was anything she did to help cultivate an adventurous spirit in her children. She told me that she did not homeschool her children to protect them but rather to prepare them for life after homeschooling. Those words are still in the forefront of my mind days after our chat. While I do want to protect my kids from certain worldly influences, my true desire is to prepare them for a life beyond this home. Many days I lose sight of that goal, because protecting is so much easier than preparing.

Debra also encouraged homeschooling moms to involve their families in a local co-op or homeschooling program. Every family has strengths and weaknesses, and joining other families helps give your child a well-rounded education. I felt relieved to know someone else taught her kids art, while she taught writing to other homeschoolers. It was a great reminder that we are not alone in this journey.

Deb’s new book, The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens come out next month. I am sure this book will be a wonderful resource for the homeschooling family and you can count on a book review from me this summer.

I cannot wait for the next Apologia Live conference. The timing was absolutely perfect, as many homeschooling moms start looking longingly at June right about now. I am thankful for my renewed desire to finish the year strong and excited about the future of our homeschooling.

Silas had a great time at the conference!

The food was delicious and there was plenty of it!

I love JoAnn’s. I am on their mailing list so I receive the 40% off coupons in the mail every few weeks. I also signed up for their teacher discount program, which includes homeschoolers! To be eligible for the discount you must show proof that you are a homeschooler. You can use your state or local homeschool membership card, HSLDA membership card, or any documentation from your county proving your are a homeschooler.

When you sign up for the program you receive a card for 15% off all your purchases (sale and non sale items) for one year. You also receive a one time use coupon for 20% off your total purchase including sale items. I always save my 20% off coupon for a big purchase. Your teacher discount card can be used in the store or online. There is no limit to how many times you use your Teacher Rewards card.

If you can’t wait to hit the stores, shop Joann.com and use the coupon code AE74 and save 40% off one regularly priced item.

I LOVE homeschool conferences. For me they are a time to connect with other homeschoolers, receive encouragement, and learn a lot about myself and homeschooling. On March 12-13, I will be attending the Apologia Live Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. I am so excited about this opportunity as I missed the conference last year.

Speakers include:

• Rachael Carman – author of SoundBites from Heaven
• Zan Tyler – author of 7 Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential
• Debra Bell – author of the best selling Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling
• Elizabeth Smith – with HSLDA and the Homeschool Foundation

Apologia provided me with the recordings from last year’s conference and I have been listening to Deb Bell, Sally Clarkson, and Zan Tyler speak with passion and conviction on topics like wisdom, God’s word, and joy. After listening to the CD’s I am even more excited to attend the 2010 Apologia Live Conference.

This year’s conference theme is Standing Strong: Renew your vision… Refresh your soul… Rekindle your light… Rebuild… Recharge… Restore… Revitalize. With a high schooler, middle schooler, three elementary aged kiddos, plus a toddler and a baby I am ready for some refreshment! To make this wonderful conference even better, this year I am attending with my dear friend Crystal who you might know from her website Money Saving Mom. I was able to meet her for the first time in real life this weekend and I look forward to hanging out with her again in March.

The wonderful folks from Apologia Live have offered to give one of my readers a conference pass to either the Baltimore conference in March or their Chicago conference in October. I also have five CD’s to give away to my readers from last year’s conference. The titles include:

• Walking in the Light of God’s Grace – Zan Tyler
• Walking in the Light of God’s Joy – Sally Clarkson
• Walking in the Light of God’s Wisdom – Elizabeth Smith
• Walking in the Light of God’s Word – Zan Tyler
• Walking in the Light of His Plan Everyday ~ Rachel Carman

To enter the giveaway please leave a comment. I realize not everyone can attend conference in Baltimore or Chicago, so if you would like a chance to win a conference pass please specify that in the comments. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered to win one of the cd’s.

I hope to see some of you in Baltimore next month!

I was out of town at the beginning of the week and my husband took over the homeschool duties for two days.

I think it went well.

If you homeschool or are considering homeschooling, tune it tonight (Monday, August 10th) to Frugal Coast 2 Coast radio show. I will be talking about inexpensive ways to homeschool your kids.

If you are not familiar with Frugal Coast 2 Coast it is hosted by Lynnae of Being Frugal and Jenn of Frugal Upstate. I had the pleasure of meeting both these women at BlogHer09. This will be Lynnae’s first year of homeschooling so I hope to be able to share some tips I have learned from my many homeschooling friends who paved the way for me.

The show starts at 8:30pm EST. Click over to the Blog Talk Radio website to find out how you can listen in.

I am happy to annouce the launch of my new homeschool website, Homeschool 365. It is my hope to chronicle our homeschool year using the website as an online portfolio. I look forward to seeing you over there!

I was looking forward to this BlogHer 09 session all weekend. It was moderated by Dana Loesch, with Jennifer James and Shannon Entin sitting on the panel. I have followed Dana on Twitter for a while and was excited to hear what she had to say about social media and homeschooling.

The discussion moved quickly and covered topics such as using the internet to educate or supplement your child’s education, using blogging as a curriculum tool, reading other homeschooling blogs for curriculum ideas, and the impact social media has had on homeschooling.

The impact of social media on homeschooling has been amazing. The internet, and more recently sites like Twitter and Facebook are excellent tools for getting information to large numbers of homeschoolers quickly. Recently social media was used to spread the word about a bill that would have been devastating to homeschoolers in a certain state (sorry can’t remember which state). Within hours over 3000 homeschoolers united to defeat the bill. This was made possible through the use of twitter, email, and other social media sites.

Social media also has a downside for homeschoolers. Buy using the internet to help others homeschool, you expose yourself to those who might not agree with homeschooling or be critical of your decisions. Publishing start and ending times for school, field trips before they happen, and other detailed information is not a good idea. Many of the homeschoolers agreed it is better to talk about times, locations and events after the fact to protect your family from internet trolls.

All in all, everyone agreed that the internet is a great tool for homeschoolers. Personally, I rely heavily on the internet in our homeschool. We watch videos on youtube, research online, and use websites to supplement our paper books. I also use the internet to connect with other homeschoolers. Twitter has a homeschool chat once a month which is a great way to discuss hot topics or learn more about homeschooling in general.

How about you? Does the internet play a large role in your homeschool? Do you participate in any homeschool forums? What are your favorite online homeschool resources?

Homeschooling is extremely important to our family. I am thankful to the many families who came before us and homeschooled before there was internet, support groups, or even homeschooling curriculum! While I grumble at times about the homeschooling laws in our state, I realize that many who homeschooled 25 years ago faced losing their kids and going to jail for educating their children at home. Their sacrifices paved the way for the homeschooling freedom I have today.

As we begin our tenth year of homeschooling, I have decided to create a separate homeschooling site. It is still in development, but it should launch in early August. It will chronicle our homeschool year, as well as be a place of encouragement for those who are on this homeschooling journey. I realize that homeschoolers come in all flavors, but I truly believe we can all learn from each other and be a source of support for one another.

I posted a homeschool tip over at the homeschool post. Check it out today.

This weekend is going by way too fast, aside from the fact that I am seeing tons of friends at this convention, I have met many awesome vendors and speakers.

I hope to post more specifically about some of the sessions when I do not have to type in the hotel lobby, but for now I’ll just show you a few pictures from the weekend, so far.

Michele from Kids Love Travel, she is even sweeter in person than on Twitter!

Hanging out with the Dave Ramsey Crew. (Which by the way are an awesome bunch of folks!)

My new friend, Ginny from Homeschool Mania. She is hilarious and I convinced her to sign up for Twitter so you must follow her and show her some Twitter love, since she has no idea how it works! Her company sells fun homeschool t-shirts. I found a really cute fish one for my oldest, but I think I might wear tomorrow just to try it out!

One of the highlights today was hearing Voddie Baucham speak on homeschooling and worldview. This guy is awesome. I could listen to him all day! He is speaking tomorrow morning on the cultural wars and I can’t wait to hear him again!

I have much more to share with you all… when I return!

My good friend and blogging partner Joy has written an ebook, Learn the States and Postal Abbreviations. If you have not been to Joy’s site you must visit and check out her amazing downloads page. Joy is an awesome graphic designer (she designed my site) and has created a ton of free home school worksheets for you to download.

Joy’s first eBook is a great way to help your kids learn their states and postal abbreviations this summer. I know for my children learning the abbreviations has been very difficult since there doesn’t seem to be a set rule, either first two letters, first and last letter, or first and random letter. Joy’s ebook breaks down all the states and their abbreviations in an easy to learn format. She also includes map worksheets to help children learn their U.S. geography. Teacher keys and detailed lesson plans are included too, which make this ebook extremely teacher friendly.

You don’t have to be a home schooler to use this ebook. This is a great tool to help your children get ahead this summer. The best part about the book is that it is only $5.95. But from now until June 19th you can get the book for $2.95 by using the code HAPPYHOUSEWIFE. Since the book is in electronic form you can print out and use the worksheets with all of your children.

I have one ebook to give away. All you need to do is leave a comment with your state abbreviation (cute, I know!). For an extra entry tweet about this contest and leave a second comment. This giveaway is open to readers world wide, although I am not sure how helpful a US geography book would be to our friends in New Zealand.

Giveaway ends Friday June 5th, Cora time.