An unexpected benefit, if you will, of embarking on a 5 day camping trip with dear friends and purposefully ignoring social media, is that I was completely unaware of the horrifying events which took place on Friday.

I fully expected to come back on Sunday night and share the many stories from the last few days.  Days filled with children frolicking without a care in the world.  Days of sitting with sweet friends and commiserating over the day to day dribble of parenting.

But today adequate words fail me.

Instead, I wanted to share a bit of a different insight into an aspect of this tragedy.  I believe that this is a big part of what we ought to be discussing.  Please read this article.

I know this event has affected you all, like it has affected me.  God bless you, my sweet fellow mommies and daddies.

I’m going to have relatively no internet connection for the next few days.  (hold me)  I’ll be back next week. Hopefully refreshed with a lot of stories to tell.  Have a great weekend, my friends!

I’m about to do that thing I swore I’d never do.  GO CAMPING.  What this means is that I will be away from the internet.

I’m taking limited electronics, mostly in the form of my iPhone (the really old slow one, not the hoopty ploopty one that tells you where to bury the body…well, nevermind).

I’ve been slaving over the stove for the last two days pre-cooking all of our meals.  This way I can justify ALL THE SITTING I plan on doing for the next few days.  I look forward to taking far too many pictures and spinning way too many yarns.  Have a fantastic rest of the week, and this happy camper will be back soon.

First off, thank you so much for all of the wonderful curriculum suggestions for our study of the United States next year.  HUGELY helpful.

Second, tomorrow is the last day of March, and I wanted to tell you about one last fundraiser push for Find a Kidney for Kelli.  I posted about this last month, when they thought that a donor was all lined up.  That particular donor fell through.  But I’m a firm believer that when a door closes, God throws open a picture window.

Kelli is high up on the deceased donor list, and a living donor may still be found.  At any rate, when a kidney becomes available, Kelli must be ready.  Both financially (for travel, tests, prep, etc.) and physically.  She’s working out the physical part, and a whole bunch of friends are working on the financial part.

This fundraiser is sponsored through GiveForward, a fantastic fundraising organization that only keeps 7% of the donations to cover their own expenses, while the other 93% goes to the patient to help cover the medical expenses.

If you feel led, please donate.  They are asking for folks to give $31 on the 31st!  Some may give more, some may give less.  Anything is appreciated.  For more information, go here.

I’m spending my Wednesday night glued to the CMA awards.  Where I actually recognize artists and songs, as opposed to, say, the Grammys.  Where unless they parade an elderly rocker out on stage, I have absolutely no idea who anyone is.

Or why they would chose to wear a slab of beef and call it couture.  But I’m just backwards like that.

But since I’m on the subject of awards, earlier this week I learned that my little blog was nominated for Funniest Homeschool Blog, at the 2010 Homeschool Blog Awards, hosted by The Homeschool Post.  I am beyond tickled about this.  Absolutely made my week.

Voting ends November 18th.  Go here to throw a vote my way, if you’re so inclined.  And should I happen to win, I promise not to wear a sirloin, as I sit in my office chair, giving my acceptance speech to myself.  But I cannot promise that I won’t look like this:

My proudest blogging moment yet.  Hey Kelli, does this still give you nighmares???

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!