Bear cove village and Wild Bear Falls Review, Mini Vacay

I took a little break from blogging and didn't get to blog about our mini vacay in August. My Dad wanted Elijah to have a vacation so he funded our trip. My Sister, Elijah, and I stayed at Bear Cove Rv. I chose Bear Cove because we needed somewhere affordable to stay where we could cook our own meals. Bear Cove has little cabins you can rent. Now when I say little I mean tiny it was one bedroom and the bed room was smaller than some peoples closets. The largest room when you first walked in was the kitchen and had a bunk bed with a twin sized bed on top and full on the bottom. The kitchen was fully stocked. It had a two eye burner, microwave, small refrigerator. The bathroom had a stand up shower and toilet. Plenty of hot water. Outside we had a fire put with a grill top. Everything in Bear Cove Village was so nicely decorated and well kept. The only issue we had was the freezer in the mini fridge was frozen up and the fridge wasn't very cold. The cabins are very close together. There is a walking trail, doggie park, fishing pond, two pools, and laundry mat. 

      Our home away from home for the weekend

                  The inside of our cute little cabin

The first night we drove up to Gatlinburg. Elijah picked out TGI Fridays to eat at. It wasn't very crowded and our service was excellent. They are excellent with food allergies. Afterwards my Sister let Elijah pick one thing to do. He decided to play putt putt. We went to the indoor blacklight putt putt. Elijah had 3D glasses that he did not keep on. I tried them but they were over stimulating. This was Elijah's first time playing putt putt and he loved it. We did not keep score but it was fun anyways, Elijah probably won. He was doing a lot better than I did. Afterwards we walked around Gatlinburg and headed back to the cabin. 

The next morning we decided to go to Wild Bear Falls in Gatlinburg. We took a ride on the trolley first to an arcade so Elijah can play some games. I'm very glad we went to Wild Bear Falls instead of Spash Country. It wasn't crowded and wasn't over stimulating for Elijah and the best thing is that it is all indoor and it's a small space so keeping up with Elijah wasn't a nightmare. 

The slides ares AWESOME. One is a body slide and the other you use a tube. I got my excersize for the week walking up and down the stairs.

Wild Bear Falls is an indoor waterpark. It has a lazy river, pools, hot tubs, play area for the kids, and two awesome slides. It's not huge but it was perfect for us and we really enjoyed ourselves. I wish I had snuck food in because the food was not good. You can leave and eat and come back with the armband. They also have picnic tables outside so you could pack a cooler in your car and go out to eat and come back. We will probably do that next time.

When we left Wild Bear Falls we went back to the cabin and made Pizza and S'mores. We lit a fire outside so Elijah could have a little camping experience. I really wanted to go to the mountains on our last day but it was raining. We had so much fun on our mini vacay and I am so grateful to my dad and my sister. I really hope we get to do it again. I would definitely stay at Bear Cove Village again. All we needed was a place to sleep since we weren't going to be there a lot and having a kitchen was a plus.

If you're going to grill or make a fire you will need to buy wood, we foraged for this since we just wanted a small fire for s'mores.

I was not compensated for this review.

BONUS LAUGH

This is me flipping after coming out of the tube slide, this happened EVERYTIME. It was comical for everyone who saw. 

For more information on Wild Bear Falls or Bear Cove Village:

https://www.westgatedestinations.com/tennessee/gatlinburg/westgate-smoky-mountain-resort/wild-bear-falls-water-park/park-info

http://bearcovevillage.com

“Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.”

Psalms 116:7 KJV

Homeschool Review- Clever Dragons

I signed up for a free 15 day trial of Clever Dragons today. Looking for some enrichment games for Elijah and didn't want to have to worry about what was being taught or if it was in line with our curriculum or faith values. It is very appealing aesthetically. It is Gender based. You choose either Always Icecream (for girls) or Clever Dragons (for boys) it does have bible games but the other games are not faith based.

When Elijah logged in he made an Avatar. He picked a pet that he named and he can play with. There are daily challenges for him to complete. One of the ones he completed today was about internet safety that I was impressed with. Clever Dragons teaches about internet safety. Which is awesome because you can interact with friends on Clever Dragons. There is a disclaimer that says all posts have to be approved and the chats are moderated. I really liked that they email you progress reports. The games are repetitive so the kids will remember what they learned. I like the price. It's affordable and I don't mind paying it if it's something he is actually going to use. They also have learning apps on the AppStore. 

What does Clever Dragons and Always Ice Cream teach?

Basic to Advanced Math, including Geometry Geography Language Arts Science Biblical Studies (can be enabled or disabled) Arts & Music Keyboard Typing Classical content, including Greek & Latin roots, Latin, and Attic Greek Spanish, Chinese, French and German (Including click & learn pictures and type-what-you-hear audio games) NEW: Dozens of teaching videos tailor-made especially for our sites! NEW: Expanded Beginning Reading with many more games on the way!

The most important thing is if he is going to use it which time will tell but I do see us paying for a subscription. We used an iPad to play these games and it worked well but you will need to download puffin for the flash technology.

                                                       Map of Learning 

Daily Challengers, he gets Gold to spend on games when completed. Parents can also give gold for doing chores, etc.

       Safe videos for kids to watch, also educational

                       Menu for learning games

They have a lot of games on the App Store this is just a few

What else does Clever Dragons and Always Ice Cream offer?

• Internet safety — optional social networking moderated by homeschooling moms.
• Learning sites that are tailored towards the unique needs of girls (www.always-icecream.com) and boys (www.clever-dragons.com).
• Weekly reports on your child's learning progress.
• Smart Learning: Carefully spaced review sessions solidify learning in a scientifically proven approach.
• Interactive games, like a cooperative team race or a pet with its own online schoolhouse, give kids even more motivation to learn!
• Creative learning opportunities, including a weekly newspaper written by and for students, an art studio, and an online business simulation!
• Additional options for parents who purchase the Premium Parent Account: Set goals, track study time, let kids take specific assessments in more than 100 learning areas, review their errors, and document the process with customizable report cards! Optionally require children to first finish their assigned work before using any other features on the site.
• A site that is 100% free of advertising.
• Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back!

Go to www.clever-dragons.com for more information. They have a 15 day free trial which is what we are currently doing.

This was not a paid review.

Women's Retreat 2015

September 11-13 I was away at a Women's Retreat with our Women's Ministry at church. I was super excited about this retreat because it was my Moms first Women's Retreat. My Mom has been attending church very faithfully this past year. It's huge for me because we haven't went to church together since I was little. We haven't studied the bible together before and we did that at the women's retreat. My Mom and I rode up to Pigeon Forge with my Aunt Angela. We finally found our cabin which was the Big Elk Lodge. This cabin was huge! It slept 74 people, had a huge kitchen, movie theater, two hot tubs, game room and three floors of rooms. Very impressive and we were blessed to be upgraded to this cabin for free from a smaller cabin. The owners are amazing. We started our lessons the first night. 

                                                           Big Elk Lodge

We had a wonderful speaker Jennifer Mathewson Speer, she was flown in from Florida. I will put her links below. Our study for the weekend was Women of Grace. They were women in Jesus's lineage. Women who were not perfect and some were a mess and God chose them to use for his glory. The theme of the weekend was that Gods Grace is big enough to cover our mess. I loved her message and I can't wait to order her book when it comes out at the end of October. 

         Our awesome Women's Ministry Directors with Jennifer Matthewson Speer

I stayed in a room with My Mom, Aunt, and my aunts friend Diane. There were three twin sized bunk beds in the room and it had it's own bathroom. I was on the top bunk for the first night. I was excited because I haven't slept on top bunk in a long time. That excitement dampened when I learned I am not young anymore and clumping a clunky wooden ladder is hard when you're out of shape and overweight. I use a c-pap machine for sleep apnea. That was a little bit of an annoyance to my room mates who said it sounded like a small vacuum, but let me just say their snoring was worse, lol. Saturday morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast of the most scrumptious breakfast casseroles. I really need to get the recipe. My favorite was the spinach and mushroom. After a quick break after breakfast we started our next study. We studied 4 women over the weekend. Sarah (Sarai), Tamar, Ruth, and Rahab.

Sarah: Sarah's story can be found in Genesis 12-23 we learned that God is waiting for us to take our hands off of it because he wants all the Glory. We pick up burdens that are not ours to carry. We can't save ourselves, it's God by Grace. God says my Grace is BIGGER than your choices. Anytime we try to do what only God can do chaos happens.  

Tamar: Tamar's story can be found in Genesis 38 and Matthew 1 I learned that God can cover any life with Grace. Don't keep dwelling on past hurt, don't replay it over and over, of Hods Grace can cover this mess he can cover everything, Frisk every thought at the door of your mind, Renew your mind by the word of God. 

Release blessings: be kind to one another, show Grace that we have been shown by Christ.

Thoughts about forgiveness: Forgiveness is not the denial of the pain, it does not negate, forgiveness redeems. Forgiveness does not mean restored trust or relationships. It does not undo consequences. Forgiveness is not a one time thing. 

Rahab: Rahab's story can be found in Joshua 2 I learned through Rahabs story that Faith is acting on revealed truth. God expects us all to be women of Faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Until you take that first step of faith God will not give you the next one. 

I lost my notes on Ruth so I will have to borrow someone else's and edit this. 

We had some wonderful singing led by our awesome choir director April. When our sessions were over we had free time. It was my Moms birthday so we went out to Olive Garden to celebrate with my aunts and some of our church family. So delicious! I really enjoyed the women's retreat. It always goes by so fast because we do a lot and have a lot of fun. Jennifer was so refreshing and I really enjoyed her study and am looking forward to her book. As soon as I get it I will post a review and links. 

More pictures from the weekend 

This is where My Aunts, Mom and I sat during the Sessions. Comfy couches were first come first serve.

                              My Mom and I

Late night laughs with your church family is the best, what happens on the retreat stays on the retreat.

These views made me so homesick for the Mountains, I grew up in Kodak and woke up to this every morning.

For information on Jennifer Matthewson Speer http://www.wordofjoy.org 

Review of Alpha Omega Publications Monarch

When I pulled Elijah out of Public School ,for the SECOND time, we used Switched on Schoolhouse. I loved everything about SOS once I got used to it. It was SO much better than K12, which I tried before and failed miserably at thus causing me to have a mental breakdown and re enroll Elijah into PS. The only drawbacks to SOS is that you can only load it onto one computer, so unless you load it onto a laptop you are chained to your PC for school. There is also the price. To a single Mom $399 is a lot to come up with at one time. So last year I decided to check out Monarch. The reviews said is was basically SOS, only online. This was very appealing to me because my son sometimes stays with his Nanny and he would need to be able to do school over there. The closer for me was the individual monthly payment plan. For $40 a month my son has access to all of Monarchs curriculum. 

If you are coming from SOS to Monarch, it's gonna take a while to get used to. The menus and features are different. The lessons seem to be the same design. Something I hope they add is the attendance tracker. I really liked that feature in SOS. It does not currently exist in Monarch. 

    

                                       His Start Page

                                   My Start Page

I love the report card, daily work report, and transcripts features. The Bible curriculum blows me away. I learn just as much as he does from it. You can print the test questions and use them as a study guide. They have fun games at the start of each lesson that my son enjoys to play and they keep his attention and actually learns from them. I also really love that in every subject God is woven in. I know that his mind is safe with Monarch. 

                        A look at his assignments

Elijah has Aspergers and his niche is electronics, especially video games and computers. He excels with Monarch. Much more than he did in a classroom setting. He can work at his own pace and that pace right now is ahead of his classmates back in public school. 

We love homeschool. I am not much of a hands on homeschool Mom. that's why I love Monarch. He works on his own and if he has trouble with something he can ask me, but the instructions are so clear it is rare that he asks me for help. If he is having trouble with something, I can have him redo the lesson. There are Projects and Experiments. I pick and choose what we do of those. I really like the customer service, even though they are only available during certain times. My son likes this curriculum and that's the most important thing. 

Cliques and my new realization

When you hear the word cliques, what do you think of? Immediately the movie Mean Girls come to my mind. So many women and girls (they start young) have been affected by cliques. 

What is a clique? Wikipedia defines cliques: a clique (CanE,UK /ˈkliːk/ or US /ˈklɪk/) is a group of people who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting.^[1] Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popularity. Although cliques are most commonly studied duringadolescence and middle childhood, they exist in all age groups.

That's it. It doesn't say anything about mean girls, fighting, etc. I know that my experience with cliques is negative, but I am socially awkward. I don't do well in social situations. Not ALL cliques are bad and They aren't ALL good either. I think it's probably half and half. 

I was thinking a lot today and my thought was, Would I feel this way if I was IN the clique. No, I probably wouldn't. I would be happy because I was in a group of people who have known each other for a long time. 

Am I in a clique? I have a small group of homeschool Moms that I love to hang out with. We are comfortable with each other. We have our own love language, we joke around, we have a lot of fun. We tend to group together when we are out somewhere with other homeschool Moms. We try very hard to include everyone. 

I don't take social cues sometimes so if I have every excluded you I'm sorry. 

I don't think it is wrong to enjoy the company of your friends. I love that people have close relationships and do things together. 

I have let my feelings get hurt when I see a group of friends post pictures of them having an awesome time and that my friends is a normal feeling but it can also be sinful if you obsess over it.

Envy: a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success,possessions, etc.

Envy is a Cardinal Sin (7 Deadly Sins)

I wish the World was this fuzzy warm place where everyone loved each other and it was possible to include each other, but it's not. It's not feasible. I don't think every clique is bad. I don't think they all mean to leave people out or are trying to make people jealous.

My Domestic Abuse Testimony

I was going to save this post for October which is Domestic Violence month, but it has been laying heavily on my heart. Timehop can be a blessing and a curse. On August 10 it reminded me of the worst day of my life. It was the day I was assaulted by my then Husband. 

Timehop is a great app. It shows you pictures and posts you have made over the years on social networks on that date in time. It's great unless you have something's you would rather not be reminded of. I have tried so hard to forget that period in my life. Four years later and I can still feel his hands around my neck and seeing my child run into the room while his "new daddy" was on top of Mommy choking her to death. Him running into the room probably saved my life. I was able to grab my phone and run outside and call 911. He was arrested for Aggravated Assault and sent to prison.  

It wasn't the first time

I am ashamed to say it wasn't the first time he put his hands on me. When we first got married he took a six inch kitchen knife and held it to my throat because I hid his alcohol. He punched me repeatedly in the head causing me to blackout in the car while my son watched. That's just the things I am okay with talking about. There are things I don't think I'll ever be okay with speaking publicly about. There were holes in the walls of my apartment where he punched them. He threw a baking sheet at me and broke a bone in my foot. Choked me and threw me against a window sill where I hit my head and had to go to the ER for a concussion. This was the first time the cops were involved. The ER said they had to call them because of the strangulation marks. I spoke to the officer and told him what happened but that I didn't want to press charges. I was so delusional. 

I was going to lose my son

My Aunt came and got my son from the hospital and she was expecting me to come to her house. When I went back to him she kept my son and would not let him come home. He had already seen so much violence. My husband was drinking as soon as he woke up. He tried to get sober when my aunt took Elijah, that didn't last long. He started to get violent again and I locked him out of the apartment. He broke the living room window to get in. I called the police. They couldn't do anything because it was his apartment and his name was on the lease. They wouldn't make him leave so I had to go stay with my Aunt. He started texting me and told me he was going to change and so of course I went back. 

The night it all changed

My husband had been drinking all day long. He and Elijah had made plans to do a camp out sleep over in his bed room. Just the two of them. Well he had been hallucinating earlier and had started getting rough with my son so I said it's not a good idea lets just do this another night. You talk about someone flipping out. This man lost it. All because I didn't want him around my child at that point. Elijah was in his room at the time. My husband charges me full force and tackled me to the floor and with everything he had was strangling me. I was starting to black out and I see this little 6 year old running into the room. It was all just slow motion. He let go and I grabbed my phone and ran outside to call 911 with him on my heels. He told me if he went to jail that as soon as he got out he would kill me. The cops got there quick. They pretty much knew us by now. I pressed charges. Even in the dark the officers could see the strangulation marks on my neck.

Court 

Court is terrifying for someone who has been through domestic violence. I first had to go to the Family Justice Center and have all my bruises, scrapes, and strangulation marks photographed as evidence. I had to give my statement and work with the victim witness coordinator. They assessed how much danger I was in and it was very high. I was very lucky to still be alive. I felt very alone. I was glad to have my Mom with me during court. When I spoke to the judge my lawyer and the Defense Attorney were holding me up. I was shaking so bad because he was in the room with us. I was promised that he would get his sentence. I got a 5 year order of protection, which is just a piece of paper. It does not really protect me. He got 3 to 5, but because of jail overcrowding he got out on supervised probation. I feel like he got a slap on the wrist and I got PTSD for the rest of my life. I can't handle any loud noises that startle me when I'm in my house. If someone knocks on my door I go into panic mode. I still have nightmares. It has severely affected the way I see men. I have not tried to date. This man graduated Seminary, he was well read in the bible. I thought God sent him just for me and Elijah. Elijah called him Dad. It was a horrible experience and really messed up Elijah's view of men when he already didn't have that great of an opinion on them. 

Please, don't be a fool like I was

Get help. The first time a man hits you should be his last. I heard all the excuses. I'm sorry, I'll never do it again. I need you to help me be stronger. I had family and friends who tried to help and I pushed them away. He made sure to alienate me from my church family too. I am very lucky to have an amazing church family. They are the reason I got through this. I had two choices I could give up and die which I did contemplate suicide or I could fix my eyes on God and hand it all over to him and rely on him to carry me through. He did. Elijah and I both had a lot of sleepless nights and nightmares but 4 years later all that remains is my PTSD and I am finally going to get help for it. I've been super anxious this week. I think it's these reminders from my past. God has been faithful. He has kept us safe. Please if you need help please confide in someone before it is too late and press charges the first time. Don't wait until he puts you in the hospital the third or fourth time like I did. You can't change him, he isn't going to stop. The only thing that's going to happen is you're going to end up dead or your kids are going to end up the target.

Rejoice Dance Ministries...my heart for 9 years

We had an amazing service this morning. The Holy Spirit showed up and was bursting inside of me. I felt like I was going to explode. Our Dance Ministry, REJOICE, did a wonderful dance to Break Every Chain as our Youth Minister/Pianist/American Idol (seriously the man can sing) sang the song. It was nothing short of a blessing and if you weren't blessed by it then you were just dead inside today. I will post a link to the video I took of the performance below.

                         An old picture of Rejoice, we have been through SO much.

I remember the first time I saw Rejoice perform at church. I had never experienced worship like that before. Elijah was a baby and it was all I could do to keep from jumping out of my seat with him. They were doing Nicole C Mullen's When I call on Jesus. Now, I am a mover. If you goto church with me then you know I can't sit still. I am always moving especially when I am singing. I have always been a dancer. Maybe not professionally but in my heart I am a dancer.

                                              Ministering at Western Heights Projects

I had asked Kristy, who was the leader at that time if I could join. She told me that everyone who joins Rejoice must feel that they are led by God to join the dance ministry. I would start out by coming to practices and showing my faithfulness to the ministry. A really HUGE thing in Rejoice is that we are to not be seen but we want others to see Christ through us. The spotlight isn't on us it's on the message God is wanting is to give his people.

                                Rejoice at the Tennessee Valley Fair last year

There is nothing like dancing for God. It wouldn't matter if I was alone, dancing just for God would be enough for me. When I am in front of everyone that's what I picture anyways. I am in the presence of God. I am also praying continuously that God uses us as his vessels. Use our hands and feet Lord to do your work. I get so excited to see a Rejoice performance, especially when I am not the one performing because I get to be ministered to. It's always a treat. I hope you enjoy the video! 

Rejoice Dance Ministries Performing Break Every Chain

https://youtu.be/GKyQPDgugPs