It's Blog Day!

So, what is Blog Day?

Blog Day is an international holiday for bloggers who want to connect with people and blogs from across the world that they otherwise might not get the chance to meet or experience. It's a day to learn about new perspectives, share some insight, and expand your circle of friends even further, just by exchanging a few web links.

And now the big question is, "How will it work?"

Here's the link for the Blog Day posting instructions. It's not at all complicated. We're excited to see all the fun and interesting blogs you have.

So what is Sonlight going to do for this crazy holiday?

Well, post a comment on this post with a link to, and a short description of, your blog. Then, after I sort through the amazing links you all throw our way, I will choose five of them to post on the blog and encourage everyone to visit. Pretty easy, eh? So join us in celebrating this unique holiday and share in the community, sense of exploration, and discovery that Sonlighters have come to love.

Also, if you'd like to share Sonlight with others through your blog beyond just Blog Day, there's a quick and easy way to do so. We've designed a widget just for you that shows the latest three "Sonlight Moments". All you need to do is copy and paste the code into your blog's source code or an HTML widget. If you are uncertain how to do that, let me know. I'm always happy to help.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Blogger, Expectant Father

It Was Going to be a Great Post

-----

A teaser: Blog Day is this Sunday. And I've been given an opportunity to celebrate it with you... but we're not releasing that information until Sunday. So, stay tuned.

-----

I had another idea of something to post, but decided against it today. I couldn't figure out how to make it that interesting.

So, see you Monday after Blog Day!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. If you're like me, I take a day off on Sunday. So, if you wait until Monday morning to check back here, you should be fine. I'll still let you participate <smile>.

Death and a Website

The homeschooling blogosphere has been filled with the news of Dozer's death. I don't know Marsha or David and haven't been following their blog very long. Even so, I keep bringing them up in morning prayer.

Every morning, employees here at Sonlight gather to pray together for unreached people groups, things going on in the company, our lives, the lives of those we know, and our customers who submit requests. We mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. But sometimes it is hard to go back to work after a particularly sobering morning.

But we go back to work because life goes on, even if life will never be the same for those for whom we have prayed. Yet despite the pain, the changes, the gaps or lasting aches, life doesn't change all that much for them either.

And that's the thing that is tweaking with me today: Life isn't the same, but it isn't that different either. Like graduation, marriage, a new job, moving and many other major life events, life permanently shifts but doesn't change that much. We still go to work, spend time with our family, eat, sleep... we're still ourselves, just slightly altered by our experience.

And so it felt odd today to write about the trouble we have been having with Sonlight's website. I mean, that is such a small detail compared to death in a family. But, on the other hand, with the website down, families cannot get access to the materials or help they need. And while it makes perfect sense to pray about both, it feels odd to write about them both as well.

Sorry. This post has been mostly my musings and jumbled thoughts, and I felt I had to get them out there. It has taken me three tries to get to this point.

So we're praying for you and your family, Marsha and David. And we're also working on getting our site back up. We would appreciate your prayers as well--especially for Kurt, our IT guy who has been up almost all night.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

English as Expression

Kelli Crowe got me thinking this morning. Her latest blog post is about a project her sons have been working on. It's really cool, but she notes that

Currently, David likes to write in all caps. ...I think it['s] more about expressing his individuality than anything.

I completely agree.

Over my already long, decorated and prolific writing career <cough, cough>, I have realized something about my creative writing: I do it for my own enjoyment. This is most acutely demonstrated in my poetry, which few enjoy and even fewer understand.

I have written a ton--including an 82 page, single-spaced, 10point Times font rambling poem that acted as my journal over one of my college summers. The "Tome," as I fondly titled it, has been read by two people.

Two.

And I'm one of them.

Thus, the biggest challenge for me, as a writer, has been learning how to write for other people. I'm still working on that. But I love writing, probably largely due to the fact that my parents let me find joy in my expression, and only later bled over my papers in an attempt to make them coherent.

So, besides ALL CAPS, what other ways of self-expression may arise? I can only give you a few examples from my own life:

I loved the Courier font for years.

I love puns and word plays.

I decided early on that "cannot" and "each other" and "P.S." were all silly, as well as the practice of putting the period on the inside of a quote if the last word was "irregular." So:

Ps. We can not bear to listen to eachother when someone is "abnormal".

Sadly, when writing more academically--as I do on this blog--I have to remind myself to do it "properly," but sometimes I don't catch these errors.

And because I love to read myself write, I tend to be rather verbose at times as well.

So for fear for boring my audience who doesn't love my writing nearly as much as I do, I will draw this all to a point: Do not "correct" your child's writing if they are doing something out of exploration and enjoyment of the English language.

I mean, I'm convinced that some poets became "great" because they refused to capitalize anything. Just assume your child is destined for greatness.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Multitasking

...I cannot.

[Side rant: Why in the world is "can not" one word while "eachother" is two?]

I have a lot of little tasks to do throughout the day. Some of them aren't really little, but they are thrown into the mix of daily activities, eternal projects, quick memos, impending deadlines, and things-someone-just-handed-me-to-do-this-instant. Then I go home, spend time with my wife, help with dinner (read: I bug her to make it and keep her company <smile>), blog again, work on other projects that I always put off, and then have time to do as I please before collapsing into bed to rinse and repeat tomorrow. And if I was a good multitasker I think I would thrive in this kind of environment.

But I'm not.

I'm a "focused" kind of individual--meaning I can't focus to save my life unless I only have one thing on which to focus. Give me a task that is moderately interesting and no distractions, and I will disappear for hours without making a peep.

So this new position is an adjustment for me.

My only solace is that when I have kids I may be a better dad for it: Giving my undivided attention to my little darlings.

...a man can dream, right?

So, how about you? Are you a good multitasker? Any tips for those of us who are incapable of breathing and walking at the same time? It's a good thing my heart is on autopilot....

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Panacea Turpentine

One of the many poems I have written includes the phrase "panacea turpentine." Unfortunately, I can't find the context for this meaningless, yet totally awesome, word pairing.

I think I justified it because a panacea is a cure-all and turpentine is a paint thinner, so it almost, almost makes sense. And it sounds cool enough to let it slide.

Why am I telling you this?

To this day, I can't think of the word "panacea" without immediately thinking of the word "turpentine," and I thought of the word "panacea" today... hence the title of this post. And this post is a confession:

I tend to think of Sonlight as a panacea.

...turpentine.

I find myself often feeling like Sonlight is the best option for homeschooling. I believe that Sonlight is fantastic. I work here and see how how much effort is put into the materials; I see how much is done to take care of the end users. I believe in Sonlight's approach to education. I think it is the best. And I'm not the only one.

So it's often hard for me to hear about how much people love other programs and don't find Sonlight helpful. I mean, Sonlight should be right for everyone! Literature-rich homeschooling, "Real" books, a guarantee to knock your socks off, and tons of helpful resources to make it work for you.

But in all my excitement--and I am very excitable--I forget a very important fact: Sonlight is not for everyone; we as a company even go out of our way to make that very clear.

And I was reminded of that this morning when I got a message about a blogger who had recently posted:

Reasons I'm Not Buying Sonlight.
I've been following Luke and his story for some time now. He's an expectant adoptive dad and a real nut for Sonlight Curriculum. ...I mean, here he doesn't even have children yet and he has plans that THIS is going to be the educational method they'd use....

Oh my! What had I said?

Please check out Mrs. C's post. It turns out I hadn't turned her off to Sonlight forever as I had initially feared. But for her and her family, Sonlight isn't the best option (at least for now <smile>).

So, is Sonlight the best? I believe it is. But if it is not right for your family, go with what is.

I wish Sonlight was a panacea, but I don't want it to be a turpentine to your family's educational journey.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Internet Attribution

I got "A"s on my papers in college.

Well, most of the time. There was a "Personal Creed" paper I had to do on eschatology which earned me a "C" because--as the professor told me in his scribblings on the page--it was "NOT a paper to share my personal beliefs" (which happened to go against his own on his pet subject).

Personal Creed ... NOT my personal beliefs. --?


Wow, how did I get there? Sorry, I still have issues. Veering back on topic.


My college grades proved me to be a gud ryter. m'kay?

But I struggled with proper citation in High School, especially when we were told to follow the "official MLA format" which varied from year to year and depended largely on what your teacher thought. So much for "standardized citation" (Holzmann, 48).

I never got in trouble for plagiarism, but I did get docked now and again for putting a comma on the wrong side of this or that, or missing a semicolon somewhere. But now that I'm out here in the Blogosphere, I'm discovering that I am again struggling with "proper citation," and others have this issue as well. I do love links, so I don't think I've committed blog plagiarism yet, but it raises sparks when it happens. [NB: The linked issue has been resolved in the comments.]

This whole issue reminded me of something Weird Al has said: Misattribution is his biggest problem with file sharing. And he has put his songs where his mouth is. [Look at that logical fallacy: Appeal to authority. Oh well. This is a blog post, not a logic midterm.]

What do I do to deserve a "C" for blog standard links?

It's a little thing called "Hat Tips" that I'm still getting my head around. I have yet to do a hat tip, and I feel like I should put one here, but I can't remember which blog it was where I first noticed this concept... which proves to me the importance of hat tipping.


Hat Tip

So, whoever you were, I doff my hat to you, and I will do my best to make such things an official link in the future.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father


Bibliography:

Holzmann, Luke; 48th post on http://www.sonlightblog.com, accessed 8/22/2008.

New Article Up

My second Heart of the Matter Online article has been posted: Do Hard Things: Keep Quiet.

Please give it a little read and I would love to hear your thoughts afterward.


I've been busy today--'course, I'm busy every day <smile>--but I do want to write about "Internet Attribution" sometime, so I'll plan to write about that tomorrow.


Shameless plug again: Go read my latest article!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Shh... It's Coming!

...but don't get too excited: We aren't even close to release.

If you have been following one of my other blogs, you would know that we've been working on MathTacular4 for a while now. But it has been on hold for a few months while I work on other projects.

Well, today it is off the back burner. I've got a lot to do: Edit text, add images, re-shoot a clip, and film another scene and some elements.

And I thought I was busy before <smile>.

In case you missed those posts about filming, I'll re-post a couple images here:


Me Thinking


The Importance of Mirth

Want to read more about our adventures in filming for MathTacular4? Hop over to my media production blog and read all about it (last post of December 2007 and on).

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Digital Flatline

I have long wanted to mentor youth in media production. In fact, that is one of my life mission statements:

To empower and equip youth for the expansion of God's Kingdom in the arts and media.

Toward that end, I started a website and blog dedicated to media production help. That got me started blogging regularly. But a few of us here at Sonlight have been secretly working in the background to get something going for Sonlight students interested in media production.

And it launched yesterday.

Digital Flatline. We are already approaching 200 posts, and I'm having trouble keeping up. But I'm loving every minute of it.

If you're a Sonlight user and you have a student even mildly interested in media production, I'd love to see them over on the Digital Flatline forums. They are a special sub-set of the Sonlight Forums and are about as safe for kids as you can get on the internet. But, as with all things, you should be involved at least initially to see how things go.

That's the big news from my end. And, for me, it's HUGE!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Gun-Toting Teachers

It is now legal for approved teachers in Texas to carry guns to school. Depending on who you read on the topic, this is everything from a fantastic move to a really dumb idea.

Me?

Well, first, most homeschoolers won't have to worry about this that much. But, if any of your kids end up in a public high school (like I did), then this will become a very real issue. And, as educators ourselves, we should all consider the ramifications of such a law.

Second, I have long held to the idea that many restriction laws only hurt honest folk. That's why I am personally against things like DRM while still fully supporting the rights of content creators to get paid for what they do. Making something illegal means that only lawbreakers will have it, and if that is a gun then we are defenseless.

But I also ascribe to the idea that "locks are in place to keep honest men honest," so while anyone could easily break into my house if they wanted to, someone has to choose to do so because my door is locked. If we encouraged/allowed everyone to openly wield a gun, I think we'd just be "leaving our doors open" to violence, so to speak.

The danger of everyone openly "packing heat" was pretty well demonstrated in a film I recently watched. If everyone can just pick up a gun and start shooting, people start shooting often.

We need balance (imagine that).

Crime rates drop, to my understanding, wherever responsible people are allowed to carry firearms. But wherever everyone (including children) openly brandish weapons, violence is rampant. So weapons must not be sitting around on teacher's desks (as some people warn will happen), but I don't see anything wrong with adding another line of defense for our school going children.

This reminds me of a story my dad told me from his school days...


His class was studying communism and the teacher had to step out of the classroom for a moment. My dad, always passionate about learning, started to lead the class in a revolt of the "oppressive" classroom. When the teacher returned, my dad was standing on a desk and leading the class in a chant of, "Down with the evil oppressors!" or something like that.

The teacher tried to regain order, but this only drove the freedom fighters into more of a frenzy.

The little old lady then walked behind her desk, pulled a handgun from her drawer, pointed it at my dad and told him to sit down.

He sat.


Nothing like an object lesson to teach about tyranny and martial law, eh? <smile>

Is my dad horribly scarred from that experience? I don't think so. In fact, in college, my swimming coach expressed his disbelief at modern laws. "We used to go shoot frogs in the creek with our guns after class," he mused. "How times have changed."

Interesting stuff. I wasn't even allowed to have a pocket knife on campus that was longer than 4".

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Vlog Update

Things are very busy here at Sonlight!

Got 57 seconds? Want to take a look?


Vlog: Busy Season - The Back

Yes, things are hopping in the back. My mom said, as I passed by with the camera, "We are so thankful for the orders, but we need to get customers to order earlier!"

Yes, the summer help is starting to head back to school and we are swamped with the orders. We are so thankful for the orders, but it can be draining to push that many boxes out the door every day.

So: Think of the children next year--order early! <smile>

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Academically Adequate

The big news today--at least, today's the first I've heard of it--is a ruling concerning the University of California. It seems that kids who take Christian science courses that do not teach evolution have not been given enough "critical thinking skills necessary to succeed at the University," and these courses are "academically inadequate."

Reading the rest of the article on this ruling, it turns out that the texts they are referring to are mostly Bob Jones University Press and A Beka books. Sonlight was, thankfully, not mentioned. Maybe we're just too insignificant because we don't publish textbooks.

In another article on the subject, I can see why the court would rule this way.

[They rejected] a history course called Christianity's Influence on America [which] "instructs that the Bible is the unerring source for analysis of historical events" and evaluates historical figures based on their religious motivations.

Another rejected text, "Biology for Christian Schools," declares on the first page that "if (scientific) conclusions contradict the Word of God, the conclusions are wrong."

I'm not surprised at all that a secular university would consider such statements "academically inadequate" in regards to critical thinking. In fact, I'd say that the Bible is not a good analytical tool for historical events because the Bible itself does very little historical analysis. And while I firmly believe the Bible is inerrant, most scientific claims from the Bible are based on our interpretation of certain passages.

Is that all that is going on here?

Probably not.

And this is certainly a dangerous path to walk down, especially if this becomes widespread: You are not "educated" until you have bought into the "party line" on this or that subject. And while I am wary of overly religious texts that squelch honest questioning, I am equally concerned when the "educational system" begins to pretend that it knows what is academically adequate. Such claims don't seem to promote critical thinking either.

Thoughts?

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Conspiracies and "Nutritionism"

I wouldn't call myself a "conspiracy theorist," but I do love reading and watching documentaries about conspiracies. They've probably given me some really whacked-out ideas.

Ah well. We can't all be sane! <Bwahahaha ha!>

I was just introduced to another conspiracy. I don't think Brittany's mom intended for that to happen when she innocently picked up a new book. Granted, this book is not nearly as important as the last book she handed me, but it's good nonetheless... and it's about a conspiracy!

Which, by the by, if you have not yet read "Why Gender Matters," you need to pick up a copy right now and read it. Seriously. This is a book I think everyone should read. Everyone. In fact, this calls for a phrase that drives my wife nuts: "Needs must have." I started saying it while in ASL because the signs for "need" and "must" vary only in the intensity of the motion.

I'm a dork like that. I can handle it.

Okay, now onto another interesting--but not nearly as important as Dr. Sax's work--book: "In Defense of Food."

The basic premise of "In Defense of Food" seems to be that American culture has come to believe that eating is about refueling our bodies with nutrients. This has led to the severe health related problems we now experience as a culture (and every other culture starts to experience when they adopt "the American" way of eating).

Humorous and filled with great vocabulary words, this book is informative and fun ...at least what we've read of it.

So, before you consider buying something "fortified" with a particular vitamin or mineral, perhaps you should find out what Michael Pollan has to say. It's really interesting stuff!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Sonlight Tour

Today has been almost completely dedicated to working on the Sonlight Tour... I don't want to give away any spoilers until I'm a little further along.

Until the better, really awesome, knock-your-socks-off tour comes out, feel free to go look at the version I made last time: A Tour of Sonlight. It's pretty interesting... but nothing like what I'm working on right now.


A Better One

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

California Turn

First: Some humor.

Check out this hilarious re-write of "I Will Survive" (the first year of homeschooling). Good stuff.

Second: The second line of the song plays well into the news (yes, I'm reporting really old news by now) that California overturned its initial ruling.

You no longer need to be certified to homeschool your kids. Honestly, that's good news for Sonlight too: We can keep providing great, literature-rich books to families in California as a valid educational model.

Many people are breathing a sigh of relief.

But not everyone. Joanne has a very thought-provoking post on her blog about "Why I am not happy with the CA Court’s Decision."

Well, actually, Joanne's issue has nothing to do with the ruling, and her tone was a little more "fire" than some people may be comfortable with, but the points she raises are really good and encouraging. So, check it out. If you want, feel free to come back and tell me what parts you liked.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

It's a Boy!

My other sister had her baby today! Read more on my dad's blog.

-----

There is quite a bit of discussion going on right now here at Sonlight as to how to best address a recent issue. I'm pretty sure I'm not yet at liberty to say what is going on, but this did bring up an important note:

The managers of Sonlight Curriculum--including John and Sarita--are very concerned with not only the quality of the products we sell but also how useful the materials are for homeschooling families. I am very impressed with what little discussion I have been privy to, and feel that I need to give "props"/"kudos"/recognition to the efforts of "the powers that be."

This reminds me of a situation I was involved with earlier this year. I did some video work for a guy and he was very displeased with the result. I apologized, explained why I did what I had, and then did what I could to make it right. He told me later that he was impressed because I obviously cared about my work.

And that is very much the attitude of the leadership here at Sonlight. When something isn't "perfect," every effort is made to make it right.

And that makes a big difference.

I tend to think of companies as these machine-driven entities incapable of error. I forget that they have people, much like me, working on the products and services I use. And so there are errors.

But what sets aside one company from another is the amount to which they care about their product and their customers.

So, I'm going to propose an addition to an old adage: To err is human; to forgive, divine... and to make it right recognizes the forgiveness we have been granted.

When I do not try to set things right after I make a mistake, it is typically out of a desire for self-preservation; a fear that to do so will harm me. But when I remember that it is not I who provides for me, I am far more willing to sacrifice to make things right.

I do not provide. I can not provide. And so, when I realize that I have been provided for, I can rest in the grace poured out on me and give it to others. And I am glad to work within a company that recognizes that as well.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Vlog Testing

So way back in 2003, my best friend and I bought webcams so we could do the recently hip video chat thing. The cameras cost a pretty penny, especially since we were poor college students. We only used them a few times--the internet just wasn't quite up to streaming video yet.

But recently I've been discussing "vlogs" with the powers that be here at Sonlight as a way to quickly get the word out about a topic. I hadn't used my webcam in a long while, so I hooked it up and gave it a little test. And this is the result:


Webcam Test

That's right: Stellar muddy image, fluid 5fps (frames per second; video is usually 30fps), a color palette rivaling the works of the Impressionist era, and, to top it off, I dropped it into Blogger and the sound got squashed.

All in all: Fantastic. ...if you're looking for that illusive "early web video" look. Not so much if you want to tell people about a great new product. So, it's back to the drawing board for me.

Actually, it's back to the equipment room to find a better camera.

Stay tuned! We may soon step into the world of vlogs!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

In-Laws and Outlaws

My in-laws arrive tonight for a visit. My wife is very excited to see her family again, and this next week should be a lot of fun. And while we have tremendous support from both our families in adopting and homeschooling, I know this isn't a reality for everyone.

Much like the quintessential annoying mother-in-law.

I've never experienced that myself. I get along "famously" with my mother-in-law. I think it has something to do with the fact that, over my life, I have found that girl's mothers like me before their daughters. Ah well.

But some people do have bothersome in-laws and relatives who "get in their business" and are generally troublemakers.

How do you deal with that?

I'll give a few ideas, but without experiencing it myself, I feel a little out of my league. Though, there is a great support resource for this (and other woes) on the Sonlight Forums.

First, as with most troublemakers, we need to keep our cool. I have proven, time and time again, that responding with blood boiling doesn't lead to any kind of resolution. It may feel good to blast someone, but it certainly doesn't bring about peace. Trust me.

Second, we need to become okay with living our own lives. I talk with a lot of high school and college aged kids who struggle with the transition from child to adult. This transition can be equally difficult for their parents, and learning to work together on this can help a lot. Unfortunately, I realize this problem sometimes crops up again when we go through another major life change (often involving kids).

Third, communicate--even if that means asking people to step back. I have a tendency to go after people who bug me, pointing out their errors. Others simply withdraw, convinced it is better just to sever all ties. Both of these approaches are really about ending communication. My approach has the goal of silencing the other person permanently when they see that I am right. The other approach hopes that people just leave them alone forever. Instead, we must strike a delicate balance between these two extremes and really talk the issues over. Sometimes that does mean strongly arguing your case, and sometimes it means you need to ask them just to "lay off" for a while. But we should communicate to get to an understanding, not just jettison the problem.

So, there you have it: My three tips for dealing with both the "in-laws" and the "outlaws" you come across; relative, mortal enemy, or bothersome person on the internet.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Want to Take a Tour?

Any of you ever wanted to take a tour of Sonlight? I know people have asked for it on the Forums, and we've tried to make something before... but nothing has quite worked yet.

Now I'm working on another one. A better one!

But I work here, so I know what goes on within the walls of Sonlight. It's "old hat" to me. But not for you, my faithful readers! So what would you like to see, experience, or learn more about?

What about the mysterious Sonlight Curriculum has you laying awake at night?

Hopefully nothing. Even so, there's got to be something you're curious about. Let me know!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Flint, Tinder and Kindling

No, I wasn't just camping.

Nope, I'm not trying to "spark" a debate. Nothing needs to get "heated" about this.

I'm simply relaying the fact that I have finally seen the much hyped "Kindle" from Amazon.

Sarita shared her feelings and thoughts about electronic readers on her blog, but my impressions are more technical.

First: The E Ink is amazing. Very cool stuff and very easy on the eyes. But the 600x800 resolution feels a little old-school. It doesn't make the text hard to read, but it isn't really pristine either. It feels very turn-of-the-millennium.

Second: The body of the machine feels cheap. I felt like I was looking at my Apple IIe again. Nostalgic, sure, but hardly next-gen technology.

Third: It felt slow. Everything about it felt clunky: Typing, navigating, loading. Once there, the rock-solid E Ink was fantastic, but until the "page" loaded, I felt like tapping my foot. The page turns aren't nearly fast enough for expert readers: <shnick><shnick><shnick> [How do you type that sound?]

I'm very interested in how the next round of Kindles look and behave. There is something to this new display technology and the digital release of text (blogs, anyone?), but the digital device isn't here yet.

At least, not for me.

So, in a few years, the face of books may change. The initial sparks have been made, but the tinder has yet to start smoking. It may be that one day we'll be able to tell a "book" by it's plastic cover, but we don't have a fire yet.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Physicals

Brittany and I are one major step closer to becoming homeschooling parents: We got our physicals today! And with that, once the lab reports come back, we should be done with the U.S. based paperwork for adopting.

It is quiet here at Sonlight today. It's been a long week preparing for the virtual conference and now that Sarita's talk is over, things have settled down.

In other news, MathTacular3 is briefly on hold due to some art inconsistencies. But, it is coming! I hope to have that issue resolved on Monday.

For those of you who have not checked out MathTacular or MathTacular2, you really should do so. The MathTacular series is great, if I do say so myself <smile>.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father