A Mom and a Family of Men!

Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Current Event History Project

Eli had his first current event to research. I had him find an article in a newspaper, read it, and then write down atleast three points from the article. When I first brought this up to him he wasn't thrilled about it. He now loves doing them. :) YAY!


I think it is important for him to see the things happening around him that will be history when he is an old man. He has also brought news to my attention that I wouldn't have seen.





I love his voice. :)


Thursday, June 09, 2011

We are Working Along...


We have been working very hard in school. I can't believe how much we have completed in the past three months when compared with my pregnant and new baby days. Noah has about one to two naps if I am lucky. They are not long and he fights his sleep so much. He is like Eli was...he fears he may miss something.


Remy is deep into his American History studies. I was at the teacher store and I saw hot dot cards for the states. I decided to break out the hot dot pen he had for his addition cards way back in the day. ;) He was very excited to use it again and with the states. I can see an improvement already. We were just looking at a map and saying the states. This is fun because he must find the state and make the pen light up.


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Elijah finished up his book and wrote his book report. I had to give very little correction and NO help during his writing. It is so neat to me to see how he is growing. I can see he is remembering what is expected of him and he is putting those things I have taught him to work. Whew! Sometimes you wonder if they will ever get something. He has never cared to write...but he is finding a happy balance with it.


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Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Dig


In Eli's history he was reading about archeology. I know it isn't the same, but I couldn't resist a little fun. I bought them these kits for 3 dollars at a local craft store.


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Sure looks like Remy is enjoying himself!


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Remy found all of his bones and assembled them.


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I see you, Eli.


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We talked about how it was easy because they could turn it and get pretty rough with it. They could only imagine how crazy it would be to do a full scale excavation where they have to be careful and delicate.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Remy went to Italy today....

...in school and he says everyone has to see this incredible leaning tower!!!!






We also watched this one with the people walking up the tower. Remy said, "Wow, that must be bigger than the Eiffel Tower the people are so small!" Hee hee...


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Remy History and Art

Remy studied about England and he colored a flag.

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He then circled London on his map.


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We also talked about the Netherlands and he wanted to do a flag for there. He also loved the tulips so he drew some for me.


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He has loved learning about the growth of our baby and I just loved this when he brought it to me. He said, "Mommy, this is YOU feeding the baby in your tummy."


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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Remy's George Paper

Remy and I finished up our study of George Washington. He wrote this little paper about him.

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Thursday, August 06, 2009

Blue and White Ming Plates - Ancient China

We made our very on white and blue Ming plates. The Story of the World guide book suggests that you allow the children to make a bowl out of clay, allow them to paint on the white clay bowls with blue paint, let that dry, and then glaze it with glue. I began looking online at old Ming dishware and I knew we had to make something of better quality. We prepare alot of oriental dishes at our house because they are very healthy and YUMMY and so we needed something better than misshapen clay bowls with glue glaze. ;)


The craft store here carries a paint for porcelain made by Pebeo. You can buy porcelain or stoneware dishes, but we used stoneware because they are less than half the price of procelain plates. After you paint the dish it must dry for 24 hours. After the 24 hours you fire it in a 300 degree oven for around 35 minutes. It is dishwasher and food safe after this. :)

We googled images for white and blue ming dishware and then we got to work with ideas in our heads. I was sure to have books with birds, flowers, leaves, and marine life on the table. I even had a how to drawing book and that helped alot. :)

The boys thought this was the BEST idea I have ever had! Hee hee...

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Remy's plate...

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It has a sea dragon, turtles, birds, jellyfish, and fish. See if you can find them all! HA HA!

Elijah's plate...

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I really loved Elijahs. :)

My plate...

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I really loved the samples online of the busier plates, the ones that were completely covered, and the more you looked you saw something new. :)

Here we have Matthew's plate...he is such a show off!

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Isn't that the cutest????

Tonight we are having a yummy meal on our plates and painting our pictograms. :)

Friday, April 24, 2009

Africa Trek

My husband and I are addicted to this show. The way it shares with the viewer the beauty of a sweet and trustful people, the REAL people of Africa, and the way of life that they enjoy in a beautiful and wild country. It should take your breath away when you watch! Matthew and I can't get enough!


Saturday, February 21, 2009

Making a Brick, and Bathing a Puppy.

We have been reading about India and we decided to make our own brick close to the way they would have. We made it...but then the puppies decided to destroy it on day 3. We will just have to make a new one. *sigh*

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Let me tell you, those puppies had a grand time destroying our little mud brick. They were so happy and entertained. They believe that we made it just for them!

Remember our broccoli from last years garden? Well, it thrived all winter long and now at the dawn of spring look at what we have...

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Grammy sent the boys a valentine. She is too cute and you can tell by her little gifts that she puts great thought into them. I love how she pasted the card on a big heart and then attached 2 little chocolate hearts for each boy. :) They loved it Grammy!

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Elijah gave his little speckled dog a bath one night. He is getting so big!

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Monday, November 24, 2008

Wise Words, From Abraham Lincoln

I have made it no secret of how dissapointed I am in the outcome of our presidential election.

But, I didn't feel McCain was the one either. He was just the one I liked and agreed with the best. And I loved that VP pick he made. :)

Anyway, today in our homeschool, Elijah and I looked at Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address. I was floored. And thankful that not only did the Lord give my son a great lesson in a past great man, but that Lincoln's bold words could touch my heart and make me not so weary of the future.

Read what had me so impressed:

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds."

This is the stuff history is made of! This is the type of words our children so need to hear! I am humbled today. I am so blessed to have the chance to pass on to my children real learning, learning that changes the heart. This has happened so much in the past few weeks. I am just so thankful for homeschooling. It is a blessing in so many ways. I really love it.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

And people wonder why I don't support government ran schools...


Just ask any government school child or the product of these wonderful government schools (raising my hand and screaming ME ME ME!) about the pilgrims. Go on, and then come back and tell me what you learned.

Before I schooled my children I believed that the Pilgrims were sweet gentle people who just wanted to be left be. So they boarded a ship called the Mayflower and they lived in the country I now live in. They started my country. And that I was blessed to live here. My government education went on to tell me that they wore perfectly starched whit and black clothing in pristine condition.

I remember faintly hearing that some of the pilgrims died. BUT NO ONE SAID HALF! I am sure this was to protect my youthful and trusting outlook on life. To have me not ask more questions. Had I known what these men, women, and children went through for me to have the right to exsist in this country were I am free I would have taken my life more seriously. I wouldn't have wasted it on what I wasted it on. I would have fought harder to keep these rights precious.

Wanna know how I and millions of other young precious children that parents love so very much and trust to the government ran schools are lied to? Come on, bear with me. Every parent I know LOVES and is CRAZY about their children. Those children are the reason they exsist. Almost every parent I know is a GREAT parent. They want the BEST for their kids. But free education is just too enticing. And well, your child gets what you pay for.

I don't say this to be mean. I do believe there are GREAT teachers out there. But there are not enough. And our sweet children are being taught to a test. Tests that don't tell us a heap of nothing about our smart kids minds. And these kids don't have time to study on their own and if they do they should be playing. After school and 5 hours of homework (my public school mama friends tell me this is true) these kids are burned out. They are still behind when you look at other children in the world. We spend more on our children to educate them. And we are churning out kids who are tired of school or just plain tired. But still not learning. I am talking about real learning. Truth. And nothing but the truth.

The pilgrims didn't wear perfect black and white costumes.

It would look more like this:



You don't have to believe me. Just start asking people what the pilgrims wore. Then ask them what they know about them. If they don't tell you that they were jailed for wanting to leave the church of England and that they went against LAWS to worship God how they felt they should. If they tell you that the pilgrims were just sweethearts and just came over here to get away look out! Government education at it's finest. I never knew they didn't just come from one place to here. REALLY! Holland never came up in my watered down versions in the government written and picked "textbooks" I was issued to borrow.

I never knew that Pilgrim or Separatist children worked to provide a very poor living for the family. I never knew they went without education. I never knew that those parents made the then tough decision to board a ship to come here even if at that moment they were relatively safe and free to worship. Then they met more obstacles. I don't know about you, but almost everyone I knows will quit if met with more than 1 or 2 obstacles. These people weren't sweet and mild. They didn't obey anything set forth to them other than the convictions in their hearts from reading a newly translated bible.

No one ever taught me in government schools that families were seperated. Some still in jail in England. I was never told that they lived through CRAP on that ship! I was never told of the hardships they faced once they were docked. They then lived on the ship for 4 months! And then half of them die by that March!

These women, children, and men DIED for what they believed in. They wanted their children to be free to worship God. They wanted their children to be able to work and see the profit of that work. They didn't want them working in factories or missing out on the education gained from being free.

But yet day after day we send our children to a government ran institution that feeds them watered down curriculum *cough* lies. And we wonder why the kids we bump into can't make change, or figure out things on their own. They haven't been inspired! Why should they care? They have been fed the watered down version that was nicer and wrapped up in a binded carefully selected textbook.

You can say all you want that it was MY fault or MY mother's fault that I didn't know this stuff! But I say NO! Our government has spent about $99,000 on me alone to attend a government ran school that promised my mother they would teach me what I needed to know. WHY DID SHE NEED TO DO A THING? I went to school for how many hours a day? I was sent to the place that said they could do better than my mother or a private school.

$99,000 dollars later and I was a high school dropout because I was BORED and was TIRED of the same mess being taught each year. I was TERRIFIED of tests. I couldn't do math beyound LONG DIVISON. And heck after grade 10 I still thought the Pilgrims were just really sweet people who boarded a ship and grew corn with the Indians that first year. They were crisp black and white pristine costumes. And life was happy and good.

I don't know about you guys but having talked about the real stuff with my kids I am fired up! I live in this country and teach my children at home. These are rights I have because CHILDREN died for me. Families said the heck with this mess we will leave. And then they didn't falter. They didn't grow weary. They kept going.

This could have kept me going in that mind numbing induced state I found myself in while my butt warmed a desk in the government schools. Wasting away almost $99,000 dollars in taxpayer money. I was forced to sit there. And so I did. Until I could leave. And I did just that.

Only when my education meant something, only when it would pave for me the path to the job I felt passionate about did I do something.

Why should those taxpayers have paid $99,000 dollars for me to screw around? If there is a need then we will put the work in. But if we keep spending 9 to 10,ooo dollars a year on these kids and we keep feeding them the same crap so the tests look good, so the government employees get paid we are in a whirlwind of trouble. Nothing is going to change. We need to fire these kids up! We need to give them a purpose for even breathing!

We need to teach them the truths! COME ON! We have come to far, we have sacrificed too much! Children have died for your child to have the right to learn and grow, and worship or not worship!

I don't homeschool because it is fun all the time.

I don't homeschool because it is cool or different.

I homeschool because I refuse to send my child to a school that will spend 10,00o on them a year but then want me to be the one who does hours of homework a night. Haven't they already been to school? Haven't they already done this work? I don't send them to the government because I want a free thinking man to emerge from these boys I love. I want them to READ and know TRUTHS so they can decide how they feel. I don't want them to be fed that our government is so wonderful and we should just all do what it says! This is going backwards! We must question! We must fight! We must keep the officials we elect shaking in their boots! Their service should be one that they feel led to fill! They should do this because they have to in order to fell true to themselves!

I know I am on a tangent lately. But I am sick! I am tired! And I am really tired of being nicey nice and saying, "Oh yea, I am special to homeschool. And this isn't for the majority."

EVERY child I know who does well in the public system does well because their parents sit up all night doing homework. They check over papers. They quiz them. They teach them what the teachers can't teach in hours of class instruction! People! Your children are not stupid! The system is stupid! These are your babies! These children you labored to bring forth are your babies! Everything you do is to be for them!

I implore you to just open your hearts and minds to what I am saying. If you really think the government school is where your child belongs, start fighting the system! Make it work for your child, not YOUR CHILD working for it!

If your child is fine and you are okay with how things are then YAY for you! Tell me I am on crack! But if you aren't, if something I say tweaks your heart a bit, get ready to fight. One parent can make a difference. One parent at a time. One good teacher at a time. But we can't wait for teacher's unions and the government to do this.

Albert Shanker who was the former president of the American Federation of Teachers said and I quote, "When school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of schoolchildren."

Is you jaw on the floor? Is it?

Rockefeller who was BIG in starting our government ran and funded schools had a "little" Rockefeller Education Board. Want to know what that board said? "In our dreams...people yield themselves with perfect docility to our molding hands. The present educational conventions fade from our minds, and unhampered by tradition we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive folk. We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning or men of science. We have not to raise up from among them authors, educators, poets or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians, nor lawyers, doctors, preachers, politicians, statesmen, or whom we have ample supply. The task we set before ouselves is very simple...we will organize children...and teach them to do in a perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing in an imperfect way."

Okay, still NOT passing out?

Government ran schools have watered down the curriculum in order to make it easier. In order to make it appear they are doing their job. Children who leave the 12th grade today couldn't have passed the 7th grade just some short years ago.

That leaves a BAD taste in my mouth.

Feel free to let me have it, if you feel the need to defend them.






















Friday, June 06, 2008

A Squash Flower!!!

I noticed a few days ago one lone yellow squash flower. Today all the bushes were FILLED with them!
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It is just something else to the kids to know they have grown these plants from seeds. It is neat. Very neat. :)

We also have another new flower in the back yard. I have been watching this plant for a few days knowing soon they would emerge.
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Remy just make another huge step. He finally has down in his head all of this numbers up to 100 atleast. My how he has been asking and couting and writing. He really wanted to know. Last night he asked Eli what my clock said and when he said 9:08 he filed that away. Later on he asked again. Eli said it was 9:22. Then Remy beams and shows me the clock and says with a huge grin...MOMMY it says nine forty two! That's my Remy!

Most things he just gets...right away.

If he doesn't get it he goes INSANE trying to figure it out. You will see him in regular play the next few days...and then BAM all on his own he has it. And Eli is usually a big part of that new knowledge. It makes me smile how he can't let me know it is hard for him. But he can let Eli help him. And I love to allow that to happen just the way it should. :)

So today on his paper he just flew on the section that asked for what comes after 18, 38, 7, etc. He was a math fool! Good job wee boy! :) He was so proud. :)

He loves to do things that I think are boring. Like this sheet.
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He read the colors and I assisted as he asked me and then made his color key and continued on to color his little church. :) He ran to find me while I was folding clothes in my room. MOMMY I AM DONE, Where are you MOMMY? :)

I took this picture of my sweet boys eating the 3pm snack of goldfish crackers.
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It is just so them. Remy makes everything more out there. Notice Eli is just on the floor chatting with him and Remy has to be ON the animal. Hee hee.

They did map work on the area of Babylonia.

Eli's:
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Remy's:
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Okay, I need to round up my boys for bed. :)

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Bird Drawings

For most of the day we had a swimming party with our friend Destiny. Remy is in love with her and we have to talk about boundaries ALOT. She is about 21 years of age, beautiful, GREAT with kids, and Remy thinks the ground she walks on it just PERFECT! She is just neat. She jumps from the side of the pool into a flip high into the air and then makes a HUGE splash. She is perfect ladies and gentlemen.
*Hee hee*

After swimming we all went for a snack. And then she went home. We were both exhuasted and in need of a nap. I was informed many times by Remy that he was bored and I was not as fun as Destiny. *Laugh*

So after a rest and Remy unable to handle himself after a fun day with his "wife" I knew I had to do something. He jumped at the chance to do more bird stuff. We talked about how different bills or beaks fit different birds. You know, what they eat and stuff. And they drew pictures.

Eli's shows a hummingbird with a long beak for flowers and a small beak for a cardinal for eating seeds.
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Remy drew a beak for tearing meat, a necter beak, and a seed eating beak.
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But as you can notice all birds looked the same. He was so upset and declared that ELI was a much better artist then he was. Can you tell Destiny upset the balance of my youngin's emotions. *rolling eyes*

We read chapter 7 of "Story of the World" and we colored the ziggurat papers.
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Eli's

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Remy's

Daddy is ALMOST home and I can go to sleep! Looking forward to watching "Scrubs" on DVD and my house being calm and peaceful.

NITE NITE ladies...see you all later!

Monday, June 02, 2008

Finishing up Abraham & Joseph and Empanaditas

We had a really good weekend. On Saturday the kids had some friends over to swim. And I didn't get photos because I was one of the wild and crazy kiddos. *blush*

Sunday daddy was off of work and we had the weekly shopping trip to do. I am pretty excited about some of the things I have planned to make and eat for dinner. Dinner, or as some would correct me, supper is fun for me. I love to prepare it and eat it. :) I have been taking photos of meals lately, but I run out of time to post them. And then Matthew clears my memory card so I can take more photos. *laugh*

A few weeks ago we had our annual used book fair with our local homeschool group. We went and I found a few things. We spent $7.
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I am excited about reading the REAL wizard of Oz story. We read a little bit of it in a reader Eli had in 2nd grade. We all looked at each other with shock! It was so good and so much better. The used book we bought was from someone who used it for sonlight in kinder. And it make me think of my friend Heather who uses Sonlight with her children. :)

We also got:
*Little house on the Prairie comprehension questions
*bedtime bible
*book about a bunny
*folk medicine
*2 abeka K books

I always like to go to this because I can walk around and see what everyone is using. And it is funny how when I see a friend's booth I know for sure it is theirs by what is on it. The neat homeschool moms are indeed the neat teachers. :)

We had our map work today. It shows Abraham's journey from Ur to Canaan, and Joseph from Canaan to Egypt.
Remy's:
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Eli's:
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I am noticing Eli's work becoming neater and more thought out everyday. His growth is just so visual for his father and I.

Eli read a book about Joseph and Abraham to Remy today. I have taken to allowing this special time between them lately. Eli reads just as well, if not better than I do now. And Remy loves to cuddle next to him and hear the story. He aspires to being a good reader like everyone in his family. And he works hard at it. This reading time also allows for free conversation between them without me and Eli is passing on knowledge which is good for him to learn so he can pass on this giving of knowledge to his family and learn leadership skills in a family context.
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They liked this map in the back of the Joseph book. It is neat to Eli to be able to look at things and know them because he has studied it. :)
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We had our snack time. Remy found these Indiana Jones PopTarts at Target on Sunday. I think PopTarts are gross and unnatural...but what do I know...
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Remy and Eli did this with shells while I was on the phone at some point.
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The kids finished up reptiles and moved on to birds today.
Remy colored his bird like a "parrot". And Elijah said his was a Cardinal, but a Cardinal would be taller than the picture was and it would have more of a mockingbird shape instead of the sparrowish shape on the picture.

UH - Okay! *laugh*

I didn't know he had been paying that much attention to the birds lately. I love it.

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Eli has been BEGGING for Empanaditas lately. So here for your viewing pleasure is the process by which I make them. They are quick and kid friendly. We make them vegetarian but you could easily make them for the meat eater.

Start with a couple of green onions.
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Cut them up into small Slices and cook them with your "meat" in some olive oil. I didn't have my usual "meat" so I used Fantastic's boxed kind. If you use crumbles or real meat add a package of taco seasoning.
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It will look like this when done.
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Transfer it to a bowl and add a 1/2 cup of cheese, 2-4 TBS. of salsa, and as much cilantro as you want. Matthew hates cilantro, I love it. *Hee hee*
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Next you take JUMBO biscuits in a can and roll them out on light flour into 6 inch circles.
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Add some of your "meat" mixture.
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Have a small bowl of water within reach and use it to close and crimp the edges with a fork.
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Now they are Ready for the oven. Cook them according to the biscuit package in temp and time.
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They are done!
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I always serve with a salad as they need something fresh to go with them.
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Now watch them become invisible!
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It was a great day...I thought I would leave you with a ready for bedtime Remy. :)
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