Just in case some of you don't know. I do have another blog that I keep up better. It is my homeschoolblogger blog. I spend more time there because I get more traffic there. If you aren't finding anything here, please visit me there.
Outside My Window...We saw a family of about 5 quail strolling across the yard. My 1dd10 yelled, "Mom come quick! There's a bunch of female turkeys in the yard!"
I am thinking... about the first two weeks of school and how they've gone. I've been very overwhelmed at times, but I feel we are accomplishing a lot. The kids are learning American history again this year and making science, history, and language arts notebooks. They are also doing Rosetta Stone Spanish, which I've wanted to get for a couple of years.
|I am thankful for...our lovely home, the internet when it works well, my husband and children, although my four year old has been severely trying lately!
From the kitchen...
Monday ~ Spaghetti and sauce, salad
Tuesday ~ Stir fry and rice
Wednesday ~ some kind of chicken in the crock pot
Thursday ~ Husband will cook
Friday ~ Something special for Sabbath...
Saturday ~ cold meals
Sunday ~ Grilled burgers, etc.
I am creating...I can't think of anything!
I am going...crazy with my 4 yr old mouthing back when I tell her no.
I am wearing...old blue jeans, an off-white t-shirt from Towanda, Kansas, an old, grey sweatshirt from Horton, Kansas, and my hair is pulled back in a ponytail.
I am reading...from Ezekial, Hebrews and the Psalms in my One Year Bible (only 6 weeks to go!), and a book called Johnny Tremain. Our read-aloud right now is Almost Home (about Mary Chilton from the early Puritan days).
I am hoping... that we get enough students for the fall Discipleship Training School. We need one more or they will cancel the school - we need a minimum of 5. Often we get late applicants, but I'd sure love to have at least 5 more.
I am hearing...quiet. Finally. The kids are outside playing except my baby boy who is sleeping. Oops... I spoke too soon. Now the elephant herd is coming in.
Around the house...the girls are now playing in their rooms - probably making paper dolls or playing with their Polly Pockets. My four year old is now at my side asking for a bath.
One of my favorite things... is learning along with my girls each day.
A few plans for the rest of the week... Homeschooling, keeping the house clean, playing and reading and such with my 4 yo, and writing thank you notes to our supporters.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
These pictures are from a walk we took on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Lake, which is a short jaunt down our road. The girls are checking out water critters on the shore. DS is pretending he is driving a "brroomm-brrroooommm!"
If you would like to join us in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please see our Hostess,Peggy for details. You may also visit her for the Mr. Linky to others
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
First Week of School and Field Trip to Mesa Verde
Hi Friends!
Another week has gone by. Boy were we busy! We started our first week of school for the older girls (3rd and 5th grade). Our schedule left out a couple of subjects, but it was a lot of work anyway! I’m so glad we took the time to get caught up in math in July, because trying to get caught up while we have such an intense schedule may have been really hard! We are trying to get caught up in spelling, but they don’t seem to mind it as much (we are doing two lists at a time). We are also trying to get caught up on the math facts that we should know by now, and that seems to be going well, but it is just another thing we are adding to our very full schedule!
Last Monday school took us all day – at least 8 hours. I think we were all exhausted by the end of that day. My Elly didn’t do all of her preschool subjects each day, but we are 3 weeks ahead of the older girls, so I just took her lead as to whether to do Handwriting Without Tears and Shiller Math. If she balked, I just skipped it. It is supposed to be fun anyway.
Thursday I lead intercession at the base and had to work in the afternoon, so we didn’t do school. Saturday we took a field trip to Mesa Verde National Park by Cortez, Colorado, which I count as school. I wish we could have spent about 2-3 days there! I hope some day we can go back and let the girls do the junior ranger program there, while we camp or stay in a hotel nearby. It is a 4 hour drive from here. I’ll post pics later.
Thursday night part of the youth group from Plow Creek Church in Illinois came to do some volunteering and enjoying the mountain. They were here until Tuesday morning. They worked Thursday afternoon and Friday. Saturday they went with us to Mesa Verde. Sunday they’ve been fishing and canoeing at Silver Jack Reservoir. Yesterday they worked one more day, and then they headed home today.
Sunday, I, with my girls’ help, picked raspberries, picked up and vacuumed the house, caught up the dishes and the laundry, made new schedules for our homeschooling this week, and then caught up on my blogging. I also balanced the checkbook.
Monday we did a partial school day, then went to town for my bigger girls to get their eyes checked. Their glasses prescriptions are essentially the same. Then we went to the public swimming pool and had a great time. Off to Wallyworld for a few, then home.
Today we had a nice stay at home and do school day. I’ve got a few things left for the girls to do.
Instead of doing a meme, which has been the majority of my blogging as of late, I thought I'd just sit down and give a good update on what is going on in our mountain home.
Two weeks ago we started school by doing 4+ lessons a day with the goal of finishing the two workbooks the girls had started in the spring so that they would be "caught up" for the school year when we start next week. This went amazingly well, and 2dd9 finished hers by Wednesday of this week, and 1dd10 finished hers today. I gave them each a bag of Ghiardelli chocolate (it doesn't have artificial ingredients). They work hard for chocolate!
Three weeks ago while the big girls were at camp, I started doing Sonlight P4/5 with my 4 yo dd. It has been delightful. We also do the HWT preschool program, Shiller Math book 1, and Developing the Early Learner workbooks that came with the Sonlight Core. It is a delightful time and she always looks forward to it.
I bought a bunch of preschool toys from My Father's World when I got the preschool set from Sonlight. Many of them are very similar, and that has been a bit disappointing. The kids don't seem to mind, and ds20months loves them. I do like having toys around that help him to learn too. He is talking more and more all the time.
Next week we will (Lord-willing) start My Father's World - Explorers to 1850 - with the older girls. I will be using Sonlight Core 3 readers with 2dd9. My oldest dd used them last year. My oldest dd will just read a bunch of suggested books for 5th graders. For language arts they will be using Primary Language Lessons by Serle and Intermediate Language Lessons by Serle. I am pleased with the way these books look. They seem to be gentle and thorough. For math, I think we will stick with just one curriculum - Singapore Math. I bought Miquon Math too, but I don't want to fall behind. For science we will do the suggest things with the My Father's World curriculum, which among other things includes Apologia Botany. For extras we have Rosetta Stone Spanish, which seems to be a lot of fun so far, piano (which I don't have a teacher for, so we'll just have to teach ourselves), and an art program that I can't remember the name for.
I've begun preparing myself for the board recertification test I need to take this fall or next spring. I have to do 100 hours of education by next June anyway. I've done about 10 of it so far. I also bought a book and program that I can read to review, and also comes with a couple of practice tests that I can do on the computer.
Thursday was my 40th birthday! I was woke up to fresh hot cinnamon rolls out of the oven, coffee (which I really don't like in the mornings!), and my children coming with three packages. The packages each contained a box of Good and Plenty candies (my favorite!), and a picture drawn by each of the three girls. They were delightful. My dh is going to buy me an ipod that I can download audiobooks onto to listen to on the road. We are just short of extra cash right now... The rest of the day was normal, with school in the morning, work in the afternoon, and arriving home late.
Lately I've been dealing with depression again (well, yesterday and today). I've found that when I am tired (usually in the evenings), I start feeling low and crabby. I'm hoping that it is just hormonal and will pass quickly.
Did I ever mention on here that I'm not working at the Urgent Care clinic any longer? They found that they didn't need me any longer. It has worked out nicely so that I rest on Saturdays as my Sabbath and then prepare for the week and do my running around and shopping on Sundays.
Tomorrow we will be having a wedding between one of our former staff gals here and the son of another one of our former staff members here. They are both still missionaries with YWAM in the Himalayas. There are a lot of people around the base this weekend, but my dd-10 will be quick to point out that no one brought kids with them. It is strange to have all these people and no children. My poor kids, they can't even get friends for the weekend around here!
Next week the youth of our former church in Illinois is coming for a few days (from Friday until the following Monday) to help out with work projects. We might go to Mesa Verde with them one day, or we might wait and do that with just our family another day.
We went geocaching last weekend. The bugs were bad, but the weather was cool and wet, although it didn't rain on us. It was a beautiful hike through the mountains not too far from us. I haven't downloaded the pics yet though.
Outside My Window...Lots of wildflowers. Dry ground. Sun setting.
I am thinking...I need God's help to make me the kind of mother I need to be. I need HIs Spirit to fill me with patience for my children. I need to be kind, not harsh. I need to be firm, not overindulgent.
I am thankful for... the Lord's patience, kindness, firmness with me!
From the kitchen...See my Monday Meanderings post for my weekly meal plan. Tonight my 9 yo dd made a hot tuna macaroni dish all by herself.
I am wearing...Light blue denim button up blouse, off-white long shorts, bare feet, a barrette on the top of my head holding my hair back.
I am creating....a plan for getting "it" all done. I need to do a lot of scheduling and planning so I can get my studying for my recertification boards done, as well as schooling all three girls each day!
I am going...wherever God leads me.
I am reading...a lot of Janette Oke books.
I am hoping...that my efforts for training up children who honor one another will pay off one day soon!
I am hearing...the refrigerator hum, and pages of books turning while the girls are reading in bed. It is a quiet night.
Around the house...I'm enjoying my new bed at night. I like the room this headboard gives me. I feel like I don't have to duck my head at night to keep from hitting the headboard.
One of my favorite things... lemon-berry slushes from Sonic!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week....Order a book for studying for my PA exams; help the girls finish their math books; get ready to start homeschooling with all the stuff next week.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
The girls went to camp the week before last, and we stopped at a park with the younger two before heading home.
Bible Study/ Devotions ~ I'm making progress in my NIV Daily Bible. I only have two months left. I'm working at making my relationship with the Lord to be more about expectancy than expectations. More about relationships than a to do list or expecting God to do things for me.
"Must Do"~ Order a recertification boards study guide. Pray about what Bible/devotional material to have the girls use this year.
Home Blessing~ This week I left most of the housekeeping except laundry, cooking, and dishes for Friday so we could have a nice clean house for Sabbath. That made Friday very stressful! I will have to reconsider this since Fridays will be about schoolwork too here soon.
Train Them Up~ We are working on relating to each other with respect and honoring one another. I don't feel we are making much headway! This week we will finish our old math workbooks so the two oldest girls will be more on track when they start the new school year the next week.
Menu Planning~ Monday: 1dd10 plans on making pancake supper for the family. Tuesday: Spaghetti, french bread, salad. Wednesday: Hotdogs over a campfire, macaroni salad. Thursday: I work late, dad prepares. Friday: Taco Salad. Saturday: Leftovers. Sunday: Pizza, salad. Hopefully I will make some desserts to have on hand this week. Has anyone heard of Kambucha? My husband has been making that lately. It is supposed to be really good for you. It is a special kind of tea.
If you would like to participate simply add your link on Mister Linky at Tiany's blog directing folks to your “Monday Meanderings” post! Link back on your post so that others can join us and or read through everyone’s “Monday Meanderings”. This is for ALL Moms you do not have to be a Homeschooling Mom to participate!
Good Morning World! I had a wonderful night of sleep in my new bed! Here it is! Dh installed it last night:
He and a friend pulled all of the wood from the woods around here and built it from scratch. His friend had built beds like this before, and so taught dh how to do it. If you remember seeing dd10's bed, the railings in our loft and the railings on our front deck and steps, dh's friend also made these. Cool, eh?
I hope you enjoyed this show and tell. You can click on the image above if you'd like to see more similar show and tells.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
A tour through our new house.
We moved into this house in May. I've been meaning to get pics of it before now, but here they are now.
From the outside:
This is a closer look at the back deck. Tim is building us another bed for the master bedroom:
Next we'll look at the house from the inside. This is the front door. I think it is pretty.
Next is the kitchen. It is small but functional:
Next is the main floor great room:
Beyond the window behind the table in the last picture is the master bedroom. The following are the homeschooling book shelves that I need to organize this week on the back of that window. We hope to close in that window with a built-in bookshelf on one side with a framed cork-board on the other.
Recently I moved 3dd4 into her little brother's bedroom next to ours. They enjoy sharing a room:
This bathroom concludes our tour of the main floor:
Next we'll head up stairs to the upstairs bedrooms and loft. The first pics are of the loft room that looks out to the living room and living room windows:
Here is a close-up of the futon quilt that I got at a yard sale in Illinois for $5! I love americana decor. Especially when it gives a "country look".
Looking back at the entry to the room from the railing, one can see the bedroom doors, the loft closet door and the bathroom door.
Behind the closet door is a wonderful room for storing books and toys!
Next is the bigger girls' rooms. 1dd10 first, then 1dd9's (who is reading under her purple comforter!)
Our basement has the tv room, two unfinished bedroom/other rooms, an area for dh to do his pottery, a mud room (because it opens onto the ground level in the front of the house), and a laundry area. If we ever get the okay from the county, we might be able to finish it, but for now the pics aren't too interesting, and it is a mess.
I hope you enjoyed my journey through our new home. We feel very blessed to be able to live here. God is good to us.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Weekly Summary/Monday Meanderings
1. Bible Study/ Devotions ~ Not so good. I think I only read my Bible once this week. Hopefully I will get that straightened out soon!
2. "Must Do"~ I'm trying to get the house in order and the things ready for starting school next week. I'd like to change the bedrooms around so that 1dd10 can have her own room, and 3dd4 will share with her baby brother, but so far we need another twin bed to make it happen. The girls are at camp this week, so it would be a fun surprise for 1dd10 to come home to having her own room free of a baby sister...
3. House Cleaning~ I had a great day of cleaning floors, bathrooms and kitchen cabinets today. I will try to keep with my schedule.
4. Train Them Up~ I started the first day of PreK with 3dd4 today. It was short and sweet. Last night I stayed up late to get everything ordered to be able to do Handwriting Without Tears with 3dd4 when I get the last things I need. It really is a good program. I'm also reading a good book about teaching your kids to honor one another in all things. I really like it. I'll post more on it later.
5. Health/Nutrition~ Some of you may know that we decided to take a Biblical approach to our eating - following Old Testament Laws. That is going well. Once in a while I make a boo-boo and eat something that I didn't know was contaminated with pork or something like that, but for the most part my family and others around here are getting used to our wierdness in this area. My total cholesterol was an all time low at 142! It never has been high though. We also try to avoid artificial ingredients, but fell off the wagon big-time during our vacation - although we didn't eat out very often. I found out from a blood test that my vit D is low, so I have to take vit D supplements once a week. I started excercising last week - I took walks twice, but I need to get more consistent about it.
Highlights from this week:
On the 9th dh and I celebrated our 14th anniversary. He got me a dozen roses. We went for a long walk in the evening by Silverjack reservoir, which is near where we live. It was a nice evening away from the kids.
Yesterday we drove my two oldest dd's to Camp Redcloud near Lake City, Colorado. They are very excited because they can do horseback riding there. So far they haven't called us crying! I'm proud of them. They are very much Momma's girls.
We have two robins nesting on our decks. One in front and one in back. We got to watch one make her nest this week. I saw a bat on my front deck this afternoon. I hope it doesn't stick around too long, but the mosquitos here are awful so it is welcome for a while! We saw a bear on our way home from Lake City. That was fun.
Outside My Window...Today it is very cloudy, but warm. I'm hoping for rain. Two robins have adopted our front and back decks as places to nest. We watched the one in front build her nest last week. The one in back has been there since we came home from vacation. That nest was already built from a previous year.
I am thinking...of how I need to work on my homeschooling schedule for the older two. I am hoping to start their new year next week - maybe Tuesday. This week they are at a summer camp.
I am thankful for... A nice quiet afternoon and working internet!
From the kitchen...Not much happening in there these days except heating up leftovers (rarely) and preparing breakfast.
I am wearing... my blue jean shorts and a robin-egg blue shirt and bare feet.
I am creating....homeschooling schedules and plans for lots of fun with the children.
I am going... to pick up the girls from camp on Friday.
I am reading...Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes...in you and your kids! by Scott Turansky, D. Ministry, and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN. I really think it has some great, useful ideas of using honor as a motivator. I think it is helping, but I need to finish it and read it again. Also I just finished the Rose Year books - the sequel series to Little House on the Prairie. I enjoyed reading it, but I wouldn't recommend it for kids after Rose grows up. She doesn't make right choices after school. I found the ending quite disappointing. Oh well, I guess that was the facts! Finally, I am also reading The Witchcraft of Salem Village by Shirley Jackson. It is the account of what happened during the witch trials of 1692. It is eye opening, but I don't think my girls are quite ready for the horror of the truth held in this book! I am prereading it for the possibility of my 10 year old reading it. It ain't gonna happen!
I am hoping...that once I work on my school schedule for next week that I won't have too much more to buy!
I am hearing...3dd4 playing in her room with her toys - sometimes singing, sometimes howling like a dog. An airplane is flying overhead.
Around the house...The wood and tile floors are clean. The kitchen cabinets are clean. The dishwasher is loaded. The laundry is done. Preschool is done for today and put away. Baby boy is taking his nap. Toys are scattered across the loft where I am sitting to do this. The flower garden is still waiting for me to finish putting in good soil and plant my flower mat. The grass needs mowed in the back.
One of my favorite things... doing preschool with my eager 4 yo dd today. She was so excited!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week....Finish the planning and scheduling of dd's 9 and 10 school week. Work on Thursday afternoon/evening at the clinic. Pick up the older girls on Friday from camp.
On Monday my littlest girl turned 4. She thinks she is something now. She thinks that she should be able to stay out of a car seat and sit in the front seat of the van. She keeps saying that she is too big for this or that, or that certain music is for "babies"! It is very cute.
Here are some pics from her birthday:
Pancake breakfast:
In her birthday princess crown set from her sister:
If you'd like to join us for show and tell Friday, go to www.homeschoolblogger.com/canadagirl and join in with her mr. linky. You'll see the rules and a lot more fun show and tells there.
Saturday evening we got home after 15 days of traveling.The first few days were spent with my sister, Linda, and her family.She has a four year old miracle son and now a two month old miracle daughter, who was born on Mother’s day.Linda can’t have babies of her own, but through the miracle of God and the medical world she did conceive these two.God is good.Here is a picture of my new niece, Gillian (pronounced Jillian) Claire.
Sunday evening my brother and most of his family came to see us at my sister’s house.It was great to see them all – boy are the kids growing!
While in Omaha visiting this family, we also visited the zoo and went swimming.
Tuesday morning, June 24, we headed off to visit our friends near Platteville, Wisconsin.We arrived at suppertime and left the next evening after supper.While there we enjoyed discussing the latest things we have been learning about natural living with our good friends Leonard and Valerie.They also have a young son, Shannon.They’ve had more than their fair share of health problems, but a natural diet has helped Valerie a lot.She was near death a few years ago with multiple allergies, and is doing much better now – that is another story for another post!
Wednesday evening we drove on to Tiskilwa, Illinois to stay with my husband’s parents.We lived there before coming here, and have many friends we wanted to catch up with.We didn’t get to meet with all of the ones we had planned, but did have several important meetings with some of them and that was good to do.Tim’s mother’s family had a family reunion at the camp where we used to work that we were a part of from Friday night, June 26 to June 28.All of Tim’s immediate family, as well as many others we hadn’t seen for ages got together there.We continued to share time with some of Tim’s brothers and sisters and their families while we continued in Tiskilwa until July 3.
Last Wednesday we drove on to Wichita, Kansas to stay with my sister Becky and her family through the Fourth of July.We went swimming at a very nice YMCA on Thursday morning and that evening I saw my aunt Barbara and uncle Ray at my sister’s house for a nice brisket dinner.We went to a Christian concert in the evening and happened to meet with an old friend of ours there.It was great to catch up with her.We were sorry that her husband wasn’t with her, as we haven’t been privileged to meet him or his daughter yet.I took our youngest three children home before the fireworks as they were super exhausted and the loud music was a bit too much for them.We saw the fireworks at a distance on our way home, and they were satisfied with that. I took some cute pics of my Josiah while there:
While we were there on Wednesday night my 9 yo dd kind of sleep-walked out to the living room after she had been asleep for an hour or two.Her right side of her face was all squinched into a grimace, and her arm twisted strangely.Her right leg was shaking and could barely hold her.She responded to my talking to her, but didn’t quite connect with what I was saying to her.I sat her on my lap until she woke up, and then sent her back to bed.She didn’t remember any of it in the morning.I am thinking it might have been a seizure, but I’m not sure.I wouldn’t be surprised since she just had another vaccine about 6 weeks ago, and she was really tired from getting very little sleep the night before.
On Friday morning we left early and arrived home about 13 hours later – yea!The kids all traveled really well – including the baby.We listened to several books on tape, which helped the long hours on the road to go much quicker.We only ate out twice over the entire 15 days, except one meal I had with Tim’s mom, sister, and sister’s-in-law.That is really good for us!The second time was our last meal on the road!I think most of us were sorry due to how we felt afterward, but we were so sick of sandwiches and snack foods!
Outside My Window...Green aspen, blue spruces, grass in the yard. Partly cloudy.
I am thinking...God is so good. I had a wonderful trip to Illinois, and was able to see most of my extended family and all of Tim's extended family in a two week period. God provided the extra finances we needed. The van ran great. The gas was under $4 everywhere but in Colorado and Illinois, so we are really praising God!
I am thankful for... all that I just mentioned, as well as good health.
From the kitchen...Dh just made a chicken and rice casserole. I don't have to cook any meals this week.
I am wearing...a khaki green skort and an off-white t-shirt from Towanda, Kansas with an old time picture on it of the town in 1870.
I am creating....order out of chaos. We just arrived home from a two week trip to Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Kansas - and also driving through Iowa and Missouri!
I am going...to plant a flower garden in my front yard soon.
I am reading...I finished the 5th and 6th Rose Years books while on vacation. I also heard several books on tape while driving.
I am hoping...that my 9 yo will not have any more seizures. I think she may have had one a couple of nights ago, but it is hard to tell. She was really overtired, which I attribute the main problem to, although she did just get another vaccination 6 weeks ago - which has been a precursor to her last two episodes of seizures too.
I am hearing...the refrigerator hum, the dryer drying, and the tv playing a movie for dh and the family in the basement.
Around the house...I got a new quilt with an americana motif at a garage sale in Illinois that is draped over our futon bed next to me. It is very pretty, although my husband doesn't appreciate it as much. Most of the laundry is caught up. Presents are hidden behind our bed for our youngest dd's 4th birthday tomorrow.
One of my favorite things... back and neck rubs!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week....I've got lots of catching up to do...paying bills, filling out forms to keep our medicaid (which I fear we are going to lose this time around due to increased giving in May), try to get back into early morning walks.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
My daughter is on the right, and her cousin is on the left. They are great pals.
Outside My Window...Today it is beautiful and sunny and cool. The new grass is starting to grow, and there are many hummingbirds fighting each other off of the hummingbird feeder. I also got a new swing at a garage sale for the deck.
I am thinking...of how anxious I've become thinking how we will make it work homeschooling 3 children instead of two next year. The third child will have her own completely different thing going on!
I am thankful for... Spring! It is finally here. It did snow here three days ago, but none of it stuck! Praise the Lord!
From the kitchen...Last week preplanning my menu sure helped a lot. That is the hardest part for me. I don't mind cooking so much when I have a plan and the ingredients! Kitchen work doesn't come easily to me!
I am wearing... my blue jeans and a denim shirt with black and gray Smartwool socks. I also have on a grey jacket as it is cool in here.
I am creating....a real home. That is something I lacked growing up - we lived in a house, but it wasn't an inviting place to be. Here we eat together, play together, learn together, work together...we enjoy one another and pray and worship together.
I am going... to Boulder, Colorado to visit with my sister and her family while they are there for a soccer tournament for my nephew. We are looking forward to seeing them.
I am reading...the Rose Years sequel #3 to the Little House Books. It is called the Land of the Big Red Apple.
I am hoping...that our new grass will grow in the places that our yard lacks it, and that we can get some new flower gardens put in this week.
I am hearing...the girls playing with their Littlest Pet Shop toys that I got them at the garage sale yesterday and someone mowing in the distance.
Around the house...It isn't exactly clean, but it is sort of picked up. It is Sunday, and so I enjoy the Sabbath as a holiday to the Lord. I did get the school room closet cleaned and organized this week. Yahoo!
One of my favorite things... talking to my sisters on the phone.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week....This will be the last week of our homeschooling this year. I found two weeks of school scheduling from the beginning of the year that I had lost, which shows me that we've done more than enough school this year. I hope to get my Sonlight order in soon - hopefully they will deliver it to the house, but Fed Ex Ground notoriously calls us and makes us drive 12 miles to a house by the highway and pick up our packages. I asked Sonlight not to use Fed Ex Ground, but they didn't read my note, I guess. Once I have all my stuff, I can start planning how to schedule the new year.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
These are the toys that the girls are playing with.
It's not Monday, but I want to go ahead and do my weekly update, since I like to do the Simple Woman's Daybook on Mondays.
1. Bible Study/ Devotions ~ I'm doing better about spending time with the Lord. I had a great intercession time with the staff on Thursday morning. The YWAM Prayer Day letter was very good and very encouraging to dig in to hear from God.
2. "Must Do"~ Organize my homeschool plans for next year. Go through my new materials and cover the paperbacks with contact paper. Make plans for preschool stuff for Elly (almost 4). Start planning for our trip to Boulder next weekend and to Illinois the following weekend.
3. House Cleaning~ Floors Monday, Laundry MWF, Bathrooms and Kitchen Tuesday, Stairs and carpeted areas tonight or Monday. Sweep basement Wednesday.
4. Train Them Up~ This will be the last week of our 2007-2008 school year. As I was organizing my new school closet, I found two extra weeks of school records from last summer that I had lost. Now I know we will have more than enough days to complete the year!
Highlights from this week: Tuesday we went to the doctors for camp physicals for my two older girls, and for my baby boy's 18 month check-up. Everyone checked out well. We're working on the grass in our yard. It is patchy, and one area was bulldozed last year, and so didn't have any grass. The grass we planted two weeks ago is not coming up well, so we bought new seed and replanted yesterday. It snowed here Thursday morning, but didn't stick. Baby Josiah is growing so much. Yesterday morning the two little ones got off the porch when I took a minute to check my email and found a puddle to play in. They were covered in mud from their waists down, and their shoes were soaking! Right to the bath they went!
Outside My Window...it is sunny and warm. It has been dry and we are trying to grow new grass. We had to buy some new grass seed today because the stuff we found in the shop didn't sprout yet. In the last two weeks we've had to deal twice with a mama bear and her two cubs, and once with a pack rat.
I am thinking...Of whether or not we will get done with school by the end of next week. Every day seems to have urgent things come up that take up our school time. Today I had to go get tags and registration for our new van. Tomorrow I have to take three of my four children to the doctor.
I am thankful for... My new home. It is so beautiful and peaceful here.
From the kitchen... I finally have a menu planned for the week, and the groceries bought for it. I am so thankful. Tomorrow I am going to make a casserole with artichoke...I hope it comes out okay!
I am wearing... my denim skort and my old Cornerstone volunteer, light-green t-shirt from 2002, and a pair of bootie socks.
I am creating....organization out of chaos, although it seems I never can catch up - usually the chaos prevails!
I am going... to Boulder, Colorado to visit with my sister and her family while they are there for a soccer tournament for my nephew. We are looking forward to seeing them.
I am reading...the Rose Years sequel #2 to the Little House Books.
I am hoping...to have enough money after our vacations this year to get our own satellite internet service, and to go to Mexico again in July and September - each time with one of my two oldest daughters.
I am hearing...the dishwasher running, and my dh snoring away on the couch!
Around the house...my children are in bed sleeping, the windows (inside) and mirrors have been washed, the hummingbird feeder has been brought inside for the night, and the laundry is only partly done.
One of my favorite things... being organized, and having a clean house, although it never seems to last long!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week....Take the kids to the doctor tomorrow. Make eye appointments for the three girls. Have friends over for supper tomorrow night. Help Alan work in the garden when I can. Get three more days of school done.
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
The teeter totter was made by a friend this week for our kids. Isn't it great?!
This mama and her two children were coming up our driveway for a visit Saturday afternoon. The one in the back on the right is the mama. The other two are her cubs. We were fascinated watching them, then decided to all go out on the deck and yell at them, then they ran off. Tim later got on his four-wheeler with his shot gun and shot the mama with rubber bullets to scare them some more so they hopefully won't keep coming back. I hope they don't since we're now out of rubber bullets!
We had a little excitement in our day today when, as we were doing our math work at our dining table, I looked up as I saw something move outside of our sliding glass door on our back deck. It was the biggest mouselike creature I've ever seen! It was grey with large ears and a long, slightly furry tail. This thing was huge. Its body was as big as Tim's foot! I called Tim from the dining building and he came over and took care of it. I wish I knew what kind of critter it is.
Carol
UPDATE: Okay. I looked at my pics today, and it is only as big as Tim's foot when you include the tail. I believe it is a woodrat, aka pack rat. Probably a good thing that Tim killed it as they can wreak a lot of havoc. I still get the heebeejeebees when I think about it.
PS. I didn't post the pics as the ones I have of it alive didn't turn out very good, and the ones of it dead have some blood on its paw. Sorry. The following is a borrowed picture from another website. Click on the picture and you will go to its original site. Ours looked something like this one.
Good morning! We've had beautiful weather since Saturday. Sunshine, no wind!
Saturday we did get to go on our field trip to learn about creation and dinosaurs. The two older girls' Sunday School class (about 30 kids), drove to Grand Junction and listened to a speaker for about 1 1/2 hours give a talk on dinosaurs and the flood and Noah and fossils, and gave lots of scientific evidence for creation. It was really good! Then we went to the dinosaur museum in Fruita, Colorado. It was set up as a sort of children's museum with a dinosaur twist. We brought all four children and enjoyed it very much. I'm just sorry that I forgot my camera!
Sunday we went to church followed by lunch at Denny's and a beautiful afternoon at the park. All of us really enjoyed the sun, dry ground, a little creek that runs through, and the playground equipment. I even got on the swing with my baby boy for a short time. I came home with a little sunburn too.
On the way home we stopped at Sonic for some refreshing drinks. The girls had a cherry limeade to share, and I shared my lemon berry slush with the two little ones.
Yesterday was another beautiful day. I resumed my morning walks after a week of being on crew - which meant that dh or I had to get up and shovel snow every morning, so I couldn't do my walks. It is so beautiful on the mountain with sun and snow, the woodpeckers tapping out nature music, and the silence only broken otherwise by an occasional bird song.
Today the Martins are moving back to Pennsylvania. They are the only other family on the base that has young children like us. We will have to trust the Lord in this matter of friends for our children to play with and grow up with.
Would you believe that in the past two days we got another 3 feet of snow? I'm sure we've gotten a total of over 12 feet of snow up here this winter. I guess it was fitting that we read "The Long Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. We could really relate to it! The above picture is of the dormitory that is across the driveway from our house.
Tomorrow we are supposed to go on a field trip to a dinosaur museum near Grand Junction, Colorado. We are hoping that we don't get too much wind tonight. Otherwise we won't be able to make it due to drifts. I had a hard time getting home from working at the clinic last night. I couldn't believe how much snow we got. Just when we were thinking it was melting, the snow returned in all its madness! Below is our front door. Most of the snow has been removed. It was up to the running boards on the suburban this morning when I went to move the truck for the plow.
MountainPrincess showing off her most recent read:
SnowCrystal taking a break from school to draw on her "slate":
I was woke up to fresh hot cinnamon rolls out of the oven, coffee (which I really don't like in the mornings!), and my children coming with three packages. The packages each contained a box of Good and Plenty candies (my favorite!), and a picture drawn by each of the three girls. They were delightful. My dh is going to buy me an ipod that I can download audiobooks onto to listen to on the road. We are just short of extra cash right now... The rest of the day was normal, with school in the morning, work in the afternoon, and arriving home late.
I came home with a little sunburn too.
