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It's that time again, time for things to get back to normal. Summer is fun, but I prefer the groove we get into when school starts up. I went to school year-round for a few years when I was in elementary school and it was fantastic. I've mentioned that to my boys a number of times, but there aren't any schools here that work that way and probably not many across the country. I know that part of the beauty of homeschooling is flexibility in scheduling, but try telling your teenagers that they have school to do when all their friends are off for the summer, there are events that run late, summer camp, sleepovers, etc. So we take the summer off. I received my two big boxes of curriculum a couple weeks ago. It was great to go through everything. I love the smell of education-in-a-box! I took time to read my teacher's manuals, make copies, schedule work and outside activities so there would be plenty of room to fit it all in. Since moving to a new house I have more space, but it's also configured differently so I don't have a place designated as "school space." The office is the logical place to store everthing, but it wouldn't all fit in the cabinets and it really didn't look great spread out on the floor! So a stroke of brilliance hit me. Jordan's room was the former owner's sewing room and it has some closet orgaizer shelving attached to a long counter. So I stole three of them and reassembed them in the office. It was the perfect solution! Everything is neat and tidy and labeled because I'm a label nerd. Well, after I did this I found a storage system online that looked like one of these sections, but it was on casters and had nifty little organizers, cork boards, etc. on the other sides. So I think I can do that here too. All I have to do is add a piece of wood to the back, add some casters, and attach anything else I'd like. I did add some pocket folders to the sides for the kids to use for some of their loose papers. But for now I love it because it was free!
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Living on the Gulf coast of Florida gives me the opportunity to see things in the wild that many people only see in aquariums or zoos. The beach is a wonderful place to explore. The sand holds treasures as does the water. This summer the water is a beautiful shade of green in the shallows and a deep blue as you venture further out. I suppose it's the lack of hurricane activity that makes the water more clear. At this time of year the water temperature is approaching 90 degrees and the sand feels great between your toes! My first experience in the Gulf after moving to Florida was a little shocking because I was stung by a jellyfish. So I can certainly say I've encountered those mysterious creatures! I've also seen a school of stingrays, plenty of tiny fish and quite a few large ones. Pelicans are plentiful and dolphins are delighful to see playing in the water. They seem to know when you are after a photograph and do their best to toy with you and dodge the camera. I've also come across starfish, crabs, and sand dollars. I've heard about the pretty rare shark sighting too. I have this intense fear of sharks, intense enough that my toes won't hit the water if I hear a shark was spotted in the vacinity. Unfortunately that movie - you know the one I'm talking about - put the fear in me and I've never been able to get it out! On our most recent outing to Naples we walked out on the pier to see what the fishermen were catching and try to take pictures of dolphins. One of those fishing had a dolphin on his line that was playing with the bait and swimming to and fro (and it was still hard to get a picture). Eventually he let the bait go and swam away. About that time another fisherman hooked something. Everyone ran over to see what was tugging at the line. It was a six-foot nurse shark. I went into action with the camera, snapping away while the shark swam around and gave us all a nice little show. After a few minutes the fisherman cut his line and the shark was gone in an instant. It was the most exciting moment I've had at the beach, second only to my first dolphin sighting. I was surprisingly calm and enjoyed every minute of it. It could be that I felt completely safe perched up on the pier with not so much as a toe in danger of being nibbled on, but I'd like to think that maybe, just maybe, this is the first baby step in overcoming my fear of sharks. This nurse shark was so beautiful. The color was like caramel with tiny specks of brown and crystal blue eyes. As we were walking back to the beach Brian asked me if I would swim in the water again now that I know there are sharks. I said, without hesitation, yes. Now, you won't find me swimming anywhere near the pier, but I'll venture back out in the water and continue to enjoy living by the sea, the beautfiul sea. |
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Another homeschooling year has come to a close. Thinking back over the last nine months, I can see that we have achieved much. I am pretty sure it's safe to say we're all smarter now than we were then! New math concepts were mastered, spelling tests were aced, papers were written, geography was studied, countries were memorized...yes, much was accomplished. |
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There is nothing as innocent and beautiful as a newborn baby. They are such a wonderful gift from God. He could have just made children appear, ready to walk and talk, eat and sleep, with very little nurturing. Instead, He gave us these tiny little packages with miniature features just like our own. He truly knits each child in his mother's womb, connecting mother and child for almost a year. Yes, there is pain in childbirth and it can be an excruciating process, but the result is a new life placed in our hands, entrusted to us. So we do our very best to love and nurture this little life, teach this small one how to survive in this world, how to connect to others and form lasting bonds, and hopefully lead this tiny baby to the feet of Jesus where he will be reborn and find everlasting life. Recently we celebrated the birth of a new life. She's not our child, but she is a miracle to her parents. They lost their first child just a few years ago when she was only a few months old. The pain and the wounds to their hearts were still fresh when they discovered a new life on the way. Looking forward to another baby was joyous on one hand, but frightening on the other. Would this new baby live? Would she have the same complications as her sister? They questioned and wrestled with their feelings. We prayed and tried to give encouragement and hope. In the end, their little daughter was born, perfectly healthy! She will grow and thrive as her parents love and care for her. They will introduce her to her sister in pictures and words. They will delight in her life. I have never made a card for a new baby and I was a little perplexed when I sat down to create something "baby-ish," especially considering the child is a girl. I have boys - rough and tumble, dirty, noisy, energetic. No pink, no frills, no bows and curls. Then I spotted a stamp set in my collection I'd never used called "Delight in Life." It was perfect and the pieces began to fall into place in my mind. The card came out better than I expected. This type of card is a buckle or latch card. The argyle strip latches or buckles the card closed. The flowers are attached with foam tape to add some dimension. The little "bracelet" is made with wire, pink beads, and some homemade beads. I stamped the letters and punched them with a 1/4" punch. Then I cut additional 1/4" pieces of scrap paper. I sandwiched the pieces onto the wire and then used a paper glaze to give the beads a 3-D appearance.
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Moving day is just around the corner. We have made a habit of moving every two years, so this really seems only natural - it will be two years in July since our last move. Over the last two years we've faced the moving question several times and nothing felt quite right until about three weeks ago. We tried moving out of state a few times and pursued a couple of other options, but the doors just wouldn't open. Once or twice a door seemed to open, but we soon found that there was something blocking it on the other side. Then Brian had cancer and surgery so we put all plans on hold and waited. After he heard the words "free of cancer" we started toying with the idea of moving again and began casually looking around. We went to open houses, saw a few houses with different realtors, looked online. We thought we had one all picked out and we were ready to make an offer when we decided we'd better look at the same model in a different neighborhood to use as a comparison to try to get a better price. Well, when we walked in the house, it just felt like home. I love it when that happens. I could picture my furniture and my collections in the house. I could hear us laughing and see us eating dinner in the house. It had every item we were looking for in a house and in a neighborhood. So we made a ridiculous offer...or so we thought! It was accepted and then the real work began. Buying a house is a true test of patience. The paperwork is already about two inches thick and we haven't even closed yet, so it will double before it's all said and done. There are so many details, phone calls, faxes, emails. All the pieces seemed to be falling into place perfectly and then - underwriting. Almost 96 hours. Worry. Stress. Second-guessing. I spent a lot of time praying about my worry. I had no reason to worry. We had everything in order and there wasn't a reason I could think of why a loan could take so long to get final approval. Brian wasn't worried a bit. He didn't even think about it during the day whereas it was all I could think about! At the very last minute everything lined up and we were finished. I'm not normally a worrier; this was quite uncharacteristic of me. It did teach me that God has to be in the daily things. When I wasn't in prayer about it, I worried more and the feelings were more intense. When I did pray I would feel a calm and my mind would go to other things. So now the cardboard chaos begins. Actually, we're overly organized when it comes to moving. After all, we've had a lot of practice! We broke out the boxes we've saved from our last two moves (you wouldn't throw them away either if you changed zip codes every 24 months). I'm methodically packing away all of our stuff, careful to wrap the breakables and label the boxes with great detail. I'm decluttering and getting ready for an after-move garage sale. The kids are thinking about how their rooms will look and what paint colors we will need to buy. We're in transition! I can't wait to be settled... |