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It's late and I'm tired, but I had to write this down. For those of you who may describe yourselves as "anal", you will really appreciate this. I just went through all my blog entries for the past (almost) year and edited them to all have the same font, size and color. Weehaa! Now that's what I call livin'! Isn't it funny the things we do to make ourselves happy? I know it's a little thing, but it made me infinitely happy. Now if I could just figure out a few more things about this blogging business....
Time for sleep now. More later. Who knows what I will do next???
M. |
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Yes, it is finally winter. We are enjoying a high today of about 18. But don't worry, it's nice and toasty in the house due to efficient heating and a lovely wood fire my DH built for us. Today we are cocooning because of the snow and also because my DS14 had a tooth pulled today. Brought back memories, not great ones either! I do love this time of year, probably because I love to stay home and work around the house. I'm not talking about dusting and cleaning though! I love to bake and cook delicious meals and craft and snuggle with my growing boys. Ahhhh...makes me happy just thinking about it!
M. |
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Okay, so the boy is growing up. Isn't this the point of parenting? To see your children raised up properly and become more independent of you, the parent? My head knows this, but my heart is just a teensy, weensy bit sad. It was nice to be needed and indispensible, even though it drove me crazy at times. My oldest son/14 spent almost the whole day away from the family home making a new friend and trying a new drama class. Did I mention it was away from me? In places I have never been? Away from me? Part of me is glad because this is the boy I couldn't pry off of my body to go to church. (Hence, I became a director of the nursery!). Now he prances off happily to a new friend's house without so much as a backward glance. Hmmmm....
So it goes.
Until next time.
Melinda
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Time to save money...don't ya just love it? This isn't really my idea, but something our church did. We had a Winter Clothing Drive just last Sunday. For a few months prior, donations of gently used winter clothing and bedding were gathered by a very nice family who had some extra space in their basement. Then last Sunday, it was all laid out neatly and anyone who wanted could just take whatever they needed. Kind of like a no-cost garage sale. It was such a blessing! I got some very nice Old Navy jeans and a few shirts for my boys. I also got an adorable baby quilt that looked like some sweet little granny made (that I will save until I can be a sweet little granny!). There was more than enough goodies to go around and everyone was blessed beyond measure. In fact, I'm pretty sure it is going to happen again in the spring! There is even a rumor that our church is going to start a no-cost thrift store as a result of this ministry. Try it at your church! |
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You can't tell me it isn't fun to participate in Frugal Fridays. I've been enjoying reading all the frugal ideas in Crystal's Blog (Biblical Womanhood) - sorry I haven't figured out how to link things yet - so I thought I would add something myself this week.
The number one best way to save money is to stay home. Isn't that simple? When I stay home I am more content and my boys are more content, there are lovely homecooked meals on the table at the appropriate times and Mom is much less stressed. Now I realize that it is not possible to stay home all the time, but I try to stay home as much as possible. When I do go out to run errands or deliver a child to his activity, I try to bundle all my errands to do on the way and/or on the way home. This way I am not dashing out for this and then dashing out for that. It makes my life so much more simple.
The other way we save money is by yard sale-ing. I have got some screamin' deals at yard sales! Shoot, my boys would have hardly anything to wear if it wasn't for yard sales. We rarely buy new clothes! It is a huge blessing.
So there you go. Save on....
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In my copious spare time, ahem, I ran across this fun map where you can mark the states you have been to in our country! I'm going to attempt to get this into my blog so you can try it too. It's fun!
Melinda
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Hi Jacque! In my little "newbie"way, I am going to try to enter your contest. Hope I'm doing it right!!!
Here goes...
1. What type of homeschooler are you? I am definitely a "fly by the seat of my pants" homeschooler! I love the flexibility of our days. We do have a routine (note the use of the word "routine", not "schedule"!). If we get off the routine, then I just go with it. I figure there is ALL kinds of learning, not just book learnin' :0) How do you homeschool? Like I said, we hare our routine and try to follow it, unless something more interesting comes along (!) We try to cover certain subjects on certain days, leaving room for field trips and skating day, etc. I like to get right to it in the morning so we don't get too distracted. I've found my boys do better that way. We can ALWAYS find other things to do, it seems! Do you plan? Oh yeah, I plan. I write all kinds of things down and get all my ducks in a row. This year, especially, I feel like I need to have my "act" together since my oldest son is "officially" (whatever that means!) in high school. However, I have not written much down for this coming school year yet...better get on that, hmmmm?
2. Are you using a specific curriculum or a conglomeration or none? Well, let's see, in keeping with my "by the seat of my pants" approach to homeschooling, I tend to pick and chose each year. I poll my boys and see what they like and don't like and what worked and what definitely did NOT work and go from there. (How's that for a run-on sentence???) I guess you could say we use an eclectic approach with a conglomeration of materials!
3. Are you making it up yourself? Don't all homeschoolers kind of make it up as they go along? I know I do. It goes along with my "fly by the seat of my pants" approach to life. You see, when I started homeschooling 8 years ago, I basically recreated public school in my living room. Ugh. We even had recess and a blackboard and pointer and..oh my! What was I thinking? I think I was just going with what was comfortable and familiar. I have since changed my ways and swung the other direction. Praise God!
4. Do you have a plan or just use ideas as you go? Again, it's the "seat of my pants" thing! I always have a plan. Any of my friends would tell you that I can be anal and unnaturally attached to my routine and schedule. But I'd like to think I have mellowed with age and experience and now am much more flexible. If a better idea comes along, I have no problem pitching what I'm doing and going with it!
5. Do you homeschool in desks, at the table or anywhere it works?? See number 3 for how I started out 8 years ago! Now we have a schoolroom that looks suspiciously like the family room with comfy couches and a beat up old table from the thrift store, accented nicely with a yard sale book shelf and desk for the 'puter. I don't really care where they do their work, as long as it is neat and done in a timely manner. In other words, they can't watch TV or play video games while they work!!!
6. Tell me what you are excited about that you will be doing! There's a lot we are excited about this year. For starters, my oldest son is starting high school. At first, I was terrified, like I didn't know what I was doing. Silly me. It's no different than what I've been doing all along! I am also very excited because said oldest son actually suggested a subject he wanted to do this year. This is the boy that I used to have WWIII with over school a few years ago! Now he is suggesting a subject for us to do: Greek mythology. So I, dutiful home school mom that I am, searched out a curriculum that not only studies Greek mythology but also ties it in to current day. Praise God x 2! Yet another reason we are excited is because my parents graciously gave us buckage to purchase a computer solely for homeschool purposes. So we are going to try Switched on Schoolhouse Language Arts this year. (This has been a sore subject with both sons in the past!). Yes, yes, there is much to look forward to and we are thankful.
7. Are you going to teach each child in their own grade level or do you multi-grade teach? Well, I do a little of both. My students are "officially" two years apart. However, in grade levels, they are close in some subjects. Sooooo, we do math and language arts separately and come together for Bible time, history, science and foreign language. Plus, this year, we will do Greek mythology together too. Yay!
Well, there you go. All you wanted to know and MORE. I hope you are blessed and/or entertained! And, I hope I WIN!!!
Blessings on you and yours,
Melinda
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Hello again. Okay, like I've mentioned before, I am new to the blogging world. However, in spite of that, some very nice people out there have left comments for me on my little 'ol "I don't know what I'm doing" blog. Isn't that nice? I wish, oh I wish, I could reply to their comments to me. But how??? This is the question...I will keep on trying to figure out what I'm doing. In my spare time. Ha. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Bye for now! |
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Summertime is definitely here with temps in the upper 80's! Gotta love it - my lilacs are blooming and I can smell them everywhere, even in the house! It got me to thinking, what do I love about summer? Time for a list...
1. less laundry 2. watermelon! 3. relaxed schedule 4. cook outs 5. fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market 6. walking barefoot in the grass 7. sun-kissed boy faces 8. the feel of dirt on my hands in the garden 9. camping 10. late nights
How about you? What do you love about summer?
Until then,
M.
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Okay, so the boys are counting down until the "official" last day of school. It's funny to me because learning goes on, even after the school books are put away. They are constantly learning! It just takes on a different form in the summer months. We have been having such lovely spring weather. It gives new meaning to the term "spring fever"! The boys have been going outside and playing for hours, making up games (they never get too old for that) and jumping on the trampoline. Ahh, spring!
I have been taking lessons in contentment lately. Our pastor preached on contentment a few weeks ago and it has been coming back again and again in my life. Funny how God does that....there's no mistakin' the fact that I need to learn how to be content no matter what! I have these internal conversations with myself about whatever it is at the moment that I am not content with...and it all comes back to the fact that God is in total control all the time and I am not. Huh, how about that! I'm not sure how I got to be in my 40's and just learning about this now. Heaven is going to be SO great on SO many levels, one of which will be complete contentment. Home.
Blessings, M. |
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Okay, here I am again. Today our church serves lunch at the Salvation Army in town. It is something I really enjoy doing. I always bring the boys along. I figure service counts for school too! I get great satisfaction from preparing a homemade meal from scratch for people not as blessed materially as me. It is quite timely too, as our pastor has been preaching on contentment. There's nothing like a sermon on contentment to bring thoughts of discontentment to your mind! Why does it work that way??? I don't know. And I'm guessing it is no coincidence that this series of sermons has come right before Tax Day. Tax Day is not a happy day in our home. Since we are self-employed, we almost always have to pay. Something. It can be painful. For some reason it really hacks me to have to send to much money to the IRS when I could do so much better with it! Oh well, that's how it goes, I guess. Anyway, we are going to be a blessing to others this morning, I pray.
Until next time,
M. |
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Do you ever have one of those days? You know, a day where nothing in particular goes wrong or right, just blah...the snow is blowing sideways and it's cold and my laundry is going and the soup's on and I just feel...blah.
I am blessed beyond measure and no one is sick or unemployed or lost. Yet, the "blahs" continue.
Lord, I am so thankful for ALL you give me. Bless my eyes so I can see your hand in my life each and every day. Help me to look beyond myself to the world around me, full of people who are lost and lonely and looking.
Blessings. |
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There is something spiritual about baking bread. I have many friends who, over the years, have talked about how much they enjoy their bread machines. I just smile because I know I have to get my hands in the dough. I love the feel of bread dough in my hands as I knead it. As I knead, I often let my mind drift to people who need a touch of God in their lives. I reflect on Jesus as my "bread of life". It is just a small, unnoticeable spiritual act of worship I enjoy each week. I am thankful for flour, water, yeast, oil, salt, honey...
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As this is my first entry, I should try to say something significant. Hmmmm....I am really enjoying this week "off". I realize that is a relative term because the dishes still get dirty and the laundry still needs attention and meals still come around and people still get hungry and need attention. However, in spite of all that, I will try to carve out a little time to myself to create something.
I am currently working on a denim strip quilt for my youngest son. He's been patiently (?) waiting for his quilt. My oldest son got his last Spring. Poor hubby has to wait even longer. But, since I am typing this, you must realize that I am NOT sewing or washing dishes or running laundry or...you get the picture. Sigh.
We are not starting back to school until next week, the 4th to be exact. I am hoping to generate some enthusiasm between now and then!
Happy New Year....may God lead you in new and exciting ways in the coming year.
M. |