Well we are finished with school for the year.  We had our evaluation which went wonderful.  It was such a painless process.  It is exciting to have that out of the way.  Then on Thursday we got our standardized test results back.  Technically none of my children had to take the tests.  But being military, I thought it was best if they continue taking them.  That way if we move to a state that requires them to take tests they will be used to taking them. 

The exciting part was they did really great on the tests.  We did the IOWA tests.  Everyone was performing above grade level.  It reaffirms that what I am doing must be working.  Even though it seems at times that my older two don't understand about grammar, maybe a little is sticking in their heads after all.

Now all I have to do is turn in the portfolios and evaluations. 

We have recevied just about all of our new curriculum for next year.  My dh put up some new bookcases and shelves for me.  I have most of the books put away in the shelves.  Now it is just a matter of me getting their planners put together so we are ready to start the next school year. 

The boys leave a week from this Sunday to go to Boy Scout camp (well the older two anyhow).  It is the velcro kitty's first time at camp and the third camp for our grape ape.  While they are gone I plan on doing some of Noodle's Bear requirements with him.  I will probably do some things from Keepers of the Faith with BooBoo. 

Well we are done with our standardized testing finally!  What a blessing that is.  Hopefully the children all did well.  We are now working on getting ready to go to the Pennsylvania homeschool convention this coming week.  Then the following Thursday, we leave for North Carolina.  We will get to see family and then will go to the North Carolina homeschool convention. I am really looking forward to these.

Thursday we just had family pictures taken for the first time in about 2 years.  I ended up buying quite a few as well as the cd.  Now I need to get busy scrapbooking so the children have these pictures in their albums.

Here is a link to the album if you want to see them.

photo album

Hope you enjoy!

We are at the end of our year as far as the number of required days is concerned.  We have met our 180 days.  So now I am trying to get organized for next year.  I am making up my list of curriculum for next year.   Next month, our family will be attending two different homeschool conventions - 1 in NC and 1 in PA.

We will be continuing to work however for the next several weeks.  Some subjects we changed books for, so the children need to finish them.

I am looking forward to our next year.  I am really working to get more organized for it.  The requirements for NC and PA are really different so it has been a real learning experience for us.

Well we have decided to wait another week to resume homeschooling.  We are still trying to get unpacked from our move to Pennsylvania.  I need to straighten out our homeschooling materials.  Plus we need to get clothes put away and so forth.

It seems as though we will never get through the entire 360 boxes.  But I know it is substantially less than that now.  Dennis started back to work for real this week and has drills this weekend.  So life is slowly getting back to normal for us.  We have found two churches we like.  One has youth programs, AWANAS, homeschooling families and such.  The other is located directly beside our house.  The one beside our house is a small church with no chidren or activities.  However it is the perfect match for my dh since we can't find a Primitive Baptist church in the area.  So for the time being we will attend two different churches - 1 for my 3 youngest and me and the other for my oldest and my dh.

Well I guess I better get back to work now.

Well we have been homeowners for a little over a month.  We spent most of that month on trips to and from NC.  My dh has his first full week of work starting tomorrow.  However, he will actually work 11 days straight since he has drills next weekend.  It appears we have found a church for the children and me to attend.  There are several women there who homeschool which will be nice for me.  They also seem to have a fairly active women's group.

We will be starting back to school tomorrow.  I am treating it as though it was a new school year since PA is so different from NC requirements.  Noodle (our third son) has his second ot appointment tomorrow. 

We are trying to get boxes unpacked.  It is going slow, but dh has basically been off the majority of December.  He has been a huge help to me.

Well we are counting down the days until we move from NC to PA.  The packers come on November 17 to begin packing us.  Then we leave NC on the 20th.  We will drive to Fredricksburg, VA and will spend the night, then we will drive the rest of the way to Greensburg on Friday.  WE have closing on our house on Friday and hopefully, our belongings will be to us that Tuesday.

So if all goes well, we will be living in our new house by Thanksgiving Day.  It is so exciting to know this house will actually be ours.  If we want to paint or do anything else we can.

Also, my children are really looking forward to living where we can actually see snow in person rather than just on tv.

Our weather is not very nice today!  There is a low pressure system of our coast.  It is causing cloudy conditions along with decent wind.  We have the potential for tornadoes.

So far today the children are doing fairly well with their schoolwork.  Our oldest hasn't done any school today because his stomach hurts.  we take him back Chapel Hill in 2 weeks.  Hopefully, they will be able to help with this.

This is one of those days that moving has really been on my mind.  I am wondering how the children will do in a new state.  I am really looking forward to being able to decorate and everything the way I want to do. 

I found out something interesting yesterday.  One of the houses we are considering is currently owned by a homeschooling family with four children.  Plus the husband is a minister.  They are moving somewhere south.  The home sounds like it would be perfect for our family.  We plan on going to PA in about 3 weeks.  Hopefully, it will still be on the market when we go.  We will hopefully be able to actually begin the paperwork then to maket the house ours.  It is going to be so exciting to be handed keys and know the house is now our home!

Oh what a blessing!  we are going to be able to buy a home for cash in Pennsylvania.  We will be going up in about 3 weeks to look around.  We are planning on actually moving the week of Thanksgiving - well the children and I.  Dh has to stay probably until after Christmas because of work.  I can't wait to have my own home that I can do what I want to the area that will be our classroom.  No more worrying about every little thing because we have landlords.  (Don't get me wrong - our current landlords are everything a person could hope for).  It's just not our house! 

I can't wait to set up the book shelves, maybe get either a chalkboard or whiteboard, and everything else to put our mark on the house. 

Plus maybe it will help the children to know the house is ours!

Here are some of my thoughts on moving to PA.  We may end up buying a home rather than renting like we planned.  I have fallen in love with a house.  It would be plenty of room for my whole family.  There is a bonus room that we could use as a schoolroom.  Buying would allow me to do to the classroom what I want.  There is also a full basement that we could utilize also.  There is a walk up attic that we can turn into a full master suite.  The house has 1 1/2 baths, but I think we could put one upstairs for us without too much trouble.

The house is closest enough that on nice days, my dh could either walk or ride a bike to work.  (It is only a mile and a half from the Reserve center.  That makes me happy.  He could even come home for lunch.

I am working on getting all of my homeschooling information together for Pennsylvania.  Because if we decide on this house, I could be moving as early as Thanksgiving. 

Today was one of those days where the children are all over the place.  They had trouble focusing.  I need to come up with a plan to help maintain their attention without ruining their concentration or making them feel like they are in jail.

We know for sure we are going to Greensburg, PA now.  The only question is when we will be going.  It is possible the children and I will move at Thanksgiving and my dh would join us after Christmas.  The children and I would come down here for Christmas so we would be with him.  This would prevent me from having to drive our van up while my dh drove the truck up.  Instead we would drive up together in the van.  My dh would fly back to NC.  Then my dc and I would either fly or take the train to NC.  We have a lot of decisions to make.

I am working on getting our new schedule together using MOTH.  It is coming together slowly.  Moreover, I am attempting to put together my affidavit and all for homeschooling in Pennsylvania.

Well I guess I better go get some work done!

Well we are now 3 weeks roughly into our new school year.  RightStart seems to be a pretty good math program.  I like the language arts programs and science programs we are using.  The children seem to be focusing fairly well. 

In the meantime I am gearing up for moving to Pennsylvania and the differences in homeschooling laws and requirements.  I am trying to get all of my goals, objectives, textbook lists and other items ready to take with me.

We are planning on going to Pennsylvania in October to check out where we are moving to.  This will allow us to check out housing areas and other such things.  I am really excited about this move.  Moving in December means the children will have almost the entire winter to enjoy living in snow.  It also means a whole new winter wardrobe for most of us.  Living in the south we did not need really heavy clothes.  But all of that is about to change.  I'll be back on frequently to update our progress.

Our new school year has begun.  We started last week.  We are using a variety of materials - including Rod and Staff, Pathway Readers, Right Start Math, State History, Trisms history, Sonlight History,  Learning English with the Bible.  This just names a few.

Our year is going to be exciting because around the first of January, we will be moving to Pennsylvania.  So I will have a whole new set of rules, regulations and requirements to deal with now.  Plus, we just moved from one house to another house in our town at the beginning of July.  This ought to be fun!  At least this time, we will not be moving ourselves.  However it will be the third move in less than a year and a half.

Here is a picture of our family at Chirstmas

This has been a really strange day!  It all started with me not sleeping well last night.  Then my children have been sort of bouncing off the walls -even after gymnastics class.  We then had some friends to the house which did not go badly.  Afterwards we had to take something to my dh at his work and traffic was crazy.

I am trying to work on lesson plans for the rest of the year.  At the same time I am trying to pick our curriculum for next year.  It is just such a strange day.

Today has been a day.  The children are all over the place.  They do not seem to what to focus on anything.  We just can't afford to have this kind of interruption.    I have finally finished my new schedule based on the MOTH system.  Now to get it up where the children can see it.    I am also going to get back to working on my home management binder.  I have got to get the housework back under control along with the grading of their schoolwork. 

I am also starting to work on getting back to a daily devotional time.  I know I need to get God back at the center of my world.  I need to focus on His Word.  I also need to help my children see that as part of my daily routine.

My dh has started back to school and is beginning his third week today.  He is getting an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies so he can then get into his school's seminary program to get his Divinity degree.  Once he gets his degree, he will go full time in the Active Army as a Chaplain, which will result in a lot of changes for our family - many more than when he went full-time in the Army Reserves.  It is going to be interesting to see how the children react to this.

I

Well tonight we have started a new journey.  My husband has started back to school.  He is working on his divinity degree.  He is doing it all online while being full time in the military.  So now in addition to helping my dc with their work, I will also be helping him with his schoolwork.  Life is going to get very interesting for us.

I am working on planning curriculum for next year and it is coming together pretty nicely.

I am truly thankful for my family.  My mom basically cooked my entire Thanksgiving meal for me.  (She came to stay at our house for the holiday.  She is so wonderful with my children.  My chldren helped her with various parts of the meal and then helped with the serving and setting the table at various times during the weekend.

On Friday morning, my dh woke up sick (my mom and I were supposed to be getting out for a little while by ourselves.  Since dh could not handle keeping the children by himself, we ended up changing our plans and doing some window shopping with the children.  While we were out she bought some things that needed to be put together, so my children did that as a group.  It was so wonderful to see them working together. 

Tomorrow it is back to school for the children and back to work for my dh. 

Well it has been a pretty good day.  For the most part the children did not avoid their work.  They only did this a little bit today. Tomorrow we begin a new adventure.  It will be the first parents meeting for Girl Scouts.  Our daughter is going to be a Daisy and I am going to be her leader.  We have our first committee meeting for Cub Scouts and have our younger two sons involved in this. 

The children are involved in gymnastics and are really enjoying it.  They attend a homeschool class during the day on Thursdays.  They were supposed to be starting a homeschool band class this week, but we have decided to hold off on that right now.