Adventure Knits

Nov. 21, 2009 - Weekly Wrap Up

Visit www.homeschoolblogger.com/threelittleladies for more wrap ups.

From the Heart:

I thoroughly enjoyed having a couple of days off from work this week. Since I've been doing so many 7-3 shifts, my body is used to waking at 4:30 or 5:00. I decided to take a Tylenol PM one night to see if it would help me to sleep in a bit. It was

in until 8:00 the next morning!

Since dh's

was yesterday, we invited his family over for some cake. While talking with my sis-in-law, I mentioned that I would be unable to have

with my family since I have to work the day of the family dinner. She invited us to her house on

day.

On the Homefront:

I'm getting geared up for the

season. I know I will have to do well with managing my time to make sure that the

get wrapped, that the homemade gifts get done, etc. I plan to enjoy the season though. I refuse to let myself get

over getting things done for

While dd headed out to a church activity on Saturday morning, I turned on some

music and wrapped a few gifts.

In the School Room:

Since I had a couple of days off work this week, we did a girls' group on Wednesday afternoon. Each girl brought something to be used in making trail mix. I poured each item into a separate bowl. Next, the girls could come along with a baggie and fill it with the items of their own choosing. They seemed to enjoy putting together their own trail mix.

Since I don't know my schedule for December, I don't know if we will be able to plan any girls' groups for next month. Because of that, dd and I bought several different Christmas mugs so each girl could take a mug home with her today. If we do have a meeting next month, we'll have to try to come up with something different.

While purchasing mugs, I decided to get

for me that has a

on it. I love snowmen, and I like that I can continue using it even after Christmas because it isn't a

mug.

On the work front:

One day, an elderly lady came in by ambulance. When she realized where she was, she yelled, "OH! You can't keep me here! I have an appointment to get a permanent in my hair tomorrow!"

Another time, I had a patient walk in my office. I said, "What are we doing for you today?" The patient replied, "I'm here to get goosed," then handed me the paperwork with prep instructions. He was there for a colonoscopy.

Starting in December, our work days will be 8 hours long instead of 7-1/2 hours long.

In the Kitchen:

On Monday, I worked all day then came home and made a double batch of Cincinnati chili. By double batch, I mean I used 2 packages of the spice mix for it. This means I had to use 12 c. of water, 3 pounds of ground beef, and 2 cans of tomato paste. It sure took a while, especially when I had to puree all of it in the blender. Once finished, I put meal-sized portions in freezer bags so that we will have several meals saved back for later use.

On Wednesday, since we were having the girls' group, I wanted to do something quick and easy for supper, so I made taco soup in the crock pot.

Thursday morning, I assisted dd while she made a chocolate sheet cake for dh's . This is his favorite cake, so he was quite pleased when he walked in and saw it on the kitchen counter.

Refreshing my spirit:

I continue to struggle in this area because I am so terribly tired when I get home in the afternoon. Now that I am back in the admissions department (as opposed to ER), it is hard to read anything at lunch because it is always so noisy on the floor.

In the Literary Scene:

I am still reading Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. This book is a great read, even if I am working outside the home. It has given me much food for thought. (Thanks Bobbi, for telling us about the great deal on this book through Vision Forum.)

for stopping by! I hope you return soon.

May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you.

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Nov. 20, 2009 - 10 years old!

We had another birthday today! B is 10 years old! Here are a few pictures of my cutie pie.

Brand new. How 'bout that hair!:

8 months:

3 years old, camping in Yosemite:

Age 3 years:

6 years old:

7 years old:

Ten years old! Getting a Build a Bear puppy whom he named Dusty:

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Nov. 15, 2009 - Baptized!

Our youngest got baptized today! She is 7 years old, and she decided to follow Jesus in August. Almost right away she asked about being baptized all on her own. So when our church announced the first baptism day since then, we signed her up. She went to a class to make sure she understood that it wasn't being baptized that saves you, only Jesus can do that. But it is an outward symbol of becoming a Christian, and obedience to God. So here are a couple of pictures.

Going down....

Coming up, a new beginning!

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Nov. 14, 2009 - Saturday

~~~ Working and Homeschooling ~~~

I have been trying to get as much as possible done on the days when I do work, so that when I have the day off, I can actually relax and unwind a bit. Unfortunately, that isn't how yesterday played out for me. Instead of resting, here is what I did:

a load of laundry
posted an ad on vegsource for some hs items I want to sell
organized a cabinet in the kitchen
made bbq sauce
made granola
made soap (recipe is posted in the body care category)
blogged
made some phone calls
planned a girls' group meeting for next week
contacted someone about using their facility for our local 4-H clogging group
swept
made supper
got my lunch prepared for today
did school w/dd
organized some hs items
washed dishes at least 4 times
got all my stuff together so it would be ready for me as I got ready for work this morning
went to bed at 7:30 because I was

While it felt good to know that I was making a lot of progress, I have to admit that by evening time, I was less-than-pleasant. It is hard to balance keeping a home, working outside the home, and hs'ing. And when your hormones are amuck, it's all the more difficult.

Would anyone care to give me a nice, long back rub?

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Nov. 17, 2009 - Gifts from your kitchen

With the holidays upon us, I thought I would share a site that has a lot of neat ideas for homemade gifts.

http://www.giftsfromyourkitchen.com/

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Nov. 13, 2009 - Weekly Wrap Up

Visit www.homeschoolblogger.com/threelittleladies for more wrap ups.

On the Homefront:

I got a bit of downer over the weekend. It looks like I will have to miss out on having with my side of the family. They are planning to have their dinner on Friday. I have to work 11-7 that day, so there is no way to schedule the dinner around those hours. On the other hand, I do have Thanksgiving off, so we are discussing what we'd like to do for our dinner, here at home. (This will be my first holiday off since I started working.)

Last weekend, one of the ladies I met on a homeschool board was in our area. She stopped by to visit. Here is a photo:

L to R: Sarah (my online friend), her mother, my friend Lucy (who is also a part of the online community), and myself (in the black shirt). We had a lovely time visiting. Sarah's mother homeschooled her way before homeschooling was popular.

In the School Room:

While I was off on Friday, I planned out dd's next science pace. I was hoping she would get it completed before the end of November, but I'm not sure that will work.

She should get her Easy Grammar finished the week of Thanksgiving. At that point, she will start doing a Total Language Plus course for literature.

I dug out my high school binder where I'm keeping track of courses for high school. I need to get a few items added to the binder. I am also keeping copies of all table of contents from every course in that binder so they all stay in one place. This will make it much easier for me when I need them.

DD and dh went to the reservoir yesterday while the weather was decent. They walked at least 2 miles while there and had some nice, quality time together.

I am planning to have a girls' group next week since I have two days of in the middle of the week. I know dd is looking forward to this. I used to host them in my home at least twice a month, but with working, it is a rare occasion when I actually have time for extras like this.

Refreshing my Spirit:

I am still having trouble making myself do any in-depth studies when I am home. I am just so when I get home that I don't want to have to focus on anything. I'm doing good this week to even grade dd's work. Thankfully, dh has really stepped in and helped with that. I had several things to do this week after work, so by the time I got home Wednesday, I was in . Not because it was a bad day, but just because I was so terribly .

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Nov. 4, 2009 - August Cuddling

As I was uploading pictures I realized that we've been quite busy the past couple of months. So without further ado, here is a quick pictorial rundown of the month of August.

As you may remember, Christy came to help out shortly after Joel was born, so here's a picture of all our cutie-patootie kids, minus Joel:

And we spent some time cuddling the baby

Then someone turned seven years old

And my Mom was here to cuddle the baby

And we did some baking (I think this was oatmeal cookies?)

Then we cuddled the baby
Then another friend came to visit, and we spent the time musing about what life would be like with children who looked like us, but in the end we decided not to trade after all

And we ended the month by - cuddling the baby

Next time, we'll have September's pics - where we cuddled the baby in exotic locals

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Nov. 6, 2009 - Weekly Wrap Up

From the Heart:

My nephew is home after completing basic training at Ft. Benning. He and his girlfriend decided to get on Tuesday.

On the Homefront:

Dh, dd, and I went to a 25th wedding anniversary on Sunday for some our friends, Sonny and Renita. Sonny was the best man in our over 21 years ago.

I was off Tuesday and got a lot of litte projects done.

Refilled the baking soda container that I keep in the bathroom for my netty pot,
Straightened up the bathroom closet while looking for a few needed items of which we had run out,
Washed the kitchen counters,
Took several boxes to the attic,
Washed 3 loads of laundry,
Removed a lot of my clutter from the kitchen and the chest in the bedroom,
Got my work clothes ready for the rest of the week,
Started making plans for a few activities next month,
Organized my spices
Got out my Christmas dishes so we can start using them. (I figure if the merchants can start marketing Christmas before November, I can enjoy my own Christmas items for a few extra weeks.)
Paid a couple of bills, and a whole lot more that I just can't seem to remember right now.

We also got our new air purifier on Tuesday.

My mom's side of the family has a gals' night out once a month to celebrate the for that month. This month, we stopped by to get our favorite fast-food meal, then went to my mom's house to play games.

Since I have the weekend off, I plan to get a lot accomplished Friday evening so that I can relax on Saturday and take a nice, long .

In the School Room:

Tuesday was a different kind of school day for us. I heard the city trucks that remove the leaves. DH and dd quickly ran outside to :sweeping leaves: our leaves to the street before they got to our street. They didn't get all of them done, but they sure got a lot of them! . DD was glad to take a bit of a break to help her Dad.

She still had to do most of her school work that day though because she has fallen a bit behind in her science, and I am trying to get her LA course for this semester finished by . I'm not sure we will get it done though since I have 3 days in a row off that week. We will be decorating the house those days for . I doubt that much school will be done while the decorating is taking place. I am getting to the place where I am letting dd do a lot of the decorating on her own since she enjoys it so much.

To our health:

We got our new air purifier this week. We are hoping it will help with my asthma issues.

Since I take so many pills (herbal stuff, not meds), dh bought me one of those pill holders that holds a week's supply. I bought 2 more -- one to take to work to use during my lunch break, and one for my evening herbs. It has made taking my pills a lot easier. I only have to distribute them once a week, as opposed to doing it several times every day.

On the work front:

Monday was a rather odd day in the ER. We had several patients coming in for the exact same thing (and it wasn't H1N1). I asked if it was a full moon. The doctor said the full moon was a couple of days prior to that. I said perhaps people just missed it by a few days.

On that same day, I saw FIVE different people I know, and I know ALL of them from the same social circle. Isn't that just ? Please don't at me, but due to HIPAA guidelines, I can't give any other details.

I was working in ER one day when they actually lost a patient. I think this young patient was actually gone before the ambulance brought them in. Very, very sad. You can definitely tell when a family's grief is the kind when they have "no hope." It was so heart-wrenching.

Refreshing my Spirit:

I haven't had a weekend off for many weeks, so I am really looking forward to going to this weekend and reconnecting with my church family. (For some odd reason, I keep having trouble getting my last category to work on weekly wrap up. Even when I try to change the categories around, it still doesn't want to work.)

Have a week!

Nov. 3, 2009 - Danny Gokey

For Danny Gokey fans:

http://www.sophiasheart.org/journal.php

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Nov. 23, 2009 - Working & Homeschooling - Refocusing

~~~ Working and Homeschooling ~~~

Last week I mentioned the struggle of trying not to focus on what I missing, now that I am working outside the home. I went through some very dark days of depression shortly after starting my job. I came to realize that I was in a season of grieving. Here is some of what I had to battle, and how I chose to reframe my situation.

No longer a SAHM/Thank God I could find a job in a field I love.

Developing chronic asthma shortly after starting a job and dealing with the loss of a healthy body/Thanking God that I have a job so that I can manage to go to the doctor when I need to. Thanking God for the drug assistance programs which help provide the necessary meds to keep me going.

Loss of social time with my friends/Thanking God that my friends understand my situation. Thanking God that I am in a job which places me with people all day long. (I am a "people" person.)

Loss of dh's income due to the recession/Thanking God for any jobs he gets (self-employed), as well as thanking God that dh is able to be w/dd and help her when I can't be here.

Rarely able to do things I really enjoy (watch TV, read, write devotions) - Thank God that I have the energy to do what I really need to do to make things work for us right now.

Loss of our 18 yo cat in August - The Lord has provided us with a kitty who loves to cuddle, which is exactly what dd and I wanted. At the end of a long, stressful day, I can come home and unwind while cuddling our kitty. It really does help lessen the stress of the day if you can pet an animal.

Loss of being able to homeschool dd in the way I had done previously/Thanking God that these changes have helped dd to mature and take on more responsibility (and that is a good thing).

I have added a HUGE amount of stress to my days by working outside the home/Thanking God that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He has placed me in my current job and will give me the strength, grace, mercy, and compassion that I need to do that job and do it for His glory.

As you can see, we have had some MAJOR things to deal with. And that doesn't even count all of the things we've had to deal with in the past few months. However, the Lord is good and ALL He does is good.

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