So much for my goal of regular blogging! Once a month is about as "regular" as I'm getting! (Does this still count as once a month even though it's been almost two? After all, it is still November!)
The spring and fall are very busy times for our family. This October, we added a new venture: My
husband and I organized youth leaders from five different churches in planning a regional youth retreat. We began planning in April, and the retreat was October 13-14. It went very well. Of course, we learned a lot of what *not* to do for next time! The planning is always more time-consuming the first time, so it should be easier next year.
We came home from the retreat to find that our Great Dane had died earlier in the day. We were all very grieved, especially my
husband and
youngest daughter.
In the thick of the retreat planning, I began working on our church's annual Harvest Party. This was my fifth time planning a Harvest Party, so it was much easier than the retreat, although still kind of time-consuming. Our church is located on the border of Detroit and south Warren (a suburb of Detroit), so we minister to many low-income and poor families. Our Harvest Party is on Halloween night so that parents have a safe, fun place to bring their children as an alternative to taking them out. We had between 250 and 300 people in our little church that night! I think it was our largest turnout. It's a pretty crazy evening, but it is tons of fun! I heard from one of our greeters that people told her they really depend on our Harvest Party now. What a blessing to get feedback like that!
In the middle of all of this, we decided to get a new puppy. Our other dog, Daisy, was so lonely and needy after losing her life-long companion that it was almost unbearable! Once you have two dogs, do you kind of get stuck with having two dogs forever? Or does it depend on your dog's nature? Anyway, the puppy is cute and had a lot of accidents! She is doing better now, and Daisy and the kids are very happy with their new friend. My oldest son has kind of adopted the puppy and is learning how to care for her.
Towards the end of the Harvest Party planning, I began working on an annual Christmas outreach that is coming up next Friday. This is another less time-consuming outreach because we have been doing it for a few years and I work on it with someone else. I have learned to begin planning early and spreading the work out, so it isn't as difficult as it probably sounds.
I always get a cleaning bug in the fall. I did manage to find time to get some major cleaning done (especially in the laundry/storage area, which is in our extremely dusty basement). I told my daughters that if they helped me clean out one cupboard in the kitchen, I would let them have the top shelf. I was planning on scheduling time for that, but within minutes I saw everything from the cupboard pulled out and on the kitchen floor! I gave my girls some of the stuff that was in there for their tea parties, we organized it, and they happily adopted the top shelf. My kids have been a huge help in getting the house cleaned for the holidays.
We went up north to my in-law's home for Thanksgiving (where we also celebrated
Jordan's and my
niece's birthdays), and the boys stayed up for a while. They are coming home today - I really miss them! The girls and I have been working on reorganizing the craft area while their brothers are gone - a formidable task, but one that is long overdue and almost done! Just in time for Christmas craft projects!
And what have we accomplished in "school" all this time??? Well, we have actually kept pretty much on schedule. We didn't have our
Tapestry of Grace Unit 1 celebration as I was too exhausted to add in anything else. The kids did complete some projects to show, though, so we will combine Units 1 & 2 for our Unit 2 celebration.
Of course, not all of our schooling has been seamless. I blush to tell you that we began a chicken mummy project at the beginning of October that was supposed to take about 6 weeks to go along with our ancient Egypt studies. On October 9, I began a blog that was going to journal our chicken mummy saga. Well, the still-mummifying (I hope) chickens are on top of our refrigerator awaiting their removal from the salt- and spice-filled bags and their final wrapping. We did do one salt change, and they don't smell at all in their triple-wrapped Ziploc bags (at least we can't smell them *outside* of the bags). As soon as the boys come home, I am determined to do the unveiling and see if they are "wrappable!" If not, maybe we can look at the mold under a microscope.
I'll finish up the blog I saved last month and let you know how it goes now that I've confessed!
That's all for now. Back to work! I'll post my "chicken mummy saga" after the "unbagging."
~ Andrea
I think the mummies came back to life. I am postive I saw one walking around last night when I went to get some water.
The thoughts of a book-loving, home schooling wife and mother who wants to be available to serve her Savior in her family, home, church, and wherever He chooses to send her.
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