We've had a good past couple of days. Yesterday we went to our homeschool group's monthly meeting. We are really enjoying this group. I think one of the best things for Paul is the group of husbands that show up and the support Paul has. I've had support, pretty much since we've started homeschooling. And even after moving out here to Idaho, I still have a close homeschooling friend that encourages me when I feel like quitting. But Paul has never had that. He's really never heard other men talk about the things husbands/fathers do to help their wives. It's just good for a group of men to have each other in this way, and I am really blessed for my husband that he has this. I'm starting to make some friends there too. It was a valentines theme, and they had a guest couple who homeschooled from 2nd grade through highschool. And their 4 boys are all done schooling and have moved out. So they are seasoned homeschoolers. They were very encouraging. I could go on for a while about it all, but I'll stop here and just say it was a great night and we were truly blessed to be there.
Today, on a spur of the moment thing, I decided the kids and I would go to Paul's work and have lunch with him. He only works about 10-15 minutes away. Close enough for us to get there easy, but far enough away that he can't make it home for lunch. So we went and had lunch with him. We still need to find a nice park or something near his work to be able to go and relax during his lunch (he has an hour lunch). But today we found a nice back road that we went to and enjoyed our lunch together. Paul was really blessed to have us there, and we had a great time being there.
Then after that the kids and I went to a few stores and the mall. I got a Starbucks , and the kids enjoyed walking around the mall. We were on a search for.....get this blessing......new......CELL PHONES!!! I'm so excited. We are getting the pay as you go phones, Net 10. I've looked at lots of different pay as you go, and this seemed to be the cheapest and easiest ones out there. I haven't heard anything bad about them, so we are going for it. We have been blessed with our tax return, and we can make a good initial investment in the phone and minutes. Then we have a small amount of money/time we can put on the phone each month. Right now it's mainly for emergencies, but eventually we should be able to build up enough time that we can use it a bit more than just for emergencies. Plus, there is no contracts, so if we get to a time we can't afford to keep up with it, we can just stop and there won't be any penalties. This is such a complete blessing, and I give all the glory and honor to the Lord for this. He has given us the ability to get these phones, but He also gave us the ability to get along without the phones. So, thank You Lord for giving us this blessing. There is a certain style of phone that we want to get, and that's why we were driving around today, trying to find those phones. But I couldn't find that style anywhere, so we'll probably have to order it online. We are a little bummed by that, but we'll get it ordered online soon.
It was just good to get out and have some fun. The weather was only a bit cloudy, in the mid 30's, and the roads are clearing up. We all had a great time, and it was so nice to be able to spend some extra time with Paul.
We still got our lessons done, and Paul has started working with the kids in the evenings on different subjects each day. It's a good time for him to spend with the kids, and it helps me too. I still do the normal work load during the day, but with him doing these extra things, it gives us another perspective of where the kids are at in their learning. He can see things I might be missing, and help the kids in different ways then I do. We teach in totally different fashions and ways, so it's good for the kids to have the two different types of teaching. We have done this off and on since we started homeschooling, but he decided he really wants to make it more solid now, especially with the kids getting older. He really is great with teaching too. He's not big in math, and I really like math, but he taught Sarah her times table. That is the one thing in math that I never fully memorized. I can figure it out quickly, but I never memorized the facts. There was a way he learned to say the facts, so we typed out a paper like that, and had Sarah copy them out a certain amount of times every day. It only took her about 2 months, maybe a bit longer, and she had all the multiplication facts memorized. I actually ask her when I need to know a fact quickly.
Well, that has been our past couple of days. I still haven't rearranged the bookcase yet, but I hope to work on it tomorrow. I now realize I need to do it for Paul too, so he can easily find books to read to Paulie. I didn't want to start emptying the shelves today though. Between baking muffins, having lunch with Paul and then shopping, just no time. I should be staying home tomorrow, so I think I should be able to start it then. I already have the before pictures, so hopefully I'll have after pictures soon. I hope you all have a great night.
Hi JoAnn,
Thanks for visiting my blog and for the comment. I do appreciate your prayers for Darren's travel. I'm so glad that we live in a day and age when we can travel around the world so quickly and easily. His grandma asked him to deliver the eulogy and I know it will mean so much for him to be there.
I really appreciate your encouraging messages and each time you pop over. I have a few old and new friends that I can keep up with. That makes it while. I just wish I had more time to post more "meaty" blogs, but perhaps in a different season:-)
Your lunch with Paul sounds like so much fun;) I also hope you find the right cell phone soon. They are great to have. Our home phone doesn't work well at all, so my cell phone is our main line of communication. In fact, I couldn't even tell you our home number off the top of my head!
Sounds like life is going good for you! That's always nice. My kids love to surprise daddy at lunch. Some of our best lunches have been "car picnics." Although it would be great if you could find a nice park too.
This sounds so good, having a group where the husbands are part of it. I miss my first hs group, we don't have one here just a co-op.
How nice of you guys to get out and go have lunch with Paul.
You better get to those books ;o)
Love you,
Katia
That is great you got to have lunch with Paul.
I used to take the kids to eat with Daddy at work, but security has been too tight since 9/11 and we can't do that anymore.
You're blessed to have a husband whe helps with lessons. Also to have such a good support group.
Sounds like you two have a great relationship working together! That's awesome!
My spouse is the math wiz so I let him handle the bulk of that. My oldest is the language expert so I send all that her way, lol, she'll correct EVERYONE anyway! hahaha
I'm glad everything is going so well for you all now.
You deserve some Sonshine after all you have been through. I'm glad the Lord is blessing you all.
(((hugs)))
Vicki
P.S. As for warming up, yes, the cold is a fluke. As for missing seasons? I do but I grew up with changing seasons. My kids don't miss them but we do travel so they can experience it elsewhere. Florida's a great place to come home to, but we like to travel, too. (Besides, Florida is TOO flat!)
This blog is so I can share my journey with the Lord, my journey as a wife and mother, and my journey as a homeschool mom. I pray that you will see the Lord in my life through happy and sad times, and that this blog glorifies the Lord.
This is an award and tag free zone, thank you.
, and the kids enjoyed walking around the mall. We were on a search for.....get this blessing......new......CELL PHONES!!! 
