For Such a Time as Now - Homeschool Blogger

Full Calendar Update

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 21:37:00 -0500

Life as a missionary in Romania had it own set of stressful situations. We had busy days. But for the most part, whatever was going on, I was at home. The kids were younger. John was at home. We did things - family things, ministry things - together. Now I am a "single mom" whose husband comes home on the weekends. The busy-ness of my life is stressing me out.

Life for the past several months has been a countdown until April 24th - Family Day at the State Police Academy and the end of phase 1 for John. I posted this entry on my other blog a few weeks ago and thought I'd update it here. That blog has issues at the moment. My dad thinks it has to do with a password which sounds rather simple. But it hasn't been a priorty during John's 48 hours at home on weekends.

Here's what is on my calendar. This does not include routine housework, homeschooling and regular activities like church, skating, meal preparation and sleeping.

~~Gabriel's dentist checkup~~
~~Yearbook committee meeting for Hannah~~
~~Dentist appointment for me to get a filling~~
~~American girl party for Holly - Kirsten~~
~~Ultimate blog party~~
My second dentist appointment for a second filling – postponed until June due to busy schedule
~~Gabriel's 18th birthday~~
~~Gabriel's drama performance~~
~~Holly's other book club with some girls from church~~
~~Gabriel and Hannah take the ACT~~
~~Our 22nd wedding anniversary~~
~~Moms' homeschool meeting~~
~~Holly's 11th birthday~~
Easter egg hunt for Holly with our homeschool group - tomorrow
Dermatologist appointments for Gabriel, Hannah and me – postponed Hannah’s appointment until May due to scheduling conflicts
Visit a friend that I haven't seen in many years in Williamsburg – Tuesday!!
Easter
Sing a solo at church on Easter Sunday
Clean house because company’s coming!!
Attend Family Day at the State Police Academy

More later with an update on phase 2.

Ants

Sun, 5 Apr 2009 20:29:00 -0500

We have a problem with ants in this apartment. Actually, it seems like we've always dealt with ants here in Virginia. If Holly leaves wrapped candy in her purse, the ants find it quickly. And we are on the second floor of an apartment. Talk about industrious! Anyway, I don't leave food on my desk but it seems daily that I find a little ant searching just the same. The poetry prompt for day 4 was to write about an animal. I don't know if I have ever written poetry about any animals before. I thought I would try a non-rhyming form called Shadorma. Shadorma is a Spanish 6-line syllabic poem of 3/5/3/3/7/5 syllable lines respectively. Here is my attempt:

Small black ant

searching for some food

on my desk.

Go away.

The kitchen’s the place to eat.

Better yet, the park.

The Problem with Dishes

Sun, 5 Apr 2009 14:04:00 -0500

Have you ever written a poem and couldn't decide if it's finished or needs more? Well, that's where I am with this one. But, like housework that's never quite finished, so is this poem.

Today's prompt: Take the phrase "The problem with (blank)" and replace the "(blank)" with a word or phrase. Make this the title of your poem and then write a poem to fit with or juxtapose against that title. For instance, you could have poems with the titles of "The problem with government," "The problem with advanced mathematics," or "The problem with bipolar penguins." You know the drill: have fun, be creative.

The Problem with Dishes

The problem with dishes -

My family wishes

That they would be magically clean.

But after we eat,

That thrice daily feat

Leaves a mess that shouldn’t be seen.

An Outsider

Sun, 5 Apr 2009 13:57:00 -0500

Today's prompt: Today, I want you to write an outsider poem. You can be the outsider; someone else can be the outsider; or it can even be an animal or inanimate object that's the outsider. As usual, get creative with the prompt and don't be afraid to stretch the limits.

My Poem -

Outside the box

Understanding what others do not

Thinking original thoughts

Sharing ideas

Imagining great accomplishments

Daring to be different

Excelling

Gabriel as Quasimodo

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 23:13:00 -0500

Tonight was Gabriel's end of the year drama performance. Disney was the theme this year. Each class did a 10-15 minute episode from different Disney movies. Gabriel's class did The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Gabriel was Quasimodo. He did a spectacular job. I know. I am his mother and I am supposed to say things like that. Aside from that, his performance was excellent. He loved the role and his acting ability, especially his facial expressions, rival Jim Carry.

I am thankful that he has been able to participate in this class for the past two years. But honestly, I believe that 95% of his talent is natural, not learned. My hyper-active, extremely loud little boy has found an outlet for his energy. Meet my son, Quasimodo:

For more show and tell, visit Mary at Raising 4 Godly Men.

A New Day

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 22:04:00 -0500

Because my life is not quite busy enough (please hear the sarcasm), I thought I'd join in on the April Poem a Day challenge. Robert, at Poetic Asides will give a prompt each day and then we can be as creative as we want and run with it. Here is my very short poem for day 1.

Today's prompt: I want you to write an origin poem. It can be the origin of a word, person, plant, idea, etc. Have fun with it.

A New Day

Sheets crumpled

Covers rumpled

A good night’s sleep is done.

Bed made

Pillows laid

A new day has begun.

Another Prayer Request

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:10:00 -0500

John will be finished with Phase 1 of the State Police Academy on April 24th. For the second phase, he will be working in Roanoke for approximately 16 weeks. He will have to live there, meaning he'll have to find a place to rent (hopefully just a room) and only be home on the weekends. He will be back here at the academy for Phase 3 in the fall and it doesn't make sense to relocate the entire family for that period of time.

Today, he put in a request to be reassigned to a place just outside of Richmond. This would enable him to live at home and make family life much easier. Please pray for God's will to be done in this.

Also, John has a PT (Physical Training) test tomorrow (Tuesday) at 3 PM. Please pray that he does well.

Your prayers mean so much to us. Thank you.

To Gabriel

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:12:00 -0500

Happy 18th Birthday!

The Me in Mosiac Meme

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 21:40:00 -0500

It's actually a meme that answers these questions:
1. What is your name? Karen
2. What is your favorite food? Mexican - hold the guacamole
3. What is your hometown? Does this mean where I was born or where I live now or where I have lived all my life? Well, I've moved around a lot. I have lived on both sides of this continent and in the middle too, so let's just say I'm an American.
4. What is your favorite color? Blue - navy, royal, sapphire but not robin's egg.
5. What is your favorite movie? Pride and Prejudice
6. What is your favorite drink? Coke or Pepsi - not diet
7. What is your dream vacation? - Cancun Mexico.
8. What is your favorite dessert? - My mom's lemon meringue pie
9. What is one word to describe yourself? teachable
10. How are you feeling right now? Optimistic
11. What do you love most in the world? My family
12. What do you want to be when you grow up? a good and faithful servant

So that's the meme. I found it on Comfy Denim's blog. Thanks for the idea! Here are the directions for how to - I ignored the "tagging" part ---

DIRECTIONS:
- Go to Google image search.
- Type in your answer to each question below.
- Choose a picture from the first three pages.
- Save the URL links for all your images. You'll need these.
- Use this website (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php) to make your collage.
- Save the image for use in this note
- Post and tag 10 people plus me.

When the Answer is No

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:11:00 -0500

John called this evening. He was tired after two enjoyable and successful days of precision driving. His calls are brief and I do not get many details until the weekend. All I know is that it involved cones and high speed driving on a training course located about an hour's drive from the academy. They arrived back on campus late last night and then had to get up earlier than usual this morning. Sometime during the day today, he was told that "the powers that be" have said no to the "chance" of John being finished by the end of phase one which ends on April 24th.

This is a huge let down for us as a family. Going into the academy, we knew it was going to be a long haul and months of separation. But when high ranking officials brought up and pursued the idea, we had hope. It is difficult not to be discouraged when hopes come crashing down. But I know that God has a plan even in this. He is not surprised by the decision. He is still in control. He knows our tomorrow and I will continue to trust Him. I will also remember that it ain't over til it's over. I will go boldly to the throne of grace and plead for miracles. Whatever the final outcome, I am encouraged that God is still God. He knows and cares. Won't you pray and trust with me?

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1 Peter 5:7

And the sun stood still. . .
Joshua 10:13

. . .the iron did swim.
2 Kings 6:6

This God is our God. . .
Psalm 48:14

Do Hard Things - The Review

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:53:00 -0500

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations

Alex and Brett Harris begin their book with these four simple words, "Most people don't expect. . . " And with that, they begin to challenge young people to rethink their teen years. Teenagers are expected to party, goof off, sleep late and rebel against any kind of authority in their lives. Bret and Alex, only teens themselves, have co-authored a book to challenge today's youth to embrace a better way of living and to do more with their lives - starting now. The years of a 13-19 year old are not to be wasted. Teens need to realize that they can do great things for God and others at a very young age. These two young men encourage them to pursue excellence, dream big and do hard things.

I would say that this book is required reading for my family except for the fact that everyone is scrambling for their chance to read it. It's a very motivating book and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a child who is planning on being a teenager or young adult sometime in the next decade or so.

A Full Calendar

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:50:00 -0500

I've got a lot going on in the next few weeks. Besides everyday living these things are on my calendar in the next 38 days:

Gabriel's dentist checkup
Yearbook committee meeting for Hannah
Dentist appointment for me to get a filling
American girl party for Holly - Kirsten
Ultimate blog party
My second dentist appointment for a second filling
Gabriel's 18th birthday
Gabriel's drama performance
Holly's other book club with some girls from church
Gabriel and Hannah take the ACT
Our 22nd wedding anniversary
Moms' homeschool meeting
Holly's 11th birthday
Dermatologist appointments for Gabriel, Hannah and me
Visit a friend that I haven't seen in many years in Williamsburg
Easter
Sing a solo at church on Easter Sunday
Attend Family Day at the State Police Academy

What's on your calendar?

A New Direction

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:22:00 -0600

So where have I been since leaving homeschool blogger? It's a long story and much of it is recorded on my other blog. I will post some updates here. To sum it up very briefly, we left Romania in March of 2007 and lived with my parents in Alabama for a few months. We somewhat paitently waited for the Lord to show us the next step.

Nineteen months ago we moved here to Virginia with the intention of John becoming a State Trooper again. (He resigned in 1992 to go into the ministry.) He found a job and a place for us to live and began the long application process. The first test was in August of 2007. He successfully passed that and then moved on to the next. All was going well and then we found out that the academy which was scheduled to begin in February of 2008 was delayed. State budget cuts forced the powers that be to put the academy off for eight months. Meanwhile, John still had to complete the application process. The final step was a complete physical. Could he pass it at nearly 48 years of age? Yes, he did! We were relieved to finally be done and anxiously awaited a letter telling us when the academy would begin. We thought that it would be this past October. In September, we received another letter telling us that the academy was delayed again and no one knew when it would begin. A serious let down. Discouraging. "Lord, if this isn't the way you want us to go, can't you close the door completely? Why are you leaving it cracked open like this? Why, oh why do we have to have another lesson on waiting?"

About three days after we got that letter, another one came. This was also from the Virginia State Police. They were hiring for another area of law enforcement - same salary, same benefits. If hired for this new position, he will still be eligible to make a lateral transfer to finish out the State Trooper academy, whenever that one may begin. This letter was mailed out to all of the State Trooper applicants and was also posted for the public. There were only eight positions state-wide and only two of those for this area where we live. John first interviewed for a position here and then went to two other locations. After the interviews, there was nothing to do but pray and wait some more.

The phone call finally at the end of October. After months of waiting, dealing with delays and wondering what direction our lives are going in, we finally have an answer. Not all the answers but certainly enough to make some plans. John has been selected to work in a location in the Shenandoah Valley near Roanoke, Va. Of course, that is after a 20 week academy which began last month.

He just started his 7th week of the academy. This is phase one. Phase two he will be working near Roanoke for a few weeks and then begin Phase three at the end of the summer. This transition has been a long journey of trust and patience. We are not finished yet but are still waiting on the Lord as he continues to guide our lives.

Coming Home

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:14:00 -0600

I've been away for nearly two years from this blog and now this wayward child is considering coming back to homeschool blogger. I haven't totally made up my mind just yet. Just thinking about it.

Today is. . .

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:56:00 -0500

My 3rd blog-aversary! When I began blogging on June 18th, 2005, I had no idea that I would keep it up at all. I was always a complete failure at traditional journaling. The interaction of other bloggers makes this format much more interesting!

Another thing that is special about today is that I have been interviewed by De'Etta. You can read it over at Homeschool Blog Awards. She asked to do the interview a few months ago but life was just too busy. This month worked out great and it was completely coincidental that my interview was posted on my blogging anniversary.

I hope you will stop by the Homeschool Blog Awards to read my interview. Also, yesterday I posted another entry about My Story. Great-Granny Grandma said,

"I love reading your story (look forward to each new episode), and as I read, can't help thinking it would make a great book, movie, or TV series. Ever considered that?"

No, I've not thought about a movie or TV series but I do hope to make it a book someday. Of course, I am not opposed to the movie/TV series idea either!

Moving

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 09:34:00 -0600

My life seems to be about moving. Packing up belongings, hauling them to another location and settling in to a new place has almost become a routine. Now, it not only applies to my physical life but my cyber life as well. Today I am officially packing up my blog and moving here.

Moving a blog is similar to moving in the physical world. There are fears of the unknown. Will I like my new home? Can I arrange my furniture in a reasonable, comfortable way? How long will it take to learn my way around? Will my friends in my former neighborhood forget about me? I have loved my home here at HSB. It was my blogging birthplace. I have made some incredible friends. Thankfully, the internet is a tremendous tool for making the world seem smaller. My real life friend Julie may be in Texas while I am here in Romania, but we can sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and visit each other easily, no matter where we are in the world or on the web.

I am looking forward to my new home. We have some exciting things going on in our lives that I will be posting about soon. I hope you will come by for a visit soon. God bless!

Visit me at Wired Wisdom.

http://www.woodward-family.com/karenwoodward/blog.html

13 Facts about Benin, Africa

Thu, 8 Feb 2007 10:13:00 -0600

1. The Map

2. The Flag

3. Benin lies on the West Coast of Africa.

4. It has a population of 6,305,567. (July 1999 est.)

5. French is the official language

6. There are over 40 different ethnic groups and 51 languages spoken in the country.

7. Porto-Novo is the official capital.

8. Cotonou is the seat of government.

9. Most Haitians trace their ancestry to Benin.

10. Benin is the cradle of Vodou.

11. Many of the Beninese vodou Gods, were transplanted to Haiti during slavery.

12. In Benin Christianity, Islam and Vodou cohabit peacefully.

13. My dad is going there this week with a small group of Gideons to distribute the Word of God. Please keep him and his team in your prayers.

Get the Thursday 13 Code here!

Better than Friends

Thu, 8 Feb 2007 07:13:00 -0600

Remember the “friends” option where we could click a button and find all the entries that those on our friends list had made that day? That was a nice way to keep up with other blogs but it didn’t seem to catch everyone on my list. If I didn’t get a chance to check it everyday, those posts were gone. Thanks to Danielle W, I have discovered Google Reader. It is very simple to use, it's free, and now I can even keep up with friends who blog elsewhere. If you have any questions, I’ll try to help.

Tue, 6 Feb 2007 12:25:00 -0600

We had a good time with our missionary friends except for the fact that John has some sort of stomach bug. He has just been miserable. I hated to have company when he was sick, for his sake and for theirs but we didn’t know he was sick until they were already on their way. It’s been almost two days now and no one else has come down with it. . . yet. A virus is going around but I find myself wondering if it was a piece of pork that John ate on Sunday. It was practically raw. He said he only had a bite of it but that could be one bite too many. I ventured out first thing this morning in search of some Gatorade. It was cold and windy and I am glad I didn’t bother doing my hair. It would have been undone right away. I asked John what flavor he wanted and he said, “Blue.” So after a 15 minute windy walk, we arrived home with 8 half liters or $10 worth of blue Gatorade. Please pray that he is better soon and the rest of us will stay well. Thanks!

Here are some pictures of our friends:

Company and Year Round School

Mon, 5 Feb 2007 16:16:00 -0600

Today I took a short break from my jet lagged life of sleeping in late at woke up at 7 AM. Company was on their way and my house was turned upside down. They weren’t scheduled to arrive until around 11 AM but I knew that it would take me that long to make the place look decent. They are another missionary couple who live about three hours away so we do not get to see them very often. They don’t have a Pizza Hut where they live so they wanted to buy some for us for lunch. I love it, John hates it. We all enjoyed it but mostly we have enjoyed the time of fellowship. They have a sweet little boy that they have adopted. He is two. They also have a little Romanian girl living with them temporarily. She is six and Holly has had a great day having a friend all to herself all day long. Right now they are all in the living room watching a movie that I have already seen. It’s one of those “once is enough” movies. At least for me. Gabriel could probably watch it on a daily basis. I feel incredibly rude not watching it with them but I am sure that I would sit there and fall asleep. I begged to be excused. Unfortunately, they will have to leave tomorrow morning, making the visit much too short. But we all have things that must be tended to ministry wise and of course there is school.

I talked to the kids yesterday about our sporadic school schedule. We do not live a normal life, making a typical September through June school calendar impossible. So we all agreed that we would officially be year round schoolers, which is pretty much what we have been doing anyway. Is there a term for that? I really don’t like the idea of just saying, “We school year round.” Seems there should be something more sophisticated.