All Things Are Possible - Homeschool Blogger

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:14:00 -0600

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart’s Desire (link on the left).

From the Heart: This week we are still unsure as a family what to do regarding the worship service “issue” as it exists currently. Today my son and hubby went to service at the church we attended seven years ago. We left there as they just did not have anything with substance for the children. They still don’t. I took our daughter to our current church so she could attend her class (an awesome teacher in this age group) and then I met up with dh and son for the Sunday school class we attend. During the first hour I did meet with the lady who is taking the children’s ministry (interim at this point) through March. I have agreed to take the mid-week class for age 3-K that meets for one hour. Sadly I will have to miss out on the ladies Bible study, but I am willing to help her out for three months and then see what the leadership does with the children’s ministry. I really think Satan just has a field day with our churches as they exist today! Amazing how much “junk” has been happening for about five months surrounding some staffing issues that began the spiral to lose our children’s pastor. The neat thing though is that she is definitely taking God’s call for her life seriously and stepping out in faith in a huge way. It will all work out as God wants it to!

With the Lord: I have been blessed with reading “The ME in Mommy” written by Lisa Whelchel. Overall the concept is quite basic to find time for self and especially God, but sometimes that is just what we need to hear! I sure did as it helps me to know I’m not doing so badly after all in this season of my life.

As a Wife/Mom: I found myself low on patience this past week but at least I know why which is helpful.

I was able to pick up my cross-stitch project again (I’ve been working on this princess picture for over a year now.) and am so glad to see it coming together. I’m only halfway done but have decided it is just going to sit out so I can work on it a little each day.

I attended an annual Christmas Tea with my daughter on Saturday afternoon. The kids’ adopted grandma throws this event and it is always spectacular. From the decorations (she is more creative than Martha Stewart any day), to the food, to the conversation. Always a wonderful time.

In the Schoolroom: We are still plugging along with our usual school work and will keep going through Wednesday of this week. We finished reading “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and enjoyed that story very much.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:27:00 -0600

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart’s Desire (link on the left).

From the Heart: A struggle going on for me this week regarding our worship services at church. Last Sunday the sound was just too loud that I could not even focus on the words and I did not receive good answers from the sound people. Typically when the music is more than I can worship to with my voice I just focus on the words. The first hour group actually put a microphone on the drums and they said, “this is what the people want.” Am I not part of “the people”? I just know that even my five-year old son was thankful when they had a quieter song without the drums. We stayed through the song service during the second hour as our daughter was singing with the other elementary kids and again, the sound was cranked. Didn’t say anything about that but then on Wednesday night at Bible study the adult choir was practicing for this weekends Christmas program and we honestly could not hear each other across the table. Our room is next to the sanctuary with a solid wall in between. One lady went and asked the sound person if they could turn it down just a little and she was told “he (music director) wants it at the level it will be set for the performance.” Hmmm I’m guessing I’ll be sitting in the parking lot then tomorrow night! I have never been one for music wars and I won’t start now, but it is disheartening to think I have to take earplugs for the family just to sit in a worship service.

With the Lord: I purchased a new study guide by Lisa Whelchel for busy mom’s and plan to start on that Monday. I loved the premise of 15 minutes of learning to just dig deep into the scriptures. She has lots of great books for us busy mom’s at MomTime!

As a Wife/Mom: Still having a few control wars with Sweetie Boy but they are lessening. I know they will rear their ugly head again someday though!

We had a busy week with extras during the daytime hours. Monday we awoke to our first snow of the season so naturally we had to go buy snow boots and play outside all morning!

The next day we ended up taking my dad shopping (I have since set up a schedule for going shopping instead of his “could you…” phone calls.) and it turned into lunch out at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Wednesday morning we had tickets to see “Annie” with about 400 public school children. Another family from our homeschool group met us there and we sat together.

I was able to secure the final stocking stuffers and ornaments for the kids this week either by shopping or online. Yeah!!

In the Schoolroom: Nothing special here other than the usual routine. We didn’t have as much craft time due to all of our outings, but we did get some funky Christmas trees and snowmen made and the gingerbread train.

We also had our Christmas Party for "Friday School." Everyone had a good time just being together. The kids made paper snowflakes and decorated sugar cookies. Some even brought ornaments to exchange.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0600

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart’s Desire (link on the left).

From the Heart: A much better week emotionally and I’m thankful. Just knowing that I needed to be sure and include myself in each day even a little bit went miles in the time spent giving or looking out for others in my family or those placed in my path this week.

I am still praising God for His hand in my dad’s situation. He continues to improve from the depression and the kids and I actually spent five hours with him on Friday for a “short” shopping spree. Turned into lunch as well. It was a good day! He has also asked us to pick him up for the kids’ Christmas program on Sunday afternoon. Wow! That’s just all I can say to describe the change.

With the Lord: I am back to my Chronological Bible reading and I did make it through the Max Lucado study for the week. His studies do take more thought and effort, but that’s a good thing right now in my opinion.

Looking forward to a great day of worship in the morning.

As a Wife/Mom: Lots of together time this week as a family and that is always wonderful. I’ve been getting lots of extra hugs from the kids and many “I love you’s” and those are always very welcome.

Had to implement another “check mark” sheet for Sweetie Boy as he began pushing the attitude again and for whatever reason this helps so much. He’s managed to lose his Legos but I’m thinking one out of three for the week isn’t too bad!

We enjoyed Sweetie Boys mini-musical this morning as the group performed at a care center. First time he’s actually done most of the actions and sang along! Afterwards we stopped by the church as they were hosting a community nativity display. The nativity scenes and crèches were beautiful. Many came from different parts of the world.

This evening we all said our goodbye’s to a special family that is moving in two weeks to Arizona. We belong to an adoptive family playgroup for five years now and this is where we met them. Punkin’ had tears in her eyes when she hugged Jonathan goodbye tonight.

In the Schoolroom: Other than our usual independent work we began a unit on Christmas. Original idea don’t you think? We’ve begun reading through the Christmas story in Luke and also works of fiction. We spent time making crafts and so far they enjoyed making paper sack puppets of a reindeer, Santa and an elf and also creating a mitten garland.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:55:00 -0600

From the Heart: Funny how a simple question of “What would you like for Christmas?” brought me to wondering “Who am I?” and “What do I need/want? My sister-in-law called me on this when my answer was things that others would benefit from or enjoy. I began to cry as I truly did not realize how low on the priority scale I’ve allowed myself to become. I know this has entered my life over time as the children came into the family and then we began homeschooling. Overall I don’t believe putting effort into others is a bad thing, but it has become a “not so great” thing now that I see I’ve buried caring about myself so deeply. Actions to change this will translate into the next section…..

With the Lord: ….as I will be making this time a priority for me. (As will that dust laden treadmill and basket of hand weights.) We sang this song yesterday in worship and it has stuck with me so I’m using it as a way to praise God today.

“The Revelation Song” sung by Kari Jobe

Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat
[Repeat 2x]

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!
Yeah!

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King,
Yeah

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!
Yeah!

Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah...

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore You!

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore YOU…

Come up lift up His Name
To the King of Kings…
We will adore YOU Lord…
King of heaven and earth
King Jesus, King Jesus
Aleluya, aleluya, aleluya!
Majesty, awestruck Honor
And Power and Strength and Dominion
To You Lord,
To the King, to King
To the King of Glory

As a Family: My first thought was our time together on the long Thanksgiving weekend. We played “couch potatoes” together as we watched the Macy Parade and then an hour of the Eukanuba Dog Show. Afterwards we all headed outside to put up the nativity scene and the last of the Christmas lights. For dinner we headed to a friends home with a roasted turkey, stuffing and gravy in tow. It was a very nice couple of hours. The rest of the weekend we worked on getting the big Christmas tree up and decorated (took two days and two Christmas videos) and then did some more winterizing outside. A very fun few days as a family!

In the Schoolroom: Only three days spent in the schoolroom this past week and all lessons were accomplished without incident. I could tell that Sweetie Boy was beginning to struggle with the reading again (currently trying Explode the Code with him) and I was able to go by the curriculum store in the neighboring town on Saturday and pick up the #1 and #2 books to use with him instead of # 2 ½. Also bought set 2 of the Bob Books to make that easier as well. Just don’t want him to hate reading!

For “together school” we read Thanksgiving story books and made crafts to take to our friends for table decorations.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:38:00 -0600

From the Heart: It was a wonderful day on Saturday when Punkin’ and I went to drop off some new pajamas for my dad. As soon as we entered the room he was up and helping to put things away. He asked me to go through a box that had been sitting there for two months. He asked if I would get the TV and radio plugged back in and working again. He walked with us to the dining room and proceeded to pour water in all the glasses at his table. He gave Punkin’ a hug goodbye, thanked her for the holiday door hanging she brought and then sat down to wait for lunch. I have not seen this person for three months!! I am praying the antidepressants have finally done their job and that he is on his way back. Punkin’ and I nicknamed the day “awesome day”

The other “heart pulling” this week was trying to figure out what to do with Sweetie Boy’s attitude and behavior that he chose to wear. It appears that every time he is allowed to spend any time at all near his little church friends that the disrespect and lack of obedience goes into overdrive. It was two very long days after his day in Sunday School (first time in over a month that he has been allowed to go). He was doing better until yesterday (Sunday) and all we can guess is it was the two hours spent near one of his church friends at the birthday party. This coming week he has helped build a chart with three boxes on it and two different pictures. One picture represents a toy reward and the other a birthday party that he is invited to on Saturday. If he gets one check mark for bad behavior during the week the toy reward is gone. If he gets all three he will not be allowed to go to this party and he really wants to be there. Hopefully it will help!

With the Lord: I’ve about decided that I have this heading here just to hold myself accountable for making this happen. I am still not spending the time with Him that I know I should, but at least I am praying throughout the day for strength and guidance and am keeping this goal in mind. Thankfully He knows my heart!

As a Family: We didn’t do anything out of the ordinary this week other than attend a birthday party for a friends little girl that turned four. This family has been in our lives since the early 90’s when Tim and I worked as youth sponsors. The mom of this family is someone that we helped “grow up in Christ” during those years. A very special little family to all of us!

In the Schoolroom: Once again Punkin’ did very well working through her independent assignments and Sweetie Boy barely accomplished two full days worth. One day I tried the suggestion from a mom on The Teacher’s Lounge of having him do push-ups when he is choosing to “not know how” on something that he definitely does know how to accomplish. Took three rounds of 10 push-ups to break him and then he was fine the rest of that morning with lessons.

We finished up our three-week study on Kings & Queens by watching “Sword and the Stone.” Very cute Disney movie! This was a very fun study and will be enjoyable when we do it again in a couple of years and the kids are old enough to really study some of the people and places more indepth.

This week for “together school” we are just going to read Thanksgiving books that we have around the house and do some craft projects.

*************

If you would like to be part of the Weekly Wrap-Up please head to "My Heart's Desire" which I have a link for on the sidebar.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:55:00 -0600

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart’s Desire (link on the left).

From the Heart: Finally! A week that seemed normal! That has been long in coming. I loved a week full of joy!! I also enjoyed having the dogs in the house even though they are more work at times. Those furry loves are just wonderful for those stressful moments.

With the Lord: Have my new book for the Max Lucado study and need to dig into it sometime this weekend. It is on the book of Luke. Should be a good one. Otherwise, still not there with my daily time with God so need to carve out time for that as it is a priority.

As Wife/Mom: I am still fighting the sinuses and cough, but am feeling better. Everyone in the house is dealing with the same and I don’t know why we can’t shake it. Going on two months now off and on.

Had a hard “mom moment” on Friday as Punkin’ began asking about whether the Disney princesses were real or not. I asked questions to see if I could figure out why she was asking before just answering and ended up telling her the truth. She was heartbroken! She’s going to be 8 in February so she’s old enough to start putting this sort of thing together anyway, but it was so sad.

In the Schoolroom: Explode the Code made for a successful week with Sweetie Boy! First week in almost a month with all lessons completed without fuss or fights. So glad I tried this option so he won’t lose what he’s learned so far and yet can be “stopped” a bit until he’s ready to move forward again with reading.

We continued with our Kings, Queens and Castles study and will move into the Knights this coming week.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 19:13:00 -0600

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart’s Desire (link on the left).

From the Heart: Another week of ups and downs for me. I am beginning to think this is the new normal but I’m not willing to accept that!

The major down was on Wednesday when I received a call from the facility my dad is living in to inform me that he had fallen in the night. Stubborn reasons: won’t use his cane and he won’t call for staff assistance. Thankfully he did not have major injury, just the typical strained and sore muscles. However, I did have to arrange a doctor visit to make sure and that meant x-rays of his back as well. Wouldn’t have been as bad if dad hadn’t chosen to just be a miserable grump the entire time we were with him. I was so ready to just explode but I held my tongue! The kids were once again placed in a situation I did not want them to be, but that afternoon I did not have a choice. I did cancel his leg ultrasound appointment that was scheduled for Monday the 9^th because he doesn’t want to have it done and I was done with being the whipping post.

The major up is that we managed to surprise the kids with both Ellsworth and Jolie (basset hounds) on Friday afternoon. The breeder made us an incredibly generous offer to take both of them and reluctantly Tim and I agreed. Neither of us really wanted the responsibility again so soon yet at the same time we both wanted the loveable creatures with us. Ellsworth is 7 ½ months old and a bundle of energy. Jolie is 3 years old and content to lie down somewhere and watch the happenings. They are both crate trained so that has made their transition easier. Anyway, it was fun seeing the children’s faces just light up when they realized what was happening.

The kids with both dogs.

Jolie

Ellsworth

With the Lord: So how many weeks can I say “I’m not there yet”? I’ve got my chronological Bible on the bed stand and plan to begin that (again) tonight. We will be beginning a new Max Lucado study on Wednesday nights so I need to be praying for time to do the homework required to really get more out of it.

As Wife/Mom: I woke up Saturday with a horrible sore throat and a cough. Reminiscent of my pre-allergy drop days. A cold that comes and goes every few weeks. I do have an appointment with the doctor on Tuesday so will manage through it until then. I am tired of not feeling well!

My “must do” for the coming week is to get our meal plan in place. Just makes things go smoother in that area.

I also need to work on a new chore list for the kids. With the two younger dogs in the house there are more things that will need done each day.

In the Schoolroom: Was wonderful having a full week of schoolwork accomplished by Punkin’. She did a great job! I do need to look into a different spelling program as the one with Horizons is just not working. It’s good, but I’m guessing it is the randomness of it that isn’t working. Maybe something sequential would be better. Advice???

Sweetie Boy is still pretty much stalled on Reading. I can get him through his penmanship and math most days, but haven’t touched the reading. I stopped at a curriculum place in the neighboring town last week and picked up a number 2 ½ Explode the Code and a set of Bob Books to try with him this week. Just don’t want him to lose what he’s learned and since he loves drawing and colors he may enjoy ETC because he can color it all up as he works.

We also began our Kings, Queens & Castles unit and that has been fun so far. We're reading "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" and then the kids are drawing pictures from each section we read. We shopped for costumes and Punkin' chose a queen naturally. Sweetie Boy decided he would be a guard so he bought a plastic sword. He wouldn't let me take his picture though. Crazy boy! Since the "queen" photo she has taken the gown to grandma's and they've modified it so it fits her better. Very fun!

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:15:00 -0500

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart's Desire.

From the Heart: I must admit I’ve been up and down all week long. I am longing for a week where I can control what changes our schedule instead of the other way around.

This past week appeared to be going well and then it all changed about 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Punkin’ was up sick. The entire day was just “out of control” as she was throwing up again about 9 a.m. just as I needed to be walking out the door for my doctor appointment. I managed to get an appointment for her at a time where I could just make it home, gather the kids and go. Didn’t happen. I needed to stay and have a dose of C put in my system so dh ended up having to take Punkin’ to the doctor. We finally met up again about noon. The verdict was fluid on the inner ear which explained the throwing up and pain. She’s still having pain so I’m praying another day or two of Dimetapp Cold/Allergy will keep an infection at bay.

These events in turn changed other plans such as our family trip to Colorado. There was no way Punkin’ could experience the altitude changes this trip would involve. Her ear could not be subjected to “popping.” So after much debate the boys headed out on Friday morning and the girls stayed home.

Maybe this week will be different. No doctor appointments on the horizon and no illness to keep us from accomplishing schoolwork. I’ll let you know next weekend how it goes!

With the Lord: Again, I’m just not where I want to be. I do keep thinking all the craziness I’m feeling (such as described above) would not be so troublesome if I were in a better place with the Lord. My next stop after writing this wrap-up is going to be with Him.

As Wife/Mom: The hubby and I were actually able to get away for a couple of hours on Thursday again as both kids were well enough to go to grandma’s for the first time in two weeks. We enjoyed a matinee showing of “The Time Travelers Wife.”

I have enjoyed my one-on-one time with Punkin’ this weekend. Friday we spent much time cleaning her room and figuring out what types of containers were needed to make putting away toys and activities easier. It looks great in there now! I also splurged and bought a Barbie Thumbelina DVD for her to watch and a new board game for us to play. Also found Pet Shop Monopoly on sale so we picked that up too. Total “spoil the girl” day, but that rarely happens so I enjoyed it as much as she did. Today (Saturday) we enjoyed a live performance of Beauty and the Beast. When we knew she was going to be missing out on the trip Tim and I decided this would be a special treat for her. It was done very well for a local music theater production. Tonight we played more Monopoly and then watched Parent Trap together before she headed to bed.

I must admit I am enjoying the break from Sweetie Boy as it had been a rugged couple of weeks with him during his current growth spurt and attitude towards school work. Praying I’ll be refreshed and ready to go with him again on Tuesday!

The kids keep asking about a new dog and as way of an update we will not be getting the dog from Kentucky as they were able to secure him a good home locally. Easier for everyone that way. We have been talking with the breeder we had purchased Shelby from and plan to take a "field trip" to visit this individual and love on her basset hounds. We are trying to decide what to do as she does have a 7 month old male named Ellsworth and a 3 year old female named Jolie that need homes. We had thought of waiting until spring/summer and get a puppy from one of her litters instead. I'm sort of thinking an older one that is already trained somewhat would be nicer for me as the one that is home all day.

In the Schoolroom: Yet another week of “not so much accomplished” in this area. Punkin’ pretty much was done on Tuesday and Sweetie Boy didn’t do a bit of his reading work (not worth the fight) but did keep up on his math and writing. I have a full week planned for both of them and with any ounce of luck we’ll get back on track!

Our “together school” was hit and miss all week but we did have fun early in the week doing experiments with rocks and dirt, classifying rocks and learning about the different rocks with the help of Usborne sticker books on Rocks and Minerals. The coming week we are going to start our “Kings & Queens” unit and it should last at least three weeks. My plan is to finish up in time to have a week of doing fun Thanksgiving crafts.

Weekly Wrap-Up (10-24-09)

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:05:00 -0500

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart's Desire.

From the Heart: Sadness hit our home on Monday. Our sweet Shelby dog was not doing well by morning so we dropped her off at the vet first thing so he could have a look at her. The tumors had doubled in size since the exploratory surgery less than a week earlier and her lungs were squished so her breathing was very labored and unfortunately a bit painful. The tumor near the back end was also beginning to pinch off her blood veins so she was on track for paralysis. As I’m sure you’ve concluded, we did put her down that afternoon.

Our home is quiet without a basset roaming around! We have been looking into some options for another one and have two in the works. One is with a rescue in Kentucky and they are trying to decide if they can actually transport this far. We also have been emailing with the breeder we got Shelby from 13 years ago and she has a 7 month old little guy that is adorable. We’ll see!

With the Lord: Once again this area is lacking and I’m not entirely happy about that. I have spent time reading my Bible and working through some of my Bible study along with planning Sunday School for the K class. (I am filling in tomorrow.) This is not enough! The only way I will be able to hear Him is to be listening so that time is definitely a priority.

As Wife/Mom: I can honestly say I feel as though I just kept things running at home, but not as well as I would have liked. I’ve had to resolve within myself that it was okay and to just let it go and get those meal plans and chore charts in place for the coming week.

One thing that I am not quite sure how to tackle is Sweetie Boy’s white lies and intentional “hiding” of things that he knows are not right. I think the words “God tells us not to lie and to obey our parents” are heard and sent out the other ear at this point he’s heard them so often. Any ideas on helping to change this behavior would be welcomed.

We had a fun time tonight at the annual pumpkin carving party that friends from church host. I go as the family photographer while dh assists in the carving. Punkin’s was a tribute to Shelby and Sweetie Boy created a face. They are both cute.

In the Schoolroom: Punkin’ got in a full week of lessons and did great. Two 100% marks for math and spelling tests! Sweetie Boy on the other hand did not even get through two full days worth of lessons. His focus was just completely gone all week and I wasn’t going to fight it and make him hate doing the work. He’s only five and wouldn’t even be allowed in a public classroom due to his birth date so I have no issue slowing down to meet him where he is right now. The length of the stories he is to read has increased so much that I’m already thinking we are going to stretch one day of reading work through the entire week. Then maybe we can keep the math and penmanship going each day.

We finished up our “Tree for all Seasons” on Friday and the kids have enjoyed filling up those branches with their ornaments. We also did a few fall craft projects so spent one morning collecting leaves at the park. It was a great time except for the killer geese that chased us and tried to bite. One actually got me on the arm as I was trying to get her away from Punkin. Broke skin through my jacket!

This coming week we need to begin a new “together school” unit and think I’ll go ahead and get the Rocks & Minerals one ready to go for Monday even though we only have four days this week. (Another quick trip.)

Weekly Wrap-Up (10-18-09)

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:20:00 -0500

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart's Desire.

From the Heart: An absolutely wonderful time was spent with my girlfriend at Women of Faith last weekend. I truly needed the time to just be away from “the stuff that bogs one down” and just be with God and about 10,000 other women praising His wonderful name! As always there is at least one speaker that appears to be speaking right at you and I took away further reminders that worry does not gain us a thing. When we worry we are not putting our full trust in God. That statement really hit me where I’m living!

One thing that is making me a little sad is that our dog (she’s 13) has lymphoma and we may have 2-4 months left with her. We’ve had a rough dog year as the other two bassets died within three weeks of each other this spring.

With the Lord: I must admit with my crazy schedule this past week I have not been in the Word as I should be and I notice when that happens. Things just seem to get a bit more out of control…or should I say out of His control and into my own. This week…back to my weekly Bible study and also reading my daily devotion book that I purchased at the conference. Those will be a starting place!

As Wife and Mom: I actually spent three solid days with my family away from our daily routine and it was wonderful. We were all coughing thanks to the colds we’ve been sporting for weeks, but we did it together! LOL We had a great time in Portland, OR visiting the zoo and the children’s museum. The first day of travel we did stop at Multnomah Falls and enjoyed hiking there even though it was raining off and on.

In the Schoolroom: School? What’s that? We did manage to get a full day in on the 12^th but that’s been it since the 7^th. Sweetie Boy kept up with his assignments on the 8^th but Punkin’ was just too sick. I’ve been working at rescheduling their independent work so we’re ready to try again this week.

We were supposed to be starting our study on Rocks this week but we’re also behind with our Seasons (sequencing) study. Will just see what happens and rearrange further down the road with the planned units. Our Tree for all Seasons is really beginning to look full as we’ve made it through July with decorations.

I also gave them a homework assignment with their dad on the 6^th to create a paper solar system while I was gone to Mom’s Night (Friday School group). I figured I’d come home to taped up circles in the hallway, but instead I find a huge mobile hanging from the beam with planets hanging down. I had forgotten one thing….dad was leading the project!

Have five more weeks left leading Sharks at Friday School. This week will be studying different characteristics of sharks and comparing them to fish. Going quickly so I bst figure out something for the next eight week session that begins in January.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sat, 3 Oct 2009 18:47:00 -0500

From the Heart: I know I’m supposed to be wrapping up the past week, but at this time I am beginning to look forward to the coming week. I will be on a plane with a very precious girlfriend headed to our annual Women of Faith weekend getaway. I can’t think of a better place to be for feeding my spirit and spending much needed time with a sister in Christ. I feel this time is needed more this year than in the past and I know that’s because I’m just beat down after the past month or so dealing with my dad’s situation.

I also love this time of year. My favorite! The cooling of the temperature, the beauty of fall and a lot less lawn mowing. (Yep…I’m smiling about that one!)

With the Lord: Psalm 34 (I’ll let you go read it for yourself!) has been beside me since ladies Bible study on Wednesday. We are picking apart Psalm 23 and this week we were looking at the verse that talks about walking through the shadow of death. What wisdom is spread throughout this passage in regards to His faithfulness to us during the difficult times.

As Wife and Mom: I felt much more in touch with the family this past week than I have for several weeks. I am thankful that things are getting to a “normal” place again after all the chaos of the past month. Just the flip of the calendar page brought peace instead of stress as it looks empty.

The kids have both been nursing colds again this week and I was actually able to double up on doctor appointments Thursday. The kids told their daddy that “we were in a car race today.” What happened? We took my dad for his cardiologist appointment at 10. Prior to that I had phoned and miraculously got on our very busy pediatrician’s schedule for 11. His office is directly at the opposite end of the building on the same floor. We were done in plenty of time so I told dad to just stay put while we checked Punkin’ in for her appointment. I found out that the pediatrician was 30-40 minutes behind so we made a dash for it and took dad back to his “home” and headed back. We only had to wait for five minutes to get in with the doctor. Worked out pretty well and I promise--I went the speed limit! Anyway, Punkin’ did have a sinus infection so she’s now on antibiotics. I’m going to call my doctor on Monday as I realized I’ve been nursing my cold for over a month now. Betting I have the same issue.

Sweetie Boy threw us off guard once this week by proclaiming “I wish I did not belong to this family.” Not exactly sure what brought that statement to light other than he’d had fun at a friends house and it may have seemed a lot more lively that day than our “boring” place. He’s since told us that he loves us and has been content to stay with us.

In the Schoolroom: We had a great week with our “together school” (KONOS) as we continued our study on sequencing. We made hearts for February, shamrocks for March and umbrellas for April to hang on the Tree for all Seasons. W read about George Washington’s teeth and learned about Abraham Lincoln’s love of books. We learned about St. Valentine and St. Patrick. We read a wonderful book to learn why we have night and day. Made it so easily understood for two young children!

Our Friday School group began the first week of classes and I am leading the K-3 group in a study about sharks. For the first lesson I gave them a verbal quiz to see what they thought they knew about them. Was pretty funny! We also got the lapbooks decorated on the front to individualize them and then studied about the shark as The Perfect Hunter. I think it will be a fun study for them and it isn’t hard to fill eight weeks.

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:19:00 -0500

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart's Desire.

From the Heart: Today I have realized that I am just sad. I am so thankful that God orchestrated a wonderful assisted living place for my dad, but I’m just sad. Sad because of where his anxiety and/or depression is leading him -- a dark place. So hard to dig out of once you’re there. I am praying and working at finding peace with the situation instead of the sadness, but I’m struggling.

With the Lord: I have been faithful to my daily Bible reading and am enjoying the Chronological Bible very much. I have not devoted the time that I want to for the Wednesday Bible study and have not begun my Kay Arthur study, but there were so many pulls on my time this past week. No excuse. Just a fact.

I am still so thankful to God for His provisions with dad and am standing amazed of His faithfulness to me even though my dad is not a practicing believer. I don’t know what’s in his heart as far as God is concerned so I’m not going to say that God hasn’t been working on him because I know He is able.

As Wife/Mom: I am so happy that more time is being spent at home with the kids and my husband instead of being pulled so much to care centers and dealing with my dad’s “stuff.”

My daily devotion time with Punkin’ has been a blessing. We began this together little over a week ago and it has been a wonderful time of just spending time together and guiding her thoughts about living a life pleasing to Christ.

Both kids have chosen to have little colds so much time spent handing out the Tylenol. Also has made me step up my Neti-Pot to keep those germs away! I do not want to be sick for Women of Faith on Oct. 9!

Went with Sweetie Boy to his Kindergarten class at church this morning. We’ve held him out since mid-summer due to several things. A couple of our reasons: emotional readiness (such a follower and he barely turned 5) and the other the behaviors that were coming home because he is a follower. Our plan is to allow him to go to class once each month and I will stay in as a helper so I can see any changes with him. Today we had a long couple of hours as he tried on some of the behaviors. We hadn’t missed that the past month or so!

In the Schoolroom: I could begin with all the things that haven’t been accomplished yet, but there was so much that was so I’m choosing to dwell there today.

Other than the routine math, reading, spelling and writing work we finished up our construction segment regarding sequencing and moved on to the calendar and seasons. Our first “must do” was create our Tree for all Seasons. We found some tree branches from the black walnut that looked like they would work and then we mixed plaster and got the branches secured. We began with January so had to make snowflakes! This will be a fun project to keep up as we study events and people that have something to do with each month.

We had a great time at the field trip on Wednesday with other home school families and it was definitely worth the effort on my part to coordinate. One particularly fun thing I learned later from my dh is that the guide who had the two older groups said they pushed him with their questions. There were some he really had to dig for answers as he just couldn’t remember!

Friday School was just another social day for my kids. They had fun playing and eating lunch together as did the mom’s! We begin classes this coming Friday. I still don’t have my outline for what I’m going to do regarding the K-3 Shark class! I’ve been trying to dig up a video that dh can assist in showing during the second day of classes as I will be gone to Women of Faith.

Week Wrap-Up

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:26:00 -0500

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart's Desire.

From the Heart: Very thankful that this was a more normal week for us as a family. We only went to the care center on Monday and then there was one more appointment to sign papers with the assisted living place on Friday afternoon. Thankfully on Friday I was able to drop the kids off with their daddy so they didn’t have to go along and be bored. Nice to have a week where I didn’t feel guilty about spreading myself so thin with the kids!

With the Lord: I’ve been praising God all week for his provision where dad’s care is concerned and after having a momentary lapse of allowing myself to doubt and worry I turned it all back over to Him and got out of the way. Friday morning I finally received a call from the new asst. living place that they were going to take dad and would like to plan on moving him Wednesday. Was never happier to write a $450 check in my life! God is so good!!!

I splurged and bought a One-Year Chronological Bible and it arrived on Friday. Great day for God things in our house! I began reading it that night and am enjoying this new journey. I also purchased a study by Kay Arthur on the names of God. Haven’t begun it yet.

As Wife/Mom: Hey…we had food on the table this week instead of eating out so much! That’s an accomplishment compared to the past three weeks.

I bought Punkin’ a devotion book for girls and we have begun spending time together each day with that. Just seemed like the right time as she’s been dealing with another emotional growth spurt. They are so rough on her! Wanted to remind her somehow to trust God when she is scared, upset, anxious, etc.

I took lots of new pictures of the kids too as my new camera finally arrived. That's a mom thing, right?

In the Schoolroom: Friday was a train wreck as far as actually getting school work accomplished. I did get Sweetie Boy through his lessons but Punkin’ has some work before her for tomorrow night. Hasn’t finished her writing, math or reading! Yikes! What happened? We began Friday School so we were gone from 10-1 and then I had to head over for the paperwork at 2:30 and didn’t get home until almost 4:30. You get the picture! I had hoped she’d take my hint and at least work on the writing while I was gone, but she didn’t.

We had a fun first week studying sequencing and will continue with that as we didn’t get finished with our building project or the book teaching how to build a house from blueprints on up.

I also need to plan for a week without Wednesday lessons as I am coordinating home school field trips that day at the Waste Water plant and then we will be moving dad to the new place. Will barely have time for supper and getting to church by 6. Gotta love the flexibility of homeschooling!

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:45:00 -0500

If you would like to join the Weekly Wrap-Up please visit My Heart's Desire.

From the Heart Yet another busy week attending to things concerning dad, but I glimpsed a few moments where the day had a sense of normalcy--or at least what used to be normal for us as a family. That was encouraging to me! I believe God has led me to an Assisted Living facility and will know whether we can begin making preparation to move dad by Tuesday afternoon. I came home Friday without a solid answer from the nursing staff and I must admit I stressed for a time and then I just stopped and told myself that God had placed this in our path over the past week and He will bring us through to the end so "get out of the way girl!" I am also trying hard to let the need to be in control of the Medicaid application process go into the hands of our most capable Father. So many little things can trip me up. Another praise is that his apartment is boxed up and we have help lined up for Monday or Tuesday evening to move everything out. That will leave cleaning and I can check that big "to do" off my list of extras!

I am making strides with my new gluten- and dairy-free lifestyle. Still not thrilled about it, but am seeing progress. My doctor visit on Wednesday offered a great massage and much relief to some stressed shoulders! How's this for a wonderful prescription? "Monthly or Bi-Monthly Massage is a must."

With the Lord Began the study based on principles from Psalm 23 on Wednesday. Had a hard time finding time to really spend on the lesson this past week, but plan to make it a priority for this week. I also ordered a new Bible that should be arriving by Tues/Wed. I've been wanting a Chronological Bible to read through so that was a gift to myself.

The countdown is on for Women of Faith. 26 days! My good friend Janette and I have flown to Portland, OR the past five years and Seattle before that to attend. Precious girlfriend time and time just focusing on God.

As Wife/Mom Am noticing that my daughter is trying to deal with the pulls on my time due to my dad's situation. She has had a hard time getting to sleep at night and the past 3-4 nights she wakes up after sleeping for about 1 1/2 hours crying and shouting out "Mommie, where are you? Mommie? Mommie!" Just breaks my heart.

I am also finding myself a bit shorter on patience and I know it is just from being pulled in too many directions.

I wil be spending some 1:1 time with Sweetie Boy on Sunday mornings as we have pulled him from the classroom environment and I resigned as the Kindergarten teacher. Seems odd not planning for that, but what great timing with everything that has been going on in my life. God is good! I have the materials they are using so he will get the same story from the 2nd hour class and we'll do some little craft stuff together. We'll just find a quiet spot to be and then he will just come with me to the adult class and draw or color. Considering taking him to the K class once each month but I would go with him so I could observe how he is doing and how the 13 other boys are operating.

In the Schoolroom We finished up our brief astronomy study and will begin working with our KONOS material on Monday. We will be starting with sequencing which uses building houses, etc., as the example of needing to do things in order. I think it will be fun. dh is supposed to be coming up with a hands-on building project for the kids to help him with.

Punkin' is still fussing about penmanship but she does a great job. She's doing Grade 3 cursive so it does push her a bit since she's only 7.

Sweetie Boy continues to try and get out of certain things that I'm asking him to do. Mainly when it is practicing the formation of letters. The appearance is "I've done this once before...I don't need to do it anymore." Hmmmmm For a boy that would not meet the age requirement for public school Kindergarten...he's doing very well. I love that we can teach to their abilities instead of their age!

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 16:36:00 -0500

Have a few minutes on my hands so thought I would get this done. If you're interested in joining this visit the following site and follow the directions: My Heart's Desire

From the Heart: Another tough week. Dad chose to call 911 again on Monday and this time the doctor would not release him to his independent apartment. I have spent much of this week running back and forth between the care center he is now “living” in and getting paperwork, medicines, etc. coordinated. It just saddens me that it has come to this because he is so healthy physically. This is nerves plain and simple that he can’t keep hold of because he “wants someone to take care of him.” My prayers were answered with this outcome because there was nothing else I could do for him and God orchestrated it all beautifully on Monday. This week I am praying that he will get better with the new anxiety medications and that I will be able to find an assisted living place for him sooner rather than later.

With the Lord: Am starting a new study on Psalm 23 (and other scriptures) for the Wednesday night ladies study at church. Still would like to begin a Women of Faith study just for me, but it may have to wait until my load lightens a bit. I have been doing a lot more praying and praising with the current situation!

As Wife/Mom: Once again another week of feeling horribly insufficient. I’ve been giving lots of hugs and loves to the kids as they’ve been drug along to appointments and such at the care center all week long. Was thankful they were back on schedule with grandma and pop-pop’s house so they could just have 5 hours of fun, fun, fun on Thursday.

My birthday is today (9/5) and the kids took me to Burger King for lunch and this afternoon we’re going camera shopping. Can’t wait as this current digital camera has been horrible. Thought it would be better since it was a Nikon but it has not.

In the Schoolroom: We made it through our first week of full lessons! Had some trouble at first adjusting to more desk time and Sweetie Boy does not think he needs to practice forming his letters more than once. “I’ve learned “a” so I do not need to do it again.” Hmmmm He has been over the top though about sounding and reading very short stories. He’s doing great with that! Punkin’ is struggling with cursive so that is taking a lot more time than I’d like her to have to spend. I know it will go quicker once she knows how to form the letters more without thinking so much. We began our astronomy segment for “together school” and were able to go view the moon and Jupiter through binoculars for a few days until it started clouding up on us at night. This week I hope we can do some star gazing and then we’ll move onto our formal unit through KONOS on seasons, calendars and planets.

We’ve also been having “home ec” this weekend as we are canning pears and peaches. The kids work with us side-by-side and the work goes so much quicker. Today we managed 32 quarts of pears! Monday we will tackle the remaining pears (just 3-4 quarts) and the peaches (about 20 quarts).

Weekly Wrap-Up

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:13:00 -0500

This is my first time joining in with Weekly Wrap-Up and I am looking forward to this journaling opportunity to help keep me focused on my priorities! If you're interested in joining this visit the following site and follow the directions: My Heart's Desire

From the Heart: This has been a tough week. We came back from a wonderful vacation to find my dad near a nervous breakdown. I've spent much time going back and forth between my home and his apartment, taking him to doctor appointments and tests and feeling like I need to get back in touch with my own life. I am just praying that some of the natural changes I've presented to him will help.

With the Lord: I am finishing up a Beth Moore study on Daniel and I kept reminding myself all week that I do not want to live in selfish Babylon! This alone has kept me going with some choices I had to make in what to do for/with my dad. Will begin a Women of Faith study on my own this week to keep in the Word, but any suggestions for a wonderful personal study would be appreciated.

As Wife/Mom: I have felt horribly insufficient. I know there are times that we can't do the things that we usually do or want to do, but the feeling remains. I'm just hugging on everyone more and making sure they know I appreciate how they've gone along with all the craziness due to grandpa this past week. Throughout all of this I did manage to put a very cute Wall-E birthday cake together to celebrate Sweetie Boys 5th birthday today (Saturday). I love you, buddy!

In the Schoolroom: The kids did begin their writing reviews as planned. Turned out to be a great idea as Punkin' really did need the cursive review. Sweetie Boy is just thrilled that he is going to be learning to read this year (fun Kindergarten stuff) and I am letting him practice his capital letters and numbers and "making" him work at using the line guides. We've had a few tears and when that happens they receive a hug, a positive word and then get sent to their room for a 5 minute break. Hopefully on Sunday I will find some uninterrupted time to get our "together school" ready to go (KONOS) and refamiliarize myself with the first week of plans I put together a couple months ago for reading, writing, spelling and math.

Trust Me

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:04:00 -0500

While I was waiting at the hospital on Thursday for dad to be finished with his heart stress test I happened across this daily devotion lying on a table. God is so good to place just what we need before us if we pay attention!

Trust Me in the midst of a messy day. Your inner calm--your Peace in my Presence--need not be shaken by what is going on around you. Though you live in this temporal world, your innermost being is rooted and grounded in eternity. When you start to feel stressed, detach yourself from the disturbances around you. Instead of desperately striving to maintain order and control in your little world, relax and remember that circumstances cannot touch My Peace.

Seek My face, and I will share My mind with you, opening your eyes to see things from My perspective. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid. The Peace I give is sufficient for you.

John 16:33; Psalm 105:4; John 14:27

This picture is of a place within the Colorado National Monument where I would drive to when I was needing to get away from everything and have a good cry, need to think decisions through, etc. I miss this place very much and had such peace when we stopped there on our drive this past vacation. "My place" now has a guardrail and is much too visible to all travelers now, but I am thankful for the time God gave me to have this spot to meet with Him alone for several years. I think I need a new place and I don't know where that might be!

The School Year Is Planned!

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:29:00 -0500

Always feels good to have the year mapped out! Here's the plan:

Horizons for reading, writing, spelling and math.

KONOS unit studies for everything else.

Astronomy & Constellations (non-KONOS...just putting something together)
Planets/Moon/Calendars/Seasons
Rock Classification
Kings & Queens
Military
Christmas
Crime & Punishment
Plant Classification
Valentine
Indians
Easter
Explorers/Navigation/Ships

For the summer I am hoping CurrClick.com has a couple more "Continental Hop" units completed as the kids have enjoyed those. We've skimmed the surface on Africa, Australia and S. America so far. Very fun.

We also do a few things around the Iditarod each year. We have our map showing the odd/even trails and choose two mushers to follow each day. Always fun! We were able to take advantage of a field trip to visit our vet this year as he was a volunteer and he shared photos and answered questions.

Will also throw in some generic arts/crafts when the unit doesn't call for as many as my kids love to be making something.

Missionary to Africa?

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:17:00 -0500

Now, how did this thought come into my life? Two days ago my daughter (7 1/2) told me that she dreamed God wanted her to be a missionary in Africa. I just told her we would definitely have to be in prayer about that as a family. When I told the hubby about it he shared that he has always had a dream of being in mission work of some sort and he wants to explore Africa. How come I didn't know that in 26 years of marriage?! Today dd told me God told her the reason she needs to go is because there are so many there that don't know Him.

I have never, and I repeat never, had the dream to be on the mission field. Travel maybe...but mission field...no. I did pray last night that God needs to reveal His desire in all of this to me. I just don't know what to do other that that.

How does one even begin to research going into the mission field? (big sigh)

On the road to gluten- and dairy-free...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:40:00 -0500

...we took a field trip to the Co-op in the neighboring town (a 30 minute trip one way) to see what we could find that wasn't carried in the regular grocery stores. The kids' goal was to find something they thought was really "Ugly Bugly" since that is what they nicknamed this particular store as they viewed many items. Here is what they chose.

Sweetie Boy had the winner--smoked Tofurkey hotdogs. They just looked nasty!

Punkin' chose the Tofu-Ella cheese. I think this seemed awful to her after she'd felt the tofu packages and learned what they were all about AND her daddy makes the best goat cheese so who would think this was good.

So we made a long trip enjoyable. Only came home with some chicken seasoning, rice crackers, Greek Hummous and some adorable bunny grahams (those are for the kids). This trip to gluten- and dairy-free living is something else!