Choosing Joy - Homeschool Blogger

Yup, I've moved

Thu, 25 Jan 2007 11:16:00 -0600

Geographically, we have succesfully moved to Michigan! Hurray!! We are settling in nicely and are enjoying getting to know our new church family and the area.

Blogging-wise, I have also moved. Ugh, I really didn't want to, but hsb was just too slow for my day. It took me WAY too long to get to the correct page to post, or see my comments or view other's blog. I enjoyed the community, but needed something a bit more practical. I'm a traitor, I know. Forgive me...

If you still want to visit from time to time, here is my new blog site:

http://michiganmomma.blogspot.com/

In a recent "Blog Listing" on the Beautiful Womanhood board I belong to, EVERYONE had a blogger/blogspot blog - so that's what I choose this tiem around. We'll see how things go.

Okay, I'm off to visit a few friends here at HSB. God Bless you and yours!!
~MJ~

aka: Michigan Momma

Getting a a new computer

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:18:00 -0600

Ok, so The Pastor is determined that we are getting a new computer. I know we really do need a new one. We have had this computer since before we got married. That's almost 8 years now. That's REALLY old for a computer. Think dog years. The only reason it's lasted this long is because it was fairly top of the line when we purchased it.

Ok, so, we need a new computer. Once that is taken care of, I will see how the situation is here at HSB. There are honestly times I can simply not even access my site - or any other HSB site. So very frustrating. I really don't want to change - it's hard to find a blogging site I'm comfortable participating on - but this is crazy.

We hope to get our new computer before we leave - we know some great computer geeks out here (term used in love - they know they're geeks!) who can help us make sure everything from this computer is saved and we can strip it down to be used just for games and educational stuff for our kiddos (no internet).

Now I'm off to take some pics of the scarves I've been working on for Christmas gifts. Once I have given them to the appropriate persons, I will post some pics - I've lots of fun. I just don't want *some* people who read my blog (and are receiving a scarf) to see their gift prematurely. I finished a hat/scarf set last night, so I'm off to find another fun pattern. I'm also baking and doing some minor packing today as well. School is so *not* on the agenda until AFTER this baby arrives and I recover. I'm guessing we'll hit some stuff this spring/summer and then kick it into gear this fall when Lil' Man turns six. In MI, six is the legal age you have to be schooling by. So there ya go. Now I've got to decide whether to start him in our current curriculum (for K) or buy the new stuff (for the elementary ages). He's ahead in some areas, and probably a bit behind in others. Hmmmm.....we'll see come this spring/summer when we do some review/catch-up work. Not worrying about that now, not worrying.....

*grins*

~MommaJoy~

Ok, seriously

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:05:00 -0600

If things don't improve around here, I'm going to HAVE to go to another blog site.

I realize that HSB is going through some kind of "improvement" (I use the word loosely) and I don't have any idea what that all involves, but gees.....it's as though I have dial-up. S L O O O O W dial-up at that.

I have to go to about 4 VERY slow-loading pages in order view my friends blogs, if it works at all. I don't have that kind of time. I used to simply go to my friends page, then quickly click each one, checking each blog in a few seconds. This is crazy!!

I'll give it through the move. That's into late Jan. by the time I'll get back on here regularly. If they don't have things fixed by then, I'll have to move on. Not that I don't like it here, I do, but I simply don't have time for dial-up speed on the internet, I've got too much else to do. There *has* to be something that can make this faster/better/more effecient/etc. Seriously.

Frustrated at all the time I've spent here today...

~MommaJoy~

Moving updates

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:20:00 -0600

Yeah!! We are actually progressing through this process. While we do not yet have a renter for our current home in Colorado (which I am *not* stressing about, nope, I am NOT), we have decided to go ahead with the move to Michigan regardless. Basically, this new job is anxiously awaiting The Pastor's arrival not to mention our Baby #4 will be arriving in mid-Feb. - he doesn't care what else is going on, he's coming OUT!!

So we are packing up this house into the truck on January 6th (yup, that's three weeks away and NO, I haven't started packing yet). The moving company will be driving the MONSTER huge truck cross country while we make the drive in our mini-van with our family. I'm not exactly sure how these things work, but at some point the next week, the truck will arrive at our new house in MI (I hope they give us a day or two notice so we can get some church members there to help us unload). In the process of the cross country trek, we will spend a night or two with my folks in NW Indiana. The three kiddos will stay with them a few days while The Pastor and I continue on to MI and get the stuff settled into the new house.

Ahh, the house. Yes, we *did* find a house to rent and it is big enough to fit our family and our stuff. While I seriously don't consider our family "packrats" by any means (dh and I actually enjoy purging our stuff here and there and HATE clutter), we do now have four kids and all the "stuff" that entails - lots of beds, dressers, bins of clothing (0-3 month Girls clothes, 3-6, 6-9, etc. - in Boys as well) and of course the toys (inside and out which I will be purging again before the move and before Christmas time and grandparent gifts). So anyways, one of the pastor's there and his wife found us a great house, in a nice neighborhood. The owner was actually trying to sell the place, so it's not just a rental/investment property which isn't very nice. It's actually VERY nice (I'm a bit amazed) and within our budget (again, amazed). I'm guessing he went down a bit with our "Pastor family" status - I'm not sure, just a guess.

So it's over 1900 sq. feet, just a bit smaller than our current 2150. It is all one level, which I have enjoyed in past housing we have had for it's easier-to-keep-clean managability (did that make sense?). It also has a fireplace (not sure if it's wood burning or gas) which I wanted for those MI winters but didn't think we'd actually get. The yard is HUGE (at least to us here in CO, where the yards are tiny, tiny, tiny) and there are actually TREES in the yard (again, doesn't really happen out here in CO). There are already nice looking appliances, a 2 car garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, family AND living room and formal dining room. It will be available for us to purchase later on (in a few years) if we really like the area/house but The Pastor already said we would have to be able to add-on to the exsisting house as he would really like 4 or 5 bedrooms so we could have a guest/sewing room plus another bedroom for children. That's all so far in the future, I can't even think of that. Right now I'm just thrilled we have a nice place waiting for us in MI!!

The Pastor is also excited as it is less than 5 min from the church. Seeing as how we drive 30 min to our church currently, this is a BIG factor for him. He could bike it in the nicer weather - or even get a motorcycle later on. We are thinking of selling his little '77 Volvo to someone here before we move - we won't really need it. It won't get us much money, but every little bit helps - plus one less small bill per month (insurance) is good too.

The only drawbacks (there's never a PERFECT house, huh?) are: no basement and no fenced in yard. The basement thing, well, I'm basically PETRIFIED of storms. I've gotten better (maybe, it's hard to tell since we literally have NO storms here in this part of CO) with thunderstorms, but any wind and I get terrified a tornado will hit us. So not having a basement is pretty scary to me. Very few houses in that area seem to have basements. We are wondering if it has to do with being right on Lake Huron. Perhaps there's high water table levels or something that makes basement a not so good investment?

As to the no fenced in yard thing - on one hand, we like it. We really don't like the feeling of being "corraled" in our yard, seperated from our neighbors by this huge privacy fence. But then again, I have really enjoyed the freedom a fenced in yard has afforded me with our small children. I was able to let them play outside in the back yard withour fear of one of them wondering off or someone snatching them away. In the future, when we own a house, I think a compromise for me would be a split rail fence or something like that. Practical, yet nice looking and wouldn't seperate us from our neighbors.

So there ya go, more than you could ever want to know. Oh, and there's some wallpaper in the master that we want to take down (we are NOT fans of wallpaper - yuck) - again, like you needed to know. I will be excited to share some pics with you once we are a bit settled in. Ya right, during ALL that time I have from the time we move in until this baby comes - right around a month or so. Yup, during that time I'll snap some pics of my perfectly arranged home. uh huh....

Whoo-hoo! Now it's really time for me to get serious and start packing. My mil and bil are coming in about a week and a half, stay for week, then one more week after that and we move. Ha, little did my dh's relatives know they would be coming to help us pack...

In Him~ MommaJoy

Merry Christmas

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 13:18:00 -0600

Just having some fun with my computer the other night - we're not actually sending this pic out or anything. I think I was just dealing with the stress of the move by wasting some time on the computer the other night. Updates to come on our move...

Anyways, Merry Christmas, from our family to yours! God Bless you and yours!!
~In Him~

MommaJoy

argh...

Sat, 9 Dec 2006 08:51:00 -0600

posted a whole blog last night about my life, about what was going on, about what I needed to change, about what needed attention in my life, etc.etc.etc.

no blog.

I'm not sure what happened?

Oh well, I'll have to fill you in later. I need to go get started doing all the stuff I blogged (or didn't blog) about.

Have a great Saturday!!

~In Him~
MommaJoy

The baking pics

Tue, 5 Dec 2006 00:28:00 -0600

Ok, here's my honey wheat bread - recipe makes 2 loaves - very easy!

Regular ol' granola - I added in golden raisins this time 'cause that's what I had.

The Best Banana Bread Ever - it only makes one loaf & it's a bit complicated, but very yummy. It usually makes enough for about 5-6 muffins too, but those got eaten for lunch and didn't make it to the photo shoot...

simple cheesy bread for the kiddos

delicious deep dish pizza - made with a garlic bread dough - I par baked the bottom crust a bit this time and it worked like a charm!

The personal pan size - for The Pastor's lunch one day this week.

Not your best heart-healthy recipe, I'm sure - It's meat-lover's all the way, baby!!

There ya go - if you are interested in a recipe, just let me know. I used my KitchenAid mixer for everything here, except the granola of course, which was on the stove.

I also just finished two blankies for this new little one growing in secret - One more Toddler-ish size/feel blankie, and a very warm, kinda-fuzzy yarn blankie for those cold Michigan winters. I still think he needs just a simple ol' baby yarn blankie....I'll have to make a trip to Wal-Mart for some basic baby yarn and crochet something simple....soon.

*I'll post pics of the blankies soon - oh, and if you know of any LONG arm glove patterns, I would love to know about it. I am looking for something to make my children - basically a glove pattern that I can elongate the wrist to cover the lower arm as well. This is the part of my children that gets the coldest when they play in the snow.....their little forearms get exposed, or snow gets down in there. I need a pattern that I can adjust (or is already written that way) to go up to the elbow or so. Let me know..

~a very productive day~ (well, except for the fact that the girl's were still in jammies when The Pastor came home....oh well, a gal can't do *everything*)

MommaJoy

back in the baking swing of things~

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 17:12:00 -0600

Hello,

Ahhhh...it's so nice to have my mixer back. Yes, it has been driving me crazy and yes, there's really no reason for us to have had it in the shop twice already - but it *is* working now and I'm sooooo thankful!

So today I was able to bake up a couple loaves of honey wheat bread, some garlic dough (which I will be using to make some cheesy bread and deep dish pizza for tonight's dinner) plus some awesome banana bread with a few muffins on the side. AND, if I'm not totally worn out by tonight, I just may whip up a batch of PB cookies with those cute little chocolate kisses in the middle. I also just found this site:

Tammy's Recipes

I've only had a chance to check out her Bread Recipes (in right hand column) but I bet there's other great recipes in the rest of the sections as well. I think I'm going to try some of her muffins. I *still* have yet to find the PERFECT muffin recipe...I'll keep searching - and my family will keep testing.

What I *didn't* get done was any cleaning around here. It's not bad actually, but I need to stay on top of things before they GET bad. I'm about to tackle a huge pile of laundry, and I'll continue with that tonight as well. I also just cleaned out my Dyson (sp?) vacuum inside parts and it's filter. I need to cut away all my hair wrapped around the bottom turny-thingy (descriptive, huh?). Then, I will vacuum the whole house - I am a sick woman - I'm really looking forward to that. I expect to have to empty the canister numerous times during the process - man, it's terribly dusty out here in Colorado.

No news on the house as of yet - I sent the property manager people 16 pics of the house to put up on rentclicks.com . They should have that up in the next day or two (or I'll be bugging them again - as my mother says, the squeaky wheel gets the oil). If we don't have something happening by Christmas, I may start getting a bit anxious - but I am praying that won't happen, and I'm also praying for HIS peace no matter what happens!

Ok, time to get back to the baking stuff - bread in the oven - perhaps pics and recipes to come....

~In Him~
MommaJoy

hanging on and happy

Sat, 2 Dec 2006 23:53:00 -0600

It just seems that by the time I get around to my blog, I'm exhausted and it's really time for bed. I have to get up at 6am tomorrow (that's pretty early for me this pregnancy, actually) and it's just about 11pm. I NEED my sleep!

A very quick update on life:

We had the ladies Christmas tea this afternoon - I was running the music part of it. We sang some carols, there was a trio, a solo, and a duet, oh, and a bit of clarinet, but just a bit. It was very nice overall and I hope it was a blessing to the ladies there.

I got my mixer back from the shop. We were given a God-gift in the form of a VERY small bill from them. Now I just need to test it out with some bread tomorrow...**future reference, I will be purchasing a Bosche (sp?) next time. I have a nice professional LARGE KitchenAid mixer (around $300) and this is the second time it's been in the shop in under 2 years. Ugh...and I don't make bread all THAT often, nor do I use too much flour or anything. Very frustrating!

On that note, I had a friend tell me that today's appliances and their so-called "testing" is usually NOT going to be accurate for my family - so just be prepared. She said most of them test their products for the "average" family: 2 kids, both parents work, kids in school, etc. Nothing like a large, homeschooling family that uses their appliance every day, all day. And she's right! Just a fact of life.

Ok, well, not much for me in terms of expectations over the next few weeks - just keep my house clean & picked up at all times (to the best of my pregnant ability). The Pastor has one week left of seminary for this quarter and he'll be *SO* glad when that is done with. He and I are going to be singing a few songs this December at different events at church, so that's about all I have to work on. My MIL and BIL are coming for Christmas. It'll be the first time my MIL has seen this house - and I'm really glad she is making the time to visit us over the holidays! I can get a bit nervous around her, not as sure of myself as I'd like to be - but I'm honestly glad she is coming. We will be moving MUCH closer to her (under 2 hours) and I pray this will greatly improve our relationship.

Time for bed....advent starts to tomorrow - I'll post some on our homemade ornaments (from last year which we are reusing) and I'll give the homemade advent wreath a try if I get the time tomorrow. God bless, have a wonderful Lord's Day!!
~MommaJoy~

That baby ticker up there...

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 17:29:00 -0600

I can't believe I am under 90 days now. I know that is still a long ways off, and in fact, I've got QUITE a lot to get done before this baby decides to make an appearance (think moving cross country, for one!).

But it's just amazing me nonetheless. I remember when I couldn't imagine it being under 100 days - and now I somehow totally missed the 90's.

Another thing, I have this kind of "mother's intuition" that this baby will NOT be waiting for the scheduled c-section date. I know that is silly - all of my baby's have been planned c-sections, none have even come early, I've never been in labor - EVER! This is silly. Yet still...I just have this feeling. It's not based on any scientific fact, whatsoever. Just a feeling - this baby is SO active, I've got SO much going on in these last few months, this is my fourth baby, etc.etc.etc. See, no facts. Just this "feeling".

Anyways, it'll come to nothing, I'm sure - but if by some chance this baby comes a bit early, I'll be able to link to this blog and say "see, I KNEW it!!".

Ha~

MommaJoy