Just a collection of things that come up in my life. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:30:00 -0500 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:30:00 -0500 I thought a new blog would be in order since we have a new life. www.homeschoolblogger.com/starlite Come visit me! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/553897/ Sat, 28 Jun 2008 17:30:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/553897/ I realize that I haven't been on much lately.  Life has a way of moving too quickly and before you realize it, much changes.  I also find it hard to write when things may not be going so well, as I tend to want to emphasize the postive, not the negative. As I write this, I am sitting in my mom's house in Florida, trying to get over some major jet lag.  The kids and I left Pakistan Friday night.  I have no idea when Mike will join us.  He has to clear out the apartment and sell our car before he returns.  These past few months have been extremely difficult and stressful on us.  We realized how much they were affecting us, and that caused us to make the decision to return home.  We have no idea when, if ever, we will return.  At this point we have no plans.  It was simply a matter of leaving before permanent damage was done to our relationships.  I suppose we do have one plan , and that is for both of us to get some counseling, both together and apart.  It is a very difficult and painful place to be in.  It is also quite scary as we have no idea of what the future holds, or how long until we can make a plan to move forward with our lives and find the next step. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/527162/ Mon, 5 May 2008 02:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/527162/ This week I was able to get in touch with an old friend from high school.  It was so good to catch up on what has been going on in our lives over the past 15 years.  With us both being MKs, we didn't have to explain what we meant-we just knew what the other one meant.  It was so special.  She and I were best friends all through high school and I even lived with her and her family one semester of my senior year while I was boarding.  We kept in touch somewhat in college, but were always several states away, and then gradually lost touch through marriages and moves.  There's no friend so special as that "soul sister" friend! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/510513/ Fri, 4 Apr 2008 11:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/510513/ Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!  This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian. This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program.  Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking.  Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included!  For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.    To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/  and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it.  And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it.  And good luck!  The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg.   And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win.   Yay for free stuff! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/501574/ Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/501574/ Wow, am I ever a lousy blogger!  I haven't been on here in like forever! Let's see...what is being going on here in Pakistan?  Well, not much and then too much other days!  School is going great.  Mickey loves doing Five in a Row.  Our favorite book so far has been How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World.   We read lots of books about the countries in the book, and then made our very own apple pie.  The recipe in the book was very easy and it turned out good.  I meant to take pictures, but it all disapeared too fast!  Caityn and Chelsea have been enjoying Sky and Sea from WinterPromise.  We're into the 20th century now and will be starting the space age soon. We're had a bit of turmoil here again.  Last night there was a bombing right here in islamabad.  We've yet to hear a full story of what really happened, but here's what I've peiced together so far.  It seems a bom was planted in the back garden of the Luna Caprese. i've been there once for a meal, and it is a really nice place where mostly foreigners go.  Normally it is quite busy on Saturday nights, but last night there was also a party going on at the UN Club (another Western hangout).  So when the bomb went off, there were only about a dozen people there, instead of the normal 30-40.   It has been confirmed that one lady died and several others are injured severely.  This was the first attack that targeted foreigners specifically in several years.  We're just praying that this isn't the start of a new wave of attacks. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/499380/ Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/499380/ This is going to sound crazy, and really petty.  After all, I'm supposed to be the mature adult here, right?  Well, dd13 and I have been on a pout fest all weekend.  Why? you might ask.  Since you were nice enough to ask, I'll tell you.  Since we got our new internet connection, we've had a new new hobby-YouTube surfing!  I have found tons of the old TV shows and the funniest videos on it.  We have free downloading every night after 8pm, so she and I have been watching all kinds of crazy stuff! This past weekend, Pakistan pulled the plug on YouTube.  All the internet servers are blocking it! Now we need to come up with a new hobby.  Watching the paint peel?  nah, did that last year.... Track the ratio of sugar ants to the biting kind as the weather heats up? nah, the reasearch would be too painful as those little buggers really hurt when they bite!  Sigh.  Oh well, life goes on. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/487420/ Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:23:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/487420/ Since it has officially been wednesday here for 4 minutes, I thought I would get a head start on blogging this! Our new neighborhood is much more in town-we even get the monkey guy 1-2xs a week!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/483674/ Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:01:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/483674/ Since we've been back, I've been doing some thinking-re-evaluating last term, setting some goals for this term, etc.   I came across something that I had written shortly before we left and it struck me anew.  For several years now, we have worked as part of a team that reaches out to Afghan refugees by means of an EFL school.  Various people have come and gone over the years, but a core group of teachers has stayed.  And they all are single women-some younger like me, others older.  The one thing that they all have in common is that they are single women who spend their days in what would be considered "active ministry".  I don't.  A large portion of my time goes into the schooling, feeding, and cleaning up after my family. I try to study the Dari language and Farsi when I have time (haven't yet found a teacher since my return), I tutor an Iranian girl 3-4 days a week, and I am trying to have more staff functions (including fun times) at our house.  But still I get the feeling once in a while that it's not "good enough".  In no way do I mean to imply that anyone on our team puts down what I do at all.  It's just that feeling you get when you try to be part of a conversation about the ministry and the vibe comes to you that "you aren't really part of this-after all, what do you spend your days doing?' I did a study on Keepers At Home shortly before we left for furlough and these are some of the thoughts that I jotted down.  Deacons in the Bibe are not judged on the basis of their outside ministry but rather their homelife.  Titus does not tell the young women to go out and do-but rather to stay home with the children and to take care of the kids and their husbands.  Children are a mother's primary responsibility .  It comes down to whether or not you believe that your children are valuable enough for your time and focus.  In the end, a man is judged by his family, not his work.  Can you really call ministry a sucess if you lose your family in the process?  However, this is not an excuse to hide behind your family.  We are all called to share the Gospel.  It reminds me of what Jesus said, "The poor will always be with you."  The work/ministry isn't going anywwhere.  It will still be there after the kids are older and more independent.  After all, we weren't called to save the world overnight-we're in it for the long haul. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/476413/ Thu, 7 Feb 2008 11:56:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/476413/ My one big splurge this year before returning to Pakistan was buying a crockpot to bring back with me.  (Okay, so my REALLY big splurge will be buying an AC for our bedroom so we can actually sleep this summer) However, I forgot one small, crucial thing-recipes for the crockpot!  Does anybody know any good websites?  Or maybe feel lead to email me a few? http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/474945/ Tue, 5 Feb 2008 12:11:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/474945/ Since I haven't been on homeschool blogger for over two months, I thought I would show you what we've been doing since we came back.  (By the way, I am fianlly enjoying getting to back through and read all of my friends' blogs and catch up on everything you all have been doing!) As you might remember, we found out in mid-November that we had finally gotten financial clearance to return to Pakistan and discovered that if we wanted to travel on and be able to renew our current visas, we had to be in Pakistan before December 1st.  So quickly, we packed, and arrived on November 29th.  Let me just say that it is never good when one of your co-workers meets you at the airport with the following statement: "Let's get you guys settled into a guest house and then we need to talk."  Basically, beacuse we had been delayed in returning, our apartment had sat empty for 3 monnths.  During that three months, there was some water leakage and possibly some rain flooding that took place.  Almost everything was ruined by thick black mold.  The most awful smell that I have ever encountered-and living overseas, I have encountered a few!  After tossing most of the old stuff, it was obvious that we needed a new place to live.  Mold was growing under the paint on the walls, and it was the type that just being in the room for a few minutes made your throat tighten up and coughing start. So we began looking for a new house-not an easy job in Islamabad since the earthquake of 2005.  Rent prices have gone through the roof!  Finally, we did find a second-floor two bedroom apartment that fit into our budget. Here is the before picture of the living room:   And now the after-after two months of cleaning and furnishing and getting it livable: As you can see, we still need to paint where the AC hole used to be.  We filled it in, but it has been damp so the concrete hasn't dried yet thoroughly.  In a few months, we will install an AC unit on the wall so that the summers will be bearable.  It does get to be 110 F and higher during the summers.  On another note, this has been the coldest winter on record here.  We are having temperatures below freezing almost every night.  Oh yeah, and the heaters only work in two rooms!  BRRR!  We have become the masters of quick clothing changes and short showers!  But, thank God, our water heater works great so once we get the hot water flowing it does stay hot. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/472959/ Sat, 2 Feb 2008 03:44:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ccmmum/472959/