The continuing story of God....working in the lives of the Lanahans. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Mon, 2 Mar 2009 20:13:00 -0600 Mon, 2 Mar 2009 20:13:00 -0600 Well! I thought I went through and deleted my blog....but I found it here today. Guess I didn't finish that job! Let's see, it is MARCH, yay!! February wasn't too bad for me this year, praise God! We did a seminar on "A More Excellent Way" and I got off my depression meds. February is usually the WORST month of my year....and this year not too bad. Not to bad is fabulous!! Jo is at public school still, but we plan to bring him home next year. Violet is still home. Sean is still working! I'm still...........  what do I do around here? Tonight we're hosting a "Love and Respect" video series. It is awesome. One reason Sean and I are still married, in fact. The other day I signed up to help raise money at a golf tournament for International Justice Mission. AWESOME stuff they do! (Was that Yoda-speak?) Right. Blogging. Short and sweet.  :) http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/664423/ Mon, 2 Mar 2009 20:13:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/664423/ Tuesdays this semester are spent at the Skagit Family Learning Center. ALL DAY. I get here before 9am, and leave just before 4pm. I am SO not used to being cooped up away from home this long! Heck, how long has it been since I worked full time? 11 years???? I'm using one of the computers they have here at school to type this. At least I can get online, but for the most part it is kind of a wasted day. If I could use MY computer to get online here, I could at least do the household books and pay bills. Violet has a class on being a LADY, a scrapbooking class, a critical thinking class, a backpacking and outdoors class and a 2-hour sewing class. She is sewing a dress that is looking almost like a formal! She is growing up. I'll post a pic somewhere of the dress when she is done. It has been nice to spend that time with her. I love to read. I just picked up a "Christian" book to read about the gold rush. It looked interesting. UNTIL in the first 5 chapters they introduced 40 people by first and last name! Who cares what the name of the cabby or cook is?? I mean, yes, they are people (fictional), but my little pea brain cannot keep track of who is important and who is not, and who the heck THIS person is, anyway. I was rather frustrated, thus the rant. The thing is, I think I have run into this problem before with another "Christian" book! I wonder if it was by the same people. Well, 9:30. Only 6 hours left to kill..... http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/597639/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:27:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/597639/ Well, we got the book. It IS as good as everyone says. I have not had the guts (me? soft??) to be that hard on my kid, but this book puts stuff in perspective. Best of all, it gives me a plan and HOPE. Long, boring story, but today we had to take something from Jo that was VERY special to him. He had waited to make it, wanted it, loved how it turned out.....but disobeyed us to get it there. So we took it. He cried, made excuses (I didn't hear you!), offered to pay to get it back.... But we need to use this as a learning opportunity. For him to learn our word means something, it has to HURT. Sean and I are both wishing we could let him buy it back....but that would undermine the learning opportunity that is here. This kind of parenting is not for wimps. We will need to lean on GOD to pull it off. But I have hope. Now he is playing chess with Sean. Go figure? Sean took his thing, it is Sean's fault, the only thing Jo did was not hear well (twice)......Dad, will you play chess with me? Saw Jay and Faith TenBrink last night. It was good to see them and their kids. They are so big now!!! We hope to see them again soon. Off to church for us. I have a friend who is not going because he's upset with God. Things are not going his way. It is the opposite for me! I go to church sobbing, life falling apart, because I know I need GOD above all else. I feel like the agony, tears, waiting and heartbreak of the last month are coming to good fruit now. Stuff with Jo is hopeful. Sean has realized some things and made drastic changes to how he lives around here. I've learned a lot recently. GOD is so goooooood! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/596658/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 10:49:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/596658/ Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Well, we are still persevering. Jo is doing better, but still hates school. Well, he hates home, too, so what can you do with that? Our marriage is really getting hit right now. GOD has good things for us, but it is a FIGHT against the old man and the sin that lives in us. What a battle to kick out that sin! Rejection has been rampant in our homes as children, and we have passed these things on to our kids. To do the Word, we must accept and not reject. Accept ourselves and not project rejection on others (against them or against us). So, the revelation is good, but the working it out is a battle. I pray this will be broken in my kids and they will be accepting of themselves and each other. We are working on accepting ourselves and the love God really does have for us. In the mean time, the battle is real. It is painful. I must put my hope in God.....in things that are unseen, not what is seen. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/595358/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/595358/ Well, Jo's grades are not good. We got a report from the first two weeks. The good news is, he got a D. The bad news is that everything else was an F. Missing assignments, stuff just not done right....ugh. We didn't realize he could re-do the work and get better credit for it. We'll be doing that from now on, in addition to his normal homework. We are trying to get an appointment with his teacher this week to see if we can work out some better systems. Meanwhile, Violet and I are having a week off of normal homeschool. Monday was uneventful, today we were at the learning center (school) all day....but the rest of the week there will be lots of time to work on her sewing project or goof off. :)    Of course, I have to get back to it and schedule the next session of school for her before Monday...... Sean hasn't been doing well with the Jo thing lately. With me, I struggled with guilt, failure, despair, etc. I have worked through a lot of it, but it has been tough. For Sean, it didn't really hit him until last week. So these things with Jo and school this week have been tough on Sean. He has to struggle through the feelings of failure and guilt, feelings of inadequacy. These particular issues have been tough in our marriage since day 1. He has come a LONG way in dealing with them, and this is but another installment. Life in the Lanahan house has been hard. Nevertheless, God is good.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/591176/ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:10:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/591176/ The Great Wolf Lodge was a lot of fun!! Yahooo!! We were there Thursday and Friday. It was nice! There was a pretty freaky waterslide. I had no idea what to expect when we went down it! The kids went without us, then were hollering and telling us all about it. We thought they exaggerated....but in reality it was pretty big! I hear there's a youtube video of it. We went down on a 4-person tube. Gently curving, going down, THEN a BIG dropoff! We ended up in a bowl/funnel like place. After the drop, we went up the other side, then the other side, then again until we went down the shute to the end. Quite fun! So now it is back to the grind. Jo has homework tonight and is still working on it (5:10 and not close). I don't like the quality of work they are accepting from him, and honestly his grades STINK. He got a 29 on a paper he brought home today. SIGH. Don't know what to do about these things. Still praying, still working. Violet is starting a sewing project. It is a dress. It will be very pretty when she is done. I hope it comes out well. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/590497/ Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:06:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/590497/ What a beautiful Sunday it has been here today! We went to church, then went up to "the lot" at Lake Tyee to visit my folks and cousins. We had a wonderful BBQ lunch and did lots of hanging out. The kids got to swim in the pool and play in the fire. It was nice! Praise God, He is so very faithful. He has shown me my doubts, guilt, unbelief and despair that I have been hanging out with this week. That is not from God! I am once again turning away from the darkness and choosing to believe all that Jesus said is true. The Lord is able to keep us from falling when we lean upon Him. God is so good to lift me out of the pit. Perspective is so nice. This life is but a breath, and then we will be in heaven forever. Not that it makes my responsibility here any different, but the perspective is so much broader and God-centered. Like a breath of fresh air in a very stale house. So, we shall see how school goes with Jo next week. Violet starts her school on Tuesday, and I'm still trying to figure the schedule things out. It will all work out. Thursday and Friday we are going to the Great Wolf Lodge. That should be FUN! We got a discount through the First Class Co-op. The following Thursday we are starting another home group at our house. We will be using the materials "True Faced." I don't know a lot about it, but from what I gather it is about knowing who God says we are and living in the "room of grace." WOW, I want to live in that room!!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/586616/ Sun, 7 Sep 2008 21:55:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/586616/ So, it is Saturday. Week 1 of public school survived. Things could be better with the work he is bringing home, but I am kind of out of that loop now. His writing is TERRIBLE. We have worked all summer on that and it was looking rather nice. But now, there is no accountability, and sometimes no time. He just has to scrawl something down as fast as he can (assignments). Violet is doing well and looking forward to school at the Skagit Family Learning Center on Tuesday. That was Jo's biggest disappointment about public school is missing Tuesday school. :( I'm OK. Not adjusting well to only teaching Violet. Feeling a little useless..... Thinking about a lot of things. Have I been holding too tightly to Jo? Should Violet go to public school next year? AND if she does, can I still blog at homeschool blogger??! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/585982/ Sat, 6 Sep 2008 09:44:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/585982/ Wednesday night we prayed with Jo following A More Excellent Way. Thursday the report from the teacher was that he had a great day, and whatever we were doing to keep it up! PRAISE GOD. School is weird and lonely at home with just Violet. If she goes off to public school, I have no idea what I would do all day. The ladies at school were going golfing....! So we prayed again last night, and we are hoping today goes well also. Thanks all for your prayers. Cheryl http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/585502/ Fri, 5 Sep 2008 09:03:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/585502/ Day TWO and the teacher and principal are suggesting meds for Jo (in the kindest possible way). I'm not surprised, but I had hoped it would take longer than two days. They suggest that he is set up for failure with what he is bringing to the class if he doesn't get some help. So we are now looking for help. Please pray for Sean as he seeks the Lord on how to lead our family. Do we go for ministry? Medication? Counseling? Where is God leading us? Crying again, Cheryl http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/584751/ Wed, 3 Sep 2008 18:55:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/lanahan95/584751/