Moving the Mountain - Homeschool Blogger

Emergency Hospital Treatment !

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:01:00 -0500

Dear Friends,

I'm sorry to have to let you know that Mamasmurf will be absent for a short while!

Chrissy started to feel unwell on Sunday evening and since that time her health has rapidly deteriorated. Our Doctor (GP or MD depending on where you are ?) came out on two home visits in 48hrs and decided that she needed to be transferred to hospital. So, 45 minutes later, one Emergency Ambulance and two Paramedics, Chrissy was in the Acute Medical Unit at the nearby General Hospital.

We don't know what the problem is at the moment, however, her temp was 104.3F (40.2C), only fluctuated slightly over 48hrs, and we couldn't bring it down. She became very confused and dehydrated and we had lots of problems that usually follow on from this. After she didn't improve and, in fact, seemed to get worse it was decided that hospital was the best bet.

The hospital are putting her through a battery of test to see if they can determine the cause and see if they can isolate an infection. Of course, one of the biggest problems is that Chrissy's immune system has been so battered by all the Chemo and Radioactive isotope treatment that she has had that any infection just takes a rapid hold and overwhelms her body.

There was some improvement late last night as the introvenous antibiotics and fluids started to take effect so that is some good news.

We are all hoping that this problem can be cleared up quickly and that Chrissy will be back home with her health restored, as far as that is possible, within a very short time.

I hope to have some more good news for you all later.

Rob (Papasmurf)

The Butterflies' "Coming Out" Party!

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 04:18:00 -0500

Great excitement this morning! The butterflies were set free!

Here is one of the first to emerge from the "Butterfly Garden" kit -

And here are some more pictures of the butterflies as they made their bid for freedom!,

Littlesmurf also managed to hold onto an apple core on which there was a butterfly still feeding!

One thing that we were able to observe more clearly on these photographs were the antennae - definitely clubbed! We also got to see some really beautiful colours on the butterflies' wings.

Friday Fill-ins #4

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:51:00 -0500

This week Amy provided the questions; thank you, Amy! And...here we go!

1. Dancing to the music while listening to the radio makes me very, very happy.

2. The last time I sneezed I nearly fell off my chair.

3. When I drive I hope everyone gets out of my way because I've never passed my driving test!

4. I saw my son standing under a tree.

5. Give me the music, give me the moonlight, give me the man of my dreams.

6. Next week I am looking forward to having some time off for a short break.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, tomorrow my plans include setting our butterflies free and Sunday, I want to relax!

Outdoor Hour Challenge #23 - More Insects (Butterflies)

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:35:00 -0500

Today was a really exciting day in our house - the butterflies we have been tending finally hatched out of their chrysalids!

When we bought the kit, they were tiny little caterpillars -

Within about a week, they had become chrysalids. We actually missed taking a photograph of them at this stage, but here is one of them after the butterflies had emerged -

Here is a photograph of the butterfly itself -

Altogether, five butterflies emerged! That's 5 out of 5!! Littlesmurf was extremely happy and went on to produce the following journal page -

I also managed to catch the butterflies "on the move"! This is the first time I've ever managed to produce a video of anything with my camera!

From his studies, Littlesmurf found several names for the Painted Lady Butterfly. They are also known as Cosmopolitan Butterflies (because they are found virtually all over the world) and as Thistle Butterflies (because their caterpillars enjoy eating thistles and the adult butterflies enjoy the nectar from them). Their scientific name is Vanessa cardui, from the class Lepidoptera (scaly wings).

He also found out that males have smaller abdomens than females; that their favourite flowers are asters, cosmos, thistle and buttonbush; that they see more patterns, a wider range of colour and more shades of green than humans do and that the Painted Lady is probably the most widespread butterfly in the world.

We then looked at how well our sunflower plants were doing. They are still being grown in pots on the window-sill of our living-room!

Littlesmurf was fascinated by the different sizes of the sunflowers! We decided that this was due to where they were placed on the window-sill - i.e., how much sun they got during the day.

He was really pleased to see that several of the sunflowers had developed buds - here is the first one to be seen.

We cannot wait for the butterflies to be set free (we'll probably wait until Saturday morning) and for the sunflower buds to fully open! Two great "Coming Out" parties!

Homeschool Memoirs #1 - All about Me

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:33:00 -0500

Well, some of you may probably know most of this but, to those who don't, here's an introduction to this Homeschool Mama!

My name is Chrissy Murphy (aka Mamasmurf) and I am in my late 40s. Myself and my family live near the city of Manchester in England and I am the homeschooling Mum to our only son - Littlesmurf - who will be 14 in March next year. The third member of our family is Robert, my husband, who is very shy about giving away his age!

My husband and I decided to begin homeschooling our son when he was about 9 - so he has had several years experience of being at school. Our decision was based on several things but, the main one was that he was being "picked on" because of his Christian beliefs (and this was at what was, on the surface, a "nice little church school"!!), making his life very miserable.

I was born and brought up in Wales and trained as a primary (elementary) schoolteacher; I taught other people's children for over 12 years until I took early retirement on health grounds when I was diagnosed with terminal neuroendocrine cancer (my son was then only 18 months old!). At that point, I was too poorly to even think of homeschooling, so school was the only option. Thank the Lord, I am now much better and strong enough to provide Littlesmurf with an apt and adequate education.

My husband used to be the British equivalent of a CSI officer - a fascinating job! He is now also retired and is my full-time carer. He is very involved with our local church and is also the vice-chairman of our regional branch of the NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children). One of his recent hobbies is amateur radio - my son is also very interested in this!

I was going to post a photograph of our family but, there are some in the last post about my god-daughter's wedding!

My God-Daughter's Wedding - 16th August, 2008

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:36:00 -0500

At long last, I am posting about my god-daughter, Tamsin's, wedding to James. First of all, we took photographs of myself, Papasmurf and Littlesmurf! I had had my hair done especially and bought a new outfit that was both smart and comfortable. Littlesmurf had also had his hair cut (a bit) and had a new suit and tie especially for the event! Papasmurf had a quick comb through of his hair and a new shirt, suit and tie.

It was only later that we realised that neither of them were wearing their ties!

And here are the new Mr & Mrs Rimmer on their way out of the church!

Then it was a case of lots of the usual photographs taken in the Vicarage garden! It seemed to take hours and hours!

At the Reception, we got some photos of the bride and groom cutting the cake.

Everyone remarked as to how mannerable and polite Littlesmurf was - he sounded so old-fashioned talking to some of the adults, but it was lovely that he behaved in such a way. He was a real credit to us!

It was just unfortunate that I didn't get to have my photograph taken with Tamsin - the last one I had was taken at her siblings' Christening (they are triplets!). Ah well, we've promised to see each other more often in the future.

I've been tagged - 6 Quirky things about me!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:50:00 -0500

Well, I was tagged the other day - by Just Our Thoughts. This tag involved posting "6 Quirky Things about Me".

Look out readers, if I know you've been here you might be tagged! But please don't let that scare you away from commenting. I love to read my comments!!!

Here are the rules for “6 Quirky Things”:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

So. . . .

Six Quirky Things About Me!

1. I love to eat chocolate when relaxing in the bath!
2. I don't have a car, as I've never learned how to drive!
3. I love being outside when it's a breezy, sunshiney day.
4. I only have one child - makes me feel a bit "left out of things" when surrounded by families which have lots of children.

5. I don't like having my hair cut and dried - always makes me feel too hot!
6. I am definitely a very structured person - I used to be a teacher and "old habits" die hard!

And now it's your turn:

The Simple Woman's DayBook

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:04:00 -0500

Please do go and visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Blog to read more entries from Daybooks like this.

FOR TODAY (August 18th, 2008)

Outside My Window...a cloudy sky.

I am thinking..."Will our car survive its problems?" - on the way home from North Yorkshire, we had to call out the emergency pick-up truck to get us home!

I am thankful for...lovely weather when it is most needed.

From the kitchen...haven't decided as yet, but for lunch we did have ham sandwiches.

I am wearing...my turquoise nightgown with a picture of a sleepy sheep on the front. I had an afternoon nap and can't see the point of getting dressed again so late in the day! (It's after 6pm over here in England).

I am creating...another interesting blog post!

I am going...To have another early night as I'm still recovering from the very long and tiresome journey back from the wedding on Saturday.

I am reading...Paul's letter to the Ephesians (still).

I am hoping...that our car will not cost too much to get fixed!

I am hearing...my son playing in our bedroom.

Around the house...still lots to catch up on!

One of my favourite things...sharing the countryside with my family.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: a light week of "lessons" with my son; no other firmly fixed plans at all!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Fireworks exploding above our heads after the wedding on Saturday -

Getting an earlier night before a busy day!

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:46:00 -0500

I've decided to get to bed earlier tonight, so that I'll be full of "get-up-and-go" in the morning. After breakfast, we'll be off to North Yorkshire for my god-daughter, Tamsin's wedding - hair is done, outfit picked, etc., so we should be a fine sight when we actually get there!

Littlesmurf is quite excited as he gets to dress up in a suit again , I'm excited because I haven't seen Tamsin for ages and DH is .... well .... resigned to the fact that he has to drive all the way there and back home again in one day !! We're hoping it will be a great day out for us all!

See you when we get back!

Friday Fill-ins #3

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:20:00 -0500

1. The last meal I had at a restaurant was gammon steak with fried egg and pineapple, mixed vegetables and chips (fries).

2. People talking too loudly on their cell phones in public places is something I intensely dislike.

3. The full moon makes me want to go outside and howl!.

4. "He's got a right cob on!" is one of my favorite local expressions (it's usually said about someone who's in a really bad mood!).

5. Sometimes it's best to think before you speak. (In fact I'd say that was something you should always do!!).

6. Mamma Mia is the best movie I've seen so far this year!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to watching the Athletics get started at the Olympic Games, tomorrow my plans include going to my god-daughter's wedding in North Yorkshire and Sunday, I want to have a lie-in after a late journey home from the wedding!