Goings On

Here's my girl. She loves that horse.

Isn't he cute?

We have been very busy lately. Our schooling sure has changed. I actually like it ..... a lot. I can't believe it. Me! The queen of perfectionism. I always loved playing school when I was a kid. I remember having a biiiggg chalkboard when I was 6. I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. hehe Of course, that was not the path I chose as a high school graduate. Because I graduated 10th in my class, I thought "riches" was what I needed. Once I had my kids, it was all a different story. I wanted to be with them 24hrs a day. hehehe I just wanted to enjoy them as much as possible. All the while knowing they will be leaving me someday. Hopefully they will look back on this time with fond memories of their mom and their education. So, "what's the big deal?" you ask. Well normally we use Calvert curriculum. I do love it and it is hard to stray. hehehe Lately we have some circumstances that have caused me to take a look at our schooling and our daily life. As we see things in this system (from a worldly standpoint) quickly coming to a crescendo, we see a need for change. The children need to learn to put God 1st. We can do both. Time is so limited these days. There is no way we can do all we need to do in a day. The best thing is to study from our Bible based publications and use them for schooling. I never would have thought I'd be doing that. I guess it's considered unschooling? Maybe there's another term for it. Today, we used our study book to learn punctuation. Of course the older one knows, but the younger still needs practice learning what a complete sentence is. He is only 8 years old. I thought he already knew everything. hehehe Well I will have to explain more thoroughly. Tonight is not the night. It will have to wait. Besides I think I have said enough. Until next time!

A Year In The Life......

I just hadn't made time to post anything. I decided today was the day. We have had so much in our life since September. Yes, that's how long it's been. Shame on me! It was actually a nice day outside. It was a little cool, but the sun was out. I sure missed it. It has been foggy or cloudy and unusually cold.

So, what's been going on? Well my dad has been in the hospital in New Jersey since December 18th. It was a very long month. I miss them and am worried, but life goes on here. Then we had a cousin move in. She is now a single parent with a 13 month old. She has moved in to get spiritual help. Considering her situation she and her baby will have a good life with Jehovah's guidance. She has been here since October and it has been up and down with the stress as you can imagine. Neither of the children are used to infants or their space being invaded. We live in a small 3 bedroom home and now with 2 extra people, the boy is having to sleep in the living room.

Well, with all that has been going on, we have tried to continue with our homeschooling. As it is I'm not very good if things are not put away or the floor isn't swept. It actually drives me crazy. I just can't concentrate knowing things are messy or in disarray somewhere. hehehe Not really much to tell there. On the days I am too busy, we just do the basics. Reading and math. We have not done any projects or gone on field trips.

Then today we went on errands for most of the day. We came back and Dad didn't feel well so he took a nap to try to sleep it off. The boy kept coming in to get string, cut string, give instructions, etc. I finally realized he needed some attention. I went outside to see what he was doing and saw that he was putting together a bike, skateboard, and a wagon. He wanted someone to ride the bike while someone stood on the skateboard or sat in the wagon. hehehe Isn't he ingenious?! While I was watching him tie the knots on the string, he looked up at me and said he loved me. Then he said, "Thanks, mom. The fact that you came out here to watch tells me you love me." Wasn't that the sweetest thing! It made him so happy for me to be out there with him. SIGH! I just wish I could use my time more wisely. That is the thing that I want to work on this year. I had been paying bills and I decided to just STOP what I was doing. Nope nothing happened. The bills were still there when I got back. Nothing caught fire. Everything was ok. I needed to hear that from him. It was not really shocking, but it caught my attention. I realized that I need to do that more often. Just STOP!!

Now for my little girl. She sure has changed in the last year. She is not quite 13. She looks every bit of 15 though. She has really blossomed. Some days I'm so excited and can't wait to do a lot of girly things with her. Then other days, I want to hide her in a tower like Rapunzel. She has even begun to enjoy reading. Since September she has read 3 whole books. I can't believe it. I thought the day would never come. She takes a book with her whenever she leaves the house. Woo Hoo! She also has been going to feed the horse more often. She doesn't even need any help. She also is very helpful with the baby. She has always loved dolls and I think that's why some days she is all over that baby. She will make a good mommy someday..... someday waaaaaayyy far away! Here is a picture of my beauty after i put some nails on her and we worked on her hair.

Isn't she beautiful!?