w.i.p.

( Ms. Elizabeth snuggled in my seeing stars quilt )

My works in progress consist of : scheduling an A.C.T. at our local college (for our sophomore home schooled son), submitting final grades for Biology (YAY!!), and administering a Geometry test (a really big one). Oh, and I made a batch of chocolate chip banana bread with some straggler bananas that needed eating. And since it is Friday ... we will have pizza and watch a family movie - we do this every Friday night.  I always look so forward to it!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

xoxo 

off to a good start.

New Year's Day was a slow and relaxing day.  The earlier hours were spent playing a heart thumping game of Monopoly, where I got the pants beat off of me, by my 16 year old son!  Seriously, in all the years of playing, I have never lost that bad.  He had every single $500.00 bill in his stash of funds and by the end, every property I owned was mortgaged and I still had an IOU out for him.  It was a blast!!

After lunch, I had a chance to play with my brand new toy.  Some ladies ask for diamonds at Christmas, not me.  I ask for practical things ... such as a cordless tree limb trimmer!  On 10 acres, you need tools and equipment and I was over the moon when I received my trimmer!!  I was able to clean up several ornamental pear trees, plus a couple of meddlesome branches from a favorite oak tree, that have poked just about everyone in the eye at least once.  Not any more!  Those are now safely nestled in a small burn pile.

Today is the perfect day to get caught up on grading Biology, Geometry, and Grammar.  It is cold outside (thank the good Lord), finally, so I may also have a chance to work a little bit more on my sewing room.  It is slowly coming along and I can't wait to show you the finish.  I have some touch ups to do with paint and a couple of memory boards to finish.  Oh ya, and the big project is getting my table and chairs painted.  Ok.  So don't hold your breath.  ha ha ha.

What has been keeping my night stand warm is the classic account of Corrie Ten Boom, in The Hiding Place.  This story itself is not new to me, but reading her account is.  How something so horrible could have taken place amongst so many to this day still runs a cold chill up my spine.  I am to chapter 5, and if you have not read this book, I suggest you do.  It is real.  It is candid.  It is truth.  And I never want it to happen again.  However, to have the faith and genuine love of the Lord abiding and very obviously tested, brings me to a humble place in prayer.  Lord, help me to be closer to You, help me execute Your grace and mercy to others.
So though it is a "sad" story, it is serving as a place of self examination for me.  There is no better place to make those adjustments, than at the beginning of the year.  Stepping off into a new year, with a humble heart, and confidence in my sweet Lord who promises to complete what He has begun in each of us that are called His!

honey bees.

 (Image via Flickr.com/Allan Hack)

This morning I have been "busy as a bee" (snicker).  While seeking out supplemental material for our upcoming Biology course, I discovered this youtube video on the honey bee.  If you have a few minutes and are interested in this sort of thing, take a look.  

Bees fascinate me to begin with, but it was not until recently, when we began toying with the idea of one day owning our own, that the love affair blossomed.  Earlier this year, Sue Bee Honey came to our home, hoping to determine the whereabouts of placing bee boxes on our property.  When we discovered they were contemplating 200 boxes, we obviously declined.  

Even on 10 acres, that is just way too many bees.  There are a great deal of families in our town who have extensive property and can safely host that many bees.  We are thinking more like ... oh say ... one box.  Doesn't that sound more maintainable??  There are so many benefits to keeping bees.  From pollination, to extracting honey.  Will keep you posted as we explore the possibilities.  Until then, the learning process is intriguing.

Have a nice day and "bee" sweet!

little things.

 

Aren't these cute?  I found them at WalMart.  They will be perfect for storing each subject's tests and general information that I need to keep up with.  I have to say, I am really looking forward to our school year beginning.  I just love the process of planning out the year, new binders (for portfolios), fresh pieces of paper, never before open text books ... mmmm.
We are some where around our 12th - ish home school year!  Goodness, where does the time go?!  I remember starting kindergarten with our oldest child, gosh that was like 1998!

And with all that said, I am also looking forward to fall.  Being outdoors is like heaven to me.  It has been so hot and raining everyday, and being stuck inside can make you crave cooler weather even more.
The sewing machine has laid idle for a week now and I am desperate to catch up with my blog reading.  Thanks to those of you who inquired about my whereabouts.  Wow, you make me feel so special.  No, I have not slipped off the edge of our planet ... just busy about home and getting my game plan in place.  I look forward to coming back here.  I have really missed you all!

a new year

a new beginning.

I just thought I would chronicle some of the latest changes in our lives and I hope you are not too bored in reading along. Past this point ... you can't say I didn't warn ya!

Probably the very biggest change in our lives is regarding home school. For 10 1/2 years, I have home schooled our children. As of this past week, that particular hat was hung up. Both children are attending our town's public schools. Katie as a sophomore and Nathan as a 7th grader.

Katie had started the school year off in the fall but Nathan did not follow until this past week.

We live in a rural area and a lot of the kids are bussed in.

After we all said good-bye at the door and several times of Nathan looking back at me, the bus arrived and took them off to school. In the silence of my home I cried for the first couple of hours.

I have never not had my children with me. For 16 years, they have always been home. I was at a loss as to what to do first. I finished my coffee, took my shower, and went in to town for a hair appointment. It was strange driving by both schools and knowing my children were there. I am sure this is an adjustment most moms and dads make when their children head off to kindergarten or even pre-school. So I am behind a bit in this area! :o)

God called our family to home school when Katie was only three. He did so that far in advance because He knew it would take that long to convince me that He in fact was telling me to do this. Oh how I went around and around with the Lord on that matter. Me? The one who went to school for strictly social purposes only! Who still could not diagram a sentence if you laid it all out before me and anything past basic algebra was Greek in my book! But that is where the sweetness and grace of the Lord began to filter through my being. He led me each step of the way, like a baby learning to walk. Every fear I faced and laid before Him, He instructed me through and gave me the courage to succeed.

I can remember entering a higher stage of History, of all subjects, and panicking! Seriously, I was scared to death. As for diagramming sentences?! I can do that with my eyes closed now, as can each of my children. It wasn't that way at first though. Oh ya, don't leave out Geometry. I sat at my husbands feet in tears telling him that there was no way under the sun that I can teach my children Geometry!! You know what Woody did? He sat down with the text book and first taught me, that way I would have the knowledge to pass along to Katie and Nathan when the time came.

Amazingly, each need was met. Even the financial side of matters. We attended a couple very large home school conferences that were ... might I say ... not free! They were always provided for though. Every penny, even the unnecessary - "IknowIwillneedthiseventually" spending - which if you are home school mom, you know exactly what I am referring to! Yes, in the long run, those expenses were paid as well.

Today, I have been cleaning out my home school armoire in our designated home school room. I have oodles of books to take to a home school consignment store this coming week. I had a little head start, last summer when we were enrolling Katie in public school. But as I look through each book ~ they are just so full of memories!

When my shipment of books would come, at different times, just depending on what I was buying, you would think it was Christmas in our home!! My children have loved reading since they were old enough to sit with me as I read to them. Nathan taught himself to read at age 4!! I am not kidding you. When he would watch Katie in school (we had a relaxed atmosphere) he was right there on my hip and just blended in. No matter what the subject.

A real fond memory I have (amongst literally hundreds) is when we bought The Chronicles Of Narnia Book series. This was about 6 years ago. It was during the winter months, we were living in Florida, and we had a fire place. I called school off for a few days, lit the wood in our fire place, and read each book out loud. We hung on to every word with anticipation for the next! I will cherish that memory for as long as I live! I am sure they will too!

Sitting here at the computer, my mind is flooded with memories. Wanting to know how big a dinosaur would be in real life ~ we took side walk chalk out to our court and drew it to scale! Imagine what the neighbors must have thought when they got in from work! Spelling tests with side walk chalk. Finishing up our assignments early and heading to the beach until dinner time. Watching my daughter struggle through math challenges and mastering them, one at a time! Pride just can't touch the feelings you get when you see your children press through a difficult subject and do so successfully! Reading their school papers that required them to be creative on a topic and being filled with amazement at how profound their words were. And continue to be for that matter!

We have been anything but perfect in our mission to home school. Some mornings I drank too much coffee and other mornings I didn't drink enough! You connect the dots! :o) Some days I was a saint in the area of patience and other days I wanted to pull my hair out.

It is a little surreal to think this chapter of our lives has closed and we are in a completely new one. Often times I wonder, "when did ____ stop happening?" Like when did they stop calling me "mommy" and started to call me "mom"? When did I change the last diaper? When did they no longer need me to make their lunches? When did they grow taller than me? This will not be a time of asking that question, because I already know the answer and I am taking a few moments to record my set of mixed emotions.

I don't doubt the choices we have made for our children to go to public school ~ it is just time to do so and there is a peace in my heart about it. However, because this is a new place for me, especially for me, I feel a bit displaced.

Once again, I find myself at the feet of Jesus asking Him for direction. And again, I can count on Him to show me the way. I am so thankful for ALL the experiences we have had over the years and I am even more thankful for the bright future that is laid out before us.

IT'S PARTY TIME!

Kimba at A Soft Place To Land is hosting a Halloween party. We don't celebrate Halloween as a rule, in our family, but we get into the Fall Festival side of things and Kimba said we could link for that too! I am digging a ways back for these pictures ...

Katie and Nathan 2004
We attended a "Trunk or Treat" at our church in 2004. Basically, members of our church parked their decorated car trunks in our parking lot and handed out candy to children. There were a few games too. Nothing spooky, all for fun! It was a safe alternative for door to door trick or treating.

Nathan, Katie, Aunt Kathy 2005
In 2005, my sweet Aunt Kathy came out to visit (while we lived in Florida) and we went to a local park where they were selling pumpkins.

Even though this picture was not a fall picture, it was taken in the fall of 2006 and I just love it! Woody was teaching our children Science in the evenings (I was off the clock.). I just loved the safety glasses that Katie and Nathan wore!! Too cute!!

...the butcher-the baker-the candlestick maker...

In our home I wear many hats. Here are just a few from today.

For starters, I administered the C.A.T. to our 7th grade son.

Next, I bathed our very rambunctious 6 month old puppy who happens to be almost as tall as me on his hind legs.

I mowed some of our yard. My hair poofs in the humidity! The glasses are ugly but they sure protect my eyes. I have cute sunglasses I wear when I am not working in the yard. Smile!

Needed to add a little more fall to our home
by tying a cute ribbon on one of my bunnies!

Next is dinner - which happens to be left overs.

our day.

Chores ... upcoming school year preparation ... a trip to the library ... each school year has had different challenges & blessings ... this upcoming fall will not be an exception.


We are stepping out on a limb of faith & placing our oldest daughter in the local public high school, as a sophomore. Each year has been laced in prayer ... we have asked the Lord for absolute guidance in the choices we have made regarding our children's education. This year, after nine years of home-school, Katie will no longer be educated by me. We have no doubt that this is God's plan for Katie's life as well as ours. However, like anything new, I am a little apprehensive.


I am however reminded, that there has not been a fire too hot that the Lord has not walked through it with us. There has been blessing after blessing plus answers to prayers for over nine years.


Despite Katie's absence from our home, I am convinced that those will continue, taking on a different form, than we may be use to.


I find courage and strength in obedience to the Lord. I lean into Him constantly for my family. I know there is a bigger picture here, and though I am unable to see the end result as of yet, "I know Whom I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able ... to keep that which I've committed unto Him until that day!"