Aug. 31, 2006 A Sound I haven't Heard All Summer
The lawnmower! We've had such a terrible drought, that the boys haven't had to mow since early June. NOTHING has been growing. Well, we finally got a bit of rain 3 weeks ago, then another shower 2 weeks ago, and last weekend, it rained 3 days in a row! The grass is beginning to get a green tint again, and the weeds are growing up where the grass was killed.
So dh has the boys out mowing to even things up and get it all off to a good start growing for fall.
The cows will sure be happy to have something green to eat again. We've been feeding them hay for the past month and a half.
It's been so nice temp-wise I've even been able to open my windows the past 2 days. Quite a change from the 100+ temps we had just over a week ago. Ahhh, a little sneak peak to fall.
I don't even *really* mind the sore throat that appears to be heralding in a summer cold (due to the sudden temp swing maybe?).
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Aug. 13, 2006 This and That
We've got 2 weeks of school under our belts, and are starting to find our groove again. It'll get a bit interrupted this week, since I have a doctor's appt Monday (and because of the distance, it's pretty much an all-day affair), and we will take another day off to go to the Fair. But that's ok, when I'm gone, the dc will still do independent work, and the fair can count for school (at least some of it).
I'm starting to get the hang of using Edu-track for planning, and I'm liking it more the more I use it. I keep getting asked why I still have planning to do, since this was supposed to save me all kinds of time, but it is pretty time intensive up-front. So, I'm not realizing a huge time-saving yet, except when it comes to figuring up our weekly hours (which is done automatically based on a bit of easy data entry).
I've bee very pleased with the dc's attitudes regarding school so far this year. The boys have finally gotten through the time where I needed to practically sit on them to keep them working. They are able to take their assignment sheets and books off to a quiet corner, and when they come back, their work is actually done! (I'm not talking about dd here because the dawdling has never been as big of an issue with her).
We are enjoying Tapestry again so far. Our project this week was to make mosaic pictures after studying Byzantine mosaics. They are still not finished, because the dc have really gotten into making them very detailed and precise. I love seeing them take such pride and care in their work!
It's been so hot this summer that our pool has sure gotten a lot of use (and I keep forgetting to enter those PE credits!). We are expecting a bit of rain later today, and actually got a shower on both Monday AND Thursday of last week! The drought this summer has been quite severe.
Yesterday's project was to plant our fall garden, so the dc and I headed out early before it got too hot, and managed to get that taken care of in no time. Hopefully, it will fare better than our spring garden, which didn't produce much of anything (except shoulder high weeds and dusty, cracked ground).
Baby's kicks are getting stronger, and we were all giggling in Sunday School this morning because he/she was VERY active. The dc were all vying for a chance to put their hands on my belly to get a good thump. It was pretty funny.
Better get back to my lesson planning so I can enjoy my family later on.
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The dc felt the baby move yesterday! They have been waiting and waiting--not so patiently-- for contact with their new brother or sister. I was relaxing on the couch in the afternoon, and baby got busy. Each of the dc had a chance to put their hand on my belly and get a good 'thump'. They were able to watch my tummy 'dance' with movement as well.
DS10 said it's harder waiting for this baby to come than it is to wait for Christmas.
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Jun. 6, 2006 A bit of a scare
I woke this morning to find I'd started spotting a bit. What a shock that was. I tried to write it off as bad lighting in the bathroom (so I wasn't seeing the tp clearly), but there was more later. I'm 12 weeks 4 days today, and 'thought' I was pretty well in the clear. I've never had any spotting with any pregnancy so this was new for me.
I put in a call to my doc, and waited. Was supposed to take the dc to play practice, but dh did it, and I stayed home and crashed on the couch with dd8 (who wasn't feeling well). What a nice nap!
When 5 pm came and still no call, I called back, and discovered my doc had gone for the day. Apparantly, no one had actually given her the message! She called within 5 minutes, and pretty well set my mind at ease--lots of women have it, it's probably nothing, call back if I start cramping or have sharp abdominal pains, etc. But, even knowing it happens to lots of women doesn't really help when you see it happening to YOU.
So, I spent an anxious day, praying for our baby, placing him or her firmly in his Father's hands, and *trying* not to worry.
It seems to be tapering off now. So, I'm hoping this was a one time thing, and we'll be uneventful from here on out.
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Feb. 10, 2006 A Trip Down Memory Lane
I have an 18 month old,
blond-haired, blue-eyed toddler in my house today, and, oh my, how the
memories are assailing me. We are watching the youngest son of
our Pastor overnight tonight. He reminds me so much of my boys at
that age.
We are all having a blast! It was a challenge to 'baby-proof'
this house, but we worked hard yesterday to make it as safe as we
could. We even pulled out and cleaned up some of the Little
People toys to have out for him to play with.
We have the main hallways blocked off, so he is pretty well confined to
the kitchen and living room (we have no doors to shut, LOL). We
even managed to get school done this morning. I assigned one
child to baby duty, and they had to keep "eyes on" at all times.
Lunch is now over, and it's playtime for a bit until time for
nap. The dc are having so much fun playing with him.
DS12 just finished having a growling contenst with the baby (one of
those boy things I suppose, LOL). He had the baby laughing so
hard--those deep baby belly laughs that just make everyone else in the
room laugh too. What JOY!
It is a bit bittersweet as well. As I face the likelihood that
I'm at the end of another cycle and not pregnant, it's a reminder of
how much I want another one of our own. But, as much as it is my
will, it seems it is not God's. So we will wait on Him, and keep
praying. Meantime, I'll enjoy every minute with this sweet baby I
get to borrow.
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Feb. 2, 2006 Our day so far
I
just sent the dc out to play (and burn off some excess energy).
I've managed to pick up a headache somewhere along the line today, and
the rollerblading in the house was really grating on my last nerve.
Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. Since we are doing
all the finish work on our new house, we still have subfloor only in
most rooms, which allows for some activities that will NOT be permitted
once the hardwood is all in. And the dc have discovered that
rollerblading UPstairs is WAY more fun than in the basement.
Since we have no pavement anywhere outside, scooters and rollerblades
are inside activities, and heretofore have been undertaken on the
cement floor in the basement. I did put my foot down and say the
scooters could NOT come up.
Anyway, we got a later
start on together school than I generally like. I was helping dh
move a dresser in our room out of the way of the next flooring to go
in, and then I laid the boards out for that row.
The dc had
all been working on independent work, and B12 and G8 had gotten most of
theirs done. I gathered everyone to the table and we read the
book of Jonah while they all colored a picture of the fish. B12
took notes for a potential news story next week. He was elected
the pool secretary (the others are still a bit slow at
notetaking). In this unit of TOG, our group project is to write a
newspaper. The dc are very excited about this, and are doing a
great job with their articles. They've planned to do an obituarty
section, and possibly funny pages as well. "The Bethlehem Star"
and "The Star of David" are two potential names they are
contemplating. Already, their summarizing skills have improved.
Then I passed out maps of the ancient Middle East, and they shaded the Assyrian Kingdom at its peak.
The youngers left to either finish independent work (B10) or play (G8),
and B12 and I worked on practicing spelling words, and Latin.
Finished him and it was about lunch time, so while defrosting hamburger
for sloppy joes, I popped on the puter for a few minutes.
Dh
had been out seeding Lespedeza (sort of like an alfalfa), and he popped
in to check on lunch progress. Told him about 10 more minutes,
and got it going.
Got back to teaching one-on-one after lunch
with G8. My, do we clash and butt heads! She comes to the
table with an attitude nearly every day, and I'm afraid I come bracing
for one and am therefore harsh before we even begin. I'm not sure
what to do to change things, but change they must. I'll be
praying about this.
B10 only needed me to dictate spelling
words to practice for tomorrow's test, so that went quickly. And
I'm done being teacher for today! YEAH!
Dh left with MIL and FIL to go look at a bull for FIL, so he won't be back till supper time. I've got a quiet house!
I SHOULD be cleaning up the mudroom (it is living up to its name these days), and I will. In a minute....
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Feb. 1, 2006 First Blog Ever
Well,
I took the plunge. I've been thinking of blogging for awhile, but
am sort of concerned about the time it might take. So, I'll give
it a try and see how it goes.
As a brief introduction, my dh and I live on a farm in the midwest
where we raise grass-fed beef for retail sale, and have chickens for
meat and eggs for ourselves. We also grow a pretty substantial
garden and I can quite a bit of the harvest. We have 3 dc,
referred to here as B12-7th grade, B10-5th grade and G8-3rd
grade. We are in our 7th year of homeschooling, and use an
eclectic mix, but primarily are classical in our approach. We
just started using Tapestry of Grace this year, and are very happy with
it.
I chose my blog title because I've always liked the image of God being
the weaver of the tapestry of our lives, with us seeing the knotted,
hazy picture on the underside. Sometimes the design is clearer
than others, but most often, as a section is being woven, it is just
not possible to see where He's going with it.
For now, I must get busy directing our school day. I hope to
connect with some friends here, and meet some new along the way.
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