http://www.lucideducation.com/videoindex/videoindex.php
Tutoring tool - for most of the Maths from Pre-Algebra through Calculus (No Trig)
Plus Physical Science and Physics.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Next Year School Plans.
This year, even worse than last year, the annual - "choosing curriculum" has snuck up on us. Though I can't say that this has been a great school year, pretty much anything other than core subjects has fallen to the wayside in an effort to keep on top of chores, sickness, and stress.
But, it is something I think about quite often, so I'm not exactly caught off guard.
We basically school year around, taking breaks when we need to, and a longer break at Christmas. This allows us to skip or skim over review materials, so we really do move along faster than it sometimes seems to me that we are doing.
Kendra is a self teacher - I can give her a book or a topic, and if she is interested (easy to get her interested) she'll take off. An informal approach has been working well with her this year. I dare say that she has learned far more than I think she has or that I could put down on paper. Her primary interest has been writing and English.
So our plan with her ... keep using Far Above Rubies and Polished Cornerstones to teach Bible and Character and Memory work. For Science, I found two free "online academy" places. http://www.khanacademy.org/ and http://www.hippocampus.org/ ... she is currently quite capable at finding errors in differing world views, often faster than I can, so I'm not overly worried about her stumbling on something we don't believe. She also is quick to ask questions of her dad and grandparents if I don't know an answer. She is currently using Rod and Staff English, and everything she needs is already purchased. Other than that, we'll continue our study of the 50 states of America and for Core History we are using the book "All Through the Ages". http://www.nothingnewpress.com/atta.shtml
Vannan is as much a spoon fed learner as Kendra is a self learner. Often, Kendra and Vannan are using the same curriculum along with their friend Katie, so we can all work on the same thing. (or at least that is the PLAN - I've really lost track of that since last November).
Much of what she is doing, is the same as Kendra, Polished Cornerstones and All Through the Ages. She needed something more for Math - and today I was blessed with an offer to get her math curriculum for her ... WOW. So she'll be able to have the Switched On Schoolhouse Alg. 1. She needs the immediate feedback and "hand holding" that this will offer her and the ability that I will have to keep an eye on her while she works. I am not totally sure what we want to do with Science. I would like the get the next Apologia Science book for her ... but I do know we'll be starting the Fish? book mid summer. So I might not need the Mammals or the Birds until the following Spring anyway. They are geared more for younger students, but since she is mildly dyslexic, she seems to learn more from the easier texts. We do a lot of researching and extra reading in Science - and animals are her hot spot, so I'm gearing her up for Biology and Chemistry as she gets older - but probably not for another 2 years. Right now, she is "leveling up" and concentrating on filling in holes and rough spots. I suspect that in another year or so, she will find her wings and she'll fly through her High School requirements.
Joel is my little scholar. He LOVES learning. But I don't want to burn him out. So we'll finish using the Cubbie books for Bible, we didn't get far this year with as much as we have all been sick. I'll be using the Rod and Staff Phonics books (already in my supplies - so no new purchase) and may go ahead and put the the small investment into the workbooks that go with the books - around $40 for all 9 books ... though I think I've got several via ebay purchases in the past. I've still got to look. We'll just read books on Science and History topics for now. Math, well? - I had a kind offer to help get second hand books (of all kinds) for first and second grades this morning. So, since Joel is rather ahead of the curve for 1st grade math and not quite ready for second grade math ... I'll just use what comes our way. And maybe there will be plenty to share with my cousins (grub 2 and 3, and Shi, and Karen's Bethie and Matthew and maybe even with or PreK Esther and Marriana). It looks like God will be providing all that we need for Joel - God never fails to give what we need.
So, that brings us to Marriana. Everyone is pretty much unanimous that she is not really ready for formal Kindergarten learning. We still have enough Preschool books for her to run a whole year more, and I think she needs it. I may go ahead and get the 3 new Rod and Staff books (G, H, I) that became available just this year to go with the earlier parts of the set (A - F) that we purchased last year.
LaRue will be my loose cannon. I'm looking at having a 2 year old under foot. Too busy to keep in a play pen, and too restless to sit at a table. She is a non-stop explorer. I am hoping to get the school room a little more open and sorted so that she can play with supervision. But I may need help to get a good working plan, because what I have now is not working at all.
So, that is the "Plan" for now. Please keep us in your prayers as I try to sort out a schedule and "floor plan" that will allow us to school with the maximum efficiency. We really need a VERY good year this year. Also, for me to stay focused and to be able to get enough sleep to function better.
But, it is something I think about quite often, so I'm not exactly caught off guard.
We basically school year around, taking breaks when we need to, and a longer break at Christmas. This allows us to skip or skim over review materials, so we really do move along faster than it sometimes seems to me that we are doing.
Kendra is a self teacher - I can give her a book or a topic, and if she is interested (easy to get her interested) she'll take off. An informal approach has been working well with her this year. I dare say that she has learned far more than I think she has or that I could put down on paper. Her primary interest has been writing and English.
So our plan with her ... keep using Far Above Rubies and Polished Cornerstones to teach Bible and Character and Memory work. For Science, I found two free "online academy" places. http://www.khanacademy.org/ and http://www.hippocampus.org/ ... she is currently quite capable at finding errors in differing world views, often faster than I can, so I'm not overly worried about her stumbling on something we don't believe. She also is quick to ask questions of her dad and grandparents if I don't know an answer. She is currently using Rod and Staff English, and everything she needs is already purchased. Other than that, we'll continue our study of the 50 states of America and for Core History we are using the book "All Through the Ages". http://www.nothingnewpress.com/atta.shtml
Vannan is as much a spoon fed learner as Kendra is a self learner. Often, Kendra and Vannan are using the same curriculum along with their friend Katie, so we can all work on the same thing. (or at least that is the PLAN - I've really lost track of that since last November).
Much of what she is doing, is the same as Kendra, Polished Cornerstones and All Through the Ages. She needed something more for Math - and today I was blessed with an offer to get her math curriculum for her ... WOW. So she'll be able to have the Switched On Schoolhouse Alg. 1. She needs the immediate feedback and "hand holding" that this will offer her and the ability that I will have to keep an eye on her while she works. I am not totally sure what we want to do with Science. I would like the get the next Apologia Science book for her ... but I do know we'll be starting the Fish? book mid summer. So I might not need the Mammals or the Birds until the following Spring anyway. They are geared more for younger students, but since she is mildly dyslexic, she seems to learn more from the easier texts. We do a lot of researching and extra reading in Science - and animals are her hot spot, so I'm gearing her up for Biology and Chemistry as she gets older - but probably not for another 2 years. Right now, she is "leveling up" and concentrating on filling in holes and rough spots. I suspect that in another year or so, she will find her wings and she'll fly through her High School requirements.
Joel is my little scholar. He LOVES learning. But I don't want to burn him out. So we'll finish using the Cubbie books for Bible, we didn't get far this year with as much as we have all been sick. I'll be using the Rod and Staff Phonics books (already in my supplies - so no new purchase) and may go ahead and put the the small investment into the workbooks that go with the books - around $40 for all 9 books ... though I think I've got several via ebay purchases in the past. I've still got to look. We'll just read books on Science and History topics for now. Math, well? - I had a kind offer to help get second hand books (of all kinds) for first and second grades this morning. So, since Joel is rather ahead of the curve for 1st grade math and not quite ready for second grade math ... I'll just use what comes our way. And maybe there will be plenty to share with my cousins (grub 2 and 3, and Shi, and Karen's Bethie and Matthew and maybe even with or PreK Esther and Marriana). It looks like God will be providing all that we need for Joel - God never fails to give what we need.
So, that brings us to Marriana. Everyone is pretty much unanimous that she is not really ready for formal Kindergarten learning. We still have enough Preschool books for her to run a whole year more, and I think she needs it. I may go ahead and get the 3 new Rod and Staff books (G, H, I) that became available just this year to go with the earlier parts of the set (A - F) that we purchased last year.
LaRue will be my loose cannon. I'm looking at having a 2 year old under foot. Too busy to keep in a play pen, and too restless to sit at a table. She is a non-stop explorer. I am hoping to get the school room a little more open and sorted so that she can play with supervision. But I may need help to get a good working plan, because what I have now is not working at all.
So, that is the "Plan" for now. Please keep us in your prayers as I try to sort out a schedule and "floor plan" that will allow us to school with the maximum efficiency. We really need a VERY good year this year. Also, for me to stay focused and to be able to get enough sleep to function better.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Correction ...
I just noticed that I put Joel's hot date on the wrong Friday - I'll be correcting it, but for those who follow in email or RSS reader and don't come here to read it ...
He went on the 18th! not the 25th. My brain is just a tad on the fried side.
He went on the 18th! not the 25th. My brain is just a tad on the fried side.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Rambling Update - 3 - 26
I've been meaning to give a Rambling update for a few days now. Just can't seem to wrap my tired brain around it all. So much going on in my brain.
Today is Saturday - I'm pretty sure, because I set up Google Calender to let me know. I slept in today. I think Tim was up at 7am, and Joel was right behind him. I woke up the girls at 9:45. Kendra has been cleaning my Dad's house.
Vannan is caring for 3 or 4 baby bunnies. Stripe abandoned her bunch yesterday, and we've lost 3 of them. This is the 3rd batch that she's done poorly with, so Vannan will not use her for a breeder anymore. She had successfully moved her first baby into the other batch several days ago, and seems to have moved a second one in also. That leaves her with 3 very tiny babies that she is bottle feeding. .... Correction ... 2 now, she just brought out another one that has died.
She is hoping to sell some for Easter. They are gorgeous rabbits and super tame.
So far today, I've noticed that we are pretty low on LaRue's size 4 diapers. Got the girls to serve up the last cantalope before it went bad. LaRue is dressed, nursed, and been a general silly girl. I'm not feeling overly "well" today. My eyes are burning, coughing and sneezing, and I ache ... allergies at their finest. Must be clover season. I've done a small amount of picking up and sorting, and supervising.
Friday ... that was yesterday. Not sure what happened yesterday.
Tim took Kendra to town with him when he went to the Granary again ... forgot the Chlorella, and he picked up (what he hopes) is gluten free cereal.
Rhoda, and family, went to a seminar at her church. It goes tonight and tomorrow also. I'm hoping she will blurb it on her blog, as it sounds like it was pretty amazing.
Vannan found that Stripe wasn't taking care of her babies and brought in 7 of them.
Vannan found Tim's drill and has been using it - put up a rack for her sewing and she put up her mirror. Hopefully they stay, because the stud population in this house is a bit lacking. (No pun intended there.) Still, I am so grateful we HAVE a house to be miffed about the studs - we could still be living in a single and a half bedroom and everything we own in storage still after 10 years.
Thursday - Karen came up and took the young ones to watch Bethie's horse therapy lessons. Bethie has a big show on the 2nd to show how the kids are progressing and what they do to help special needs kids. Karen often takes a few extra's so I can work with two of the younger ones together OR the three older ones.
Tim took Vannan down for her violin lessons, then stopped by the granary to pick up a few items.
After Tim and Vannan returned, and we had supper. Jenny arrived, and I took Joel with me, and we went and bought a few groceries. $69 plus a gallon of milk on WIC. We need more Cheerios, but I'll pick that up next Friday on WIC.
Wednesday -
Mamaw and Papa came up to visit. She's out of the nursing home - I'll post more on that and some pictures later. Talking with her is interesting ... you never know what she will say next .... She was looking for her husband - and worried about the people knocking down the house she's been assigned to live in - she said she came here because she use to live here and wanted to see what we've done with the place. But overall, it was a nice visit of about 30 - 40 minutes.
Tim came home. Umm... I'm sure other things happened. Vannan got a 100 on her spelling test.
A lady came by and brought me a CCTV. It is a device that will help me see to read. I'm very excited. This will be such a huge blessing for school - once I find a safe place to put it and use it easily. Not to worry - I WILL figure it out. In the meantime, we can come and use it where it is currently sitting as we need it.
Tuesday - Karen was up. We cleaned and organized Tim's closet. Made sure the weekend project of sorting Joel and LaRue's clothes had been put away properly, and Karen reboxed the clothes that were not hers that LaRue had borrowed.
Was it that night that Joel tossed his "late night snack because I didn't want to eat" onto the floor. I even handed him a bowl and told him to practice juggling. He did a great job on the rest of it. On the plus side, it had only been in his stomach some 10 minutes, so the smell was mostly cinnamon.
Monday - We had a monday ... I'm pretty sure. Vannan spent most of the day in bed with a tummy virus. Stripe had a single bunny ... she gave it to Strawberry Milk - and it seemed to be doing very well, but the bigger ones finally trampled it. (It doesn't look like any of the original 7 are going to make it. We have 3 left. - Vannan has tried bottle feeding them. Strawberry Milk is doing ok - just there are too many bigger ones in the box.)
Kendra babysat Rhoda's kids from 4pm to 11pm ... and we had a little fun looking at the super moon. Pictures didn't do it justice.
Sunday - Alex came for supper ... and Joel tossed his lunch right in the middle of it. Thankfully, he was on the couch and had a trash can next to him. It seems to be a fast moving bug - and he was fine by midnight.
We took an early evening walk - Rhoda's kids joined us.
We all slept in. Much needed sleep.
Saturday - We had a BIG day planned. BUT
at 6:45 LaRue was making strange sounds ... and as I sat up ... she barfed all over the spot I had just vacated. Lights on. Clean her up. Give her to Vannan. Start leaving messages for all whose day just got topsy turvyed.
Tim had been going to come home - he didn't.
Aunt Cindy came up with Joel, took the girls grocery shopping and picked up animal feed.
Then we found out the garage sale that we were missing, was going to do the bag sale after all ... so Aunt Cindy took the 2 girls down, they met Karen there, and dropped them with Karen. Tim's mom met them there, all sorted and found anything that might be of use (they did a pretty good job of it!) and then Karen brought them home. In the meantime, LaRue had barfed 4 more times, and by the time they all got back home, she was happily playing as if she had never been sick.
Friday - Helped my Dad pack himself and Marriana for a trip to see my sister Rebekah and her family. We did a TON of washing - and there was still tons to do. We figured we would wash all the beds while they were gone, and had stripped them all down to the mattress. I didn't expect everything to take as long as it did - but we were exhausted by the end of the day. We were really looking forward to having just our own family for a week - what a great vacation for us! (We'll take what we can get! ... It really HAS been a great and quiet and mostly calm week - I could go for a month like this).
Vannan found a HUGE snake at the barn eating goose eggs. Daddy shot it's head off. Since then, Vannan has found 2 more snakes at the barn. Two Texas Rat Snakes and a speckled King snake. We don't like snakes.
Joel took Aunt Cindy on a "hot date" and Uncle Tommy went along. For those who don't Facebook - according to Joel - a hot date is one where you go someplace you never went to before and meet people that you have never seen before. And a cold date is when you go someplace that you HAVE been to before and you already know most of the people.
Well, that is what a week looks like in reverse. Tim was in the hospital the first time from the 3rd - 7th, and the second time from 10th - 13th. Tim's neighbor from down the street (where he grew up) came and fixed our hot water heater on the 8th - it popped it's circuit on the 10th, but seems to be working again now and has not quit on us again. Odd that it quit the 3rd and the 10th - both as Tim left for the hospital.
Toffee has been skunked twice, maybe 3 times.
Karen and I have to go talk to the lawyers about the accident last Thanksgiving. Keep us in your prayers - this is quite stressful for us. After everything is over and the case closed ... I'll see if we can fill everyone in on some of the details - and perhaps we'll just ignore that chapter of our lives.
Tim continues to improve. He walked around walmart - to pick up just a couple of items - but said he was glad to not have to walk anymore. He picks up LaRue and carries her around for a few minutes at a time. He plans to return to work on Monday. Still, he's been out of work for 3 weeks - no pay ... although one guy at work asked the supervisors to put Tim down for part of his sale - a HUGE blessing to us. Money is very tight - but we've been able to buy food and pay the must pay bills like trash, electricity, and phones. We are praying Tim gets some good sales quickly as he returns to work.
Rhoda will be loosing part of her income also - she is praying for something to come up that allows her to work from home without taking away from schooling the boys. The price of gas has made it increasingly less productive (for both her and their mom) to keep the two little ones that she has kept for the last year.
Ruth is taking care of some baby squirrels. Maybe if Vannan's bunnies are still alive tomorrow, Ruth can help her with them.
I have to get the curriculum ordered very soon for next year. I still need to figure out what we need for next year. But this is the time of year for the sales - anywhere from 10 - 20% off of cost - and that is nice. Things have been so hodge podge this year - and I've discovered a number of free online sources - so I'm hoping all I will need to order is mostly Joel things for 1st grade and maybe an Alg. 1 course for Vannan. Though I'm considering putting her through Consumer Math with Kendra since it is already purchased, and let her watch the Algebra videos on the side. All of the English books are purchased already. And we do our own thing with History. We use Polished Cornerstones and Instructions in Righteousness for Bible. .... So I'm hoping we can get by with only spending $100 - $150 for curriculum this year. Anyone want to help out?
So that's where we are at after our week of vacation. Pretty typical week for us - as far as ups and downs.
Tim feels up to church tomorrow - so we'll happily head that way come morning. And I'm pretty sure Tim is planning to do his Afterglow show Sunday night. Be sure to listen in - and participate if you can. So far, I've not had a fast enough connection to listen while it is online - but I get to listen later after they go offline. Plus you are suppose to be able to download it.
Praises to God for his blessings this week - and his provisions for us. All things work together for HIS good and HIS glory.
At the beginning of March, I wrote on Facebook 4 things that I wanted to do this month. 1. Go to the Public Library book sale (didn't go - but was told I missed nothing). 2. Go to the Right To Life Garage Sale (didn't go - but Kendra and Vannan did) 3. Go to the daffodil farm - I LOVE these bright yellow flowers - but do NOT like cut flowers inside of my house (allergies) ... well, there are still 5 days left in March. 4. Get back into the habit of walking everyday. (haven't BUT - I did get out and walk 5 or 6 times more than I did the month before - and even did 3 days in a row - I think I had better put it on my Google Calendar to remind me every 5 minutes until I get it done.)
Things in our Need list:
Joel needs new summer tennis shoes - though light weight would probably be fine. His 13's are getting too small fast. (He needs size 1 shoes)
Joel needs size 6 or 6H pants and shorts. (Blessed with several yesterday! A couple of pair of Jean shorts - and he'll be set!)
I need to get our school room organized and bring the CCTV and my computer over for school days. Trying to run school in multiple locations is simply not working at all. Nor is my computer and the information for school that it has being at a different house than school is being ran from. Because of my problem with spacial awareness (eyes), I've really struggled to find a working arrangement.
School books for next year - especially for Joel.
Things on our Want List:
a Kindle for school next year (we are thinking to put all of our swagbucks money toward one - so we are about halfway to getting one!) ... there are many high school and college history, science, math, business, etc. texts that I can download for free onto the Kindle - and paying $140 for one (two would be even better) makes sense instead of spending $250 - $300 for various curriculum which we may or may not be able to reuse for the next child down. Also, we can download many of the history novels on the reading list for free. Fewer library trips!
Help / Glue to put the tiles down in the bathroom - so the wood floor doesn't rot. I've forgotten how we did the special cuts way back the summer of 2000 when I actively helped with our last project. (Why do we wait to fix up our house when we sell it? Instead of for us to enjoy while we live there?)
Help getting our garden in! Daddy keeps saying he'll bring his tiller around and help us get it in .. but he's rather overburdened with tasks right now.
Oh, I do have "pie in the sky" wishes too - like a nice big Kindle for myself. But those are pretty pricey.
And just for the record ... if you buy from Amazon - if you ask me for a link to what you want to buy, I can get a sale commission from it - (not much) and it won't cost you a bit more. Right now I have 18c sitting in my fund - and they won't transfer less than $5 (I think). So if you buy from Amazon - use my links - it helps us!
Today is Saturday - I'm pretty sure, because I set up Google Calender to let me know. I slept in today. I think Tim was up at 7am, and Joel was right behind him. I woke up the girls at 9:45. Kendra has been cleaning my Dad's house.
Vannan is caring for 3 or 4 baby bunnies. Stripe abandoned her bunch yesterday, and we've lost 3 of them. This is the 3rd batch that she's done poorly with, so Vannan will not use her for a breeder anymore. She had successfully moved her first baby into the other batch several days ago, and seems to have moved a second one in also. That leaves her with 3 very tiny babies that she is bottle feeding. .... Correction ... 2 now, she just brought out another one that has died.
She is hoping to sell some for Easter. They are gorgeous rabbits and super tame.
So far today, I've noticed that we are pretty low on LaRue's size 4 diapers. Got the girls to serve up the last cantalope before it went bad. LaRue is dressed, nursed, and been a general silly girl. I'm not feeling overly "well" today. My eyes are burning, coughing and sneezing, and I ache ... allergies at their finest. Must be clover season. I've done a small amount of picking up and sorting, and supervising.
Friday ... that was yesterday. Not sure what happened yesterday.
Tim took Kendra to town with him when he went to the Granary again ... forgot the Chlorella, and he picked up (what he hopes) is gluten free cereal.
Rhoda, and family, went to a seminar at her church. It goes tonight and tomorrow also. I'm hoping she will blurb it on her blog, as it sounds like it was pretty amazing.
Vannan found that Stripe wasn't taking care of her babies and brought in 7 of them.
Vannan found Tim's drill and has been using it - put up a rack for her sewing and she put up her mirror. Hopefully they stay, because the stud population in this house is a bit lacking. (No pun intended there.) Still, I am so grateful we HAVE a house to be miffed about the studs - we could still be living in a single and a half bedroom and everything we own in storage still after 10 years.
Thursday - Karen came up and took the young ones to watch Bethie's horse therapy lessons. Bethie has a big show on the 2nd to show how the kids are progressing and what they do to help special needs kids. Karen often takes a few extra's so I can work with two of the younger ones together OR the three older ones.
Tim took Vannan down for her violin lessons, then stopped by the granary to pick up a few items.
After Tim and Vannan returned, and we had supper. Jenny arrived, and I took Joel with me, and we went and bought a few groceries. $69 plus a gallon of milk on WIC. We need more Cheerios, but I'll pick that up next Friday on WIC.
Wednesday -
Mamaw and Papa came up to visit. She's out of the nursing home - I'll post more on that and some pictures later. Talking with her is interesting ... you never know what she will say next .... She was looking for her husband - and worried about the people knocking down the house she's been assigned to live in - she said she came here because she use to live here and wanted to see what we've done with the place. But overall, it was a nice visit of about 30 - 40 minutes.
Tim came home. Umm... I'm sure other things happened. Vannan got a 100 on her spelling test.
A lady came by and brought me a CCTV. It is a device that will help me see to read. I'm very excited. This will be such a huge blessing for school - once I find a safe place to put it and use it easily. Not to worry - I WILL figure it out. In the meantime, we can come and use it where it is currently sitting as we need it.
Tuesday - Karen was up. We cleaned and organized Tim's closet. Made sure the weekend project of sorting Joel and LaRue's clothes had been put away properly, and Karen reboxed the clothes that were not hers that LaRue had borrowed.
Was it that night that Joel tossed his "late night snack because I didn't want to eat" onto the floor. I even handed him a bowl and told him to practice juggling. He did a great job on the rest of it. On the plus side, it had only been in his stomach some 10 minutes, so the smell was mostly cinnamon.
Monday - We had a monday ... I'm pretty sure. Vannan spent most of the day in bed with a tummy virus. Stripe had a single bunny ... she gave it to Strawberry Milk - and it seemed to be doing very well, but the bigger ones finally trampled it. (It doesn't look like any of the original 7 are going to make it. We have 3 left. - Vannan has tried bottle feeding them. Strawberry Milk is doing ok - just there are too many bigger ones in the box.)
Kendra babysat Rhoda's kids from 4pm to 11pm ... and we had a little fun looking at the super moon. Pictures didn't do it justice.
Sunday - Alex came for supper ... and Joel tossed his lunch right in the middle of it. Thankfully, he was on the couch and had a trash can next to him. It seems to be a fast moving bug - and he was fine by midnight.
We took an early evening walk - Rhoda's kids joined us.
We all slept in. Much needed sleep.
Saturday - We had a BIG day planned. BUT
at 6:45 LaRue was making strange sounds ... and as I sat up ... she barfed all over the spot I had just vacated. Lights on. Clean her up. Give her to Vannan. Start leaving messages for all whose day just got topsy turvyed.
Tim had been going to come home - he didn't.
Aunt Cindy came up with Joel, took the girls grocery shopping and picked up animal feed.
Then we found out the garage sale that we were missing, was going to do the bag sale after all ... so Aunt Cindy took the 2 girls down, they met Karen there, and dropped them with Karen. Tim's mom met them there, all sorted and found anything that might be of use (they did a pretty good job of it!) and then Karen brought them home. In the meantime, LaRue had barfed 4 more times, and by the time they all got back home, she was happily playing as if she had never been sick.
Friday - Helped my Dad pack himself and Marriana for a trip to see my sister Rebekah and her family. We did a TON of washing - and there was still tons to do. We figured we would wash all the beds while they were gone, and had stripped them all down to the mattress. I didn't expect everything to take as long as it did - but we were exhausted by the end of the day. We were really looking forward to having just our own family for a week - what a great vacation for us! (We'll take what we can get! ... It really HAS been a great and quiet and mostly calm week - I could go for a month like this).
Vannan found a HUGE snake at the barn eating goose eggs. Daddy shot it's head off. Since then, Vannan has found 2 more snakes at the barn. Two Texas Rat Snakes and a speckled King snake. We don't like snakes.
Joel took Aunt Cindy on a "hot date" and Uncle Tommy went along. For those who don't Facebook - according to Joel - a hot date is one where you go someplace you never went to before and meet people that you have never seen before. And a cold date is when you go someplace that you HAVE been to before and you already know most of the people.
Well, that is what a week looks like in reverse. Tim was in the hospital the first time from the 3rd - 7th, and the second time from 10th - 13th. Tim's neighbor from down the street (where he grew up) came and fixed our hot water heater on the 8th - it popped it's circuit on the 10th, but seems to be working again now and has not quit on us again. Odd that it quit the 3rd and the 10th - both as Tim left for the hospital.
Toffee has been skunked twice, maybe 3 times.
Karen and I have to go talk to the lawyers about the accident last Thanksgiving. Keep us in your prayers - this is quite stressful for us. After everything is over and the case closed ... I'll see if we can fill everyone in on some of the details - and perhaps we'll just ignore that chapter of our lives.
Tim continues to improve. He walked around walmart - to pick up just a couple of items - but said he was glad to not have to walk anymore. He picks up LaRue and carries her around for a few minutes at a time. He plans to return to work on Monday. Still, he's been out of work for 3 weeks - no pay ... although one guy at work asked the supervisors to put Tim down for part of his sale - a HUGE blessing to us. Money is very tight - but we've been able to buy food and pay the must pay bills like trash, electricity, and phones. We are praying Tim gets some good sales quickly as he returns to work.
Rhoda will be loosing part of her income also - she is praying for something to come up that allows her to work from home without taking away from schooling the boys. The price of gas has made it increasingly less productive (for both her and their mom) to keep the two little ones that she has kept for the last year.
Ruth is taking care of some baby squirrels. Maybe if Vannan's bunnies are still alive tomorrow, Ruth can help her with them.
I have to get the curriculum ordered very soon for next year. I still need to figure out what we need for next year. But this is the time of year for the sales - anywhere from 10 - 20% off of cost - and that is nice. Things have been so hodge podge this year - and I've discovered a number of free online sources - so I'm hoping all I will need to order is mostly Joel things for 1st grade and maybe an Alg. 1 course for Vannan. Though I'm considering putting her through Consumer Math with Kendra since it is already purchased, and let her watch the Algebra videos on the side. All of the English books are purchased already. And we do our own thing with History. We use Polished Cornerstones and Instructions in Righteousness for Bible. .... So I'm hoping we can get by with only spending $100 - $150 for curriculum this year. Anyone want to help out?
So that's where we are at after our week of vacation. Pretty typical week for us - as far as ups and downs.
Tim feels up to church tomorrow - so we'll happily head that way come morning. And I'm pretty sure Tim is planning to do his Afterglow show Sunday night. Be sure to listen in - and participate if you can. So far, I've not had a fast enough connection to listen while it is online - but I get to listen later after they go offline. Plus you are suppose to be able to download it.
Praises to God for his blessings this week - and his provisions for us. All things work together for HIS good and HIS glory.
At the beginning of March, I wrote on Facebook 4 things that I wanted to do this month. 1. Go to the Public Library book sale (didn't go - but was told I missed nothing). 2. Go to the Right To Life Garage Sale (didn't go - but Kendra and Vannan did) 3. Go to the daffodil farm - I LOVE these bright yellow flowers - but do NOT like cut flowers inside of my house (allergies) ... well, there are still 5 days left in March. 4. Get back into the habit of walking everyday. (haven't BUT - I did get out and walk 5 or 6 times more than I did the month before - and even did 3 days in a row - I think I had better put it on my Google Calendar to remind me every 5 minutes until I get it done.)
Things in our Need list:
Joel needs new summer tennis shoes - though light weight would probably be fine. His 13's are getting too small fast. (He needs size 1 shoes)
Joel needs size 6 or 6H pants and shorts. (Blessed with several yesterday! A couple of pair of Jean shorts - and he'll be set!)
I need to get our school room organized and bring the CCTV and my computer over for school days. Trying to run school in multiple locations is simply not working at all. Nor is my computer and the information for school that it has being at a different house than school is being ran from. Because of my problem with spacial awareness (eyes), I've really struggled to find a working arrangement.
School books for next year - especially for Joel.
Things on our Want List:
a Kindle for school next year (we are thinking to put all of our swagbucks money toward one - so we are about halfway to getting one!) ... there are many high school and college history, science, math, business, etc. texts that I can download for free onto the Kindle - and paying $140 for one (two would be even better) makes sense instead of spending $250 - $300 for various curriculum which we may or may not be able to reuse for the next child down. Also, we can download many of the history novels on the reading list for free. Fewer library trips!
Help / Glue to put the tiles down in the bathroom - so the wood floor doesn't rot. I've forgotten how we did the special cuts way back the summer of 2000 when I actively helped with our last project. (Why do we wait to fix up our house when we sell it? Instead of for us to enjoy while we live there?)
Help getting our garden in! Daddy keeps saying he'll bring his tiller around and help us get it in .. but he's rather overburdened with tasks right now.
Oh, I do have "pie in the sky" wishes too - like a nice big Kindle for myself. But those are pretty pricey.
And just for the record ... if you buy from Amazon - if you ask me for a link to what you want to buy, I can get a sale commission from it - (not much) and it won't cost you a bit more. Right now I have 18c sitting in my fund - and they won't transfer less than $5 (I think). So if you buy from Amazon - use my links - it helps us!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Joel's Hot Date
One day, on a Friday, my Aunt Cindy and Uncle Tommy came to my house.
I packed my suitcase. I put in my clothes, toys, some binoculars, and a swimming suit, and my pajama's.
We rode in Uncle Tommy's little red wagon, and went to a hotel. We went up the elevator to the 430 (or something) room on the top floor. I checked out the big bed and it was very comfy. I had trouble getting on it.
Then we went down to the floor 1, and I took Aunt Cindy on a Hot Date. We got in Uncle Tommy's little red wagon. Uncle Tommy came along to chaperon. We went down the street to the Pizza King. It was very cold. I ate a salad first out of a big bowl and then a the pizza was going to be there in a minute, there were 2 kinds of pizza. One I ate at home, and the other I see at a restaurant. We ate pizza and brought some home, but only to the hotel.
Then we drove back to the hotel. We gone to the place where I was in the first place. Then we put on our swim suits, Uncle Tommy and I, but not Aunt Cindy because she forgot hers. Then we gone swimming. We had some fun inside the swimming pool. It was on floor 1. It was inside the building. (That was amazing.) It was inside because it was cold outside. (But I don't want one at my house, because I am afraid that LaRue will fall in and then she would get dead. But I do not want my baby sister to be dead, because I love her.) It got 2 pools, a small one and a big one. The big one was cold. And the little one was hot. I loved the little hot pool. I didn't dare get into the big pool because at the end of it I would drowned and get dead. There were bubbles in the hot pool. And Uncle Tommy said that when the bubbles were gone, we had to go back to where Aunt Cindy was at.
We fell asleep then next on that big bed. Except I fell asleep on the floor because I wiggled too much.
When we woke up, it still looked dark outside. It was not night time, it was morning. Then we gone downstairs to floor 1 and had our breakfast. We ate cereal, banana's, eggs, and sausage. Uncle Tommy didn't come with us. He was running a race with my Grandpa! Uncle Tommy's shirt glittered. Then we got our bags and we drove home with a banana and an apple for me. We saw them racing on the way home.
Then when we got home, I was happy as a flitter in a buggy.
Rapture Ready Radio | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio
Rapture Ready Radio | Internet Radio | Blog Talk Radio
Be sure to stop by and listen to the pre-recorded program of Afterglow that Tim did tonight.
Yes, he did talk a bit about his recent heart attack.
He also talked about a whole lot more that is worth listening to in this day and age.
If you have questions - the show has a "Send a Message" button where you can ask Tim and he can answer.
Tim's internet is very limited - he would love to have an aircard - but just not affordable for us, especially now.
We have so much to be thankful for.
We have so many unspoken needs.
God is faithful.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tim Update 3 - 17
Tim came home from the hospital (for the second time) on Sunday after lunch.
He went to his parents house - where he is a bit restless due to not having a good internet connection - or one of the ethernet cards to do wi-fi from anywhere. (Is that what it is called?)
Otherwise, he is staying calm and not overdoing the exercise and up and down stairs. They have a dog, but he's outside and so isn't running through the house yelling and forgetting to close the back door. We do have pretty typical kids - and they are NOT always on their best behavior. They are still in training.
His mom says he is walking further, doing more, going outside a bit and walking around. He sounds better, more like himself when we chat on the phone. But he tires pretty easy and he isn't handling stress at all it appears, and is more easily agitated than he ever use to be. Please keep him in your prayers. He really wants to be home. We did send him a whole list of items today that he's requested.
Also, he is reported to being VERY diligent at staying on his diet. I'll post about his new diet another day.
As far as us at home? The kids miss Daddy, but are getting use to him not being here. LaRue was delighted to call and chat with him today. I think Tim really enjoyed it too.
He went to his parents house - where he is a bit restless due to not having a good internet connection - or one of the ethernet cards to do wi-fi from anywhere. (Is that what it is called?)
Otherwise, he is staying calm and not overdoing the exercise and up and down stairs. They have a dog, but he's outside and so isn't running through the house yelling and forgetting to close the back door. We do have pretty typical kids - and they are NOT always on their best behavior. They are still in training.
His mom says he is walking further, doing more, going outside a bit and walking around. He sounds better, more like himself when we chat on the phone. But he tires pretty easy and he isn't handling stress at all it appears, and is more easily agitated than he ever use to be. Please keep him in your prayers. He really wants to be home. We did send him a whole list of items today that he's requested.
Also, he is reported to being VERY diligent at staying on his diet. I'll post about his new diet another day.
As far as us at home? The kids miss Daddy, but are getting use to him not being here. LaRue was delighted to call and chat with him today. I think Tim really enjoyed it too.
Kiss me. I'm irish.
Last year, LaRue wore this as a dress -
this year it made a cute little top.
It says "Kiss Me - I'm Irish"
and I missed all day opportunities to take a good picture
of my 17 month baby girl. WOW.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Jan 25 - 30 - Just LaRue
Sitting on the dog...
And
Toffee LET her do it!
Moved the chair away from the table
and climbed up all by herself.
My first piggies
And a special outfit made by
Aunt Cindy
(This One's Mine - Etsy Store)
Tickling herself.
She finds this endlessly amusing.
Jan 21 - She DID IT!!!
Vannan actually ASKED me to blog this.
Her violin teacher put that little peg
inside of that violin
and told her to get it back out
It is a sound post.
Little peg
Very little holes.
It only took her 4 days.
She was so excited.
Then she had to put it inside the violin somewhere ...
and she got it exactly right
she says that her teacher says.
Cool Beans!
Jan 18 - Learning to Type
Now see Paul,
This is a keyboard.
If you bang on it like so -
then really neat things happen
on the Momma's and Daddy's computer.
Now, just sit there while I figure this out.
Paul? Are you paying attention?
Fine,
You play with the keyboard,
and I'll see if it is time for lunch.
(BTW ---- Did you notice!
Paul is SITTING ALONE!!!)
Jan 12 - Helping with the Schoolwork
This is a common sight around our house.
If you leave your schoolwork unattended,
LaRue will do her best to help you finish it.
She was helping Marriana this time.
Not bad for 15 months!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Jan 11 - LaRue and the MP3 player
LaRue likes to snitch Vannan's MP3 player.
It is one of her favorite toys.
She's even to willing to share it once in a while.
Just Joel - Jan 10
Uh ... you taking my picture?
Yep.
The glasses were a $5 splurge that Tim bought for a 4 year old Kendra.
Glasses that have lasted 12 years?
Guess they were really worth that $5.
MP3 player is a Christmas gift from cousin Terri.
Headset was part of the FP3 player Joel got
for Christmas when he was 2.
Not so impressed with the FP3 player
after M threw it down the stairs
(it was suppose to take a beating of toddlers)
but LOVE the headphones!
Jan 11 - And the Snow is GONE
So, the next day was a high of 40.
And the snow rapidly melted.
Kendra and Marriana stashed
a HUGE snowball in the shade.
Unfortunatley, it rained soon after this
and the rain melted the ball
pretty fast.
Science in action.
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