Surviving and Shopping

I'm still here. I have survived a double illness (stomach virus on top of allergies), driving Gabriel far and yon to the drama performances and 3 solid days of teaching in the same kindergarten class. My house needs some serious attention tomorrow and my brain needs a rest. I must make time to read a good book. I happened to get 3 in the mail. I actually won a contest! Thanks Marsha! I can't wait to sit down and relax a bit with these.

Last Friday night, Hannah, Holly and I stayed on the other side of town while waiting for Gabriel. I had a $10 off coupon for JC Penny so we decided to check it out. We happened upon a great deal. Most everything was 40% off and I was in desperate need of some new clothes. It was actually fun to shop with Holly as she hurried around all the racks, picking out things that she thought would look good on me. "Oh Mom, you have to get this one!" was repeated over and over again. I was glad to have Hannah along to, to help me decide what looked the best. We had a great girls' night out.

I have some more blog entries in my head. A bit deeper and hopefully not as boring as things have been lately. Please stay and chat a while. I've missed my bloggy friends.

Cleaning Up

Don't you love all the e-mails giving you new things to worry about? Like don't let your child play in the ball pit. Or call an environmental clean up crew if you break a compact florescent lightbulb. I've gotten those and bunches more. I usually check them out at Snopes before I become too concerned. I hadn't checked out the light bulb one until tonight. I needed to get a new battery for our thermometer. We've been bitten by a stomach bug and Gabriel felt feverish. So I went to the pantry and pulled the box off the shelf where the batteries are kept and one of those lovely bulbs came crashing down. Oh great. Now I had to go check out Snopes. I remembered something about never using a vacuum cleaner and calling a haz mat crew. Thankfully the haz mat crew is an unnecessary step although it would have been nice to have someone else deal with the mess seeing as how I have felt horrible all day. But sure enough, the vacuum cleaner is a huge no-no. Snopes had a link to a government page on CFL clean up and hopefully I have done the job sufficiently. Now I can go back to being sick. Thankfully we caught the bug before I broke the bulb or I would be worried all over again.

Learning Something New

Gabriel and Hannah were able to take a drama class this year. They both had a great time with it. I thought we were done until the fall after their performance last week and final class this past Monday. Yesterday morning I received a call from their drama teacher. She wanted to know if Gabriel would be willing and able to learn something new and help her out with the production she is currently doing. To make a long story short, (maybe) , the man who is doing the lights won't be able to make it to one of the performances and needs someone to take his place. Gabriel has never done anything with stage lighting before but he is fairly good with computers (everything's computerized these days) and he learns fast. He went to the dress rehearsal last night and really enjoyed learning this new skill. Tonight was another dress rehearsal and he was able to do everything by himself. Hooray! I am hoping to attend one of the performances. I will probably pay more attention to lighting than I ever have before!


I had to wonder if Gabriel was among the first of the teacher's students to be called or was he towards the end of a long list. After all, she has a lot of students and many of them have been doing drama for years. She told him tonight that he was the first one she called. She was really impressed with all that he had done over the year, especially for a first year student.


Thanks for listening to me shamelessly brag about my son. I am blessed with 3 amazing kids.

Catching Up

I think I'm in a blogging slump. I don't have time to blog and when I do manage to squeeze some in, I cannot think of anything exciting to say. Here are a few things that have happened in the past few weeks:

• Gabriel turned 17 - He is the most awesome young man in the whole entire world. I am blessed.
• Holly turned 10 - She is turning into a young lady right before my very eyes.
• My parents came up for a visit. They'll be here until Friday.
• Holly had a "Grandma and Me" dinner with her Girl Scout troop. Her leader was kind enough to schedule it when my parents were here.
• They decided to do a 50's theme. Holly wore a dress and sweater that we already had and I spent $1.00 on some ribbon for her hair. She looked really cute.

• She read a poem that we wrote together.
  
• We went shopping in Williamsburg. I found some dishes that I like at the Pfaltzgraph outlet. I bought some shoes.
• I took Hannah to the DMV to get a driving manual. She will be old enough for her learner's permit in only a few days.
  
• My dad and John took the kids on a field trip to the Navy Museum in Washington DC.
  
• My mom and I looked for some more deals at Walgreens and CVS. We found some.
• I'm hoping to mostly stay home tomorrow.
  

Welcome to my Party!

(This is a sticky post. Please scroll down for more recent additions. Thanks!)

Hi! Welcome to my blog. I am Karen and I'm so glad you have come to my blog party. It's going to be an exciting week. Last year's Blog Party happened to occur during an exciting yet sorrowful time in our lives. We were packing to leave Romania, a country that became home to us and friends that we love with all of our hearts. After more than 10 years in the ministry and 7 years on Romanian soil, God called us back to the states. Now we find ourselves in Virginia, watching in awe as God unfolds His plan for us. My husband John and I will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary next month. We have three children:

Gabriel - days away from 17, happily employed at Chick-fil-A and recently promoted to trainer. He was an avid lego collector/builder but now they mostly sit dusty on his shelf or dormant in boxes. He has dreams of bigger, more expensive toys these days.


Hannah - 15 and hoping to soon be employed at Chick-fil-A. One of her immediate goals is to learn more about digital photography. Here is her photo blog.

Holly - weeks away from 10 and a wanna be teen. She is a girly girl and loves anything pink and sparkly. One minute she's playing with baby dolls and Barbies, the next she's trying hard to grow up.

There's lot's of prizes being given away at the Ultimate Blog Party. I am donating a beautiful hand painted porcelain Easter Egg (#33) painted by my mom. I posted a picture of it in the entry below. Check it out- it's gorgeous!

The top 3 prizes that I would like to win are:

59 — $25 Cash Provided by: Lori
60 — $25 Gift Certificate Provided by: Judy
67 — Blog Makeover Provided by: Shauna

Other great prizes include:

117, 55, 140, 129, 39, 82, 49, 70, 102, 24 & 21

Pull up a chair and make yourself at home. We'll have some fun and games and hopefully make some new friends! Introduce yourself and tell me something about your family.

Cold and Rainy Days

The last couple of days have been cold and rainy, reminding me that it is still winter. I did not care to get out in the dreary weather yesterday but I did go vote. Today was more of the same drizzle and cold with a threat of snow. It's supposed to be spring-like again next week. I am finding it mandatory to keep all seasons of clothing accessible and to determine what kind of mood the sun is in before we go anywhere.

The family that John and Gabe stayed with in Romania came down with a stomach bug while they were there. Gabe decided to bring it home. He has been feeling pretty rough for the last few days. Tonight I saw a glimpse of his usual boisterous, talkative self. I am hoping that he is on the mend.

Tomorrow - February 14th - The Homeschool Lounge will be open to the public. It's a fun and friendly place to connect with other homeschool moms. So check it out, sign up and add me as your friend. I hope to see you there!

Miscellaneous Monday

• John and Gabriel returned home early this morning! It is so nice to have our men back.
  
• I was able to accomplish many of my goals while they were gone - except the part about the paperwork . . .
• I will be posting more of my story each week - most likely on the weekends.
  
• Today is my one year blog-aversary on this blog.
• The Ultimate Blog Party starts in just a few weeks. This was a ton of fun last year. A great chance to meet new people, get people to notice your blog and win some nice prizes.

• I am going to be hosting a prize for the party. Something hand painted by my mom.

How was your Monday?

My Famous Kids

Check out my famous kids!

Actually, I found this site over on Julie's blog. How fun!

Goals for the next 2 weeks

John and Gabriel left this morning on a mission trip. They are going to spend 12 days in the beloved country of Romania ministering to those we won to Christ and reaching out to friends yet unsaved. Part of me longs to be there with them, seeing friends once again. The rest of me is glad to avoid the long trip and inevitable jet lag. The girls and I will miss the men being gone, (Gabriel is hardly a boy anymore.) but we have some plans and goals to accomplish during this time. Here are a few of mine:

• Organize paper work
• Learn to French braid
• READ!
• Blog more often
• Watch LOST
  
• Begin writing my book

What's happening at your house?

Gabriel Takes Driver's Ed

Today Gabriel finished the classroom portion of his Driver's Education class. It was 3 hours long each day for 2 weeks. He had a lot of homework, studying and tests. The course was given by a private driving school and there were 6 or 7 others in the class, all homeschoolers. This was his first experience in a classroom setting since 3rd grade. I am not sure who was more nervous, Gabriel or me. He had to pay for half of the cost of the course. We live in a day and age where kids are just given everything. John and I are firm believers that if someone has the privilege to drive such a dangerous machine, they should earn it. So he paid half. Anyway, one of the reasons that he was nervous was because he knew that if he failed, he would have to pay the entire cost of the course to take it again.

I have to wonder if other moms, homeschool or not worry like I do. Is my child ready? Have I done enough to prepare him to take classes from others (AKA "the real world")? I am glad to announce that he did really well and passed with flying colors! Congratulations to Gabe! Now on to the Behind the Wheel portion and a new set of concerns for a mom. My blogging friend, Karen from Surviving Motherhood, asked not long ago which stage of mothering was the hardest. I told her that I was loving the teen years. It was far easier than the sleepless nights with infants or dealing with the reading struggles that we had during the elementary years. But I might just have to change my mind. Watching them grow up, and all my fears that come with it, is a very difficult thing indeed.

Making Adjustments

Many people have asked me how am I adjusting to life in the States after so many years in a foreign country. Probably the hardest thing for me is the busyness of life here. Sunday morning is church. We don't have service on Sunday nights but the youth group meets so I have to drive Gabe and Hannah. Monday night is drama. Holly has Girl Scouts every other Tuesday afternoon and I just started doing a ladies Bible study - Beth Moore's Stepping Up. It is twice a month on Tuesdays and I think that sometimes it will be the same day as Girl Scouts and sometimes not. Wednesday night is church and Thursday night we have music practice. It's usually an hour or less but it's still a night out. Add to that grocery shopping, errands and picking up Gabe from work when it's dark and life gets busy! Now I realize that you are probably just as busy and maybe more so. But this is a drastic change for me.

In Romania we not only did homeschool but we had church at home too. Most of our church activities were at our house. I did not drive there so John did most of the grocery shopping. I would walk to the nearby stores when the weather was nice. But in the winter time, I could stay in the house for two weeks without going anywhere. When I felt like I was getting cabin fever, John would take me out somewhere but I would have to figure out where my purse was first.

With two teens and an almost 10 year old, I doubt that life will slow down anytime soon. I can already tell that this year is going to go by at a rapid pace. I had great plans of blogging much more frequently now that I am not teaching full time (for pay that is) and suddenly I discover that it's Friday again and I haven't written a word. Before I know it, it will be the Fourth of July and Christmas.

My Day

I didn't get as much accomplished today as I hoped. I worked on lesson plans for homeschool next week. I'm nowhere near done with that.

I spent some time just enjoying my children. Holly and I played Hail to the Chief this morning. A great game for an election year. Hannah had some Christmas money burning a hole in her pocket and begged me to take her to the mall. I have never been a shopper. I don't really like shopping. If I happen to have some money, I can't find anything I want. When I don't have the extra cash to spend, I find plenty of things that I wouldn't mind having. I'd rather not shop. I'd rather stay home. I can find plenty to do here and I have enough stuff. Hannah did not inherit my anti-shopping attitude. So we went out for a while this afternoon. She found some cute clothes on sale. Gabe entertained me with his movie quotes and impersonations. I am blessed with amazing kids! They all three have a blog but Hannah is the only one who frequently updates hers. She actually has 3 blogs. I love this picture on her photography blog.

What else did I do today? I made tacos for dinner and read for a while. Reading - both out loud and silently - has been sadly neglected around here and I'm glad to be starting the year off right. It's late but I have one more mission before bedtime - change the sheets and put our heated mattress pad on the bed. Warm and snuggly! How was your day?

Lesson Planning

I'm still here! Just busy and I am afraid life is about to get busier. Right now I am working on lesson plans for Gabriel and Hannah. They will be doing a lot of independent study this year but still need a guide line. They will be doing American History and American Literature. I'm not using any curriculum for American Literature. I figure the best thing is to have them read something that lines up with the time period they are studying in American History. What do you think about Edgar Allen Poe? Is he a "must" or do we skip him like Stephen King? Your opinions are appreciated and I need to get back to my lesson plans! What are your kids studying this year?

Too Hot!

Currently At 3:22PM

100°F

RealFeel®

112°F

It's hot. Too hot. I don't know how many days of 100+ degrees we have had. More than enough. Poor Gabe was outside yesterday afternoon in his polyester Chick Fil A uniform unloading a truck. When I went to pick him up at 4 PM he was absolutely soaked and literally dripping.

Today we took Holly to get her physical that is required for school. Just going a short distance from the car to the door of the building was miserable. I am so looking forward to fall.

How is the weather where you live?

Show and Tell Friday - Late again!

The end of June was so busy with our move and all that I did not have a chance to show off my son and his amazing artwork. (Pardon me if I brag for a moment!) He drew the lighthouse for my header on this blog. His real love is drawing portraits and has an extraordinary eye for detail. This past spring he entered one of his pastel drawings in a local art show. There weren’t any prizes but it was a fun experience for us all.

Here he is at the art show:

Gabe's George Washington picture:
(I don't know if it's me or blogger but I can never get pictures to post clear. These are much better in real life. Click on the picture to see it a bit more clearly.)

Gabe's Abe Lincoln picture:

Click here for more Show and Tell!

Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway

The dog days of summer are certainly here and it has been hot here in Virginia - high 90's and humid. I can't believe that there are just a few days left in July. It always seems that after the 4th, Christmas comes up in no time. I'll be glad for cooler weather but otherwise, I am looking forward to these last few weeks of summer. I have a few more things to do in our bedroom but otherwise I feel settled. If you have followed my story the last few months, you know what a relief that is for all of us. Gabriel got a job at Chick-fil-A and today he went in for training. He's excited about that.

To add some more excitement to the summer, Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a Bloggy Giveaway. I don't have a clue what I'll do but I thought it would be fun. To find out the details, click the button below. It begins this Monday. I hope to see you there! Come back on Monday to see what I am giving away.

A Difficult Decision

This has been a year of difficult decisions and today another one was made. Like the others, leaving Romania and moving to Virginia, it was not done without a lot of prayer. In order to make ends meet, I am going to have to go back to work for the first time in 17 years. I turned in my application for substitute teaching and I am hoping to work two or three days a week beginning this fall. I will continue to homeschool Gabriel and Hannah who are able to do much of their work independently. Holly will be going to public school. This makes me about 12 different kinds of nervous. It’s temporary. Hopefully just for this school year. My gregarious little nine year old is beside herself with joy. We shall see just how long her enthusiasm lasts with the early bedtimes, early morning routine and the inevitable homework.

Still Packing

In April, I found myself worrying about my son stepping out into the world when he started his first job at Chick-fil-A. Now, three months later, I feel relieved and somewhat proud that he is doing great and enjoying his job. He even got a raise! He gave his notice to the owner of the store that we are moving. He assured Gabe that he would give him a good recommendation and then we found out that the owner here in Alabama is good friends with the owner of the Chick-fil-A near us in Virginia! Moving is hard enough on kids and especially teens so I am thankful for this opportunity for him.

I am also excited about getting involved in a homeschool support group. Of course I have to find one first. There is a homeschool conference towards the end of July that I would like to go to. I haven’t had the opportunity to attend one since 1995. Of course that will all depend on our financial situation. Moving is not cheap and a trans-Atlantic move costs several thousand dollars.

John was able to get the moving van a day early at no extra cost. So we will start loading some things tomorrow. I am hoping to go through some of the boxes and leave things in storage that we won’t need in an apartment. I don’t like to wish time away but I just can’t wait until Wednesday. We will probably still be swimming in a sea of boxes but at least we will be moved in and on our way to getting settled.

Luck

Do you believe in luck? I don’t. But when it comes to contests where the winner is chosen by sheer “luck of the draw”, I feel like singing that old Hee Haw song, “If it weren’t fer bad luck I’d have no luck at all.” I almost never win and sometimes I wonder why I bother. My son however seems quite the opposite. He’s won several drawings and he’s only 16. One day, he found a twenty dollar bill on the street in front of our house. I don’t think I’ve ever found anything more than a penny. He promptly offered half of it to Hannah. The next week, he won a drawing at the mall for a $50 gift certificate! I believe that it’s more than luck. I believe that God has blessed his generous heart. Last week, he entered Nan’s Apronpalooza contest over at Life is Like a Lunchbox and he won this apron from Momo’s retro fashions for me! I can’t wait until it arrives!

The ABC's of Summer School

Growing up, I learned that there are rules to learning. Math has its 1 2 3’s and for Reading one must know the ABC’s. However, in the past eleven years or so I have discovered that is not true with homeschooling. There are as many varieties of homeschooling methods as there are families. I am a firm believer in doing what is right for our family. That may change in any given year, month or moment.

This summer, we are doing what I would call semi-relaxed, very eclectic homeschooling. Some days will look like unschooling and others may resemble more traditional methods. My main goal for Gabriel and Hannah is to finish Geography and Physical Science. With Holly, we are just working on reading and spelling.

Listed here are just a few of the ABC’s of our homeschooling program for this summer, at least for now. What’s on your schedule?

A. Art, Apples to Apples Game

B. Blogging, Bicycling. Book reviews

C. Croquet, Computer games, Chick-Fil-A

D. Devotions, Driving

E. Educational DVD’s

F. Free time

G. Geography

H. Hopscotch

I. In a Pickle Game, Internet research, Instant Message with friends

J. Journaling, Jump rope, Jacks

L. Library

M. Maps, Move – hopefully!

N. Newspaper reading for current events

O. Ongoing organization attempts, Outside free play

P. Physical Science, Pictionary game, Piano

Q. Quilting

R. Reading, Read alouds, Recipe book making

S. Spelling, Sewing, Scrapbooking

T. Timelines

U. Unplanned learning opportunities

V. Vacation Bible School

W. Writing, Walks, Water fights

X. X- box (It is summer and what else could I put here?)

Y. Yarn painting

Z. Zealously sleep late!

The Letter

The mail arrived at lunch time. There were two letters from the local art museum – one for my mom and one for Gabriel. I was so glad that Gabriel was home so that he could open it right away. It would have been difficult to let it sit on the counter for hours, not knowing what was written inside. On April 27^th, he submitted two of his pastel portraits to the museum; one of Abraham Lincoln and the other of George Washington. We were told that we should hear something by the end of the following week which was five long days ago. Not hearing anything led to thoughts of rejection. When my dad brought the mail in and we saw the letters, I was like a kid at Christmas. “Open it! Open it!” Thank the Lord it was an acceptance letter – both for Gabe and my mom!

Waiting

Have you ever been on the road, driving to a destination and you weren’t exactly sure you were taking the right path? You just keep driving, hoping to see a familiar landmark or some confirmation telling you that you are heading in the right direction. And all the while, there is that anxious feeling- waiting, hoping, trying not to panic or needlessly turn around and go the other way. That is about the way my heart has felt the last few days. Waiting for answers. Checking the mailbox to find out if Gabe’s artwork has been accepted in the show. Waiting for John to call and tell me something, anything about the church in Florida. Waiting on God to show the way.

This evening, I am waiting for John to get home. I am sure he will have much to share about his weekend.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalm 25;5

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

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

Just Another Busy Day

Today has been a very busy day!

• Homeschool
• Library
• Laundry
• The Ultimate Homeschool Expo (Hannah and I made it the 1 PM session and I’m hoping to catch a bit of tonight’s)
• Gabe’s orthodontist appointment
• tons of ironing – John is leaving first thing in the morning. Stay tuned and I will tell you where he’s headed!

This is not my most creative post. My brain is too tired to think of much more. I think it all started with our grammar lesson today and trying to figure out why in the world my son really needs to know what predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives are. Is it on the SAT’s? Will he be able to handle college without this information? Is it simply a brain exercise and that’s why my brain is so tired tonight? If anyone has some answers to my questions, please let me know!

New Template!

As you can plainly see, my new template by Goofy Girl is finished! When she first asked me what I wanted, I really wasn’t sure. I told her that I liked blue and lighthouses. Later, I asked her if she could use a drawing by Gabe and she said sure! So he worked on one for me. This is not the picture that he submitted to the art show. His lighthouse is good but his real talent is in portraits. Take a peek here to see what he has submitted for the show.

Framed

Have you ever had one of those days when you had a task to do and you figured it would take about an hour but it ended up taking all day? That was my day today. My son, Gabriel, wanted to submit some of his artwork to an art show at our local museum. The deadline was today at 5 PM. We bought frames for his drawings last week and put the pictures in according to instructions from some artists. All I needed to do this morning was to take a picture of the drawings, get them developed and take the snapshots and an application to the museum downtown. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, taking a picture of a picture in a glass frame is no easy task. We had reflections all over the place no matter what we did or where we took the pictures. I am sure there is a right way to do it but professional photographers we are not. We ended up taking the glass out of the frames, putting the artwork back in, taking the pictures and then putting everything back together once again. Then we took the disc to get the pics developed and after lunch I finally delivered everything to the museum. Gabriel and I both decided that all of this was harder than actually drawing the portraits. The next hard part will be waiting until next week to find out if his artwork gets accepted for the show.

Growing Up

The years when my children were babies were tiring and demanding. Babies did not always sleep when I wanted them to and they depended on me for their every need. The preschool years were frustrating with potty training and picky eating. During the school years I discovered the dyslexia dilemma. All of these times have memories of blessings and adversity. There are stories to tell but I will save them for another time. Now I find myself raising teenagers. Yes, I still have a 9 year old but I am exploring new territory with my oldest two. To be honest, I dreaded the teen years more than any other age. Surprisingly, however, I love these years and wish I could stretch them out somehow. Not that our days are trouble free. And the questions and perplexities are exponentially larger than worrying, “Will they ever get potty trained?” or “What if they never like meat?” Now, do not get me wrong. For those of you who are still in that stage of life, I know those mountains. They are huge and it is not my intention to belittle them. I am not facing another mountain here. I am watching my child get into a spaceship and wondering if they will make it on another planet. My son just got his first job yesterday. A real live job with a uniform, a paycheck and a boss. I am thrilled for him but at the same time I have all kinds of new worries. Is he ready? Have we trained him to function in the real world? Can he handle the responsibility? Can I handle the fact that this is one more step in preparing him to become a man and leave home? Moms who have traveled this road, I could really use your encouragement!

Thanks for stopping by! While you are here, I'd like to humbly ask for your vote - I have been nominated for the Homeschool Blog Awards in the "Live What You Believe" category. Today is the last day!!! Vote Here!

Culture Adjustments

Like Gabriel, we are all having to adjust to life in the States. Gabe is choleric like his dad and melancholy like me. It’s a tough combination but we usually know what he is thinking. Holly is our sanguine child. She walks into a room full of strangers and seeks out a friend. In Romania, she played outside on the street every chance she had which was daily if the weather allowed. Friends were abundant. Twenty- first century American culture has her frustrated; not being settled aggravates her frustration. She wants to invite someone over every single day and the few people we know have strenuous schedules. Hannah wants to shop at every available opportunity. Not that she has much to spend but in Romania there wasn’t much to buy. Most everything there was usually out of our budget and sized for super models. John has been busy with a multitude of details involved in moving and ministry. And as for me, besides trying to hold the fort together, I am just trying to figure out where things are located at the grocery store.

Tomorrow we are going to visit friends in South Carolina for a few days. Your continued prayers are appreciated.

The Best Path

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18

I was nearly 16 when we left my favorite place in the world, San Diego, California, to move to the Podunk town of Hixson, Tennessee. Someone certainly thought of an appropriate name for that place, I thought way back then. The high school years are a horrible time for such drastic changes in a teenager’s life. I had good friends and a good school. I liked my life as it was and I did not want it to change. I certainly did not want to move to a place where everyone spoke with a weird accent and talked about buggies in the grocery store and stove eyes in the kitchen. What were my parents thinking? What was God thinking? But we did move. My parents took me, practically kicking and screaming, across the continent and away from everything that was familiar. Eventually, it became home. I grew accustomed to the accent and even adopted it myself. I learned exactly how to say “ice” and that all carbonated drinks were called “coke”. The kids at school were normal kids, most of them. I really expected red hair and bare feet. I made friends and fell in love with the south. Years later, I realized that leaving California was th