Update for Family and Friends

For all our family and friends who want to know what we have been up to lately, the short answer is:  Not Much. 

We are at the end of our homeschool, so we have been trying to finish out all the schoolwork and make decisions about what we are doing for next year.  As the kids get older I am trying to have them help decide what kind of courses and things they want to study.  Joel is very set in what he wants for his future, so it easy to pick courses that will benefit him.  We are also looking at him starting to take some college level courses to give him a head start on his college goals.  He has grown so much in the last year, not necessarily physically, but in maturity.  He started driving a couple of weeks ago.  In New Hampshire you do not take drivers ed until just before your 16th birthday, but you can start driving with a parent at 15 1/2.  Joel is a very responsible driver and I feel very comfortable with him behind the wheel.

Joel behind the wheel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joel has also been fishing whenever he can find a spare minute.  There are two ponds here in the complex and another one down the road that he can easily walk to for fishing.  He has such a love of the outdoors and really wants to work in Natural Resource Management in the future.   New Hampshire has a program for teens interested in Conservation and Resource Management which includes a two week camp and programs throughout the year.  Joel is applying for a scholarship to the program and then we will have to try and find a way to pay for the rest.  It sounds like a wonderful opportunity for him!  He is also looking forward to getting a job soon, he is waiting for the new Five Guys restaurant to start hiring.

The Fisherman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah has opted for a four year study on Proverbs 31 for her high school curriculum!  It is completely different from what she has done in the past, but she is really excited.  It is going to be alot of work for her, but it involves a ton of reading, which she loves.  Hannah turned 14 on the 1st of June.  She had a slumber party with some friends.  She has such an ecclectic group of friends!  Hannah is really good at meeting people and making them feel welcome.  She has become very active in the youth group at church and is constantly looking for opportunities to help out in any way she can.  She really is developing a servant’s heart and we have seen her grow so much spiritually since we have moved here! 

Hannah at her party

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacob will officially be in Junior High next year.  We are sticking with the computerized curriculum for him because it works well for him.  He is also excited about being able to join the Junior High youth group and we are hoping that he will be able to develop some more friendships.  He has had a hard time making friends since we moved here, but it only occasionally seems to bother him.  Jacob’s big accomplishment lately is that he has suddenly become an avid reader.  As most of you know, we have struggled for years with Jacob’s reading ability and the fact that he couldn’t and wouldn’t read.  He got interested in reading 20,000 Leagues under the Sea after seeing an old movie and just hasn’t stopped.  He is currently finishing up the second book in the Eragon series (BIG BOOK)!  Now he is the one telling us to be quiet so he can read!

Jacob intently reading

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dan has been busy working (the commute is LOOOOOONG!) and spending his free time helping to shuttle the kids around.  He often spends his weekends fishing, hiking and entertaining kids.  We are purchasing a 4 wheel drive pickup truck from friends so he is busily trying to replace the brake lines so we can use it to pull the camper.  It will probably be the vehicle Joel drives when he gets his license.  We are still trying to decide if we are going to sell my van and get something different, or just hang on to it for a family vehicle. 

As for me, I am busy with the usual mom stuff!  I have made a few friends who have become very dear and I am working on getting out of my shell and involved in things a little more.  I joined a committee at church in charge of planning community activities and Dan and I are involved in a life group which has been a lot of fun.  There are a few of us who have been having a fairly regular craft day and recently I have met a few more people and been out for coffee and stuff with them.  It is a little hard for me, most of the people I have been hanging around with are either single or don’t have children yet, so even though most of them are close to my age, I don’t have the same flexibility in my schedule.  I really enjoy hanging out with them and hope they don’t see me as the fuddy dud in the group.   I have been on a cake baking spree lately.  It seems when people find out you can decorate a cake, you become popular.  I have made several small cakes for other people.  This week I am working on a HUGE cake and definately the most complicated I have ever attempted for a friend.  Sometimes I wonder what I was thinking when I volunteered!

Well, I think that pretty well covers our life lately.   I still miss all of my Michigan friends but New Hampshire is really starting to become home.  I would love to hear from some of you (it’s been a little quiet lately).

Update

We are finally into the swing of school and I am finding that it takes up a good portion of my day right now.  We are still dealing with the quirks of our curriculum.  You cannot misspell a word by even one letter or it marks it wrong, so I have to go in and manually check everything to see whether the error is a spelling or comprehension error.  Other than that the kids seem to like the curriculum and get up and get started on school without a lot of prodding from mom.

I have been working on a few projects, I whipped up a couple more of the colored pencil holders.  I made a beach tent for the beach on Friday, but I cannot take pictures of it until then, I have nowhere to set it up.  I have also been working on cutting warp for the loom.  I finally have it all cut and now I am working on getting it on the loom.  I would take a picture but there really isn’t anything exciting about a jumbled mass of yarn draped all over the place.

I must admit I have been staying up way too late watching the Olympics!  But really, it is so exciting to watch things like Michael Phelps and the other guys on the relay team beat the French!!!  Now if all of these exciting events happened before Midnight it might be better, but it is only a couple of weeks.  Maybe I will have to up my coffee quotient in the mornings to keep me going.

Michael Phelps of the U.S.
Reuters – Aug 11, 10:38 pm EDT

The weather here has been cool and rainy for several days and it doesn’t look like today is going to be to much different.  I think it is going to be a lazy day.  Dan was up early this morning to catch a flight for Houston, so I am operating on about 5 hours sleep (definitely not enough for me).  The kids should be finishing up school soon, and then I just might curl up and take a movie nap or something.  I have plenty I need to do, but just can’t find my motivation today.  Hannah made some pancakes for lunch and I just ate a couple with blueberry syrup–yum!

Well, I need to go help with some spelling words and get the kitchen cleaned up in case I decide to get ambitious later and get some bread baked.

School, Docs & Projects

We started school on Monday and the day was filled with attitude, tears and gnashing of teeth.  It was a rough day as we adjusted to how to use the computerized curriculum and all it’s little quirks.    Most of the day was spent on school and by the time we were done I was so emotionally worn out I hid upstairs with the sewing machine.  Of course, I was so worn out everything I tried to sew didn’t really work out.  I did manage to put together a cover for my hot water bottle, but it is only ok.

Tuesday I had a doctors appointment first thing in the morning.  When I walked through the door at 9:30 am the kids were all excited, they had all three completed their days assignments.  After checking all their work I was impressed that they had indeed completed the days work.  Of course alot of the days work was introducing projects and assignments that will be due later in the month, but it was nice to have an easy day that boosted their (and my) confidence in our choice of curriculum.  While I was at the doctors office the doctor was concerned about a mole on my back that had been itching and she decided was “suspicious”.  I didn’t get any sewing done,  because my dear husband decided to take me out on a date.  We went to the fabric store and I picked up some fabric for an apron swap I am doing and then we went out for a snack.  It was a nice time. I also picked up a cute 2 piece outfit from Talbots, the original price was $198 and I paid $5!

Today we woke up to pouring rain and cool temperatures, it was actually a welcome change from the steamy weather we have been having.  I had to go to the dermatologist and he decided to remove the mole on my back to test it, I will get the results in a week or so.  The worst part of the whole mole thing is that it was near my shoulder blade and it aches every time I move my arm, hopefully by tomorrow it will not be quite so sore.  School was better today and the kids were done by 2 pm.  My project of the day was a colored pencil roll that I made for Hannah to send to her penpal for her birthday.  It turned out okay, but I definately found a couple of things I would do differently.  The pattern is from the book Last Minute Patchwork Gifts.

The end of another week

It has not been a very eventful week, so I really haven’t had much to write about.  We have spent a good deal of the week organizing stuff and getting ready to start school…tomorrow.  I have cleaned and moved stuff around trying to make it workable for us.  I am not sure how much progress I have made, sometimes I feel as if all I have done is shuffle the piles and not made it any more organized or accessible.

Dan’s niece and her husband visited us for a while today.  They are in the process of buying a new house and it seems like the bank and lawyers can’t communicate, making the whole thing very frustrating.  Hopefully they felt they had the chance to relax some today. 

Tomorrow we are starting school.  I know it seems early, but I want to get ahead some, so that we can enjoy our 2 week vacation in Sept. without feeling like we are getting behind. There is nothing worse than starting the school year feeling like we have to catch up already.  That is one of the best things about homeschooling, the flexibility.  Hopefully as the year goes along we will meet some other homeschool families and be able to get involved in some activities.  I know that is one of the things I miss the most right now is the wonderful families we had met in our old homeschool group.

I am also hoping to finally get my loom warped this week and be able to start on some projects.  I am still torn between towels and a table runner.  I also need to start thinking about Christmas.  I need to get things done early so that I can get things in the mail.  Guess I will have to get busy.