Catching Up

Well, it has been longer than I thought - almost four months since the last blog. I've thought about it off and on, but nothing "big" has really happened. Nothing that screamed, "BLOG!!!" But then I realized that each day is BIG. To us. And if it is not BIG to you, that is fine. You can skip if it doesn't interest you :) So here is what has been happening in our household over the last 3 1/2 months...

I haven't gotten much farther in reading my book, so I am unable to finish the book review. Big surprise there :). Seems I can only get "so far" in things before I'm pulled in another direction. I need to spend more time in God's actual Word anyway.

We have been BUSY with homeschool - we are finally settling into a routine. The oldest two rarely complain about school work and instead actually seem to enjoy it most of the time. I think we have finally turned a corner with spelling with one of mine...I read an article in a homeschool mag about a Charlotte Mason method of taking a mental picture of the word and spelling it orally before ever attempting to write it. We have been doing that in addition to underlining the phonetic stuff (for example: fresh would have FR and SH underlined). For whatever reason, it's working!!! Perfect scores on tests - but most importantly - RETENTION of material!!! Whew!

Another exciting event in our lives...we now have our van back! My hubby flew to Texas and then drove the van home - all in less than 24 hours. We didn't realize how much we missed it! Gold is not my favorite color, but it's beautiful! The sun roof doesn't open, the passenger window stays permanently cracked open, and the steering wheel radio controls don't work. The air conditioner control is wonky and the transmission still has a hard shift every so often...but IT IS PERFECT! :) I didn't realize how much the children noticed/missed it until they heard we were getting it back. Then they said, "Now we get to go to church as a FAMILY!!!" We've had to send K with the children or me with the children becasue we couldn't all fit into his vehicle. This past Sunday, we went together to church - it felt REALLY nice! Anytime we felt like complaining, we tried to remember that many, many people are worse off and we were only inconvenienced, not hurting. But yes, it's good to have it back.

What else? Well, N played football for the first time. His team was really not very good - but he played his heart out. He did his job and worked hard and did his best. That's all we can ask of him! His last game was in the mud and he had a blast!

Basketball season is getting geared up for the oldest two. First time for both of them and K has enjoyed helping them learn what to do. I've enjoyed sitting in on practices and finally understanding the rules of the game! I am not sure how I'm going to keep an 18m old still on the bleachers...guess I better get busy training!

So, that's the catch-up. Here's the plan for the next little bit: budget our finances in a better way and delegate household duties better. The children have not been doing as much as we know they can. But we don't want to just come in cracking the whip - so we're going to sit down and determine WHO can do WHAT and if any commission could be earned, HOW MUCH. Should be interesting! I'll try to post our plan on the next blog and let you know how it goes!

For now, there is dinner to prep and some sweetness to hug :)