It’s All Free Today!

Bib-lio-phile: noun a lover of books especially for qualities of format; also : a book collector

That’s me! :)

So when a home schooling friend offered me over 1000 home school books and resources for FREE – I was almost giddy!

So what does one do with boxes and boxes and boxes of books?

Books
First you spend hours pouring through every box, touching each and every book and resource. This takes hours because you get distracting and start reading them.

Then you make big piles of the books that you cannot live without and try to fit them on your already full bookshelves.

Meanwhile – your children are also going through each and every box, touching each and every book  and also have large piles of books that they cannot live without – because you trained them from a young age to love books – especially when they are free. :)

More BooksThen you take the many, many, many boxes of books that still remain – and lay them all out neatly in the basement. All over the basement – as in – you must rearrange the basement to make room for them all.
FriendsThen you call your homeschooling friends and invite them over for a book party – an “everything is free so please fill as many boxes as you wish and take them to live at your house” book party.

Would you believe they went through each and every box and touched each and every resource and made big piles of books that they just could not live without?

And then their children did the same thing. :)

After a wonderful afternoon  they took their boxes of books and stuffed in the van with all the children and are probably – right at this very minute – trying to fit them on already full bookshelves.

How do I know this?

Because I’m a bibliophile. It’s what we do.

November Snow

Dear children of mine,

I interrupt your regularly scheduled school day to bring you this special report.

Last night while we slept – it snowed.
SnowSix inches of wet sticky snow.

And although you may think that it’s really quite exciting and even somewhat pretty, I must bring a touch of reality to your morning.

The heavy snow has knocked down the electric fence and all the cows are all out.

While you were drinking your hot chocolate for breakfast – they were walking across downed wire and eating the hay bales set aside for their winter consumption.

snowPlease drop whatever you are doing and immediately put on your winter coats, snow boots, gloves and hats.

You will find them still in the tubs in the basement where we put them last spring -because your mother somehow missed the 6 inches of snow in the forecast last night and was not prepared.

Then report to the back pasture for a morning of adventure.

We’ll call it PE.

Thank you,

Your mother

 

Playing Hooky – Again

Yes. It’s true. I played hooky – again.

I’m becoming a habitual offender! :)

At least this time I brought the kids with me!

the moms We met up with several other home school moms and their kiddos at a local park to enjoy one of the last wonderful days of fall.

While the kids played and played and played -

The moms sat and talked – catching up on life, sharing ideas, and just soaking up the sunshine.

Our biggest entertainment -

babiesWatching the babies be cute.

It was one of those “easy” kind of days that makes me so glad to be home schooling.

kiddosI’m thinking the kids were kind of glad, too!

 

Leaving the Nest

flying the coopToday my firstborn flew the coop.

I knew this would happen eventually and I must admit that I even dreaded it a little – but it was a surprisingly blessed event.

But really – how could it be anything else?

After months of prayer and seeking what God would have him do, Matt decided the first of August to apply for Summit Semester – an intensive 3 month study program in the mountains of Colorado fashioned after Francis Schaeffer’s L’Abri in Switzerland.

After a whirlwind of applications, references and interviews – he was accepted and the money he needed was provided.

In the span of 3 weeks, God opened the door and Matt was so excited to walk through!

We had very little time to figure out how to get him out there, what to pack (just how many bars of soap does one need for 3 months – assuming you actually shower?), and how to tie up the loose ends (like Matt’s on-line business.)

But in the end all the details worked themselves out.

He took off this morning, heading west on the adventure of a lifetime!

Will we miss him? Oh yes. We already do – although his siblings are in heated discussions about who gets his room! ;)

But we are so excited for him!

What will he do when the three months are over? Good question. I wish I knew the answer. But God didn’t give Matt a 5-year plan – just enough light for the next step.

But then – that’s all we really need.

Just walking in faith – one step at a time.

Go with God son. We’re proud of you. And we’re praying.

One Down…

Matt's GraduationWe did it!

Our first born has successfully been graduated, celebrated, and appreciated.

And this mom is exhausted – but oh -  so proud and happy!!

That’s one graduation down – just four more to go!