It Is Finished!

Hallelujah!

The World According to Wild Thing

Wild Thing has a unique take on life. Enjoy.

On the topic of animal behavior:  I believe you will find that most animals are cute unless they are trying to kill you.

In response to a math problem: If Matt drinks 6 cups of water, 1 cup of soda, 4 cups of milk, and 3 cups of juice how many pints does he drink? (There's a graph showing the previous info.) Mama, isn't that too much? How much time would he spend peeing?

Overheard conversation with Princess Pink:  I have the best idea! And most likely it will be painless!

At the hotel:  If we're on the 14th floor but there's no elevator button for the 13th floor then we're actually on the 13th floor. That makes no sense.

On the occasion of The Crafter's Harry Potter themed birthday party:  I don't like pumpkin juice or butter beer. I prefer a Muggle beverage.

When questioned about career goals: I want to get a job where I can blow things up.

Letting Go

I had an image in my mind of what homeschooling would look like and tried my best to get my family to fit into that image. We were supposed to snuggle on the couch reading and listening to soft classical music. We were supposed to go on exciting field trips. We were supposed to enjoy learning together. We were supposed to have outside lessons. We were supposed to draw and paint. We were supposed to do cool science projects. We were supposed to learn Latin together.

Time to let all of that go.

My children do not enjoy school. Not one. It's a constant battle to get the work done. They even whine about drawing lessons. I have tried everything. All the schedules and reward systems have not helped. Punishments don't help much either, but at least least the work gets done. I know that homeschooling is the right choice for my family. I know that they are getting a sound, albeit basic education. I just wish it could be more.

I have to let go of my dream and the discontent it breeds in my heart. I have been relying on myself and my dreams of the ideal homeschool to get in the way of what God wants for my children. It's a new year. Time to seek first the Kingdom of God. Past time.

And We're Back

Stay turned for the newest happenings at Bradford Academy as well as some flashbacks from the fall.

Not Back to School Pictures

We switched over our school year about a month ago. Here are the students.

Princess Pink--First Grade

Wild Thing--Third Grade

The Crafter--Eighth Grade

Is your specimen ready?

Princess Pink was looking at a furniture store sale paper with her Barbie. She was helping Barbie decide how to redecorate her house. Princess Pink said, "So Barbie, let me show you some samples for your house. Here's a carpet sample. Here's a curtain sample. Here's a stool sample. Here's a couch sample." For the record, she was looking at bar stools.

Health Update

I meant to update in March, but I'm a bad blogger. Besides, there's nothing much to update.

Anyway, I've been wheat free for 5+ months. I have eliminated most other grains as well. I have rice or quinoa about once a week. My sugar consumption is down. My fruit and veggie consumption is up.

My joint pain is mostly gone. I am able to exercise more. Exercising more caused my treadmill to die, so now I try to sneak in YouTube workouts when I can. I do a mix of cardio and Pilates. My family is not supportive. Between the laughing and using me as a hurdle when I'm in plank position, I feel like strangling them.

My energy levels are up some. I get beyond survival mode quite often, but I don't have tons of energy.  I may have to accept that I won't. Unfortunately I still have major crashes where I feel like I'm sleep walking. Allergy season was very bad for me.  Sometimes, I have a crash for no reason. One day I was washing dishes and a wave of fatigue hit me that was so strong that I couldn't finish them. I had to rest before starting supper.

I haven't lost any more weight. I lost 4.5 lbs the first month and have stayed there. I need to lose 5 more pounds to be where I would like.

I still haven't found a new doctor. I don't have the time or money to go and try out different ones. If the doctor is not a good fit, I have to wait a year to try again unless something major happens.

What's next? Keep on keeping on. It has been suggested that I need to give up caffeine. I don't want to. I looove coffee. I don't want to give it up. I drink 2-3 cups a day. I'm willing to cut down to 2, maybe even one. I guess I could do decaf. I'm not ready yet.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday--New Shoes

Even Standardized Testing

I keep thinking about something that happened a few weeks ago when we did our yearly standardized testing. There is a business in our area that helps organize group testing for homeschoolers at churches and co-ops. We test with them at a church in the next town. I was a proctor for the eighth grade.

There was a girl in my class who liked to talk about herself. A lot. The stories she told seemed far fetched and braggy, but the other kids didn't seem to mind. The second day, we were waiting to get started. She said that she had never been in a church before. She described how her mother said that she was free to choose her own religion, and she didn't know much about Christianity. 

Now I've been a Christian for a good many years, and I can take you down the Roman Road, but God told me to keep silent. So I sat there with my mouth shut. That was difficult. Then one by one, the other teens started to witness to this girl. They told her about Jesus and what He has done. They described their relationships with the Savior. And I just sat in the corner silently rejoicing that teenagers were sharing the Gospel with this girl.

We homeschool moms complain about having to do standardized testing. It's a disruption and a large expense. But because we have this requirement, a 13 year old girl entered a church for the first time and heard about salvation. God can use anything, even standardized testing.