Joanne Heim

One more week of school, Greek final, holding on till Christmas break

We're plowing through our Monday afternoon of school. Mondays are typically long days around what Audrey calls the Heim Homeschool Academy. Not sure why that is, but it is. Don't get me wrong: Longer Mondays (and Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays) mean we have three-day weekend every week. So it's totally worth it.

I'm glad that a number of books and unit studies are wrapping up this week, because after Thursday we are taking two weeks off for Christmas. I had thought we'd take only a one-week break, but we need more. So that's what we're doing.

Oh, and we'll be memorizing Galatians 5:22-23 this week--the fruit of the Spirit. Keeping in mind as we do that it is to the Father's glory that we bear MUCH fruit. Lord, an abundant harvest is what we're praying in our hearts and in our family.

My Greek final and last class for the semester is tomorrow night. So I'm not going anywhere without a stack of flashcards. Greek is a two-semester class, so at the end of January I'll be back to Tuesday nights at seminary. I love being in school--crazy love it--but I am ready for a break.

I'll be popping in throughout the week for a few quick updates that have been requested--haven't forgotten if you've emailed me!--but I'll mostly be focusing on finishing our week strong so we can head into Friday with a clean slate.

Hope your Monday's going well. (Or your Tuesday if this popped into your inbox on Tuesday morning.)

Joanne

P.S. It's almost 60 degrees in Denver today. Weird, weird, weird. Where's the SNOW?!

What day is it?

The calendar says Monday, but it feels like Saturday. Mondays that start of a week of vacation should get a name all their own, don't you think? Any ideas?

I went ahead and got up sorta early so I could enjoy my quiet time by the light of the Thanksgiving Tree and review the week's homework for Bible study. The gals are all coming over here tonight and I'm super excited.

Bible study! At my house! By the light of the Thanksgiving Tree!

(Can you tell I'm excited about the tree? I'll try to stop mentioning it for a while.)

I love having people over. I'm having lunch company today too, to talk homeschooling with a mom who has some questions. Instead of chatting over Facebook or email, it seemed like getting together in person would work better. And be lots more fun.

(Long pause for almost two hours to meet with Toben for our usual morning half-hour meeting, notice that half of one of my strands of lights is out ::grrrr!::, bundle up for my run, and run my four miles. And see that it was 24 degrees out when I left. ::brrrr!::)

Okay, I'm back. 

I love having company scheduled and I also love it when friends just stop by. It's one of my favorite things. So if you know where I live, here's your invite to stop by any time.

What about you? Do you like having people drop in, or do you prefer to schedule it? Or would you rather go to someone else's house? Do tell--inquiring minds want to know!

So that's my Monday. We're taking a break from school this whole week, so we'll just be reviewing what we've learned so far in Philippians 2 for Memory Monday. Still come to an absolute standstill after "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus"--how I want that to be true of me!

If you're learning something this week, feel free to leave a link and a comment. And as always, if you don't have a blog, you can type out your verse directly in the comments. And then tell me how you feel about company.

Happy Happyday, Quietday, Lovelyday, Vacationday, Firstdayofvacationday!

Writing a blog post in my head doesn't actually post it here

I just glanced at my blog and saw that I hadn't blogged since Wednesday--despite having written a number of posts in my head and thinking that somehow magically translated to them actually showing up here.

Oops.

I'm out the door for a run in a minute, so here's a quick rundown of what's been going on around here.

We finished school on Thursday for the week and are taking the whole of this coming week off. We haven't had a break since beginning school in September and we are all excited.

I don't have school this week either. But I need to spend some time with my Greek vocabulary flashcards. The stack is getting big and my final for this semester is in a couple of weeks.

Going to take the second semester of Greek in the spring for sure. So my Tuesday nights at school will continue. 

Taught the girls to diagram sentences (after brushing up on it myself) on Thursday morning. We got out the giant wipe board and dry erase markers and went to town. They loved it. Thought it was so super fun. (Which it totally is.) It's true--seeing sentences in diagrams helped them identify parts of speech much more quickly and easily than they had been. Hunting for some workbooks.

My run on Thursday was ugly. Ugly, I tell ya. Couldn't maintain a pace, tried a new route that ended up being uphill in both directions and against the wind. Yuck. But came home to Toben's having bought me the Glee Christmas album, so I'm feeling more hopeful about today's run. Even though it's 32 degrees outside. Brr.

I'm loving the Ruth Bible study. Yesterday's homework on Ruth's work ethic struck a chord with me. That she worked steadily--not in fits and starts, but evenly and smoothly with time built in for rest. Lots of room for application there. Maybe I'll apply it to my run. A steady pace gets it done rather than sprints and stops.

Today I'm going to finish the laundry (and put it away--which I'll start by putting away last week's laundry--something that never quite got done last week), watch a movie and do the ironing, and knit. And maybe run to the store for some brown paper to wrap Christmas presents.

"Brown paper packages tied up with string." That's how I wrap gifts. Wisdom from The Sound of Music. Hmm...maybe that's the movie I'll watch today. Seems like it was always on television (since VCRs weren't invented yet!) at Thanksgiving when I was in elementary school. I thought the scene in the gazebo was the most romantic thing ever. And still do.

Okay, off to run. And doesn't pancakes and bacon sound yummy for breakfast?

Ms. Grammar

That's what my professor called me last night in class. And I kinda liked it. Got the nickname because I knew what an appositive was in the translation when it was my turn. Funny, because the girls and I just learned it yesterday in our grammar lesson.

(We do identify parts of speech in our grammar curriculum, but so far we're not diagramming sentences, though I wish we were. I think it's actually pretty fun. Yes, yes, I know. But there are some of you out there who think it's fun too. Right?!)

Can't wait until the girls get up so I can tell them it showed up in my class. It's funny how often things we study in grammar show up in my Greek class that same week. The fact that they know what an antecedent is when grown-ups in my class sometimes don't makes them feel really, really smart.

And feeling smart makes them want to learn more. Pretty neat how that works.

***

P.S. I loved hearing where you keep your library books.

P.S.2. And I also loved hearing about your Christmas decorating plans. There's snow outside this morning (not much, but the lawn is lightly covered) and it's making me wonder if today would be a good day to decorate for Christmas. And also wonder if I should skip my run and just stay in my jammies and have school by the fire and under an afghan.

Saw someone's Twitter (think it was yours, Miss Chris) about loving twinkle lights. Which makes me want to put some up. And which also makes me think about You've Got Mail. Which I did end up watching the other day after all.

P.S.3. I think I've officially crossed the line into rambling on. So I'll just stop now and say,

"Happy Wednesday, bloggy friends!"

t-w-e-a-k-i-n-g

Do you love the movie You've Got Mail? I do. And usually watch it every fall. To me, it's a fall movie--all because of the bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils. Something I've actually received from a friend who loves the movie as much as I do. Or maybe more. (Hi, sweet Janna!)

(On my, I have just realized that I haven't watched it for the past two years. Hmm...think I may need to put it on today and spend some time in the basement being crafty. Hooray! A plan for this wide-open Saturday!)

Anyhoo...

We've just finished our first quarter of school, and the past 10 weeks have been really good. We've found a groove, hit our stride, established a routine that's working. 

It's been a good season of life in general too. A season of nesting as we've settled back into our favorite-est little yellow house. Finding a church we love. Getting back in the comfort of having family nearby.

I've been reminded (and how could I not, for it's everywhere I turn, which is a whole other post) of Psalm 16:5-6:

You have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places...

Pleasant, and getting pleasant-er by the day, it seems.

Our focus has been on our little family of four as we have settled in with school, with Toben's working in Colorado Springs, with my being back in seminary.

So... t-w-e-a-k-i-n-g.

Not big adjustments, but slight shifts in focus as I ponder those boundaries--especially as they relate to friendships. 

Friendships within the geographic boundaries of Denver. Being intentional in those friendships. Starting Bible study (Kelly Minter's Ruth) on Monday with dear women whom I love. (And, yep, Psalm 16 showed up in the first week's homework!)

Considering what those boundaries mean for the girls, how we can be intentional with their friendships too.

Tweaking. Not the huge rearrangement of everything that sometimes happens in life, but the little fiddling here and there in which there is still joy and delight. 

Alrighty then...

It's 4:25 and I think we've had enough school for the day. Today we...

• Learned more about Commodore Perry and Japan in the 1850s
• Learned more about our muscles and how they work and tested our flexibility (Audrey is the MOST flexible)
• Talked about the difference between active and passive voice in writing
• Learned some stuff about adverbs
• Did math stuff like bar graphs and learned more about percentages
• Spelled a bunch of words
• Worked on our memory verses (ALL of Psalm 91 this week!) 
• Talked about the parable of the landowner and who all the characters represent
• Colored maps of Korea

...and I worked on my Greek homework and emptied the dishwasher and finally got warm. I think that's enough.

Tomorrow I'm headed down to the Springs to be on the radio with him and Ryan (that's some of what he does if you didn't know--Toben is the producer and cohost for Grounded Radio with Ryan Dobson). 

They're going to re-air a broadcast Toben and I did with Dr. Dobson about 10 years ago for the first half of the show, and then we'll be on the second half live.

You can listen (and watch live video) tomorrow at 10 MST. Just click on the link above. If you sign in, you can even participate in the live chat and say hello. I'd love it if you would!

***

Hope you had a great Monday and are memorizing Scripture. I totally want to be one of those people who knows (and understands!) lots of Scripture by heart. I shouldn't really be amazed--though I often am--at the ways God uses what I've learned in the past to affect my present moment.

Much, much love to you!

 

Well, hello Wednesday!

Today's really our Monday despite being Wednesday. Toben and Emma were gone all weekend through late last night, so though the girls did some school stuff on their own, today's the first official day of school this week.

So we've been parked in front of the fire, reading, reading, and reading some more in preparation for all of the on their own stuff the girls will work on tomorrow morning while I go speak to the MOPS group at Cherry Hills Community Church.

My notes are highlighted and marked up just the way I like them, and I ::think:: I have an outfit all picked out. 

Then I'm going to do my darndest to get Audrey to take a nap before she and Toben head to the TobyMac concert tomorrow night. Nope, I don't think it'll work either, but I'm going to give it a shot!

Emma does not love the late nights (which it will definitely be), so she and I had planned to stay home and have a night all to ourselves. Which is good, since she came home from San Diego with a horrible cold. I'm feeding her lots of Juice Plus and cold medicine, and wiping down every hard surface she touches with antibacterial wipes.

What else is happening around here?

• I'm making chicken hero for dinner, which is like a hot open-faced chicken salad sandwich that is just yummy. 
• The fireplace has been on ALL day. Except for when Toben came in and turned it off. Then Audrey turned it right back on again.
• I got a 99 percent on my Greek midterm!
• I've been crafty--some of which I'll share, other stuff is a secret until Christmas.
• We're still in massive documentary mode around here. Audrey and I watched a National Geographic one about Siberian tigers the other night. Fascinating. At any point, in any conversation, about anything at all, you're likely to hear, "Did you know...?" from us. We are officially documentary nerds.
• Toben and Audrey are headed to church tonight to hear Ryan speak. I'd love to go, but with Emma's cold such as it is, she and I are staying home and going to bed early.
• Other than that, I could totally go for a huge, gooey caramel apple covered in dark chocolate swirls and nuts. Doesn't that sound good?

Think that's about it. Hope your evening will involve your favorite pjs and an early bedtime!

Elk Fest, Memory Monday, cleaning off my camera

Get ready for a little bit of random...

We went up to Estes Park for Elk Fest on Saturday, leaving the house by about 8 and getting home just as it was getting dark. Such a fun day! We went two years ago and stayed for the weekend with some friends--and went with the same friends this weekend.

Two years ago, we saw lots more elk and lots more rain and it was lots more cold.

I love looking back to see how much the girls have grown. Though it makes me miss my pigtails.

This year, it was sunny and beautiful and we had a picnic by the river, walked around Sprague Lake (well, Emma and Alec ran around the lake), and oohed and aahed at the leaves.

While we were in town this year, the nice gal at the great coffee shop told us about a glassblowers we had to go see. So we did. And we all agreed it was one of our favorite parts of the day. While we watched, she told us all about what she was doing. Fascinating! And HOT. Makes me think about Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednigo. (I think I totally spelled those names wrong.)

On the way up, I downloaded the Hipstamatic app for my phone and played with the different options all day. Kinda fun. The sky was not nearly this ominous in real life, but it sure looks neat.

This is an elk jam. When the traffic does this inside Rocky Mountain National Park, you know it's time to get out your camera.

As fun as the effects are, sometimes you just need a picture to show what fall in Colorado really looks like!

***

Moving on...

We'll be adding the next two verses to Psalm 91 for Memory Monday this week and practicing Psalm 91:1-10. And I need to change it on the sidebar before I forget!

***

And here's some random photos from my camera, just because...

Saw this out the window the other day and it just made me so happy!

This is my Greek study buddy:

And this helps me learn--putting blank charts and such inside sheet protectors so I can write on them with a dry erase marker. It works great for learning maps and multiplication tables too. Anything you need to test again and again without wasting tons of paper. Going to use this for the girls and grammar, I think.

Okay, think that's it for today. Toben's stirring and I'm off for another cup of coffee.

Hope you had a great weekend and happy Monday!

 

Mnemonic devices

I am all for coming up with all kinds of goofy anythings to help my kids (and myself!) remember stuff. 

When Audrey had to learn the state capitals, we made flashcards and crazy sayings for as many of the states as we could.

For example: St. Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul was a missionary and so he couldn't afford a big soda and had to buy a mini soda. 

Get it?

Some were much shorter.

For example: Dover, Delaware

Double D!

That was enough to help us remember that one.

We do it with spelling too.

We go TOGETHER TO GET HER.

CLOSE the T in the CLOSET.

We do it with Bible verses.

Philippians 4:8-9 tells us to think on whatever is TNR PLA EP. True, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy.

And now I'm doing it with Greek.

This word means "I say; I speak" and is pronounced "lego."

How to I remember it? I say: Lego my ego!

And this one means "crowd, multitude" and is pronounced "ochlos."

So I remember this even though the pronunciation is not quite right: A crowd of ox was eating lox.

And my favorite for this week?

This word means "house, home" and is pronounced "oykia."

What else could it be but this: Oy! Go to IKEA to decorate your house!

Silly, but it works.

I write them on all of my flashcards.

(And, yes, there are supposed to be accent marks on those words, but I've not figured out how to get them on their with this font yet.)

A few things I love about homeschooling

Right off the bat, I have to say that I had always said I would NEVER (yes, absolutely in all caps), NEVER (yep, another one in all caps!) EVER homeschool my kids. Which seems like reason enough right there for it to happen, and for me actually to like it.

I also said I would NEVER drive a minivan (not anymore, but yep, I loved it when I did) NEVER move away from Colorado (that was right before we moved to California and loved it), NEVER move to Arizona (which we promptly did), NEVER be a runner (which I have come to be).

Well.

Here I am. Homeschooling my kids. And here are a few reasons why I love it:

 

1. Lots and lots and lots of out loud reading. I love to read out loud. And we read really good books.

2. Time to stop and talk about what we're interested in. Hmm...I don't know. Let's take a minute and find out.

3. If we want to, we can have school in our jammies.

4. I don't pack lunches. Instead, the girls make their own and clean up afterward.

5. No carpool line.

6. The paper pile. We don't have one.

7. Not being exposed to every cold and flu germ on the planet.

8. I get to learn along with the girls.

9. Quiet time every day after lunch.

10. Someday it's going to snow, and we're going to sit in our jammies by the fire, sipping cocoa, and reading something great. And it will be school. How amazing is that?!

 

P.S. I will NEVER win the lottery. Just for the record.

Whatever

I think I mentioned that we have a theme for our year of homeschooling this year. The school the girls used to attend always had a spiritual emphasis theme every year and it just seemed like a good idea for this one.

The funny thing is that the theme one year was "whatever"--but it was the whatever found in Philippians 4:8-9 that tells us to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

That was a thinking whatever. This year, our whatever is a doing whatever.

So on the first day of school, we talked about what these verses mean. What words are repeated? What words don't we understand and need to look up? Here's what Audrey and Emma came up with as the most important things to remember:

Do whatever with a thankful attitude.

Do whatever with all your heart--the best you can do.

Do whatever for Jesus. 

What does that look like for us and for school? I asked.

Write neatly! Take my time. Pretend that Jesus is the teacher to whom I'm turning in my assignment.

Pay attention to what I'm doing. If I'm doing math, do math with all my heart. If I'm reading, pay attention to that and don't worry about whatever is coming next.

Even if I'm doing my least favorite subject, be thankful that I can learn. 

There's lots more, of course. And it's something we talk about every day we do school. We start the school day with one of the girls reading these verses and then praying that God would help us do this. All of us. Me included. Because I need to remember to be thankful, to teach with all my heart, to do a job well rather than cutting corners because it's faster or easier.

The girls are getting it. And so am I. Whatever I do matters. Because whatever I do--teaching, running, laundry, cleaning house, talking with a friend, spending time with Toben, cooking dinner, studying Greek--can be something done for God.

And that pretty much changes everything.

This year feels different

Somehow homeschooling feels like a whole other kettle of fish so far this year than last. Of course, we're really only one week in and still settling into a rhythm, so that could be it. But somehow this year seems harder.

Not harder bad, necessarily. More challenging. More focused. More intentional. Like there's more on the line.

And our days just seem longer. Which could be doing a four-day curriculum instead of a five-day curriculum. (Though we did a five-day curriculum in four days last year.) But we're starting together at 9 and not ending together until 4. Of course, there's an hour for lunch in there. And an hour of quiet time. And an hour of time for each girl to work on her own while I do math with the other.

The good thing is that the days don't feel rushed. And I have to say I'd prefer longer and some open space and time, than shorter and rushed. 

I don't like being rushed. 

The girls don't like it either. It's a sure way to a bad attitude and whatever their current version of a meltdown happens to be at the moment. Mine too for that matter.

Anyway, this year feels different. And I think I'm okay with that. Choosing to watch and see how it shakes out, how it settles, how it pans out as we adjust to the rhythm and see things fall into texture of our family life.

I'm reminding myself that it takes time for things to settle.

Memory Monday: How to memorize and Psalm 91:1-2

I got a question the other day from Jen about how I actually memorize using my verse cards. I thought it might make a good post--and give ya'll the opportunity to chime in so we can all encourage each other and share what works!

So here are my top three tips:

1. GET IT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE.

A verse in my Bible will stay a verse in my Bible rather than a verse on my heart if I don't get it in front of my face. Even an open Bible can be distracting with so many words on the page.

For me, this means a verse card I can keep on the computer screen, by the kitchen sink, on the dash in the car. (And when it comes to memorizing Scripture, it helps me to put it in the first person.) We make our verse cards on the computer and print them out on 3 x 5 cards. Mine are usually pretty plain, but the girls like to change the typefaces, add color, and such.

Here's my latest idea for getting Greek grammar stuck in my head--write it in the shower with dry erase marker. Toben got in the shower the other morning to find this. (Terrible photo--didn't turn and kinda blurry, but you get the idea!)

 

You could write on your mirror. Or on your fridge, if you have a white fridge. Or on your kitchen window.

2. REPEAT.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Someone once told me that repetition is the key to long-term memory. And it's true. You must repeat whatever you're learning every day. 

Say it morning, noon, and night. Every time you get a drink. Every time you take a break from a task. Every time you hit a red light. Think of something you do often that could be a reminder to say your verse (or the chart of Greek articles or noun endings!).

As a guideline, the Bible curriculum we use for homeschooling says to say the verse aloud a minimum of two times a day. I think it needs to be more. We each read the verse out loud twice--looking at it until we know it. Trying to say it when it's not yet memorized and getting it wrong tends to get the wrong stuck in our heads. Look at it until you know it! Which leads to number 3...

3. USE AS MANY SENSES AS POSSIBLE.

Look at it while you say it.

Say it out loud. Even if you feel like a dork. Use expression. Set it to music if that helps.

Pay attention to the sound of your voice as you hear yourself say it.

Move while you say it. Goofy hand motions. Jumping jacks. Jump rope. Sounds silly, but it helps your memory. I could find an article to prove my point, but I'll let you look it up if you don't believe me. ;)

***

All that said, the girls and I are memorizing Psalm 91 over the next weeks. We're focusing on a few verses at a time. So this past week we worked on verses 1-2 and will add the next few today.

  

***

What are you memorizing? How do you memorize? What works best for you?

 

 

So much scope for the imagination, as Anne* would say!

Part of our Language Arts curriculum for this year includes keeping an artist's sketchbook--not for drawings, but for words. A place to record thoughts or ideas that grab our imaginations so we can have a place to go for inspiration when a writing assignment is given.

I naturally do this in my journal, jotting down words or phrases or ideas that tickle my fancy.

Things from books like Island of the Blue Dolphins. What would my secret name be? What would it be like to be all alone on an island? What would I do? How would I survive? How would I keep hope alive?

Things from places we've been, like Yellowstone or the Grand Tetons. What would it have been like to be one of the 50 carpenters who spent the winter at Yellowstone building the Old Faithful Inn? What would it have been like to live on Mormon Row in the Tetons, to have this barn be my barn? What would summers be like? Winters?

 

Or this barn?

 

Houses always inspire me. If this were my cabin, what would I want in it? How would I decorate it? Who would I invite for the weekend? Rag rugs and rocking chairs, for sure, not to mention lots and lots of puzzles!

 

Things from places we pass on the road. Who lives here in the middle of nowhere? What does she do all day? Is she lonely? What would my life be like if I lived here?

 

Treasures in antique stores--Whose was it? Who made it? What's the story behind it?

Old photographs--Who are they? What did they love? What did they fear? What were their dreams?

The bunnies in the yard--How would  I write their stories? What are their adventures?

People from the stories of Scripture--What happened to the woman at the well five years later? What about the rest of Tamar's life?

What kinds of things spark your imagination?

*That's Anne (with an "e")--of Green Gables, of course. If you're not friends with her, you need to be. Talk about imagination!

First day of school wrap-up love

I am pooped. Zonked. Tuckered out. Tired.

But what a great day. 

I love the theme verse for our school year (Colossians 3:17,23-24).

I love our new history curriculum (Eastern Hemisphere Explorer).

I love our new World Book encyclopedia thing-y on my computer.

I love that the girls and I are memorizing Scripture together again (Psalm 91:1-2 this week).

I love that the girls want to work together on their first Choose Your Adventure project for history. (They're going to throw a luau and teach us about the Pacific Islands.)

I love that the first book we're reading out loud together is Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I love that the characters in that book have an everyday name and a secret name. Something about that totally grabs at my imagination and intrigues me.

I love that we did math without tears. Or even complaining. Not even a groan.

I love that the girls didn't fight doing handwriting exercises but were excited to do it neatly and take their time.

I love that we're learning some hardcore grammar this year. I think grammar is important!

***

In other news, I love my friend Jennifer who sent me this on Facebook today:

She works for a publishing company that publishes a bunch of great homeschool stuff. So if that describes you, leave a comment here and I'll get you connected. 

Wanna see what she sent me not too long ago?

 

This book is HUGE and the pages fold out into an illustrated timeline of history. Take a look:

***

And I also love that the new Sprouts opened today and I don't have to drive for miles to get to one. And that nectarines were three pounds for a dollar. And that coffee was on sale for $5 a pound.

And I love that it's almost dinner time and that after eating and cleaning the kitchen and after studying some Greek vocabulary words and making my grammar flashcards, I LOVE THAT I'LL GET TO GET IN BED AND READ A WHILE AND THEN GO TO SLEEP.

Because have I mentioned that I'm a little bit tired after all that?

The end.

So, what did you love today?

First day of school

Today's the first day of school for Audrey and Emma. Hello seventh and fourth grades!

Heading out the door to school:

 

Arriving at school:

 

Though we could have had the first day in our jammies, we decided to get dressed for the first day! Pajama days are fun, but we've decided to save them for every once in a while to make them special. 

(Hmm...just had a vision of a snowy morning, hot chocolate, jammies, and school by the fireplace. Maybe winter won't be so bad...)

Taking a lunch break and getting ready to do some out loud reading. We've covered history, science, spelling, grammar, writing, and Bible this morning. Phew! Must say that having planners for the girls is working well so far (half a day in!). They are writing down their assignments to check off as they complete them, so I'm only having to say things once. And that is a very good thing.

Off to eat my PB&J, which seems like a perfect first day of school kind of a lunch, if you ask me. Maybe I'll even have pudding for dessert.

The Tetons were grand!

 

The Tetons and Yellowstone were amazing--so much to see and not nearly enough time. We're definitely going to have to go back. Somehow I thought they were much farther away than they really are. Five days was a good amount of time, though I think a week or ten days would definitely be better.

No bear. :(

Though we did see moose, bison, antelope, coyote, beaver!, and river otter! The beaver and river otter were the best, for sure. Pictures coming soon...

We are starting our homeschool year tomorrow, so I've got to get my rear in gear and go for my run, get laundry done, menus planned, groceries bought, and our week organized. Not to mention getting some study time in for Greek tonight. Today's going to be full--but it will make the rest of the week run more smoothly.

But I wanted to pop in and say hello. And show you where I'd live if I could:

 

Even with an outhouse, I think it'd be kind of wonderful. Rag rugs on the floor, stew bubbling over the fire, bread baking. And just take a look at the barn--I've always wanted a barn. 

 

So much scope for the imagination in places like this. If I could grow my hair long first, I'd totally travel back in time. Would you? When would you go? Where?

It's all Greek to me!

I start seminary again in a couple of weeks and as it gets closer (and now that I have textbooks in hand not to mention cute pencils from my friend Ali) I'm getting super excited. I love to learn!

I'm just taking one class this semester to ease back into school--especially since we are homeschooling again this year. Toben is encouraging me not to spread myself too thin and I'm listening to him. (There's more to that, but that's another post.)

All that to say, I'm taking Greek on Monday nights.

So I've already started learning the alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma, delta...) and some grammar (breathing marks, dipthongs, and diaeresis) and have begun some of the worksheets in my workbook. I figure if I can have the alphabet down by the time class starts, I'll be good to go. 

Because eta looks like an "n" but makes a long "a" sound. And nu makes the "n" sound but looks like a "v." Not to mention some letters like xi (no idea how to say that one!) which look like funny squiggles. I totally love it.

 

Here's the super fun part of it. I've wanted to add a foreign language to our homeschool curriculum, but don't really like the options I've found so far. I do have a degree in French (and actually used it for my first job out of college--worked for a French software company in Paris for a summer), but without a good curriculum, I'm not sure about teaching the girls French.

Then my friend Wendy said, "Aren't you taking Greek this fall? Why don't you juts teach them Greek?"

Well, duh!

So Audrey and Emma are learning biblical Greek this fall too. I figure I should do well in the class if I'm coming home and teaching the girls what I'm learning at the same time. Nothing like teaching something to make you really, really learn it!

And truth is, I use Greek (even though I haven't learned it yet!) with some regularity. Word studies in my quiet time are one of my favorite things to do, so I figure it'll come in handy for the girls too.

And how neat for them to be able to read the New Testament in Greek at 9 and 12. How cool is that?

Yesterday

Ran 2.5 miles

Took a shower

Let my hair air dry

Worked on Bible study homework

Drew my picture of Psalm 23

Put out the trash

Vacuumed

Did laundry

Studied the FULL armor of God from Ephesians 6 with the girls

Did math lessons with the girls

Blogged

Made some photocopies for history today

Did some prep for teaching Bible study this week

Ate PB&J

Planned menus

Made a grocery list

Talked to my mom

Texted with my sister

Drank a lot of water

Made an identity collage while the girls started to cut stuff out because they want to make one too

Read Helen Keller to the girls (I remember reading it as a kid--what an amazing, encouraging, inspiring story!)

Cleaned the patio

Filled the fountain

Turned on the AC for the first time

Took some pictures of the flowers blooming in my yard

Made a yummy dinner

Realized how much I love Rocky Road ice cream and realized I cannot eat ice cream--even with Lactaid

Got the coffee ready for this morning

Read to myself before bed

Funny how not doing much adds up,
 and a relaxed day can hold so much.

S-p-e-l-l-i-n-g

Here's how we do spelling around here on a sunny day...

 

And when that got old yesterday, we moved on to chalk. (We did LOTS of spelling yesterday.) Toben came home to a driveway covered in spelling words, along with a few happy faces and random pictures.

When it's not so nice, we do spelling bees. The girls loved Akeelah and the Bee--and so did I. (If you haven't seen it, do!) It made them decide that spelling is kind of fun and makes it seem more like a game than school.

I love spelling. Always have. In fact, in the fifth grade I won the all-school (that's K-12) spelling bee. It's the only trophy I ever won. Unless you count the one our dog Obie (short for Obadiah) won for the Mongrel Marathon at the dog track when I was in the third or fourth grade.

Do you have any trophies? 

Memory Monday: Psalm 19 in person!

Here we go--all of Psalm 19 up close and in person. Well, sort of. Does video count? We're a little distracted, cooking dinner at the same time but you get the idea!

What are you learning this week? We're going to start working on a passage from John 15. So on the list today is getting verse cards done. (I've said it before, having our own verse cards--something small and pretty and colorful--makes learning a verse that much easier!)

Leave a link or join in the fun. (Yes, memorizing Scripture IS fun. Because I promise it comes back just when you need it. It will make a difference if you do it.) Click on the Memory Monday button in the sidebar to get the scoop.

Teaching the kids to grocery shop

 

We're doing a new thing around here in the new year. Audrey and Emma are doing their own laundry (can I get an Amen?) and they are both planning and shopping and cooking a couple of meals a week.

They're really excited about it. Well, about the menu planning, grocery shopping, and cooking. They're not convinced that laundry is fun. Yet.

Here's what we're doing. 

The girls flip through their cookbooks (Emma got a stack from Gran for Christmas) and pick out what they'd like to cook. A breakfast, a lunch, a dinner, and a snack.

They make a list of those recipes, noting which cookbook and page it's on. And they make a grocery list of ingredients they'll need. (After last week, they've decided to organize their lists--all the produce together, all the frozen food together, etc. Let's just say we did a lot of back and forth-ing!)

On the day we shop, they first shop at home, crossing off anything we already have. Then they each get their list and a pencil, their own cart, and off we go!

 

 A couple of things:

• I do review what they want to cook to make sure we have a balanced meal. But I don't review their lists. That's up to them. If we have to go back because they forgot something, we have to go back.
• This is fun if you decide it will be fun. Except for getting run over by their carts. I HATE getting hit in the back of the heels with a grocery cart. Ow!
• It's going to take more time. Lots more time. Especially the first couple of trips. So expect that and it'll help with deciding it'll be fun.
• After last week, the girls learned to organize their grocery carts, how they put stuff on the conveyor belt, how to put all the bags back in the cart, and how to pack the car. (Bread goes LAST! Heavy stuff goes FIRST!)
• And, yep, part of grocery shopping is putting the groceries away when you get home.

Here's their stack of cookbooks:

 

You can sort of see which ones they use if you click on the picture to make it bigger. There are loads of kids cookbooks out there--check places like libraries, Goodwill, and used bookstores. Ones with pictures are great. And ones with simple recipes with clear, easy directions.

Dinner by the fire

While wondering what to do earlier this evening when Toben and the girls headed to the hot tub at the clubhouse, I decided to build a fire in the chiminea and light all the candles outside. I planned to read out there for a while and then thought, We should have dinner outside! 

And why not? It's a little bit chilly, so we all just put on an extra hoodie and put our plates piled high with a steaming pasta dish in our laps and made it work.

Such a small thing--a change of scenery--made dinner seem adventurous and fun. The conversation wasn't much different, the food wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but the whole experience felt different.

After we finished, the girls begged for another chapter in the book we started this week for school, and Toben cleaned up the kitchen while I read out loud.

When I was a kid, we'd put the dog in the garage on Sunday nights, lay out the big green Army blanket, light a fire, and roast hot dogs in the fireplace while watching The Wonderful World of Disney. We'd eat baked beans and potato chips and roast marshmallows for dessert.

I don't remember how often we did it--I doubt it was every Sunday night, but it was often enough to have it be one of those memories I cherish and will never forget. 

I'm thinking that dinner and reading outside just may need to become a regular feature around here.

Quiet time for Audrey and Emma

First I have to say thank you for your emails and comments and prayers and tweets and Facebook comments the other day. I appreciate you more than you could know. And I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who blows it BIG TIME as a mama.

In God's perfect ways, he's used it to clear the air and Audrey and I are connecting and talking better than we have in a long time. He is good!

***

The girls worked so hard at school yesterday. They really buckled down and persevered and were diligent--and I'm so proud of them. And told them so a lot. 

(Here's that Spiritual Mothering thing coming into play--It's not enough to THINK it, we've gotta SAY it when it comes to encouragement!)

When we started school back in August, our Bible curriculum started us reading through the book of John together. And instead of just reading it, we've really been studying it together.

(blurry--sorry!)

The girls have done a couple of things with John: 

• They've kept an outline, summarizing the sections we've read in their own words (and learning about outline form along the way). 
• They've kept a list of all the names of Jesus found in the Gospel of John--there are a bunch! 
• They've followed all the action on a map of Israel and learned to read the text carefully for clues about when and where things happen.
• They've learned to pay attention to repeated phrases and ideas in the text. ("I tell you the truth" is a big one in John, along with the phrase "his time had not yet come." When the girls saw "his time had come" they knew immediately something big was about to happen.)

And all the while, they've been reading out loud, working on tone and inflection and pronunciation and all that good stuff.

Well, we finished John last week. The lesson plans have us starting 1 Samuel now.

So yesterday, I taught them a little bit about the book--the context, its place in Israel's history, the kinds of stories it includes. And instead of outlining the book, we're going to do something a little bit different.

Instead of reading each small section together each day, the girls will be using the day's section for their quiet time and making notes in their journals.

I'm so excited about this!

At the beginning of each week, I'll list each day's reading so they can find it quickly and easily. And I listed the kinds of things they should be noting. 

We're going with answering WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW. They'll note any questions they have about the text, and write out any verse that stands out to them that they want to remember.

They know that because 1 Samuel is a narrative, they may have more than one WHO in a story. (Hello, chapter 1: Elkanah, Hannah, Penninah, Eli, Samuel!) They can pick one or more than one. I left it up to them so it doesn't get overwhelming.

This is all familiar to them from the time I spoke at their chapel last year about being Bible detectives. But no mustache yesterday! Confused? Go check out this post.

Then during our Bible lesson, they'll ask their questions and we'll search for the answers together. (Why did Elkanah have more than one wife? What does it mean to be weaned?) 

Before they know it, they'll be experts at inductive Bible study method!

They started yesterday and did a great job. It was fun to see that they chose different WHOs for chapter 1 and so they were great listeners when it came time for them to share with each other what they'd written down.

Background music

I love having pretty music on in the background while we do school. Inspired by my lovely friend Kimberly (visit her here--you will love her!), I purchased the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack from iTunes.

(Kimberly is also one of my dear in real life friends too--we "met" over blogging, then met for tea in Denver. An afternoon in Kimberly's home soothes my soul.)

We've listened to it over and over. And over. And over.

Anyone have any other great background music suggestions?

The Story of Inventions

On Fridays, we've been working our way through this book, The Story of Inventions, for our science curriculum. The girls ALWAYS want me to keep reading and beg me not to stop--even when the day's reading is over.

Not only is it fun and easy to read, it's filled with great illustrations and the skinny on inventions like chewing gum and toilets as well as the story of flight and Band-aids.

If you have a curious kid, this would make a great gift. Birthday, Christmas, Happy "I love you" day, you name it. Amazon has it for less than $10 here, so it would make a great birthday present for the next party your kid gets invited to. 

Add a flashlight and you've got a perfect reading-under-the-covers kind of a book! (My all-time favorite gift to give kids.)

Tuesday night

How's that for a snazzy title?

I wrote a post for the blog Toben and I do together (Our Crazy Marriage) here. I've been struggling some with my emotions, with my attitude, with this whole marriage thing the past little bit. I wasn't sure whether to post it there or here, but there won it.

I feel a list coming on...

1. or two since that other thing was technically first.

2. My mom comes on Sunday and I am so excited to see her. It's been way too long. To go from seeing her almost everyday to living this far away is hard. We've done it before when we lived in California, but it is not my favorite. She's the best mom ever. And I'm not exaggerating. Ask anyone!

3. She and Audrey are headed to New York next week to see my sister. (My sister, who by the way, is pregnant--hooray!--and feeling pukey--not so hooray.) Mom and Audrey will spend time with them in Rye and lots of time in the ctiy exploring AND seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway. Lucky girls. Audrey is so excited and has already started packing.

4. We're taking a school break after Friday. Because Audrey will be gone, we're taking two weeks off. During that time, Emma and I will work on some cursive and some just Emma stuff, but for the most part we're going to spend time together doing what Emma wants to do.

Mom will come back in the spring to take Emma to New York, and we'll do Audrey stuff then. (See, I told you my mom is amazing!) Not sure when my trip is planned. ::hint, hint::

5. I got an iPhone. My old phone was starting to fall apart and even though it still worked, I caved. Toben was adamant that I get one, I was holding off. We were arguing (that sort of fake arguing that gets serious at weird times--do you know what I mean?) about it every stinkin' day, so I went yesterday afternoon with the girls and did it all on my own. Toben was so proud of me.

(Oh, and the Apple boy mocked my old phone. I think he thought I'm not the slightest bit tech savvy. Which I totally am!)

As much as I hated spending the money (I am very cheap), I have to say I love this phone. A lot. The whole app thing? Incredible. I spent 99 cents on Grocery IQ and am so excited to shop with it this weekend. It can total my list for me before I ever leave the house. No more surprise grocery bills!

Oh, and I made a special ring tone today. Sneaky shortcut thing Toben showed me how to do. Now he has a special ring all his own.

6. I'm starting Bible study tomorrow night. Esther! I don't even know how to begin to say how much I'm looking forward to it.

7. I love our church. After a bit more than a month, I feel so at home, so plugged in, so challenged to grow. Love it, love it, love it.

8. I'm taking a three-week class at church called Reveal. Lots of personality assessment, spiritual gift assessment. I've been working on the tests in my booklet and am so excited to learn what it all means. 

9. I think nine is plenty for a Tuesday night at 8:57. Think I'm going to sleep now. I feel like I've been fighting a cold for a while. A day with my ears hurting so I take cold medicine, a couple days of feeling fine, then another day of feeling just sort of off. Note to self: Take double Juice+ tomorrow.

10. Okay, just one more. That's a lotta links. I put them in just in case anyone wants them--no need to click on 'em if you don't care to!

G'night!

Reading together

We've been reading like crazy these past two weeks for school. Reading out loud is something we've done together since the girls were small (and Toben and I used to read books alouddriving back and forth to Spokane in college). 

We finished these three books this week:

(By the way, I put a "Homeschooling Books" page on my Amazon shop, if you want to learn more about the books we're reading or order one for yourself.)

I thought I'd let Audrey and Emma tell you about the books themselves. I've copied their journaling assignments for today. They journal each day and this is the only entry I've been allowed to read so far! 

From Audrey:

These last two weeks we read three books: Om-Kas-Toe, Pedro's Journal, and Walk the World's Rim. 

I liked them all, but Om-Kas-Toe was my favorite because it is full of action. My favorite part is when Om captures a black elkdog and names it Big Black. My other favorite part is when Wise Bird finds the lost baby.

There is a lot more fun--you will have to read it to find out!

From Emma:

We finished three books: Om-Kas-Toe, Pedro's Journal, and Walk the World's Rim. My favoret is Om-Kas-Toe. I like it because it has horses in it.

Just for the record, I liked Pedro's Journal and Om-Kas-Toe the best. 

Memory Monday: Psalm 103:1-3

I've decided to memorize along with the girls for whatever they're learning for their Bible curriculum. It started with memorizing Psalm 103 over the next few weeks. So this past week was verses 1-3.

On Monday, we made verse cards. I typed the verse into the computer, then they customized their card with colors and typefaces. Then each day, we each read it twice. 

For the first couple of days, we focused on reading it correctly--not adding words, or leaving any out. The girls both wanted to try to do it from memory right away, but knowing they wouldn't say it correctly without learning it first, I said no. I wanted them to focus on seeing it and hearing it and saying it correctly.

Once that was coming along well, we talked about what makes a good recitation. Tone of voice, facial expression, hand gestures, body language. What would it be like to say "Praise the Lord, O my soul" with a glum face, a bored voice, and looking at our toes?

It sure wouldn't be believable that we meant it! And it wouldn't really make anyone want to praise with us!

By Thursday, the girls were standing and reciting with minimal help and with great--even overdone!--expression. But we talked about overdoing it and toning it back, rather than underdoing it.

So, without further ado...Psalm 103:1-3!

So their expression is a little lacking in the video--I think they're distracted by seeing themselves on the screen while it records!

A little housekeeping

Seems like an appropriate title since I'm thinking that Saturdays are going to be laundry/housecleaning day around here. I just can't do it on Monday and do the homeschool thing too.

Speaking of, my inbox is full of so many great ideas, advice, and comments from you homeschool moms out there. And a bunch of other comments too. I want to write back to each one of you personally, but I can't! And that makes me sad.

Let me see if I can do it here instead.

Bikes.

Emma's bicycle is an Electra. Check out their website here. I have a pink/green Hawaii cruiser; Toben rides a Townie.

Audrey just got a new bicycle for her birthday. We looked at Electras, but she fell in love with a Nirve. Pictures coming soon.

Dinner.

When we had company for dinner the other night, I made this and this. Added cilantro-lime rice and a loaf of homemade sourdough bread. 

For the chicken. I marinated chicken breasts instead of thighs and Toben cooked them on the grill. I kept the marinade and cooked it on the stove to reduce it for a sauce for the rice. I've made it as the recipe instructs and it was good, but I prefer boneless breasts to to thighs.

I started taking pictures of dessert as I was making it, but forgot to take pictures of the finished product in my rush to eat it! So I'll do a post on napoleons next time I make them. Which should be soon!

Books.

I loved hearing from so many of you--here and on Twitter and on Facebook--about the books you're reading. My library list is good and long. Thanks for all the recommendations.

Homeschool.

I'm amazed that so many of you have such a short homeschool day. The quickest we've made it through everything is about five hours. We start at nine, take half an hour for lunch, and end between two and three o'clock.

Are your kids doing more work independently after your three or four hours? How does that work? 

Everyday we're doing Bible, history and geography, science, math, writing/language arts, reading, a read-aloud book, spelling, and writing in a journal.

It's funny--I always thought that homeschooling would take less time than a normal school day, but for us it feels like we're learning so much more. I'm surprised at the length of our day. But we're having so much fun that it's flying by so I don't really mind. 

Okay, specific questions.

Bethany: I asked what curriculum others use and what they liked about it. We chose Sonlight because of all the great books you read around the core curriculum. And, yes, I bet they are the same flip flops!

Lea: I loved your email and hearing about your life. And if you're ever in the States and in Phoenix, yes, coffee, definitely!

Sandi and Lisa notes: So glad you're joining Memory Monday!

Sarah: Are you LOVING Guernsey? Can I come to your book club that meeting? Miss you!

Treencee: Love the travel pack idea!

Annie: Way to go with school. Finish strong!

Angela: Yep, I'm realizing that with teaching I'm "working" a 30-hour a week job!

Tiffany: Love you back. And looking forward to the day we end up in Denver at the same time!

Heidi: I saw all the Deeper Still photos and videos. Looked amazing! It's in Denver next June...

Brenda: Thanks for the planner link!

And all of you who de-lurked about homeschooling or Settlers or the bike or anything else recently: I'm so glad you did. I love hearing from you and getting to check out your blog (if you have one). It's great to "meet" you!

If I forgot to answer your question, I'm sorry! Leave it again and I'll get to it!

Have a great weekend!

Joanne

Three pocket protectors, please

Audrey and Emma were so excited for school yesterday--our first science experiment. So when it was time to choose what to do first after our Bible lesson, they both yelled "SCIENCE!"

(When do we stop thinking that science is fun? When did it become something we dreaded, rather than looked forward to? Just wondering...)

So we got out of experiment book, made copies of the experiment worksheet, dug through our boxes of supplies for aluminum foil, tape, dry cells (batteries), and flashlight bulbs. We watched the experiment on the science DVD, and got to work.

The instructions were mostly for how to make these aluminum ribbons to conduct electricity. Once those were made and the supplies in place, the instructions said to use them to make the light bulb light up using trial and error.

So we talked about "trial and error"--about learning what doesn't work in order to learn what does work. The girls drew diagrams to show what didn't work, recording their discovery in their scientific notes. 

And after a lot of tries and configurations that didn't work, we had success!

Light!

I couldn't help but think of Genesis and God's saying, "Let there be light!" Made in his image, Audrey and Emma were thrilled at their discovery and took such joy in their success. They talked about it for the rest of the day and can't wait for next week's experiment.

I think we'll be watching this today:

You can find the lyrics here.

Multitasking is NOT my friend

In fact, I wrote about it in Living Simply (which you can order here, by the way). Multitasking means putting the milk in the pantry, my car keys in an obvious place where I will never EVER find them again ever, and generally losing my mind.

(On my first resume, I remember writing "multitasking" as a skill. HAH! I'm convinced that just because you can doesn't mean you should. Multitasking means doing too many things at once and not doing any of them very well. Do one thing at a time, then move on to the next. That's my ideal. And I have to say, it's actually much harder than juggling a lot at once.)

All that to say, with my focus on school for the girls this week especially as we pay extra attention to how to do this homeschool thing best, I'm going to let some other things slide. 

My email inbox is delightfully full of messages and comments and while I'd love to use the any time the girls are working on their own to answer them, I just can't. When I'm typing or reading, my ears don't work. And the girls get so tired of me saying "Just a minute" when what I really mean is "I'm totally ignoring you so don't hold your breath."

It also means that I can't get up to work on a project or chore or two for myself in the middle of teaching them. Because sitting back down wouldn't happen very quickly. 

From what I know so far (after only one day!), this curriculum we're using is really hands-on. It's not a "sit down with this workbook and let me know when you're done" kind of a thing. It's teaching and learning and talking and discovering TOGETHER. And that means I'm not answering the phone or doing anything else but school with the girls.

So here's my question to all you homeschool moms out there. Okay two questions, actually.

• How long is your homeschool day? 
• When do you clean your house? During the day? Weekend? 

That's what I want to know!

The first day of school at home!

We took our traditional first day of school picture this year with Hot and Hotter or Lewis and Clark or Pancho and Lefty. I still haven't found a name that's really stuck.

The two cute ones? That's Audrey and Emma, of course!

We always take a picture on the first day of school. Here's one and another and another.

We had a GREAT first day of school. It took way longer than I thought it would (from 9 to 3) and we got everything done. I know everyone said to ease in, and we went into the day with the attitude that we'd just do as much as we felt like doing. But the girls kept wanting to continue, so we did. 

We did have a little grumpiness around 2, but it quickly passed when we started math. Wait, did I just say that MATH TOOK AWAY THE GRUMPIES? I did! And it did! Weird, huh?

We started the day with our Bible lesson after praying for the day and the year of doing school together. Audrey and Emma have never really been one for learned prayers (except for singing grace at mealtimes, of course!) and their prayers this morning blessed my socks off.

(Wait! I'm not wearing socks. In fact, I've worn my same bronze flip flops from Old Navy for at least part of every day since we've moved.)

Anyway, we did Bible and talked through John 1:1-19, learned about the Mayan Indians, studied history and geography, started reading three or four different books, had a writing assignment, worked on spelling, did some science, and conquered the grumpies with math. PHEW!

Here's our cubby of supplies:

And our basket of the books we're using this week:

And my huge book of lesson plans and worksheets and study guides:

And some pictures of the day:

(Not sure what Audrey was doing. I think the day was officially over by then, but they love the manipulatives that came with their math curriculum.)

I'm excited about some of the books we started today--I'll do my best to create a page on my Amazon bookshop by the end of the week so you can take a peek.

But I'm more excited about how much fun we had, how well we all worked together, and how much we learned. I had pretty high expectations about today, and am so glad the day lived up to them!

I kept track of how long everything took today and will continue to do that for the rest of the week (or for the next few weeks perhaps) so I have a better idea of how to schedule our time. For now, I'd best go get some housecleaning done. That's my usual Monday task and it's not done yet!

What are you reading?

We've decided to keep track of all the books we read this next year. It's something I did for years. In fact, I had a notebook listing books by author and series. You laugh, but for years I read at least one book every day and I hated coming home from the library, putting the girls down for naps, opening a new book, only to realize I'd already read it.

(Yes, I read fast. Really fast. And no, I never took a speed reading course. It's just something I do that comes from lots of practice. I've read thousands of books over the years, picking one up and then putting it down when I'm done.)

I wonder what happened to my list? I think it was on my computer about three computers ago--and is one of those files that never made the jump.

Anyway, with all the reading to be done with our curriculum this year--and all the reading to be done instead of watching television--I decided it would be fun to keep track again. Especially for the girls.

I love to read. Love, love, love it. Always have. I was the eleven-year-old girl who wandered through the Louvre in Paris with my nose in Gone with the Wind, looking up to glance at the Mona Lisa and then heading right back to Atlanta to check on Scarlett and Melanie.

Audrey and Emma? Not so much. They enjoy it when they do it, but it's never their first inclination when there's nothing to do. Or even when there's everything to do.

Me? I'd always rather be reading.

I've read all the books about raising a reader. In fact, I've written brochures about it for libraries during my days as a publicist for a publishing company. We read out loud, we go to the library. We listen to books on tape. The girls see me read. 

I haven't lost all hope.

And I think keeping track is working. Audrey and Emma are so excited for me to record a book they finish, to count how many they've read so far. I think it's helping them to feel like they really are readers.

Just as an aside, since I'm not reading Hebrew text books like I thought I would be this fall, I'm keeping track of what I'm reading too. And I'm reading lots--all for fun. And as I finish books, I'm adding them to my Amazon bookshop.

Buying a book there is really buying a book from Amazon, only I get a small percentage of the sale. It not much, but enough to buy some more books from time to time! If you've never visited, go check it out.

The most recent book I've read will be listed first on the "Books I Read Just for Fun" page. And if you've not read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society yet, you'll want to read that one first!

P.S. I love Orla Kiely's design. I first saw a bag at Anthropologie that I couldn't justify no matter how hard I tried. Then I saw some dishes at Target. Huge mugs on clearance, but I was in the midst of packing and didn't want to pack anything else. Of course, now I know they'd match my new dishes and I wish I had bought them after all. Maybe they're online...

It's like Christmas!

The FedEx lady rang our bell this morning, leaving behind three big boxes that we hauled in while yelling "THANK YOU!" as she drove away.

The girls tore into them and can't wait to read all these great books. And I must say, I'm pretty excited too!

Things are stacked on the built-in shelves in the family room, waiting to be organized and explored. The girls are already asking when we can start school!

Never say never

Every time I say, "I would/could never..." it happens. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson.

I would never live in that neighborhood. Built a house there.

I would never drive a mini-van. Dodge Grand Caravan. And even loved it!

I would never move away from Colorado. Moved to California.

I would never move to Phoenix. Ahem.

I would never cut my hair short again. Ahem.

I could never homeschool my children. It's official. We're definitely homeschooling next year. And so stinkin excited about it we can hardly stand it.

I'm in the process of giving the girls some placement tests to help figure out some specific math curriculum, but we'll be doing Sonlight next year and learning all about American history together. I love that there's so much reading together in the program. I love to read aloud!

They'll also be learning to plan menus, stay within a grocery budget, cook, clean, do laundry, and a bunch of other things. 

The funny thing is, every time I say "I'd never..." I end up loving whatever it is.

Just so y'all know: I would never win the lottery. (Think it'll work?!)