Pressing On the Upward Way

How things can change....for the better

2010-02-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

Well, we got some potentially good news today. Andrew got an email (seemingly out of the blue) from Lockheed Martin about a job in Maryland. The pay would be great, and they would pay us a moving allowance. He has a phone interview on Thursday. We would be in southern Maryland and he would be working at the PAX Naval Air Station. From what I have read it is a really good area, low crime and all that. I know the cost of living is higher up there, but it seems like pay is also higher in general to make up for that. Schools there have really high ratings too.

Right now the plan if he gets this job would be for me to stay here in Texas until July when I would finish my certification, and take my test to be a pharm tech. Meanwhile he would go up there and find us a house or apartment, get settled, etc.

The cool thing is, my sister got accepted into law school recently in D.C. So when I said this seemed "out of the blue", thinking about it really it isn't. If he gets this job we would be living really close to her.

It would be our third move in the past 12 months, but it would all be worth it.

Please pray with us that he gets this job, it would be amazing.

How things can change...

2010-02-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

September - I was happily staying home and homeschooling, but waiting for my husband to have a better paying job. Living with mom was tough.

October - Still hanging in there but getting really stressed about our situation. I put Josh in public school. It was a really tough decision, but one that had to be made.

November - D lost his job at the beginning of the month. I had already started looking for part-time jobs. I was actually at the mall for a second job interview when we found out. After a couple of days of looking, I had a part-time job at Marshalls making minimum wage. I took this job because while it paid less than some of the others I was offered, the hours were so that I would be able to pick up Josh from school, and Aime would only have to be watched a few hours in the mornings. So now we were living off our ever dwindling savings, and my part-time salary.

December - D got a new job but it wouldn't start until just before Christmas. We decided to move out of my mom's house, since with his job and mine together we could make it on our own. Got into our apartment, and life was ok.

January - My babysitter had been incredibly generous, she was not charging me much at all. She had set the wage, and it was what she had wanted at the time. Just to help us out of our hole basically. Well, things started getting to her, by the middle of the month, she told me she could no longer watch Aime or Josh, and that was that. She offered me the name of a friend who was a sitter. I thought she would be able to do it, but it didn't work out. With minimum wage, you just can't justify paying a sitter what she is worth. I asked her if she would do it for two weeks, so I could give a proper notice, and she agreed to that. I also started school at night during those last two weeks of work. It wore me out basically.

February - D is still waiting on a better job. He has some possibilities out there. This waiting we have been doing, should of happened while he was still on military pay. He acknowledged this recently. He told me he knows he screwed up by not taking the initiative when he should have. He waited way too long to start proactively looking for employment. He thought it would be easy for him to jump into the civilian world and get paid what he is worth.

I am once again a stay at home mom. Albeit I will have to admit, I feel anything but happy. The people who want to help us can't. It feels like the people who could help us wont. I am eternally grateful to those few who have helped us out when we've needed extra money, or even just a morale boost. But truthfully, I am tired of needing people's help at all.

I am going through school to be a certified pharmacy technician. Every day that I go to school, I am reminded of what an idiot I was at 18 years old. I was on my way to being just that, a certified pharm tech, I was getting on-the-job training by a pharmacist who told me "You are too smart to just be a technician, you will get far." I was in college preparing to go do nursing or something related. And what did I do? I ran off and shacked up with a guy, moved to California, thinking the grass was greener and I could do everything there just as I could here. How wrong I was. That year I got a huge wake up call. I came back home and half a year later married Andrew. Went and had kids. School was on hold, though I tried to go back off and on. If I had stayed in Texas when I was 18 I wouldn't have to be doing all this now.

People say that being a military wife is the hardest job in the world. But I disagree. My days as a military wife were much much easier to bear than this has been. These past 9 months have been utter crap.

Forgive me for not being "spiritual" through all this. I tried. I really did. I am just at the end of my rope now. My spirit is crushed. My heart hurts. My body aches. I am just tired.

Finally First Grade!

2009-09-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

We finished up MFW K last Wednesday and went right into first grade on Thursday. Being the procrastinator that I am, I was so not prepared. But we managed and everyone lived. The lessons were taught. And the best part was, Josh actually liked it! He even asked me if we could do more first grade.

This week we are:
-Reviewing the alphabet and letter sounds.
-Learning about the Bible as a whole. How it was first written on scrolls, then eventually made into one book.
-Making clay jars, and later making mini scrolls to put in them.
-Memorizing Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
We discussed the meaning. He didn't quite understand it at first, but I think he is grasping it. He even made a picture on his own free time, and wrote the Proverb out. The words were a bit out of order, but I thought it was adorable.
-Studying animals close to the ground (ants, worms etc). Today we watched ants eat some bread with honey that we put out for them. And we dug for worms. We put the worms in a jar with alternating layers of soil and sand, and put dry leaves on top. We'll get to see if the make tunnels, and eat the leaves.
-Learning about patterns, and doing several related activities.
-Every day we talk about the calendar, and we do some addition, subtraction, place value, and money activities.

While we were outside, we harvested some tomatoes and pepper. Which I made into salsa. Yum!

I'm going on a ladies retreat tomorrow through Saturday, so we will start back up on Monday. Then we get to make a Jewish calendar! I'm not sure how yet. I better read ahead.

Please pray for my dad. He has been really antagonistic toward the whole homeschooling thing. Basically we are not on speaking terms right now. He thinks I am being selfish, and messing my kids up by homeschooling them. He just doesn't understand it, and therefore thinks it is wrong. He's said some really hurtful things to me, and I basically told him that if all he wanted to say to me were negative things about homeschooling, that I wasn't going to call him anymore. He responded by asking what "religion" I was. I told him I was a Christian, and he said he wanted to make sure his children stayed far away from that "religion". I don't really know what to do about it. But like I said, he needs prayer, and I need wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I love how Josh's homeschool lessons seem so timely and convicting to my heart as well.

Becoming a Godly Woman: Loving your husband and children

2009-08-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:3-5

I am reading a book by Terrie Chappell called It's a Wonderful Life: Serving God Joyfully in Marriage and Ministry. Terrie is the wife of Pastor Paul Chappell of Lancaster Baptist Church.

After hearing the struggle of a fellow Christian friend, this paragraph really stood out to me:

"There are many women who can carry out work or duties in the church, but only you can be the wife of your husband and the mother of his children. Other than your walk with the Lord, nothing should be more important to you than faithfully and unconditionally loving your family. The church can enlist another nursery director, singer, teacher, or secretary, but your family cannot enlist another wife or mother. Your family is your first ministry and calling in life." Terrie Chappell

Sometimes women can feel pressured to serve in church through guilt, or even some form of peer pressure. We need to remember that God called us to be wives and mothers first.

Lord, please help me to become a godly woman that brings honor and glory to your name. Help me to serve where you have called me to be. Help me to love you above all else, and to love my husband and children unconditionally. Amen.

Home management binder...START!

2009-07-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

Wow, I need to get organized, and I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. I saw this over on Hadley's blog and decided to put together my own binder.

So far these will be the sections I have
-School calendar
-Monthly calendars (for at a glance appointments and plans for the month)
-Schedule - I made a school day schedule and a Sunday schedule, so I can stay on track at least those days.
-Weekly Lesson plans - mostly to plan our weeks. I made my own sheet since I couldn't find one that suited our needs. All I need to know is what materials I will need for the lesson, and what library books and videos we borrow, so I don't end up losing them. Also I'll write what activities we will be doing that week.
-Homeschool tidbits - ideas I have picked up that I like and use.
-Shopping lists and meal plans - I really really really need to start doing this one.

I am also keeping ruled paper in there in case I need to make notes or something. I printed some ruled paper for Josh also from Donna Young.

Now to make a pretty table of contents and a nifty cover like the Dairy Queen did!

It's a Volcano!

2009-07-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

Josh wanted to do this again, and again. D went back twice for more vinegar, and the model clay volcano is still in the back yard, waiting for another round of explody. Haha.

In other news, I've signed up to go back to college. While I am not particularly thrilled with the thought of going back to work anytime soon, and my kids going to public school; I am thinking that our situation warrants it temporarily. Allow me to elaborate. Right now, D is going to go to college part time and work full time, and use grants to pay for college. He is going to a community college, so it is not expensive at all, as far as college costs. Well, once he is done with his associate's degree, he is going to go to college at UT Arlington FULL time and work only part time, in order to get his BS and Master's with the GI bill. He has to go full time for his GI bill to cover our housing. This is where I come in. I have thought and prayed about this, and I think that while he is going to school full time, that I should work outside the home. I just don't see how one person working part time can support a family of four for 4-5 years.

I have finished 3 semesters of college and I am going to talk to a counselor tomorrow about my goals. I plan on going into a career in an Allied Health field. I started out as a nursing major, so I have done Anatomy and Physiology I and II. Albeit 8 years ago, so I hope it is still good for something. Two options I am looking at are Physical Therapist assistant, and Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Both pay decently, and only require an Associate's degree.

I am hoping to only have the kids go to public school for 4 years tops. I have heard good things about the school disctrict here. Ideally, I don't want either of them going to public school at all for any grade higher than 5th. I hope and pray that D is done with college by then, and that the Lord will allow me to be a stay-home-mom once more at that time.

Really, I don't have any marketable skills or self-motivation to work from home. I wish I did.

Ugh, I don't feel completely comfortable with this decision, but it seems like there is no other way. We are just going to have to make do.

Build your life on the Rock - Jesus Christ

2009-07-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

This week we started R-r Rock "I listen and obey; I build my life on the Rock."

I think I might be more excited about this lesson that Josh is at this point. So far the three books we've read have mentioned "millions of years" to explain many rock formations. I told Josh that some scientists believe it took millions of years. But that the Bible tells us about a worldwide flood that changed the Earth's landscape drastically, and that it formed many of the rock formations we see today.

So each day, we are going to read books about rocks, minerals and the Earth's crust. Today we read the Bible story in Matthew 7:24 about the two builders. The wise builder who built his house upon the rock, and the foolish builder who built his house upon the sand. Of course we sang the song. :)
He understood that the Bible was telling us that the wise man was wise because he listened to God's words and obeyed them.

Some of my friends and family were curious about how our schooling incorporates several subjects at once, so I am writing out part of our routine. Each day we do some phonics and simple math as part of our curriculum. This includes days of the week and month on a calendar, patterns, reading simple stories, and writing letters and words. Each day we also learn about our subject for the week and do various things centered around that topic. Here is our plan for this week.

Thursday, Day 2- Go rock collecting. Probably walk to the park, or go to the landscaping company nearby, they have all sorts of rocks. Bible verses: Deut. 32:4, James 1:22. Review the story from Matthew 7.

Friday, Day 3 - Count the rocks we collected on Day 2, practice some addition and subtraction. Categorize them in similar groups based on color, texture, etc. Put them in order from smallest to largest. Practice ordinal numbers (first, second, etc). Bible verses: Exodus 17:1-7

Saturday (or Monday), Day 4 - Make a model volcano. Clay mountain, and baking soda/ vinegar lava. We might go to an actual cave this day instead, and do the volcano on Monday. Bible verses: Psalm 18

Monday (or Tuesday), Day 5 - Science experiment: things that float and things that don't. Have him make predictions, then ask why or why not. Make a chart.

Tuesday (or Wednesday)Day 6 - Book Day!: Read Stone Soup by Marcia Brown. Let him retell the story. Make Stone Soup.

I don't think we are going to do a lapbook for this lesson, since it would have to be very in depth to even do the subject any justice. I thought about doing it for rocks and jewels (our next lesson) together, but I'm not really feeling it right now. I am lucky we are doing any school at all right now. We are about 1/3 to 1/2 unpacked....maybe more. Our room, and the kids' room is done, and organized, and pretty. So is our kitchen, and the dining room is almost done, I just ahve a box of decorations that need to be put in my step cabinet. The living room is almost done except for our media. The breakfast nook turned school room is so not there at all. The craft room is going to be a mess until after mom moves out. Then there is all the stuff in the garage that I am ignoring.

Housing and Job Update

2009-07-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it was bound to happen. Tensions were pretty high before our things finally got here, and then its like a huge relief, even though now we have to go through everything...oy. Mom and I got into an argument of sorts, about silly things really. I wont get into too many details, cus it just sounds dumb now.

Point being, yesterday D and I were talking about moving out. So the plan was, get our stuff, don't even unpack, find a place, and go. Well, I'm thinking that now that tensions are not quite as high, and mom and I had a chance to talk things over, we are sticking to the original plan.

She is getting married in December. Her future husband lives in Tyler, and he is well off. So she wont have to work at her current job, and can concentrate on her painting. She is still going to pay half the mortgage, so the other half is like our rent and us helping her to pay for the house. In turn we get pretty cheap rent for a big house in a nice area. Everyone wins really.

When I was all mad yesterday, I was thinking that if we got into an argument or something after she got married and no longer lived here, that she would hold the half she is paying over our heads or something. "It will only get paid if XYZ conditions are met." I told her this. She assured me she would not do that, becasue, she gave her word, and she knows we made our plans accordingly. She means well, she just wants us to not waste money.

We're trying...it's just hard after being used to not paying bills for 4 years in Japan. But yes, we are aware of what we need to do to be good stewards of our money.

Job update: D got a call-back from one of the places he applied at. He is going to take their aptitude test. Also, he was told to come back to another job opportunity after the holiday. Pray for him to be put where God wants him! Also for me to know what I should to to earn supplemental income at home. I'm thinking about taking a couple of kids on for childcare (not babies, but maybe 4 and older).

I have a "summer job"

2009-06-29T05:33:00.000-07:00

There is a dad at my mom's church that has joint custody of his daughter over the summer. He owns his own business and needed someone to watch her during the day. Well, I got the job! She is 9 years old, and she is very smart. I'll be getting $100 a week to watch her. His hours vary of course since he is self employed. I just praise God for the opportunity and the extra money. :)

I'm thinking while we do school, she can do some things with us. She needs practice with her multiplication tables so that gives me a start.

I want to make it to VBS at least 2 days this week. Our VBS is in the morning/ early afternoon. We can't make it today because Drew has to go to Carswell. Wednesday we get our stuff, so that takes up that whole day.

I better get ready to "go to work" lol.

Ahh, transitions

2009-06-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

So we made it here safe, jet-lagged and sound in May. It's been almost two months and I still feel like we're neither here nor there. We get all of our stuff on July 1st. Then we will have a huge yard sale (between my stuff, mom's stuff, and a friend of hers) on 4th of July weekend.

Homeschooling has been really sporadic. I am finding out that I really got used to a schedule, and a place for everything. Right now I have neither. Life is far from normal. First off I need to get back to a steady Bible reading time every day. Then I need my husband to have a job so I can feel secure (that's my flesh talking, I know....). Once we get our stuff, hopefully things will start to feel a bit more normal.

We've done a few more lapbooks, I'll post pics of those someday, maybe lol.

I am thinking of doing this one from Lapbook Lessons, about 4th of July.

I was AWOL, now getting ready to be AWOL again

2009-04-25T07:07:00.001-07:00

Well, a couple of days ago I decided that it was time to quit the idealistic expectations I had placed on myself. School would have to wait until we got to Texas.

Our stuff will be packed out starting Monday, so I have been trying to sort through what should be packed and what we could do without. Still working on it. Procrastination is not a kind friend. If you ignore the mountain, it does not go away, it only gets bigger the closer you get to it.

My computer will be packed up on Monday, so I wont be posting for a while.

Meanwhile here are some pics of the past week.

If you have a bunch of broken, naked or otherwise abused crayons, here is a nifty craft. These are rainbow crayon cupcakes, or crayon cupcakes, or crayon biscuits. Whatever you want to call them, they are fun!
Aren't they purdy?! I of course had to make some pink ones for my princess Bird. She loves pink so much that it is sometimes slightly unsettling. Josh was a little upset that I didn't make edible cupcakes...but he liked these nonetheless.

Here is or elephants lapbook.
Josh-Bear, show the people....

I interrupted his Lego Star Wars playing to get these pictures, sorry if he looks less than thrilled.

We had lots of fun with it. I found the templates at Homeschool Share.

Please pray for our trip to be pleasant and uneventful. We have a long 11 hour non-stop flight ahead of us.

Hay is for Horses :)

2009-04-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

For the MFW forum, here are some pics. I wish to remember our homeschool room looking like it does in the above picture...not how it looks now LOL! Our calendar is on the wall to the left of the book shelf and under our missionary board. Which I need to add more cards to. We also use the All About Today board from Lakeshore (to the right of the bookshelf). I got it on clearance two years ago so the one they have now is a bit different.

The 100 chart is to the right of the All About Today, and next to it are the ABC chart and the blend ladder (not pictured). Under that, you see a black shelf, It holds different types of paper, and unknown clutter at this point. I keep our unit folders in a file folder box, and next year's curriculum on the bottom shelf. Again, not pictured but I refuse to publicly show how it looks today.

We've just done day 5 of H-h Horse in MFW-K. Tomorrow we'll do book day, then it's off to the library. Inspired by some of the lovely lapbooks I've seen online, I decided to try it out. I really had no idea what they were until I asked D'etta, and she gave me some great links.

Our first one is really pretty simple. I used some of the activities we were already doing and incorporated them in the lapbook. Josh did a fair share of the work, drawing and some cutting, but I ended up doing quite a bit of it. I don't mind though, he loves it. Plus it will be a nice review for him when she shows his friends.

Yes, I know my handwriting stinks.

Here is Aimé showing off her "book about horses." (She had no help from me on this one, she saw the paper, scissors, tape and glue and went to town.)
I think she invented the "taco fold" LOL.
Here is Josh with his clay horse. And Aimé with her letter practice. She wrote her name. :)

We are going to be medically PCS-ing (military move with orders). It looks like D will be sent first then they will have us follow and either meet him at Lackland or my mom's. We are going to be living at mom's once we get out either way. Please pray for us during this transition time. At this point everything is up in the air. I thought we were leaving on 4th of May and getting out, but now everything is unknown. I don't know when he is leaving or when we are leaving, or where we will be staying, or how our stuff will be handled.

Reasons not to homeschool

2009-04-03T01:57:00.000-07:00

I don't know how accurate the top paragraph is, but the reasons are just funny.

In an effort to increase the public drumbeat for criminalizing homeschooling, a memo has been distributed containing the top 10 reasons why public schooling is better than homeschooling. Here is an excerpt from that memo:

1. Most parents were educated in the under-funded public school system, and so are not smart enough to homeschool their children.

2. Children who receive one-on-one homeschooling will learn more than others, giving them an unfair advantage in the marketplace. This is undemocratic.

3. How can children learn to defend themselves unless they have to fight off bullies on a daily basis?

4. Ridicule from other children is important to the socialization process.

5. Children in public schools can get more practice “Just Saying No” to drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol.

6. Fluorescent lighting may have significant health benefits.

7. Publicly asking permission to go to the bathroom teaches young people their place in society.

8. The fashion industry depends upon the peer pressure that only public schools can generate.

9. Public schools foster cultural literacy, passing on important traditions like the singing of “Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg….”

10. Homeschooled children may not learn important office career skills, like how to sit still for six hours straight.

Feeling Overwhelmed

2009-03-27T03:48:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to start a new unit today, and I didn't feel up to it. We went and played with friends at the Weasel's Den instead.

I think that those around me may feel that this is the same old whines as usual (I hope not lol). I am really not feeling it these past few days. No motivation to do anything around the house. I just started (Aunt Flo) today, which is weird cus I was a week late according to my count.

Between the deployment right up to the last minute before we leave, and all the preparing I have to do. I just don't feel up to it in any way. I have friends who are willing to help. I guess I just need someone to be here and talk to me while I work. That would be nice.

I hate getting depressed, but it seems to happen quite a bit (maybe it's cyclical?). It's how I react to stress. I get all down, then I get angry at myself for getting down, so I get further down. Pretty soon I stop caring about things. Even things I love to do, I don't....care. I really don't want my children to remember me this way.

My dear friend told me to remember Phil 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Wordless Wednesday: She loves baskets....

2009-03-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Got milk?

2009-03-24T03:03:00.000-07:00

Homeschooling:
Today we did day 4 of C-c Cow. We made a list and poster of dairy products.

In preparation of our Dairy Party tomorrow. Our menu is:
Cheese cubes (mozzarella, smoked gouda, sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, and swiss)
Yogurt with strawberries for dipping
Rolls with cream cheese
Ice cream!
Strawberry (or chocolate) milk shakes

Books the kids have enjoyed so far are The Cow Who Wouldn't Come Downand Metropolitan Cow.

We have to make do with what books our on base library has (can't wait to have a variety of libraries around). Even though they often don't have books that have been recommended, I am finding some gems in there. We didn't get to make butter on day 2, but the commissary just got whipping cream in, so I plan on making it either tomorrow or Thursday.

Aimé is in the cabinet by choice by the way. Here's proof.

This is a typical evening for us. Yes, we are usually this silly :p

I had sushi for dinner again. The commissary went and put in a sushi bar and they do a lot of yummy rolls with avocado. It's mostly the cooked stuff and the veggies that I love, and they have lots of that. I like my sushi like I like my coffee, frilly, frou frou, and decked out. I will eat just a plain nigiri salmon, but give me shrimp plus avocado any day. Yes, I know, it's Westernized sushi. I like the real stuff, but I can't help it. I love avocado.

Speaking of which.

The kids are each singing their own version of that song. Josh almost started his on the video, until I said "not THAT one".

Josh: Got the brocco-moli and a piece of cake....(the rest is just like the original song, except substitute brocco-moli)

Aimé: Got the macaroni got the cake. Got the macaroni got the CAAAAKE! Om nom nom nom!! (she was actually saying Om nom nom, until I tried to get it on video.)

~*Liz

Hey Diddle Diddle

2009-03-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

Homeschooling: We finished up G-g Goat from MFW -K recently. For day 6, book day I could not find either book that the TM recommended, so I used Beatrice's Goat as our basis for that day's activities. The neatest thing was something I read in the MFW Kindergarten topic ideas about giving an actual goat to a needy family in Asia. Josh and I decided to give a pair of goats and a pair of chickens to a Dalit family in India (we had been talking about our missionaries to India recently as well). You can find more info at Gospel For Asia. I think it is awesome that not only can we make a difference and meet someone's physical needs, but meet their spiritual needs as well. Love in action. Love is a verb after all. That closed out last unit.

So now we have done day 3 of C-c Cow. Today's activity was dramatizing and then memorizing the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle". Standard requirement for any literary competent child, I assure you. I gathered stuffed animals and a play dish and spoon to "act out" the rhyme. Then I cut out a crooked circle paper moon and a pitiful excuse for a fiddle. The kids LOVED it! Josh laughed so hard every time the dish literally ran away with the spoon. Fun times were had by all. He knows the rhyme now!

I am so behind on our badges scrap book. For MFW, the TM says to cut out a badge in the shape of the main theme (sun, moon, leaf etc). And have the child wear it and tell people what he's learning about, and how it applies to the Bible etc. Well, Josh wont wear anything like that. He wont wear party hats at birthdays either, and I don't force it on him. Plus he doesn't need much prompting to talk about what he is learning. Ask my friends. So I decided to make a scrapbook, and put the shapes in there with the "words to remember" and scripture verses on each one.

Homemaking:
When D is gone I don't tend to cook whole meals. The kids have been living on mac and cheese and sandwiches. I have been living on Amy's Kitchen microwaveable meals. Hey, it's organic lol.
I did make some yummy fried rice for lunch today though.

I love the smell and feel of towels fresh from the dryer. So warm and fluffy and clean smelling. Yeah, gotta go fold those now.