A New Start?

A test of sorts.....

 I think I'm going to try something old-new. 

It has been too many years since my last post. The world's different, I'm different. 

Lots of changes.

Lent is next week - 5 days to be exact. 

I think I would like to document this again. 

I do miss thinking out loud.

First - a little revamp and moving things around. This blog focus will be different - isn't everything? We don't homeschool anymore. Only half the children live at home now. We will be starting construction in 4 weeks to add space for my parents. 

Time to clean house - my physical home as well as my virtual home.

Learning Update - Feb 5

Well, that was a long, uninteded break.

Learning around here has been a bit haphazard. I wish it were not so, but - life.

We have managed to keep up with our outside classes. Both girls got their mid-term grades for their AP US History class - both have an A. It has been a huge challenge, but they are enjoying the class and learning. Lucas continues to do really well with his outside General Science class. He also received his mid-term grade of A.

All three are starting to work the math well! Math is such a challenge here. This has been such a great thing to watch.

I am hoping to go back in time over the next week and catch up on any outside trip made. Of course, our biggest was to SC to watch Marine Boy graduate last November. 

Here is to better record keeping from here on out!

Happy Thanksgiving

We have been so busy! But it is all good. This little corner of mine has been neglected. It is hard to remember to do something you spent the last few years ignoring.


Anyway - part of the reason we have been so busy is getting ready to see the boy we sent off to Parris Island graduate as a United States Marine (that is a whole nother post).

Our Thanksgiving took place last Saturday. We had the Marine and the Scientist home for the weekend so we celebrated early. There was much to be thankful for - the least of which was a full house.

I took this picture standing on the stairs to get everyone in. 

We enjoyed having all the children in the house as well as all the grandparents and a couple aunts and definitely enjoyed the youngest batch of cousins in the family. Frank fried the turkey (totally yummy!) and we all ate a lot.

May you all be blessed with a wonderful Thanksgiving - 

whenever you get to celebrate it!

Learning Update - September 18

I really could have skipped this week update. However, I really want to make sure I keep up with my record of our year.

This past week went about as expected. Started getting the schedule in place. I did realize that Mondays are important here. The first few weeks of September, since we started, Monday school did not happen for various reasons. Yesterday happened. And it was good. Lucas accomplished a lot of good work and we had a good discussion about expectations: his and mine. The girls got what they need to get done, done.

So, the big takeaways from this week: Get the schedules for the kiddos finished by Sunday night for the week and stay home and do book work on Mondays.

Here is looking forward to a great week

Learning Update - September 11

Again this past week we had our Tuesday classes. I think they went a bit better than everyone was expecting. The girls have been working to get in the habit of getting their homework done in a timely manner. Julianne had her first Biology class. And Lucas did a small bit of reading some history books. 

The best education opportunity happened this week. We had planned to drive to NC to visit daughter #2 and decided to leave Thurs night. We stopped in VA on the way down. On Friday, a very hot Friday, we went to..... Jamestown, VA!

We had never been there and the kiddos are all studying this time period. It was very interesting to see the differences in history in the South and up here in New England. We have so much more information about what happened and who was making it happen. One of the docents at the Jamestown ships mentioned that a lot of information was burned during the Civil War - something that didn't occur to any of us before this trip.

Learning about leatherwork

How to keep track of what direction we are sailing and how far we went

glass blowing - beautiful work

On Saturday, we went to the Duke Homestead in Durham for a family day. We learned a lot about how much of a role tobacco played in the growth of North Carolina and the South. It turned out to be a lot more interesting than we had anticipated.

curing tobacco

The colors of the tobacco plants are so interesting

freshly picked and bunched tobacco

We also went to the Joel Lane Museum House. A fascinating look at the oldest house in Raleigh. A lot of information about living in the 1700's.  Joel Lane sold 1000 acres to help create the City of Raleigh, NC

A Revolutionary War Uniform

All in all, not a lot of book work completed, but a lot of knowledge was acquired! 

Salesian Sunday - September 9

This Salesian Sunday will be a bit different. I am away this week. At the church I went to for Mass, they gave me my Sunday thought. 

At the beginning of the gathering, before Mass began, the welcome-er asked everyone to:

"in the spirit of St Francis de Sales, turn to your neighbor and welcome them"

And I thought: Am I welcoming? Do I invite my children and husband to speak so I can listen and not instruct? Do I say hi to strangers in stores or other locations? Do I show God's love to others, regardless of whether I like or know them or not?

All good questions. I am not sure the answers were as good.

For this next week, I will do my best to follow St Francis and be more welcoming to others - especially those I live with.

7QT - September Yarn Along

Oh goodness. It has been a long time since I participated in Ginny's yarn along. I thought I would combine it with my 7 Quick Takes this month.

               

1

Rosary Bags

I am making a bunch of these little rosary bags. Some have decorations, some are plain. I am heading off to a conference the end of this month and I decided to try my hand at selling something. We shall see how this works out.

2

Rosary Roses

Again, these groups of roses are for little ones to count their prayers when praying the Rosary. I have made a couple sets in the past for friends and thought I would see if anyone else would like them.

3

Baby Blanket

Ah, I finished this a bit ago for the most adorable baby boy. For all the baby blankets I have made in the past, this is the first KNIT blanket. I like it! and I promise, 1- the color in the picture is very dull compared to the actual blanket and 2- I will get it to him - soon!

4

Another baby blanket

This is the beginning of my favorite baby blanket ever. I am really making it to have .... just in case.

5

Carry-all bag

I tried my hand at crocheting over cotton clothes-line. I like the feel of the bag. It has a nice sturdy feel to it. I think I will definitely make more.

6

Wool Hat

Despite the 90 degree heat lately, we are in New England - it will get cold. This will be needed.

7

Table cover

Honestly not sure if I will finish this or frog it. I like the design, I just don't like the size. I think I will sit some more on this.


And that's it. 7 projects.

Linking up with Ginny's Yarn Along and Kelly's 7 Quick Takes today!