Summer Before Summer Time and Open Invitation

The past few weeks we have been enjoying temperatures in the upper 80's to mid/upper 90's.  I'm told this continues well in to September.

I know this sounds very difficult to many, but for us these temperatures are lovely.  Some days when we walk outside it is humid, but not so oppressively humid as we had experienced in Pennsylvania.  Even on the hottest, most humid days here, it doesn't last long.

Everyone's gardens are well established; their yards are manicured; they are adjusting their schedules to get their yard work done super early in the mornings.  Then there are those of us from Pennsylvania who, although we've adjusted our schedules too, continue to struggle getting the young folks to understand getting their yard work done early is the best thing they can do for themselves.  I have to laugh though.  In Pennsylvania we always did yard work after 10AM due to allergies.  Here it done long before 10AM because the temperatures could be 85+ degrees by then.  They are learning and they are understanding more of the "why" now after a couple days of needing to finish a project.

This is our house last August, before we moved.  It looks a little different now with things trimmed and the grass mowed.

The swimming pool has been open and (giving us fits) being used daily.  The previous owners were not able to care for the pool and after getting the water tested we've found that it has Mustard Algae in it.  We are having a difficult time getting it cleaned off the side walls due to the toughness of this particular algae.  We've done everything suggested and continue to do everything suggested,but the algae doesn't go away.  I'm not sure what the solution is, but I'm not going to worry about it because that's my husband's department.  I don't know much about pools.  I go out and skim every other day for half an hour before I swim.  I'll do whatever is asked of me other than that, but I have no experience or understanding of pool care.  My Mr. G has worked in this area about 23 years ago, so this is his arena.  My area is inside the house.  

You can't see it in this picture, but the deep end has a lot of mustard algae.

Looking to the south on historic state route 41

My husband is a shutter bug.  He loves taking pictures of clouds and weather formations as they come across the land.  He's done this for years.  When he hears of some awesome storms rolling in, he heads out with the camera as you can see in the above picture.  :)  Now he has me doing it!  LOL

I walked out of a W*lmart neighborhood store and found this!

The Lord met me at the door with this beautiful sky when I walked out of the store.  I stopped and took the picture while everyone around me looked at me funny.  It's ok.  I enjoy stopping and taking pictures of the beauty God blesses me with.

As we continue our new lives here in Georgia, the learning curve is still there, still steep at times, but still there.  We are adjusting, adapting, improvising, overcoming obstacles and making changes as needed.  The Lord has been so very good to us.  We've had some obstacles that has caused us to question whether or not we're supposed to be here, but the Lord has brought us reminders many times over that "Yes!" we're supposed to be here, right where He's brought us.  We greatly miss our Pennsylvania friends, church family, work friends and the area and life we knew.  We are working currently to make a place for guests to stay when they come this direction, even just for over night.  We're only a mile off the interstate, so it's very easy to get to our house.  Those of you who are traveling south are more than welcome to stop by for dinner, over night, or just stop and stretch your legs and visit for a bit.  We have lots of room!

God Bless,

Beginning our 12th Year of Home School

The beginning of our school year is in full swing.  We started our book work on Monday August the 5th with very light school and very low expectations.  I gave them only 2 days worth of school, but months ago we were planning to go camping and we've had to wait to see what new schedule my husband was getting since his promotion.  I just kept the original plan of 2 days of school in place and had them work at their own paces to get their feet whet for school this year.  Now that we have 2 full weeks of school under our belts, we're well on our way.

I've counted days for school since July 1st, however.  We've done tons of things that are education related like field trips, work, drama, VBS, consumer math, hospitality, among a host of other things.  Our "book work" began in August.  How can I "get away" with starting to count days on July 1st?  We live a lifestyle of learning every day.  Each thing we do establishes a learning opportunity.  Even though every day can be different, it is still bringing us learning experiences.

I have a Senior, a Sophomore and an 8th grader this year.  I have very little to help them with daily because they're independent learners now.  I check their work to see what they're having problems with, explain and teach when necessary with the older 2.  With my youngest I have a bit more to do, but it is decreasing with each passing year.

As much as I enjoy not having as much teaching time, it leaves me with time to sit on the front porch with my hubby talking, enjoying our coffee and doing our Bible study together.  It is such a blessed time for me to spend time with my husband studying the Bible together.

I didn't take "first day of school" pictures at all.  I use to do that, but it has fallen by the wayside this year.  I think it is just because our first day of school came and went without fanfare.  However, I do have a picture that I took with my phone of the 3 children together not too far from July 1st, at a wedding at the end of June.  =0)

From left to right:  JL(14), HJ(15), & Daniel(18)

My husband tells me that once our children turn 18, we can address them online by their first names.  Daniel just turned 18 on August 19th.  We took pictures when we woke him up, but I don't think he was ready to wake up.  LOL 

Needless to say, he and Mr. G continue to look for just the right car for him.  Of course it has to pass Mr. G's expectations.  Once he gets a car, he'll take his behind the wheel exam a second time.  He took it with our Suburban and when he parallel parked, the front driver's side corner was sticking our 6" too far and forgot to turn his blinker on once, so the tester failed him. :0(   Now, we wait until Daddy can find a car for him. =0)

This school year began with a rotating schedule for my husband.  Now that he's been promoted, he has regular predictable days off each week.  I've adjusted our school schedule to accommodate Daddy's days off so each of us can rest, have fun, and work together on a variety of things.  Since this is Daddy's 2nd week in his new position, it has left my kids a little out of sorts.  While we usually take Sundays off, rarely have we taken 2 days off in a row on a regular basis.  They were looking around and at times, wandering around wondering what they could do with themselves.  LOL

As time moves along here in the next week, we'll probably increase the amount of canning that we're doing with the tomatoes ripening.  We count canning time as school too.  I just remove their computer school work from the day so it doesn't "pile up" on them.  Young folks learning how to can the produce from the garden is important, so we integrate that in to our days in the late summer.

A life style of learning is something that has allowed us to not be encumbered by limiting our learning to just school times, but has expanded our learning to all parts of our lives.  Just this morning I left the weather loop on the computer for the kids to see when they came past.  Daniel found a map of water temperatures when upon closer inspection, they discovered where water currents are due to those currents being a different color.  

Life is full of learning experiences.  It encompasses each of our daily lives.  What a wonderful blessing, if we recognize those potential learning opportunities and embrace them with thankfulness.

Serving in Vacation Bible School

Kingdom Chronicles is the name of the Vacation Bible School curriculum that our church used this year.  The publisher is Answers in Genesis.    It was very fun and exciting for all of us to participate as a family this year.

Our youngest son played "King Christopher" in the play.  He had done such a wonderful job reading his part.  He's had such a difficult time with his Dyslexia and Dysgraphia through his elementary years that this time is a triumph for him!  He'd had a hang up reading in front of others, stumbling over his words, but this time, although he read a little slower--he did great! 

Each of the young folks did such a wonderful job!  They love doing skits for VBS.  My daughter loves this so much that she's asked to be able to do voice and drama lessons.  

The Lord works in mysterious ways.  If He has placed this desire in her heart for His purposes, then as her parents, my husband and I need to help her in positive ways to develop those talents for His glory.

If we do not, we will be hindering the Holy Spirit.  

...and I don't want to do that.  We don't know what the future holds for her or for the young men in our home for that matter.

I praise God that each one of the young folks want to honor and glorify God with their gifts.

Our oldest son played Prince Robert, one of the "immature" princes who needed to grow up.  He did a wonderful job portraying the prince.  His character gave his heart to the Savior as a part of the play at the end of the week.  I love watching my kids having fun serving God!  What a lovely and wonderful gift to behold by a parent!

Yes, there is a little boy throwing a sponge.  My daughter is directly to the left, helping where she can.  This was my Kindergarten class, throwing wet sponges at the poor soul who volunteered to get in to the stockade for the sheer pleasure of the kids.

My Mr. G facilitated the games for the week, but didn't get in to the stockade.  He had volunteers for that.

My class...so very excited to throw sponges at my youngest son!

Yes, they had some pretty good aim too!  LOL

We had a wonderful time serving the Lord this past week for Vacation Bible School as a family.  Each of us had a different role, but each of us worked and had so much fun in the process.  Serving God as a family is such a joy!

Praise God!

It has come to my attention...

I have been getting some visitors from some questionable sites.   As a response, I thought of making my blog a "for permission only" type of blog, but quite honestly the more I thought about it, the more I thought that I would keep my blog open...a salt and light kind of thing.

So here goes....