My blog. It's been empty a bit. I feel there is little to report beyond repeating myself, so I've not been posting much.
We've been doing school, weeding, harvesting, earning extra money on side jobs, etc. But nothing incredibly earth-shattering. However, I feel like I've abandoned it again, and I can't do that!
Michael has a great plan for his future and his education. He's got the whole thing mapped out to graduate high school early, maybe by 1 or 1.5 years, while simultaneously working on a degree and achieving that by the age of 20. All this while living here and saving up for his first home. His goal? To be a husband and father who stays home to work and care for his wife and kids. To that end, he is preparing himself spiritually, educationally, and financially. I'm so proud of him.
However, what that means is lots of study. He's going to take college classes at home as well as CLEPping out of as many as he can, to reduce his time and expense. I've decided to attempt to CLEP out of some right along with him, as I'm doing the guidance for his school anyhow. What that means is...
I'M DOING ALGEBRA!
And I'm finding out that the things I got stuck on in high school are the same things I STILL get stuck on! Some things never change. However, it is working out beautifully that the thing's I get stuck on, Michael is good at, and the things he is stuck on I am good at.
So that takes a little more time, as instead of just guiding him, setting him up, and being there to help him if he needs it, I am actually doing the work alongside him. It's cool, as we add a little competition to the mix and it spurs us on in speed and accuracy.
Other than that, here are some highlights of late.
Michael doing regular maintenance of the mower, making sure it's clean after being used.
Cute little frog.
A little turtle came on through.
Such beautiful designs!
He's got big plans. Where on earth do you suppose he's going?
I have been taking tons of cloud photographs. The spring and summer sky have been ripe with clusters of Heavenly inspiration. I could probably do that all day long. They simply amaze me, and I can't help but think of my Creator when I look at them, and long for His return.
Quite a bit of swimming.
Brussel sprout anticipation.
Window washing and office cleaning.
Gymnastics.
Weeding.
Much more weeding yet to be done.
Michael working with his horse.
Fiery sunsets.
New toys.
Beautiful friends with beautiful projects.
Doing more juicing. This is a delicious Granny Smith apple juice that I made a run to the herb garden to add interest. It's got parsley, lemon balm, spearmint, and ginger mixed in as well.
I have been practicing yard sale-ing. We had a wonderful day out at a huge sale in an upscale community. Lots of great stuff I hope to resell - just as soon as I've got time. I bought this quilt set for 3 dollars.
And I didn't get photos of all the designer childrens' clothing I got for a song. That will take some posting effort. We'll see how that goes.
We took off for a terrific trip educational field trip this week. It takes a couple of hours to get there, but the Manhattan Project at Oak Ridge was a very interesting event in our nation's history. There is a Museum of Science and Technology that is really great to experience.
They had brought in a Cemesto house and set it up on the grounds. I went in and took gobs of photos that no one else will be interested in seeing, so I'll spare you, but it was cool to imagine this life for the 75,000 people who occupied a place and time so unique in this world's history. I checked out a book from the library to find out more about them, "City Behind A Fence".
Some brain teasers.
A picnic lunch.
One of those whisper cone sets.
We all enjoyed the show about electromagnetism.
And we even participated.
Toward the end of the tour, I found a lot of the young adults giving their feet a break.
On the way back we made a couple of pitstops; Subway for lunch, and the theater for Toy Story 3. It was really, really good. Sniffles all OVER that theater!
Please pray for our dear friend, Todd. It is really looking like the Lord is going to take Him home very soon. Physically it is pretty bad, and writing about the details of what he is dealing with would shock most people. But he is strong in the Lord. This battle with cancer over the last two years has been indescribable in the way it has reached people. God is glorified in all things. Pray for Barbara, his wife, and their two sweet children, Maddie and Ben.
May the Lord bless you all today.
~Faith
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Faith, What a great post! I feel the same you do...nothing too much going on...just repeating the same stuff. This is an awesome post! I love the sunset...Love the pics...the juice has me drooling!!! I want a juicer BAD! I will keep your friend and his family in our prayers! I LOVE posts like these...however, they make me look soooo bad!HAHA.
ReplyDeleteLove ya,
Lori
Glad to know that we're not the only ones with fklower and gardens to weed*wink* Everytime I feel we're making headway we seem to slip behind again. Oh! well so goes the battle of the garden weeds and we're doing a far better job this year, so hope this will reduce the annual weeds next season.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the firey sunset picture and the cute frog and turtle pictures too. Everything looks so nice and love the yard sale find( beautiful quilt and shams)
Sorry to hear about your friend, we added him and his family to our prayer journal a few months back. Praise the Lord he knows and loves God. When he is finally HOME he'll be healthy again. We continue to pray for them, especially his family who is left behind.
Blessings,
Kelle
As I have said before, you and your family are amazing. Some girl out there will truly be blessed when Michael chooses his wife.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is the time i think of as a holding pattern. Its all simply keeping up with time going on.
ReplyDeleteI used to love finding tiny toads like that when i was younger. Its amazing how perfectly they are formed at such a minute size. They are like little pebbles and then they jump!
The turtle sure does look cute there with his head held high to see over the grass and choose the direction of his next great exploit.
I love the sky pictures, clouds and sunsets....
That pool looks sooo inviting... wish i could still do a headstand like that, lol
What is the project that is on the kintting needles? I think i see something that looks like pineapple pattern, a light shawl maybe? Lobe the colors in it. I can't knit but i am an amateur at crochet, i enjoy it very much though. :o)
That is a really nice bedspread for only a few bucks. I plan to go yardsailing this weekend if i find some spare time and the leg behaves.
This is a good weekend for it i think.
Fascinating field trip, i admit that i don't think about things like The Manhattan Project much, not so much because i find it uninteresting, but because i wouldn't know where to begin comprehending what it was all about. I looked up the book you mentioned and i have put it on my wish list.
Is that a Van De Graff Generator? Its been a while since i have seen one. They were so fun in science class, the static photo was perfect, she has the right hair for the best effect! :o)
The color of that juice is very enticing. I used to love juicing, especially carrots...mmmm....
I will be keeping Todd and his family in my prayers. (((hug)))
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI know, I miss your more regular posts. I hope you don't stop blogging when you move away from the farm. All of life is interesting but, like you I think, the focus of this blog was to be one thing, and sometimes it goes into something else. Adjusting it takes more focus than I have the time to give. So it's hiccuping a bit.
~Faith
Kelle,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for adding Todd and his family to your prayers. :o)
Still haven't made it out to the weeds again. The mulch in the garden is helping out tremendously, but I better get straw soon, or we'll be paying for that free old hay, very soon!
~Faith
Chai Chai,
ReplyDeleteOnly by the grace of God in our lives, so we are truly grateful.
You are right about Michael. If the Lord does not return soon, there is a young lady out there we pray for together all the time. I can't wait to meet her. :o)
~Faith
Icebear,
ReplyDeleteThe blue knitting project is Leah's. She's told me what it is, but well.... A shawl or baby blanket? She is always making things to give away to preemie centers, the cutest hats and booties. :o)
I didn't know much about the MP before going to the museum a few years ago. The story fascinated me, not so much about building the bomb, but the average citizen, what their involvement was, how it affected their lives.
This town was built in about a year, was not on the map, grew to 75,000 people, and no one knew what the others were doing. The state of TN didn't even know this place existed. Yet a strong sense of community developed out of necessity. All they knew was, a war was on, and they were trying to stop it, each in their own way of contribution.
Yup, that's the generator. Science is cool. :o)
~Faith
Oh my gosh I am so proud of Michael. Does that kind of thinking not amaze you when you see it in someone his age??? Tell me what CLEPing is.
ReplyDeleteI will keep Todd in my prayers. And his family. It is so frustrating this weak body of ours....we just weren't meant to be here.
Love the new toys!!
SM
ReplyDeleteCLEP means College Level Entrance Program. Rather than taking a college class, you can study for the exam at the end. If you pass, you get the college unit credit for having taken the class.
CLEPs are offered for about 35 basic college classes. There are also DANTES tests - basically the same thing, just lesser known.
I imagine they are also the same classes that are available for dual enrollment for high school students. Most of the first two years of college are review of what should have been learned in high school anyway, so for those who are willing to do a little harder work, dual enrollment means you take the college level course for your high school classes, thereby earning what you need for your HS diploma while simultaneously earning credit hours that are applied to the AA degree you are going for.
We are blessed to have good friends in Michael's life who have their heads screwed on straight. They all encourage each other to live their lives optimally and for the Lord. I am very grateful!
~Faith