Life just gets too busy!!

I know everybody is busy.  It is just busy having a family & homeschooling.  Some days I just don't know where to begin.  I have come to a realization, though... it begins the night before.  I can't go to bed at midnight ANYMORE!!!  10:00 should be my bedtime, not midnight.  (...and its 10:30 now, hmmm...)  If Momma doesn't get her rest, all the rest will fall apart!

Before Christmas our home was such a disorganized mess, I didn't know how I would ever get it cleaned up.  So I offered to host Christmas!  Sounds silly, but I work better with  a deadline!  I got the house pretty clean... though my bed was covered in last-minute clutter when everyone arrived!  But over all it was pretty clean!  I had gone through the school room, play room and "family room"/"Tyler's bedroom" and had it in as good of shape as an unfinished basement could probably get.  I had the upstairs decluttered and cleaned up as good as I could get it.  Then it hit me:  the only mess left is that clutter pile I stuffed in our room on Christmas morning!  Wow!  I was so close, surely I could finish it up curing Christmas break!  What incentive, to be almost, dare I say... "DONE!"  That is NOT a word I would normally EVER use in my household tasks.  My work is never really done!

So now I am in maintenance mode, and I must say, I like it a whole lot better than chaos!!!  I don't feel guilty if I sit down for a few minutes when my back hurts.  I don't feel guilty when everyone's homework is done on Friday night and the kids want me to sit with them and watch a movie.  I don't feel guilty NFL Playoffs weekend when I want to snuggle up to Hubby on the couch and watch the games because there's nothing to feel guilty about!  Don't get me wrong, ITS NOT PERFECT, but its not chaos.

Even our bedroom isn't chaos!  Our bedroom has always been a "catch-all" and has never been "really clean".  It is pretty clean!  (Notice I said, "pretty clean".)  I have a sense of pride in my work, but much more importantly, I know that I didn't do it in my own strength.  God is the one who gives strength.  I have been so short on energy these last 5 years, it feels great to have energy!

I am also trying to get up early to exercise and pray.  BEFORE the kids get up!  My goal is to (eventually) go to bed at 9:00, get up at 5:30 for exercise, personal devotions, shower, and prepare dinner.  If I do it in the morning, I will have more free time later when I can spend time with my family, eat dinner earlier, clean up earlier, and... go to bed earlier!!!  It is sort-of a cycle, which starts with going to bed early.  The problem is, I am a night owl!  So by God's grace and my obedience to Him (and a schedule) I CAN DO THIS!!!

Wordless Wednesday, 7:25 this morning...

Pictures of Boston

Downtown Boston Skyline

This building was the seat of Massachussetts government and many historical events happened here, incliding the Boston Massacre on its front lawn, and the reading of the Declaration of Independence just14 days after it had been signed.  (I think this picture is actually the back side.)

Revolutionary War artifacts, in the Old State House.

A statue of Benjamin Franklin, Boston was his hometown.

The Old North Church, from whose 14 story steeple Paul Revere was signaled to tell the colonists, "the Brittish are coming!"  You know the story!

Statue of Paul Revere.  We were so unfortunate to get there after the church and other special buildings on the Freedom Trail were already closed.  Behind the statue is a courtyard lined with plaques of historical information.  If I remember right, America's first school was built in that area.(?)

The USS Constitution, the oldest ship still sea worthy.

A residential street on the north side of downtown.  There are 2-3-4 story buildings everywhere, all are very old, and they are filled with apartments, some quite large, I am guessing.  We noticed the streets are extremely clean.  No garbage blowing around these streets!  The narrow roads (not wide enough for traffic) are another indication of their age!

This is the view from our hotel window.  Not bad for an industrial area!  The oil tankers come to this area to unload into huge "bins"(??? I'm from Iowa, I don't actually know what they're called!).

Sadly, we never made it to Bunker Hill.  Our walk was long, my feet had blisters, and it was getting dark.  We were a little nervous about finding our way back to a train station and it was hard to tell by the train map what streets the stops were at from where we were.

We had a beautiful flight home this morning: NO turbulence, sunshine, it was AWESOME to get close to home and actually identify the towns and roads below us!  We couldn't see our house, as they fly directly over it.  (We knew that- we see them all the time!)  We could even see the pavement at the end of our gravel road!

Boston, Mass.

By God's divine intervention and appointment, Dallas and I are in Boston, Mass for a real estate class.  Like, what are the chances we could find people to watch 5 kids for 5 days, get the most timely flights out here, the most accommodating and least expensive hotel in the area, and then get a Christian POWERHOUSE teacher!!  As he introduced himslef this morning, it hit me just how Sovereign the Lord is in our lives!

Thursday morning we got up at 3:30 a.m. for our 6:00 flight.  Everything went so smoothly (except the turbulance all the way to Chicago!)  We arrived in Boston on time and had the afternoon to do the Freedom Walk.  (Which I HIGHLY recommend for anyone ever visiting Boston!)  The walk is free, and we bought a $7 guide book.

Yesterday we toured downtown Boston.  We saw the site of the Boston Masacre and our original "Capitol" building (The Old State House,)  Massachusseett's original state building (INCREDIBLE ARCHITECTURE!!)  Paul Revere's home and statue.  "The Old North Church" where someone hung a light in the bell tower to notify Paul Revere that the British were coming.  It is SO TALL!  It is hard to believe the architecture of that time, when they didn't have heavy equipment or seemingly the means of doint that!  We saw the USS Constitution and we could see the Bunker Hill monument, but were too tired to go there.  It is a walking tour and they said it was 2-1/2 miles but it sure seemed farther!  (I have the blisters on my feet to prove it!)  There are so many things to see and the wonderful smells of all the restaurants.  It was a BEAUTIFUL mid 60's day with sunshine, and downtown where the buildings are so close there is no wind so it was nice and warm there. 

It was so neat to look down the alleys.  The buildings are so old that the "streets" between some of the 3-4 story apartment buildings aren't wide enough for cars, so they are like really wide sidewalks.  Some are barely wide enough and are one-way.  It was weird, we'd be walking along and there would be an open door and if you looked in, you were looking at someone's kitchen!  One dould easily look out their window and watch someone else in their 2nd story kitchen!  I wasn't sure if they were really narrow 3-story houses, or if each level was an apartment, but only 2-3 feet from the street!  We are enjoying the Harbour, we can see a small inlet of it from our hotel room. 

I HATE FLYING!!!  It has been 16 years since I went to Honduras and that had been my only time.  I almost got sick between Chicago and Boston.  They gave me a Sprite and I sipped on it the last 1/2 of the trip... that saved me!  (Whew!)  Once we came out of the clouds and could see ground, we were horrified to see SNOW EVERYWHERE!!!  But when we landed the captains said it was 61* in Boston. (YEAH!)  The east coast was "dumped" on last weekend, still homes without power.

When I get home I will add pictures. (I am writing this on the hotel computer.)

Overwhelmed

The title describes how I have been feeling for the past month+.  Starting homeschooling without much organization, always feeling like I haven't had enough sleep {because I really don't}, dealing with the issues that go along with having elderly parents, starting a new home business- with all the fears, expenses & new things to learn that go along with THAT,  Hubby working extra hours, a constant backache, the repentant prodigal son who is stuck in Texas indefinitely{and very homesick, I might add!}, my 91-year-old dad {whom we thought was saved for close to 60 years} says now that the Bible is not true and he just can't believe it, and don't forget the two-year-old and her campaign to gain full control of the house- particularly her MOTHER....  I believe it all adds up to a nervous breakdown!!!

My Pastor's wife likes to share the verse, "when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is higher than I." Psalm 61:2  This verse has meant a lot to me these last several weeks.  Whenever I start feeling like crawling in a hole is the only solution, I remember this verse.  It is really the only relief I have.  I go to the Rock and He refreshes me and fills me with His love.  He gives comfort and peace.  I am so thankful for my relationship with my Savior.  I don't know how an unbeliever could get through all this stress.

"Thank You, Father, for the love and strength which only YOU can give!  I am so thankful for what You have done for me on the cross, and in my life.  Help me to just lean on You all the time!"


P.S.  I do have a few pictures to share, but the computer is not accepting my memory card... *sigh* just one more thing...

Book Review: The True Story of Noah's Ark

I haven't done this before, but I have found a fascinating book about creation that I just had to mention!  It is required reading for our new history curriculum {Simply Charolette Mason's Genesis through Deuteronomy}.  It has fabulous, detailed art work and it even has a CD that reads the story and has sound effects!  It is written by Tom Dooley, Illustrated by Bill Looney and published by Master Books.

Front cover

The construction of the ark

The animals coming to the ark

A pull-out picture of what the inside of the ark might look like

A book every Christian home should have to teach children about creation and Noah's ark!

Good-bye, Summer, 2011

After two weeks of our 2011-2012 homeschooling year, I thought it might be time to get back for an update.  The summer seemed so fast, but it didn't seem very productive.  I was pretty lazy this summer!  Normally I do as much cleaning and getting together with friends as possible.  Not this year.  I am not sure where the summer went!  I finally went to the doctor in August to ask (AGAIN!)  "Why am I so tired?!"  After a few questions, my doctor signed me up for a sleep study.  He thinks I have sleep apnea!  He scheduled me to do a home test.  The first test was just an oxygen sensor.  I didn't think it would be too big of a deal, but it was pretty tight on my finger and woke me up with my finger throbbing.  I slept terrible so I kept it another night and did it again before I sent it back.  I thought I was done, but another company called me and sent more equipment for another night.  I had to strap a device around my chest, use a nasal candula, and a finger moniter.  THis finger monitor wasn't as tight as the first.  I slept fairly well that time and sent it back the next day.  I don't know the results yet, but Doc. said that if sleep apnea is the problem, a c-pap machine will work wonders and I should feel more rested after the first night.  Hopefully I will find out the results next week.

Next I went to a new chiropractor and had x-rays and scans done.  I was shocked to find that my spine has developed a slight curve between my rib cage and my sacrum.  No wonder my lower back hurts so much!!!  YIKES!!!  Of course this chiropractor can "correct" the problem.  We'll see.  I have been going to chiropractors for years....

My garden has kept me slightly busy, too.  I have had plenty of zucchini and am finally getting a good crop of green beans.  {We haven't had enough beans to freeze in several years, so I am pretty happy about that!}  I have started digging potatoes, but will leave the rest for Dallas & the kids.  My mom-in-law gives us corn every year from a farmer up north.  I see no need to plant it if she is going to give it to me!!  We're set for another year.

"Tom & Huck" just having a little backyard fun on a REALLY hot day!

August 22 was our big day to start school.  Despite the disorganization of the basement {where our schooling area is}  we do have a small area reserved for schooling.  I have accepted too many people's "cast-offs" that I never ended up using.  It is going to the dump!  As our basement fills with stuff, it gets harder to fight off dampness.  A lot of things are going!! I have a goal of filling the garbage can twice each week.  It is actually harder than I thought it would be.  I hate having to make a decision of what to do with stuff!  We are sort-of doing a half-week this week because Dallas will be home.  We normally plan NO SCHOOL when he has a vacation, but he planned it so close to the beginning of the school year, I didn't feel I could cancel altogether.

Here's hoping we have a lot of fun with Daddy this week, it is his last vacation week until after Christmas.  He has some single vacation days left, but this is the last full week.  We are really hoping to make it count!