Life Lately

Helloooooo, is anybody there?

Sorry for the unexpected absence.  Our internet was down.  Like really down.  Like Z.E.R.O. connectivity.  (Ahh, the joys of country life sometimes.)  I suppose I could have used my phone, but I'm pretty much all thumbs when it comes to typing on such a small keyboard, that I risked any entry looking cryptic.

I've discovered I am a bit of a personal paradox.  While I am somewhat melancholy about the lack of handwritten, REAL letters in colored envelopes delivered to a personal curbside mailbox, I am dependent upon the instant connection to the real world through the internet.  For the last week, the running joke in our home was..."Oh, right, we don't have internet." 

"Mom, what's the weather going to be like on Sunday?"
"Let me check the weather forecast... oh, right, we don't have internet."

"Dad, the movie from Netflix paused up so I'll pop it in the mail and just order it from the library... oh, right, we don't have internet."

"I really need to order myself a 2016 planner from Amazon...oh, right, I don't have internet."

It was sort of shocked by how I've come to rely on it so much.  
Well, as you can see, the repairman was here, and we are up and running again.  Yay. YAY. YAY!

Here's a glance at what we did with a little extra time on our hands.  (Another eye opener... computer time - even little bits here and there - add up quickly.)

We worked a couple of puzzles.

(Sorry it's blurry, it loaded wonky for some reason.)

 

Ellie worked on some drawings.

I did a mini photo shoot with Hannah. 

We made zucchini bread (and LOTS of it)  Someone from Caleb's work sent him home with a monstrous size zucchini and they nominated me to make the bread. 

 

How nice of them.

I did have eager helpers.

 

Good news!  Everyone at his work raved and claimed it was the best they had ever tasted. 
The credit goes to Gramma's old fashioned recipe (you know, white flour and equal amounts of sugar and grated zucchini!)

I went to a garden tea party at a friend's house.  What a lovely afternoon that was.

We picked blackberries and made a batch of loose-set jam.

We found Peter Rabbit's home too.

 We harvested pickling cukes from the garden.

and made the most delicious refrigerator pickles.

 

This small batch recipe, is perfect, because even though we planted plenty of plants to yield lots of pickling cucumbers, they are not coming on all at once.

Oh, and we put the cupboard doors back on below the sink instead of the sink skirt.  The skirt kept getting hung up and it made it hard to get to the trash can.  So then the trash was kept out and seemed to always be in a different place.   I think the practical side of me won because I really like that I can wipe the doors clean and the trash is hidden under the sink.  (where it belongs.)

I've begun planning for our new school year too.  I am so thankful for the privilege to be home with my children.  It's a daunting task though.  I have to be a student myself... of my children.  What are their interests? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses?
How can I encourage spiritual growth and explain Biblical truths in ways that they'll understand? 

We have homeschooled from the beginning.  Our oldest turns 24 this month.  That means we've been officially homeschooling for 18 years.  Of course, if you view homeschooling as life-learning then it's been 24 years! 

Our youngest is 4 and is just now working on preschool/kindergarten.  So we have 12 -13 more years.  But rather than looking at it that way and becoming overwhelmed, we just need to commit our path anew to the Lord, and put one foot in front of the other.  Slow by slow, line upon line, building a strong foundation on the Word of God and a love for learning.

Fall is around the corner.  I can feel it.  The shadows are getting longer, the nights are getting cooler.  Soon, it will be sweater season.  But until then, enjoy these last couple-three weeks of summer. :-)