Packing July 7-12, 2014

Packing July 7-12, 2014

We couldn't take our big aquarium with us, so Giz and Grampy agreed to babysit our Sucker Fish....they had no idea just how big our Sucker Fish was!!!!  They were impressed!

Dh use to keep part of his collection of cooking books above our cabinets--now Dd is cleaning it up!

Giz sat there and ordered Dd around, and they made great progress!

A baby Preying Mantis!!!!

Our backyard.....usually the only sound you hear is birds tweeting!

Saturday---Realtor Day!
 We had an appointment with the realtor to come and take pictures on Sat. at 1:30pm.  So we all busted everything we've got and actually got it done in time.  It is SO, SO, SO nice to see the house 'perfect' for once!  No clutter on the floor AT ALL!  No strings, bows & arrows, lego's, books....nothing---spotless!  It is nice!  I asked Dh and Dd 'wouldn't it be nice to live like this?' and they clearly stated "NO!" They think empty is unloved and not any good at all!  They love their "stuff"  Anyway, the house goes on the market TODAY!  Please pray with me that it sells quickly and if possible, for the asking price, so we can find a new home (and move out of the apartment!!!).

I just hope that I can do a better job of getting rid of some of their stuff in the future.  they really like to keep each and every thing they get...regardless of any other factor than "G gave me this, or R gave me this, or I got this on that...detail, insert story!"  I do admit I had a few boxes that I put a few of my favorite rocks in and as I wrote the contents of the box and was writing "rocks", I thought...Hmmmmm, I don't think my mom would be boxing up rocks on any of her moves!  So, I guess I am guilty too.  Not that I boxed up a lot of rocks, but just the fact that I am bringing my "collections" of rocks, pinecones, acorns, and numerous other nature findings means I don't have a lot of ground to complain!  Did I just tell the world how weird I am???!!! 

Friday: We had an appointment for Dd's dermatologist in the morning.  It took the whole morning.  Then we took our magazines to the library, for their magazine section. I had to mow during the hot part of the day. Dh came home to help us clean and pack!

Thursday: Dd potted a few plants in pots to take with us.

Wednesday: All in all, a good day--but I didn't get as much done as I should have.  I had to pay some bills and make some calls and that took a good 2 - 2 1/2 hours.  It all had to be done.  We first ran our errands, dropping of paper recycling, going to Aldi's grocery store, and then dropping some more stuff at Goodwill (and forgetting one bag at home!).  The whole morning and early afternoon was shot.  

The best part is that the past 2 days my Dd has been doing a better job helping.  The change----me writing the things she needs to do down on paper in list form.  She happily does each task and marks a line through each thing as she gets it done.  I know she likes lists, but it hadn't occurred to me to do it in this scenario.

Today was another day of packing the weird stuff.  For example, when Dd was 1 years old, for Christmas, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Peggy gave her a "Bear Chair"--a cute light brown stuffed animal chair.  This is a big stuffed animal/chair.  It took up a whole box!  I managed to squeeze in a red bag in the corner, but it was tight!  Then there are the odd pans and silicon molds that Dh has in the kitchen--that he has never used, but hopes to!  There is no more room in the garage, unless I give up my walkway.  So, I have been trying to stack things up high--and am getting close to being out of options.  I might have to start putting some things in the house closets!

Finally, I should mention our highlight of the day--the "L" family picked up Dd at 2:45 and she got to play all day with her buddies!  I went over at 6:30 for dinner with them and had a fantastic time.  We didn't leave until 9:10!  She made a tomato dish, fresh sliced tomatoes with lemon basil on top that was so good.  A ground pork with string beans, brown rice, and a red cabbage with a different green bean.  For dessert--"A" and my Dd made a cake, and the frosting, and decorated it with basil flower blooms.  Such a happy, happy night.  I am so thankful to have the "G" and "L" family as friends, and it makes our move so much harder.  It took me years to develop a good trusting, sharing friendship where we all know and confide with each other.  I know I will keep in touch with them online, like I do Christie and Chelle---but I will miss the hugs and face to face chats so much!!!  I should be saying how thankful I am for the internet and free access to friends.  I have lost touch with my camp and college friends b/c we didn't have an established communication after I left and have never really begun a dialog with those old friends...and now it seems too hard to do?!

Tuesday:We had H.G. visiting me and her daughters visiting Dd---so we had that to look forward to as we worked in th
e morning. Dd had to clean out her room again!  She had been bringing things to it.  Tuesday was one of the hardest days so far.  I didn't feel good physically, and mentally I was worn down.  The visit from H.G. definitely got me a re-charge and we were able to work together and wipe down some of the floor molding/trim upstairs.  

I put some "staged" furniture in the dog/junk room to make it look a little better than an empty room would look.  I cleaned off the counter in front of the sink; sort of a bar area, where you might sit on bar stools and talk to the people in the kitchen--but the counter is too high for stools (imvho).  It looks so different to have that counter cleaned off.

I'm still feeding the birds--just more sparenly.  They say to "ween" bird feeder birds slowly so they don't starve.  We have been having HUMMINGBIRDS here each day.  They are loving the Hosta blooms right now.  The purple cone-flowers are perfect right now, as are the daisy's, and the Black-Eyed-Susan's are just starting to open up.  Of course, I loved when the poppy plants were blooming so very much--but this time is also very enjoyable.  Our sunflowers are getting so big, a few are 8-9 feet tall already.  It is hard to sit here in the morning and hear the birds all cheeping and enjoy the little nature preserve I have made, and know these are very numbered days.

Now that Pappa Kitty has moved to the farm, the rabbits are just down right spiteful!  Laying in our yard in the middle of the day, without a care in the world!

Monday:

I got our master bedroom's walk-in closet done yesterday.  It is about the same size as our kitchen, so that wasn't as easy as it sounds.  I had forgotten I had some stuff still in the dog/junk room...so that is done.  And about 8 more boxes of the weird stuff in our living room that has been awkward.

The worst part, is I have a habit of keeping boxes---empty boxes!  Sometimes it is practical--we know what we own!  But, some of the empty boxes are Dd
s shoe boxes from when she was 3,4,5, 6 (years old)---those cute little boxes.  I only bought 1-2 pairs of shoes a year, so there isn't a lot---but I still couldn't bring myself to get rid of them.....yet.

I also got our kitchen pantry cleaned up and made our canned vegetables look pretty.  I plan on leaving some of the canning jars, full of veggies on the shelves to make it look nice.  We have a nice pantry room, and it took quite a while.

I also got about 8 boxes packed and out to the garage with our odd stuffs...a real mix match of things.  Dd scrubbed Dh's bathroom and got it looking tip-top.

Our realtor called and went over some of the basic's with me...I had no idea how much money realtor's charge...yikes!

Dd finished the Reader I gave her:

Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

and is now focusing on:

 

Little House on Rocky Ridge by Roger Lea MacBride and David Gilleece

and we are still reading this book together:

 

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller

Sunday: I piddled around a little--I couldn't resist weeding a little in the garden, putting down some mulch around the flowers, plants, trees, and bushes.  We filled Dh's car up with as much stuff as would fit and sent him back to Michigan for another work week without us.  He was really tired after working Friday and Saturday.  With his parents being here on Saturday, he really tried hard.

Audio's:
We spent our days packing and listening to our favorite audio's....that we have already heard over and over!  Still great, though!

The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4) by Rick Riordan

House of Hades

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (for the second time in 4 weeks)

The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader' (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 5) by C. S. Lewis

The Dawn Treader


Dd also made a few hemp bracelets and colored knotted bracelets...whatever you call those!  We use to call them "Friendship Bracelets".

She also repotted some flowers from our yard that she wanted to take with her.

Packing June 29- July 5, 2014

Packing June 29- July 5, 2014

In case I ever have to move again---or am even thinking of it--I will have this to read to remind me of all the work and effort a move takes.  I have cut and pasted most of these daily reviews from my correspondence. 

Normally I write down in our IG all the things we have done each week, but since I am working without my IG (it is in MI) I figured I could document here and fill in IG later. 

July 5: Sat
Giz and Grampy came to help.  Grampy and Dh went to Lowe's and bought lots of bags of mulch for the yard.  Grampy finished the weedwacking he had started on his last visit.  Grampy also took down our over-sized mailbox that we bought so we could have our maillady just put our boxes in there instead of bringing things to our door (and perhaps getting wet), and put up the normal mailbox that was the original one when we moved in.  It seems so weird to see our mailbox now!  He also took apart our metal hammock stand for us.  He has lots of jobs to keep him busy, and that made him very happy.

Giz was great!  She had open-heart surgery/ 5 bypasses about 1 1/2 months ago and her energy had been so low.  She had really been doing very poorly--very!  But, for the first time since the surgery, she really seemed like herself.  The best about Giz....just her being here made just about all of us work super hard!  I say 'just about *all* of us' b/c while she usually encourages productivity from Dd--yesterday Dd was immune!  She did work *most* of the day, but was mysteriously gone for almost an hour.  She was in the closet under the staircase doing another pastel drawing on my big newsprint pad.  She has been drawing scenes inspired from NARNIA.  Yesterday's drawing was of the "lamp post".  

After G&G left, we kept working and brought down the rest of the odds and ends from the Library and the dog/junk room.  So both rooms are clear!!!   Our living room is still a mess, but at least the upstairs is 90% done.  


July 4th: Fri
I found a job that Dd likes doing---she is painting the trim and walls!  She is doing a good job with that!  I worked on the li brary some more, and am getting close to finishing it--my goal was to have that room done by the end of the day; but I ran out of 'umph' and called it a day before that happened.  Dh worked in the junk room, and it is also getting close.  He took down the metal shelves and put them in the garage.  Dh made a Fourth of July grilling night for us---hamburgers!  He also made a pineapple upside-down cake on parchment paper and the broiling pan, since Giz had already packed our 9 X 13.

July 3: Thur

Took our fourth load of stuff to Goodwill.  Worked on the stuff we brought from "junk room" and put in the living room.  Having those new large boxes really helped get some of the awkward stuff packed---space heaters, and things that I wasn't sure how to pack.  I started back with the library some.  I cleaned off a tall bookshelf and moved it to our bedroom.  I didn't want our library to look like a "library" so I have been trying to space out the bookshelves to have some in every room.  We took 4 bookshelves to MI already, so that helps.  Dh came home Thursday late.

July 2: Wed

Dd read most of the day---These Happy Golden Years by L.I. Wilder--and finished the book!!  
We started a new audio: We have heard this audio over and over throughout the years--it will always be a 'go-to' audio for us.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 2) by C. S. Lewis

Took another load (third) to Goodwill today.   I got off to an early start and worked until we needed to go to Walmart.  I needed a few things; and half of what I wanted they didn't have (how can Walmart be out of vinegar??!!)  Dd and I brought load after load of stuff from the 'dog / junk room' and library down to the living room floor and I tried to pack as much of it as I could in some organized way.  That 'organized way' is the hard thing!  How do you pack 3 aquarium pieces?  Well, that has to be matched up with something...but what?!  So, that was the problem.  This is all the mix-match stuff.  I thought packing books was hard...nope!  This is much harder!  That took up all my day, and the living room floor is still covered--day 2 of living room being under chaos.  Dd made chocolate chip pancakes!

We saw baby Praying Mantis's in our backyard. 

Dh had this great idea that we bring everything down from our 'junk room' to the living room floor and this put things together to box up....can you guess where I am heading?  My living room is a tornado of stuff!!!  Oh my!  I've already got a third van load ready for Goodwill!!!  I was still working last night at 8:34 PM (8:40 PM the night before) and Dd wanted to know why I was still working.  'So, we can get back to Pappa sooner!' was my reply.  He seems to be missing us more.  He gets home from work and doesn't have anything to do other than miss us; while I have a ton of things to do all day/all night and not much time to be missing anyone.

I did set a goal that I wanted to have some room cleaned out by the end of yesterday; and I did get the big closet under our stairwell cleaned out!  It stores all our Christmas stuff--tree--etc. and some of our puzzles, coats, yard toys, and other various bits.  I did get it all cleaned out and vacuumed.  I didn't plan on a closet being my accomplishment; as I was hoping for the library or junk room!!!  Oh well.  I had to take my dog to the vet, and they could fit us in yesterday, so that caught my plans off guard.

Side note on Sophie, our dog...(She kept me up all the night before b/c she was shaking, pacing, panting in high anxiety from the big storm we were having.  I figure with July 4th around the corner I needed to take her in to see if we could get help for her.  I had asked them what I could do for her and they had told me to give her Melatonin to calm her down; but that didn't do anything to help her.  So, we took her back to the vet--her third visit in 4 months--and this time they FINALLY gave me a sedative to give her when we have storms and fireworks.  Bless her heart, I just hate seeing my dog so miserable and afraid.  I'm so glad they were able to take us right in and see her immediately!  Praise the Lord for that timing!)

Over the weekend Dd bought 2 Nerf guns to play with the "L" boys with.  She made an 'across the chest' holster (like the cops who have a gun under their arm pit, type of thing) and an ammo belt to store her Nerf ammo...she has a blast solving all her life needs with Duct Tape!  I'm waiting for her to make something really big out of Duct tape!  She knows how to make anything she needs out of that stuff.  She has been using her Captian America shield as her target inside and having a blast....which definitely gets in the way of her packing! 
I should also mention I have been doing a little piddling in our gardens and watering the new grass I seeded 3 weeks ago, and have added more seed to--and have to water it a few times a day.  I love being able to go out and weed a little each day for my sanity.

July 1: Tue

I can't sleep right now.  We just had a massive storm, lost our electricity over and over and over again.. Each time it would go out or come back something would make a loud screech sound.  It was a big deal!  From what I can see, nothing is damaged.  We have another system heading our way later.

I've worked all day...I just sat down!  I got the big closet under the stairs cleaned out all the way and vacuumed.  Then lots of bits from here and there.  My downstairs is a wreck--we have been bringing down all the junk from the junk room to figure how to pack it organized.  I still have a ways to go in both the library and 'junk room'....but, I have made progress. 

Dd read most of the day---These Happy Golden Years by L.I. Wilder
Tuesday night we finished our audio: Harry Potter bk 1

June 30: Mon

 I worked SO hard today.  We had Dh for a few hours this morning before he had to head back to MI, so he worked really hard bring down things from the dog/junk room and continued working on the garage.

Started a new book:

Little House on Rocky Ridge by Roger Lea MacBride and David Gilleece

I cleaned the huge aquarium---took all morning...then the cat litter boxes, and the floor around the cat litter area--molding, etc....that took way too long too.  Then the pantry floor and molding...Then I took the big dog igloo and pulled it all the way through our yard to the corn field and pulled out all the straw (with lovely ants in it...) and then sprayed it down with the hose and put it in the garden...I mowed the back yard (the front yard doesn't grow as fast as the back.) and did two loads of laundry...etc. etc. etc. etc.. you get the idea.  I even made dinner---chicken and cheese burrito's.  Dd made yellow rice and an Asian dish.  Dd read most of the day---These Happy Golden Years by L.I. Wilder  

Well, my gross-est thing so far about packing and cleaning our house is that we moved our gas stove forward to clean under it....oh my!  I had no idea how gross it was!  Eeek!  So happy it is sparkling clean now!  We took another van load of stuff to Goodwill yesterday.  I really wanted to be giving to Salvation Army and called them 3 weeks ago, but no one called me back until last Thursday.  I hear negative things about Goodwill, but they are just right down the road from us and so convienent.  The packing will start back again this morning, but Dh will have to head back to MI alone today.  We are doing so much better than I thought we would without him.

Since I am forcing myself to focus on the packing, and let our lessons go to the side for another week.  I don't think Dd has had this much time off ever!  She is doing a great job reading both "her" choice books, and the books I've asked her to read.  Right now she is reading Listening For Lions: (have any of you read this?)

Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola

  

and she is also reading her choice-her reader:

These Happy Golden Years (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Garth Williams (Completed)

June 29: Sun

Today we took our second van load of stuff (big old tv, computer monitor, tape deck, boxes of L's toys, and 2 bags of clothes/shoes) to Goodwill.  I wanted to give it to the Salvation Army and called a month ago, but they didn't call me back until this week---saying they could come July 14th....I can't wait that long!  We also sent a few things back with G&G yesterday to put up in the attic at the farm.  So, we are slowly getting some things out of our lives. 

June 28: Sat

 I stopped working at 8pm---we had a good day and got a good amount of work done.  Giz and Dd worked in the kitchen, Grampy weed-wacked and packed up my filing cabnet.  Dh worked in the garage--huge job...and I brought endless boxes to G&G at their destinations, carried the full boxes out and stacked them in the garage, and cleaned out the purple room.  The purple room is DONE--except for the closet--and that won't take too long.  It is nice to have 2 rooms DONE!  Our house is starting to sound hollow---a big change.

....

Packing June 22-28, 2014

June 22-28, 2014

Hello Friends,  Dh went back to Michigan, and Dd and I stayed here in Indiana to pack, pack, pack!  We had Sophie (our dog) and Pappa had Smedley (our cat).  This week we had no formal lessons, I was hoping to finish up packing our house--but, we still have plenty left to do!  It just amazes me how long each step takes.  And working alone makes it do even slower.  Dd turns out not to be very helpful, unless Giz is working with her.  She was not helpful or happy to be here this week without Pappa, and packing "her home".  I had a hard week trying to keep working while dealing with her difficulties.  She had gone swimming with the "L" family last Saturday and got so sunburnt that Monday she was still miserable--and stayed miserable until Friday.  This was her second sun burn, both when I was not with her---sun burns are one of my particular issues and I always make sure she has on LOTS of sunblock and a shirt.  She had to take a nap on Monday and was "tired" all week from her sunburn.  She was absolutely miserable from Sunday to Friday...not any fun to spend the day with a unhappy kid! 

Monday-packing all day.  I started taking down my paintings from all the walls, vaccuming them, spackling the holes, and touching up the spackle with paint.  In hindsight, I wish I would have just left the small holes on the walls that had been painted.  I could easily match up the "Egg Shell" white walls, but the other walls with bold colors were very hard to match.

Tuesday, packing with Giz and Grampy here--then they returned after dinner. G&G were kind enough to take Pappa Kitty to the farm.  Pappa Kitty use to "belong" (he is partly ferral, so he just showed up) to the family 3 houses down from our house.  Well, the father killed his wife, then killed himself.  So, the poor kitty was wandering around getting skinner and skinner until I started feeding him.  He likes to wander around the houses in our little section, but I know for a fact that none of the other houses would feed him.  I can't take him, I've tried before, and he sprayed in our house (repeatedly).  So, he will be feed each day at the farm and petted by Grampy and Jeff often.  Once we get a home again, I will take him there.  I can't take him to the tiny apartment, they would call the pound on a wandering cat.  So far he has stuck around and seems to be enjoying living in the "smoke house".  The other critter G&G took for us is our Sucker fish.  It is almost 12'' long.  We have had it 8 to 10 years...somewhere in there... it is definitely the biggest, longest Sucker fish I have ever seen.  They thought they were agreeing to take a normal sucker fish, not a monster-sized one.
**G&G and Dd got Dd's room completed!!!

Wednesday-"HUMP DAY"-boy, was I out of fuel and didn't get a lot done.  I can't say this happens to me often, very rare, but I just could not motivate myself to do much.

Thursday-Good packing day, then we were invited over to the "L" families house for dinner with them.  Then Dd went swimming with them for an hour.

Friday- I had a migraine building throughout the day.  I would work awhile, rest a while, and as the day progressed my work decreased and my resting increased.  Some progress was made, but not as much as I had hoped.  Pappa came home around 10pm.  I did get all the paintings organzied and put out in the garage, by height, in rows--with cardboard between each one.

 

Saturday- Giz and Grampy came back up and helped us pack some more.  They worked on the first floor so they (especially Grampy) didn't have to go up and down.  On Tuesday, poor Grampy took load after load from Dd's bedroom to the garage; and was plain tuckered out!
**I got the Purple Room completed--the closet still has a few things, but that shouldn't take me long to box up.

 Read Aloud's:

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller

 Dd's Readers:

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, Book 2) by Rick Riordan

(re-read--in process)

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4) by Rick Riordan

(re-read--in process)

Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean and Scott M. Fischer

(re-read--in process)

Hawksmaid: The Untold Story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian by Kathryn Lasky

 Completed!

The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds

 Completed!

These Happy Golden Years (Little House) (Edition Reprint) by Wilder, Laura Ingalls [Paperback(2004£©]

 In Progress--

 Core F stuff:

Music:

We bought a three-disc music collection on music from Africa at Sam's a few years back--we've been listening to it this week.

The Tree Where Man Was Born and The African Experience by Peter and Porter, Eliot Matthiessen

Jacques Cousteau's Amazon Journey by Jacques Yves Cousteau and Mose Richards 

 

African Art: Its Background and Traditions by R.S. Wassing (1968)

 

(Add-in Reader):

Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton

(in process)

Audio's:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter

By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

(completed)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe CD (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis and Michael York (Nov 19, 2013) - Audiobook

(completed)

The Last Battle CD (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis and Patrick Stewart (Nov 19, 2013) - Audiobook

(completed)



audio on iPod:

The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4) by Rick Riordan

Cooking:
Helped Giz make dinner on Saturday--she worked hard and did a great job!

Tuna Melt

......

Sonlight Core F Week 30 June 16-20th, 2014

Sonlight 

Core F 

Week 30 

June 16-20th, 2014

Our first week in Grand Rapids went fine.  On Monday we went to Grand Haven State Park http://www.tripadvis...y_Michigan.html, and had to pay for a "non-resident" sticker since we have Indiana plates.  It was a big beach that seemed to go on and on!  There was also a lighthouse, but we didn't go to it.  We walked the shore for about an hour.   Tuesday we found the Wal Mart and did some shopping there.  The Wal Mart's patron's were not as fancy as the Meier we had been to the week before.  Then Thursday we went to the downtown library and checked out some new books (see the Readers for the week below) then in the evening after Dh got home we went to another park--the Comstock Riverside Park.  We walked the grassy shore around the lake, and looked at the view of the Grand River.  It was nice---too many people there; but nice.  We saw lots of geese and ducks in the lake, and a BEAVER!  That was really neat!  We walked around the lake, and looked at the Grand River beside the lake.  Grand River is the big river that goes through (and gave GR it's name) Grand Rapids.  Oh, and the ducks and geese had all their babies with them--so great to see.  One geese couple had 11 babies!  I don't know if they all belonged to one mom or not; b/c there were 3 adults swimming with the babies.I'll post pictures of all we saw next week.  Friday Dd and I drove back to Indiana after successfully seeing Dh off to work.  

Dh completed his first week at his new job.  He see's that he has a lot to offer the company and has some things in mind that he wants to work on to improve things.  I am glad we got him off on the right foot.  This week Dd and I will stay in Indiana and work on packing up the rest of our house.   One week in the apartment has really been different.  Trying to get use to such a small space has been difficult.  Instead of doing our lessons & reading in our 'library' we have been doing it in our beds.  The apartment really is basically a large hotel room, and there isn't space to do much.  I also succeeded in using a dryer for my clothes, instead of using my drying racks like I am use to.  It makes the clothes really soft, but the dryer takes forever to dry our clothes--even splitting the small load in half and drying one half at a time.  I think our dryer and our microwave  are either old or have a lower energy level than we are use to. 

This week Dd had a lot of bad days and feeling like she "had nothing to look forward to".  We tried to go to the two parks and find our new library in hopes that we could show her some of the positive things of Grand Rapids---but she stuck with her 'not happy' attitude.  Between you and me, she really liked the downtown library.  The library was beyond huge---I am not sure how many stories, but it was big!  The two things she really liked--they have a big "teens" section filled with lots of Rick Riordan books and graphic books.  Also, she loved the mosiac tile floors and marble columns.   There was so much marble!  The library is really beautiful, old, and built with so much care!

We have a "library" in one of our spare rooms that was floor to ceiling books, on all four walls.  I never would have imagined how long it would take, how many boxes it would take, and I'm still not done!!!  It just goes on and on!  I could use prayer on this---we still have a lot of things to pack, and a small space to fit all the boxes into.  I don't know how all our stuff is going to fit into our garage!  I have a LOT of work ahead of me this week!!!  We are going to take next week off from lessons, so I don't get distracted from the job I need to focus on.  I'd rather be reading to Dd, but I *have* to get things packed up---and wish I had a team on my side! 

Living in a house, with a fence, we are use to just opening the back door and letting out our dog, Sophie, out.  Now that we are in an apartment, we have to take Sophie for walk after walk after walk!  I am really surprised by how lovely and natural the grounds of our apartment neighborhood are.  It seems every other tenant has a dog and walking your dog is very common.  In our neighborhodd in Indiana, few people have dogs, and those that do don't walk around our neighborhood.  I always felt like I was on show when talking Sophie for a walk, and I don't get that feeling when walking Sophie in our new neighborhood.  That really is very nice.  But, the downfall is that Sophie doesn't get to RUN and do her laps like she could in our backyard. 

We had a very light "lessons" week.  Our Read Aloud's consisted of Star of Light by Patricia St. John.  I really liked this book a LOT.  It was similar to a Lamplighter book in that it was a wonderful testimony to Christian growth.  We are really enjoying Star of Light, a Core F book.  We didn't do any spelling, science, or language arts---just some reading and math (and bible).


Star of Light (Patricia St John Series) by Patricia M. St. John (completed)
Yesterday it had a really touching part in it; a boy who had stolen eggs from the English woman who had been feeding him and the other orphaned boys.  She was walking with him to see another boy, at night, and had a beamer/flashlight to show the way.  But, the guilty boy stayed out of the light and walked in the dangerous gutters.  He eventually tripped on something and fell hard on his face, which cracked the eggs on his chest.  She then realized why he wouldn't walk with her.  It lead to a really great and meaningful section.  He knew he deserved to be yelled at or beaten (those kids seem to get beaten a lot in this book), and definitely he figured he lost his free dinner each night and wouldn't be allowed back in her house.  Instead she acted like Jesus, and lovingly cleaned him up and replaced his thread-bare clothing with much better, clean, dry clothes.  She cleaned and wrapped his bloody knees.  She made him feel loved.  Then she described how b/c of his stealing the eggs, he couldn't walk in the light or on the path---and how our sins do the same thing with our walk with the Lord.  He needed to ask for forgiveness from her, but also from the Lord.  The events of this one night changed his life and his relationship with the Lord.  The story gives a lot more details, but you can get the idea from the little I wrote here.  The next thing he did was to care for a starving kitten.  Her actions opened a part of his heart so much that he now cared for others beside just his attention for himself.  What a really good lesson for children (and adults) to read about---a very visible and tangible lesson that we can all understand.  Another one of those books that has a cover that doesn't really draw you in, but the story has been very good.  We are only a bit over half way through--so I don't know how satisfying the ending will be yet...but, wanted to share.  It is like the Lamplighter books that have a good story PLUS have such a good 'sermon', for lack of a better word, for the Lord's grace and goodness to us.  Just thought I would share in case anyone might be looking for an extra book to add in that will also help with Christian Character building.

Mary Slessor: Forward into Calabar (Christian Heroes: Then & Now) by Janet Benge    (completed)

Another Core F Read Aloud we have been enjoying is entitled Mary Slessor: Forward into Calabar.  My only problem is that I know her story so well, and don't remember which book I had previously read!  But, Dd doesn't remember the story so she thinks she is reading it for the first time.   It is an amazing story of how this little Irish red head puts all her faith in the Lord and He takes care of her time after time in impossible situations.   It shows us how much the Lord is involved in our lives and the most minut details of it.

For our bible this week--we did read a few Psalms, but we are still reading the book:

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller

We are really liking this book, and even though I have read it before, I am just as pleased as the first time.  This is the type of book that has such deep things to think about you don't want to rush through it.  It may take a while to read it all...we will see.



Readers:

The Odyssey by Gareth Hinds

Odyssey

Hawksmaid: The Untold Story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian by Kathryn Lasky

Hawkmaid by Kathryn Lasky

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, Book 2) by Rick Riordan

Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

 Audio:

Little Town on the Prairie (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

completed LTOTP

By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

(in process) 

Narrator: Cherry Jones



EHN: Africa worksheets & Worldbook:
1 hour

Pre-algebra Test Booklet Math U See by Steven P. Demme

Math:
Math U See: Pre-Algebra
3 A-E


We have taken so many pictures this week (so has Dd), but I don't have time right now to compress and add them in right now.  I will get some pictures as soon as things settle down a bit.  

..........

Sonlight Core F Week 29 "A" June 9-13th, 2014

Sonlight 

Core F  

Week 29 "A"  

June 9-13th, 2014

My first post from Grand Rapids, MI.  We are in a teeny, tiny apartment, on the bottom floor (ground level- first floor).  We have a total of three windows, which is funny b/c our home in Indy has three windows in our Master bedroom alone!  I should say that everything about ending up in this apartment has really felt lead by the Lord.  The other apartment that we were really leaning towards getting was on the THIRD floor!  With this apartment we backed the UHAUL back, almost to the door, and unloaded in record time.  It was just SO easy, and you usually don't hear "so easy" when talking about unloading your furniture!  

This week I focused on packing, packing, packing and Dd did her reading and some packing.  Then on Wed. we got our UHAUL, and filled it to the brim!  It was a 20 ft. truck, and we did a great job organizing it so that nothing was broken during the drive.  Our wooden bed frames somehow got scratched, but that is all of our bad news.  We unloaded on Thursday (with Giz and Grampy helping), spent the night, then headed back to Indy on Friday. 

Dh and Dd were too tired to do much packing Fri., Sat., and Sun. but, I still had plenty of motivation and energy to keep going.  I mowed our yard and got some more things in boxes.  Then on Sunday we drove back to GR with our dog and cat.  Giz and Grampy have agreed to take the stray kitty to the farm and feed it there while we are in the apartment.  (We had neighbors that the husband killed his wife, then himself, and left a kitty behind.  After watching the cat get skinner and skinner I started feeding it.  Then the son of the couple came back to pack up the household and I gave him the cat...and then the cat was back at my door the next day!  So, I've been feeding this cat for a while now.  I asked the son the history of the cat, and he said he was feral and just showed up at their door....)

Dd was so blessed to go to the Children's Museum along with the "L" family on Wed. to see the actual Chinese Warriors that archeologists dug up in China.  She had a blast!  We had signed up to do that weeks before and I didn't know that that would be the same day Dh would plan to get the UHAUL.  Dh's father helped load the van with Dh using a dolly.  Grampy is in his 80's so he doesn't do much lifting, but really wants to help.  Some people might think the mom/wife wouldn't be one of the most active loaders, but they would be wrong--I am the youngest of our group of workers and was busy from sun-up to sun-down.  Dh and Grampy had to spend hours getting the actual UHAUL since they requested the wrong truck and then had to drive to another place to get a larger truck...mini chaos...meanwhile, I packed and worked at the house.  Giz did a great job preparing meals for us, and packing some kitchen things.  She is still on severe lifting restrictions since she just had open heart surgery a few weeks ago and isn't feeling strong at all.  Poor dear, she is really struggling to recover from this--and she just had her knee replaced a few months before that.   I made it clear they didn't need to help us, and she made it clear that not helping wasn't an option. 

I asked Dd to tell me some of her thoughts on GR and I would write them down for her, and then we could look back on her first thoughts after we have been here a while and see if she still feels the same way after a few months.  Here is what she said to write down:

"GR is more artistic, more developed, bigger city feel, buildings are more creative and new.  People like to dress-up a lot.  There is lots and lots and lots of sand!!!!!  City has a "big city feel", more than Indy.  The weather is cold."

I do see and agree with Dd on the "dress-up" comment.  I sat outside Meijer grocery store with Sophie (our dog) while Giz, Grampy, Dh and Dd went in, to watch the crowd and get a feel for the people.  I was amazed at how many people were dressed up.  Most men had khaki dress pants on---that wouldn't be the case in Indy.  In Indy, there would be lots of jeans and shorts.  It seemed the majority of people were dressed very nicely, and only a very small percent were wearing t-shirts and/or shorts.    Oh, and she is right about the soil being VERY different than Indy---clay vs sand--very different!!!

The "lessons" from our week:

 
Bible:

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller


 
Audio's:

Little Town on the Prairie (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little Town on the Prairie--completed
by Laura Ingles Wilder
 *narrator: Cherry Jones

By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House)--in process
by Laura Ingles Wilder
 *narrator: Cherry Jones

The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4) by Rick Riordan

The House of Hades--in process
(Heroes of Olympus, Bk 4)

Reader's:

A Hardy's Day Night (Hardy Boys Graphic Novels: Undercover Brothers #10) by Scott Lobdell

Hardy Boys-A Hardy Days Night--completed

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus, Book 2) by Rick Riordan

The Son of Neptune--in process
(Heroes of Olympus, Bk 2)
by Rick Riordan

Cave of the Dark Wind: A Never Land Book (A Peter and the Starcatchers Never Land Book) by Ridley Pearson, Dave Barry

A Never Land Book: Cave of the Dark Winds--in process
by Dave Barry

Escape from the Carnivale: A Never Land Book (A Peter and the Starcatchers Never Land Book) by Ridley Pearson, Dave Barry

A Never Land Book: Escape from the Carnivale--in process
by Dave Barry





Art:
Made a great Father's Day card!

 

Gym:
Worked out alone in her room---she is getting in shape to be a surfer!

Geography:
Two trips from Indy to Grand Rapids, and back again.


Field Trip:
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/
Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Tera Cotta Warriors/Chinese Warrior exhibit
Take Me There China
Waterworks


Baking:
She twice made Shortbread Cookies from scratch

........

Pictures from June 9-13th, 2014

Pictures from June 9-13th, 2014

to come!