Chrysalis Bible Academy

Snails pace forward..

2011-03-08T20:28:00.002+01:00

So its been a slow start but were really actually getting somewhere this week. We are weeks behind and the first week of the curriculums were using are all rather boring but necessary to get started. So we are doing our best and making each project as interesting as possible. Today we caught up on our DRAW WRITE NOW assignments as well as Maps and Globes and Living World Encyclopedia. I am going to get my teens to put together our passport so I will have it ready to "board the plane on Monday. And tomorrow we are making our paper mache' globe which I am really excited about. He still isn't "into" school but since he has been doing so well health wise I really I really want to get on target while we can.

Worksheets and Meltdowns

2011-02-15T20:06:00.004+01:00

So we are finally starting school around here. Not full lessons but some placement tests and math worksheets. Really slow and easy start..or so I thought. So far Phoenix has found this all extremely stressful and spent half his morning crying over three math sheets. To know his personality its obvious its not him trying to get out of work but that he truly feels stress by the slightest change in routine and my way of teaching just doesn't match up with what he expected. So today we compromised and have decided only two pages of math a day until he gets used to it and if he can't get used to it we would try another program. Maybe SOS as its probably more his speed for math. I really wasn't prepared for meltdowns so early on. And we haven't even started our "trip around the world" yet. God please grant me patience as were in for a LONG RIDE.

Always Preparing, Never Prepared

2011-02-09T23:26:00.002+01:00

So its been a while now since we decided to homeschool Phoenix and I have let the school know although we haven't officially pulled him out yet. I have been trying to find all of our curriculum but as of yet I have only found fractions of pieces of most things however I have found the complete MFW ECC along with Primary language lessons, Math Mammoth, and a selection of Queens Homeschool books and resources from the other Geography curriculums I had purchased. Definitely enough to get started with school. Phoenix is doing really well health wise this week and had it not been for a million issues from no working sinks in the house and the fact that the school room is still TRASHED we would probably be ready to go. My goal is to be up and running by Monday.

In the meantime in addition to getting his room setup and a clean quiet place for him to learn I also need to get my lesson plans drafted. Finding time for all of this is really hard and has me a little scared. And on top of that we have a procedure coming up where he will be under anesthesia and have cameras inserted both ways to check for Crohn's and intestinal issues.

I know this blog is going to haunt me for its shortness and incompleteness but I wanted to get this update out there and Request for prayers spread.

Now off to work..

A new start..

2011-01-27T19:54:00.002+01:00

It has been forever since I have been on here. It seems the move and divorce took a lot out of me and a lot of changes have taken place in our world. In the past year and a half we have managed to stay afloat during three job changes, one child moving out, a new child moving in and countless hurdles we have crossed. Now were facing another hurdle but God is good and we were far more prepared for this one....

So all the kids have been in public school since we moved here. And Honestly I have no complaints. The schools here are really good and the teachers and staff have been great. So I have put homeschool in the back of my mind. But over the past few months Phoenix has been missing more and more school due to his intestinal issues and migraines. Now its getting to the point between specialist appointments and flareups he is almost never able to go to school. At the same time this started I started a new job working at home on a night shift doing customer service for a major video game company. Its like God was saying look I gave you the way now do it! So now we are preparing to bring Phoenix and probably Gryphen home again. We are clearing out and decorating the room across from my office for a school room, searching out all the curriculum I so lovingly chose and making sure we order any updates needed for their current ages. And hope to be able to start schooling within the next month. I have to be 100% ready as working at home and being the only adult in my house is going to be a lot different than all the years I homeschooled while married and at home. But its definitely what we need to do...

So the plan is to use Winters Promise Adventures in Sea and Sky and Children of the World...since I have so many excellent curriculums I am going to do a lot of combining on Children of the World...using Galloping the Globe and Exploring Countries and Cultures to turn it into a two or even three year Geography program. I am so blessed and i believe the only things I am going to need to buy is new language arts and spelling books from Queen's homeschool catalog.

If anyone out there reads this I do need some help. First I need TONS of prayers. I am more scared of this endeavor than of the nine years I spent homeschooling the older kids combined!!!
Also I deleted all the blogs I loved and followed. I am looking for inspirational blogs, especially ones that use our same curriculums.

Blessings~

Update and Changes

2009-07-18T04:03:00.004+02:00

Just wanted to let people know I am still alive and kicking. The move has taken so much out of me and the family as a whole and summer has been pretty rough. I think this fall it is going to be me homeschooling and not the children. They will be trying out the local schools. It was a hard decision and one I am not truly happy with but at this point it seems like my best option. I need to finish my transcription program and the boys are not getting from me what they need. So we will be giving school here a try and seeing what happens. This blog will most likely become more about my transcription journey and just a general family blog but this next week I am having to have a hysterectomy so it will be a few weeks before I get started on anything.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and I ask that you keep us in your prayers while we continue this new life journey.

Leaving England

2009-03-28T13:25:00.001+01:00

I know I haven't posted in a while...but just letting everyone know I fly out for Georgia on Tuesday and will be without internet for at least a few weeks.

From Caleb

2009-02-20T22:23:00.001+01:00

Georgia here we come!

2009-02-13T12:12:00.002+01:00

We got word! We have the house and so now the real work begins. We have requested move dates between March 10th-20th so I have very little time to go through our things and get ready for movers and the flight etc. I know this is going to end up being a good thing but it doesn't change the panic and fear welling up in me. School is obviously on hold until we get settled in our new home. It is simply too much to try to do it now!

Loss of a friend

2009-02-07T18:47:00.002+01:00

I found out this morning a friend of mine died of a heart attack. He was the manager of our bases BX and was from the same area of Georgia that my dad had lived in years ago. We used to sit around and have long talks about life in the south and life in general.

We had plans for this week. He wanted me to take him to the auction to look for clocks. He had called me on Tuesday but I was feeling so bad I kept the call really short and only confirmed our plans. Now he is gone. I am so shocked. I pray he was a Christian and hate myself for not being certain of that. Hate that I didn't take more time to talk to him when he called. The man has a wife, children, friends. He was a good man and a good friend. I will miss him.

Home?

2009-02-07T10:30:00.002+01:00

We still haven't heard anything but this is the house I am trying to get in N. Georgia...

If it is God's will we would be moving there next month. We should find out this week.

I LOVE SNOW!!!

2009-02-05T12:11:00.000+01:00

North Georgia???

2009-02-05T11:08:00.002+01:00

As an update to before. I have put in an application for a house in North Georgia. Long story..but it seems to be a really good place for us. Homeschool friendly, the house is affordable and big enough for our family and tons of space for the kids to be outside. I would be within four hours of two of my sisters and my sister in law. I am not positive this is the right decision but I am praying that I am following God's will for our life. So while I am waiting I ask for prayers and patience!

While I'm waiting...

2009-02-03T10:19:00.003+01:00

I don't want to burden anyone with details but I need prayer. Prayer that I can find the answers and path I am meant to be on. Prayers for the softening of hard hearts and that God's will be made clear in my life. Prayers for healing of my home, heart and extended family. And Prayers that while I am waiting I can keep my eyes on God and know his plan is there even before I see it.

Orders are in!

2009-01-31T12:00:00.004+01:00

So my orders are finally in! About a month ago I found a good deal on Winters Promise Quest for the Ancients Jr/Sr High curriculum. When it arrived I was so enamored with it that I knew we would have to use it right away. Tristan has this unbelievable interest in Ancient History so I really feel we will soar with this subject. But of course Jr/Sr High is far too much for a six and seven year old so anyways. I finally placed my orders and decided on My Fathers World Creations to Greeks to go with Winters Promise Quest for the Ancients, My Fathers World Exploring Countries and Cultures along with Galloping the Globe for geography . Rosetta Stone French. And Winters Promise Adventures in Sea and Sky. I know this sounds like TONS AND TONS of curriculum and it is. But we have a method to our madness. We are a family filled with ADHD learners, we bore easily and when we are bored we don't do anything constructive. So our plan is to alternate between Ancients and Sea and Sky allowing ourselves several years to complete them both. We are going to use ECC and GTG as Geography and only do it one or two days a week and again drag it out over several years. With this method I shouldn't have to buy any new curriculum (with the exception of language arts) for several years and will be feeding directly into my boys interest and learning styles. In addition we are still really LOVING Sandi Queen's Lanuage Lessons! This is a fantastic curriculum and since you are only doing a little bit each day and each day is something a little different it is really keeping the interest of all three boys!

Long Time No Post

2009-01-27T11:22:00.002+01:00

So it has been quite a while since I posted and I thought I should put a little update on what has been going on in my life.

WHY SO BUSY: Well a few weeks back my name came up in the queue for my blog makeover during that time I was more interested in the changes than keeping up with my blog so I didn't post. By the time it was finished and ready to be "revealed" I was sick again. Apparently just a severe sinus infection.

FOR FUN: On MLK day some girl friends and I went to Stoke on Trent to do some pottery shopping. We visited about eight factories and scoured through all the discounts and sales to find our perfect pieces. I myself bought some lovely red calico bowls, black calico plates and milk jug from Burleigh.

HEALTH ISSUES: Despite the fun at Stoke being out in the cold and rain took it's toll on my already poor health. And on Wednesday I started having mild heartburn and chest pains. These worsened on Thursday and then at about 3am on Friday morning I woke up with severe chest pains and heart palpatations. As the day went on the pains came and went and by 7pm that night I knew I was in trouble. Still I refused to get help as I was certain I was just having a panic attack and didn't want to be trouble but at 11pm after all the kids were in bed and Brandon was at work at the pub my chest pains became so severe I couldn't call up the stairs for the kids. I called 911 or here 714911 and out came the parade. I had four firemen, the fire chief, and an EMT. They hooked me up to monitors and took vitals. I passed out. They called the ambulance then took an EKG and cancelled the ambulance and decided to have a doctor just come do a home visit. Listened to my lungs and called the ambulance back and off I went to the hospital. Now let me tell you an ambulance is no way to travel. Especially when you live in rural England and have nothing but bad roads to travel! The bed rocked back and forth, the ambulance rocked back and forth it was horrible and my heart rate soared! Finally we arrived and they started tests and gave me some meds for the pain. Anyways to cut short I have damaged my chest muscle to the point that it was constricting usage of my right lung causing the pains, tinglings, passing out etc. And if this doesn't beat all they think the damage to my chest muscle is caused by severe stress! So anyways I have spent the weekend in bed. Still mostly on bedrest as too much movement, talking, and any stress send me into waves of pain.

ON THE SUBJECT OF SCHOOL: School for the boys has been going ok. They are excelling with Math Mammoth and I am over the moon thrilled with our language arts books. After using a few days in both books we finally settled on Sandi Queen's Language Lessons. The books are so gentle and so complete! The art work is beautiful, colorful and engaging. It only takes a few minutes a day and the boys all seem to retain the lessons beautifully! On the otherside we are not enjoying Ambleside Online. The boys love the stories but they want more hands on and coming up with projects and notebooking pages has been a source of real stress for me. We have dropped it for now and are doing some School Express animal units instead. The boys love the workpages and we add stories and pictures of our own to make it more complete. Now to me these are too schoolish and mostly busy work but the boys enjoy them and until we get something else these are working well for us. I managed to get my hands on the complete Winters Promise Quest for Ancient History Jr High Set and am in LOVE with this! It is obviously too old for Phoenix and Gryphen but will be right on target for Tristan. We aren't going to start using it until we get the boys Winters Promise sets but being able to actually read through the curriculum and books have really let me know that I made a good choice with Winters Promise. (saying that I am still interested in My Father's World).

Well that pretty much catches us up. I need to go lie down but I hope everyone is doing great!

Daily report

2009-01-13T15:05:00.002+01:00

After such a rough week last week I am happy to say we are doing much better today!

Yesterday since we were at Lakenheath we obviously didn't do any schoolwork..however we did manage to purchase cardstock, INK and a fun little spanish language kit. Also the language arts books we have been waiting for finally arrived!!! Today I was determined we would get back on track so last night I stayed up putting together makeshift notebooks and this morning we got back to work!

Bible: Devotional out of "Gotta Have God"

Math: Phoenix did six pages of number line review
Tristan did six pages of rounding
Gryphen did four pages of addition

Language Arts:
Phoenix did the first lesson of Primary language lessons and wrote out the answers on a
notebook page.
Tristan did lessons one and two of intermediate language lessons
Gryphen did lesson one of Language Lessons for Little Ones Volume 2

Ambleside:
Today we did "Science" with "A lesson in Faith" from Parables of Nature
The boys narrations were OK, they then did a notebook page.
Phoenix: Wrote a story about a caterpillar and a butterfly and drew a butterfly
Tristan: wrote his narration and drew a picture
Gryphen: copied the words Caterpillar, Butterfly, Lark, Faith and eggs and drew a
picture

Geography:
Our first flat stanley arrived today so we read his journal pages and talked about how far
we traveled. This week we will learn about his home state of Minnesota!

That is all we got to today but I do feel better about it..like we are finally getting somewhere!

Our Family Brochure!

2009-01-11T09:49:00.006+01:00

So I was surfing through some of my favorite blogs and came across this post on one of my favorite blogs Smooth Stones Academy. After reading it I found out that it all started at Trivium Academy which of course is one of the most informative homeschool blogs out there! But on top of that I found links to dozens of these brochures and decided even though I am years behind the curve I wanted a brochure!

So here is My Family in Brochure format!

Our Family: Dh (32), Denita (33), Chelsea (15), Christopher (14), Tristan (11), Phoenix (7) and Gryphen (6). My husband is in the USAF and also works part time as a movie extra and in a local pub . Being a military family we don't really have a "home". We used to call Florida home but in 2004 my mother passed away and the majority of my family dispersed around the US so now home is simply where The Air Force Sends Us.

Chelsea: Chelsea is a somewhat typical teenage girl. She loves clothes, friends, dance dance revolution and Mario cart Wii, watching movies and just "hanging out". She was homeschooled from 1st-7th grade using an eclectic classically CM education. We used everything from Beautiful Feet to Learning Language Arts through Literature and even did two years of Switched on School House with an intense Classical Reading List to round it out. Chelsea now attends a local (British) Prep school where she is a star student and an amazing stand up and moral type of teenager.

Christopher: Chris is all boy. He loves sports, sports and um...sports. He plays Rugby for his school team and also loves US Football, wrestling and well SPORTS. He was homeschooled from Kindergarten to sixth grade and is now a fantastic student at a local (British) Prep school but hates going and wouldn't except that he wants to play SPORTS! Chris is also very involved in our community. He volunteers at our base chapel, helps run our volunteer based movie theater, is an entrepreneur seeking out opportunities to mow lawns, pick up dog messes, walk dogs and babysit. He is at the Chapel every time they open the door! Even when it means walking in the rain or snow to get there! Loves Youth group, reading, and did I mention SPORTS.

Tristan: Tristan is 11 and suffers from SEVERE ODD and ADHD. He is really into video games, Lego's and computers. He loves to make "scrapbooks or notebooks" of his favorite things. Tristan is really into politics and likes to surf political blogs and write or discuss his thoughts on the issues a hand. He is not usually much of a reader but he recently found the Left Behind Kids and is flying through them and is always excited to share them with us. Tristan was homeschooled in K-3rd grade and then in exasperation we put him into our local Florida school and then 1.5 years in our local British school. He is now homeschooling again and we are just trying to get through the adjustments and figuring out how to deal with his anger issues.

Phoenix: Phoenix is a flash of movement in everything he does! The child couldn't sit still if offered every cool toy in a toy store to do it! Phoenix is ADHD and so highly dis tractable he will often forget his own projects and interests. Phoenix loves Hot Wheels Cars, not off brands or matchbox but HOT WHEELS! He is really into Lego's, Wii games (his favorite is Wii fit), and to write stories. Phoenix has been a rather sick child with intestinal issues, food sensitivities, and is the only child in my house to have broken anything. He broke his collar bone when he was two playing ring around the rosie with a group of cousins, and fractured his arm when he was four by wrestling with his younger brother. Phoenix is also the talker of our family. He has 1000000000 questions about everything and has to put in his words no matter what the conversation. His favorite show is Fosters home for imaginary friends, his favorite color is orange and he is not cuddly at all but loves to be right next to someone all the time.

Gryphen: In many ways Gryphen is the typical baby of the family. Although he has recently turned six he still has the heart of a toddler. He is cuddly, sensitive, friendly and funny. His favorite show is My Friends Tigger and Pooh, he loves the color red, likes Lego's, video games and drawing. He sings all the time. He has a stubborn streak that break a donkey!

Our homeschool: We didn't start homeschooling from our heart. It started with a need. My daughter was in first grade and was having all sorts of problems so after a few weeks of fighting with her school we decided it was time to try homeschooling. That first year we used workbooks and the library, computer games and coop classes and even though it was hard work I found that I liked having her home with me. I liked homeschooling. So we started a journey. I read "Homeschooling the Whole Hearted Child" and several Charlotte Mason books, The Trivium and the Well Trained Mind and we found our groove. Admittedly our groove changed many times over the years but when I allowed my children to go into the local schools here in Britain they were all miles ahead of their peers academically and socially.

Things are different now than when I was homeschooling the older children. I am dealing with two boys with ADHD and one of those also have ODD. Also we are living in a very remote village in England with no local group (although I am working on creating one) and it is very hard to get the homeschool supplies you need. Even writing paper and notebooks can be a challenge as the paper and notebooks here are a different size than at home so if you want uniformity you have to depend on the mail and BX both which can take quite a bit of time! So in someways it is like we are starting all over again!
Curriculum: This year we are going to try something new and buy a curriculum that is mostly laid out for us, both cores from Winters Promise "Children around the world" and "Adventures of Sea and Sky". Also their Science The world around us. Yes that is two full curriculum's but with boys as highly dis tractable as mine I decided that alternating two days of one core and two days of another would work really well for them. We will take at least two years to finish these cores. In addition we are using the complete reading list of Ambleside Online. Queens Language Arts, Math Mammoth, Mind Benders and Thinking Toolbox, and Rosetta Stone foreign language.

Schedule: We school four days a week with Fridays free for field trips, nature study and Art classes. Our goal is to homeschool from 9-12 but so far we haven't been able to get started or finished like we would like.

Outside activities: As we have just started homeschooling again we are still more "deschooling" than anything else. We will be taking art classes from my friend Rene along with another homeschool family. The only other activity we have at our disposal is Awanas and due to the time it isn't very likely we will be getting involved with it at this time. In the next few months we are moving and hopefully will have more outside opportunities at our new home.

My Interests: My main interest outside of my family is Computers. I love to play on them, with them around them. I "work" as a tech on the base helping people to set up new computers, fix issues and mostly teaching people how to make their computers and all the information safe from viruses, spyware, malware etc.
I also love to read when I get the chance, like movies, and LOVE Boot Fairs and Charity Shops. I love antiques but only the strangest items attract my attention.
I like scrapbooking but almost never find time anymore.

Interesting Factoids:
1. I originally wanted 12 children
2. I am afraid of Bathrooms...No seriously I hate bathrooms..even my own sometimes but really can't handle other peoples or worse yet public bathrooms.
3. I am ADD and can't keep my thoughts straight to save my life.

Regarding Homeschool:
I hope that i have learned my lesson and that I will not put these boys back into school. I would love to one day say that these boys graduated from our home! My eldest two were supposed to be homeschool graduates and it makes me very sad to see them head off to school each day and know I have wasted years of time with them and only get mere hours each day to know them.

Ch..Ch..Ch...Changes...

2009-01-08T17:58:00.003+01:00

Well our first week of homeschooling was pretty much a failure. No seriously FAILURE! Our heating went out the same night that we started getting snow and ended up with two days on maintenance men in and out of our house...between this, our language arts books still not having arrived, and our printer without the ink necessary for printing math and notebooking pages we really just couldn't get off the ground. Today we didn't even make an attempt! I had a computer job to work on and then Rene and I took the boys to an antique auction and the commissary. And tomorrow isn't going to go anywhere either as I have to get my house back in shape from the movers, have an alterations job to finish, and have to pack for our families trip to Lakenheath this Sunday. We won't be back on Monday but hopefully by Tuesday we will have our language arts books and HOPEFULLY Lakenheath will have ink for my printer. So we can try to start school again.

I have however learned something very important from all of this! These boys are not the same as our older children and they require MUCH MUCH more work and effort in their schooling. With that being said I am placing an order with Winters Promise for the boys curriculum. I need something more laid out for a while and Winters Promise just really seems to be up our alley! We will still be using AO breaking up each weeks reading selections as our bedtime reading mainly because I really love LOVE LOVE AO's books, and will still be doing artist, composer and nature studies on Fridays. The thing is with having Winters Promise as our Core curriculum on days that I just can't lesson plan I can just pick up and go! So for the rest of this month we are dumping A LOT of our school work and going to just do our Bible and AO readings, Math (when we get the ink) and Language Arts. And will pick up the pace when our new AMAZING curriculum comes in!

New School name..PLEASE HELP!

2009-01-08T13:02:00.001+01:00

Just trying out the new name before we make a decision..the boys have chosen

Chrysalis Gardens Bible Academy

But i think this is too much..not sure sometimes I like the name others I don't...I need some feed back please!!

Creative Solutions: Math

2009-01-06T11:39:00.004+01:00

I was talking to my sister yesterday who was saying that her six year old Neleh wasn't doing well with Math Mammoth and so she was looking for something more hands on. Since we had only used it one day I didn't have much input except the knowledge that math is probably the most individual subject out there so what works for one might not work for another even in the same household. Now my son Gryphen is only a few weeks younger than Neleh and I really need Math Mammoth to work for us! I really just can't afford to switch around right now! So I decided to just forge ahead and if we started having problems I would have to think creatively. Well today we started Less Than< Greater Than, this was one of the issues I know Melissa had had with Neleh so I was nervous. Gryphen seemed to catch on but then when I gave him "extra" problems he couldn't remember which numbers were "eaten" and which were "pointed at"...so we decided to make this hands on.

Our "everything room" has spanish tile floors which are perfect for turning into math grids. So Tristan and I took our "Gnome Jewels" and made about 14 greater than, less than and equal problems across the floor and then allowed Gryphen to use colored popcicle sticks to make the symbols. He loved it! It all seemed to snap into place and he kept asking for more and more problems to solve! For us this was ther perfect solution..just adding a little practical hands on fun made things really stick for Gryphen, and to be certain of it we will probably do a few problems each day when we do our math games...(really this is just us using our manipulatives to do problems on the floor in different ways)

Week One Day One

2009-01-05T12:59:00.002+01:00

Today went OKISH...we didn't get to everything I hoped and I gave up on my list an hour early but I still feel pretty good about our first day back.

Bible: Read Genesis chapter one and created a seven days notebook page

Habit of the Week: Prayer. We Read about Prayer and created an ACTS notebook sheet on prayer.

Math: Gryphen did two pages and Phoenix did four pages of level 1A math mammoth. I decided to start them both at the beginning so I could look for gaps and differences that would need to be addressed. For Tristan I started him in third grade because he has so many gaps and cultural differences in math that will need to be overcome. He did three and a half pages. It was really just review for all of them and for Phoenix it was way too simple but I am still glad we started this way.

Language Arts: since the books hadn't come in yet Phoenix worked on his letter to Alyssa. I think we will be working on it again tomorrow because he did very sloppy writing and she won't be able to read it. Gryphen and I did our first lesson in Sonlights "I can read"...by this time he was antsy and gave me some issues but he did ok...Tristan continued his math during this time.

Poetry: To Allison Cunningham From Her Boy

AO: How the Whale got its throat. (wasn't impressed with their narrations at all but they did ok with questions and answers, we will have to work on this)

Science: We are studying Whales and Dolphins this week and are creating our own "Great Big Book of Everything" Today we read the entry in Stanley's "Great Big Book of Everything" on Whales and Dolphins.

We didn't get around to Geography or Artist study but as we have flats to send out on Wednesday we will HAVE to do that tomorrow!!!

Boot Fair Finds

2009-01-04T19:25:00.010+01:00

I know I have babbled on before about my love of JUNK but still I wanted to share my finds of the day. You see it has been several weeks since our last outing and I was going through a little bit of withdrawal so despite the 28 degree icy weather Rene and I decided we had to go to the boot fairs. Today we invited our friend Wendy and we three brought along our teenage daughters for the adventure. It was a virtual gold mind of goodies!!!!

My first find was a rather strange one...Rene picked it up first but when she decided to pass on it I was more than thrilled to pick it up. I am not completely certain of how it is meant to be used but its heavy iron so I wonder if it isn't meant to be outdoors...I am going to hang it on a wall with two decorative candles. Not bad for 2 pounds! ($2.90)

My second find of the day is pretty incredible..it is an A.G. Thornton Architecture Set. The outside of the case is in excellent condition although the tools have some rusting...which looks far worse in the picture. When I clean them up I will have to check closer for a date mark on them but I have found the Thornton markings!!! And Guess what it cost me....NO REALLY YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!!! 5 POUNDS!!! ($7.25)

The third item is a little strange..and I know some people will be possibly shocked or "weirded out" by it but I got this amazingly detailed Opium pipe! It is absolutely gorgeous!! and I got it for 3 pounds ($4.36)

So this one will blow you out of the water! Positive it will! I came across this guy with three beautiful clocks...they need some work but nothing too major and they are so beautiful! One of them is very unusual in shape and style..I was scared to even as the price..Now this is AWESOME! I got these two clocks for 5 pounds! Not five each but 5 pounds total!! That is two gorgeous clocks for about $7.25!!!!

Finally I found two books...The first is called "A Lost Leader" by Dorothea Townsend. It is a beautiful Hardbound edition with onion or vellum paper still in place throughout the book protecting the lovely illustrations. I haven't found the print date but it does have a placard in the front that says "Awarded to George Lloyd Christmas 1902 J.C Dowsa Vicar."

The second I am especially excited about..It is called "The Lamplighter" by Miss Cummins. Now many people would have heard of this as it has been reprinted by Lamplighter publishing. The book was originally written in 1854 but I don't think this is a first edition as it says "New edition" in the cover. However it also has a placard this one reading "Albany Road Baptist Church Sunday School, A prize awarded to Stanley Jermine for punctual attendance and good behavior during this year 1904." It is signed by a superintendent and secretary but I can't read the names. Now these books only cost me 1 pound for the both of them! ($1.45) and are both ingreat condition with solid binding and no loose pages!!!

After the boot fair (Where I only spent 17 pounds 16 on junk and 1 on hot chocolate) we had a lovely lunch at a local pub and spent a few hours letting the girls rummage around Primark (discount clothing store) before heading home. Needless to say it was a lovely LOVELY day!

Just a little rant

2009-01-03T22:21:00.003+01:00

I am so frustrated! I got this amazing new all in one photo printer on the base here. So I printed up all the AO lessons for 12 weeks, plus quite a few other things...point is I ran out of Black ink...so I go to the BX to get more and they don't have it, so I go online to order it and the US site won't ship to APO addresses. Now I understand about FedEx contracts being cheaper but it is a real slight to the US military when companies or individuals refuse to ship to us as we live in places where simple things can be hard to come by and APO addresses are one of the benefits we receive to help make this easier. (for anyone who doesn't understand an APO address is a US mailing address for military members stationed overseas, only USPS can send to us as it all goes to a sorting center and is picked up by the military who then carries it across the oceans to us) Now for me..I live in England so its not usually that bad for us. We can't always get the food we like and we have to order a lot of our electronics...but most things we can at least find a substitute for but here we are back at ink! I need ink...the local economy didn't seem to have it anywhere at all...and when I finally did find it paid almost double what it would have cost to ship it here then I put it in my printer and it won't register but comes up with an error message that the ink is incompatable...so 27 minutes on the phone with HP (not free for us by the way) just to have them tell me to call UK HP...well it's a US machine so you can imagine they are going to send me to the US site etc..so $60 down the tube, still no ink...and I need math pages for school monday and haven't set up the boys notebooks yet!!!!!

I am sure this sounds like babble...and it is really but I am so annoyed right now! All this could have been so easy if our US companies would just support our US military and ship to APO addresses...so what if it costs a little more than FED EX it is me that would be paying the extra postage prices not them!!!!

Please Pray for my Dad

2008-12-30T19:23:00.003+01:00

If you know me you know I am not really close with my dad but I do know he has tried to keep the lines open with me over the years. I only talk to him once or twice a year so it's no wonder I didn't know he had an accident a few months ago. Apparently he was leaving Burger King and tripped on a rubber door stopper and fell. As usual it took him months to get checked out and realize there was a true problem. Yesterday he had surgery on his shoulder and is now facing several months of physical therapy and treatments. Obviously this will affect their family (my family) a lot as he is the primary breadwinner and has a wife and two daughters at home who are only 16 and 6 years old. I did call him in the hospital yesterday and he was in good spirits (probably the drugs) and kept "bragging" to the nurses that he was on the phone with his oldest daughter all the way in England. Since the surgery his heart rate has been elevated and with his age and diabetes there are always risks. So please keep him (Bill) his wife Darlene and my sisters Stevie and Abby (and Laura who is already grown) in your prayers.

Making a list of 2009 Goals

2008-12-27T13:25:00.005+01:00

Trying Something New and adding a Meme..

This one is about making goals for 2009. I may update it several times before I am done but....

To make sure and read my Bible each and every day.
To Spend more one on one time with my kids
To spend time each day sorting through our belongings to get ready for our move
To use my new Wii fit daily
To finish my transcription course
Finally take another art class (this one is a blessing from Rene who has graciously volunteered to teach us art and artist study this term)
Stay on top of my homeschool goals so we are in term break when we have to deal with movers and moving.
To Pray for my husband and children daily
To be more frugal
To take the time to see the places that I will regret not seeing (Ambleside here I come)
To save some money
To take up menu planning
To get more organized
To get back to scrapbooking
To be stricter with our families electronics and outside activities
Finally lose this weight...
To learn to let go and trust GOD instead of trying to control everything myself.
To be more patient with my children

Well that is really all I can think of at the moment...but I am certain there is much more I should be doing...but the good news is goal setting doesn't have to be restricted to January 1st!!!