Thanksgiving





 

Thanksgiving!  I love Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for.  We all do.  This year we are traveling "home" to my parent's house for Thanksgiving.  It has been 5 months since we have been there, they have traveled here though.  It is about a 9 hour drive and although we will not cross any ocean, it seems almost like a "Mayflower" voyage.  We pack and prepare, we anticipate, we check the weather, and the excitement is building as we get closer!

I remember when I was in elementary school and we would make paper turkeys and study pilgrims, the mayflower and Squanto.  I loved everything about it!  So I have always tried to instill a thankful attitude with my children. 

Sometimes, I wonder if  one can really grasp "thankfulness" until they have been without or until they have seen others go through tough times.  I seem to realize the meaning more as I am older.  Our family has been through some changes in the last couple of years and I believe my children can understand  "thankful" more now.

These are a few of the many things I am thankful for, not in any order:

I am so looking forward to visiting with family this Thanksgiving. 
It will be so nice to travel "back home" to familiar roads and sites!
We have a nice, warm and dry house.
We have plenty of food to eat.  I am thankful for this, even though sometimes I complain about the increase in pricing, God still provides for us.
My husband is my best friend and is so supportive to me and our family.
My children are healthy, smart and kind.
We are able to homeschool.
We have great friends.
We live in the United States.  It is not perfect, but we have many freedoms that others do not.
I am thankful for Facebook and the Internet which allows me to stay in touch with family and friends and make new friends!
I am thankful for the laughter of my children!

I am thankful that Emily loves to cook!

I enjoy seeing SarahAnne being crafty and how she is improving in the details.

I love seeing Samuel get so excited building Lego's and doing "science experiments" with his dad.

I am so thankful for our extended family and the joyous times we share together.

I am thankful that I came through surgery fine and had a good report.

I am thankful for my parents and all of their help and support of my family.

This Thanksgiving, I pray that you and your family enjoy each other and have a wonderful time of fellowship and create many happy memories.   Let's all remember to thank the Lord for His abundant blessings.





Our moving experience

Moving.....we all dread the thought of it.  We have moved many many times in our life.  Someone told us once, that our furniture should have wheels! 

We were married in January of 1994.  We have moved at least 11 times!  No, my husband is not in the military.  We didn't move each time for a new job, but sometimes.  It was easier to do when the kids were younger, because they had less STUFF.  We had less STUFF. 

We have moved from smaller to bigger homes and from bigger to smaller ones.  We have moved to be closer to family.  We have moved to be closer to work.  We have moved because of work. 

Last October, we moved from Kentucky to North Carolina.  It was the longest, hardest , most expensive move ever!    Matt had lost his job in Kentucky in May and was provided one in North Carolina.  We sold our KY house (Thank you, Lord!) at the beginning of July.
We packed things into storage until a job offer... not knowing where we would go.  We took our most precious things to our parents' home until we moved.  We stayed there, too. 

Matt had two job interviews.  One in Kansas and one in North Carolina.  At the end of July, he was offered a job in North Carolina.  He took it and started a new job in August.  We stayed in Ohio with my parents.  We took a couple of trips down to look for housing and found one in September.

It has been the hardest move we have ever made.  We knew no one here.  We were far away from the people we loved and the places we knew.  The culture is different than were we came from.

Through all of this, God has blessed us.  We found a house that had been foreclosed.  It provides us with a school room, in addition to everything else we need.  We are 3 hours from the Outer Banks of North Carolina!  We have a great neighbor, who right away introduced our kids to her grandkids.  (They are now friends.)  We have grown closer as a family.  We have learned so much by this experience.

I believe that one day we will be moving, yet again.  I don't have any plans right now, but I know that God is in control and His plan will work for me even when I don't understand it.

Midwest Homeschool Conference

I just had to post really quickly.  I am so excited!  I just found out that the Midwest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio will have the Duggars as speakers!  In addition to all of the other great speakers.  If you have never been to a homeschool convention.... let me highly recommend this one!  It is so inspiring!  Also overwhelming, especially the first time!  (all of the curriculum in the vendor hall will make your head spin!)

Beginning in 2011, there will also be conferences organized by the same people as the Midwest Convention, in three other places in the United States.  So you may be able to travel to the one closest to you.  We will travel back to Cincinnati.  Why?  Because, we have so many friends that attend that one and we just LOVE Cincinnati!  If you plan to go to the one in Cincinnati, let me know and we can plan to meet!  I am getting more excited. 

Ask my husband, he will tell you that I was a changed woman after my first conference.  I went by myself.  It was so much smaller then and still it was unbelievable!  So many vendors, speakers, so many homeschoolers!  The next year, I took him with me!  This past year, we took Emily.  It is a highlight of our year.  I'm writing the dates on my calendar!

Midwest Homeschool Convention       

-  Cincinnati, Ohio               March 31- April 2, 2011

Southeast Homeschool Convention    

  - Greenville, South Carolina        March 17-19, 2011

Northeast Homeschool Convention   

 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania       June 23-25, 2011

Midsouth Homeschool Convention     

 - Memphis, Tennessee                March 3-5, 2011

Hope that you can attend one of these great conventions.

My little extra time...

Well, I woke up extra early this morning......uh, ok, I  really had a little extra time because of the time change.  I could always use a little extra time!  Anyway, since I've been off the blogging path for a while now I decided to do a little blog hopping.  It was nice to visit and see what everyone has been up too. 

I am still slow, but am making some progress and hope to have a good full week of school this coming week.
The kids are starting to think about the holidays.  (ok, I am too!)  Emily is wanting to decorate and put up the tree already.  We may do a little decorating by getting out our Christmas village, but not the tree, yet.  Our Christmas village goes up high on a shelf above our built-in bookcases, so it is something Matt has to do. 

It seems, the rest of the crew has risen!  Emily has the coffee brewing, so it is time for me to go. 

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Getting back

Yesterday, I visited my doctor for another post-op check-up.  Things are good.  I can increase my activity slowly and start getting back to normal.  YYYYEEEAAHHH!  I am so looking forward to this.  I am ready to get back.  My kids are ready.  My husband is ready.  We really do enjoy our normal day to day homeschooling life.

I am so thankful for my parents.  They came and spent 3 weeks helping to take care of me and my family.  I know that I am so blessed to have them!  My husband and kids have been helpful too.  I also have to say that my doctor was great and am thankful that all test results came back cancer free.  God has been so good to me!

Now, I need to plan to get back on track with school.  This week we will do a little catch up and next week we will work pretty diligently to get where we need to be.  I really don't think we are too far behind.  I would like to get a couple of good weeks in before Thanksgiving. 

We always take time off in December to study a Christmas theme, so I need to start thinking about that too.  So, for the next couple of days ....plan, plan, plan...!!!!