Happy New Everything!

     It's been nearly a year since I last posted. As is often said, so much has happened in the past year. Not just in our homeschool, but in many areas of our lives. Updating the blog was very much pushed to the back burner, shut off and left to sit.

     I had hoped to update here more frequently since, as a writer, the more you do it the better you get. That obviously didn't happen. Much of that had to do with the fact that in the fall of 2021 we decided it was time to move and we purchased a new home, still under construction but closer to family. When we looked at the area we got a great view of the dirt lot that was to become the foundation of our new house! It wasn't a decision we made lightly. We prayed over everything: location, timing and finances.

     In the midst of homeschooling there were final doctor/specialist appointments for both kids. Frequent orthodontist appointments so that braces could be removed before we moved. One more musical theater performance which came with rehearsals. Farewell lunches and dinners. Oh, and of course, Covid! We all got sick toward the end of May. I was the last one to get it and dealt with several issues afterwards which required two trips to the ER (looking back now, they were likely severe panic attacks that I didn't have before). Thank God everyone else recovered quickly and thoroughly and I eventually recovered as well.

     Then there was selling our home. We were able to bless a family who had been looking for a home in our area for quite some time but kept getting outbid. Our realtor (who was also their realtor) showed them our home without listing it and they made an offer that lined up with what we needed. God definitely had his hand on that process too!

     When we started packing we had plenty friends and neighbors to help out. I know we would not have gotten it done without them. We had twenty years of stuff to go through, pack, throw out or donate and everyone pitched in. Early on when we were packing up the garage (the most daunting area to me) I had fallen and twisted both of my ankles. When I fell I couldn't get up. My son and a neighbor had the help me to my feet so that I could hobble back inside the house. Since it took nearly six months for my ankles to feel back to normal (I couldn't walk up and down stair properly), the help with packing the garage (and kitchen, and homeschool shelves and dining room) literally took a load off of me. I could only do so much at a time since I was in pain. By the time we were moved and staying in an Airbnb for a few days before our new house closed, my ankles were shot. I couldn't even get in the pool and attempt to swim. It hurt too much!

     Before we moved my husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to share our marriage story with our church's Couples Cafe. It was such a bittersweet moment when our pastor asked everyone to join with him and pray over us as we were close to our move date. Our last Sunday at the church another pastor gathered a few friends and prayed over us again. So. Much. Love.

     So, here I am sitting in our new living room filled with gratitude. None of the wonderful things we experienced last year would have been possible without God's provision, guidance and healing. We're in a new home, new city, new church. We're closer to family and have seen them more in the past four months than in the past four years. My Little Toughie is now in high school (yes, I'm still homeschooling). My son is loving his new Young Adult group. My husband gets to work from home. I'm slowly editing the second novel I wrote during the 2021 NaNoWrimo. We have great neighbors that help each other out (they pitched in to build another neighbors fence)! We're surrounded by countryside hills dotted with horses, sheep and cows. We see plenty of deer frolic in the area. We get to take it all in during daily family walks (when it's not raining).

     There are still little things that need to be done. Stuff like changing the addresses for our registrations or IDs. Getting some art on the walls. Redoing the kids' closets to make better use of the space. Redoing my closet so that my clothes aren't in piles on the floor. Figuring out what to do with all the greeting card making stuff I have since I'm not really using them anymore. Just little things here and there that are on my to-do list. I don't make New Year resolutions but I do try to think about, and maybe write down, where I want to be physically, mentally and spiritually by the end of the year. Last night I asked God to help me complete the things I wanted to get done everyday to reach those goals: read and study my Bible, workout, write/edit and then read for fun. All the usual things like cooking, dishes and laundry I can get done, but the things that are most important to me seem to fall by the wayside when my to-do list never ends. But just this morning, God directed me to his Word as soon as I awoke and upon completing this post I will have done everything I wanted to get done (except for reading for fun...I'll get that done before bedtime this evening). 

     All that to say Happy New Year! May God bless you in more ways than you can count. May He refresh your desire to know Him more fully and give you the quiet time to do that. May He instill a longing in you that seeks to pursue a relationship with Him first and before anyone or anything else. May He reveal His purpose for you and may you fulfill that purpose wholeheartedly. May He use you to share the Gospel and reveal His glory. May He use your testimony to bless others. May He direct your path in all things. May He protect you along the way.

     This, too, is my prayer for myself and my family and our New Everything.

Year 8, Week: Happy Thanksgiving!

   

   

     This week we're on our Thanksgiving break and given the last two weeks (13 and 14), it's arrived at just the right time. Our homeschooling is going well. We've found our rhythm, albeit mostly a monotonous one since we're staying close to home. However, we did have a few exciting things happen in the past couple of weeks.

     Week 14 started with Little Toughie's online recital. This was a livestream and it was great to see how all the students were doing, even in the midst of this pandemic. She sang a version of "Fly Me to the Moon". It was pretty spectacular!

     Week 14 also ended with my winning NaNoWriMo nine days early. It wasn't my intention, but my daily goal has always been to write between 1800 and 2000 words. I  purposely buffered it keeping my birthday and Thanksgiving in mind. Toward the end of week 13 I surpassed the halfway mark of NaNoWriMo with a total of 27,177 words. The next day I hit 30,000. The words just kept adding up. When I reached 35,000 it seemed to move at warp speed and in no time I was 44,000 words. I decided to finish, spending most of Friday night and Saturday afternoon finishing my novel.

     In the end, I had written 50,312 words. While I've never ran a full marathon (I've ran a half) it was like crossing the finish line. There were tears of joy and I think I may have been holding my breath during the last 20 minute writing session because when I saw the work count hit 50,017 I had to stop and take deep breaths. My story wasn't quite done yet at that point so I had to get back to it and finish. I'll write more about my experience later on but I can say that I can't wait to do it again next year!

     A380 started our break week with lunch with our church's youth group directors. When it was confirmed that they'd be going it was all he could talk about. We're so very blessed to have young adults in our church to rise up and faithfully walk with Christ, proclaim His truth and lead the next generation. We need more of them!

     I'm finishing this blog after our traditional post-Thanksgiving walk and watching Captain Marvel. We're big Marvel fans! We'll be having a Zoom dinner with my family soon so I wish you all well. Cheers to you and yours on this Thanksgiving.

Year 8, Weeks 11 and 12: Better Late Than Never?

     I'm writing this a few days after the election as we continue to wait on confirmation of who our next President will be. Better late than never, maybe?  I know a lot of people are anxious about the results.  My family and I have been in prayer about all of  this.  Ultimately, my trust and hope is in the Lord and I know no matter who is elected, God is sovereign and knows better than we do. JESUS IS KING!

     The past couple of weeks have been more of the same with the exception of helping Little Toughie for her recital and me reaching 10,000 words for NaNoWriMo. I pray before each writing session as I seek to glorify him in all of it, whether or not it gets published (But I hope it does!)

     I write this also as a reminder that life is precious.  I lost another friend, a sister-in-Christ, this week.  It came as a shock to everyone; it happened in her sleep.  She had a gentle and kind spirit, one that was obvious even if you had just met her.  Our church lost a great woman of God. She has a daughter the same age as Little Toughie and my heart breaks for her.

     Know this: in the end, nobody is going to remember who you voted for. They're going to remember how you served others. And when I say serve I don't mean a version where someone thinks they're doing another a "service" by sharing an article or video that backs what they're trying prove because the other person is seen as "wrong". Let's be honest, even the media uses tactics of sharing what they find in their echo chamber.  Also it's not a service to bash or shame someone who doesn't see things your way.  That's not serving.  That's bullying.  In the end you will be remembered for how you served and loved others, no matter the differences.

     I saw this a few days before the election and thought I'd share it here.  I'm sorry I don't know the original source, but I found it on Instagram:

 

     Speaking of serving, Veteran's Day is coming up. I received this email from a local homeschool book shop that contained this image:

 

          Nothing is free. Even with this election, your right to vote didn't come for free.  Know your country's history, understand the world's history. Everything came at a price. Please remember that.

Year 8, Week 10: Writing

     This past week was filled with a lot of prep work on my part.  A lot of making double batches of meals to have and freeze.  A lot of running errands and gathering supplies.  A lot of dropping off and picking up books.  A lot of research and writing.  You might be wondering why I'm researching and writing and what the extra meals and supplies are all about, but I'll get to that in a bit.

     Let me share what my kids are doing for writing this school year first.  A380 is using Writing & Rhetoric, a program that I have come to love after trying a couple of different ones over the years.  This is one that the kids also enjoy so that's a bonus.  I work with A380 on his writing but for Little Toughie I wanted to change it up.  I wanted to challenge her this year so I signed her up for an online class through Circe (By the way, they have classes for adults too.  I took a Socratic class in the spring.)  I felt it would be good for her to have a different teacher; to get a different perspective and a different teaching style.  They both get to read great stories and then write their own.  I've kept copies of all their work and it's interesting to see how their writing has progressed.  One of these days, with their permission, perhaps I'll share some of it!

     As for all the running amok around remember that project I've been waiting to announce?  Here it is:  I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo (My husband calls it nanu-nanu!)  Basically, I'm going to draft a new novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days.  As you can tell, I'm a big fan of books.  I love to read but I also have a passion for writing; a passion I haven't really nurtured except for blogging.

     Every now and then a story will come to mind, but I'd let it go, believing that there's no way I could write that story.  However, at the beginning of this year I had a story that kept coming to mind so I started to write it.  When Covid hit my focus shifted to other things and so the writing stopped.  Early in October I remembered NaNoWriMo and decided to sign up.  I've read that it can be pretty time consuming considering that you only have 30 days to reach the goal.  I've spent the past few weeks prepping as much as I can, down to a rough outline, some aspects of my characters and researching settings.  Even now, as I write this I'm participating in an online writing forum filled with challenges and Q&A.

     It's not too late to join!  You can be a panster, a writer who writes by the seat of their pants and doesn't plot or plan when writing their novels.  I'm a planster...someone who plans a bit of it and will write it as it comes.  If you join, let me know.  We can be writing buddies!

     I have to go.  I have a 5 minute writing sprint to attend to and I'm already one minute behind.  Have a great week!  Oh, and A380 says, "Have a happy halloween!"