thursday throwback

so, the book I ordered, you know ... the ONE that is going to make everything all better? that one. anyway, it arrived yesterday at the post office and it is huger than huge. guess that is good since it cost over $30, but it is also a tad daunting. maybe I'll just get my oldest to read it and summarize for me (there are LOTS of good things about teenagers, especially nice homeschooled ones).

upon first glance, I really think the recommendation for me to hunt it down and attempt to purchase it was an excellent one.
so.much.information.
especially since things seem different here in small town Ontario than for all my friends in the good ole U.S. of A.

from what I understand, my guys cannot simply sign up for a college class until they are 17. we will have to wait three years for that, which would have my oldest in grade 11 already, one year shy of graduation age as it is. in some cases you also need a high school credit as a prerequisite. not as helpful as I wish.

if my guys want to attend University or College (though, to a lesser degree) they must have either: a killer portfolio, a lot of charisma plus an understanding and accepting admissions board member, OR their O.S.S.D. diploma. This diploma can only be awarded IF you attend a public high school. There is, also, only one scholarship available if you do not attend public high compared to a myriad of scholarships if you go "public". we aren't exactly rolling in the cash here so a scholarship would be trés importante.

the other option is to write your G.E.D. and apply to College or Uni. as a mature student, defined as one who has been out of school for a year already and over the age of 19. I guess they simply "get a job" in the meantime.

yes, it can be done. yes, I do know a few who have done so, though they have used Bob Jone's Satellite or an online course set up for military kids, Amdec which isn't homeschooling anymore and uses government curriculum so you might as well just send them down the road in my opinion.

still sitting on the fence, but at least I will be an informed sitter

wordless wednesday

the simple woman's daybook

FOR TODAY...Monday, February 23

Outside My Window... Newly fallen snow with bare, dry roads; my favourite.

I am thinking...that I really cannot do all the things I would like to do in a day, so blogging is going to have to take a back seat most days.

I am thankful for... Doctor's appointments, even when they come at strange times.

From the kitchen...organic cranberry scones.

I am wearing...some things that probably don't really "go" together, but don't care.

I am creating...my latest study guide for homeschoolers, and all I have to do now is get it ready to send to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Store where it can start selling.

I am going...to the grocery store for some Chef Boyardee (just for me),then taking oldest to his rehearsal sprinkled with a lot of big fat staying at home in between ... bliss.

I am reading...well, nothing right now because some others have given me books to read and I am unsure that I have any desire to read one particular selection but am never sure how to just say "actually, I am already engaged".

I am hoping...to restore my adrenal gland without a lot of work.

I am hearing...my oldest trying to prove his point to his brother for the millionth time. irritating.

Around the house...almost all the paint touch-ups done and a feeling of settling in, at last.

One of my favorite things...the fact that I get to stay at home, because I WANT to

thursday thought

our worship leader sent this to the group, asking us to watch this clip and really focus on what the message is to us. I wasn't sure what to post today, and then this came to mind. It reiterates what the main point in stormie's praying through the deeper issues of your marriage spoke loudly and clearly to me. you can deny it all you like, rationalize it, justify it and even attempt to minimize it, but the truth is still that ... the truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9JgrJjyNzg

life doesn't HAVE to be a slippery slope if we examine our motives and actions through the wisdom of Scripture. nothing crumbles in a day.

while we were on the mission field, my husband and I were rudely awoken in the wee hours of the morning by a terrifying sound ... a tree had split at the very roots and crashed down on the fence just feet away from our bedroom wall. the next day, we heard from a friend, via facebook, that there had been an earthquake (7.2 on the scale) in Indonesia at the exact moment that this tree fell in our backyard. so it would be easy, then, to put two and two together and say that the earthquake, this natural disaster, caused the demise of the tree, right?

wrong.

the thing we learned about trees in Papua is that they are hollow in their cores. trees come and go in that land all the time. what looks strong and stable on the outside, even to the point of bearing fruit, is really just a shell, living for a few years then it is cut down or falls on its own.

the same goes for us. I can be a powerful force in many lives if I choose to be, saying all the right things and seeming to be really in love with the Lord, all the while cold and empty inside, not really sure that I care to say "no" to what I should, or to be truthful in my words, or ... you get the idea.

I want to be like a tree, planted by the streams of living water, trusting, growing, sowing.

wordless wednesday

heart of the matter meme

This week's Heart of the Matter Meme asks: What do you love about your spouse? How did you meet? How long have you been married? What is particularly special about him/her?

well, this one is just too easy NOT to answer. Let me tell you what I love about my man:
1. he is just that ... all man
2. he goes out of his way each and every day to see that all my needs are being met
3. he will drop anything if I really need him
4. he calls me his very lovely and beautiful wife every day, no matter what
5. he is one of the most forgiving people I know
6. he is totally laid-back
7. he never gets carried away
8. he shares my dreams
9. he is an excellent cook and does the dishes to boot
10. he doesn't always know what to say, but he knows how to hold me
11. he plays the bass and is an artist
12. he goes to work and then comes home, happily, because home is what he loves
13. he supports us homeschooling (or not)
14. he doesn't mind when I am just.too.weak.to.do.it.alone
15. he is my best friend
16. divorce is not an option for him
17. we have been married for 15 years and he still hopes for many more
18. he took me to a tropical island (yes, we were missionaries, but still)
19. he is full of romantic suprises
20. he is the most gentle man I know

wordless wednesday

friday freefall

so the question was posed: what do you do to "love" winter? and the answer is not necessarily simple.
I think for me, personally, what I love about winter is what I *choose* to love about each season, otherwise I would be depressed way more often than I am! but seriously, having been born and raised in South-Western Ontario, I had better at least come to terms with old man winter 'cause he bears his head for what seems like half the year here.

winter comes pretty much on my birthday every November, which works wonderfully for me. who doesn't think it is special when the Lord sends the first flurry of flakes, seemingly, just.for.you. and it doesn't usually last anyway, then, so I am happy to get into it.
winter is also an excuse to break out all the gorgeous sweaters and socks that won't do in summer.
there is also that lovely feeling of fingers wrapped around warm mugs of tea or hot chocolate, lingering by the fireplace or simply staring out a window at the trees, cosy inside while the rest of the world bustles about.
I can't wait to decorate the house for Christmas and absolutely LOVE going to the Christmas tree farm to pick out and cut down our personal favourite tree. nothing says "hello winter" to me more than that.
then there is the cookie baking with my friend, though we couldn't do it this year seeing as how I was kind of on the other side of the world (and there wasn't a single bag of brown sugar in West New Britain Province). we have done it a couple of times anyway, and had a blast cooking together and sharing sugar. we try to put as many in the freezer as we can
but ... hello ...

next comes my anniversary, right at the time that all the stores and churches have on their best Christmas "jewelery". I guess I am a sucker for all the old movies like White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life because I watch them every year and somehow things just seem, I dunno, better during Christmas. I try to catch whatever old shows from the 60's they run on tv, too. Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman ... you know the drill. I am a kid at heart, for sure.

after the excitement of Christmas, then comes the pleasure of s.l.o.w.i.n.g. down. I love giving myself permission to read and re-read the magazines I was given, to try that new knitting project, scrapbook some more and listen to music. I KNOW how frigid it is outside, so I bundle up IN doors and just enjoy. the boys are already programmed to understand that winter is reading time, plain and simple.
they love to play outside, having snowball fights, trying to make and maintain forts, or shovelling driveways for others.
we keep wanting to introduce them to skiing, but the last few winters have been on the mushy side ... this one looks perfect!
we got an invitation to go tobogganing this afternoon (though we cannot make it this time) which is a given for winter, no matter what.
snowshoeing is also something I tried and enjoyed as a kid, whenever we went to my aunt and uncle's cottage, up north.
and if it isn't TOO cold, there is not much more visually stimulating than taking a walk around the neighbourhood, especially when the snow is softly falling and the moon shines on the freshly fallen snow, making it sparkle like crushed diamonds.
we also like to get in the car and drive around to see what lights people have up.

the days are shorter, the nights colder, but really, this IS what it is. I cannot imagine not embracing winter, both the good and the bad (especially when there is a snow day so bad that my husband has to stay home from work. rare, but precious).
winter lasts a long time, yes, but it prepares us for the beauty of spring, when everything dead is slowly re-born. if that doesn't get you, then I just don't know what will.

tell me what YOU think ...

sometimes it just falls into your lap

this one needed NO comment:

Jonam (surely just 'acting' as a whiney, fourteen year old)
ooohhhh ... how come every time YOU teach us, it takes forever and whenever YOU go away, we finish way before lunch?

... (quickly added, as a precautious after-thought)

and we get it all 'done'

wordless wednesday

all in a day's work

so, we finished reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile, and while I really enjoyed it, the boys thought it could have been better with way more blood and fighting and none of the romance.

funny how much they loved reading it until around chapter 10 or so. A serious breech occurred in their thinking and tolerance levels then. my husband and I just laughed and decided that it is high time they expanded their horizons. we think we need to rent way more "old" movies from the library now, instead of always getting the "new" stuff.

mental note to self: what *I* enjoyed as a teen in the 80's is NOT necessarily a great way to expand a child's horizon.

our read-aloud right now is The Golden Goblet, and the boys are simply begging me to please.can.you.just.read.one.more.chapter.today? I have to admit to finding it pretty darn exciting, too.

and in other news, I almost got suckered in by a scam-virus thing only it didn't work all the way because I have my trusty English Degree. can you imagine if I had crashed this new-ish laptop all because I believed you didn't need any suffix on the end of the word "need" when it applies to a direction, read: your computer need(s) to be fixed.

*suffix "s" added skillfully by Kristina Campbell, B.A.

the simple woman's daybook

FOR TODAY... Monday, Februry 2, 2009

Outside My Window... a jack russel that just pee'd on my front lawn

I am thinking... that the banana split for morning break was a brilliant idea

I am thankful for... leftovers, especially when they are the take out kind

From the kitchen... just washed dishes and the smell of garlic and tomatoes

I am wearing...
jeans and a meri blaus

I am creating... irritation in my own head over the choices for grade 9 in ontario

I am going... to begin more tok pisin study

I am reading... still Stormie, and yes, it is overdue. what I really want to know is how my other homeschooling friends truly have time to do laundry, cook healthy meals, clean house, homeschool AND read for pleasure

I am hoping... to memorize what I have committed to memorize

I am hearing... the hum of my laptoop and the occasional click of something in the dryer downstairs

Around the house... each of the scholars in his own little nook, inventing, writing, dreaming or drawing

One of my favorite things... gnocchi

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... meeting on tuesday, looking at my options for high school and hanging more pictures

Here is picture thought I am sharing...


http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/