GRACE IS

Gods

Riches

At

Christs

Expense

Wordless Wednesday

Cha...Cha...Cha....Changes

Ha! Did you think I was going to sing a David Bowie song to ya? It is what came to my mind... hence the title to this post. However... I will spare ya my singing... Unless you want dogs to howl along with me *Ü* Yes,I'm that bad at it.

Ah..."The Change"..... My oldest is moving out! He will be an intern at our church for the next year and will be moving into a house with another friend/intern on church property. He will also go back and finish his AA at the local CC.

Im ready for this... and then... not so much....



Its strange but I have mixed feelings about it all. I am completely excited for him and all the new experiences he will be walking into.... and then I'm completely sad that he is grown up enough to move out!

Yes, I know this is what we do as parents. We put in our time to raise them and we grow them so they can be independent from mom and dad....to stand on their own 2 feet.... but its bitter sweet. I love him. I will miss seeing him... even if its for 10-15 minutes at a time! lol He works and is gone a lot anyway. BUT!! Knowing he "wont" be sleeping and living here is hard for me. Sad...



I will miss hearing him play his guitar every morning and every evening he is home. That's such a great sound coming down the hallway. I will miss him coming into the office and standing behind me... this is where we talk a lot.

I know he wants to talk because he just stands there and says nothing... LOL...ya I know... no talking.... well for him it is an indicator for me that he wants to visit. *Ü* No talking is him initiating the conversation... lol See he has taught me a lot too! I'm learning to pick up on blue (man) talk!! *Ü* I learned to decipher what he is saying.. when he is not saying anything!!! Not to shabby...hu?



We just celebrated his 20th birthday this month. We had a roast/toast time... but it was really more reminiscing than anything. It was fun hearing stories about him from his friends... and then his friends were able to hear stories from when he was little... times like on his 5th birthday he put a golf tee through his ear drum.... or when he was picking cherries in a tree 10 or 11 feet up in a cherrie tree and the branch broke from under him. This was also his first ambulance ride *Ü*......or the last 2 rope swings he was on....broke mid swing on him... one resulting in whiplash and a mild concussion...Seriously... this all happened.. and many more.. those were the first few that popped in my mind...

But... we also had those awe, moments... My favorite story was when he was 4 years old. Shawn would clap his hands together and say... "lets talk mom...clap.... lets talk" *Ü* I have no idea where he got that... but he did that a lot. *Ü* One night he said that after a bible story... we had just finished Jonah, he said... "mom, it would not be any fun to play hide and seek with God, Would it?" and I said, "sure it would. Why do you say that?" and he said, " because God would never have to turn around to find you, He already knows where you are."



Uh! These are the things that make me tear up... Remembering.... I need to look to the future I know... He is all grown up now... and has much more growing to do through his lifetime... yup.. got the memo... Its just hard...

I remember Mary in scripture....and how she hid things in her heart as Jesus grew... I cant help but think this must be similar... we moms cherish the little things... not just the big. We hide it in our hearts.

Ahhh...I need to be more like Shawn and remember the wisdom of a 4 year old... God will never have to turn around... He already knows right where Shawn is.

Cant find my groove!

Normally this time of year I am ready to begin school already. Normally...Right now... we are doing school...

As of today.... I'm not ready. I have the books, the curriculum... classes lined up for Biology... but I am not ready... So I decided we wont start school till Sept 14th. This is so weird.. even for me.

This is the first time in years we actually start school in September. I like to start mid Aug... then I'm done by mid May. Last year we began in Aug, but only to finish what we started the previous year and began new stuff in Jan... It was a tuff year for school and mom. *Ü*

Not to much has changed in our schooling. We are literature based as always for History, literature, bible and geography. No textbooks is what I mean. We are finally going to finish our American History!!

Apologia Biology is the science of choice this year for both girls.... Christian isn't to happy... as she got half way through the book with me... but we didn't finish... its good for her to finish... Even if that means starting over. The class will be so much better.

Spanish I hope will also be in a class again. I have not been given rates yet. I do know they went up... but cant commit till I know for sure. I hope we are able to continue. This will be Spanish 102 for both girls. Woohoo!

Math RyLee will finish pre Alg using Teaching Textbooks and begin Alg in Jan sometime.... Christian is going through Life of Fred books at her own pace.

Writing will be based on current events and History this year. IEW is still the curriculum of choice.

We didn't get to Thinking Like a Christian last year. So it is my desire... my HOPE, that we do get to it this year. I would like to have more folks than just us go through it.

Christian is really taking off in photography. We would like her to take some classes at the local CC for this, but I'm sure this wont happen till next year. She is doing a wonderful job though and has been asked to take pictures for folks she knows. So this year we will focus on exposure to photo shoots and building a portfolio so to speak. Keep it simple and enjoyable. Technical can come later or as we go.








We still do nature study... although we have not been posting as much as I would like. We have been studying birds so far this summer. *Ü* Squirrels and chipmunk have been fun to observe. We have tons out here in the woods. So we will continue w/ The Handbook of Nature study and journals.

So Im hoping by typing all this out I can get inspired to find that groove...

Here is to hoping!!