handsful

I thought I’d speed through our last week here on the blog.  Just for kicks.  Life is never dull.

** Randy spent the early part of the week in NYC.  He and his engineer were working a big vendor fair right in downtown…in fact, his hotel was 1 block from Times Square.  Yes, I was jealous.  I’ve never been to NY, and it’s definitely on my bucket list.  I love visiting big cities (San Fran is a favorite), but I most certainly prefer to live in the country.  As far as scenery goes, cows over cars I always say…

** Like I did last year, I’m participating in our church’s 21 day fast.  It’s a time to put aside the things we view as “necessities” and remember where our blessings come from.  I’m taking a Facebook break for 20 days…gotta sign in one day early for my mom’s birthday wish, I knew she’d be mad if I missed THAT!  I also did what’s called the “Daniel Fast” again, but this time 5 days instead of 3.  I know many people who do this the entire 21 days….No sugar, processed foods, dairy, meat, butter, breads, and only water to drink.  It’s not exactly easy, but that’s not the point.  Yesterday was my last day, so today I enjoyed this…

Hot tea is my friend in the morning.  And, I’ve got a pint of frozen chocolate yogurt for later.  Thank you Jesus for the sweet things in life.

** For the first time, Lainey and Dylan have their very own outside homeschool class.  Our friend Sandi (Hollyn’s mom) told us about it, suggesting it would be an awesome way to get them active AND give them time together on a regular basis.  They are in heaven with this class.  It’s through our town’s parks and rec, and involves one hour learning about a certain sport (so far, they’ve done basketball and volleyball), and then one hour on a health/safety topic (the last two were bus and fire safety).  We’re giving the kids some extra playtime afterwards, too.  Last week at our house, the coming week at Hollyn’s.  I’ll try and get some pics next time they go!

** My northern friends are laughing right now.  It’s okay.  This is the only snow we’ve had so far this year, and the kids loved feeling it on their faces.  It didn’t stick so well, since we’d had rain, rain, and more rain for days before.  But, the dusting was very pretty in the morning.

** One thing about homeschooling that I find interesting is that you’re always making changes.   Early on, I assumed there’d be this time when I would have it ALL figured out.  Ha.  This is our 12th year.  I think I forgot to factor in the changing ages of our kids, along with the increasing difficulty of their classes.  We’re always changing.  This semester, Payton switched to an online math class that, so far, is going very well.  We also tweaked how we manage the kid’s accountability,  as far as getting their work done and turned in.  Last, after having a family meeting with the kids, we agreed on what’s expected of them and gave them the incentive of allowance in return.  Teens love a little spending money in their pocket.

** Payton has always wanted to learn to cook…I tell him to SHOW UP in the kitchen when I’m cooking, but so far he’s not done that.  Enter Abbey’s friend D’Qota who’s been spending some time with us lately.  He LOVES to cook, and yesterday I found him going through my spice cabinet.  That was a first, as far as my kid’s friends go!  Turns out they were inventing a recipe for a spiced-up philly cheesesteak sandwich.  They even named it… the B Shooks Philly.  Not sure how they came up with that.  I tried it…very flavorful, I was impressed.

While they were cooking, they flipped through my Southern L*ving magazine and decided to try the lemon cheesecake today.  This recipe is involved…you have to make lemon curd!  I’ve never even done that.  The curd is chilling in the fridge as I type.  I’ll get back to you on how that worked out.

Here they are making those sandwiches…

** Lainey has been looking forward to today for about a week.  She was invited to her friend Anna’s birthday party!  But, that’s not the best part.  She was invited to spend the night, just her and Anna.  Deliriously happy would describe her response to that last part.

I asked her if she was excited, she said yes.  I asked her if she was nervous, she said no.  I do wonder how she’ll be at bedtime, this is only her 2nd friend sleepover.  I’m sure Anna’s mom will let her call to say goodnight.

We’ll pick Lainey up at church tomorrow.  Marley is at her friend Kylie’s house until Sunday.  D’Qota is here till tonight.  Payton and Ethan are going to their friend Jason’s house tonight, with Payton sleeping over.  Ethan and his friend Trevor are leaving Jason’s early and coming here to spend the night (since they both have to be at church super early for worship team).  Confusing?  This is quite common for weekends around here!

So, that was last week.  Tomorrow is church and two Testify practices, as usual.  Randy leaves for Atlanta for 2 days/1 night on Tuesday.  Life is busy, but great.