December 2010 in Review

After doing too much thinking and not enough doing, I did finally get to work on my ladies' newsletter and got it on the table at church by Sunday morning. Whew.  That one was really hanging over my head.  It would really help if I would learn to use a good publishing program, but for years I have just stumbled through all the formatting stuff on my ancient MS Word program. I'll have to put either "learn Word" on my list of to-do's, or save up for the new MS Word, which I hear is wonderful.  ...Eh. There are other things I'd rather save for. and besides, then I would have to start learning all over again!  (Oh wait.  I think I see where my kids are getting their school attitude.)

December has been a month of fierce Fast Scrabble games. What a great game to get kids spelling and increasing their vocabulary!  Emily can now hold her own against the rest of us.  As a matter of fact, she came in first place last night, much to her delight.

This was another birthday month for us.  All my girls have fall/winter birthdays, so they come all at once, then we get a nice long break from celebrations. :)  Elisabeth turned 11, and only a year late it hit me that she is no longer in the single digits!  I'm kind of slow.

Betsy and Daddy had their annual birthday girl date, out for lunch at a REAL restaurant (never McDonalds!) and mini-golfing.

 

My husband really isn't this short.  Or maybe Betsy really isn't this tall?  I'm confused. One of them is either on their knees or on a stool!  This child is my quiet one.  She grows and discovers and learns without telling anyone, and suddenly you discover she has a new passion or talent, or a lovely character trait is blossoming before your eyes.  Betsy recently discovered crepes in library book.  That would be "kreps", not "krEEps"., as it is often pronounced in my house. Now she is our French breakfast cook. :)

We had quite a bit of home ec going on last month, not even planned.  I love it when things just happen right.  You saw Emily's bread.  That was a result of her Christian Light science unit on how bread gets to our table.  But she is quite a spontaneous cook, and she also fed us cinnamon rolls and a wonderful salad.  Homemaker in training, yes!

A bit of critical thinking going on below:

 

My 100% right brain child continued to make dolly stuff for her sisters.  I think this became a teeny apron or a shirt or something.  

Amy got the new Adobe Photoshop 9 as an early birthday gift, and she is doing some amazing things with it.  Have you seen her photo blog?  This is one of my favorite shots, full of reminiscing for me:

Now if I can just get this daughter to give as much time and effort to the academics, we'll be doing great!  (She is using her right-brained-ness as an excuse. Right brainers can't do algebra. Right? See Post Traumatic Algebra Disorder.)  *mom rolls eyes*  This requires some critical thinking, comparing this theory against the Bible.  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Even algebra.  The theory is false.

Winter is in full swing here.  We are completely acclimated to the freezing cold western AZ winter weather, and have broken out the boots, tights, mittens, long underwear, and electric blankets. Years ago I met a woman from La Paz, Baja California, who told me that in their 60 degree winter they wore mittens down there.  I laughed at her.  Now you are laughing at me. Winter is winter, no matter where you are in the northern hemisphere.

After growing Emily's bangs out for months, I cut them.  Now I remember why we grew them out.  *Child says, "I told you so."* Children are so wise.

A rare photo of Amy. Even more rare to have Em and Ame in the same photo. I can't decide if this photo is supposed to be horizontal or vertical.

Fried bananas with cinnamon and sugar. Sometime you have to use your imagination when there's "nothing to eat".  At least she didn't add tuna to it.

My dad's birthday was a great excuse for my brothers and our families to get together again.  We braved the cold weather, driving across the desert to be with loved ones. We have made this trip many times, but this was the first time we saw a real mirage.  Sooo cool!  Wish we had photos.  Do mirages photograph?

I always have such good intentions not to spend any extra money while we are at my folks', but be real.  This is California we are talking about. There are STORES there, and so many things to do!  Really, I did mean to stay home, but there was a school supply place I had to see, and a mall, and our favorite shoe warehouse...

not to mention a wonderful library,

 AND, the highlight of this trip, the ICE RINK! (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

Poor kids.  I had them dressed for a blizzard, but they were stripped down to normal clothing in no time.  All four of them were so excited to do this for the first time, and then Emily came down with the flu the night before!  Such sadness.  I stayed home with the sickie, but their daddy braved the ice and wowed his kids with a few old tricks, and he didn't even hurt himself. :)  As they were getting ready to go to the rink, my dad and I were talking about the birds in the tree in his backyard.  Suddenly he garbled and stuttered and said, "Stomach".  That was totally unrelated to our conversation!  He garbled some more and then said clearly, "I can't talk!"  I sent him and Mom to the ER pronto.  Sure enough, Dad had had a TIA, or mini-stroke.  That was a good scare.  Apparently it stressed me more than I thought, because that afternoon I had my first-ever insulin  reaction in thirty years, that resulted in me losing consciousness. Now I understand how diabetics can fall asleep at the wheel...  Thankfully Emily was barely conscious herself, with fever, so she didn't have to deal with a mommy emergency.  And Dad is now fine. God is good!

Braving the elements again, we set off for home early in the morning.  Do you see that snow?  So pretty. From a distance. :)

December was a pretty normal month for school.  I am still playing the role of cheerleader and schoolmarm, second-guessing myself on curriculum choices, and contemplating radical unschooling.  But we did that all summer... 

Christmas activity is conspicuously missing, I know.  We don't observe Christmas.  Baptists never did until relatively recent history, and well, we just know too much to celebrate it with a clean conscience.  We're peculiar, but we're confidently at peace with God over it.  :)

Our 2011 calendar is beginning to fill, but if I tell you our plans there will be nothing to tell later!  Happy New Year a bit late, everyone!

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, 

who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

 He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. 

He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? 

He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: 

he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

Psalm 147:7,8,16,17,18

Whew, now I can cross this off my to-do list!

November 2010 in Review

(As my turkey is making us all wait with growling tummies, and I can do nothing to hurry it along, this is as good a time as any to get to work on my month in review post.  We are having our Thanksgiving dinner late, not only late in the month, but also late in the day.  Late, late, late.  I'd skip it altogether if it wasn't for the shining eyes of anxious little children  :) and for the fact that my husband loves a turkey dinner!  Me, well, I don't look forward to spending the entire day in the kitchen only to see the results gobbled down (no pun intended) in less than ten minutes -- that would be us girls -- and fifteen for my husband.

(This was drafted before I had the joy of sitting down at a full and pretty table and seeing the happy faces of my family.  It was worth it.)  :D

(insert photo collage from Amy's post)

We have tried to make Thanksgiving a big deal in the Rough Diamonds house.  Each year it is preempted by a visit to my folks' for what is becoming a traditional Thanksgiving picnic with my two brothers and their families, and even some of my cousins.  That is wonderful fun, but it does not include the big turkey dinner.  So... we do our own Thanksgiving whenever the turkey is thawed.  This year it was Monday.

We had a great picnic, even if the temp was in the high 50's.  At least the sun was shining.  The teriyaki and orange chicken were delicious.  Emily was disappointed that we didn't have Thanksgiving lasagna again, after all, we had lasagna the last three years, and in the eyes of a seven year old that constitutes an immutable tradition.  Get used to it, kid.  Life changes.

Here's our bunch.  I do love them, every one!

This is my nephew,  Nate.  Nate is eight years old. Up until Wednesday, the poor boy had lost only two teeth, and those were helped out.  It bothered him to see Emily, only seven, with her two front teeth missing.  So Nate fixed that.

Elisabeth is my one child who feels a deep need to do those things that all children should have the opportunity to do.  It pleased her to be able to rake up a few of Grampy's leaves. :D  Jumping into the pile remains to be crossed off.  We'll have to spend a fall at Jane's sometime!

Alison had the privilege (and thrill!) of running through a few pieces with the world-renowned Musique Sur la Mer Youth Symphony Orchestra.  Director Marcy Sudok started this group in 2002 with just a handful of homeschooled beginning violin students who had nowhere to perform.  They are amazing!  Thanks, Marcy!!!

Alie also partially satisfied her longing for a grand piano, playing in the choir loft at my parent's church while no one was listening.  Well, no one but us.

Some people just relaxed.   Emily loves togetherness.  She is the cuddler, the hugger, the kisser, the one who needs  (And gives) company.  Daddy gives the gift of time and does it well.  Sometimes it's nice just to be in the same room with someone you love. :)

As for the rest of November:

We played more soccer,

and Emily thought she needed an official jersey.  I fixed that.  There's nothing a little bit of duct tape can't do (except for come out of your clothes once it's been there a while).  She was proud to wear her new "jersey" shopping.

Photographer Amy had a blast taking thirty photos of the same item, one each day for a month.  This is one of my favorites.  You can see the rest at her photo blog.

I got a new laundry helper, or rather, Alison did.  Mother in training:

Elisabeth played along with the church "orchestra" this month.  She has had a love-hate relationship with music and musical instruments, but I think love is starting to pull ahead.  Yay!   Amy is also doing quite well with the violin now, and has become bored with flute.  The violin might last until she finds a viola... or some other instrument.  She is the jack of all musical trades, master of none.  Unless you can somehow call the camera a musical instrument... It does make a nice little "bleep" when you turn it on, but no, I don't think it qualifies.

If it weren't for the two dozen feral cats in our neighborhood, I'd say we need a sandbox.  It is just way too much fun to play in the food!  I discovered five gallon paint buckets are WAAAAY cheaper for storing food than food grade containers are.  I'm sure there's a reason for that...

And last, I burned my hubby's lunch.  This is only worth mentioning because I am not a burnt-toast kind of wife.  I can't remember the last time I burned his food.  This was supposed to be a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, but I added one too many tasks to my multitasking that noon.  (Amy artistically embellished the photo.)  :) In the aerial view, this really looks like asphalt... I say if you are going to burn the toast, do it right!

This Thanksgiving season I am again reminded that giving thanks to the Lord, from whom all my blessings come, is for every day, and not just for once a year.  He is good.  All the time.  The USA may appear to be going to hell (Psalm 9:17, The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.) but God is my Saviour and my help.  I am thankful that no matter what happens around me, there is peace IN me.  Jesus Christ is the source of that peace.  I am thankful to know him, but even more, I am thankful that he knows ME!

Psalm 12

Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; 

for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: 

with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips,

and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; 

our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, 

now will I arise, saith the LORD;

I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
The words of the LORD are pure words: 

as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, 

thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
The wicked walk on every side, 

when the vilest men are exalted.

The Month in Review -- June 2010

Bear with me here -- template under construction again!  If I finish it tonight we'll call it another accomplishment for the month of June.  This is more me.  More anonymity, less blue.  Not that like don't like blue at all, but I love red accents, and this blog just needs some red.  So wish me success. UPDATE: I have just discovered that my media library is full, and since I can't get anything to permanently delete, there will be no new, lovely-with-red-accents header photo.  For now.  I also found out that none of my widgets were saved.  So, back to the drawing board.  Ah, it's good for the soul, this exercise in longsuffering.

Well.  So much for my great plans to do Bedell Curriculum and math every day this summer!  I think when we finished school last month we also disconnected our brains.  Well, no matter.  Our hearts are still connected, and that is more important to me.  :D

Working backwards:

In June, Alison finished crocheting a table-topper for my mom.  My grandmother had several of these in different colors, and there is a lot of nostalgia in this for me.  It is double-crocheted in the round and the finished product is 60" in diameter.   Does this look like a product for Etsy?  I didn't see any round crocheted table-toppers there. Hmmm.  Mom rewarded Alie with a webcam, which has brought many hours of silly entertainment.

The girls played music for our local nursing home again last week. Do you see something different?

If you guessed it is Amy on the violin rather than the flute, you guessed correctly!  It thrills my ♥  to have four little strings players.  Later that week I saw a local ad for a German-made violin, two bows, and hard case.  The owner did not know what he had, and we snatched it up!  Amy has now graduated from a VSO to a real violin.  BONUS: One of the bows is actually a viola bow, and a very nice one!  That bow alone is worth way more than I paid for the whole outfit.  God is good.  Now we just need a viola. :D

This is Amy with the VSO, not the real violin.  The four girls are working on a Handel aria and it is just lovely. (Okay, I know I am biased, being their mother.  Any music they make together is beautiful to me!)

Alison is now giving lessons to three sisters and six other students.  Hopefully she will write a post soon about how teaching has helped her grow in many areas.  It has made a huge difference in her teen-hood!

Elisabeth and I turned this:

into this:

Elisabeth did quite a bit of the sewing.  Good for her!  I love JoAnn Fabrics's $1 pattern sales.  I wouldn't pay$15 for a pattern, especially not for something to play in!!  Many thanks to PlainJane, BookwormMN, and ALadyBug for the bonnet(s)!  Elisabeth, oh excuse me, Prudence here, and her brother, Andy the Cowboy, played covered wagons.  Below, Andy the Cowboy, eating his peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich.  Did they have PB&M in the old days?

A friend's yard sale produced a practically new Lands' End backpack for Alie.  (I ran over her new one with the vacuum cleaner and ripped the straps right off -- two years ago!)  Only one problem, it was monogrammed Andy.  She didn't want anyone to think she has a boyfriend named Andy.  So I fixed that:

A request from Emily for coloring pages resulted in these cowboy templates from MadeByJoel.

That guy has some neat creations! I love his light drawings.  Amy tried some, too.

Legos are still the world's best toy.  Something is usually in the creation process here.

Too much TV this month.

Even Dad got it on it. These girls sure do love their daddy! Here they are watching the Time Changer DVD. (Again.)

Last but not definitely not least, we headed up to our local mountains for a refreshing hike.  Ahem.  Some hiked.  I spent the entire afternoon alone,  reading and relaxing, watching the birds and squirrels, and experiencing the breeze and 70°!   Everyone have enough water?  Check.  Energy food?  Check.

After nearly five miles of hiking (someone didn't know that they were almost back where they started, and if only they had not turned around, but had just kept going...) this little person was whupped.

A wonderful way to end the day, and a good way to end the Month in Review.  July promises a big picnic and the start of a big family trip for these Diamonds in the Rough.

It's time to get supper!  We're hungry!This is where I normally insert a fitting Bible verse, but I'll have to do that later!

May 2010 in Review

Once again I have failed in the monthly photography department.  A random summary of May in Arizona would have to include praises to the Lord for such a beautiful spring this year.  I don't remember it being this cool in May since we moved here!  So refreshing.  It's payback time, but I will just remember to be thankful for the extended coolness. 8)

I started a SlimFast diet.  It's definitely not Fast.  But my weight is coming off, even if it is milligram by milligram.  This was my supper.  The meatball is not part of the SlimFast diet -- it was extra, and probably added 300 calories to my meal that night.  I only ate one.  I think.



Emily again got the insatiable desire to sew.  We printed out a pattern and I let her at it with my sewing scissors.  For a six year old, she did a surprisingly good job of cutting!  The result of this mess



is this little kitty:

and one very happy little girl.

Amy sewed, of course.  If she doesn't have a sewing project to do, she mopes around like a lost puppy.  Thank goodness for sites like DIY Dish, Sew Mama Sew, Ikat Bag, and others, where she gets a lot of her ideas.  As you can imagine, keeping her in this much fabric would break the bank.  Providentially, a generous woman  gave us her huge stash of quilting and craft fabrics, and that will keep Amy in business for a while.  A few weeks, anyway. ;)

Oh, I see a model sneaked into this photo of a toddler's soft fabric ball:

My own creating this month was limited to this little graphic for my husband's blog.  Not too bad for someone who only knows how to cut and paste!  The little preacher just needs a little bit of gray hair, a 5 o'clock shadow and a suitcoat.  My husband preaches with his coat on.  But wait, maybe this is a Sunday night after church, and he is getting ready to go on a late night ride.  Yes, that's it!

As you know, getting to the end of the school year in a diligent fashion requires discipline and hard work, characteristics that some of us are sorely lacking.  We are finished with the school year, whether we got through all the material or not. (Not.)  Mostly finished.  Alison is still winding up her Apologia physical science course.    Two of my other students discovered yet another diversion from their school work:



Each fifth Sunday of the month the children of our church take over the music and add to the preaching.  Last night Emily played "God Is So Good".  (She was going to play AND sing, but she forgot to sing.  She was very displeased with herself.) :(  However, I was very pleased with her willingness to serve the Lord in this way! :D



And, this was the first Sunday that Elisabeth took part in making the music!  It was such a blessing to see her little smile the entire time she bowed along!  She did so well.  I think she is finally at the point in her violining, at which playing becomes FUN.

And you  already know about this:

We are out one good radio and the thermostat in my oven.  Thanking God it wasn't the air conditioner. :D

We're looking forward to a fun summer and a big trip later on, days at the lake, more sewing, some new shoes, getting together with friends and making some new friends.  Remember this song? I think it's a round.  Make new friends, and keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold. Everyone have a great summer!

While the earth remaineth,
seedtime and harvest,
and cold and heat,
and summer and winter,
and day and night
shall not cease.
Genesis 8:22