Yesterday was a hard day for me.† For some reason everything just kinda crashed.† I am going into my 4th month being laid off and for the most part I have stayed positive and upbeat.† I trust God to take care of us and try to let him take control.† But sometimes, not very often but sometimes, I have a bit of a meltdown.† Yesterday was one of those days.† Thankfully I have an amazing friend who talked me down, gave me hugs and tons of encouragement.† I think it is so important to have great female friends.† I am blessed with several.
We have had such a good week besides that.† September, October and November are HUGE festival months around here.† I love that everything is FREE!
We went to Oka Kapassa last Friday.† This is a festival celebrating Native Americans.† It is open to all students which means it was FULL of public school kids.† It just reinforced how lucky we are to homeschool.† The kids had 10 minutes at each ‘station’ which is NOT long enough to do anything.† They were herded around all day in their matching shirts.† We took our time and leisurely strolled through all the exhibits.
We love the Native American dances and since we weren’t in a group we watched them over and over.
Saturday we went to an Art Festival.† Now every year this is on the square of one of our favorite little towns.† This year they decided to have it at the local college.† We did not like it nearly as much.† It was crowded and just not as cool.† We did see some awesome art though.† I got several ideas for things I want Keilee and I to try.
Monday was Keilee’s first day of Co-op.† We have never done Co-op before.† She loved it.† She is taking Spanish, cooking and Robotics.† She had a great day and there are a few girls she really likes in her classes. She had SO much homework in Spanish.† Seriously.† She worked on it for 3 days and got it all done.† I was actually proud of her since she has never had homework in her life.† I am hoping she doesn’t have this much every week.† It is a little too much like Public School to me.† She didn’t mind it and actually enjoyed working on it.† As I said before this is a high school level class so maybe that is why there is so much homework.
Our church has 5 services each Sunday.† So there are people who go to Epic that I don’t even know.† Every 3 months we rent a local Theater and have ‘Convergence’.† It is an amazing experience.† Wednesday night was Convergence.† It was a powerful message and a wonderful time of fellowship.† Imagine 1000 people singing “White Flag” and waving white flags during the part of the song that says, “We raise our white flags, we surrender all to you”.† Goose bumps and God was SO in this place.
My cousin’s daughter is getting married this weekend.† Since money is so tight I decided to make this Christmas ornament I saw on Pinterest.† I got a plastic ornament at Hobby Lobby for $1.47 and I took her wedding invitation and cut it into pieces, rolled it around a pencil and dropped it in.† I love how it turned out.
As far as ‘school work there was a lot of that going on too.† It amazes me how much we get done when Kei isn’t in school 8 hours a day with 3 hours of homework.† We did Saxon Math, she worked on the book she is writing, she did a Module in General Science and 4 experiments, we learned about westward expansion after the Civil War and she made a notebooking page about barbed wire and its inventor.† I am so blown away by her creativity with her notebook pages!
Barbed Wire…
It always amazes me writing out our weekly post to see how much we get done.† And of course there are TONS of things not listed on here.† Isn’t homeschooling just the greatest thing ever?
My favorite resource this week is called “Stossel in the Classroom”.† We have these DVD’s and there is a new one out that I just ordered.† From the website:
“Stossel in the Classroom offers a new DVD free to teachers each school year. The DVDs include video segments from John Stossel’s television programs and specials, along with a teacher guide with lesson plans and ideas for complementary activities.”
Thank you all for the prayers about my job.† Hopefully it will begin around the first week of October.† It has been a long 4 months.
Happy weekend to all my bloggy friends,
Homeschooling Rocks
Karen
ìChurch isnít where you meet. Church isnít a building. Church is what you do. Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus Christ. Letís not go to Church, letís be the Church.î ~ Bridget Willard
Happily linking up with
Mary at “Collage Fridays”
Susan at “Favorite Resource”
Passport Academy at “iPhone Dump”
iHomeschool Network at “Homeschool Mother’s Journal”
Kris at “Weekly Wrap Up”
I hate when I have breakdowns. It tells me I am not strong enough to do it all and that’s exactly right. I know God is my strength but I am always battling the feeling of wanting to do it all myself. I’ll be praying for you to get exactly what you need when you need it!!! 😀
I’m sending lots of positive vibes your way, hoping that you are gainfully employed again soon!
Meanwhile, though, it sounds like you’re mostly keeping your spirits up, which is great, and having lots of fun, as usual!
oh, and thanks for linking up!!
Karen, I am so sorry that you had a rough day, but so glad that you had a friend to pick you up. It truly sounds like a fantastic week, except for the day that was hard. I love the ornament idea, and Keilee’s notebooking pages…very creative 🙂 Lots of good living and learning in your week!
Big hugs to you!
Hugs for you both! We are continuing to pray for you!
You always have such beautiful weeks:) I totally wished we lived down the street from you. What amazing opportunities y’all had for fun, creativity, and learning this week!
Love that three hours of homework didn’t slow Kei’s enthusiasm at all. That’s awesome!
Hi! First time reader of your blog, and I love this post! We too, are living with unprecedented financial limitations. I love that we’re able to stay faithful, relying on Him, and letting Him meet our needs. We keep making it work, with things like your Christmas ornament idea. I love that, and I’m stealing it, by the way. Good luck with everything your family is going through. Many prayers your way!
Karen,
I know our blogs are used to record family moments and memories and we don’t always blog about the behind-the-scenes trials and hardships that occur. These past few months have not been easy for you and despite that you manage to find joy and love in everything you do. I am thinking of you and Kei and hoping that things get easier for you. I admire how you find the joy in every day.
~Jess
Yes!! Homeschooling is the greatest thing ever. I am sorry about this time with out a job. I know it is stressful. Praying something comes through soon.
blessings, Dawn
Wow, she seems so motivated to do all that school work. Wish Grace felt the same way. No school work happened today for us, maybe a little tomorrow after us visiting some yard sales and thrift stores. Looking for a used sewing machine to do a new sewing home ec review. Grace wants to learn to make some costumes for cosplaying.
Blessings
Diane
Many virtual {{{hugs}}} coming your way, friend! You are more than entitled to meltdowns. You have been an awesome pillar of strength. I LOVE your collages! The bag is beautiful and the Native American festival looks awesome. We have been to one and really enjoyed it, too. “White Flag” is one of my favorite songs! I was just singing it today. What an amazing, Holy Spirit filled experience that looks like! 🙂 Hope you have a good weekend. Much love and prayers!
@ Jessy at Our Side of the Mountain:
Keilee and I made the bag when she was 7! It was made out of a pair of my jeans and lots of bling and a pink boa!
I love all the photos! School looks like so much fun at your house. Thank you for sharing.
Oh, Karen, hang in there! I know it’s easier said than done, but things tend to work out given time (and a lot of patience and maybe some grumbling ::wink::).
The Native American clothing is beautiful, huh? Bright! I bet the dances and festival was fun to experience!
Super cool bag for co-op! Keilee make it??
Her notebook pages are very scrapbook! Creative! They’ll be fun to read and look through when she’s older!
Wow – the Native American festival looks awesome! I would’ve loved to watch their dances. We are currently studying the first tribes in America. I agree – isn’t it great to enjoy a festival or fair and not have to keep up with any group? Have a blessed weekend.
LOVE the ornament! And that Kei does some rockin’ notebooking pages. WOW!!! It just made me want to do one.
Prayers for your job situation.
Take care.
Nicole
Enjoyed reading your post and was inspired by all the creative things that you and your daughter did during the week!
I can really relate to the trusting on God and yet, it being hard…it has been a long few months for us, too, waiting for our house to sell so we can get on with our lives. I think your ornament present is incredible. I see where Kei gets her artistic flair. BTW, Kei is such a fashionable and beautiful girl. She just shines. I love the pics from the Indian…I mean Native American…festival. That looked fantastic. It looks like Kei is doing great with her experiments. What a great week! {Praying for you guys.}
Karen,
I’m praying for you — you are always SO upbeat, but I know it’s not been easy for you. I’m sorry you had a hard day – I am thankful for your friend, and thankful you could focus on all of the other good things in your life the rest of the week. I truly admire you.
The Christmas ornament is such a great gift – I think it’s better than any expensive gift from a wedding registry, actually. I’m impressed with you! I wish I knew someone getting married and I would steal this idea. 🙂
Glad co-op went well and I hope the homework isn’t too much, but it sounds like she rose to the occasion to complete it all.
Hugs to you, my friend!