Simple Women's Day book -- February 22, 2009
FOR TODAY . . .
Outside my window. . . Sunny and cold. No snow/frost on the van.
I am thinking. . . That life is finally getting back to "normal" again.
I am thankful for. . . Scott has a new job!!! Can I hear an A-MEN! It just goes to prove the old adage that it's not what you know, but who you know that matters most in some cases. I will give you the short version of how this all came about.
Our church consists of about 50 regular members (including children). It's a very small, yet spirit filled congregation. We love our church. I have said this time and time again. It's a perfect fit for us. Anyway, after Scott's company closed in December, our whole congregation was praying for Scott and new employment.
In late December one of congregation members came up to Scott and offered him a job with his security firm, but Scott wasn't so sure he wanted to take it. Scott worked security for quite a few years after being in the Marines, and we both knew that it didn't pay very good. That is why Scott left his security job in the first place. The last time he worked security was back in 1997.
He loved the work, but we couldn't support a family on what they were paying him. It was all in God's plan though.
All through January and part of February, Scott continued to look for work. The economy is so bad, that most places are on hiring freezes right now, or they simply are not hiring. Now I'm sure he could have been hired in a restaurant or something, but he wanted to make at least what he was making when he left Babcock, and more than what he was getting on unemployment.
So anyway, after church one afternoon a few weeks back, Scott was talking to Rob (the security manager for this particular security firm) and Scott commented that he couldn't afford to go back to security work. Rob said, how much do you need to make? Scott told him, and Rob started laughing, saying that after 911 security firms are no longer paying their workers poorly. That he would be paid a considerable amount higher than what he was making before. Scott also found out that Rob's firm has bought out the last security firm that Scott had worked for in 1997, and that Scott's file was still in their office. Rob told Scott to come into the office the very next day, and would get him some client interviews. He interviewed at Memorial Hospital last week, and was hired the very next day. He will be working 4/ 12 hours shifts a week. He will be among 2 other hospital security guards, that are in charge of hospital security, monitoring the morgue, and checking people in and out of the morgue for autopsies. Helping with the Helli-pad, and other duties. It's such a great job, and Memorial Hospital is a great place to work, from what we hear. We have a friend who is the Director of the Radiology Dept. at the hospital, so Scott already knows someone who works there. I am really excited for him and for what this means for our family. Praise God!!! It has totally been a test of faith and trust for me. I will post about this journey I have been on, in a few days.
From the schoolroom. . . . Skaterboy: History: The study of Molly Pitcher; True facts about the Declaration of Independence. Geography: Revolutionary War Route; Spelling: Review for Spelling test tomorrow; Math: Continuing on with Algebraic equations and percentages; English: continuing on with the current chapter; Reading, Kidnapped by RLS. Science: Review for chapter test tomorrow. Free reading: a few books he picked up at the library last week.
Truthseeker: Reading: A Beka's Tiptoes (almost done with that one); Phonics: K-12 and A Beka lessons 40- 48 this week. Math: still working on Adding and Subtraction; Social Studies: Unit 6, Around the world, finish lesson by Friday. Spelling test tomorrow. God's World Science: Still studying our Magnet Unit.
Last Friday, I paid Skaterboy's annual tuition and testing fees for the upcoming 2009-2010 school year at Midwest Christian Academy. He will still be homeschooled next year, however this accredited school, will provide the curriculum, books, guidance counseling, and testing. Since Thumbody will be starting Pre-K next year, I feel that I need to turn HS over to someone else. I will still be his teacher, but I won't have to do any of the planning. It is very cut and dry. I may add some additional material (books) as I feel necessary. The Charlotte Mason philosophy that is instilled inside of me to the very core of my being, knows that "living" books are the key to "real" learning. We will be using "Higher Up and Further In's curriculum for Truthseeker and Thumbody next year. Thumbody will be year 0, and Truthseeker will be year 2. We will use other things as well. Probably a lot of A Beka, K-12, and Rod and Staff. Those seem to be my favorites, and work well with my children.
From the kitchen... Breakfast: Berry and banana smoothies with flax, banana nut muffins; Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwiches, crackers, and mandarin oranges; Supper: Chicken Caccatori with broccoli, and stuffed baked potatoes.
I am wearing. . . PJ's again. Does anyone else ever homeschool in pj's?
I am creating. . . I have a lot of catching up to do in this department. I am currently stitching a tapestry for our bedroom wall. Tropical scene by the sea, with a sailboat. Very tranquil. I am using colors to match our PB duvet cover.
On the home front.... Still haven't finished hanging the new bedroom door yet, but at least we know what to do now. We had to ask someone who does construction work at church, if we could saw a small portion of the door off at the bottom, and sand it, so it won't scrape the carpet. He said that we could.
I am going. . . No where today. What a blessing! We've been running around all weekend!
I am hearing. . .Nothing, this kind of scares me...
A few plans for the rest of the week. . . Nothing really, until Friday. We have our nature study group meeting at Cindy's on Friday at 10 a.m.; Saturday, Kaysha and I are attending a Charlotte Mason Homeschool Seminar in Bloomington, all day; Scott and the kids are going with the 4-H group to Sugar Grove Nature Center for their annual Maple Sirup Experience. I need to make sure I send the camera with Scott that day.
A photo I feel like sharing.... Our 3 Point Basketball Star!!! Skaterboy actually made a 3 pointer at the homeschool basketball game against the Home School Black Knights this past Saturday. I think Skaterboy was as shocked as the rest of the team. He ended up scoring 5 points for the team during the game. The Lincoln Home Educators team beat the Black Knights 59-27. They lost the first game. Our girls team was beaten both games, but the 2nd game they fought hard, and the ending score was very close.
One thing we found interesting, and somewhat strange, was that the other team seemed to be tripping our team members. It happened a good number of times. A few of their team members seemed to have poor attitudes during the final game, and there was some ball whipping out of anger shown. It surprised us that a homeschool team could show such poor spirit. This we feel was their downfall during the second game. There were quite a few personal fouls given for poor sportsmanship. We were very proud of our boys and girls and the good sportsmanship they portrayed, whether they won or lost.
