Friday, April 8, 2011

Friday Brain Dump, Again

It makes no sense at all that this week should have flown like it has, except that we're kinda-sorta-mostly on Spring Break.  I think the lack of our normal rhythm creates some sort of a time leak (warp, vacuum, whatever.)  @@  <--- That's my eyes rolling, in case you didn't recognize it.

Since - until today - temps have been in the 30s and 40s and it's been raining, I have cruelly forced my boys to go ahead and do a bit of school work.  Better now than summer.  They might as well.  None of their friends are up and ready to play at 6:30 AM anyway.  (No, I'm not kidding.)

And I know I haven't been quite my normal self this week.  I could blame hormones (true, true) or the Boybarians bouncing off the walls during nasty weather (also true), but we've had some ups and downs this week, out of the ordinary.

1.  My mom just found out she has breast cancer.  Her only sister died of it, in 2006.  That is not encouraging.  However...

2.  She and my dad spent almost two hours with "The Go-To Guy" (breast cancer surgeon) in our neck of the woods and came away VERY encouraged.  He was amazed it had been detected so early, recommends a lumpectomy (and will take a lymph node to test), and probably some radiation, and is "99% confident" that will be the last she'll hear of it.

3.  Praying he is right.  As if I needed to convince God how badly we'd like her around and healthy for a good many more years!  She is in good spirits.  In her own words... I am completely at peace with all that is happening.  I am in the hands of my Loving Lord and He is my strength - and HE IS SUFFICIENT for all that comes into my life.  Amen.

4.  While she was seeing the doctor, Kerry was in at H&R Block.  The bad news is that for several months last year our income averaged in the hundreds of dollars.  The good news is that we're getting a stink-wad back from the government.  And our friendly accountant informs us that because we're so awesome (!!!) we'll probably be getting audited.  Fun times ahead.

5.  Yes, we're on Spring Break.  But since we're not jetting the family off to Mexico or the Caribbean this year (oh, I kill myself... ha ha ha) and we needed a fabulous plan, we broke out the Christmas gift-card to Coldstone  Creamery and had a family outing.  You can laugh if you want, but  I'm convinced that Peanut Butter Cup Perfection is the official ice cream of HEAVEN.  (How did Randy Alcorn miss that in his book???)

6.  Tate is about half way through his Hunter Safety course and is doing well.  That kid has more gumption than anyone I've ever known.  If they ask for a volunteer his hand is the first one up.  Even if he doesn't know what he's volunteering for.  The last time, they stood him up in front of the class, put a 20 gauge shotgun in his hand and presented him with this challenge :  The rope in front of you (about 30 inches off the ground) represents a barbed wire fence, you have to cross.  You're hunting alone, and the fence is in two feet of standing water.  How do you cross safely?  And he did it.  And all the instructors cheered him.  Tate rocks.  :D

7.  I'm irritated.  After many hours of researching materials and looking at websites, I was finally ready to order from Sonlight.  And then I got their new catalog.  What were they thinking???  I'm way over my saturation point of seeing photos of "Sonlight Families" reading in whimsical locations (On a trampoline! In a tree!  By the lake!)  What I'd rather see is more description of the actual materials.  Why did they eliminate the summaries of all the books?  GGGRRRRRRR.  Oh, and yes, thank you very much for splitting the Instructor's Guide into two books (parent and student) and expecting me to buy bothNot.

So there ya go.  Happy Friday.

15 comments:

melanie said...

wowsa. And that's all I have time to say :-\

Ruby said...

I pray that you mother gets the good result you hope for. Her attitude is just great.
Some weeks are like that aren't they? Really draining. Have a great Spring Break and recharge your batteries. (Funny how the kids batteries never wind down isn't it!)

Crystal in Lynden said...

uummm... you totally made me giggle in all the right parts and sad in the right parts too. Hoping for a weekend of peace and renewal for you. **From one Lego mom to another... I totally felt like I was drowning in Lego pieces the other day so off to the sinful Walmart I went and came home with.... containment. Now all the heads are separated from the torsos and those are separate from the legs. Weapons have a drawer as do special pieces and the list goes on. Aahhh, I can rest for a week. :-)

Felicity said...

Sorry about your mom's news. But with an attitude like hers I'm sure she'll get the best results!
I haven't seen Sonlight's new catalog yet and now I am not sure I want to... have you checked their online catalog?
We're enjoying our Sonlight, but I can tell you - we're busy!

leah said...

Wow - what a week! I will say a prayer for your mom. My mom had breast cancer two years ago (with a mastectomy) and has been healthy ever since. It was rough during the surgery phase, but she is "back to normal" (whatever that is, lol)! I pray that your mom has a successful surgery and recovery, and never has to worry about it again.

Also, I pray you don't get audited. That doesn't sound fun at ALL.

I hope you find a good replacement curriculum (if you decide to go that way) - I would be irritated by a lack of descriptions about the material, too. Is their website any better?

Congrats to Tate on the hunting course - he sounds like an adventurous kid. If they told me about the barbed wire fence scenario, my solution would be: "I'm going to leave, find a nice hotel, and take a nice, hot bath." I don't think I make good hunter material, lol! :-D

Anonymous said...

Saying prayers for your mom. The outlook sounds GOOD!

I hope you don't get audited. I'm going through that at work right now. It is just a complete bunch of bologna. And I use the word bologna because my daughter is watching me type this. I'd like to use a stronger word.

Cathy M. said...

Very sorry to hear your Mom's news. Praying she will have a full recovery. Weeks like these remind us of God's sustaining grace and tender mercies.

Anonymous said...

Julie - I have a friend in GA who homeschools her 6 boys. I asked her what curriculum she uses. This was her response:
"We use k12.com
We've used it since Eddie was in 1st (he's 9th now)
It is partially online
We bought it and used it for the first 5 years, and for the past 4 years, we've used it through our states virtual public school "Georgia Cyber Academy" (which means it's free).Washington has a virtual public school that uses k12 if she wants to check it out www.k12.com/wava. It's not for everyone, but worth checking into."
Anyway, I thought it might help to know about someone else who has used a curriculum for a while. If you would like to talk directly to her, I'll give you her email.

I'm glad you're writing blog stuff again. :-)
Love, Tricia

Herding Grasshoppers said...

You all are so encouraging :D

I'll probably still get a couple of things from Sonlight. Yes - you CAN see summaries of the books on their website, it's just irritating to have to click back and forth from a menu to each individual book, rather than have it all laid out on one or two pages in front of you.

Or maybe I just whine too much ;D

Tricia, thanks for the tip about the online courses, but not what I'm looking for. Those are administered through the public school system and I'd rather remain an independent homeschooler :D

My mom and dad are enjoying a vacation in Hawaii right now (lucky them!) which was planned before her diagnosis and "blessed" by her doctor. She'll jump into treatment when she gets back.

I'm mostly praying that they have a wonderful, relaxing, un-worried time. She feels perfectly fine, btw.

Thanks for all your prayers and concern,

Julie

melanie said...

Hello again - quickly again =)

Just a thought re. Sonlight:
Are you sure you're not just a bit Norwegian? in particular, Iowegian? -- We just don't really like !*change*!

(When something ain't broke... whether it's Huggies diapers or the box of graham crackers... or a homeschool catalog... or the US Constitution... ahem.)

The Hibbard Family said...

Praying for your mom!! Glad she's getting some good vacation time and feeling well for it, too!

Grrr on the Sonlight stuff. Wish you'd been able to order before April 4 when they made the changes, for your sake! Praying for you as you work through all the details, again.

Anonymous said...

Praying for your mom.

Tax audits - no big deal unless you have something to hide. Just put all your records in one place. Send them what they want, and several weeks later you get a nice "all better now" letter.

Tate - rock on!

Sonlight - can't go there! :)

Herding Grasshoppers said...

Q - nothing to hide, so no worries there. In fact, my folks kind of laughed. They were audited once and ended up getting a LARGER refund.

Yah.

The dB family said...

Oh drat! Apparently I haven't read as much of my Sonlight magazine as I thought. Why do the powers that be always have to change things up?

So sorry to read about your mom! My mom had b.c. too.Full mastectomy. She is now 12 years post cancer. It can be beaten!! I will keep you all in my prayers!!

Blessings and hugs!!
Deborah

Mrs. Squirrel said...

There isn't much I could add that hasn't already been said. Like above, I will be praying for you and your family.

And... here is a BIG HUG!
-J