Enjoying Spring

This year I certainly needed a spring full of promise, and it blossomed with hope out my window.

A Broken Arm and A Broken City

I haven't posted for a while, not since my boy broke his arm messing around on roller-blades in the carport, waiting for lunch guests. That made for an interesting meal - was it broken or not? Unfortunately 4 1/2 weeks of cast latter it was.

Disruption that snowballed, a Tuesday afternoon - cast repairs at A & E, a 1-2 hour power cut, and a phone-call, have you heard from...in Christchurch. Are they ok.... panic, read the news, see emails of concern from across the States - urgent phone calls -YES they are safe, unharmed, or at least as good as it gets when danger lurks close.

Its been hard to write since. Hard to put words to paper - we are unaffected and life goes on, yet in our country life remains at a standstill, people lost, homes, destroyed, the place we used to live reduced to a war zone. There but by the grace of God ....

There we watch and wait,

Hearing of the quiet thoughts that stopped people from being in the wrong place and the wrong time and give thanks.

There we rejoice where damage is less than feared, lives not lost.

There we mourn for unknown people who lost their lives, people who lost their homes, people who lost the ability to pour a drink of water.

Please pray for those that mourn, for those who have lost memories, possessions, that those who wonder what happens next will discover the Savior from whom the city takes its name... that lives will be rebuilt on the solid foundation of Jesus.

Welcoming the New Year

Its been a relaxed and enjoyable start to the year. Usually we rise early on New Years day and watch the sunrise. This year we did something different. We let the kids stay up last night for the first time that we have ever seen the new year in at midnight as a family. And yes we need some really good New Year's traditions to make it more meaningful than "hey we stayed up really late". This morning hubby cooked Eggs Benedict for breakfast, and the sun has come out calling us to the beach later on. So far this year is clean, bright, full of promise.



I need the freshness, the clean start, the hope of a year without all the stress of the last one. I long to be free from the frustrations of the year, to find again the joy of just being alive. Our pray this year is to rediscover the joy of living life with God. OK it is much the same as last years goal, last year it seemed like we knew that was the goal, and yet we seemed to go from issue to issue. So while I fear it is a little like asking God for patience I am hopeful that this year we are a little more practiced.

A Simple Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window,
Lots of blossom buds just a day or two from opening

I am listening to...
The heater fan whirring, quiet pencil noises, peace.

I am thankful for...
A calm Friday, in the midst of ballet exam nerves and in-laws visiting

From the learning rooms...
Poetry and growth. I think that we took a huge step forward this week in terms of the kids settling into school work and the growing realization that its 100% about attitude and atmosphere.

From the kitchen...
Umm..taking the plunge and making a real carrot cake for the kids, comfort food or sfish pie, homemade hamburgers, and fun....

I am wearing...
Jeans and a soft cream jersey. finally finding an old pair of jeans that fit - how did i manage to buy two pairs of jeans last season that were simply a size to big...ugg!

I am reading...
Notes on Exodus... when I can my reading has fallen victum to trying to keep up with my kids Latin and Greek...slowly slowly

I am praying for...
Peace in this family, and our wider family, peace at my husbands work...

On of my favourite things...
Sitting with a cup of tea looking out over the garden and just enjoying the moment. (Why don't I do that more often. )

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Ballet exams, and soccer, a slower week, making use of the pool pass before it expires, and afternoons in... exodus or geology still praying still deciding, maybe we should finish of swimming creatures instead.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

In the tradition of the Simple Womans Daybook

Winter topics

Toolbox Studies

1. Poetry Classical Writing poetry week 2
2. Art - Value
3. Progym
4. Diagramming Skills 3 Prepositions
5. Logic: Lesson 1 & 2
6. Poetry Classical Writing poetry week 3 & 4
7. Art:Form, Shading and Shadow.
8. Progym
9. Diagramming Skills 4 going Further, conjunctions and Interjections
10. Logic Lesson 3
11. Poetry: Classical Writing Poetry Week 5 & 6

Notebook Studies

1. Ancient India, Africa and China
2. Narnia The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
3. Narnia The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
4. Applied Science and technology
5. Egypt, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom to Moses
6. Exodus 1
7. Exodus 2
8. Geology 1 History of life, Foundations of Geology
9. Geology 2 The Fossil Record Uniformitarianism and Catastrophism
10. Israel, Phoenicia, Assyria and Babylonian.
11. Bio intro What is life? Classifying Life

Option for sick weeks or gap weeks - Swimming Creatures

Autumn Topics

With that in sight I'm thinking through our themes for this year. Our trip to Wellington has shaped that.

My first attempt at brainstorming a list of topics gave us 12 subjects and 13 skills - which may of may not be possible in a ten week term. I would like to deal with one idea at a time, not lots but there is no reason why we have to do a topic a week.

In terms of skills,

1. Art - Texture & Colour teaching around an autumn theme.
2. Progym - Theon's 6 attributes and identifying the authors emphasis.
3. Using Theon's 6 as an outline.
4. Diagramming Skills 1
5. Poetry
6. Art - Form
7. Swimming
8. Diagramming Skills 2
9. Logic - introduction.

In terms of Topics

1. Narnia - The Magicians Nephew,
2. The Flood, and Babel,
3. People of the Eastern World - Egypt
4. Historical overview of Science - timeline
5. Abraham
6. How Scientists think/Lab Skills
7. Swimming
8. Other Ancient peoples of the Fertile Crescent
9. Issac, Jacob and Joseph
10. Swimming Creatures

Autumn Themes

With that in sight I'm thinking through our themes for this year. Our trip to Wellington has shaped that.

My first attempt at brainstorming a list of topics gave us 12 subjects and 13 skills - which may of may not be possible in a ten week term. I would like to deal with one idea at a time, not lots but there is no reason why we have to do a topic a week.

In terms of skills,

1. Art - Texture & Colour teaching around an autumn theme.
2. Progym - Theon's 6 attributes and identifying the authors emphasis.
3. Using Theon's 6 as an outline.
4. Diagramming Skills 1
5. Poetry
6. Art - Shape and line
7. Swimming
8. Diagramming Skills 2 Linking Verbs and Adverbs
9. Logic - introduction.
10. Logic what is simple Apprehension
11. Poetry

In terms of Topics

1. Narnia - The Magicians Nephew,
2. The Flood, and Babel,
3. People of the Eastern World - Egypt
4. Historical overview of Science - timeline
5. Abraham
6. How Scientists think/Lab Skills
7. Swimming
8. Other Ancient peoples of the Fertile Crescent
9. Issac, Jacob and Joseph - Birth & Sacrifice Of Isaac Jacob & Esau Isaac & Rebekah Joseph As A Slave Famine In Egypt
10. Science Experimentation 2 Apologia How to Analyze and Interpreting Experiments
11. Ancient India, China and and Africa

I still have to flesh out the details and think through what this will look like on a day by day basis but it is good to have a general roadmap ahead of me.

Blackberries

Yesterday we headed off for a walk to the nearest piece of native bush only to discover a mass of blackberries along the edge of the reserve. When we finished our walk we returned to the car for bags and spent the afternoon braving thorns to pick blackberries - it was fun! At present they are simmering with some green apples, when they are done I'll strain them and add sugar and look forward to enjoying blackberry jelly and fresh bread tomorrow.

A clean page

Autumn has come to the backyard. With the falling leaves is a restlessness, a desire for a clean page of paper. Clearing out what is old and finished. Ready and waiting for what is new. Change is in the air and the warmth of the winter fireplace beckons.