End of June Ramblings

Be forewarned, this post is a jumble of my thoughts as I contemplate the fact that the last quiet week of summer is here.  Starting next week we will be really busy.  So this week has been dedicated to reading, taking care of a few errands, riding bikes, and getting the house in order.  Hey, at least next week I should have something more interesting to blog about.  :)

As for this past week, we rode our bikes more than 30 miles. That brings us over 100 miles for June.

Grace and I visited a farm market in another town just south of us.  I am going to make it a regular thing.  I miss going.

Jeff and Trevor attended a "Passing the Torch" class at church.

We have had a ton of rain! It is probably going to be a wet July, too, if the pattern continues.  Better now than in January!

We visited a nearby church where good friends attend.  We are praying about where that might lead us.  It sure was nice to drive 15 minutes to church.  The kids attended youth group with their kids, also similar in ages to our kids. This is a huge deal, as we have been at our beloved church since 1995.

So many changes!

~Jenn

It's So Final

Boy, another week has flown by!  This past week was finals week for my oldest.  He also had a cold, and a big marching band rehearsal one evening during finals.  He managed to do very well, thankfully.  He got a perfect score on his Chemistry final, amazing!  I have to say, he really had a great year, and we are very thankful.  He also received notice of a very good SAT score.  What a week for him.

Enjoying the pretty sky as we wait for oldest at band. 

The rest of us, well, we had a nice first week of summer vacation.  Jeff was off for Memorial Day and Friday as well.  Memorial Day was memorable as we purchased new appliances, which were installed on Friday.  I feel so spoiled, yet the learning curve is steep with fancy systems to master.  

Blessed!

Tuesday through Thursday, besides running Ryan back and forth to school, we rode our bikes, worked on the house by putting away camping things, and just enjoyed some down time.  We rode our bikes 26.4 miles this week.  Awesome.

First fruits!  Almond pound cake. 

Saturday we finally got to our local farm market.  We found some soap, salad dressing, and enjoyed all the sights.  We also had to do our weekly stock up trip to the grocery store since we had to empty our old fridge for the new one, and wait for the new one to be cold enough.  Best part of the day for me was getting new athletic shoes.  My feet were hurting from wearing the old ones.

My silly boy. 

Mom and Dad's bikes ready to go. 

Sunday was our biggest bike ride of the season so far.  We packed up our bikes, and after church, and a fine lunch at my parents, we all headed to a bike trail for an 8 mile ride.  We are still learning to ride together,so there were a few bumps, but the trip was proof of concept.  We are hoping to do another longer ride soon.

Hope you are having a good start to your summer, as well!

It's Been Almost Nine Years

My family when I first started blogging. 

Have I really been blogging for 9 years this coming October?  Truly amazing.  And yet, here I am plugging away, trying to record the happenings of my little family.  I never set out to be a blogger's blogger.  I have always been content to write when the notion strikes, as this blog really is just for me.  I did not want to forget these precious days that slip into years so quickly.  

Over the years I have made friends here, for which I am thankful.  I have felt the tug away from blogging for several years now with the popularity of other social media.  But, I am committed to this format, the humble blog.  When I look back at this record, I am so thankful that I have kept up with it.  I know that my ramblings are not very brilliant.  This post is a prime example of said rambling!  

I was just thinking about all the life that has passed these last 9 years of being a home educating family.  We have been blessed.  And I am glad to have captured some of it here so that I can look back and remember how God has been faithful, which is so good to do now and then.

In life, one is always adapting, always changing.  I have only a few years left as a home educating mother, if I am allowed that privilege.  I want to hold onto these last years.  I need to take  more pictures, be even more committed to recording them here.  I really am excited to be a part of my children's launch.  I know it will be difficult for me, but there is no stopping it.  (As if they'd let me!)  At least I am not alone on this journey.  Thank you, the few, the faithful, my blog friends!!  

Another Glorious Week

Hello friends.  Another week is behind us.  This time we celebrated my youngest's 13th birthday.  I am not going to linger trying to figure out how he is already 13 years old.  Time is going crazy fast.

Monday was back to school and work for all five of us.  It is always hard to send my oldest off to school, but he really loves it, so I am adjusting.  That afternoon he needed me to pick him up because he was bringing a guitar to school that he could not take home on the bus very easily.  He also wanted me to take him to Target to get a new CD.

Nothing much went on Tuesday except for school and laundry.  By Wednesday, we decided to take the day off from school to celebrate our birthday boy.

We could not have a full birthday celebration with church that night, but we did manage to spoil him pretty rotten.  Grace and I blindfolded him and took him to lunch at his favorite restaurant, Panda Express.  Then we got him a DQ ice cream cake for after church.  In the afternoon, I let them rent a movie, Muppets Most Wanted.

Our week otherwise was pretty uneventful.  Ryan also took the PSAT on Wednesday.  He and I went to dinner on Thursday before his karate class on Thursday.  Friday we stayed home and enjoyed a nice quiet Halloween.  The weather turned out to be the most frightful part of the day.  It was a snowy, rainy, windy night.  Jeff set up my bike trainer, and we are all making good use of it.

Happy November!

January Thaw

We're in the middle of a January Thaw, and I could not be happier!  It's in the 40's with sunshine today.  I put my down jacket away and went outside in only fleece.  It's supposed to get even warmer this weekend, although we'll have rain with it. Maybe it will be dry enough to play a quick round of disc golf anyway.  The birds are all singing, too.  They, more than even me, love this change in the weather.  We still have February, the coldest month of the year, to endure.  But, we're gaining in light and winter can't last forever.  Hooray!