Ready, Set, Go!

We have been READY for a few weeks; we have the training certificate and completed checklist of paperwork to prove it. 

All we had left to do was our homestudy ... which we just did today.  As in, Lakeisha, the home study case worker,  just left a few minutes ago. So now we are ready and SET.

And we even have our orders for the GO already in place.  This week, we were assigned a 5 day respite care placement in just a few weeks for two little girls, ages 3 and 4, while their Jonah's Journey family makes a trip to NC to house hunt apparently.  And after that (if not before, who knows?), we will just be waiting for the call for our first official caregiver placement of our own.  We have been told more than once that it will come quickly.

And then the flurry of activity that will follow ... buy a crib? toddler bed?  relocate the classroom to the playroom?  share bedrooms? Time will tell.  And personality.  And ages.  And time frames.  And...

Sitting tight til then and leaning heavily into the assurance that the Lord will provide for all we need to provide for the next little life that will be joining us in ours.  Leaning heavily and peacefully into trusting God's timing and design.  

Excited!

Snow Day Irony

Our system, Sumner County Schools, closed for 7 consecutive school days during all the snow, ice, and extreme temps we had.  And in that time, not counting President's Day, Noah and I kept chugging along with school every single one of those days off.  Anna joined us intermittently, Josh was home for 4 of those days, and we were flexible with our school schedule to work around our snow fun and change of routine, but we stayed the course and didn't give in to just skipping school for the heck of it.

And then, Anna finally returned to school this morning. It's back to just me and Noah and all the time in the world to get our work done with no distractions or interruptions.  You would think we'd be all about it.

Instead, we have suddenly lost our oomph.  I am finding this morning that I just don't wanna think about school and Noah, usually very task oriented, has disappeared back to him room to play Legos.  I think I will leave him there in peace.  I think it might just be possible that we are gonna take a day off of school to recuperate from the juggling act that has been school during what has been affectionately/dramatically called "Snowpocalypse 2015."

All those legitimate snow days and we wait til AFTER the hullabaloo to take a day off.  How's that for irony?  Just another day in the life and liberty of homeschooling. Ha!

Oo-de-Lally, Oo-de-Lally

Just for the fun of it ... and the fact that the song is so catchy I can't get it out of my head.  When you can't beat 'em, join 'em!  So join us, Noah and me, just finishing up this movie as a fun supplement to this time period in medieval history that we are studying ... with Richard the Lionheart off at the Crusades and his younger brother, Prince John, trying to take over the throne back in England.  Up next came the Magna Carta, thankyouverymuch, English nobleman.  Noah and I appreciate that political development in world history.  But alas, I am getting ahead of myself. BEFORE the Magna Carta was the legend himself, Robin Hood!

Robin Hood and Little John
Walkin' through the forest
Laughin' back and forth
At what the other'ne has to say
Reminiscin', This-'n'-thattin'
Havin' such a good time
Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally
Golly, what a day
Never ever thinkin' there was danger in the water
They were drinkin', they just guzzled it down
Never dreamin' that a schemin' sheriff and his posse
Was a-watchin' them an' gatherin' around
Robin Hood and Little John
Runnin' through the forest
Jumpin' fences, dodgin' trees
An' tryin' to get away
Contemplatin' nothin'
But escape an' fin'lly makin' it
Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally
Golly, what a day
Oo-de-lally, Oo-de-lally
Golly, what a day

Not to Beat a Dead Horse, But ...

It's snowing again 

and everything is accordingly shutting down around town again.  Which I am not complaining about because that included work - Josh got to stay home from work again.  We seized a few hours before this second wave of ice storm descended upon us to have a breakfast out at CFA and surprised the kids with a Chuck-E-Cheese run, too.

Now we hunker down for the weekend and try our hand at some snow cream next. I hear Anna with the whipped cream and chocolate syrup now actually ...

New Word for Boom!

Nope.

That wasn't an earthquake knocking my phone off my bible last night.

Nor was it snowballs pelting the house.

Not even an explosion.  Well, it was, but not like you think.

It was ... get this ... frost quakes.  Ice quakes.

Or if you wanna sound really smart - cryoseisms.

Cryoseismic booms.  Rare weather phenomenon.

Here.  Heard those.  Felt those.  Way cool!

Well, cool once you know what the heck they are.

A little unsettling before that. Ha!

And Still More Snow

At times yesterday, Josh would stop for a breather and Noah would want to keep on sledding.  So he worked out a way to get a running start and leap forward onto the sled to power it down the driveway himself ... sometimes so hard he flipped right off.  Ha!

Trying out our other sled with a little centrifugal force.  Way fun!

This is, truly, the extent of my time in the snow.  Suiting up (scarf, turtle fur, gloves) JUST to step onto the porch and take pics.  It is THAT cold.

Anna's turn! Look at her holding on like a warrior!

Wipe out!  Noah really became one with the snow this week.  He would come inside soaking wet with snow all up and down his legs.  We have to put his gloves directly on the air vents on the floor just so the heat will dry them before he goes out again.

Too much fun.  So thankful to have Josh home for Day 3 off work. We have been waiting on this to happen since 2011 when we last had decent, play-worthy snow ... back when Josh was a traveling man rocking the sales world.

And as if all this isn't enough snowy fun, bless it, we got MORE snow last night!  So beautiful.  Also, even colder.  Like negative 2 degrees tonight, feels like 8 right now in the sun. Cold. You hear me, Emily.  THAT is cold.  But back to how pretty the cold is...

 

My pig in a blanket of snow. :}

More sledding bright and early today ...

And more wiping out. :)

And, oh yeah, I finally got a current phone!  For the first time IN MY LIFE I have the most current technology on the market - an iPhone 6.

And I am tickled pink at the way better pics it takes.  Look at how clearly you can see all this sweetness.

Josh goes back to work tomorrow, albeit later in the morning than usual.  Noah and I will keep chugging along at our regularly scheduled homeschool work.  Anna will join us for that when the mood strikes her.  And we will keep on playing board games like it's a party over here.  Our current favorite is a timeless classic, Sorry.  This very board is the one I grew up playing on.  LOTS of history and board game drama went down over this bad boy.  Anna keeps that drama alive for us every time she starts losing.  It's a trip ... down memory lane.  Ha!

Our surprise Winter Break in February has rocked!  Feeling so rested and content.

ICE and Snow

The weather is all that's on anyone's minds around here this week.  It was all we could think about all weekend, too, looking forward to the 8-12 inches of snow that was forecasted.  Famous last words.

What actually came on Monday was lots of ice and freezing rain and sleet and falling slush.  And then finally at the tail end of that precipitation, we enjoyed/relished/praised the Lord for some actual snow yesterday afternoon. As soon as the freezing rain turned to giant clumps of snow for more than 5 minutes at a time, my crew bundled up as fast as was humanly possible and got out in it.  It was killing my babies all morning to see white outside and not get to experience it in a hands-on kinda way. :}  It was like unleashing the hounds once it was actually "go time." 

Not wanting Noah's sensitive skin to blister up like it did last year (so scary!), we finagled a man's ear wrap thing into a ski mask of sorts combined with his hat.  Worked great!

We don't have a BIG incline to our driveway, but we do have a slight incline. Combined with Josh's run and fling maneuver, the kids would FLY down the driveway and out onto our ice rink, otherwise known as a cul-de-sac.

Anna making slush by wiggling her feet back and forth.

Trying sledding backwards...  She was so light, she was like a bullet down the driveway.

The man would NOT put on a coat.  I do not understand.

Anna loved "exploring the winter wonderland" with her pick ax.

My three planning how to knock down all the icicles on the shed.  In the end, Noah took care of business by throwing his soccer ball over and over again.

More pick ax-tion.

And the following shots were bright and early today, day two of everything being shut down around town and beyond.  With Josh home again, we put aside my lesson plans (mostly) and are just chilling inside when not literally chilling outside - making cookies, reading, playing games, watching movies, coloring, Legos, crocheting, anything!

Apparently, it was so cold, Anna kept her eyes shut being pulled around.  Every shot I got, her eyes were shut.

Freshly flung down the way again!

My poor, poor icy cold pig.

Trying other formations on the sled.

 

Three cheers for Super-Daddy who gets out in the mess and works like a horse so the kids can have a good time. Mommy hasn't stepped beyond the porch with her camera.  It's flippin' freezing out there!

BELOW freezing to be exact.  WELLLLLLL below freezing and not expected to get above freezing all week.  Schools have already called it quits and closed for the week. Second winter break, it is!  Well, not counting us homeschoolers who can do what we want and keep on trucking.  We shall see.

Into Anna's Portfolio

Did you know Anna has a portfolio?  It's a brilliant little bag that is folder sized where we put the best of her art and discard the rest.  Saves much space.  She totally gets it and uses it with pride.  These latest three masterpieces can be found there now.  

She did all these herself using an Usborne Learn to Draw book.  Proud of her initiative and following directions!

Proud of this freestyle draw, too.  Giggling at the details she added and the picnic lunch with a sandwich with a stick in it "to be fancy."  Great memory from awhile back of them kayaking while I sat on the shore under a giant tree snapping pics.

Taa Daa: Blanket for Anna

And just like that

 the beast/blanket is finished at last

and doing its job delighting the girl for whom it was made.  She cooed at it, cuddled it, and rolled all up on and in it and then took it to bed with her last night as well. 

It was a labor of love for me for sure so I am pleased to know that she feels the love. ♥