Sorry It's Been So Long....

Wow! I cant believe I haven't posted since January!

 All I can say is that homeschooling consumed a lot of my time. We're just tying up some loose ends now, and are definitley ready for a summer break. I think the year was mostly successful in that my daughter no longer bursts into tears at the mention of math, and she will volunteer to solve real life related math problems in her head. That is an enormous victory in my book!

 I am mostly healed from my accident, except for the collapsing knee. An MRI showed only arthritis, so again, I am looking for holistic solutions. The first one obviously, is to lose some weight.

 Ed went to work for a state agency, but quickly realized that although he has done that kind of work before, he is no longer that person, and just found the work to be emotionally unhealthy for him. So we are back to trusting the Lord for a different direction.

 I have worked on a few repurposing projects in between everything else. This place is a junkers dream! Previous owners have left stuff all over. I even got my internal archaeologist moving one day as I excavated the old burn pile. I have a five gallon bucket for whatever treasures I find.

 Back in January, I made a rag rug. This kind is also known as a toothbrush rug, because people use tooth brushes with holes drilled in them as large needles. I just thought using a safety pin was easier (and more readily available...use what you have!)

This is the second one I did, and it still has some kinks in it. I think I've figured it out though, and have too more lined up to do. This one was made from old bed sheets.

  My most recent project however, was a tin woodsman (and his little dog too!) Since I never did find a good set of directions, putting it all together was a challenge. I think they turned out pretty well. The preacher from our last church asked if I could make one to donate to the Mayors Christmas Tree auction. I told him I would be delighted. Since it's in the fall, I have some time to work out the bugs.

My next project is making a lamp from an old washer agitator. I'm down to working on the shade now. I'll share the results with you next week.

See ya later,
Connie

A Little Longer Than Two Weeks!

Sometimes, your life just gets stood on its head.

A few days after I decided to take a break, both my grown sons found themselves, rather traumatically, without a place to stay. So, suddenly, I have all three of my children staying in my daughter's room. Thankfully, both of my sons are very respectful of their little sister. If you are a regular reader, you know our house is very small, so we became very crowded.

Within a few weeks, #1 son took a bus to South Dakota to be with his girl friend. The end of that long complicated story is that they have an apartment, are both working, and are holding their own right now. We are thankful for those blessings.

#2 son is still living with us, but got on where Ed works, and has done very well there.

In addition to all the drama from my sons, we had decided to start homeschooling my daughter this fall. This is a long complicated story, which may become its own blog. I have spent a lot of time this summer researching and collecting cirriculum, as well as teaching myself how best to teach my daughter according to the way she learns.

Oh yeah, I had also convinced the Vacation Bible School "team" at church to try something differnt, spent a lot of time putting that together. It was a great success!

Plot twist #2. As most of you know, our house is a rental and in very poor condition. Our land lord plans to "bulldoze" it as soon as we move. We knew we could not spend another winter there, but also knew that we probably couldn't buy anything either. We spent a lot of time praying about a new house. Not only did God hear, he answered in a big way. Two weeks ago today, we closed on a five acre peice of property. It has a three bedroom house, a two car detached garage, and a barn. So, we have our little homestead!  Its about 75 miles from the old house so moving has been a challenge.

Enter plot twist #3. Last Saturday, as we had been doing for the three days previously, we met at the old house. My son in his car, me in mine and Ed in the truck. We had a  three vehicles loaded and were ready to make the daily drive back to the new house. Since I was parked on the street, I walked down the driveway to my car. My son got in his car, and since he did not see me, thought I was already down at my car. He started backing up.

I felt the bump from behind. When I realized what was happening, I started praying! Ed saw what was happening, and yelled at my son to stop. The back tires were on top of me. God is so good! After about four hours in the Emergency Room, I was on my way home! No broken bones, and no internal injuries! I am however, very SORE! My left knee is banged up pretty badly, my left shoulder has a serious case of road rash, and my right side is very bruised. I'm confined to using a walker for now. I was able to take a few steps without it yesterday. Needless to say I am finished moving! Now, I just have to sit and watch everyone else. I guess the Lord knows I need to work on patience too!