God, Help Us; School is Starting!

Well, we made it through one more gymnastic meet. Apparently, Becca placed 8th or something out of 60. She was pretty happy about that. Seemed to me she was busting out the scores. Not as nervous this time; though, she told me she felt more so. I couldn't tell. More ribbons and medals. If we keep at this pace we'll have to get an entire room to house all this stuff.

School room is cleaned up, maps hung on the wall, whiteboard, too. I even vacuumed, well, sort of. Blaine vacuumed the scrap where they played playdough. We're ready for school tomorrow. Part of me can't wait and part of me is wondering if I can really live up to the "schedule" I've written...at all. Will we even get one thing done, or will the whole thing blow up in smoke? We shall see. Either way tomorrow is coming, and we're as ready as we'll ever be. Good thing is that it has only been 2 weeks since we last did school, so we're not entirely "All-Summer" rusty. That might help. Either way, God, help us!

Three Leotards

WE (ahem, I mean I) have now managed to collect 3 leotards from eBay, all for the same cost as one with tax. That means I have saved $66. I am quite happy about that. One seller even refunded me $3 for overpayment of shipping charges. I was shocked. Anyway, our little gymnastics girl is quite happy that she will now have hot pink, bright red, and turquoise leotards. I kind of overdid it, as Micah would say, "Do we really NEED three leotards?" I guess not. Two would do, but THREE is so much better! I just couldn't help myself. When you see this beautiful leotard sitting on the screen with only 1 hour left and no one has bid on it, and it only cost $4, how in the world do you pass it up? Turn off the computer? Run down the stairs? Go for a walk? Take a cold shower? No, none of that would do. I had to have it. So, thus the story of three leotards.

She had her first meet on Sunday. Not my first choice in days, but I guess we've missed church for worse reasons before...like, "I don't want to go."

The night before she couldn't sleep.

She'd get up every 20 minutes with, "What if I can't do my stride circle...or my handstand...or my kick over...or my cartwheel?"

I wanted to tell her, "You were born doing stride circles, handstands, kick overs, and cartwheels. Now go to bed." But I didn't.

She fell and fumbled many times. I've never seen her so nervous. It was really precious. But each time she got up and tried again by golly. I was pretty much busting with pride at her tenaciousness. Her highest score was on the vault. She scored 9.4 The first time she just hit the board and jumped on the mat. I've NEVER seen her do that. I just kind of stood there with my mouth gaping. Then she ran back and did it again. Her coach said she made up for it by doing her best vault ever, and many times he's complimented her that she does the best vault in class. She came home with a medal and 4 ribbons, so she was very happy. We celebrated afterwards with Chuck E. Cheese! Go Becca!!!

Okay, I HAVE to Blog About This!

"You have probably heard about how pregnancy can leave you more absentminded and preoccupied. Recent study conducted at a British University indicates that there is no such correlation between pregnancy and a woman's absentmindedness. In fact women have been conditioned to believe that pregnancy impairs their critical thinking and concentration abilities so much so that when they make a mistake they blame it on their pregnancies hormones for these errors."-Pregnancy Calendar http://www.welcomebabyhome.com/newsletter_weeks/fetus_week_17.htm

Get real! BEFORE I even knew I was pregnant (and obviously the thought hadn't even crossed my mind), I had:

• left the stove burner on ALL evening (I have NEVER done this before and was appalled that I did so).
• purchased several things at the grocery store I didn't even remember looking at.
• felt like I was walking around in a total haze. I was scared to even drive because I felt like I wasn't paying attention.
• left a candle burning when we went to the store (appalled again).
• it took me forever to remember to purchase something at the store even though I was going specifically for that item.

Come on people, get a grip and put some sense into your pea brain heads! Okay, I got that out. I feel much better now. Who wrote that? A man most likely. Humph.

I have been a busy little bee cleaning out books I never use and putting the ones I want to keep in order. It is such a task. The dusting makes it even more of a chore. But I am thankful for time to do it. The kids were busy today with friends, so I had lots of time and a fair amount of energy. Too bad I don't always have those combinations.

In an effort to collect all of our medical receipts I also cleaned off Micah's desk. Dun...Dun...Dun...The DREADED Desk. It looks better now and much is actually put away. But what are all those computer books? Does he actually use them?

I have also been scouring the Internet for GK leotards for Rebecca. Found one on Craig's list and several on ebay. So, hopefully some of those will come through. They are usually $30 a pop, so anything less is great!

I now have three people in the house with ear infections. What is up with that?! Some relief, please!

Just Stuff!

Glad everyone else can see the pictures because as of yet I have not been able to see the video on my blog. That's weird.

I have managed to clean and put away books in the living room. I have that part ready for school. I have not put away the books from last year that I moved up to the study a month ago (when I had my week off). I have not arranged the school room or hung up the maps I bought 3 weeks ago. I HAVE prayed A LOT.

God provided a really expensive curriculum from a friend. I still have to purchase the other half, but having this half to borrow was an answer to prayer.

I found a fairly new leotard for Rebecca on Craig's list for $10. It is worth about $40. She has her first competition on Sunday, and she must get used to the feeling of the leotard going up her batootie before then. They have beautiful black leotards with Zero Gravity printed in sparkly letters printed on the front. She is so excited and practices non-stop! Dear, LORD, help her, please! She asks me every second if I have heard from the lady who we are buying the practice leotard from. How DO you end a sentence without a preposition at the end? Everyone says not to do it, but they don't tell you how.

The expensive curriculum is a writing curriculum. Maybe they will tell me how.

Sally Clarkson rocks. I heard her at the homeschool conference. Man. She's really amazing. Every parent should listen to her. Every one. Every one. Every one.

The couple we are mentoring decided not to get married. How sad. They both want to, but he is severely depressed and doesn't know what to do. I met with her tonight and tried to offer encouragement. I just pray he goes to get help. It's really sad.

Got to Love Writing

Another book I would like to recommend is Ruth Beechick's "The Language Wars". It is an excellent book for anyone, not just homeschoolers. She has such a wonderful perspective on many aspects of schooling as she was a public school teacher for a very long time as well as a homeschooling parent. She is an expert in many areas including reading and writing. I found it extremely encouraging, and she offered many suggestions for problems commonly run into by parents and teachers. It is not an overwhelming book but rather an easy, quick read. I love it!

Hinds Feet

If you have never read the book by Hannah Hurnard, you really must. It is called "Hinds Feet on High Places". I have the children's version and have never read the unabridged version. It is so excellent as a children's version that I'm not sure I ever will. Maybe it's easier for me to understand. What if I get the big, grown-up version and stare blankly at the page? I NEED illustrations. Anyway, it's about Much-Afraid and her journey to the high places and all the terrible lies and temptations she struggles with. Oh, it is so very good. I have been reading it to Rebecca, but I think it is more for me right now. It helps me at night when I wake-up thinking of all the terrible things that could happen. I remind myself these are only the lying relatives of pity, doubt, and pride. I can then blissfully go back to sleep! I highly recommend it for every worry wart out there, especially pregnant ones.

Today....

We got our little Punkin' back. Ahhh. We're all together again.