A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Yes, another ship visit! One of the advantages of being on an island in the Indian Ocean is that we get lots of US Navy ship visits, and my boys LOVE LOVE LOVE it! :) This time, we got to visit the USS New Orleans. This one was more like a 'taxi' and carried all sorts of sweet vehicles inside like Hummers, transports, tanks, etc. A dream come true for my very silly boys who love war and history.
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Here is the follow up on Claire's cookie extravaganza! She ended up making over 800 cookies!!! Impressive!!! The cookies were enjoyed by everyone (including the Ambassador!) and she had 12 more dozen extra that she brought and sold on the spot! That's my little baker!! This is a favorite quote at our house--Thanks, Sam Eagle! Ha! Claire has been doing SO well with her little bakery business! This week, she delivered cookies to people at the embassy and American Center. She had someone commission cookies for this morning... And then last night, she received her biggest commission yet: 600 cookies for Tuesday morning! Whew! So she's recruited a few helpers to help her mix the dough and roll out the cookies, and she's feverishly working to fill the order by Tuesday morning! SO amazing! I'm proud of this girl. When I first saw the request for 600 cookies, I thought, "No way! That's too much for one little girl, and I'm not helping, because I completely detest making cookies!" But, to be fair, since it IS her business and not mine, I asked her if she thought she could do that. Her little eyes got this sparkle and she started giggling, and she said, "YES! Of course!" She immediately sat down and brainstormed...600 cookies is how many dozen? (50) How many dozen do I usually make when I make a double batch of cookies? (5 or 6) So how many varieties should I choose? (10) Then she sat down and wrote down a list of 10 different varieties (including some gluten free!!!): Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Reeses Chip, White Chocolate Island, No Bakes, Macaroons, Chocolate White Chip, Snickerdoodles, Victorian Butter Cookies, Molasses Crinkles, and Oatmeal Raisin. Mmmmm... She has just reported that she has 4 batches done! Wow. I think she'll make her deadline. I'm so proud of her work ethic, and how much this little venture has already helped her improve her talents and break out of her shell. Thank you to all those who have put your faith in a little girl and her cookies!! Happy Independence Day! I know we haven't lived in the states for 9 years now, but it's still home. We are still Americans. And while we don't live in places where people speak our language or share our culture, we hold our American roots deep within us. We love America. We love what it stands for. That is WHY we do what we do! People often think our life is glamorous. It's not. Is it cool? YES! Is it easy? NO WAY! Sometimes it's full of heartache and homesickness. Sometimes it's full of longing for things that are 'familiar'. Sometimes we crave a life of 'stability' in a house in a neighborhood like we grew up in. But when the end of the day comes, and we see the giant Asian bats flying...or we feel the warm tropical breeze while sitting on the porch and looking at the palms and coconut trees that make up the botanical garden that is our yard--or sit in a tuk-tuk and zip in and out of traffic...well, while it's not 'home', it is something special: It is our life. We are proud to be Americans and to represent our country to others around the world. God Bless America! Claire is really enjoying her new business as a baker! :) She can put together cakes and cookies and muffins and cupcakes in no time! It's pretty impressive! She's had three cakes commissioned by the USAID office here. I LOVE that these people are hiring an 11 year old girl to make cakes for them--that they are encouraging and empowering her in her learning journey! I'm grateful for people like that. They're pretty awesome! And I love what she comes up with! The Father's Day cake was a carrot/zucchini cake with an orange zest butter cream frosting. The words were done by melting chocolate, then piping it onto wax paper until it was hard and then placing it on the cake! Neat! The other two cakes are gluten free! The Purple Bundt cake is a coconut cake with a blueberry lemon zest coconut cream 'glaze'. The last cake has two layers: one is coconut, the other is chocolate. In the center is a sort of raspberry preserve that we made. The frosting is coconut cream, cocoa, honey, and some raspberries! So fun! It's like a perpetual cupcake wars at our house now... I feel like it's really important not just to read, but to really connect with what you're reading. It expands your world and your experience and can add to your wisdom and enjoyment of life. Andrew really took this to heart this week. I assigned him to read the book 'Holes' as his next Literature Unit. He loved it so much, he read it 3 times in one week, then decided to do a 'final project'--Digging holes! He and Peter have done their school work in the evening, then filled up 'canteens' (water bottles) and made up snacks to leave in the fridge so that they can get up super early in the morning and dig holes in the backyard! The backyard has never looked worse, but they are having SO much fun! They've found all sorts of 'treasures' and 'history'--like broken roof tiles, and neat blocks of granite and weird worms and underground critters. Why not? At least they're outside. |
Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
November 2020
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Emily's books
by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
by Shannon Hale
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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