A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
This morning at 6:30...
Peter crawls into my lap. Peter: Mom, I feel sick. Me: Why? Is it because you woke up too early again? Peter: No. I ate yogurt. He he he... This afternoon after our art class... Me: I think it's time for a nap...for like 4 years. Andrew: Ok mom. We'll be quiet....*thinking*...But, mom, what about your birthdays? He he he... Later, driving with Andrew and his buddy in the car to go to a playdate... Me: So boys, what would you do if you had $100? Boys: Buy a credit card so we could get whatever we want! Hmmmmm...
0 Comments
Anyone out there remember Ray Bradbury's theater? One of his stories is called 'The Halloween Tree'. Pretty fun and spooky. Devin introduced me to it after we were married and we listen to it every year now. The kids love it! So, what do you do when your basement storage unit floods beyond repair and is no longer fit for use? Now I have no where to put my 'storage' (Christmas stuff, really), but especially the Christmas tree! :( At first, we wrapped it up in a big BBQ cover/tarp thingy, and hid it in the backyard. But what about when it rains? It would be ruined. So, we set it up and made our very own Halloween Tree! Thanks, Mr. Bradbury, for the idea. And thanks to Josh for hooking us up with a spider with glowing eyes! :) Claire is the proud new owner of pink braces! She finally took the plunge a few weeks ago. Luckily, as we were sitting in the orthodontist's office, I had my phone so I could take some lovely before and after shots! Here she is, smiling happily, before the braces: And here's the after!! Of course, she picked the pink rubber bands, but it looks really good on her. I'm constantly surprised at how much OLDER it makes her look. My little girl is definitely growing up. In just 2 weeks, she'll be 10. Then what? I suppose it's getting close to that time that I'll have to lock her in the closet... :) We live in a world full of technology. We have devices and gadgets and all sorts of things to make life and communication easier than ever! Everything is supposed to save us time and stress. Life is so easy. Hold on...Now comes the vent:
Then why is it NOT?? In all honesty, I'm not super tech savvy. I'm married to someone who is, so I don't really have to be, right? There are a lot of things I've picked up, so I know more things than I would otherwise (electronics and stuff don't really call to me), but I find for the most part, I'm just frustrated by all the gadget choices. Here is my case in point: I am having ISSUES just posting on my blog lately! I take pictures with my camera and my phone, and try to put them on. Sometimes, they load just fine. Sometimes, there are stupid errors in the middle of the upload. Sometimes I think it's uploaded, only to find that it hasn't, then it gives me lots of errors as I try to fix the problem. Isn't my phone supposed to be SMART? Then why is it being so DUMB??? I've had more errors trying to load pictures on my blog in the past few weeks than I have in a LONG time. I've tried everything under the sun, and it just doesn't want to work with me. SO, instead of being able to just load the pictures onto my blog via my phone, I have to email the pictures to myself, save them onto my computer, THEN post them on the blog. And sometimes, THAT doesn't even work because the internet decides to be too slow for me to take the time to upload it. This, my friends, is why I've not been doing much on the blog. I suppose I could just use less pictures, but the pictures make it so much more interesting! So, in the end, the most dependable device for me is the good ol' computer and the camera hooked up to it. Lots of cables and wires give my sad, old fashioned mind comfort. I joke that I'm getting old, but I really think I am. I like smart phones. I like that I can use the internet wherever I am and whenever I need it, but I just don't find it as dependable as other devices. So, looks like if I REALLY want to save time, I'll just bring my camera with me everywhere again. It sure is faster to bring my camera, and connect it to the computer, than to try to upload the pictures with my phone, have it not work, email it to myself, download each one individually, then hope the internet is working fast enough to upload them. Or, even if I CAN upload the pics onto my blog via my phone, I still have to go into my blog on the computer to fix everything. I couldn't possibly type this much on a phone--it would drive me bonkers. Plus, the interface for the blog app on my phone is a little funky and isn't what I normally like, so I have to come fix it on the computer anyway. So much for saving time. Really, I AM grateful for all the fun gadgets and the things that are making my life easier (like finale notepad so you can read my notation, facebook so I don't have to write letters, email so I don't have to write letters, texting so I don't have to call everyone at odd hours, and washing machines so I don't have to wash everything by hand in a pila). I just wish it would just work when I want it to. Oh well. On a positive note: Thank goodness for first world problems. We had the super awesome opportunity to have Devin's sister, Kristen, come and visit us! We had so much fun having her here, and it seems rather empty now that she's gone! Since we were SOOOO busy while she was here, I never got to post anything! So I thought I would do an overview of some of the things we did because it was just too fun not to post anything!! :) First, the day after she got here, 3 kids in our branch were baptized in the Jordan River! What a cool experience to see these lovely, wonderful children be baptized in such a special, sacred place! The next day, being a Sunday, wasn't a very exciting day. We had a writing class then an art class. Then the boys went to a playdate, and I took the older kids and Kristen on a driving tour of the middle of Amman/downtown. It was a very silly tour, and we got a little lost, but thanks to Hal (short for Halelujah, our GPS), we made it back alright. Monday morning, however, we packed up a picnic lunch, grabbed our swimsuits, and ran down to the Dead Sea for a morning float! Tuesday, we had the coolest outing: We went to an Olive Wood factory and got a tour of all of their machinery and how they make all of their amazing things! The kids were fascinated, and Claire made friends with EVERYONE...they all begged me to bring her back again soon! Love that girl!! :) On Wednesday, Devin took the day off to enjoy some activities with us! We went to Jerash and Ajloun--two of my favorite places here in jordan! We even got to try out this restaurant nearby, the Lebanese House, and it was SO GOOD! So fun to show Kristen some local food that is SUPER yummy! Thursday we were super tired. It was a HOT LONG day there out in the desert sun! Whew!!! So we had a laidback school morning, then the big kids had drama class. We went to the embassy pool for dinner out by the pool, and some rest and relaxation. :) Friday, we went to church and enjoyed our time there. Then we packed up the car and drove down to Petra! It was a lovely Sabbath drive and we listened to some radio dramas about the life of Jesus. We ate a packed dinner that we had brought and enjoyed our super awesome hotel room! Devin found the BEST place--it has a family room, is super cheap, is close to the entrance to Petra, the people are really friendly, and the buffet breakfast was wonderful! Saturday morning, we ate our breakfast, packed our bags full of water, and went out to explore Petra! We got to ride horses, camels and donkeys, and see almost everything there! It was EXTREMELY hot, but the kids were super troopers. I think the camels, donkeys and horses helped a lot. We got home Saturday night and had a BBQ at home. By Sunday morning, Kristen was SICK. Oh dear. We had our writing class, then went to art--and halfway through art class, Josh jumped up from the table, and ran to the bathroom to throw up. Oh boy. At least he made it. So, that scrapped the rest of the day. We came home, and Josh laid in his bed and did nothing. Kristen laid on the couch. The kids watched movies with her for the rest of the day. :( Monday morning, Josh and Kristen were a little better, but Peter was down for the count. However, it was Andrew's birthday! So, he was in charge of the day. Their plan: Watch 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark', and play on the iPads. All day. So, that's what they did! Which is good, because Andrew wanted spaghetti with homemade sauce for lunch, and homemade pizza for dinner, and strawberry shortcake for his cake. I spent all day cooking. It was a definite change of pace! And that strawberry shortcake was scrumptious!!! Tuesday we played games together in the morning before tennis. Everyone seemed better and over the sickness. After tennis, we went to the embassy gift shop and looked for some fun souvenirs. Then Claire, Kristen, and I went to the General Women's Broadcast to enjoy the wonderful talks! They were so great!! I can't wait to read them in print and mark them up and write down more thoughts!
After the broadcast, we came home and got ready to take Kristen up to the airport. We got her off safely, the kids were safely sleeping, and I let the kids have Wednesday and Thursday off from school because I got sick! Bleh! Today is Friday, and Andrew and Claire are sick, so we are home from church, which is why this has been posted so quickly. :/ We're enjoying some lovely church movies (Johnny Lingo, Other Side of Heaven)...and my poor littles are lying around like lumps on logs. Good times. We can't ALWAYS be healthy, right? But we're doing well. Now, it's time to move on with normal life again. This is definitely made easier by the fact that Devin has a 5 day weekend! Woot! |
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
Categories
All
My Favorites
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...
|