Good Morning!
5 Days!!!! 🙂
Today’s header photo is from Kare.
*It’s now Sunday the 21st, so I believe someone has a birthday today.
Happy Birthday Linda. 🙂
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On this day in 1790 the first successful cotton mill in the United States began operating at Pawtucket, RI.
In 1860 South Carolina became the first state to secede from the American Union.
In 1879 Thomas A. Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light at Menlo Park, NJ.
And in 1968 author John Steinbeck died at the age of 66.
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Quote of the Day
“Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it’s Christmas.”
Dale Evans
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This one is a request.
And this one is because I like it. From King’s College Choir
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Wandering Views 
I remember that from Okinawa. My children rode their bikes to school in first, second, and third grades. It was about a mile or two, up hill. One day they had ridden in and the school called to ask me to bring in dry clothes as they got caught in a downpour. Those were usually in the afternoon. So I did and from then on, they carried backpacks with dry clothes.
Kind of strange, I suppose, as the bus stopped right in front of the house but none of them wanted any thing to do with that ride.
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that is what my grands do in Colorado. They want to ride everyday and snow does not stop them. Mom sometimes overrules when there is a lot of ice out.
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I just had fourteen year old walk the four miles if it was too snowy or icy for his bike. But currently, he has access to the bus. But I told him, anymore problems at school and he will forfeit the bus completely. That is a taxpayer gift to take him to school to give him a tax payer education. If he is only going there to play, he needs to provide his own transportation.
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Watch out for the anti free range children patrol though.
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Dad bikes with them to school on his way to work. Not sure about the way home.
Yeah, it can be scary what others say.
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Another week of frantically running the hamster wheel has begun. It probably feels more like a hamster wheel when one of them is in public school because that limits us quite a bit. We don’t go to Moscow to visit my dad very often because we have to be back in time for the fourteen year old. The first semester we needed to be close by so when he or she was kicked out of school, we could go get them.
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I know what you mean. School does rather control the calendar and the days events.
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We are way behind today. The boys caught one of the loose rabbits last night so we had to get his cage up to speed with feeder and waterer. We think there are two left loose, but nine year old said he saw three so it could well be a wild rabbit joined the harem. We won’t catch it but the dogs will when they are released. That is why we are gathering up the loose ones and trying to catch the guineas.
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Sounds like another adventure at your house. Keeps the kids busy.
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How are things on the other side of the world?
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Well I gassed up my vehicle today for the first time since November. The fella told me to move forward, so I did. And then he said something else, so I moved forward again. Then I got out of the vehicle and realized he had said, “Fill up?” Whoops
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God gave me some creative wisdom today and we did an activity at the end of the day that was quiet and not too difficult an calmed everyone down. While they were working, they all just kept singing a praise chorus. So sweet.
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Rain, rain, and more rain. I hear that it is still a drought in the capital of Port Moresby, but here we just keep getting rain.
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It is dry out here. We are expecting some rain, though. But if this continues, it could be hard on the shrubs and trees.
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If this continues we are going to have to close the grassy areas of the playground, as we did once before.
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We are having an interesting turn of events here. A couple of the eighteen year olds are talking about getting married. What is your view on adopted siblings marrying each other? They are not blood related and have been raised in the same family for about four years.
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That’s a tough one, Mumsee. I’ve heard of step-siblings marrying, though.
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They are not related and they know all about each other. They see each other at their best and at their worst. Perhaps this family is so special that they want to continue in it.
I think that I would want to ask them to spend some time apart first to gain perspective.
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They have been apart for about two years now. The boy went to the Youth Challenge for five and a half months and then went to live with his bio sister for a year. Now he is in the Navy. The girl has been living with my adult daughter and son in law for the past year. They have not seen each other but do talk. They have looked into other people.
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Sounds like they have considered this.
I am always praying for wisdom for you and Mike. May God give you each His wisdom as you speak into this situation.
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Amen.
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Such a rainy Valentines Day. I worked in the nursery today and it was so overcrowded. We had three adults working, then three or four other adults came in with their children, bless them. We must have had around 20 little ones in a too small room. Most were around 3 years old and needed some room. I am already thinking of ways to make the room larger.
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The son called and he thinks they ought to wait. The girl told him if he chose that, she would not wait. Sounds like a desperate teenager trying to get out of being an adult. We cautioned him not to be pushed into a life long decision.
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Eighteen year old sure has made a turn around since he came close to meeting independence. His room was clean in record time. The bed was built and made. The attitude was pleasant and helpful. No hiding in his room.
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Glad to hear that, Mumsee. I had prayed that he would be truly repentant.
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Sounds like an answer to prayer. May it continue.
The attitude is be best part. Perhaps he has made some wise decisions.
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So much rain that the rivers are now flooding.
Yesterday a bridge collapsed or was washed out. Still enough left for brave folks to walk across. This is on the only major road into the Highlands. It is past us, so we can still get things from the port city of Lae. The one item we get from further along is eggs.
But this is the only road and will be a major hardship on many. The government needs to do something quickly which is not how things happen here.
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We will still wait and watch, and closely inspect his room and the car he drives to the GED class, every day. He is a master manipulator and knows how to charm as well as how to intimidate.
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The eighteen year old daughter who wanted to marry the eighteen year old son? She just asked if she could date the guy employing eighteen year old other son. And so it continues…..
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Have you tried crossing the bridge remnants yet, Jo?
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No, with all this, I am quite content to just stay home. Was hoping to go on a day trip in a month during term break, but with roads like this, I will probably stay home.
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Other than Church about four times in the past two months, I don’t think I have left the property at all. I am definitely a homebody now that we have done our traveling.
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I find I have a need to get out every once in a while. I want to see what is over the next hill. Also what we can purchase here is limited so it is good to shop elsewhere once in a while. No amazon deliveries.
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Every three months I have a need to get off this property. If I don’t it will come down to another big trip after six months. I sound like such a traveler when I am usually just at home.
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this thread appears to be slowing down.. Others seem to have left us
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Quiet and peaceful. But say something controversial and I imagine those lurkers will pop out of the woodwork.
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My days are rather routine. Get up and shower, layout breakfast for fourteen year old, turn on the computer, read some Bible, get the fire going, put drops in husband’s eyes, send fourteen off to wait for the bus off the property, go out to do chores with small people, supervise small people fixing their breakfasts, have somebody do dishes, head upstairs for schoolwork where I also do the bike and treadmill and bowflex, down to dinner, nap, supervise small people, etc etc etc…But it is a good life and I enjoy it, though sometimes it can get a tad tiring. It helps that I am not a terribly socially involved person.
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That sounds plenty busy enough to me. I did the elliptical in the weight room, but prefer to walk outside. Is it still too cold for walks there??
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oh no, we fell off the top posts page!! What shall we do???
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Brilliant sunshiny day here. Haven’t seen this much sunshine for a while. Must be laundry day.
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Of course it is almost time for church. I can get the wash started, but won’t put anything on the line unless I am home.
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Hearing my grandchild’s heartbeat was a highlight of my week. Amazing that it was recorded and sent. I feel loved and included.
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That was sweet of them, Jo.
I am still here, lurking, & occasionally commenting.
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yeah, we are back on the top posts list. Where we certainly rightfully belong.
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Time for a Sunday afternoon nap before the Highlands prayer time.
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Laundry actually got dry, a rare occurrence in this season. It has not rained all day. last week we got several hard rains each day, so this is such a blessing. Learning to appreciate the little things.
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It is never too cold to walk outside. Finding the time is a problem. Husband has to be feeling well enough to be able to babysit safely or the children need to go with me. I have them all booked up with time, including play outside time, so I am just being lazy.
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I can’t imagine anyone describing your life as lazy!
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Physically lazy, there is a lot of mental and emotional output. But for a better outlook, I need to keep the physical part moving. You know what I mean. You do the same with your walks and trips to the weight room. When I am out physically walking a mile or so, that is the best time to be praying for my family, with no knocks on the doors or little voices, “mom?” And it makes me physically feel better so I have more patience with the knocks.
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I agree. It helps. I also live alone and in silence. Kinder, especially this class, can be very noisy and I have to give a lot, but then I come home to quiet and it refreshes me.
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I may not have mentioned that my classroom is on the second floor, the only one here. It makes it more private and keeps me in shape. I deliberately walk over to the office each break just to get more exercise.
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Karen, you asked about talking about work. I think that it is mostly the departments. The construction, clinic and auto shop. You see a doctor and think I will just ask him about…. Then they never get a break. So it is to guard their family time.
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Husband saw two of his doctors in the past couple of weeks for various checkups. Both expressed shock that he was still among the living. They both thought he was as good as dead last Spring. I am glad he is still here. He would not mind being elsewhere but while God has him here, he is okay with that. I told him we have an agreement and he better not break it or I will hunt him down.
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Praising with you that Mike is still here. This family of yours needs the two of you to function.
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Well, eighteen year old daughter appears to be dropping out of college. She has found a new love since eighteen year old son suggested they wait until he has gotten some of his military time in and worked up into higher pay. She is messed up and acting just like her bio mom. Her brother and sister see it and have tried to talk with her, but she says they are blind. Poor child. She is in for some tough times, it looks like.
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oh, so sad, thankful that she knows you and the others. When life falls apart, she knows who has the answers. That is what happened to me. God had surrounded me with Christians and when my life fell apart, I knew where to go for answers.
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She called last night and we talked for a couple of hours. She kept asking me if I saw any red flags but she cannot hear. We will see. I tried showing her how he is like two of her brothers with zero respect for females. And mentioned how much of a control person he appears to be and claims to be.
Oh, and her coworkers (forty year old women with families) have been giving her sips of their alcohol….But she doesn’t even like the taste, she says. I pointed out that that is how people acquire a taste for it, one sip at a time.
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Hi, Jo. Hello, Mumsee.
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Thankful that she listened and at least you had an opportunity to talk.
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It’s Friday!
and the sun is shining.
It hasn’t rained all week and the rocks are coming up out of the roadway again.
Last week it rained multiple times each day.
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Daughter is about ready to show her the door. Eighteen year old keeps coming in at night and trying to have relationship issue discussion with daughter’s husband. She has been told not to do that. She does not stop.
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A hard situation all around and sad. Tough love is hard for those showing it.
May God continually walk you through this situation and give you encouragement somewhere.
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Seeing my new student run around the Teen Centre last night with joy, she was just a different little girl. What a difference a friend can make. The other little girl is also sweet and shy.
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Rereading the jan karon Mitford books. Such a nice place to spend my time.
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I should read those sometime. I’ve heard they’re quite enjoyable.
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They are wholesome. Dwelling in small town life and the values are true.
Also, the main character is a priest so there is a lot of scripture quoted.
His favorite prayer is the prayer that never fails: ‘Thy will be done.”
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We have fallen off the top posts again. At least I have finally learned how to get back here quickly.
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A beautiful day in the neighborhood. Sun is shiny, everything is wet from rain and mist. Birds are singing. And it is time to go do the chores with the little folk.
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We’re having a spring-like day here as well. Nice to hear the birds singing.
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In the 60s here, and I’d love to go for a walk. But my husband didn’t sleep well last night, so he is napping, and it’s also pretty windy out. It’s supposed to be 50s and not windy tomorrow, so that may be a better day for a walk.
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I don’t see any rain coming across the valley, so it may be time for me to go for a walk.
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another beautiful day here. I can hear the birds enjoying the day.
Hard to sleep last night. I went to bed thinking I did not have enough in my lesson plans for today and then God continued to give me ideas and confirmed that I am a teacher.
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Today wasn’t a good day for a walk either, although we took one. It was 50 degrees but quite windy, and thus we saw few birds (and one muskrat) and the walking conditions weren’t very pleasant. And the place we chose to walk is quite close to an expressway, so vehicle sounds were more obvious than quiet bird sounds. (Though I did hear a fair amount of bird sound.) It’s in an area that’s marshy and is supposed to be good for waterbirds, and the one time we went there before we saw a few.
But I told my husband that at least we got some exercise and fresh air, and we also know a bit more about how the trails go. (We entered from the boggy side last time, and were quite limited in ability to walk around.) So that counts for something.
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Exploring a new walking place is always worth it. It is rather limited here for walks, but all the roads are dirt and rocks. I hear that it helps you keep your balance when you are walking on rough surfaces.
I tend to go up and down hills first. I have a loop below me that is close to a half mile, so I do that one way and then the other.
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Walking around here, I stick to the gravel road. Never boring though, as the sky is ever changing and the fog comes and lifts, the colors change.
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I see Jo and Mumsee have kept this going, with occasional visits form Chryl and Karen. Time a “guy” visit.
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So, Peter, what did you want to talk about?
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Well, we’re 17 posts from the next 100, though here it seems the 200s are more important. Now, I could make several one or two word posts and get 2900. Or not.
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We could talk about the wonderful Spring-like weather we’ve had off-and-on.
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Or politics. But that’s better done elsewhere.
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Well, I wanted 2888.
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So I suppose I can claim it: 2888!
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I noticed a couple days ago we were getting close to that.
I suppose it’s too much to expect that two or three years from now I can claim 8888.
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Not sure that folks will keep this thread going for that long.
Off to another noisy day in Kinder.
So thankful for the quiet home I have.
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Jo, I thought of you when reading about Scott Kelly. A year on the International Space Station. Now that would be limited space.
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What an adjustment it must be for him to come back to Earth. I hope he doesn’t have any negative psychological effects from being in space so long.
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Hi everyone! Boy, we, the rest of WV, sure miss out on a lot by only having time to check one page 😦 I’m glad you’re still hanging out here though.
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Mumsee, I went out to go on my walk last night. As I was walking someone called my name and caught up with me. She then walked with me for a mile and we talked and shared. She is over 20 years younger so I was huffing to keep up on the hills. Beth has just come back, and I remembered that you had prayed that someone would just appear and come alongside. A very sweet gal.
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Someone else returns today for several months. I am actually having her for dinner tomorrow night. This will be the first person that I have had over since I returned last July. She has lots of food allergies so I had to figure out what to cook.
Since I am trying to lose weight I have about four meals that I have been cooking and eat one of them each week. Going low carb which helps me lose.
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of course, I have been snitching some chocolate! but don’t tell…
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It’s Friday! I gave up on the gym and stayed at school until 5 getting everything ready for next week. I kept needing one more thing from the office which is down the stairs and across the playground. I think that I got my miles walking.
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That is wonderful, Jo! God is so caring.
Today’s exercise is planting trees and building fence, preparing some ground for grass seed, planting it, and covering it so the chickens and guineas don’t destroy it. Eight year old and I will be very busy today!
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Wow, that is a lot of exercise. Give yourself time to recover. Take advil to take care of inflammation. I have found that when I have injured myself, the real pain does not how up for a week. So if I find pain I try to work on the inflammation right away.
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2900! and of course I meant show up
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Ibuprofen, heating pad, and Vick’s vaporub are my friends today. We did not get to the grass or fence because I had already injured myself on the feed bags. I can usually manage that level of activity unless I have already hurt my back.
We are enjoying rain today. Hoping to get up to Moscow to visit my dad and attend my cousin’s house warming. She is the one that lived here for a year, helping me while husband was gone to Vancouver Olympics. When we were getting the five more children, she decided it was time to leave! I can’t imagine why….
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Enjoy your day away. Trust that you will be able to rest during the drive.
Another joint service this morning. Hoping that it isn’t all in tok pisin, which I don’t understand, though perhaps they don’t understand English??
I will take my ipad to quietly sort through pictures.
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So we’re on our way to 3,000, huh?
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Jo, if I were in a service where I didn’t understand the language, I’d be inclined either to quietly leave or to stay and join in worship by reading Scripture or some hymns from the hymnal. I did those “tricks” in Chicago when my church started going to 10 or 15 repetitions of the same nearly meaningless chorus. I zoned out of the song they were singing before it drove me crazy, and instead read the bulletin, read my Bible, or sang some of the best hymns in the hymnal.
I once read the entire bulletin and two or three hymns between the time I got tired of hearing the “worship team” sing “The Spirit and the bride, the Spirit and the bride, the Spirit and the bride say ‘Come, Lord Jesus'” and the time they finished singing it. Literally, those exact same words, repeated over and over, minute after minute. The words are fine, and biblical, but the repetition made them into “babble” and not edifying song. So after I’d heard the words a half dozen times or so, and pretty much knew where the rest of the song was going, I picked up my bulletin and read it, and when they still weren’t finished, I quietly pulled out my hymnal and found some more edifying texts, finding time to read one, flip through pages until I found another good one, and read all the verses of it as well. Eventually they all ran out of breath or something, and I was able to join in again. But when the church had all but stopped using the hymnal, there were several times it kept me from running out of the church screaming.
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Actually the worship was good this morning. Though some of it was in tok pisin and I was singing without meaning. I was in charge of putting out and picking up the offering baskets so I had to be there. I am glad I went as I ended up sitting with friends who are leaving tomorrow.
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decided to skip the Highlands prayer meeting today. I will go to evening church as there is a report on a team who went to Israel. Most of our Highlands team are not here this year. I have been treating this meeting like it was required and it is not.
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Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. The rain is coming down, watering those newly planted fruit trees. Soon, I will be out in it with my younger three. We like the rain. It is the mud that gets tiresome.
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Rained most of the night here. I think it has stopped now.
Monday morning and must get ready for school. Haus meri is coming and I have lots of dishes and ironing for her to do.
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I really don’t mind the rain, it is pouring right now, if only the mosquitoes didn’t like it quite so much.
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Still having disappointing news from eighteen year old daughter. She spent the weekend at her boyfriend’s house. His dad is a strong Christian, I am told, so it would be interesting to hear his views of why this young woman is sort of living in his house with him and his son and another boy.
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So sad, Mumsee.
foggy here this morning after raining most of the night. We probably got at least 7 inches. So thankful for my snug little home.
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Indeed. Another sunshine day here, sun will soon melt the frost away. Then it will be off to vote time.
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praying for the elections, for God’s mercy on our nation
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the fog is lifting and I see sunshine!
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The sun is rising and sneaking behind the clouds. But it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Lots to do today. Enjoying watching nine year old continuing to grasp reading. Fourteen year old daughter is excited to be through her eighth grade science and on to ninth. I told her she needs to work on everything so she is not only doing science. She does, but she does extra in science as she loves it.
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That’s great, Mumsee! (for both nine year old & fourteen year old)
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clear and cold here. I actually cannot see any clouds for the moment. That will change very soon. There is never a whole day without clouds this close to the equator.
Rejoicing with you as you see their progress, Mumsee.
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A very nice picture of me taken in my classroom posted on Facebook. One of my parents asked if she could come in and take pictures. She is quite the photographer. It was fun to actually see myself teaching as I have no idea what I look like when working with my class.
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Unseasonably warm here. If every winter in the Midwest were like this one, I would probably not have left Chicago in the first place! But this is really a rarity, and we’re enjoying it. We have it in the sixties most of this week, and yesterday it even made it above 70.
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We’re having that same kind of spring weather here, too, Cheryl. Forrest has been loving it!
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We had a lovely sunny day for our Book Parade. I found a different spot for our picture, but realized later that it was too sunny and all the kids were frowning and hiding their eyes. The music didn’t start so we were waiting and I sent the class up on the stairs and we got such nice pictures. First I was taking them and thought it was great, but then I realized that I should get in the picture. Just the picture I wanted for my newsletter!
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Well eighteen year old wants to restore contact, just does not want to burn bridges. She just wants us to give him a chance. I told her I had nothing against him, it was up to her to let him know expectations, he could not just magically know them.
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One closer to three thousand.
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Reading through the threads this morning. I so appreciate the political thread. I don’t really have a good source of news over here. The comments are varied and the links are good. Lets me be more a part of what is going on.
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I have enjoyed it as well. Though I don’t know the people or their families, after a few years of seeing their wandering views interactions, I have a better understanding of some of the people behind the views, giving them a bit more credibility.
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it is interesting how each little comment helps us to see each other more clearly.
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I posted this on facebook, but you are not on facebook so will share it here.
Yesterday a friend came over to visit with two of my students. She had called first and set it up. As I went to open the door I could hear her asking them if they knew who lived here and both said no. When I opened the door little Jenny exclaimed “Teacher!” and rushed into my arms for a hug. Such joy.
We had a great visit. My grands had given me a dice game called Tenzi for Christmas, but I didn’t have anyone to play it with. We all played it together and I found that it is a perfect game for Kinder. I am taking it to school today.
We made one new rule: on your first roll everyone waits until all have decided what number they will try to get and then you quickly roll the dice. You have ten dice and try to get them all showing the same number.
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Term break coming up. I am hoping time at home will help my new little girl. Her mom could not get her to come in today. Finally mom left and she got happy very soon. She is excited to have time at home. Only four more days.
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I plan on using this term break a little differently. I will be home in July and am only leaving myself a day here before school begins. Yikes, I forgot about jet lag, maybe that is not such a good idea.
Anyway, I plan on getting ready for the next school year over this break.
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I was amazed to hear you making all of these trips and never suffering from jet lag! That wiped me out for a week or more, ever time.
Sounds like a fun game for the younger three here. Might look into it.
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Jo – The little girl you mentioned reminds me of how Forrest felt for the first months of kindergarten. He is doing so much better now, although he would still prefer not to have to go.
Meanwhile, a little girl at church, who was quite shy, embraced kindergarten wholeheartedly, right from the start. It doesn’t hurt that her teacher is a lady she already knows at church.
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jet lag can hit pretty hard. New Zealand was only a three hour difference so not too bad.
When I go home to California the time difference is very hard. Midnight there is only 6pm here so it is very hard to go to bed at night, I just am not tired.
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I remember that from Okinawa but even just going to Germany was hard to me.
Karen, I am reading a very interesting book called Boys Adrift. It explains a lot of things I was not getting about one of my boys who is just drifting through life with no motivation. The author gives five excellent suggestions on the problem. One is the meds for ADD and calling boys ADD because they struggle with sitting in school. He recommends getting the boys into an all boy classroom and letting them sit, stand, or lie on the floor as they feel more comfortable. He also says that many boys are being put into kindergarten where they are expected to sit and make letters and numbers and do academics long before they are ready. They may do well for a season but quickly grow to hate school. Sad what we do to our people. Obviously, you can’t keep him from kindergarten as he is not your son, but the more he can be outside, encountering the real world, sniffing trees, playing in the dirt, throwing rocks, etc, the better.
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I just wrote a somewhat-long comment about all the fun outside stuff Forrest does with Emily, but then I got a message that it couldn’t be posted. I hit the “back” button, which often brings back the comment, but it didn’t work this time.
The gist of what I wrote is that Forrest plays outside a lot, goes hiking now & then, goes to parks with his mom or dad, & goes fishing with his dad. Emily is not afraid to let him get dirty or climb trees or ride his bike on the lane. She’s a good mom for a little boy to have.
Chrissy & I, most days when we are babysitting, make sure he gets outside for a while, too.
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I have a boy like that in my class. Just can’t sit still. I don’t mind that so much, but he is so outgoing that he is always putting on a show for the others. I have him sitting at the back when they are on the mat. Not sure how to help him. And we do have lots of free time and move around time.
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Lifelong insomnia + menopause + high winds + week of a time change = 😦
Add to that: our daughter left for work tonight and called us to say she grabbed something from the garage freezer on her way out, and things in there look thawed. So we checked it out, and for reasons we don’t understand, the plug was mostly unplugged. At least it wasn’t that the freezer quit working, and hopefully we caught it “in time.” (There was an awful lot of food in that thing.) But now we will have a need to defrost and probably a bit of a mess, as well as decisions about what is still safe to use.
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oh, no, what a tiresome job.
I am wondering how much longer I will have to stay up to let my cake cool.
I was too tired after walking these hills for 70 minutes to make it earlier.
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I decided to give myself a break tomorrow. It is the last day of the term and I don’t know yet who has signed up for conferences on Monday and Tuesday, so I am not going to get up at 5:45 and be at market close to 6:30. That makes for such a long day. I will just do without and try to make it on Monday morning.
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Another thing the book says, is that little boys don’t hear as well as little girls. A lot of the time when the teacher says something, they don’t actually hear it. Female voices and trying to speak calmly and all. Anyway, he thinks the boys go in front. That is what we do at church. We sit very near the front to minimize distractions. I don’t know how effective it is. But, doing things to keep little boys engaged so their busy little bodies don’t follow their busy little minds into somewhere else land.
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This boy is rather unique. He is so social and always putting on a show for everyone else. Makes lots of noises too.
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Sounds like my fourteen year old boy. Extremely gregarious, always wanting to be the center of attention, getting his strokes for knowing everything, “inadvertently noisy”. This semester I told him no late papers or visits to the Principal if he wanted the freedoms of life. He has gone from daily late or missing papers to only five this semester and three or four times a week Principal visits to only two this semester. But I will stick to my guns and not give him freedom as he had some and I had said zero. Though he did get to go to hunter safety as husband wanted to not have to attend again for a while. It is ten evenings and a Saturday. Son has also brought his GPA up to 3.5. I have told him that this was only to show him what he is capable of with minimum work. Next year I will not hold him to it. He will be in ninth grade and it goes on the permanent records so it is all on him, but now he knows he can do it.
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Gregarious? Wanting to be the center of attention? Yup. Sounds like Forrest. 🙂
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and this is the boy that went back at the beginning of last year!! Mom had him skip the second year of preschool and he just wasn’t ready.
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Just met a new student from the Netherlands. Another boy they are considering putting ahead as he is very bright. As we walked along he kept jumping ditches and having fun. Didn’t look to me like a boy who was ready to spend all day in a desk.
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The praise is that I was able to show my classroom to the mom and the kids, he has three siblings, enjoyed playing in it. I also showed her the kind of writing they are doing in their journals and some high level, high interest books that we have that are probably right at his level. God gave me the idea to go to the Guest house to meet them and then invite them to tour my classroom.
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It certainly is an adventure, figuring out how children learn best. It is exciting to see the differences and how God uses each one for His purposes.
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as I think about it, she seemed to be saying that the teacher at the orientation course was considering him a higher grade. I could not tell if she had spoken to anyone here.
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She may have spoken to someone at our school, I don’t know. But the exciting part for me is that God gave me the idea to get together with her and bring the kids to school. No one had said anything to me, so I was not trying to change anything. It is good to be innocent!!! 🙂
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Just had to get 2949!
Such a nice year to be born = 49
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No one seems to be posting.. 😦
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Good morning, Jo. I was a bit sidetracked between dealing with eighteen year old and his flipped car and nineteen year old and her medical issues. I need the stability of my friends on here to remind me the Lord has it all under control. I think I will stop praying for safety for son, but rather I will be praying for wisdom. He seems to have forgotten the accident already.
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That’s a good idea, Mumsee (praying for wisdom). You have our love & prayers, I hope you know.
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May God direct you in you prayers for each of them.
and may you see Him work in amazing ways.
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Conferences were interesting today. I do not usually look forward to them.
I was sharing assessments with the parents and one girl had written in for pen. The parents looked at that and said that in the south they say those two words the same. I forgot about dialect differences.
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Do you have the children in the conferences, as well? I don’t care for that as it turns into a chance for the child to go on and on about how wonderful he is rather than us discussing the best ways to motivate or otherwise help the child learn.
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Thanks, Karen, I certainly do appreciate the prayer folk holding us up!
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So close to 3000.
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So tempting to talk to myself.
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So, Myself, how are you today?
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Oh, wait a minute. That was a 5, not a 9, I saw. Still forty more to go. 😦
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Well, okay, I’ll at least take 2961.
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Karen, you are funny.
Mumsee, the children are not involved. Some of them do try to wander in from the playground or peer in the windows. pretty funny
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I did not sleep as well as I had hoped last night, but much better than it could have been.
Our conferences are child centered. Oh, he is doing so well in talking with his friends, never mind the participation grades….
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Mumsee – Are you saying that the children are at the parent-teacher conferences? That’s not good.
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I got to go to my grandchildren’s conferences last year that were student led. They had written up what they had done and presented it to the parents. It was a charter school, but very different from a parent/teacher conference.
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I felt awkward and tongue tied, but began all of my conferences with prayer. To keep the focus on God working with parents and teacher to raise up the child.
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Yes, the children are in the conference. You don’t get to talk much about the real stuff.
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Mumsee, can’t you elect NOT to have the children there in your case?
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That’s ridiculous! The parents & teacher need to be able to freely discuss any problems the child might be having.
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One parent went out of town and wants a conference next week. Another will probably walk into my classroom and want to know how their son is doing. I have to remember to gently say when would you like to come in. last time he caught me by surprise while I was working with a student.
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Sunshine today. So nice after rain most of yesterday and last night.
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walked to the weight room today and did a pretty good workout. Then I went to school and organized some more. Thinking about each child and what are their need.
I like this system of 4 terms with a break inbetween. Gives me that time to think and evaluate.
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getting rather lonely on this blog. I think I must be talking to myself!
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A foggy foggy morning. About time to head out and see to the chores.
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My work is not really very much, but it gets me outside. I fill the feed buckets for the nine year old so he can feed the chickens and turkeys. I feed the three sets of goats and bring the leftover hay to the rabbitry so the eight year old can feed that along with their pellets and watering. Then feed the guineas and pick up a wheelbarrow of firewood, bringing it to the door so eight year old can bring it all in. Meantime, fourteen year old walks the dogs, feeds them, and waters everything else. Routine. They seem to do well with it.
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slept in and didn’t go to the sunrise service. It is hard to go to everything alone. I did go to last night’s meeting and was blessed.
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I am sure it would be. I would become a hermit, but that is not what God calls us to. Relationship, it is good. Just getting there can be hard.
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so, later, I walked instead and met a friend who understood.
walking does lead to encounters, my flat looks at the view and is hidden on the backside of the building so it helps to get out
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In the past, we have hosted many single individuals for meals and holidays. Mostly husband’s work, of course, as he is out in the world. Now that he is no longer working outside, we don’t. So, how do people like me find out who is single? I don’t do small talk well, and when at church, I have to keep very close tabs on three of my children so don’t do much interacting. We have several people who attend alone, but that is mostly just that their spouse does not attend church or at least, not this one. I suppose, ask one of the elders who is single? We are happy to have more in the family, it is just rather awkward finding out.
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Maybe you could tell your pastor that you would like to host a single lady or man (or more than one), & ask who would he suggest.
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Here most folks know who is single. I was getting ready for furlough once and someone came and asked me what I was looking forward to. He was shocked when I said that I wanted to spend time with my children and grandchildren, having no idea that I had a family.
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That is kind of where I am, I don’t know the interrelations. I have been attending this church for two years and had no idea the woman I talk to the most (maybe twenty seconds a week) is the niece of the man and wife daughter used to work for.
We don’t have a pastor. But I am sure there is a woman, and I think I know who, that can tell me the info. She is a wonderful lady who was a cook at the school for years and years and years. So she knows the people in this town.
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Do you have a group of elders instead of one pastor? And/or is the church in search of a new pastor?
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I have gone to the same church for 43 years and know mostly who is related to who. Except for all those new folks who have come since I have been here. In some ways it seems like two churches since we have two services. The Sunday school classes are for the older folks as the younger ones have small groups during the week. Lots of classes for the younger ones, but you don’t see them in church as their parents come for the service while they are in class and then go home.
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The new pastor comes up once in a while, they will be moving here full time when his wife finishes out the year teaching. For now, a group of elders. A bunch of really nice folk but most have been in this small town for their entire lives. Us newbies (eighteen years) are a bit out of the loop.
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Well, in our church it’s usually pretty easy to know who is related to whom. We’re a very small church, and until extremely recently biological family groups all sat together. Recently our daughter and her fiance have started sitting together (recently meaning within the last year; she sat with us until they got engaged, though she could have sat with him earlier), and only in the last three or four months, the church’s unattached young men have all started sitting up front; most of their parents attend the church (though some are college students from other countries), but they’re in their teens and twenties, and just elected to sit in a group and not with their parents.
Even so, I made reference to a new member about our daughter, and she knew the young lady, but didn’t know she was ours, because she sits with her fiance and not with us. So, if a church of fewer than 70 people (nearly all sitting in family units) can lead to such confusion, I can imagine what a church of a few hundred, with more than two generations of some families, might do. Currently we have two engaged couples, and three of the four sets of parents attend the church. Assuming the couples involved all continue to attend, over time it might get a little confusing, because the girls will of course change their last names. You might guess that the young man might be a son of the couple who shares his last name, but you wouldn’t automatically guess that the young ladies have parents within the church.
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Getting close to 3000 on here.
Someone will be beginning a race soon.
Off to get a safety on my car, a requirement check here.
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Ours is a small church. I suppose. There are between thirty and thirty five regular attenders, almost all over the age of sixty. We have fewer over the winter when illness is going around. More over Easter, Prairie Day, and Christmas. Though couples sit together, several of the marrieds do not attend the same church or one attends and one does not. Then nieces and nephews and cousins and whatever….apparently, nearly everybody in town is related somehow. Last Prairie Day, some woman cam up to me all excited to meet and greet, first thing out of her mouth, “who are you related to?” Since I was not related, she moved on to more interesting people.
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Hey, Mumsee took 2988!
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I guess I’ll have to make do with 2990.
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Jo must not have passed the car safety check and is walking around somewhere.
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2992 is nice and symmetrical.
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Our daughters were both going to be gone overnight (with a friend of one daughter who is flying in), but now we hear they may not go until tomorrow. We were looking forward to having them away! (Not that we mind their presence, but it’s nice to have times when it’s just us.)
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Cheryl – I know what you mean. Lee & I love having Emily & Forrest live here, but it is nice when we have some private time uninterrupted.
Although they “live upstairs”, they both pop in & out on us throughout the day. Usually we don’t mind, but every now & then I’ll ask Emily to keep Forrest upstairs, so we can have some quiet time.
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2,995. Well, Karen, I think they’re at least still going away tomorrow. But we’d both said we were looking forward to their being away this evening. Oh well.
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2,996. We’ll get there eventually. I went to bed but my brain didn’t, so I’m up again for a little while.
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I almost forgot how close we are.
Cheryl is lurking??
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Got the safety on my car, but they weren’t done until later in the day so I just kept working at school. Always something to do.
I have my aide and the secretary making copies of all the decodable books we will use this term.
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I am going to be bad tomorrow and skip church. They are having monthly combined services which I don’t enjoy very much. I am in charge of the offering so every other month it goes to the tok pisin service, so I am not needed for that.
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Actually I will probably just listen to the service on my computer.
Is this 3,000????
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So it only took us a little more than 15 months to reach 3000 posts.
What will this new room look like?
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I find it amusing that this one day of posting has had so many different headers.
And I feel like Aj keeps telling us that it is almost Christmas.
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Christmas? I am nearly ready!
How did you get in here, Jo? Did you have some help? I guess I will go take a peek and see if there are any survivors.
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Nope, no sign of anybody but Jo. Though it sounded like Cheryl planned to be involved, and then disappeared. I am a bit concerned for her. I will be watching the other threads to see if she shows up. I may have to report this to the real. Don’t think you can get away with something like that just because this is the back forty.
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Last night I saw that we were close to 3000, & was tempted to talk to myself to get us there, but decided against that.
Congratulations, Jo, on getting 3000! Glad I got out of the way before you ran for it. 🙂
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I was tempted to make a run for 3,000 too, but I have a self-enforced rule of no more than three posts in a row, and it was more than that to get there.
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