Good Friday and Weird Weather

This week has been an interesting one. We didn't have Murphy's Law, or too many contradictions, or even such an odd week that nothing happened to work out wrong. It was just an interesting week.


Monday I woke up to a wonderful sight of the field being nearly all green, buds on the trees, and shining sun. I'm not usually one for sunshine before coffee, but it was nice to see after so much snow this winter. We did our lessons and got outside for awhile. The time spent outside on Monday added to our time from Sunday (8.75 hours) totaled up to 10.5 hours in two days!




But, Tuesday, I woke up to a completely different scene! The never ending winter had decided to return! OH the humanity of it! The furnace got turned back up, socks put back on feet barely having been bare for a few weeks, and not every curtain in the house was opened as we just couldn't bare to look at the snow again. So, we of course did our lessons and some crafting but didn't go outside. The campers were just too through with snow and highly disappointed that it was chilly again. Peanut started on a first grade math workbook simply because she wanted to, and I figured she'd just mess around with it but wasn't worried because we'd purchased it at the Dollar Tree. Instead she did the first three pages of it without flaw, only the concept of zero (which is so abstract sometimes) when it came to adding had to be visited more than once. I think she's going to do well in her early math studies.

We had doctor appointments on Wednesday. Daddy had his three month check in with his primary care doctor and ECJ had a check up with our pediatrician. Their offices are next door to each other so we had them scheduled for the same time. There was much reading that went on at both offices and some more appointment making. After which we did a little running and helped a neighbor out before returning home. Once home we decided that we were just taking the rest of the school day off of lessons and just concentrating on reading.

Thursday morning the temperature was back up a bit, the snow had all melted again, and Peanut was determined that we do our walk to the store before we did our lessons. By the time we returned from the store (2 hours later) the campers all wanted to play outside some more and Daddy was in the middle of repairing the door to our front bathroom. As soon as he'd finished, and the campers had come back inside, we painted the bathroom which was actually pretty scary before hand (don't ask me what the previous owner was thinking when she allowed her teenagers to do this).

Pictures of the before and after of said bathroom:

Before

After

So, now we've reached Friday. Where we had originally intended on more lessons. However, we spent some time in silence because it's Good Friday, we spoke of Jesus and the Resurrection, Daddy did a couple Bible lessons with the children, and we had a few hours of silent (or semi-silent considering Peanut has to be read to at this stage) reading. It was one of the best Good Friday's that we've had in awhile. Daddy and I of course made plans for next year's Good Friday (taking into consideration the ages of the campers and remembering how well Peanut did during the mass when Buddy had his Confirmation), so next year we'll be taking the day off of lessons and spending it at church or in prayer for most of the day.

The pictures to the right here have John 3:16 written in the hearts. Each picture (and again my camera does not do the colors justice) is colored to match one of the campers rooms. After we have the First Communion on May 3rd these will each be placed in a frame and hung in the campers bedrooms. Simple and with a wonderful reminder built in these pictures keep getting looked at by the campers every time they pass them in the hallway, they're very excited for the day to come when they are hung in their bedrooms.

Between lessons...

Outside time...

The 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge ...

And daily life, we've had a pretty interesting week! The 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, for me, will officially be over after tomorrow. I've managed to declutter 90% of the house (with some help from the rest of the family), we've cleaned like mad people, and Daddy stepped in and helped so very much with the renovations and redecorating!!! I'm so in love with that man, more every day that passes by. We have painting to do in the kitchen, dining, and living room. We're going to finish off our laundry room and redo the master bed and bath. But, most of these aren't taking place until the fall. Other than projects that simply must be done we're finished working on the house so that we can enjoy the outside of the house more during the lovely weather (we're hoping and praying) that will happen.

Something "random" to add: Some of you know that I volunteer my time with an animal rescue. Mainly I volunteer online or over the phone doing interviews and the like, however I'm also a foster. Currently the rescue I work with is in need of some more fosters and people looking to adopt. So, no matter if you're in Michigan or not, if you know you'd like to adopt a great dog, are seeking some advice, or anything else please look the rescue up! You can contact us through G+ by looking up Mastiff Ranch and Rescue, contact us through email at MastiffRanchandRescue@gmail.com, find us on Facebook here , or donate (if you're able and moved to so so) here . Who knows? You may just be the next forever home of a wonderful face such as this:

This is Geno a 3 year old who's in need of a foster and a forever home.

Posts you may have missed this week:    
We Topped 20!
Week of 4/14/14 - menu
When Order is Reversed - Day in the Life
Just a Few Simple Crafts (Easter)
How I Pick Our English Curriculum
As I Sit Here... reflections on what's NOT working

What to look for in the next 7 days:  
Tomorrow (4/19/14) there will be a post about our outside time and some Easter egg hunt fun. Easter Sunday there will be some special comments and pictures on our Facebook page . The next post in my "how I pick" series will be out next Wednesday (the 23rd). And much much more!

Who I'm linking up to this week:    
Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers
Faithful Mom of 9
Homegrown Learners
and
Great Peace Academy

Find us on Facebook here or subscribe to the blog for tips on homeschooling, book reviews, how to get your children helping out in the kitchen, and to see many pictures of the cute kiddos, plus much more!