8 Weeks Left

I cannot believe how fast time is counting down. There are so many things going on around our house, school ending, and at work that I hardly have time to think about how close this is.

Two nights ago I did another budget review just to see where we were. It felt like we had been on a little spending spree lately and I wanted to see how bad we were hurting ourselves. Reviewing the budget helps keep in perspective what we purchase since we know things will be tight. And it did just that. We are still pretty good however, and will still have some money in savings going into the transition. We will be pretty set for at least the first 6 weeks.

I finally got all of my curriculum decisions squared away (thanks to friends and family who helped get us there). The boys will be doing Sonlight Core B for Science, History, Bible and Reading. Easy Grammar for grammar. Math U See for math, and ABEKA for spelling. Additionally I've already got my head spinning over what to do for music, gym and some computer lessons. Those things I will do 'off the cuff' since I have a lot of experience there and the boys play sports.

The boys are REALLY pumped about being homeschooled. Since we've been getting some curriculum books in the house, they want to start now! I bought a Mavis Beacon teaches typing CD because I think it's important for the kids to know how to type well and fast in this technology driven age. I learned when I was a child using this software and it's really good. The boys are already *gobbling* that up. They have been so excited when their WPM jumps even by 1.

So far they are really excited to learn and I hope that continues.

Boot Camp

My children have had it pretty easy thus far. We aren't really good about keeping a chore chart and having them regularly help with the house. Don't get me wrong, they have to help up when we do a big cleaning day, but I'm talking about the daily upkeep of their rooms, etc. We've had some babysitters over the years that were really good with making them do chores, but we never really followed through on the weekends or kept it up after they were gone. It just took too much time.

So, one of my first missions this summer when I am off is to send my kids through a chore boot camp. They complain pretty regularly when we ask them to do "work" now. It's going to take some "battling" to get them into gear and on a routine, but I know it will pay off after a few weeks.

I call it a boot camp because I'm hoping to make it "fun" while we go. I'm going to make them their own boot camp dog tags and everything.

Any suggestions on kids doing chores? Let me know.

Miscellaneous Update

I cannot believe how fast time is going. Here's my updates on recent activity....

We registered for another home school conference in the area. I'm excited since this is the one we get to buy stuff at :-) I'm praying that our budgeted curriculum money makes it that long. My husband is still working part time and things are getting tight. God has been faithful though. Money has come in from various sources, just when we needed it. For instance, my husband will be doing a side job of installing a floor this weekend which will make up the $400 deficit for this pay period.

Our au pair has to fulfill an educational requirement of 6 credit hours during her stay in the US. We are required to pay for $500 of that education. Because of bad planning on my part, I forgot that we still needed $250 for that. We just had to pay it on Friday, and had to use curriculum money to cover it. We still have some time to make it up, so I'm still confident we'll be able to get what we need.

Speaking of curriculum though, there is a local curriculum fair coming up this week. We know of very specific things we are looking for, so we'll see if we're able to come across it this week for a bargain.

I still haven't notified my job of my plans. It's a delicate balance between letting them know what's going on and playing the corporate 'game'. The risk is that they say "Ok go now". Then we'd really be stuck. I really don't think they'd do that, so I'm prayerfully considering when to tell them. It'd be nice to have fewer unknowns as the time approaches. The 'unknown' being whether or not they'll continue to have some part time or contractor work available for me.

We also haven't notified the school system yet. I think I'm going to wait until closer to the end of the school.

I'm really excited it's getting close. The boys are excited too... for now. I'm sure about a month into homeschooling, they'll be asking me to send them to school :-) Guess we'll see.

Stressed

Time is still ticking away and our plans are in full motion. We are still busily preparing and trying to get everything in order as much as it can be. I have to admit though, I have been quite stressed lately. I still think we are pretty crazy for moving ahead with this. I'm praying that my trust and faith in God, my father, will be stronger as the day approaches. I've been meditating on Phil. 4:6-7 which states, "Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything, with prayer and thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus."

My stress has been manifesting itself in crazy ways too. My skin is starting to resemble that of a teenager going through puberty and I'm having strange dreams. I know Satan is still on the prowl and trying every tactic to distract us from our calling and move us from the path we are on. This does give me a little encouragement since I know God must have something great ahead of us that Satan is trying to stop us.

Continue to pray for us...