Thursday's Things...

We have been a little out-of-sorts this week,
as we've had 'the sickness' visiting most of us.
Ally is most affected by it, at present.
The younger ones seem well,
aside from some lingering congestion.
Daddy had it mildly but seems to be feeling better,
which is good for him because he was away
for a day or two, due to work.
Mama hasn't been affected, as of yet,
and prays it continues that way, Lord willing. ;o)

Other than our week being a little more relaxed than usual,
due extra resting, courtesy of the lingering 'sickness',
we were still able to make it to
Ally's new endocrin appt yesterday.
We traveled an hour North, which was new to us
and quite interesting and enjoyable, to the office.
The waiting room at the office was a blessing!
Yes, a blessing!
Many times doctor's offices have televisions
and we, to the best of our ability, seek out a 'secluded' place
to read the books we brought along and ignore the t.v.
(we try to avoid the news, children's cartoons/programs, etc...)
When we arrived, I saw that in the waiting room
there was a large television hanging on the wall
and I was thankful we had brought our books.
However, we noticed that what was playing on the screen
had no words/dialogue, no questionable music,
no questionable situations/characters, and no people.
It was recorded scenes from Hawaii
(palm trees blowing in the wind, ocean waves crashing on shore,
lava flowing and being cooled by the ocean, flowers, trees, & other sites)
with creation's sounds & low volume, instrumental music.
And though no television would have been nice,
we did enjoy the opportunity to see the sights in Hawaii.
It was fun and educational to take the opportunity
to enjoy and discuss God's creation as we watched.
We, also, talked about the lava and how it looked
like a lake of hot, liquid fire, which, in turn,
brought us to talk about how much hotter Hell must be.
It was a sad and sobering thought.
But I was thankful for the opportunity
to have those discussions with the children.

The appointment went as well as it could.
We hope to know more in a week or so, as we await lab work.

On the way home, we kind of took our time
to enjoy the sights that were new to us.

We saw a sign for a Civil War trail
and pulled over to read about it.
Will was the very excited (he sure loves his history!).



The information was in a cemetery
and as we headed out, we saw this sculpture
of what is known by many as The Lord's Prayer
(though, I like to consider John 17 as our Lord's prayer).
Beth read it aloud for us as we sat in front of it.



Also, on the way home we pulled off the road
to enjoy the scenery at this bogue sound (waterway between land).


The sun was very bright and the water really glistened



On the side of the road were fields of these flowers...


They were so beautiful!

Though we enjoyed our trip, we were glad to be home.
Especially when two boxes of homeschool books
were dropped off at the door! Woo hoo!
It has been such a blessing to be able to order our books
(now that our house sold!)!
We look forward to the arrival of our other books
and then begin using them with what we've already been using.
Fun! Fun! Fun! I just LOVE books! Love homeschooling! LOVE IT!

Ally has already jumped into using her new books
(especially since she hopes to graduate in May/June
and would like to finish as soon as possible).
Will has already read through a couple of new living books
and is eager to begin his new math.
Beth has already been reading aloud to Carolynne
through their new readers.
And me? I've already felt them, flipped through them,
scanned them, and smelled them.
Did I mention I love books? ;o)

Today, as Ally rests and works on her education,
we are working at blessing our home
and doing some of the homeschool work that we've been doing.
I look forward to sitting down and planning & have, finally,
figured out (so-called) lesson plans that work for me
(well, at least it's working for me so far and anticipate it will continue).

I haven't had a chance to sew much this week or last
but the projects are there waiting
and I know I'll tackle them as time permits.
But I'm off to do a little 'extra' home blessing.
We want it looking its best,
especially when Daddy returns today. ;o)

I hope y'all enjoy your day and rest of the week!


"But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God:
yea, let them exceedingly rejoice."
~ Psalm 68:3