Life is good here; it is less challenging than i imagined to live with another family. Which is a great testimony to Sam and Judy's generosity and easy-going-ness! They are really super gracious and kind. they love to help people out sacrificially, especially helping people get on their feet from a hard situation; I am humbled by them. Would I just invite a family of 5/6 to come live with me and take over one whole room and live in my space, etc? No. This is a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom house. One family sleeps in one room, one in the other. It is quite cozy which I don't mind, but am hoping for a miracle to be able to get housing of our own by the time my new baby arrives in 2 months! It would be stepping it up to a whole new level of craziness to be nursing a newborn for so much of my days/nights and not be able to contribute much to the household. etc. Sam and Judy's little boy is 3; he shares the same birthday as Golden! Three times per week he goes to Montessori school from 8:30 to 2:30, but we get a lot of play time with him still! He is doing so well, considering he just had 3 other youngsters move into his space and suddenly start using all his stuff! The girls have really taken to him as their "brother." It has been a little challenging for me to keep my girls aware that they are still under my authority and can't just run off with him and watch a movie or whatever whenever they want. But I am grateful for the opportunity to train them more in the area of cheerful obedience. Judy and I switch off making meals, and that is really nice too. She is extraordinarily kind and inviting--she is the kind of person that holds everything with an open hand, which is an enigma to me--i don't naturally do that. At. All. Like I said, I am being humbled. One thing i am super grateful for is that we are in a place where we TRULY have to pray for our daily bread. How many Americans can say that they pray that prayer and really really mean it, ya know? Though I never paid that much attention to it before, the Lord's prayer has suddenly become very relevant and dear to me.
Thomas is trying to schedule himself to be working on job stuff about 8 hours a day, so he is keeping busy. I try to take the children out to a park or beach in the morning (there are tons of parks close by and beach is like 3 blocks away) to stay out of his way so he can do that. Although he does often seek my advice and secretarial services, so how useful it really is for me to be gone, I don't know! In the afternoon I usually do homeschool with Sparrow while the younger ones sleep.
The really really nice thing about here is that everything is close by. The not nice thing is the cost of living! But I would rather be where God is leading me than somewhere that I myself find more comfy and logical, you know? I know I will treasure our time in AZ as one of the best seasons of my life. But it also feels right to be back in California! We are loving the ocean air, beaches, good outdoor smells, lush plants, really fun and abundant playgrounds, etc. etc. Sparrow's hair has already gotten blonder--she can play ont he beach by herself for hours! She is such a little beach runner. Golden is turning brown, although she doesn't like me saying so! Silas just likes being outdoors anytime. He is walking pretty well now and stalks around the playground in his turned-out position, climbing up structures that are way too high for him and saying "hi" to every child he meets.
The first church we tried was North Coast Calvary Chapel and Thomas and I both like it, so we might just stay there, at least while we are here in this neighborhood--it is very close by, and that is a plus, when every mile of gas is a concern! LOL. Of course i have my issues with it, but it's not heretical and there are a lot of things to like about it. the facility is so nice that you would be tempted to go there just for that! yikes! I found out at newcomer's night (at which they served a bunch of beautifully arranged desserts--oh WHY had i already eaten!!??!?) that the pastor is the dad of two of the guys in 'Switchfoot,' a Christian band I have been listening to since high school--I had their 1st album--on TAPE!--and had it memorized, too... Anyway, being in the public eye and Christian arena, their sons are a great testimony to the pastor and his wife. I am always looking for parents who have grown children who are strong in the Lord and living His abundant life. Switchfoot has been around for a long time and they didn't make it into the mainstream for at least 10 years but they persevered; and now that they are in the mainstream, to my knowledge they haven't toned down their message. It has always been a thoughtful message with a Biblical worldview.
For homeschool we are doing 'Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons'--because Sparrow was ready for it--and the intro year of MEP math, (a freely available math curriculum online) and the rest is just made up. I am not sold on the reading curriculum yet; she seems to find it tedious--which is super sad, being as it is very effective-- and I want her to be excited about reading and find it interesting. I am super glad Sparrow is still in kindergarten. it would, in a way, be really nice to just do a "box" curriculum and have everything laid out for you every day. One cool thing that we are working on independently though, is learning how to tell TIME! that has been my favorite thing this week. She is getting really good at memorizing the "minute hand" numbers and was able to tell me the time on 4 clock problems today! She can even write them out 'digital' style when she gets the answers. And then there is the library. It is really close by and really big and nice. And of course, a great home school resource! We found a wonderfully illustrated, longer/older version of "Cinderella"--I wish I could buy it! And we are also reading a poetry anthology. Sparrow is going to memorize a few poems from there. Then i try to go over catechism stuff with them during lunchtime, and we try to keep on top of continually memorizing verses too. Thomas is really good at gathering us all together to pray and read the Bible in the AM and PM.I am so thankful for a husband like that.
Speaking of homeschooling, I just discovered this little "Ryan Gosling on Homeschooling" poster which made me laugh so hard I cried. This is so my life some days! LOL!
This was created by homeschooling moms, they have a whole little website dedicated to these.
Here is some of what we've been up to lately, in picture format!
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