Lest I Forget

We are supposed to be camping right now. Two kids are camping, sort of. They are camped out on the couch with fevers. I am trying to stay positive (I am positive I am disappointed!) and count my blessings on this day before Thanksgiving. Thankful: - that my husband braved the grocery store so I could stay home and nurse sick little people. - for Advil, since fevers over 103 scare me. - for beautiful fall colors outside the window. - that we are not trying to care for sick kiddos in a camper far from the comforts of home. - that I got some pretty photos of the kids this weekend - for family and friends - for a roof over our heads, food for our bodies, and clothing for us all - for a God who loves me, even at my worst I pray for quick healing for my kids and all those who are sick on this day. I pray that all of you may have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.

Though it is most likely that my baby days are past, I still love knitting (or crocheting) baby items. And so, when someone I know tells me their happy news, I start thinking about what to make. This blanket has proved to be a bit of a pickle. The pattern has many mistakes and for a while it looked as if I would have to abandon the project. However, a friend helped me figure out how to correct the pattern, for which I am most grateful, and now I can continue. On the reading front, I am still following the reading list of "The Well-Read Mom", though I moved to a new city that does not have a local group. How I would love to hop back to my old group for the discussion and companionship! I just finished Tolkien's short story "Leaf by Niggle". This morning I searched for discussions on the story and hopefully I can delve in while the older kids are at their Shakespeare class this afternoon. Joining in for the first time in a long time to Ginny's yarn

Today was one of those beautiful fall days. No clouds, crisp air, and the smell of fallen leaves filled the air. After Mass, we ate a quick lunch and made our way to Chester State Park. For those of you counting, that makes 8 out of 47 parks in SC. Chester is small, but it has won its way into my heart. Possibly even my favorite so far. We must take our camper there, for the small campground overlooks the lake and a lovely gathering place, complete with a firepit and many, many cozy swings. Depositing the kids who "didn't want to go" at the playground, Tony and I ventured out on the short 1.3 mile trail around the lake. I felt the frustrations of the week leave and I could breathe the calm of the outdoors. So many doubts and fears lately, and they peeled off as the afternoon breeze hit me. I know what and how I want to bring up these children of mine, but the constraints of our life keep getting in the way. Jobs, theatre, obligations. They make it so hard to get out of

It all came together quite nicely. Our camping trip that is. No one had rehearsals. Tony had Friday afternoon off. The heat that has been relentless finally abated for a few days. The nights would actually be cool! We chose Santee State Park because it was within an hour of us, and it looked like a lovely place to camp. We hope to visit all 47 state parks here in South Carolina to become "Ultimate Outsiders". We are just beginning, as Santee brought our total to 7. I thought we would be taking the interstate, but the GPS led us on the back country roads. The drive itself was beautiful. The cotton fields were dotted with white. Old farmhouses and barns were scattered between the fields. Dilapidated and abandoned buildings wooed me with their untold stories. I felt like the everyday worries were blown off us as we drove through the countryside toward the campground. We stayed two nights. For Friday, we had veggie stir fry with cashews.  I chopped up veggies beforehand and

We use a little of this and that for our curriculum. The one we mostly use is Catholic Heritage Curricula. We supplement with Mater Amabilis and we use a different grammar book that works well for us, Voyages in English. CHC has a new reading/literature program for 4th grade that I am loving. The first book Therese is reading is Little House in the Big Woods. We have read this story many times, but now we are diving deeper, thinking about the characters and their actions, and putting it all together at the end into a report. But the part I like best is the midweek activities page. We can choose from several ideas. This week, we made breakfast for dinner and made pancake men like Ma. Of course bacon and sausage were added to the menu, along with some fruit. This is where Peter's science activity came in handy. He had to use a can of fruit to act as a fulcrum in trying to lift the couch with a broom. It was a success and we had one very dented can of pineapple to add to our dinner

We have just finished our second week of school. We are slowly getting into the new routine. Anna and Jack are spending most of their non-school time at the children's theatre. They are in a production of Les Miserables, taking a theatrical tap class, and a Shakespeare class taught by a professor at USC. Thursday was the first Shakespeare class. To make things work out, we have go early and set up the computer for Anna to attend her online classes and then immediately head into the theatre. This was our trial run and I would say it was successful. The younger kids and I hung out in Barnes and Noble and did schoolwork, then played. Anna is also in a homeschool band once again and I am so glad we could make that happen. Some people are on a youth bowling league. And auditions for a play for Therese and Peter will be next week. I think we have enough extra curricular activities for now. The other day, I was scrolling through my photos, looking for a particular picture, when I noti