Thankful - Collage Friday
Friday, November 2, 2012 at 5:00AM 
As I write this edition of Collage Friday, my husband and I are also watching the evening news. The depth of the devastation because of Hurricane Sandy seems incomprehensible.
Living in the southeast we've been pretty much unaffected. All we can do is watch the devastation, pray, and be thankful for our blessings.
At the same time we're getting ready for the most heated election in my memory. It seems that there is just a sense of unrest, tension, and downright ANGER in our country, that seeps into our lives.
We spent a lot of time this week talking about current events, watching the news, and counting our blessings.
1. My sweet boy. Grant and I were playing ball while waiting for Anna at her piano lesson. The leaves were just begging to be put into piles, and we had a lot of fun making piles and then jumping in them. This little boy is my sunshine. I can have a rotten day and throwing leaves with him makes it ALL BETTER.
2. Sunday we celebrated Reformation at our church. (We're Lutheran, so it's kind of a big deal!) The entire church wore red and we had a potluck - much fun!
3. Maestro Classics has released their latest CD - The Carnival of the Animals. We listened to the CD this week and it (of course) was wonderful. I'll be telling you more about it and giving one away very soon. I'm so thankful to work with Maestro Classics; they have such quality recordings to teach your children about the great stories in music.
4. Our dog is such a stinker. He KNOWS he's not allowed on the furniture, but many times I will turn around and he is staring me down from the top of the sofa. You know, Shih Tzus are very stubborn dogs, but we love him.
5. Don't my children look thrilled? I'm sure this scene will be repeating itself quite a bit in the next 2 years. Anna will be starting phase one of her braces next week and this photo was taken in the waiting room. I think they're both reading books by Cornelia Funke.
6. We enjoyed some "incidental music" - In The Hall of the Mountain King. I found a listening map online and added it as part of our SQUILT lesson this week. This piece was a HIT and we're all humming it constantly.
1. I made a HUGE pot of Chicken Noodle Soup on Monday that lasted the entire week. It was quite cold here this week and the soup hit the spot.
2. Anna decided to make treats for Halloween. These spiders are cute, but (in her words) they are "labor intensive". Do you ever hear your child say something and think, "WOW - They sound just like me."? Yep - "labor instensive" is something I say a lot.
We invited some family for dinner and ate mummy dogs and pretzel spiders. (I did make a Squash Casserole to get in our veggies!) Then, daddy took the kids out trick or treating. It was a fun night and everyone was in bed by 10 - not too bad.
3. Wednesday was a very relaxing day. I wanted to clean house for our dinner company and also let the kids have some fun. They did various Halloween worksheets, helped with making goodies, watched The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and then enjoyed a fun evening. We have been reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow aloud and wanted to see the movie as follow up. The original book is quite difficult, but I was so pleased with how much children sat through the reading. I chose a few of the harder worders and pulled them out for discussion and I think we got A LOT out of the book.
Other Thoughts This Week:
- Part of our trip out west has been recorded! I finally found the time to share a small part of our trip to Wyoming.
- I'm giving away a copy of Jesus Calling, from Tommy Nelson - have you entered to win?
- I'm very thankful for a couple of good homeschooling friends, one of whom brought me some election resources today (just because!) and another who took a considerable amount of time to talk with me about a change I'm thinking about making....
- I have been thinking A LOT about trying to join a Classical Conversations group in our area. I met with a friend today who showed me everything about the program (and I was even more impressed). I'm praying I will be able to actually GET IN our local group because it is quite popular. As my daughter approaches seventh grade we are needing more structure and accountability - I think accountability is the big thing I'm looking for. We do so much Classical Education and it seems like a great fit.
- I can't wait for BEECH Retreat! This is the only conference I am attending this year (well, I've never even been to a blogging conference before) and am looking forward to several days of learning, friendship, and the beach!
Have you visited some of the amazing bloggers who link with Collage Friday each week? The community is growing, and I find myself gaining SO MANY IDEAS from these wise moms. If you'd like to join us, please sign the linky below. All I ask is that you text link back to this post or grab a button to put on your site. Then, visit other bloggers on the list to gain ideas and offer support and encouragement.
Reader Comments (17)
We are in the beginning stages of the ortho here too. So far 3 out of the 6 are going to need braces!! Ugh. I have heard a bit about Classical Conversations, does it just meet one time per week? The soup looks great! Have a nice weekend.
Oh my goodness, yes, we have so much to be thankful for! What cute (labor intensive :) spiders! And oh my, your chicken noodle soup looks so comforting...
What a great week Mary. I laughed at the 'labor intensive'. I say that too AND Keilee channels me so often. However I find myself channeling my Mother so often too! We are listening to "In the Hall of the Mountain King" today. It was on the agenda for Wednesday but we didn't get to it. I have never made homemade Chicken Noodle Soup! It looks yummy and I will have to try it. I have good friends who tried CC, some loved it and so didn't. It is a wonderful program from everything I have heard about it. Thank you so much for hosting this every week. And thank you for all the encouraging words. They mean so much to me.
Looks like a great week! I have several friends in my homeschool group that do CC and love it! We're not classical, so I have never tried it, but I hope you're able to get that going :-)
Lovely week, lovely lady!
I can't wait to see you at BEECHrt - love the pics - love the intentional time you spent with the kiddos (again) this week - love the spider treats & I made chicken noodle soup this week too :)
I have been wanting to try the Maestro Classics for our music appreciation... having a hard time fitting the fine art appreciation things into our schedule, any suggestions???
Love how you did you pictures.
Kathey
Definitely a good week to count our blessings. My maltipoos do the same thing. They just look at me, knowing I'm getting ready to say, "Get off the couch!" Have a good week!
It sounds like a wonderful week. I love the dog staring you down. Our car has the same rules and does the same thing. I've about given up.
We had a big Reformation Sunday too (Lutheran too) and a discussion during Wesnesday's religion lesson. But since Amber went to parochial school for years, she's pretty well versed in Reformation Day lessons.
You'll have to let us know more about Classical Converstions. I'm very curious how this all works in actual practice. I've looked at their website, but it makes me feel disoriented and disjointed. It's just too busy for me to focus on anything so I give up and never get any solid info about them.
Thanks for hosting the link up. Have a great weekend
I still haven't heard the Maestro Classics CDs. Will have to soon!
--Gena
What a fab week, Mary! It's been soup weather, hasn't it? And yes, we are well-versed in orthodontia around here. Miss Priss is on her second set of braces and Tiny Girl is between sets with only upper and lower retainers to wear at night. Have a great weekend!
You have had a FUN busy week! And I can't wait to meet you in person at BEECH! Yay!
It looks like you all had a lovely week. Thanks so much for all your hard work in sharing this space for us all to come and share our ups, downs, and ideas with one another. It's a fun community to be a part of.
Blessings,
Nikki
Love the "labor intensive" spiders! Sounds like a beautiful week:)
I feel like making a pot of chicken soup now!
I love Maestro Classics! Anna's Halloween Spiders are adorable. Great week, Mary!
Looks like you had a great week and got a lot done despite the holiday! We love the Carnival of Animals, too.
Lots of good photos. But regarding photo 5 in the first set ... I'm just impressed they are on the same couch reading together! Whether enjoying it or not, they're together and reading. Victory!