— 1 —
We’re in the end-run of school! This is the time of year when I hand out lists of what needs to be finished to call the school year “good.” This usually involves finishing up their AO readings, continuing with language study until they are done with said readings, finishing whatever chapter of math they are on, and so on and so forth.
I. am. ready. I’m ready to move to a summer schedule, and to focus on my preschooler. My last preschooler. My soon-to-be last kindergartener. He has begun begging to learn to read, but I know that I can’t be consistent with him until we finish up with all the end of the year stuff, so I’ve told him that this summer he will have lessons when the others don’t … and he is thrilled.
— 2 —
Yesterday was an anniversary of sorts. We always calculate this anniversary based upon how many days after our son’s birthday party — which my husband missed because of “the stomach flu” — this happened {the real date was June 4th}. Five years ago yesterday, my husband was admitted to the hospital for what the admitting doctor thought would be “managed rehydration” after a bad flu. Or maybe he was just trying to be gentle with me when he said that. I had already been compulsively researching my husband’s condition in every spare moment I had, and I knew that he had e.Coli 0157:H7 {that’s the really bad one} and I knew that he was probably in kidney failure. I had found a paper in a medical journal about the progression of the disease, and Siah’s case was following it to the very hours suggested in the paper.
It got bad; oh so bad. Every year I feel like I walk back through that hospital and stare and him on life support in the ICU and wonder what is going to happen to our family.
And then I remember God’s mercy, for my husband was home by the Fourth of July.
Some of you were around then, reading here. I still have all of your encouraging emails. I still remember how you put us on your church prayer lists all across the country.
I am still thankful, after all these years.
— 3 —
Speaking of hospitals, my nephew is in one right now. If you could please pray for him, his appendix burst a few days ago. He had surgery, but they didn’t make it before the rupture, and he was not doing well yesterday.
— 4 —
Do you have any book suggestions for me? My daughter is requesting more “horse books.” She’s read the Billy and Blaze books, and the Marguerite Henry books, and also Black Beauty. She tried National Velvet and says she doesn’t like it. Do you know of more in this vein?
I really am going to force some balance for her pretty soon, but I thought I’d indulge her more first!
— 5 —
I can’t miss one last opportunity to mention Teaching from Rest because the introductory price will soon be long gone.
So … if you were planning to buy it, or meaning to buy it, you might want to buy it by tomorrow so that you can save a few bucks.
It’s worth the full price, of course, but I’m all about discounts, and I’m betting you are, too.
— 6 —
Today was another Outside School day. I still maintain that we get more done when we are outside. This time instead of a park, we were just at my parents’ house in the backyard. I really can’t figure out why school goes so much better outside — I even had someone tell me that I was asking a lot of my children to do it outside. But for whatever reason, it goes really well. I’m not saying it would go well if we did it every single day, but as an occasional foray, it works.
My thought right now is that it works because they are happy. Maybe? I don’t know.
— 7 —
We’re finally done with the guest house! Really and truly! We’ve put a little strip of stone around the edges because though it rarely rains here, rain would promptly splash mud on that very light stucco paint. So though it’s not gorgeous, the stones are there until we can work out better things … such as regrowing all the grass that was a casualty of the construction process. We still have to work on a pathway entrance and fencing off an area around the house so that the goats don’t go back behind it, but essentially … we’re done!
And that is all for this Friday. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
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