September 07, 2005

Happy Homeless Car-Schoolers (that's us!)

SOLD!
My keychain is quite a bit lighter tonight. It was hard driving out of town for the last time and allowing the Lord to turn the page on this chapter in our lives. Kevin and I met (both coming from different parts of the state) together at the closing table to sign away our dream home, and we dropped a change of address form off on the way out of town. Parting is sweet sadness, but I am reminding myself constantly of the sweet part: the fact that our home sold the same month the payments would have more than doubled, and the fact that God prevented us from certain bankruptcy. For what is is worth, I'll miss it more than any home we've ever had (including the church home we were a part of) ... and now, it's time to dry the tears and roll our sleeves up for the house search and move ahead.

First Day Frenzy
During this whirlwind of emotion and even while traveling back and forth between cities, we have managed to start school. I was hoping the children would know that it is foremost on my mind, even though I have been very preoccupied lately, as you can imagine. I planned our week out and we have accomplished a lot considering the fact that I've been from one city to another and back in less than 24 hours! Yesterday, our first day of school for 2005-2006, I took them to a "Back To School Breakfast" at IHOP. We ate our French toast and discussed our Konos Unit Theme - "OBEDIENCE". Then, we drove to the local public library in grandma and grandpa's town, and applied for a card. They generously accepted, and helped me check out my mountain of books on "Crime and Punishment". The librarian smirked when I asked if there was a limit to how many books I could check out. Thankfully, there isn't! The kids did their journals while we sat in line at the Car Wash, watching the cars parade before us covered in suds. They wrote about their first day of school. Morgan must have gotten stuck on the conversation we had about punishment, because she wrote:

"When you disobey, do you get a spanking? If you don't watch out, you might get another one! That's what we are learning about."
Does Car-Schooling Count?
In our shiny clean vehicle, we returned home with our books, and discovered via email that the closing company wanted me to arrive in only a few hours and turn the keys over to our house. I was really glad I had packed the overnight bag (just in case). We quickly loaded up and left town in a puff of exhaust, arriving just in time to sign papers. On the long drive, both of the kids finished most of their Math and Language worksheets. We picked up our cat and smuggled her into the hotel my mother got us for the night, also. The buyer was pretty urgent about getting everything done since her daughter started high school yesterday in her new town. So, the Title company requested that my husband drive in to sign papers (even if it meant he took a day off from work). He drove in at around 1:30 AM! We finally went to sleep at 2:30 AM after watching the History Channel's Roman Emperor documentary. Fascinating stuff. The kids were out by midnight, I'm sure (fell asleep watching the History Channel)... and probably have no idea that Daddy gave them those late good-night kisses.

Finding Time for Field Trips
This morning, we managed to squeeze a field trip in while Kev was signing the closing papers. We visited a police department, a 911 operator station, the city jail, and got to learn about the equipment the sergeant was carrying. Like I said, we've gotten a lot of school done, considering! We'll have to finish the books they were reading to me on the way home tonight. Kaden really got a kick out of the "Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Wacky Crimes" by Donald J. Sobol, which he was reading out loud. I think we'll probably start Huckleberry Finn after we get our Bible and Science Reader done tonight. We also have a few Konos activities (mainly discussion/Bible stuff) to do before we call it a night. Boy, I am TIRED, so hopefully that won't take long.

Glad to be Homeless
So, here I sit, back at the in-laws after a few hours on the road. Amazingly, I am thankful that we are homeless for a while. It sure is an answer to prayers we've said for the last eight months. I'm also thankful for my great kids who adapt to life's ups and downs like champions. I'm thankful that my husband is such a great guy, too... and I'm thankful God didn't ever give up on me. No matter what your situation is like, I hope you can find a reason to be thankful for it as well.

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7 comments:

Rhonda said...

You sure are resourceful!

I'm so glad you the closing is done on your house. I know God has great things in store for you!

God bless you and your family.

Anonymous said...

Rock on, girl! You're the Energizer Bunny! A field trip, too! Here we've been studying Stewardship for 4 weeks and still haven't gone to that landfill!

God is so good - and so good at letting us know exactly WHO is in control.

Your faith is amazing and I wish you baskets of blessings.

Sprittibee said...

Thanks gals. We're just thankful that we've been allowed to homeschool. There are a bunch who are not as blessed in that area. :) Kids are sprawled out on the floor doing worksheets at my feet right now, and later today, we are walking down to the "pond" (PE) to feed the ducks as we picnic. God is good.

Pilgrim said...

Congratulations on selling your home. I know that's a big effort, and an emotionally loaded time. May you find a new one that you also love.

Sprittibee said...

Thanks Julana. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a day! It is awesome to hear that God found a buyer to come through at the last minute. It is so amazing that He is always there taking care of us. We get anxious and want it done NOW but it is not our timing but his.

I love reading about your homeschool journey. You are an inspiration to me. I just started on Aug 8th with the entire Abeka curriculum for my 2nd grade son. He is doing well and I found a KONOS Obedience book for $6 from another HS mom here in Orlando! Unfortunately I can't find a lot of the books so I am not sure what to do with it now.

God will bless your family for your trust in Him!

Sprittibee said...

Sue, I am glad you stopped in. I appreciate your kind words and encouragement. Congratulations on starting second grade.

As for the Konos curriculum, it is usually hard to find books that are suggested. We usually just find the ones we can at the library, buy a few if we can get them really cheap on Amazon or Barnes & Noble online, and then we get substitute books pertaining to the subject matter from the library. If you are studying crime and punishment, you might not find the same books that the Hulcy's listed, but you can probably find 20-30 books in your library's sections on: police, law enforcement, criminal justice, civil servants, lawyers, judges, etc. If your library has an online catalog, you can do a quick search and get the dewey decimal number for the section of a book that looks like it will fit your topic, and then go and empty the shelf - checking out all the ones that look interesting. I promise, you can still do Konos with substituted books! Remember, the Konos Volume 1 Book was written a while back, and there are books being published daily! Do the best you can, and God will do the rest! :)

 

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