Weekly Wrap-Up: The One with a Little Encouragement

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Weekly Wrap-Up

It’s been one of those roller coaster weeks. I’d say I’m glad it’s Friday, but we’ve got such a busy weekend ahead, I think I’ll be happier when it’s Sunday. At least then I can look forward to a nap after church.

First, I’d like to ask you to pray for a long-time friend of ours. We found out Monday that he had a heart attack. It sounded like things were fairly routine, as far as heart attacks go, and that everything would be okay. Then, we discovered Wednesday that there were some complications. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, his health became critical.

As of the last update, he is stable and there has been some improvement but he could still use your prayers. He is the husband of a dear friend of mine – someone I’ve known since before either of us were married and had kids. I can’t imagine.

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Command Central before it becomes a disaster zone

On the home front, it’s been busy. I’m quite proud to report that I have managed to get up by my goal time of 8:15 every day this week. That is a huge accomplishment for me. Brianna, my accountability partner, hasn’t gotten up quite that early, but she’s gotten up early for her.

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Some people rely on their coffee. I have to have my morning Spark.

Today, she starts the fall semester of Spanish II with the CurrClick Live classes. She’s actually pretty excited. And, I’m pretty impressed that one committed instructor, who really cares about her students’ success, could turn Brianna’s attitude about Spanish around so drastically.

We’ve had an amazing discovery this week. Apparently having a fully decked-out One Direction notebook, complete with matching pencil makes school a lot more fun. I offered to buy Josh a set. He’s still considering the offer.

One Direction Notebook

It was my turn to take Megan to see the One Direction movie this week. Brian has been three times. I’ve only been once. Lest you think we have an excess of money to throw around on seeing movies multiple times, I’ll just let you know that it’s a perk of having a daughter who works at the theater. Brianna gets complimentary movie passes and can take a guest.

So anyway, it was my turn. We had some things come up, though…so Brian took her, instead, the next night. Yeah, he’s awesome. I’m not sure if that was his third time or if that made his fourth. I’ve lost count. I hope it’s out on DVD soon.

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My iPad has become an important part of our school day. Love the Kindle app!

Thursday morning, Brianna found out she’d won tickets to her first concert ever! It’s a band she’s been dying to see, too, so that makes it even better.

Josh’s band (from his music class) plays at a local fall festival this weekend. There was some discussion over whether or not Brianna would still be able to go to see him. Thankfully, Josh gets what a big deal it is for Brianna to get to go to this concert because there was some discussion that went something like, “Hmmm…go see my brother’s band perform one or two songs or go see a hugely popular rock band in the first concert I’ve ever attended?”

Yeah, he understands, so he didn’t get his feelings hurt with the “it’s no contest” feeling that accompanied the discussion.

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Lily is pretty spoiled. She’s wanted to be in someone’s lap during school most of the week.

For those of you still in the trenches with younger kids, let me tell you – it gets easier. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve really appreciated how independent my younger two have gotten.

I’m thinking that we may be at about the greatest level of independence they’re going to be able to achieve for awhile. We all do Bible study together and I still do a couple of read-aloud books each day. I will probably continue doing one for awhile and hand off the second to them in the near future. And, I think that even as they go through high school, I will probably still play a heavy role in science and history since the former is somewhat difficult for them and the latter is something I truly enjoy.

We are now at the point, though, where they work independently on Easy Grammar and Daily Grams (unless there is some new teaching) while I fix lunch. Then, at the end of the day, they do reading, vocabulary, writing (unless it’s a “modeling” day), and math on their own.

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My new meal-planning technique is going really well. I got the idea for the pretty new menu (that was so pretty it had to have a sign holder for the fridge) from Katheryn, at The Healthy and Fit Homeschool Mom, and the idea for the planning technique from Jen, at Conversion Diary. Let me just say, the part about incorporating Google Calendar? Pure brilliance.

Between using Google calendar and utilizing the crock pot for our busy days, meal times have become a thing of synchronized beauty around here. Seriously. Granted, it’s only been a couple of weeks, but I haven’t even been tempted to order pizza. Not even on gymnastics night. I’m telling you, peaceful serenity.

What has been working well in your home this week?

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and an enjoyable weekend. Say a prayer for my friend, Jeff, if you think about him.

How was your week? Be sure to post about it and link up. If this is your first time to join us, be sure to read the Weekly Wrap-Up guidelines. You can also follow the guidelines link to grab the banner code.

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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16 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing the encouragement. Being a mom with 5 girls 2-11, I am in the thick of it everyday. Knowing there is a light, thank you. I love the Spark, my husband can’t be without his every single morning. I loved seeing all that you are doing and it was encouraging. Sorry for your friend, we will continue praying. God bless.

    1. Thank you for your prayers for my friend. He had a bad night and things weren’t looking good. The last update I got sounded a bit better, though.

      L-O-V-E my Spark. And, yes, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

  2. I’m praying for your friend. The One Direction part made me laugh. I have an 11 year old who loves them…your husband ROCKS for doing that! Also, the Cheesey Rat pic on the fridge is cute- could’ve spotted that border from a mile away! 😉

  3. I’ve really got to get on board with meal planning. Every time I’ve tried it before, things would come up, and it seemed instead of saving money and time, I was wasting food. Now that school is back in full swing, I’m thinking that it might be easier to schedule meals.

  4. I will be praying for your friend! A friend of ours just lost her husband the other day. Before he died he was unconscious for a week. I have an idea what you are going through 🙁 It’s no fun watching someone you care about suffer.

    Thank you for hosting this weekly wrap-up! I think it’s a great idea 🙂

  5. So sorry to hear about your friend, and I have prayed for him.

    I have to agree with you- It gets so much easier as your kids get older. My youngest is 8 now, so all of mine can do some things independently. I love it!

  6. What a trooper you and Brian are for seeing the One Direction movie so many times. My best friend has a daughter that is cuckoo for One Direction and she calls herself a Directioner! 🙂

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