Blood Pressure and Planets and Football - Oh My!

Day three of the school year...

Been having some tightness in my chest for a couple of weeks, so I finally broke down and went to the Dr. today. My blood pressure is up a little and my bottom number is high. As it stands right now, I am taking a diuretic to take off some fluid, I am waiting on results from my blood work and I am having an ultrasound on my thyroid next week. Good news is that I lost 6 pounds in the past couple of months! I am mildly concerned about my blood pressure. Just had a friend go in the hospital with congestive heart failure. I have a some of the same symptoms. Little freaky. At the same time, I am so thankful that the Lord gave me a concern for my symptoms and friends and family that encouraged me to investigate them. I am thankful that the news I got was not worse that it was. I am thankful to have another day teaching and playing with my children and another night to sleep next to my husband.

In school today, we read about the Mayflower and a boy and girl on their way to the New World. The boys are quite interested in the adventures that the boy and girl are experiencing. It is warming to my heart to see my children listen intently to a story about our country. I am thankful every day that I am their teacher and that I witness the moments in each day when they find interest in a subject such as history! They have something that I never had! We also studied the planets today, learning of the indescribable universe that God created! The boys each made a salt dough model of each planet and then painted them. They took their time, worked slowly and placed details on each planet. It was way cool! I have always been fascinated with the planets and stars and I love being able to share something that I love with my children and at the end of the day, call it "school". God is so good!

The day ended in a bang at football practice. Noah and Jonah are playing football for a new team in a new town and will, at some point, be rivaling their friends and old teammates from Tipton County on the field. They have both grown and matured so much since last season. It thrills this momma's heart to see them so dedicated to hard work and a team of kids they haven't had time to get to know yet. Jonah's coordination has improved and listens intently to his coaches' instructions, trying hard to do exactly as they say. Noah's speed has picked up even more and he runs with everything he has and carries his dream to run the ball and get a touchdown for his team. Their coaches are dedicated and stern, offering words of encouragement and tools for improvement. I was nervous and concerned for what this season in football would bring, and I still am a little. However, as far as I have seen, this will be a great season for my boys! They may win them all, or they may not, but they will grow and learn and play till their hearts are content. They will proudly wear black and gold while holding their heads up high and God will reveal to them His plan in being in this new town on an new team. That is what it is all about... The love of the game.. of life!

New School Year 09/10

So, today is day two of my ninth year of homeschooling! We have lots of changes this year. Christian is a Junior at Munford High. Gage is a Sophmore working his way through the Gateway Extension Program. Chase is a Freshman at Bolton High. Noah is a middle schooler in 6th grade. Jonah is in 5th and Caleb is in 4th. My days this year will be very different form years past. Different is good, though.

Gage is working independantly earning credits in Latin, English II, Algebra I, Biology, US History and Health/PE. I am proud of his independance and lookinng forward to wathing him move at his own personalized pace. He began last week and will take tests later this week in Alg and Biology.

I am combining several subjects for my younger three. I am teaching Bible, English, History,Science and Writing to the three of them as a group. This simplifies my day and allows them to participate as a group. They still do their reading, vocab, logic and math individualy.

Today in science, we made salt dough models of the nine planets. It was exciting to watch the boys stretch, roll and mold the dough to form each planet, taking care to work in each detail. They need my help much less than they have in earlier years. Tomorrow they will paint each planet to match the real planets. They were more than happy to get their work done for me today!

I am looking forward to a great school year with each of my 6 boys!