Wednesday Weigh-in: Week 5

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This week sure had its challenges!

On Sunday we celebrated Reformation Day which brought two temptations my way.  First, we enjoyed a celebration meal.  I felt unsure how to approach it at first.  Part of me wanted to be the strict dieter who calls all enjoyable food bad and completely abstains.  Part of me wanted to be the excuse maker who, with a "we-only-live-once" attitude, dives right in to the smorgasbord and over-indulges.

That, I'm learning, is one of my problems which makes weight maintenance so difficult.  Here's where I could insert an entire series on 1 Cor 8, where eating meat sacrificed to idols is addressed. Instead, I will encourage you to read this, Matthew Henry's commentary on the chapter. 

In short, the application for me is to pray for the grace to approach food with a proper sense of Christian liberty.  Calling what God has declared good to be bad is wrong.  Sinning by abusing Christian liberty through over-indulgence or partaking in those things which I know cause my weaker brother (in this case me and anyone who is watching my diet) to stumble is nothing short of sin, either.

So I approached the party prayerfully and with a plan.  I knew the menu in advance and logged in my meal plan before I went.  By God's grace, I placed on my plate what was on the plan, ate a good, filling and enjoyable meal and felt fully satisfied afterward.

The other temptations were candy from the party and Wilbur's birthday.  The boy wanted Oreos for his treat and I did not want him to feel punished because of my weakness, so I bought some Oreos.  I allowed myself one mini Milky Way and imagined all the other candy in their bags had a sour middle to help me deny myself.  I also allowed myself two Oreos and prayed and gave myself the talk about abusing liberty and sinning each time I wanted to reach into the bag for more. 

That probably reads like I am so strong.  So spiritual.  So full of will-power. 

I'm not.

I am so weak and so dependent on God. 

I feel like this diet could crash and burn at any moment because I know who I am.  A sinful woman.  There is a constant wrestle and I find myself at the Throne of Grace over and over again. 

This weight loss is not my work, but a  work of grace in me, and I praise God for this week's results!

I lost 2.4 lbs.

bringing my weight-loss total to 11.6 lbs!

Praise the Lord for sustaining and blessing my efforts this week!

Since no one linked in last week, I will leave the Linky off this week.  If you want to link in, email me and I will add it.  Otherwise, continue to pray and email me.  Look me up on My Fitness Pal, too.  I am user homeschooldawn.

Please pray this week for the following:

• That I would continue to mature in my attitude toward food and my commitment to exercise (I did get in all my swimming and Gazelle work outs- for those keeping me accountable).
• That the weight will continue to "fall off".  It's not really "falling off", but you know what I mean.
• Swimming not only does not cause my pain to flare up, but relieves it when there is a flare up.  This is a praise, and I am praying that it will continue to be a help.
• For the extra measures of grace that I need to develop a Biblical mindset regarding food and exercise and to resist true temptation.
• For two of my sisters in Christ who are dieting with me.
• That God will be glorified.

Happy Dieting!
Dawn

Double Digits

There is still time to enter my current give-away

of one copy of 24 Hours Is All You Get!

As I type this there are two very excited boys jumping on my bed and yelling,

"TOY STORY T-H-R-E-E!!!"

Toy Story 2 was one of their favorite movies when they looked like this....

Orville, 23 months



The Birthday Boy, Wilbur, 10 months



Orville was almost 2 years old at the time, and his favorite word was two.  He said it all. the. time.

Wilbur, who was almost one at the time, would sit on the couch beside his brother and clap and squeal when I would put in their favorite video.  Then he would jump up and down and say, "Ay!  Doody Time!  Doody Time!" 

Doody was one-year-old speak for Woody.

Just thought I should clear that up for you.

Then as the title would appear on screen one word at a time, both boys would shout in sync with the graphic...

DOY

DOY

T-W-O-O-O-O-O-O!

Today, sweet Wilbur turns 10, and he looks like this....

Wilbur constructs "water works"
at the beach at the Isle of Palms
while on vacation in SC.
July, 2010

The Pixar people were kind enough to release Toy Story 3 to DVD on his birthday, and that is his birthday treat today.

That and an entire package of Oreos.

There is much rejoicing in the land.

So, if you'll please excuse me, it's Doody Time!  I'm off to have a good cry and avoid the Oreos.

Blessings,

Dawn

All photos included in this post are the property of Homeschool Dawn.

Weekly Wrap-up: An Unintentional Horseback Ride, Ancient Egypt, The Orthodontist, and (you guessed it) More Soap

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If you read my Wednesday Weigh-in (or the title of this post), you are probably wondering how one rides a horse unintentionally.  Well, to answer that, my weekly wrap-up has to begin where last week's left off. 

And I quote...

...As I type this, they (the boys) are completing their independent work. After it is complete, Wilbur will help me make more soap, and Orville is going to help Nohnie with her grocery shopping.


I should have said "Lord willing" because that is SO not what happened!

The boys did finish their IP (that's what I call independent work- a hold over from my days as a public school teacher) and Orville left for the store with Nohnie.  Wilbur and I started our soaping, and just as we poured the first batch into the molds, the phone rang.

It was the Tutoring Student's father.  He wanted to take the boys to a nearby farm for a ride on a horse and games.  I knew where he meant.  We have been there once before, and on that day, the horse rides had been for kids only and consisted of a short ride around a field.

I explained to the dad that Orville would not be able to go but Wilbur could.  I am paying Wilbur to help me with soap making, but decided I would excuse him from an afternoon's work.  I just couldn't turn down such a generous offer or risk hurting the feelings of such sweet people.  What I didn't understand at the time (language barrier) was that they wanted me to come along, too, and that the horse rides were for all of us.

So, because I love my student and his family, I got on a horse, thinking we would ride around the field and be done in a few minutes. 

But our ride was not just around the field.  We rode the entire property.  It was a lovely ride.  The weather was cool, and there were lots of birds out.  It was a great experience.

But OUCH!

And once we hit the trail, there was no turning back.  I wasn't sure how to explain sciatica to my Korean friends, either, so I grabbed the reigns and prayed.

The rest of the week we turned our attention to Ancient Egypt.  This week has been reading and research week which will probably extend into next week.  Then we will get to projects and hands-on activities.  Our support group holds an International Festival each January.  This year our family intends to represent Egypt, with a focus on the ancient period.  That means we have to get busy now preparing our board and presentation.

I have a loaner camera now.  THANKS MOM!  I should be able to add more pictures back to the blog soon and show you some of our Egypt work.

We visited the orthodontist on Wednesday.  One of the boys needs extensive work to be done over the next few years.  One has some minor corrections that need to be made.  Overall, the consultation was not as taxing as I thought it would be.  I imagined it being like a high-pressure sales pitch with the outcome being get your kids braces or you're a horrible parent.  However, it was not like that at all, and the orthodontist was very helpful and offered treatment options.  I left the appointment feeling well-informed and ready to make rational decisions.  That was a big answer to prayer.

Be on the look-out for pictures of boys with braces in about six months.

Today (Friday), I am seated at my computer, typing this wrap-up while the boys once again finish their IP.  We plan to finish that work and open up the soap shop, Lord Willing!! 

But we'll see.

'Cause round here, you just never know!

Maybe this week we'll round up the chickens that have been roaming our downtown neighborhood.

Yes, really.

Chickens.

Downtown.

I can't say why....

Happy Schooling!
Dawn

Another Reason I Love Children....

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to enter my current give-away!

Last week, I left for the October mom's meeting

soon after dinner.

I gave the boys bedtime hugs and kisses

before I left because I knew

the meeting would not end

until after their bedtime.

When I arrived home,

this picture (above) was on my favorite chair

with a note that said,

"Goodnight, Mom. I love you."

I normally teach Flute Student on Monday mornings,

but last Monday Michael was home for fall break.

I offered to go to her house on Tuesday instead
and teach her there because she lives very close
 to my Tuesday tutoring students.

When I arrived, I was greeted by her little sister.

She had drawn this picture (above) for me,

a lovely rendering of her sister and me

playing the flute together at church,
and she couldn't wait to give it to me.

What a blessing to have the unconditional love of a child!
May we, as God's children, love him as well.

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Psalm 127:3

Wednesday Weigh-in: Week 4

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Well, I knew it would happen eventually. 

When one loses almost six pounds one week, then a pound and half the next, and almost three and a half the week after that, things have to stabilize eventually.

This week, my weight was exactly the same as last week.

No loss.

No gain.

Which keeps my total weight loss at 9.2 lbs!

And I'm still celebrating because a little over nine pounds in one month is something to celebrate!

I didn't really do anything different this week.  I kept to the same caloric intake and went swimming twice and even exercised on the gazelle once. 

And, at one point, I found myself on a horse riding it for what seemed like a thousand miles.  It was probably more like two or three, but it seemed like a thousand.  And riding a horse is something I would never do intentionally.  PAIN FLARE UP afterwards!!

Oh, and how exactly does one ride a horse unintentionally, you wonder?  You'll have to wait for my weekly wrap-up to find out.

For now, back to the point...

I have probably hit a plateau and just need to stay the course.  I expect my numbers will be more realistic from here on out and I am so glad I'm not in this alone!!

In fact a few of you have commented and emailed this week about wanting to join me.  Weight loss is a a really hard thing to accomplish.  Which means that we really do need each other for help, encouragement, accountability, and prayer.  These are all my reasons for blogging about my progress.

But it is a really sensitive topic, and going public may not be the best option for everyone who wants to join me.  So I am going to provide several options for joining in, and you choose what would work best for you.  To do a Wednesday Weigh-in of your own, do one or more of the following:

• Continue to read and pray for me. 
• Leave your prayer requests and updates as comments or email me privately if you would prefer.
• Join My Fitness Pal and request to be my friend.  I'm user homeschooldawn.  It's kind of like facebook.  Certain info is private while some is public.  I have my account set so that only the amount I lose is visible to others.  My actual weight is private. If you join, the whole world does not have to see your private data; however, we can write encouraging notes on each other's wall and provide each other support.
• Write a Wednesday Weigh-in post each week and link back in to Olive Plants.  Starting today, I will add a Linky to my posts so we can organize our efforts!  To participate, write about your progress and post to your blog.  You don't have to share your actual weight or how much you intend to lose, just how much you lost (or didn't) that week.  Grab my icon from the top of this post and display it on your post.  I would love it if everyone would include prayer requests each week, too. 

Speaking of which, I will keep mine short this week and then get to the Linky!  Please pray for me in the following ways:

• That I won't be discouraged by this plateau and will stay the course.  My chief goal in this is to glorify God and find my contentment in Him.  Discouragement is just a symptom of discontent and a product of pride.  May God keep me from it.
• For extra measures of grace to exercise through pain.  I had two flare ups this week, one horse-induced and the other for no apparent  reason. I praise the Lord for His grace and help. 
• That God would be pleased to help others through this blog series and that he would raise up a Christian support group.  That we would encourage one another in the Lord, with Scripture and prayer and that our goals would be pleasing to Him.

Thank you for your prayers, and I look forward to working together to serve and glorify God as He helps us to live healthier and more fully for Him.

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence ... I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Eph 3:12, 16-19

Happy Healthy Living!
Dawn

Round about the Table: Balderdash and Giveaway!

Welcome back to the table.  Today I will share a little more about my local support group's Getting to Know You meeting, and you will have a chance to win a copy of Susan Bradrick's 24 Hours Is All You Get CD recording.  In her hour-long talk, Mrs. Bradrick offers wise advice and Scriptural standards for setting priorities and establishing a schedule. We will discuss schedules and priorities in a future post, but for now, let me tell you how you can win.

As I shared in my last post, the first round of our Iron Homeschool Mom contest involved a game of Balderdash.  That's what we'll play today, and my version is very much like the board game. 

I will share three sets of statements about myself.  Two statements are true, and one is balderdash, or false.  You have to pick the statement from each set that is inaccurate.

When you have made your choices, leave a comment listing your answers (there are 3 rounds so please list three answers).  The person with the most correct answers wins.  In the case of a tie, I will assign numbers and use random.org to select a winner. 

I will accept entries until midnight, Friday, November 5, 2010 and will announce the winner on Saturday, November 6, 2010.

I will give you one bonus point if you advertise this giveaway via facebook, twitter, or blogging about it.  Please leave a separate comment.

Okey doke.  Here we go.  Feel free to giggle, chuckle, and/or snort.  I won't mind.

1.  I have done each of the following:

• A.  worked as a radio DJ
• B.  created a photo journal of the Cows of Missouri
• C.  played flute in an orchestra

2.   I have tried each of the following:

• A.  running a 5K only to pass out half-way through
• B.  retaking the ACT four times to improve my science score which only went down with each subsequent retake
• C.  growing a garden, flower and vegetable, only to kill every plant I touch    

3.  The most embarrassing moments of life have been the following:

• A.  While working as a DJ, I finished an announcement and removed my headphones.  I could not hear the broadcast from the speakers in the room and thought something was wrong.  I began to panic and yell, "I've blown up the tower!  The FCC is going to throw me in jail.  I can't go to jail...I'm only 17!"  As I was having my melt-down, I noticed I had left my microphone on, which is why the speakers in the room were silent-to avoid feedback, and everyone in my hometown had heard my panic attack.  (well, at least the few people who were actually listening to that radio station)
• B.  While attending a wedding in Venezuela, I must have made a disapproving face when a pit was dug and a whole pig thrown in.  The bride asked me what was wrong, and I replied, "En Los Estados Unidos, comemos gateau."  I had intended to say "In the U.S. we eat cake."  I had unintentionally used the French word "gateau" which means cake, but the bride heard the Spanish "gato" which means cat.  I realized my mistake when a cat walked across the lawn and everyone started laughing and pointing at me.
• C.  One day, after work at the Girls Club, I was the last employee to leave and had the responsibility of cleaning and locking up.  Once my chores were done, I decided to sing into the microphone of the PA system.  What I forgot was there were speakers on the exterior of the building and all around the grounds.  When I exited the building, residents of the apartment complex across the street had gathered to listen to my little "concert".  When I left the building, they laughed and applauded as I ducked into my car and made a quick exit.

Alright... I hear you laughing, and that's okay because laughter is the best medicine.  Just don't laugh so hard that you forget to leave your answers in comments.

Happy Laughing!
Dawn                            

Weekly Wrap-up: Birdless Bird Watching, Morning Devotions, Cavities, Chronic Pain, & More Soap

See Jamie Blog is hosting the wrap-up this week.

My husband had the day off from work again on Monday, so we decided to do a little bird watching.  I have no pictures to share because

• A.  The camera died at Six Flags.
• 2.  We only saw a cormorant.

Of course, I couldn't walk much because of my sciatica pain.  I gave up walking longs trails months ago anyway.  I am fearful that I will get about a mile into the woods and have a severe flare up and not be able to walk back or call for help and be stuck there forever, forced to survive on pine cones and acorns.

Although that might be a good diet strategy, I'm not sure it's the lifestyle for me.

So we stay close to the parking lot.  Sometimes the birds are there in force, eating crumbs left by picnickers or fishing in the water, but not Monday.  It was a nice day to be outside, though, with cool temps and bright sunshine, and we had a good time together as a family.

Tuesday was a good, normal school day.  I did make one change to our school plan.  In years past, I have always started the school day with Scripture reading and Psalm or hymn singing.  This year, Michael and I decided to have the boys read through the New Testament independently instead.  We want them to learn to be responsible for their devotion time and not always rely on one of us to do the reading for them. 

But I have really missed that time together.  So I started reading from Proverbs on Tuesday.  I couldn't quite get the balance right to do that reading and have them continue to read independently.  That's a goal for next week... to do both. 

I need a sound effects player for Wednesday.  Since I don't, imagine an ominous, descending BA-BA-BUUUH,  if you would please.

I had to go to the dentist for my first filling ever! 

I'll admit it.  I was scared. 

But they shot me full of some kind of something to numb my mouth, and I think it had a little something mixed in to relax me. 

'Cause I went from visibly shaking to blissfully relaxed in a matter of a few seconds. 

However, my mouth felt swollen and weird all day and coupled with sciatica and pain from a neuroma in my foot, and I wasn't doing so hot that afternoon.  We met our Korean friends at the playground after school, and before I could explain that I didn't feel well, my sweet friend said that I did not look well and offered to take care of the kids until 5:30 so that I could go home and rest.

Now, I have a lot of really good friends irl and I could have called on any one of them to help me that day and they would have gladly done so.  But how thankful I am for such a blessed friendship... one I entered into to serve and yet God has been pleased to provide a new friend, not just an employer, and to create a spirit of reciprocity.  I am very thankful!

On Thursday, I did school from bed.  I had reached the point that the pain was winning and I am learning that when I reach that point, it is time to find a soft surface and stretch out... for as long as I can.  I have a back-up school plan for those types of days that I think I will start another post about.  Lord willing, there might even be a series in that... Schooling with Pain, or something like that.

Friday morning I woke up feeling great!  The rest helped.  Praise the Lord! 

I took the boys to their last tennis lesson for this session (however, they're starting a new session next week).  Then we went swimming (I got in two sessions this week!).  As I type this, they are completing their independent work.  After it is complete, Wilbur will help me make more soap, and Orville is going to help Nohnie with her grocery shopping.

Oh, and sometime this week I found out that I have received a few nominations for Best Encourager again this year in the Homeschool Blog Awards!  Thank you to those who have nominated me!! Get ready to vote.  Maybe, Lord willing, this will be my year!!!

Happy Homeschooling!
Dawn

Round about the Table: Iron Homeschool Mom

At our September support group meeting, after our ice-breaker round, we held an Iron Homeschool Mom Contest!  I really wanted our first meeting to be light-hearted and fun, so that we could all sit back, relax, and do this....

Enjoying the Ice-breaker Round

For the ice-breaker round, I divided the ladies into four groups and asked each group to pick a leader who would facilitate the discussion (They answered the 3 questions I shared in Getting to Know You).  Then we played a round of Balderdash.  I plan to let you play this game in my next Round About segment with a chance to WIN a copy of 24 Hours Is All You Get, so I will tell you about that round of the competition in the next post.

The leaders of the three groups with the highest Balderdash scores

 moved on to Round 2.

They worked at the dry erase board to unscramble words

as I dictated the scrambled form.

Like U-U-L-I-C-R-M-U-R-C

is

CURRICULUM!

The first 2 ladies to earn 2 points moved on to Round 3....

Mandy (not picutred) and Christy (left) advanced to Round 3,

and Joy (right) and Jessica (not pictured) volunteered

 to play the parts of the contestants' "toddlers".

In the picture above, Christy is completing the first task,

changing the baby's diaper,

while Joy, the toddler, distracts her by playing with the blinds. 

The "toddlers" followed the contestants throughout the competition

and played their parts well.

WE LAUGHED UNTIL WE CRIED!

The contestants had to carry their "babies" with them

as they completed the remaining tasks, too.

After changing the baby's diaper, the contestants had to sharpen ten pencils

for their fifth graders who always lose their pencils. 

Little did they know, they were really sharpening pencils

for my fifth grader who is always losing his pencils!

hahahaha!

Next, Mandy (right) sends a text message to her "teen"

while toddler, Jessica (left), asks her a hundred different questions...

and begs for a turn on the phone.

After Mandy helped me, her 3rd grader, with math facts,

she graded my worksheet.

Jessica had fun with the dry erase marker...

and got sent to her room for a time out.

In the end, Mandy was victorious,
and we named her our Iron Homeschool Mom. 

We rewarded her with a Calgon bath set
for being such a good sport.

Join me back here, Round about the Table, soon for a game of Balderdash and a GIVEAWAY!
Dawn
I want to send a BIG THANK YOU to Elizabeth H., our support group's newsletter editor, for allowing me to use her pictures of the meeting in this post. 

Wednesday Weigh-in: Week 3

First of all, I can't believe I'm three weeks into this weight-loss thing.  It has gone sooooo quickly.  Amazing how time flies when you're working your buns off having fun.

As promised, I did the make-up swimming session last Thursday.  Because I do my weigh-ins on Wednesday, I consider Tuesday the last day of my exercise week which means that technically I only got in one session two weeks ago and did three sessions this week.

But tomAto, tomAHto.  I'm moving, and that's what matters, right?

And I'm losing, too.

This week, I lost 3.4 lbs, to be exact!

That brings my total weight loss to 9.2 lbs.

I'm crying over that one, folks, 'cause it has been a tough week, pain wise.  I have felt stabbing pains in my back, hip, and foot again this week.  I have been able to keep up with my daily schedule and exercise routine but have had to get in bed by 8 each evening and been near tears because it hurts so much. Thankfully each morning, the pain has eased enough that I can get up and go again. 

As I was struggling to get through the grocery store yesterday evening, I thought about Christ and all He endured on my behalf.  When I feel the stabbing pains, I imagine how much worse those thorns and nails must have felt.  The "electrocution" pains are so strong that in that moment, I would do just about anything to make it stop.  I know that Jesus could have stopped His suffering, but he remained on the cross in agony until it was finished.  Until He had endured God's wrath for my sake, for the sake of all who believe on Him.

Makes hobbling through the grocery store seem less severe, doesn't it?

And it makes this week's weight loss all the more significant. He has been my refuge and strength... my ever-present help this week, as He is every week.  To God be the glory.  (Psalm 46:1-2)

Thank you so much for keeping me in your prayers.  If I can do the same for you, please leave your requests in comments or email me using contactr (in my sidebar).  This week please pray for me in the following ways:

1. Please ask the Lord to ease my pain, remove it altogether if He would be pleased to do so.  My greatest hope is for this pain to cease; however, I also pray for the grace to live with it and keep working through it for His glory and kingdom purposes, if it be His will.  
2. Continued success with diet and exercise, more specifically... 
3. Perseverance with swimming as it is proving to be the only way I can exercise because of the pain.  The pain and the cooler temps make it easier to justify skipping a session, or two, or twenty, but go I must, even if I have to crawl there. 
4. That God would continue to grant me extra measures of grace in these areas and enable me to do these things joyfully while giving Him praise and glory. 
5. That God would continue to mortify my flesh, accomplish His will, and be glorified.

Again, thank you for praying and to God be the glory. 

Happy Dieting and Exercising!

Dawn

Weekly Wrap-up: Global Warming, Passing Out, a Surprise Pizza (or two), Eyeglasses and Lost in ATL

Visit WUHS for more weekly wrap-up fun!

I needed to find a phonebooth this week so I could make a quick change into Superwoman, but phonebooths are, to my chagrin, a thing of the past.  So, instead, I donned my denim jumper and, by God's grace, did the best I could.

Monday started with a flute lesson.  My student mastered her part of a duet, and we played together for her mother, one of my best friends.  Student and Mom are very special to me, and moments like those make me so glad I teach her.

Then the boys and I plowed through school.  They finished their work before lunch in order to make the monthly 4-H meeting.  Global warming was the topic for the month, and some interesting questions were posed on the way home.  We now have a new research topic and have spent some time reading AIG articles in order to be better prepared to give an answer as to what we believe.

That evening, I led the next hsa meeting.  We listened to 24 Hours Is All You Get by Susan Bradrick.  I will have more to write about this soon in my Round about the Table segments.  My posts are about a month behind what we are doing in person. 

If you haven't taken part in my meme, you're not alone.  Only Kellie provided answers to the intro questions, and her response is worth the few minutes it will take you to read it.  F-U-N-N-Y!  Thanks, Kellie!

On Tuesday, the boys packed their school bags, and we travelled to Nohnie's house.  She had taken seriously ill in the middle of the night and had passed out.  Fortunately, my dad caught her before she fell to the floor, preventing her from landing on and reinjuring her recently repaired kneecap.  I spent the day nursing her back to health before I left to tutor after public schools dismissed.

Wednesday we worked double time on All about Spelling, IEW, Science, Latin, and lit.  We completed our reading of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.  I had a sore throat again from reading in character, particularly reading as the White Witch.  She's really loud!

We met one of my Korean students at the playground that afternoon. Afterward, he and his mother came to my house.  She is a precious, kind, tender-hearted lady, and we had so much fun looking at the family pictures displayed around my house and talking about family and homeschool.  Her English is improving a little at a time, and I am thankful the Lord has brought us together to be friends. 

Her son ate dinner with us and accompanied us to church that night.  He had so much fun.  In the sanctuary, Wilbur helped him turn to the right page numbers in the hymnal and Psalter and enjoyed being the older one for a change.  Then the kids went upstairs, and Student studied the Catechism for Young Children and mastered Q and A number 1!  All the kids received him warmly, and he didn't want to leave church. 

When we arrived home, his precious mother had arrived before us and was holding two large pizzas, one for Orville and one for Wilbur.  That was so sweet it almost made me cry.

Okay, you got me.

I did cry.  I was very touched.

On Thursday the boys packed their school bags again and completed their independent work in the lobby of the optometrist's office while I had my annual eye exam.

The diagnosis?

I'm getting old. 

New glasses are on their way.  Maybe I'll make fewer typos next week.

Probably not, but one can hope.

Afterward, we went to the pool for a make-up swimming session, returned home for lunch, and then started reading The Horse and His Boy.  I think I'm having as much fun with this lit study as the kids.

But my throat hurts again from reading with a horse's voice.

You could say that horse made me hoarse.

*chuckle, chuckle, snort, snort*

MY HUSBAND HAD THE DAY OFF FROM WORK ON FRIDAY!

Nohnie felt well enough to let the boys stay with her for, ahem, what was supposed to be a few hours while Michael and I drove to the other side of Atlanta to use rebate checks we received after buying a new mattress a few months ago.  Because I forgot on Thursday night that Michael had the day off and planned for a day of school, I didn't think to print directions to the store which is in an area we only go to when we shop at that particular store...specifically when we bought the first mattress and today.

When I awoke to the realization that today was the day we had planned this little trek, I shifted into overdrive, and we left without a map.

Then we got lost in downtown ATL.

For an hour.

That's when I called Orville who got online and found directions for us.

We used the rebate to buy a mattress for Wilbur, and the nice guys at the store loaded it into our van from which all chairs, save the front two, had been removed (thus the reason the boys had to stay with Nohnie).  We followed Orville's directions in reverse, missed an exit, and GOT LOST IN DOWNTOWN ATL FOR THE SECOND TIME!!

FOR ANOTHER HOUR AND A HALF!!!!

On the plus side, I now know how to get to The High Museum, The Federal Reserve Building, Emory Midtown, The Varsity, Piedmont Park, Georgia Tech, The Cyclorama, Turner Field, Zoo Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola and the state capitol building.

It's really a beautiful city with lots of great things to do.  But, people, once you get off the interstate, there is no getting back on.

At least not in the right direction, that is.

Seriously.  If you come down here for a visit, make sure you A. have a GPS system, B. an up-to-date map of the city, or C. don't get off I-85.

Thank you.

Or you're welcome.

And that's a wrap.

Blessings,
Dawn