Lessons from the 33rd Week

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It has been a month since President Trump declared a national state of emergency. The children and I have been at home, homeschooling and practicing violin and piano, and spending as much time in the yard as possible. I am feeling it, but doing my best to keep it together.

Tick

Tick on our daughter’s temple

Our daughter got a tick on her right temple after one of these days spent outside. Ticks love her. They seem to jump on her more than on her older brother. The best way to remove a tick, of course, is alcohol. During this novel coronavirus pandemic, alcohol has been scarce. But we had to get rid of the tick. So we used as much alcohol as needed to get rid of it. Continue reading »


LEGO Creations

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My son is a LEGO aficionado and it baffles me that I have not blogged about his creations more. Every day, he comes up with at least one new design – a car, a motorcycle, a building, or a scene of some sort. His patience and determination as he looks for the right brick are impressive.

LEGO ocean floor scene

Ocean floor scene

When he was two, we started him with DUPLO sets. He followed directions as I showed him a few steps. That was all it took. By age four (although daddy thinks it was age three actually, but we can’t remember for sure, because we are parents), we decided to get him his first LEGO set. His younger sister was two (or one) at the time.  Continue reading »


Thoughtful Thursday Week 14 – Easter

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So this is Easter week. We skipped ahead about 20 stories in our Betty Lukens Through The Bible In Felts curriculum, to the story of the crucifixion. My daughter has been telling me she really likes that story. We have been hearing about it in church in the weeks leading up to Easter, of course. She has also been looking through the Bible curriculum trying to find it. When she did, she asked for it and that’s how I decided to skip ahead for Good Friday’s devotional.

The crucifixion scene on a felt board

The crucifixion scene on our felt board

At the Library, for Story Time, they listened to stories about the Easter Bunny and they decorated eggs: some black ones with chalk, and some white ones with paint. It saved me the trouble of doing that at home. In a perfect world, eggs and bunnies, pagan fertility symbols, would not mix with the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection… But we do not live in a perfect world.

Little girl painting an Easter Egg at the Library

My daughter painting an Easter Egg at the Library

We also attended a picnic with our friends from the Sevier County Homeschool Group. I was glad this year there was not as much candy as last year. The kids found quite a few eggs, but some had small toys or decorative paper clips inside. Very neat!

Thoughtful Thursday Week 14 - Easter

I grew up under Communism in Romania and we used to listen to The Voice of America broadcasts. That’s where I first heard about an Easter Egg Hunt. I was touched there was even one at the White House. Easter Egg Hunts seemed like such an incredibly fun thing to do. We did not have them in Romania and I don’t even think they have them now, at least not as much as in the US.  Continue reading »