Truck Troubles

I Thessalonians 5:18:  "In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of Christ Jesus...."

1.  We're thankful that only the "Drive" gear went out 22 miles from home and we still had "1 and 2" left to drive back.

2.  Thankful that when 1 and 2 gave out, it was in walking distance to the house.

3.  Thankful for Hannah's and Andy's strong legs to carry them up the hill and around 1 "S" curve to the house.

              3.A.  Thankful that I was not alone with the girls when it gave out!

              3.B.  Thankful that the weather was pleasant when it gave out!

              3.C.  Thankful that we were on a straightaway when it stopped going forward.

4.  Thankful that, although its gonna' cost a whole stinkin' lotta' money to fix my truck, we have the means to get it done.

5.  Thankful that we were safe on that long, long drive home, and that the transmission didn't actually fall OUT of  the truck, even though pieces of the transmission fell INTO the truck.

6.  Thankful that we live in such a beautiful area and got to drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway on the way home!

7.  Thankful that the transmission place was able to send a tow truck and include the cost in their bill.

8.  Thankful that they were able to get my truck first thing on Monday morning and get right to work on it!

9.  Thankful that the girls and I enjoy being "homebodies" and, to us, there is really no such thing as "being stuck at home."

10.  Thankful that Andy saw this may have been a roundabout answer to another prayer we had about another venture we were going to pursue.

Coincidentally (yeah, right), our history lesson today was about the Greek mathematician Archimedes.  He's the one who first used ropes and pulleys, which provided a better way of lifting.  It was a great tie-in to the use of a winch to drag my heavy car up the back of the tow truck.  It made history come to life ~ exciting!  So there's a reason #11!




All aboard....

Hey, look at those pretty flowers!

 

Going.....

Going............

Gone!

Never a Dull Day (or Night)

That was SOME storm that rolled through last night!

The girls and I were enjoying the almost-end of The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit, a free Kindle download  (Parts of it are hilariously funny, but parts of it do drag on....), which something caught my eye outside the window in the storm.

At first I thought it was a streetlight.  But, then, we don't have any streetlights.  THEN, I thought it might be the moon.  But, I reasoned, we were in the middle of a very strong wind, rain and electrical storm.

Only then did I holler out for Andy to come look at the fire on the power line.  Eeesh.

We called '911' and Appalachian Power, and both made it out in great time.  By the time they got here, though, the fire was out (I tell ya, that was some heavy rain!), but we wanted them to look it over just in case.

Its not much to look at today (look at the brown leaves), but the result is that that AP has put in an order to get all of the trees down that side of the yard trimmed up and off the power lines.

Homeschool Co-Op

The first thing I did before we were even wholly moved in down here was to research homeschool support groups in the area.  We're so fortunate that there are several in the area, so we were able to choose one that was a good fit for our family.  I can't tell you enough how important it is to me to have a group of kids and moms who are fellow travelers on the journey ~ every time we get a chance to talk I'm amazed that they have or have had the same challenges as we do as far as parenting, schooling or family relationships.

Younger homeschoolers getting ready for a nature walk

In Alleghany, my girls were some of the youngest in the support group and I benefited from the experience of the moms with older children.  Unfortunately, there weren't many cooperative learning (co-op) classes in which they could participate.  I don't think they were necessarily missing out, but I know as the time grew closer to when we actually moved to Franklin County, Han had started to ask for more opportunities to interact with kids her age.

(Isn't she just beautiful?!)

After a field trip to see "The Velveteen Rabbit" ~ a game of D, D, G in the food court of Center on the Square

Here in Hardy, we belong to CHEF ~ Christian Home Educators of Franklin (County), and what a blessing it is to us!  We literally thank God daily for the relationships we are developing among this remarkable group of families.  These are "real people," (my favorite kind) who pray for one another and share their struggles...
hmmmm, reminds me of:

Galatians 6:2:  Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the Law of Christ.

Probably easiest, most natural, and most enjoyable precept I've ever followed!

A whole 'nother post could be written about the elephant who sidles up to the (very predictable and not uncommon) conversation when someone finds out we school at home:

THEY:  And where do your girls go to school?
US:  We homeschool.
THEY:  (awkward pause)
US:  (in my mind:  "Here it comes....")
THEY:  But aren't you concerned about socialization?
US:  Well, they're in AWANAs, Sunday School, Children's Church, co-op, and they take other classes in the community....
WHAT I'M REALLY THINKING: (Yeah, like I really want them to go to a government school, learning all sorts of disrespectful, non-Christlike behaviors from their same-age peers, artificially separated into groups by age, developing a type of "us vs. them" mentality, being exposed to ____________ all kinds of garbage -   not to mention teachers/admin who can't/don't share our desire to put Christ FIRST, etc. etc.)

So, uh, co-op helps to mitigate some of that.

We meet one day a week for 15 weeks a semester for two classes, and then it is (often) off to the park where the moms chat and the kids zoom.  We have monthly field trips and other impromptu get-togethers ~ most importantly, a monthly "Mom's Night," where we do a lot of that "supporting, bearing and encouraging."

Speaking of Biblical mandates, I saw this verse applied to a co-op group a bloggy friend attends, and I can't imagine a more perfect verse for this topic:

Hebrews 10:25:  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, 

but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

It gives me a shiver of a thrill to read that!  Me, who would much prefer to live a hermit-ly life, staying home all day every day and poking around the house and yard ~ I don't need to be encouraged to meet together ~ for the good of my girls or for my own (very needful!) good!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Easter Egg Edition

Easter Egg Hunt at Four Corners Farm in Rocky Mount

 

More (late) snow pictures from our (late) last snow!

Here's some more snow pictures from our big snow last month ~ I realized I'd readied them but never posted!  Enjoy!

Our new home in the Blue Ridge Highlands!

Snow buddies!

 

Yes they are on the deck, yes they are underdressed for the weather, and yes, I approved!

Look at those red, cold legs!

"Watch me, mama!"

"Weeeeeeeeeeee!"

Sledding with friends....

We finally have a sleddable hill!!  

After living in the mountains for over 5 years, its the first time we've been able to sled downhill in our yard!

Andy, Abigail, Hannah and Kenzi....on the back yard hill...kinda hard to see in that heavy snow coming down!

And, a steep walk back up!

And now, THAT ends our "snow day" pictures!

thoughts on Spring

Now that we've pretty much finished unpacking and are settled into our new surroundings, I've taken the time and had a good look around.  We've moved to this new home in the middle of what is passing for winter this year:  I think the average temperature has only been in the 50's and there's been no snow.  The trees are mostly bare except for the evergreens and some of the oaks which hold their leathery leaves until the first buds of spring push them off.  The grass of the lawn is brown, azaleas with their deep purple leaves look chilled and the underbrush on the back hillside where lumber was harvested a couple years ago is grey-brown and dusky-looking.

Whenever we've gone to the Maple Festival up in Highland County its been overcast, wet, slushy and cold.  So I always associate that type of weather with the area, although I know that in summer it is hot, green and lush.  It was like that too, in Oklahoma: for me, it is always cold, damp and snowy.

Here in Hardy the great outdoors is cold, washed-out, brown and damp.  Inside, the walls are painted with strong, earthy colors - too bold for my liking.  They serve to emphasize the heaviness that hangs on like a leaden blanket.

Somehow I am hopeful as the calendar promises to turn in the next couple days to February, a month closer to Spring.  Yesterday morning I walked in the back yard and flushed out five or six white-tail deer from down near the creek.  They ran, snorting, up the back hill and up to and across the ridge.  They must be the same group that mingles in front of the game camera set up by our neighbor on the back corner of the property.  I wonder if they, too, are waiting for spring, or if they realize its been over a year since they last walked through snow.  Of course I still hope that the Farmer's Almanac is correct in its prediction of a Valentine's Day storm; the girls and I want to put the hills to good use.

I can't imagine what the yard will look like in its Spring greenery, or how the sunlight will fall against newly-painted walls at a different angle than in the winter months.  I look forward to what berries might be growing after a long winter of dormancy in the underbrush.  I'm eager to enjoy the sound of the creek after clearing out an area to sit in the warm sunshine.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to join this property in a slow cycle.  We can afford a leisurely pace while the weather keeps us inside.  I have feeling that the spring and summertime will bring busy outdoor adventures in gardening, land clearing, animals and learning.  I think we're all looking forward to the changes.