Our March Library Thing update

3045 Redeemer Classical School library

2020 Our personal library

171 Shared books in both libraries

I estimate we have about 6000 more books to enter into our personal library account and Redeemer Classical School has about 600 that need to be processed (put covers on some, remove stickers from former library books etc.) and added to RCS account. I wish I could make progress on both libraries quicker than we are, but I need to be satisfied with working on both libraries in my limited free time. I am hoping to give a monthly update here and be able to see that we are making progress! 

Beginning of February

Last Saturday we visited a retired professor and chose almost 200 books from his personal library for Redeemer Classical School. It was a fascinating two hours at his house as he has 4 degrees and has traveled extensively. He was thrilled that some of his books were going to children that were learning Latin and took nature walks. We wiped every book off as they were very dusty before we brought them in our house. It took me most of the week to make a complete list of what he donated along with looking up the approximate value of what was donated. We delivered the books to the school yesterday and delivered the tax receipt along with an itemized list of what was donated today. I don't have any Lambs at this school, but I am happy to help out RCS library as it is a wonderful resource for our Fort Wayne community.

We had some snow this week so that meant a few delays and a few days of school at home. That meant organizing the Lambs to do the shoveling and a few more chores and tutoring/helping with schoolwork along with homeschooling Lamb 3.

I do so much chauffeuring right now. Lamb 3 goes to the chiropractor twice a week for an adjustment and therapy and does exercises at home. Lamb 2 has JROTC practice three times a week. Lamb 1 lifts weights after school 4 days a week. We have a few dentist appointments this month. Lamb 2 had his orthodontist appointment this week and found out his braces come off in March! 

I'm attempting to get my materials organized to scrapbook again. Everything has been packed since we moved from ID. There wasn't any place to organize it when we were at the rental and there wasn't time once we got to the new house. I am trying to get caught up on Lamb 1's scrapbook before he graduates from high school.

I just got a new phone. My first smartphone was purchased in November 2016. It was past time to replace it. A couple of weeks ago I went to grocery pick up and my phone was dead so I couldn't call them and tell them I was there for my groceries. Lamb 2 is extra eager to help me set up my new phone the way that I want it. It is going to be so great to not have to plug my phone in all the time!

Ram and I continue to add books to our Library Thing account. We have 1600 entered. It is going to be so helpful to have a list on our phone. As we are adding books, I'm also organizing and getting rid of some. The next project will be to tackle our giveaway pile that has really grown in the last month. I will need to decide where those items are going and deliver everything to the correct place.

Hopefully soon I will update my blog. In the meantime I will try for at least once a week posts.

February family update

We are plugging away at daily routines: 
*Homeschooling with extra work for Lamb 1 to prepare him for high school and Lamb 2 and 3 concentrating on learning to read and spell.
*Our whole family is attending a weekly Bible study on Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the book of Mark, and the Small Catechism. We do the readings together to prepare for weekly quizzes.
*Lamb 2 and 3 are working on memorizing the meanings for the 6 chief parts of the catechism with the goal of confirmation in May.
*All 3 Lambs are practicing for a piano contest in March.
Update on my dad:
He became so weak at the beginning of February that he fell a few times. The paramedics recommended he go to the hospital and get checked out. The hospital was overcrowded and he waited several hours to get a room. He did have the flu and was much better after a few days in the hospital. We thought maybe he would go to a place for rehab, but not counting the hours he was in the hospital hallway that he wasn't officially a patient, he wasn't in the hospital long enough for insurance to pay for rehab. He went directly home and has been doing great since he has been home. We even took him to a high school basketball game last Friday. It is not easy as your parents get older and prayers are appreciated.
Vision Therapy Again:
Lamb 2 competed a long evaluation with a doctor here. We don't regret doing vision therapy in Idaho because it was helpful for several areas for him, but it wasn't enough. He is beginning vision therapy here at the end of the month. This doctor does things differently than our ID doctor and we are hoping these different ways of doing things are going to be helpful for Lamb 2. This doctor does 1 time a week therapy with 20 minutes of daily homework. Lamb 2 will get bifocals. He has 20/20 vision and can see fine in the distance. He doesn't truly need glasses for close up work, but the hope is that this will ease the stress on his eyes as they try to focus to see near work. We are expecting at least a year of therapy here. One nice thing is you pay one price and it covers everything (therapy, doctor exams, computer software for homework, etc.) no matter how long therapy takes. This is different than Idaho and is much better to know exactly how much it costs. Lamb 2 was very excited to go pick out his glasses and is impatiently waiting for them to come in.
After Lamb 2 begins, then we would like this doctor to also evaluate Lamb 3. For a long time he had no motivation to learn to read. Now he does and reading is very difficult for him. I am curious if he also has a vision difficulty and would also benefit from Vision Therapy.
Library volunteer:
A classical school started at our church this year. Our boys are too old as they began with lower grades and are working their way up, but Lamb 2 and 3 take art class there. I volunteered to help with the school library. It has been so much fun to get the books ready for the school children. Most are donated or library discards. The headmaster and his wife are choosing quality literature for the school. It is so fun to see what she finds on the 20 cent library discard shelves.
Lilla Rose:
I just signed up to be a Lilla Rose consultant. I'll blog more about this as I learn more, but if you don't currently have a consultant, contact me for more info if you are interested. I have been wearing Lilla Rose hair clips for about 10 years and I figured it was about time that I had a business card to hand to people when I get a compliment!
Dentist:
Our whole family went at once for dental cleanings and checkups. We all did well except one Lamb needs a tiny filling. Lamb 2 needs an orthodontist consultation because his teeth are so close together plus there is a problem with his canines. After dental checkups we are all extra good about brushing AND flossing AND using mouthwash for awhile...
Cooking:
While Ram is in school I have had to do more cooking than while he was a pastor. I was getting tired of the same old recipes and often 1 or 2 Lambs don't like what I make. I did a little research in my cookbooks and on the Internet to get some new recipes to try. Last night I made beef stew and it went fast even though only one Lamb had more than one helping. Today I made beef vegetable soup and we'll see how that goes tomorrow. I have some more recipes to try this week. The Lambs were shocked that I cooked something new two days in a row!

January 2018

Finally everyone was healthy so my parents watched the Lambs so Ram and Ewe could go out for their anniversary (a couple of weeks late). We went during Savor Fort Wayne to a fancy restaurant after asking friends for a recommendation. We went on a Thursday so we got all our stamps for our 2 dinners so we could get entered into the drawing. It was a great meal and worth the bargain price of Savor Fort Wayne. 

Photo Credit: Steve Blakey
It was rainy and cold for March for Life, drastically different than last year in t-shirts. We marched with several friends from church and then went to my parents church for cookies and hot cocoa. We had a chance to wear our new hats. Our deaconess student is on the right in her hat from the Washington D.C. March for Life.

One day I worked on cleaning out the basement. I asked a Lamb to bring me my slippers while I was working. I kept noticing pieces of plastic on the basement floor and couldn't figure out where that was coming from. Finally I realized my slipper was breaking! These were a Christmas present about 8 years old. Both slippers went in the trash because what would I do with one slipper and how long would it be until the other one broke too?

We took the Lambs to Debrand chocolate for their Savor Fort Wayne deal for a big treat one day before Ram  returned to classes. It was so good and enough to share with 5 people-I can't imagine 2 sharing it although Ram and Ewe got the drinks and we all shared the chocolate. There were other SAHM doing the same thing with their kids that afternoon.

When Ram was on school vacation we didn't use both of our vehicles very much, but Ram did make sure to go out and run the car that was in the garage a couple of times during his vacation. It wasn't enough and the battery on our Camry died. After trying to get it to go for a day, we were happy when AAA came and towed it and we were back to having both vehicles available shortly after Ram began classes again.

I used some credit to get some Snipp, Snapp, Snurr books from Hyde Brothers before Christmas at about $8 each, but they didn't have very many Flicka, Ricka, Dicka books in stock. I was so excited when this book was on the 20 cent shelf at the public library. I am keeping it for my collection. Since then I keep looking for more Lindman books, but this is the only one I have found. The cover wasn't in the greatest shape, but the pages are clean.

Our church youth group went outdoor ice skating one day. Last year I really wanted to take the Lambs, but we never found time in our schedule. None of the Lambs were very excited about going, but they tolerated it for a couple of hours. I promised Lamb 1 I wouldn't post pictures of him ice skating, but here are the other Lambs. It was cooler, but not freezing the day that we went. I took pictures this time, but next time I want to join them. Lamb 1 took off his coat and when we got home he asked where his coat was? I went back and it was right where he left it! By then it was much more crowded and I was glad we had gone when we did.

I really wanted to see Goodbye Christopher Robin in the theater, but they never came to Fort Wayne theaters. I was #3 on the library hold list and the library ordered 19 copies, so I picked it up the day after it was released on DVD. I have read a lot about A.A. Milne, so I was looking forward to this movie. My dad borrowed it before it was due, I watched it, and the Lambs watched it. Ram didn't have any interest in watching it! Even after reading several reviews, it was different than I expected. If you are going to watch it, read his poem Vespers first and you might want to have tissues handy, but you might not need those tissues depending on your stage of life. I won't give any more spoilers nor any more recommendations. Personally I'm glad I have both read his autobiography and that I saw this movie.

End of January Family Update

On Monday I helped our church school library organize their new books some more. When Ram was done with class he came to pick up the boys to take them home. Except they were having so much fun with the other kids of volunteers that only Lamb 1 went home with him. I love "working" in the library and helping this school get started.

On Tuesday the Lambs had piano and art. I did a little grocery shopping before a mammogram. I already got the results and everything looks good. Our whole family attended the first Christian Wisdom class at our church. This weekly Bible study runs through Lent and we will study the book of Mark, The Small Catechism, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Our pastor titled it Luther, Lewis, and Mark. I think it will be good for everyone in our family.

On Wednesday Lamb 2 and 3 had a play date in the afternoon with some friends from church. Lamb 1 did a little shopping with me while they were there. Goodbye Christopher Robin movie was in at the library for me. I watched it and I'll blog about it soon.

On Thursday our family went to a library book sale. Ram and I didn't find much, but the Lambs did. Thursday night the furnace went out. Thankfully it was a little warmer here. We called our landlord first thing on Friday morning and the repair man came right away. I didn't take a shower until later on Friday, but other than that it wasn't too bad because it got fixed so quickly.

On Friday Lamb 2 had his second vision therapy exam. It is looking like this doctor and a second round of vision therapy will be very helpful for him. We set up a parent consultation to find out more details. We are also considering having Lamb 3 do the testing here. After he was done at the doctor we took peanut butter and jelly donated by our church members to the Seminary food bank. I was glad I had a strong Lamb to help me carry that. In the evening my parents babysat while Ram and I went to an adult only dinner at church. It was potluck this year (so much food!) and a very fun evening.

On Saturday we had to get up for confirmation class after being out too late. Our family went to the March for Life in Fort Wayne. It was rainy but not too cold. The speakers before the March were good. The March with friends from church was fun. Then we went to my parents church for cookies and hot cocoa. I think this was the first year they did that and it was a great idea to go fellowship out of the rain. We stopped at the last branch library book sale in January. Ewe and the Lambs found something, but Ram didn't. It probably would have been better to go in the morning, but we couldn't. After all that we came home and both Ram and Ewe took a nap!

Today was church and Sunday School. Then we ran a couple of errands as a family so I could come home and put my comfy clothes on and not go anywhere the rest of the day.

The calendar looks pretty light this week. It will be nice to stay home and continue to focus on homeschool and home keeping.

Year in Review-December 2017 Part 1

We took a lot of pictures in December, so I'll post a few at a time.

Photo Credit: Meghan Schultz
The Lambs favorite art class so far was the day they used clay to make boats.

Photo Credit: Meghan Schultz
I ordered a print to remember our babies. Row one is our 3 Lambs birthstones. Row two is the birthstones of our miscarried babies. I got it here. Her work is beautiful and I am so glad to have this to remember all our children. I would like to order more prints from her, but was so pleased to get this one for our family. I framed it and it is one of the few pieces of artwork on display in our rental home instead of still packed after moving.

Our city had a tour of churches night. The first 3 photos are the church where my parents got married. They did extensive remodeling recently to restore it closer to the original. It is beautiful!

This is the church where Ram and Ewe got married 16 years ago. We have so many fond memories of this church.

This is the church that we attend now. It was still Advent so we did not decorate for Christmas yet. We went to a few more churches that night, but I didn't take any more pictures.

The Lambs went to a Science Central class and dissected frogs.

Trying to identify if it is a male or female frog.

I used coupons to get 5 nice greeting cards for $1.56 total including tax.

I bought a necklace/keychain for my sister for Christmas from here. I bought myself one a few years ago. My sister's was larger than mine and it was not her favorite gift. I don't know this etsy shop owner, but I love her items made out of postage stamps and she has wonderful fast service.

This was her favorite gift. I bought it here. I bought her the set of 3 prints from the Anthems of Zion. I also used some of my birthday money to get a set for myself. It was so interesting because they are hand lettered, both sets were different. When these arrived I wrapped and finished shipping all our gifts to far away family. It was so good to have that done early this year and not worry about it near Christmas.

Year in Review-November 2017

While celebrating Reformation 500, we didn't carve pumpkins until November.  Sorry for the poor picture quality. Lamb 2 and 3 each carved a jack-o-lantern, Lamb 1 thinks he is too old to carve pumpkins.

Our church celebrated their 125th anniversary. I made cake toppers and chocolate favors. This is the dessert table with my decorations and other dessert too.

Chocolate Bible favors. Idea was here. The anniversary was really a fun day with both friends that are members and some visitors that day too.

Photo Credit: CLHS Facebook Page
Lamb 1 attended Concordia Day. He wants to be in JROTC now.

Lamb 1 won a t-shirt at Concordia Day. It was perfect for him since he wants to do cross country next year.

I met my mug swap partner. Everyone that sees the necklace she made compliments it.

Only Lutheran homeschooled boys would practice a hymn for Sunday School choir during a play date.

Everyone on Facebook was doing a black and white photo post. I didn't do 7 days of posts, but I did post a photo of our mailbox at our rental house. A delivery man complimented it a few days before I took the photo.

Our public library had an author visit, Laura Numeroff. I was at the end of the line, but she stayed past library closing time and signed everyone's books that were in line. The Lambs came and listened to her talk before signing, but Ram took them home while I waited in line to get my book signed. 

I sold more books to Hyde Brothers. This one surprised me and was worth about $100.

This is the book that got me started on buying books at the library book sale. I thought it would be valuable with the prints inside. It was worth about $25.

I read this biography of Tasha Tudor before I sold it to Hyde Brothers. It is more recent but was still worth about $20. All these books I sold were 20 cents each at the library book sale.

Lamb 1 needed a new coat. I really didn't have time to shop for one and was unsure what size to buy him or where in Fort Wayne to shop for one. A friend messaged me and asked me if we could use a coat that they found when cleaning out their closet. It was Lamb 1's size AND his favorite team is the Seahawks and it was their colors. I am just amazed at when God provides for us, not only just what we need, when we need it, but also when it is absolutely perfect for us! I couldn't have gone to the store and found a more perfect coat for him. Another example of a blessing while Ram is a student!

 

My sister came for Thanksgiving and we remembered to take a picture in our Harvest Raise t-shirts. It didn't turn out the greatest so we'll have to try again next time she visits. I was noticing how much my sister and I look alike in this picture. I have never noticed that before, we used to be so different that I wondered if we were really sisters!

I wanted to buy Lamb 2 a dressy coat for church. When I measured him he needed a men's size M! The sleeves are a little long, but the coat is not that big on him. He loves to dress up for church and was happy to get this coat. I used several coupons to buy it and I think it will fit him for a couple of years.

The pastor asked a question in Bible class about what was on our pulpit. I sit in the front row almost every Sunday and I was drawing a blank when he asked the question. Ram went upstairs and took a picture for me to jog my memory. (John 14:6)

We went to Christmas in the Park which used to be called the Christ Child Festival. The Lambs were a little old for it so we didn't stay long. I just wanted to know what they did. I had grand plans to take a family photo for Christmas, but there was too much in the background that disqualified this photo without a lot of photo editing.

Year in Review-October 2017

We attended several Reformation services in honor of the 500th anniversary. October 1 was a service at St. Paul's, Fort Wayne. Afterwards they served a nice German meal. It was a nice time to visit with friends from several area churches.

These photos should have been posted in September, but the Lambs received their summer reading prizes from CPH. Lamb 2 won a big prize in the program, the Illuminated Catechism, which I already posted a photo. Here was his kids prize.

Lamb 1's prize.

Lamb 3's prize. It is so nice of CPH to do this for the kids! I saved the Sunday School Bible Discovery Guides from the Lambs, but it was nice to get it all in one volume here.

We began the admission process for Lamb 1 to go to high school. I will post more about this later, it was a little more complicated because he has been homeschooled, but it was not impossible.

The last cross country meet was in October. The other 8th grade moms were a little teary  after a few years together on this team. This was our first year so I was relieved that chauffeuring was done for a few months. I really hope that Lamb 1 continues cross country in high school, but it will be his choice and there are many high school activities to choose from. This was a great group of 8th graders. I look forward to cross country with Lamb 2 on this team again next year.

We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather for all the cross country meets this year.

Our church took part in one day of 40 days of Life by standing outside Planned Parenthood and praying for pregnant mothers. It was one of the first colder days and many of us were really bundled up that day. After a very mild fall no one was really ready to wear hats and gloves that day. The Lambs are "tough" boys and kept most of their winter gear in the car for most of the time we were there. It was a sad reason to be together, but a time to fellowship and pray together. Another reason I am glad that we homeschool and take our boys to times like this. Some kids came after school, but we were there at the beginning of the afternoon.

I don't have any pictures to show, but I took the Lambs to the Reformation service on October 31 at Concordia Theological Seminary. We arrived really early and waited so that we would have a seat. Unfortunately Ram had class and a Catholic college was not going to allow him to attend a Reformation service as an excuse to miss class. The service was beautiful and wonderful to sing Lutheran hymns with a packed chapel of Lutherans, hear the beautiful choirs, and hear Rev. Harrison preach again. Afterwards I took the Lambs out for ice cream. It was strange for them to not go trick-or-treating or a Halloween party, but Reformation 500 trumped Halloween! Lamb 1 was especially glad that he was able to attend instead of just watching it online. I think we gave the Lambs memories of Reformation this year that they will tell their grandchildren about. I am so glad that the Lambs are old enough where we could arrive early and they could participate for the whole service. It got to be a really long evening, but not impossible for them.

Year in Review-August 2017

Photo Credit: Jane Casey
Our church hosted a 3 day Family Retreat. I love this photo ready for the processional. We had several joyous church services, sectionals, and lots of fellowship time where I was able to see many friends.

Melrose and I have been online friends for years, but finally got to meet at Family Retreat.  We both have had several moves and life changes since we first "met" and we have a lot in common.

Photo Credit: Jane Casey
For this church service, Lamb 1 and 2 were scheduled to acolyte. Ram had class and Lamb 3 went and sat in our regular seat for church. I was in the middle of a conversation right before church where it was getting pretty emotional for all of us in the conversation and I really did not want to interrupt the conversation. I ended up skipping the service and half way through I remembered that Lamb 3 was probably in church by himself. I was so proud of him for attending church all by himself in the pew. 

Lamb 2 surprised us by being in the Talent show. Our church  members had never seen the humorous side of him. He was a hit and everyone said it will be hard to beat his act next year.

My Aunt Lorene and Uncle Jim visited and we all went out to dinner one night. I hadn't seen her since Lamb 1 was a newborn.

I bought some books from the library for 20 cents and sold this one to Hyde Brothers that was worth $100 and some other ones that were also valuable, but not worth as much as this one. We ended up with a lot of credit at Hyde Brothers after spending a couple of dollars at the library sale. I kept many more books than I sold to Hyde Brothers though!

We went to my parents house on eclipse day. We had the right glasses, but it was not a total eclipse. I was appreciated seeing even the partial eclipse.

My dad had planned to watch the eclipse on TV so we only got him to come outside for a little bit. The Lambs watched some TV and came outside too.

We did the old fashioned way to see the eclipse. I remember as a child doing the same thing with my dad during a partial eclipse and I was not impressed at all. But this time I thought it was very cool.

I was so glad Ram's mom sent us the correct glasses. The Lambs were a little timid, but  all of them used them for a short time. I would rather they be timid and safe.

We used our sun plate for tortilla chips and our planet plates for snacks.

We also used the planet bowls for dessert. I had not done any cooking or planning for snacks, which is unusual for me, but we just stopped at the grocery store and bought some fruit, chips, dip, bakery angel food cake, etc. I tried not to think about how much snacks cost and focused on food that we could use our plates and our bowls and memories on this special day. Everyone loved the snacks!

One of my high school friends invited us to go to the zoo with her while she was home visiting her family. It ended up being a couple of high school friends and all of our children. She was younger than me in school and I think Lamb 3 was older than all of the other children. Lamb 1 did not want to go so I took Lamb 2 and 3.

We ended up having a great time without Lamb 1 bugging us that we were taking too long at some exhibits.  It was rainy so we only stayed a couple of hours, which was fine for the ages of children there.

Going to the zoo brought back a lot of childhood memories for all the moms even though the zoo has changed a lot since we were children.

Penguins will always be my favorite!

One camera was used to take a group photo and unfortunately it didn't turn out that great. At least we have memories from the day!

I got up early and stood in line twice at the teacher store this summer for a chance at a gift certificate. The first time I got $5 and the second time I got $20. It was worth the time I spent in line (reading a book). I used the gift certificates later for door prizes for a presentation that I made.

We were supposed to take a Sweetwater tour with Ram's parents when they visited in May, but the Lambs got sick. We finally got to Sweetwater in August to play video games, go down the slide, and get a treat from the cafe. So glad they are in Fort Wayne and so generous to the public!

Lamb 2 and 3 had got a gift certificate for the music store from choir camp so they had fun picking out some treats.

We attended a Sunday Tincaps game as a prize from the library summer reading program. The Lambs were excited that they gave autographs after the game. Although they are older and able to get their own autographs without help, it was challenging for me to have 3 Lambs getting autographs and only two parents to take their picture. We did get a couple of good pictures though. 

Finally in August, Fort Wayne got a Blaze Pizza. We went to the grand opening and all of us got our own free pizza. It was totally worth waiting in line. We read our science book while we were in line to finish homeschooling that day.

Lamb 1 and 2 had their first cross country meet. It was a huge meet with boys and girls divided by grade and kids came from all over Northeast IN. They started late because some schools couldn't get there that early. Then it took hours to have each race.  All runners are supposed to stay and cheer on their teammates, but some of our team left early this time as it was just taking so long and it was a school night. But we couldn't because Lamb 1 had the last race with 8th grade boys. It was unusually cool for August and I hadn't brought very many warm clothes for Lamb 3 and myself. Ram had class that night. We made it through. Each team gets in a huddle before their race. Our team prayed together during huddle time. Seeing this made it worth the hassle of that day.

I love that they participated in cross country with other Lutheran schools.

Lamb 3 chose not to do cross country so he spent many hours on the playground while they had practice several times each week.

Lamb 1 won this Illuminated Catechism as part of CPH's summer reading program.

My sister had a friend that lived in Fort Wayne that was moving so she connected us and they gave us some of the stuff that wouldn't fit on their moving truck including these chairs. I can't wait to get some pillows for the chairs for our porch for next summer. Getting stuff from them reminded me of what we did just a year before- giving away stuff before we moved.

Photo Credit: Robin Muench
One day we had a whirlwind trip to Kentucky for Winston's ordination. We went to early service at our church and then drove down. The ordination service was beautiful, then the best reception I have ever had at an ordination, and then we drove home and got home late. I was so glad we went. There were also many friends from church that attended. I know Winston appreciated all the support from friends and family.