Cleaning,Cleaning Over the Deep Blue Sea

Yeah.........gotta love cleaning, especially deep cleaning. That is what we have been doing the past two days! In order to get ready for our movers whom will be here on the 15th of Sept. We cleaned the entire downstairs yesterday. The downstairs consists of; the laundry room, bathroom, living room, dining room/kitchen. Today we cleaned the guest room/computer room and cleaned out mine and the Hubby's closet. Last weekend we cleaned out the garage and our master bedroom and master bath. The only two rooms left are the Princess and the Bookworm's rooms!!!!!!!! Oh yeah, it's sure to be fun! So tomorrow that's what we're doing. Then Monday we'll clean all of the outside things, like flower pots and lawn furniture and we'll take down the trampoline and clean out my bird house. After that, we should be good!? Until we have to pack up the things that need to stay out so that the movers don't pack them up! Fun, oh yes, moving is soooooo much fun!
This makes move number 13 for us in 14 years of being in the Military, you would think that it gets easier.......but it doesn't! OK all of my friends that are also in the Military and have moved countless times, any tips!???

Sleeping-In, Great Attitudes....Gotta Love Homeschooling

Today we awoke and decided......hummmmm why not start schooling today. So the Bookworm was still asleep at 8:30, so the Princess and I decided why not go ahead and check out her new 7th grade curriculum. And boy does she love it! I knew that she would probably like using the DVDs this year, she absolutely loves it! All of her teachers are great and you can't ask for anything more coming from a Christian Academy. She was done with school by 12:00! And we're talking she did, Literature, Vocabulary&Spelling, Grammar, US History, Science, Math and Bible. And yes, she does have homework, which she finished after she ate lunch which took her a total of less than an hour to do. With Bible she has Bible verses to memorize and of course with Vocabulary she has 25 words to learn every week. I along with the Hubby know that they are both getting a better education at home then they were in DODD Schools. It's great to have them both back at home. I have already seen the improvement in their attitudes.
The Bookworm didn't wake up until.......humm........lets see, 11:00! I really wasn't planning on starting school with him today, but he asked if we could start. So I said sure, why not. So we started at 12:00 and were done by 2:30!!!He is in 4th grade this year and I am teaching him the Traditional Parent way, no DVDs with him. I asked him if he would like to use the DVDs and he said NO, he likes me teaching him. And he(along with the Princess)knows that Mom cuts NO slack too! Penmanship is not the Bookworms favorite by all means! He is more of a Math freak......he is really good at doing numbers in his head, and reading has always been a love of his. He definately gets reading from me and not his Dad! The Princess really loves Math but is a real History buff just like her Dad!
So what a wonderful, first day of Homeschooling.........I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

HomeSchooling

Well, today I think that we finally received all of our Homeschool Curriculum. We'll be returning to Homeschooling this year after a year of being in DODDS. We are all four excited to be Homeschooling again. We feel that it is the right choice for our family since we will be moving in November and then again the end of May to.........who knows yet!
The Princess will be in 7th grade this year and the Bookworm will be in 4th. The Princess has been telling the Bookworm all about 4th grade because I Homeschooled her 4th so she knows the curriculum and knows what her brother is in for!!! He of course does not care and can't wait for Mom to be his teacher again. As he says.......Homeschool me FOREVER!
The Princess will be using DVD's this year and is very excited about it. I think that it will give her more variety than just Mom schooling her at the table the whole time! Yes, I will still be teaching her, but most of her schooling will come from her teachers on DVD.
We have used Abeka Christian Academy in the past and are once again using it again. I love the fact that they are Accredited and that the kids are part of a Christian Homeschool Academy, plus they keep all records of the kids grades and also send report cards. Nice!
So....we may begin schooling on Thursday....we'll see!

Back from Camping @ Camp Darby...Pisa,Italy

Well, the Hubby,the kids and I just returned from a four day weekend of fun Camping. We love to camp........and yes we do it, tent style! But we love it! The weather was cool and yes it rained, but only a light rain and NO our tents didn't get water in them! We had a fun time, hanging doing nothing but being together. No TV, no electricity, we wouldn't even let the kids bring their gameboy or ipod. We played Scrabble alot, it's one of our favorite games to play, and I have to say that I am the Champ, so you can imagine when Mom finally got beat and it was the Bookworm whom finally beat Mom!

It was a fun time. We went to the American Beach and stayed all day, and we all four sustained from getting sunburns......yes! Of course the kids are so brown from this summer already, they've been in our pool almost every single day! We also enjoyed the pool at Camp Darby too.

Now we're back home and the Hubby and I cleaned out some of our books today and have a lot to give to the Library on Post and to a friend whom has just started to Homeschool her oldest son, he's 5. Next weekend we decided to put off our day trips on Hubby's four-day weekend and to go through each room putting things aside for the movers NOT to pack! Can't believe that the Movers will be here on the 15th of September! That really is just a few weeks away!We really are moving back Stateside.......doesn't seem real.......it's been along time!

Marriage Retreat

This weekend Hubby and I went to Garmisch with about 20 other couples on a Marriage Retreat that our Chapel sponsored. We had a wonderful weekend. It was definitely a Marriage Retreat......even though they offered free childcare, we left the kids with one of my very good friends here. They had a fun time with her and her husband and their cute little 10 month old daughter.

We had our marraige seminar on Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Sunday morning. On Saturday we had most of the day, from 12-7 free. So Hubby and I went Hiking up to the Reebsiee. Here you can see an old Bobsled run that they used back along long time ago when Garmisch,Germany held the winter Olympics. They have pictures up showing how they made big ice blocks from the frozen lake and then hauled them and used them to help make the walls of the track. The lake was also used for some of the Olympic Games.

After hiking up to Reebsiee, we stopped at the GaustHaus there and had Kuchen(cake) by the lake. It was the best Kase-Sohn(cheesecake, and not how you think of cheesecake, it was literally cheese cake) and then Erdbereen Kuchen(strawberry cake). And of course we can't forget that we had to big mugs of Kaffee! It was so wonderful!

Then we preceeded on our Hike back to our Resort. It was a nice day being with the Hubby and filling up our lungs with the nice German Mountain Air. Boy we sure do miss Germany! Italy is nothing like Germany to us. Maybe it has to be that we lived in Germany for 4 years!

Here are a few pics. from our Marriage Retreat weekend. This first picture is of wild currants that were growing on the side of our hiking path, they were so pretty and sooo red.

This next picture is a picture of one of the mountains and the lake reflecting the clouds, so beautiful.


This last picture is of two of three sheep that we hiked by on our way up the mountain, they posed for the camera, they probably thought that we had food to give them!

We Got-em

We Got-em, we finally got our PCS orders today! And if you are a family member reading my Blog, or a friend from our HomeChurch back in the States, I know that you are giving me an AMEN right now! Trust me, I am jumping up and down myself!

After 5 1/2 years of living over Seas, we are finally moving back to AMERICA! Can't wait, come on November!

Of course with getting the Orders comes the fun part of travel arrangements to make, and this time we have 3 pets to accomodate for! Then we have the transportation aspect, you know, the movers coming and packing everything up! Oh fun......Hubby is just dying inside I know, thinking about how much weight we are probably going to be OVER, I know for a fact that we aren't way UNDER! Next we have the shipping of the van and oh yeah, we have two cars, so we will be shipping Hubby's car back ourselves. NO WAY are we leaving it here and selling it, it's paid off and has very low mileage. It's funny to think that when we moved to Germany 5 1/2 years ago, it was brand new! We found a place that ships in Germany, they pick it up in Garmisch and then ship it to the States and it's very affordable too. Plus they ship right into Charleston,SC.

So look out Finance Captain Career Course................here we come!

For Today Monday, August 11, 2008

Outside my window......... the sun is setting.

I am thinking.......that I really need to finish folding my laudry that is dry.

I am thankful for.......my two wonderful kids, even if they don't do their chores!

From the kitchen.........there was fish fillets and baked potatoes for dinner.

I am wearing.......my pajamas.

I am going......to have a very busy day tomorrow all day long on Post!

I am reading.......nothing right now, need to find a new book to read!

I am hoping.......HighSchool Sweetheart had a nice time at his Bible Study tonight.

I am hearing..........the TV on downstairs and wondering what the Princess and the Bookworm are watching.

Around the house......I see a very clean house but laundry to be put up

One of my favorite things........is taking a long, hot bath at the end of the day.

A few plans for the rest of the week......to make sure that plans are arranged for the next three weeks for daytrips, get-aways and etc.

A picture thought I'm sharing.........so glad that we went to see my Granny last January, I never thought that she would die when she did. She'll always be in my heart and my thoughts everyday.

Lazy Sunday

Today was yet a lazy Sunday. After going to Church and having lunch, the four of us watched a movie that we rented today from the Shoppette on Post. We made pink cows for the four of us and popped some popcorn to enjoy while watching our movie. For those of you wondering what a pink cow is, it's Big Red Soda and vanilla ice-cream mixed together. The ultimate is if you have Barq's Creme Soda to use! But you only find that up North, that would be Cincinnati country for us! Oh yeah....so we rented Nim's Island. It was a good family movie, the four of us give it a definite four thumbs up! If you've never seen it yourself, then rent it, make pink cows, pop some popcorn and next Sunday have a lazy Sunday afternoon with your family!

World Wind Wednesday

I don't know about you, but around here we call Wednesdays "World Wind Wednesday". It just seems that Wednesdays in our home always seem to be the day that has the most going on. So today, the Princess had Camp again, errands had to be ran and this included Commissary shopping, mail needed to be checked on Post and of course that all time favorite deciding what to cook for dinner! Oh yeah, and did I mention that the Bookworm does not like to run ERRANDS!
Long day, still no orders, RFO, but no orders! I'm not worried, we'll leave when we're suppose to. What will getting angry or being upset do about it? NOTHING! It'll all work out in God's timing.

For Today Monday, August 4, 2008

Outside my window........the sun is setting.

I am thinking.......that it is time for a hot bath.

I am thankful for.......a wonderful day today with Christian friends.

From the kitchen.........there is salsbury steak, rice, corn and broccoli for dinner.

I am wearing.......blue and white capris with a white shirt and brown sandals.

I am going......to get off of the computer when I am done with this post.

I am reading.......nothing right now, need to find a new book to read!

I am hoping that tomorrow is not a hot day!

I am hearing..........my HighSchool Sweetheart and the Bookworm playing football on the X-box together.

Around the house......I see a very clean house!

One of my favorite things........is sitting on the front porch with Hubby and drinking coffee after dinner.

A few plans for the rest of the week......to spend some time with the Bookworm while the Princess is at another week of Summer Camp.

A picture thought I'm sharing.........

That it will be FALL soon!

I enjoy reading the simple woman's blog, you can too, http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

Spiritual Gifts

Have you ever thought about what you are doing for the Lord? What Spiritual Gifts has the Lord given to you? If you know what they are, are you using them? Your Spirtiual Gifts won't be able to be used by anyone but you, and they won't be able to be used anywhere but here, now. So what are you waiting for?
I know that the Lord has given me the Spiritual Gifts of hospitality, teaching and discernment. Yeah, I know, discernment.........but I haven't always had it........it just happened within the past couple of years. It was a surprise to me too. You may ask what discernment is. Discernment is being able to see what is not obvious to the average mind. Or the ability to make good judgement.
Hospitality, I knew that I had. It was very obvious to me. I love to do for others. Helping where ever needed and having people over to our home, fixing a meal for someone, or watching someones kids, etc. the list can go on and on. I think that I get my hospitality from my Granny that passed away this past December. I don't think that any of us in my family realized that my Granny's Spiritual Gift from God was Hospitality until she was gone. We were all just use to her doing for all of us and everyone, but not until her funeral was it clear that that was her Spiritual Gift. Listening to everyone talk about her and all that she did for them, she touched so many people through her hospitality. She never met a stranger and would cook for everyone just because she wanted to, it was her way of showing people that she cared for them. I certainly do miss her, but I know that I will see her again one day in Heaven.
Teaching, this is another Spiritual Gift. I find it very easy to teach. Be it other women or children. I love to share the word of the Lord with anyone who will listen. It's a real blessing to share God's word and then see that light bulb turn on in a child's eye, or to see that one lady accept Christ or see a lady pray for the first time in Bible Study that has never prayed outloud before. God uses us to teach His word and through us He reaches other people.
So, back to my original question........what have you been doing for the Lord lately?"Let the peace of Chirst rule in your hearts." Colossians 3:15

Verona

So Friday the kids both had their last day of Camp. Hubby decided to take off and he and I went to Verona for the day. Verona is the home of Romeo and Juliet.

We had a nice day. We took the train to Verona and then walked to the city square from the train station. It was a good 2 miles.......in the heat! Anyway....

We toured the Arena(Roman Ampitheater) first. It is said that it houses the largest stage in the world. It is thought to have been built in the early first century. It was very facinating. We enjoyed walking all the way to the very top of the Arena. They were setting up the stage for the Opera, Aida. The Hubby and I thougth at that moment how nice it would be to go back to the Arena and to see an Opera before we move. Here is a picture of the Arena and Hubby.Next we walked and found Juliet's House with the famous balcony. You know the balcony where Romeo proclaimed his love for Juliet. It was neat to see, and there was even a bronze statue of Juliet in the courtyard of the house. Here is a picture of Juliet's balcony.

Next we went to the Fiume Adige(Adige River). We stood on the bridge and looked at the castle up on the hill. We tried to take a picture of ourselves with the castle in the background! I want post it, but here is a picture of the castle with the river running in front.

We found Romeo's house next, it wasn't that thrilling to see, just a house that now houses a restaurant. We walked through the market on the way back towards the Arena. We actually caught the bus back to the train station instead of walking the 2 miles back...thanks Hubby!So, I can now say that I have been to Verona. It was a nice day with HighSchool Sweetheart.