This has been such a long ordeal I am not sure whether to woot or not! We made another offer on the original house after the sellers lowered their price again. We also have different financing options now that makes the septic system a problem we can deal with. So excited they accepted our offer on Monday!
Moving forward with hope. We celebrated Monday night with an ice cream cone at Zou Zou's in downtown Chelsea. It was a great place and yummy!
When we drove by the house we saw families of geese and ducks enjoying our ponds. Can't wait to be there!!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Part II: The Michigan Saga
To summarize: We were welcomed into the home of the most perfect couple on earth at the end of February. They have already served two missions. I think they have decided that we are their third!
At the time we still had hope that the search for our own home would be short. Over that last month we have gone from hope to near dispair multiple times. Every time we found a house that would work or at one point a home that we thought was amazingly perfect. Someone else was a step ahead and had already made an offer.
Did the Lord want us to live in someone else's home forever!!?
We have had a lovely month though if you don't count the house hunt.
Sarah's birthday compelled cheerfulness and a trip to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. The kids had a blast. I, of course, forgot the camera.
Our three oldest participated in the Stake roadshow. Our ward performed a praiseworthy story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Jolie was a singing tree, Aliyah a dwarf named Hope, and Jake, a dwarf called Honesty.
Bryan and I have gone on a few dates into Ann Arbor. We tried to go to a vegitarian restaurant but were disuaded from that scrumptious idea when we discovered that Ann Arbor parking garages were not intended to house 12 passenger vans. We plan to return with friends in a smaller car!
He and I both recieved callings in the ward. He as the 1st counselor in the Sunday School (somewhere he hasn't served before) and as the teacher for the 14/15 yr old class. I was asked to head up the Girls Camp committee this year. I am really excited as we go camp on the Johnson Farm near Kirtland Ohio!
The younger kids and I visited one of the parks in the area to learn about making maple syrup. We helped get sap from a tree and watched as it boiled down over a hot wood stove. We are all looking forward to having a maple tree of our own to make some maple syrup next year!
Our overworked and flabbergasted realtor has been a genuine friend. She invited us to visit her at home and play in her big building that is the perfect place for kids to unwind during the cold winter months. It houses a pool table, trampoline, ping pong table, and riding toys. We've enjoyed two visits to this haven of excitement.
One day on the way home from there we took a road we had not travelled before. As we were almost home Bryan spied a long unused driveway winding up to a home on the top of a wooded hill. Upon realizing the home was empty we turned around and went to check it out.
It seemed to be an abandoned brand new house. Peeking in windows of abandoned houses has become quite a talent for us. This time the house was on a hill. I actually had to lift Bry up to see in one of the windows. Just a funny memory. Glad I didn't have the camera.
To make a long story short we got home snooped around online and found the owner of the house, gave our realtor all the info. It took some doing but we found that the home had been only partially forclosed on. We made an offer to the bank and hope to hear today!!!!!
The house is on 20 acres. Much of it is wooded and the rest is marshy. There is a large pond where we discovered some mallards nesting. It is the perfect spot for maple syrup making and our very outdoorsy children.
I am hoping, hoping this is the Lord's plan......
At the time we still had hope that the search for our own home would be short. Over that last month we have gone from hope to near dispair multiple times. Every time we found a house that would work or at one point a home that we thought was amazingly perfect. Someone else was a step ahead and had already made an offer.
Did the Lord want us to live in someone else's home forever!!?
We have had a lovely month though if you don't count the house hunt.
Sarah's birthday compelled cheerfulness and a trip to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. The kids had a blast. I, of course, forgot the camera.
Our three oldest participated in the Stake roadshow. Our ward performed a praiseworthy story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Jolie was a singing tree, Aliyah a dwarf named Hope, and Jake, a dwarf called Honesty.
Bryan and I have gone on a few dates into Ann Arbor. We tried to go to a vegitarian restaurant but were disuaded from that scrumptious idea when we discovered that Ann Arbor parking garages were not intended to house 12 passenger vans. We plan to return with friends in a smaller car!
He and I both recieved callings in the ward. He as the 1st counselor in the Sunday School (somewhere he hasn't served before) and as the teacher for the 14/15 yr old class. I was asked to head up the Girls Camp committee this year. I am really excited as we go camp on the Johnson Farm near Kirtland Ohio!
The younger kids and I visited one of the parks in the area to learn about making maple syrup. We helped get sap from a tree and watched as it boiled down over a hot wood stove. We are all looking forward to having a maple tree of our own to make some maple syrup next year!
Our overworked and flabbergasted realtor has been a genuine friend. She invited us to visit her at home and play in her big building that is the perfect place for kids to unwind during the cold winter months. It houses a pool table, trampoline, ping pong table, and riding toys. We've enjoyed two visits to this haven of excitement.
One day on the way home from there we took a road we had not travelled before. As we were almost home Bryan spied a long unused driveway winding up to a home on the top of a wooded hill. Upon realizing the home was empty we turned around and went to check it out.
It seemed to be an abandoned brand new house. Peeking in windows of abandoned houses has become quite a talent for us. This time the house was on a hill. I actually had to lift Bry up to see in one of the windows. Just a funny memory. Glad I didn't have the camera.
To make a long story short we got home snooped around online and found the owner of the house, gave our realtor all the info. It took some doing but we found that the home had been only partially forclosed on. We made an offer to the bank and hope to hear today!!!!!
The house is on 20 acres. Much of it is wooded and the rest is marshy. There is a large pond where we discovered some mallards nesting. It is the perfect spot for maple syrup making and our very outdoorsy children.
I am hoping, hoping this is the Lord's plan......
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Big Move....or everything that has happened so far
Update: Where to start.....we are in Michigan.
We thought, when Bryan accepted this job that the troubles were over. We could now breathe deeply and relax a little. So little did we know.
Bryan started work for a company in Michigan in December. A huge blessing. We began to dream of moving, a new house(not a remodel), new places, new experiences. At the end of December he and I and Aria spent six stressful days house hunting. When on the last day at the last moment we thought we found one we went back to Missouri rejoicing.
Bryan's job then became extremely demanding and he was travelling away more than he was home, w
while I and the eight children tried to prepare for the big move. I was very grateful that we didn't have to pack. We spent our days purging the house of everything we did not want supercontientious movers to stuff in boxes to then be found cluttering our new house.
Shortly after our return to Missouri we learned that we would not be getting the house we wanted, so we began looking for a rental. Bryan discovered one that would work and we were again relieved that we would have a home to go to. Then we learned that we WERE getting the house we wanted and we were very excited.
All through these experiences we were having a lot of trouble with the relocation company which was supposed to make this move as smooth as possible, yet did nothing but mess things up.
We planned our move for the middle of February. Shortly after scheduling the movers we learned that the relocation company had again messed things up and we would not be closing on the house when we originally planned. We left Missouri anyway with the help of several kind friends who cleaned the house and one especially amazing friend who came back the next day to mop and finish up for us.
We got to Michigan on the 17th of February. We lived in a hotel for a week and a half.
Our family has had the good fortune of falling into the boundaries of an especially amazing and service oriented ward. We have been fed, housed, hugged, worried over, fasted for, smiled at, and welcomed compeletely.
The home we thought we were buying turned out to need some major work. At that point we discovered that the rental we had as backup was not adequate for our needs and when we thought we had miraculously found the ultimate rental of our dreams we were reminded of the reason we do not rent....the number 8 that is attached to the word children.
To be continued.....
We thought, when Bryan accepted this job that the troubles were over. We could now breathe deeply and relax a little. So little did we know.
Bryan started work for a company in Michigan in December. A huge blessing. We began to dream of moving, a new house(not a remodel), new places, new experiences. At the end of December he and I and Aria spent six stressful days house hunting. When on the last day at the last moment we thought we found one we went back to Missouri rejoicing.
Bryan's job then became extremely demanding and he was travelling away more than he was home, w
while I and the eight children tried to prepare for the big move. I was very grateful that we didn't have to pack. We spent our days purging the house of everything we did not want supercontientious movers to stuff in boxes to then be found cluttering our new house.
Shortly after our return to Missouri we learned that we would not be getting the house we wanted, so we began looking for a rental. Bryan discovered one that would work and we were again relieved that we would have a home to go to. Then we learned that we WERE getting the house we wanted and we were very excited.
All through these experiences we were having a lot of trouble with the relocation company which was supposed to make this move as smooth as possible, yet did nothing but mess things up.
We planned our move for the middle of February. Shortly after scheduling the movers we learned that the relocation company had again messed things up and we would not be closing on the house when we originally planned. We left Missouri anyway with the help of several kind friends who cleaned the house and one especially amazing friend who came back the next day to mop and finish up for us.
We got to Michigan on the 17th of February. We lived in a hotel for a week and a half.
Our family has had the good fortune of falling into the boundaries of an especially amazing and service oriented ward. We have been fed, housed, hugged, worried over, fasted for, smiled at, and welcomed compeletely.
The home we thought we were buying turned out to need some major work. At that point we discovered that the rental we had as backup was not adequate for our needs and when we thought we had miraculously found the ultimate rental of our dreams we were reminded of the reason we do not rent....the number 8 that is attached to the word children.
To be continued.....
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Time4Learning is a hit!!!
Several months ago I was introduced to Time4Learning by a friend who had just began homeschooling. I logged on and watched a demo and was not impressed enough to let go of all my hard work of pulling together curriculum from multiple sources for multiple children. I thought that the quality of the program was not what I was looking for.
Then life changed....we had an eighth child...we had two kids start high school...we began a large move 600 miles from our home, family, friends, and home school co-op. Overwhelm set in. Time4Learning was seeming like a very good idea. I jumped at the chance to try it out for a month in exchange for this review.
I was delighted that I could sign up 4 children for the first month. We began in the 6th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st grade. Each of the children used the feature that allows you to do work in the grade ahead or below the chosen grade. Our second grade child is really a third grader who has some trouble with reading. It was a relief to her to do the language arts curriculum from 2nd grade as it was easier for her to read. I was pleasantly surprised that the phonics lessons really helped her to improve her reading also.
Our first grader was just happy with all of it. She says she especially liked doing the science. Our third grader is a fourth grade student with a low desire to read. He loved all of the Time4Learning subjects and I look forward to convincing him that he is capable of performing at grade level. Our oldest child in Time4Learning was willing to do all the subjects because it was on the computer. In contrast, my most convincing teaching from other sources could not persuade her to enjoy reading about many of the subjects that were covered in this curriculum.
There is a lovely feature included in the curriculum where the student earns a certain amount of computer game time in the Playground after completing their schoolwork. I especially liked this because I didn't have to worry about the kids accidently going to a site that was not safe. For the first week I didn't even tell the kids this feature existed. Then, on the day they were all dancing around telling a friend how fun school was, I decided I was convinced too that Time4Learning was a keeper.
My initial opinion that the quality of the curriculum was not what I would like was based on my viewing of a demo. The demo was animated and loud. I didn't want the kids learning from cartoons. On using the curriculum I was pleased with the levels for 3rd grade and up. There was a lot of reading and actual photographs of the people and places the kids were learning about. There were also internet links to sites with more information. The lower grades have a lot of animation but it kept the kids attention and they did remember what they were learning. Sometimes it was hard for them to understand the animated characters, but I think it would be solved if we got headphones.
I really liked the record keeping features. It made it really easy for me to keep track of each child. I could tell where they needed to review and when the level they were working on was too easy.
There are some features we haven't used such as the word processing for writing and journaling as the kids need some typing instruction first. But we are looking forward to using this curriculum. I may even enroll my Kindergartner also.
I had thought I might wait to begin this curriculum until after our move but I am so glad I didn't wait. It was great to be able to pack up the laptop for our move and not have to lug around boxes of books to keep everyone busy. It was especially great to have something worthwhile for them to do while we were stuck in a hotel room for hours on end as we were house hunting!
Time4Learning has freed up my time to do things with the kids that are more fun for me. When I know the basics are covered we can read stories together and take on bigger projects that I have been too overwhelmed in the past to do with them. I hope time for learning can continue to be the blessing it has been so far!
(the opinion expressed in this review is entirely my own, the content was not written by Time4Learning, but I have been compensated)
Then life changed....we had an eighth child...we had two kids start high school...we began a large move 600 miles from our home, family, friends, and home school co-op. Overwhelm set in. Time4Learning was seeming like a very good idea. I jumped at the chance to try it out for a month in exchange for this review.
I was delighted that I could sign up 4 children for the first month. We began in the 6th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st grade. Each of the children used the feature that allows you to do work in the grade ahead or below the chosen grade. Our second grade child is really a third grader who has some trouble with reading. It was a relief to her to do the language arts curriculum from 2nd grade as it was easier for her to read. I was pleasantly surprised that the phonics lessons really helped her to improve her reading also.
Our first grader was just happy with all of it. She says she especially liked doing the science. Our third grader is a fourth grade student with a low desire to read. He loved all of the Time4Learning subjects and I look forward to convincing him that he is capable of performing at grade level. Our oldest child in Time4Learning was willing to do all the subjects because it was on the computer. In contrast, my most convincing teaching from other sources could not persuade her to enjoy reading about many of the subjects that were covered in this curriculum.
There is a lovely feature included in the curriculum where the student earns a certain amount of computer game time in the Playground after completing their schoolwork. I especially liked this because I didn't have to worry about the kids accidently going to a site that was not safe. For the first week I didn't even tell the kids this feature existed. Then, on the day they were all dancing around telling a friend how fun school was, I decided I was convinced too that Time4Learning was a keeper.
My initial opinion that the quality of the curriculum was not what I would like was based on my viewing of a demo. The demo was animated and loud. I didn't want the kids learning from cartoons. On using the curriculum I was pleased with the levels for 3rd grade and up. There was a lot of reading and actual photographs of the people and places the kids were learning about. There were also internet links to sites with more information. The lower grades have a lot of animation but it kept the kids attention and they did remember what they were learning. Sometimes it was hard for them to understand the animated characters, but I think it would be solved if we got headphones.
I really liked the record keeping features. It made it really easy for me to keep track of each child. I could tell where they needed to review and when the level they were working on was too easy.
There are some features we haven't used such as the word processing for writing and journaling as the kids need some typing instruction first. But we are looking forward to using this curriculum. I may even enroll my Kindergartner also.
I had thought I might wait to begin this curriculum until after our move but I am so glad I didn't wait. It was great to be able to pack up the laptop for our move and not have to lug around boxes of books to keep everyone busy. It was especially great to have something worthwhile for them to do while we were stuck in a hotel room for hours on end as we were house hunting!
Time4Learning has freed up my time to do things with the kids that are more fun for me. When I know the basics are covered we can read stories together and take on bigger projects that I have been too overwhelmed in the past to do with them. I hope time for learning can continue to be the blessing it has been so far!
(the opinion expressed in this review is entirely my own, the content was not written by Time4Learning, but I have been compensated)
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Stay Tuned for our family review of Time4Learning
I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as an online homeschooling curriculum, afterschool tutorial or a summer skill builder. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.
I have been looking into using Time4Learning for quite a while for several of the kids and this gives me the perfect opportunity to see how we like it. Wish us luck!
I have been looking into using Time4Learning for quite a while for several of the kids and this gives me the perfect opportunity to see how we like it. Wish us luck!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Giveaways!
I should be posting about Bryan's new job or how cute my kids are or even my new house but I am posting to let you know about a Silhouette giveaway on two blogs I follow! Because I really want a Silhouette!!
Shabbychiccottage is so cool! and Beneath my heart is lovely!
If I win this Silhouette, I plan to make the awesomest things for my new house.
Shabbychiccottage is so cool! and Beneath my heart is lovely!
If I win this Silhouette, I plan to make the awesomest things for my new house.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Science Experiment?
Do you ever wonder if you live in a petri dish?
Sometimes if seems the choices of our lives are watched over by the guy on the other end of the giant microscope. We wander about acting and unfortunately being acted upon, most of the time having no real understanding of the far reaching effects of our daily decisions. The all seeing eye above us is carefully recording our every move, occasionally shaking the dish we call life to create a new kaleidoscope of choices and directions to appear in front of us. Out of the immense number of possible outcomes He somehow manages to guide our actions in the direction that lead to the best possible results. The only ones in the dark in this double blind study are us.
In the last two years we have spent our every waking moment (and admittedly, many sleeping ones) trying to discover the path we should take to create our future. Trying to see the long term consequences of our desires. Struggling to embark on a new story in the Choose Your Own Adventure that is our life. We've taken seminars, soul searched, read countless books, job-hunted, interviewed, created small business plans, flown to new places, hoped, dreamed, prayed.
I have decided that our Father is so full of compassion he lets us dream our dreams because they make us happy. He watches, gently persuading us with new ideas, as what we thought would be the best thing ever, slowly or suddenly dissipates into just and only a dream.
Amazingly, none of this makes Him impatient to be moving on as it does us. He is content to watch and wait as we figure out a few things on our own. He never despairs that our lives are not going "according to plan". He never worries that we'll never see better days. He sees the end from the beginning.
And so he teaches us patience, compassion, gentleness and reaches down to pull us out of the fiery furnace because thankfully, he knows our hearts.
Sometimes if seems the choices of our lives are watched over by the guy on the other end of the giant microscope. We wander about acting and unfortunately being acted upon, most of the time having no real understanding of the far reaching effects of our daily decisions. The all seeing eye above us is carefully recording our every move, occasionally shaking the dish we call life to create a new kaleidoscope of choices and directions to appear in front of us. Out of the immense number of possible outcomes He somehow manages to guide our actions in the direction that lead to the best possible results. The only ones in the dark in this double blind study are us.
In the last two years we have spent our every waking moment (and admittedly, many sleeping ones) trying to discover the path we should take to create our future. Trying to see the long term consequences of our desires. Struggling to embark on a new story in the Choose Your Own Adventure that is our life. We've taken seminars, soul searched, read countless books, job-hunted, interviewed, created small business plans, flown to new places, hoped, dreamed, prayed.
I have decided that our Father is so full of compassion he lets us dream our dreams because they make us happy. He watches, gently persuading us with new ideas, as what we thought would be the best thing ever, slowly or suddenly dissipates into just and only a dream.
Amazingly, none of this makes Him impatient to be moving on as it does us. He is content to watch and wait as we figure out a few things on our own. He never despairs that our lives are not going "according to plan". He never worries that we'll never see better days. He sees the end from the beginning.
And so he teaches us patience, compassion, gentleness and reaches down to pull us out of the fiery furnace because thankfully, he knows our hearts.
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The Gooneybirds
With 10 of us-this is as good as it gets!