Still Here

Yup.

We are still here.

On Monday, we thought we had 2 offers coming in.  We were jubilant.  We were relieved.

Now, it is Friday and we have had no offers.  Still waiting to hear back from one buyer who is mulling over our unofficial counter offer (which really was a horrible counter offer from us - because we still lose money...but it was better than their unofficial lowball offer).  The other buyer says that they are still interested but wanted to run things by their lender - who is on vacation until tomorrow, apparently.

Then we had a showing scheduled for yesterday, by an out of town buyer....in town for one day to look at 11 houses.  We were 11th on the list.  I was sort of excited because I thought we would make a great finish to their day....and maybe....just maybe, we would have an offer put in front of us before they headed back out of town.  That is how we did it when we moved here....we flew in, looked at houses and then filled out paperwork for make an offer on our way to the airport again that afternoon.

But, of course, the showing yesterday never came.  They never called.  They never contacted us.  My poor kids had cereal for dinner because I didn't want to make a mess of the kitchen, because I was sure that they would be calling at any minute telling me they were on their way.

I was scolded earlier this week by a real estate agent for only offering a 2% commision to the buyer's agents.  She was sure that is why my home hasn't sold, because agents are steering people away from my house.  I don't think that is true since we are at about 40 showings for our house.  But, she made me mad. 

I know I am supposed to remove my emotional involvement and think of this as a business deal....but, I am so hoping that someone else comes in and buys the house so she cannot get the $4,000+ in commission she will be paid if her buyer takes the house.  Does that make me a bad Christian?

I have been pretty upset about all of this and questioning our decision to even put the house on the market.  Rainman and I have prayed every step of the way through this process....and, this week, I have been questioning whether we really heard God's prompting and guidance in all of this....or if we just pushed through our own agenda....and, I was making myself sick with worry.  I am really not normally a worrier...that is my Mom's job!  But, I was even having chest pain/tightening and couldn't seem to turn off my mind and its whirling thoughts of what do to.

I was praying as I unloaded the dishwasher yesterday and was sort of whining and crying out to God...."I wish you would just tell me something!  I wish I knew if we were wrong to start this process!  What are we supposed to do?  Are we supposed to take a loss on this house?  Then we won't have any money for the downpayment on the other house and will have to borrow the whole amount, plus enough to pay off our existing loan!  What are we supposed to do?"

You get the idea.  I was whining.

This is where I used to rely on my Dad.  If I felt like we needed clarification on something.  I would call my Dad.  He would pray about it.  Sometimes he didn't get any clear message from God to pass along to us, but, many times he would.  He would, I think, remove himself as my father and just sort of pass along the note from God for us.....because just couldn't seem to hear Him ourselves.

But, Dad has been gone almost 2 years now.

So, as I was stacking dishes in the cupboard and scraping the crunchy gunk that always seems to be on the bottom on our cups off, I clearly heard God say, "Ask Brian."

Brian, is a friend of mine from high school, that now owns an engineering firm in northern Minnesota, is heavily involved with local youth, and is a fabulous nature photographer via Chasing the Wind Photography.



Here is what part of his "mission statement" for Chasing the Wind Photography....

All too often we find ourselves searching for something or someone that will bring "true happiness" to our lives. Have you ever said, "I just want to be happy"? We are so busy trying to fill ourselves with "stuff" that we think will make us happy, only to be disappointed. How many of those people around you seem to be trying to fill themselves up with something that they think will make them happy? Maybe it's a new boy or girlfriend, maybe a new car, a new house, a different job, or more money? Maybe it's not possessions at all. Maybe it's drugs or alcohol? Perhaps it's something that looks much better, such as helping others? Yes, we can even try to fill ourselves up by trying to get others to praise our efforts. Different things for each one of us I suppose. We are all searching for something. Quite often the "something" changes as we grow older. The happiness that a new bicycle brings at age 7, can't be purchased so cheaply when you're 37. We get so wrapped up in our search for happiness and the cluttered nature of our daily lives, that we often forget to slow down and enjoy the simple gifts that surround us.

Clutter in our lives isn't a new concept. Even King Solomon, one of the richest and wisest men of his time, concluded, in his late years, that "Everything is meaningless, like chasing after the wind" (Ecc. 1:14 NIV)......

.....It is amazing how many of us spend the majority of our lives searching for the very love and happiness that God gives us freely. A simple gift from him to each one of us.
I left a chunk of his biography/about us page out....so, feel free to go read it in its entirety (by the way, all proceeds from his photos go to fund wilderness trips for youth)





Brian and I were probably more acquaintances in high school and just sort of traveled in similar circles.  But, we have come to know each other better via FB.  Anyway, I thought it was a strange thing....but, I was absolutely, 100% certain that I heard God prompting me to "Ask Brian".

So, I did.  I started out my message on FB with...."This is going to sound strange, but....." I briefly explained the situation and asked him to pray and see if he got any secret messages from God for Rainman and I.

Here was his response:

God is so amazing. I prayed and 2 things came to me almost immediately. I will continue to pray but will share what I believe that I was lead to share. -Glorify him in all that we do. Are your decisions going to glorify God or you? This seems to be harder for men I think but its what I heard. -Do not worry. He loves you more than you can imagine and will take care of you and your family. You just need to trust that he hears your prayers and doesn't want you to worry. Trust that he will lead the way. Just give it to him. He blessed you with some wonderful children and that's where your energy and emotion should be rather than things which are out of your control. That's it. I will add this. His timing is often different than mine. The verse "be patient and wait on the lord" rings in my ears a lot. Smile! God will take care of it!

I thanked him and sent a message back that said something about how I think a lot of my worrying (in addition to the financial piece) was for the people we were buying the house from, because they want to be in their new school district when school starts...which, here in Georgia is the first week of August.  I didn't want our situation to put their lives on hold. I told him that I was just going to meditate on how much God loves me and making the human nature part of me just leave it alone....and really just trust in God.

His response:

 I struggle with that same thing many days! then I close my eyes, listen to the birds or wind and know that he is here with me, and it is going to be OK.

So, if you need me, I am going to be outside, with my eyes closed.....listening to the birds and wind and knowing that He is God...and He has got my back.

All pictures (except my house) are courtesy of Brian Grund and Chasing the Wind Photography, Bemidji, MN.

Can You Dig It?

This is a review.

Summer is always an interesting time to review products for school.  I, as the mom, am still interested in finding the little gems of products that will work for our family.  My kids, as the kids, are interested in.....well.....summer.

This product by Dig-It Games, seemed like it would be the perfect fit for all of us.



It was supposed to be school, without seeming like school.

It is actually an on-line game where you help solve a Mayan Mystery.  During the game you will discover artifacts, visit ancient Mayan cities, learn Mayan math, decode hieroglyphics and explore the Maya calendar. 




I thought this game would be perfect for A-man, who has declared that he plans to be an archeologist when he grows up.  (Side note - I had plans to be an archeologist around the 4th grade.)  He got the idea from Indiana Jones....I have no idea where my idea came from.  Sadly, my wish did not come true, unless you count digging around strange places for missing socks, or uncovering strange food substances in the back of the fridge as archeology.

This didn't work out exactly like I envisioned it.  The game was suggested for ages 11-18 and this was one time I should have listened to their recommendation.  A-man is just 8, but I thought since he was so interested in archeology and hidden artifacts that the age range wouldn't matter.  It did. 

Some of their reasoning behind the age level recommendations is that some of the material covers topics like warfare and sacrifices are included and are not considered appropriate for children younger than 11. But, that wasn't the part that wasn't a good fit for A-man.  (He found it fascinating/gross/cool that sometimes the Mayans used actual human heads as a ball.)


His issues with this game?  There was a lot of reading. 

Each character has clues and pieces of the puzzle to help you solve the mystery.  So, when you get to a new location, there are characters, or objects, with exclamation points over them.  You click on it, then read a page or two of details and history.  Then you do a challenge or help them solve some math problems. 

This was where some of the trouble started.  A-man would just skip all the hard stuff, like math, so he wasn't able to complete the tasks and solve the mysteries.  His favorite part was whenever he got a hidden object challenge.  He would do better, overall, if I sat down with him and we walked through it together, but I didn't have a lot of time for that right now, with trying to sell our house and all.  D-man sat down with him once or twice and Rainman worked with him once to help him navigate one of the math challenges too.

I will say from the times I sat down and we played the game together, it is an awesome game. 

It is a challenging game....definitely not mindless.  If you really read everything that the characters share with you, you will have a pretty broad range of knowledge about the Mayan culture. 

It has all this detailed and accurate information because Dig-It! Games was founded in 2005 by a professional archaeologist and former middle-school teacher, Suzi Wilczynski, who sought to develop educational games which promoted more independent learning, creative thinking and cultural awareness. (All great things that us homeschoolers love!)  She joined forces with Robert J. Sharer, an archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and created Mayan Mysteries.

But, the problem was, A-man mostly skimmed over that stuff and just tried to get right to the challenges....and, he actually complained a few times when I reminded him to go play.  Normally, he never complaints about me giving him extra computer time!

When I was there, I could slow him down and remind him that the information he was reading was going to help him finish the challenges and not be caught by the looters. 

It is interesting stuff.  It is detailed stuff.  I agree that it is much better suited for an older child and one who is interested in details and not just jumping into the action...if that makes sense.  It is sort of like a graphic novel in looks.  You have to read. 

Let me say it again, you have to read....a lot.....to succeed at this game.  And there isn't any action....just choices.

If you were doing a unit study on Mayan culture, this would be an awesome way to get some of the little details into your students minds.  Because Dig-It is jam packed with information....in our case, it was just more information and details than an 8 year old boy was interested in.

If you want to get a better idea of how this game looks and works, there is a free demo for you to try.

You can get an on-line subscription for a single user for $21.99.  This one is also available as an Ipad app too.  They also have other games like Roman Town which is an actual on-line archeology game....pretty sure where A-man and I will check that one out....but maybe when he is a little older.

Take a look and see what the other TOS reviewers thought of the Mayan Mysteries on-line and Ipad app.

Cursive. Boo or Yay????

This is a review.



We are trying out a cursive writing from from Classical Conversations called Prescripts Cursive Letters and Coloring - Medieval to Modern World History.





I still believe in cursive.  I really do.  There are many that say it is pointless to teach it, since most communication is handled via technology these days.  Most things are typed out....you can even sign things electronically via a fancy-dancy signature.

But, I still believe my children should know how to actually sign their names...or write a letter to someone in cursive.  So, we got a chance to try this program for cursive that was for ages 3 to 7.  Wow.  That sounded sort of young to me, but sometimes I am a bit too old school in when I start teaching things.  So, I was willing to give it a try.

In our house, the time when you learn to write in cursive is a big right of passage.  At the beginning of 2nd grade, all of the kids who have taken 2nd grade in our household (that would be 4 already!) have taken their penmenship book and flipped through it until they find the magical lesson number that let's them begin the "curly" writing.

So, I felt a little bad letting S-girl and V-girl get a sneak peak or headstart learning cursive.  But, not bad enough to actually not try this book out.

It is a very simple book.  Simple concept.  Simple lessons.

The book starts with just having the students trace with their finger and then a pencil some lines.  That is it.  No actual letters....just different lines....different curves....different shapes.  It gives them a sense of flow and continual writing without the pauses between letters like printing does.

You do actually learn the letters...starting on page 12...so you don't have to wait too long.

Did you read what this book is actually called?  Here, I will show you again:

Prescripts Cursive Letters and Coloring - Medieval to Modern World History.

This is also a coloring book.  But, it isn't just any old coloring book.  It is a smart person's coloring book.....or, I suppose in this case, a coloring book that you hope will help make your kids smarter!

You color things like this:

 A sketch of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine.

Or this one.....

Graffiti from the Berlin Wall.

I know.  It is sort of genius, isn't it?  Get your kids asking questions about things and just letting them color it.  I can see this working really well if you use unit studies where all of your students, regardless of their ages are working on things...like a world history study around the Berlin Wall.  Your younger ones can be right there with you "doing school" just like they want to and not just being kept busy with Legos (not that Lego time is bad).  It is spiral bound sideways, so the coils don't get in the way of writing or coloring.

I will say that V-girl, age 3, really was too young to get much from this book...not that she didn't try...but her hand eye coordination and patience just isn't there yet.  S-girl, at 6, did a whole lot better when she tried.  She could easily trace the lines with both her fingers and a pencil.

We will still make a big deal out of officially learning cursive in the 2nd grade, but, what I have noticed that this book did is make it possible for S-girl to read things that are written in cursive....something that my other kids have not been able to do.

If something was in cursive, they would just announce that they didn't know how to read cursive and give up.  S-girl doesn't recognize all the letters yet, but she does pretty good at making an educated guess....although cursive "z"s are still troublesome....but, really, come on....have you seen an actual cursive Z lately?



As you see from the above pictures of S-girl, I wasn't a stickler for sitting at a table and having proper posture when she was working on her cursive, which she loved.  I think that will come later, for now, this course succeeded in making cursive a much less scary thing for her.  These weren't even pictures I asked her to pose for.  We were watching T.V. and I looked down and there she was working on her cursive school.  A homeschooling mother's dream to look up and see.

She actually had fun with this course and I got a little sneaky teaching in too with the world history coloring pages.

You can try out this quick and easy cursive lesson book for $11.99.

Here is a little video preview of the Prescripts series (which has other notebooks that offer cursive along with art) from Classical Conversations.

The TOS Crew got to try these different books for the different age levels in teaching cursive, so, if you have older kids, go check out what they thought.