Geographist

Lots of changes during this update, which was truly a red-letter week! Sunday - Palm Sunday at church was a little different this year, as the children typically usher us all into worship waving palm branches and singing.  But you know what?  At least we were in church this time, unlike last year, and that was a very good thing.  During the evening, we were all back at church so that we could watch Curly and Whirly participate in their Bible Drill church competition.  Both had improvements over their practice round from the week before Spring Break, and every one of the kids did a great job!  It was definitely a tough semester to handle, but all of our 4th and 5th graders will be advancing to their next round - the association level.  After all the kids wrapped up, Mrs. Geographist got to hang out with several of her friends that make up a discipleship group, so it was just a great day all around.       Monday - Back to school, back to work.  Whirly continued to focus on her math skill

This week certainly was a one that deserved a gold star on the calendar!  With so much going on, I decided our family motto should now be "Making the most of a good situation"!  Maybe I should find someone willing to stencil that onto the wall by our front door, what do you think? Sunday - We were back at church to start the week after being out of town for Spring Break, and it was good to see our 5th grade crew again.  One thing we've noticed is that, in addition to the general population continuing to rise at places like our church, the traffic situation is also starting to appear decidedly pre-pandemic.  Suffice it to say that we were all hungry for lunch by the time it took us to travel back through town after services were over!  In the evening the Bible Drill kids had their final dress rehearsal for next week's competition, which gave them a good sense of where they stand.  In an exceptionally bizarre semester full of unexpected closures and weather events, the

When I left off last week, we'd just arrived in Florida for vacation, and that's pretty much what this week was all about.  I came up with what I've termed the "Law of the Three Es" for where I like to put my money: education, experiences, and eternity.  The things we learn, the things we remember, and the things we do for God's kingdom seem like good places to invest since nobody can steal those away. Sunday - One year ago, we sat in a room near San Juan Capistrano, CA and watched our church's service on live stream for the first time, little realizing that would be the only way we could meet for months thereafter.  This time we watched again from several states away and realized how much of a blessing our church really is.  After the service we decided to start getting some time in the sun - the forecast was iffy at best for outdoor activities during the week, so we wanted to take advantage when we could.  We spent the better part of the day in the beaut

The end of school's third quarter always coincides with Spring Break, which presents an interesting juxtaposition between knuckling down to do good work and tossing books aside in favor of relaxation and a glorious lack of scheduling.  But we all must finish strong to enjoy the benefits!  Sunday - Back at church to begin the week, we've really seen a noticeable uptick in attendance.  And this time it was particularly special because my mom joined us for worship.  She is spending some time at our house to be closer to my dad, and that means she got to also spend time at the church where she spent so many years.  Whirly got to pick our lunch spot (which was probably decided because of the word "cheesecake" in the name), so that meant we all got home fat and happy.  I took the younger two girls to Bible Drill in the evening to wrap up the weekend.  Monday - Birthday time!  Whirly and I took a break during the school day to go pick out a fantasy birthday cake for her fami

This week marked a pair of milestones for the blog.  First of all, as you can probably tell from the title of this page, this is the 30th post of our weekly homeschooling journey.  Second, my website hit 10,000 views since its inception, which is kind of mind-boggling to me.  Thank you to everyone, whether you've only found me once or if you've seen every post since the beginning of Our Story With God! Sunday - We kicked off the week with a pretty full house at church.  It seems that the significant drops in Covid cases in Houston, plus the increase in immunizations and general improvement in the weather, have prompted many folks to return to worshipping in person.  Our 5th grade class used up all available seats at the tables that were set up and we're starting to see some new faces that haven't been around all year.  It's definitely a good thing!  Girly had a return to youth choir, and both Curly and Whirly were able to go back to Bible Drill in the evening.  Febr

The warmth has returned to the Houston area, and with it a semblance of normal as everything started opening back up.  I hope everyone out there is also getting back into their own particular groove! Sunday - Church wasn't very full coming off the big freeze.  Some of the classrooms had sustained damage, so all activities other than the actual worship service were canceled for the day.  The exciting news back home came in the late afternoon when the boil notice in our town finally got lifted.  I ran the faucets, replaced the water filter, and cranked up the ice maker again.  Everyone else in the house started going through clothes and closets to figure out what should get thrown out or donated prior to our next move. Monday - Something new and different on a Monday morning, and that is exercise.  Mrs. Geographist has been going to early-morning cross kick workouts and I decided to join her.  The grand master of the martial arts studio runs the class, so I was able to get some perso

If you live in Texas or you follow the news, you'll realize this was a bizarre week (even by recent standards).  My heart goes out to all of those affected by the crisis which was kicked off by the winter weather we've experienced. Sunday - Happy Valentine's Day!  We really did our celebrating on Saturday, as today was supposed to be spent primarily at church.  After our morning service and Bible study, however, our schedule was adjusted as all afternoon and evening events were canceled.  We all went home and packed up, and once everyone had grabbed lunch we scooted down the road towards my parents' house.  With my dad still in the hospital, I thought the freeze might present difficulties for my mom and she would do well to have some companionship and help for a few days.  Little did we know we were actually saving ourselves from a significant headache.  The older girls had school canceled for Monday and Tuesday, so we figured on staying for two nights until things had

Lots of random goings-on this week! Sunday - Apparently there was some big football game scheduled.  After church and Bible study, we got to hang around late with the kids for a Bible Drill party with the appropriate gridiron theme.  Pizza and cupcakes are a must!  I thought the games to help the kids remember their verses and passages were pretty cool, considering we're still doing things 6' apart.  Once we got home and did some light housework (and just a bit of office work) I watched some of the first half of the game, but got annoyed with it pretty quickly.  So I decided to just hang out for a while with my wife and chill for the evening. Monday - In addition to school and work, we also had a few chores to run.  I had upgraded my phone so it was necessary to return my old device, which meant a trip to the UPS store.  In addition, Whirly had to get a blood test to make sure her medication was doing well.  And any time a little girl has to get a shot, it seems right somehow t