Geographist

Early on in the quarantine, we started hearing about the phrase "new normal" and certain things have definitely changed.  Some of them will be hard habits to break by the time the next school year rolls around and I finally return to my office.  But either way, we're going to try to enjoy each step along the journey! Sunday - The pews continue to get filled up more each week at church, and now there are no more ropes closing off every second row.  I'm glad to see more folks getting comfortable as they start getting back to being around others.  After church we snagged some Mongolian BBQ for lunch on the way home.  Girly had youth choir in the evening, so Curly and I had an hour to kill before Bible Drill began - Daddy/daughter date night at the Greek restaurant!  Once the kids finished up their final practice before the upcoming state competition, we headed back home where my mom was arriving to spend a few nights.  She opted to stay in our guest room for a little whi

Another week is in the books, and this one made it feel like we're starting to wind down the school year activities as the kids start preparing for their final events.  Oh, and we had lots of birthdays! Sunday - One week after Easter Sunday, and while the crowd was a bit smaller than on the "big day" it's quite obvious that more and more folks are feeling comfortable coming around.  After grabbing Italian food for lunch we all decided it was a perfect time for a gelato dessert.  During the evening, Curly participated in the Association level of Bible Drill, which was still held on our church campus.  I was really proud of all the kids that competed, and all of them scored well enough to advance on to the State level in a few weeks.  To celebrate, we all headed outside for some ice cream - hooray for two frozen dairy desserts in a single day!        Monday - It was back to school for everyone except Girly, who hadn't been feeling quite up to par.  She spent the bet

I find it hard to believe that we've been at this for 35 weeks already, but here we are with just six weeks of school left.  There are no more holidays, however, so from here on out it's a push all the way to the finish line.  Whether it turns into a race or a grind remains to be seen! Sunday - What an amazing Resurrection Day at church!  For the first time in over a year, our worship service felt like the congregation we used to know every week.  We're definitely thankful for all the progress that has been made in order to bring the church back together in the building.  Even our 5th grade Bible study was closer to normal, with the kids being able to move around our room more freely during activities.  After church we headed up to my in-laws' house for a family lunch, after which we ran around watching the kids collect all of those brightly-colored, candy-filled eggs.   Monday - The adults were back to work, but none of the kids were back in school.  So while Mrs. Geog

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