Cold and Warm and Back Again

Someone recently shared that they felt the temperatures in East Tennessee was something like Powerball: just random numbers thrown out in no particular order. And it’s been so, so true. Highs of 30, 45, 61, 25, 58. My kids— especially Simon— have been so confused getting ready to go out for morning chores, let alone getting dressed for the day. The laundry basket has muddy snow pants and filthy shorts in the same load. What season is this, exactly?

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Cycle 3, Week 14

These are websites, books, videos, and other resources that correlate with CC Cycle 3, week 14 New Grammar. A few quick disclaimers: I have used every resource that I list unless noted, but I may not have used it as intended. (For example, I may have selected worksheets from a unit study rather than having used it in its entirety.) Also, I am very comfortable editing books that I read to my children on the fly. If you are concerned about the level or content of a book or resource, please peruse in advance. Some links may direct to affiliate sites. For other CC-related posts and weekly resource links on this blog, click here.

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Chemistry

Links may direct to affiliate sites. Purchases made through these links support our family’s work in spreading the Gospel to unreached areas.

Our new quarter began last week, and with it, a new unit of science. We’re now focusing on chemistry, the one science I admit gives me that vague feeling of being in way over my head no matter how many classes I’ve taken or how many times I’ve taught it. I’m not sure where the intimidation factor comes in, exactly, but I cannot seem to shake the sense that no matter how much I’ve learned (and how much the models have changed), part of me is still that high school sophomore seated at the long black lab table who accidentally set her lab partner’s very densely Aqua Netted bangs aflame with a too-enthusiastic twist of the bunsen burner flame control.

True story.

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January

As I write this, Decimus has the hiccups. Is there anything more amazing than a babe in utero hiccuping? No, there really isn’t. The last few days have felt slightly more challenging on the pregnancy front, so I am soaking in the sweetness of a quiet moment with my baby’s rhythmic little thumps just below my hip. Soon enough, I will meet this little person. The physically difficult parts will be behind. That perspective is so easy to lose when you’re trying to find the “just right” of blood sugar with gestational diabetes, and, right on cue, your sciatic nerve begins to sing every moment of the day, and your hormones have you crying with awe and joy in moment and what feels like hopeless despair the next. Continue reading

Cycle 3, Week 13

These are websites, books, videos, and other resources that correlate with CC Cycle 3, week 13 New Grammar. A few quick disclaimers: I have used every resource that I list unless noted, but I may not have used it as intended. (For example, I may have selected worksheets from a unit study rather than having used it in its entirety.) Also, I am very comfortable editing books that I read to my children on the fly. If you are concerned about the level or content of a book or resource, please peruse in advance. Some links may direct to affiliate sites. For other CC-related posts and weekly resource links on this blog, click here.

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And… We’re Back

This week brings nearly all of our normal rhythm back into play, with the added wrinkle of it also being the last week the college crew is home. There’s a tinge of sadness at picking up the threads of outside lessons and such these dwindling days of our time together, but this is how the calendar fell and well, it is what it is.

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The Recap

The last day of the year. It feels a bit more meaningful as 2020 comes to a close, doesn’t it? Somehow a bit weightier? A lot of life happened these past twelve months, and I for one am happy to look back over it and relive the good and the challenging.

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At the Year’s End

Today, I will pack up the Christmas decorations and return the house to its normal, less-festive but more practical state. I suspect as well that God will do some “undecorating” of His own, melting off the final two inches of snow that still cling to the ground outside.

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Simple Days

Links may direct to affiliate sites. Purchases made through these links support our family’s work in spreading the Gospel to unreached areas.

The kids are traveling home this morning, we have a turkey, and today’s plans include prepping two versions of Pioneer Woman’s exquisite cinnamon rolls for easy baking tomorrow morning (regular and allergy-friendly), as well as making both a pumpkin pie and (allergy-friendly) apple pie.

It must be Thanksgiving.

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