Home Sweet Life ~ Month in Review 2/3/17

I knew it had been a while since I had linked up with my friend Kym over at Homeschool Coffee Break for a Homeschool Highlights...but I had not realized it had been an entire month! Yikes!

Let's just get to it shall we?

The highlights:

January begins the 4-H season here in Indiana, and we had both our first club meeting, as well as the county-wide enrollment night that Arlene and I helped with (both in the same week!) Arlene is our club's President this year, and while that means some extra responsibility for her, it also allows me (club leader) to share some of the planning responsibilities for each meeting, as Arlene is my trusty "go make an agenda" girl!

January also included the end of the quilt show Arlene had participated in, and she helped on pick-up day. I think she is glad to finally have her checkerboard quilt home to stay!

Arlene and I watched the inauguration of President Trump and Vice-President Pence as a part of our home education time last month. We have had several talks about what the change from one President to another has looked like over the years. We have also had a lot of talks about working with other people, ones who we do not always agree upon, to accomplish things for the greater good,and how vital that is to how our Republic works.  We were at an evening board meeting recently, and afterwards talked about how sometimes the best way to understand another person's point of view is to listen to what they are saying, and what they leave unsaid, all while keeping your own mouth shut. There are local and national issues to keep abreast of, and Arlene has become a more discerning listener, and we have had talks about what she agrees with or disagrees with about various topics that are being debated on the National and Local levels. I think a lot of this is due to our working through her Worldview in Conflict curriculum. Christ calls us to be the peacemakers, while still proclaiming His glory. It can be a difficult road to walk when so many of your friends or co-workers on a project feel so differently than you do.

We have also spent a fair amount of time around our local politicians recently... there was a Third House meeting at our local library in early January, sponsored by the local League of Women Voters, as well as Homeschool Day at the Capitol earlier this week. The response at the local event was fair, but I was really impressed by how many people came from all over the state for the event at the Statehouse. You may remember Arlene and I visited the Statehouse on a quiet afternoon in December. This past Monday was anything but quiet as hundreds of families gathered, learned more about how our government works, and spoke with their Senators and Representatives about their concerns. When we needed  a break from all the noise, we spent some time in the Statehouse's Law Library. There are also these really cool "quiet booths" at the Statehouse that I'll show you a picture of soon. Arlene and I spent the whole day at the Statehouse, and stayed to watch the afternoon sessions in the Senate and the House. Ok, we only got to see the end of the session in the House, because we spent so much time in the Senate gallery watching the State Senators debate on the bill about whether or not Indiana should go back to requiring the teaching of cursive handwriting, which came after the debate on amending the penalties for robbing pharmacies. Oh yeah, there were a WIDE variety of bills being read and debated that afternoon! I will do a whole post about our day soon, along with lots of pictures! Suffice it to say - it was a long, interesting day!

What else did we do last month? There was the Annual Meeting for Conner Prairie that Arlene and I attended. As members (and volunteers) we try to attend every year. This year we were privileged to be some of the first people to find out about a $500,000 donation made to Conner Prairie, along with some cool restoration work that will begin soon. Before you know it, March will be here and Arlene will be back to volunteering out on the grounds at Conner Prairie!

Did Arlene accomplish any bookwork in January? Yes, quite a bit! She is back at work on her Biology, as well as continuing to work through her Algebra and Geometry. We work on her Worldviews course whenever we are both home, usually twice a week. It's not always easy being a working and homeschooling mama, but I would not trade it for anything! Since Emily graduated in December, I've been making an extra effort to spend time with Arlene on things that interest her, and fitting in as many outside activities and field trips as good sense, and the weather, allow.

Tomorrow Arlene will be having a table at the local library for their first Local Artisan's Fair. She has spun quite a bit of yarn from various types of wool and alpaca fibers. When I got off work early on Wednesday, we got out the Cricut and made cute little info and price tags for her skeins of yarn. She is hoping for a good response from the shoppers tomorrow afternoon. She wants to add to her savings account where she is saving up for the Midwest Weaver's Conference that is coming to Indianapolis in June. We are all really thankful for the local SWIFT guild that has generously offered Arlene a scholarship to cover the cost of the conference registration.

Life here continues to march on. When it is sunny and warm out we look forward to Spring, and when it is cold and windy, we are reminded that we live in Indiana, where Winter lingers, but allows us to tap our maple trees. Soon we will put in those spiles and start collecting sap for our maple syrup making!

Hope you've had a great week! Stop back by on Monday for another Blogging Through the Alphabet post.

Be blessed - Jesus loves you!