Golden Acorn Homeschool

Our family arrived safely in Las Vegas on the 16th of February.  We have been busy exploring and slowly unpacking since we arrived, and of course, spending some time with Lonnie.  We all missed him SO much after 12 weeks apart.

We are back into something of a homeschool groove after weeks of disruption and leaning on Time4Learning for most of our academics.  It feels great to be back to a Charlotte Mason way of doing things again with all of our beloved books.

I will hope to have pictures of some of our wanderings up soon, and updates about what we are doing for school.  I have some time to blog again, hooray!  :-)

Until tomorrow…

Today was not my favorite day, let’s just leave it at that.

1. I am glad that today is nearly over.

2. I am glad I did not murder my children today (I was tempted).

3. I am very grateful for good friends who are opening their homes and closets to give me stuff.  I feel very loved.

4. I am grateful for the idea of the Advent Conspiracy and focusing on something besides consumerism.

5. Today is the first day of Advent.  I am grateful that Jesus came, in the humblest of circumstances,  for me.  Nothing else matters!

Whew!  I feel SO much better now.  I would love to see more gratitude posts from readers.  What are you grateful for?

So, the kids and I were so enamored with skating, that I stopped by Kmart on the way home from our Black Friday exploits and bought a pair of rollerblades (which were cheaper than an hour long session of ice skating!).  I wanted regular skates, but none of the stores seem to carry them in adult sizes.  Well, Kmart and Target don’t, anyway.  I still don’t like rollerblades, but they will do for now.

Anyway, we made a date to go rollerskating all together this afternoon.  First, we went to the top level of the Target parking garage.  No one ever parks there, and it seemed like the perfect place to have a little skate fest.  Wrong.  Although it was empty and essentially debris-free, they were very lazy in the way they poured the concrete and it was just too rough.  We skated for about 45 minutes before deciding to try a different location.

So, we headed to Rockville High School.  The parking lot was empty and since it’s fairly new construction, it was really smooth.  However, there is a big sign hanging on the building that says no skating is allowed, and we were there all of 10 minutes before a police cruiser pulled in.  *sigh*

Our third attempt was the black top behind Cole’s old elementary school.  It was nice and smooth (other than some dangerous wood chips), so we ended up skating there for about an hour.  The girls got tired, but they just took off their skates and played on the playground.  We all agreed that skating would be a regular weekend activity.  It was so nice to spend the day out of the house and being active.  The kids were also very confident on their skates after ice skating on Friday.  :-)

I think next weekend, in addition to some skating, we will head down for a hike at Great Falls park.  It’s another “must see” place on my DC list.

No, I did not go shopping on Black Friday, and I never do.  This means you won’t be hearing about my amazing deals.  LOL!

I do have a lot of time to fill with NOT thinking about my husband who has started his new job 2000+ miles away.  (He totally loves it, by the way.)

Yesterday, I just knew we had to get out of the house, so I looked up events and activities in the area and decided on a tree lighting ceremony down at the National Harbour.  It’s one place we have never been, and there were fireworks and an ice skating rink.  The Gaylord Hotel is A-MAZING!  I have never seen anything like it, so the trip was worth it for that alone.

We went ice skating (of course) and ended up having a fantastic time!  It was the first time any of us had been ice skating.  I used to be an avid roller skater back in the day (which means about 18 years ago, of course), but I was surprised that I was able to skate without falling on my butt.  The kids also did really well, and in spite of many falls, they continued to get right back up and keep going.  I was a proud mama!

Zoey was really brave.  She stayed pretty close to the wall, but she was definitely going for it on her own and wouldn’t even hold my hand.  She decided to strike a pose for me here.

Sydni always tries for a model pose…LOL!  She fell more than anyone, but continued to get up over and over and over again.  By the time our session was up, she was going around the circle with the experienced skaters and doing so well!

Cole skated about half a lap before he decided to try and skate with the big dogs.  He fell a lot too, but he was doing fantastic by half-way through the session.  My kids rock!

After skating we went down for the tree lighting ceremony, but it was so windy we ended up seeking hot chocolate at Mayorga Coffee.

TWENTY minutes later, we had hot beverages and walked back down by the marina again.

I would say this is a new Black Friday tradition, but we will have to find something similar in Las Vegas for next year.  Woo hoo!

I am going to copy David Letterman this week and count down the top 10 reasons for enjoying time away from my husband.  I miss him already, so I thought maybe this list would help me focus on the “positives.”  :-P

10.  Lots of space in the bed.  I don’t have to worry about sticking my knee in his back, or getting an elbow in the face.

9.  Cleaner air.  I am sure I don’t really need to explain this one, do I?

8.  Having the car 24/7.  Some of you know this, but I used to wake up every day of the week and drop him off at the Metro, or go without the car.  I am looking forward to the break!

7.  Less cooking.  The kids are happy to eat cereal and ramen.  This means I get more nights off.

6.  Early homework submission.  I will be bored, so my assignments will be finished extra early.

5.  Binging on sappy, romantic chic flicks.

4.  Reading in peace.  There will no one trying to get my attention because he is being ignored while my nose is in a book.

3.  Less laundry!

2.  No Car Talk.  He drives me nuts by constantly asking me what I think about this car, or to make a list of dream cars, or driving by car dealerships.

1.  Full ownership of the “Scepter of Power,” otherwise known as the remote control.  I can watch whatever I want, whenever I want.  This means a LOT less “Stargate.”  ;-)

Wow, I really haven’t blogged all week.  The days have slipped by in a haze of painting, cleaning, a little packing, and getting ready to say goodbye.

Lonnie left this afternoon for Vegas and I don’t anticipate seeing him again until late January, at the earliest.  I didn’t realize until I was driving away from the airport how much I depend on him, for SO many things.  I mean I know that I do depend on him, but my heart finally caught up with my brain as we drove up 495.

But I’m ok.

I’m ok because there is someone else who I depend on, and He can see me through anything.  He has been there with me for every faltering step of the mess that is my life.  He was there when I was angry, and when I was headed in the opposite direction, running as fast as I could.  He was patiently waiting.  He always has been.  He always will be.

Lord, You are good and Your mercy endureth forever.  I worship You for who You are!

This week I have many things to feel grateful for, how about you?

1. Another week with my husband.  He leaves for Las Vegas next week and I won’t see him again for 70-90 days.  I am going to cherish every day of this week!

2. Good friends.  We had a really amazing going away party for Lonnie on Friday.  The people who came and spent time with us are so dear to my heart.  What an outpouring of love!

3. Paint!  I just put some paint samples on the wall and they look amazing.  I love the fresh, clean feeling a coat of paint can give a room.

4. Good books – enough said!

5. Diversity.  Where we live in the DC metro area is very diverse.  I have enjoyed living here so much for that reason and many more. I will miss it!

On Tuesday, we did one of the experiments from our book “Science Lab in a Supermarket.”  We read a section about fruits and vegetables, and then learned how water travels though capillaries in plants.

First, I demonstrated this principle for the girls using water and paper towels.

Then, we moved on to celery and food coloring.  :-)

We waited a few hours, checking on our veggie often, and finally we saw this…

EW!  Celery capillaries full of really blue water.

This lead to some interesting discussions about human veins and capillaries, and how blood flows, what it does, and why it’s so important.  The kids were excited to be making an “army against swine flu” in their bodies.  LOL!

We *heart* science.  :-)

Oh my goodness!  I have been wanting to blog about this for a month now, but I needed to make sure all of my husband’s current employers (etc) had been informed before I went public with the news.  So, here is the full scoop:

Lonnie submitted his resume and an online application to the MGM Mirage company last winter (February, I believe) for a job at the new CityCenter project on the Las Vegas strip.  We heard nothing…for months.  In June, they called out of the blue and asked him to come and interview.  We were very excited and scraped together some money to send him out there.  That was Father’s day weekend.  The interview went well, as far as Lonnie was concerned, and they told him all the decisions would be made by September, and that they would likely do a phone interview later in the summer.

Well, summer came and went, and so did the month of September.  We were really bummed out.  Not only did he not get the job (we thought), but we had shelled out a pretty penny to get him there.

Then, in the middle October, Lonnie gets a call from the Aria Resort & Casino (part of the CityCenter).  The young lady asked him if he was still interested in the position, and then asked for his address.  That was it.  Very cryptic, but we were encouraged.  The next day they called and asked him to please go to a local lab that they worked with here in DC, and get drug tested.  At this point, we became pretty excited.  Most companies don’t ask you to do a drug test unless they want to hire you, right?

We also started to pray, a lot!  In the meantime, Lonnie had also interviewed with Howard University.  They were also interested in him and moving him through further HR processes.  We wanted to be very sure about what God wanted for our family, so we were asking for the right doors to stay open and for the wrong doors to close.  Friends and family were praying too.  We were encouraged.

Lonnie went to do the drug test and then we waited.  A week went by and we didn’t hear anything.  Then another day, and another.  Finally, we were sitting on the couch on a very average Wednesday night when the phone rang with “Aria Resort” on the caller ID.  I snatched the phone and handed it to Lonnie.  It was an offer.  A really, really good offer.

I am pretty sure I had the calculator handy to add and multiply in all the right places, and Lonnie accepted immediately.  It was too good to pass up.  The call was over quickly and the official offer letter was in his email box right away.  He signed it and had it sent off before bed that night.

Howard called two days later with a much lower offer, and that only confirmed that we had made the right decision.  We’ve been in a state of mild shock and euphoria ever since.  Lonnie turned in his notice at work and that all went very smoothly, which surprised us a little bit.  But he has been an excellent worker and manager for them, so I shouldn’t be surprised.  The kids and I are excited to move and get a fresh start, and since I am from the Phoenix metro area, living in the desert will not be much of an adjustment for me.  The kids are another matter, but there is a large homeschooling community there, and several excellent churches, so I am sure we will be making friends and building community ties in no time!

Lonnie leaves on Saturday the 21st, which is just one week away.  We honestly haven’t ever spent more than a week apart before, and to have it be this time of year makes it even harder.  The kids and I will be heading out later in the winter, probably late January to early February.  We want to make sure the job is really secure and find out what areas in Las Vegas are good to live in.  Plus, there is a LOT of work to be done at this house to before I can go.  It also gives us more time to say goodbye to friends and family.

So, I am sad to say goodbye to my hubby for a few months, and definitely to my friends and family for even longer, but I am SO excited about the future.  :-)

Here are a couple photos of where he will be working -

The CityCenter Complex

And the Aria Resort & Casino:

When I got home from co-op today, these were waiting for me in a lovely box from amazon.com.

Because I enjoyed them so much, and because I had to send back the ones I borrowed, and because they were nearly 50% off!  For the whole set!  How could I resist a deal like that?!?

Also gracing my shelves today is Stephanie O’Dea’s new cook book, Make it Fast, Cook it Slow.  I cannot wait to crank out some yummy recipes with my crockpot!

The happiest days are the days when new books arrive in my home.  *happy sigh*