Rosie Update

We are bringing Rosie home tomorrow.  She still can not walk, but is gaining strength in her legs.  She has moved her tail several times.  She has been to the vet twice a week and he is continuing to see improvement.  We still do not know exactly what happened ( we chose not to do x-rays), but the doctor says he has seen dogs snap out of this.  He says it might just take some time, like maybe 6 weeks.  It has been 3 weeks so far.

So we are bringing her home and this is what it means I will be doing (with some help from the kids).

-Lifting her up and positioning her on her hind legs several times a day.

-Helping her and cleaning up after her when she needs to go potty.  She has control, just can't get outside in time.

-Making sure she is clean and dry, giving her a bath every other day.  Checking for rubbed areas on her back legs and applying antibiotic ointment as needed.

-Letting her scoot on the carpeted porch and in the grass (doctor prescribed)

Thanks for the prayers.  I have hope that she will one day walk again.  She is happy and is glad to see us when we visit and sad when we leave.  I think she will be glad to be home.

We are praying for Rosie

 Our basset hound, Rosie, is paralyzed in her back  legs.  Last Tuesday, she was playing with the kids and did something to her back.  She immediately yelped in pain and went into shock.  She is on pain meds and is staying at a friends house.  They rescue animals and are used to dealing with sick animals .  We all miss her so much.  We are praying and waiting for  her healing and return to our house.

A Vacation to Remember

I don't remember where we went or how old I was, and I don't think my parents had any idea the lesson that I was learning. We were on our way home, probably from my grandparents house.  I think I was around 10 years old.  I think we were on an interstate in Georgia when our car broke down.  I was excited.  I couldn't wait to see how God  would take care of us this time.   He had done it before, and  I knew He would that He would do it again.  I know we must have immediately started praying and here is how God answered.

At our last rest stop, my parents had met a Christian family that lived near our hometown.  They saw us on the side of the road and pulled over to help.  I was so excited that we would get to ride the rest of the way home in their conversion van.  They had kids that we got to play with the  rest of the way home, while mom and dad chatted with their parents.  I always remember that God worked it out for us to have the right people at the right place at the right time to make sure that we were protected and taken care of.  I never forgot that feeling of security and comfort from my Heavenly Father.

Swagbucks

I found a way to make money by doing what I am already doing everyday, searching the internet.  I signed up for Swagbucks and use it as my search engine.  The more I use it, the more points I get.  Then when I have enough points, I will go shopping in the Swagbucks store.  I am planning on getting either the Target or Amazon gift cards.  They are 45 points for $5 gift cards.  I am hoping to be able to redecorate my house with the gift cards.  Maybe not redecorate, but buy new towels or kitchen gadgets.

I have made Swagbucks my home page and taught everyone in the family to search with Swagbucks, even if they are just checking their email.

If you decide to join, click here.  I will get get bonus points if you join from my referral.

Thanks if you join, and I hope you get lots of points.

Hillbilly Housewife

This week we are eating the $45 emergency menu from Hillbillyhousewife.com.  There is no emergency in our household.  I just wanted to see how we would like the menu and if we could do it.  The $45 amount is really 2006 prices and now it is about $75.  But really it is less than that because she included items like salt and pepper and ketchup.

It is a weeks worth of beans and bread.  We are on day 5 and I have to say that the meals have been tasty and had variety.  I am shocked that all my kids have eaten all or most of their beans at every meal.  Last night we had creamed tuna over pasta, but only half of my family ate it.  

Everything is from scratch, so I have spent a little more time in the kitchen.  I made flour tortillas for the first time and they were delicious.  I also made skillet corn cakes for the first time.

We have not followed the menu exactly, but mostly.  We have eaten what we usually eaten for breakfast, but I did add a glass of orange juice every morning.  That has been a hit around here.  We added sausage to the beans one night because we had company and didn't want to give them just beans.

We also made the Magic Milkshake recipe that I found on the website.  It is like the Wendy's frosty and you make it without ice cream.  It was really tasty.

This is also the website that I used to learn how to make bread.  She has a beginner's bread recipe that is very easy.

Surprised by My Kids

Yesterday, each one of my kids did something that surprised me.  When we first started homeschooling, I had a picture of what schooling would be like  at my house.  As the days turned into months, it was so hard not to get get discouraged.  My kids were no where near what I had envisioned.  

Years have gone by, and somehow, little by little, my kids are turning into the  students I had pictured in my mind. And yesterday, each one of them  took a big step in that direction.

It all started when we attempted our first lapbook.  I  have always loved the concept of lapbooking, but didn't think it would work in our house.  A class they are taking online, included a lapbook, so I decided to try one.

Well, first off, they were arguing who was going to do the cover, so I found out that they each wanted to do their own.  

Then, Levi, the one who I thought would not want to do it the most, took great pride in how his looked.  He thoughtfully decorated it and them lamented that he did not have a picture of the scientist.  I tried to contain my joy as I told him that he could find a picture and he could add anything he wanted to add.  The next thing I knew, he had printed a picture  and was saying, "Mom, this guy discovered lots of elements.  He even discovered oxygen."  I was so excited, I almost cried.

Next, Mandi piped up, "Wow! He must be the most famous scientist ever!"  And later, she said," Mom, I know how to spell 'discovered' .  I memorized it."  She still wanted me to write hers for her, (I didn't) but she was learning so much by being a part of the process.

Grace struggled to get started.  It was a new thing for her, so it is normal for her to have a hard time, but by the end she was enjoying it.  She told me that she wanted to start writing history reports.  I swallowed hard and replied, " Yes, you can start doing that.  In fact, I already had that planned for next year." 

 Later, Grace surprised me again.  We were at a friends house, learning about bats.  Grace had  a piece of paper and was writing on it while the friend was reading aloud about bats.  I thought Grace was doodling, but when we were done, I saw that Grace had taken notes.  She had written down 5 or 6 facts about bats.  This is a child who still struggles with fine motor skills, so hand writing is exhausting for her.  And she still struggles with processing.  I did not know that she could listen and write at the same time, but she did!  I was so proud of her.

Lastly,  Olivia is illustrating the poem "The Creation", by Cecil Frances Alexander.  It is the one that starts "All things bright and Beautiful.."  It was my idea, but she is excited about it.  I just noticed that she has been drawing lots of pictures and making up stories to go along with them.  We are both having fun with this project.

Thanks, kids!  I needed a day like that!

Simply in Control- revisited

I failed to mention in my last post, that Dick and I have a goal of saving a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time.  When I saw how much we were able to put in the bank because of not eating out, it inspired me to try to save in other areas.  So, the extreme saving is not a permanent  way of life for us.  It is more like a challenge we have given our selves.  I'm sure that we will learn from this time and continue in some areas and not in others.

In the past few months, we have been able to put money in the bank and use some of it to go on a trip to GA,  and buy a computer.  In the next few months, we will be buying some vinyl fence and Grace and I will buy some new clothes for our birthday.