Getting settled...

We're beginning to feel a little bit more settled in our new home. We've got all of the necessities and some of the luxuries, such as my bookshelves and books! :) We still have lots of odds and ends to go through and decide whether we need them in the house or if they could go into storage for the time being.

It was a quiet Thanksgiving for us. Micah, Adam and Audrey had Thanksgiving breakfast with us and then headed to Adam's paternal grandparents' house. They reappeared at our place for a few minutes and then headed off to the maternal grandparents'! Oh well, we have them to ourselves most of the time, so we can't be selfish. Bob and I enjoyed our Thanksgiving feast...twice! Then the kids came home for the night and sampled some of the leftovers.

I took the day off from schoolwork, but tomorrow I'll probably dive into more of it. With the sememster end just three weeks away there's a lot to get done. Hopefully, after December 15 I can spend more time blogging, drawing and posting photos!

Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who happens by! :D

Chubby Bright Eyes...aka Audrey!

Foggy day...

I just came across these on my camera. Pretty!





My colorful little oak tree.

Still here!

Daughter Micah and hubby Adam had some really cute pregnant pictures taken just before Audrey was born. I love this one!
Grandpa can always get a reaction!
She still loves to sleep, but lately she's been awake and making some cooing sounds! We're excited! We're getting to spend a lot of time with Audrey because we babysit when Micah works. She grooms dogs on Thursdays and helps to teach a little kids gymnastics class every afternoon. In November she will be the assistant coach for the high school gymnastics team. She's also learning to be a Medical Transcriptionist and hopes to work from home so she can spend lots of time with Audrey.

School's going well. Some days are more stressful than others, but tonight I actually have time to visit blogs, so I must not be too far behind! :D

Having a nice fall here in Minnesota! Hope you are too!

Scaling back...

I had to make a difficult decision yesterday. I dropped my two nursing classes! I will reapply for next fall, but this semester I need to just concentrate on the three generals I have to finish. Five classes was just too overwhelming and I feel like I need to give 100% of my concentration to those nursing classes when the time comes. My nursing instructor was very kind and helpful. I'm hanging onto my pile of nursing books and I will try to read through some of them in the spring and summer so I have a head start for the fall semester. I feel so much better having more time to work on Chemistry, Nutrition and College Writing II!

I went for a two mile walk yesterday and hope to continue doing some walking at least every other day. Now that I only have three classes I may work in four more days of work each month. That should help with the pocketbook.

The next three years will be challenging intellectually and financially, but the Lord can get us through it! :D

My study area is ready for business!

I spent a couple of hours today in my study area in the loft. I cleaned out the leftovers from last spring semester and dusted. Then I took the shrink wrap off of all of my new books and installed them in two small bookshelves. Tomorrow I'll check in on my online Chemistry class which the instructor is opening early. I'll feel better if I get a head start! Other classes begin on August 22.
Bob bought me a new lunch pail for school! (Actually, I'll probably use it to store some of my watercolors in!)


I found these two old books at a garage sale. Even if I never read them, I love to look at them. Do I love the covers more than the books themselves? I'm not sure!

This is a book I picked up at the library book sale. I've read it before and I wanted to add it to my collection of writing books. It's old, but lots of the info is still good to have.

Have to get to bed soon. See y'all!

Here comes school!

I made the long drive to Wadena to the college bookstore to pick up part of my books for the new semester. There were so many I had to borrow the bookstore cart to haul them out to my car! These were just the books for my two nursing classes! I'm hoping that many of them are reference books that will be used for many years to come.

The UPS delivered my chemistry, writing and nutrition books today and I'm expecting another shipment in a day or two with my lab kit. Tomorrow I'll drive back to Wadena to pick up a "nursing kit" that wasn't available when I went the last time.

The huge number of books is a little daunting, but I've decided not to freak out. It's a decision. One day at a time.

Hubby, Bob, and I cleaned out our old camper today. I've stored a lot of stuff in there over the years. I found many treasures in the process. Much of the stuff suffered water damage from a hole in the skylight, but I salvaged a lot of my kids' school papers from our homeschooling days and many old books that I had squirreled away. There were several boxes of books that will be donated to the library book sale, but many others I will keep. There were things in there that I'd forgotten I owned! One tin contained a piece of hardanger that I didn't make. I must have gotten it at a garage sale, but it's very cool. There were also some decoupaged boxes my mom made for me years ago. My collection of salt and pepper shakers were among the finds. I've wondered where those went! I kept a stack of "This England" and homeschooling magazines, along with some "Israel My Glory" magazines. These will be "someday" reading. I'll try to add some photos to this post later.

With the birth of Audrey, the coming of the fall semester and our efforts to sort through a 21 year accumulation of stuff, things are busy around here. I found a copy of "Streams in the Desert" (another gift from Mom!) and I think I'll begin reading it to help keep life in perspective when things get crazy! :)

Shalom and goodnight!