A little update and existentialism....

Well hello all, it has been awhile since I have pried myself away from the countryside long enough to come into town to visit my little blog and other things that were once a daily luxury, like...say 3 chocolate chip cookies from McDonald's for a dollar!!! (Hey, what can I say I have a couple of kids more than the national average and that is a great cheap treat! As are there $1.00 fruit and yogurt snack size parfaits, but that is for another post!) So what have I been doing with myself - well all this free time has given me ample time to learn to crochet! I want to explore knitting next, but one thing at a time!

Crocheting is my perseverance project. With most things I try to learn I give up because learning anything new is difficult, but I don't want to be like that - I want to persevere and I'm trying!

My first crochet dish cloth looked like a used rag! The edges and tension was all off so it wouldn't lay flat. It didn't resemble anything at all like a dish cloth, maybe a car wash rag!

The second dish cloth had wonderful edges but the tension was still all wonky (is that a word?) It didn't lay flat either.

The third is still a work in progress so I will let you know!

In other news,trailer living is not for the faint of heart. It is like living in a hallway! Yes, imagine you and all of your children with their clothing, school books, tooth brushes and every other conceivable thing that they can't live without strategically placed in a 30 foot long area of living space! When things aren't put back exactly like they need to be it is like a house of cards falling down! So, not for the faint of heart, but then I look at my wonderful husband and my heart melts because he is a God fearing, loving, and faithful man. I could live in a tent as long as he was by my side - but uhhhh, I don't want to!

All and all everything is going well. We are still waiting to hear about law school and after that we can prepare to settle down where ever it is we will settle.

Sometimes I ponder upon this 6 month stint of tin-can living and wonder what it all means and why we are doing this. (Isn't it just like a mother to over think everything and for a father to say relax, it is fine!) I wonder about the kids and how they feel and what they will look back and think about this time in our lives.

We live right next door to my husbands grandparents, my children's great-grandparents who are as shining examples of Christians as you will ever find. They will, Lord-willing, celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary this year. What a magnificent artwork to view each and every day. The way they talk and laugh and communicate with each other is amazing and inspiring. When they talk of days gone by the affection they have for one another is apparent and permeating.

The kids great-grandmother also has a living uncle - seriously! He is my children's Great-great-great uncle! That is amazing to me. His stories about his life are enchanting and they draw us all in for a nice long chat!

I guess I feel a little bit like a movie in which the poor child is sent to live with elderly relatives and in the end of the movie has learned a greater wealth than could ever have been imagined. So while we are lacking a big fancy house I think the wealth that we are absorbing is priceless. At least that is what I'm telling myself!

The Experiment....week 2

SO it has now been 2 weeks since we have settled into our travel trailer....all 6 of us, in 30 feet of moveable living space....of great big freedom....of tiny little showers!!!!

It has been wonderful to be near my hubby's grandparents, but the living situation is making me just a little CRANKY!!!! Oh I so want to be wonder-woman and say that I could back pack around the world with a bottle of Evian and a toothbrush, but I'm a spoiled, spoiled woman! Besides back packing around the world would be picnic compared to cramming our belongings in under the bed storage, brushing our teeth in 3 square feet or so, and taking the dining room table up and down each day so someone can sleep on it - a picnic I tell you!

I have really only had 1 temper tantrum and then my dear sweet husband just chuckled and said it is temporary and look at all we are learning...I don't like learning...I loathe learning....I love long hot showers!!!!

All joking aside we really are having fun and learning a little more about each other and what we are made of, but today hubby picked up the paper - just to check out what is for sale.....I'll let you know what happens!

The Experiment...Week 1

So we have been in Texas for one week! It has been a week of adjustment for us all!

The kids are enjoying roaming the countryside! They have acres to run and play and they are using them to their fullest potential. After 1 week they have a clubhouse, a neat swing, and fun stories to tell already; like seeing a puma! That was a little scary for me, considering I feel like he could eat my 3 year old in a bite and a half. The game warden wasn't as concerned as I was....imagine that!

I'm doing well in the trailer, better than I expected, I think I will live with a minimal amount of stuff for the rest of my life. We really don't NEED as much as I think! We NEED very little!

The most excruciating thing happened this week to prove this point! On Tuesday I was ready to crack open the school box to get our books out to begin our studies! I was excited, the kids were excited (a little), we were ready to go. Hubby went a hunting through our boxes...winter stuff, summer clothes, reference books.....that is it.

Hubby comes meandering in and says, "Hey, what did you label the school box?"

Me: Oh nothing, it was so big and open I didn't think it needed to be labeled.

Hubby: Oh, the one with the sides taped up so that it could all fit, the one with the pencils, books and such...

Me: Yeah, that is the one..

Hubby: Oh, that one...

Me: Yeah, that one

Hubby: You sure you couldn't teach with some reference books...

Me: Stop being silly, I'm ready to get started.

Hubby: Oh, I'm not being silly! That box with the pencils and books and such is in storage...in CALIFORNIA!

Me: whhhaaattt??????????

Hubby: Can you teach with a bunch of reference books?

All I could think was OH NO, all my researched books...my wonderful collection of Well Trained Mind stuff... and my 3 R's collection.... and oh, my Abeka handwriting what will I ever do????? (I tend to take this stuff a little seriously sometimes!)

I was sad and pouty for about 2 minutes until hubby said let's take a trip to Mardel's and see what we can do! That made me happy - Mardel's is wonderful and I could get lost in there among all the wonderful books. The education section is full of fun things.

So off to Mardel's we went and I was up to my eyeballs in possibilities....oh we could explore Texas history, we could study about Alaska, we could.........

So it went for about an hour until I started to come out of my euphoric state over new school supplies and was being rational. I didn't want to buy books I already had and I couldn't spend too much money....what to do.

So after rationalizing over it, praying about it, and calling a close friend to lament to, this is what I decided....I decided to spend the next couple of months strengthening my base and not working on building my towers taller! (That is almost a direct quote from my dear friend!) We are going to work on our weaknesses. DS needs to work on handwriting and some other fine motor skill, 6 yo DD is going to work on reading skills, 10 yo DD is going to work on math!

I did purchase a Core Knowledge series book, but other than that we already have everything we need! I guess I can teach with a bunch of reference books....and the library of course!

Living simply and I love it!