Getting back to normal...whatever that is! & Fire!

This relocation has been an adventure, but we are enjoying getting back to "normal".  We are still drowning in boxes, boxes, everywhere. But....we are.....schooling, eating at home, doing laundry, going to our new church, getting to know our neighbors, food shopping and attending coops.  Things are, getting back to some state of what we know as familiar.

Yes, we do miss our old town and friends.  We miss our old parish and church family.  We have been in our new house for just over three weeks now.  I think I am the only one who has yet to feel at home here, but I know that it will come in time.  For each holiday celebrated, each birthday's passing, this will become the place of memories.  Our past will be within these walls.  It will be then that I will feel at home.

And now for the fire part....

The gang's all here.

Today we went on a field trip with a new homeschool group we are checking out.  K-Doodle had been on a trip when she was about three, so I thought that tour of a fire station was in order.  It was a very informative and interesting trip.  Did you know that you should all sleep with your doors closed at night?  I didn't.  K-Doodle got to participate in the demonstration.  She was showing how you need to check the door for heat before trying to open it.

We realized that we have no evacuation plan in case on an emergency.  So, we will be making October our emergency preparedness month.  We will keep you posted.

Sorry it has been so long since I posted.  I promise not to stay away so long this time.  And I have been lurking on every one's blogs, occasionally taking a minute to comment.  But, usually just trying to keep up with everyone.

Have a blessed week!

At The Cabin Path...a day of nature

In lieu of another day inside when God is providing such glorious weather, we decided to venture out to a place we have been longing to visit. It is the Cabins Path and we are so glad we went and met Sarah, the owner of this special place.

We started out with an introduction to The Cabin's Path and to a looksee into Sarah's discovery box which was filled with Indian artifacts and other objects found on the property. We were all impressed by the log that had been chewed by the beavers on both ends! Pretty cool.

After receiving our collecting bags, we needed out to the nature trails to find a collection of leaves in all shapes and colors. We were told we would be making a project later in the day with the leaves.

The weather was just perfect. A cool 68 degrees and zero humidity. A welcome change from the hot, humid Georgia summer days.

We stopped for a discussion about the being a pioneers and what we might look for in land to build a house on. What would you use to build your house? What kind of land would you look for?
Then we hit the trails again to look for more leaves, check out the indian graves and the beautiful lake that is part of the Cabin property.
The cabin was actually discovered by accident during a demolision by Sarah's sister's family construction business. When she saw logs underneath the vinyl siding, she knew it was worth saving and called up Sarah and asked if she wanted it. It is SO cool! I wanted to stay the night and play Little House on the Praire with the girls.
Inside the little log cabin.
The girls went shake, shake, shake and made......Butter!
It turned out perfect and was oh so yummy on Miss Sarah's corn bread made in her iron skillet. She also fed us vegetable soup and apples. The soup was cooking on the stove inside the cabin while we were on our hike.
Such a lovely setting for a fall picnic....
Then it was time to make those Indian headbands with all those leaves we collected.


We used folded strips of recycled paper bags with duck tape rolled longways and two holes on each end. The leaves were so easy to just stick on. After they were completed, we just added yarn and presto.....
C-Sunshine in an Indian Headdress
K-Doodle sporting her tribal head gear.
On our hike back......we saw a Fairie Trial!
Back at the classroom building, we got to see a fairy from the fairy workshop the week before. Darn, we missed that one!
We had such a good time with Miss Sarah at the Cabin Path and can not wait to go back. The thing I took away from this special day was written above the door of that cabin........
'nough said!

Disney Give A Day - Get A Day

Over the last six weeks, the girls have been collecting food for a local food pantry at our homeschool co-op. Well, today was the day that we got to deliver the food and take a tour of the food pantry. This is a VERY well run pantry and we were quite impressed. The girls were earning a ticket to Disney World through the Disney Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day program. They did a great job and it was very rewarding for all of us. And the tour today qualifies as a field trip day!

K-Doodle and C-Sunshine loaded the car with donations.

This is the director of the food pantry along with a volunteer who is actually working on what we brought in! It was neat to watch it come in and flow through the system.

Blessings till next time!

Explorations in Antiquity Field Trip

Yesterday we went on a spectacular field trip to the Explorations in Antiquity Center in LaGrange, Ga. It is a museum of daily life in Biblical times and I can't rave about it enough. If you live close or travel close by, it is well worth a stop and a visit.

When we first arrived, all the children were given a head scarf to wear for the day. Just as they would have worn in Jesus' time.

Next we took a tour of a typical home during this time. They were really tiny, but efficient. Not a lot of time was spent indoors during the daytime.

This is a picture of the small stable attached to the house.

This is a picture of the judges chair which was just inside the gate to the village.

Here the girls are trying their hand at working the grinder to crush olives. This was pretty heavy and took a lot of energy to move. After the olives were crushed, they were taken to the presser.

Here is a picture of what they would use to press the olives for oil. The first "press" was the one weight on the log. This was used for the anointing Kings and other important people. The second press produced oil for cooking. The third press was for oil used for lamps.

The village well.
Here is a peek at a tomb. The bodies were laid out the same day they died. Family members would come and sit and used crying pots to mourn their departed loved one. When they filled up a pot, they would get another one. The more pots that were laying around, the better. It meant you were really loved. These were family tombs. When the next family member died, the bones from the previous family member would be tossed on the ground so that the family would always be together.
The tomb above is an example of what Jesus' tomb might have looked like. The stone would have been rolled in front of the passageway.

K-Doodle and C-Sunshine
Next we moved to the Shepherd's tent where we would make flat bread. This meal would be a typical meal for the shepherd's in the field.
We each got a ball of dough to roll and flatten.We rolled it.....And put it on the fire to bake on top of a metal top.This trip was so much fun and so informative. I can not give it justice here on my little blog. You will have to just go and check it out for yourself. Well worth the $10 admission fee. Parents got in free. Have a great weekend!

A Grangan Visit at last

Earlier this month, we were honored to have a visit from Grangan! The girls were really excited to show Grangan around our new town. While she was here, we took a trip to the Georgia Aquarium followed by a lunch at The Varsity. What is a visit to Atlanta without eating at The Varsity! Although many of us were sick (including Grangan) for most of her visit, we had a lot of fun and can't wait for her to come back and visit again. Next time when it is a little warmer. :)
Come back soon Grangan!

Renaissance Festival

Yesterday we attended the Renaissance Festival in Fairburn, Georgia. It was a lot larger than I thought it was going to be, and had a lot of educational programs and activities. This is a definite to put on the list of "annual events" for our home school.

King Henry VIII and his court took the time to answer our questions.
There were a lot of jugglers, acrobats and entertainers. The main form of
entertainment since there was no TV or Wii. :)
We got to see an Indies Condor which are almost extinct.
They can have a wing span of ten feet! Wow!
We had a great time and are looking forward to next year.

A Day at Imagine It! - Atlanta

We recently went to a "Homeschool Day" at the Imagine It! Children's Museum in Atlanta. Overall, I thought the museum was worth the money and a lot of fun. There are activities for the very young as well as the upper elementary age to do. There is a large section where the children are involved in an assembly line to transfer colored balls up the conveyor belt, through this and that, to the crane to be sent down the track to start the process all over again. My girls had a blast doing this. They also had a very cute play (well acted) and two educational classes. We look forward to going again.