WHERE IS A SHIP SAFE???

"A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not what a ship is for." --Thomas Aquinas

Hi Friends,

I just like this quote. We can live our lives and worry about being safe or we can celebrate life with reckless abandon. I choose to fulfill my purpose in life, and that will not always mean I'm being safe.

Today was a good day -- another day given to me, another gift from God. Cameron had the day off of school today. He also has Monday off. They not only have Monday off for President's Day here, but they actually had today off for Lincoln's Birthday and Monday off for Washington's Birthday. So, he was happy to have a day off of school, and I was happy to have him home as my teaching assistant today. He's such a great kid:-)

We slept in until 9 a.m. today. That is -- all of us except Bill who had to be to work earlier for a meeting. The rest of us got up at nine and had breakfast and got dressed before our weekly housecleaners showed up at 9:30. We spent about 2 hours downstairs doing reading, math and Bible. Then we moved upstairs for the lessons Cameron was teaching today. He wanted to teach a film class, so he planned a lesson based on Kung Fu Panda. The kids watched it with him, and discussed finding their purpose in life. He had designed a worksheet and FBI-type secret mission project to do in conjunction with the movie. All the kids enjoyed it and having him as their teacher today. He also taught a PE lesson using the Wii Fit for running.

After lunch, I set the kids free for a while. Since Matthew was also off of school for the day, he was calling Nate and Isaac to come over and play. So, they did that. They played all afternoon with Matthew. Cameron took a break and watched TV. And Molly and I escaped for a little bit of "girl time!" She still had $40 saved up from her Christmas money, and for quite a while -- she had wanted to go thrift-store shopping with me. Well, today was her day -- I had made it all day without any pain medication, so I felt safe to drive this afternoon. We went and checked out the ARC Super Thrift Store here in Oxnard. It's huge and very nice. She did well with her money, and was able to buy 3 pairs of jeans, a pretty pink belt, and 5 new shirts. It was a nice time of girl bonding for us. I'm looking forward to going again when I have some money to spend on myself!!!

When we got home, Molly put on a fashion show for us. And then we decided to wash up all her clothes. Tomorrow we are planning to take her pictures in the new clothes and post it on my FaceBook account, so stay tuned. The boys and Matthew came over here to hang out for a while. And I took that delayed pain medication and a nap.

I talked with Shirlene on the telephone this afternoon. She and Brandon are planning to come and visit us here in Oxnard on Monday. So, that will be really nice!! Spent some time on FaceBook catching up with old friends, too.

At 6:30, I collected all the homeschoolers again and we finished up our last bits of schoolwork. We're reading a book on Abraham Lincoln, and we finished up our journals, and any other loose ends. Bill came home and made us fish sandwiches and french fries for dinner. We ate and started to watch the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. It's always so inspiring. The boys grew bored of it after a few hours, but Molly and I (and our snuggling kitties) are still watching. Bill is working on his website in what I call the "BigMac Zone" -- you'd have to see his new Mac to truly understand :-)

I'm getting tired, and I should probably head upstairs to take a bath. Between the PICC line and my Fentanyl patch (which gets changed every 3 days), I have a very regimented bathing routine. Basically -- I bathe every 3 days need it or not! In between, I use lots of deoderant and perfume and on a good note -- the less I wash my hair , the better it seems to do. If I wash it, I just lose more clumps!

Tomorrow we are going to the library. They have a Family Story Hour at 12:3o p.m. on Saturdays, and we have books that are due anyway. We are also hoping to make it to church this Sunday. So, we'll see how well we do on our goals.

Final plans have been made for our trip to Las Vegas in March. We'll be there from March 21st -March 27th. Bill has a convention for work, and he's bringing us all along. We'll be staying at the MGM Grande. So, if anyone's going to be in the Vegas area then, let us know. The kids are very excited about a vacation, and so am I! I don't get out much -- except for doctor's appointment and chemo, which tends not to be much fun!

More tomorrow...
Much Love,
Michele


P.S. -- For the last week, I've had a recurring, but pleasant dream where Bill buys me an orange convertible. I'm driving around in it with all the kids, and we're having a great time with the top down. Bill's never in the dream. I guess he must be at work to pay for the convertible. So, I asked him today if it's too late to put in an order for an orange convertible for Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, he says it is -- but we are planning a special date to Neptune's Net on Pacific Coast Highway for Valentine's Day. We're going to ride on his Harley, which has been a goal of mine for the last 2 years. Well, this year, he bought me the helmet and motorcycle gear -- so it will finally become a reality. And the kids are happy to see us off on a date! It's good to know your parents are still in love, I guess!