Saturday, September 12, 2009

Mission's Convention and other things

This weekend is Mission's Convention at our church. The mission's organization that comes every year is EFM. You ought to attend if you live close by!

I got word from my brother that my aunt that had the open heart surgery is not doing well... he said that he was told that her stomach was bleeding from the blood thinners. I called over to the hospital, and they said she is in ICU, but the nurse was busy and asked me to call back later. I had wanted to talk to my parents, but I don't know if they are there. That is the down side of my family not having cell phones. Ron and I have cells for many reasons... but, it is pretty pricey... but, I see it as a necessity right now. Ron and I can talk to each other as much as we want without using any minutes up... that is good, cause we talk to each other a whole lot throughout the day. I hope and pray that Aunt Cathy will be okay.

Um, this is a note to Tammy from camp... I tried to email you, but it didn't go through... could you email me... maybe that would clear up any errors I have in your email address.
theroncookfamily@yahoo.com

Thanks to all the pastors, friends, GBS folks, and others for the cards! They are so special! Keep in mind that we moved a while back, and so if you are sending them to our old address, they may take some time getting here. If you would like our new address, just email me (above). Thanks for your continued prayers concerning Ron's treatments.

By the way, for those of you who have been wondering (I know some have been, because I have been asked a few times), Ron's allergic reaction was not too serious the other day. I guess he got that feeling in his mouth, got a hive, but then took some Benedryl and that seemed to stop him from having the full effect. Sometimes his reactions can be quite uncomfortable, and when he was a child I guess it even affected his breathing. So, if we visit your house, and he asks what the ingredients are in your food, please do not be offended... he has to do that... no poultry meat allowed... poor guy... I love poultry, but don't see much point buying much of it if I can't make it for him.

I have been tackling laundry and other housework today. Nice thing about Saturdays is the break from homeschooling. I was not very nice to Faith yesterday in school and she has been telling people at church about it... how embarrassing! I told her I was sorry and I would not react in that manner again... if you homeschool, you might know what I mean, when I say that sometimes when they just don't seem to "get it," it can be frustrating. When I worked in Christian schools, the children were not mine, so I didn't take their errors personnally... but, for some reason, I did when Faith failed an oral evaluation yesterday. After my "not so nice" attitude, I changed my tactic. We took a break... I played babydolls with my girls... ha! Then, we tried a learning game. Seriously... it was like I was talking to a brick wall... I could not for the life of me get the concept across to her... Charity and Hope joined in the game, and Charity seemed to be catching on quicker than Faith. Soooo, after the game, I tried another tactic... I will have her write this thing over and over. We tried that. She started catching on. Seriously, I was determined to get this thing into her. She memorizes so well, and does well with phonics, but can you guess what the battle was?! Recognizing the numbers 10 and 11 (Math class)! Another day, the struggle was teaching her what a mayor was (Social Studies class). HA! I couldn't get her to say "mayor." Sounds silly looking back, but at the time, it seemed a big deal. She usually excels in her work... seriously excels! So, why was I making such a big deal out of it... don't know! I LOVE homeschooling... but, yesterday, I was ashamed that I had gotten so upset about something, that obviously was my fault, because I had not spent enough time in number recognition... sure, we've practiced counting, doing some telling time, did some work with patterns, etc., but we needed to work more on recognizing numbers 10-20 on flashcards. So, that means extra practice this week. Sigh. That is what can happen if you try to fly through your work... you can miss something important.

1 comment:

Rebecca said...

Hey Sarah. I know what you mean about the homeschool thing. My kids both had a problem with getting the numbers thing down, but I found that they eventually "got it". It might take 2 months, but eventually, they would get to recognize the number!! The important thing is to drill them daily and make a game out of it, so they don't get discouraged. Offering them a real penny for every number they get right, for example, can be a real incentive to think hard. Even something as simple as for everyone they get right, they get to run one time around the dining room table like a certain animal (hop like a frog, gallop like a horse, etc.) can do wonders. Be creative. They learn much faster when having fun.