Geographist

First of all, the blog hit 1,000+ viewers again in the month of January - I can never say thank you enough to everyone who continues to check in!  After two years of posting each week about various topics, it's great to see folks clicking the link on a regular basis. Sunday - We started the week at church, and then headed to grab some Cajun seafood at lunch (including some awesome dessert!) at one of our old favorite restaurants.  Once home, my mom alerted us that she was taking my dad to the ER due to discomfort from their auto accident.  Given his health history we were glad to hear there were no heart issues, but apparently he'd sustained a compressed disc and fracture in his back from the impact of their collision.  I intended to head to their house to help out, but after Mrs. Geographist brought Girly back from her youth choir rehearsal we opted for a Monday visit instead.  I helped out with Curly and Whirly's online Bible Drill, and wrapped up the day by preparing a w

This week was marked by friendly reunions, national observances, and family heartache.  On a personal note, I've been reading the book of Job during Bible study and I found some of the words especially applicable to life right now.   Sunday - Our church schedule was back to normal this week, and once we wrapped up it was time to catch up with a friend.  A former co-worker of mine is a long-time musician and we had the opportunity to have brunch at a restaurant where his group was playing.  It was good to see him after a few months, and Mrs. Geographist enjoys his blend of music that is heavy on Texas country and 90s pop.  Oh, and the food was pretty good as well.  After getting home and relaxing for a bit, Mrs. Geo took Girly back to church for youth choir while I stayed home with Curly and Whirly to do Bible Drill.  Hopefully our virtual lessons can go back to being in-person when the calendar rolls over to February! Monday - The observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day meant no

This new semester has been an interesting adventure so far - with my wife no longer going to a single school each day, she and I have been mixing up the responsibilities of teaching at home more frequently.  We obviously have different ways of approaching individual lessons, but I think it's a positive situation for Whirly as she's soon going to experience having multiple teachers each day when she gets back into private school next semester. Sunday - As an abnormal start to the week, we didn't go to church.  Our youngest had trouble keeping her dinner down the prior day so as a precaution we didn't go out in public.  She had no lingering issues, however, so it's likely just a side effect of her meds.  After streaming our service I also made a point of checking in with our online 5th graders - two of our teachers have been handling the virtual version of Bible Study every Sunday for kids who aren't making it onto campus, so it was good to see that crew for the f

It was back to school time for everyone out there, as we've moved into 2021.  Sunday - After our usual morning routine, we got to add a new feature to our evenings: Bible Drill!  Our church has been doing this for several years now, and both Curly and Whirly are both involved this year.  This was actually the last thing we did with the kids at church before the Covid quarantine began last March, as Curly had her Church competition just before we left for vacation (and when we got back everything was shut down).  She was bummed that she didn't get to compete at the next two levels, which were Association and State competitions, so she's back for her final grade of elementary school to finish what she started. Monday - Mrs. Geographist had the final day of her long-term sub position, with the first weekday of 2021 being a teacher in-service day in the local school district.  All the girls stayed home with me while she went to transition her classroom over to the full-time tea

Happy New Year!  I must have planned this out pretty well for my 21st week of the homeschool diary portion of the page to coincide with the start of '21, right?  Nope, just a happy coincidence.  I hope everyone reading this page had a great break and is ready to kick off an exciting year, full of optimism and promise. Sunday - Mrs. Geographist and I were on the road, heading out to the Texas Hill Country for a little anniversary vacation.  She got us reservations at a nice hillside BBQ spot in Austin for lunch, and we generally spent the day meandering up and down I-35, reminiscing about my college days in San Marcos, TX and our first few months of marriage there.  We drove past our first home together, a tiny duplex on the northern edge of town, as well as an apartment complex where we'd both lived.  The whole area has changed quite a bit, but there were plenty of memories.  The shopping is still a highlight - two outlet malls stand side-by-side, and we certainly burned throug