First time with no training wheels!!

She finally did it! Our Pili, who will do cartwheels on a balance beam, finally decided that she could ride her bike! This was her first bike, the one we bought her when she was 4 years old! She has since graduated to a "big" bike.... we'll post more pictures of that later!

Our Schedule

Many people have called our home, and the first words out of their mouths are "Sorry, to interrupt you, you must be right in the middle of teaching..." The funny thing is, it doesn't matter what time it is when they call! Actually, that's probably very accurate! It seems that I spend most of the day teaching... and in just about every circumstance.

For your reading enjoyment, I thought I would write out our weekly schedule. While it is certainly not cast in stone, we do try to follow it on most days. I LOVE the flexibility of homeschooling!

On weekday mornings, we generally start schooling around 8:30 am. We have devotions first, then a Bible study. Then Adie plays "quietly" by herself, while Pili and I do work on math, spelling, history, grammar, and science. When Bryan is home, he does a wonderful job of teaching math and science. Pili and her daddy share a love of space, so they really enjoy learning about our solar system and going outside to look at the stars! It usually takes us about 2-3 hours to complete her work, finishing just in time for lunch! Adie joins us for reading time, which is usually a book related to the history lesson we are working on at the time. We have lunch together around noon, then Adie naps and Pili reads silently in her room until around 3:30 pm or so. After quiet time we are free to play and get some light housework done before dinner. We are home on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. Pili has gymnastics on Wednesdays from 4-6 pm, and then we all go to church from 7-9 pm. Pili also has gymnastics on Fridays from 6-8 pm.

That's it, in a nutshell. Of course, while the girls and I are on this "normal" schedule.... Bryan is on his shift that no one ever seems to understand! He works 24 hours, then is off for 2 days, then works another 24 hours, and then is off for 4 days. It really works out quite nicely - and he is home during the week, which is nice! Of course, he also has to work on weekends and holidays when his shift falls there - that's the not-so-nice part. But we take the challenges with the blessings, and in all we are thankful that he is back on shift and not working M-F anymore.

Today we spent the afternoon planting a tree - a 14 ft. red maple - in our backyard! We also planted some Rose of Sharon shrubs, and a butterfly bush! The girls were napping, and woke up just in time to help with the planting of the shrubs. They were quite helpful - and it was nice to spend time together outside working on a project that we will all enjoy.

After the planting, the girls rode their bikes for quite a while. Pili has now mastered the "big" bike, and she looks so grown up riding around! We put the training wheels back on the smaller bike for Adie, and she took off! They are now both mobile - and I am so proud! If it doesn't rain tomorrow we are all going riding on a nice, flat bike trail! What a joy to get to ride without having to pull them in the trailer! Bryan will enjoy that the most!!!

We send everyone our love. We pray you are enjoying these beautiful fall days as much as we are!

The Meckes'

Crazy Wednesdays!

I am sitting here, just finished talking with Bryan on the phone (yes, he's working 24 hours today... he'll be home around 9 am tomorrow), and thinking that I need to put another post on our new blog. I'm supposed to be keeping everyone updated, right?

Wednesdays are very full for the Meckes family. We have school, of course. That takes up the morning. Then, Pili has gymnastics from 4-6 pm. We are so proud of her, she is advancing through the classes, and she is now in the "pre-team"... basically an in-between step from the classes to actual team competitions. She loves gymnastics, and is progressing very well. Then, right after gymnastics, we go to church, eat dinner at church, and have Bible study from 7:00 -8:30 pm. I lead a First Place study for women, and the girls go to Lion's Mane - the children's midweek Bible study. After all is said and done, we don't get home until 9:15 or so, and we are all quite tired! The girls are troopers though - and we have designated Thursday as "sleep in" day! We start our day a little later on Thursday, and we don't go anywhere! No errands, no other commitments outside of home. It gives us a chance to rest!

I have to admit I am really excited and quite pleased with how our whole "schedule" is going so far - God has blessed us with flexibility and two girls who are okay with changes to routine! Pili is doing beautifully with school, and Adie is picking up quite a bit as she tags along! I thought I would be pulling my hair out about now, having given up my "free time" and having the girls with me 24/7. While it is certainly difficult at times, I am loving having them home. We are getting to spend time with each other, and I am learning so much about each of them. What they really like, how they learn, what interests them, and what special ways God has for me to reach out to them as individuals. They both have such precious faith - and I am so thankful for that.

Pili learned just the other day to ride her "two-wheeler"!!! There was much cheering, let me tell you! I'll post pictures soon - but she is now mobile and lovin' it! Adie has now decided that she needs to learn, so the process is starting all over again! We had a great time outside today, and Pili rode probably 4 miles on her "big girl" bike while Adie and I did 2 miles with me holding her on her little bike. It's times like this that we would miss if I weren't homeschooling.

I'm off for bed - maybe tomorrow I'll get it together a little earlier and post some more pictures!

Just starting!

Hello all! Yes, we are joining the ranks of those who keep their journals, pictures, and calendars and weekly goings-on on the internet! I have no idea what this will look like as we progress, but I know that while our family is spread all over the country, we yearn to be closer to each of y'all. Therefore - I'll do my best to keep this updated as I can... I'm learning to take and download pictures, and am trying to get back into the discipline of writing. We pray that this will allow our friends and family to keep up with us, even when we can't seem to find 15 free minutes to call you on the phone!

The picture on the left is Pili, now 7, with her first project of homeschooling - a first pass study of Native Americans. The red figure in the center is a wigwam, and the two teepees on each side were all handcrafted by Pili. She really enjoyed this section of study....

The picture on the right is Adie (3) and Pili in the midst of enjoying a late summer day rainstorm! It was a welcome rain, and the girls wanted to play in the "lake" that forms at the bottom of our driveway. AAhhhh, youth!

We pray that each of you is healthy and full of peace!