Weekly Wrap-Up, 04.18.14, The One With Snow...?

It has become evident that if a post isn't begun early in the week, there will be no weekly wrap-up. Not that it would be terrible if there wasn't, -and there often isn't- it's fun to put one together and read over the week. 

Our weekly menu is in this menu planning Monday post. 

Sunday- Morning church, me doing dishes, kids and hubby cleaning vehicles, all of us going on a bike ride -and attempting to jump our bikes {only hubby can get all four wheels off the ground...every time! yeah, he is all sorts of amazing *smile*}, evening church.

At morning church, pastor talked about how God can use anyone and anything for His purpose. He can use someone with absolutely no talent, and work miraculously. Pastor had these main points {wait, I have to find my notebook...ah, found it!}: 

• God can use you beyond your capabilities {1 Cor. 1:26-29}
• God can use what we see as insignificant 
• God can use your testimony
• God can use you when you are willing

That last point he also added that God will only use you when you are willing because it is a decision we make to do things for God. But I do wonder, is that just in reference to doing things for God consciously? There are many instances where the person was unwilling and God worked through them anyway. I had thought first of Jonah but ultimately, he was willing to go to Nineveh. Then I thought of rulers who've turned against God but are still 'used' for God's purposes. Of course, I cannot think of a single name... But all those in power are put in place, or allowed to be there, by God. To say otherwise is to say that God is not a part of this world; He doesn't interact. Of course, He can interact in anyway He sees fit and we might see it as not interacting. Now I'm going off on a tangent perhaps.

Sunday was a very nice day.

Monday- Lee got to babysit for many hours. The family she sits for are back from their winter vacation. We had to drive to Mentor in the morning and then Fox and I came home. He and I first stopped at KMart to find a belt for dh and I. Found two at reasonable prices; real leather, too. Later we went grocery shopping. The weekly shopping has been about $100 for the past 4-6 weeks but I made sure I kept it down this week. I think it was around $60. I had 'set' $40...missed that mark! 

School was not happening as we didn't even get home until 5:30 pm. 

I got a book for review from Bethany House Publishers. The book is Out of the Depths. It is "an unforgettable WWII story of survival, courage, and the sinking of the USS Indianapolis." I'm really looking forward to reading it but, uh, I have too many other books in front of it! Other books in my review pile:

• Critical Condition by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. {finished it! review will be live on 4/26/14}
• Heaven & Hell by Christopher D. Hudson
• Shadowhand by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
• Lit! by Tony Reinke

It seems like there should be more on that list. Or I'm just thinking of all the "to-be-read" books I have either started or planning to start that are not review books. 

Tuesday- SNOW! At 2 pm there is white all over the ground and still flurries. Sigh. I haven't checked in the greenhouse yet to see how things fared because I don't want to open the door and let in any more cold than necessary. We'd watered  yesterday so no worry it needs water. Mostly I'm concerned that it got cold enough to damage the seedlings. They can be restarted if need be. 

I've been at the computer quite a bit this afternoon {Can you believe it: I had to wait my turn!?} and there are some good posts I'm reading. I'll share just a few; there's so many. Different topics.

• On Being Homeschooled {Reminisces of a Soon-to-be Grad}
• The Night on Which He Was Betrayed: A Psychological Interpretation
• Are You More Committed to Homeschooling or to Your Kids?
• Statistical Frauds (about "war on women" and women earning less than men)

And now, I have laundry to get done. 

Wednesday- Snow melted; by the day's end it was gone. Some of the seedlings were damaged but not too many. I covered them with a blanket after evening prayer meeting to attempt to keep them warmer. I don't think it quite got as cold as the night before. Better safe than sorry, eh? 

The day was pretty good. The basics were done for school. This week it seems is mostly a "get caught up" week. Or something like that. We did some errands, bought a few things {ziplock bags, a puzzle, garden soil}, and then went to evening church. I really enjoyed the short time before prayer where Pastor talked about Philippians 1:9-11. I wrote about my thoughts in the Weekly Barden that's coming out Friday, but also put it in a post. {And after I put it in the WB and posted it, I got to thinking perhaps I have the meaning wrong- if you read it in either place, please comment with your thoughts.}

Fox was to have Young Marines so I drove him there. He and another Young Marine are in "training" of sorts, in line to be promoted, and so they go a bit earlier than the rest of the platoon. Unfortunately, the location they meet in was going to be locked-down for a weapons inspection so Young Marines had to be cancelled, last minute. It is held at an armory. We got a pizza and some salad out of it though.

Lee trimmed my hair. It was a long needed task but I so dislike cutting my hair. It was longer than the middle of my back; now it is about at my shoulder blades. It was needed. I just keep telling myself that. And she did a really great job; it's straight and even. 

Thursday- Sunshine, glorious sunshine! I've not gone outside {yet} but Lee said it is nice but for the wind. We plan on going on a long drive today so that Lee can get more time. She was able to get 10 more minutes of night driving to prayer meeting; 20 minutes all together toward her total time. Up to 44 hours now. She is going to be doing a street survival course {did I tell this already?} later this month and she must have her 50 hours requirement met. 

Edited later: I did indeed go outside and it's wonderful! The kids rode their bikes to the library to pick up some books. 

Friday- Just like any other day. The kids have to finish their Ohio Study project {which includes a paper, Power Point presentation, and giving the presentation} but otherwise, I'm letting them relax mostly. As long as they get their chores done {the dishes!!} I think it will be alright. We also have tea-time today with much anticipated fudgy brownies thanks to Fox. I think Lee has a movie for Friday movie {she'll have to watch it alone as Fox is banned from screens for a while and I just don't like to watch movies unless I have to} and she wants to buy some of those sandwich cookies from the Dollar Tree. 

Tomorrow I think Lee is wanting to go on church visitation {that's going door-to-door and knocking on the doors- which I find to be a little "funny" because those who are not Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons really dislike when those people do it to them- we have a no soliciting sign on our house...anyway} and Fox has community service at the homeless shelter in downtown Cleveland with the Young Marines. I get to do dishes and hopefully I'll be motivated enough to do some cleaning. My house is a mess. Someone should come visit so that I'll have to clean *wink* {Uh, make sure you call first!}

And that's about all for this week. I'm going to wrap this up now although it's still very early in the day. Otherwise it won't go out until tomorrow evening. If anything exciting happens, I'm sure I'll update the post lol. 

Oh I do have something else to share: our greenhouse construction time-lapse. It took all of 2 minutes! The time-lapse that is *wink*