An E-treasury of Living Books!

Have you seen Yesterday's Classics e-book bundles? A LOT of books that Ambleside Online has recommended for decades and AOers have been enjoying for just as long, are included, conveniently and beautifully formatted into e-books!

For those of us who live overseas, this is a HUGE treasure trove of books we don't have to lug around, which really means only one glorious thing... we have MORE room for other books in our suitcases!

Not only will you have more room, you'll have more book money 'cause with these bundles you end up paying only 50 cents a book!

Yes, many if not most are available somewhere online for free, but NOT always in an easily navigable or beautifully illustrated format. I do like free, but I also like convenience sometimes.
Just think, by searching garage sales for 15 years, you might find these kind of prices.

Only wait, your kids will be in college. ;)

You might want to check it out before then.

Honestly, I may already own the majority of these in book form. And maybe I did lug every one of them overseas (hardcover, too! eek! the weight!!) since we've been using AmblesideOnline long before Yesterday's Classics bundles existed. But, even if you don't travel much, if you have multiple children like I do, and you can afford it, I think the convenience of having the book in electronic format is worth it. If for no other reason, it is SO nice for each kid to have their own copy on their kindle!

Find them here:
Bundle #1: 225 titles for $49.95   [On sale!]*
Bundle #2: 106 titles for $49.95   [NEW- Introductory price!]


*Special holiday pricing ends January 4th.

hello, long time no blog.

happy almost-year-end to you!

can you believe more than six months have passed without a word from Fisher Academy?
heheh. and see? the world is still turning. :)

i bet you've had some interesting moments in this past half-year! i would have loved to have shared those with you. unfortunately, furlough kind of snuck up and held me hostage. i had no idea beforehand that six months across the US and Canada, in a van, with a family of 8, including a baby, would be so busy! HAhAHaHAHaHAhAh!

whoa, was i naïve! my expectations having been ever so slightly unrealistic, i thought writing a minimum of blog posts would be no big deal.

um... wrong.
keeping our family's loose ends together and stitches tight proved a gargantuan task! :)


i do sincerely apologize for not keeping up with communications here... it became pretty evident early on, the first week to be precise, that i would spend all my energy keeping up with our super packed itinerary alone. we were SO blessed being able to spend time with SO many people. we hardly had time to sleep!

regardless, i feel pretty bad that i just up and kind of disappeared without even a word. :(
i hope you'll forgive me.

one of the countless things that has become crystal clear to me over these past months is
that as much as we'd like to DO everything and BE everything... we can't.

we only have 24 hours in each day. likely, only 16 of those are awake hours.
we blink and 6 months happen. well, almost. life goes by very quickly. there are only 365 earth blinks times 70, give or take, in a lifetime. i know that you know this. but you may not have thought about the fact that we only get about 25-30,000 days. total.
at least half of mine are already spent.
at most, i only have 900 days left with my oldest boys in the house. i don't have time to mess around. i've got to live fully. today.

we only have time for one day at a time. the day the Lord gives.

we don't have time to do what everyone else is doing, or what everyone else might like for us to do. when it comes down to it, we don't have time to do what we'd like to do each day!
and until the day turns, we don't know what unexpected events will come around that corner demanding our immediate attention.

so just like that, six months pass.

it was about all i could do to keep up with my 100mph husband who laughs at the idea of turning down an invitation! (He makes a good missionary).


first, we drove from Texas to Northern Alberta. i know, right? there aren't enough letters in that sentence to give it the weight it deserves. let me just say it again. we drove from Texas to Northern Alberta. that is a LONG way, folks. not only that, we meandered.

from there, we traversed over mountains with glaciers and then pretty directly across to the west coast, hitting Washington, Oregon and California. after a couple of months like that, having seen our families, we drove halfway back across the continent. we stopped a handful of times along the way of course before flying the other half to the east coast of New Jersey. did you catch the latest heavyweight? coast. to. coast. let me reiterate. we drove the height, half the width, half the width again and then flew half again of North America.

and on our way, we spent a lot of moments with really neat people. i am really thankful for all of that.

i only really regret not having time for writing and posting pictures & updates.
do forgive me, and i'll love you forever. :)

phew. thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

i have a few more posts coming off the stacks VERY SOON, in which we need to talk about:

• the mislaid CM Blog Carnival,
• a great deal on living books for your kindle or other reading device, AND
• my annual ART Calendar Give-away!

be encouraged! 
live fully the today the Lord has given you! 

"Only one life, will soon be pass'd
Only what's done for Christ will last.C.T. Studd"

(read the entire poem)

Naturally, it's November... {NSM! linkup}

But can you honestly believe it?! November?! As in a month and a half 'til it's a new year?! My life is flying before my eyes. Speaking of flying and flitting, would you believe we landed in moth mecca? It was incredible. I've never seen so many moths in one place, let alone of such variety! Of course, I'll tell you about it! Just let's start at the beginning of the story...

At the end of last month, we took one of our rousing and rollicking road-trips across the entire country of Peru. Jungle, Andes, Pacific coast all in one really long day (though we usually split it into two pretty long days)! Oh, and there were 9 of us this time. My mom joined us almost directly off the plane, and there was Christine, who is cheerfulness in the flesh, plus the regular seven of the Tuttle Tribe. Yep, first it was 13 hours easterly, then 3 hours straight south on the Panamerican Highway and we were once again arrived in the coastal city of Trujillo. We were there for a record short amount of time (5 extremely busy days). Still, it was long enough for my brother recently arrived from the States, to surprise us all by ringing the doorbell of the house we were staying at, early on Siah's birthday! Then it was pack all back in the Jack (the name of our minivan); this time with 10. Boy, was that exciting! :)

We got to do a little more site-seeing this trip due to being blessed with guests, but I'd better leave most of those details to a different story since this one is supposed to get back around to moths (don't worry, we're getting there). After a long drive the first day, we stayed in a hotel, uh, hostal... well, no. It really was just a very rustic house way up in the mountains. I hope the pictures we took will do it justice. On the second night, we stayed at an honest to goodness hostal, which was also up in the mountains, only not so high up. It was slightly more modern, except they were far from honest, cold-heartedly cheating us out of the pledged, pre-paid and earnestly yearned for breakfast the next morning. After all these long days climbing mountains and such, and little sleep, the third night, we merited a stay at the White House (La Casa Blanca), a hotel built practically on the highway, traffic sounds and party-people noise included at no extra charge. It was a grand adventure to say the least.

That last day, we had a long drive ahead of us. We were all exhausted and quite ready to be on the homeward track. About an hour down the road (or up it, would probably be more accurate), we were surprised and super excited (...moths?! not yet... we're almost there, I promise.) We hit the jackpot! A gas station that offered GLP (autogas, LPG or liquified petroleum gas, to be exact)! This was very exciting, as it is the first station on the very long route across the mountains and this type of gas cuts our travel expense drastically. We pulled in, half expecting that the sign would be false and they would not have GLP as is so often the case. But, we not only found what we were looking for, we found what must otherwise be known in the Lepidoptera world as Moth Mecca. It was incredible. We were so tired we thought we were dreaming, but lo and behold, the pictures are on my camera to prove it!

There were thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of moths, everywhere. Not flitting and flapping in a way that might make one nervous. They were all just placidly sitting there sunning their wings. Or something. How would I know what they were thinking of doing? Apparently, in that place practically in the middle of nowhere, they have big lights on after dark, and though it was mid-morning by the time we pulled in, there were still a myriad of moths all over the pavement, building, garbage cans, everywhere. It was awesome.

So, aspiring to be a good nature study mama as I do, I got out of the car, made everyone else get out, and I gazed and I ooh'ed and ahh'ed and I took lots of pictures of moths. We ourselves were the marvel of the Peruvian gas station attendants. They couldn't believe how interested we were in those bugs. They even stopped sweeping up the mass of winged wonders while we were there so that we could get a really good look. :)

Well, after all, I don't know if the story was worth the wait, but I was really excited about it and the pictures. Below are some of them. See if you can see a pattern. Next, maybe you can find the one that is not like the others. Lastly, there is one who rebelliously refused to stay put in line like the clown he is colored after. And if any of you actually look and find these, you are truly worthy of my awe and gratitude for the interest you have taken in this here extremely lengthy blog post.


Super lovely, wouldn't you say?!

The yellow with black spotted ones were all about the same size, with approx. 2 1/2 inches wing-span, which may give context to the others you see them next to. it makes that one VERY pretty moth, my favorite, look very large.


::

The {Nature Study Monday} link up is for ANY nature study-ish blog post written at any time during the current month. Which means, when you submit your link, it will show up in every. single. {NSM} post. during the whole month! Oh, and be not confused, feel free to link up on any day, be it Monday or not! (scroll down for linky).

::

Jungle School! {from the archives}

I thought it'd be fun to have a look back at what we were doing this month five years ago... and it was fun!! I have such cute kids! ;) This is a look at Jungle School before we actually moved here. Now of course, we do Jungle School every single day. heheh.

Originally posted in 2008, from the archives:

Jungle School!

Here's what school looked like for us last week. We spent a total of 40+ hours in the car, 4 HOT nights in hostels and 2 1/2 days in the jungle! woohoo!

The boys had several free-reading books by Roald Dahl that they finished. We kept up on Bible reading and had several nature study opportunities. Fun.



We finished reading Squanto, by Feenie Ziner and Landing of the Pilgrims, by James Daugherty.
These two books coincide perfectly... definitely read these two together for SUPERB living books on pilgrims/mayflower/colonist history!











Jungle school is fun :)



{original post can be found here}

32+ hours of Peru.

It took 32 hours(+) to cross Peru from east to west and then back again.
I've got the pictures to prove it.
:)



There's one picture per hour, plus some, but unfortunately they're not pictured here by order taken.

good news and bad news

*For tickets purchased before August 30, 2011:
Two bags checked - No charge

For tickets purchased on or after August 30, 2011:
$30 for the second checked bag. Exceptions may apply.

Sad.

It is becoming more and more expensive to travel every day.

Thankfully, we don't have to pay for the second bag this time around. But seriously, it's ridiculous! For tourists, perhaps one bag is reasonable, but for people who live overseas this is seriously tragic.

Announcement, Announcement! A Carnival Announcement.

Hello there! There's something new in the air! Two fun things are coming soon.  Are you excited?

For one, the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival will be up tomorrow, and it's been such a little while since the last one, I'm really looking forward to it, aren't you? :) We have 'whatever strikes your fancy' as the theme this time around, so if you haven't submitted your CM post yet, do it today before it's too late :)


If you need the CM blog carnival button, go ahead and steal this one ;)

Second, it's almost fall, which means for most of you school's starting up again in full force. For our family it means we have only two weeks left until we go back to Peru! We've had a momentous summer visit, and we're so thankful for all the opportunities we've had to meet with family and friends doing lots of fun stuff. I'm sorry for not blogging it, but when there's a choice to blog life or to live life, well... right. That's where priorities come into play now, do they not? :)


Our family at the Space Needle in Seattle! Yay!



I hope y'all have had a wonderful summer and that your fall will be beautiful too (in spite of the hurricanes). In the next few months as our family adjusts to life back in South America, the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival will continue with a lineup of interesting yet hopefully challenging and practical topics. Please stay tuned for further info. If you have a blog, please consider hosting the carnival this coming year. If you are interested, send an e-mail to charlottemasonblogs (at) gmail (dot) com.


Here are a few pictures I just happen to have handy of myself with a few of my friends earlier this summer @ the Childlight USA Conference... :)

My friend Bonnie

...and Leslie

...and Cindy!

Every moment matters.
Enjoy.

:)

Roadtrip!

We have been 'on the road' for 4 weeks now!  Seriously!  All seven us in a seven passenger van traveling halfway across the States and then practically from top to bottom and then back... Sound interesting?!  Let me tell you... it is.  ;)  If you happen to be interested in what our family is up to, I've posted some summary pictures of our time in the States so far over at my other blog:

http://apilgrimsproject.blogspot.com/search/label/USA

Have a peek HERE:

Going on a roadtrip... yay?

Tomorrow we begin the ever increasingly familiar journey to the coast =

2 days x 9 hours driving each day
+ 2 adults
+ 5 children in one red Isuzu Trooper
+ uncertainty of road conditions because of recent rain
- a working cd/tape player in the car
= need for prayer and patience and lots of activities to do in the car!

Abuelito wishing our carful of kids traveling mercies

So, what keeps your kids busy in the car?

Here are a few of our favorites:

The Quiet Game :)

RaceCar (did you know you can spell that the same way forwards and backwards?) - This is a uniquely tuttle invented game where each child picks a vehicle within sight and claims it... then they keep tabs on 'their' car and who is winning at any given time by who passes who, etc.

Who owns the Road? - Another tuttle kid invention in which the kids are each self-assigned to a window to look out of. Whatever they spy out their window, is theirs; cats, dogs, crops of sugar cane, an ox and plow, electricity poles, condors circling some dead thing, etc, etc. They are amazing at keeping track of all they have accumulated and what everyone else has as well. They can then trade with each other to have a more well-rounded supply of whatever... seriously, this has kept them busy for many an mile!

Animal Log - I bet you didn't have llamas on your kids' checklist to see on your last roadtrip! Here it is actually a common occurance... The boys sometimes keep logs with the following list of animals: Donkeys, Mules, Chickens, Horses, Goats, Llamas, Snakes, Sheep, Cats, Dogs. Then they keep a running tally. This can be left off and picked up throughout the LONG journey. A more modern version would be keeping track of colors of cars or state license plates... at least that's what I did when I was growing up.

Wikki-Stix. All I can say is, these are AWESOME. Thank you Wikki-Stix inventor! And to Oma & Hammy... please send MORE! Stick them on the windows or on a plastic clipboard... you name it!

Twistable Crayons. Do you know how VERY good these are? Normal crayons melt, or the paper gets torn off and they get broken, dropped and lost or worse, melted between the seats. Colored pencils have to be sharpened every other 13 seconds... and would you like some wood shavings stuck to your sweaty leg or in your seat? But twistable crayons are the BEST! Love them... even if they still do get lost in the cracks of the seat. I admit, I thrill when I actually find valuable stuff in there.

A whole bunch of stickers and blank paper. You'd be surprised at the number of different uses my kids have come up with for these. However, stickers on windows is absolutely prohibited... *hint: GooGone may be the weirdest, yuckiest, greasiest substance on earth... but it takes off the sticky-ew-goo-glue!

Snacks and a timer. Having a bag of animal cookies (or some other perhaps healthier snack, or not) and a timer with a beep* is an interesting way to mark the time. We give out a snack at every hour on the hour, curbing the ever dreadful and constant, "Can I have a snack now?" This may have been instrumental in my children learning to tell time :) *important note: The clock must be visible and readable by the majority of travellers or else please choose to use a timer with a beep! Having to wait for the beep is useful in curbing the ever more dreadful and incessant, "Is it __ o'clock yet? No? Then, how many more minutes?" followed closely by, "How many more minutes now?"

Reading books aloud. This really is our favorite. Sadly, with 7 people in a 5 person car travelling through the jungle, a sizeable portion of our roadtime is spent with all the windows down. This not being conducive to the reader's voicebox... unless of course you are one who is accustomed to yelling at the top of your voice from the front seat, contorting your body and straining your neck around to face your listeners who can't hear you anyway. *note to self: don't bother bringing school work in the car... somehow with all the other fun stuff to do, we have yet to get to it!

Singing silly songs.

Tell a story. This is probably the kids' all-time favorite. One of them will create a wonderfully imaginative saga for the siblings' listening enjoyment that can be picked up or left off at will. Surely, a creative parent will be able to weave some really good tales. A dear friend of mine, Deb, is an expert at this and is an inspiration to me with her stories that actually even teach a lesson... that much might be a stretch, for me that is, to try and add in something educational?! oh my. But I have periodically *thought* of making a well-intentioned albeit a feeble attempt to embark on an oral tradition of storytelling.

For babies and toddlers, may I recommend:
Keep diapers dry. Non-drip sippy cup with water (I love you Klean Kanteen). Keep them busy with non-messy snacks. Use those bibs that have the part that folds up to catch crumbs. For 1-2yo, give them a container (basket, purse, etc) full of smallish things that are interesting to them. They can take them out one by one, again and again. Just reload the basket or have 2 to rotate. Items to put inside, are: small board book, Little people, spoon, a pen that has no ink in it, a hand mirror, chew toy, coin purse with zipper and something small to fit inside it (we use hair bands), a small doll with removable clothes, an old watch, etc. Things that aren't typically toys usually hold attention a little longer. Reach back occasionally to hold a hand or foot just for love.

So, what are your roadtrip/travel strategems?

Jungle School

Here's what school looked like for us last week. We spent a total of 40+ hours in the car, 4 HOT nights in hostels and 2 1/2 days in the jungle! woohoo!

The boys had several free-reading books by Roald Dahl that they finished. We kept up on Bible reading and had several nature study opportunities. Fun.



We finished reading Squanto, by Feenie Ziner and Landing of the Pilgrims, by James Daugherty.
These two books coincide perfectly... definitely read these two together for SUPERB living books on pilgrims/mayflower/colonist history!












Jungle school is fun :)