My baby boy turned 3 this week. I guess I am officially past babyhood in the is family. It is bittersweet, but I don't mind too much. On his birthday he came up to me in the morning and announced, "I turned big!" It was adorable. He is a huge boy, and I've already had to pull out his size 4T clothing. I'm reluctant to give up his size 3 clothes since they are so cute, but as I see the sleeve-length and leg-length getting shorter and shorter, I am coming to the conclusion that I must let go and move on!
The Lord continues to stir change in me, and yet I do not want to get ahead of Him. We've put out a fleece of direction, but it still hasn't given any answer for us. I think it is good to go about making change slowly to give us and our children time to accept it, especially since we like where we are at so much.
This is Little Critter on his 3rd birthday. Love the brownies on his face?
On the Homefront:
We are back to winter now. Everything is white and snowy again since Friday.
Tim (my dh) finished a project he's been working on for the past couple of months. It is a cigar box guitar. He loves to express his creativity by making musical instruments. It sounds pretty good too! In the past he has also made several kinds of drums and digeridoos.
This is dh with his cigar box guitar. He's handsome, isn't he?
In the School Room:
I was inspired by Lalaith's school wrapup on her daybook post at Avonlea Academy, so I'm going to try it instead of listing every gory detail:
Mountain Princess, 12, and Snow Crystal, 10: America is growing in leaps and bounds, with the beginning of department stores. Batteries in sequence make brighter light than ones that are parallel. Atoms make up all matter, but did you know that quirks and gluons make up protons and electrons? Will of Shades of Gray finally decided that good men were on both the Yankee and the Rebel side, and men who chose not to fight were honorable too. Caddie Woodlawn was a spunky little thing. To build a fire in the fireplace successfully, one needs a good source of air, kindling, and most importantly, a piece of egg carton. Poems are funner if you have a pattern to follow when writing one.
Bubbies, 5, learned that coffee and chocolate didn't become popular until the age of exploration. Until the late colonial years, food was pretty bland and mundane. Mammals have fur, give milk, and breathe air. Reading is challenging and rewarding, and gets easier if the same simple book is reviewed each day. Mathematics includes not only addition, but also taking away. A triangle has three sides and three corners. An eight can be made without lifting your pencil. Copywork is still drudgery.
Little Critter, 3, found that hitting his sister with a fork will put two pricks just below her eye like a snakebite. (I'm so glad it didn't get her eye!). Going to the bathroom is against his idea of a good time. Wet pants, on the other hand, makes mother unhappy. The letters each have a sound. "I" says itchy, itchy chickenpox.
On the Mission Field:
The school had Chris Austin here. He has been teaching team building and has been helping the students find their strengths and weaknesses.
In the Literary Scene:
I am still reading Brock and Bodie Thoene's second book in the Galway Series Of Men and of Angels.
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories. Then sign the Mr. Linky below. I'd love to read your weekly summaries too! I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday. At the latest it will be on Sunday. If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox or comments from the week before. Be sure and check last week's Mr. Linky for any new ones who posted before I did! It is a great way to meet new people.
SpellQuizzer is a spelling program that helps kids learn their spelling and vocabulary words. SpellQuizzer is spelling software for children that need help learning their spelling and vocabulary words. The SpellQuizzer web site has pre-made downloadable spelling lists that you can download and use with SpellQuizzer. ~SpellQuizzer.
We had a great week. School went very well. We are all past our sicknesses. No drama. I'm so grateful.
The Lord is speaking to me about being a better friend, about really listening and being there for people. I need to hear this, and so much want to do this. I am convicted of keeping my friends at armslength. I know it stems from being insecure in childhood and feeling like I didn't have any friends, so I stopped trying. There have been times when the Lord has brought me friends, and still I did not work hard at keeping them. I want to go beyond that in my life, and work harder at being there for my friends. If you want to be included in those who want my deeper friendship, just leave a comment, or email me. I'm going to try.
This is Snow Crystal working on a Christmas present.
On the Homefront:
We worked on keeping the house cleaner throughout the week, and found that to work well. I do laundry twice a week (Sundays or Mondays and Thursdays or Fridays). If the laundry isn't finished, I finish it the next day without adding more from the new day. This way I know all the laundry gets done twice a week and it isn't as much of a burden. The older girls are helping me a lot more too. For example, Snow Crystal is downstairs making cookies right now as I type. The weather was nice, and got nicer all week. Feels like summer except for all the snow still on the ground.
This is Snow Crystal following her "directions" of how to make her favorite cookies that she had to do for language arts yesteday.
In the School Room:
Bible: We continue to read Egermeier's Bible Story Book with Bubbies and the older girls listening in. We didn't do anything with our Biblical Holidays book. We also read a few stories from "I Heard Good News", which is a book full of short stories about how different countries and peoples received the gospel. I am thinking that for the older girls we might try to do some of the articles and activities that go with The Voice of the Martyrs magazine. You can find it at http://www.kidsofcourage.com. It looks like it would be a good thing for them to do.
History: We are now in the post-civil war era. In Landmark's History of America we learned how Montgomery Ward changed the way business was done for the rural American, and about Richard Sears' imput to this.
Science: We moved on to start learning about Alexander Graham Bell and his inventions.
Read-Aloud: We are ahead with the older girls, so took a break from read-alouds. I read The Light on Tern Rock with Bubbies.
Reader: Mountain Princess and Snow Crystal are reading Shades of Gray, by Carolyn Reeder. It is a good book about a boy who was orphaned during the civil war, and having to live with his mother's sister and family after the war.
Language Arts: The older girls worked on similies, topic sentences, writing a formal letter, and grammar. Bubbies reviewed the letter "S" and made a "P" and an "S" letter sheet (I get these from homeschoolshare.com). She read her first "reader" that comes with her curriculum. It is a cute little book called "Pam"). It was a proud moment for her to read it to her daddy one evening this week too.
Math: We had a great week again this week, and the girls continue to make progress in becoming independent.
Spanish: MP is using Rosetta Stone and seems to be learning and retaining a lot. SC is using The Complete Book of Spanish (workbook from Wal Mart). She'll get back to Rosetta next year.
On the Mission Field:
The school had Chris Stanton here. He suffered from acute mountain sickness for the first day, but finally recovered. I think they've been having a great time.
In the Literary Scene:
I am reading Brock and Bodie Thoene's second book in the Galway Series Of Men and of Angels, and I finished the first book too. Very good reading!
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories. Then sign the Mr. Linky below. I'd love to read your weekly summaries too! I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday. At the latest it will be on Sunday. If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox or comments from the week before. Be sure and check last week's Mr. Linky for any new ones who posted before I did! It is a great way to meet new people.
I'm hoping that I am coherent enough to write an intelligent readable post this weekend. This week has been good. We only had four days of schooling, but we managed to get our five days worth of work done in that time, somehow. I'm grateful for that. I'd really like to get this year done by May or early June so I can start schooling year-round in June or July, and take some of the pressure off of missing days due to sickness and so forth. I don't want to not be able to start early and each year go late, and so forth.
I had the bug this week from starting on Sunday, but it was the worst Wednesday, with me chilling and aching Tuesday night. I am much better now.
Most of the pics posted today (except the one of my family making applesauce) are from a birthday party we went to near Delta, Colorado, yesterday.
On the Homefront:
Wednesday while I was sick, dh and I, and the kids made applesauce. We had gotten 3-4 cases of apples from Sharing Ministries last week or so, but hadn't gotten to this. Dh had the day off due to working last Saturday.
We didn't have anywhere to attach our "Squeezo" onto a ledge or table in our home, so dh took the kids to the front deck to make our applesauce after I cooked it up.
In the School Room:
Bible: We continue to read Egermeier's Bible Story Book with Bubbies and the older girls listening in. We didn't do anything with our Biblical Holidays book. We also read a few stories from "I Heard Good News", which is a book full of short stories about how different countries and peoples received the gospel.
History: We read more about the Civil War from Landmark's History of America, and started the second volume of the same book learning about the "Go-getters" that helped settle our country.
Science: Pretty much the same. We'll be glad to get through the electricity and magnetism unit.
Read-Aloud: We finished Across Five Aprils with the big girls. We also finished The Hundred Dresses with Bubbies, but didn't finish the lapbook yet.
Reader: Mountain Princess and Snow Crystal finished Turn Homeward, Hannalee. It is a good book based on an event in the civil war era.
Language Arts: The older girls worked on similies, topic sentences, writing a formal letter, and grammar. Bubbies reviewed the letter "P" but we didn't get to making her notebook page. She seems to have lost interest in that, so I don't know if I will continue to do it or not. It may work better to do them with Little Critter in the next year as I introduce letters to him.
Math: We are back to our math books, and I am pleased to say that Snow Crystal has begun to work more independently. For this I am thankful!
Spanish: MP is using Rosetta Stone and seems to be learning and retaining a lot. SC is using The Complete Book of Spanish (workbook from Wal Mart). She'll get back to Rosetta next year.
This is Little Critter playing the piano at our friends' house during the birthday party.
On the Mission Field:
The students were gone to the Go Conference in Estes Park for most of the week. Tim took three of the guy students fishing for half the day yesterday. They enjoyed themselves a lot.
In the Literary Scene:
I finished reading Raising Godly Tomatoes by L. Elizabeth Krueger. I highly recommend it for every parent with children in grade school or younger. I will regularly go back to it as a refresher, and I feel it has already done wonders with my family. I am also reading Brock and Bodie Thoene's Only the River Runs Free, which has had a fabulous beginning, and I know will continue to be great. It is about Ireland in the mid-1800's.
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories. Then sign the Mr. Linky below. I'd love to read your weekly summaries too! I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday. At the latest it will be on Sunday. If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox or comments from the week before. Be sure and check last week's Mr. Linky for any new ones who posted before I did! It is a great way to meet new people.
Dark outside, but cold and patches of snow on the ground. Saw turkeys roaming the yard yesterday.
I'm thinking...
God is faithful in the little things.
From the learning rooms...
I give a rundown on Saturdays, so I won't bore you with the details. I'm pleased with the way the girls worked hard today.
I am thankful for...
Four healthy kids.
From the kitchen...
Scavengering most of the time for suppers this week. We are scraping the bottom of the barrels and won't have money to buy more until the end of the week (hopefully then).
I am wearing...
Tan pants, hot pink long-sleeved tee.
One of my favorite things...
Ghiardelli Chocolate Chips.
I am reading...
Raising Godly Tomatoes by Elizabeth Krueger
I am hoping...
Someday to get to go overseas with my family again.
I am creating...
Godly tomatoes.
I am hearing...
The music from Lori's blog (I purposely have it on to listen to while I write this. Lovely!)
Around the house ...
Everyone else in bed. Fire in the woodstove.
I am going...
to bed myself soon...
A few plans for the rest of the week...
I may take Mountain Princess to Delta to pick out glasses Wednesday, and get more WIC checks.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...
My sweet little niece at my nephew's wedding on October 3.
I hope you enjoyed your peek into our mountain haven! Come again!
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
If you would like to join us in The Simple Woman's Daybook, please see our Hostess, Peggy for details. You may also visit her for the Mr. Linky to many other Simple Women.
Back to the basics. We finally had an almost normal week, and I was determined to get five days of school in, in spite of the fact that Thursday and Friday we had two extra kids in the mix. Somehow we made it happen.
The Lord is gently helping me to rediscover my love and passion for overseas missions. I have no idea where or when He will call us from here, but the desire is growing stronger each week. I am waiting for Him to work the details out and bring my husband along this same way in His perfect timing.
On Friday evening we were able to celebrate Sabbath more traditionally with our new tablecloth and candlesticks. This was enjoyable to me and the kids, especially. We ate an elk roast, baked potatoes, vegetarian baked beans, and an apple pie.
You can see closer up shots of our new tablecloth and candlesticks on my previous post here. The company that sells these graciously heard the Lord and provided these to our family as a gift. If you would like to look at their website and see their other wonderful things they offer, check it out at www.davidicdance.com.
On the Homefront:
We had two nights with snow this week. One day the kids were actually able to get out and sled a bit. It is quickly melting away again...for which I am rejoicing. The days aren't especially cold.
We are still waiting for the Lord to sell our old van's snow tires, four-wheeler, and chicken coop, if He so desires. It seems He is leading my husband to sell the four-wheeler, and we are doing this in faith and obedience to Him, although it is not a desire of ours.
In the School Room:
Bible: We continue to read Egemeier's Bible Story Book with Bubbies. We didn't do anything with our Biblical Holidays book. We have started Book of Virtues, which is enjoyable.
History: We finished A Photobiography of Abraham Lincoln and read more about the Civil War from Landmark's History of America. Bubbies finished learning about medieval times, and started learning about ancient China.
Science: The big girls are learning about electricity and magnetism, but none of us are really getting into their reading assignments or activities. It just isn't all that interesting, and it is maybe a bit beyond our intellect, perhaps. Bubbies studied about caves, coastal areas, and that sort of thing. Last week I forgot to mention that we did the Outdoor Hour #3. With our friends here, we didn't get one in this week.
Read-Aloud: We continued Across Five Aprils with the big girls. We are ahead of schedule, but it seems very slow going - I'd sure like to read it to its end sooner!I am doing The Hundred Dresses with Bubbies, complete with a free lapbook from www.homeschoolshare.com.
Reader: Mountain Princess and Snow Crystal are reading Turn Homeward, Hannalee. It is a good book, that I took an evening to read in its entirety. It is based on an event in the civil war era.
Language Arts: The bigger girls' language arts was based on newspaper articles, that we didn't have access to, so I did an extra dictation instead.
Math: I came across a great math program for helping the girls learn their math facts a little faster. They are enjoying it a lot. You can get it for free for two weeks, so we are trying to get as much use out of it that we can while we can! It is www.mathscore.com. We did this 30 minutes a day this week, so I had the kids put aside their usual math books to work on their math facts.
Spanish: MP is using Rosetta Stone and seems to be learning and retaining a lot. SC is using The Complete Book of Spanish (workbook from Wal Mart). She'll get back to Rosetta next year.
On the Mission Field:
The students had an extra special week with a speaker named Troy Sherman. I think he speaks into their lives a lot when they are here. One of the students from the last school came and was ministered by him quite a bit this week also.
In the Literary Scene:
The only book outside of the kids' reading that I got in was Raising Godly Tomatoes by L. Elizabeth Krueger. This continues to be very helpful in our family.
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories. Then sign the Mr. Linky below. I'd love to read your weekly summaries too! I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday. At the latest it will be on Sunday. If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox or comments from the week before. Be sure and check last week's Mr. Linky for any new ones who posted before I did! It is a great way to meet new people.
Oct. 22, 2009
Show and Tell - Love Feast Fall 2009
Last Friday this motley crew, who happens to be our current Discipleship Training School, put on a love feast and foot washing for us. The theme they chose was "Favorite Biblical Characters". I came as Mary, the one who loved to sit at Jesus' feet. Dh came as Lazarus, my brother. Mountain Princess came as Queen Esther. Snow Crystal came as the angel with the fiery sword, Bubbies came as Mary, Jesus's mother, and Little Critter came as King Josiah. Here are pics of us in order of how I just listed it:
We ate at fancily decorated tables on the floor a very special meal created by the students. They entertained us with singing, and washed our feet before the end of the evening. It was a very nice evening.
Here are a few random pics of people enjoying themselves at the love feast.
I hope you all enjoyed my little presentation of our fun night last Friday night. If you would like to see more show and tell entries this week or enter one of your own, jump on over to Mary's blog Raising Godly Men and join the fun!
Many of you may know that I am a Physician Assistant by trade. Until last June I was working part-time for a physician in another town. He needed me to work more hours and I couldn't do it, so he laid me off. Anyway...on Wednesday morning the Lord prompted me to pray with a dream I had about him. In my dream the doctor was telling me that he was having marital problems and health problems. I began to pray for him, his family, and his clinic. I knew he was having a lot of serious issues at the clinic and was under attack. To make a long story short, that night I found out that his clinic and his two urgent care clinics were raided by the feds and DEA and some charts were commandeered (if that word can be used outside of a military sense). No arrests were made, and two of the clinics were reopened on Friday. There is a former employee who is making a lot of trouble for him. She's nuts. This man is very consciencious, loves God, prays with his patients, deeply cares for people. He's been watched for fraud for the past 9-10 years by Medicare, so he does everything in his power to keep his nose clean. (Something that happened to him when he first got out of residency). This whole thing is just evil. The enemy is after him. Please pray for him, his staff, his family, his colleagues.
There is another family who has been visiting this past month, and volunteering. We have really enjoyed having them around. They are leaving today.
I am taking a Sunday School class about finding what you are made to do, and pursuing it. One thing this has stirred up within me is my desire to "go into all the world". I really have a passion for overseas missions. Unfortunately, my husband doesn't share that with me. Now I am seeking God as to what He has in mind. I feel strongly that He guided me and approved of my marriage... Sometines I wonder and hope to be able to teach in discipleship training schools around the world. I hope that I can teach on the Bible and what I am learning now. I don't see how this will ever be possible, because there is such a wrong view of God's principles in the first five books of the Bible, and I know that without the Holy Spirit's timing and preparation, this would quickly be labeled "legalism". It is so sad, yet I have hope!
On the Homefront:
Tim's brother Eric, came for a short visit on Thursday night. He has been in the state hunting Elk, and he brought us some. Very sweet. The girls loved having him here and showed him their recent stories, pictures and so forth.
In the School Room:
Bible: We read more about Moses and being in the wilderness, Mt. Sinai, and the Tabernacle. The older girls both completely memorized Psalm 103. They will each get to pick out a movie as a reward. They each memories Lamentations 3:22-23. This has a pretty song to it. Bubbies memorized a little verse as well. As for studying the Biblical Holidays, we studied about Sabbath and about why it is important to study the holidays. This lead to some good discussions about other holidays that we see as "Christian" and their histories.
History: We continue to read about Abraham Lincoln with the older girls. We are reading a book together called A Photobiography of Abraham Lincoln. Bubbies is learning about medieval times.
Science: The big girls are learning about electricity and magnetism. They also did another electricity experiment. Bubbies continues to learn about water, icebergs, plants and air.
Read-Aloud: We continued Across Five Aprils with the big girls. I am doing My Father's Dragon with Bubbies, complete with a free lapbook from www.homeschoolshare.com.
Reader: Mountain Princess and Snow Crystal are finished reading The Perilous Road. It is a good book. I think it would be especially good for boys. It is based in the civil war era.
Language Arts: The older girls did some journal writing this week, and some grammar exercises. Bubbies did some review work with her first six letters.
Math: I came across a great math program for helping the girls learn their math facts a little faster. They are enjoying it a lot. You can get it for free for two weeks, so we are trying to get as much use out of it that we can while we can! It is www.mathscore.com.
Spanish: MP is using Rosetta Stone and seems to be learning and retaining a lot. SC is using The Complete Book of Spanish (workbook from Wal Mart). She'll get back to Rosetta next year.
On the Mission Field:
The speaker this week in our discipleship training program was Cindy Anderson. As she has been put on a gluten-free diet, they assigned her to our table most of the week, which allowed us to get to know her. I really enjoyed a couple of her lectures that I got to sit in on on Sunday and Monday evenings.
On Friday the students put on a "Love Feast" and "Foot Washing" for the staff. They had us come dressed up as our favorite Bible characters. My husband came as Lazarus, Snow Crystal came as the angel that guarded the entrance to the garden of Eden with a fiery sword, Mountain Princess was Queen Esther, Bubbies was Mary the mother of Jesus, I was Mary, Lazarus and Martha's sister, and Little Critter was King Josiah. They decorated the dining hall with sheets, plants and hand made instruments. The tables were beautifully set. I think I will do a Friday Show and Tell to share the pics! Here is a sneak peak:
In the Literary Scene:
I started reading The AD Chronicles with book one "First Light" by Brock and Bodie Thoene. I am still reading Raising Godly Tomatoes by L. Elizabeth Krueger.
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories. Then sign the Mr. Linky below. I'd love to read your weekly summaries too! I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday. At the latest it will be on Sunday. If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox or comments from the week before. Be sure and check last week's Mr. Linky for any new ones who posted before I did! It is a great way to meet new people.
One thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty, the beauty of the Lord. To inquire in His temple, the temple of the Lord.
This is my everyday thoughts about being a mother to three little ladies (12, 10 and 5) and a three year old son. We serve God full-time, and I am a physician assistant. I have the most awesome husband in the world. I am trying to seek and serve God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength.
From the Heart:
