Under the Sky

Nov. 11, 2008

My Grandpa - on Veterans Day

Nov. 3, 2008

Culmination of the Mystery

I have been motivated recently - motivated to really get some good schooling done. We had a lovely Sunday and overnight with some dear friends and when they left today, we jumped right into school. We were ending our Mystery of History Volume 1 and I was ready. In the fullness of time - He came forth. The last lessons were on Christ. Wow - what a tremendous resource. I don't know how to explain my joy or explain *why* I have such joy at this curriculum except to share with you something my eldest wrote at the end of her final semester test. The question was this: What have you learned about the prophets of the Old Testament? Now please understand that when we started this book, I had no idea what we were really going to learn. I had no idea what my children would walk away with or whether they would enjoy it at all. I had no idea they would learn so much about so many Bible personalities among the secular ones with whom we are so familiar. I really had no idea that we would be learning about the prophets or why that would even be as important as it is for understanding scripture as a whole. This was her answer. I am going to relate some of the amazing facts about the Old Testament prophets. The prophet Micah predicted the place of Jesus' birth. Ezekiel witnessed bones return to life, ate a scroll, and saw a wheel within a wheel. Joel prophesied during a locust plague. Habakkuk wrote letters to God. Amos was a fig farmer. Huldah was a prophetess who revealed to King Josiah the will of the Lord. Jeremiah, known as the 'weeping prophet', foretold the enslavement of Israel. Isaiah's beautiful words have been compared with the rest of the Bible. Jonah, the first prophet to Nineveh, was swallowed by a giant fish, and spit out three days later. Obadiah prophesied to the Edomites, the descendents of Esau. Elijah, who was known as the 'fiery prophet', was taken up into heaven by a chariot of fire. He was also mentor to Elisha who, even in death, brought people back to life by the mere touch of his bones. These are just some of the wonders that God's faithful servants saw and did, for His glory.  I can be honest with you and share that *I* don't even know all these things and *I* taught them through MOH! This came out of the top of her head, was hastily written, and she had more to offer had I given her the chance. I am simply stunned with the knowledge she has acquired through Mystery of History--on the prophets alone! Not only Bible history of course, but all sorts of wonderful ancient history meshed with the real living people of Scripture. And this is only one of my children. The other two I use it with have also really enjoyed it and learned a great deal too. The way Linda Hobar wrote the last three lessons continually brought tears to my eyes. It is abundantly clear that she loves her Savior - loves the same Lord I do. This book was written to the glory of God, for the building up of the saints, and I am so grateful. I just wanted Linda Hobar to know - this family is eternally grateful for her work.

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Oct. 31, 2008

Please Pray for Ben Towne

Oct. 30, 2008

Archeologist finds 3,000-year old Hebrew text

Oct. 22, 2008

New Entry!

Hello, again! We just finished reading history for the day and I thought I would take a few minutes to pop in and update here. It is Mystery of History (no surprise to any of you longer readers here :+) and boy are we enjoying it. We go slowly and stop when we want to concentrate on something of interest or take a break when we need it so we are just finishing up the first book. Today the children took a quiz of sorts in the book on the 20 prophets in the Bible. Can I just tell you that has been one of the neatest things we have learned over the course of studying ancient history? I am simply amazed that my children can identify most of the prophets by memory. I mean it is really something. They know more than I do. (She sheepishly admits...) We will be starting the next book immediately after the cessation of the first and I cannot wait to get into the middle ages again. Our history study is such a joy and we have learned SO much. I received the third brand spankin' new Mystery of History Volume III - The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations. It is a beautiful hardback full-color book. The look, the feel, the information - wow! It is all so wonderful. I am very excited about using this level next year. They did this one differently than the last and it is more expensive than their previous softcover all-in-one Volumes I and II, but after talking to Linda Hobar about it I know why they had to do it. Many of the Renaissance art reproduced in the book could not be reprinted in black and white so they chose to go with color - and hardback makes it study and lasting. It is truly, in this homeschool mom's opinion, worth the price. :+) I am trying to figure out which books to read out loud as we start the next year. I try not to repeat books we have read before so I will have to do some searching to find the very best historical fiction. I love that genre! So right now I am reading Gone With the Wind. I have been reading all sorts of interesting books - some are re-reads of books I have enjoyed in the past from the Cadfael series. These are so enjoyable to me. The other focus I have had has been Rome. Quo Vadis? was one of the books I recently finished and WOW was it powerful to me. Set in the time of Nero's Rome, the book focuses on the relationship between a powerful Roman Patrician and a Christian barbarian princess. Peter and Paul play parts and towards the end the stories of those dying in the arena are shared. It was published in 1896 and has that older feel to a book I enjoy so much. It depicts some of the Roman oppulence in a very descriptive manner so I cannot endorse it for children, but I felt I knew a great deal about Rome and the persecution of believers - and their example to many around them - by the end of it. It is a powerful book and I really recommend it. In my search to understand Rome a bit more before we dove into it with MOH, I spent some time reading The Story of the Romans, from Nothing New Press. I had never read the whole thing all the way through and it was a good overview of the history of Rome. It is very obviously written for children as it is quite delicate with some of the more unseemly events in Rome's past. It helped me understand it from a broad perspective and I was glad I read it. But back to Gone With the Wind... It is highly engrosing. I cannot say that I *like* Scarlett at this point in the story and am not sure I ever will. The self-love of this firey young girl is pretty palpable, but the story is very different in some places than the movie and the movie was all I had to go on. I am enjoying it enough to stay up later than I ought. :+) We shall see where it goes! So what have been your favorite reads for the middle ages and what are you reading now? Blessings to you this October.

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Sep. 25, 2008

September 2008

September is traditionally very full month for our family with three birthdays, the start of school and our co-op, magazine deadlines, and a whole lot of activity! This September has been no exception. Here are a few moments captured: Our co-op has spent the first four weeks learning a bunch of things from the music of Bach to the art of Botticelli to beginning sketching with lines, shapes, and outside forms. The picture above is some of our blue dawn vine. Here are some of our younger members trying to sketch a watermelon. Aren't they just the cutest? Here is another of our two watermelons God blessed us with! Planted and nurtured by our very own Abigail. We hit three birthdays along the way. The first was our Elizabeth. She is now officially 8. This was a highly sought-after present that arrived from Hearthsong just in time. Here is the truly delighted (and focused) child baking her own filled cupcakes. They were stuffed chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting - all from scratch. They were absolutely delicious! Mama and her birthday girl. Then we had a very special birthday - a once-in-a-lifetime kind of birthday - my grandmother's 90th birthday. This is Elizabeth Kirk Immekeppel on her 90th. She is, and always has been, some kind of woman! It was not a surprise, but she didn't know who all the guests were. It was so much fun to see her face when she saw a long-ago friend. Here she is with her three daughters. My mother is on the left, my Aunt Judy is in the middle, and my Aunt Nancy is on the right. They are so precious to us! I really love this picture. The last birthday of the month is my lovely daughter, Hannah. She is now 14. 14!! I simply cannot believe it. She is a delight and a joy. God gives such rich and good treasure! Today is her birthday. Happy birthday, precious girl.

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Sep. 9, 2008

And They're Off!

Sometimes the new year feels like a race that is going to start whether we are ready or not. Kind of like a big marathon - it is going to begin whether you have your shorts on or not. That is what it felt like this morning after being up way too late trying to get the schedule ready for all five of our children. Five! I have all five in the race this year for the first time. 8th, 6th, 4th, 2nd, and K - you would think we planned it that neatly. This feels like a very unique year and I guess it is. It is our last year before high school starts for our family - homeschool high school! I know I blog about this frequently, but moms, hold tight to your littles and ENJOY them - they grow up SO fast!! It is delightful though, to see who they are becoming. It is so much more beyond my wildest imaginings. God has blessed us so richly in our children! Our new year looks like this for the oldest two. I will share the others later this week. It is very late! 8th Grader: Rainbow Science Traditional Logic I Literature Study Math Wordly Wise 3000 Writing Skills, Book 2 Latin Piano The Mystery Of History, Volume 2: The Early Church and the Middle Ages Art Reading We still have to finish up Mystery of History, Volume 1 first, but I am hoping to jump into the middle ages in a few months. I don't rush history so if it takes longer - really, who cares? We love it. :+) 6th Grader: Learning Language Arts Through Literature Entire Online Grammar Program - It's free! Math U See Handwriting - We use Startwrite Software and I create cursive pages for her. We choose literature portions, Bible verses, poetry, and great quotes. I love this software! Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day The Mystery Of History, Volume 2: The Early Church and the Middle Ages Reading - this is free reading from books from the library, our own family library, and good book lists like this and this. Piano Art, Handicrafts, Baking We are also involved in a homeschool co-op learning about artists, composers, more science topics, and drawing. It sounds very busy and well, it is. It is a joy though - and this is only the first two!  Oh - and if you have sent me a note or a comment and I didn't respond, please forgive me. I have been under the most amazing load of responsibilities. I apologize. I am trying to live this wonderful quote out and am having a hard time doing it! There have been wives who in their zeal for Christ’s work outside have neglected Christ’s work inside their own doors. They have had eyes and hearts for human need and human sorrow in the broad fields lying far out, but neither eye nor heart for the work of love lain about their own feet. Let it be remembered that Christ’s work in the home is the first that he gives to every wife, and that no amount of consecrated activities in other spheres will atone in this world or the next for neglect or failure. From Home-Making by J.R. Miller This was such a great reminder to me today! Blessings to you this week.

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Sep. 1, 2008

For Sale

Aug. 26, 2008

This and That

I should really be doing about ten other things, but I have missed "chatting" with my blog friends so here I am. I am, as I am sure most of you are, prepping for the new school year. For many of you it has already begun, but not for us. I still have a few last minute planning/organizing/"how does this curriculum work" kinds of things to do. I really need an extra week of August so I may just take it in September. We shall see. :) I will have five students this year - the first time ever. It feels a little bit scary, but not *too* scary - really. If I keep saying that to myself it will be true, right? LOL! There is so much to think about with regards to this new year and I feel I have had no time at all to do it. There has also been so much to think about and evaluate for my new "crop" of smallish schoolers. This idea has been on my mind quite a bit. I really like what they discuss for first and second grade, but we are in the midst of a history cycle with the older children and doing *two* types of history is just not what I am available for. However... and there it is - that "however" - I really love the idea of just reading great books like the history-oriented beautiful work by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire amongst others. I really really want to do this with my two little ones. I *want* to do so many things. It is the doing that makes it hard sometimes. These books are worth the time though, and there are so many others that are too. I heard one of the best and most encouraging homeschool conference talks from Rea Berg recently. She extolled the importance of reading real quality literature with your children over the course of their years. It was such an uplifting message! I think we forget sometimes, the importance of just reading. We don't have to *do* something with every piece of literature--we can just enjoy it together. This is the easiest thing for me to let slip by. I don't want to do that this year! What is the easiest thing to slip in your homeschool? How does a day in the life of your homeschool work? Do you find schedules and plans help you? If so, what few things do you do that really make it come together for your family? I am needing a little help this year! :+)

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Aug. 2, 2008

Catching up on July 4th

So July has been busy! Can you tell by my frequent posts? Haha. We began our month with a trip to one of the prettiest places - Lake Tahoe. We stayed in the most amazing resort as a kindness of Mark's boss. WOW was pretty much our thought upon arrival and during our stay! What a place. Here are some photos. Many of these are click-able to enlarge them. From Squaw Valley: My beautiful friend, Grace and her baby girl, Hannah, and me. Grace is the kind of friend that once you have you never lose. She is a dear and precious person and I feel so blessed to know her! And her baby is funny and sassy and darling - all wrapped into one little curly-headed girl. :) And it was the fourth of July and here is one of my sassy silly girls with Grace's other child, David. What faces! We took the most beautiful hike. You can see the smokey sky as the CA fires were still in full force at this time. It was so green and lush and lovely. I didn't expect that in July, but wow, it was so pretty! I loved this one: And I got all excited on our hike because I thought I had located hemlock. I started thinking of all sorts of medieval poisons (and Brother Cadfael mysteries) that could be made from it. (Not by me of course, but what I have read over the years.) It wasn't hemlock. It was cow parsnip. LOL I was so happy this picture turned out. I love the colors of the yellow Mule's Ears and the purple Forget Me Nots. If you click on it, you will see just how pretty it is up close. We also found Indian Paintbrush: I loved the look of this with the lush green foliage surrounding it. The name is so pretty too: Thimbleberry. Doesn't that make you think of a fairy? :) And the Western Columbine was just beautiful: And this is the best of all. All the beautiful flowers of my own garden: So that was our Fourth of July. :)

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