Well I got one whole week done on my new attempt at "week in review" but I have no time to do that right now.  We are getting ready to leave for vacation.  Between getting ready for vacation, getting school done, soccer games, soccer practices, chiropractor appointments and shopping for vacation, I just don't have time to sit down and type out our week.  I plan to get back to it once we return from vacation. 

Sam played indoor summer soccer for the first time this summer.  He had a great time and learned a lot.  Indoor soccer is different than outdoor and it is also a much more fast-paced game.  He greatly enjoyed it and looks forward to playing winter indoor soccer.   His team made it to championship game but lost it.   I didn't get any action shots of indoor soccer though because of the set up of the field.  It is set up similar to hockey and the pictures didn't turn out very well.  Here is the only picture I have of him from summer soccer:

Bekah's fall soccer has begun.  She is playing on the middle school home school team.  Her first game was Monday night.  They tied 2-2. 

Recreation league fall soccer is getting ready to begin as well.  Evaluations are this Saturday.  Bethany Grace has to move up a division so she and Bekah will be on the same team.  This should make managing practices and games a bit easier.  In the Spring we had all four playing in four different divisions and some times games were at the same time. 

I receive many e-mails for me to add a "week in review" section to my blog.  I have resisted for a long time because the older children simply don't do much school that is "blog worthy".  It's not very exciting to read "completed pages x-x in Math" etc....  The requests continue to come so I have added this section to my blog and I'm going to give it a trial run.  We'll see how it goes.  :-)

We do bible and history all together so I'll cover those two first. 

Bible -- We are currently in the Book of Job.  This week we covered Job 4-11.  Things we covered were:

Eliphaz First Speech and the body's response to stress

Other speeches of Job's Friends and human limitations.  From Job 5:7 we discussed gases, fires and flames.  From Job 8:14 we discussed spiders and their webs. 

Job's second speech and the misery of man.  From Job 7:5 we discussed types of worms, the classification and parasitic worms. 

Job's Third Speech and God's Wisdom & Purpose in space and the human body.  From here we discussed ecology, biological community, ecological niche, plants, sources of oxygen and carbon dioxide, layers of the skin, muscles and capillaries.

We also read the Proverb for each day so this week we read Proverbs 3-7.  The children were reminded of many of the songs they have learned from Judy Rogers and her wonderful music.  Mark's favorite is "Awful Things".  You can hear a clip of it here.  I was reminded of what we put in is what comes out.  It was nice to hear these songs that we've been putting in, come back out and be related to the scripture as we read through these Proverbs. 

History:

We finished up studying Marco Polo and added him to our time line.  We began studying Christopher Columbus as we also worked on maps of Portugal, Italy and Spain.  We also listened to the Christopher Columbus from Your Story Hour. 

Science:

Bekah learned more about the plant and animal kingdom.  Some things she learned are about chlorophyll, cellulose, plant cells, plants with conducting systems, simple and complex plants.

Sam learned about Iron, Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. 

Bethany learned about matter and living and nonliving things.  She also learned about organs. 

That's about all that is "blog-worthy" from our week.  Of course, the children work in math, do lots of reading and Sam and Bethany do spelling.

This week Mark and I rowed Climbing Kansas Mountains.  (Five in a Row Volume 3)  Mark thought it was neat because Brooks is from Kansas and the little boy in the book's name is Sam.  Here is what the book is about:

When Sam's father suggests that they "climb a Kansas mountain," skeptical Sam says, "Sure . . . and watch pigs fly," but he changes his mind after his father drives him to the grain elevators where they climb "as high as eight houses stacked like blocks." Sam thinks the land looks like their tablecloth, "but with ribbons of road instead of red," and his house seems to be "hiding under trees like a sneaky cat." With homespun imagery and a laconic style, Shannon's ( Dancing the Breeze ) text emphasizes Sam's pleasure in "sharing time" alone with his father: "just me--no brothers--in the big front seat." Allen's ( In Coal Country ; Going West ) pastel illustrations are among his best and are particularly well suited to the text: the green patchwork countryside fairly shimmers in the hazy sunlight, while the heat at the dusty, small-town intersection is nearly palpable.

Mark placed the story disk on Kansas.

We also placed a story disk on our time line at 1993 because the book was written in 1993.  We learned about the State of Kansas and the state flower, animal, insect and tree.  We had lots of fun discussing metaphors and tried using metaphors throughout the week.  We talked about how fun and special times are with just he and Daddy and added a picture to his book of Mark and Brooks at a hockey game together.  It was also very sweet for me to hear Mark say "but family times are great too" 

Of course Mark worked in his phonics and math book this week as well.  One day he was waiting on me to come do his phonics work with him and I arrived to see he had done some pages by himself.  I was even more pleased to see what a nice job he had done.  He did great spelling all of the words.  He has his "s" backwards in "sip" and in "lips". 

I have a friend that has recv'd a letter from her daughter's doctor stating that once she is 12 that the mother and father will not have access to her records (unless the child signs a waiver)  This is nuts!  See the e-mail below from Parental Rights.  If you have recv'd a letter like this, please click on the appropriate link to e-mail them and let them know.  We must get something done about this.  I'm thankful to my friend for getting the ball rolling on this and not just sitting down on it. 

Action 1: PROclaim Video Contest ParentalRights.org will give away more than $1000 in prizes in our PROclaim video contest. First place is $250 in each of 4 categories, with additional 2nd and 3rd place prizes. Categories include (1) Parental Rights Amendment Commercials, and What Is the Parental Rights Amendment in (2) Youth, (3) Adults, and (4) Family divisions. So charge up your camera, get your creative juices flowing, and get started today! Click here for additional information. Action 2: Push Email Network Over 100k Our email activist list is approaching a major milestone, and we need your help to push us over it. You may recall that our petition signers crossed the 100k mark a few months ago – we now have 141,000 who have signed up. Due to unsubscribes, out-dated email addresses, and so forth, our actual Email Activist list is only 98,325 as of last week. When we need to call on you to contact Congress, that notice goes out to 98,325 of you. Today’s email is probably going to a few more than that – maybe 98,500. (Exact number here.) By next week, we would like to send it out to 100,000 or more. So, here is what we need you to do: 1. Find at least one friend who is not already a part of our email activist list, and get them to sign up for our weekly newsletter. We will alert them, as we do you, with updates and calls to action. 2. Talk to friends who already support the Parental Rights Amendment, and ask if they have been getting their emails lately. If they haven’t, urge them to get online and sign back up. Our database will merge duplicate records, so a great way to update their email address with us is just to sign up all over again. 3. The next time you change your email address, remember #2 above. Don’t worry about us counting you twice, just sign up again so we’ll have your new email address. Don’t miss a week! We’re fewer than 2000 email addresses away from this major milestone. Won’t you take a few minutes to help us reach it this week?

Join Our Email List If this email newsletter was forwarded to you, you can join up for yourself by clicking here. Visit 200 Congressmen with Us! As of today, we have 129 Senate and House visits planned throughout the country for the months of August and September, involving 114 current non-sponsors of the Parental Rights Amendment. We need your help to reach our goal of 200! Email us to connect with other volunteers making visits in your district, or to receive training or a Congressional Visit Kit. Constitution Week Is Coming! Constitution Week is September 14-18, and we have some major actions planned for that week. We will keep you informed on this next phone blitz, and a day of visits on Capitol Hill. Been Hit with HIPPA Yet? By now many of you are discovering first-hand that federal HIPPA law violates your parental rights. If you have received notice from your doctor or insurance requiring your child's permission to discuss medical records, we need to hear from you as we prepare to take action. Please email Michael. Senate and House Cosponsors We currently have 114 House cosponsors, and 3 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate. Become a Member Today The amazing progress we have made this summer has not been cheap. Become a member with a donation of $25 or more and we will do the following: Send you 2 exclusive PRO decals. Continue working to preserve parental rights for future generations.

Bethany is always so good at encouraging Mark in all that he does.  She is so patient to sit and listen to him read.  Recently I snapped these pictures of them outside together. 

I love this hymn.  It is one of my favorite if not my very favorite.  We sang this in church this morning and I'm reminded and humbled at God's faithfulness.  His love is never ending and there is no greater love than the love of Christ.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; 
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

It is so hard to believe that Mark is now 6 years old.  We had a wonderful day celebrating his birthday.  He cracks me up much of the time.  When opening one of his presents he said "Is this fragile"?  It was a slingshot.  The marbles shaking around in the box made him think it might be fragile.

Here is his cake:

He has the best laugh and smile but his posed smile just isn't that great. 

This is the smile I love:

Here he is sporting his new Jonathan Park hat.

He was very happy with the new game for the Wii (Up)

It's so hard to believe our little guy is already 6 years old.  It seems like just yesterday...

and with his Psalty that he loves so much:

I am so thankful that God blessed us with Mark. 

These are two books that I have recently read and they are very good. 

Upgrade: 10 Secrets to the Best Education for Your Child  -- This book is by Kevin Swanson.  It is a quick and easy read.  The focus isn't totally on homeschoolilng but on education in general.  You can check out Kevin's web site here.  He has a daily radio program as well. 

The next book I recently read is Already Gone:  Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it by Ken Ham. This is an EXCELLENT book that I encourage every parent to read.  This book is available via Amazon or at the Answers in Genesis web site.  Kevin Swanson recently had Ken Ham on his radio program talking about this book.  You can listen to it here.  You can also hear other/older broadcasts via Sermon Audio.  I love this site.  It's great and FREE. 

A friend of a friend is a making a movie for the Vision Forum Independent Film Festival.  They have some courtroom scenes so I am playing the court reporter for those scenes.  Our first weekend for filming courtroom scenes was last weekend.  Today the children and I all went to be extras in a soccer scene.  I disguised myself (glasses and baseball hat with hair in ponytail) so it wouldn't look like the court reporter was at the soccer game.  :-) 

Lots of time is spent waiting around but the children made the best of it by visiting with friends.

Once they were ready to shoot and we took our places we waited some more... just in a different spot.  :-)

We were at the field a lot longer than I had planned and we all came home sunburned.  The children enjoyed the experience and were glad that we had gone.

Here's my friend, Daphne, working on her lines.

Reba and Kayla:

Ryan and Sara

I have two more weekends of courtroom filming.  I'll try and snap some courtroom pictures over those two weekends.  I'm so behind on blogging.  We have been much busier than I prefer to be so all my "free time" we've been spending as a family -- playing lots of games and just investing in one another.  Way better than investing in the blog!  :-)  Once things slow down I hope to blog regularly again. 

We had gone to a family reunion on my mother's side.  Sam and Bethany had much fun playing in this little bit of dirt.  Sam was 4 and Bethany Grace was 3.

Conversation with Mark Sunday morning:

Mark:  I'm hungry.  May I have a waffle?

Me:  Bekah is ready for church so she will get it for you.  I need to take a shower.

Mark:  Okay.  Thanks Bekah.  Mommy you don't need a shower.

Me:  Mommy does need a shower.  You don't want a stinky mommy going to church.

Mark:  Yes, I would like you to go to church stinky.

Me:  You would?

Mark:  Yes, because then no one would want to be around you and I could have you all to myself. 

Me  Laughing (and making a mental note to fill his love tank) 

My sweet silly boy.  The other day Mark asked if he could get something out of his closet. I was busy doing other stuff and the next time I see Mark this is how he was dressed:

I tell him how very handsome he looks.  He says "this is my spy outfit.  Don't you think I look like a spy"  Yes, definitely.  :-) 

Today he was swimming with Bethany and Sam.  Here is our conversation:

Me:  Mark

Mark:  Yes, mommy.

Me:  Remember that Bethany has to wear those special ear plugs for her ears and so she can't hear very well.  If you need to talk to her, make sure she is looking at you so we don't have any misunderstandings or frustrations.

Mark:  AIRPLANE (pointing to the sky)

Me:  Smiling because I love the brain of a 5yo.

Mark:  I'm sorry.  Yes, mommy.  I will be sure to talk loud so Bethany can hear me.  Did you see that great airplane? 

We then had a great conversation about airplanes and the Wright brothers and he reminded me "you know, Grandma used to be a Wright"  :-)  I'm amazed he remembered that.  And then I followed back up with speaking loud wasn't as necessary as eye contact when talking to Bethany. 

My mother's employer recently had employee appreciation day where they give you free tickets to a local carnival.  The children had a great time spending the day with Nana and enjoying the rides.  It was very hot but lots of fun.  I think the heat kept a lot of people away which worked to our advantage.  The children didn't have to wait in any lines.  They could get off a ride and right back on. 

I didn't get lots of pictures but did snap a few.

Bethany Grace had on shorts and the seat was very hot and burned her legs so she didn't do this ride.  I'm so thankful for the love and kindness the older three show Mark.  They weren't negative at all about what some would call "baby rides"  They made a big deal about them and joined in with Mark.  They never said "that rides not very fun"  If Mark enjoyed it, they enjoyed it.  I praised each one of them later that evening for how they honored God by honoring their little brother. 

The bumper cars were their favorite. 

Bekah and Mark:

Sam:

Bethany:

Mark was thrilled beyond words when he was able to drive a bumper car all by himself.  I didn't think it would be allowed but the operator of this ride was so kind.  He told me that Mark was tall enough and so we would see how he did.  He really watched out for Mark and made sure he got this one certain car each time. 

This simple little 5-word phrase can make a huge difference in child-training, IMO.  We learned of "do you have the freedom" from GKGW material.  When a child asks "may I play outside" instead of us, the parents, saying "have you cleaned your room, made your bed, picked up toys.... ALL the toys, brushed your teeth" so on and so forth we can say "do you have the freedom?"  Now, of course, you must train your children in what this phrase means but that part of the process is very quick.  The next step in the process can be quick for some children and not so quick for others.    You know there are times in parenting where you feel like you have instructed the same thing a million times and you aren't seeing progress -- for the record, I'm not talking about obedience issues.  Those should be dealt with and taken care of, IMO.  The taking of ownership is something we typically don't give consequences for but continue to work and train through each opportunity.  This is what can be so very tiring. 

I have some children that picked up "do you have the freedom" very quickly.  They remembered that I would ask that and they typically do have the freedom when they ask me to do something.  Then we have other children that don't pick it up so quickly.  I'm talking it can take years for some.  I'm sure temperamanet plays a part in this but that doesn't excuse us not to work on it, right?!?!  Oh, how I wish it did.  :-)  So there is a particular child in our home that "do you have the freedom" training has been in progress for a couple of years.  Yes, I said YEARS. 

I am thrilled to report that yesterday this child came to me and asked "May I get out the big blocks to play with"  I said, "Do you have the freedom"  With the biggest smile you can imagine, this child gave a resounding "yes, mommy, I do have the freedom"  Oh the "pride" that was in the child's voice and smile.  YES!  Success!!!!!  The child ran off to play and came back before getting started and said "Mommy, I was happy for you to ask me because I knew that I would be able to say yes and really mean it"  See for the past two years that conversation has gone like this:

Child:  May I _____?

Me:  Do you have the freedom?

Child:  ummmm, let me go check.

30 minutes later (or ever how long it took them to take care of everything) the child returns with "yes, I now have the freedom"

OR

Child:  May I ______?

Me:  Do you have the freedom?

Child:  I think so.  (or any neutral answer)

Me:  Well, you may go sit while you think through if you have the freedom. 

There were many times I wondered if this child would ever truly apply "do you have the freedom"  This child does have a good percentage of FTO so that wasn't a problem.  The issue was really taking ownership and thinking through things (which I think is more difficult for the sanguine temperament) 

Have we arrived?  Oh, no, certainly not.  It won't be perfect from here on out but I'm thrilled at the progress that has been made and it gives me the encouragement and determination to keep on keepin' on.

We had a lovely time on vacation.   On the way there we stopped at a treehouse built by Minister Horace Burgess.  He built this treehouse out of scrap wood and it took him around 14 years to make.  I think that's what I remember reading.  It was really neat. 

*I* did not go all the way up.  I had planned on it but as we began our journey, I realized I wouldn't be able to do it.  The house isn't level (which shouldn't have surprised me but it did)  Between it being unlevel and the space between boards and I could see below, it was a no go for me.  I did make it up to the chapel room and it was neat.  The man is a gifted wood carver.  The children did go up with Brooks.  Mark was hugging the wall and wasn't too sure about it all. He was ready to come down when they did.

We had celebrated Sam's birthday the day before we left so we was excited to take some gifts along with him.  He was most excited about this tank he recv'd that goes on land and water.  It is very cool.

Once we got checked in and everything unloaded, we headed off to the pool and Sam took his tank with him.  The pool was nearly empty and so we all really enjoyed our evening there.  The life guard was very intrigued by the tank and said he planned to start his Christmas shopping for his grandchildren soon.  He was a very nice man.

The figures on the tank are Polly Pocket people.  They are waterproof and the children all had a great time playing rescue type stuff with all of it. 

It was wonderful having the pool mostly to ourselves.  I think most people were using the outdoor pools.

Mark found a new love of miniature golf.  He wanted to play every day and so we did.  He even got one special round of mini golf with just Daddy. 

We were rather surprised to notice that Mark switched back and forth between and right and left hand during the games.  We hadn't noticed a mixed handedness prior to this.  He always writes right handed so we'll be checking his dominance soon and keeping an eye on this.

Other gifts that Sam received for his birthday that we had tons of fun playing are Pit and Spy Alley.

If you don't have these games, you MUST get them.... especially Pit.  It is SO.MUCH.FUN!!!!  We spent countless hours playing it.  It is a LOUD game though.  Because we were in a condo we made sure to play during day hours and not too early.  Spy Alley is lots of fun too.  We give both of these games two thumbs up. 

We also spent as much time as possible out on the lake and boat.  The children all enjoyed taking turns driving the boat and swimming in the lake.

We saw this snake in the lake before they went swimming so I wasn't sure if they would want to swim or not but they did.

Brooks had to leave and get back to work so we invited our friend, The Arnold's, to come see us while there and stay with us.  They all couldn't come but my sweet friend, Val, and one of her boys, Conner, came.  We had a wonderful visit with them.  The children enjoyed the arcade as well.

Here are Mrs. Arnold and Bethany playing air hockey:

Bekah, Sam and Conner enjoyed a game of pool.

Our vacation was shorter than normal but we were thankful for every minute we did have.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family. 

We are home from vacation and I'm catching up on laundry and things around the home.  We had a wonderful time.  I'm downloading pictures now and hope to share tomorrow.  In the mean time, I have this family picture to share that was taken of us at a wedding we recently attended.