Lord, We know You are willing. We know that You can heal.

We know that You have compassion on us.

We know that You love us. We know that You know all our hurts and pains.

We know that You have healed in the days of old.

We know that You heal in these days of now.

And we know that on the day to come ALL will be healed.

Lord, thank-you for hope, for faith, and for love.

We are but beggars

141. big hills and an even bigger sky

142. a wet boy and a wet dog

143. work

144. and play

145. the valley

146. and the mountain top

147. the locust

148. and the flower

149. bravery (or is it?)

150. and fear (momma's only)

151. growing up

152. and staying little

153. being with just him

154. being with just them

155. or all together

Thank-you Lord for it all... what a journey You give to us

"But Thou, O LORD, art a shield about me,

My glory,

and the One who lifts my head.

I was crying to the LORD with my voice,

And He answered me from His holy mountain."

-Psalm 3:3-4

"Life is a highway..."

  Some roads are flat and straight and you can travel fast and just about with your eyes closed. You don't need a map- just someone to point you in the right direction. Other roads wind over and around hills or cliffs. The sites are great and make for many picture memories but you look back and wonder how you ever made it. You took that road slow but steady keeping your eyes on the path. And maybe you threw-up a little along the way.

Sometimes the road your on is being worked on and you just need to slow down. You wouldn't want to injure those who are helping you on the road. You might get angry and yell at the workers or even the other drivers. But ultimately you just want to get down the road so you'll stay put or risk foolishness trying to go around it.

Other times the road is shut down for repairs and you get to follow a detour. Take your time and enjoy the sites. Detours take us where we would never go on our own. They wind around and can make you feel lost. But if you follow "the Pilot car" or "the Word" on the signs - you'll get there eventually. If you get lucky you might even have heard about the detour and can take steps to avoid it. This can be good and bad. For God has many detours and wants to show us the good and the bad- the ugly and the beautiful.

And sometimes the road just ends. Life is like that. God says no. God says stop. Or maybe we have gone down the wrong road and reached a dead end.

But God.... boy I love that....
But God says...
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me..."
(John 10:27)

and He says
"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
in paths they do not know I will guide them.
I will make darkness into light before them and rugged places into plains.
These are the things I will do, and I will not leave them undone."
(Isaiah 42:16)

So I am on this road and I have driven fast and straight. I've gone around the cliffs and over the hills. I have taken the photos of the cliff ledges and gotten sick in the back seat. Letting someone else drive will do that to you... And I have been down many detours- some of God and some of "self". I've come to dead ends that I didn't see the signs for and I've come to the end of the road.

But I long for my Home

and the Father who waits for me

 so I'll keep on keeping on-

with my eyes on Him and all that He shows me.

We have finally started school. I started this year off with a lot less planning and less cost - always a good thing.

Here is a list of our schedule and most of the materials for those who are wondering how I keep these boys busy.

Bible and Missions:

• We are reading through the New Testament in chronological order... got the list off the web
• I also added mapping (we'll see how that goes) just for fun
• We receive the Voice of the Martyrs for Kids , newsletters, and updates from missionaries here in America and abroad. We map these somewhat and read about what is going on around the globe.... taking time to pray for our brothers and sisters in chains and praising the Father with them as more souls are reached.

History

• Story of the World 2 the audio version followed by questions and mapping.

Math

• One boy is doing teaching textbooks on the computer
• Another is doing a workbook for now and will rejoin older brother on TT when he's finished with his workbook.
• The oldest is doing a workbook and requesting material similar. I think I'll look into Saxon or Horizons for him when he is close to finishing this one.
• The younger two are working on Math-u-See Beta 

Spelling

• Sequential Spelling for the older 3

Writing and Handwriting

• Excellence in Writing for the older 3. Anyone who knows my boys knows they don't enjoy writing and so we are trying a borrowed copy to see if just maybe this will help. This is one of the areas we will focus more on for those 3.
• I am also hoping to order Story Starters for days when we need a break and want to have some creative fun.
• The younger two are working on penmanship and just the practice of writing with Draw Write Now.

Science

• Apologia Botany for all 5 and possibly a college coloring book for the older 3. I have to order those still so updates will have to follow.

Music

• Jerod- is still taking bass guitar lessons, Daron- is taking banjo lessons now, Will- is still taking mandolin but begging for more instruments, Rob- has joined in lessons with a recorder, and Nate- wants a drum set but is tapping out tunes on my keyboard while waiting.

Art

• We are still using Discovering Great Artists and look forward to doing more weekly projects

Reading

• My older three are reading better with Will reading the most. This year I am going to try to encourage books from lists like this
• the younger two are going to continue learning the basics with lots of stories to share together including our family favorites 

Electives

• Finally but probably their favorite subjects- I have let our boys decide on a few subjects they want to learn about. Jerod is studying a basic economics program from Money Matters, Daron is studying survival skills, Will is taking a computer course on a Railroad Business, Rob will be getting another kit for his Snap Circuit set and study mapping with Nate. The older three will rotate their subjects every 3 months

     This really is just the filler time as most of the time they are content to work on their own- shooting bb guns, building little campfires to cook acorns on, jamming on the instuments with some friends, visiting friends and doing skateboard tricks off their porch while video taping it, playing Civil War in our woods, cooking, EATING, going for walks, working on art projects of their own making, helping our farmer friend, ant wars, fishing and exploring, training the dog to go downstairs, and many more exciting things. How could I possibly compare with all those fun things that teach them so much? They have no idea how much "school" they really do .  Just wait till I order the handheld microscopes...