Hope this worked! I can never remember which code to put in! If you don't see it. revisit in a few days and I'll try to have it up then.

Newest Gems:

Isaiah is becoming more and more expressive and loves watching "FARM MATH" as we call it.(Our math lessons have a farm theme.) He is having great fun comparing EVERYTHING and uses his best teacher voice!:
"Doooo these match?.....Nooooooooo"
You have to imagine his little dimpled smile as he does this!

A couple of weeks ago, he picked up the term, "Not quite". We were sitting with the baby and the bottle in the big brown chair, and he asked (again, in his best teacher voice):
" Is baby a tough guy?...Noooot quite!"

Elijah is still screeching when he wants us to bow to his every whim...ahem...not happening here!
I managed to teach him the sign for "please" and now he has to use it if he wants something. Right now, it's limited to the meal table, but that's a start! He's sooo happy with himself when he does it too!

We have another Gem from Faith this week.
Our church has started a prayer time for the younger crowd revolving around missions. I thought it was for kids 14 and up, but learned yesterday that anyone who wants to participate in leadership for this needs to be at least 14, but the learning and prayer time is for any age.

I had let her go outside to the playground with some bigger girls and when I was ready to go home, I went out to find her...she was around the corner with all the kids in the missions lesson.
When I told her it was time to go, her little bottom lip quivered and she said, "but I have to stay and learn about our missionaries!!!" 
Of course, I couldn't drag her away from that!
On the way home, she expressed concern about 3 twenty-somethings in our church who have gone to Taiwan to teach English: "I'm so sad! When they come back, they won't remember how to speak like us!!"
I assured her that people don't forget how to speak the language they have spoken since they were babies! Especially if they are teaching it to others.

HOMESCHOOLING NEWS:
I am presently ( now, at this very moment) burning DVD's off my hard drive that our satellite classes beam down to . I am getting quite proficient at techno mulit-tasking.. whew!  I am so glad that Pat has offered to do all the canning this season! I can tell from the timer upstairs in the kitchen that he's about ready!

We are mostly learning how to smoothly go through our day:
1. set table for breakfast
2. Eat
3. Clear table (placemats, wipe down with wet cloth and again with dry.
4. Move her booster seat to her school chair ( Papa's supper chair)
5. Get supplies from box for Bible Lesson and go through that.
6.Put away Bible folder and DVD
7. Pull out supplies for Math....(mama has to make sure she has some math manips for Isaiah to play witth too!!) Then take a break while Mama showers. Do math after little break.
8. Put away school supplies and set up for Lunch
9. After eating lunch, reset up school supplies ( DVD player and Reading folders)
10. Play outside
11. Come in and do more school while brothers rest

whew... lots of independent training!

gotta go! time to sleep