Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
New Views
As my soccer kids (G#1 & G#2) work diligently 3x a week on the pitch, I watch my third ride his bike or hit a bucket of balls with Dad at the courts. But there is a new view from the tennis court sideline (as tennis lessons began for G#3):
New views from the back door to the house (as each of the junior gardeners used a shovel to help me remove a 30 year old juniper stump from in front of a basement window):
It's amazing what directed digging can bring about for dedicated diggers.
I may be viewing the sanctuary different in the future as I serve at church.
PS. Sunday sailing for Daddy and G#3 found them viewing the sail boat from the water. The gusting storm blew in and blew them over. Both are well, but learned many lessons and had new stories to tell.
New views from the back door to the house (as each of the junior gardeners used a shovel to help me remove a 30 year old juniper stump from in front of a basement window):
It's amazing what directed digging can bring about for dedicated diggers.
I may be viewing the sanctuary different in the future as I serve at church.
PS. Sunday sailing for Daddy and G#3 found them viewing the sail boat from the water. The gusting storm blew in and blew them over. Both are well, but learned many lessons and had new stories to tell.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tuesday with Community Bible Study
CBS is a hit! I'm looking forward to this outlet for my kids to visit with other home schooled kids in a lesson setting. I've been reluctant to do co-ops because they usually cost so much and really didn't cover materials that I couldn't already do myself or with the Daddy's help. But, this group of kids made such a fun time that we went on a picnic afterwards at a nearby park. Where, my kids met a Turkish lady and her child playing on the slides. I wasn't bothered when my little girl was talking away with a strange lady in a brightly colored scarf covering her head because I knew that she was familiar with people who lived that way. But then one of the boys mentioned that the lady was from Istanbul and G#2 was telling her about the summer trip to Turkiye. I had to meet her and tell her how wonderful it was to meet her. I spoke Turkish just about as well has her little boy, but I had a few words that I remembered. I hope we find more Turkish people in the area again soon.
She looked hot in the sunshine and I remembered that it was Ramadan and she wasn't allowed water or lunch. She excused herself and said that she needed to get the little son to his lunch, but I prayed for her that we didn't keep her too long in the sunshine and she didn't get sick later in the day.
Speaking of sick today, my oldest got to wondering around in a little woodsy place and found some bees. His cohort got many stings and my son only the one, but you'd have thought he was going to croak! Well, we learned many lessons today including some about life and the Bible.
She looked hot in the sunshine and I remembered that it was Ramadan and she wasn't allowed water or lunch. She excused herself and said that she needed to get the little son to his lunch, but I prayed for her that we didn't keep her too long in the sunshine and she didn't get sick later in the day.
Speaking of sick today, my oldest got to wondering around in a little woodsy place and found some bees. His cohort got many stings and my son only the one, but you'd have thought he was going to croak! Well, we learned many lessons today including some about life and the Bible.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
What a wonderful holiday!
Have returned from time with the extended family and heavenly weather in Iowa. We are yet to pick up G#1 from the airport as it was way to full to get him and Gramma back from SLC via the stand-by mechanism. We'll try it tomorrow, but are anxious to hear all about his trip to Utah and Disneyland (CA). I thoroughly enjoyed my reading time with books like The Mystery of the Periodic Table, The Prophet from Ephesus, and The Man From Pomegranate Street. I was able to prepare 3 gallons of fresh tomatoes for the salsa effort (canning is best done in the later Fall here) and found a gallon of fresh jalapenos for that effort also. I enjoyed my nieces high school band performance during the half time at her small Iowa town. And we got to hear/see my sister perform in the pre-game activities with the University of Iowa Marching Band. Fantastic!
Friday, September 4, 2009
From the Daddy:
Today I am very thankful for the freedom to homeschool. I don't have to submit my children to a government-sponsored indoctrination. I heard that the White House teaching aid for President Obama's speech to schoolchildren originally was going to ask your children to write about how they could help the President! Why is it that conservatives are pilloried for resisting this when, if President Bush had done this, there would have been a media uproar? I'd be ok if the request was about how to participate in the process--that's a civics lesson. I resent the presumption that our kids should necessarily think about helping the president (remember checks and balances). That cannot help but have partisan overtones, and I resent it.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ketchup week is very stressfree for me
While my oldest is field tripping all over Utah (pictures of copper mines to come) and Orange County CA, my younger two are practicing violin, finishing a math chapter, working on telling time and counting money, and writing sentence answers to the Veritas Press discussion questions for The Magician's Nephew. We've done Bible study and devotions and just taken it easy this week during our catch-up week. And tomorrow, we drive to Iowa for a family gathering. I'm looking forward to gallons of tomatoes to prepare for salsa and time to read the final sections of the Roman Mysteries. I get to soak up time from my nieces and nephews with our kids too. Precious...