Weekly wrap up -- April 24

We spent this week in warp speed, and won't slow down for another six days, at least. Then we get a breather and lots of fun, and relaxing, items on our agenda once again.


I have come to a place of resolution with my kids finishing their core school work by Wednesday. I did add a little to their scheduled work (6 days of math and English instead of 5 a week) and added some activities that we explore together (science projects, outdoor exploring, oral reading, crafts, etc.) So far so good. I look forward to tweaking next year's schedule to accommodate this format a little more comfortably.


Friday we happened upon a used book sale at a local elementary school and came away with some steals! Twenty bucks bought us a loaded box of books with lots of titles I actually needed for school next year.


Nothing much this weekend (yeah, right). . . the girls went to a play with Grandma, then a birthday party and opening day for baseball season, the dress rehearsal for our final drama performance and then off we go into another week.


Light bulb moments:

- This week it was my turn for a light bulb moment. I realized that I really love where God has me right now.

He spoke to me through David's unrealized dream to build the temple mentioned by Solomon in I Kings 8:17-19. It was good for him to have this longing, but it wasn't God's design for David to actually build it.

I have a burning passion for missions, have since I was 8 years old in Brownies. I remember having to draw a picture of what I wanted to be when I grew up. I drew a missionary pilot, and then hid, realizing it was probably a bit odd. While the pilot part left the vision, the missionary part never has.

As I read about David's dream, I recognized that my dream might not become reality in my lifetime, but it is still part of who I am and influences how I live my life wherever God draws me. Right now, God has me working passionately to raise my kids, and pass along that dream. Right now, God gives me incredible joy in each daily task. I excitedly look forward to a relaxing Monday night, Tuesday night board games, Wednesday night AWANA involvements, Thursday night pizza and a movie, and Friday night Bible study. Even though I am no where geographically near where I thought I would be at this point in my life, God has graciously given me joy for each of these activities with eternal outcomes, as everyday as they seem.


Favorite moments of the week:

- Visit to a nearby farm for "fertilizer." The kids loved the quick visit with the dogs, chickens, goats, and various other "friends" while I loaded up a couple garbage cans with composted chicken manure to bring back for our garden. Nothing like a beautiful spring day at the farm to shake off the last shreds of cabin fever.

A handmade basket to hold
those ever important scraps of shredded paper.

- Last week -- we enjoyed a day at a baseball game for a reading reward and a basket making class at our house with other homeschoolers. It is encouraging to watch my kids put extra effort into their school work so as to enjoy these activities without skipping any academic areas for the week.


Challenges faced (and conquered!):

- Recently I have noticed that my almost 12 year old son needs some more energy outlets. He has gotten in trouble more often recently for playing a little too aggressively and needing reminders to keep his hands to himself. I finally figured out that despite his greater level of activity lately, he still needs more, and possibly more intentional, structured active time as well. So, now when a child comes to report his "bothering" them he gets some work to do. I think he actually likes it. I had him weeding around the raspberries, and today while we were outside he voluntarily did some more weeding. A little bit of energy burned off, and he's good to go!

- Nathan (3 years old) has struggled with telling the truth when he knows he faces a consequence. Today he hurt his sister (during prayer, no less), and I pulled him over to talk. I asked what he did and he said, "I pinched." Yeah!!!! He still had his consequence for pinching, but I even had to brag to Daddy later about his blossoming honesty. The both beamed! We still need to get past the pinching, but this in itself was a great victory.


Favorite passages from our books:

- Galileo and the Magic Numbers -- we had some great conversations about the compatibility of faith and science and the security our faith enjoys when placed in the Bible and God alone, not how others interpret the Bible. This can be a difficult book to get a hold of, but we could hardly put it down.

- Snow Treasure -- This was a fun, fairly short read that we listened to on audio book. It prompted discussions on the value of freedom as hung in the balance with life itself. I know WWII is not all that long ago, but the evil of Nazi Germany seems so surreal and powerful it hardly seems it could ever have happened.


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