Weekly Wrapup

From the Heart:

This was a wonderfully full week, beginning with a visit from my sister and her family.  You can read about it on my previous entry.  I really enjoyed having them here.

On Wednesday I took my Mountain Princess to physical therapy, which went well.  We also visited the library and did a little running around town while there.  On Thursday we had the day off at home, and on Friday we watched the Winter DTS graduate.  I'll write more about that on my "from the Mission Field" section below.

On the Homefront:

Nothing new here this week except entertaining family and the usual weekly housekeeping duties.

In the School Room:

Just prereading some of my kids' books.  I also previewed a nature study blog that gives lots of good ideas for stories and nature walks that I hope to do in the future:  http://www.handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com

On the Mission Field:

Our winter DTS returned from Pakistan, Mongolia and China.  They had great adventures to share, and most of them plan on returning to the mission field in the future.  Here are some pics from graduation:

In the Literary Scene:

I finished prereading Moccasin Trail (great book).  I read some more from Torah Club 4.

Feeding on His Faithfulness,

Carol

If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories.  Then leave me a comment with your name and the link to your summary.  I'd love to read your weekly summaries too!    I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday.  At the latest it will be on Sunday.  If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox. 

A visit with Linda and Brad

Last Saturday afternoon, my sister Linda, her husband Brad and two kids Carter, 5, and Gillian (pronounced Jillian), 1, came for a short, but full, visit..  They are from Omaha. 

Sunday we spent the day at the Black Canyon National Park.  It was a beautiful day.  Perfect for exploring the many beautiful sites and picnicking.  We actually went to Cimarron's Rock Shop and Morrow Point first, but somehow I neglected to get pictures.  Here are some pics from our adventure at the Black Canyon:

Painted Wall

Carter, Snow Crystal, Mountain Princess and my little Buddy

Linda eating with Bubbies

Little Buddy and Bubbies

Carter and Snow Crystal pretending to be falling off the edge!  (They actually weren't anywhere near the edge!)

LInda and all the kids.

Me and my too little ones.

Sunday evening we celebrated Father's Day with the two dads, and Brad's birthday at home.  It was a simple affair with grilled hamburgers and baked beans.  I forgot that I had corn on the cob too, so we ate that on Tuesday instead.

On Monday we took the road we live on up over Owl Creek Pass to highway 550 south to Ouray.  I got some pics of our journey, then neglected to take pics in Ouray of the hot springs where we went swimming or Buen Tiempo, where we ate a delicious Mexican meal afterwards.

This is what happens when you let your oldest dd take charge of her own sunscreen.  She has been miserable from it all week.

On Tuesday we hung out at home, did laundry, ate spaghetti and corn on the cob and rested.  In the afternoon Linda and Brad loaded up their sweet family and headed off to Grand Junction to continue their journey.  They hope to go visit Moab and the dinosaur museum in Fruita before heading back to Nebraska at the end of the week to camp with Brad's parents before returning to Omaha.

Weekly Wrapup for week ending 6-20-09

From the Heart:

Due to a crazy end of the week and a full weekend with my sister and her family here to visit, I didn't get my weekly wrapup done until now.  Last week was full and good.  We went swimming one day, and took MP to PT twice.  I think I had only one day that I didn't go to town!

On Friday the Discipleship Training School students gave the staff a "Love Feast" to show their appreciation of us.  It was fun to eat delicious food (mango hamburgers, chicken and rice, fruit salad, gluten-free butterfinger cookies, cheesecake, among other things).  They also entertained us with a real hula dance by a Hawaiian student, original songs, and even a fun blues song with harmonica.  This school is very artsy, and we are blessed by their talents!

This is Snow Crystal on the right and her best friend at the Love Feast.  The following picture is them without a pose.  Don't they look happy?

On the Homefront:

We did a lot of housekeeping this week in preparation of our guests.  This finally motivated me to clean the mudrooms, the basement, and all of our regular housekeeping things.  Friday was an exhausting day!  I took a bunch of stuff I haven't used for a while and brought it to the Salvation Army.  It is so good to get those kinds of things done!

I did get pics of our finished chicken coop.  Our chickens are ready for us to pick up this week as well!

I also got pics of our new beds for the girls.

In the School Room:

We haven't been doing any school work this week, but I have been doing a lot of prereading and planning for how we will do school next year.  I have quite a few electives we will do this year in addition to our regular studies.  For example, art history/artist study/art, composer studies, piano, Spanish, and nature study.  I'm looking forward to putting it all together.  I preread The Great Horn Spoon and it will be a great reader for the girls.  I've also been perusing the teacher's guides to plan for our new school year.

On the Mission Field:

So much is going on in our schools, and yet I feel on the fringes right now.  I know our being here is enabling the discipleship to happen, yet I cannot say I am doing this or that!  Our winter DTS will be home today from their time in Asia.  I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone!

In the Literary Scene:

As I mentioned above, I've been prereading teacher's guides and school books.  I continue to read Torah Club 4 and enjoy it immensely.  I am so far behind in the reading that I don't expect to be caught up by the end of the year, however.

Feeding on His Faithfulness,

Carol

If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories.  Then leave me a comment with your name and the link to your summary.  I'd love to read your weekly summaries too!    I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday.  At the latest it will be on Sunday.  If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox. 

Weekly Wrapup

From the Heart:

Life was a lot smoother sailing this week.  I'm actually enjoying not having to go into work on Tuesdays, although I'm still curious as to how the Lord is going to work this out.  There's a lot less stress when I don't have to go into work.

Mountain Princess's physical therapy is going well.  The therapist says she is making good progress.  It does mean two trips a week into town, however.  At the therapist's recommendation, we got both of the bigger girls Superfeet Insoles to help with their overall skeletal alignment.

On the Homefront:

Tim finished the chicken coop this week.  Now he is thinking about putting wheels on it to help us to be able to move it around the yard.  It is beastly heavy.  I'll get a pic up soon.

The camper we got is proving to be a lemon.  It leaks, and it broke down on Tim once this week...  Maybe it ran out of gas.  He's not sure.  Ah well, it gives him something to do.

We bought new beds for the older girls - just what we were wanting - for $75 each from Wal Mart!  They have drawers for storage and a book shelf on the headboard.  I haven't taken any pics yet, and dd's bed that we have put together isn't made right now.

Bubbies helped me make some gluten-free corn dogs this week.  Yummy!  They turned out great!

In the School Room:

Snow Crystal finished her Singapore Math book yesterday!  Yea!  Now we are just doing review work until we start school again. 

On the Mission Field:

The One DTS had a great third week. 

In the Literary Scene:

 I'm reading a lot from Torah Club 4.  As usual, I'm enjoying it immensely.  I am prereading By the Great Horn Spoon from Core 4.  It is a cute story.  I am reading Made from Scratch by Jenna Wohlgenrich.  It is about a girl who decided to homestead a little rented place and live off the earth - fulfilling her dreams along with a full-time day job.  I live to read her blog Cold Antler Farm as well.

Feeding on His Faithfulness,

Carol

If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories.  Then leave me a comment with your name and the link to your summary.  I'd love to read your weekly summaries too!    I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday.  At the latest it will be on Sunday.  If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox. 

Weekly Wrapup

From the Heart:

Life never stays the same does it?  Praise God He moves in our lives, and works things for His glory.  Life rocked my world on Wednesday, and honestly I can't remember much about Sunday and Monday because of it. 

I took Mountain Princess to PT on Wednesday, and while we were waiting to get in, Dr. Jahani, my employer, called to tell me that they were taking me off of the schedule for the rest of the month.  He gave no promises about after that, but said he'd call me at the end of the month.  You must understand that this job was 4/5 of our income.  I praise God that we have a little savings, and also we know that He is our provider, not Dr. Jahani, nevertheless it has changed our world...  Life is like a boat on the open seas.  Sometimes it is smooth-sailing, but other times the storms hit without warning...

I've been watching/listening to the "Ancient Path Series" by Rabbi Ralph Messer put on by "The Door Post".  It is enjoyable and I'm learning.  Today I listened to Rabbi Messer speak on "Addiction to Affirmation".  Very good stuff.  He speaks live and I can stream his sermon live on Saturday mornings.

On the Homefront:

I've got my hands full with Jo-Jo this week.  He is two and definitely trying to spread his own wings...  I'm constantly having to keep on my toes.

The bigger girls are doing well this week.  There seemed to be less struggling with the "new friend on the block".

Bubbies, my 4 yo dd, had a good week too.  She and her new 4 yo friend still love each other and play wonderfully together.

This bird couple came for a visit one day this week.  You can go to my nature journal blog to see more of them.  I still haven't looked them up to see what they are.  We also have a couple of robins building nests in the rafters of our back deck again, and we may have a nesting wren in the front deck rafters...

In the School Room:

This week we officially finished our school year with the 10 and 11 yo dds.  That is, we finished our Colorado state reports and our spelling book.  We still continue to do Bible (Mountain Princess recited two more chapters of James to me, and has two left to do! Snow Crystal reads a chapter of the Bible and does a journal entry on it).  Snow Crystal still has a few days left in her Singapore math book, and then both girls will work in their Miquon math books or do math drills for the remainder of the summer.

Preschool:  We had one good day.

Wednesday, in addition to being Mountain Princess's first day of PT, and the day I was laid off, was also Box Day!  Box Day is the day our homeschool curriculum from Sonlight arrived (two days after my order was put in!).  I keep having to remind the girls that they have to wait to read their books when school starts in August!  They don't mind TOO much.  I've gotten the instructor's guides filed into big notebooks, and the books sorted onto our school book shelves.  I'm so grateful that I already had this stuff ordered and purchased prior to the lay-off or I know I would be doubting my ability to purchase it.  The big girls will be doing Core 4, and Bubbies will be doing Core K over 1-2 years (I've got a lot of stuff to work with her on her 3 Rs, as well as trying to do 2 Cores simultaneously!).

On the Mission Field:

The One DTS had a great second week.  I haven't heard anything about the two teams overseas.  My day in the clinic went great (except now I know it was my last day for a while, which just makes me sad).

In the Literary Scene:

Feeding on His Faithfulness,

Carol

If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories.  Then click onto the Mr. Linky below (or leave me a comment if Mr. Linky doesn't show up with a link to your post) and leave your name and the link to your summary.  I'd love to read your weekly summaries too!    I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday.  At the latest it will be on Sunday.  If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox and I will put it up for you when I get mine done.