Sugar Hollow

Last week, Mike had to spend a some time in the hospital due to an angry (and scary serious) staph infection.  It was hard having daddy in the hospital for 4 days.  We are so thankful he was able to get the treatment he needed and that he is home and healing so well.  Praise God!

"O merciful God, giver of life and health; Bless, we pray thee, thy servant and those who administer to him of thy healing gifts; that he may be restored to health and body and of mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen"

We managed at home, keeping our normal daily routines and activities, and visiting Mike in the hospital several times each day.  I am thankful to neighbors who helped us at home, meals provided by our church, and friends who helped carpool kids to soccer (and people who visited Mike in the hospital!).  I was so encouraged by the support we received by our new community.  I am thankful.

On Friday, the kids and I took a (much needed) fun break from our routine to check out a new local park: Sugar Hallow.  Our plan had been to visit the park, pick up a lunch, and visit Daddy at the hospital.  The weather was warm, the park was beautiful, and the kids had a lot of energy to release.  I was a bit lost this first visit, but we managed to find a wetlands boardwalk trail (perfect for a stroller) where we spotted piles of turtles, Kingfishers, mallards, wood ducks, and a ginormous bull frog.  Hendrick brought his gear and captured (and released) skulpins and tadpoles and managed to get coated knee-deep in mud.  At the end of our trail, the kids raced up dam for a view of Bristol, VA and then romped at the playground for a bit.

While at the park, we were thrilled to receive a call from Mike: he had been released from the hospital!  We were able to rush home to daddy - definitely the highlight of our day :)

UnBirthday Pictures

Soon after Dabney's birthday, Maclaren was ready to take her birthday pictures.  She was quite insistent on taking her birthday pictures.  Of course, anytime a child is asking to have their picture taken, I'm more than happy to oblige.  So, we took some beautiful pictures for Maclaren's birthday - her birthday is in five months!

(I'm thrilled to have captured these photographs of our precious girl!  Thank you Maclaren!)

"A very happy unbirthday to you!"

She was also excited when I made pancakes last weekend - "Are these my birthday pancakes?!"

It is so hard waiting for a birthday.
Enjoy being 5 -1/2 beautiful girl! 

Princesses

Dabney is our pretty princess, wearing a pretty princess dress everyday.  She couldn't be more pleased with the pretty princess accessories received as a birthday gift from Grandpa: a fancy tiara and heels!  She's been click-clacking around for the past few weeks.  She's a lovely pretty princess. 

(Princess pal Maclaren is a good big sister and good sport - sweet girls!)

School 2017-2018, Month 1

We jumped fully back into our new school year the middle of August.  One month in (plus the sporadic school days throughout July), we're at 34 days in the 180 day count - not a bad start!

We're still finding our footing and playing with the schedule and trying to figure out how best to make this school year work.  It's a juggling act.  With 8 "official" students, five online classes added to the curricula, plus extracurricular activities, our schedule barely works on paper - not quite the laid back, peaceful, beautiful day with plenty of margin that is my ideal.  This year is definitely off to a very different start.  Our schedule is much less flexible that in the past - which has always been one of my favorite parts of being a homeschool family.  We might have to rethink some things to find a schedule that fits our family and is maintainable.

Our goal for each school day is to start the day (after breakfast) with a short neighborhood walk, just to get some fresh air and help to wake everyone up.  We've switched the schedule to give us our favorite part of the school day first: symposium!  During our symposium time, we listen to music, study art, work on memorization, and read together.  We've also added song and hymn singing to this morning time.  This is time for all eleven kids to participate.

This first month, we've been listening to Holst's Planets, singing "The Ash Grove" and "This is My Father's World," memorizing The Nicene Creed, reading about Africa, watching a great documentary on the history of the cultures and continent of Africa.  We've also read together "My Side of the Mountain," and we've almost finished "Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt.  We are loving "Wednesday Wars" - such a fun book!

After symposium hour, the kids spread out to work on math, language arts, Latin, and handwriting - or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, to log onto Science or Writing online classes.  During this time, I float to help teach math lessons or assist where needed, or to troubleshoot computer problems.  I also spend one-on-one time with Kolpin, our second grader, and Maclaren, our kindergartner, to work together on math and reading.  During this stretch of time before our lunch break, Davis, Hendrick, and Tesfaye also try to spend time (15 minutes or so) working with Dabney, Maclaren, and Kolpin.  We've assigned our big boys to help our youngest students with play learning.  Emory and Addison typically take a morning nap for the bulk of this independent school time.

The bigger kids (Maegli up to Hendrick) all have time in the afternoon as we travel and wait through various activities, or while sitting in the library to finish up work or to spend reading.  Several evenings each week, Mike leads the kids through chess lessons, Latin, and science.   

It's a lot.  It's busy.  We're all learning how to make this work.  We'll have to learn to keep our focus throughout the day and more efficient with our limited time.
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . . "
We're excited for the school year, but I'm not quite sure how it's all going to work out.   It's all a process :)

Camp YoungLives 2017

The Armor of God

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Ephesians 6:10-18

This year for our Summer-camp-at-home, we returned to a favorite theme: the Armor of God.  With lots of help from my big boys (Tesfaye set up and was in charge of outdoor game, Davis planned and prepared daily themed snacks, and Hendrick set up our crafts), we spent several days dressed in matching tie-dye shirts and fully immersed ourselves in learning about Medieval Knights and God's Armor.  It was a great week of camp!  

We do this annual camp as a fun way to teach our children important truths and to equip them with God's Word.  This year our big kid helpers had the goal of making this a super fun week for their younger siblings.  It's busy and crazy, but through experience, we know we're creating lasting memories for our children. 

daily Bible lessons, memory verses, songs, puppet shows

dragon claws (Bugles), dragon tongues (Fruit by the Foot), pizza shields (mini pizzas), moat floats (Root beer Floats), crown jewels (Ring Pops), maggots (Gummy Worms), crown cups (fruit cups)

coloring sheets, crown decorating, sword making, melty beads

spear throwing, obstacle course, sponge water relay, coin toss, juggling, sword fighting