Homeschool Mother's Journal #7

In my life this week…
Whirlwind sums it up well!  Book sale and dairy field trip on Saturday (I made $5 and scored some great science and math goodies at the book sale!)

mooooo

We visited our home-church and walked the beach on Sunday... Oh how I miss Lakeside and our church family!

Not swim ready yet... but it is Glacier fed, very cold!

Monday, Brenden turned 11...

... Tuesday Zach finished school and is now officially a Senior (makes me feel a bit old!) and Wednesday he turned 17 (yeah, I really do feel old!)  I took him birthday shopping on Thursday...

All GQ!  He wanted clothes, gotta love it!

And here I sit on Friday, just got the family missions monthly newsletter copied after working on it late into the night last night.  I need to go start folding, addressing, and stamping.  Would love to have it mailed tomorrow... pllleeeaaassseeee God?  Because I finally got all my registration in order and am ready to begin my e-SBS studies!!!  Yeeeaaahhhh  Would love to be diving into that on Saturday... God willing.

Oh, and another wonderful side-note... while having the newsletter copied today I had 3 hard copies made of "Testimonies".  I felt heavy watching them cover and bind my book for the first time.  All I could think was, "God, is it how YOU want it?  God, does it do YOU justice?" and suddenly I was humbled and thankful to know I am HIS servant... I must always put that first.

(You can still click to download for FREE!)

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… 

All the fun was had last week!  (It hardly felt like a vacation!)  I do think I am going to rope the kids into the library's summer reading program which starts next week, we plan a bus ride north of town to run errands, and Zach will be out of town all week so I am thinking of taking a short road trip to Eureka if car and gas will hold up!  (am praying about it though...)

My favorite thing this week was…
All of it, regardless of the chaos.  It was nice to be moving forward... through birthdays, through the newsletter, and through a great article series on KOG about testimonies/God sightings/God's divine everything!  I guess my favorite summed up would be God's timing and his provision of strength, finances, and guidance through each day.  I know He is always there, but some days it is more evident than others!
 

Things I’m working on…

Newsletter mailing!  e-SBS intro video viewing and then, hopefully, the first part of my study module.  I need to be working out our summer schedule!

I’m reading…
You are going to laugh!  "How to Read a Book: The classic guide to intelligent reading" by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren.  You know it is going to be good with an author named "Mortimer"!  

Actually, I was reading "How To Read the Bible for All Its Worth" by Gordeon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart for my e-SBS class when I found out I was going to have to start over when I logged into the course!  So, while I wait to log in and 'officially start', I wanted something else to run my eyes over.  Fee and Stuart recommended Mortimer's book as a way to learn how to read the Bible for all it is worth and I took them up on it!   I will be back to Fee and Stuart's book by next week though.

(Was that confusing?)  You can tease me... my 17 year old did!
 
I’m praying for…
... food resistance!  A friend visited us yesterday.  He owns a Shofar and blew it in honor of the ending of Pentecost and I rejoiced because of its symbolism and it was the end of my fast (Not something I want to brag about, but it is relevant to what I am praying for.  See original post about my Pentecost Fast here).  I fasted to honor God and seek His face and council in big decisions before me at the time.  The reward, however, (other than the answer and His presence!) was that I lost 30+ pounds!  

I don't feel like I look like it but I did feel a bit like I must be shrinking because normally fitting clothes were sliding off of me.  I want to maintain healthy eating habits so I don't regain the weight.  I don't want to do it for image, rather for health and how my health affects how well I can serve and respond to the Lord.  I am praying that, because I can eat whatever I want now, I don't eat whatever I want.... instead what I should.

Questions/thoughts I have…
Honestly?  I can't slow my mind from this week yet to pin one down!  The above encompasses most of my thoughts!  Other miscelany though:  I need to order Ashley's Bible (she turns 13 on the 30th and an engraved Bible is tradition in our family) and I need to order Brooke's Math curriculum for next year.  Do those count as thoughts?  They do itch at my brain right now!
 
A photo, video, link, or quote to share…

 We are helping my mother-in-law take care of 3 cute little kittens :-)

The black one likes me (I like him too!)