Monday, August 22, 2016

Favorite Bible Verses Aug 2016



The fun part of this week was that I spent it looking for my favorite bible verse---all week, only to arrive at the bible verse I started with in the beginning!  A woman in our Sunday School class had asked us to all bring in our favorite bible verses, for some Christmas idea/gift she is working on.  Well, I really worked hard trying to review all my normal favorites and see which one to choose, and settled on my normal one.  I wrote it on an index card and brought it in, but the lady wasn't there! Ha!  I know you are wondering which one is my favorite:

Matthew 11:28

"Come to Me,
all you who labor and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you, and 
learn from Me,
for I am gentle 
and lowly in heart, 
and you will 
find rest in your souls.

For My yoke is easy 
and 
My burden is light."


I began the week with Matt 11: 28, and ended again with it!  I have a lot of different favorites, but, in my heart, imagining God saying: "Come to Me" always feels so right.  That when: "For when I am weak, then I am strong."(2 Cor.12:9-10)

Psalm 46
Be stll and know that I am God.

Jer. 29
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Psalm 91
He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth be thy shield and buckler.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-17
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks for all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus in you.

Matt 22
Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.


As a parent, this (see below; Deuteronomy 6)really speaks loudly to me on how I'm instructed to teach and prepare my daughter.  I might do many things wrong as a parent, but I can at least find peace that I have read and read the bible to her, all her life, and planted God's love deep in her heart.  She is grounded in her faith. And knows The Word well.  The past few years, as I read the bible aloud to her, I underline each word with my pencil.  I look forward to her, as an adult, looking through our bibles, and seeing clearly what I read to her!  I want to give her those bibles to keep for herself.  I wish I would have thought of that idea years ago--but even so, we have lots of it underlined already!

Deuteronomy 6: 5-9
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.

Psalm 23--
The Lord IS my Shepherd!

Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the mountains--
where does my help come from?  
My help comes from the Lord, 
the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber, indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber or sleep.  The Lord watches over you--the Lord is your shade at  your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, not the moon by night.  The Lord will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Well, that is some of the places, in the bible, I visited this week.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Sonlight Core G Week 33 August 8-14, 2016

Sonlight Core G 
Week 33 A
August 8-14, 2016
Getting 14 eggs per day now..and you wouldn't believe the amount of cherry/grape tomatoes we get each day!  Love gardening!!!!  

More acorn squash is in our garden growing!
more pictures to come!
Hello Friends!
First thing on Monday morning, Dd complained about her throat hurting; so I looked at her tonsils, and they were very swollen and ugly looking.  Apparently Dd hadn't been taking her allergy medication, and then to top of the situation-- she has been so busy and working hard in Marching Band (Nothern Lights Homeschool Marching Band).  It wasn't until Friday that she had anything scheduled, so she got a lot of resting done while at home this week.  I didn't even take her along for our shopping or going into the library.  We did some of the assignments for the week, but I let quite a few things go as I adjusted my expectations for her due to her illness.  She had quite a few 11 hour sleeping spells at night; which is always a sure sign that she is run down.  As I type this, she seems to be almost back to normal.

Pool:
I think this is the third week of our pool being down.  It really is a sensitive issue, as Dh really worked hard, night after night, and weekends trying to do all the repairs himself only to have it not be righted.  Thankfully, a retired pool man sits behind us at church, and I asked him today if he would be willing to come out and look at it.  I'd much rather pay him than another stranger!  The last people that came out was not very agreeable to me.  Hopefully Chuck can fix our pool or perhaps we will have to close it for the year; though we only swam a few times.

Chickens:
They are doing really well with their new extended run.  This week Dh got both gates put up!  I did repairs to the damage our dog did when we left her in the run (alone) while we went to the parade last weekend.  Apparently Sophie had a conniption fit!  The chickens have been laying 14 eggs per day, this weekend.  We have had a few odd eggs---not a hard shell, but a thin rubbery shell, about as thick as a balloon.  I've read that is normal with some chickens as their body starts to figure out how to make eggs.  Dd is doing most of the work for the chickens now---which is great!  We've decided to pay her allowance ($3.00 per week) for her chicken work.  She has been saving her money to buy a flute, so she is excited to make a few dollars each week to get closer to her goal faster!

GERD/reflux problems:
I've decided to go back on my medications after trying un-successfully for the past ? months.  I've just so extremely tired of all the heartburn and extra strife.  I will have to get my blood taken, so they can keep an eye on my liver enzymes to make sure my meds don't harm me.  I will continue to stay dairy free and gluten free, for the most part, as I've found my migraines significantly decreased with that change in diet--surprisingly!  I didn't plan on my diet changes helping my migraines, but so glad to find something that helps!!!  Now to find a better gluten free flour mix.  Dh and I have been reading the Trim Healthy Mama books and seeing if those diet arrangements also help my digestion problems.  

Music:
Dd had the whole week off from music lessons, but did some practicing on her own, but nothing like normal due to her illness.  I think she was ready for a light week.

Socially:
We had TWO friendly visits with people from our church this week!
Tuesday we all were invited to the D's family farm for dinner and a farm tour!  They have a ? dairy? They have lots of cows, milk the cow and sell the milk...I guess that is considered a Dairy Farm.  They also hire people to farm their fields too.  It was really neat seeing their sheep, chickens, black lab, and cows!  We had a great evening with them!

Doris, from our church invited us out.  She took us to produce stores, out to eat lunch, and to Moo-ville, for ice cream.  We had such a lovely day with her!!

Our week:
Product Details
Bible:

Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer

Aug 1, 2015
Fervent by Priscilla Shirer: In Process
Second week reading Fervent together.  I have really been getting a lot out of this book.  One thing I really appreciated, was how the author suggested we look into ourselves and see where our weak spots are and start to specifically pray for those area's.  I was able to quickly identify two very weak area's in myself and have started to pray on them.  I'm also looking for bible passages that pertain to those areas and want to pray specifically with The Word on those topics; which is easier said than done!  This book really is having me think (and pray) in ways I haven't before---which is always insightful.

Product Details

Math: Teaching Textbooks: Algebra I:
Re-do of Lesson 54, Lesson 55, re-do Lesson 55,  1/2 Lesson 56, then second half of Lesson 56...slow and steady on this difficult material.  I gave her Monday off as she was in bed for most of that day.


Science:
Product Details
Apologia General Science: Module 13: Human Digestive System:
completed the whole module, workbook and test, but didn't do the experiment.

Product Details

History:

Product Details
Sonlight's assignments for Kingfisher Encyclopedia of World History and 

Product Details

Favorite Poems Old and New for Week 33.


BiblioPlan Advanced Maps: Medieval
Week 19 & 20
(Dh bought us a new printer, so we are back in action!!!)

Product Details

Monks and Mystics: Vol. 2 by Mindy Withrow
chapter on John Wycliff

Foreign Languages:

Product Details
1. Sign Language
I had her review her book alone--no testing this week.

Product Details
2. Rosetta Stone: French
45 minutes this week (4 short sessions)

Sonlight's Timeline and Mapping:
Week 33

Sonlight Reader:


Product Details

Mary, Bloody Mary

Apr 1, 2001
Mary, Bloody Mary: by Carolyn Meyer in process

Fun Readers:

Product Details

Jurassic Park: by Michael Crichton: In process

Product Details

The One, The Selection Book 3: by Kiera Cass: Completed

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Miss Perigrines Home For Particular Children: by Ransom Riggs: In process

Busy Hands:
Home Economics (7 hours on private craft)...6 different craft projects kept her busy
Egg Salad (30 minutes)


peach & apple pie (1 hour)

Church and Sunday School are going very well!

DVD:
I checked out a movie to watch on the plaque; Black Death....only it really didn't have much to do with the plague---it was just a violent, gross movie....oops!  At least it was set during the black death!

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Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Sonlight Core G Week 32 B Aug. 1-7, 2016 BiblioPlan Week 22-24

Sonlight Core G 
Week 32 B 
Aug. 1-7, 2016 
BiblioPlan Week 22-24/ 94th? Week on this core.
We "lost" Michael Buble this week...not sure exactly how, but found feathers...


Hello Friends! 
Our last week of Marching Band (The Northern Lights Homeschool Marching Band).  Dd had her last practice on Wed., and last parade (Grand Haven, Coast Guard Parade) on Sat.
This week we got the post holes all dug and put up the fencing.  We made the gate doors, but didn't get their hardware on yet.



Product Details

Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer

Aug 1, 2015

We have taken a little "bunny trail" on our bible study this week---in my adult bible study class, a kind woman bought us each one of the books that was produced following the movie, "The War Room" entitled: Fervent.  Dd and I both loved the movie so much, I decided to have that book be our bible study for a while.  We still have 5-6 more cards to complete with our Veritas Press: Gospels study, but this is a nice break.  Both the movie and the book do a good job of using specific bible verses to use in your prayers.  I've always wanted to improve how I can use bible verses in my prayers, and this book shows you how to do that.  We've been copying some of the bible verses in our journals too.

One gate door


Church:
This Sunday our church had their annual picnic, and we had a really nice time at the event.  Dd and I won the three-legged race (twice)! and Dd swam a bit in the lake with some of the other kids. 

The girls seem to like their new fenced in area!


Garden:
The chickens have stopped pecking around my garden and are constantly IN my garden!  I've had to chase them out repeatedly!  Besides that, the garden is doing well!  Lettuce, peppers, and finally RED tomatoes!

Of course, it was one of the hottest days of summer that we worked on this!  We worked on and off all week, but a hot project--hot week for it.


Chickens:
I've mentioned we gave Alpha to my friend, Michele.  I emailed her and asked how he is doing--he is now "Alfred" and doing well!  This past week, Dh and I have been working hard on building another chicken run to extend our "safe" run, and we finished the walls and only have the gates to complete.  On Friday night, we left Michael Buble #5 (Dd named him after that singer...b/c her friend asked her to...long story) and didn't think twice about it.  When we woke up on Sat.; I went out to feed them all before going to the parade- and found some feathers! Ugh!  No meat, no blood, NO BIRD!  I bet it was one of our Barred Owls.  But, Michael is gone!  Now we have two cockerels left, and I'm pretty sure we are going to eat them---does that sound awful?  I really hate watching the boys attacking the girls, and can't stand much more of it.  Those boys are really vicious and it is painful to watch.  

This is the posts before we attached the wire fencing--digging all those 30 inch holes was hard work!  Then frogs and toads got in the holes; or perhaps fell into the holes!  I had to do a 'frog check' before we could put any posts and dirt into the holes---and found at least one frog in most holes.  Dh thought I was joking, until I kept coming up with frogs/toads nearly every time!
Dh figured out a ratchet system for getting our fencing really tight---with the help of his truck.


Our lessons this week--we had taken a few weeks off our BiblioPlan (Medieval), as I didn't think we needed to read the chapters on Japan, China, and another asian country--as we did such a thorough job covering those area's history when we studied Core F.  This week we studied Chapter 19: Mongol Empire.  Dh really loves to study the Mongols, and that makes reading about it more interesting.   

Where we are in history- highlights/focus of the week:
Genghis Khan 1165-1227
Marco Polo 1254-1324
Francis of Assisi 1181-1226
Thomas Aquinas died 1274
Ming Dynasty

Our lessons:

Bible: 4 hours total
Fervent by Priscilla Shirer (in process)

This is Buckbeak, she is a real treat!  She looks a bit deformed in the head; like her two sides don't match up right, but she is very sweet.  She is always the odd-man-out and doesn't fit in with the other chicks. 

Math: (4 hours)
Teaching Textbooks: Algebra I
52,53,54,55 (completed lesson 55, but got a 55% and will re-do it on Monday for a passing grade)

Writing: (2 hours)
IEW!!!  SIW B, Yay!  We started back!
Lesson 1: Sea Wasp: completed


Foreign Language: (2:40 hours total)

Rosetta Stone: French (20 min x 3)

Sign Language: (20 min x 2)
Passed lesson 9, working on 10 & 11

Science: 4 hours
Apologia:Gen. Science: Module 12: Energy & Life: Completed
Week 2/2, passed test & Student Notebook pages

Music: 10:45 hours total
private violin lesson : 45 min
private Bari Sax lesson: 40 min
Marching Band lesson: 1:40 hours
Parade: 2:00 hours

practice:
sax: 4:30 hours
piano: 40 min
violin: 2:30 hours



History:
You will notice ALL of our books right now are not part of Sonlight, but books I've specifically chosen.  A lot of very important people were alive and changing the world at this specific point in history, and I wanted to stop and make sure we glean their significance so we can fully understand how they impacted our world today.  For example, consider how 'the church' was working before John Wycliffe and Martin Luther---the Catholic services were in Latin; a language most people did not even know!  They believed common people should NOT own or read a bible--the analogy for this might be "pearls before swine.."  Many people were told they could have their sins forgiven by the church, by paying money to the church for those sins---called "Indulgences."  John Wycliffe knew that our sins can be forgiven, not through money, but through Grace, through the love and sacrifice of the Lord.  John Wycliffe and Martin Luther wanted to take the church, 'man,' out of the equation and let each man read the bible and get to know God themselves.  Church history is really interesting; to think how far off we were in the past and how we continue to struggle to keep on the right path today.  If you are interested in some not-boring church history (lots of mini-biographies some of the vital players in the church past) some of the books we've been reading are: Monks & Mystics (Chronicles of the Medieval Church/History Lives Series of four books) by Mindy and Brandon Withrow,  Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History by Richard M. Hannula.  We've been reading some of  Louise A. Vernon's books - like:  Ink on His Fingers (on Gutenberg). Lastly, BiblioPlan Commentaries have church history as part of their history spine.


Reader 1: (6 hours)
The Monk Who Shook the World, Martin Luther (Stories of Faith and Fame): by Cyril J. Davey:Completed
We both read this, and recommend it highly! It isn't a Sonlight book, but one I added in due to BiblioPlan recommending it during this time section.  Good book on Martin Luther. (6 hours)

Reader 2: (6 hours)
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman: Completed
I read this a few years ago and thought it a really good book, and added it into our Core G, though it is not a Sonlight book.

The new walls make catching the girls easier to do!


Read Alouds: (12 hours)
Morning Star of the Reformation (Stories of Faith and Fame)by Andy Thomson
John Wycliffe is definitely someone our children should know!

BiblioPlan: Medieval and Church History From The Fall of Rome to the Reneissance Companion:
Ch. 19: Mongol Empire

Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation: by Robert G. Shearer:
*Lorenzo Valla

Monks & Mystics (Chronicles of the Medieval Church/History Lives Series (second book in series) by Mindy Withrow:
Thomas Aquinas (pg. 161-176) (1 hour)


Trial & TriumphStories from Church History by Richard M. Hannula:
*Francis of Assisi, *Elizabeth of Hungary, *John Wyclif



Busy Hands: (11 hours for Economics)
Completed one "Music Book" bag, and started on a second one.
bag one: 8 hrs, bag two: 3 hrs
While I read, this week Dd took to the sewing machine, and did some by hand.


PE/Gym: (4:15 hours total)
Marched at parade: 2 hours
Marched in class: 1:30 hours
Swim at picnic: 45 minutes


Fun Books: In Process

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

We put the umbrella and two waters in, so our dog could stay outside while we went to a parade.  This did NOT work!  Our dog broke through the wire and made a way out....now to fix the damage!  Bad idea!  This picture, BTW, is one of the last of Michael Buble, see him in the new run? Something happened after this picture was taken.
Michael Buble #5
.........

Northern Lights Homeschool Band, Grand Haven, MI August 6, 2016

Northern Lights Homeschool Band, 
Grand Haven, MI August 6, 2016
*Last parade of the year!*
(I will put a link to YouTube of their performance in a few days.  We made a video instead of taking still shots of the band going by us this time.)
Dd had to give back her uniform top and hat after the parade, so I took a few pictures of her in her outfit to memorialize her completing this year.  She is already looking forward to next year!

Unlike the previous parades, this parade was HUGE!  So many various bands and entries---our band was the 84th entry; with lots to go after us!  We had to wait a few hours before they got to us.  This is the annual COAST GUARD parade--so lots of military and police present.

This Clown Band was fantastic!  They sounded amazing!  They stopped in front of a retirement community and played about 5 songs; giving those folks a special show just for them.  You could tell these people really had a big heart!


One of the MANY military entries-

To be honest, I think I've been to two other parades in my life, before this summer.  I don't like crowds and loud noises, so I always avoided parades, until my Dd joining marching band forced me to attend!  The biggest surprise---so many DOGS are usually in many of the entries!  I love dogs!!!!


Another surprise for me, just how many bagpipe bands are in parades!  Some parades have 2-5 different bagpipe groups.  

This cute dog wore goggles and a cool harness---what a fun dog!





I had to add a picture of one of the helicopters flying overhead.  This parade was so well-protected---police, K-9 dogs, SUV's, and helicopters checking the parade route constantly.  

A few candid shots of the band after their last time as a group.




The two leaders of this years marching band--Mr. Stiles and Mr. March, Jr.

A job well done, ladies!



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