Snapshot Summary #9 Addendum

Wednesday

8 - September, 2010

I just had to add these pictures of Abram's first sewing project. I felt the volume of the original post was slightly overwhelming so omitted these but I want to remember forever the excitement wherewith Abram undertook this task. He was so SO precious, he even fed the cord through, almost all by himself :-).

I didn't think to grab the camera before this stage. At this point he had already turned down the top of his rectangular fabric and sewed that. He had also sewed along the chalk mark I made after we folded the rectangle in half.

Feeding the cord through

Still feeding the cord through

Oh man, feeding that cord through is a tedious task!

Ah! The end at last.

Evening out both sides

Sewing the final seam up to the cord at the top.

Turning the bag inside right

The finished product!

Snapshot Summary #9

Wednesday

1 - September, 2010

Our new Cannon Snapshot Camera arrived in the mail!!

Thursday

2 - September, 2010

Brook Arrives!

Brook is home on furlough from serving the Lord in Tanzania. She visited us after some traveling out west, and on her "way" to Michigan. She has quite a travel schedule! I invited the ladies from church to come and hear how the work in Tanzania is going. A nice group gathered in our living room. Brook gave a really nice interactive update. The girls that came with their mom's participated nicely. One little girl, Eliora impressed me with all she knew about Tanzania. Come to find out she has really been listening as her mom reads through "Jungle Doctor" series by Paul White. So I've jumped ahead to Friday. I didn't get any pictures of our ladies meeting but you can see what Drew and four of the children were up to.

Friday

3 - September, 2010

Camping with Papa and Grandpa (and cousin Anna)!!!!!!

Sunday

5 - September, 2010

Drew, Brook and the older four went to the museum while the babies slept and I played catch up. When the wee ones woke up I met them down at the river walk. The breeze kept away the bugs but the overcast sky made it a bit chilly. I am not complaining. After all of our hot days I welcome the crisp autumn air!

Monday

6 - September, 2010

Drew and Cob took off for a running race. The rest of us said goodbye to Brook and loaded up in the van to watch the runners. We camped out just before the half way point and saw lots of people we knew running.

Our neighbor Paul (who came in 2nd for the 5K, BTW)

Silas

Jason

Ezra, Cob, Andrew D. and our Andrew

GO GUYS GO!

Keep up the awesome job!!

Dennis got goofy when he saw the camera :)

Wednesday

8 - September, 2010

I made a sleeve for our camera. Abram helped! Then Abram fashioned a bag for himself. This was his very first sewing project. He did an awesome job working the peddle and staying relatively on coarse. Below he is holding the finished product!

The boys and I went to do a car exchange as we had some work done on the van. When we returned home the girls had dressed all up and were dancing!

We enjoyed having our neighbors here for supper. Just as us adults finishing up Baruch came in yelling about a hawk on the trampoline. It took me a long time to spot it. There it was perched on top of the net that surrounds the trampoline. For the second picture I used the zoom but couldn't keep still enough to get a clear shot. I think it was a peregrine falcon checking out our chicken. Mmmmmm chicken nugget for supper. What think ye?

This wraps up another week with The Tribe. After all these pictures, it might be hard to believe, but this barely scratches the surface of the flurry of activity that took place in this house over the past week. Not to mention the gamete of emotions, sin problems, failures and victories that occurred. I have been pondering what it means to be a friend and seeking the Lord's face as I study His word. I am finding I know little of the love of Christ. His pure and perfect love. I am being extremely humbled.

Funny Chat with Renee

Beth: I bet you are getting less and less school done the more you need to get organized for your tirp. I know you don't have time to sit and chat, I will look forward to doing that at least in 2 minute spurts while you are here and in Ken-yucky. Much Love, ~Bethie

Sent at 8:36 AM on Wednesday

Renee: The more I do the behinder I get...and that behinder is getting bigger and bigger! In more ways than one!

David and Renee made it safely to the United States! No matter how behinder she got the plane wouldn't wait and they made it. I am sure they will have many stories to tell. All for now!

Oh and Happy Labor Day Everyone!!

Gearing Up For this School Year!

The school schedule is coming along nicely. We are easing into the schedule this week. I am working on tweaking different aspects of the schedule. I am finding some short falls and making changes. Some time mid October I expect all the "bugs" will be worked out and I can write up the final schedule for the wall. No I am NOT behind, I planned it this way (well sorta). Here are some of the curriculums we are hoping/planning to use this year.

What the Bible is All About for Young Explorers

(Younger Four)

What the Bible is All About

(Oldest Two)

No photo - Sorry

Tapestry of Grace (Year One)

(covering history, geography, literature and fine arts in one fell swoop, well sorta)

and all of the wonderful books that go along with it

(Family)

Exploring Creation through Anatomy and Physiology

(Family)

Shurley English Level Six

(Oldest Two)

All About Spelling Level One

(Baruch)

All About Spelling Level Two

(Oldest Three)

Saxon Math 5/4

(Cob)

Saxon Math 6/5

(Mary)

Teaching Textbooks Math 4

(Abigail)

Whew, It actually all fits very reasonably into the google calendar schedule I created. Reality may be completely different BUT I put in cushion and am hopeful :-). For those interested you can create a new calendar for each child in the family and each has its own color. I added an appointment calendar, a meal plan calendar and a family even calendar as well as a B-day/anniversary one. If you want to view my calendars let me know and I can invite you.

Kids Quotes and Ramblings

We really enjoyed having Drew's parents here for overnight Sunday night. They weren't going to come until after lunch but I told them I would make a roast and we could eat a bit later if they would eat with us. Then the roast wasn't done and I was CompletelY unorganized so Drew went to Sam's to got burgers and his parents met him out there. I organized what I could ;-) in the hour and a half they were gone. They enjoyed a few samples at Sam's but were still (at least the kids were) starving by the time the burgers were done. Then we had the roast for supper. Bill put in some switches upstairs in the bathroom. (Maybe I should have titled this Bathroom Update # I've lost track it's been so long.) He also got some things in line to install an exhaust fan in the laundry room since the dryer moisture seems to linger in that room. In the basement the warmth was nice, even the humidity wasn't bad down there, especially in the winter. But upstairs it seems to heat everything up, especially with our hot hot, humid summer. I do my best to keep the door closed. I LOVE having the laundry all upstairs so I am not complaining, just super thankful there will soon be a fan. I worked on cleaning the attic above the laundry room so it will be done when they need it clear for wiring and venting and so forth. Drew's mom played lots and lots of games with the kids which was so nice, as I was able to get a ton done upstairs.

O.K. Here's those kids quotes:

Chloe - after tinkling on the potty - "I'm so proud" with a huge grin on her face (I so wished I could have captured that precious face with a photo but chances are she would have "smiled" for the camera and I would have missed it. hee hee)

Chloe - after tinkling on the potty a different time - "AMAZING!"

Chloe - after tinkling on the potty yet another time - "Mama, aren't you going to clap?"

Yes, the potty training is going extremely well!

Abram - during evening rocking time - "Mom, are you going to sing tonight?"

Mom - not able to tell if singing was a liked or disliked activity - "Why?"

Abram - "Because it is so relaxing!"

Chloe - After playing for several hours at Jumpin' Janes - "Fun! Fun! Fun! Jumpin' Janes!!"

She could have been on a commercial, it was so cute!!

More News:

Abram's name was drawn for a prize of 5 free passes to Jumpin' Janes! Our library offers the children a summer reading program with all sorts of prizes. They just keep track of their reading and bring in a sheet (provided by the library) with X's over the days they've read. I'm not explaining it very well, but you get the idea. When a child has finished (and read) all, was it 21 or 28 days, of reading their name is entered in a drawing. We had two winners in our family. Baruch won a $10 certificate to Video Games Etc. and Abram won the Jumpin' Janes' passes! The children LOVED Jumpin' Janes. I did too! Parents can go on the blow up equipment with their kids and I was having a blast chasing and bouncing until I jammed the papa toe on my left foot. :-(! OUCH! My poor toes have taken a beating this summer!!

We had our last of a six week study with our neighbors tonight. Drew does such an amazing job keeping our focus on God's word. He also tells so many appropriate, teachable, applicable stories that drive home all the truths we are learning. I am so blessed to have such a man for a husband! We went through a great study called "Christianity Explained". It sounds like they are interested in doing the next study in the series, "Discipleship Explored". I'm not sure when we will start that, but am so thankful they were open to and better - excited about doing another study. We helped them celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with one of my favorite desserts, Marble Cheesecake!

My friend Brook arrives tomorrow! She is home (her home church is in NC) on furlough from Tanzania and making the rounds. She will be arriving after several weeks on the road with many more to go. I am so looking forward to seeing her.

Oh, we purchased a new camera! A sony something or other (Drew did the research and shopping, can you tell?). The camera arrived today, along with the batteries, charger and computer software. We are awaiting the memory card so we can keep capturing the moments of our lives :-). I anticipate a snapshot summary in the near future!