Sick days, book reports, and some gardening...Week 25 review

I forgot how little school work gets done around the house when one of the kiddos is sick.

Poor brown-eyed boy :(

In an effort to keep things a little more quiet around the house while my little brother, brown-eyed boy, was resting, instead of blaring their music while doing their workbooks, blue-eyed boy and brown-eyed girl opted for head phones.

Blue-eyed boy learned how to write his first book report this week.

By Wednesday evening, brown-eyed boy was right as rain. Thursday was catch up day for us (which was absolutely crazy) with a little left over for Friday. It was a beautiful day that Friday though, so after co-op, off to the park we went. Late that afternoon, Blue-eyed boy and Brown-eyed girl worked in the garden with their Dad.

Outlaws

I got the idea for this Valentine from the church our homeschool co-op meets at. I didn't have a whole lotta time to get all the props together seeing that Valentine's Day was right around the corner, but I think they turned out well anyway...despite the fact we didn't have our cowboy hats :(



"The Brown-eyed Bandit" (I forgot to take a picture of the 'wanted' sign before we gave them away as Valentine gifts) 



Puji Tuhan!

It's 'Writing Around the World Wednesday'!

Last night, as a precursor to this activity, we watched a short little video (about 20 min.) titled "Stephen's Test of Faith". In this video, we see a modern day boy (named Stephen) learn what it means to be made fun of and ridiculed for his faith in Jesus. Through a dream, he goes back in time to see the persecution Christians in the past had to endure for their faith. He also dreams about modern day Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith right now. Through this dream, Stephen realizes he too can be bold for Jesus Christ. 

  

Earlier in the week, we learned about 2 Malaysian sisters named Priscilla and Naomi. Their father (Felipe) was born Malay (Malaysian), but their mother (Rose) was not. She is from another country. Even though Felipe is a Christian, Malay law says that ALL Malays are born Muslim and are NOT ALLOWED to be Christians. Christians in Malaysia are mocked and ridiculed for their faith. Malay law will not even recognize the marriage between Rose and Felipe. Because of this, they are not allowed to live together as a family. Can you imagine how hard life must be for these little girls?!? 

Despite this, Felipe and Rose are raising their daughters to know and love the Lord. Felipe is teaching other Malays about Jesus even though it is against the law. Jase and Aleeya wrote cards today to encourage Priscilla and Naomi to stay strong in their faith and to let then know they are praying for them.

If you would like to send letters of encouragement to Malaysian children too, the address is...

The Voice of the Martyrs

PO Box 443

Bartlesville, OK 74005-0443

  

By the way, in case you are wondering, 'puji tuhan' is Malaysian for 'praise the Lord' :) 

Love is...

Love is NOT a fancy restaurant or an extravagant meal.

Love is NOT about money or an expensive gift.

Love is NOT about who can "out-do" or "out-buy" someone else.

Sure, there is nothing wrong with going out to eat, surprising the one you love with a gift, and all those other things we tend to do on Valentine's Day.

Love is so much more than that. Love is 1 Corinthians 13... God is love. There's a song I remember singing in the play "Down By the Creek Bank" when I was a kid called "Love Is". Here are the words below.

"Love is a very special thing:

a smile, a tear, a soft summer rain.

It has no beginning; it has no end,

but I like it best when it's shared with a friend.

 Love is never stuffed up, never puffed up,

never gives up when the goings rough.

It's the biggest little word you can say, by the way.

It's sympathy, sincerity, it's charity, the main variety,

 of everything happiness is made of.

 And I like it best when it's shared with a friend"

Who are you going to share your love...God's love... with today?

Not Too Far From Here...

I may have said this before, but I tend to think of life through songs others have written. On any given day (or any given hour for that matter), depending on what I am feeling or what is going on, the Lord will bring a song to my mind that so perfectly 'fits'. 

The song that is on my mind right now is 'Not Too Far From Here'. It's an oldie, but a goodie. My heart has just been burdened today by those right here around me that are hurting...divorce, sickness, hunger, uncertainty, unbelief, the list goes on.

I want to be Christ's hands and feet. I want to share with them the love that God shows to me. But my fear all too often gets in the way. My busy day all too often leaves time for nothing or noone else. My selfishness overshadows others' needs. But my prayer is for God to use me right where I am. I am praying for HIS love and HIS compassion. I can do NOTHING thru myself, but I can do ANYTHING thru Christ. How loving and patient our God is!...He's still working on me.

Someone is waiting...not too far from me and you...to show them God's love, to say an encouraging word, to pray for them, to reach out to help them, to simply give them a smile...

Won't you please be that person they are waiting for?

"Somebody's down to their last dime
Somebody's running out of time
Not too far from here
Somebody's got nowhere else to go
Somebody needs a little hope
Not too far from here
And I may not know their name
But I'm praying just the same
That You'll use me Lord to wipe away a tear
Cause somebody's crying
Not too far from here"

"Somebody's troubled and confused
Somebody's got nothing left to lose
Not too far from here
Somebody's forgotten how to trust
Somebody's dying for love
Not too far from here
It may be a stranger's face
But I'm praying for Your grace
To move in me and take away the fear
Cause somebody's hurting
Not too far from here"


"Help me Lord not to turn away from pain
Help me not to rest while those around me weep
Give me Your strength and compassion
When somebody finds the road of life too steep"


"Somebody's troubled and confused
Somebody's got nothing left to lose
Not too far from here
Somebody's forgotten how to trust
And somebody's dying for love
Not too far from here
Now I'm letting down my guard
And I'm opening my heart
Help me speak Your love to every needlful ear
Someone is waiting not too far from here
Someone is waiting not too far from here"

Quilts, Games, and Snow Days - Week 22 Review

Well, 'Snow Day' was a wash, but we did get plenty of ice and the kiddos got an extra day of no school. Maybe we'll have snow next week...

All this extra time stuck indoors has allowed the kids to finish reading some of the books they have been working on. Aleeya finally finished up The Courage of Sarah Noble and Jase finished Mountain Born.

Illinois and Alabama are under our belts now. The kids debated on whether or not to pronounce the "s" at the end of Illinois. Their great-grandmother "Granny" is from the state of Illinois and pronounces it with the "s", so for now, that pronunciation has the most votes.

The kids had fun making their paper quilts.  

J opted for a cross pattern.



While A went with the 'grab and stick' pattern.

Being stuck inside left us plenty of time for games...even a few made-up ones.

Being stuck indoors also forced um...I mean...allowed Mom and Dad to finish up the rest of the painting in the school room and on into the dining room :)

New and Improved School Room :)

This was our school room.

But before that, this room was our living room. 

The green tea walls went well with our couch, the pictures, and the curtains we used to have up. Not our favorite color for a school room, but with a few wall decorations...we made it work.

Although we had bookshelves along the back wall, they were not deep, there were no doors, and they always seemed cluttered.

So, Big J (my hubby) built us 2 large cubbies. This helped out tremendously, but over the years, they seemed small and cluttered as well. 

I love this window!!!

However, the kiddos were outgrowing their table. 

So, we decided it was time to make some changes :)

First came the painting.

Then, J and his father made me new, taller, deeper cabinets.

We also swapped out the small table for a larger, adjustable one all of the kids could fit at. We also added baskets to the cubbies Jason had built earlier. (Helps hide the messier sections)

Big J rigged up our prayer map so it raises like a curtain when you pull on the cords revealing our dry erase board underneath. Hey, when wall space is limited...you gotta be creative ;)

We still have a little bit of painting left to do and Big J's dad is working on making doors to hide all the CD's, tapes, and other small books on the shelves at the back of the room. We would also like to add another basket or two to the cubbies, put up a larger world map on the left wall where the small one currently is, as well as replace our globe that recently fell apart, but past that...our room is pretty much complete...and...

we are loving it!!!