Musical cars

How many cars can one person drive? Well, in the first 2 days of this week I drove 5 different cars (no kidding!). Needless to say, we had one in the shop and played "musical cars" to get things done - more dentist appts (don't ask - not good news), a friend moving out of state, car problems, acro class, library books due back, MIL's surgery and "normal" stuff has kept life interesting! I'm so thankful that friends and relatives are so good to us - thanks Renee for taking my youngest ones to the field trip while I was at the hospital, thanks Gran for letting me drive your car to get you to/from the hospital, thanks Katy for letting me borrow your car to deliver pizza to our friends, and thanks to the Lord for keeping me safe switching cars around! Our purse is much smaller thanks to cars (but not the one shown here - I just liked the pic!!!) and teeth and tomorrow is another "cut" at work but for now we are just thankful to have cars to shuffle around and enough money to put gas in them. Most of all we are thankful for the friends and family to play musical cars with us!

[I'll post an update on MIL later in the week when the lab results come in but for now thanks for the prayers - the surgery went very well and it is hopeful that the lymphoma will be confined to the surgical area.]

Missionary Monday

A couple from our church (and also homeschool group) left last Wednesday on a sweet mission to Vietnam. The husband works for Touch the World Ministries and they are in Vietnam to try to begin a process to get a medical ship built and ready to go to the poor, the orphans and the needy in a country that so desperately needs not only medical attention but spiritual attention. Many true believers there are persecuted for preaching the light of the gospel in a land filled with the darkness of falsehoods. Please pray for my friends that they will be physically protected, spiritually guided and used in a mighty way by our mighty Savior to reach those whom He loves and desires to see accept His Word and His Salvation.

I can just see it now....

Today's CleanLaugh from Pastor Tim - "Tea Service"

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me and my brother who is four years older than I am. I was maybe 1 and a half years old and had just recovered from an accident in
which my arm had been broken. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news and my brother was playing nearby in the living room when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water.

After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!!'

My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then says, 'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet??'

President's "Week"

We are doing something special about Presidents all week instead of just on Monday and I thought some of you might enjoy hearing about it. We started off on Monday watching a short video about George Washington, then doing a few worksheets and games about him. We made finger puppets of George and Honest Abe from HERE and as the week goes on each of my youngest two are finding facts about "their" President to be ready to give a "report" with their puppet on Friday. We have also done coin rubbings, made some silhouettes from cut outs I already had and my 9 yo is memorizing the first 16 Presidents, the 5yo memorizing the first 6 ones. Math has included things like the difference between years of each of the 2 (Washington and Lincoln), converted to weeks and then days, etc. Geography has included finding and learning about Philadelphia, Trenton, New York and Washington, DC as well as finding out how many states have cities named Washington and/or Lincoln and tracing the Delaware and Potomac Rivers.

On a different subject we are all planning to stay up late after Awanas tonight and view the Lunar Eclipse. We just finished a unit about the moon last week (when I had no idea the eclipse was coming up :) !) so we are looking forward to that. Just wish we had a telescope but it will be lots of fun - we are all planning on climbing out onto the back porch roof (almost flat), wrapped in blankets to watch it. It's great to live in the country with no street lights around!!

Enjoy Presidents, Lunar Eclipses and most of all your family this week!!

Update on MIL ...

Thanks so much to all who have been praying. Praise! Contrary to the first reports, after all lab work and biopsies were complete and compared to PT and CAT scans, they now think her lymphoma is actually only recurring in one spot and that it might be possible for it to be removed with surgery. This is a real praise, although it is a more aggressive type than what she had 2 years ago, if it is confined to the surgical site she will not have to undergo chemo and radiation again. We will not know that until surgery is over. Right now we are awaiting a specific date for surgery but it will probably be in the next two weeks. Thanks again for the prayers and please continue them!

A Precious Old Hymn

SONG 12. The Advantages of early Religion. (by Isaac Watts)

Happy the child whose tender years
Receive instructions well:
Who hates the sinner's path, and fears
The road that leads to hell.

When we devote our youth to God,
'Tis pleasing in his eyes;
A flow'r, when offer'd in the bud,
Is no vain sacrifice.

'Tis easier work, if we begin
To fear the Lord betimes;
While sinners that grow old in sin,
Are harden'd in their crimes.

'Twill save us from a thousand snares,
To mind religion young;
Grace will preserve our following years,
And make our virtue strong.

To Thee, Almighty God to Thee,
Our childhood we resign;
'Twill please us to look back and see
That our whole lives were thine.

Let the sweet work of pray'r and praise
Employ my youngest breath;
Thus I'm prepar'd for longer days,
Or fit for early death.

Happy Valentine's Day

For the fourth year in a row we had a very special Valentine's Day (OK, we've had many in our home but I'm talking about a new tradition that we began 4 years ago). We picked up 5 other children this morning, spent a while making more cards (they had all done some ahead of time) and then went to a local nursing home where we handed out 82 hand-made valentines. It is such a joy and privilege to have the flexibility with homeschooling to do something that will really make a smile for someone else. The children love making them, giving them out (along with many hugs and "blown" kisses) and this year I treated them all to a milkshake afterward before some of the girls had to be at dance class.

[This card is actually one made 4 years ago by my then barely 5 year-old. Unfortunately today I just didn't even think about the camera until we were on our way over there -- Duh!!]


Hope you had a very special Valentines day and that you have rejoiced in the fact that every day is a gift of love from the One who loved us so much He died for our sins. Happy Valentines!