Entered MOI

As of 5/28/08, this sweet girl entered MOI (Ministry of Interior). MOI has been running around three months - and then, I think we get to go get her and bring her home!!!! I am so happy that her file is moving forward....not quite the pace that I would like, but I am learning to trust God and His perfect timing.

School books!

Today we got most of our new school books for next year! I am so excited to look through them and begin to plan for 5th grade and Kindergarten.
We have a couple of months of 4th grade left, but I thought that I would post some of the books we've read so far this school year.

North American Indians
Pedro's Journal
Incans, Aztecs & Mayans
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin?
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
The Lewis and Clark Expedition (reading it now)
Pocahontas and the Strangers
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims
The Thanksgiving Story
The Courage of Sarah Noble
The Matchlock Gun
The Skippack School
Meet George Washington
Phoebe the Spy
Om-kas-toe
Sarah Whitcher's Story
Vostaas: White Buffalo's Story
Walk the World's Rim
The Sign of the Beaver
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Johnny Tremain
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
Calico Bush (reading it now)

I am so thankful for Sonlight Curriculum who organizes the schedule and helps me keep my sanity!

Memorial Day Weekend

It seemed like we were going to have a loooong weekend, but here it is, Tuesday and it's the regular work week again. We did get some fun and a lot of work in, so all in all it was a good weekend.

On Friday, Jim and I went to Morgan's with Patty and Joe and Joe's brother Tom. On Saturday, we did a lot of yard work and planting and also delivered some things to church for the upcoming rummage sale.

Sunday we went to church and then on the Quain's home for a lovely outdoor barbecue. We can't remember at this point whether we invited ourselves to their family gathering or if we were actually extended an invitation, but they do have a wonderful family and we were so glad to be there. On Memorial Day we went to Egg Harbor with Jim's kids and then ran more errands to Home Depot. Then we went home and worked on this...
filled our new sandbox....









P & T helped Daddy build our new chairs....











Jim worked like a maniac all weekend doing all sorts of projects, including building our new outdoor conversation area....










...and around 6:30 p.m. Monday night, we finally got to relax and enjoy all the hard work of the weekend....


(except that T ended up with a migraine, poor girl) ...
and finally, Wrigley found this little baby bird that had fallen out of its nest and on this Memorial Day we were reminded that Jesus said this, "Not one [sparrow] will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the hairs on your head are numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Topical Memory System

Beginning next week I am going to start memorizing Bible verses with the Navigators' Scripture Memory Course http://www.navigators.org/us/resources/illustrations/items/Topical%20Memory%20System. Each week, for the next 30, I will try to memorize two verses and also review the verses learned in prior weeks. I always intend to memorize more verses, but if I do I seem to forget them quite easily because I do it a bit haphazardly, etc.

So, um, check back with me in a few weeks to check up on my progress. I'm guessing that I just may need some encouragement along the way...
(Oh, and Beth, the reason I am starting next week, is because I am already memorizing a verse this week.)

Somebunny

Someone, something, somebunny is eating my watermelon plant!!!!

Kind and Brave and Upside Down

Yesterday P finished reading Kind and Brave! She decided that she wanted to read some other books this week before moving on to Strong and True next week. We (Mom & P) really enjoy our reading times each day. P makes up all sorts of rules - like we have to kiss everytime we finish a paragraph or hug at the end of each page. It's nice to have 20 minutes of snuggle time with P every morning!

In other P news, yesterday she learned how to hang upside down on the trapeze!

We are so thankful that God gave this girl a strong brain and body!

If I had a blog a few weeks ago, I would have posted these...

T & Jim

T, T, Britt, and Nick

T and Taylor (the lost kitty we found and that the waitress at the Club took home)


Patty and Bec

P and lime chips - aboard the Liberty

P, Polly, T

Sunset over the Gulf

T at Quinns

P and Frank

T...driving!?!?!?

Daddy and his golfing buddy

Jim & Joe

Gardening

This weekend we planted some things in our new suburban garden. I really think we've started to create a peaceful spot which I hope to enjoy in the morning with a cup of coffee...and in the evening with a glass of wine and my husband (and maybe in the afternoon with a book).

The kids had a great time planting - most were from plants in pots, but for fun we planted sugar snap peas from seed. The girls thought it was so funny that the seeds looked just like the inside of the one's we eat (except a bit dried). I hope the plants grow so we can produce our own seeds for next year. I'm not enjoying all the watering, but so far I think we're getting a lot out of this "science" unit.

Tomorrow I plan to get out and plant the tomatoes and blueberries into the pots, move the hydrangea from the swale, and plant pumpkins and gourds from seed... For future reference, here's what we put into the ground so far this year....dwarf horsetail, lambs ears, corkscrew, paper daisies, morning glories, wave petunias, hydrangea, sage, french lavender, regular lavender, lemon mint, peppermint, lemon basil, cilantro, lemon balm, rosemary, cinnamon basil, purple sage, parsley, sweet basil, pineapple sage, greek oregano, catnip, spinach, cucumber, broccoli, brussel sprouts, sugar snap peas, and watermelon.

I'm new to this blogging thing...

So much is happening in our lives and I am going to try to keep up with this blog to record some of the bigger stuff that's happening, some of the funny stuff the kids said, or just random thoughts on what I'm reading, what the kids' are reading, on our adoptions, etc.