Ten Things

 

Here are ten randon thoughts I wanted to share about my 10-year-old girl:

1. She arrived 3 days "early" and has been in a hurry ever since.


2. She was born on Ground Hog's Day ~ a date which I could previously never remember and now will never forget. (It's a good thing she didn't see her shadow~LOL!)


3. I always wanted a red-haired girl and she's the one. (Technically, she's strawberry blonde, but it was red when she was born.)


4. I love to watch her skate.


5. She has a heart for evangelism.


6. She loves to pray.


7. She's gonna be a great drummer.


8. She knows how to encourage me without being too perky.


9. She's way smarter than I am.


10. She truly is one of my favourite people.

I love you, Faithsteroni!

Happy Birthday!

 

    . . . to Sergeant Elf ~ a.k.a. sk8rtink7

Here is one of my favourite stories:
When she was about 6 years old, we were discussing something that she had learned in Pioneer Club that week.  She said, "The sun revolves around the earth."
I said, "Actually, the earth revolves around the sun."
She said, "My teacher said that the sun revolves around the earth!"
I said, "Perhaps you misunderstood her, because the earth revolves around the sun."
We went back and forth this way for a bit, with her statements becoming more emphatic each time and my explanations getting more detailed (translation: boring) each time. 
Finally, in exasperation she declared, "Well, that is what I meant!"
To which I responded, "Well, people don't know what you mean; they only know what you say.  You need to say what you mean."
To which she responded, "Well, in Faith~World that is what it means!!"

You can read her big sisters' birthday tributes here, here, and here.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thanking God for one of my most precious gifts ~
On this date, ten years ago, I gave birth to my fourth beautiful daughter.
She has been a blessing in my life for 3,653 days now.

Father in Heaven, thank you for entrusting this child of yours to my earthly care.

Dear Sergeant Elf:

I "cease not to give thanks for you,
making mention of you in my prayers, That the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of Him:   The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of
his calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints,"
Ephesians 1: 16-18

Thankful Thursday

posted in: Giving Thanks

God has bestowed on my children some wonderful talents and gifts which I get to enjoy on a daily basis:

• Tibby's beautiful voice and her reasoning ability
  


• Frap's gifted hands on the keyboard and her zest for living
  


• O Special One's artistic ability and vivid imagination
  


• Sergeant Elf's natural rhythm and brilliant mind


• J~Man's sensitive spirit and desire to help
  


• Lulapalooza's sense of humour and love of learning
  


• Toodles' silly sayings and goofy expressions

Thank You, LORD, for these precious lives which I am blessed to be a
part of.  Thank You for joy they add to my life. 
Please help me to be an example to them of Your love and mercy and grace.

Thankful Thursday

posted in: Giving Thanks

Here are three things I am thankful for today:

• that my ankle is healing well


• that my nine year old daughter loves to clean


• that my kids talk to me, and I am learning to listen

Whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he.
~ Proverbs 16:20 ~

Reading List

Daily Inspiration:
My Utmost Devotional Bible
Joy and Strength by Mary Wilder Tileston
Come to the Quiet by John Michael Talbot

Poetry:
Major Voices ~ 20 British and American Poets

I
have chosen fiction and non-fiction books which I have on my
bookshelves but have never read; my goal is to read 6 in each catergory
by 06/26/06 (the day before my birthday) at which time I will make a
new list.

Fiction:

1. Pilgrim's Progress by Bunyan
2. The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne
3. Great Expectations by Dickens
4. Silas Marner by George Eliot
   
5. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
6. The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway

Non-fiction:

1. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis
2. The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton
   
3. The Roman Way by Edith Hamilton
4. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
   
5. Shakespeare of London by Marchette Chute
   
6. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

I also have quite a long list of potential read alouds, and I hope to post that by next week.

posted in: Making Plans

All in All, A Fairly Productive Day

   Frap had
an 8 a.m. doctor appointment.  Now that we finally have insurance,
I am going to make sure that we get our money's worth by getting my two
asthmatics on a preventative medication schedule.  Lulapalooza went in last Wednesday, and today was Frap's turn. 
She had babysitting money, so she took me out for breakfast tacos
afterward.  We made it home just in time to gather the rest into
the family room for prayers and our morning meeting. 
   
    We are easing our way back into our academic
studies. We are only doing our morning lessons and independent readings
this week, and not even all of those.   I just ordered our Latina Christiana materials,
so we will probably not begin that until February.  DH has not
hooked up my printer yet, so copywork will happen next week.  The
older girls are awaiting geometry (on order) and algebra (need to get
back from a friend) texts.  Tibby and I need to settle on her science studies for this year, and I need to decide how to implement more formal writing

    So. . . here is what we did accomplish today:

Tibby:    

• Henle Latin
• Greek
  
• Traditional Logic II
• Roots of American Order

Frap:

• Henle Latin
• Greek
  
• Traditional Logic I
• Story of the Renaissance and Reformation
• Biology

O Special One had housekeeping today, so no academic requirements.

Sergeant Elf:

• Greek
• Arithmetic
• Nature Reading
• History Reading
• Literature Reading

J~man (w/Mama):

• Phonics drill
• Bible Reading
• Literature Reading
• Poetry Reading

Lulapalooza and Toodles  (w/Mama):

• Scripture Memory
• Bible Story

    I still need to be better organized and more
disciplined with my time, but all in all, it was a fairly productive
day.

posted in:  This Week in the Olive Grove 

A Prayer for the New Year

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.


Where there is hatred, let me sow love;


where there is injury, pardon;


where there is doubt, faith;


where there is despair, hope;


where there is darkness, light;


and where there is sadness, joy.


O, Divine Master,


grant that I may not so much seek


to be consoled as to console;


to be understood as to understand;


to be loved as to love;


for it is in giving that we receive;


it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;


and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

~St. Francis