Sunday

The Girl is enjoying homemade ice cream. Keep reading to see how the ice cream was made...

First, Stennes made a batch in an empty peanut can. You can see how cold the outside became.

After a while in Pop's shop, he brought home a new invention: ice cream churn in a bucket.

After a little experimentation, he used his drill to give it a whirl. It actually worked! We have snacked on homemade ice cream all day.

In the evening we went to a migrant camp in a new location and had a nice service under the covering of the motel. It was too rainy out in the open.

This was a busy weekend for us. Saturday was filled with a funeral and family reunion. We're looking forward to getting back into the routine of Monday Sabbatical.

Friday Sabbatical

Today was the first of 3 Patriotic Perfomances scheduled for the next few days. The boys each gave a speech about true patriotism (being defined as loving God and loving your neighbor) and they played/sang between the speeches. We had a great response from the crowd.

After lunch, the boys went bowling with their cousins, who are returning home tomorrow. The Girl stayed behind and tried her hand at a Whole Wheat Chocolate Pound Cake. It was quite tasty, not that we ate any of it, you know....(ahem...)

In the evening we went preaching at a Haitian camp. We had to wait about 15 minutes for the workers to get back from their paycheck cashing/ grocery shopping expedition. We had such a nice time with them and were very encouraged by their sincere love of God. ChubChub found three friends who played so sweetly with him.

Poppins has to work tomorrow, which is unusual. We also have a funeral to attend in the afternoon and a family reunion in the evening. Won't it be wonderful when we will all be together in heaven? The Haitian woman above was such an encouragement to me tonight with her sweet spirit. Sisters in Christ, traveling different roads, headed in the same direction...

Wednesday Sabbatical

Starting the day off with a cuddle. Mmmmm...

Cutting onions for Red Lentils & Squash (for lunch).

Mixing up meatloaf for dinner.

Folding clothes for eight people isn't much fun, but it's great for Life Skills training.

Making a cake for dinner. You have to try this recipe: mix any boxed cake with 1 can of pumpkin. That's it. It's a little bit harder to spread out, but it's quite yummy and better for you. Thanks to my friend Lisa for the tip!

Practicing for Patriotic Performance on Friday. Some of the chord changes and words for the songs are giving us a bit of trouble. Pressure, pressure...

Why use the dishwasher when you have kids who need Life Skills training? Aaahh, the joys of childhood...

We had dentist appointments this afternoon, and then we went out preaching in the evening. It was nice and cool again, thanks to incoming rain. This was a large apartment complex of Spanish and Haitian; we had a good crowd and were able to speak for quite a while afterwards with one of the Haitian men.

Tuesday Sabbatical

While the other boys worked on their speeches and instruments, Branch reviewed his lesson for his afternoon class. It's kind of hard to play violin with a monkey on your back, but Branch really loves that little monkey, so he doesn't complain at all.

We had time to watch the next section of their French lesson.

Well, some of us watched the French lesson. Others were a little less serious about the class...

About 11:30 we headed out to run a few errands and enjoy the local skating rink where our homeschool group is meeting for the summer months. The Girl and her friend had a good time (well, at least The Girl did...)

Gifts for The Girl. She received tea party supplies galore. Afterwards, the kids unloaded supplies from my van that were donated to hand out to needy folks, so we had to sort through a good bit of clothes and food. We were also delighted by a visit from a homeschool mom who brought The Girl yet another gift. Life sure is sweet when you're six years old...

Monday Sabbatical

ChubChub decided to hang around for a while. Poppins is thinking of rigging up parallel bars for the boys. We think we'll try some bamboo first. It's strong and a whole lot cheaper than steel. Just a thought...

We purchased a flute; The Girl says that it's hers.

Branch is polishing up a piece that he bought today for The Girl's tea party collection. Tomorrow is her birthday, so we had to make a run by the thrift store. This pedestal tray was only 99 cents and quite pretty. We're pretty sure she'll like it.

Making sausage balls. Aaahh, Life Skills training has been nice for Mean Ol' Mama. The meals are their responsibility. The Girl and Josiah made Curried Coconut Chickpeas and rice for lunch. Quite, quite yummy...

After swimming, The Girl couldn't wait till tomorrow to open Grandma's present. We also had Performance Class today at the college, practiced speeches and songs for Patriotic Performance later this week, did a bit of Latin, Greek & English reading, but not enough. Oh well, there's still tomorrow...

Rainy Sunday Activities

We began the day with bannock cakes and bacon, which is a real treat for us. (The kids actually ask for bacon for their birthdays...How pitiful is that?)

After lunch we went to a Haitian camp and had such a good meeting with them. We practiced our very limited Creole. They gave us two crates of corn to show their thanks for our visit. The kids quickly shucked it, cut it off the cob, and bagged it for the freezer.

After supper we headed to a Mexican camp and passed out ice cream cones. They were a huge hit! The men received us so warmly.

Not quite loaves and fishes for the five thousand, but ice cream was easier to dish out...

The weather was so pleasant and cool. Rain's coming in..

Wrapping things up right before the clouds overhead let loose. We barely made it. We know that this meeting was ordained of God. It was raining when we left the house, but we went anyway. At least 70 men came to listen (the rain had stopped). We held a service for a little over an hour. Toward the end, the clouds started rolling in, but not a drop until we stopped. God is good...

Saturday in the South

How many Norwegians can fit into this kiddie pool? Hey, when you're desperate...

Animal Husbandry: one of life's necessities and one of our Life Skills requirements. Everyone took a turn participating. The boys also caught and cleaned fish this morning, which we cooked for lunch.

Burying the remains while thinking about that kiddie pool...

Moving some young chickens into their new pen.

Trimming up some dead limbs around the yard (Don't look, Grandma!). The boys made the covered wagon (in the background) with their Pop. Right now it's waiting to be sprayed to get rid of a wasp nest.

Chopping down snags around the yard. (Again, don't look, Grandma!)

Headed to the burning pile. It seems as if there's always clean-up around the yard.

Burning energy. It must be nice...sigh......

Wednesday and Thursday Sabbatical

Final 2 days of pre-Algebra. Equations can be frustrating...

At a local park for a time of Phy Ed. Mean Ol' Mama and Daddy just watched from the sidelines...

The Girl On Top of the World...

And we topped off these two days by purchasing a used trombone and clarinet. We don't have a clarinet player...yet...

Tuesday Sabbatical

Today was a busy day, especially for the boys. They had the first of a series of four 2 hour Intro. to Algebra classes with one of our local homeschool moms. (Yes, we had some extra boys in this class, as you can see in the photo). Beth is a retired math teacher and she kindly offered to do the class while her daughters are in gymnastics camp in the mornings. We really enjoy being with her, and she's a fantastic teacher. Branch went to Shop with Pop during this time, while ChubChub played quietly (sometimes) under the table in the school room. After lunch, they did a few chores and things around the house. In the afternoon, they went to their Forestry Judging Class for competition training, which lasted till 5:00. Branch and I headed off to violin and the local organic co-op. So what did The Girl do during this time?

She learned to grind seasonings in the molcajete, which is part of her Life Skills training. In the photo she is making a past of garlic and cumin to add to the dinner meal.

She worked on a ....oops, it's a surprise! One of our readers will recognize this in a few weeks...

And she caught up in her Greek book. She's a sweet little thing. In the evening, I had a Mom's Teaching Mom time, held out of town, so she had to stay behind with all the boys (plus an extra boy who spent the night with us).