Field Trip Day

On September 26, we took a day to do some out-of-the-ordinary things. Kind of like a homeschool field trip day. J

The company Dad works for was offering free biometric health screenings to employees and their family members. It’s always a good thing to get your numbers checked, so we decided to take advantage of the opportunity! We got our fingers pricked, and they checked cholesterol levels, blood pressure, pulse rate, blood sugar, and BMI. I had never had a screening like this (you had to be over 18 to get it done), and was pleasantly surprised. All my numbers checked out great!

Mom and I with our fliers afterwards.

Photo Credit: Roma.

I was quite happy that while we were in the parking lot, we got to observe some acrobatic stunts being done at the airport nearby. We have heard the planes from our house all week, but hadn’t had the time to go over to the airport and watch at all.

Daddy took a break from work and took us out for lunch! He took us out to the Taco Bus! This bus was converted into a restaurant-on-wheels. The rest of us had never been here before, and were excited about the experience.

Photo Credit: Roma.

 

Half of the inside of the bus is their kitchen. The other half has a few tables and chairs lining the walls. We went inside and ordered, but ate our lunch outside at a picnic table since the weather was so nice out.

As unassuming as the place looks, the food was outstanding! Some of us had tacos, others had quesadillas, and I tried a sope. It was delicioso!

After eating, we said goodbye to Dad and headed towards the library to drop off a few books.

Then we went to the hair salon while Roma got a trim. In a homeschool family, sometimes you have “car school” days. J These guys are great at traveling with their schoolwork!

Then Mom surprised us with a treat at Braum’s! After the spicy Latin American food, the ice cream was a soothing special.

And that was our little fun day! We love doing stuff together. J

Hope

La Montagne, Haiti

“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.”

(From "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less" by Edward Mote)

~ posted by Betsy ~

Recipe--No-Knead Spoon Rolls

We recently purchased a new cookbook, and of course, I quickly perused the pages to familiarize myself with it. The following roll recipe jumped out at me because we had all the ingredients on hand, and it didn’t require a lot of hands-on time. Once I made them, I was hooked. These rolls almost melt in your mouth when they’re hot from the oven, split, and topped with a pat of butter!

No-Knead Spoon Rolls

3 2/3 packed cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup honey

2 cups milk

½ cup unsalted butter

1 large egg, lightly beaten

In a large bowl whisk together flour, yeast and salt. On stove, heat honey, milk, and butter together until butter is melted and mixture is very warm. With large wooden spoon, stir into flour mixture along with beaten egg until blended. The dough will be very sticky.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 35-40 minutes.

Stir down dough (just a few strokes.) With a ¼ measuring cup, scoop dough into well-greased muffin tins, filling two-thirds full (scant ¼ cup.)

Let rise uncovered, 20-30 minutes, or until dough has risen to the top of the cups. During last 15 minutes, heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake 20 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from tin. Makes 18-24 rolls.

Tip: Bake extra on baking day (make sure you have enough muffin tins first!), then store the extra away in freezer or pantry for another day or unexpected company.

Three Biggest Animals in Texas

~Posted by Josiah (wildlife lover)

I have been doing animal studies for over a year now. I love wild animals! When we moved to Texas, I wanted to learn more about what kinds of wild animals there are here. I recently learned about the three biggest ones.

Texas Cougars Wild

Photo Credit: Bianca.

About it: Cougars are fierce but they are afraid of humans!!!!! An adult cougar stands at 2 feet high and most likely about 200 to 250 pounds !!!!!!!!!

Attacks: The latest attack was 2005. A cougar most likely has seen you even if you have not seen him.

Cat’s Name: A cougar has 9 names. It can be called cougar, mountain lion, puma, mountain screamer, Mexican lion, silver lion, catamount, panther and red tiger.

Jump: Cougars can jump very high. A cougar can jump over a 4-lane highway!!!

Hunter: A cougar eats meat. He is an excellent tree-climber, which helps it hunt!!!!!!

Grizzly Bears

Size: Grizzly bears may grow up to 8 feet long and they generally weigh from 250-600 pounds! They get angry quickly but will not attack unless they feel threatened, like if you bother the cubs.

Grizzly bears get their name from the white hairs on their coats that give them that grizzled look.

Bison

Their life: The American Bison cares for its young until the calf is 3 years old. The animal reaches adulthood at age 8. Bisons used to live all over the U.S.A., but now only live in a few areas.

Photo Credit: Bianca.

Bisons are also called Buffalo. Indians killed bisons for their hides, which they then made into clothing.

"God's Smuggler" Book Review

As part of my internship at our church, the Student Ministry Pastor has given me a few books to read. The first book he gave me was “God’s Smuggler” by Brother Andrew. Instantly intrigued, it’s needless to say that I had no trouble working my way through the book quite rapidly. J

The book is an autobiography of a Dutchman known as “Brother Andrew.” The first few chapters of the book talk about his upbringing and his conversion to Christianity. The rest of the book takes place in the years following WWII, when communism rapidly expanded in Europe and Asia. Brother Andrew was told that it was impossible to minister behind the Iron Curtain.

But Brother Andrew did not allow that to stop him. He knew he served a God of miracles, and he relied soley on His strength to minister for over 35 years, smuggling millions of Bibles into communist countries. His prayer at every border crossing was “Lord, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see.” And they never did.

This book was a thrilling and convicting read for me. Brother Andrew never asked for funds, yet God always provided. Brother Andrew’s ministry—Bible smuggling—could have cost him his life, but he was willing to sacrifice that for Christ. He had the incredible faith that if he honored and obeyed God, He would protect and guard him. “God’s Smuggler” is truly an account of all the miracles God worked to bring the gospel to dozens of closed communist countries!

I would highly recommend this book for anyone ages 13 and over. It is a thrilling read, and just might leave your jaw on the floor at the incredible God we serve!

"The Explicit Gospel" Book Review

Back in May when we had a graduation celebration at our church, our Student Ministry Pastor gave each of the graduates a book. I had never heard of “The Explicit Gospel” by Matt Chandler, but it certainly looked like a good book and held a lot of great endorsements. I didn’t actually pick up the book until our missions trip to Guatemala.

Once I did, I was drawn in. Although it took me awhile to finish it (I would only read a portion of a chapter at a time, so I could “digest” it a bit better), it is one that I believe I will be re-reading periodically. And that is coming from someone who almost never has time to reread books anymore!

Chandler’s main premise is that Christians hear the gospel so often, that most of us have become desensitized to its meaning and power. His book is broken into three simple sections: The Gospel on the Ground, The Gospel in the Air, and Implications and Applications.

In the first section, the chapters are about God, Man, Christ, and Response. Chandler goes through each of these topics methodically and meticulously, clearly explaining each of them in a way that is fresh even to the person who was raised in church. One of my favorite quotes from this section is found in the “Response” chapter: “Am I stirred up toward obedience, or is Jesus becoming cliché to me? Am I becoming inoculated to Jesus, or do I find myself being more and more stirred up to worship him, to let other people know him, to submit my life fully to him?”

The second part of the book talks about Creation, the Fall, Reconciliation, and Consummation. This is known as the gospel in the air. Basically, it is the gospel on the cosmic level. This is probably the best-marked section of the book for me. It was an excellent reminder that the gospel is so much bigger than me. God is reconciling ALL things to Himself. One of my favorite quotes is this: “The scope of Christ’s reconciling work on the cross spans the brokenness between man and God and the brokenness between earth and heaven.”

Part three deals with the dangers in a gospel on the ground too long, the dangers in the air too long, and moralism and the cross. We must guard against an extreme focus on either facet of the gospel. If we focus on the gospel on the ground too much, it can become “me” focused, because we lose the big picture of God’s reconciling power over all creation. But if we focus on the gospel in the air too much, the gospel becomes less personal. We must strike a balance between these two, as well as not fall into the trap of focusing on moralism over the cross.

One of my favorite quotes from the third section—and from the book in general—is this: “Sealed in my heart that day was the truth that unless the gospel is made explicit, unless we clearly articulate that our righteousness is imputed to us by Jesus Christ, that on the cross He absorbed the wrath of God aimed at us and washed us clean—even if we preach biblical words on obeying God—people will believe that Jesus’ message is that he has come to condemn the world not save it.”

The gospel is central to the life of a Christian. It’s absolutely critical that our understanding of it is accurate! This is a book that I truly believe every Christian needs to read. It is so dead on, so theologically sound.

It is also chock full of scripture references! That is one of the reasons it took me so long to read it (I wanted to look up all of them.) I also spent a good amount of time underlining, circling, and starring passages of the book. J This is definitely a book I plan to reread in the future!

Movie Night with Friends

I have to apologize immediately for the picture above. The lighting was poor, it was taken with my iPod, and then filtered in Instagram. But it’s the only picture I have! I get a little distracted when we have guests over. J

While Ben and I were in Guatemala, several other team members talked about a movie called “Nacho Libre.” Apparently one of the missionaries reminded them of the main character in the movie. He has heard that before, so his nickname is “Nacho.” J When the team found out we had never seen the movie, they were a bit shocked and said we would need to get together and watch it when we got home.

It took us a few months, but we finally had a mini-Guatemala team reunion to watch the movie! Ben and I invited all the teens from the team, and 3 out of 5 could come. Ruby and Roma joined us, and we had homemade pizza, popcorn, and ice cream sundaes. It was the first time I’ve been in charge of hosting someone in our home, so it was fun!

While I can’t say that I would necessarily recommend the movie, we did have a fun time with our friends! Ben and I have gotten to know J, J, and J a lot better over the past few months. We’re blessed to call them friends!

"Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half" Book Review

One of the things I wanted to learn as part of my post-high school education was budgeting. One specific area of budgeting is grocery budgeting. Everybody has to eat, and everybody has to buy groceries. I wanted to learn not only how to grocery shop, but how to save money at the store (a big deal when you’re feeding a family as large as ours!)

I had received “Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half” by Steve and Annette Economides as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. It sat on my bookshelf for a good while, because I wanted to read it when I would actually be able to put some of the principles into practice. So it was the first book I read post-high school! J

Steve and Annette Economides are true veterans in the area of finances. They have raised five children, are New York Times best-sellers, and have appeared on many national TV Shows including Good Morning America and the Today Show.

For me, the biggest draw to this book was that the money-saving techniques do not rely on the use of coupons. To be perfectly honest, I have never been able to wrap my mind around all the couponing principles, and really just didn’t like the idea of constantly clipping and stacking coupons. Once I started reading the book, I liked it even more because each chapter can stand virtually on its own. This makes the book so much easier to put into practice! You can implement a couple of simple steps at a time, and once those are mastered, move on to another principle.

The book covers everything from meal planning, taking stock of what you already have in your pantry/freezer/fridge, stocking up, organizing, time-saving equipment, once-a-month shopping and cooking, feeding your kids on a budget, and lots more! Each chapter ends with a section that has three different levels of application, depending on your personality and your level of commitment to saving time and money.

I am very excited about implementing some of the strategies I have learned from reading this book! Even if our grocery bill isn’t cut in half, I will be happy if it can be reduced by a good amount! Saving time is also a big perk for a busy family. I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

Child of Weakness

Photo by Roma

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

(From “Jesus Paid it All” by Elvina M Hall)

~ posted by Betsy ~

Recipe--Beef Barley Stew

As part of my post-high school education, I am continuing to learn practical life skills. One very important part of life is food! At the beginning of the week, I look at what ingredients we have (usually what meat we have in our freezer), research recipes, and purchase any missing ingredients. Then on Tuesday I prepare dinner for the family!

My first meal was Beef Barley Stew, No-Knead Rolls (recipe coming soon!), and S’more Pie (recipe coming soon!) The stew recipe came about for two reasons: 1.) we had lots of cube steak in the freezer that we needed to use and 2.) a slow cooker recipe works great for me because I intern at our church during the day on Tuesday. I prepared all the dry ingredients the night before, and chopped the vegetables and put them in the fridge. Tuesday morning, I sliced the meat, mixed everything up in the crockpot, and set it to cook before I went to work. I came home to delicious soup, well on its way to being done. J

This recipe is perfect for a cold fall or winter day!

Beef Barley Stew

½ lb. lean round steak, cut in ½” cubes (I substituted 3-4 cube steaks, cut in the same way)

4 carrots, peeled and cut in ¼” slices

1 cup yellow onions, chopped

½ cup green bell pepper, coarsely chopped (I just used yellow and orange because that’s what we had on hand)

1 clove garlic, pressed (I used minced from a jar)

½ lb. fresh button mushrooms, quartered

¾ cup dry pearl barley

½ teaspoon salt (a little more is better…)

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried sweet basil

1 bay leaf

5 cups beef broth

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low 9-10 hours. Serves 6.

Rangers Game

~Posted by Roma

“Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd, buy me some peanuts and cracker jack . . .” we all sang. We went to a baseball game last weekend! Since Bianca, Ben, and Josiah went with Daddy to an NFL game, Mommy, Ruby and I went with Dad to the baseball game. I love baseball, even if I don’t understand the whole game. J Every time I watch sports I think I learn more.

It was perfect weather…that is, walking around Dallas before and after the game. During the game, with the sun on our faces for 3 hours, we got quite the tan, and maybe even a little burned, and my pants were soaked with sweat! Literally soaked! Sadly, the Texas Rangers lost against the Oakland A’s (disappointing) but it was still worth going because it had been so long since we’d been to a baseball game--last time I was 8 years old, watching the Lansing Lugnuts--and because I spent time with Mom and Dad. I don’t know if Rubia and I have ever gotten away with our parents, just parents and twins! It was special!

All ready to go!

The stadium was large! LOTS of TX flags too.

We got very good seats--near the front! Rubia and I split a really good Chicago dog that was a foot long. I was surprised at the large selection of foods there. They played fun music—like “Deep in the Heart of Texas”--and each baseball player had a theme song. Some had Christian songs!

The stadium was not too loud either. Throughout the game we tried to see if we’d appear on the big screen and we did! For about 3 seconds. J

I hope we go to a baseball game again sometime soon!

"gods at war" Book Review

It’s virtually impossible for me to go inside the Christian bookstore and not come out with a new book to read. J Recently, I went into our local store because I had received a gift-card for my graduation. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted when I walked in. A couple of weeks earlier, I had noticed that three of my favorite authors—David Platt, Francis Chan, and Kyle Idleman—had ALL released new books! I could hardly wait to purchase them and start reading.

 

I began with Idleman’s book, “gods at war.” I had previously read “not a fan” by Idleman, which I found to be very convicting and poignant. His new book caught my attention because I ran a column in my monthly newsletter for 2012 entitled “Conquering My Idols.” I had felt convicted that there were a lot of things in my life that were pushing their way to the top, and that I needed Christ to be on the throne of my heart.

 

Idleman’s first important point in the book is that we all worship. There is no such thing as true “atheism.” God created us to worship, and we WILL worship *something.* The question isn’t “will we worship?” but rather “who or what will we worship?” In addition to this, Idleman contends that idolatry isn’t an issue, but rather, THE issue from which all other sins/struggles stem.

 

After establishing the foundations of idolatry, Idleman discusses many common idols that we worship today. Some of these include food, entertainment, pleasure, sex, money, achievement, romance, and family. At the end of each chapter, he has a segment called “Idol ID” which includes questions to determine whether or not you worship the idol the chapter discussed.

 

One thing I liked about this book was that it named many idols that I hadn’t really thought about before. Anything in our lives can become an idol if it takes the throne of our heart. Christ will not share His throne with anyone else. He demands complete and utter worship. This book was an excellent reminder of that.

 

I would recommend this book for anyone ages 16 and up.

Texas Pictures: September

One of the most common sights in our part of Texas is grazing cattle! Fences, Cattle, and Texas go together like bread, peanut butter, and jelly. J They’re always together!

Big Wednesday

The first Wednesday of every month is “Big Wednesday” for the student ministry at our church. Some months we do a special service project, and other months we just do something fun. Other times (like this past Big Wednesday), we combine the two!

Recently, our youth group met up at a local restaurant. This restaurant is decorated with all kinds of classic cars, and the burgers are even named after some. The food is American diner fare (burgers, country fried steak, milkshakes, etc.) We had gotten milkshakes there before, but had never eaten a full meal.

Mom and Ruby at the restaurant.

We had lots of fun visiting with the other kids and parents in the student ministry while we ate. The food was pretty good!

After we finished eating, we gathered in the parking lot and distributed garbage bags and gloves. We walked to a nearby park and picked up trash and debris. After about an hour, we disposed of our trash and headed over to the soccer fields. It was time for an Ultimate Frisbee game! We had HUGE teams since we combined middle school, high school, and parents. It was a lot of fun, and a LOT of exercise! We ended the evening exhausted and drenched-in-sweat, but quite happy. J

Tuff

This week, we found out the sad news that our neighbor’s dog, Tuff, was killed recently. Tuff was one of the first neighbor dogs to greet us when we moved into our home here in Texas. Although a dirty, mangy-looking mutt, he was super friendly and never barked.

Unfortunately, Tuff and his little gang (two dogs that belong to the same owners, and one that belongs to the people across the street) wandered 2.5 miles out to the freeway where he was hit. A neighbor saw him and notified his owners.

I am particularly saddened by Tuff’s untimely death because he was probably my favorite dog on the street. He wasn’t pushy like some other dogs, didn’t bark, was friendly, and in general minded his own affairs (unlike the dogs that insist on following me home and parking themselves outside the door.) I will miss seeing him traipse through the back pasture with his stubby tail and canine buddies in tow. I will miss him trotting out to the road to greet me during my morning run. I will miss Tuff!

Lest I Forget

Photo by Roma

Lest I forget Gethsemane,

Lest I forget Thine agony;

Lest I forget Thy love for me,

Lead me to Calvary.

(From “Lead Me to Calvary” by Jennie Hussey)

~ posted by Betsy ~

Recipe--Texas Sheet Cake

For my graduation party, I knew I wanted to do sheet cakes from scratch. We dug around for recipes and found this great recipe in a little booklet of ours. It’s an easy recipe to double (if you have large bowls), it’s easy to frost, and is virtually foolproof. It turns out amazing every time. I could honestly eat the frosting on this cake by the spoonful (and sometimes I do if I’m the one making it. J)

Texas Sheet Cake

Cake:

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter

1 cup water

4 Tablespoons cocoa

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup sour cream

Frosting:

6 Tablespoons evaporated (canned) milk

1 cup butter

4 Tablespoons cocoa

1 cup pecans (optional)

1 box powdered sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

To prepare cake: in a large bowl add sugar, flour and salt. In heavy pan bring butter, water and cocoa to a boil. Remove from heat as soon as it boils and add immediately to dry ingredients. Add sour cream, eggs, and baking soda, mixing well after each addition. Batter will be very thin. Bake in greased jelly roll pan with high sides at 375°F for 20-25 minutes. Prepare the frosting while cake is baking. Frost at once when cake is removed from oven. Serves 24.

To prepare frosting, boil milk, butter, and cocoa in heavy pan until bubbly. Stir in nuts, sugar, and vanilla and mix until smooth. Spread over warm cake.

Love, Prayer, and a Life of Faith

~Posted by Rubia

A blogpost for this day was difficult for me to plan, I will admit. I’ve been reading so much, and learning so much, and doing so much these past few weeks—which part can I emphasize? Or, how might I mix a little bit of every experience in one post?

I have decided that the best thing I can do is share some Big Things that God has revealed to me in the past few weeks. For one, I have simply been learning to be more attentive to His voice. I had prayed so much that God would reveal His will to me on a day-to-day basis. But the thing that almost makes me want to laugh now, is that I got so busy and caught up in my own thoughts and my own work, that I was hardly—if not at all--listening for His reply! I believe that’s why I became frustrated with God, and I felt like my life was meaningless, especially because I lived every day doing the same thing. By reading His word, and listening to His teaching through others, I learned that I am not the only one who has felt this way, and that if I am truly walking with Jesus every day, my life is meaningful!

My personal study.

So of what importance is my life right now? (I’ve asked.) How can a high school girl live a meaningful life and have an impact on others? Some reminders in response to these frequent thoughts come from Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 1 Tim. Chapter 12, verse 4: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” In verse 14, Paul says “Do not neglect your gift . . .” I think that if I pay attention to the gifts that God has given me, I can use those to be a blessing to others. And even if I see an opportunity before me to reach out to someone in a way that I don’t believe I’m qualified, I can trust God to work through me and I can take hold of every opportunity!

Our Pastor here in Texas has already had quite an impact on me when I listen to his words on Sunday. I find his teaching to be challenging, penetrating, eye-opening, and many times exciting! In the past few months, we have been going through a deep study of 1 John. One of the highlights that I’ve picked up so far is that everything in our lives solely depends upon our relationship with God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. To me this makes me think of how we reach out to others. If our relationship with Christ is not where it should be, how can we also have genuine fellowship with other Christians? How can we love them like Christ does?

This leads me to a simple yet sometimes challenging test that our Pastor taught us, taken from reading 1 John chapter 2:2-11. (Please read it!) Questions to ask yourself: #1) “Is Jesus God to me?” #2) “Do I hate sin?” #3) “Do I love my brothers? (Other Christians.)”

In the past few weeks I have been convicted of certain things concerning my relationships with other people. Experiencing the joy of genuine Christian fellowship is one thing I desire, but mostly, I really want to be able to reach out to those in need, whether it be physical needs or spiritual needs. I want to make the time to connect with my neighbors. I think that I have many opportunities before me to use my spiritual gifts, and to practice what needs work in my life, but I feel like the greatest excuses in my life have to do with my own work schedule, my own activities, and so on. Much, if not all of my day-to-day work indeed has importance, but my desire is to make the time to do work revolved around the mission He has given to Christians—spreading the gospel. I pray that by serving others, this will ultimately lead to sharing the gospel with them. Such opportunities I do believe will be given if I ask, and whether I like it or not, must ultimately be accomplished if it is God’s will, and I believe the reward will be great. Is this not God’s mission for all Christians? In what ways will He use you to accomplish it?

I have found that the basis, or the root of my life in Christ, is Him, and my relationship with Him. That means that everything that I want to do in life starts with Him, and every relationship that I want to have starts with my relationship with Him. Life is meant to be all about Jesus.

One area that has been “in check” for me since our Pastor preached about it is my prayer life. I have asked myself, “How devoted am I to prayer? What about spending time in His word, growing in Him?” I know that this is going to affect every aspect of my life. I have learned that prayer is more than just an information exchange. When I pray, I am in His presence. When I pray, I am giving full attention to God and receiving full attention from Him. Which also means that my heart is being exposed, and when my heart is exposed, I feel condemned, and when I feel condemned, that leads to a life of prayer, and a life of prayer . . . leads to a changing and growing me.

And once again, I understand the meaning in what Jesus did for me, and the meaning in my life. Isn’t it exciting to be a Christian?! As challenging as it may be, it is never too hard; and I don’t ever want to look back and say that all I lived for was to go through the motions.

This is such a well known verse, but I never want to overlook it—I want to experience it.

First Day of School!

Last week, our family started school! This will be Mom’s 14^th year as a homeschooler! Wow! The strangest part about this year is the decrease in the number of students. She only has four this year!

The three high-schoolers, and Josiah. J

Things can get a little crazy around here at times . . .

Here’s a glimpse into our weekly schedules for this semester:

Ben

Personal Devotions

Scripture Memory and Review

Read Men of Science, Men of God

Finish Biology, Start Health Science

Math—Finance

Read Child of the Crossfire

Write blog post once a month

Practice piano

Exercise (running and weight training)

Water trees

Sweep and tidy garage and vacuum rug

Vacuum living room and hearth

Milliken American History

Read and discuss For You They Signed

Piano Theory

Clean 1^st floor bath

Walk dog and scoop after him

Wash and fold sheets

Cat care

Empty dishwasher

Bible Study Guide

Dust bedroom

Vacuum living room, master bedroom, and hall

Clean windows

Dinner clean-up with Bianca

Trim fingernails and toenails

Spanish—2 review lessons

Sweep and mop first floor (with Josiah)

Outside work/mow lawn

Discipling Study with Dad

Educational movie night

Rubia and Roma

Personal Devotions

Scripture Memory and Review

Empty dishwasher and start breakfast

Wash dishes

Exercise (run)

Math

Discovering the Bible course

Answers Academy (Creation Science)

Read Flight of the Falcon

Write blog post once per month

Practice piano/guitar

Dust shelves, mantel, and piano

Sweep porch

Iron your clothes

Cat care

Strip bed, change sheets

Wash and fold sheets

Vacuum stairs

Clean kids bathroom

Writing Portfolio—Writing Reports

Milliken American History

Read and discuss For You They Signed

Christian Charm course

Piano Theory

Practice piano

Clean downstairs bathtub

Exercise Dog and scoop after him

Outside work

Bible Study Guide

Garbage

Cook dinner once per week

Put away laundry

Trim fingernails and toenails

Dust bedroom

Educational Movie Night

Brush cat, wash bowls, and administer hairball medicine

Dinner clean-up once per week

Clean kids bathtub

Clean kids bathroom

Dust dining room and front bench

Sweep wood floors

Sweep porch

Brush dog’s teeth

Vacuum upstairs

Update binder

Cat toy search (1^st week of the month)

Brush dog, wash water bowl, and brush his teeth

Josiah

Personal Devotions—Story Bible

Scripture Memory and Review

Animal Devotions

Spelling

Handwriting

Math

Bird Studies

God’s Witnesses studies

Write a blog post once per month

Set table

Sweep tile

Sit-ups

Check and fill birdbath

Check and water bushes

Empty Dishwasher

Geography

Vacuum couches

Sweep under table

Cooking or North American Folk Art with Bianca

Dust living room

Toilet Paper Patrol J

Bible Study Guide

Exercise dog

Trim nails

Reading time

Help with mopping wood

Sweep porch

Sweep and tidy garage

Organize closet

Mom

Work with Josiah, administer tests, give assignments, be available for questions, and keep up with grading work! J

People ask me, “So what are you doing with your free time now that you’ve graduated?” I usually give them a deer-in-the-headlights look and say, “Free time? What is that?” J This semester, despite the fact that I am not currently in school (that starts in January), I am keeping quite busy! I nanny twice a week (about 5 hours/week), and intern for the Family Pastor at our church (about 15 hours/week.) I also help with homeschooling, chauffeur siblings hither and yon, and help Mom run our busy household.

Right now, I am working on starting a new blog to chronicle my post-high school adventures. Stay tuned!

On the first day of my internship. All ready for a morning at the office!

In between all those other activities, I manage to squeeze in the following:

Bianca

Personal Devotions

Scripture Memory

Practice piano

Practice dance

Blog posts for Eagle’s Wings, Hope Hill, and new blog

Read College Plus Book

Organize Photos

Help with homeschooling

Homemaking Skills

Iron your clothes

Laundry once per week

Exercise (running)

Wash H2O bottle

Cat care

Piano Theory

Plan 1^st Annual Cobbler Party

Cook or Art Class with Josiah

Vacuum dining room/den

Cook dinner

Strip bed/change sheets

Wash and fold sheets/towels

Newsletter

Discipling Study with Mom

Dust den

Dinner clean-up with Ben

Trim fingernails and toenails

Teach piano lesson

Prep pizza

Dust bedroom

Eyebrows

Brush Zinnia

Homemaking Skills for the Fall:

Read “Cut Your Grocery Budget in Half”

Grocery Shopping

Budgeting

Cooking

Fall 2013 Objectives

Read through personal book stack

Organize family photos

Plan 1^st Annual Cobbler Party

Read Accelerated Distance Learning

Help homeschool/tutor my siblings

Read R.C. Sproul’s works

Start blog on post-high school life

Learn grocery shopping/budgeting

Memorize “Excuses” verses

And that’s what our fall semester looks like! We’re all excited about the new things on our plates. J