Refresh

Word of Life 2013 Founder's Conference- a great excuse for Matt and I to get away and celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary a few days early!

My parents were nice enough to keep our kids for the weekend, they gave us the keys to their Miata, and off we went :)

The great thing about this getaway is that we aren't just getting refreshed physically, we are getting refreshed spiritually.  So far, we have sat in on 4 sessions featuring three different speakers.  The sessions also include special music, testimonies, and great worship. 

One particular message was given by George Murray of Columbia International University. God really used what he had to say to challenge, convict, and encourage me.  ( I will share more later- when I am not blogging from my phone!). Tonight's challenge from Harry Bollback was amazing!  Matt and I were both so moved by what he shared and we're going to be sure to write down the things we learned.

We have taken time together to reflect on the last 20 years and  on what we've been through and where God has brought us. We are so blessed! 

I miss the kids terribly but know that the better relationship that I have first with God and second with their dad, the better mom I will be to them. This weekend is enhancing both of those relationships!

I am so thankful and look forward to the rest of the weekend with the love of my life ~

Blitz Night

Every week Brianna, Cameron, and now that school is out- Alissa, go to some friends' house to play Dutch Blitz.  Last night, Matt and I had to be at a church for a presentation....

... and since I needed babysitters, the gang came here!
It was a rowdy, fun, hilarious evening :)

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is one of my most favorite days of the year.  I love that I am a mom.  Really love it.  I wouldn't trade it for any occupation or any amount of money in the world.  I understand completely why the Bible says that children are a gift from the Lord- they are!  

On Saturday I was out for a while and when I got home Matt had this bouquet of lilacs for me.  I have missed them so much!  It has been three years since I have had the amazing look, feel, and fragrance of New England lilacs.  I was so happy!

 Mother's Day morning we got up early, packed up the van, and headed to NH to surprise our moms for Mother's Day.  Well, we were the ones who got the surprise.  Our van broke down!  Matt did an amazing job at guiding our van safely to the side of the road when the steering and brakes failed.  We weren't far from home and a sweet friend shuttled us a few at a time back to our house.

It was a beautiful day. And, my firstborn was as happy as I've ever seen her since Erik flew in for a 10 day visit.  It makes a mama happy to see her girl happy :)

A few months ago Matt and the kids got me a mother's ring.  It was an early Mother's Day gift and I told them it would count as my gift for the rest of my Mother's Days :)
It is especially significant because it includes all my children.

I have so much to be thankful for!

Scripture Memory Challenge- 10

Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3

Alissa- Classical Conversations Challenge A

Alissa did Classical Conversations, Challenge A this year.  And a challenge it was!  She did 30 weeks of intense school work with lots of memorization, writing, drawing, learning, and reading.  

Geography was a huge part of her year.  She learned how to draw the entire world from memory, label every country, and know each country's capital.  She also learned 154 geography terms and memorized their definitions.  Her final geo test was to take a blank piece of paper, fold it to make accurate lines of latitude and longitude (equator, prime meridian etc), draw the world, and label the countries.  She took a test on the capitals so her map wouldn't be so crowded.  

She also did a final project.  Her first one didn't turn out like she wanted it to (the one below).

 So, she decided to do one on canvas using watercolors.  Both were done from memory :)

Another thing she did was learn to draw from memory 10 different body systems.  She had to label each part of the system and do her own research to define the terms.
Every week for 10 weeks her quiz was to draw and label the system on a blank piece of paper.

 She wrote one paper each week for the first semester and during the second semester she wrote one every other week.  It was a lot of writing for someone who had never written before!

This is just a sample of some of the work she did.  She also did math, Latin, rhetoric, and natural science.

Alissa worked so diligently this year.  She put more time into her schoolwork than she ever has before and was totally self motivated.  I am so proud of her!  Now on to Challenge B! :)

HERE is Alissa's practice map and how she learned to fold her paper to make a fairly proportional world map.

park fun

Saturday was a beautiful day to go to the park.  Brianna was at a friend's house but the rest of us headed out.  Alissa, Leah, Micah, and I enjoyed the stream with all its snails, tadpoles, water bugs, and fish.  Micah loved throwing rocks into it although he wasn't too excited about putting  his feet in.  The water was cold!

The boys and Matt played basketball.  Matt actually jumped into the water accidentally while trying to stop the basketball.  We all got a good laugh out of it :)  We were the only ones there and the spray park was open so Micah and Leah got a little wet.  It was a fun hour~

power pancake

Matt has perfected a recipe for "power pancakes" and can even flip it one handed!