Rosh Hoshanah

Well, those of you who know us, know we aren't Jewish. But you probably also know we are members of a bible/Jesus believing homeschool group that is multi denominational. That being said, we had a very different, yet educational experience last night. A family from CHEFS invited our group to their land for a potluck and learning about the biblical holiday rosh hoshanah with a sunset sounding of the shofar. I think we were definitely in the minority as it seemed most of them were Jewish. They did a sabbath? ritual of handwashing followed by getting challah bread and grape juice, and after some Hebrew blessings, took that. Then they blessed the husbands, wives, and children using the Torah. We just sat back and listened instead of participating, but it was interesting to observe. Then we heard some of the history of the shofar (ram's horn trumpet) and of rosh hoshanah. It is the welcoming of 2 days of repentance at the start of the Jewish new year, hence all the blessings. At sundown when the moon or first stars appear, a fire is lit and the shofar is sounded 10 times. It was something we had never experienced before. The sound was amazing. Afterward we had a potluck meal. It was interesting to be a part of one of the Old Testament feasts. This one is also known as Feast of Trumpets.

Things Jordan Loves

Jordan loves three kinds of toys: Star Wars, Pirates and Mummies (or anything from ancient Egypt). Here is what he made with his toys on Wednesday. They are preparing for battle. I am sure this was sparked by his watching Pirates of the Caribbean.

What is that???

With Halloween approaching my Emily has been getting creative. Here are her creations from the tomato and apple served for lunch on Monday! The kids love Halloween since they can wear costumes (like they don't wear costumes almost daily!-Jacob especially) and they love the decorations and mostly the candy. So needless to say, this is early prep.

Exciting things are coming...

Well, October is almost here and that means the school year is really taking off. We are about to really work the kinks out of our schedule. You see, we have to compensate for missing homeschool on Fridays to do co-op, so I am trying to figure it all out. We also dropped gymnastics and took up an art class so that is another compensation. Anyway, I digress. October holds lots of fun. We start our Greenville Entertainment Series concerts, go to the homeschool day at the zoo, use our free state fair tickets (kids have never been) and start our Pizza Hut reading program. We also get to show off a bit at the CHEFS science/history fair, and have a family reunion to attend. We have a bank tour , too. Busy month! Somewhere in the midst of it all I need to get the oil changed in the van. But it is a fun time. I think I may also look into karate for the kids. Sheryl Nix uses a place I think I would like that is inexpensive and doesn't require uniforms. He just teaches for movements and exercise benefits. Besides, it is someone I know and trust. This will be my month off teaching Wednesday night bible class so that will make things a bit easier, and no Children's Bible Hour teaching for me until December. But LTC might get started soon and I have 2 kids participating in that. Will post soon I hope! Gotta get some dishes unloaded, kitchen cleaned and start devo time! God bless!

party fun

Last weekend we went to my brother's house to celebrate my niece's 6th birthday. These are some pictures of the youngest kids riding the battery powered toys. They had a lot of fun and it was a beautiful day!

Fun Night of Skating

Every third Thursday we meet up at the local skating rink to have fun and eat junk food like cotton candy. My kids are really fast skaters and love this activity.

What's happenin'....

Science experiment of ocean currents. we are studying oceanography from Apologia publishers right now and it is really neat. We plan to show our ocean boxes and lapbooks at the science fair.

Little kids are reading again. They are such good buddies!

And after a long morning of learning it is naptime. Poor girlie, her allergies have been wearing her down this past week.

Toothless! Again!

Well she lost another one! And one on the bottom is loose too! The Molinator is making many visits to our house!

First Day of Friday School

Boy, was I tired this afternoon. It had a little to do with Kimberly being up with allergy issues last night, but mostly that today was the first day of our co-op classes. We were really excited because Clay took off work and he was able to come see what we do each semester! We run 3 classes from 9-12 for ages 0-18. It is a lot of fun! I am currently teaching art for ages K-2nd grade. Messy and fun! When we left, the kids were exhausted, Kimberly and Jordan were in mommy withdrawal, and everyone was hungry. But they all talked nonstop about how great their classes were. Jacob is taking fitness fun, etiquette, and video making. Emily is taking drama, cooking and nutrition, and video making. Elizabeth is taking lapbooking, zoology, and cup stacking. Jordan is taking storytime/playdough, cupstacking, and outside play. Kimberly stays in the playland. I am not sure what the consensus was, but all seemed to be going well and everyone seemed to have a blast. Now, it was pretty chaotic and LOUD while the board entertained the kids while cleaning was done, but if that is the worst of it, then it was a great day. Looking forward to next week!

Local happenings...

Here is a gecko that Jacob found in his lego this morning. We released him into the backyard cannas.

This is Jordan working with a magnet set I found at Apples for the Teacher.

Emily used lego to build an Empire State Building last week.

Jordan and Kimberly are looking at a pop-up book together, Sunday afternoon.

And Kimberly is running her own personal learning center, or store, or something. Whatever it is, she is having a good time.

Ok, now that I am all caught up on photos, I want to say that yesterday was a great day at church. I think it was the first time since Kimberly was born that we all sat together through a whole church service with no one having to be taken out! We took communion and heard the lesson and everything! The kids are really learning the songs from the songbook and sang so nicely. Even Elizabeth tried to find the songs by number. Jordan sang too, and so did Kimberly. Jacob paid more attention to our new youth minister. He will be joinig in their activities soon and he likes Brandon (youth guy). It was really nice!

Toothless!

elizabeth lost her first front tooth last night! The other is really wiggly so very soon she will have no front teeth! Very cute!!

No pictures yet. Maybe tomorrow...

We have been back in the swing of school for 2 weeks now and we are loving it. I think Jacob tells me every day, "This was the best day!" Can't get more praise than that! This week the kids had a lazy Labor Day spent with us at home, then 3 days of schooling, followed by a Thursday night romp at a new bounce house play center. Then Friday was spent at Friday School orientation, which we all enjoyed. Then after a quick rest at home we spent the afternoon running errands and getting groceries. It has been a good time. Emily has her first art class in Leonard on Monday and afterward all should be quiet until friday school. I am really looking forward to every part of that, except Stacy moving. None of us are looking forward to that. Anyway, it is Saturday night and almost time to get rested so we can worship our wonderful Creator and His Son tomorrow! Blessings to everyone!

I knew it would happen!!

Well, this is why I started the blog over the summer! We have started school and life got super busy! We now homeschool from 8:45 until 4pm, and after schooltime we run errands, Emily takes an art class, everyone attends co-op on fridays, we get groceries, attend church and evangelism meetings, go to the library and whatever else comes up. I am lucky to remember to shower on some days, much less take and post pictures, but I will try. We will see if I can get some stuff up every week or two thru the year. Hope you don't give up reading about us.....We are still here!