Ancient Egypt Party

Here we all are sporting our "Egyptian necklaces." I think the boys had fun making these for themselves and their friends.We had a "treasure hunt" looking for cobras in the sand. The kids had a lot of fun with this, and I was amazed how hard it was for them to find them (especially since I gave them a general idea of where to look!)
Here are the treasure hunters. We borrowed a few extra kids since Gavin was unable to participate. Gavin and Seth's new best buddy Dustin has his arm around Seth. They have really enjoyed playing together.
Our huge mummy! Daddy was a good sport! :o)
Now we are on to ocean week. I was going to try and take the boys to the aquarium in Atlanta till I found out it would cost us $100 between tickets and parking. Ouch! I think we will play at the mall's free play area instead, and enjoy the gulf and eating seafood next weekend! Maybe we can see some dolphins in the wild for free!

PLEASE PRAY!

My beloved cousin's baby girl is very sick. The doctors finally discovered what was wrong - she has a brain tumor (probably cancerous) around her brain stem. It may or may not have grown into the brain stem. Surgery is Friday, and they will find out more. Eliana and her 3 older brothers and her parents (Andy and Becky) could really use our prayers for healing and wisdom. Thanks!

Memorizing the Bible

I found a scripture memory system online somewhere, and decided to try using it to file all of our memory verses. We have some family ones, and the boys have a lot from AWANA. I have been working hard on consistency and we do our memory verses every morning before breakfast (it helps to motivate little boys on some days that "we don't live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (read you don't get breakfast till we finish this)"! They are doing really really well. AND I have discovered that their concentration is improving in a lot of other areas as well the more we work on our scripture memory!!! Way to go boys!

They also filled up their pasta jar. The get to put in pastas for doing jobs, good choices, great attitudes, etc. They have been working on this for a couple of months. This time they got to pick out a new lego set each. I do believe they have gone lego crazy in the last couple of months! Mommy loves that they have found an activity that keeps them occupied creatively for long periods of time. That would be a first in our house!

The boys and I are headed out on a side trip to Atlanta to visit some of my sweetest friends that I haven't seen since I was in Chile the summer after I graduated from college. Lets just say that I won't be getting any sleep on Friday night. :o)! Yay!!!!! Thank you, Andrew, for letting me go! You are the best, and we are so proud of you for how hard you are working!

A few weeks in...

...and we are doing well.
Seth is ready to move here. Constant outings and friends to playwith outside all the time.
Gavin says, "I like it here, but I am ready to go home."
I think I am with Gavin. It is nice being together as a family, but I miss my friends and support network. I think I am a little depressed and glum.
We are improving on our routine and schedule, though, with fewer distractions than we have at home.
And I have tried out some really great new simple recipes! Yum!

We

are still alive and breathing.
are in Alabama.
have groceries.
are about to ALL be asleep.
Night!

Three Books.

I have read 3 really great books in the last couple of weeks. All biographies. I highly recommend all of them.

There is No Me Without You - A great perspective on the AIDS crisis in Africa, what has happened, is happening, and I loved feeling more empowered after reading the book to love, care and serve more. There is always the fear of feeling discouraged after reading about something so overwhelming, and this book really helped me, rather than bring me down.

Same Kind of Different as Me - A rich art dealer and a homeless man, who they are, how they become friends, and how life changes for them with a true friendship. Powerful and thought provoking. One of those books that makes me want to connect more intentionally with people.

West With the Night - A woman's life story of growing up in East Africa (Kenya), learning to hunt, train horses, and being one of the first bush pilots. This book made me laugh out loud a number of times. There was some reading aloud in the car. Some of the things she said about life were so poetic and exactly right - for me it was like watching a stream run over the pebbles, very clear to me, but not having the right words. And she said the words. A great perspective on where Africa has been from someone who lived and breathed Africa from the turn of the century when there were herds of elephants 500 strong to be found. Beautiful and vibrant story. LOVED THIS BOOK!

Projects.

One of the things that I like about homeschooling is making things practical and relevant, useful. I go bonkers with all the random craft projects the boys drag in from everywhere. So for school, when we do projects, I want as many of them to be nice and useful as possible. This week we are studying early civilizations and how they lived. One of the things we learned is that they used clay to make pottery. We tried making pinch pots and coil pots with clay, and I helped the boys turn their "snakes" into this paintbrush cup for their cousins. I am excited to know that as they get older the types of skills and tools they will develop will help them make really beautiful things. I am thankful for the hard work my parents (especially my Mommy) spent teaching me a lot of useful skills. I am finding that I am really enjoying using them, now that I am an adult.Here is what I worked on this week. Happy Belated Mothers Day, Sandi! (She will get this tomorrow when we see her!) I know I am a little late - that staph infection really got me bogged down with my projects. But better late than never. So here is my first quilted bag. It is quilted, fully lined with pockets. I even learned how to install the grommets for the ties on the sides - very cool! (I have more projects I have gotten done in the last few weeks, also - baby swaddling blankets, making myself a summer dress...)