...third week of school... & ...part two...

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. (Isaiah 55:2 KJV)

This was a pretty busy week - third week of school with a Monday holiday. We spent the weekend getting to know several families. Everyone here is so friendly and loving. We've been very blessed so far.

On Monday, Jason helped Joelle make her world cake. Joelle wanted carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. She insisted that I outline the globe cake, but she quickly made adjustments such as adding the Yucatan Peninsula that I had not properly represented in my outlining. She frosted the map cake entirely on her own.




Tuesday we crammed in two days of school and missed PE class and Boy Scouts only to discover that Wednesday and Thursday were fairly light. We'll make it to PE and Scouts next week. :) It was very nice to receive a personal call from a new friend saying that my kids were missed at PE!

We saved all the "fun" stuff for Friday; spending time at a pond so that Barry could gather "specimens" for a science experiment, making "Matthew" bookmarks, and creating sand art paintings. Tomorrow we plan to visit the bookstore and library.

Wednesday evening we went to dinner with a family who had been interviewing with My Father's World the previous day. They are a truly awesome family. Their experiences are similar to ours and it was a blessing to hear their stories of God's Faithfulness and Provision. I was reminded of these traits of my Savior and encouraged to follow the example of faithfulness of my Father.

In doing so, I came across the verse above in a "daily bread" type of devotional. I actually didn't believe it was scripture when I first read it and thought I was reading a paraphrase. But after further study I found the above in the KJV! God is so hip! The thought of being fat with God just caught my attention. I pray that I will be so fat in the LORD, that I ooze Jesus. :)

After 2.5 years, Jason returned to the state of our dreaded accident. :) He is in Flagstaff, AZ. this weekend, less than one hour from Winslow, AZ. where our trailer flipped on I-40. While reflecting on that night, I was reminded of what Barry had said in his youthful wisdom.

Shortly before we embarked on our cross-country trip in March of 2009 our church had hosted a speaker - Al Menconi. He talked about how Jesus resembles a fist and each person is like an open hand. In all our circumstances - good, bad or ugly - God is continuing to mold us to look like Jesus. The fingers must go; all the things that keep us from looking like Jesus. And, yes, it may be painful.

Those two windy, dusty days in Winslow brought a lot of questions for our lives, but Barry quickly reminded us of what Al Menconi had shared. This was just a time of God molding us and making us more like him.

As I look over the last two and a half years I am in awe and thankfulness for what God has done for our family. His Faithfulness and Provision have been ever present and, in many times what seemed to us, miraculous! It is an honor and a blessing to be molded and used by the Lord.

...part one...

As I was writing Friday's blog post about school I was thinking that we really hadn't done much this week. Then I realized I had been focusing on the "school" part of the week and suddenly I began to remember other parts of the week. Here are a few highlights from our week.

Monday - We took a spontaneous 30 minute (one way) drive to Waynesville to visit what we believe to be the nearest Starbucks. (If any Rolla people know of a place closer, PLEASE let us know!)

Tuesday - The homeschool PE class at The Center began this day. Barry and Joelle attended and they both loved it and plan to return. Thankfully, due to MFW connections and attending church a couple times, they already knew one or two other kids their ages.

Wednesday - Erin and Barry attended youth group again at Vineyard. They both enjoyed it and met new friends. Erin was approached by a girl Barry's age. The girl said, "Your brother's cute!" Erin wasn't really sure how to respond so she said, "Thanks!" That's my boy - quite the charmer. Or, as the SMRBC girls would call him - Foxy Caleb.

Thursday - We had our first visitors from Virginia!! Mark and Linda Whitworth have roots in Missouri. They were passing through the area on their way to a family gathering in Windermere and we met them for dinner! It was great to see familiar faces and get to know them even more. We know Mark and Linda from church and Erin got to know them well during the many weeks she spent playing with Mark in the worship band at the International Learning Center.

Sometime during the week - either Wednesday or Thursday - I rearranged the furniture in the family room. It now feels a little more roomy and homey. The kitchen still drives me a little crazy. While it has more cabinet and counter space than our last house, it has a lot less walking space. Two people in the kitchen is one too many! I'm still trying to habit myself into coordinating meal times, dishes, and laundry better to make it all less frustrating. And, to think I wanted to live in a travel trailer! What was I thinking!?

Joelle has met some neighborhood girls and spent time outside playing with them this week. One of them has a treehouse and they all have scooters! :) Please pray for Joelle's continued spiritual growth and her witness in these relationships. Mine as well! So far it's been a new learning experience.

Friday - Nothing much. :) We finished school work - except for the world cake. Cleaned rooms and finished chores and laundry so we could enjoy the weekend. We had loaded potato soup for dinner in bread bowls that Jason bought from Panera. YUM! I didn't know you could buy those! Then we watched a movie together - PROM.

We had planned to go to St. Louis on Saturday, but we remembered that we have dogs. You can't just up and leave for an entire day without making plans for dogs to either be watched by someone, boarded at a kennel, or taken with. None of those options seemed feasible the night before the planned leave. It's way too hot to attempt taking them. So, we're going to stay in the area and have a relaxed Saturday.

Sunday and Monday we have plans for dinner with new friends.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!!

...second week of school...

Our second week of school went well with the exception of the interruption on Thursday with the infestation of seed ticks on one of our dogs. But, Chester's alright and Hershey and Rocky are fine and we're fine and the house is okay and the ticks are dead and gone. ☺

Joelle with her "people of every nation." Well...not every nation...four nations. ☺

Our worms are okay (I think), they didn't squirm around much, so the layers didn't look as mixed up as we thought they would be. We're going to free them tomorrow.

We didn't get to our world cake today due to being a little behind this week (the tick thing). But, we did do some cooking unrelated to school. Last Saturday, we made a cookie pizza and this evening Joelle made Blowfly Banana Muffins from a recipe she found in Chet Gecko's Detective Handbook (and cookbook). She made them almost entirely on her own. BREAKFAST!!

We also took some time this week to watch "Pole to Pole" from the Planet Earth series. It fit right in with our studies in Geography. I love those shows! They are rich with vibrant videography, rare scenes, and discriptive narration. As Joelle watched she wrote down different plants, animals, terrains and climates she saw in the different zones and regions.

Erin works independently for school. The past two weeks she read Julius Caesar and was then assigned to write a play. I was quite impressed with her play and she gave me permission to share it below. I hope you enjoy it! ☺

IN TIME

WRITTEN BY: ERIN HOLLAND

A play based on the events that happened at the "Tower of Babel"

SCENE 1

Somewhere on the Plains of Shinar, a group of people are building an extravagant tower to reach all the way to heaven. A crowd is assembled around the tower, as the workers attempt to get the crowd hype, telling them about the purpose and progress of the tower.

WORKER: (Shouting) we will make it to heaven with this tower…..

[Crowd cheers]

….. No more waiting… No more of this "needing" to have faith and salvation. We will rise to the heavens by ourselves to be with God.

[Crowd continues to cheer as the worker continues to talk]

JACOB: Do you really think they can do that? Is it possible?

CAMERON: (getting excited) I don't know, but if they can, it means less spiritual work for us!

[Crowd yells in agreement with something the worker just said]

DAMIAN: (walking in on the conversation) I think the question you boys should be asking, is... will God allow this to happen?

JACOB & CAMERON: Hm…..

All three men look back up to the worker and continue to listen.

WORKER: … don't you all want that?

[Crowd shouts in agreement]

A couple feet to the left of Jacob, Damian, and Cameron, are Sarah and Abigail.

ABIGAIL: (Overhearing Damian's question) Of course He (God) would!

SARAH: I'm sorry what did you say?

ABAIGAIL: Oh, well one of the elders over there (pointing at the men) asked if God would allow us to do this… build this tower…. And I think, yes He would.

SARAH: Why do you say that?

ABIGAIL: I mean He wants us to be with Him! (Trying to make a point) Why would He make us wait longer when we have a shortcut being made right in front of our eyes?

SARAH: (pondering what Abigail said) Well, I mean… I guess so.

Oh Lillian! Come over here.

LILLIAN: Hello, crazy stuff huh?

SARAH: Yes ma'am. Abigail was saying God is ok with us trying to get to Him with this tower. What are your thoughts on the matter?

LILLIAN: I don't know but there is only one way to find out.

They all three look up to where the tower disappears into the dark black clouds starting to form.

SCENE 2

Up in heaven, God is displeased with His people's actions.

GOD: What makes them think heaven is a layer above their atmosphere? Do they not understand heaven is only obtained by their trust and salvation, that MY judgment is what discerns if the gates to heaven will open for them or not. The progress of this tower shall not continue. They shall be scattered among the land, so they will not come together and think they can do anything without me.

SCENE 3

Back down on earth. Crowd cheering louder and louder.

CROWD: (chanting) Yes we can, yes we can, yes we can!!

WORKER: (agreeing with crowd) Yes! Yes we can! (continues to speak while the cheering dies down and then abruptly stops)

… Don't you think we can do this? Who believes? What… what's going on?

[Crowd begins to panic with confusion]

JACOB: Cosa sta dicendo? (turning to Cameron) lo sai?

{What is he saying? Do you know?}

Damian and Cameron look at Jacob with eyes full of bewilderment.

CAMERON: Je ne comprends pas ce que vous dites.

{I don't understand what you're saying}

DAMIAN: 神是无奈之举 (walks away)

{God is upset}

JACOB: Vorrei sapere quello che dicevi! Questo non púo…

{I wish I knew what you were saying! This can't….}

CAMERON: (interrupting) Cela ne peut pas se passer ce qui devrait nous faire?

{This can't be happening. What should we do?}

Men continue to attempt to "talk" in confusion.

LILLIAN: यह था क्या हम इंतज़ार कर रहे थे.भगवान ने दिखाया है वह हमारे कार्यों के साथ असंतोष है.

{This is what we were waiting for. God has shown His discontent with our actions.}

SARAH: Oh Dios, por favor, no castigara todos nosotros.

{Oh God, please don't punish us all}

ABIGAIL: Мы просто пытались добраться до вас Бог! Почему ты оставил нас?

{We were just trying to get to you God! Why have you forsaken us?}

[Crowd begins to get louder with confusion and the

sound of weeping as people try to understand loved ones]

SCENE 4

Back in heaven

God: You will understand… in time! Now disperse!

[People feel pushed to move away and go about the land]

ABIGAIL: (embracing Sarah) Я знаю, вы не понимаете о чем я говорю, но вы были большим другом, и я тебя люблю. безопасное пребывание

{I know you don't know what I'm saying, but you were a great friend and I love you. Stay safe.}

SARAH: (pushing out of Abigail's arms) Nunca me olvidare de ti! Adios (walks away sobbing)

{I will never forget you}

Everyone says their goodbyes and disperses across the land. Leaving the now called "Tower of Babel" in the dust to never be finished and wither away to nothing.

SCENE 5

GOD: My children you will understand this great pain one day. It will be explained in time. As for now just… trust… Me.