A Day of Work and Play - The Walnut Acre Daily

WORDS TO LIVE BY

The Lord will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life; The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now so forevermore. 

Psalm 121:7-8

TODAY'S QUOTE

Worry is a misuse of imagination. ~ Dan Zadra

WORKING, LEARNING, AND PLAYING TOGETHER

Today has been a good day here at home. The kids have had a lot of fun. Austin took the kids for a ride this morning when he took fresh hay to the rabbits. 

It was hot today so they were happy when I set up the sprinkler in the back yard and let them play in the water.

Then this evening we walked back to the creek and let Madalynn and Michael play in the water. 

But it hasn't been all fun and games. We've gotten a lot of work done too. Between Austin, Amanda and I the rabbit colony was cleaned, we pulled weeds in the garden, the animals were taken care of, lots of laundry and dishes were done, messy shelves got organized, meals were served, floors were mopped and vacuumed, both bathrooms were cleaned and various other jobs got done. After work this evening Doug took an old refrigerator to the dump and then worked in the garage for awhile. It's always amazing to me how much can be gotten done when we all work hard together. 

READING AROUND THE WEB

Steady Joy Amidst Chaos at The Engaged Home

7 Advantages of Homeschooling at BJ's Homeschool Encouragement and Resources

Summer Squash and Onion Saute at Everyday Made Fresh

Unashamed at Walnut Acre

Learning From Pain and Exhaustion at Dr. Michelle Bengtson

When Your Gobsmacked by Forgiveness at Counting My Blessings

ON MY MIND

DAILY DEALS

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation if you make a purchase using these links.

WHY I WRITE THE WALNUT ACRE DAILY

LINKING HERE
TUESDAY - Titus 2 Tuesday's, Tell It to Me Tuesday's WEDNESDAY -   Homemaking Link Up THURSDAY -The Handmade Hangout   SATURDAY - TGI Saturdays

Vacation Bible School, Gardening and More - The Walnut Acre Daily June 13-15, 2015

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, 

 for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly;

defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9

TODAY'S QUOTE

There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

This evening was the first evening of vacation Bible school. Doug and I are both assistants in the Pre-K class. We began the evening with all classes in the Family Life Center for worship, games, a short drama and announcements. The theme this year is SonSpark Labs. 

Then the classes went to their individual classrooms for the rest of the evening. It was a bit hectic since it was the first evening but it was also fun. 

YARD AND GARDEN

Saturday we spent quite a bit of time in the garden. It was hot so we did the work in short bursts but I was pleased with what we got done. I planted five rows of potatoes, four rows of onions, and two more rows of turnips. Doug tilled between to rows of the more established plants to knock down the weeds. The kids helped here there between there games in the yard. 

WORKING, LEARNING, AND PLAYING TOGETHER

This morning we took the kids to play on one of the elementary school playgrounds. It was hot and we didn't stay real long but it was a nice change. 

We took lunch along and ate there before coming home. 

This afternoon I was at my sister's for several hours. Michael took bubbles along to blow. 

It was hot today but the kids still enjoyed playing outside. Some of the things they were play ball games, play with dolls and play with the puppies. 

OUT AND ABOUT

Our out and about the last few days has consisted of grocery shopping, checking out a new Goodwill store, picking up pet supplies at the pet store, stopping at the dollar store, and (the best part) church Sunday morning. 

READING AROUND THE WEB

Do You Need a Fresh Perspective, Mom? at Joy In My Kitchen

Sweets of Sun and Flower: A Collection of Summer Poetry at Flourish

Freedom Friday - When You're Not Enough at Old Things New

Lonely On the Pinnacle of Truth at Living Our Days

DAILY DEALS

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation if you make a purchase using these links.

WHY I WRITE THE WALNUT ACRE DAILY

LINKING HERE
SUNDAY - Sunday's Best TUESDAY - Turn It Up Tuesday SATURDAY -TGI Saturdays

The Walnut Acre Daily - Getting Ready for Gardening.

The weather couldn't seem to decide what it wanted to do today, alternating between rain and sunshine. It was pretty warm though and that was very nice. 

This morning Doug amd I and the younger kids went to Wal-mart this morning and bought seeds, lots and lots of wonderful seeds. I was hoping to get some started in starter trays today but didn't get to it. So I guess I'll plant them next week. 

This afternoon Madalyn, Mykalin and Michael wanted me to walk down the road with them to see the horses. The horses weren't too interested in visiting so we looked at the calves instead. 

Doug changed oil in all three vehicles today and Austin and Amanda did their basic daily chores and just relaxed the rest of the day. 

LINKING HERE

WEDNESDAY -Raising Homemakers

I Want to Plant My Garden!

The holidays are over and the new year has begun and as usually happens this time of year my fingers are itching to plant something. But January really isn't a good month for planting much of anything - at least not here in Virginia. So instead I look at seeds and gardening tools and beautiful pictures of other people's gardens. And I read about gardens and all things related.

I thought since I have this obsession I may as well share it so here are some of the things I've been looking at, reading about and dreaming of.

LOOKING AT . . .

Seeds, seeds and more seeds! There are so many things I want to plant this year that I'm not sure where we'll find room for all of it. The last two years we increased our garden space and it looks like this year we'll have to increase it again.



READING ABOUT . . .

10 Resources for the Beginner Gardener
The 35 Easiest Container and Pot Friendly Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
What Not to Plant Together

DREAMING OF . . .

So many beautiful gardening ideas on my Pinterest board.

LINKING HERE

THURSDAY - HomeAcre Hop

The Walnut Acre Daily - Michael's Geneticist Visit and Seeds for the Garden

Words to Live By

Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. Proverbs 14:22

Preschool and Kindergarten Homeschool Fun

Because Michael had a doctor's appointment this morning the only "school" activity I did with the younger kids was storytime.

Storytime

Austin and Amanda's Homeschool Assignments

Bible - Proverbs 28; Literature - No Woman So Fair; Math - Conversions Part 1; Science - Respiratory System Questions and Answers

Out and About

Michael had his appointment with his Geneticist today. I love this doctor. She takes the time to really explain what she's thinking and the reasons behind the things she recommends. A year ago we were there and she did some testing for several different things. Most of these were completely ruled out but the Tuberous Sclerosis test basically came back inconclusive. There was an abnormality on one of the genes that is involved with Tuberous Sclerosis but at this point there is not enough scientific evidence to know if this particular abnormality can be a cause of TS. Michael does have some symptoms that could point to TS (the masses/tumors he was born with, seizures, other physical features, etc) but not enough to give a definite diagnosis since a lot of these symptoms could be a part of other things as well. So, at this point we're basically left with wait and see. Wait and see if any more symptoms develop (they often do as a child with TS gets older), wait and see if a better genetic test becomes available, wait and see if it everything just stays the same or gets better. She did schedule a renal ultrasound just to be safe since tumors on the kidney's can be a problem with TS. I was disappointed that there are still no clear answers, but at the same time I feel at peace knowing that God has brought him this far and that He loves him more than I ever could. I've said it before but it bears repeating - Michael is a miracle from God. As a baby doctors said that if he survived the severe health problems he was born with he would probably never walk, talk, see or hear. He not only walks, he runs. He talks constantly! His vision is excellent and since we had tubes put in his ears so is his hearing. I know God didn't bring him this far for nothing.

We passed the time waiting for the doctor to come in this morning by taking pictures and playing with a few toys that were in the room. He did a wonderful job being patient while we talked and cooperated wonderfully with the doctor. I was very proud of him. 

Other Notes and News

Our weekend flew by! One of my favorite parts of the weekend was buying these seeds and supplies for the garden. 

CJ and Michael caught my excitement and bought some too. CJ's are on the left and Michael's on the right. 

Doug spent a quite a bit of his weekend working on vehicles. He put brake pads on our friend's minivan and patched a tire that had a nail in it one of our vehicles. 

Reading Around the Web

5 Ways to Worry Less About Your Husband's Safety

Today's Quote

Anticipate the day as if it was your birthday and you are turning six again. ~ Mike Dolan

Daily Deals

Why I Write the Walnut Acre Daily

Linking Here
No Ordinary Blog Hop

The Walnut Acre Weekly - August 12 - 18

Walking With the King
 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. ~ Philippians 1:9-11

On Our Nature Walks
Monday

Friday

In the Garden
Mustard greens, lima beans, corn and parsley are all growing well.

Other Outdoor Fun

Outdoor Finger Painting

Pretend Backyard Camping

We Are Learning

We did lots of fun activities as part of our "We're Going on a Bear Hunt Unit."

We played a memory game made with We're Going On a Bear Hunt picture cards.

Finger painted bear pictures with corn starch finger paint.

We did a variety of  worksheets from the We're Going on a Bear Hunt printable pack from Homeschool Creations.

The kids colored small pictures from the story that I then laminated and they used to play with along with Oatmeal playdough.

Colorful Bears

We Are Reading
Here are some of the books we have been reading this week.

Out and About

 Monday Doug and Austin went to the weekly boy scouts meeting. Austin went to youth group Wednesday evening. There was a pool party planned but rain made them cancel the party. Friday morning our pastor called and asked if Austin could help someone move so he spent a few hours helping there. He does this pretty often and enjoys it. He was surprised this time to get paid for it, which was a nice treat. He doesn't usually get paid. 

Thursday evening Austin, Amanda and Michael spent the evening at Grandma's like they usually do.

Tuesday evening CJ and I went to the back to school night. I think he's going to enjoy his class and his teachers this year. It was a good evening. 

Doug had classes today for his EMT recertification that's coming up  in December. 

Other Notes and News
Doug finished teaching the welding class to two boys scouts this week. I think there will be another class starting soon.

We're getting ready for the back to school changes coming up in the next couple weeks. Several kids start school Monday. Then two more are starting after labor day and I'll also be starting Austin, Amanda and Michael on their new school schedule as well. It's hard to believe how fast the summer has gone by.

This Week's Quote
The summer night is like a perfection of thought. ~ Wallace Stevens