Blackberries, SPCA and More - The Walnut Acre Daily Thursday July 25, 2013

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

~ Matthew 19:14

WORKING, LEARNING AND PLAYING TOGETHER

This morning we walked through the field behind our house and down to the creek. We were happy to find that the blackberries are beginning to ripen. Most of the kids had their fill of fresh blackberries in between trips to the creek and through the bushes. Christopher absolutely loved them and kept begging Austin to pick him more berries. 

When we got back home we played in the yard awhile before going in. 

IN THE KITCHEN

The early kids went back to sleep this morning and Michael slept in until 8:00 so we just had a quick breakfast of cereal with milk and juice. Amanda made lunch and said she was going to make lunch as unhealthy as she could so she fixed hotdogs, macaroni and cheese, french fries and applesauce. There were no kids home for dinner this evening and I was gone most of the evening so I didn't make dinner. 

OTHER

This evening I took Amanda to volunteer at the SPCA. On the way out we stopped at Arbey's and got our dinner. I love the jalepeno bites from Arby's.

Here are some pictures from the SPCA.

After the SPCA I had a meeting to go to. It was in the home of a family from church. The meeting didn't last real long and I had some time left before I had to be at the church for my usual Thursday hour in the prayer room so they invited me to just stay and chat until it was time to go. It was a nice time of learning to know each other better and I really enjoyed it. 

On Tuesdays and Thursday our church's prayer room is open and there are people assigned to the prayer room from 4AM to 9 or 10PM. I have the hour from 8 to 9PM on Thursday evenings. As prayer requests come in they are put on cards and placed in the prayer room. It has been a blessing to spend that time in prayer and exciting to see prayers being answered. 

TODAY'S QUOTE

Live in rooms full of light. ~ Cornelius Celsus

The Walnut Acre Daily - Dried Cinnamon Apples and More

Walking With the King

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

Preschool and Kindergarten Homeschool Fun

Bible

As usual we began our morning with prayer, our memory verses and this month's theme song. Then we watched VeggieTales - Jesus Loves Me and did these heart shaped Jesus Loves Me Puzzles.

Phonics and Reading

We continued today with the Starfall lessons - we did the Letter F online lesson and the worksheet and completed the -ig word family lesson.

We started learning a new word family (the -am family) and began new reading book today - Pig Wig Can Hit. We also did these -am word family worksheets.

Math

For math today we watched The WooPeDoops Learn to Count and then worked with Gumball Counting mats. 

Chinese New Year

In recognition of the Chinese New Year we watched the Chinese New Year Song and colored these Dragon Mask Templates. We looked at a calendar and talked about when our new year started and when the Chinese new year begins.

Storytime

These are the books we read at storytime today.                                        

Austin and Amanda's Homeschool Assignments and Independent Learning

Bible - Proverbs 24, Math - Digits and Place Value, Literature - No Woman So Fair, Science - Nervous System A and P Part 1. Doug worked with them for awhile this evening on their Budgets and Spreadsheets Project. 

Austin worked some more in his workbook for his Boy Scout Cooking Merit Badge.

Other Books We Enjoyed Today

CJ and I finished reading this Bobbsey Twin book today, but we still have a good bit to read yet in the Bible story book. 

In the Kitchen 

Breakfast - Cereal with Milk, Fresh Fruit, Juice

Lunch - Bagel Pizzas, Carrots and Dip, Bananas

Dinner - Austin cooked dinner this evening and he made Hot Dogs and Buns, Mozzarella Sticks w/Sauce, and Lima Beans

I bought something over the weekend that I've been wanting for awhile and I'm so excited about having it - a food dehydrator. I tried it out overnight Saturday with a batch of banana slices and woke up Sunday morning to a house that smelled yummy and a lot of dried bananas. The texture is different from the store bought ones but the flavor is good. I think next time I do it I will let them dry a little longer. The instructions said 12-16 hours and I had them in for about 13 1/2.  Today I decided to do a batch of apples and see how they turn out.  I sliced peeled and cored the apples and sliced them as thin as I could. To the bowl of apple sliced I added some lemon juice to keep them from turning brown and sprinkled in some cinnamon, tossing to coat. I started these around 8AM and they were finished around 5PM. We really, really like these!

Around the House

I cleaned up the kitchen after breakfast, did some cleaning in the mud room and did some laundry.

Austin cleaned up the kitchen after lunch, and did the evening cleanup in the living room, playroom and upstairs bathroom.

Amanda did some laundry, and did the evening cleanup in the mudroom  and downstairs bathroom.

Outdoor Fun

We made the most of this warm day today, spending lots of time outside. 

We all walked back to the creek today for the first time in a couple months. 

Who needs a balance beam when there's a pallet in the back yard?                                                                                                   

When CJ came home from school he got out his wood project and tools. He's making a cabinet to put under his table in his room.

Damien is working hard digging in the dirt.

Visiting the chickens

Furry, Feathered and Four Footed Friends

Two sleepy friends.

As usual on Monday, Amanda cleaned out the guinea pig cage. Here Little Red is enjoying her nice clean cage. I think she was also wondering what on earth I was doing with a camera in her face. 

I'm not sure what Pepper is digging for but I hope she finds it before she digs up the whole yard!

We Are Going                                                

Doug, Austin and Michael went to their Boy Scout meetings this evening. 

Just Having Fun Together

Other Notes and News

Today's Quote

The trouble with using experience as a guide is that the final exam often comes first and then the lesson. ~ Author Unknown

  

Why I Write the Walnut Acre Daily

~ Linking Here ~

No Ordinary Blog Hop Tuesday - Titus 2sday, 

The Walnut Acre Daily - A First Lost Tooth, Austin's Lasagna and More

Words to Live By

Isaiah 7:9

If you do not stand firm in your faith,
    you will not stand at all.

Homeschool Fun

The younger kids watched Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho and Gideon Bible Story to go with our Jesse Tree readings. Then they worked on some worksheets and coloring pages. We also reviewed the -at family words.

Our worksheets/coloring pages today came from 

Three Boys and a Dog (Candy Cane Color by Number)

DLTK's Sites (Cornucopia, Gideon Story Comprehension and Memory Worksheet)

3 Dinosaurs (Cc is for Christmas Tree, -at word family)

Coloring Pages for Kids (Alphabet Coloring Pages)

Austin and Amanda continued the Health/Nutrition unit today and in Math they studied dividing fractions. This evening we started reading the second book in the Lions of Judah series by Gilbert Morris - No Woman So Fair. This book is about Sarah and Abraham. We also read Proverbs 10.

Books We Enjoyed Today

In the Kitchen

We had sausage, bread and fruit for breakfast, and  tomato soup, sandwiches and fruit for lunch. 

Austin made lasagna (his own recipe) for dinner this evening. Because he knew he might be gone this evening he made it this morning and had it ready for me to put in the oven this evening. 

Outdoor Fun

Michael and I took a little walk this afternoon while all the other little kids were taking their naps. It's always hard for me to get motivated to go for a walk in the afternoons after the house gets quiet for naptime. It's easier to do something on the computer or even doze off on the couch for a few minutes. But I'm always so glad when I do make myself go. It's good for me and gets my brain awake again, and it's also good for Michael to get the fresh air and sunshine and exercise. Even though he's usually out at least 30 minutes in the morning and again in the evening, he seems to really need that afternoon exercise as well. Otherwise he just gets so restless it's hard on us all. 

We Are Going

Other than taking Lauren to preschool this afternoon I didn't have to go anywhere. 

Doug and Austin went back to the same place they were at yesterday to work on a car. They went right after Doug got home from work around 3:00 this afternoon and got home again around 5:30. 

Just For Fun

Michael lost his first tooth today and was so excited! When it first came out though he turned white as a sheet and was shaking so hard he could hardly hold a glass of water to take a drink. I'm not sure why it affected him that way, and I was glad he recovered quickly. Then he spent a large part of his morning trying to pull another one out until I finally had to get firm with him and tell him that he had to leave his teeth alone until they are ready to come out. He has a tooth on top that was damaged in a fall when he was smaller that we thought would come out first but it didn't happen that way. I thought we had lost the tooth because Austin didn't realize I had put it in a small bowl (I'm all out of small plastic bags) and he put the bowl in the dishwasher. But, after fishing around in the bottom of the dishwasher for awhile I finally found a very clean tooth, much to Michael's relief.

The kids spent a lot of time after dinner this evening reading and playing with Doug. 

Daily Deals

Today's Quote

Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton asked why. ~ Bernard Baruch

~ Linking Here ~
No Ordinary Blog Hop, Link It Up Thursday

The Walnut Acre Daily - A Reading Game, Children's Ministry Meeting and More

Words to Live By

Colossions 2:6-7

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

We Are Learning

Michael and Lauren watched three videos this morning  - 

Tell Me the Story - Baby Moses

Kindergarten Math Song (Add 1+1)

O Song - Hooked on Phonics - 

and did some reading worksheets.

While they were outside playing I printed three words they are learning on paper and taped it to a door. Then, when they came inside they took turns throwing the ball at the words and then telling me which word they had hit. They loved in and I can change the words often to keep the game interesting and them learning new words. 

Austin and Amanda studied Radioactivity in Science. Fission and fusion were studied today. With Doug they work on multiplying decimals by integers.  We read pages 237 - 252 from Heart of A Lion by Gilbert Morris and our Bible reading was Proverbs 4. We would have read more but I was getting so sleepy I was starting to read things that weren't on the page.

In the Kitchen

Amanda made two dishes of broccoli and cheese this morning - one for dinner here at home and one for me to take along to a meeting at church this evening.

Austin cleaned off the kitchen counters for me this evening. 

Outdoor Fun

Michael and I went for an afternoon ramble. He took the ball along and had so much fun throwing and catching it and kicking and chasing after it.

One of our cats, Scout, decided to go with us. Michael was worried he would get lost but of course he didn't, just enjoyed exploring and climbing.

Fallen trees are always so much fun!

Creating

CJ spent his free time this evening making paper Christmas ornaments (that he's planning to laminate) to hang on the tree he put in the yard Friday. He also made one for Lauren to take home with her.

We Are Going

Michael and I took Lauren to preschool and then went to the post office to pick up the mail this afternoon. 

This evening the children's ministry team had a meeting at church. It was a dinner meeting, with several different people bringing food. It was an awesome meeting with people who are passionate about  bringing Jesus and the love and hope he gives to every child who comes through the church doors.  We will be meeting again in a week to work on more for the new year. I'm so blessed to be a part of this and it's exciting to watch it all unfold.  

Doug took Austin and Michael to their Scout meeting tonight. It turned out, though, that Michael's group was not meeting this evening so Doug brought Michael to the church and let him play with the other kids in the nursery while he sat in on part of the meeting. 

Just For Fun

Books We Enjoyed Today

Daily Deals

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Today's Quote

We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls. ~ Mother Teresa

The Walnut Acre Daily - A Beautiful Community Thanksgiving Service and More

Words to Live By

Psalm 97:12

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
    and praise his holy name.

We Are Learning

We are taking a Thanksgiving break so there were no assigned lessons today.

In the Kitchen

Breakfast and lunch were easy today - we used up a lot of leftovers for those two meals. For dinner this evening Amanda heated some chicken noodle soup and fixed a plate of raw veggies. My goal was to keep things as simple as possible since we were going to be gone this evening and again tomorrow.

Outdoor Fun

The kids were able to play outside quite a bit today. Amanda took this set of photos while they were out there. It's interesting how the animals always end up in her pictures. 

I'm not sure exactly what they were making but CJ and Michael were busy with sticks, containers of water and little plastic animals.

We also went for a short walk this afternoon. 

We Are Going

Our church hosted a community Thanksgiving service this evening and I am so glad we went. There were participants from four different churches (three different denominations) and it was such a blessing. Basically it was simply a time of thanksgiving and praise. People shared their own thoughts and the things they are thankful for. There were stories of healing from addiction and sickness, of times when even though a hard time had to be walked through God walked alongside, giving strength and comfort. There was thanksgiving for blessings, both material and spiritual. There was singing, prayer and laughter. And after the service there was pie in the Family Life Center and more sharing and thanksgiving and love and laughter. What a beautiful start to Thanksgiving.

Just Because

I asked Amanda if she could entertain Michael for awhile this afternoon and she did a great job. They had so much fun together with these toys Lauren's mother gave us yesterday. I think Amanda enjoyed the excuse to play with them.

Today's Quote

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy