Weekly Homeschool Journal - Week 2

In my life this week... 

This week could have been better had I not been sick most of the week.  I wasn't as productive as I would have like to have been. I did get a lot of reading in though, which was nice. But here's a rundown of my week.

• Sunday: Church and family time - I had had a pretty emotional day. I fasted and felt lots of prayers being answered. If you read my post last week, then you know I've been struggling with some issues with my son. It was a hard day but also a day of learning and reflection. It's amazing what happens when you slow down and listen to what God wants you to do.
• Monday: 4 friends over for dinner. We planned the baptism of a new friend of ours, Mitchell. He has embraced the gospel, which is such a beautiful thing to witness. I also got ALL those books I had on my living room floor back on the shelves. 
• Tuesday: Not too much but house work and napping.... I was a little sick this day.
• Wednesday: Still sick. Just a little house work.
• Thursday: My worse sick day of the week. Could barely get out of bed!
• Friday: Feeling better at this point, thankfully! My lovely daughter, Cassie, came home for Fall break and will be home for 10 days!! Yippee!!
• Saturday:  Mitchell was baptized... it was a beautiful baptism. My husband gave a talk (he was supposed to sing with my daughter but is also a little under the weather) and my youngest daughter sang Be Still My Soul, which is one of my favorite hymns. I was so touched by Mitchell, his joy was contagious with lots of tears all around. 

In our homeschool this week...

I wish I could say I was more involved in our homeschool this week but I wasn't really at all. I did help my son with his Math once or twice. He read to me in my bed everyday and we read scriptures together each morning. But other than that, I wasn't there. That doesn't mean the kids didn't accomplish anything, they did and I'm sure I'll see lots of what they did tomorrow when I check their work. Not a good week for me :) 

A poem to share... 

This week I came across this poem and it helped me a lot and put things into perspective. If we compare our lives with an embroidery, we might find most of the time we look at the back side instead of the front, as God does. I've been spending too much time looking at the back and I'm sure I will continue to do that but this helps me understand what God sees in me. I know he has a plan for me and I need to remember that. 

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving
Between the Lord and me;

I may not choose the colors–
He knows what they should be.

For He can view the pattern
Upon the upper side
While I can see it only
On this, the under side.

Sometimes He weaves in sorrow,
Which seems so strange to me;
But I will trust His judgment
And work on faithfully.

‘Tis He who fills the shuttle,
And He knows what is best;
So I shall weave in earnest,
And leave to Him the rest.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needed
In the Weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

~Not sure of the author - I found a couple different people claim it as their own so I'm not going to put a name~

I'm inspired by... 

Beautiful music. I'm so blessed and grateful to have a daughter with the voice of an angel. She loves to sing hymns and that really does bring peace to my soul. She spent a lot of time this week singing the hymn mentioned above in preparation for the baptism. She'll be singing again in church next week, which I'm excited about! If you'd like to see her sing the first verse of Be Still My Soul with a former missionary in our area, you can do that here. I wasn't able to get it to load to youtube or blogger.

Places we're going and people we're seeing... 
Okay, this is the best part of this coming week!!!! It really deserves about a hundred exclamation points but I don't want to be obnoxious :) Our son will be coming home on Thursday from his 2 year mission!! We are so excited! I can't even begin to tell you what is going on in our home. Lots of smiles and counting down. We are so excited to hear what his experiences have been over the past 2 years. It's been such a blessing have him serve a mission. I'm just looking forward to talking to him face to face after 2 years. 

My favorite thing this week...
It would have to be hearing my daughter sing at the baptism. She is always so composed when she sings and I actually asked her just recently how she can sing such touching music and not cry. Well, today she did cry. She barely got through it. She held back the tears the entire time but you could see them close to the surface. She only couldn't get out the words of the last line of the hymn. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. Despite the tears her voice was as lovely as ever.

What I'm working on this week...
Because I was sick, I didn't get much house work done this week and I've got LOTS of family coming next weekend to visit our son. So this week will be full of cleaning and preparing meals for guest. I'm thankful to have my daughter in town to help so the younger kids can focus on their school work. I haven't gone grocery shopping in over a week and that is priority number one on Monday - I don't shop on Sunday. I'm still hoping to get to the wall I wanted to redo in my family room done but that's not too much of a priority at this point. I'm just glad I was sick this week! I need to be healthy next week! :)


What we're reading...
On my own:

• When Things Get Tough by John Bytheway
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens ( I could read Dickens every day of the week!)

With the kids:

• Way To Be by Gordon B. Hinckley (character study)
• The Book of Mormon Made Easier by David Ridges 

Christian:

• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (he loves the movie :)

I needed to let Christian read something he wanted to read on his own. He's been a reader for a couple years but for whatever reason has decided he doesn't enjoy reading. I had to allow him to choose a book HE wanted to read and this is what he choose. Thankfully he's enjoying it.

Melanie:

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Mel goes through about 2-3 books a week. 

I'm cooking...

• Jon's (our son coming home) favorite - Tuna Noodle Casserole

I honestly haven't put anything thought into it beyond that :)


I'm praying for...
Safe travels for Jon, everyone to stay healthy this week, my wayward son, all my kids welfare, missionary experiences, opportunities to serve, my dear husband to feel better, and actually a ton of other things :)

A video to share...
This is my daughter Cassie signing the song His Hands sung by Jenny Jordon Frogley. The video is several years old but it still touches me. I love the song and my daughter is so passionate about ASL.

She has been wanting to major in ASL but couldn't find a program out West but just recently found one and will be transferring schools next fall.

**********************************************

I'm link-up with: