LAST WEEK:
We finished up Kathryn’s semester of enrichment classes, finally came to the end of the book Freckles (which we loooooved!), and Kathryn and I served at a soup kitchen! I’ve looked far and wide for a ministry opportunity where kids were allowed to serve, and this one dropped right in my lap. Neither of us knew what to expect, but we loved it. Kathryn was a great helper, and was complimented by the staff about her ability to follow directions well. She even willingly helped wash dishes! I cooked 50+ grilled cheese sandwiches; not something I’ve ever been able to say before! Right now this place serves two meals a week, and we’re on the schedule to serve two more times this month, and hope to continue serving at least twice a month.

LIFE/HOMESCHOOL THIS WEEK:
We’ve had all sorts of unplanned interest-led kinds nature study going on: birds, fruit trees, and the crows and small king snake I posted about earlier this week.

(history reading, pitiful Lacy, baby apples, and road trip dreaming)

This year we finally have apples on both apple trees! We have two apples trees: one for yellow apples and one for green apples, but we were beginning to wonder if they would cross-pollinate since they are different varieties. Maybe they just haven’t been mature enough. I’m eager for them to get more prolific in their apple-making. Homemade apple pies made from apples in our own back yard = pretty close to perfection. 😉

Our peach tree is very prolific and seems to be happy overall, but we can’t keep the critters from destroying the peaches. We’ve yet to get one actual edible peach yet. Even though Georgia is the peach state, we can’t buy the proper spray without an agricultural license.

It’s baby bird time! We’ve seen baby cardinals being fed in the dogwood tree outside our living room window, and practicing flying around in the backyard. We think their nest is in a big spruce-looking tree.

Lacy the fast-running WonderDog hurt her foot this week. She is one tough girl; I’ve seen her crash and slide when cutting a fast turn in wet grass, and heard her smack a foot or tail into the wooden play set, but in all those instances, she just keeps on running. This time, though, she stopped and limped over to me. I examined it, but didn’t see anything obvious, so we just kept watching it for the day. She limped a lot the rest of the day, and didn’t even bark at the FedEx truck (which is really saying something!). But by the next day, she was almost fully recovered, so I think she just bruised it.

Lindsey is talking about looking forward to being home for school (just three more weeks), and is still on the hunt for a part-time job. Ken and Kathryn have a wild idea to do a major road trip, and while I admit that does sound interesting, it also sounds like a whole lot more time with my butt in a car than I’d like! Since Lindsey won’t be tied to the public school schedule, these sorts of adventures could actually be possible.

A PHOTO TO SHARE:
One of my favorite flowers: a peony, just opening.

And this shrub. It smells AMAZING but I have no idea what it is. Anybody know???

MY FAVORITE THING THIS WEEK (one of them, anyway):
Sunday afternoon, Kathryn asked if she could do some more reading in her George Washington Carver book. Just because she wanted to. Have I mentioned how much I love living books? She really likes the “Heroes of History” series.

As of this evening, the girls will both be gone for the weekend, so I’m looking forward to spending time with Ken. What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Linking today with:
– iHN’s Homeschool Mother’s Journal
– Kris’ Weekly Wrap-Up
– Mary’s Collage Friday
– Dawn’s Camera Phone Friday

Jamie

Wife, mom, J-ma. Introvert who enjoys good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand – unless it’s lost yet again in the microwave. Read more »