Heart and Trees Summer Lapbook Kit

Our lapbook kits have arrived. We ordered this one from the Heart and Trees blog. I am very pleased with the contents and look forward to putting it together next week with the kids. We will get to use the watercolor techniques we are learning plus spend time outside and add to our nature journals. You may purchase a kit from the website if you are interested. Check the right hand side bar on her page for the link.

21 Days to Spiritual Renewal

I received this e-mail that better describes the Wordkeeping method I have been using to memorize scripture. Please read below and sign up if you are interested. The next session begins July 1st. If you sign up, please leave me a message so I can keep you in prayer.

Dear Fellow Christian,

Is it obvious to you that we are living in the last days? Do we all need to have our minds fortified with the Word of God? Is your mind filled with the Words of scripture?

Take advantage of this opportunity to participate in the Wordkeeping program, which is designed to help you hide God's Word in your heart. For 21 days, starting July 1, you are invited to Fast from the World, and Feast on the Word. This is for all: the young, the busy workers, the busy stay-at-home moms, the retired elderly, the brand new Christians, and the seasoned soldiers in the Lord's army. All of us need the power of God's Word in our hearts.

Go to http://www.wordkeeping.com to learn more, and to sign up. There is NO CHARGE for this program. Those who have already participated may join again if they'd like. Please forward this email to all your friends who may be interested in this program.

As you read the following inspired counsel, why not make a determination to avail yourself of the help and strength God has provided in His Word:

We live in an age when to resist evil calls for constant watchfulness and prayer. God's precious Word is the standard for youth [and older people] who would be loyal to the King of heaven. Let them study the Scriptures. Let them commit text after text to memory, and acquire a knowledge of what the Lord has said. Sons and Daughters of God, p. 316

We must be better acquainted with our Bibles. We might close the door to many temptations, if we would commit to memory passages of Scripture. The Faith I Live By, page 8

My dear child, keep your mind stayed upon your Saviour, whose property you are. Tell Him all about your trials, and arm yourself with His promises. Commit His words to memory. Manuscript Releases Volume 3, page 133

Several times each day precious, golden moments should be consecrated to prayer and the study of the Scriptures, if it is only to commit a text to memory, that spiritual life may exist in the soul. 4T 459

Keep a pocket Bible with you as you work, and improve every opportunity to commit to memory its precious promises. RH April 27, 1905.

Wordkeeping is a program that will help you to do just what this inspired counsel encourages us all to do.

Jesus is coming soon! Let's get ready to meet Him!

May the Lord bless you abundantly,

Linda Kirk
(805) 239-1120

Outdoor Challenge #19-Seed Germinator

Challenge #19 was to germinate seeds. I bought some seeds and the kids and I picked the ones we wanted to try. I picked geraniums and both of the children picked african daisies. We followed the instructions given at the PBS website and look forward to what will come of it.

Our Trip to Houston

Note: I apologize for the layout of this post. The pictures just seemed to import randomly. I'm not sure if there is an issue with Blogger.

The children and I went to Houston for a few days with the Adventurer Club to visit NASA and the aquarium. What a fun time we had.

We drove up Monday so that we could relax and be refreshed to start early Tuesday morning. Monday evening the kids swam for a little while at the pool.

One of the Moms was kind enough to let Christopher borrow her son's life vest and help him around the pool. He won't put his face under the water, but he seems to be getting more comfortable with it.

Monday night we went out to eat and had a blast. The next morning we headed to NASA and learned a wealth of information about the space program.

There was a nice inside park area the kids enjoyed and other exciting activities like bungee jumping.

After leaving NASA, we headed to Galveston to spend a few minutes on the beach. We met a family who was feeding pretzels to the birds and decided to join in with them. Having so many birds so close to my head was exciting and scary all at the same time. Is there a word for that??

The next and final day of our trip, we headed to the aquarium. I was fascinated by all the different species of underwater life, but most intrigued by the tiger. Who knew we would see a tiger at the aquarium?? I wasn't expecting that one but it was a treat indeed.

Wordkeeping-Next Session coming up soon

I really enjoyed participating in the wordkeeping program. I believe in my heart that feasting on God's word is the key to living a sanctified life. David says in the Psalms "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee." (Psalm 119:11) And John 17:17-19 says that it is by God's Word that we are sanctified.

2 Corinthians 3:18 suggests that by beholding we become changed. How important then is it that we feast upon God's Word so that we may be purified and ready to meet our Saviour when He appears.

The next session for wordkeeping begins on July 1st. Please sign up if you are interested. You won't be disappointed. You will be challenged and your mind will be on heavenly things. God promises that He will keep us in perfect peace if we keep our minds stayed on Him (Isaiah 26:3) I don't know about you, but I could use a little peace in my life!

Garden Update

My garden is coming along slowly but surely. The updates on Barb's garden have inspired me to have faith and keep plugging along. Initially the plan was to label each section so I would know what was growing. I'm not really sure what happened, but I only labeled a couple of them so I guess I will have to wait for the plants to blossom or depend on my veteran gardener blog friends to tell me what it is. :-)


This one is a sunflower seed that I planted. It appears to be very strong and is doing well.

These two sprouts are green peas. I planted these at my daughter's request. She says they are her favorite.

Update: I noticed today that these plants look exactly the same as my sweet pea plants, so I'm guessing they are sweet peas. I started some plants in the house and started some in the garden box. I don't remember planting so many. I'm wondering if maybe one of the children planted these. :-)

I don't know what this is. There are several in there, so the seed must have been pretty small. when the seeds are really tiny, I don't separate them. I just throw a few in a hole. :-) Whatever it is, it seems to be doing well.

This pot has some flower seeds that I purchased. I remember there were some nasturtiums, pansies, dahlias and maybe something else. I'm excited to see what it will look like when they start to bloom.

Happy Father's Day

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him. Proverbs 20:7

What do I love about my Father? He's genuine, honest and hardworking and I have been thoroughly blessed by the man that he is. He loves people. He loves to have a good time. He doesn't hold grudges. And even though he never says he loves me, he treats me like he does.

It was my Father who taught me that how you treat people should be based on who you are and not on who they are. In other words, if you're sweet, be sweet to everyone; not just to those who are sweet to you. People are hurting inside and everyone heart's desire is to be loved.

It was my Father who taught me that if a man really loves a woman, he will go to the other side of the world to get her. I believe this with every fiber of my being.

It was Father who taught me not to buy things that I can't afford. This is the way he lives his life and he's a happier man because of it.

I have learned so many things from my Father and have been blessed so many times by his wise counsel. I thank God for him.

Bee Field Trip

One of the Moms in my homeschool group invited us over today to learn how honey is harvested from bees.

This is what the tray looks like when it's pulled out from the bees. And the different colored dots on this one is pollen. Different colored pollen- who knew?? Am I the only one that thought that all pollen is yellow??

We got to watch them scrape the trays (remove the wax so the honey will come out), spin it (centripetal force pulls the honey out) and strain it. Then we bought some to bring home with us. After we saw how they honey is harvested, we out into the backyard to see some of the wonderful goodies she is growing in her garden. This picture is a little fuzzy, but it's the top of a carrot. Then one of the sons pulled it up for us to better see. Stuff like this really makes me want to get my garden going!

What a lovely tomato:

We had a little fun with the chickens and the rabbit too.

Pants vs Shorts

It's getting hot here in Texas and I have been trying to get my son to wear shorts to keep him cool, but for some odd reason he does not like shorts. He says he likes the way that the pants feel. I've tried to accommodate by buying him some lightweight pants because in the middle of summer (when you wake up to 85 degree weather) it will be entirely too hot to wear jeans.

I talked to another Mom and her son has the same issue. Who knew?? Is this common among boys? Now that I think about it, my brothers will only wear shorts if they are long. Hmmmm, I'm going to have to further investigate this.

Beauty Shop

This morning I took Jasmine to get her hair washed and conditioned. I'm hoping that she will fall in love with the texture of her hair and never perm it. I wish I had never permed mine and am trying to build up the courage to grow it out. It's been 6 weeks. Let's see if I can make it to 12!

The first time I took Jasmine to the beauty shop, she got her hair washed and flat ironed. Of course I forgot to take my camera. I had it all ready for today's visit and left it on the counter! So I took some pictures when I got home. I love this little style for her. It's braided in the front and

afro puffs in the back. She loves it!!

Christopher wanted to join in the fun as well.

A Toadally Exciting Morning

I went to the backyard this morning to water my newly sprouting garden vegetables and flowers we planted. I picked up my daughters watering can, went over to the water spout and just as I was lining the can up with the spicket, I noticed a toad inside. I immediately threw the can down and ran. Talk about being caught off guard.

I called for the children, knowing that they would be excited. They came and peeked inside the watering can and then headed straight for the garage to get the small fish aquarium. My daughter asked me if I would take him out of the watering can and put him in the aquarium. Ha! I don't think so. I suggested that she take the watering can and flip it upside down onto the aquarium so he can fall into it.

The toad had flattened himself, something we learned they do when frightened, and was stuck pretty nicely to the side of it. I suggested that she tap the can a few times and sure enough he fell right into the aquarium. She put the top on and put a little water into it through the hole in the top.

I opened the Handbook of Nature Study and asked a few questions about our new friend "Toady". Here are some of the answers the children gave:

What does his back look like?

Striped and bumpy (Jasmine)

He has a line going down his back and then there are lines that go across it. (Christopher)

What do his eyes look like?

His iris is orangish brown and his pupil is black.

His eyes are big and they pop out and they curve like this (using his finger to make an elliptical shape round his eyes)

Do you think he can see in front, above and behind all at the same time?

His eyes are at the top of his head so I believe he can see in front, behind and above at the same time

I think he can see a lot of different ways at the same time.

How does he blink?

He blinks like us

What do his nostrils look like?

They look like little tiny holes.

What do his ears look like?

Little round circles behind his eyes

What does his mouth look like?

A rounded triangle

What do his arms look like?

His arms are short, he has four fingers and he moves in a crouching position. His hind legs are large to help him jump.

As you can see we had a very busy morning. The kids and I learned a lot about toads and are excited about what discoveries lie ahead for this summer. Any new discoveries in your backyard lately?