"We Are Family" ... Family Pics 2011

Having our eldest home for a week
was the perfect time to update our family picture! :)

"Except YHVH build the house,
they labour in vain that build it..."
Psalm 127:1

Written in Our Heart?

photo credit: One in Focus


"And I will give them one heart,
and I will put a new spirit within you;
and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh,
and will give them an heart of flesh:
That they may walk in My statutes {laws},
and keep {guard} mine ordinances {right-rulings},
and DO them:
and they shall be My people,
and I will be their {Elohim} God."
Ezekiel 11:19-20


"For this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days,
saith {YHVH} the Lord;
I will put My laws into their mind,
and write them in their hearts:
and I will be to them a God {their Elohim},
and they shall be to Me a people {My people}"
Hebrews 8:10


The renewed covenant is so
we can walk in YHVH's statutes, His laws, His commands...
so we can keep/guard His ordinances and DO them...

To write
His laws... His instructions... His Torah...
in our hearts... so we can DO them.

They are NOT done away with...

they are to be written on our hearts...
that we may walk in obedience.


Consider...
Are you part of His covenant?
Is He writing His law/Torah in our hearts?
Are we walking in it?

All My Eggs in a Basket...

Okay, perhaps not the cleverest post title
but, this week, we have all of our "eggs in our basket"...
ALL of our children are home!

Our eldest returned home Saturday afternoon
after spending the summer in Miami
on a work scholarship.

We are SO tickled to have her home...
even if only for a week!

What a joy!

Thank you, Abba! ♥

A Land of Giants... Our Visit to Sequoia National Park

{caution: photo intense post}

Last week, we were blessed with the opportunity
to travel North for a few days
to see the much heard about Sequoia Trees!

I have wanted to see the Sequoias since I was a little girl.
Something about the thought of such old and giant trees
always fascinated me... and I was so thrilled to see them.

And, yes, they were... BIG
And they are tucked away up in the mountains...
which are so beautiful, as well.

Something about mountains...
and these giant trees...
that seem to declare the overwhelming
glory of YHVH!
Just... AMAZING!

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Three Rivers, California




There were miles and miles and miles
of sharp, curvy roads as we traveled up the mountain




The trees were overwhelmingly huge...
a reminder of YHVH's incomprehensible glory






Blessed is the man that walketh not
in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the {Torah} law of {YHVH} the LORD;
and in his {Torah} law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalm 1:1-3










This was a not-so-comforting sign
as we entered the park... lol


We had no problems in complying with the sign. ;)

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As the trees were SO huge,
it was difficult to get the whole tree into photos.
And, as you'll notice, we looked quite small in comparison...


















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The children's reaction to walking Bear Hill...


LOL

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Walking trails...



















Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein:
then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
Psalm 96:12


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This is the biggest tree...
The General Sherman Tree...
see the children looking oh-so-small at the trunk?










Yep, there's a daddy and a mama in this pic... somewhere. ;)


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The width of one sequioa tree...




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Lots and lots and lots of walking...











For ye shall go out with joy,
and be led forth with peace:
the mountains and the hills shall break forth
before you into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12


-----------------------------------------

And lots of resting, too...












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Enjoying the view back down the mountain...














How amazing YHVH's handiwork is displayed
in His creation!
... whether our backyard
or somewhere else...
like this National Park.


May we stand in awe of Him... always.
May we praise Him... always.


And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness
and of thy praise all the day long.
Psalm 35:28


O {YHVH} Lord, open thou my lips;
and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
Psalm 51:15



Shalom!

Learning Logistics: 2011-2012

Learning Logistics...
... the planning, implementation, and cooridination
of the details of... our learning at home.
----------------------------------------

Each year I try to share
what our intended resources are for our homeschool.
Somehow I skipped last year (oops)
but this past week, I was able to sit down
and plan a rough draft of our intended curriculum.

I say intended because, many times,
we follow rabbit trails in our learning...
sometimes we add resources...
sometimes we decide not to use certain resources...
it just depends on our school year.

And though I like to have a plan,
I, also, like to be flexible with it
and follow where YHVH leads. :)
Below, is our list of our learning logistics
for this upcoming year of learning at home.

Scripture Study

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT part
and focal point of our educating our children at home.
It is through Scripture that
knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are gained...
which are of far greater eternal value than any academics.

Not all resources are listed here, but these are some
that we either have used, currently use, or will use.


Daily Torah portion readings
currently using schedule found here
considering this schedule

Five Book Walk! Series
{not adhering to some of the rabbinical teachings therein}

Messianic Family Fellowship Parsha Printouts

One Torah for All Parsha Printouts

possible various other Torah/Scripture
printouts and copywork


(additional for 13 year old)
Classbook to go along with Torah portions
Torah Explorers




Character Study

For Instruction in Righteousness

Character Sketches

Character Cards

Polite Moments


(additional for 13 year old son)

Anecdotes for Boys by Harvey Newcomb

How to Be a Man by Harvey Newcomb

copywork pertaining to set-apart men for Yah


(for 7 and 8 year old girls)

Little Lady Series by Sandi Queen

copywork pertaining to set-apart ladies for Yah



History/Geography

Book of Centuries

Ancient History study with Torah portions

A WIDE variety of living books from our shelves

various U.S. history/geography workbooks from store

Classical Kids and Old Testament Days activity guides

possible notebooking

Victor's Journey Through the Bible

A Child's Geography: Explore the Holy Land

Blackline Maps of World History

Charlotte Mason's Elementary Geography




Language/Grammar

Language Lessons by Queen Homeschool

copywork for all

spelling and vocab from Torah portions

various Abeka readers from our shelves

McGuffey Readers from our shelves - oral reading


(additional for 13 year old)

Grammar Land

written narrations
{via notebook, Word, or blog}




Science/Creation Study

Nature/Creation journaling

Handbook of Nature Study
by Anna Botsford Comstock
(also available online)

Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
by Edith Holden

Variety of Burgess Books for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess

WIDE variety of living books from our shelves

Considering God's Creation CD
(and possibly book with 7 and 8 year olds)

Kent Hovind Creation Series videos

Nature Readers
by Christian Liberty Press

Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure Game


{additional for 13 year old}

Land Animals of the Sixth Day:
Exploring Creation with Zoology 3
by Jeannie Fulbright



Mathematics

Ray's Arithmetic Series
{oral and copywork}

Math Facts to Classical Music

Life of Fred Math
{used by 13 year old
but possible for younger ones}

Living books from shelves
{Equal Smequel; A Place for Zero;
Tell Time with Thomas; Multiplying Menace;
Sir Cumference Series}


Music/Composer study

family singing
violin/piano practice/lessons
music flashcards

Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers

Living books from our shelves
to accompany above book

various videos and cds
to accompany above book



Art/Artist Study

Nature/creation sketches

Various "how to draw" books
from our shelves

Various living books about various artists
{Mary Cassatt; Edgar Degas; Monet;
Jean Francois Millet; Benjamin West,
and possibly others}

Various coloring books
to accompany artist study
from dover publications



Poetry

Various poems by various poets
{including Robert Louis Stevenson/Emily Dickinson}

Poems for Memorization book

Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization
{we just LOVE to listen to the cd of poems read}



Literature

We will aim to keep a list of all the books read...
we go through lots!
Here are a few books I hope to cover this year
but am not limited to these.

A Girl of Limberlost

Swiss Family Robinson

Various Lamplighter books

More to be added and assigned :)


Life Skills

Prepare and Pray!

Keepers/Contenders of the Faith projects

videos from YouTube

attempt to begin a small garden



Hebrew

Holy Language online

Hebrew Homeschool printouts
at Hebrew4Christians



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Again, this is not an all inclusive list.
Some things we may not get to,
some things we may add.

Not all of these resources will be used on a daily basis
and some of them will be.


May YHVH guide us and bless us
as we train them up in the way they should go...
and may they not part from it.


Shalom!

Howdy... Just a Little Check In...

It's been a couple of weeks since I've shared
what's been going on in our Haven at Home...

Daddy has had the past couple of weeks off of work
and we have enjoyed having him here...
needless to say, time for blogging has been even less.

But I just wanted to pop in to say hello... southern style...
Howdy!
*waves and smiles*

This week we took a special trip north
to see the Sequoia Trees
and I hope to share photos soon...
just have to sort through the 300+ pics.


... posts to come soon...


Shalom!





Oh yeah! The above photo is from our visit
to see the Sequoia Trees...
We thought it looked like a face ;)

It Is Shabbat!

I came across this song today...
Ah, I LOVE Shabbat!!
Thank YHVH for His Shabbat!
HalleluYAH!!



{don't forget to stop the music in the sidebar first}

It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat


It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat



Six days of the week
Anticipate and seek
The first of His feasts
It is Shabbat



It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat



It was given as a sign
To His people for all time
Yes, a covenantal sign
It is Shabbat



It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat



He gave it to the world,
A day of rest, in His Word
And sing praises to {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat


It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat


He tells us in His word
To remember and observe
To honor and delight
It is Shabbat



It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat


It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat


It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat, Thank {YHVH} the LORD
It is Shabbat


{song by Lenny and Verda}


Shabbat Shalom!