FINE-ALLY! AN UPDATE!

We have been super busy since I last blogged. Here's a quick update and some photos, thanks to my trusty Blackberry which has sadly replaced my broken camera.

Leah Beah got baptized in March on the same day as her cousin, Cody! We are so proud of them and their decision to make and keep covenants.

We finished up our second year of homeschooling. I gotta say, I've really found my niche in life! I love being home and teaching my children. It brings me more joy than anything else I've ever done. We studied botany this year and the kids made Nature Journals. We used the "Apologia Science" botany series by Jane Fullbright this year and learned so much about flowers and plants. I really loved how the book always tied in God and gave Him credit for this beautiful world. The kids loved their hands-on projects and experiments. We all loved spending time together learning.

We also began a unit study program called "Beyond Five in a Row" which is a unit study based on classic literature. We read "The Boxcar Children" and each chapter had science, history, langage arts and fine arts learning activities associated with it. aWe learned how to make butter from cream and then had a "Boxcar Children" picnic in the living room with homemade bread, butter, milk and dried meat (jerky). It was such a fun unit. To make it even better, my little girl who has reading difficulties (dyslexia) was able to read the book and enjoy it as well.

Now it is summer and although we are enjoying park days with our friends, swimming at Grandma's, library visits, and taking care of the many strange animals that come to our home (more to come on that later!), I am missing the consistency of our "school" days and can't wait to get back in the swing of things again soon!