In my life this week…

• Thanks for the prayers for Josh’s fire ant bites and swollen arm.  The antibiotics helped and the swelling disappeared within days.  This is the time of year that our house, which seems to have been built on a fire any hill, is attacked by those evil creatures.  I had a bad feeling the other night so I had Josh spray.  The next morning, Jonathan found ants on the couch, thankfully before he sat down.  Unfortunately, Josh sat there earlier in the morning and did not realize that the ants were there.  He has another large swollen spot on his side/hip.  It seems that he is becoming more and more sensitive to the fire ant bits over time.  Anyone have any good suggestions for ridding your house and yard of fire ants?  The spray we use inside seems to work well as long as we spray regularly, but we’ve never been able to push them out of the yard long term.
• I’m still car-less during the week, but we’re coming closer to the end. I think.  Josh has borrowed the tool he needs for the next step in fixing the car.  {Praising God because we think a coworker bought the tool thinking it would be a good addition to his collection and promptly let Josh borrow it.}  The motorcycle is mostly disassembled and parts have been trickling in.  We’re hoping that one of these vehicles will be up and running by the end of this long weekend.  Josh is on call this week, so we’re praying for no major client issues to interrupt the progress.
• It’s a new month.  Really, no matter how much I deny it, we are now in September.  That means new 3 in 30 goals and a look at how I did last month.  I’m working in the same areas again, but I have updated my specific goals for this month.
• An exciting announcement!  Soon you’ll be able to read my ramblings over at Heart of the Matter.  I’ve been invited to be a monthly contributor!

In our homeschool this week…

• Jonathan loves Kindergarten.  Astronomy seems to be the favorite subject and math is a close second.  He loves drawing the planets in order and does this on average once a day, just for fun.  I can’t count the number of space and earth related documentaries we’ve watched in the last two weeks or how many times we’ve watched some of these over and over again.  He loves taking in the information.  {Hmm, a little mini-me?}  A regular bedtime stall tactic has been asking Daddy to do some big math {adding 3+ digit numbers} with him.
• Jonathan and I built this coracle and he floated it with Daddy.  I’m not a hands on learner and Jonathan doesn’t seem to be either, but we have fun doing things like this every once in a while.  This seemed like an easy project and I had everything that we needed already on hand.  It was also a fun way to include Dad in our schooling.
• Jonathan worked on some cursive this week.  Yes, my four year old is writing in cursive.  I had to print his memory verse copywork sheet with the cursive verse this week and he thought that was really cool.  He asked to learn and I went with it.  For the last two days, when he’s looking for something to do, I find him going back to the cursive papers to practice.  I’m in the process of looking for a curriculum or way to teach him each letter and proper form.  Any suggestions for teaching cursive? 

Jonathan’s first try at his name in cursive.

My favorite thing this week was…

• Oh my little Jacob.  He’s growing up so fast.  He took quite a few steps last weekend.  I have a little bit of video that I need to edit.  Coming soon!
• Jacob is starting to babble a good bit too.  He finally says “dada” and sometimes even “Daddy” quite well.

Things I’m working on…

• I’m getting ready to start planning our second six weeks of Kindergarten.  This long weekend seems like good timing to sit down with everything and map it out.
• I love using Scholaric homeschool planner for my planning.  I love how easy it is to use.  I love how easy it is to move lessons around on the fly when I make daily and weekly updates and changes to my master plan.

I’m reading…

• Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson.  Join me is discussing the book if you’ve read it or are reading it.  I’m in chapter 6 right now.
• I finished 7 Tools for Cultivating Your Child’s Potential by Zan Tyler last week and my review will be live here at The Pelsers on Tuesday, September 6.
• I’m about half way through this ProBlogger book.  Reading it is one of my 3 in 30 goals for September.
• I started reading Seasons of a Mother’s Heart by Sally Clarkson.  Yes, I love, love, love Sally’s books.  They have been such an encouragement to me in this time in my life.  I felt like she {and God} was talking directly to me as I read.  I’m linking up with Home with the Boys each week to share my thoughts.  We’re just getting started so it’s not too late to jump in and read with us.  I posted my reflections from chapter 1 yesterday.

A photo to share…

This boy is bound to give me a heart attack or gray hair.  Or both.  He is climbing on everything.  I found Jacob standing on Jonathan’s two-step Ikea stool at the kitchen island.  This child cannot steadily stand on his own for more than 10 seconds and can barely take a couple of consecutive steps, but he made his way up onto this stool to be like his “bubba”.