At Home…in Alaska

I’ve managed to get 2008 caught up now. The link to all the catch up posts is here. I can’t believe I wrote that a year ago and I’m just now completing the list. *sigh* Between life being flat out busy and then not having service at the house for 1/2 of last year, there definitely isn’t any wonder in why I fell behind in writing. It’s nice to be doing it more often again. My goal is to catch up all of 2009 in February. That’s three posts a week. Let’s see if it happens… Then, I’ll only have two months of this year to write about and be current! Thanks again to those of you who have stuck with me! Feel free to let me know you are here in the comments - it sure would be encouraging!

Wishing all our readers a very blessed 2010!

What happened to that blog housekeeping I was going to do? I’m still working on it. My new old computer is now acting wonky which is making copying/pasting and other right-click features difficult because the left button is not working at all so I had to make the right button act as the left. This is making it difficult, or at least more time consuming, adding pictures to posts, etc. Sooo, I’m still working on Oct. 2008 for heaven’s sake. When I came back on online, I was a little less than a year behind…now I’m over a year behind. Which, in reality is no biggy, as I’m doing this mostly for my own benefit/family posterity but is a bit annoying because I don’t feel like posting anything more current until I have those done which means you all just continue to be in the dark. Which again, really isn’t a biggy because nothing much exciting really happens around here…new babies being the exception of course.

So, blah, blah, blah, here is my New Year post which is all about old stuff.

‘Til next time…whenever that may be,

I failed to included November’s books in the last book list! We didn’t do any school reading to speak of in December (mostly just Advent and Christmas type things) so it slipped my mind to check back a little farther when finishing up the completed list for the year. I had been adding them as finished until we reached the busy holiday time.

Here are the missed books:

Bible

History

Music

We also read several young children’s classic books over the course of the last few months. I realized that I hadn’t been spending as much time reading to my younger set as I had to the olders when they themselves were the younger set. (Did you follow that? LOL) Anyhow, I won’t list them all - there were quite a few - but I did dig out the resource below that I had used many years ago with my olders before shelving and kind of passing over for so long to guide me again. I realize now how much I’ve missed reading to littles at their level on a regular basis and how much I’ve missed some of these books! I hope I don’t forget again.

‘Til next time, happy reading!

Bible

History - Middle Ages/Reformation

Joan Of Arc (World Landmark Books)

The Escape: The Adventures of Three Huguenot Children Fleeing Persecution (Based on Historical Facts)

Science

Read-Alouds

Other

Journey of the Heart

Well, that about wraps up the books we read together this year for educational purposes. Of course, there are lots more not mentioned that were more in the recreational category but homeschool families tend to also read educational books recreationally…if those weren’t actually in my hands sharing them with the children then they didn’t make it on the list.

Of all of the above books, I have to say I enjoyed A Journey of Souls the most. In fact, of all the books I read this year, this one was my absolute favorite - even among my “grown up” books! I cried in places. I delighted in places. All through it I had the hardest time wrapping my head around the fact this was history - fictionalized yes - but history never-the-less. Read this book!

I know I haven’t made many educational posts for the longest time and I don’t really have the time now but briefly I will say that we are pretty much done for the year. The older girls are continuing with their respective math curriculms. They finished at odd times and are pretty much independent of me in this area now. As long as they are making good progress, I let them plan/correct/pace themselves. They are self-motivated in this area and that makes my overall job that much easier. They are honest with themselves (and me), keep me informed on how many they miss on lessons, what areas they need help with, etc.

Anyhow, except for math, all other educational pursuits have ended and after Christmas I’ll be doing my planning for the new year. (We like to school year round and plan Jan. - Dec.)

We demonstrate our confidence in the authority of the Word of God by the way we use it in our homes and by our personal obedience to it. No amount of emotional, cozy feeling will stand the rigorous test of university exposure. Our faith has intellectual content; we must know what we believe. Emotional warmth flows out of the application and obedience of these great truths.

~ Gladys Hunt, pg. 97, Honey for a Child’s Heart

The Lord’s blessings on you as you celebrate our country’s heritage and God’s provision! † And, if you are traveling, may God grant you a safe journey to and fro. ♥

Children are a God-given inheritance for our conquest of the world for Christ. They are a means of subduing the earth and exercising dominion under the Lord. If we give our children to state or private schools which are not systematically Christian in all their curriculum, we are then giving the future to God’s enemies, and He will hold us accountable for laying waste our heritage. We thus must have Christian schools and Christian homeschools for the Lord’s children. We are commanded to “bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the LORD” (Eph. 6:4). This is a necessary step for that great consummation of God’s will, announced beforehand for us in Revelation 11:15.

~ R. J. Rushdoony, In His Service: The Christian Calling to Charity

For those interested, go over to Wardeh’s blog to enter to win!

It looks great and whoever gets it is sure to be blessed!

* I won it!! *
(I’ll be telling more about it after I receive/begin using it!)

God’s name is Jehovah-rapha, the God who heals. And that is what God does: He heals. And He can heal you. God’s name is as good as God’s person. His name stands because He never changes. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He has always been, and He always will be, Jehovah-rapha: “I, the Lord, am your healer” (Exodus 15:26).

~ Kay Arthur, Lord, I Give You This Day: 366 Appointments with God