Reed's Gold Mine

I've been hearing about "Reed's Gold Mine" for quite some time so I was looking forward to the trip. The mine was about 30 minutes from where Philip's parents live. We had a great tour guide. I learned a lot! Did you know that the first piece of gold discovered in USA was found at the Reed's farm? It was discovered by one of John Reed's sons. He brought it home from one of his fishing excursions in the creek. They didn't know it was gold; only that it was a pretty rock. It remained a door stop for 3 years until Mr. Reed brought it to Fayeteville. He sold it to a jeweler for $3.60 - a week's pay. The jeweler in turn sold it for $3,500 and there starts the gold rush.After touring the mine and watching the Stamp press, we were able to pan for gold! It was quite a success for our family.Ryan found a flake in his pan. Please don't ask him about it because I have no idea where his vile is!

Soccer

Soccer season has begun. Unbelievably, Peter scored 3 goals during the first game. He loves it. Although it's just the beginning, you can see a confidence about him. There are a few of the same boys on the team so it's been fun to see how they have all grown over the year. I look forward to the season. It's pretty neat to see how far 8 boys can come over the course of 10 weeks together.

The moment....

The kids and I were beginning our morning with our Bible reading and Devotion book. Today's devotion was centered on the verse from James, "Faith without works is dead". It was truly a timely lesson. Shortly before we sat down to read together, I explained to Emma that I knew of a little girl who wears Emma's size that needed some clothes that were suitable for church. I had just bought Emma 3 skirts for this fall. I asked her to pick one out that she could give to this little girl. Maturely, Emma picked one and explained, "I picked the one with the pink plaid because I think she would really like this one. I didn't think she would like the blue plaid as much and I still have the purple plaid. So I picked one thinking of her and not thinking which one did I not want." It wasn't until we read our devotional story that I got chills. The story was about giving clothes to those whom you know needs them. She immediately responded by connecting what we read to what she just did. Conversations continued and I read a little more. And then The MOMENT....Emma said, "I know about God in my head and all that stuff. But I want to really feel Him."
As soon as she said that I knew this was important; I knew this required a response; I knew this was the moment that many parents hope for.
So we prayed. We joined hands and asked the God that we know about to show Himself to us in a way that we could not explain otherwise and allow us to feel His presence in a new way.

Atoms, molecules and fun...oh my

I blindly ordered Adventures with Atoms- Chemistry experiments for young people for this year's Chemistry studies. I didn't know anybody who has used it but it was recommended in a book that I'm using as our curriculum guide. It was cheap and all the materials were household things. So I went for it. I honestly am not very good at actually doing science experiments so I'm pretty proud of myself that we've done them two weeks in a row! Today we answered the question, "Do hot molecules move faster than cold molecules?".
We answered that question with 4 different easy experiments using hot water, cold water, tea bags, ice and food coloring!

My little gymnast

My heart strings were pulled in many directions as the day finally arrived. August 30th - Emma's first day of gymnastics. Philip and I decided to give Emma the choice to take gymnastics or participate in the Parks and Rec soccer team. I was flooded with memories as we arrived at the gym. Gymnastics was a huge part of my growing up years. My parents sacrificed tons for me and gymnastics. Am I ready for this?It appears that she is in a joint class of Level 1 and 2. I think she can rise to the challenge the other girls have unintentionally set for her. Perhaps, we need to do some of our own practicing in the back yard!

Day 2 of 180

It's 2:45pm. Not including our evening read-aloud and a 30 minute quiet reading time, we are finished with school for the day. Although NC homeschoolers aren't required to log a certain number of days, traditionally we aim for 180! If the first two days are any indication of the remainder of our year, we are going to have a great year. I think Nathan will even come to learn to love the gate! He actually only cries for the first 30 seconds and then does enjoy the rest of the time.

Back in action

After a wonderful week of vacation, we are heading to school. It's been a long time since our family was away for the week. As we finished up our "vacation, vacation" last night at our kitchen table eating pizza. We talked about the things we enjoyed. The list goes something like this: fishing, hermit crab island, Meredith and Colin's wedding, seeing the ponies, eating at Max's Pizza, swimming in the ocean,

going to the Ocracoke, canoeing, getting a Jr. Ranger badge,

the ferry ride, spending time with everyone, and swimming in the sound.

We are back and back in action! The school bell rings at our house this morning. I can't believe that we now have a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, a Pre-schooler and a toddler. It's very daunting to think about what this school has in store for us.

on the move

Nathan is full speed ahead these days. I think he really is enjoying his abilty to walk. His knees are definitely appreciating the break!

Passionate

As an 8 year old,it only makes sense that you would find something new to invest your time and money and energy into....

He's 8

I keep telling Peter that I'm not old enough to have an 8 year old.....I can't believe it! The Star Wars marathon sleep over was a success! They had such a good time and were so well behaved that I think Philip might do it again....sometime!

Let the party begin

Two years ago, Peter's Aunt Tasha and Uncle Pete gave him a light saber for his birthday. It was a brand new toy for him. He knew very little about Star Wars. It wasn't too long before a few of his friends caught onto to the Star Wars phenomenon and it seemed as if everything going on here was related to Star Wars. However, Philip decided that Peter needed to be 8 before he watched the actual movies.
Today is the big day. Peter along with 5 of his good friends are headed to the Lake to have a Star Wars marathon slumber party along with some swimming and hanging out. I can't believe that Peter will be 8 tomorrow.
Emma is having her first slumber party as well. She is spending the day and night with her dear friend Aubrey.
I know they are both going to have lots of fun but I have a feeling their time with their friends will be very different!

He's up

We caught Nathan taking his first few steps about 8 days ago.
It wasn't too long before he figured out how it works. He's up to about 12 steps. I know because there's always a sibling counting and shouting his success. He still spends the majority of his time crawling and on his bottom!

I caught these two sweeties reading in Nathan's room the other day!