Will finished his last Explode the Code book. He also passed his level 1 in swimming. It took three tries, between last year and this. Apparently that's common. I'm just glad he finally passed. Level 2 and 3 will have to wait until next year. Until then, a little swimming will be fun.
With the exception of two weeks since I updated in mid-June, Will has done some reading, writing, and math nearly ever day but the sabbath. I read to all the children most days, and sometimes Will now takes turns with me reading the storybook pages. I have also started looking at little learning books with both Trust and Liv together. They two have so much fun together. I feel bad for Will that he lost his closer-in-age brother. However, he and Trust still do a lot of fun things together, and both boys love playing with Liv.
We have visited with family and friends. We have watched several movies together, like Alice in Wonderland. Nathan and I have watched a few by ourselves, such as The Book of Eli and Avatar.
There have been a lot of moral lessons and science lessons. I teach them as the opportunities present themselves or when the questions come. We took a short break from our daily reading of Proverbs, but we started again. I sometimes read in order from where I am reading through the NT of the bible to the boys, currently in John. But, many days I don't read that to them and instead just read whatever from the bible that goes with a certain real-life lesson I'm wanting to teach.
We read the May and June 2010 issues of Heaven's Family. Those always make me cry. We read about families having to eat rats to survive, the Chili earthquake and how a woman was reunited with her grown children (after having been kicked out by her abusive husband), and we read about how the Rwanda Holocaust that killed 800,000 led to the Dominican Republic of Congo conflict, in which 5.5 million have been killed. We read stories of woman refugees. In the latter issue, we read how Heaven's Family helped with a shoe business and a van loan and treated a boy with infected eyes who lost his parents in a fire, how bikes are provided for men to get around, and how preaching in Myanmar to a heathen tribe led two men who previously hated each other (b/c one killed the other's relative) now are good friends. Lastly, we read about a woman who lost her father was put in an orphanage by her mother, because the mother could not afford to care for her. The woman met a young man there who helped with the orphanage. They ended up getting married, and she then helped her new husband start another orphanage.
Will turned seven years old, and we went to a magic show in Branson. It was good, but we were disappointed that there was not any real interaction with tigers, as the advertising had led one to believe. He got some really neat things for his birthday. He got two animal traps of different sizes, a memory card for his camera, a backpack and some science stuff to go in it, and a plant press. His daddy bought a PS3 (that he calls his own), and he bought Will games to play on it. I'm not overly crazy about the system, but Nathan did buy Jeopardy for us to play, and I enjoy playing him on that. He currently holds 60% of the wins, but at least I win sometimes! Back when we played each other on the tv show, I don't think I ever won a single time. I love trivia, but I don't have a fast processor. Anyway, from his various grandparents, he got money, some books and science project labs, a rock tumbler, and some safety glasses and rock pick and chisel. Maybe he got other stuff, too. I can't remember. He got a lot of stuff this year.
Will said something during a trip to town, a month ago, that was clever. He said that during the time of great tribulation, people would die of lack of oxygen because of the trees burning up. Well, I don't know whether that's exactly accurate, but it sure shows he is a thinking machine. Well, it does make sense. The O2 levels definitely decrease as tree populations drop, and the CO2 levels increase unchecked.
Will also tells me about exciting adventures he has, as he "disappears" and goes on journeys. Well, I can tell he has a fair understanding about geography and what animals live certain places and what sort of ruins are in different nations. He has talked about how he had to use the power given to him to blow a polar bear back from hurting him, and he said he likes to explore different ruins in places like Rome. He also says he visits God's house, which he described in detail for me, and I'm still pondering how he knows certain things, as some of the things he described are almost identical to what Ezekiel recorded, and I've never read Ezekiel to Will. I've read Isaiah and started Jeremiah, but then I stopped reading the OT prophets to him. He also rides in a rocket. I thoroughly enjoy listening to him and his various adventures.
Nathan surprised us one day by coming home and informing us that we were leaving the next day for a trip to St. Louis. He took us to the St. Louis zoo. We saw half or so of it, and we'll have to go back to see the rest when it's cooler. It was SO hot. It is a really good zoo, though. We really enjoyed the hippos and penguins. Those aren't things you get to see in just any zoo. We have our cabin reserved for the Feast of Tabernacles this year. We are staying in Idaho and will be visiting Yellowstone National Park one or two days of that week.
I finished the book on which I've been working: God's Law of Love: The Perfect Law of Liberty. It will be in print soon. Nathan is talking about a possible future sale of his business. He also printed out a bunch of papers telling him what he needs to do to become a licensed insurance adjuster, as that is something he is considering. He really wants to be actuary, but maybe that requires schooling. I can't remember. Anyway, he wants to do something different.
Well, how is that for a QUICK summary of the last two months. My custom is to be very long and analytical, but I just will not find the time to catch up in that manner. No pictures. Sorry. Those who are on my Shutterfly picture email list will have seen pictures and will see more. I don't have time to post any right now to the blog.
Until next time....
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