handsful

Our big kids are involved in a wonderful organization called Leadership Link.  The two homeschooling women who began this group desired to help build up the homeschoolers in our community by teaching them to be Godly leaders.  Part of that comes from the service projects that LL puts on each year.

Yesterday, was Guinness for Ghana – a day of games (centered around the Guinness Book of world records theme), a Ghanian market full of foods and crafts to purchase, a dance/drama presentation, and crafts for the little ones.  It was an awesome time, and all for an amazing ministry called The Fathers House – a home built by the Garrett family for 8 boys (so far!) who have been rescued from a life of slave labor in Ghana, Africa.  Read more about this at www.fathershouseghana.com

I didn’t take many pictures, I was too busy trying to chase after Dylan!  Lainey and Dylan were too young for the Guinness games, but they had fun crafts for the 5 and under group.  A local ice cream shop donated ice cream buckets and the kids turned them into African drums.

Both boys on the far right, doing a traditional drum routine….their leader is in the center, using an actual african drum.

the dancers behind them…Abbey is in the red shirt.

They did a great job…Abbey was smiling the whole time.

Dylan enjoying one of our purchases….ALL the proceeds from everything sold went directly to The Father’s House.  Members of Leadership Link made crafts, foods, etc to sell.  Even our local Chic-fil-a donated all of his profits!

Yes, all 6 kids are in the picture.  I can only find 5 of them though!

A closer shot of the one I couldn’t find!  Can’t wait to find out how much was raised for these boys in Ghana!  God calls us to serve and help those less fortunate, and Leadership Link is a wonderful way to get our kids OUT there doing God’s work.

Yesterday, we spent the day in the woods.  It was a fabulous day for it, partly sunny and around 75 degrees.

I’d been organizing this trip for weeks, and all the work was so worth it.  Our big kids – along with a few kids from our local homeschool group – set off for the Outdoor Education Center, run by our parks and rec.

They started with a few ice breaker games, like bandana tag and a name game.

It was serious business, trying to snatch those bandanas.

Next came learning to trust each other with “trust leans”.  They learned the terminology they would later use with the more advanced activities.

Problem solving with team work.  How to get all the kids up on to this rocking platform without the sides touching the ground.  Abbey has no problems letting her opinions be known.

It took them two tries, but they got it.  And, were very pleased with their team work!

Yes, I had the littles with me the whole 4 hours.  They did great, watching the big kids and exploring the various plant and wildlife.  It helped a lot that one other mom stayed with us, Lainey and Dylan just loved Shyla.

Time to get serious, and suit up for the fun stuff.  The 4 guides we had were fantastic, always emphasizing safety.  Each child had to have 3 separate equipment checks before they were cleared.

everyone in the vicinity had to wear head gear…don’t they look cute?  I had to helmet-up, too.  I looked goooood.

The kids rotated between two activities – zip line and centipede.  The centipede was a series of boards put together like a ladder…but, it moved all over the place.  The boards had foot holds on them.  They were also hooked to ropes while doing this, and then belayed down.  All 4 kids made it all the way to the top, no problem.  This is Abbey.

Payton, making me think he’s scared.  He wasn’t.

Ethan

and, Marley

Lainey, finding another use for the hard hat.

Dylan, finding another way to look cute.

Time to zip…Ethan was quite nonchalant about the whole thing.

Whereas, Payton struck a pose.

Abbey has perfect zip-line form.

Marley smiled for the camera.

It was a wonderful day in the woods.

Today was an official Field Trip day for Generations Christian Academy.  We did not wear matching t-shirts or name tags and we did not walk in a single file line…like the million other school children we saw today.  Another perk of homeschooling, maybe?

Our friends, Kelley and her daughter Kylie, joined us today.  It was actually their idea to go to the zoo, and Kelley clued me in on getting a nature center membership that covered this zoo, plus a bunch of other in and out of state places, for a year.  There was about a $30 difference in price for a year, vs. a one-day ticket for our whole family.  That decision was a no-brainer!

Some pics from today…

This is how the littles enjoyed the zoo.  Randy’s dad and Kathy gave it to them yesterday as an early birthday present.  JUST in time for our zoo visit…how nice!  We got a ton of comments on it, and others asking where we got such a cool wagon.  My only complaint? It needs a brake…it’s hard to keep it from rolling on a hill!

Here comes a seal…Dylan loved how they kept swimming right by the window!

I don’t remember what they were looking at here?!  A bear, maybe?

Speaking of bears, they tried out the polar bear cave.  He was snoozing on a rock and didn’t seem to mind sharing.

Liking his first US zoo visit (we did the Safari zoo in China)

Another zoo fan!

Photo op!

Favorite thing I overheard today?  “Hey, that kid looks just like Justin Beiber!”  Heh heh…

Learning about chimpanzees…

and, posing with a monkey.

We stayed till they closed, and then drove the long 1 1/2hrs home.  We had a great day, but this momma is worn out!  I’m so tempted to call in “tired”  tomorrow ;)  Think I can get a substitute on this short notice?

One of my kids decided to use their free time today to make duct tape shoes.  Or socks.  Not sure which.  Did Einstein ever do anything like this?

Since moving to NC, we’ve found some amazing groups and opportunities for our kids. One of those is called Leadership Link. This group was started 4 years ago by 2 homeschool moms. They decided that they wanted to start a group where kids learned valuable leadership skills while serving their community. A place where they used their God-given talents and “bents” for His glory.

One of this years service projects was a homeschool field day called Wacky Olympics. The kids worked together for weeks to come up with the idea, the theme, plan the games, etc. Flyers and emails were passed out and around, advertising the event to all area homeschoolers.

Lainey poses with the mini mooncake cookies that I made for the Asia table. There were 7 stations, one for each continent. Each station had a table of traditional foods from that continent, and a game planned.

The day was started by introducing the Jr. Council (up to grade 5) and the Student Council (6th-12th) to the crowd.

Then, the dance team performed…Abbey and Marley are about 5th and 6th from the left.

Payton and Ethan helped with North America, which had a basketball game. The kids were divided up into teams by age group. Lainey was in the 4 and under group.

Payton helps Lainey choose a food to try from North America…she chooses a rice cereal treat. Can’t get more USA than that.

A race :)

Trying a traditional rice meal that is served in African orphanages. She liked it.

Ice fishing in Antarctica. Abbey helped out at that station.

All the teams rotated through all the stations. At the end, everyone got together to have one, big, “snowman” making event. With TP.

No idea who this is!

I DO know who this is.

Lainey tries to make Marley into a snowman. Marley helped with the Europe station.

Everyone had a fantastic time. The whole event went off perfectly…

Lainey obviously grabbed hold of the “wacky” part of the olympics :)

I’m sure most of you have heard of the yearly prayer event called “See You At The Pole”. Here’s a bit of history…

“A small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, came together for a DiscipleNow weekend in early 1990. They came seeking God. Little did they know how powerfully God was about to move. On Saturday night God penetrated their hearts like never before. The students were broken before God and burdened for their friends. Compelled to pray, they drove to three different schools that night. Not knowing exactly what to do, they went to the school flagpoles and prayed for their friends, schools, and leaders. Those students had no idea how God would use their obedience.”

“Now, more than 3 million students from all 50 states participate in SYATP. Students in more than 20 countries take part. In places like Canada, Guam, Korea, Japan, Turkey, and the Ivory Coast, students are responding to God and taking seriously the challenge to pray.”

That’s us on the far left side sitting down…

We homeschool. We have no flag pole. So, we’ve never participated in SYATP until this year, when our new homeschool group “reserved” the flag pole at our local Y. We met at 9am (another perk of homeschooling…traditionally schooled kids must meet at their poles before school starts, around 7am) and one of the moms in our group had completely planned our time. There were scripture readings, prayers, and music…all by the kids.

Payton asked to be included in leading a prayer. He was assigned a topic to pray about (strongholds in our world that attempt to push God out) and he talked it over with Randy. When it was his turn in the program, he stepped up and told everyone that they could join in and pray as they felt led after he started it. He did well, had lots of kids pray (including Abbey, Marley, and Ethan), and then closed the prayer.

The boy always has at least one hand in his pocket!

I loved our morning…I love how free we are in the US to sing praise songs and pray right out in the open, with no threat against us. I loved how, just by gathering at a flag pole, we could be used by God to shine the light of Jesus to others. Can’t wait till next year.

(thanks for the pictures, Bonnie!)

How often do you remember having your hair done during science?