Written by Rachel, July 13, 2012

In my life this week…
We were involved with our church's Vacation Bible School every morning this week.  This year I was the VBS photographer, B participated in the 4th-6th grade group, and J enjoyed his first year as a youth helper in the game area.  B had a great time and sang sweetly.  It was fun to see J become an assistant and a teacher to the younger ones.  He did a great job of demonstrating how to play the games and making it fun for all!  It is hard to believe that my little kids are now the "big" ones, but it is also rewarding to see them enjoying serving the Lord with the gifts and abilities he has given them!

 Last week I didn't even finish my weekly blog with a whirlwind of activities.  The kids spent a couple of days with Nana out of town and we enjoyed two date nights in a row!  We spent time on our boat on the 4th of July and then watched fireworks that night.  I also enjoyed singing in a wedding our neighbor and that took most of our time last weekend.

Last week the kids stayed two days at their Nana's house while their cousins were visiting from Florida!  We enjoyed a day with the whole family, but then came home so that hubby could go to work.  I actually used the time to work on some training and things for the coming school year.  I cleaned out and re-organized a whole cabinet of school books and watched and took notes from some training webinars.  Doug and I even went out on a date night two nights in a row!  Then, we were so happy to see them on July 4th!  It is just weird to not have the kids here at home with me and I was happy to have them back home!  We spent several hours on our boat for the 4th of July, then it just got so hot and busy on the lake that we went home. 

In our homeschool this week…
We are focusing on 4H projects now, with the deadline drawing near.  J is building a large Lego castle and B is working on a Child Development project and Cake Decorating. The cake came together this week and we were blessed with some time at a local cake shop where our friends gave B her own private decorating workshop!

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We love to spend time with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and their kids!  They were in town just before the 4th of July and since we only get to see them once or twice a year, we cherish even a day when we can just hang out together.

I am reading ...
Proverbs 31 Woman e-book, Climbing Parnassus, The Door in the Wall

I am working on...
Have I already mentioned 4H projects?!  I also viewed a webinar for the English grammar portion of the class that I will be tutoring in the fall and have been thinking about that.  My hubby also has a big birthday coming up at the end of this month and I am planning for some special events to celebrate with him.  

I am grateful for...
A change in the weather that brought storms and actual RAIN last weekend!  We have had high temperatures in the 90's and not in the 100's and have been able to get outside more often.

Hop on over to the Hip Homeschool Hop or The Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Wrap-up.  Have a great week!
Rachel