Weekly Wrap Up: Reading Week and Getting Healthier

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In my life this week… Books, books, and more books. And some DVD’s as well. It was our annual Reading Week, and we enjoyed it hugely.

We had a lot of warmish weather, so we spent time out of doors as much as possible. We did what garden work we could, played with the dogs and the chickens, and even played ball. One of the chickens loves people and scratches around close to me when I’m working in the garden. She kept on getting in the way of my hands, so I finally just picked her up, like the children do, and held her on my lap. It wasn’t frightening after all, and she seemed comfortable with me, too.

We’re not well yet, and Miss 14 still needs to rest a huge amount. Even doing dishes can tire her out so much that she needs to lie down afterwards, but the doctor thinks that in 3 weeks she will have most of her energy back.

In our homeschool this week … Mr. 17 did regular schoolwork rather than enjoy reading week. After all, his Omnibus program includes a huge amount of reading. He’s preparing for the SAT as well, so he’s been busy. And the girls learned from the books they read and all the David Macaulay videos they watched. Miss 14 rested but also had the energy to write. Not her NaNoWriMo project with its stressful 50,000 word goal, but an earlier one.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… Not everyone can do the same things at the same time. It felt strange, having Mr. 17 not participate in Reading Week, but it worked out well.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… Not many, since not one of us is really healthy.

Some of my favorite things this week were…

• Hugs.
• Holding that chicken on my lap.
• Watching the girls enjoy Reading Week.
• Seeing Miss 14 get stronger and start writing again.
• Catching up with Mr. 17’s Omnibus work.
• Weeding creeping Charlie out of our lawn in the deliciously warm weather. It’s not eradicated, but a lot of it is gone.
• Going to bed early and sleeping in.

Questions/thoughts I have… In a world without antibiotics and vitamin supplements, Miss 14’s pneumonia could have been serious. I’m very thankful for modern medicine.

Things I’ve been working on… I’ve been continuing with the 21 Day Self-Discipline Challenge  and making good progress considering everyone’s health. I’m glad that I was not fixated on completing these projects when the children started getting sick, though I worked on them as regularly as possible.   It’s so handy to have big projects broken down into manageable steps.

• Catching up with Mr. 17’s Omnibus work. Really only the discussions are left to do.
• Preparing the garden and house for winter. We enjoyed a fair bit of outside time, and now we’ll be focussing on inside work.
• Helping the children with their chores when they are not well.
• The gluten-free blog project is on the back burner until we’re all well, but I think I have a blog title.  Now to see if it’s been taken already.
• Remembering to walk, eat well, and relax adequately.

We’re watching… The sequel to Anne of Green Gables. We watched most of David Macaulay’s The Way Things Work DVD’s. And we started Wartime Farm from the BBC.

I’m reading… Deuteronomy. I finished The Christmas Pony, Roses for Christmas, and The Golden Goblet, skimmed various books on writing, teen writing circles, and gluten-free living, and am currently reading Writing for the Soul by Jenkins. I don’t get around to reviewing everything I read, so feel free to visit my GoodReads shelf to find out more about these books. I also moved along in Omnibus 2 and in other textbooks. While I don’t always read each textbook for each child, I try to when the children are having a hard time.

With the kids, we’re reading Numbers. After studying a lot of Ancient Middle East history, I see Numbers as more than just a collection of numbers and laws; it’s actually a detailed account of the kind that gives us a glimpse into life and worship in those days.  It is still hard, though, to understand how this part of the Bible can really be profitable for us, although according to 1 Tim 3:16 it is. We had no family read-aloud this week, but I did read some Old Fashioned Girl with the Little Misses and some more of Famous Men of Greece with all the girls. The myths give them the giggles.

When my husband is home for meals, we’re still reading Ezekiel.

I’m grateful for … Sleep. Improving health. Warm, sunny weather.

Quote to share… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding,” from Proverbs 3.