Week 11 Done

It is hard to believe that on Dec 16th we will have completed 20 weeks of school. So here we are at week 11, half way through the first semester. WOW! 

Smooth sailing up to this point, but the rumor is that with each new semester comes a little more intensity. We will cross that bridge later! 

For now we will stay in the present. 

While Daddy is learning at school, mommy and Benn have started school at home. We have recently enrolled into a home school program, Columbia Virtual Academy. This is a public school program that supports parents who have decided to home school their children. I am linked with a teacher who works closely with Benn and me as we venture into this new and excited season of our life. I am encourage to pick and choose my own curriculum that Dave and I both feel will enhance and encourage Benn's learning.
Josiah is also being included into our home school time. He has his own little assignments and I work closely with him after I have given Benn his days tasks.

After each boy has completed their assignments for the day we then transition into bible memorization. Psalm 119:11 

I have hidden your word in my heart
   that I might not sin against you.

Dave and I both feel that Gods word is an important part of our life and we desire for our children to enjoy his Word as well. By making memorization fun and new each day both Benn and Josiah soak up the words written on each page, hiding Gods word in their hearts. To make things easy and fun we do sign language for each verse and candy is passed out after a scripture is said without help and then throughout the day if a verses is quoted with out being prompted they are rewarded.

This month the boys are memorizing the Beatitudes. Matthew 5:3-12

 This Sunday we did not go out hiking because Dave was up in Snoqualmie Pass attending a Ski patrol refresher. Dave has ski patrolled almost every winter since he was 15. He loves to be in the mountains and enjoys helping people. Yes, he will be busy with school this year and may not be able to get out to White Pass, the Ski area closest to us, but we want to keep his certifications current in the event he decides to venture out for the day.

 However, on Saturday we were invited to a friends house to make apple cider. When I think of apple cider, I think warm and spices, a lot like something I would shake out of a packet.  Such was not the case on Saturday.

Do you see that massive box of apples behind the ginormous apple in my hand. That box was full when they started and the apples were huge. I wish I could have captured the size of them. I also could not find how many pounds of apple that were in that box, but WOW! There were a lot of Honey Crisp apples.

The cider press

 The apple are pressed through a grinder up top and the pulp is deposited into the wooden bin below. The pulp is pressed downward with a hand crank draining into a large pot below.

The juice in the pot is poured through a cheese cloth to ensure there are not apple chunks in the fresh apple cider.

The end result, everyone goes home with a gallon or two of fresh, perfectly sweet apple cider!! 

 Our friends also have several plum trees. The boys got a kick out of picking and eating the fruit. At one point I went back to see where the all the kids were and they were all huddled around the tree with purple juice dripping off their faces.

 What is a cool fall evening without a fire and smores.
We are very thankful for our church family here in Yakima and had a wonderful evening getting to know more of them.
We are attending a small church called Sun Valley and have really grown to love our new home. We are encouraged and challenged each time we are with our new family.