Summer

Today was truely our first day of summer. Dear daughter one is at camp for eight weeks working as a counselor.  Missing her very much already. Dear son 2 is working all summer and not home much so that leaves just Dear daughter 2. We have a plan: walk each day in a different place, go to the art museum as much as possible, and to all the free stuff we can find!

Today we did just that. An hour at the museum was refreshing. A new and wonderful exhibit just about and by woman was very very good. The highlight for me was an actual Vermeer painting ( on loan). Beautiful. Dear daughter sat and drew and I read a book. ( its so peaceful in the museum, great place to read!) Then we walked around a water way near the museum. Lots of observing and seeing of new to us things. We got to see a Black Crowned Night Heron very very close up. It was awesome to observe. Go here to see what this beautiful bird looks like: http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/24/_/Black-crowned_Night-Heron.aspx . This is an awesome site if you find a bird you cannot identify. Here is the search page.: http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/attrs.aspx See where is says basics? Start with the first icon. We also saw huge schools of sunfish...big enough schools to make the water ripple and wave. Like watching a beautiful dance.
We also did lots and lots of cleaning today. That just seems to come with summer. We will be painting at least one bedroom and hopefully 2 bathrooms this summer. Seventeen windows are to be replaced as well as the tin roof painted. So lots of messy activity. ( and I did not even list the yard work!)
I plan to read as much as possible over the summer. Finished Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story by Lila Perl and Marion Blumenthal Lazan. This book is an excellent record of one families holocaust experience. Dear Daughter 1 was interested in reading more about the holocaust so I preread this one and give it a thumbs up. ( not for very young children though...graphic and disturbing accounts ) Started reading Should We Fire God by Jim Pace. This story is an attempt to answer difficult questions that surround tragedies. Specifically the Virgina Tech tragedy. Our daughter in law attends that school. The author of this book is the pastor of the church my son and his wife attend. So far it is a captivating book.

And I will be preparing for school this coming fall. We are considering a coop. Praying . The coop offers classes I cannot teach and classes that would be very very good for both girls. DD1 Debate and Worldview. Math and Chemistry ( yep I could on the last 3 but she really wants to take them at coop). DD2 Chinese! ( happy dance). Chinese Art. The coop meets 2 times a week. You are still very much homeschooling your kids and not doing it all at the coop. Anyway much prayer and time will tell.