Park Day

Today turned out to be a double park day. This morning I took the little guys to the park while Jessikah had her orthodontist appointment. We went to William Mason Regional Park. The kids had fun on the playground there for almost 2 hours.

This picture was so cute. I'm bummed it was in such weird spotty shade.

Then, we had to take Jessikah to the dentist in Laguna. Since the only time we could get in was time for Shabbat dinner preparation, we decided to go to Bluebird Park and have a picnic dinner. Jim showed me this park while we were in Laguna for our anniversary. I knew the kids would love it and I was right! They had a blast - all of them.

Cool, tall rocket.

View of the playground from the rocket.

The kids greet Daddy when he brings the picnic dinner.

We only had a little over an hour at Bluebird Park before it got dark. So, we'll definitely have to go back.

School: Getting Back Into It

We have slowly gotten back into school. Of course, every day is a school day, even when we're not doing book work. But I have phased all the bookwork back in as of today. In a couple of weeks we'll be celebrating Sukkot, which puts school on hold. But, for now we're back in school.

The first subject of the day is Bible. The kids are working on their Bible study lessons for Community Bible Study. They attend homeschool classes and have lessons that they complete for their weekly class. CBS is a blessing that we have been enjoying for many years. I highly recommend it if you have a class in your area.

Arianah has to be part of everything. Today she was very diligently working on her coloring book.

Elijah is playing Leapster. He loves this thing. I'm glad it has educational games.

Here, Arianah is multi-tasking. Hannah works on the number balance with her while she sits on the potty. Potty training is very important. This is homeschooling at it's finest :)

Yom Teruah - Feast of the Loud Noise

"Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work'" (Lev 23:24-25)

I love how God blesses us with opportunities to obey Him. This weekend we celebrated Yom Teruah. (We follow the new moon conjunction to begin the month.) For some of God's appointed times, He is very specific about what we are to do in celebration. We focus on Yom Teruah as God shows us in His Word and we stay away from focusing on Rosh Hashanah and the man-made traditions that go along with it.

The instructions for Yom Teruah aren't as specific as the instructions for the spring appointed times. We are told to blow the trumpet - or make a loud noise, depending on the translation. Either way, the kids are happy to make a loud noise. They blew the shofars for a long time. I'm not sure how the neighbors felt about it, but I'm sure God was pleased. And, interestingly enough, this was one of the loudest dinners I have participated in in a long time. Maybe the kids were just keeping with the loud noise theme :)

"'On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets. (Num 29:1)

We are also told to do no work. Gotta love that day of rest. If God didn't tell us to take it, I know we often wouldn't. We are always thankful for a day to rest and focus on our Father and our family.

Then, of course, we are told to "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Neh 8:10) So we feasted with friends. Food and friends are one of the greatest joys of life. I think God knew that.

And I do look forward to the day when we understand exactly what we are practicing for. In the meantime, we will enjoy the blessings of obeying our Creator and following Him.

Cuties!

She's just to cute! If she's all dolled up and accessorized, Rebekah did it. Good job, Rebekah.

HalleluYah!

We are enjoying a blessed evening of praise & worship. We have a friend that comes and stays with us and he plays awesome piano. We spend the evening belting out Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, Marty Goetz and many more.

Tonight my hubby was playing drums, my brother was on electric guitar and another friend was on the acoustic. And, best of all, my six year old was singing lead. How awesome it is to praise Yah and listen to that sweet little voice singing praises at the top of his lungs.

Shabbat Shalom!