Counting the Days

As part of our My Father's World Creation to the Greeks curriculum, we were provided with a sheet on which to Count the Omer. In Leviticus 23:16, the Israelites were told, "You shall count fifty days after the seventh sabbath, then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord."

An omer is a half gallon of barley, the grain that was the first to ripen. It was sown in winter. We had some on hand and we used that to mark each day off on our sheet after we read the scripture for the day. We made barley biscuits. Not sure what the Israelites did with their barley, other than give thanks for it. It definitely has a different texture than wheat.
This was a time of anticipation for the Israelites as they looked forward to the wheat harvest seven weeks later. For the Israelites, this also coincides with the time that God gave them the Law. For believers it coincides with the time He gave the Holy Spirit.
When we made it to the end, we celebrated with fresh made wheat bread. I made mini challahs. We cut fresh flowers. And we had a yummy dinner. This celebration has several names - Shavuoth (Hebrew for weeks) , Feast of Weeks, and Pentecost (Greek for fiftieth day).

Surprise!

Mrs. Green's Visit - Part 4

It's a Lizard's Life

Looks like I'm here to stay. If they keep upgrading my home, just think...
We have our own ten gallon tank right there next to the singing frogs.
They also put in carpet and furniture, and we have a glow-in-the-dark pool for those late night dunks.
It's more like Anole Arbor.

Stranger and I are now Mr. and Mrs. Anole. Since we are no longer searching for a mate, we stay brown most of the time.

There he is, up in his favorite perch.

I think I'll sun myself for a while.

"Meanwhile would you keep watch on that egg that I laid yesterday?"
"Yes, dear, but it looks like there's two."
"That's just a reflection. "

"The other one that I laid today is over here by me."

Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

31. Goldfinch in the garden (sorry no picture, but it was beautiful) devouring bugs.

32. Yellow flowers that speak of his glory.

33. The pinks that tell of our own frail humanity.

34. The purples, his royalty.

35. Red, redemption.

36. Pink, red, and white - Through his redemptive sacrifice, we can be made pure.

37. The blue which directs our gaze heavenward.

Reptile Rally

Come with us on a field trip to Petco to learn about some of God's amazing animals.

Our guide, James, showed us an Australian White's Tree Frog. They live in rainforests in Australia. It looks cute now, but just wait til this fella grows up.

This is a Russian Tortoise. He likes to dig. His native land is the Black Forest.

He's very handsome.

This colorful Chinese Water Dragon loves to swim. He uses his long tail as a rudder. He was pretty docile.

When James flipped him over on his back, he just lay there and almost went to sleep. How sweet!

Josiah got to hold a baby bearded dragon and he was thrilled!

This one is only a few months old.

This one that a customer brought in, is approximately 5 years old. They are also native to Australia.

Josiah said it felt spikey.

Another customer brought in a leopard gecko pair. This is the female that Josiah is holding.

You can tell he was really enjoying this experience.

This one is the male. They store their food in their tails. Can you tell?

While Josiah is holding the male, Hannah got to hold the female.

She was very comfortable with it.

It got comfortable with her, too.

And last, but not least. . . the winner of the Reptile Beauty Contest

"Sunny", the unspotted leopard gecko!

Hope you enjoyed the show and no, we did not come home with any more reptiles to add to our collection.

Robin and Pecker

The odd couple

Pecker takes flight

Must be a meal there

FCFE End of Year Celebration

We had a great time watching the displays of talent, eating, fellowshipping, making things with pipe cleaners and beads, and eating some more.

Class President

 Hannah usually shares a talent, but this year was different. She had just gotten her top orthodontic appliance (poor planning on my part), which makes it hard to talk normally. Look! I know, you can't see it. She is adjusting well, too it, though. For something that's called a Rapid Palatal Expander, it's not as bad as I thought. Two weeks ago, she got a lower expander that is removable and they call it a retainer, but it expands, too. She is being very responsible and is taking good care of her appliances and her teeth. She chipped a front tooth in the pool on Sunday, but you can't even tell that in the picture, either. Her lip covers it and really it is not that noticable unless you are looking for it. So glad that it was not severe.
She has breezed through her lessons this year. She loves to read and says her favorite subject is Science. She's a good helper around the house and sometimes helps her brother with a school lesson.

Class Clown

Josiah has had a pretty normal year for a 1st grade boy. He would rather play that sit and do reading, writing, and 'rithmatic. He loves to interact and entertain. He still likes to find interesting wildlife and identify it. He has a tender heart and is very thoughtful. He likes to help when there is something to be lifted or carried. His favorite subject is science also, especially when he can experiment and discover things for himself. He has made great strides in reading this year and enjoys reading his Bible Reader and nonfiction books about animals.



Wordless Wednesday - Outside my Window