Pot-Pour-EE

My husband and I love linguistic jokes. We're known to say things like don't forget to put the em-PHA-sis on the wrong syl-LA-ble. For this reason, we can never pronounce the word "potpourri"correctly. We know how to pronounce it, but just find much more enjoyable to say Pot-Pour-EE instead.

Here's a potpourri (I'll leave the pronunciation up to you) of recent Olive Plants events.

School
We finished the first five weeks of TOG Y3 unit 4. I am saving the final four weeks of this unit for the next nine weeks. This has given me the time needed to teach from the materials for my Crew reviews.

Orville has completed the first unit of Singapore 5A, and Wilbur finished 3B. He will start the 4A books next nine weeks. They have also completed their daily writing and editing assignments, the first lesson of Lively Latin, the study on the Kings of Israel, the first unit of Chemistry, and some Japanese. They both memorized the first 15 Shorter Catechism Q & A's, and Orville memorized 100 Bible verses in preparation for the Bible Bee.

The National Bible Bee
Yes, you read that correctly... 100 verses (some were more like passages). We praise the Lord for blessing him with such a wonderful ability to memorize.

He competed in the local Bee last Saturday, and we will know whether he placed locally and/or will advance to the national competition on Saturday. There will be a post here on Olive Plants about it either way; however, if he makes nationals, you will hear me squealing wherever you may live, regardless of how far away it may be from my home. :)

Win, lose, or draw, however, it has been a fabulous experience spending so much time meditating on God's Word.

Sports
Wilbur's soccer season began two weeks ago. He is having a great time and has made several new friends. Orville missed his first tennis lesson to compete in the Bible Bee, so he will start on Saturday.

The Money Pit
We have a second remodeled room with what we think is a water-damaged floor. The plumber is coming by tomorrow to check it out, but we're pretty sure we have a leak somewhere in the bathroom. The linoleum is changing color in spots. It looks like water spreading underneath. The proof that we grow in grace as we experience trials has been evident in the peace and calm that the Lord has given me about this. Still, your prayers are appreciated.

Flute
I will begin teaching flute lessons next week. My student is the daughter of good friends of ours. We go to church together. This is something she has been wanting to do for some time and is very excited about starting. I am excited to have such an eager student and look forward to having someone to play with as well as to teach.

Weight Watchers
I started a Weight Watchers program two months ago. I have been hesitant about blogging about it because weight is a touchy subject for me, as with most women, and I don't want my blog to turn into a weight loss report. However, I have lost 10 pounds! That is about how much weight I put on in two years, so I feel good about losing it in two months and praise God for his help in this matter.

I have more to lose as I gained quite a bit over the years of bed rest during pregnancies and from living with chronic pain that made excercise near impossible. Though it took surgery and months of therapy, the Lord has been pleased to heal me and remove that pain. Now, it is time for me to seek Him and through His help and blessing to work toward a healthy weight again.

Future Posts
I have several posts in-the-works, including four product reviews and the next Birding 101 post. I am also contemplating starting a once-per-month advice column, sort of like "Dear Abby" only pertaining to homeschool topics. I have received so many questions from readers and friends lately. I really enjoy answering these questions and think they would make good posts. Let me know what you think, and if you have a question you want to shoot my way, please feel free to ask it as a comment or shoot it to me via e-mail.

Blessings,

Dawn