Drum roll please. . . . .

HE PASSED!!!

Praise the Lord!

Only a week or two of revisions, and then Jim will resubmit his dissertation, and be DONE!!!

Thank you so much for praying for us~

Wonderful!

Please pray tomorrow!

After nine long years, Jim will be defending his dissertation tomorrow at 10:45 a.m.

This 'oral defense' can be quite grueling, as his three Readers have the opportunity to grill him about anything in his 300+ page dissertation. Even his German, Greek and Hebrew will be under scrutiny!

The girls keep saying, "We can't wait to call him 'Dr. Daddy!'" for even they realize the momentous effort put into this endeavor.

SO PRAY!

Homeschooling

There have been a few surprises in homeschooling. The first is that I actually really enjoy it! I know that sounds crazy, but after the first few weeks of wondering if I would survive, we have all settled into a good routine and we are all learning a lot.

That's another surprise. I am learning! I feel like I am doing school all over again, but with a teacher manual to help me~

BUT, probably the biggest surprise is how much I realized I WASN'T teaching my children before. I realize now that I am IT. I am the teacher, and so I better get my act together and round out their education well. SO, I had a unit last week on "How to take a shower." I know, I know, you may be saying to yourself, 'haven't you already done that?' Well, of course I in general have, but I certainly haven't sat them all down in a circle with washcloths and soap and shampoo and given a tutorial. Here were a few of my points:

1. The shower liner must ALWAYS be inside the shower, and this is how you do it~water is not allowed outside the shower
2. This is how much shampoo you should use, conditioner, soap etc.
3. You should have a towel ready so you don't trail mass amounts of water across the bathroom into your bedroom.
4. You need to rinse your hair. A lot.
5. Hang up your towel when you are done, put your dirty clothes in the laundry and clean up the bathroom~

From there we went on to brushing teeth, washing hands, reminders about public restrooms, and other basic hygiene topics.

Indeed it has been an education all around~next weeks topic~cleaning bathrooms!

Camp Ripley

We took a field trip on Friday, our first, while living here in Brainerd. We headed to Camp Ripley, an Army base, which also houses a museum complete with outside climbing apparatus.


Inside as well as out~!


We met some new recruits while we were there~




and learned quite a bit~for instance, did you know that MN has had 45 individuals win the Medal of Honor?

A cousin's birthday

Just to show you that our children aren't always wounded or dirty, I thought I would include a few "clean" photos.

For cousin Caroline's birthday the girls enjoyed dressing up; after using most of my mom's eye shadow and lipstick, of course.


We enjoyed the "Lady of Shallot" pose, and thought you might enjoy it too~

Another day at Nanna and Papa's

A beautiful garden awaits you upon arrival at my folks place~and I can never resist taking pictures!


I couldn't resist taking a few more pictures of a different species of "flowers" that I encountered one afternoon.


The children decided to make mud pies and mud cakes to sell, and Andrew discovered a green bean (below) he thought we could eat for dinner~


You can just see the corner of my Dad in this picture, the girls are heading his way to give him a little love~

What happened while we were gone?

My folks watched our children for a few days last month. Who doesn't like to be with their grandparents? But, THIS is what we saw when we returned and drove down the driveway!

I leaped out of the car in a panic, and was completely convinced a great tragedy had struck Claire. (I might have not been so concerned had I looked at my Dad first instead of my daughter~)

Somehow the injuries appeared worse than perhaps they WERE, but then I was really concerned when I beheld a few more people straggling toward the car~



This next one really concerned me the most, for who exactly was watching our children when my Mom was also injured?


If you plan on going on a trip, I would suggest asking other people than my parents to watch your children.

Fall is here~

Here it is, a sinkful of apples, cut up (me) and thrown into the pot (Andrew.)

What is it about the smell of cooking apples and cinnamon that evokes such pleasure? We are sure to have a good day with a home that is scented like this!

Fall gifts from a new friend~

beautiful tomatoes!

Imagine my surprise when someone I have never met showed up at our door yesterday; with this!


Ron and Margaret (good friends of our friends Lynn and Linda) took it upon themselves to bless us with some 'extra' veggies and apples from their home.

God provides good stuff, doesn't He?


I am off to make a bit of apple sauce~have a nice Tuesday!

Psalm 145

A Song of Praise. Of David.

I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
and all your saints shall bless you!
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

(The LORD is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.)
The LORD upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Would you like to see some pictures of where we are staying now? Of course you would!

Today was a lovely day, and Andrew and Sarah took advantage of the warm weather to do a bit of swimming.



Vegetables from the garden~


And look at this sunset!

Family Game Night~

Last night we played the game of 'Spoons'~a new family favorite!
Fortunately, there was only one injury~

Yes, a new post!

WHEW!!! That's what I have to say about sitting down at my computer tonight. It works.
What do I mean? Read on~

I know many of you dear friends are asking yourselves, "Are the Johnstons still alive?" And that would be a valid question! We have had a whirlwind the last few weeks, and settling into where we live now is just one more element of readjustment for our family.

After two weeks of intensive homeschooling training (via the "Clarinda James Homeschooling Academy for the Novice") we are settling in nicely at our friends' beautiful second home on Lake Alexander (MN.) Thank you again Todd and Kirsten. We love being here!

I will be able to keep you up-to-date now via internet (thanks again T & K) and am hopeful that our blog will continue with perhaps a new look and name~I am open to suggestions!

First things first~please pray! Jim has his oral defense Sept. 24th, so he is busily studying and preparing for this serious event. Please pray especially for any questions he may be asked in RE to his Hebrew. He is working hard on that as we speak.

We are still actively looking at different churches, but as you may (rightly) assume, the process can be quite unpredictable, so pray for us as we actively move forward and as we patiently wait on the Lord for His timing.

As I write I am in awe of how the Lord has provided for us, so many tangible ways He has loved us and cared for us. The place we are living now is a huge gift to us! We are so thankful. Psalm 145 has become a new favorite for me. Please read it when you have the opportunity and praise the Lord with us.

Here are a few pictures of the last few weeks, enjoy!

the Minnesota State Fair~

My mother-in-law's 80th Birthday party(s)~



Good friends!!