October 2010

I am so thankful for photos to refer to, so that I can remind myself of what we've done. So, here is October in a nutshell. The month started with Christine and I going away for two nights together to Birch Bay. We went through the Passport to Purity which is put out by Dennis and Barbara Rainey. For those who haven't got to this stage yet, it's a 'growing up' type book, that focusses on making godly choices even in the midst of peer pressure, and making the choice to stay sexually pure until marriage. It was excellent and we had a really special time, just the two of us.
After much planning, Tim has started his much anticipated project of building a model railway with the kids. They have been helping him measure and cut plywood, paint the bases and the styrofoam scenery, and make some of the first houses and a bridge. It's beginning to take shape!
Rebecca and I have been working on her Ruby doll kit and are now sewing the clothes for Ruby's husband Victor. It's neat to watch her thread a needle and knot the thread, and then learn different stitching. She is really enjoying it.
In History we've picked back up in Story of the World and started in the year 1683 with the Ottoman's last attempt to take Europe. We learned about the fall of the Indian empire and the role of England's 'East India Company'. We learned about China and how Emperor Chi'en Lung collected all the important writings in China and put them all together into one big collection and then had seven copies made of the whole set. There were 36,275 volumes in the collection!
October was also the time for our annual trip to the Hazelmere Pumpkin Patch, which was a fun trip, but a little wet and very muddy!
The last event for October was the Taekwondo Tournament in Cloverdale. We all competed and Caleb came away with a participant medal, Rebecca got 3rd place in Sparring (despite being kicked in the head!), Joshua got 3rd in Sparring as well, Christine got 2nd in Forms, and 2nd in Sparring, and I got 2nd in Forms and 1st in Sparring. Tim was a judge and also did alot of the organizational aspect of the day. All in all, it was a fun and challenging experience for all of us.