September 21st - 27th

In Our Family This Week...
* August got hired at Papa John's delivering Pizza
* August also got a call from the Airport and goes in for a final interview tomorrow!
* August purchased his FIRST CAR! It's a 1999 Honda Accord. It's got 195K miles on it and he was able to pick it up from an employee of dads for $600.
* Mom had a Doctors appointment to just make sure everything is looking healthy. She has another appointment this next week to follow up and discuss all of the testing she had done. Unfortunately when she was in for her appointment, she left the Suburban lights on (2+ hours!!) and so the car was dead when she tried to leave. Dad was in Dickinson (and she didn't want to wait the 30 minutes for August or Seth to come) so she put a text out to all of her friends and one was there within a few minutes! Sadly, a bolt had busted on the battery resulting in the cables leading from the battery to the engine were not connecting and therefore even though the battery was getting charged, the charge was not able to go anywhere. We had to have the 'Burb towed back home and August had to come rescue mom anyway! We were worried that it would cost upwards of $100 to fix (if we had to purchase a new battery) but when dad went to inspect it, we were blessed with a TENDER MERCY! Turns out the bolt hadn't snapped off, but had only stripped out so we just needed to replace it with a $2 bolt! Yay!!
* Mom and the girls went to Nathan's Pack Meeting (Dad and the brothers were at Mutual)
* Ben had Teagan over to hang out
* Dad had a business trip down to Dickinson Tuesday and Wednesday
* Dad celebrated his 41st birthday!!! The kids all did artwork and letters for him and we had a family BBQ on Monday night. Aubrie made the cake and we had a nice relaxing evening together! 
* Mom and dad also celebrated his birthday on Friday with some friends (Croxall's, Selby's and Hixsons) at Longhorn Stakehouse! Yum!

In Our Homeschool This Week...
* Continuing our Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites read aloud as well as Harry Potter
* Went over the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego found in the book of Daniel
* Went over the continents and learned a song to help the kids remember the names of all 7 continents and then referenced a map and globe to be able to find them
* Seth spent about 10+ hours on his BYUI classes
* Both girls have started their own Cookbooks! They watch lots of cooking shows and then write down the recipes. They have even started creating their own recipes to try.
* Aubrie has finished all of her typing lessons and now just needs to practice, practice, PRACTICE! It is the cutest thing to watch her type correctly! She has since inspired Lexi and now Lexi has started doing the typing lessons and has learned the Home Row Keys.
* Lots of art, crafts, drawing, coloring and creating!
* Nathan has started in on learning sight words! In the past, I have worked tirelessly on them to no avail! However, now that I know HOW to teach to his dyslexia... he was able to get 5 new words down this week! So proud of him!
* Nathan also worked hard on letter sounds, blending sounds and math
* The writing motivation is still going strong in Ben - he is up to 115 pages in his book! He researches lots of geographical sites to be accurate in his book along with LOTS of grammar rules and new vocabulary words.
* Experienced the rare Eclipse of the Supermoon! This hasn't happend since 1983!

Spiritually Speaking...

 
I also finished up getting Aubrie and Lexi's Father's blessings written down from the recording:)

Fathers Blessing given to Aubrie at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year

Aubrie Annabelle Vogt, by the power of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and by its authority, I lay my hand upon your head and give you a fathers blessing at this time - as you embark upon another school year.

You've been given a great gift - which is a desire and a great love of learning. You've been blessed to find learning fun and challenging and exciting. Always keep this sense of excitement and wonderment with you as you learn things of the world and things of the next world - as you learn those things that are of the gospel. You'll be blessed this year that you will learn quickly and that you will gain lots of knowledge and that the Spirit will be with you.

Learn to control your temper - that you can be patient with your brothers and sister. Use your kind nature to show love and affection to your family because it will help them out. Father in heaven blesses you with the ability to serve others and those within your family. Know that they appreciate it so much and know that when you are serving them, you are really serving Heavenly Father. These blessings I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Fathers Blessing given to Lexi at the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year

Alexa Fae Vogt, by the power and authority of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, which I hold, I lay my hands upon your head and give you a fathers blessing at this time.

Lexi, I bless you with the ability to gain further mastery of reading. I bless you with a love of reading that you will carry with you throughout your whole life. Father in Heaven has much planned for you and is grateful for you and your kind spirit. Know that you are in a family that loves you greatly and know that you can be a blessing to them through your kindly nature and through your serving of your brothers and sister and your parents. I bless you with the ability to have quick comprehension of those things which you are being taught - that you would understand them and obtain them. I bless you with the ability to help your siblings also with their learning. Know that Father in Heaven has saved you for this time and this family because He knows what a great force you can be within the family - and a great influence.

I bless you with the ability to get a good nights rest. Know that Father in Heaven desires that you and your siblings get the rest you need each night - that it will help you focus as you learn and will ultimately help you to be happy and healthy. Know that your Father in  Heaven loves you and I leave this with in you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.