The Roberts Family

8053 US Highway 160, Walnut Shade, MO 65771

417-561-2074

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow, what a summer it's been! We have been happily busy and have had all kinds of fun.
We were blessed in June with a visit from the Childs family. They live and minister in Niger, West Africa, and we all enjoyed the time together. Scott and Neal got to play tennis, our combined seven children had fun at the Celebration City amusement park, and Danette and I talked, and talked, and talked. We decided we need more time next time, just to talk.
Summer camps have been a high point, also. Josiah went away to Camp Lookout, a (free!) local Christian camp, where he had a good time. It was his first extended time away from home, and it worked out well. Jessica had gone to Camp Lookout last year, and she returned this summer, but on a different week from Josiah. Josiah then went to the annual Cub Scout Residence Camp, a couple hours from here. He was gone for three days of fun, crafts, and scouting skills. He seemed to enjoy it, and I think it was neat for him to do something the girls hadn't already experienced. He also attended a one-day Cub Scout "camp" at the city park. As if all those camps weren't enough, Jessica then attended Camp Dry Gulch for several days, near Tulsa, Oklahoma, with a group from church. It's our policy that on extracurricular events, we split the cost with the child. Jessica had to earn and save about $75 for Dry Gulch, and she tells us it was definitely worth it!
Jessica has had a couple of neat opportunities to express her "artsy" bent this summer. She attended a Hands-On Clay workshop for kids, and made a couple of really impressive pieces on a potter's wheel. She also participated in the Branson Children's Theater Workshop. She went to "class" every afternoon for two weeks, and at the end, the kids put on a production of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm Brothers. Jessica was cast as the evil sea witch, a role she didn't relish, but which she played well.
Katie played ball, ball, ball, but unfortunately, neither she nor her team had a stellar season. = ( However, it's important to end well, and she certainly did that. In the final game of the post-season tournament, she got her first hit of the season, and later scored from second. This mom was so happy she was crying! We had some portraits made of her in her Branson Belles uniform - they will be memories of hard work for something she's passionate about.
Another milestone in Katie's life occurred on June 24, when she got braces. It was about a week of intense pain, but she seems to have adjusted well. She has the uppers on, and she'll get the lowers in a few months. If any of you had braces, let me tell you that times have changed! They don't even put bands on the teeth anymore; the braces are glued on. Wow! Katie's dutifully brushing, flossing, and avoiding the taffy she loves.
As far as academics go, we are thrilled to report that Jessica and Katie both scored very well on their Stanford Achievement tests. Jessica took the 5th grade test, which was age-appropriate for her, and scored at the 90th percentile overall. This was the first test Jessica had ever taken, and we are very proud of her work. Katie took the 8th grade test (7th grade would have been age-appropriate) and scored at the 97th percentile overall. Both girls worked hard and did well, and Scott and I feel like we've been given a bit of a pat on the back for our efforts, education-wise.
We don't have a "school year" that starts and stops. Rather, we do light academics year-round. Hence, we have had a very busy summer with all the mowing, all the ball, all the camps, and all the academics. In order for her to learn about world history, we have chosen to have Katie create a monster time line. She has done LOTS of research, and we are pleased to announce that the first segment (3400 BC to 1000 BC) is now laminated and gracing two of our dining room walls. If you want to know anything about ancient China, Egypt, or Mesopotamia, you are welcome to come for dinner and study the wall!
We're also very proud of the progress (social and academic) that Josiah is making. Despite some on-going challenges, he is reading better every day and has graduated to beginning chapter books. He has also started learning US geography, and he's doing very well with that. In addition to some medications that he is taking to help him focus, he is currently receiving neurofeedback training twice a week in Springfield. This is to help "re-wire" his brain, or more specifically the prevailing electrical frequency in his brain, so that it's easier for him to be calm and attentive. He's had about six sessions (out of an expected total of 30 or 40) and the doctor who's working with him says that Josiah is doing very well. We're very thankful to have the opportunity and the finances to be able to pursue every possible avenue to help Josiah function at his full potential.
Church-wise, Scott is preparing to teach this fall in Cornerstone's Master's Commission for (I think) two hours every Wednesday morning. He and I were also invited to participate in a focus group that dealt with how to improve the church's small group ministry, connection to newcomers, and overall nurturing of disciples. Personally, I haven't been serving the church in a weekly ministry, but I'm expecting that to change soon.
Scott will leave for China on August 24. He will be doing a very full load of Bible teaching, plus a lot of administrative work as he begins setting up the video Bible school(s) that will continue when he leaves. He'll be there for 15 days, and we would appreciate your prayers for him, his mom (who is accompanying him), the Chinese believers he'll be teaching, and the kids and me while he's gone.
I just realized I haven't mentioned Andrew! Andrew's deep and prevailing interest in cars seems to have waned recently. This is a nice break for all of us, after two solid years of non-stop vehicular identification. He is learning to write a few words, and Katie is beginning to work with him on some addition flash cards. He has learned how to play Sorry, which he calls "Oops," and he loves to draw very funny little stick pictures of his friends - typically ladies with long hair, long legs coming straight out of their heads (no torso or arms!), and lots of lipstick. I just asked him what his favorite things are, and he said Children's Church (a small weekly, family affair) and group (our Sunday night home group). I'm sure that both of those items beat fast cars and beautiful women, especially at age four!
We think of you all often and love you very much. May it be cooler where you are than it is here, and may you appreciate every wonderful day God entrusts to you,

Scott, Patty, Katie, Jessica, Josiah, and Andrew