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Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschool. Show all posts
Sunday, June 5, 2016
June Newsletter
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Summer Ends
Well, my last post was entitled "Summer Begins," so as you can see I haven't kept up with blogging much lately. I should have had more time over the summer, but I guess I was in "summer mode," meaning "lazy mode." So I'll try to summarize the highlights of our summer.
For the last week and a half of June we hosted another chaperon from Latvia. Her name is Lana, and we had a fun time with her. A couple other families in our church hosted her after us, and two families in our church hosted Latvian orphans for 5 weeks. (One family is even hoping to adopt the kids they hosted!) It's been really neat to see God moving in people's hearts in many different ways regarding orphan care. Everyone has a different niche, but God can use all of us somewhere! Here are pictures of the host families and kids and of Lana with our family.
After we got home the older 3 had swimming lessons, which is always a fun time. Next year Rayanna will be able to do it too, which should be good since she's tired of being just a spectator!
For the last week and a half of June we hosted another chaperon from Latvia. Her name is Lana, and we had a fun time with her. A couple other families in our church hosted her after us, and two families in our church hosted Latvian orphans for 5 weeks. (One family is even hoping to adopt the kids they hosted!) It's been really neat to see God moving in people's hearts in many different ways regarding orphan care. Everyone has a different niche, but God can use all of us somewhere! Here are pictures of the host families and kids and of Lana with our family.
After Lana left we went to Gettysburg for a 150th Anniversary Civil War re-enactment. It was a miserable day! I guess if you're really into this stuff and you want to camp out and pretend you're really in the war it might be cool. But for a family with young kids, walking around in miserable sweltering heat while trying to find a place you could actually see the battle was NOT FUN! For hard-core civil war buffs maybe, but it was definitely not user friendly.
July brought about a trip to Cincinnati. Just Tabitha and I went. She had testing done on her kidneys and bladder, showing good results from her last surgery. We were thankful for that, and we also had a really good time visiting with our friends, the Fronduti's. The only trouble on that trip was when the van tire blew out on the highway in West Virginia. I was able to pull over without any major trouble, and a kindly West Virginian neighbor stopped and changed it for me.
After we got home the older 3 had swimming lessons, which is always a fun time. Next year Rayanna will be able to do it too, which should be good since she's tired of being just a spectator!
My sister Carrie came to visit for a few days since she had a conference out our way. Well, kind of "out our way." 7 hours and $50 in tolls made me vow to never go to New Jersey to pick anyone up again! It was great to see her though (and she did pay for the tolls). Don't worry...you're worth every bit of hassle, L'il Sis. =)
August was a month of sadness and joy. Sadly, one of our pastors and his family had to leave the church for personal reasons. We will miss them and their ministry very much, and our church family is definitely grieving the loss. In happier news, some other friends from church welcomed home their daughter Mihret from Ethiopia! The kids and I got to go to the airport with some other friends to welcome them. What a special time!
I held a music camp for the first time this summer. It was called Music Olympics. I had 11 kids (including mine) for 2 hours a day for 4 days. It was fun, but definitely exhausting! Maybe a year from now I'll have recuperated enough to do it again. :)
We started school on August 19th: fourth grade, second grade, kindergarten, and preschool. Rayanna is thrilled to be doing school with the big kids and gets quite upset if I don't have enough work planned for her. Tabitha is learning to read and doing really well with it! Jesse is excited about our study of space this year. And Ethan is showing a lot of maturity in planning his work and being responsible to get it done. Four days out of the first week were good; one was not so good, and I was ready to quit! But overall, the first two weeks have gone well, and I'm hopeful that we'll have a good year. The kids even spent time playing make-believe together one day (WITHOUT fighting!), which is something I haven't seen them do in ages!
Now it's Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end of summer. I'd like to say that we're ending summer with an exciting anniversary trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. That was the plan, but, as you'll see in the next post, our plans don't always work out. All in all though, it's been a good summer. We even had several weeks of gorgeous weather, for which I was very thankful! Today it's back to 90-some-horrible degrees and nasty humidity, but oh well. I'm ready to start another school year and count down the days until fall weather!
Friday, August 31, 2012
One Down, 35 To Go . . .
. .. weeks of school, that is! Our first week is over, and it went surprisingly well. Ethan's in 3rd grade this year, Jesse's in 1st, Tabitha's in her second year of preschool, and Rayanna....well, her job is keeping things interesting. =)
I finished planning just a couple of weeks ago. I always love the planning. For most things, it's better than the actual event! For homeschool planning I treat myself to time feasting on the curricula I've picked, mapping out the plan for the year, and (then the most exciting step) scheduling the days. Making every piece of the puzzle fit into its specific box on the chart is one of the great joys of my life. I felt quite satisfied when I looked back at that beautiful, detailed table (6 columns and 26 rows with subdivisions) and saw how nicely everything was going to work out. Ahhhh....such a beautiful sight.
But then, the real days begin. Usually it's within the first two hours that someONE fails to cooperate, or someTHING happens that clearly was not marked for that box on the schedule. Of course, being the somewhat perfectionistic person that I am, I'm ready to rip up my beautiful schedule and ship the kids off to public school at that point! At least if I were home alone I could make my gorgeous schedule work out in real life as well as it does on paper!!
But, I think I must be maturing a little. This week, when things veered off the plan, I gently brought them back without feeling like my world was caving in. And, believe it or not, the kids did cooperate very well! I've been worried about one certain child. He'd been complaining about starting school, and during the first couple of days gave me a lot of grief. Wednesday night we had a homeschool moms prayer meeting at church. My friend Diana and I prayed for each other and each other's kids, and guess what . . . God answered! Thursday was a perfect school day. And this certain child who'd been doing all the complaining, finished his work without a gripe and actually asked for MORE SCHOOL when we were done! Those words are music to a homeschooling mom's ears! The other two students have had great attitudes too, and our little "terror of toddlerdom" hasn't been TOO overwhelming. (But she's another whole story, for a future post.) The other amazing thing is that, since starting school, the fighting level has gone WAY down. During the summer the kids had two activities that they wanted to do constantly: playing video games and fighting with siblings. In between those activities, they'd wander around being bored and causing trouble. But since starting school, the boys have been playing together in creative ways that have nothing to do with screens, and Jesse actually went two whole days without even asking to play a video game! That's unheard of for him! It's been great having structure back in our days, and seeing more peace and creativity as a result!
Anyway, all this to say that I've really enjoyed our first week of school. I'm very thankful to be homeschooling, that we have the freedom and ability to do it, and that we've chosen it for our family. I do have to admit that I sometimes envy the moms who have all those hours to themselves on school days, but if we continue to have even just occasional weeks like this one, I know it's all worth it. To be sharing so many experiences as a family, to be personally building so much into their lives, to be learning so much myself, to see God working in so many ways . . . yes, it's worth it. And when I'm stuck in one of the pits that I know will come sometimes during the next 35 weeks, someone point me back to this post and remind me that it truly is worth it!!
I finished planning just a couple of weeks ago. I always love the planning. For most things, it's better than the actual event! For homeschool planning I treat myself to time feasting on the curricula I've picked, mapping out the plan for the year, and (then the most exciting step) scheduling the days. Making every piece of the puzzle fit into its specific box on the chart is one of the great joys of my life. I felt quite satisfied when I looked back at that beautiful, detailed table (6 columns and 26 rows with subdivisions) and saw how nicely everything was going to work out. Ahhhh....such a beautiful sight.
But then, the real days begin. Usually it's within the first two hours that someONE fails to cooperate, or someTHING happens that clearly was not marked for that box on the schedule. Of course, being the somewhat perfectionistic person that I am, I'm ready to rip up my beautiful schedule and ship the kids off to public school at that point! At least if I were home alone I could make my gorgeous schedule work out in real life as well as it does on paper!!
But, I think I must be maturing a little. This week, when things veered off the plan, I gently brought them back without feeling like my world was caving in. And, believe it or not, the kids did cooperate very well! I've been worried about one certain child. He'd been complaining about starting school, and during the first couple of days gave me a lot of grief. Wednesday night we had a homeschool moms prayer meeting at church. My friend Diana and I prayed for each other and each other's kids, and guess what . . . God answered! Thursday was a perfect school day. And this certain child who'd been doing all the complaining, finished his work without a gripe and actually asked for MORE SCHOOL when we were done! Those words are music to a homeschooling mom's ears! The other two students have had great attitudes too, and our little "terror of toddlerdom" hasn't been TOO overwhelming. (But she's another whole story, for a future post.) The other amazing thing is that, since starting school, the fighting level has gone WAY down. During the summer the kids had two activities that they wanted to do constantly: playing video games and fighting with siblings. In between those activities, they'd wander around being bored and causing trouble. But since starting school, the boys have been playing together in creative ways that have nothing to do with screens, and Jesse actually went two whole days without even asking to play a video game! That's unheard of for him! It's been great having structure back in our days, and seeing more peace and creativity as a result!
Anyway, all this to say that I've really enjoyed our first week of school. I'm very thankful to be homeschooling, that we have the freedom and ability to do it, and that we've chosen it for our family. I do have to admit that I sometimes envy the moms who have all those hours to themselves on school days, but if we continue to have even just occasional weeks like this one, I know it's all worth it. To be sharing so many experiences as a family, to be personally building so much into their lives, to be learning so much myself, to see God working in so many ways . . . yes, it's worth it. And when I'm stuck in one of the pits that I know will come sometimes during the next 35 weeks, someone point me back to this post and remind me that it truly is worth it!!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
School is Over!
Saturday was the culmination of our school year. We went to the Botanic Gardens in DC as our final field trip (since we'd been studying botany this year).
Then we had a little celebration for the kids: Ethan for completing 2nd grade, Jesse for graduating from kindergarten, Tabitha for finishing her first year of preschool, and Rayanna for not completely preventing it all from happening (though she did try)!
I'm looking forward to a relaxing summer, and hoping to be refreshed and ready to start another school year when the time comes! Congratulations, Kids!
Then we had a little celebration for the kids: Ethan for completing 2nd grade, Jesse for graduating from kindergarten, Tabitha for finishing her first year of preschool, and Rayanna for not completely preventing it all from happening (though she did try)!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
For the first time since 2007, our family took a "just-us" vacation! We went to Massachusetts to see Plymouth and Boston. It was a good trip for the most part. We did have the 9-hour drive (and the accompanying whining and bickering), plus the serious conflicts over who gets to push the elevator buttons at the hotel. But other than that, we had a lot of fun!
The first day we visited Plimoth Plantation. They have a Wampanoag Village and the English Settlement, both authentically portraying what life was like 400 years ago. It was really interesting! They had actors playing the parts of the English settlers, so you could talk to them about details of their lives.
I can't imagine living through such difficult times. It was nice and pleasant on a sunny day in April, with a stroller full of snacks, and having slept in a bed the night before and taken a hot shower that morning. But just imagine arriving there in December with half of your people dying from sickness, very little food, no housing until you build it yourself . . . it would've been horrible!
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| Tab & Jesse in front of a Wampanoag home |
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| The Indians made these canoes by burning out the inside of a tree. |
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| Enjoying the "English Village" at Plimoth |
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| Everything was authentic . . . even down to hand-made nails, clapboard siding, and thatched roofs! |
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| Beautiful view of the ocean from the high end of the village |
Next we drove a few miles up the coast to where Mayflower 2 is docked. This is an exact replica of the original. This one was built in 1959 in England and then sailed across the Atlantic, just like the first one did. It was fun to see. But again, we were on it for maybe half an hour, while it was still, while the weather was beautiful, and with only a dozen or so people on board. Imagine spending over 2 months in this ship with 100 other people, on a stormy sea during a freezing winter. Instead of a nice, clean smelling boat, imagine the smells of 100 people (many of them sick) all crammed into the tiny ship. NOT my idea of a fun adventure!
Next we walked over to "Plymouth Rock." Fortunately, we'd learned ahead of time not to expect anything grandiose. There's really no evidence that the Pilgrims actually landed here, and the rock itself is . . . shall we say . . . not much to look at!
After our day of touring we went back to the hotel for some swimming. Jesse said that was his favorite part, and he complained every time we had to leave the hotel. Next vacation, we'll just find a hotel with a pool right here in Maryland and skip the long drive!
Friday night we went to the Boston Children's Museum. It was pretty neat, but it was "dollar days" on Friday, so I think the entire city of Boston was there. Way too crowded for my taste, but the kids had fun.
Saturday morning we went back to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail. We started here at this beautiful park, which was the only relaxing part of the day!
The two-and-a-half-mile trail is a literal red line, made of red brick in some areas and just painted on in others. It goes past many famous sights from Revolutionary times. It was pretty neat, but very tiring with 4 children! Thankfully Ethan is big enough to steer the stroller now, since Jesse and Tabitha requested several piggy back rides. We did manage to walk the entire thing, with several snack breaks and without losing any of the kids!
After the long day in Boston, we went back for more swimming of course. Sunday we drove home, vowing to never drive anywhere with children again. But I'm already thinking about where our next vacation will be. I guess travelling with kids is like labor pains . . . after it's over you forget how painful it is until the next time rolls around and you're wondering why on earth you did this again!?! =)
But, all-in-all it was a good trip. We made some fun memories, learned some interesting history, and enjoyed a break from the routine. God blessed us with safety, lots of fun, and perfect weather. I'm really glad we went!
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| The Mayflower 2 (1959 replica of the original) |
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| 66 days in here?!?! Rayanna couldn't sit still for a 10-second photo shoot! |
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| The very unimpressive "Plymouth Rock" |
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| Jesse on the lookout for pirates |
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| The hotel pool was the main attraction for the kids. |
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| at the Boston Children's Museum (very scary claustrophobia-inducing climbing structure, but the kids loved it!) |
Saturday morning we went back to Boston to walk the Freedom Trail. We started here at this beautiful park, which was the only relaxing part of the day!
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| at the Boston Common park |
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| Paul Revere's house |
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| a fountain near the Old North Church |
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| We finally made it to the end of the Freedom Trail |
But, all-in-all it was a good trip. We made some fun memories, learned some interesting history, and enjoyed a break from the routine. God blessed us with safety, lots of fun, and perfect weather. I'm really glad we went!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
You Live, You Learn
Well, today we took a "field trip" that I planned a couple months ago. We're studying the Middle Ages right now, soon to be followed by the Renaissance period. I found out that Maryland has a Renaissance Festival . . . how perfect! The 3 younger kids were free, and an acquaintance was able to get us discounted tickets. So today, we drove to a town just outside of Annapolis to this festival. But it wasn't nearly as educational or family-friendly as I'd hoped. It was kind of like a giant outdoor bar with a costume party going on! Many people were dressed in attire of the era. Some costumes were beautiful; others were, well . . . strange to say the least. (Sorry I didn't get any pictures.)
We only went to one show because we were just there for a half a day, and a lot of the descriptions made them sound pretty raunchy. Most of the activities cost extra money so we didn't do them. BUT . . . the kids did get to ride a pony and play on a pirate-ship playground, and we got to see a jousting competition and eat some turkey legs. So, not a totally wasted day. =) The jousting was actually really cool and fairly educational, and the ponies were fun. I'm glad we went, but I don't think it's something we'll be doing as a "field trip" again!
We only went to one show because we were just there for a half a day, and a lot of the descriptions made them sound pretty raunchy. Most of the activities cost extra money so we didn't do them. BUT . . . the kids did get to ride a pony and play on a pirate-ship playground, and we got to see a jousting competition and eat some turkey legs. So, not a totally wasted day. =) The jousting was actually really cool and fairly educational, and the ponies were fun. I'm glad we went, but I don't think it's something we'll be doing as a "field trip" again!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Random Updates
Since my last post, here's what's been happening:
Last Monday I took Tabitha to the Johns Hopkins cleft clinic. She has what's called venopharyngeal insufficiency. The part of the throat that's supposed to close off when we speak does not, which is why she has a nasally sounding voice. So they recommend a P-flap surgery to repair that. It's not urgent, so we're going to research it a bit and probably end up doing that next summer. Oh goodie.
Last Tuesday I took Rayanna to the opthamologist for her clogged tear duct. The doctor said that's definitely what it is, and since she's over a year old it's unlikely that it would resolve itself. It'll require a quick, 10-minute surgery to fix it. The earliest they can get us in for that is December 22nd though! It doesn't do any damage, but it is annoying for her to always have her eyes goopy and tear-filled. This week she had her 18-month check up. She was none to happy about the shots, but other than that things are good. She's gained 2 pounds in 2 months! And she's continuing to make good progress in every area of development.
Last Wednesday Ethan had an orthodontist appointment. He had several interesting molds made of his teeth, plus pictures and x-rays. I thought it was kind of cool actually. He'll be getting a retainer soon to fix his underbite. Depending on how that goes he may need further work done.
Sometimes I wonder how we manage to get ANY school done with all these appointments!
And, just in case Jesse felt left out, he's sick today! Just a fever so far; hopefully it doesn't turn into anything worse.
I have to say the most precious moment of the past week was when I looked out on the front porch and saw this:
The two kids who fight the most, the boy who hates to read, in this completely un-coerced, un-staged, spontaneous moment. That's the type of thing that makes it all worth it!
Last Monday I took Tabitha to the Johns Hopkins cleft clinic. She has what's called venopharyngeal insufficiency. The part of the throat that's supposed to close off when we speak does not, which is why she has a nasally sounding voice. So they recommend a P-flap surgery to repair that. It's not urgent, so we're going to research it a bit and probably end up doing that next summer. Oh goodie.
Last Tuesday I took Rayanna to the opthamologist for her clogged tear duct. The doctor said that's definitely what it is, and since she's over a year old it's unlikely that it would resolve itself. It'll require a quick, 10-minute surgery to fix it. The earliest they can get us in for that is December 22nd though! It doesn't do any damage, but it is annoying for her to always have her eyes goopy and tear-filled. This week she had her 18-month check up. She was none to happy about the shots, but other than that things are good. She's gained 2 pounds in 2 months! And she's continuing to make good progress in every area of development.
Last Wednesday Ethan had an orthodontist appointment. He had several interesting molds made of his teeth, plus pictures and x-rays. I thought it was kind of cool actually. He'll be getting a retainer soon to fix his underbite. Depending on how that goes he may need further work done.
Sometimes I wonder how we manage to get ANY school done with all these appointments!
And, just in case Jesse felt left out, he's sick today! Just a fever so far; hopefully it doesn't turn into anything worse.
I have to say the most precious moment of the past week was when I looked out on the front porch and saw this:
The two kids who fight the most, the boy who hates to read, in this completely un-coerced, un-staged, spontaneous moment. That's the type of thing that makes it all worth it!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The Boys
Our boys have some very different mile stones going on in their lives than the girls do. Thankfully, no medical issues (though Ethan will be needing some orthodontic work soon, which I'm sure will be an adventure). They've started this new school year with a bang! We're in our second week of school, and it's gone a lot better than expected so far! They've had mostly good attitudes, and (other than this afternoon) not as much fighting as had been going on during the summer. I guess if I work them hard enough they don't have time and energy for fighting! =)
We've also started some classes and activities that I'm really excited about. We rejoined CBS (Community Bible Study). This is a wonderful in-depth Bible study program with classes for the moms and the kids. Ethan's age even studies the same things as the adults, just at a different level. Ethan was very anxious about going, but once he got there he had a blast and can't wait to go back! Jesse and Tabitha liked their class as well, and Rayanna had the whole nursery to herself this week!
We also joined a homeschool soccer group. It's just once a week, which is perfect for us. Again, Ethan didn't want to go but ended up loving it! Jesse had a great time too, and I think they'll both really enjoy making friends on their teams. I know that PE is probably my weakest point as a homeschool teacher, so I'm really glad to have found something like this. I think it'll be some good fellowship for us all, as well as the exercise benefit.
Jesse also started Kindermusik, which I'm thrilled about. As a piano teacher obviously music education is important to me, and I just love the Kindermusik program for young kids! Jesse's been looking forward to it for the last couple years when Ethan was in it, and now it's finally his turn!
And, last but not least, Awana has started up again (not at our church, but the same one we've been going to the past two years). Ethan's in his last year of Sparks, Jesse's in his first year of Sparks, and Tabitha has started Cubbies. It's so great to hear them memorizing God's Word and see all that they're learning.
I think we have just the right balance. I don't like to be too busy as a family, but I also know that if we don't have enough going on we get stir-crazy. So far I think this feels just right. I'm excited for this new school year and all that the kids are and will be doing! And I'm very glad that as a homeschool mom I get to be involved in so many parts of their lives. They're growing up so fast, and I don't want to miss any of it!
We've also started some classes and activities that I'm really excited about. We rejoined CBS (Community Bible Study). This is a wonderful in-depth Bible study program with classes for the moms and the kids. Ethan's age even studies the same things as the adults, just at a different level. Ethan was very anxious about going, but once he got there he had a blast and can't wait to go back! Jesse and Tabitha liked their class as well, and Rayanna had the whole nursery to herself this week!
We also joined a homeschool soccer group. It's just once a week, which is perfect for us. Again, Ethan didn't want to go but ended up loving it! Jesse had a great time too, and I think they'll both really enjoy making friends on their teams. I know that PE is probably my weakest point as a homeschool teacher, so I'm really glad to have found something like this. I think it'll be some good fellowship for us all, as well as the exercise benefit.
Jesse also started Kindermusik, which I'm thrilled about. As a piano teacher obviously music education is important to me, and I just love the Kindermusik program for young kids! Jesse's been looking forward to it for the last couple years when Ethan was in it, and now it's finally his turn!
And, last but not least, Awana has started up again (not at our church, but the same one we've been going to the past two years). Ethan's in his last year of Sparks, Jesse's in his first year of Sparks, and Tabitha has started Cubbies. It's so great to hear them memorizing God's Word and see all that they're learning.
I think we have just the right balance. I don't like to be too busy as a family, but I also know that if we don't have enough going on we get stir-crazy. So far I think this feels just right. I'm excited for this new school year and all that the kids are and will be doing! And I'm very glad that as a homeschool mom I get to be involved in so many parts of their lives. They're growing up so fast, and I don't want to miss any of it!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Back Online! (And slightly shaken!)
Well, we finally have our cell phone and internet service back! Turns out a tower was hit by lightning during the big storm Thursday. I really realized how dependent I am on it when I couldn't use it for almost 6 days! I couldn't contact anyone at all, for anything! Couldn't pay bills, look up information, or even look at my calendar! I've always been one to value "real" things and want a hard copy of everything. Only recently did I surrender to an all-online calendar and email storage. Perhaps I should go back to my old ways!
Today we had (hopefully) our final ostomy problem. We were at Borders perusing their going-out-of-business sales when Tabitha announced that her bag was leaking. I figured she meant urine, since the valve occasionally opens by accident. But, no. Much to my dismay it was the OTHER bag. Somehow the velcro closure had decided to open of its own accord, and there was liquidy poop all over the inside of her dress and running down her legs. Fortunately we made it to the bathroom without an audience and were able to clean her up well enough to finish our errands. It was my first shopping outing with all 4 kids, and it would've been smooth sailing if not for that. GROSS. Hallelujah....we only have a week left!
Anyway, the "slightly shaken" part of the title comes from having my first-ever experience with an earth quake! Actually, I guess there was supposedly one here last year, but it was much smaller and I was asleep and didn't know anything about it. This time was quite different! Heath's mom (Stephanie) was here, and we were in the living room with the kids when the house started shaking! My first thought was a wind storm, but it was perfectly sunny weather outside. While it kept shaking, my mind raced through all the possibilities I could think of, but came up with nothing! It only lasted about 3 seconds, but it was the strangest feeling. Stephanie figured out what it was; otherwise I don't know if I would've ever thought of that. I mean, this is Maryland, not California! It turns out (if you haven't seen the news) that there was a 5.8 quake in Virginia, and it could be felt from New York to South Carolina! Yikes!
In less dramatic news (but just as exciting to me), I have our school planning pretty much finished. When we get back from Cincinnati we'll be ready to go! Ethan starts 2nd grade, Jesse starts kindergarten, Tabitha starts preschool, and Rayanna hopefully continues to be an easy baby. =) I've got my schedule all made up. It'll be great, as long as everyone cooperates and I don't plan on having any free time. Ai yi yi. It'll all be worth it in the end, right fellow home schooling moms? =)
Our Cincinnati trip is just days away. Besides the obvious excitement of getting rid of the ileostomy, I'm excited to see a couple of friends and my mom too! It should be a good trip. I had been worried about taking a trip so soon after getting back from China, but I think it'll be fine. We've had lots of wonderful meals brought by families from church, Rayanna's been a pretty good baby, and this transition has gone much easier than expected. I think this first family "vacation" might turn out to actually be fun! =)
Today we had (hopefully) our final ostomy problem. We were at Borders perusing their going-out-of-business sales when Tabitha announced that her bag was leaking. I figured she meant urine, since the valve occasionally opens by accident. But, no. Much to my dismay it was the OTHER bag. Somehow the velcro closure had decided to open of its own accord, and there was liquidy poop all over the inside of her dress and running down her legs. Fortunately we made it to the bathroom without an audience and were able to clean her up well enough to finish our errands. It was my first shopping outing with all 4 kids, and it would've been smooth sailing if not for that. GROSS. Hallelujah....we only have a week left!
Anyway, the "slightly shaken" part of the title comes from having my first-ever experience with an earth quake! Actually, I guess there was supposedly one here last year, but it was much smaller and I was asleep and didn't know anything about it. This time was quite different! Heath's mom (Stephanie) was here, and we were in the living room with the kids when the house started shaking! My first thought was a wind storm, but it was perfectly sunny weather outside. While it kept shaking, my mind raced through all the possibilities I could think of, but came up with nothing! It only lasted about 3 seconds, but it was the strangest feeling. Stephanie figured out what it was; otherwise I don't know if I would've ever thought of that. I mean, this is Maryland, not California! It turns out (if you haven't seen the news) that there was a 5.8 quake in Virginia, and it could be felt from New York to South Carolina! Yikes!
In less dramatic news (but just as exciting to me), I have our school planning pretty much finished. When we get back from Cincinnati we'll be ready to go! Ethan starts 2nd grade, Jesse starts kindergarten, Tabitha starts preschool, and Rayanna hopefully continues to be an easy baby. =) I've got my schedule all made up. It'll be great, as long as everyone cooperates and I don't plan on having any free time. Ai yi yi. It'll all be worth it in the end, right fellow home schooling moms? =)
Our Cincinnati trip is just days away. Besides the obvious excitement of getting rid of the ileostomy, I'm excited to see a couple of friends and my mom too! It should be a good trip. I had been worried about taking a trip so soon after getting back from China, but I think it'll be fine. We've had lots of wonderful meals brought by families from church, Rayanna's been a pretty good baby, and this transition has gone much easier than expected. I think this first family "vacation" might turn out to actually be fun! =)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Inspiring Quote for Stay-At-Home-Moms
“It is not difficult to see why … the female became the emblem of the universal. … Nature …. surrounded her with very young children, who require being taught not so much anything as everything. Babies need not to be taught a trade, but to be introduced to a world. To put the matter shortly, woman is generally shut up in a house with a human being at the time when he asks all the questions that there are, and some that there aren’t. It would be odd if she retained any of the narrowness of a specialist. Now if anyone says that this duty of general enlightenment … is in itself too exacting and oppressive, I can understand the view. I can only answer that our race has thought it worth while to cast this burden on women in order to keep common-sense in the world. … How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No. A woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute."
~G.K. Chesterton
~G.K. Chesterton
Friday, December 3, 2010
2500 Miles, 16 Toll Booths, 13 Days, 11 Relatives, 7 Friends, 3 Kids, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
....and did I mention....only ONE parent? (That's me....the harried, disheveled woman piling out of the van with three grumpy kids in tow).
Yes, the kids and I managed to survive our trip to Nebraska. It was a lot of driving and a lot of time to be away, but it was really great to visit with family and friends. We started our trip with a stop in Ohio at my aunt and uncle's house. It was a fun evening. We went to church with them the next morning, stayed for the delicious turkey dinner afterwards, and then drove on.
We had planned to stay with a cousin in Illinois that night, but her kids were sick so instead we stayed at a hotel on the Mississippi River (which my parents were nice enough to pay for. Thanks, Mom & Dad!) In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, and a man who was eating there commented that he and his wife had seen us praying together and thought that was really neat. And they said I had some really nice kids (I guess he didn't see them in the van the day before!) :) On their way out, he gave me ten bucks and said to have some fun with my family. I thought that was really sweet of them.
We made it to my parents' house on Monday, which was my mom's birthday. We spent the week visiting with my parents and siblings (all except Carrie & Lcas who were visiting his relatives in Benin, Africa.) We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner, played games, and enjoyed catching up with each other. It was really nice to see everyone.
Then we started the return trip. On the way back we got to visit my friend Kelly and her family. She'd just had a baby 4 weeks earlier, so it was neat to see her new little guy. The big kids had fun together, and we managed to survive the couple days of chaos created by having 6 kids in one house.
On our way out of Illinois, we went to the Field Museum in Chicago to see some exhibits on things we've studied this year. That was pretty fun.
Then we trudged on to our last stop (back at Ken & Debbie's again), and didn't get there until 10:30pm. So we just went to sleep, woke up, and finished our journey Thursday afternoon. My wonderful husband had decided to skip his appointment that night so he could be home with us. We'd missed him a lot, and even he was ready for a little life to return to the quiet house. The dog, too, was ecstatic to see us. Heath said she just lay on Ethan's bed the whole time we were gone.
Yes, the kids and I managed to survive our trip to Nebraska. It was a lot of driving and a lot of time to be away, but it was really great to visit with family and friends. We started our trip with a stop in Ohio at my aunt and uncle's house. It was a fun evening. We went to church with them the next morning, stayed for the delicious turkey dinner afterwards, and then drove on.
We had planned to stay with a cousin in Illinois that night, but her kids were sick so instead we stayed at a hotel on the Mississippi River (which my parents were nice enough to pay for. Thanks, Mom & Dad!) In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, and a man who was eating there commented that he and his wife had seen us praying together and thought that was really neat. And they said I had some really nice kids (I guess he didn't see them in the van the day before!) :) On their way out, he gave me ten bucks and said to have some fun with my family. I thought that was really sweet of them.
We made it to my parents' house on Monday, which was my mom's birthday. We spent the week visiting with my parents and siblings (all except Carrie & Lcas who were visiting his relatives in Benin, Africa.) We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner, played games, and enjoyed catching up with each other. It was really nice to see everyone.
Then we started the return trip. On the way back we got to visit my friend Kelly and her family. She'd just had a baby 4 weeks earlier, so it was neat to see her new little guy. The big kids had fun together, and we managed to survive the couple days of chaos created by having 6 kids in one house.
On our way out of Illinois, we went to the Field Museum in Chicago to see some exhibits on things we've studied this year. That was pretty fun.
Then we trudged on to our last stop (back at Ken & Debbie's again), and didn't get there until 10:30pm. So we just went to sleep, woke up, and finished our journey Thursday afternoon. My wonderful husband had decided to skip his appointment that night so he could be home with us. We'd missed him a lot, and even he was ready for a little life to return to the quiet house. The dog, too, was ecstatic to see us. Heath said she just lay on Ethan's bed the whole time we were gone.
It's always nice to come home, but I'm so thankful for our time away and how well everything went. I'm especially grateful that we didn't have an ounce of car trouble during all those 2500 miles. And I'm very thankful for family and friends, and the modern highways that make visiting them possible. Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Unit 1 Complete!
This year we've started using the Tapestry of Grace curriculum, which I am really loving! We just finished the first unit, which covered Creation through the Israelites' wandering in the wilderness. Here are several pictures of our projects. It's been really fun! =)
Here's Ethan with his pyramid birthday cake. It was even filled with treasure inside! (Mom, thanks for the idea. Heath, thanks for sculpting and frosting!)
Ethan with his 10 Commandments tablets, made of salt dough.
we made a model of the Tabernacle
unleavened bread (It was gross.)
Mesopotamian jewelry
a ziggurat
salt dough map
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