nine

In early 2001, Lucas was 7 months old, I had just come off of working a long-term substitute position, and Kyle had a new job. We were not planning on having another child for a while when all of a sudden - surprise! We were in shock. But, it didn't take God by surprise. 

Nine years ago today a precious, tiny, 5 pound baby boy came screaming into our lives. We weren't prepared for his arrival. He wasn't supposed to be here for 6 more weeks. He was a Christmas surprise. But, he wasn't a surprise to God.

We were told he'd spend some time in the NICU. "Babies born this early do well, but be prepared for him not to go home with you." I can still hear those words clearly, and feel the anxiety that I had.

Noah entered this world crying loudly and was very alert. He did not spend even a minute in the NICU. Everyone was surprised. But not God.

During his preschool years, we noticed some odd things. Habits, routines, speech patterns. The way he never entered a group of kids to play, but would stand by the fence and pace back and forth during preschool recess.

"He's just shy. He'll catch up. He's just a late bloomer," everyone told us. Over the next few years, though, it didn't get better. 

When Noah was seven, he was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome - a high functioning form of Autism. I had long since figured this out through my own research, but hearing it from a "professional"? It rocked my world. It took us by surprise. But, it didn't surprise God.

Noah is the light of our family. He has such a pure heart. Not big on words, but when he does speak, you should probably listen. It's most likely worth listening to. Though he doesn't talk about it much, his understanding of spiritual things is almost deeper than mine. His baptism was a lesson for me straight from God. (you can read about that here)

He is super smart and loves all things computer. He's not big on athletics, but give him Lego Star Wars or Super Hero Squad and he's completely satisfied.

He rarely complains (unless it's at dinner. That's another post for another day) and is very easy going as long as he has his routines and video games.

He has a sense of humor that rivals anyone around. He can twist words to make jokes that I never would have thought of.

God has used this little boy in my life in big ways. He has shown me that my plans? They're not the best. My timing? Not perfect. But God's plans and timing? They are always perfect. He is in control and nothing slips past Him. Nothing.

Noah, As you grow I pray that you will continue to follow after God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Always remember how special you are for you are "fearfully and wonderfully made." I love you more than you will ever comprehend and I thank God for giving me the privilege of being your Mom.

I love you, Mama. 

Just another normal Monday morning......

• Start washing machine for laundry. The sound of water makes me remember that the dishwasher needs to be started. 
• Walk into kitchen and turn on dishwasher. Phone rings. 
• While on phone see that email from husband has come. 
• Read and answer email after phone conversation is over. In the meantime, see 3 different emails that "need" to be read. 
• Child #2, who is almost 9, can't seem to find a pencil and desperately needs help. Help child find said pencil which is on table right in front of him.
• Tell child #1 to help child #4 put together a number puzzle. Take puzzle into living room and see cups on end table that should've gone into dishwasher. 
• Put cups in the sink and see coffee that was made 2 hours before. Decide to warm up a cup.
• While coffee is in microwave, see water bill on computer desk. 
• Walk through laundry room, to get to the car, to get checkbook and see the washing machine full of water and no clothes. 
• Try to push dirty clothes down into machine full of water. Close lid, and hope for the best.
• The sound of water reminds me of the water bill so I retrieve checkbook from car. While in garage, see Christmas presents that are stored in storage room. Remember that something is on sale today that I need to order for hubby. 
• Sit down at computer to order present for hubby and decide the blog needs to be updated.
• While writing blog, remember coffee that was put in microwave that is now cold again.
• Realize how truly miraculous it is that anything is ever accomplished around here!

Merry Christmas!

• It's a little rough around the edges. Guess I should have given them more than 30 minutes of prep time. 
• Jacob seems to have developed a case of performance-based stuttering. Or maybe it's the fact that he's had no solid food in 48 hours due to a case of the nasty, evil stomach bug. Poor guy.
• Could Lucas look any more like a giant in the land of the littles?

Despite my phone's horrible video quality, the kids apparent need for more learning time, and their inability to stand still, I thought it was a success. :)

Seems I've taken an unintentional bloggy break, huh? Life has been crazy lately and by the time I can sit uninterrupted to write something I'm so exhausted that lifting each finger to type a key seems too hard.


What's been going on around here? Well, let's see:


School, weekend company, more school, more weekend company, the launch of weekly services at our new church, spending time with old friends, Thanksgiving, fighting with an eBay buyer and spending hours on "live chat" with eBay customer service reps who have no idea what's going on, Christmas preparations. That last one just kinda snuck up from nowhere. I was still thinking we had at least 6 more months!


*Thanksgiving was fantastic. We head up to Knoxville to spend a week at my grandmother's every year stopping in Chattanooga on the way to see friends. The only picture I have from the whole week is on Kyle's phone. So sad.   Update: found a few pics on Kyle's phone and here they are!

Lookout Mtn. Battlefield - Chattanooga

Had to get 2 new tires on the van while we were there so we hung out at the mall with the minions from Depsicable Me movie.

Had dinner at my aunt's house one night. This is Jacob beating playing the drums.

Hiked House Mtn. in Knoxville with the boys. Noah found a new passion in hiking.

Good times with Lily, Elie, Zoe, & Sam

*Christmas is my most favorite time of the year. Always has been. I've had Grooveshark going with all sorts of Christmas albums I'm too cheap to actually purchase. The house is decorated. Most of the presents bought and wrapped. Baking planned out. Love it all.  


*This time of year, I marvel at the fact that Jesus came down and took on flesh to become our Saviour. My mind is boggled at the fact that he was all God yet all human. "How deep the Father's love for us! How vast beyond all measure"


*I also think about Mary. A few years ago I wrote down my thoughts here.


*While all this is going on around me, I received an email last night about a prayer request for a dear friend. I won't go into details but it devastated me. I truly believe that God is sovereign even in suffering. Though I will never, ever understand why some things happen. Praise God that there is hope through Christ. 


"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;......... ¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 
2 Cor. 4: 7-17

end of an era

About 3 years ago Kyle came home from work with a really nice (expensive) camera. His department had found it in the midst of cleaning out some closets, so he brought it home to experiment with. He had taken several photography classes while in college and it quickly came back to him.

Soon after that, we invested in a much less-expensive version of that camera. Kyle began doing some photo work for various families and kids and before we knew it, he was a full fledged, part-time photographer. Kyle Brogdon Photography was born.

Kyle Brogdon Photography went of out business when we moved this summer. But he still had his equipment. I would not let him let it go. Until this week. I realized we don't really need that much of a camera anymore. I can't pick it up and just start taking pictures - it's much more involved than that. And, with debt to pay and Christmas approaching, the extra money would be nice. So, the camera is now on ebay.

This past weekend I had a mini-breakdown realizing that this camera would soon be gone and we had not taken real pictures of our kids in over a year. So we headed out yesterday to the college to get a few quick shots. Here's some of what Kyle did in about a 20 minute time span. I may be biased, but I think he's the best photographer around.

Pie

This was a real conversation in the back of my van yesterday.

Jacob: "Mom, that sign at Zaxby's says they have caramel pecan pie milkshakes. YUM!"
Noah: "I don't like pecan pie. It tastes like pecans."
Jacob: "I don't think pecan pie tastes like pecans. They just add the right amount of crunch to it."
Noah: "I don't like crunchy. I like soft and creamy pie."
Jacob: "Well, then, you should try the coconut cream pie at Golden Corral. It's sooo good."
Noah: "oooh. Is it soft and creamy?"
Jacob: "Well, I wouldn't call it soft - soft, but it is definitely soft."
Noah: "I like soft. Like Mimi's chocolate pie - that sends my taste buds through the roof!!!"

I can't tell you the joy I experienced from listening to my 7 & 8 year olds critique pie. They are definitely my children.

Risky Business

Yesterday the kids and I ventured out to Kroger. I don't know why I try anymore. I should know by now that trying to buy a cart load of groceries + focusing on sales, coupons, and mega event totals + 4 bored children = disaster.

I can't complain. I have very well-behaved, polite, obedient children 98% of the time. It's just that you never know when that other 2% will happen. So going out in public is a bit risky. And yesterday met their monthly - dare I say even yearly - quota for that 2%. I didn't even see it coming.

I had everything organized. Coupons in place, detailed list made. So I thought it would be a quick in-and-out of the store. I didn't factor into the equation that school had just gotten out and every mom in the county would be in Kroger with their own children picking up something for dinner that night. (or maybe I'm the only one that has to make an emergency run to the store for dinner ingredients????) I also didn't factor into the equation that a few of the things on my list to make the Kroger Mega Event even doable would be gone causing me to have to actually think and add/subtract on the go. Which is normally quite easy for me but between "Stop karate chopping the UGA signs!" and "Where'd Ellie go?" I was not at my finest math moment.

About halfway through our journey I realized that I needed to regain some control. We were getting evil eyes from people just trying to maneuver through the maze of children running down the aisle. Ellie was playing "how far can I run away from mom before she completely loses it?" and Jacob was on a mission to rid the store of every UGA logo he could find. Lucas had Noah in a headlock while Noah danced around trying to get himself free.  I turned around and screamed gently beckoned them to come to me. I laid down the law and they all nodded their heads like the sweet little angels they are.

Then I turned my back on them. And it was chaos once again.

By the time we got to the check out I was D-O-N-E. I sent them out of the register aisle to wait for me. There happened to be 3 carts of Halloween clearance that I didn't see as well as a pallet of dog food stacked high. It was about the time the bag boy started questioning how I could shop with "all those kids" that I heard a cashier call out "Honey, please get down off of there before you fall."

I didn't want to look, but knew I must. Lucas and Ellie were standing on top of the dog food stacked high. Jacob and Noah were fighting with "lightsabers" (which were really ax-like weapons from the halloween clearance).

I finished paying and got out of there as fast as we could.

I'm not sure but I think I heard loud cheers go up as we walked out the door.

Yes. There were consequences when we got home. It involved rakes, a big yard full of pinestraw and leaves, and a very quiet evening for me after children went to bed very early.

I've learned my lesson. I can definitely say that I will not be taking all my kids into a store again. Until next time at least.

Adoption

On June 29,1975 a baby girl was born. That day was filled with two sets of tears. One of sorrow from a mother's heart torn by the decision to give her daughter a better life. Another from a mother's heart that had longed for a child for many years and would now receive that gift.


Thirty years later, June 24, 2005, another baby girl was born. Again two sets of tears flowed - one from sorrow and one from joy. 


I was the daughter who was adopted in 1975. I grew up knowing the meaning of adoption. I heard the stories of how my parents prayed for a baby and I was the answer to their prayers.  Years later, I had the opportunity to meet the woman who chose to give me life instead of ending mine to convenience hers. I will forever be grateful. 


I was also the mother crying tears of joy in 2005 as I received a call that our daughter had been born. After having 3 biological sons, we knew God was leading us to adopt our next child. We started the long process and wait. God brought our precious Eliana home 3 months after she was born. 


We have spent the last five years in awe of the miracle of adoption. Ellie is as much our child as our boys are. God has bonded our hearts together as a family in ways I cannot express. 


Ellie knows where she was born. She has heard the stories of how her parents prayed for a baby and she was the answer to our prayers. Even though she may never get the chance to meet the woman who gave her life, we do have pictures and a message that her birth mother gave her. I'm sure that as she gets older, she will treasure these things.

James 1:27 says "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress..."


Though we may not all be called to physically adopt a child, it is clear that we are to have a heart for orphans. 


How can you help? Pray. Pray for the thousands of children across the world who have no family. Pray for the women who are today struggling with the decision of whether or not to give life to their child. Pray for the families who are desperately trying to find funding to grow their family through adoption. 


Give. Adoption is costly. Our own family is still paying off debts occurred from adoption fees. Legal fees, country fees, agency fees, travel fees - adoptive families often times are left struggling to pay these. Show Hope is one of the many amazing organizations set up to help families fund their adoption.


I am blessed to have experienced adoption from two different angles. This precious face reminds me everyday of what a gift adoption is. It is a thread that runs deep through our family and I am forever changed.

Christmas card crunch time

I looked at my calendar today and realized that November? It'll be here in a few days. Which means Christmas? Less than 2 months away. And as much as this is my most favorite time of the year, I'm not ready yet. It's kinda snuck up on me this year.

I have planned for Kyle to take the kid's fall pictures next weekend (note to self: inform him about this plan) and we'll have to rush to get them edited so that they'll be done in time to order our Christmas cards and the traditional grandparents gift - a photo calendar.

For the past few years I have used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards and calendars and have been more than delighted with the results. There are so many choices that I usually get a few different card designs because I can't make up my mind! I mean - just look:



OR



OR (and I'm lovin' this one - saves me from writing the letter I'm sure no one reads!)



There are pages of holiday cards, Christmas photo cards, even Thanksgiving cards (really? Thanksgiving cards?).

I even found this awesome birthday invitation that would be perfect for my *almost* Christmas birthday boy Noah.

Seriously. Go check out the website. Great designs. Great prices. One less thing you have to add to your to-do list.

*Although I do love Shutterfly and use them many times a year, this post has been written as part of Shutterfly's 50 free holiday cards for bloggers promo. If you have your own blog, go check out the info here!

milestone

Yesterday was a running milestone. I ran a 5K. Not an official 5K race, but a 5K distance nonetheless.

And I ran it in 35 minutes. Which isn't stellar - I understand that. However, had you seen me a few weeks ago trying to complete the "official" 5K you would see that I have come huge leaps from where I was.
I was proud of myself for fighting my quitting instincts and pushing through and even more proud that I could still breathe and walk when I was done.

Here is where I won't mention that this milestone was done on an indoor track and doing the same thing outside will probably not give me the same desirable effects. 

Oh, I love a rainy day ....

It's a rainy, stormy, dreary Monday here. School is done. Lunch has been eaten. Chores are almost done.

Leaving much of the afternoon open for playing in this:

This started as a tent and is now "Chubby's" dog house. Chubby is Ellie's dog name. Don't ask.

learning

What I've learned today:

• You can find anything on youtube.
• Because of this I can cut my own bangs.
• When your 5 year old tells you she fell and knocked her tooth out, she probably didn't. However, you should still check it so that 30 minutes later your floor isn't covered with blood.
• The self checkout line at Walmart will always, always result in the machine breaking down when I am checking out.
• When company is coming I have an overwhelming need to make all varieties of snack foods.
• It takes 4 kids and 1 mom approximately 2.5 minutes to inhale an entire bowl of Monkey Munch.
• When the grocery budget is gone for the month I can be very, very creative with mealtimes.
• Laundry, unfortunately, will not clean itself no matter how long it sits there.
• Never give a 7 year old boy a bottle of cleaner and tell him to clean the bathroom. 
• He will use the entire bottle of cleaner and most of it will be on his clothes.
• I am blessed.

running in circles

Training for my Thanksgiving race continues.

Friday evening Kyle and I took a quick trip to get myself some fancy new shoes. Even though it wasn't pleasant to hand over that much money for shoes to do something I really don't enjoy, it was a necessity if I wanted to run more than 5 minutes without my feet and knees feeling like they were being tortured.

I walked out with Brooks Women's Ghost 3 Running Shoe. They weighed at least 10 pounds less than my other ones and I was positive that my "long run" the next morning would be like running on air.

Fast forward to Saturday morning. Since Mimi was staying with us, Kyle and I took the opportunity to run outside. We stepped out into a cool, 45 degrees for our long run. (And by long I mean 2.5 miles. A marathoner I am not.)

About 5 minutes into our run I realized that running in circles on an indoor track is probably not the best way to train for an outdoor race. I have since started calling our neighborhood Mt. Olympus. The mountains hills - oh how they hurt! I was not the best running partner that morning as every part of me was screaming STOP! As Kyle was running along the lake singing to the fish, I was struggling to breathe.

At the end of the run I sat on the front steps wondering what I have gotten myself into. My fingers were frozen, my lungs were burning, and my muscles felt like jelly.  But the good news - my feet and knees felt as good as ever. The new shoes are amazing!

Today I run 2.5 miles again. This time on the indoor track since I have no one to watch the kids, and they love annoying the college students who are there to actually work out. Flat, indoor tracks may not be good practice for the race, but I bet I leave with a smile and my lungs in tact.

One day I'll conquer those hills. One day I'll run while singing to the fish in the lake. One day I'll stop complaining about running.

I just hope that one day happens in the next 5 1/2 weeks.

beauty school dropout

Ellie is currently obsessed with fixing hair. Washing, brushing, drying, braiding, cutting (unfortunately)....  

And as you see, no one is safe from her new fascination.

Aid Sudan Radio Station Project

A friend of mine from high school/college spent a few years in Sudan as a

missionary. Peter and his family are now back in the states and he is the Executive Director

of Aid Sudan.

Aid Sudan is an "interdominational, non-profit organization serving

the southern Sudanese in several targeted locations in Sudan and through US offices

in Dallas and Houston". Their vision is to aid in growing strong southern Sudanese communities

committed to serving Jesus Christ.

Please watch the video to find out about an incredible opportunity to help share the gospel

with the Sudanese people.

run, Forrest, run!

For most of my life I've never had to worry about what I eat or how much I exercise. Blame it on genetics or a hatred for butter, but I just haven't.

Then I turned 30. At that exact moment I gained 10 pounds - or at least it seemed that way. And it wouldn't go away. Not that I tried too hard, but those 10 pounds were there to stay.

Now I'm a few years past 30 and a few pounds past those extra 10. My love affair with all things carbs doesn't help. Neither does the fact that I'm not a big fan of exercise. Playing with my children outside? Yes. Hiking in the mountains? Yes. Riding a bike? Yes. But putting in an exercise DVD or taking an aerobics class or - dare I say it - running? Not so much. Since the fact that we don't live in the mountains and I don't own a bike sort of put a dimmer on those type of activities, I'm forced to find something else.

And that something else is running. I have never been a runner. I am not a fan of running. It hurts and it's hard and I just plain don't like it. But to continue my love of bread and to get myself feeling strong and fit, I have started to run.

I completed my first 5K last weekend. And by completing I mean running slowly the first half and zooming like lightening the rest of the way. Okay, so I was barely able to walk the second half, but in my mind I was Eric Liddell (I totally just googled him by typing "guy from chariots of fire"). Or at least Forrest Gump.

So it didn't go as I had hoped. I was ready to give it up, but my ever-encouraging husband has come alongside me and pushed me until I threw up gently guided me to go further in my running this week.

We have committed to run an 8K on Thanksgiving morning in Knoxville while we're at my grandmother's. I'm determined to finish strong this time. I still don't like running. My poor husband listens to my complaints throughout the entire run. I have to admit, though, 30 minutes after I'm done it feels great.

Eric Liddell I will never be. But that's okay. I'd look funny as a man anyway.

mmmmm....

Every year, at the first hint of fall, I have an urgent desire to buy as many cans of pumpkin as possible.  I can't explain it. Maybe it's a Pavlovian response. All I know is I gather pumpkin like a squirrel gathering nuts for winter.

I. love. pumpkin. But only in cool seasons. Pumpkin in the summer just doesn't feel right.  By the time November spring arrives, my family never wants to eat pumpkin again.

I made my first pumpkin dish of the season for our church small group last night. Pumpkin Bread. It's absolutely divine. I'm sharing the recipe with you. Feel free to spread the pumpkin joy.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

This probably shouldn't even count as a "post" but I have to write these things down so when I'm 84 (or next year) and I can't even remember my kid's names, I'll have this to look back on.

Jacob just came in to talk to me about marketing.

He said "Have you seen Publix's logo?" I told him that Publix was my very favorite place so of course I had.

He said, "What about CVS?"  Yes, indeed I have.

"Well," he said, "those are just plain CVS letters on there."

"Yes, they are. That's the store's name. What else would you have them put up there?" I asked.

"Like Walgreens. That's a great one. It's in cursive. So people want to go in there because they think they have fancier things because the name is in cursive."

Wanted: ability to focus

I posted this last year, but this is a perfect picture of my day today. Except for the part about changing a diaper.  Strike that part. Already served my time doing diaper duty.


If You Give A Mom A Muffin
Original Author Unknown
If you give a mom a muffin,
She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She'll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She'll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.
She'll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook ("101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger").
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She'll smell something funny.
She'll change the two year old's diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She'll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are...
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

home again, home again

We're back from our mini-vacation to Charleston.  It was a great few days and more on that later.

We came home last night to find one of our largest fish - Manny - had been pretty badly beaten up by another fish - Dempsey. It was then that I discovered how completely opposite my view of the fish is from my kids'. While he was still 1/2 alive - I was ready to just bury him in the backyard. (He's too big to flush I think).  The kids were devastated and after Jacob's tears and screams of "DADDY DON'T LET HIM DIE. SAVE HIM. HE'S SOOOO SPECIAL" I decided burying him may not be such a good idea.

Kyle separated the two fish and all is well again in the aquarium.

Today it's back to reality. And  by reality I mean still being in pajamas at 10:05 am and probably not having a shower today due to all the housework/errands/homeschooling/grocery shopping I have to do.

It's a glamorous life, but someone has to do it.

She's leavin' on a jet plane.....

This is what is happening in my home this morning:

and this:

She actually did walk out the back door and through the gate onto the driveway. Then declared,"Okay. I changed my mind. I guess I'll stay here." Then she cleaned up her stuff and went about her day.

I read this poem this morning and loved it so much I have to share.

Approach, my soul, the mercy seat,

Where Jesus answers prayer;

There humbly fall before his feet,

For none can perish there.

Be Thou my Shield and Hiding Place,

That, sheltered by Thy side,

I may my fierce accuser face,

And tell him Thou hast died!

O wondrous love! to bleed and die,

To bear the cross and shame,

That guilty sinners, such as I,

Might plead Thy gracious name.

by John Newton

Flabby Dance, anyone?

This morning when I came downstairs, Noah was already on the couch.

 He looked at me and said, "Do you want to hear something totally insane?"

I'm always up for something totally insane so I was all in.

"I flabby danced with my pet flamingo on the 4th of July."

I asked him to repeat it to make sure I heard him correctly and indeed I had.

And that was that.

So, who's up for flabby dancing next 4th of July?

Because sometimes a list is all I can do

My brain is not working yet this morning. As evidenced by the fact that I just told Ellie to eat her cereal "without no milk." My 7th grade grammar teacher (I don't remember her last name - we called her "Myrtle") would be appalled. Maybe I truly need to go visit the big city more frequently. I think the country life is having negative effects on me.

I digress.

A list is about all I can muster this morning.

• Our new church had it's first official service and it was amazing. We had 150+ people attending. So excited to see what God is going to do!!
• Our new homeschool group? Amazing. We have all (Kyle included) made friends through this group and I'm so happy I decided to join.
• The leaves have started changing colors. Considering it was 97 degrees yesterday, that's just wrong.
• I yearn for the day when it's below 90. I'm told it will happen. I'm not so sure.
• The other day in the car, Noah realized that Johnny Diaz (the singer) and Matt Diaz (the Braves player) are brothers. He said as serious as ever, "Their mother must be SO proud!"
• The country is starting to feel more like home. We are settling in and adjusting to life in a small town. 
• Today is the first day of fall. Bring on the apples, pumpkins, bake-a-thons, and weight!
• Speaking of weight, I'm in week 5 of my couch to 5K training program. I'm running a 5K on Oct. 23. And I'm still not to that euphoric place that my friends are at where all the world is good and right when they run. 

I must go get Lucas out of bed so we're not doing school at dinner tonight. 

I leave you with this question: Besides cereal and oatmeal are there any quick breakfast ideas out there? I'm not one for cooking at 7:30am. Need ideas!

it's a wild life

I've always prided (am I making up new words, here?) myself on being "outdoorsy". I grew up in the country. I was outside from sun up to sun down every day possible. I love hiking and being in the mountains. I'm moving up the success ladder of tent camping - on the still-need-a-real-toilet-but-can-do- without-a-shower level.  I was the organizer of many Cedar Grove community frog races and an avid collector of bugs back in the day. Having 3 boys who would live in a tent and chase bugs 24/7 if it were up to them has brought me much joy.

But put a spider or snake or mouse within a mile of me and chaos will ensue.

When we moved out of suburbia, I knew our chances of wildlife viewing would be much greater. I just had no idea that on a daily basis I would be encountering every species of bug known to man. Roaches? Got 'em. Little tiny unknown black bugs? Yep. Ants? Sure thing. Worms? Much to my boys' delight. Spiders? Way too many for my comfort level. Snakes? Not until today.

Yesterday the boys came running in to let me know they had found something that I! HAD! TO! SEE!!! I ran outside to find this in his nice geometrical web between two trees.                                                



I knew we had happened upon a rare rainforest species of insect, but turns out it's just a common Spinybacked Orbweaver. Common or not, that creepy thing was not what I wanted 30 feet from my house, but the boys convinced me to leave it. Last check it was still there hanging out. Pun intended.

This morning we were outside for PE (I use that term loosely). I saw some Ivy that was growing into the yard, so I grabbed a piece of the vine and pulled. When I did a section of pinestraw was moved. I saw something and wondered how a piece of rope got under the pinestraw. As I got closer I noticed that rope was coiled up and had a head and eyes and wriggled around. I tried not to scream. Really, I did. Two of my children came running to see. One ran inside with a vow to never return and one stood still. I think he though if he didn't move the snake may not see him.



So it turns out that snake is not poisonous. It's a common Brown snake. Common. Like the Spinybacked Orbweaver. Last check it was not there. Which makes me a bit anxious. As does the knowledge that these snakes have 3-30 young in late summer.

If you need me I'll be duct taping any open vents and cracks leading from the backyard into my house.

10

Dear Lucas,

Today you are 10. Double digits. Two whole hands.

Every year you continue to amaze me by the young man you are becoming. Your name means "bearer of light and truth" and that says it all.

At 10 you:
*are very independent. You hardly need me for anything anymore. Which is good, but also makes me a little sad.

*LOVE cars. You can name every car on the road and most of the time the model year too. You tell us you want an old mustang when you can drive. We'll see if that changes in the next 6 years.

*can and do read an astonishing number of books weekly. You love, love, love mysteries, but will read anything. You are really enjoying Hank Zipster books right now.

*are always hungry. You can eat a huge lunch and I will find you eating a sandwich a couple of hours later. Though I'm still not sure where it goes since you are so. very. skinny.

*are almost taller than I am. Not much longer and I'll be looking up to you.

*wear the same size of shoe as I do.

*have started calling us Mom and Dad. Which I'm not so sure I like. :)

*are learning to play the guitar.

*love music. Switchfoot is your favorite, but you also really like Toby Mac.

*like to draw comics. You are showing your Dad's talent for art, though you aren't really interested in
trying anything that doesn't look like a cartoon.

*love to be on-the-go. You would travel the world everyday if possible.

*hate math.

*hate being still.

*love being outside.

*are showing us everyday how blessed we are to have you as our son. You are an incredible young man and we believe that God has big things in store for you. Our prayer is that His purposes are fulfilled in your life and that you grow up to be a Godly man, husband, and father. We can't wait to see what this year brings for you!

We love you!
Mom & Dad

It was the best of times Part 2

School started and things were going well for the most part. Jacob had an awful time adjusting - to the point of me fighting with him and dragging him down the hallway in the mornings to get him in his classroom. He would do okay the rest of the day - aside from a few tears now and then. Noah had a great teacher and he adjusted like a trooper. He would pace the perimeter of the playground at recess instead of playing with other kids - but that's just part of Noah being Noah. Lucas & Ellie, the two socialites of the group, jumped right in and had friends after the first day. 

The boys took reading level tests the first week of school and they each had the highest reading levels in their classes. They were soaring through the other subjects as well. I was very proud of them.

I guess I started to get concerned when Lucas came home and said "There's a sheriff's deputy in my math class now." Evidently the 5th graders needed a bit more crowd control so they brought in the big guns - literally. He would come home with stories of how disrespectful several of the kids were - talking back to the teachers, refusing to do work they were given, cussing and how often the entire class would be punished for the actions of one student. He said the teachers often had to yell to get the kids under control. That's when I started wondering how much of a positive learning environment this school actually was for him. 

As a teacher I know first hand how hard it is to teach while there are severe discipline issues in the class.  I also know how the well behaved children are often shorted since more time is spent on discipline than it is on actual teaching. 

So I spent the next week wondering whether or not this was actually the best thing. Kyle and I talked and prayed and talked and prayed some more and the only positives we kept coming up with were all social oriented - there were no academic positives for leaving them in school.

To sum it all up - I knew that, even though I had prayed about putting them in school, I had not listened to the answer. My desire to have the day to myself apart from 4 very loud, active kids was put above everything. All I could think about was the quiet. The freedom. The 7 hours of "me time."

All along I was pushing the Spirit's conviction deeper down and passing it off as my anxiousness about sending them to school.

We finally sat down and talked to the kids. They were all in favor of coming back home. Lucas was the most hesitant, but all he said was "I'll miss PE and recess. But I know I'll learn more at home." 

So on Monday they stayed home. We started homeschool back up on Tuesday and things are going splendidly. Jacob - who had been a short tempered, angry little boy since school started, is back to his happy, smiley self. Ellie's even loving sitting down and writing her letters. However backward they may be. (and if you know Ellie, you know how backward that can be!)

When I think back on this whole roller coaster ride of the past 2 1/2 weeks, I laugh. The same people who doubted and were against our decision at the beginning are now joyfully celebrating our return. And the ones who were encouraging and cheering us on are now doubting and left in disbelief that we would want to bring them home. What a lesson in doing what God has called you to do and not trying to please people!

As our family has stated time after time after time - the education of your children is between you and God. There are positives and negatives about everything. Will I miss my days of quiet? YES! Are we done with "school in a building" forever? Probably not.  School is not bad, and I'm sure at some point one or all of our children will be in some school somewhere. Homeschoolers should not castle themselves in their homes away from the world. Christians need to be in the world living out the gospel in all they do so to remove all believers from the school systems would be tragic.

But, for now, for this year, our kids are home. And we're where God wants US to be. And there's no better place than that.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

My kids were in public school for 13 days. Except for Jacob, who just couldn't get over the possibility that he may get an answer wrong, they all adjusted wonderfully. The boys were all at the top of their class and blowing reading level tests out of the water. Their teachers were extremely nice and good at what they do. Three of them loved PE, recess, and eating in the cafeteria (especially ice cream!). The other one loved computer lab. They hated coming home to homework every afternoon and waking up so early, but what kids love that?

To put into words the reason we brought them back home - I'm not sure I can do that. I've put off writing this blog for a few days now. So many people will have so many different opinions and I'm not one to run head-first into conflict. But, since this blog is my way to journal our life and my thoughts, I'm going to try to explain our decision.

From the moment we found out we would be parents, Kyle knew he wanted me to homeschool. Coming from the viewpoint of a public school teacher, there was no way I was considering that. My kids would not be the isolated, weird kids that I had stereotyped in my mind. We did the pre-school thing and life was cruising along.

The year Lucas turned 5, we had a dilemma. Since his birthday is Sept. 7, he missed the cut-off for Kindergarten by 6 days. But, this boy was more than ready for school. He was well beyond what most sets of Kindergarten skills included and I knew he couldn't wait another year to start school. So I got a few books and we "did kindergarten" that year. And we've been "doing school" at home since then.

Teaching the older kids with younger ones running around wasn't always easy. In fact, it left me in tears many days. I vowed that once Ellie was in kindergarten, they would all go to private school.

Ellie entered kindergarten this year. And the money for 4 kids in private school? There was a big sign on our bank account that said "funds not available." Since we had just moved to a much smaller area, I decided to check out the public schools.

I found out they weren't stellar. In fact, if you just looked at their test scores you would probably question that anyone at the school knew what they were doing. But the more I researched, the more I realized that in a lower-income rural area schools are often full of students who have little to no support at home. And it shows up big time in their education. As a teacher, I knew that the best teacher could be in the classroom and still not have perfect test scores.

The teachers seemed nice enough, the kids looked normal enough - so I pushed and pushed my husband until he relented.

Maybe that was my first mistake. :)

I signed them up and they started school 3 weeks ago on a trial basis. We would wait until Labor Day and discuss their progress.

And since this post is so incredibly long and I must go fulfill my promise to the kids by taking them to the bakery downtown and getting smiley face cookies I will continue later ......

The first day of school has come and gone and we all made it through. Getting the kids up at 6:30 yesterday morning was a breeze. Which is a complete miracle since homeschooling never started before 9:30am. Morning people my kids are not.

I had timed the trip earlier in the week and it took exactly 9 minutes. We left at 7:25 to give us a little extra time since there would probably be a little more traffic. And traffic there was. Oh, the traffic. Did I mention the traffic??? Whatever person decided to put 2 elementary schools, the middle school, and highschool all on the same road should have his degree revoked. The school starting times don't even vary - they're all the same. So the entire county is filing through one street. We were not prepared. The kids arrived at school after 8:00 as did half the other kids and at least one teacher.

Lucas would not let us walk him into his classroom. Evidently 5th graders do not enjoy Mommies hugs & kisses in front of friends. Who knew? :) The other kids were definitely okay with us walking with them. So we did. I cannot express what it's like to watch my kids go into the unknown all alone after being at home under my watch for so long. But I was proud of them for being so brave and I knew they were ready.

I met Amy in Madison for lunch, which was a wonderful thing. Had I come home alone there's no telling how many old videos I would have watched of the kids in their younger days while singing "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof. I kid - there would have been no singing. But the videos would've definitely been going on.

After a 45 minute wait in the car line, I finally saw my kids. The smiles I saw when they spotted me were priceless. Those 4 smiles will forever be ingrained in my memory because it was affirmation from God that they were going to be okay. Like He promised, He had been and will continue to be with them. And they're in much better hands when I turn them over to Him than when I try to hold on tightly to them.


All of the kids had much to say about the first day - Lucas made a good friend already, which doesn't surprise me since I think the whole reason that child was put on this earth was to talk to people. He liked his classes okay, but recess was awesome, evidently. And, though the youngest in the 5th grade, he is not the shortest, so life is good.

Noah had a good day. He almost lined up with the wrong class at recess (why does that make me almost cry?) but found his way back to where he belonged. He liked 3rd grade, but can't wait for Christmas holiday. Poor child doesn't realize he'll have 3 breaks before then. :)

Jacob had a good day in 2nd grade and gave it a B+. He had to do spelling which he claims is his worst subject. But the cafeteria food smelled really good and those chicken fingers and french fries looked delicious and can he please please eat in the cafeteria one day?

Ellie's report: We had fun. We played on the playground.
And that my friends, is Kindergarten in a nutshell.