This is only week 2?

It was not what we expected.  Week One must have took more out of some of us than expected! If you are on Facebook, you know we had a child in the ER for 12 hours. Dehydration. Hallucinations from the dehydration and eventually passing out.

She was a little better and had 'come to' by the time they transported to a pediatric ER for further evaluation. She thought her ambulance ride was "epic". She's doing much better but we're still watching her closely as she's not 100% just yet.

Our second week of gymnastics was much better for Lily this week. No tears. All smiles.

The kids floated foil boats around the Nile River and we eventually turned the buckets of water into the Red Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Persian Gulf and found a paper plate to represent Babylon.

Our tutor academy, CC, is going extremely well. This week I captured a picture of some of their geography work. The Hebrew Empire.

Our week ended much better than it began. The girls had another set of sisters over for some play time, cupcake decorating and an American Girl movie. 

Such a busy week, sure leads to a very tired weekend though. 

Today I am learning to shop online at Sam's with their new Click N Pull, so we can simply pick up our items at the store Monday night without actually walking the isles, sort of like reserving a library book. 

Kya and I made breakfast for the family this morning while Dale and Aaron were at soccer. I sure hated to miss his game but what a week!

~ Be Blessed ~ 

A new school year has begun! 2012-13

I have FIVE, yes 5, school aged children now. I am yet to see how a full blown day goes with all my little ones because we are easing back into our studies. But the year, none the less, has begun.

We had to say goodbye to our former Co-Op of three years because we needed something a bit different for right now. We joined a Tutor Academy that is nationwide called Classical Conversations. They provide a tutor that tutors our children once a week in all subjects and then we come home and work on what was introduced and we add on-level extra math and language arts for each child.

Here are my sweeties, all of them, starting their first day

 at their new Classical Conversations Tutor Academy. 

~ My (three!) 3rd Graders and (two) Kindergartners ~

Waiting for School to Open

(because we were actually early)

Kindergarten class checking out their beans in science

Lunch with friends is always fun. 

And, finally, Joy is a Girl Scout! And All American Girl Scout. 

She's very happy about it....

(but very confused in this pic as to what mom is asking her to do for her "pose")

THE FUN HAS JUST BEGUN.

End of School Year Celebration

The end of 2nd grade has come for our girls. A little early! It's time to go to China and adopt Joy and begin our summer bonding as a family of 7. The girls worked so hard in their studies this year and I am so proud of their efforts.

We like to find a small way to celebrate each year. Dale brought home cupcakes and M&M's to celebrate. The kids decided to decorate their cupcakes with the candies.



We like to give our "awards" as well, even if just verbally:

Autumn was awarded "The bigestest overcomer" this year for her efforts in reading and writing.
Kya was awarded "the most math work completed" this year for finishing 1 1/2 years of math in 1 school year.
Lily & Aaron will officially be in Kindergarten in the next school year.
And, I will suddenly have 5 school-aged children!

~Bittersweet~

A Hot April Day

87 degress! Bliss!

We really enjoyed the weather today. After a little "window" school work and a piano lesson, the kids rushed out to play in the sandbox and sprinkler, moving onto snacks and bath.



We'll round out this evening with a trip to Pizza Hut to support our Church's Mission trip to Greece this summer.


Good Times

Artist Corner

Spending time outdoors painting in God's fresh air. ~ Taking a day off school work to just relax.

School Days

~ Another little software program to play with, free for iPhone, making a photo collage on my phone of our school day. ~

Kya & Autumn relearning the names of Earths layers. I've found repetition from year to year is a good thing.

Lily & Aaron are using Handwriting Without Tears. They love their little workbooks and I've found this one for PK & K to be one of the sweetest on the market when you add it's manipulatives with it.

A visit to Abe

A little homeschooling field trip.....

A trip to DC to get my travel visa so that I can enter China and adopt our little Joy, ended up with a side trip to visit Abe. We've studied him last year and this year in our homeschool history studies and it seemed fitting that since we just finished our 3rd Abe book, that we stop by and see his Memorial one more time.


Honest Abe


On the Steps of the Memorial: Washington Monument in the background with the reflecting pool under construction


And our first little side step over to the Korean War Memorial...

Heart. Mind and Soul. And so-not-a-Stepford-wife.

The ladies in my life. They are fabulous. Lovely. God-fearing. Supportive. Encouraging. And yet each of them has something I want. One goes on lots of vacations.~ Another has kids in public school and she has free time to get her nails done and have coffee with friends.~ Yet another has a house that is not only immaculate but she also has a house keeper. ~ And let's not forget the one who has a nice career and a get away with her husband each year. None of these things are wrong. But what is wrong is this....Part of me wants to be part of each of them.

I am a stay home mom. I homeschool my kids. I rarely get my nails done. My house is rarely immaculate and vacations, although we take them, are done on a dime. At times I escape my reality and mentally enter my friends realities. I go on a trip down "Wishful Thinking". I dream of that vacation alone with my husband, getting my nails done while my kids are at school, laughing over coffee with a friend and then going home to a quiet house that is immaculate because kids aren't there all day to mess it up. And when I do this, I miss the point of my life. I miss who I am. I miss who I was created to be. I miss the blessing.

One day, I had the chance to have coffee with a friend. It was the middle of the day. Her kids were in school. My kids were at home with my servant-leader-husband. This friend talked about her days. I dreamed of what it would be like in her shoes. I left the coffee time knowing my heart was in the wrong place. I sat quietly in my car, head down, asking the Lord to reveal to me what was missing in my heart at that moment. Something, something didn't feel right. Only He could point out what it was.

Then it happened. I saw a miniature movie flash before me. A movie of a ladies life. She was devoted to her Savior. She had been called and set aside by the Creator of the Universe for a special work. He had entrusted her with much. He never gave her the desire to carry a child but had given her the desire to love the orphan. As a matter of fact, he had brought to her life 4 orphans that were now her children and another was on the way. He gave her The Fatherless. He gave her his own. She worked tirelessly at this calling. Teaching them. Raising them. Rearing them in academics and to honor the Lord their God. Her life would be fully devoted to this calling. She would be the mother of many. She would stand out among the crowds. Some would snicker at her. Some would praise her unjustifiably. Some would recognize the calling. She was set apart. She was the Lord's hands and feet. She was, well, she was....me.

I didn't need to be them. I needed to be....me. I fell in love that day with the life the Lord flashed before me. I fell in love that day with my calling.

Don't get me wrong. I have always loved my calling. But I have led a double-life. Loving what I have. Wishing for more.

Let us not wish for more than the Lord's call upon our life. Let us not grow weary in the work of our hands. Let us honor the Lord our God with all our *hearts*, *minds* and *souls*. Let us love what the Lord is doing in our life. What has he put in front of you? Whatever it is, it's from Him. It's His calling in your life. Grab it with both hands and love it more than a fudge-covered-chocolate-brownie. Love it more than you love your neighbors life. Love your calling because it's the gift of your life the Lord has given you. Don't be afraid to blend in if that's what God has called. Don't be afraid to stand out like a freak-show if that is what God has called. Don't be afraid. Let go. Let God. And while we are at it, let's encourage one another to be different from each other. Let's encourage each other in our uniqueness and let's see how far from the Stepford Wives we can possibly get.



“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” - Luke 10:27


"A capable, intelligent and virtuous woman, who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far ABOVE RUBIES or pearls." ~Proverbs 31:10

It's Spring

From time to time, I look back at my blog here and think "Wow, I have some beautiful kids. And beautiful memories." I don't update much. We all have this thing now, you know, called "Facebook" and it's seem easy to post a picture each day or an album there on a special day. And, well, blog-land gets forgotten about. But what a beautiful collection of memories we gather here on these blogs. Let's be honest, it's really for us, not for the world. We like to look over our entries and remember how precious time is. How fleeting it is that our kids grow up and change. How blessed we are to have these special moments worthy of blogging over, worthy of capturing on camera. Worthy of remembering.

Today I post a few special memories from the past few months.

A family field trip to Annapolis...my sweeties, all 5 of them...how I adore them.


Another family field trip. Washington, D.C's Cherry Blossom Festival. Me and my Bug. She's grown so much and just celebrated her 4th birthday.


My son. My heart-throb. Running through the sprinklers on a warm Easter Sunday. I love him. Oh, I love him!


Look at my beauties. Kya and Autumn, all growing up, becoming such wonderful little ladies. Here they are on Easter Sunday in their "twin dresses". They just bless me so much. It's amazing to watch them grow.


Lord, thank you for these little ones, for my love Dale, for all the blessings you bring me each season of my life.

Jacksonville Museum

During our August trip to Florida, we were sure to get some homeschooling in by visiting the Museum of Science & History.


~Kya absolutely did not want to enter the Planetarium Theater, but during the show she decided it was "the coolest thing EVER." And, that is why we sometimes 'make' our children do things they don't want to do. ~



~ Autumn is not so sure about this body display as she reluctantly poses for a photo-op. ~

Another June Hike

Hiking with the kids in the Patapsco Valley, along the river, followed by a picnic under a tree and a good book in the shade.











~This beautiful part of the valley is just about 3 minutes from our home. This is also the same site we took our "snowy hike" this winter. ~