Stuff and Things

SO much has happened since my last post.  (I know, I know - you're tired of hearing that EVERY time I write.)

We had an AWESOME start to the school year.  We have, for the most part, stuck with a good routine and daily schedule, switching it up here and there when necessary.  These last week and a half have been a bit too relaxed for my liking, but next week is our Fall 9-week Break, which is sorely needed; and I fully expect us to start strong again after that. 

Part of the reason we've had a relaxed couple of weeks is because I made and canned 18 quarts of apple sauce and about 2 dozen quarts of apple cider.  Then my dad "surprised" me with two HUGE boxes of grapes from his buddy's vineyard; so last week, with the kids' help, I got about half of them done and canned into grape juice.  I have 6 dozen quarts so far, which means there are another 6-8 dozen quarts' worth of grapes left to can.  Oh, and I'm down to a dozen jars, AFTER buying another 2 dozen last week.  So this should be interesting.

K3's TPR was FINALLY filed with the court, and the initial appearance hearing was Monday.  It was adjourned.  It will likely be adjourned again.  If you remember from Liam's case, this is the norm.  But I'm more frustrated about this case than I was with his, because she shouldn't even have to be worrying about permanence.  This should have been over and done a long time ago.  I continue to pray for a miracle, but it's hard not to be discouraged some days.

Liam turned TWO a couple of weeks ago!  It's pretty ridiculous; I still can't really believe he's 2 already.  It still seems like it was just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital.  Soon my K4 will also be 2; not sure how I feel about having two 2 year olds!  

Speaking of K4, we have, after much discussion and mind-changing and negotiating, come up with her new name.  :-D

Friday is November 1st, which means the beginning of National Novel Writing Month.  For the past three years, Hunter has joined me in the novel-writing adventure.  This year, Kaleigh will also participate!  For those who are not familiar with the Young Writer's Program branch of NaNoWriMo, the coolest part about it is that participants choose their own word count.  The kids and I discussed and agreed upon their word counts for this year; but I can't tell you what they are juuuuuuust yet.  Don't worry; you'll find out soon enough ;-).

Randy and I took the kids out to the county park for their annual "school" pics this past Sunday afternoon.  I SO wish I could share them here, but I can't.  Well, I can actually share pictures of three of them, but since I can't share them all, I don't really want to share any.  It doesn't feel right.

I guess those are the highlights.  

The day-to-day feels like a grind many days.  Liam and K4 take turns (or sometimes not) being whiny and clingy.  K2 and K3 take turns being deliberately disobedient.  Hunter can't quite figure out how to get to the maturity level of a 13 year old.  But Liam and K4 also take turns wanting kisses and hugs.  K2 and K3 are doing amazingly better at getting along with each other than they were several months ago.  Hunter is learning, even though slowly, and sometimes I am somewhat taken aback by his thoughtfulness and kind-heartedness.  So just as many days are fun and exciting and enjoyable.

Time to go think about dinner for tonight.

Three Years

Three years ago today, we finalized Hunter and Kaleigh's adoption.  They had been with us nearly a year, and when they came to us, their case was supposed to be finished quickly.  They were nearly through the TPR (Termination of Parental Rights), and just needed an adoptive placement before the judge would complete the final step.

It turned out to be more complicated than that, and more than once we contemplated throwing in the towel; but God had other plans.  He kept tugging our hearts toward fighting for them, and He was faithful to see us through those difficult times.

It's hard to believe it's been a whole three years - and it's hard to believe it's been only three years.  They both continue to thrive, learn, and grow as little people.  I am very proud of the way they have handled all the changes that have come into our family the past three years.

And most of all, I am blessed that they call me "Mom."

Multiple Updates

I know the update on Liam is what everyone is reading for, so I'll lead with that.  Then if you don't want to hear about the hum-drum stuff, you don't have to.  ;-)

(Just a reminder, Liam is not yet his legal name; so we aren't breaking any rules here.)

We had pretrial this week, and while I didn't go, the CW updated me after the hearing.  BM was still going to fight because she "thinks she deserves the chance to parent him."  Yeah, don't even get me started.  Then her lawyer asked for the hearing to be rescheduled, but the judge denied his request, because there is only one other case ahead of ours, and it sounds like there is a pretty good chance they won't be ready - which means our trial would start Monday!  I received a subpoena in the mail last week from the DA's office; I'm not sure if they will actually want me to testify or if they did it just in case they go right into the Best Interest phase after the Grounds phase is complete.  (I can't imagine any reason I would be called to testify in the Grounds phase, since that is about proving there are sufficient grounds for TPR, and the Best Interest phase is about deciding what is in the best interest of child as far as permanency.  Typically a foster parent would be called in the Best Interest phase in order to state their desire/willingness to adopt the child.)

Apparently the judge gave BM a speech about doing what was best for Liam, and her attorney and a permanency counselor were still going to talk to her after trial about doing voluntary.  Still, I have to say, I don't really want her to do voluntary.  She is the person who would turn it around on herself, brag that she "gave her son up for adoption" (which is an inaccurate statement when CPS is involved), and try to make everyone feel sorry for her and believe she is a selfless person.  Yes, I'm aware it sounds somewhat selfish, or bitter, but after everything she has put him and us through over the past two years (because she was abusing him in utero), she should go through a trial and see what that's like.  But, that's neither here nor there; we will see on Monday how it goes.

The Little Man in question is teething, once again getting four teeth at once.  Between that and the periodic withdrawals, he can be quite the crank monster, not to mention he is drooling like nobody's business.  He still has his happy times though, which I am very thankful for - he is such a sweet baby!  At the moment he is digging through his diaper bag, pulling out snacks, his water bottle, and the few toys I keep in there.  He loves to eat - his favorite foods are bananas (his first official word besides Mama and Dada was Nana) and avocados.  He has absolutely no interest in walking (which is fine with me HAHA!) but can crawl like a maniac and get all the way around the main floor circle at a ridiculous lightning speed.

My little K3 will be 4 years old in only a month and a half!  It's so crazy to think about that, when she was just a couple of months over 3 when she came to us.  She has really grown in development over the past 8 months.  We have had some pretty serious behavior issues with her; she is in therapy, but at such a young age therapy can only do so much.  It is sad to think about the possibilities when it comes to realizing what is behind the behaviors.  I have a feeling that part of the deal is that she knows she is in a safe place now, and perhaps her mind has "permission" to start remembering things that maybe it wasn't safe to remember before.  I may be wrong about that, and I'm sure there are other factors and triggers as well - I'm quite certain BD told her she was going to come live with him soon - but I think that's at least part of it.  She loves to play with babies, and also enjoys coloring, though doesn't always like to sit still and concentrate for very long, as is typical for her developmental age.

Kaleigh has struggled through general number sense in school this first half of the year, but is finally starting to grasp the concepts, and has her addition facts down pretty well.  Her general reasoning skills tell me that once she really gets into math, she will excel, so for now we just keep practicing, practicing, practicing!  She is reading like a pro now, and of course writing and spelling follow.  Her favorite activity is still coloring, though!  She is a very meticulous child most of the time, and likes to color detailed pictures, as well as any activity that includes cutting and pasting.  A new fun thing she has recently discovered is word search puzzles.  It won't be long before she is doing crossword puzzles and playing Scrabble.

Hunter is plowing right along through seventh grade.  He's doing pre-algebra work, although the most frustrating thing with him and math is that once he masters a skill, he forgets it.  We've had to go back and review some fifth and sixth grade fractions work in the past two weeks; it just makes the new lessons move slowly.  He continues to be a voracious reader, which continues to thrill me to my core.  He is really enjoying the Rick Riordan books, and keeps reading the different series' over and over.  His New Year's gift of "Something to Read" is going to be The Hunger Games, which he has been dying to read; he will be totally surprised because I told him awhile back that he had to wait until he was older.  I think it will be good for him though.

At this moment, my Christmas cards are sitting in the UPS warehouse in Sturtevant! It's the first year I've had the time and energy to get cards done, and they are sitting in a warehouse while I could be getting them in envelopes!  GRRRR!

I have almost everything I need for the kids' Christmas Eve packages!  Pajamas, movies, mugs... need to get slippers, which I will do this weekend, and I saw some of those little fleece blankets for like $5 at Walmart a couple of weeks ago, so if I can find those again, they'll each be getting one of those.  

Next week is baking week.  I have several recipes ready to go; I'm going to have to swing by Sam's and/or Aldi to get more of the staples before we get started.  Hunter's math homework next week will be to double or triple each recipe (depending on how much we need) :-).  All three of the kids will practice following directions!

Off to enjoy the last few minutes of Liam's nap before he wakes up...

Little of This, Little of That

Things are quiet on the legal front.  

The next hearing on K3's case is on Wednesday; we will not be attending.  We haven't attended a single hearing for her yet, because they've all been for minor things.  And with the way things are going, I'm really glad we haven't wasted our time there.  On Wednesday, it is expected that the DA will drop the TPR petition.  Everything will start over from here as far as the TPR timeline.  In six months, they can file again; they can still use the material and evidence from the past two years, which I was grateful to hear.  There is no telling what BD will do; this case has turned from an almost guaranteed adoption into a waiting game.  And yes, we know as foster parents that everything is a waiting game and nothing is final until it's final.  But you certainly have a different mindset when you get a child who is on the way to TPR than when you get a child that is yet an unknown.  Not that we would love her any less; but you just have it in your head that you can't get your hopes up.  She was supposed to be our "easy" case, the one we didn't have to worry about.  Oh well.  God knows.  He certainly hears our prayers. 

The next hearing on Liam's case isn't until a week from Tuesday.  I really don't know what to expect.  BM just continues to spiral downward more and more out of control.  

Things on the home front are a different story.

Homeschooling more than one child at a time is certainly and interesting and challenging - but of course fun - adventure.  Hunter is in seventh, and Kaleigh is in first.  I am doing some pre-K work with K3, but not on a daily basis.  We are doing Social Studies, Science, and Literature together each morning; then we have a special (different each day), then lunch.  In the afternoon, K3 and Liam (hopefully) nap while I do math, spelling/writing, language, and reading comp with Kaleigh and Hunter.  They each do grade-appropriate work.  I really enjoy the freedom to choose what my children will learn and stay, as well as the ability to schedule their days/weeks and prevent them from coming home from 6 hours of school just to do 2 more hours of homework.  

Liam is becoming such a little man!!  He walks along furniture, but refuses to stand or try to walk with help - he crawls everywhere, and very quickly!  He discovered this week that he loves to climb stairs.  He made it all the way to the top the other, with no help (except a spotter, of course!), and yesterday while I was grading papers, I had to pull him off the stairs no less than four times.  He is eating mostly solids now, and his eczema has cleared up quite a bit, so I am seriously thinking it is a milk allergy.  We already know he can't have soy (*someone* kept force-feeding him soy formula and he would ALWAYS throw it up) so we are starting to try a little almond milk to see how he does.

Aside from Randy working some late nights lately, I guess that's about it :-)

On Grandparents

I want to start by saying I think grandparents are God's most wonderful invention.  I, of course, have the best grandparents on the planet!  My parents are amazing grandparents, and if my husband's parents were alive, I know they would be too.  My parents love being grandparents, and our kids absolutely love their Grammy and Papa.  Personally, I don't know what I would do without them - my mom never hesitates to run over or take the kids whenever I need her to (and I try very hard not to take that for granted!)

Those of you who were with us when we went through our first adoption, know that we had a huge struggle with great grandparents in that situation.  Hunter had lived with them on and off for most of his life, and Kaleigh for all of hers. There were issues with boundaries, safe and appropriate parenting practices, and discipline; as well, the reasons the children were taken into foster care were multi- and cross-generational.  When we started putting boundaries in place (no overnights, controlled visits, limits on gifts), we had problems for awhile.  Things have gotten a little better over the past couple of years, although birthdays and holidays continue to be a struggle on the spending side of things.

Now that we have Liam, we have another grandparent situation.  His biological paternal grandmother has legal guardianship of his 3-year-old brother, who has Down's syndrome.  Early on in the process, I was a little nervous, given our history with grandparents.  However, she and I have kept in regular phone contact, and have had to play dates so far, so that the boys can see each other, and of course so she can see Liam.  She is down to earth and practical; having been a foster parent, she understands the system and exactly what we are going through.  She also has a very realistic view of the kind of person her son is, and what he is and is not capable of doing.  I think (and HOPE) she knows that he is safe and happy with us and that we are a good family for him.  I am actually looking forward to keeping in touch with her and know she will be a valuable part of Liam's life.

It's nice to have a positive grandparent experience after the other difficult one we have dealt with!

And thanks to my parents for being fabulous grandparents, and thanks to the rest of you grandparents out there who are doing such a great job!  We parents - and our kids - need and appreciate you!

K3 Update and Planning for Fall

The trial for K3's TPR was adjourned until October.  There is nothing more to say on that, except please pray.  Thanks!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We will be starting summer school soon (as in, next week).  Summer school at the Shan Clan Manor consists of crafts, games, music, and a few academic subjects based on what each child needs to brush up on before the next year of school begins.  For Hunter this will be geography and math and typing, and for Kaleigh it will be reading (although she is doing VERY well with her reading) and writing and math.

As I mentally plan for this, I have inevitably begun thinking about beginning school in the fall, and I have to say, it struck me yesterday that I have had it pretty easy with Hunter these last two years.  This year I will have a pre-preschooler, a first grader, and a seventh grader. 

YIKES!

I am definitely going to have to kick the discipline level up a notch.  Or seven.  I may even find myself buying - GASP! - a lesson planning book.  EEEP!  

I'm also going to do some searching to see if I can any curricula for certain subjects, like social studies and science, that have lessons that can be taught to different age groups but worksheets geared to the different ages.  Might be a pipe dream.

Well, off to start breakfast and enjoy a day at home before starting up with all the chaos!

Life As We Know It

Life as a Mommy of four is busy, and fun, and rewarding, and scary, and CRAZY!  And I love it.  Not every minute of it maybe, but I do love it.

K3 has very quickly become a true Shanahan (no, her last name has not changed yet).  She is still learning and adjusting, and I know it will continue to be a process - as growing is with every child.  Her biggest struggle right now is obeying.  I get the feeling she never was really told what to do before.  That and she is definitely testing for consistency.  (I think you can guess what she is finding there, too.)  Her social worker told us before placement that she didn't have much consistency or discipline follow-through at her previous foster home, and that is definitely obvious.  But we are working on it, and she is learning, albeit slowly.  Potty training has gone GREAT, after a rough start.  She has now been dry for a week straight, including nights.  Today we went from trainers to regular underwear (ditched the pullups two weeks ago), and next time we're at the store she'll get to pick out some "special" ones (the ones she came with are pretty plain).  I also decided a little over a week ago to quit using pullups at night.  Since coming here, she only wet once at night.  I don't really want her to get into a position where she regresses at night, which I think happened with Kaleigh.  So, there you have it.

My littlest monster has really been a monster these last couple of days.  He is suddenly teething like it's going out of style.  Tooth #2 broke through Saturday morning, and tooth #3 just popped through this morning.  On top of that, he is going through some separation anxiety right now; I can't even leave the room without him starting to throw a fit.  This is making naps somewhat difficult.  For example, right now.  When he is happy, though, he is such a joy.  He is eating solid foods now, sitting up really well in the Bumbo, interacting with all the toys on his ExerSaucer and bouncing himself around in it, and laughing at almost everything.  He is such a sweet boy.

Kaleigh is also still adjusting to having another little girl around.  At times, she is loving and leading and sharing and is just a very good sister.  At other times, her need to control comes out and she tries to be the boss instead of the sister.  I am trying to help her learn that she and K3 are equals in this house - she is not any higher up on the chain than her sister or anyone else for that matter.  She knows it, but does not want to accept that she does not get to make the decisions or control anyone else.  It has been quite the frustration, this past week in particular.  I continue to pray for wisdom, grace, and more wisdom.

Hunter turned 12 almost two weeks ago now, and is also working at changing some behaviors.  Overall, he has done much better these last few weeks than he had been doing in previous weeks.  We continue to remind him that privileges are earned; they are not rights that one receives simply by reaching a certain age; and that they can be lost very easily and have to be re-earned, which is not nearly as easy as losing them.  He is doing well in his schoolwork, and I decided to be done with math for the year (we will still do some review over the summer).  He has almost finished his third reading workbook this year, and then he will be done with reading for this year as well.  That leaves science, grammar, and vocab to finish up before he is done with 6th grade.  I am pretty sure we will be working on all three during the summer, so I will just need to pick a good "stopping" point at which we can say 6th grade is over. 

I guess that's it from the kiddo side of things.  Randy and I continue to squeeze in time alone together whenever we can - which is sometimes next to never with our weekly schedule.  We did have a very nice weekend, with some good family time and good couple time and lots of just plain relaxing all around.  Randy is transitioning into a new position at work - which I know he will do a fabulous job in! - but we are about to see him a little less during the weeks for awhile as he works on getting things straightened out and in order and learns the ropes of the new position.  So our weekend family time continues to be as important as ever.

There are some updates I want to share regarding the status of the kids, but this entry is long enough, so they will have to wait for another entry.  

Happy Monday!

Eve

This is potentially my last night ever to be a mother of three.  If you haven't read my recent Facebook posts, I am a little over 12 hours away from becoming a mother of four.

God has seen fit to bring me, at the age of 31, to motherhood and four beautiful children.

I am so thrilled. 

And I am so scared.

Okay, not SO scared.  Just a *little* scared.  I mean, anyone in their right mind would be, right?  Four years ago, I had been happily married for two years, and the most parenting I did was three nights a week.  Three years ago, I had just handed off three sweet but troubled babies after parenting them for 8 months, and had just met two equally but differently troubled kiddos who would eventually become my own.  Two years ago, we had just finalized adoption, and after 28 years and 10 months of waiting, I was a mommy of two.  One year ago, we were focused on finding and moving into a new, bigger house to accommodate our growing family, and hoping our family would be growing more SOON.

Time has gone so quickly, even when it seemed like it was passing slowly.  I learned a long time ago, for that very reason, not to wish my life away.

Yet here I am, feeling like time has just flown by.

I digress.

We did much work around the house today, getting ready for the newest addition to the Shan Clan.  Most of what we worked on was in the girls' room, but some of that work overflowed into the boys' rooms too.  I took the desk out of Kaleigh's room, and decided to put it in Hunter's room.  It took the place of a bookshelf, which I decided to put in Ryan's room.  Then I decided Ryan needed a desk too, so I brought a desk down from the loft (a desk I have been planning to put in Ryan's room for a long time anyway).  To make room for the desk, I moved Ryan's other furniture around.  Back in the girls' room, I brought up a cube shelf set so that they would each have their own space for their toys and books.  We also rearranged a bunch of other things in their room, during which time I made a list of  some things I needed to get to further the organizational goals.  

After quiet time, we made a quick library run to take back the books that were due tomorrow and get a few more books to get us through... a few days at least.  Then we swung by Target to get the items on my organization list.  One of the things I planned to get was the cloth storage cubes for the girls' toys.  They had the purple ones, for Kaleigh, but were all out of the pink ones, for K3.  So I MIGHT get brave and take the kids to the other Target tomorrow to see if they have the pink ones.  

Kaleigh has been very excited all day.  She had fun helping organize the bedroom, and kept reminding me that K3 is coming to live with us tomorrow.  She has been looking forward to having a little sister for a long time.  I know there is going to be a period of adjustment for her, but I think it is overall going to be a good thing.

I, on the other hand, have no idea how I am going to deal with having TWO little girls growing up in the house.  One made me nervous.  Two... terrifies me.

And don't get me started on the boys.  

Nope, that's not even true.  I am more worried about raising girls than boys.  Although I know God is giving me His guidance and strength in both cases.

I sit here on the eve of becoming a mommy of four.

And I couldn't be happier that God has brought me here.

A Whole Weekend!

A very lovely- and busy! - weekend has come to a close.  We had K3 from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening - and loved every minute of it!

We started with our usual Shan Clan Friday Family Movie and Pizza night - we picked up pizzas from Papa Murphy's, which we haven't had for a LONG time, and watched "Happy Feet 2," which the kids have been dying to see.  Then we put three Littles to bed, and watched "Hugo."  Well, Hunter and I watched Hugo while Randy slept on the couch!  It was a very good movie - had a bit of a slow start, but ended up being quite interesting.  Hunter very much enjoyed it.

Saturday morning, I got the four kiddos up and ready and hauled them to choir rehearsal with me, because Randy had a hair appointment.  We had arranged for a sitter to be there, so the kids had a blast.  After practice, we went home and had lunch and quiet time.  Randy took advantage of the beautiful weather and golfed at Petrifying Springs!  After QT, the kids and I met a friend and her grandchildren, who were visiting from out of state, at a park.  It got quite chilly while we were there, but the kids didn't care!  Saturday night we cooked out for dinner, I put curlers in the girls' hair, and once the Littles were down, the boys watched movies while I worked on the zillion and one things I had to have done before Sunday morning!  I got everything done and was in bed by 1:30, but the Little Man woke me about four times between then and 5:30, when I had to get up.  Thankfully, my wonderful husband got up to feed him at 4:45 so that I could have just a few more minutes of rest before beginning my early day!

The girls got up early and went to my early rehearsal with me, so that Randy would only need to worry about getting the boys ready.  We had two amazing services at RBC - the second service really blew me away.  I know I've said it before, but I have to say it again: I just love our music ministry, and feel so blessed to be a part of it.

After church, we had Easter dinner at my mom's, then came home so the kids could hunt around the house for their Easter baskets.  We had to have K3 back to her foster family by 6:30; while I was taking her into the house, they told me they can tell she is really happy with us.  That made me feel really good.

We won't have her for any visits this week, but she is moving in on Saturday.  I have much to do this week, getting Kaleigh's room ready to be a two-girl room.  I need to put some shelves on the walls for Kaleigh's more valuable things, like dolls and her jewelry box.  I am also going to put in a new toy/book system, so that Kaleigh's things will be up high and K3's things will be down low.  Then they will have a toy box to keep things that belong to both of them.  I HOPE I will be able to keep them organized!  I also have a few other organizational tasks around the house that I am going to TRY to get done before Saturday.  We shall see!

I am thinking about some things I want to do with the yard this year.  I know I want flower gardens in both the front and back yards, and I would like to plant a few veggies and herbs, but that's all I've decided on so far.  I don't know exactly what I want to plant, or where I want to plant it.  We also need to do some more brush-clearing, particularly in the back yard, and that will probably affect the "where."

Well, the Shan Clan is on spring break this week.  Randy is home for three days, so we have a few different kinds of fun planned.

Weekend

Well, we had a very nice - if very busy! - weekend.  Kaleigh and I got up early Saturday morning and headed to church for choir practice.  We were there for a couple of hours, then I met up with a friend for a little while before dashing up to K3's foster home to pick her up for the afternoon.  We hung out at home for a couple of hours, and the girls enjoyed playing together; then we went to my mom's for dinner.  My mom and dad, Kevin, and his girlfriend Hallie, all got to meet K3 for the first time.  Of course, they loved her.

Sunday morning, Kaleigh and I were up and out early again, as we were both singing in both church services.  K2 had a little trio part in one of their songs, and she did a GREAT job!  It was so fun to watch her enjoy singing up there, since I was painfully shy at her age (still am), and you couldn't have convinced me to sing a part like that to save my life!  After church, Randy and I swapped cars (he needed mine in order to bring the baby to church, and I needed it back in order to pick up K3!), and Ty and I went to pick up K3 while Randy took Hunter and Kaleigh to meet the rest of the fam for brunch.

At brunch, Clint, Brittany, and Ava were able to meet K3 for the first time.  I think approval is unanimous.  She is a little shy when first meeting the big people, but seems to warm up pretty quickly.  She is very sweet and I think will be such a joy and blessing as part of our family!

A few days ago, when the forecast was 65 for Sunday, we were planning to find a park after brunch.  But by Sunday morning, the forecast had changed to 40; so we went home and chilled for awhile.  Then Randy took the big boys to the golf store, and I took the Littles to my mom's house to meet up with my cousin for a little visit and so that SHE could meet K3.  Then we had just enough time to dash home, grab the boys, and rush K3 back to her foster home.  Then we stopped at a friend's house so Randy could try to unclog a pipe that had been clogged since Friday morning - which he did quite successfully.  I am married to an awesome man :-).

Both nights, we had to have her back by 6:30 so she had some wind-down time before bed; so it made for two rather short days.  However, we will have her for a longer day tomorrow, another relatively short day Thursday (she gets picked up at 2:30 for a visit), and then Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon Easter weekend.  Then, Lord-willing - and it looks like everything is headed that way - she will be moving in the weekend of the 14th!

Update

Yes, I know, it has been ages.  It seems like just as soon as we clear one hurdle, there's another waiting for us!  

Ty got through his withdrawal really well.  We all survived the holidays, and then he got pneumonia.  He got through that, and we had BF (bio family) drama.  And now we're just getting over a round of family illness.  I guess we are a really close family - we share EVERYTHING!  :-)

But, everyone is doing great, overall.  Hunter is SOARING through 6th grade - subjects he was once behind in, he is now plowing ahead in.  My hope of him starting at grade level in 7th grade is beginning to dissipate.  Now I am beginning to hope he will start 7th grade a little ahead of his peers in some subjects, math in particular.  Yes, MATH - the subject he was the most behind in during 4th grade.  He is also doing really well with reading - the little 8 year old boy who hated to read when he came to us now cannot get enough of books!  It makes a Mama's heart so proud :-).  And his comprehension and oral fluency have improved greatly.  I just cannot express how proud I am of how far he has come.  He is not without his challenges - what almost-12-year-old is?? - but we continue to work on those and pray that God will help us guide his heart so that he continues to learn to make right decisions and grow in maturity and responsibility.

Kaleigh is also progressing very well academically.  She began learning to read in the fall, and her reading improves every day.  She sometimes just amazes me with the words she is able to sound out.  She really has gotten the hang of the sounding-out thing very quickly.  She, too, loves to read, both by herself and with others.  She and I always have at least one book that we read through together over a period of time.  Right now, we are reading through the Ramona series; we are nearly finished with Ramona the Brave.  She is also really into American Girl dolls right now, and a couple of weeks ago I pulled out the few books that I collected as a pre-teen; she latched onto those right away.  So now we are also reading Meet Addy.   I was concerned it would be a little too much for her, since it talks somewhat vividly about how slaves were treated; but she took it in really well, and I figured kids are exposed to so much fictional violence these days, that it won't hurt her to understand a little bit of our historical "violence."  And it's geared for 9 year olds, so it isn't TOO graphic.  Kaleigh is also working on writing - she actually has been working on this since preschool, but now that she is learning to read, she is recognizing the correlation to writing and spelling.  She loves to write notes to people, and sometimes I tell her the spelling as she is writing, but sometimes I tell her to sound it out.  It is fun to see what she comes up with, and I just love the way kids learn when they work things out for themselves.

Ty is growing, growing, growing.  He began teething a couple of weeks ago, and since a tooth has not popped through just yet, he is still cranky, cranky, cranky.  In between the cranky times, though, he is such a happy baby.  He is smiling and cooing and giggling all the time, and it is soooooo sweet.  The week before last he started rolling from back to front - I guess it won't be long now before he is on the move!  Yikes!!  

We got a call yesterday about a 3 year old little girl who is currently in foster care.  They are in the TPR (termination of parental rights) process with her right now, but her current foster family is unable to adopt her; so they are looking for a family who would be able to adopt her once TPR is complete.  After talking through it last night, Randy and I agreed that we would like to meet her and set up some pre-placement visits to see what she's like and how she might fit into our family.  We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we begin to move through this process.  

Well, I have a baby who needs fed and a little girl who is turning into a giant raisin in the tub.  Time to run!  Hoping I'll be able to update more regularly now that we have settled into somewhat of a routine!

This and That

A few personal miscellaneous items going on my life these days...

We have, I believe, a new church home.  We are enjoying it very much overall.  When I start to wonder about something, it helps me realign my expectations to remember there are no perfect people, no perfect pastors, and no perfect churches.  Hunter has become very grounded in the youth group, which also meets on Sunday mornings; and Kaleigh is really enjoying her first year of Sparkies, as well as the Sunday morning class that she just started (they don't call it Sunday school there).  I have met a few of Hunter's youth group leaders - in addition to the couple that I already knew - and last week one of Kaleigh's Sparks leaders introduced herself to me and said that she can really tell that Kaleigh works on her verses at home.  So far, all of the people at church have been warm and welcoming, and that is a refreshing change.

As far as my own involvement, I joined choir back when it started in early September.  My mom was in the choir last year, and already knew everyone; without her there, I never would have gone.  We sang last Sunday morning for the first time, for the Missions Conference.  It has been such a joy, the opportunity to sing again in an organized choir, the weekly fellowship with others in praise, and just getting to know a few people on a little bit higher level.  

My piano teacher from high school - a friend of the family whom I've actually known my entire life - also goes to our church, and has inspired me back into serious playing.  I've played a few times since moving, but it tends to fall to the back burner, with everything else going on.  Now I've been inspired to set aside time every day to play, and to work on whole pieces rather than just putzing around with this and that.  And it's really just the sitting down that needs to be made intentional; once my fingers hit the keys, I can play for hours until something urgent or pressing calls me away.  It has been a much-needed escape and a good way to squeeze in some alone time.

Crafts have also taken up a large part of my free time lately.  I'm doing some crafty Christmas presents again this year, so it's a good excuse reason to start early.  I plan to make candle gift packs for Randy's employees again this year - it's been a few years since I've had the time/energy/space to do these, so I'm looking forward to it!  I haven't started those yet, because there are a few supplies I will need before I get started.  I am also making each of the kids a blanket to match their new room themes.  Last year, Ryan requested another fleece blanket, so I am just looking for a good pattern to go with his theme (Americana).  Kaleigh's colors are lavender and pale yellow, and I am making her a quilt.  Hunter's theme is space, and I haven't decided on what kind of blanket to make him yet.  I'm kind of just scouting out material and waiting to see what comes.  His might be a kind of hybrid between the fleece blanket and a quilt; we shall see.  Other crafts include a baby blanket I need to whip up for the newest addition to the family, Emmalyn; the fleece pillow covers for the boys' giant pillows; and some cards for my personal stash.

Next week begins a month of my favorite extracurricular activity of all time: writing.  That's right; Tuesday is the first day of National Novel Writing Month 2011.  I am waffling between a couple of ideas right now, and might end up working on two novels, like I did last year.  On the subject of writing, I also plan to put together some more query letters and send out some more queries to agents in the coming weeks.  That also ended up on the back burner what with moving/unpacking/homeschooling/day-to-day stuff/etc.

I guess that's enough time spent on the miscellaneous.  Time to get back to my laundry and cleaning!

Last Day of Break

Here we are, on our last day of fall break already.  I just cannot believe the way time flies.  It seems to always be slipping away from me; the flight of time motivates and challenges me to avoid letting idle moments pass by, to make each moment count for something: to get things done, to spend time with my kids, to teach, to learn, to accomplish, to love.

Anyway, it was a nice break.  We made cookies and homemade apple cider, shopped for Daddy's birthday and made him a giant Packer cookie (complete with green and gold frosting!), played games and watched movies, painted fingernails (okay, girls only), and went grocery shopping.  

On Friday, we woke up semi-early and made cinnamon rolls and coffee and surprised Randy with his birthday gifts.  Then, Hunter and Kaleigh spent the day with their great grandma and grandpa while Randy and I enjoyed a day out and about for Randy's birthday.  We had lots of fun just bumming around, and even used up the rest of our Flex-spend dollars (since it's getting near the end of the year, I was afraid we were going to lose some of our money!): Randy got some much needed inserts at the Good Feet store, and I was able to get new glasses, which will be nice since my current pair is over 4 years old.  We also enjoyed good coffee and good food and just plain old good time together.  I love spending time with my best friend, to whom I am just lucky enough to be married! 

Just before supper time, we picked up the kids and took them to Grandma and Grandpa's house, where they spent the night and all day Saturday.  Randy and I had a nice dinner Friday night at Olive Garden, then enjoyed a lazy cozy day snuggling on the couch with movies and yummy snacks.  At the end of the day, we joined our children at my mom and dad's for the family birthday celebration.  My mom made fried chicken and mashed potatoes and a Bailey's marble cheesecake.  There were football, and wine, and a game of Trivial Pursuit; and a good time was had by all.

And so on this, our last day of fall break, we celebrate our happy weekend like this:

WE CLEAN.

Yes, I am a mean Mommy and mean Teacher.  I make my children/students choose between schoolwork and house cleaning.  Muahahahahaha.  

In all seriousness, our weekends have been so packed for the last couple of weeks, that the house has become a bit of a disaster.  My dreams of always maintaining a perfectly neat and tidy house have been shattered.  They must be restored ASAP!  

So today we will do dishes and laundry, vacuum and dust and mop floors, make beds, and put away clutter.  We also have a couple of errands to run.  Then perhaps there will be time for a bit of relaxation this afternoon, before we jump back into school work tomorrow morning bright and early.

Happy Monday!

Weeks Five & Six - and a Break!

Well, at the end of week 5, I didn't feel like there was much to report.  So I didn't bore you with that.

Last week, we wrapped up week 6 of school, and since we also did two weeks of summer school before officially digging in for the year, I decided it's time for a break.  It worked out nicely, because we just finished a spelling unit and a Bible unit, just finished reading Journey to the Center of the Earth, and finally(!!!!!) got a firm comprehension of adding and multiplying fractions.

Well, there you have our wrap-up of the last two weeks ;-).

I feel the need to state again that one highlight of my week last week was on Friday, when I graded Hunter's math homework from Thursday and Friday, and I could see that he was really "getting it."  I even pointed to one fraction that he had forgotten to reduce, said, "This one needs reduced," and got in response: "Oh, that's one-half."  After weeks of struggling over the concept of reducing, he did it in his head!

Another big highlight of last week was when we picked him up from youth group on Wednesday night.  He had a sheet with several passages of scripture on both sides, and excitedly explained that if he memorizes all the verses by January 1, a large portion of the cost for the winter retreat would be paid.  He gets so excited about things, it's energizing (and sometimes tiring) to witness.  (And by the way, this was the first I'd heard of said retreat.  Don't get me started on the subject of one's child's first time away from home.  Just don't even.)  We told him that if he memorized all the verses and earned that portion of the trip, he could go on the retreat.  He came home and for his bedtime reading, immediately began working on the first passage, Psalm 1.  

On Friday, he said the entire passage to me from memory.  I was floored.  And thrilled.  Ecstatic, really.  That night, he had his first youth activity.  Later as I picked him up, his Small Group leader told me that the minute he'd gotten there, Hunter had rushed to find him so he could say his verses.  

My heart overflows.  I cannot express my joy in how he is so eager to get involved in the youth group and the memorization of scripture.  He was in AWANA last year, and did memorize verses nearly every week, but he never showed quite the exuberance he is showing now.  Granted, yes, there is something to earn.  But the verses will be in his heart and his head, and the thing to be earned is a weekend of fellowship with peers and godly leadership and training in the Word.  Can't think of anything that would be better.

Boys and Reading / Kids and Screens

I read an article once about how today's culture tells us that the only way to get boys to read is to give them super-simple reading materials with lots of gross-ness and icky-ness in order to keep their attention.  And yes, my son does enjoy the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.  The article went on to discuss how if we took away the video games and these other kinds of books, and replaced them all with the adventure classics, that boys would learn that there is much more to be had in the world of reading.

I have to say that I did not agree with 100% of what the article had to say, but the overall spirit of the article was spot-on.  Today's boys have been conditioned to believe that "boys don't read" or "reading is an activity primarily reserved for girls or girly boys."  These last couple of weeks, with Hunter expressing how much he enjoyed both Black Beauty and Robin Hood, have been great proof that boys can discover the enjoyment of reading a true adventure story.

I also think, as a separate but contributing issue, that kids in general spend way too much time in front of TV and video games.  With less allowable time in front of screens, kids are practically forced to utilize other, more creative, outlets; reading and creative play come to mind primarily.

I have never been a fan of lots of screen time for kids, but a couple of months ago, I decided I needed some type of system that was more objective for the kids than "No, you can't watch TV right now," but still limited the amount of time they spend in front of screens.  So I made "Screen Cards."  Each card is worth a half hour of TV/video game/computer time, and each kid gets a certain number of cards per week.  It's working out great!  I chose an amount of time per week that breaks down into what I consider an acceptable amount of time per day, and the kids get the freedom of making choices as far as using their cards and getting time to watch TV or play a video game.  Of course, there are a few rules: homework and chores have to be done before using cards, and I rarely - if ever - let them use more than 2 in a row without a break for their eyes.  

But overall, they are both learning a little something about conservation.  Hunter often uses his up with 2 or 3 days to go in the week, and Kaleigh often has quite a few cards left at the end of the week!

Week Four

I have to stop and think for a minute... last week seems like a long time ago!

Hunter finished Robin Hood (the next book he chose) in two days.  Then he read it again, in two more days.  I think it's safe to say he enjoyed that book.  This reminds me of an article I once read about boys and reading, but I think that could get lengthy, so I will save it for another blog post!

In math, Hunter is working on the relationship between fractions and decimals.  I have to say, I'm a little concerned that he's not getting the concept that fractions are parts of wholes, even though I have used many different illustrations to help him grasp it.  In math (well, all of our subjects really; it just applies mostly to math) I like to teach/introduce a new concept, and then continue working on that concept until he really understands it well.  Then we move on to the next concept, having reviews every couple of weeks to make sure he doesn't forget how to do anything he's already learned.  I think we will be spending quite a bit more time on fractions and decimals.

Hunter got a B on his spelling test again, so this week we are adding an additional day of writing his words.

I finally got to the box that had our Ramona books in it, so Kaleigh and I started reading together again.  I've missed our Ramona time!  We continue our reading games, and her concept of putting letters and sounds together is growing; it is fun to watch!  I also got a lot more of our crafting supplies unpacked, and a great work center set up in the basement; so Kaleigh and I spent some time scrapping (card-making, really) last week and over the weekend. 

My dad got grapes for making grape juice, and in true Bissett fashion, had more than he knew what to do with.  So I got free grapes and spent last week canning juice.  I ended up with 5 dozen jars, but still have enough to do another 2 dozen at least; on Saturday I went in search of more jars and found a few more boxes.  Hoping to find apples soon so I can start on applesauce.  We'll need to get another shelf for the storage area soon!

We made it up to see my cousin and her new baby last Tuesday.  Emma is absolutely beautiful, and I enjoyed getting in a baby fix ;-).  We also had a lovely time playing with 2-year-old Annie, who I think enjoyed having playmates for a day.  I really wish we lived closer so we could see each other more often!

Well, I am off to check on the steel-cut oatmeal cooking on the stove, and to wake my Monday morning late sleepers!  Today I have quite a few things to work on around here, some of them fun and some of them not-so-fun, but all should make for a busy Monday.

Week Three

Our third week of school had smooth spots and rough spots.  I guess this is typical, though, right?

In Literature, we completed Black Beauty and wrote a book report on it.  Tomorrow we will pick out our next book, and now that we are in the swing of things, I am going to do a better job of planning out the timing so that we finish this one in two weeks instead of four!  I found a great site that has lots of companionship resources for classics, so we're going to use some of these worksheets as we read through the next book.  Also, I think Hunter will be presenting his book report orally this time.  Time to start working on those oral presentation skills!

Hunter didn't concentrate as well on learning his spelling words this week, and got a B.  Don't get me wrong; a B is still good.  I just know that it is not his best, since he has shown that with the right amount of studying and focus he is able to get an A.  

In math, we reviewed Greatest Common Factors - something we had just begun to touch on at the end of last year - and tackled Least Common Multiples.  He remembered GCF's very well; LCM's were rough at first, but once he got the idea, he did them easily.  Near the end of the week, we started learning about operations with decimals, which we will continue this next week.

Science/Bible/Social Studies - plowing ahead.  Nothing remarkable to report.

Although on Monday, Hunter dragged his math out all. day. loooooooong....  on Friday he had all of his homework done by 11:00 a.m.  This allowed us a nice afternoon of field trips: a trip to Sam's Club to get a couple of items (and try all the tasty samples, of course!), and a surprise outing to the movie theater to see Lion King in 3D!  The kids had never seen the Lion King (I was surprised!) so it was twice as fun as I originally thought it would be.  We all had a blast - it was really fun to watch them watch the movie, and it was also fun to see a movie that I saw the first time it was in the theater 17 years ago!

Yesterday, Hunter attended his first youth group activity.  The youth group met to help clean the church, and then went out to Pizza Hut for pizza (Hunter's favorite. food. ever.).  He had a good time, and it's good to see him starting to get involved in things like this.  

This week, Kaleigh memorized John 3:16 and the Pledge of Allegiance.  She is also working on the Pledge to the Awana flag, and almost has it down.  When she completes that one on Wednesday  night, she'll get her book and start working on more verses!  I was a little concerned about her ability to memorize, but she is doing a great job!  We will continue to recite the verses she has already memorized, so that she doesn't forget them over time.  Her learning to read is also coming along very well.  Every day she is sounding out more words, often all on her own.  One day this past week, she came to where I was working in the kitchen and said, "Mom!  'O-N' spells 'on' and 'O-F-F' spells 'off'!"  She was so excited that she had figured that out.  It was very cool.  We also got a hold of a used Kids Boggle game, which she loves to play; that is also giving her exposure to more words and teaching her how to recognize them.  It is missing a couple of letter cubes, so I need to get to a craft supply store and find some blank cubes that I can use to make replacement cubes.

I got a couple of boxes of my scrapbooking and sewing things unpacked, and I'm starting to get a nice little crafting area set up in the basement. I feel like the unpacking is coming kind of slowly at this point, but I also feel a tiny bit of accomplishment every time I get through another couple of boxes.  I keep thinking of that scene in The Incredibles where the mom unpacks the final box years after they've been in the home and says, "We're officially moved in!"  That's going to be me!  HAHA!!

Well, the Packer game is on and requires my full attention; so I'm going to wrap this up.  

Happy Autumn!!

Week Two

Our second week of school was MUCH less stressful than our first week!  I can't even begin to describe how much of a relief this is to me. 

Of course at the end of last week, I was giving myself pep talks: "It's just the first week.  We're still getting into the swing of things.  It will get better."  But there was still that little nagging... concern... at the back of my mind that we were starting the year off with a struggle and it was only going to go downhill from there.

I'm so glad my louder "voice" was right.

Hunter got an 'A' on his first spelling test!  He worked really hard on his first week of words.  He begrudgingly learned some new things in math (he strongly dislikes new concepts in math - he only wants to do things he already knows how to do).  He struggled through science, but that was basically because he wasn't paying attention to the questions; he often gets into the habit of reading the first few words of a question, guessing at the rest of the question, and then answering the imaginary question instead of the real one!  The second time through, he did much better :).  He is still enjoying Black Beauty, and is almost finished with it, at which point he will prepare his first book report!  We started the new reading comprehension book this week, and I really like it.  It's much more in-depth and creative than the one we used last year.

Kaleigh's main schooling right now comprises learning to read, memorizing verses for Sparks, and growing her comprehension of numbers.  I am taking a "play" approach to Kindergarten; most of her "work" is done through games that we play together, or observations as we go through our day-to-day life.

We are still waiting for another foster placement.  I'm ready (or at least, I *think* I'm ready) for more kids in the house, but I know God's timing is perfect; so whenever I'm tempted to start getting impatient or anxious about it, I just pray and ask God to give me peace and keep His hands on our future little ones, wherever they may be right now.

The cooler weather has been such a blessing this week.  I just love fall!  This segue from summer into winter, when the temps are hovering in the 50s and 60s, is my absolute favorite time of year.  I need to find the battery charger for my camera, so that we can get outside and take our school pics while the weather is so perfectly crisp!

After being sick all last week, and spending all of this week trying to dig out from under the pile of laundry and cleaning and shopping and dishes, I was glad to be able to get a little more organizing and unpacking done in the office today.  I still have TONS to get done, but every little bit helps, and the office is where the majority of the unpacking is left to be done.  Getting that area organized has been a daunting task, but I think once I'm through it, a big part of the remaining unpacking will go fairly quickly.

I had more I wanted to include in this post, but my head is pounding like crazy, so I think it's time to stop typing and give my eyes a break from the computer.

First Official Week of School

Well, we got through it.

It was definitely not the world's easiest first week of school, not by a long shot.  But together, we got through it. 

I was sick all week with a bad virus, so no "first day of school" pics.  I was doing well to get through all of Hunter's lessons with him.

Kaleigh didn't even do school work this week because I just wasn't up to it.  She has been doing a series of sort of "screening" tests for the last couple of weeks, so I can get an idea of where she's at and what she needs to learn this year.  She went above and beyond the goals I mentally set for her last year, so in many sub-areas, she is well ahead of the "typical" student starting kindergarten; however, there are a few things that I can see we need to work on.  She is somewhat lazy as far as reading; she has known most of the letters and their sounds since she was 3, and has known all of them except Y and W (sounds) since early last year.  We have been working on putting the sounds together in 3-letter words, and though she can clearly do it, she seems uninterested in learning to read overall.  It's definitely not something I can relate to!  I wanted to read SO badly that I started at 3 and was reading by 4.  At her age, I was sitting in a mainstream kindergarten class trying to figure out why a teacher was teaching me things I already knew! LOL.

Oops, sorry for that little sidetrack :).

Anyway...  Here's what I did with Hunter this week:

We continued science and Bible from last year; there's not much of a difference between the content at the 5th and 6th grade levels in those subjects, and why would we discard all the learning he can still gain from the 5th grade books just to put him in a book that says "6th grade" on it?

In reading, we are going to have more guided reading this year; I am going to alternate between current works and classics.  Last year, I let him pick what he wanted most of the year, because I just wanted him to READ.  He has developed enough of an enjoyment for reading, that I think he will get more out of guided reading this year than he did early on last year, when I tried the same thing.  Right now, we are reading Black Beauty, and he is really enjoying it, which makes me very happy :).  I am also planning to do reading comprehension again this year, but probably 2-3 times per week, rather than every day like last year.  I guess I'm kind of swapping the ratio on literature and comprehension this year.  Also, sort of related, my mom got me a bunch of used books from one of the schools where she teaches, so between that initial stockpile and Goodwill, I don't anticipate any shortage of good reading material.

We still have some catching up to do in math, but he is much closer to 6th grade level than he was to 5th grade level at this point last year, if that makes any sense.  Meaning, I think we made significant progress in getting him caught up last year.   He is now learning how to do long division with a 2-digit divisor.  He doesn't care for it any more than I did at his age, but by the end of the week, he was catching on.

In spelling, we also continued with his 5th grade book.  We use Zaner-Bloser, which is pretty advanced anyway; and when you get behind in a subject that already doesn't come naturally for you, well...  Let's just say I think spelling is going to be one of those things he always has to work harder at than anything else.
I am still putting together a social studies curriculum.  More on that later.

Well, I guess that's about it for the summary of our first week of school.

I hope the rest of you, whether homeschooling or with kids in mainstream school, had a great start to the school year as well!

Last Day!!

Today is our last day actually living in our little house! 

Tomorrow morning we have our final walkthrough and then our closing.  Then we will come back here, load up our cars with things we are not sending with movers - TVs, food, etc. - and suitcases with clothes for a few days, and head down to the house.  I will begin cleaning, and Randy will come back for another load or two plus Ryan, and we will stay at the new house tomorrow night.  Thursday morning Randy will bring Ryan back for school.  I may or may not follow him up here, depending on what is left to be done up here - I'm betting that I will be coming.  If we have a lot of the non-mover stuff out of here by then, we will do some cleaning here - the bathroom, the floors, etc.  I'm hoping to get as much done on Thursday as possible so we have less to do on Saturday.

Friday the movers come, so we'll only be without furniture for two days.  Today I bought an air mattress so Randy and I wouldn't throw our backs out sleeping on the floor.  The seller is leaving us a daybed, because he doesn't need it, so Kaleigh will sleep on that.  The boys will sleep on the floor with blankets and sheets and the GIANT pillows I am almost done making them. 

Well, off to continue packing.  I have pretty much had my fill of packing tape and bubble wrap!