This and That

There is a nasty bug going around these parts, and it has infested our home.  Randy and Kaleigh got the respiratory part of it; Ryan got the stomach part of it; Hunter and I have not gotten any of it yet.  I, however, appear to have a bit of a sinus infection.  I'm doing my best to fight it with vitamins, juice, tea, and my Neti pot.  

My final project - a group project - is due in tonight's class.  My final project for the other class is due next week.  My last class period for tonight's class is next week, and the take home final exam is due the week after that.  It is so nice to be within sight of the end of the semester.  It is really hard to believe how quickly the semester has gone, especially when I think back to the first day of class, when I drove to campus literally in tears over the amount of work and seriously considering dropping my classes.  That level of freak-out-ness was one I hadn't experienced in about seven years.  Now that it's almost done, it doesn't seem like nearly as much work as it looked like on paper three months ago.

I completed my NaNo on Tuesday night with an extra 400+ words and two hours to spare.  It was the first time since beginning the annual challenge that I have not still been pounding frantically on my keyboard at 11:58 p.m. on November 30.  It was also the first year I worked on two novels simultaneously, which I think helped a lot with my writer's block issues (they are common and frequent).  It also leaves me with a lot more to work on in the next few months, but I am actually looking forward to it.  I am very pleased with the way both storylines are going right now, and I feel good about the ideas I chose this year.

Hunter also participated this year, in the NaNo Young Writer's Program.  He also reached his goal of 3000 words, with a few extra words as well.  He also completed his story.  Next week, we will spend some time together editing it, during which time I will get to read it for the very first time.  I am very excited about that.  He gets a free printed copy of his little novel, which he and I both think is pretty awesome.

Speaking of school - oh, wait, I really wasn't speaking of school.  Well, Hunter's novel was part of his school for the month of November.  There, I mentioned it.  Now speaking of school, Hunter is doing very well.  His math still leaves room for improvement, but it is improving, which is good.  Everything else is also improving, and it is obvious to everyone that he is quite intelligent.  In fact, this writing project makes it even more obvious.

My brother and sister-in-law are here, and because of our illnesses, I haven't been able to see them yet.  Tomorrow night, we are having Christmas with them at my mom's house.  I am very excited about giving them their gifts from us.  And nervous.  I hope they like them.  Speaking of which, I still have one of them to finish up today - and maybe tomorrow; we'll see how today goes.

My mom is so wonderful that she is going to take my kiddos today a couple of hours early.  She usually comes to our house on Thursdays to watch them while I go to class.  Today she asked if I could meet her with them and she could take them to her house, since my brother and sister-in-law are here.  Of course I didn't mind a bit, and since I'm not feeling well - and just generally need a little time to myself - she offered to take them early so I could have that.  She is such a great mom - all the time and in lots of ways, but this is just one of the ways she proves it.

Love you, Mom :).

Holiday Preparation

Well, the kids and I have been continuing our morning devotions, but I have been so busy of late that I haven't had the chance to type them up as posts.  We haven't even been to the Y in the last couple of weeks, because we've had so much to do that I worry about not having that extra two hours every morning to stay on top of things.  I'm hoping after next week (my brother and sister-in-law are coming for an early Christmas), we will be able to get back into the swing of things.

Because of the values we want to teach our children about Christmas and gifts, we decided to put some guidelines on the adult gift-giving as well.  We always put a limit out there (some are better at following it than others.  Just sayin'.), but this year we also added a "creativity" caveat.  Now, some of us will be better at following that than others, too.  Some of us are having a lot of fun with that, too.

Yesterday, the kids and I went to Michael's to search for Thanksgiving crafts.  (Wait til you see what we came out with.)  And of course, in traditional Michael's style, the first aisle (the main aisle, the aisle you have to walk down to get to all other aisles) was fully stocked with a variety of Christmas crafts.  So, after retrieving the supplies for our Thanksgiving crafts, we returned to the main aisle and each of the kids hunted down a project they could make for the members of their extended family (4 calling grandparents, 3 French uncles, and an aunt in a pear tree.  Or, maybe not.).  Anyway, they had a blast; they've never picked out individual gifts to give people before (last year, Christmas was a little...  weird.  And stressed.  Very stressed.)  I'm hoping they will learn something about giving this year, rather than focusing on "what I'm getting."  

In other holiday preparation, I have to say that while I was feeling guilty about being glad that my mother basically ordered me not to make a single thing for Thanksgiving dinner, I am completely over that now.  She assured me that she wants to make it all, and I assured her that I am more than happy to not have to worry about it this year.  Also, I bought a box's worth of assorted wines as my offering to the festivities, so that certainly didn't hurt in helping to assuage my guilt.  

Ryan will not be with us this year for Thanksgiving; we get him every other year, and this is not our year.  In the past, when he has been with us, he has spent time at my mom's house during the day or two before the big day, helping to prepare the big feast.  Last year, he spent two nights, making his brother very jealous.  Well, this year is Hunter's turn.  Tomorrow, he gets to go to Grandma's house and spend the night, helping her with all the cooking and baking.  He's very excited.  I'm rather excited myself.  I wonder if I can find anyone to take the other little monster.

Just kidding.  Sort of.

Actually, she and her daddy are going to spend some much-needed time together while I camp out at the bookstore and catch up on the writing that I've gotten sorely behind on this week.

Well, I guess that's all there is to share on the holiday prep stuff, at least for now.  There actually is a lot more that I really really want to share, but can't, since it would spoil the fun for a few of you.  You know who - oh, wait, no you don't know who you are.  Buahuahahahahahahaha.

Little Visits - Following the Leader

Yesterday was a bit of a... chaotic day.  Hunter and I started NaNoWriMo, which was exciting enough in itself.  Then we also took my car into Best Buy to get the MP3 jack put in (which took an hour and a half), and ran to Walmart for a few necessities to get us by until our next big monthly trip.  By the time we got home, it was dinner time; and then I had the first hour I had had to myself all day, so I took advantage of it and got some scrapping done :).  On top of all that, one of Randy's employees passed away yesterday morning, and my entire day was spent in prayer.  All of that to say, I didn't get here to talk about our devotions from the morning :).

The devotional story was about kids playing follow the leader, who went through some places that made it difficult for the children to follow at times.  Then we talked about how it's our responsibility to follow God where He leads us, even when it is difficult to follow.  It was so relevant and really spoke to me.  It also got me thinking about this past year and all the places God led us that really were difficult to follow Him through.  

For those of you who didn't read my adoption blog last year, the path with the kids started off rocky, with a fight from their great grandparents almost right out of the gates.  When the workers prepared to move the kids into our house for post-adoption foster care, a distant relative, who had professed to have no interest in adopting the children in the past, interjected themselves into the picture.  To avoid long drawn-out court proceedings trying to fight it, the DA opted to pursue that family, and we were told over the phone that we had "lost" the kids.  After two days of crying, wrestling, and bringing ourselves back to the realization that God was in control, we received another phone call telling us that the family, when told they would be pursued as an adoptive family, had backed out.  We took another two days to pray for God's will, and knew without a doubt where He was leading.

The next seven months were punctuated with court hearing after court hearing as the great grandparents continued to fight. 

Then there was a time almost exactly a year ago, when we felt so discouraged by the way things were going in court with the kids' situation.  We left one court hearing where things went in the complete opposite direction of what everyone - even the lawyers - was expecting, and we seriously considered calling our case worker and telling her we were done.  But after praying about it and realizing all that God had already brought us through, we knew He was still leading us forward.  We wouldn't be the ones to walk away; we would wait for God to shut the door.

Obviously, God knew where we would eventually end up, if we only followed Him.  We adopted our children in February of this year, and not a day goes by that I don't thank God for giving us the faith and strength to follow Him over the difficult paths.

Today's (yesterday's) verse: Ephesians 5:1 "Be followers of God, as His dear children." 

Little Visits

So the kids and I have started something new.  I really should have started doing this a long time ago, but to be honest, it never crossed my mind.  I'm a bad Mommy.

We are doing devotions together over breakfast each morning.  One thing about it that's really special is that we are using a children's devotional book that my aunt had when she was little, and I had when I was little.  It's called "Little Visits with God."  It's beat up and the binding is taped together and the intro and first story are missing, but I think that makes it even more special.  I don't know for sure if I'll be able to write about it every day, but I'm going to try.

Today we talked about how everything we own belongs to God, not to us.  We talked about some of the things that we think of as "ours," but are really God's, because He gave them to us and lets us use them.  It's a concept I've always known of course, but don't think about every single day.  Since having so many blessings come into my life over the past few years - my husband and children to name a few - I've tried hard not to take anything for granted.  But I still fail at that every single day.  

For example, I sometimes think of things as "mine" and I don't want to share them.  And that is the complete opposite attitude of the one that I should have.  We are expected to use what we have to help others, to show them Christ.  The last thing we are supposed to do with what God has given us is keep it to ourselves.  What good are our treasures here on earth except if we can use them for the good of people and souls?

Also, we are planning to move in the spring.  In all honesty, we are sorely in need of a bigger house.  The house we are in now was perfect for a married couple and a half-time kid, but is nowhere near enough room for a family of five, let alone a family of five-hoping-to-be-six.  God has really been gracious and merciful in laying out the path for our family, in guiding us in the directions He has for us, and in closing doors on the directions He does not have for us.  But lately, I have been thinking a lot lately that I just can't wait to find our new home and move into it.  Now, I know it's not wrong to be excited and eager for some positive changes for our family, and I'm certainly not trying to "rush" God.  I'm simply ready to get out of our tiny space and into something better suited for our growing family and extended family.  But, our devotions this morning were a reminder to me not to take what I do have for granted.  Even our tiny house with its tiny bedrooms and tiny kitchen and tiny yard was given to us by God, and we are by all means grateful to have it.

My hope after today's devotion is to be a better example for my kids, so that they can understand these concepts as we study and learn them, and so that they can see what it means to truly live in Christ.

Today's verse: Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."

Random Thoughts and Updates

Oops - it's been more than a month since the last time that I wrote.  I've actually thought about posting a number of times this month, but sometimes I sit here and stare at the blank page thinking that whatever I write will sound mundane and dull.

Homeschooling is going really well.  Hunter is now working at fifth grade level in every subject except math.  We went back to basics in math, and he has been memorizing his basic multiplication facts (I still can't get over the fact that in fourth grade, he wasn't memorizing the single digit multiplication facts - in fact, he was still doing addition and subtraction).  He's doing very well with that though, and I have no doubts that he will be doing fifth grade math very soon.  In reading and spelling, he has been doing fifth grade work since the beginning of the year, and while we had a rocky start, he is now plowing ahead and doing well at both subjects.  

In fact, last week we did his second spelling test.  He had gotten 10 out of 20 words right on his first spelling test two weeks before.  The second week, we devoted extra time to the words he missed, and on a second test he got them all right.  Last week when we did his second spelling test, he only missed 2 words!

In social studies, we are working on a United States nation notebook this semester.  Next semester we will pick another country to do a notebook on.  Hunter is enjoying this project because he gets to use the computer.  I like it because it doubles as typing class and he doesn't even realize he's having a second class!  Although we are going to find some typing games to help him continue to sharpen those skills.

Now that it is the first week of October, we will begin the pre-work on his novel for November's National Novel Writing Month challenge - sketching a rough plot outline, characters, etc.  This is where the typing games will come in, so that he can be fully prepared to meet the goals he sets for himself.  In the Young Writer's Program, the participants get to choose their own word count goal before beginning their novels.  We received our supplies this week for the challenge - buttons, progress chart, stickers - and I think that if we meet our halfway goals, I will reward us with NaNoWriMo t-shirts.  I have wanted to get one ever since I started in 2006.  I'm really looking forward to sharing this project with Hunter; I hope he enjoys it every bit as much as I have.

Our Bible curriculum finally came last week, so we'll begin that this week.  Hunter has been working on his verses for Awana for Bible, so I think we'll alternate that with the Bible workbook.


Last week was a rough week all around.  Randy had surgery on Wednesday, and Kaleigh and I had upper respiratory infections all week and are still getting over them.  My mom was kind enough to take the kids on Friday and Saturday so that I could spend the days at the hospital with Randy.  He's doing well, and we're hoping he'll be coming home this week.

I've started on Christmas presents this week.  We're doing something a little different with the adults this year; we set a price limit and a "rule" that we have to be creative.  I can't say here what I'm doing for that, but I can say I'm pretty excited about it.

I guess that's about all the update for now.  I'll try to keep up a little more often from now on.  But no promises...  ;-)

Happy First Day of School!

Well, today is our first second day of homeschooling!  So far, so good.  I even got my own homework done, a day early.

Now I will proceed to tell you about our FIRST day.

We started off the morning with breakfast, as usual, and then had a bit of a casual morning since I got only two hours of sleep the night before.  After I got things together and the kids had had a little while to wake up and get used to the idea of starting school again, we discussed the year overall and what we hope to accomplish and learn.  Hunter had the opportunity to put in some input on studies and field trips, and we talked about how homeschooling will be different from his public school.  

Then we got in and did some review.  Since our textbooks aren't here yet, I'll just be winging it for a few days; I'm pretty sure I won't have a hard time connecting summer school with new school year, since I made up his entire summer school curriculum myself too.  

I let Hunter choose his first assignment to review writing and spelling, and he chose to write a paragraph (which, I will admit, stunned me just slightly).  The words he struggled with spelling, we used as this week's spelling words, and he proceed to do spelling.  Then we organized our school supplies, took a break for a snack and chores, Hunter did a handwriting assignment, and we all took a little walk outside in the beautiful weather.  While on our walk, we talked about measurements - cups, pints, quarts, gallons - and figured out some math in relation to that.  We also talked about safety when we're away from home, and had the chance to discuss respecting others and their personal property.  Then we came home and had lunch and quiet time, where Hunter did his reading. 

Today we'll add health class to the mix - since that textbook just arrived in the mail! - and tomorrow, we'll get back to the Y for morning P.E.  One thing I need to do is find some additional organizing tools for our school supplies.  Haven't decided on what to use for that yet, since I don't have room for another book shelf anywhere in this house.

Busy... and Not so Busy

So it's been kind of busy around here.  I spent a lot of time this week writing: editing the current novel, reading excerpts of other people's novels, and writing query letters, not to mention doing a bit of setup for the next novel, the writing of which begins in November.  There is much cleaning to get done around here, as we will be having guests for two days this Labor Day weekend: a friend of mine from college and her daughter.  Much fun is planned.  I love reunions, almost as much as I love having guests!

Today I ordered Hunter's school books for this year.  I had a lot of fun researching and selecting books for Reading Comprehension, Health, Science, Spelling, and Bible.  I am also having fun planning my own curricula for Math, Literature, and Social Studies.  I'm sure that as we work our way through the year, our plans will bend and in some cases take paths other than what we originally planned - but that's a HUGE benefit to homeschooling.  I'm really excited about the idea of creating our learning as we go.

And in the midst of the busy-ness around here, I've been giving the kids a week to just relax and not worry about too many responsibilities, as a sort of break before starting school next week.  It's mostly Hunter who is affected by this, as Kaleigh, at the age of four, has few household responsibilities and won't be held to any formal academics this year.  I think they are both enjoying the chance to relax and recharge though.

I guess that's it for now.  More to come as we begin our big adventure next week!