Well, I Guess We Know How THAT Went

Catching the ol' blog up in August? ...not so much. 

I have blogged a little bit, however... just somewhere new.

The kids and I (or just *I*, so far) are keeping a chronicle of our (new and improved) school year on a blog that I created over here.  If you are interested in keeping up with that part of our life, check it out.  

And maybe, just maybe, I will somehow get back to this blog and catch us all up on my family's daily life.  I miss it, and I still look through it every so often.

Here's one little tid-bit of an update (while I'm here chatting with you)... Allie had wanted a new puppy for a LONG time.  I asked her to wait until summer to get one, so she could help take care of it.  As soon as we got back from our (heavenly) summer vacation in June, she was anxious to look for a pup.  We found super-cute, super-sweet little, baby ShihTzu at a rescue and adopted her.  Allie chose her name - Norah Jonas - (remember her love of the Jonas Brothers?), and the whole family has fallen in love with her.  Well... almost the whole family.  I am not sure that Corey would admit it, but I think he kinda likes her too.  

So, here is Miss Norah Jonas in her bloggy debute (at least on THIS blog)...

Isn't she just adorable?!?

Catching Up March: Misc. iPhone Photos

With the wonderful invention of the iPhone came a gazillion more (not so clear, but equally loved) random photos of our family.  Here are a few (and I stress the word few) that I imported in the month of March. 

We spend a lot of time at Barnes & Noble.  We love the atmosphere and the books there!  And this spring, Cooper's reading has just blown me away.  He is reading SO well... and at just 4 years old!

The kids started swimming in the "big pool" (not just the hot tub) in March.  It was still WAY too cold for me!

Cooper and I spent a lot of time at the park as we waited for the big kids to get out of school or their activities this spring.

Allie made some really cute headbands and we enjoyed shopping for her new room at IKEA.

He still falls asleep on me sometimes... I adore it!

~Corey's 41st Birthday~

He spent almost the entire day in the backyard.  His favorite place this spring!  Then, the weekend closest to his birthday, the kids went to Waco to spend the night with family, and Corey & I got to go out on a nice date to a Brazilian steakhouse. 

We still had some days that it was cold enough for stew.  (Remember the Snow Day post?)

We spent a lot of time on the trails in our neighborhood.  This was "recess"on a homeschool day... and it is the closest thing to a photo of why I homeschool.

~ Spring Break - The kids and I loving the soft, green grass between our toes ~

Allergies attacked Cooper for the first time this spring.  This was a night at the ballpark.  His eyes were totally normal when we got to the game, and they looked like this by the end of it.

~ Jack homeschooling in the backyard ~

~ Me and my Sky-Bo on the hammock in our backyard ~

A New Adventure: Here We Go

A new adventure is beginning for our family... and it seems like a really, really huge deal to me.  While I have partially homeschooled my kids for 8 years as they have gone to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and been homeschooled the other days of the week, I have never homeschooled them 100%.  I have never chosen a curriculum.  Never considered lesson plans.  Never been totally and completely in charge of my child's education.

Earlier this school year it was clear that the course we were on for Allie's schooling was not working.  At that point, I began looking into our options for a new school situation.  With her entering 8th grade in fall and nearing high school, I knew that there was much more at stake with her education than there had ever been before.  I checked into a few schools and even toured one... Were we ready to move to a 5 day model?  Was a full-time Christian school the route that we should take?  Were we ready to leave our Christian school/ homeschool combination and enter the public school world?  Should I look into homeschooling her full time?  What would that mean? For her?  For our family?  For me?  Was I capable of that?  Would I be able to figure out how to do the whole thing by myself?    I was open to whatever the Lord had for us, but even as I prayed for guidance I was completely confused about what I should do.  As most parents do, I take this job seriously.  The idea of messing my kids up or not providing the best for them makes me ill.  Literally.  The last several months have been very stress-filled as I have anxiously and repeatedly asked God to show me His will in this area and to give me peace regarding the kids' educations.  And I have waited (some-what) patiently for His answer.  A neon, flashing sign telling me what to do would have been my preference, but He doesn't seem to speak to me in that way.

As time went by, Corey, Allie, and I all felt led to consider the option of totally homeschooling more seriously.  In the last couple of weeks I have had a passion to consume as much information about it as possible.  I have talked to any mom of older homeschoolers that I could get my hands on.  I have asked them for advise and prayer, and they have generously shared of their wealths of knowledge with me.  I have researched classes and clubs and curriculums until I was thinking in scopes and sequences.  And I have prayed.  A lot.

Last week, I had the opportunity to take Allie to the art museum - just me and her.  It was an unexpected treat.  I didn't take her there with the intention of deciding about homeschooling her, but that is the day that I think I knew that we were going to do this thing.  We arrived at the museum around 9:30 because I thought that it opened at 10:00.  To our surprise, it didn't open until 11:00, so we strolled the streets of downtown Dallas and ended up in a Starbucks.  While we sipped our drinks I asked her, "If we decided to homeschool you what would you want to learn about?"  We talked about history, and english, and art, and many, many other things.  We talked about her interests and passions.  We talked about our strengths and weaknesses and how we would handle it when (not if) things get hard.  It was a precious time with my girl, and I think I knew - right then and there - that we were about to embark on this journey together.  When we were at the museum, we enjoyed the art - something that she loves - together, and I knew then, "I could do this!"

Today, I went to the huge homeschool bookfair  in our area, and I spent 8 hours learning about different curriculums and piecing our puzzle together.  The last few weeks of researching curriculum and deciding what I thought would work good for us right now coupled with finding the combination of subjects that fit together to meet our needs has taken more brain power than I have expended in a long, long time... and it felt good.  I went from totally confused and overwhelmed with my choices to fairly certain and very excited as I made my decisions regarding which curriculums we will use.

I can't wait to see how this year plays itself out.  If there is anything that I know for sure, it is that we will have to be flexible as we work out the details of how to homeschool in this new way, but I think it is going to be great.  I don't know what the Lord's plan for us is beyond this school year, but I am anxious to get the chance to school Allie in a way that I have never thought that I wanted to before.  I am ready for the challenges that we might face, and I am excited to see where this road takes us.

So buckle up... here we go!

Taking 4 Kids To The Aquarium (and living to tell about it)

Off and on this weekend, we spent time caring for my niece, Claire, while her parents were on a mini-vacation to the mountains. We had a great time spending some one on one time with her. She is a cutie and made us laugh a lot! On Friday, my kids, Claire, and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium for the afternoon. (I love this about homeschooling - we get to go on field trips at times when places like aquariums are not too busy.) We have absolutely loved having a membership to the aquarium this year! While it seemed like a costly investment at the time that we joined, it paid for itself in 2 visits and we have gone 5+ times so far... and we are members until June. Each time that we go, we see something new, and we love it. We have gotten to go as a family and have taken several trips where we invite friends to come along. This was one of those times.

~ Jack & Cooper looking at the penguins ~

~ 2 manatee ~

~ anteater ~

This was the first time that we have visited that the anteater was in his exhibit.

~ Allie, Claire, and Jack ~

This is where Claire hung out most of our trip through the aquarium - on Allie's hip.

~ another new exhibit - a baby croc ~

~ the girls ~

~ Cooper, Jack, Allie, and Clarie ~

~ by the big tank ~

~ by the big tank ~

(with a flash)

We ate lunch in the restaurant in the bottom of the aquarium. Good food, SLOW service, fun atmosphere.

I like this photo of my girl!

Claire took this one of Cooper and Allie. I think it is a cool shot!

~ Beautiful Claire ~

~ Photo of Mom & Jack in the restaurant (by Cooper) ~

~ Claire & Allie through the aquarium ~

~ in the shark tank tunnel ~

~ Coop & a shark ~

~ Jack & some sharks ~

~ Claire and a shark ~

~ look to the left ~

~ leaving the aquarium ~

Oh, and by the way... it really wasn't that hard to take 4 kids to the aquarium (and live to tell about it). With Allie's help and 3 other kids that were really good, we had a great time!

My Morning

Happy February! I can't believe that we are already in the second month of 2010! So far, it's been a great month.... I know, I know... we are less than 12 hours into it, but those 11+ hours have been really good. ;) This morning, I had a peaceful couple of hours awake by myself to read and pray and think before the kids woke up... It was lovely. Then, my warm little Buzz Lightyear PJ wearing boy woke up. We snuggled for a while then I headed him off at the "Can I play Wii?" pass with "Why don't we snuggle on the couch and read books?" He actually took me up on it with no fight, and it was the highlight of my day so far.

He, like a lot of kids (especially boys) moves a lot while he is "doing school". We started together on the couch, he moved to his tummy on the floor, then he got on his knees, etc., etc. I am so glad that my kids - even the older ones - have the opportunity to get comfortable, so they can learn the best way for themselves. He loved reading to me this morning and would get so excited when he read a word that he had to work to sound out, and there were many words that he read very quickly today just because they are becoming familiar. This is such an exciting time in his learning process.
This book, Pug, is an early-reader from 1972 that my granny gave Allie & Jack many years ago. I love it! It is special to me because her hands have touched it and because she gave it to my kids in love. Also, I just love the quaint "vintage look" of it.

At first, Cooper read many pages of words only. Then he moved to these 3 page stories. He would just light up when he realized what was going on in the story.

~ my happy reading-boy ~