I am so bad at this.
I find it very easy to walk by my computer and through down some simple musing about my children or my day into my Facebook. So easy, in fact, that I do it quite often all day long.
I opened this blog last night to discover that the background art in my blog had been removed by the creator of the artwork. It's been so long since I've been here, that I had no idea. Wonder when that happened?
Unfortunately, now is not the time to write a solid entry b/c we're about to walk out the door for a rather busy day. Which is bad timing, for I actually have things to write about.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Saturday, December 19, 2009
My Big Boys
One of our friends is a really talented photographer. He took these pictures of The Big Boys on one of the last nice days of fall.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Catching Up...kids, reunions, and we need a job!
I used to be such a prolific blogger. Of course, I was single & had no children. (I was selfish and self absorbed, too.)
Life has been rolling along.
The children are doing well. Gus is enjoying his final year of nursery school (and final year of public school education). He is a kind and creative boy with a wild imagination & energy level to boot!
Mattson is my rough and tumble kid. He tries like crazy to keep up with his big brother! In fact, if you ask him his age, he'll tell you he's 4 1/2 (not so).
The Minis, Rex & Clementine are 9 1/2 months old now. I can't believe that my babies are growing so quickly! (A year ago at this time, I was waddling around miserably & barely functioning!) They just had their check-up: Rex weighs 19 pounds and Clementine weighs 17 pounds...both of them landing in the 25th percentile for height & weight.
******
The Family enjoyed a Thanksgiving Road Trip to Savannah, GA. One of my cousins lives in Savannah. My cousins, spouses, parents, & children totaled 10 people. Our family plus my brother & daddy totaled another 8. It was a blast!
My daddy rented a home in historic downtown Savannah for our 8 family members. It was a *GORGEOUS* home! The decor was something right out of a designer magazine. And not the least bit decorated for 4 small children! :) Rex did learn to crawl in this home...and 15 minutes later he used the antique coffee table to learn to stand and "furniture walk". (Things haven't slowed down for a minute since then!)
We love the city of Savannah. We enjoyed yummy food and the chance to catch-up with our family!
******
Greg's employment is once again on the chopping block. You know, we've been expecting this job to end for a year now. Each time the company extended his employment. This time though, there will be no extension. His job ends on January 8th.
We believe that God's hand is in all of this. God has always provided for us in the past. I have no reason to believe that He won't continue to provide. I might not understand His Plan or His Timing, but I do believe that it is all for His Good. That God wants only good for us, his children.
I will struggle to keep my chin and head up at times. I might not be able to see "the forest for the trees" while we're in the thick of things, but I look forward to looking back and seeing The Plan that God laid out...
We'd appreciate your prayers, too be sure!
******
Ok, 11:51 pm...time to go to bed!
Life has been rolling along.
The children are doing well. Gus is enjoying his final year of nursery school (and final year of public school education). He is a kind and creative boy with a wild imagination & energy level to boot!
Mattson is my rough and tumble kid. He tries like crazy to keep up with his big brother! In fact, if you ask him his age, he'll tell you he's 4 1/2 (not so).
The Minis, Rex & Clementine are 9 1/2 months old now. I can't believe that my babies are growing so quickly! (A year ago at this time, I was waddling around miserably & barely functioning!) They just had their check-up: Rex weighs 19 pounds and Clementine weighs 17 pounds...both of them landing in the 25th percentile for height & weight.
******
The Family enjoyed a Thanksgiving Road Trip to Savannah, GA. One of my cousins lives in Savannah. My cousins, spouses, parents, & children totaled 10 people. Our family plus my brother & daddy totaled another 8. It was a blast!
My daddy rented a home in historic downtown Savannah for our 8 family members. It was a *GORGEOUS* home! The decor was something right out of a designer magazine. And not the least bit decorated for 4 small children! :) Rex did learn to crawl in this home...and 15 minutes later he used the antique coffee table to learn to stand and "furniture walk". (Things haven't slowed down for a minute since then!)
We love the city of Savannah. We enjoyed yummy food and the chance to catch-up with our family!
******
Greg's employment is once again on the chopping block. You know, we've been expecting this job to end for a year now. Each time the company extended his employment. This time though, there will be no extension. His job ends on January 8th.
We believe that God's hand is in all of this. God has always provided for us in the past. I have no reason to believe that He won't continue to provide. I might not understand His Plan or His Timing, but I do believe that it is all for His Good. That God wants only good for us, his children.
I will struggle to keep my chin and head up at times. I might not be able to see "the forest for the trees" while we're in the thick of things, but I look forward to looking back and seeing The Plan that God laid out...
We'd appreciate your prayers, too be sure!
******
Ok, 11:51 pm...time to go to bed!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Homeschool
Homeschooling.
I never saw myself as a "homeschool mom". If you'd asked me 3 years ago, if I'd be homeschooling my children, I'd have laughed at the thought of it.
And here we are.
I attended my first ICHE convention (Illinois Christian Home Educators) in the summer of 2008. I was scared of making the "wrong" choices regarding curriculum. I didn't even understand that there were different schools of thought regarding how to educate my children (Classical, Charlotte Mason, etc). I bought a Pre-K curriculum without really understanding what I was doing or how I'd be implementing it.
This summer I attended ICHE again and it was as if a lightbulb had gone off in my head! I knew that we would not be using the curriculum I bought last year.
My oldest son has been enrolled in a delightful local nursery school. A very wholesome, organic, play-based cooperative nursery school. The building is literally a one-room schoolhouse tucked into the woods where the early farming families sent their children for education.
I love his school. He loves his school. I have no desire to end our relationship with the nursery school.
In a few weeks Gus will begin his 3rd and final year of nursery school. That same week will begin Mattson's 1st year of nursery school.
Even though my oldest children attend nursery school, this will be our first official year jumping into the homeschool pool. Okay, maybe we're dipping our toes in the water (as opposed to jumping into the deep end).
Homeschool started this past Monday at our house.
Nothing fancy. A workbook and some crayons. The content of the book isn't really what I'm focusing on, actually (because he already knows his ABCs and 123s). The initial workbook experience will be useful for teaching Gus to sit still at the table to do his "work". The other thing will be learning to "follow directions" as they change for every page of the lessons so far.
I do find it fascinating to watch as Mattson has begun to learn right alongside his big brother at the table. After a few short lessons, he suddenly whipped out his numbers from 1 to 8 and later counted a random string in the teens. He's definitely picking things up!
Once Gus begins his 3-day nursery school program in a few weeks, we will be homeschooling the other 2 days of the week. At least, that's my plan for implementing homeschooling into our routine.
My plan for the year is still a work in progress, but we're all getting used to this homeschool thing together. Gus will start with this workbook we're already using. Soon I'll begin using Before Five In a Row for both boys, since it is for ages 2-4. (I really want to encourage their love of reading!) Finally, both boys will take an athletic activity at the YMCA to give an outlet for their pent up energy!
Most importantly, I'd like him to begin Christian Character Training. I don't know the best approach to take. This is the biggest quandry I've got.
More than a curriculum for curriculum sake, I have some developmental goals for Gus. Nothing over the top:
Learn to write his name
Learn his phone number & address
He's got basic phonics down, so keep working on this
He's got basic numbers down, so keep working on this
Begin sight words
I never saw myself as a "homeschool mom". If you'd asked me 3 years ago, if I'd be homeschooling my children, I'd have laughed at the thought of it.
And here we are.
I attended my first ICHE convention (Illinois Christian Home Educators) in the summer of 2008. I was scared of making the "wrong" choices regarding curriculum. I didn't even understand that there were different schools of thought regarding how to educate my children (Classical, Charlotte Mason, etc). I bought a Pre-K curriculum without really understanding what I was doing or how I'd be implementing it.
This summer I attended ICHE again and it was as if a lightbulb had gone off in my head! I knew that we would not be using the curriculum I bought last year.
My oldest son has been enrolled in a delightful local nursery school. A very wholesome, organic, play-based cooperative nursery school. The building is literally a one-room schoolhouse tucked into the woods where the early farming families sent their children for education.
I love his school. He loves his school. I have no desire to end our relationship with the nursery school.
In a few weeks Gus will begin his 3rd and final year of nursery school. That same week will begin Mattson's 1st year of nursery school.
Even though my oldest children attend nursery school, this will be our first official year jumping into the homeschool pool. Okay, maybe we're dipping our toes in the water (as opposed to jumping into the deep end).
Homeschool started this past Monday at our house.
Nothing fancy. A workbook and some crayons. The content of the book isn't really what I'm focusing on, actually (because he already knows his ABCs and 123s). The initial workbook experience will be useful for teaching Gus to sit still at the table to do his "work". The other thing will be learning to "follow directions" as they change for every page of the lessons so far.
I do find it fascinating to watch as Mattson has begun to learn right alongside his big brother at the table. After a few short lessons, he suddenly whipped out his numbers from 1 to 8 and later counted a random string in the teens. He's definitely picking things up!
Once Gus begins his 3-day nursery school program in a few weeks, we will be homeschooling the other 2 days of the week. At least, that's my plan for implementing homeschooling into our routine.
My plan for the year is still a work in progress, but we're all getting used to this homeschool thing together. Gus will start with this workbook we're already using. Soon I'll begin using Before Five In a Row for both boys, since it is for ages 2-4. (I really want to encourage their love of reading!) Finally, both boys will take an athletic activity at the YMCA to give an outlet for their pent up energy!
Most importantly, I'd like him to begin Christian Character Training. I don't know the best approach to take. This is the biggest quandry I've got.
More than a curriculum for curriculum sake, I have some developmental goals for Gus. Nothing over the top:
Learn to write his name
Learn his phone number & address
He's got basic phonics down, so keep working on this
He's got basic numbers down, so keep working on this
Begin sight words
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
This morning was so unbelievably sweet. The kind of "sweet" that acts like a salve for your heart & soul.
The Big Boys are of the habit of waking up before the crack of dawn and then promptly arrive in our room with an incredible burst of energy. We try to convince them to crawl into bed with us and then lay still (no small task for a couple of 2 and 4 year old boys, right?).
This morning started like that. Only I noticed that Gus was rather still and quiet, for once. I opened my eyes and found he'd actually fallen asleep on the crook of my arm.
Lately I find myself sinning in anger against my child more often than I care to truly admit. I pray that God will protect his heart, soul, & mind where I've wounded him with my words and wrath.
So this morning was special. With his little body sleeping serenely, his head on my shoulder, the breath of life rising and falling in his chest and letting out little sleepy sighs.
And I smiled. I soaked him into my core. I burned this into my memory. And I loved him as if it were the first moment I laid eyes on him.
The Big Boys are of the habit of waking up before the crack of dawn and then promptly arrive in our room with an incredible burst of energy. We try to convince them to crawl into bed with us and then lay still (no small task for a couple of 2 and 4 year old boys, right?).
This morning started like that. Only I noticed that Gus was rather still and quiet, for once. I opened my eyes and found he'd actually fallen asleep on the crook of my arm.
Lately I find myself sinning in anger against my child more often than I care to truly admit. I pray that God will protect his heart, soul, & mind where I've wounded him with my words and wrath.
So this morning was special. With his little body sleeping serenely, his head on my shoulder, the breath of life rising and falling in his chest and letting out little sleepy sighs.
And I smiled. I soaked him into my core. I burned this into my memory. And I loved him as if it were the first moment I laid eyes on him.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Trusting God for our Future
So, Greg's job is about 2 weeks away from coming to an end. This has been a long-time coming, so it isn't like this is a surprise.
This is when we could really start to freak out about the future.
We're not perfect, but we're trusting God. He's always provided in the past and we have no reason to doubt he'll provide for us in the future.
He's had a few interviews, but this economy is just really tough.
We're praying for God to show us with extreme clarity, which direction Greg is to move. Please pray with us.
Monkeys #3 & #4 are crying...time to finish.
This is when we could really start to freak out about the future.
We're not perfect, but we're trusting God. He's always provided in the past and we have no reason to doubt he'll provide for us in the future.
He's had a few interviews, but this economy is just really tough.
We're praying for God to show us with extreme clarity, which direction Greg is to move. Please pray with us.
Monkeys #3 & #4 are crying...time to finish.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Me
- Co-Founder and COO of Four Monkeys, Inc.
- Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”