A Lifetime of Love

Thomas completed 5th grade and his third year of homeschooling, and Tanner completed 2nd grade and his first year of homeschooling. I am being completely honest when I share that, although challenging at times, this was the best school year yet! Adding Tanner to the mix meant some scheduling changes needed to be made, but once we established a routine that worked, our days passed quickly and the weeks, and inevitably the months, passed even quicker. 1st day of school- August 2012 I personally enjoyed watching both boys learn, grow, and mature over the course of the year. My favorite subject to "teach" them was history as we focused our studies on the Old Testament. I learned so much about God, the Israelites, and how it all relates to not only the New Testament, but to present day living. I know the boys did, too! After reading our daily passage, we often talked about how it applies to our lives today, or how we are/were like a particular person we read about in the...

This is a descriptive paragraph written by Tanner. I am copying it exactly as it is written, spelling mistakes included. I am sharing it because it brings me joy to see how such small, simple creatures can mean so much to a child. How do I know they mean a lot? He chose to write about them out of anything in the world.... I have baby chicks. They are very small and colorful. They are covered in feathers and fur. They sound quiet and cherp a lot. When they are scared they cherp loudly. Their feathers feel soft and furry. I like taking care of them and I also like holding them a lot.

October is Fire Prevention month and to celebrate, our local school district, along with some local private schools, participated in a coloring contest for area first graders. Ta won the contest for his school, and was awarded $25 and a frame that contained his winning picture and certificate. We all joined him at a local fire station for a reception where he met the Mayor, Fire Chief, and Fire Marshal. Yay Ta- we're so proud of you!! Ta accepting his award from the Mayor and Fire Chief

Ta is finishing up his last week of kindergarten at our neighborhood school. His teachers have been wonderful, and he has learned and grown so much this year- I am very proud of his hard work!! Ta is a pretty social boy and has made friends easily. So far public school has been a good experience for him, and I am often asked if he will continue. The answer is: yes, at least for now. My plan is to have him finish up either 1st or 2nd grade and then bring him home depending on how he is doing. Th's 1st grade year was not very productive (at least the first half, until we moved him to our neighborhood school) and is the reason we decided to homeschool him. If Ta has another great year, then I will probably let him continue through 2nd grade and bring him home for 3rd. If next year does not go so well, then it will be his final year. I have loved homeschooling and am looking forward to having all of my children homeschooled, but the reality is with (soon to be) 6 kids, and only 2 in s...

Annie celebreated her 1st birthday, and Ta his 6th, last week. I have been battling a chest cold since last Saturday and haven't had the extra time nor the energy to devote to their individual birthday posts. But, they're coming...as soon as I'm feeling better and get caught up on my housework and laundry.

Ta's school, Richmond Drive, has an awesome Spanish immersion program where all students receive Spanish instruction for at least 20 minutes every day. A 5th grade class entered the ACTFL Video Podcast Contest in which they created a 1-minute video explaining what languages can do for them. Their video has made it to the national finals! Please take a moment to vote for the video as they can win cash and prizes to benefit the school's Spanish program. Thanks! To vote, visit http://www.actflvideocontest.org/

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King's horses, and all the King's men, couldn't put Humpty together again. ~Mother Goose Mother Goose came to visit Ta's class for a tea party today. In preparation for her arrival, the kids practiced reciting their favorite nursery rhymes and were encouraged to dress up as their favorite character. I think he looks adorable, if I do say so myself! =)

While I was busy cleaning out the toys and such, TJ took the older kids so I could work without interruption. He dropped T.G. off at his mom's house and took the boys to a local fundraiser event in Greer, The Big Dig. For a fee, the boys were able to drive real construction equipment. Needless to say, they had a blast! Here are some pictures from the day. . . On the shuttle to the dig site (Ta's first ride on a bus- he was excited!) Ta operating the digger. . . Th operating the bulldozer. . . Th driving a road grader. . . Ta scooping up a pile of dirt in the front-end loader. . . It should be obvious how much fun they had- I wish I could have enjoyed it with them instead of de -cluttering at home, but Lord willing we can go as a family next year! =) *I am thankful for a husband who is so involved with his children.*

I now hold in my hand a valid SC Teaching Certificate. I can’t believe it; my long-time dream is now a reality! It’s very exciting and solidifies all of my effort, determination, and hard-work in order to achieve this dream. Now, onto Teagan. She began crawling last weekend. Prior to then, she would do the “Army Man” crawl by using her arms to pull her dragging belly and legs. Last week she began getting up on her hands and knees, and was able to go 1 or 2 “steps”, but then would immediately fall flat on her face. However, something clicked in her little brain on Saturday and she began to crawl around my downstairs area. Yay Teagan! Also, Ta received some great news on Tuesday. Since September, he has had fluid behind his right ear. It was not an infection so medication would not clear it up. We (I) took him monthly for a hearing test and to re-check his ears to see if the fluid was draining at all. From February to June his hearing d...

I entered a contest to win a free package of Pull-Ups. Now, it's sort of ironic because I've been meaning to share some potty training *news* for a while but I simply haven't had the time. But, here it is in all it's glory. Ta has been potty-trained for almost 2 years. He potty-trained himself pretty much because he refused to wear diapers. Considering he had just recently turned 2, I was shocked, especially because Th was over 3 before he was ready to potty-train. However, with Ta, he was only potty-trained to stay dry, and only recently (in the last 5 months) to stay dry during nap time. Once Teagan was born, I was determined to stop the insanity. I had 3 kids in diapers (granted Ta only wore them during sleep times, but still)! Once he was able to stay dry during nap time, I began to work on getting him to poop on the potty. He has always pooped once he woke from his nap; his schedule, not mine. So, even though he was able to wear underwear for his nap, once he awok...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have not been feeling myself lately. Extremely tired despite sleeping fairly well. Teagan pretty much sleeps through the night, only waking occasionally to nurse before 6am. Ta, on the other hand, wakes up every night and comes in our room, sometimes even wiggles his way in the bed with us. This has been happening since July, and we've tried everything. I can count on 1 hand the number of nights he's slept the entire night in his bed since then. At first I thought something was wrong with him, but now I know it's just habit. I had hoped to resolve it over my school break, but time slipped away from me. Although I didn't accomplish all that I had hoped to, TJ and I did manage to get some major purging out of the way. The kids and I got rid of 3 boxes and 2 garbage bags full of toys, books, puzzles, games, etc. before Christmas, and the items that were in good condition we gave to a family in need. I do not know the family, but a f...

Well, I ended up with the "bug" and was down for the count yesterday. But, I am better, as are the kids, and so far no one else is showing symptoms. Teagan had her audiologist appointment yesterday. All is well with her. Her hearing appears to be “normal” although it took a few tries to get those results. Because of her age, it is difficult to get a good reading, and I have to bring her back in 6 months to have her rechecked. I was also told to monitor her babbling and other language development as she ages for signs of a delay. On the same note, TJ took Ta to have his hearing checked at a separate appointment. As you may recall, this child has had many ear troubles. He has had 2 sets of tubes, the most recent of which he received in April. Turns out, the left tube is completely out and the right tube is clogged with fluid behind his ear. At this point he has a conductive hearing loss in his right ear, and he has to go back in Jan. to have his hearing re-checked. I am j...

Here is a sampling of Ta's and T.G.'s school pictures. T.G. would not smile, but at least she didn't cry like she did last year. I absolutely love their pictures; I think they turned out great!