Year In Review

It has been so long since I have posted. We have had a pretty good year so far. Our life is so busy. It seems we have had hardly any time to breathe. This semester in school has been going all right. I think I finally have found curriculum which is a good fit for Maggie. Maggie is going to love to read just like her mom. At least we will have this in common. Once Maggie learns to do something she learns to do it well. Maggie is finally getting the hang of math. We are really liking Math U See. I like that it shows Maggie where she has made a mistake and why she has made it. Maggie also loves to spell. I think she has gotten all of her words right but one time. Brendan is doing pretty well in 7Th grade. He is having a little trouble with Teaching Textbooks. Brendan always seems to have trouble with problems that he already knows how to do. Jacob is doing very well in school. He is a lot like Maggie. Once he learns something Jacob does very well. Micah finished his first semester at college with all A's and one B. I am very proud of him. A person always wonders if homeschooling will pan out once their child goes to college. I can answer a resounding yes. Micah shows a lot of initiative. I would find him a lot of times writing a paper or doing his school work. It feels really strange not to have to remind him to do his work. Micah really loves college life. He just wishes he could find a girlfriend. David just got a promotion at work. So I do not see him a lot. When I do see him David is passed out on the couch. I am hoping for a wonderful 2012. With God on our side I have assurance that it will be successful.

Start of the School Year

We have had a good school year so far. We started back to school the first Monday in August. I am hoping to be able to do a lot more field trips this year. The boys are going to have a week off every six weeks. Since I pretty much school Maggie year round every three weeks I have been taking a week off. This has really worked well. I do not feel so overwhelmed. So I am a much happier person to be around. We started a home school Science class and p.e. at our church this afternoon. That was a lot of fun. I think Brendan was a little bored because he is so much older than everyone else. He never complains though. I am teaching Brendan and Maggie history, science, and art together. I think that is why Brendan does not mind so much. I am using Abeka phonics and reading ,math u see, and Happy Scribe copy books for Maggie. I am hoping Maggie will enjoy Math U See. She has had such a hard time with her addition and subtraction facts. I not only want Maggie to memorize her math facts but also understand why they are what they are. Maggie watched a snippet of the Alpha video and begged to do that math. Brendan is still doing Easy grammer but I have added on daily grams. He is also doing Teaching textbooks for math. Brendan really likes it a lot. I think it makes him feel more mature that he can grade his own paper. I had a little trouble with him at first because he was trying to do everything in his head. I said you are nuts if you think that is going to work. I do not know why all of my boys have tried this. Brendan is also doing Vocabulary Cartoons which he loves, loves, loves. These are right down his alley. Of course we are sticking with Abeka Literature. I really think that Abeka Literature is the way to go. They have the most fantastic stories. Jacob is having a light year this year. This is a good thing because he goes to work every day between 1:00 and 3:00. Jacob is doing Abeka English and Literature, Daily Grams, Teaching Textbooks Geometry, Accent on Composers and Music Theory, Rosetta Stone Spanish 2, Marine Biology, and Confessions of a Banker for Economics. I really do not have to teach him anything. I just make sure Jacob has his work done right. I think next year I am going to have Jacob do dual enrollment. I wish I had done this with Micah. Speaking of Micah, Micah is doing well at college. I have been very impressed that he is taking college serious. Micah is taking 12 hours plus working full time. He is even getting up by himself on time. I was shocked about this because I always had to threaten him to get out of bed. Needless to say we are having a very full year this year.

I Call Him Lord

I love this song. When I am down I know I can depend on Him.

great day

We had a great day today. We did not spend a lot of time going anywhere. But it is fun just to be together. The oldest boys were at a friends house all day. So we had just the two youngest. I clipped all the dogs today. David cleaned all the kitchen and living room for me. Then we ran some errands. It was fun just taking our time. We live in such a hurried society. A lot of times I feel lazy if I am not doing something. I also went to WW and lost 2.6 pounds. So the total I have lost so far is 10 pounds. My next goal is to be down another 10 pounds. Then I will be at the weight I was before my hysterectomy. I have been trying to lose weight since April. My body does every thing very slow.

Summer

This summer has been extremely busy. We started the first week in May with Micah's graduation party. There has been a graduation, wedding, children's programs, six flags, and vacation Bible school. My sister and her family came the second week in June. Then they stayed for two weeks. Then I, M, and B went and stayed with them in North Carolina for 13 days. We had a lot of fun there. The boys went on their mission trip to Mississippi. They always have a good time. They went to help with a vacation Bible school and to rebuild houses that were ruined by Hurricane Katrina. It has been five years since Hurricane Katrina but things are still needing to be done down there. I am also still homeschooling M. I am hoping to start her in second grade by September. I want to start J and B the second week in August. This year is going by so fast. I am still training Lucy. I was gone to my sisters but Lucy still remembered what I have been teaching her.

But in spite of being so busy I am really lonely. It felt really good to go to my sisters and have some one who could relate to me. I have asked the Lord for a couple of years to send my a good friend. But so far it has not happened. It would just be nice to have someone other than family care whether you are even alive. I crave adult conversation. Most of the time I am here all day with just M and B. I love them very much but I would love to have just one special friend. I think in this day and age people are just too busy. Stay at home moms are very few. I think I turn people off because I am not all fluff and showy. I tend to be honest with people about my children, homeschooling, and life in general. Most people I have met want to have everyone believe their life is all roses. I guess I am just feeling sorry for myself.

Lucy

Here is some pictures of our new puppy Lucy. She is so smart. I have been learning how to train her every Saturday. Lucy so far has passed everything. I am hoping to eventually get her canine good citizen. I think she would make a wonderful therapy dog. Lucy is one of those dogs that just makes you want to smile. She is such a joy to have.

a miracle and a blessing

I have been debating on how to write this post. Some people may know that we adopted a little dog named Buddy back in October. We really did not need another dog but I felt compelled to give this little dog a chance. I was told by the woman that if nobody had come to get him she would have thrown him out on the street. She also told me that he was 5 years old and had just been neutered. When we took him home he was not in good shape. I kept telling David that he had to be older than 5 and also that I thought he was an awfully sad dog. Buddy would spend all his time curled on his bed. He would never let anyone hug on him or hold him. He was a sweet dog just standoffish. Well Wednesday of last week I was looking on Craigslist at the different ads. I seen an ad that was titled "I miss Buddy." I thought hmmm I wonder what that is about. I read the ad and called David to come and read it. The person was describing Buddy to a tee. But they said he was 12 years old. David called the person. Lo and behold it was a man looking for his little dog that was stolen. He was so excited to hear that we had Buddy. The man was from Chicago. He said Buddy had been his trucking buddy. They had traveled all over the United States. He said he had got Buddy from a shelter where Buddy had been horribly abused. This was the reason Buddy was standoffish. This poor little guy was probably confused. He also was not going to be hurt again. The guy came Saturday all the way from Chicago and got his little dog. We were so excited for Buddy. I told the kids that this was proof that God cares for little animals and had been watching out for Buddy all along. I believe God had our family keep Buddy safe until his daddy could come and find him. Now for the blessing God gave us. We have a new puppy named Lucy Belle. She is a standard poodle puppy. Lucy has brought a lot of joy and happiness for the few days we have had. How we received her is also a miracle to us. We are hoping for a lot of good things for Lucy.

New Year

Just a quick note. This year started out with a bang literally. We woke up New Years Day with no heat. Our old heat and air finally died. The Lord has blessed time and time again. He sent us groceries through our family, gave David extra computer jobs, and supplied wood for our wood stove. We are actually warmer with the wood stove. It is a pain to get started but it sure gets warm in the house. The kids schooling is going well. Micah is in the home stretch. I also found out Maggie loves workbooks. Her hands tire real easy. Which is part of her disgraphia. I just cut down her problems in her workbooks. I hope everyone one else is having a wonderful year.