K is for Kids

K is for Kids.  I have 8 of them.  Why do I have so many, you ask?  Well, the short answer is that I was raised an only child and rebelled.  ;)

taken autumn 2003

The long answer is that it's my calling.  It's who I am and what I do.  When I was a little girl and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I used to say, "I want to be a housewife and have 6 kids!"  It embarrassed the heck out of my mother, who worked.  She used to tell me to tell people I wanted to be a teacher or a doctor.  Something important.

summer 2003

I've known from an early age that I wanted a big family because growing up an only child was lonely.

So when Paul and I were dating, I told him I wanted 6 kids.  He agreed to 6 kids.

Count the picture above carefully.  See the belly?  Whoops.

Baby Jack, April 2004

But not really whoops, in the long run.  I adore our surprise #7.

Jack, June 2011

No matter how adorable he was, 7 kids in 10 years of marriage is a lot for anybody.  We decided we were done.  I think Paul was afraid we'd end up with 23 kids if things kept going at the same rate.

Easter 2006

As the kids got older, things got easier.  

They turned out to be quite a helpful bunch, actually.

Thanksgiving 2008

And when we were faced with the realization that they were growing up and would start leaving home soon, and we had the chaos fairly under control for the most part, we decided that we'd be up for a couple more.  

2009

After mounds of paperwork and 2 years time, we found ourselves in China adopting.  

November 2010

And the following summer, when Zachary came home on leave from the Air Force to visit, we finally got pictures of the whole family together!  

I love my kids.  They make me laugh.  They inspire me to be a better person.  There's nothing I'd rather be doing than being their mom.  

J is for Jealousy

I think blogs can be dangerous.

It's easy to look at someone's blog and get a snapshot of what their life is like and think they've got everything together.

I find myself looking at a blog and comparing my world to their world.  "Oh, they're off to China for another adoption!"  Insert little green monster of envy here.  Or, "Wow, they have more kids than I do, and their oldest is only 13!"  Or, "They've got twins!  I've always thought it would be so cool to have twins."  Wistful sigh.  Or, "Wow, they do such cool homeschooling stuff!  All I ever do is nag my kids to finish their book work.  I wish my kids would work harder to get the boring stuff done so we could do more fun stuff."  Even reading about loving gestures from a husband to a wife can make me a little more  sad and lonely when Paul is gone for days at a time.  

Jealousy is an ugly thing.  

It's important to keep things in perspective and realize that you're only seeing what the blog writer wants you to see.  The hard things they may not be writing about are just as much a part of their life.

I've deliberately NOT created an account on Pinterest.  I don't want to go there.  I don't want to see all the amazing things that other people are making/doing.  I don't want to diminish what I *am* doing by feelings of inferiority.  

My life isn't perfect, and I hope no one who reads my blog thinks that it is.  I've got my challenges just like everyone else.  But my life is a good life, and I need to remember to appreciate where God has me, and not covet where He's placed other people.  

I is for Independent Homeschoolers

We are independent homeschoolers.  I have been home educating since 1998.

Our motto is "Education is a year by year, child by child decision."  Which means some years we have an interesting mix of school situations.  There were several years where everybody was homeschooled (or too little for school).  But we've also utilized both public and private schools for certain children, during certain years.  Not because we're wishy washy.  But because we take everyone's needs into consideration, and then decide for each person based on the good of the family.

Right now, Annaliese and Josiah are in private school, Hannah is in public school with an IEP (Individual Education Plan--accommodations that take her special needs into consideration), and the middle 4 are taught by me.

Unfortunately, sometimes die hard homeschoolers get their panties in a wad about what other homeschoolers are doing.  You see that with the independent vs. charter issue, and unschooling vs. a more formal approach.  You also have homeschoolers who think that sending any child to any school is bad.  That's unfortunate, because I think that really boxes you in.  I always suggest to newbies looking into homeschool when their oldest child is 3, "Don't say, 'We're homeschoolers.'  Say, 'We're homeschooling.' "  It's a subtle difference, but I think an important mindset.  If you wrap you identity up in being a homeschooler and then for whatever reason your child ends up in school, you're going to feel like you've failed.

Homeschooling looks like different things in different families. But in our family, homeschool looks like this:

The "desk" that Furby is sitting at, working so diligently (snort) is actually the base of the high chair that was given to us 17 years ago when Annaliese was a baby. I used contact paper to give the surface a face lift about a year ago, but other than that it's still going strong, long after the actual chair part of the high chair has disappeared. (The chair Furby is sitting in is from Ikea.)

The main curriculum we use (found here: www.schooloftomorrow.com ) is workbooks and score keys.  Every subject is color coded.  Brianna is pulling out a spelling (Word Building) score key in the photo above.

Part of Sam's daily responsibility is getting Miss Hannah on the bus each morning.  

This desk sits next to my desk, and is shared by Sam, Bri, and Eli, depending on who needs my supervision.  

If they're getting their work done, I don't mind them working elsewhere.  

Two of the kids use the computer for Math.  

 

Since Josiah was home on Easter Break, I roped him into reading Furby's spelling story to him for me.  Furby is using Reason For Spelling.  These books are adorable.  Level K Reason For Handwriting is my favorite cute curriculum book of all time.  

After the story comes the pretest each week.  

So there you have it.  This is what homeschooling looks like at our house.  Sometimes.  

Other times, it happens in front of an educational DVD (The 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is this week, and I have a documentary to share with the kids).

Sometimes, it even happens in the car, a waiting room, or at the park.  

Reminds me of a Dr Seuss book.  We could do it here or there, we can homeschool ANYwhere!

H is for Holiday

Originally, I was going to do H is for Hannah, or H is for Homeschool, but since I wanted to share a bunch of Easter pictures, today H is for Holiday.  We can talk about homeschooling tomorrow.  

I couldn't resist getting a few pictures of Hannah all dressed up.  

All 7 kids getting ready to head out to the back yard to hunt eggs.  

It's hard to get a group shot.  

Found one!

You're never too old for an egg hunt.  

Pretty girl.

Sam has egg hunt issues.  He's not very good at it.  Or very gracious about that fact.    

M&Ms?  What M&Ms?

After hunting for plastic eggs, we came in and dyed real eggs.  

Love that face.  Seriously, I just want to smooch that cheekie!

Eli indicates which eggs are his masterpieces.

Hey everybody, look at the camera!  Like I said, group shots are a challenge.

Great picture taken by Annaliese of Hannah playing with the egg dye.  (Yes, I made her take her smocked dress off before dyeing eggs, just in case!)

My Bubba and one of his creations.  

Thank you, internet, for suggesting rubber bands as an accessory in egg dyeing.

Oooh, pretty!  

See the green egg with the white Z on it?  That was one of my eggs.  The Z is for Zachary.  I miss my boy.  Holidays just aren't the same without him.  

Easter Conviction

During church today, we sang a song I've sung dozens of times, but one line really hit me.  "Author of all eternity."  Suddenly, it dawned on me that God has the whole book of my life written, and if I'm only on chapter 6, I can't see yet what amazing things happen in chapter 8.  I've been trying to force my passion, my dream, and I need to chill out and watch how He makes things unfold.

A dear friend once reminded me, "The good is the enemy of the best."  That's so true.  I want GOOD things.  Noble things, even!  But if it's not God's timing, it's not the BEST thing.

Looking back, if anyone had told me 10 or even 5 years ago that we would have Hannah, I wouldn't have believed them.  I could only see the present.  Now that present is the past, and I sit in a new present, where I have evidence of God's amazing goodness all around me.  This house I'm sitting in is an unexpected blessing!  Even though I can't see the future, I'm confident that however it plays out, He's got it all written already.  Nothing that happens is going to surprise God.

I think I need to find a balance between turning my back on the dreams God has put in my heart, and actively seeking what I want God's plan to be.  Because apathy is not balance.  And my sinful reaction to "wait" is a tantrum-y, "Fine, never mind! Who wants that anyway? I'll just pretend I don't care."  That doesn't work because we're called to care.

Okay, then.  I'll stay on this page for as long as He wants me to.  Taking care of my family and being available to what God has for us next.

G is for Giggles

There was plenty of giggling going on when Brianna and I took these pictures.

 Recently, I told Brianna, "I bet you could wear a different Hello Kitty shirt every day for a week!" Turns out, I was wrong. It seems she could wear a different Hello Kitty shirt every day for MORE than a week, LOL! Hello Kitty at the mall, at the park, in a field...

Hello Kitty for all holidays, Valentine's, Easter, Halloween, and more.

Matching Hello Kitty sister shirts Hello Kitty outside, Hello Kitty inside And Hello Kitty birthday gift from grandparents.

Hello Kitty even celebrates Earth Day, can you believe it?  

And since she was such a good sport about it, I made her a Hello Kitty nightgown to wear on her Hello Kitty bed.  The Hello Kitty fabric came from my most favoritest ever fabric shop, http://www.sewzannesfabrics.com/

F is for Frugal and Family and Feelings and Funny

F is for FRUGAL



People often ask how on earth we can afford to have "so many kids" on one income. We live fairly simply. If we can, we make it. Like the bunkbeds here. Paul made them. He's currently refurbishing a bookcase for me, which I'm really excited about. Once it's done, I can unpack the last 4 boxes of School Room Stuff.


We bargain shop, clip coupons, watch for sales, and do without.





Although I no longer sew all (or even most, sigh) of my childrens' clothes, I do still do their haircuts.


I've been known to re-use clean ziplock bags, mailing pouches/boxes, plastic flatware, and other odds and ends others might have thrown away. Although, I have to be careful, as I have hoarder genes in my family, and Paul wants to be sure we don't end up leaving an attic full of boxes of empty film canisters and stacks of magazines for the children to dispose of when we're gone.


It does feel good to declutter every once in a while, too, and Paul has been urging me to do more of that lately. I guess I felt like we purged so much with the move I could have time off for good behavior, but it appears not.


F is for FAMILY





I love my family. My family is my life. Which makes Feelings of Frustration and Failure so much harder to deal with. Some days I feel like a Fat Flop of a wife, mother, homeschooler, etc. Fortunately, my Faith helps me pick myself up and keep trying, even when I'd rather Feel sorry for myself for Failing yet AGAIN.

Finally, F is for Funny. Hannah Fell earlier and came running to me, crying. I held her and she said, "I fell down the stairs!" (2 steps) "Oh, no!" I sympathized, "Where are you hurt?" "On the FLOOR!" she responded. Made me chuckle.

E is for EYE appointment

Last month, when Hannah had a check up, she had her first vision test.

She didn't do so well.

So after playing phone tag with the referral coordinator at the pediatrician's office, and postponing an appointment date until after everyone would be over the chicken pox, we found ourselves visiting the eye doctor today.

Fortunately, they had movies, because we were there for an hour and a half. (E is for Exhausted, I might add.)

E is also for Electronic Entertainment, as seen in this shot of Sam using my iPad and Furby using his DS.

She looks awfully little in that big chair! She did great with the exam, and even held very very still to let them photograph her dialated eyes. The only part she didn't like was the dialation drops, and Hello? who does, y'know? But she was a trooper, and charmed everyone in sight, of course.

The good news is, no glasses now. 20/60 in one eye and 20/80 in the other. He's concerned about the way she shuts one eye to try to see things; maybe she's got some double vision going on? The bad news is, another visit in 6 months, and pretty much guaranteed glasses by age 10-12.

Her brothers think she'll look adorable in glasses. I try not to think about the 33 minutes it takes to get to the office that our insurance covers, and the fact that I know from Experience with Annaliese's Eye surgery that they are chronically behind and their appointments go l-o-n-g. Is it bad that I would rather have them tell us she needs glasses and then visits once a year than "let's watch it closely" and visits twice a year? Maybe I'm underestimating the work that goes along with having a very young child in glasses?

At any rate, now E is going to be for figuring out if Everyone has Eaten so we can all veg in front of the computer screen together for a while before bed. We don't do cable or TV, but one of my kids got me/us hooked on the show Psych. It's our guilty vice. I even bought red vines to pass out as our snack, hence wanting to make sure that everyone has Eaten something reasonably healthy before we get started.

Good EVENING all!