Standing in the Wide Open Spaces of God's Grace

Madeline Speaks!

2011-09-13T06:00:00.002-04:00

Madeline has been making progress in the speech department! And frankly, if you think this one is good, just wait until you see the one coming up later this week! (This was posted on Facebook last week, so to those of you who don't "do" Facebook...you're welcome!)

Untitled from Pam Asbury on Vimeo.

Riding the bus

2011-09-12T19:18:00.004-04:00

One of the hardest decisions I had to make regarding Madeline's schooling had to do with transportation. Bona Vista is about 10 minutes away, if that. I was encouraged by other friends (and really good mamas) to try it. Their experience was that their special needs kids really seemed to like it.

I'm very glad for the peace I felt after praying (and worrying, of course, since I am human after all) about this, and a few weeks down the road, I'm so grateful we decided to try it. Madeline did not do well at all the first few times, and I think it was the noise of the bus, since the poor little girl hates loud, unfamiliar noises (and some familiar ones too). It could have been separation, but since she wheeled right into her first day of preschool and hardly glanced my way when I left, I'm not so sure that was it. She was sobbing when I got her off the bus, but after another day or two, the tears subsided and now she smiles when she sees the bus, rides the lift, and sees the few little tykes on the bus.

Her bus driver has made the experience easier as well. He's a pastor who has a very kind heart. He checks on the kids in between stops and often tells me what Madeline is doing before I get back to her car seat. Madeline has a very short bus ride, but I often find her sound asleep and she smiles broadly at me when I wake her up.

The other benefit to sending Madeline on the bus is that it is so much less a disruption to our school day. It takes about an hour to get her bathed, diapered, dressed, fed, in her wheelchair, bookbag packed, and on the bus. I would take another whole hour or more out of our day to load her with her sisters into the van, drive to school, get everybody out and into school, check in with the teachers and other beautiful children and/or mamas, load back up and come back home, and then do it all again in such a short time.

Ok, all that rambling and finally the pics! (Remember, this is before she got her new chair!)

First Day of Kindergarten and Third Grade (September 1)

2011-09-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

I simply couldn't decide which pics to post, so you get them all! :)

Had to point out that small pile on the sidewalk behind Olivia. Guesses anyone? Okay, I'll tell you. That's a mushroom Livy found, unbeknownst to me. She got a knife, unbeknownst to me, and cut up the mushroom on the sidewalk...unbeknownst to me. :)

*Signs from HowSheDoes

{this moment} First day of school

2011-09-01T21:02:00.005-04:00

Joining SouleMama for {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

All about Dex

2011-08-23T23:06:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago tomorrow, I received a text from Dex inviting us to his annual cookout at his clinic (Step 'N Stone Physical Therapy Solutions). OF COURSE! Filipino food? Yes, please. Seeing Dex after too long? Never mind the fact that Madeline had to be in school very shortly after the party started, we were going!

Dex was Madeline's physical therapist from the time she was just a few months old until he stopped doing First Steps to focus on his booming clinic, about a year an a half ago(??). Madeline adored him (the rest of us did too; did I mention he brought us an entire Filipino meal once?), and we were all very sorry to see him go.

Funny story: On his last visit, Dex told Olivia and Carli the reason he could no longer come to see Madeline is because "your mommy fired me." Doesn't matter how much Dex and I have told them otherwise, they never remember the real reason. As we walked across the lawn to the picnic, Olivia said, "Mommy, why did you fire Dex?"

So all that to say, here are the pics of Dex and Madeline. I just had to put all three up here to show you Madeline's antics.

Madeline's First Day of School**

2011-08-17T06:00:00.001-04:00

**And no, I didn't cry. Madeline did a great job on her first day of school. She wheeled in there like she owned the place, and didn't fuss at all when I left.

For those who may have missed it, for now, preschool is how she is getting her needed therapies, since she has aged out of First Steps. She's growing up!

By the way, you can see a bit of Annie, Maddy's little friend who also has spina bifida and a plethora of lots of other serious issues. She's a precious little girl and I'm thrilled she's in Madeline's class. Besides Annie and Maddy, there are three other little ones in the class, and I had met or knew of two of the others. It made me happy. :)

I Can't Help It; It Makes Me Happy!

2011-08-09T06:00:00.003-04:00

{this moment} Olivia, First Thing in the Morning

2011-08-05T12:52:00.003-04:00

Joining SouleMama in {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Walter de la Mare's "Some One"

2011-08-03T10:35:00.004-04:00

Ambleside Online's poet pick for Year 2, Term 1, is Walter de la Mare. I have selected "Some One" as a starting point for recitation, since it is simple enough that Olivia will enjoy learning it with us during circle time.

I have made up a simple printable of "Some One." You are welcome to use/change it however you wish. Enjoy...

Or copy and past this into your browser: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B0YDQ0DNEZODMTBlYjBkODMtNzlmMC00ZDI0LWEyYzItZTVlZDEyYmM3YzM0&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

14 Years and Counting!

2011-08-02T14:02:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Glen and I celebrated 14 years of marriage. I know this may shock you, because I look like I couldn't possibly be a day over 25. (Ha!) I was married at the tender age of 18 (and a half, but who's counting?). I'm ever so grateful God chose Glen to be my partner in this journey called life. I find it amazing to see God at work in our family, through the joyous and the stressful days, knowing we can depend on Him for His wisdom and leadership through the next 14 years and beyond.

Last evening, my lovely friend Diana Metz kept the girls (even Madeline for a few hours!) while Glen and I went to Outback for supper (forgot to use our gift card, if you can believe that!), relaxed and enjoyed our evening (mostly) kid-free. This morning Carli and Olivia were so excited to share their "project"...a wedding anniversary cake, complete with hand-drawn cake toppers. They were also eager for us to open generously decorated cards and bookmarks. I already have dates and names on the back so that I will always remember. They made our day for sure, and chocolate cake for lunch was a special treat! Mmmm...

Thank you, Diana, and thank you, Carli and Olivia. You made our day extra-special! Thanks for helping us celebrate!

WonderMaps--Chance to WIN!

2011-07-28T09:19:00.003-04:00

Having spent this week pulling all the pieces together for our upcoming homeschool year, I know how valuable WonderMaps would be for me. I spent a lot of time looking up medieval maps, partly so I know what I'm talking about, and partly because Carli loves mapwork.

Here is an awesome giveaway... http://homeschoolgiveaways.com/2011/07/giveaway-wondermaps/#comment-6763

I'd say I hope you win, but really, I just hope I do! :)

Can't Get Much Better than FREE

2011-07-27T06:00:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite aspects of Ambleside Online is that it uses many texts that are now public domain and can be found as online texts for free. Yes, I still love the feel of a book in my hand (and sometimes even the smell. I'm strange, but at least I know Kirsten is there with me!). But we still have way too many books to chose from both here and at the library if we need a feel-a-real-book fix, and we do...often.

There were a few books I found cheaply on Amazon, AbeBooks, or Half, and I bought them since they were ones I thought we would enjoy having in our hot little hands. But Glen bought me a Kindle for my graduation a couple years ago, and I really enjoy the feel of it in my hot little hands too. I love how easy it is to throw in my purse and have whatever book I'm in the mood for at my disposal.

All that being said, there are some incredible sites out there that have FREE eBooks, many of which I can transfer to my Kindle. The ones I can't transfer can be read from my laptop and often can be printed and put in a notebook.

Here are my favorite eBook sites:
:: Google Books
:: Project Gutenberg
:: Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project (There are a lot of free ones here, but some to pay for too, so make sure you know what you're clicking on!)
:: ManyBooks.net

:: Amazon Kindle Store You can get a free Kindle ap for your PC (or practically any other electronic device) too!

I've recently discovered a couple sites for free audio books as well! I love to have my (ok, Glen's) MP3 on while I'm cleaning. I load audio books from our library site, podcasts, whatever, and clean/cook/fold laundry and feel like I'm not doing anything quite so mundane. Carli may use audio books from these sites to "read" from Ambleside Online's Free Reading list, though I'm still enjoying the stage where I read most of her literature to her since I enjoy it so much.

Anyway, the sites:

:: Librivox
:: Books Should Be Free (Amen!)

What are your favorite sites for free resources?

Big-Girl Bed

2011-07-26T06:00:00.004-04:00

(I have no idea why this picture turned out pink, but take a look at that smile, would you?)

We finally have a bed set up for Madeline in the girls' room! Carli and Olivia were both in their own rooms at four months, but with Madeline, it's obviously been a bit different. For one thing, SPACE! Our third bedroom is our school/play room without a lot of extra room for a crib/pack-n-play or a bed. The girls' room is already wall-to-wall furniture. And too, even when we did try out the pack-n-play in another room, she always ended up back on a pallet on our floor when she was sick...and she just sort-of stayed! :)
The first night was not the proverbial walk in the park. She was so excited (?) and kept sitting up and laughing and being all-around silly. Then she cried when we left and turned the lights out (even though she always slept with them off before). Carli and Olivia were very frustrated with her laughing/crying because they wanted to go to sleep. I finally laid her on my bed and she was out like a light....so we moved her back to her bed when we were ready to hit the hay ourselves. In the middle of the night, the girls woke us up because Madeline was crying again, so it was back to the pallet.

The next night was ever so much better. I put Madeline to bed earlier than the other girls, sang to her, kissed her, talked sweet nothings to her, and then I laid her down, turned on KLOVE (Christian radio station), turned out the light and walked out. She protested for a few minutes and I ignored her (*sniff*), but she quieted down quickly and for the next 20 minutes or so, every time I'd peek through the door, there she was, sitting up and staring back at me. I didn't say anything to her, just smiled and went about with whatever I was doing. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she was sound asleep...and she slept for 15 hours. (She had a little cold, and was probably worn out from the night before!)

Ready for bedtime prayers with Mommy and Daddy

Flipping Through and Laughing Out Loud

2011-07-25T06:00:00.004-04:00

My lovely boss Ginger (with Digital Sermon Transcription, if you're interested) frequently Facebooks links to Jonathan Acuff's blog, and I have laughed out loud so many times reading it because he knows! Take, for instance, his latest "Stuff Christians Like" post: Saying Goodbye to Vacation Bible School. We've all been there. Yep, it's fun while it lasts, but seriously, could you do that every night of your life? (This year the week of VBS turned out to be my first week of work filling in for Matt here at IWU-Kokomo's front desk, so I missed all the "fun," but I certainly remember how utterly drained and exhausted I was at the end of those two hours!)

Anyway, I requested Acuff's Stuff Christians Like from Interlibrary Loan, and I picked it up today on the way to work. Flipping through it and reading only the headings made me laugh out loud and cause the laughing-tears start to slide down my face! If you've grown up in any kind of church culture at all (and I do mean any, clear across religious spectrum), you will find your church (you?) in a few of these! It's fun to laugh at yourself a bit, I think.

Here are some of my favorite headings under the banner Stuff Christians Like:

:: Trying not to complain around missionaries

:: The sound-guy neck crane

:: Pressing on your eyes during prayer

:: Saying "You're in my thoughts and prayers."

:: Name-dropping God to get out of a speeding ticket

:: Refusing to tithe until you have the proper amount of cheerfulness in your heart

:: Telling testimonies that are exciting right up until the moment you became a Christian

:: Losing the will to clap during songs

:: Finding typos in the worship music

:: Making sure everyone knows your fiance isn't living with you

:: Telling other people maybe God gave them the gift of singleness

:: Fake laughing at unfunny jokes out of Christian love

:: Judging people who use the Table of Contents in their Bible

:: Coming to church sick

...and my all-time favorite:

:: Dominating the "Please turn to..." Bible race during church

Homeschool Planning Pages--Carli

2011-07-21T06:00:00.002-04:00

I love to visit blogs and look at schedules and planning pages to get ideas for my own. I combined several ideas from Ambleside Online's yahoo group to make pages that work for me. Someday, I may figure out a schedule that combines both children, but for now this was the easiest. You can see and print the schedule here. You are more than welcome to change it up and use it however you wish! Happy planning!

Birthday celebrations

2011-07-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

A week ago Sunday we celebrated Madeline Kate's third (!) birthday with cake and a few presents. First, though, I wanted desperately to get a picture of Madeline in her new dress from Granny, and wouldn't you know it, Gramma took Maddy's little jacket off before I can snap it. So imagine a cut little pink and black jacket. It was sweet! As you can see Madeline is signing cup...Sunday dinner wasn't quite ready, but she definitely was.
This year Madeline was very into opening her presents. Carli was the only one she'd let help her, but even then she was a bit territorial!

She sees her magnetic doll set and lunges with a smile!

Couldn't resist, but she's away and won't see this for a while, probably! :)

This picture of Glen and Madeline will tell you just about everything you need to know about how Daddy feels about his girls.

She must have liked the cake...she has her hands ready to "thank Jesus for the food!"

Love this sweet dress I found on major clearance at TJ Maxx. I figured out at Easter that I could save myself a lot of money if I would buy flower stems 50% off at a Hobby Lobby sale, add ribbon to an alligator clip and hot glue it to the back of the destemmed flower! So this one cost me $1.50 rather than $6! :)

Kindergarten and the Formidable List of Attainments

2011-07-19T06:00:00.001-04:00

Olivia will be starting Kindergarten at home this year. Can it be I will homeschooling two children??

Thankfully, the adjustment will come slowly and gently, as Olivia's "school" won't take nearly as long. As many of you know, I'm knee-deep (neck-deep?) in Charlotte Mason research, and I was so happy to learn that she recommended no formal schooling before age six. That doesn't mean no learning, however. In fact, here is her "Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six":

A reprint of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890's. from Summer 93 Parents Review pub by Karen Andreola

1. To recite, beautifully, 6 easy poems and hymns
2. to recite, perfectly and beautifully, a parable and a psalm
3. to add and subtract numbers up to 10, with dominoes or counters
4. to read--what and how much, will depend on what we are told of the child
5. to copy in print-hand from a book
6. to know the points of the compass with relation to their own home, where the sun rises and sets, and the way the wind blows
7. to describe the boundries of their own home
8. to describe any lake, river, pond, island etc. within easy reach
9. to tell quite accurately (however shortly) 3 stories from Bible history, 3 from early English, and 3 from early Roman history (my note here, we may want to substitute early American for early English!)
10. to be able to describe 3 walks and 3 views
11. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves (one every week); to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them.
12. to do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees
13. to know 6 birds by song, colour and shape
14. to send in certain Kindergarten or other handiwork, as directed
15. to tell three stories about their own "pets"--rabbit, dog or cat.
16. to name 20 common objects in French, and say a dozen little sentences
17. to sing one hymn, one French song, and one English song
18. to keep a caterpillar and tell the life-story of a butterfly from his own observations.

And NO, I'm not sure we'll get to some of that (um, French? Good idea, but this mama is not fluent in French). I'm not that good. The point is that instead of pouring over worksheets, the child should be outside as much as possible, exploring, observing, discovering nature up close and personal.

Since Olivia will be six in January, and since she is begging me to teach her to read, we will be using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, using letter tiles, etc. For math, I am not purchasing a curriculum, but we will be doing lots of domino/dice/counter math, reading living math books (great lists found here, even for little ones), etc. We will begin handwriting (manuscript) with some very short lessons.

We also will be following along with Ambleside Online's year 0 reading list, maybe doing some lapbooks for ones we want to spend more time with:

::Winnie the Pooh series by AA Milne and Ernest H. Shepard (Winnie-The-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, When We Were Very Young, Now We Are Six).
::Beatrix Potter series (Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, etc,)
::The Little House by Virginia Burton
::The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
::The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
::Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
::Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
::One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
::Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
::Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney
::Stone Soup and other folk tale retellings by Marcia Brown
::Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
::The Story of Little Babaji by Helen Bannerman
::Brer Rabbit books by Joel Chandler Harris
::Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha Alexander
::A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (illustrated by Eulalie, Jessie Wilcox Smith, or Alice and Martin Provenson)
::A good collection including classic stories and folktales such as "The Little Red Hen," "The Gingerbread Man," "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," "The Three Billy Goats Gruff."
::A good collection of Aesop's Fables, such as the one illustrated by Milo Winter
::A nice Mother Goose collection
::Illustrated classic poetry such as Poems for Young Children compiled by Caroline Royds
::A good collection of classic children's poetry such as A Child's Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa; The Golden Books Family Treasury of Poetry selected by Louis Untermeyer; The Oxford Book of Children's Verseedited by Peter Opie

As part of training in the habit of attention, I'll include Olivia in a sort of "circle time" with Carli, where we'll study the Bible, memorize Scripture and poetry, learn hymns and folk songs, and study artists and composers.

As far as foreign language, I'm still not sure if we'll be sticking with sign language or delving into something a little more, uh...foreign. I must admit, since I didn't study languages as a young one, I'm a bit intimidated by the thought. Carli will be doing Latin in a year or two, but somehow that is more exciting, and it will be more to learn the roots of the English language. I just really need to research options for a good curriculum that would be fun and effective. I've messed around with Rosetta Stone samples and LOVE it, but we just don't have the cash for that now. Ah well, I'll figure it out. :)

With the Aunties

2011-07-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

With Glen's sisters (Emeline on the left, Lorraine on the right) on Sunday, July 3.

Ah, the Aunties. Emeline and Lorraine are becoming such lovely young ladies whom I truly enjoy spending time with. Can't believe they are going into eleventh grade this year! Whenever Glen's family is in town on Sunday, they spend the afternoon with us. We share a meal and visit, clean up and then most of the adults take our Sunday afternoon naps! :) The aunties are such a big help with the girls, watching them through the afternoon and getting them ready for Sunday night church.

Lorraine has a special place in my heart because of her love of reading and her knack with my children. Emeline shines in the kitchen and with her art work, and over the last couple years has learned the ins and outs of caring for Madeline's special needs. They are both hard workers...every once in a while I even find a changing table or drawer in the kids room put back to rights and neatly organized after the little ones rummaged through one too many times!

Love you bunches, girls!

Rookie Camp Preview

2011-07-15T06:00:00.002-04:00

This was Carli's second and last year at Rookie Camp. Next year it's on to pre-teen girls camp, if you can believe that. She turned 8 at camp and she came home happy and exhausted after four days/three nights of lots of physical activity, crafts, service projects, and Bible teaching. Here is a sneak peek, thanks to Connie, who went with her daughter Hallie (first picture) and as a counselor.

You're 3, Madeline!

2011-07-14T11:36:00.005-04:00

This is the day

we celebrate your birth,

the moment

you graced us with your presence.

SweetDetermined

Wrapped around our hearts.

And we're ever thankful.

Hugs and Kisses,

Mama

We have an 8-year-old???

2011-07-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

Carli Brooke turned eight years old last week...while she was a Rookie Camp (kids' church camp). Let me tell you, this mama missed her girl quite a bit. On her birthday, I was in Hobby Lobby picking up a few gifts for her and getting ready to head to Marion to see her when I got a call that Matt's baby was on the way and it was time to cover the front desk at IWU-Kokomo for him. So Glen was the lucky one, the one who hugged our birthday girl and passed out treats to her roommates.

Her party was Saturday at Jackson-Morrow Park with a sweet bunch of girls + Cameron and Nathaniel + parents. Olivia took most of the pictures, and I didn't realize that there was a smudge on the lens and a lot of them didn't turn out very well. It was a day of Mama-mess-ups. I forgot a knife and a cake server, and somehow, one of my packs of plates disappeared (did I just leave it in the cart or what??). It was windy on the hill, and despite lots of taping, the table covers continually billowed up, knocking over plates and cups. Ah, well. We had a lot of fun despite Mama and the wind! :)

An extra-bright spot in the day was the discovery that the Nature Center was open, so to escape the heat for a while, we headed over there. We visited with the critters (stuffed and live), looked at some cool science displays, and made bracelets.

I had to share this one (obviously after she pulled her bow out, her favorite trick).

Pizza crust...Mmmm.
By the way, when did this little one grow up? She took this picture herself. (Oh, and the lady in the background is Amy, our neighbor, whose little girl is a new little buddy to our girls)

Carli,

Eight years! The time is slipping through our fingers so quickly, and I want to cling to each moment of being your mama. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the young lady you are becoming. You have a tender heart and a love for Jesus that warms our hearts, and your prayers of faith challenge us to trust Jesus more. I pray God will direct your steps all through your life and that you will follow Him closely.

I love you,

Mommy

Inspiration

2011-07-12T16:57:00.002-04:00

I don't know if any of you are challenged in the creativity department, but I certainly am. I know what I like, but the thought of putting it all together, even if money weren't an issue, definitely overwhelms me. Though maybe I could do it...if I did the shopping and somebody else did the actual work! :)

Here are some sites I LOVE when it comes to decorating. I'm not even sure what to call this style, but I love vintage prints and furniture, "found" items that just really pull you in. Not too country...just sweet.

LOVE:

The Handmade Home
The NieNie Dialogues...NieNie's blog isn't all about decorating, but you see her style in the background of a lot of her posts. The one I linked to is of a basement makeover by Alice Lane, I believe.
The Lettered Cottage
(Probably my favorite) Soule Mama, and especially this space.
Tiny Victorian Cottage -- Not really into a lot of Victorian, but I love all the white!

Links that Make Me Happy--Charlotte Mason Edition.

2011-07-06T07:00:00.001-04:00

I recently finished Karen Andreola's A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning. This book was such a lovely introduction to Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education, and I'd recommend it to anyone who is wanting to learn more about her methods.

Anyway, today I had the brilliant idea that just maybe Mrs. Andreola has a blog, and what do you know, Swagbucks pointed me in the right direction. I was trilled to find such a beautiful site, just as inspiring as the book. Visit Karen here.

I recently discovered that there are lectures online from the Childlight USA's Charlotte Mason Education Conference. They can be downloaded to your computer or MP3.

I have only listened to two so far. Maybe I subconsciously assumed that because this was, at least in part, a homeschool conference, the speeches would be less than stellar. (Why do I still have these underlying prejudices?? I AM a homeschool mother. Maybe my own insecurities are bubbling up to the surface?) Let me just tell you, the two speakers I've listened to so far knocked. it. out. of. the. park. These two doctors were very articulate and so interesting that I was sorry when they closed their lectures.

The first lecture I listened to was Dr. John Thorley's "'Science of Relations' vs. 'Examinable Content'" (last one on this page). If you know anything about Charlotte Mason, you'll recognize the phrase "science of relations." Dr. Thorley is from the UK, and with his accent he sketches some of the history of the UK's "state" school system (he explained the difference between that and what are called "public schools" in England). While this may seem like a snore, it was actually quite fascinating. Not only has he taught in the state schools, he has also been a school inspector, and I believe he has also taught in a Charlotte Mason-style college.

The second lecture I listened to at 4:00 this morning (I took a pill with caffeine WAY to late...SO, I worked on a transcription file, took a long bath, read 50 pages from Justin Cronin's The Passage, and STILL couldn't sleep), and despite the exhaustion, I was spellbound through all but the last 10 minutes, when it all caught up with me. I awoke an hour later to find it finished and sleep was no longer a problem!

Anyway, the lecture I am referring to is Dr. Jack Beckman's "The Books that Changed My Life." Anybody who knows me knows reading is a passion of mine, even if I don't have as much time to read as I would like. I love books and I love books about books. Now I've discovered I love Dr. Beckman talking about books! In this lecture, Dr. Beckman presented some of his favorite books and why they have been important to his life. He is a very engaging speaker, and when he read passages aloud, he brought the term "living books" to a whole new level. I couldn't help thinking of you, Aunt Pam, and you, Aunt Ardella, as I listened. You would resonate with his passion for books.

Whether you're a subscriber to the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education or no, I have no doubt you would enjoy any of these links. Enjoy!

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-04T07:00:00.002-04:00

Photo Credit: Debbie Caddell

Giveaway!

2011-07-01T11:12:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to my lovely Auntie for reaching 500 followers on her blog "A Sheltering Tree." If you've been to her blog, you know she has a mentoring heart and a warm writing style that make for an incredible blog. If you've not "met" her yet, now would be an great time to head on over there...you just might win a $25 Amazon gift card!

Hey, where did everybody go??? Ok, then, enjoy the blog. I'll see you over there!

Nursery

2011-06-29T13:45:00.011-04:00

Photo Credit:

Nancy Lennon's granddaughter,

but goodness, I can't think of her name.

Madeline gets excited whenever I tell her we're going to church. She enjoys her time in the nursery with many people who love her, teachers and young friends alike. On Sunday mornings, Ms. Lyndsi comes in and gives them a lesson with a few songs, a very simple Bible story, and a sweet art project, and of course, a snack. The little ones line up against the wall and sit surprisingly still. Madeline seems to listen and mouths the words to some of the songs.
This little (ADORABLE) girl is one of Madeline's best friends. She takes great care of Madeline and is very concerned if Madeline gets upset.

She also taught her to do this, but hey, at least I don't have to chase around pacifiers!

The main Wednesday night friends.

Pioneer Woman is My Best Friend (or Worst Enemy)

2011-06-28T07:00:00.000-04:00

I made these

when my brother and sister-in-law were here.

I knew they would appreciate Pioneer Woman's Knock-You-Naked Brownies* as much as I would, so that was the perfect time to try them out.

Chewy chocolatey carmely oozing goodness. Mmmm

Seriously, try them!

*Yes, that's the name, and no, they did not quite fulfill that part of the hype, but so close! :)

I'm trying to ignore the Milky Way Cake recipe because, you know, it has 11 Milky Ways in it.

I Salute You

2011-06-27T15:55:00.004-04:00

Photo Credit: Debbie Caddell

We were honored to sing as a family during one of the patriotic selections at this year's musical. The song was entitled "I Salute You," and while we only had a few lines, they expressed our heart-felt appreciation for the sacrifice made by our servicemen and women. During the song, the different branches of the military are honored. Immediately following "our" song, one of the local high school drum lines precedes the Fire Department's Honor Guard, and then all the veterans and active duty servicemen and women come to the stage to be honored. It is a proud moment to see around 100 servicepersons flood the stage, and sobering to see that many of this group, though a symbol of our nation's strength, need help up the stage. We may not have them for long, but we were honored to sing our thanks to them.

By the way, the older girls did a great job with no stage fright, so they must have gotten that from their Daddy! I held Madeline, and while she fussed a bit from being so close to the band and brass, she calmed down pretty quickly with some soothing from Mama before our part. When we sang, she mouthed the words along with us, in time, and with some correct word formations, too! :)

{This Moment} Posing

2011-06-24T08:52:00.002-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit SouleMama for more moments

Olivia-isms

2011-06-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

Olivia came up to me and said, softly and sweetly, "Wherever I go, I'll still love you." (I can hear the collective "Awwwwww.")

Since it was rainy one day, I let the girls watch Disney's Pocahontas (as a tale and not a history lesson, by the way, since there was a tsk heard 'round the world), and Olivia was singing "Savages, savages" in her own way: "Samwiches, samwiches..."

While looking through a bowl of shells collected from a Florida beach: "Mom, was this one made in China?"

Part of her bedtime prayer: "Help us to have a fun day tomorrow. Help it to be the right size of warm, no cold and no hot. Nevermind, I want it to be hot so that [?? Mama doesn't remember why!]."

An Ode to Family

2011-06-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, perhaps it's not exactly an ode...but I bet I had you going there for a minute. My brother and his family were on their way back to South Dakota last week and we got to spend a whole day with them. As you can see from this series of shots, Jordan was in vacation mode. Picture-taking wasn't evidently on his list of priorities, so he kept being silly and lengthening the time between pictures and eating those incredible pork chops Glen grilled.

I'll cut him a little slack though, because he also was in the act-like-Daddy mode. He banged our front door into submission (after our home-health company left it open in a wind storm, while we were gone) and replaced a faucet we've been trying to get to for a long time.

My lovely sister-in-law, Kayla...love her much, and desperately wish she lived closer! (Does it say something about me that all my sisters-in-law moved so far away? They are currently in South Dakota, Alaska, and Virgina. You can't get too much further apart and be in the same country....unless I move to Florida! :)

Kayla and I took off for The Pointy Pencil here in town to shop for stuff she can't get in South Dakota. What fun! I entered notes into my phone for things I had wanted and were cheaper there than I had thought they would be. (Es, it's reloacated downtown and it is beautiful! They have crafts anytime of the day for the kids, and a play area that would be a dream school room!)

And the kids...Brianna, 5 (6 weeks younger than our Olivia); Daniel, almost 3 (2 weeks older than our Madeline); and Alyssa, 16 months (?)

Daddy's Bible

2011-06-19T07:32:00.008-04:00

The Bible I will take to church with me today was held in my father's hands. It was a gift from my mother in 1973 and it is soft with age and love. Her tiny script marks the flyleaf, and I wonder if her matching Bible was a gift from him?

Later Bibles belonging to Daddy are very marked and full of notes, but this one only has a few marked passages and a few sermon outlines scrawled on so-small pieces of paper. It always amazed me how he could preach such beautiful sermons off of a scrap of paper, just a few words jotted down.

I read these words last night, and my first thoughts were of the Bible of Daddy's I treasure.

A Book I have - a friend gave -
Whose Pencil - here and there -
Had notched the place that pleased Him -
At Rest - His fingers are -

Now - when I read - I read not -
For interrupting Tears -
Obliterate the Etchings
Too Costly for Repairs.

~~Emily Dickinson, c. 1862

Happy Father's Day in Heaven. Are you with your father around the Father's throne?

Daddy's photography

{This Moment} Reading in Bed: Favorite Time of Day

2011-06-17T11:04:00.003-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit SouleMama for more moments

Kissing Cousins

2011-06-16T06:00:00.003-04:00

Daniel and Madeline, exactly 2 weeks apart

2011-06-15T11:03:00.003-04:00

We loved every minute of having my brother Jordan, his wife Kayla, and their three children with us on their way back to South Dakota. I'm not sure if the cousins got to everything on Carli's list, but they did enjoy the beautiful weather while playing in the back yard, riding bikes, visiting the Nature Center and Jackson-Morrow Park, and eating ice cream.

The List

2011-06-13T12:59:00.003-04:00

Carli and Olivia are anxiously awaiting the arrivial of their cousins from South Dakota, Breanna, Daniel, and Alyssa. Mind you, they will be here only one day on their way back West, but here is a list of activities Carli has compiled for their day (complete with her spelling/caps, etc):

Look at books

Eat Breckfest

Littlest Pet shop

color

play school

play ball out side

play house

ride bikes

eat lunch

Big suprise

pick out are favret roks

take a rest

play the piano

Sounds like they are going to have a jolly good time! :)

{This Moment} Backyard Sunshine

2011-06-10T09:47:00.004-04:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo [make that three for this week!] - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Visit SouleMama for more Moments

Summer Reading

2011-06-09T17:19:00.003-04:00

I've been known to say I hope there are libraries in the heaven (maybe the new earth, at least?), and while that may be a little shallow, it's a very honest sentiment. So many books, so little time, as the saying goes. I usually have several going at one time so that I have one for whatever mood I'm in. I always have one in my purse along with my Kindle, too.

By the way, it may sound like I sit around eating bon-bons (don't say it, please!) and read all day long, but the truth is I really don't get to read that much, for all the same reasons every other wife/mother/home-educator/ chief cook and bottle washer/part-time transcriptionist doesn't get to read much. In the summer, I do have a tad bit more time, and most of that time is eaten up with reading homeschooling material that will help us on our journey. I "read" a lot of my books by MP3 player, but it has to be really engaging and not require a lot of cogitating. I love to go to bed with a book, or sit up reading in the living room, but goodness, I'm asleep in 30 seconds flat most nights.

This week Glen was in Washington, D.C., and one night, around midnight, I finally crawled into bed with my book. The girls were sleeping all around me (two on the floor, one on the bed), as is our custom when Glen is gone, but I turned on the light and settled in anyway. I actually made it to the end of a chapter, but I must have fallen asleep rolling over to turn off the lamp for I awoke to my alarm at 6:00, the lamp blazing and the book tucked in by my pillow.

That being said, and since I love to see what's books are hanging out on the nightstands or coffee tables or in the baskets of others, I thought I'd share my current stack. (I'd share my up-next list, but it is entirely too long and would take me the rest of the year to get a fourth of the way through, if that.)

Desiring God--John Piper

The Hand of God: A Journey from Death to Life by the Abortion Doctor Who Changed His Mind--Bernard Nathanson

Organized Simplicity--Tsh Oxenreider

A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning--Karen Andreola

Home Education--Charlotte Mason, Kindle

Ginger Pye--Eleanor Estes, with the children

The Count of Monte Cristo--Alexander Dumas (Kindle)

The Autobiography of Mark Twain--Mark Twain (MP3)

The Passage--Justin Cronin

Bedtime Prayers

2011-06-07T22:54:00.002-04:00

There is something special about praying with my children at the end of a long day. Even when the day has brought stress or talking back or petty squabbles or Mommy's impatience, praying together breaks through the frustration and brings lots of hugs and kisses besides.

Oh, and giggles supressed by this Mama. Olivia's five-year-old prayers are simply funny, even when they're not meant to be. Carli is becoming very expressive and grown-up sounding, but every once in a while, something slips in there that reminds me that she really is just a little girl still.

Like tonight...along with praying for Daddy's safe travel home tomorrow and that we'd have a good time at church tomorrow, praising Jesus, and that we'd have a safe night of sleep, she also prayed that there wouldn't be any spider bites or spiders crawling over her. Between the two of them, Carli and Olivia pray this prayer a lot, and we've not really had that major of a problem with spiders. Ah well. Olivia also prayed that there would be no tornado sirens tonight, and that "our hearts would be ok, and that my friend Lizzie would be ok, and that everybody would be ok, even Katie Davis."

ST and GI

2011-06-07T00:23:00.002-04:00

Madeline has been learning to sign colors in speech therapy for a while now, but Mommy and Carli and Olivia are making a concerted effort to teach her to label colors herself. In this video she is signing red per request and working on throwing at the same time. I still have to stabilize her to get her to use two hands easily. Otherwise, she props belly on the floor or on her legs to keep her balance, but by that point it can barely be called sitting.

We visited Dr. Schaefer today, Madeline's gastroenterologist. Dr. Shaefer was very pleased with Madeline's weight gain and progress. She is up to 23 lbs! For now we're leaving the g-tube in, though we don't use it unless she is sick (really not that often at all these days!). It certainly comes in handy when she does get sick and the Nissen (procedure in which the stomach is wrapped around the esophagus to prevent reflux from getting into her lungs) doesn't allow her to relieve any pressure at all on her stomach.

Oh, by the way, while we were there, not only did Olivia ask the doctor for a piece of paper and a pencil, she also asked her, "Am I beautiful?" Ah, such wonderful moments! For the record, I don't do well with having all three kids in a doctor's office. I'm fine until the doctor actually walks in and tries to carry on a conversation with me. I can't concentrate on the doctor and the kids who, even when they are being very well behaved, seem so...um, talkative in such close quarters.

Besides soaking up the sunshine...

2011-06-06T07:00:00.000-04:00

...we are continually learning, albeit at a more leisurely pace! This past week we:

:: found mosquito larvae in our backyard sand table left open unintentionally

:: visited the library just for fun (as opposed to a change of scenery for school work). Carli was thrilled to use the big kid's computers, since she was only 37 days away from turning 8. There is a kaleidoscope art program on the those particular computers, and she has fun creating new designs.

:: discovered Dance Mat Typing, hosted by a funny goat with an accent and sunglasses. Did I mention it's free? Carli practiced the home row this week.

:: watched "Alaskan Wild." The kids are fascinated by all things Alaska, probably because they have beloved cousins there. Anything with Alaskan wildlife and they're glued. Carli never fails to say, "Mom, remember when we saw the whale tail when we were on the boat in Alaska?" This particular documentary had footage of seals, salmon, whales (oh dear, I don't remember which ones), Kodiak bears, wolves, foxes, and more.

:: started learning the books of the Bible with this really incredible set my mom has had for years. Story goes that in children's meeting in our church in Ashville, New York, the entire row of 2-year-olds, including my dear brother Jordan, learned the books of the Bible, both reciting them and putting them on the board in the correct order. Evidently those few minutes Mom took every week, supposedly just for the older kids, did abundantly more than she could have imagined for the young kids too. I know I would have only been four or five, but I never had to learn them again!

:: Played ABSeas (Olivia) and Unjumbled (Carli) and Life

:: Played at Cool Creek Park and visited the Nature Center there. Definitely want to go back to walk the trails!

:: Discovered a beautiful (HUGE) moth outside of our window of our hotel. Gene Stratton Porter would have been proud of Carli's enthusiasm. Alas, when I reviewed Carli's pictures of it, she didn't get any of it with its wings flat, so we haven't been able to classify it.

:: Watched a groundhog waddle across our yard and climb the fence to head on down to the creek.

:: Lots of bike-riding this summer, playing with neighborhood friends, and splashing about in a kiddie pool

::Taken bike rides and walks. Carli came up with a game during one of our walks, called "Guess My Number." She had no idea that I would be able to come up with her number so quickly by using greater than, less than; place value; even and odd numbers; and rounding. She did pretty well herself when the tables were turned.

:: Swimming at a hotel pool. Carli and Livy are newly-minted self-taught swimmers, getting braver by the swim.

Some of the books we enjoyed are:
::Night Running by Elisa Carbone (This was a hold over from our Underground Railroad study)
::Red Wagon by Renata Liwska
::Abe Lincoln Crosses the Creek: A Tall Thin Tale Introducing His Forgotten Frontier Friend
by Deborah Hopkinson
::Pinkalicious and Purplicious by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann (Two of Olivia's favorites)
::The Clown of God by Tomie dePaola (a new favorite author of ours)
::Roxaboxen by Barbara Cooney
::My Pony by Susan Jeffers
::The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaola
::The Birdhouse by Cynthia Rylant (another favorite author)
::Skylark, sequel to Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia McLaughlin
::Started Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes. The chapters are kind of long, but the girls are begging me to continue at the end of each chapter! I'd never read this book, but I have seen it on so many reading lists, and we have found it absolutely delightful!

Nailed to the Cross

2011-06-05T08:00:00.002-04:00

Some of you may be memorizing Colossians along with Ann Voskamp this year. I can't begin to put into words how this has changed me. Even in the first chapter and a half, there are so many verses that I've just read over and haven't really taken up as my own, but once they are tucked into my heart, they begin to pervade my thoughts and encourage me throughout long days or in situations out of my control.

This past week we memorized Colossians 2:13 and 14.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.

God's sacrifice is incomprehensible to me, and there is nothing I can do to earn it. All I can offer Him is a grateful heart and the broken pieces of of my life that only He can make into the beautiful mosaic of His grace.

Of course, these verses immediately bring to mind the haunting hymn entiteld "It is Well with My Soul."

My sin--Oh the bliss of this glorious thought!--

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to His cross

And I bear it no more.

Praise the Lord,

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

It is well.

Breakdown of Year 2 (and pics for the bored)

2011-06-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are weary in well-doing because of listening to me ramble on about homeschooling, buck up! I'll be back to regularly-scheduled programming soon, or when I feel like it! Ha! But to pacify you for a while, here are a few pics of the view from where I sat while I typed the majority of this post!

Madeline taking notes on her sisters' progress

Olivia's favorite new trick is swimming under water,
or at least the best she can with the floaties I make her wear! :)

Not too bad for nary a swim lesson and only a few pool visits per year!

With the help of some lovely people on the Yahoo! discussion board, I have chosen Year 2 to start with Ambleside Online. Carli's Math, Reading, Spelling, etc, will still be Grade 3 level, but if we started in Year 3, we would be missing part of a couple key books in the history cycle.

Ambleside takes a lot of books a little bit at a time, almost to the point that I can imagine my girls saying, "Just one more chapter, Mom! Puh-leeeeeeeeeeeeeze?" I think the short, varied lessons will be fun and keep our interest very well.

This year we will have daily instruction in Bible, math, penmanship/copywork, phonics as needed, and possibly Spanish, and weekly instruction in nature study, art and art appreciation, music appreciation and composer study.

History for Year 2 covers A.D. 1000 to the Middle Ages, and we will be utilizing these classic books:
::An Island Story by H.E. Marshall
::This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall
::A Child's History of the World by Virgil Hillyer (Go HERE for an explanation on the use of this book)

For History Tales and/or Biography:
::Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
::The Little Duke by Charlotte Yonge
::Joan of Arc by Diane Stanley

For Geography we will read Holling C. Holling's books, Tree in the Trail and Seabird, practicing our map skills along with it.

During Natural History/Science, I am looking forward to delving into Anna Botsford Comstock's The Handbook of Nature Study. Carli really enjoys working on her nature journal, though we didn't take as many nature walks as I would have liked. There is an Outdoor Hour Challenge in which we may be able to participate. We will also enjoy Holling C. Holling's Pagoo, and The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess.

We won't have heavy phonics instruction this year, but for Reading practice, I found delightful readers on Google Books, called Reading-Literature by Treadwell and Free. I plan to print them out and make them special. I absolutely love them, and will probably use them for Livy too, once she is reading.

We will study the Poetry of Walter de la Mare, Eugene Field, James Whitcombe Riley, and Christina Rosetti. Our Artist Studies will include Jean Honore Fragonard and Norman Rockwell, as well as one other, yet to be determined. Mozart, Mendelssohn, Bartok and Hindermith will round out our Composer Studies.

And Literature! My favorite! We have already read a few of the Little House on the Prairie books listed for year two, but between this and the Free-Reading List, we will have plenty to read through the three terms.

Literature
::Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb
::Pilgrim's Progress Book 1 (Christian's Journey) by John Bunyan (original language)
::Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty, selections.
::Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
::The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
::Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (original language)

Additional Books for Free Reading
Heidi by Joanna Spyri
A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney
Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales
Pied Piper of Hamlin by Robert Browning
~~Abraham Lincoln~~ by Ingri D'Aulaire
Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
~~Little House on the Prairie~~ by Laura Ingalls Wilder
~~Farmer Boy~~ by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Chanticleer and the Fox - Barbara Cooney's is one version
Along Came A Dog by Meindert De Jong
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli

For more information on about Ambleside Online or to figure out what in the world I'm thinking, go HERE.

Guest Post

2011-06-03T21:27:00.002-04:00

I am truly honored that my Aunt Pam asked me to write a guest post for her lovely blog, A Sheltering Tree. If you feel so inclinded you can read here about Sheltering Families with Special Needs.

Ambleside Online

2011-06-03T17:00:00.002-04:00

So what in the world is Ambleside Online? Here's the welcome on the site:

Welcome to Ambleside Online, a free homeschool curriculum designed to be as close as possible to the curriculum that Charlotte Mason used in her own private and correspondence schools. Our goal is to be true to Charlotte Mason's high literary standards. Ambleside Online uses the highest quality books and costs no more than the cost of texts. The curriculum uses as many free online books as possible, and there is no cost to use this information or join the support group.

As I said in the previous post, Ambleside Online provides the curriculum for History, Literature, Geography, Poetry, Composer and Artist Studies, Music Appreciation, Natural History/Science, and Free Reading Lists, as well as a lot of support with their online discussion boards.

One thing that is a little different with Ambleside Online is that it is set up as three terms rather than two semesters. The terms are September-November, January-March, and April-June. We will see if we like it, but if not, it will be easy to go back to our normal schedule next year. I do love the idea of having a month-long holiday in December to concentrate more on the celebration of Christ's birth. It's always too busy, and that might just be the ticket to allowing us to slow and drink in the beauty of the season. There is enough leeway in the terms to give us a few short breaks and still meet Indiana's requirement of 180 days.

So we're excited! I'm grateful for the extra month this summer to get ready for the first term. I'm still researching gentle math introductions for Kindergarten, and then I think I'll be set with K curriculum. I would love to get the first term's completely ready to go by September...notebooking pages, a daily schedule, and more.

Grade 3 Curriculum (2011/2012)

2011-06-02T08:00:00.003-04:00

I feel like ordering, "Drumroll, please!" I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my dear sister-in-law, Esther, knows exactly what I mean when I say that I have lived and breathed homeschool research in this last week. To be honest, as much as I look forward to the end of the school year, a big part of that is because I enjoy working on the upcoming year.

This year I have double the fun with Olivia moving on to Kindergarten next year. And an added challenge...try to do it for a LOT less money (more on that at another date). Last year I spent around $400 for just Carli. This year? Carli's comes to $167 or so. Still working on Olivia's.

Ok, so here we go! I think I'll just list everything this time, and explain more about the whys and wherefores and give links another time.

:: Year 2 History, Geography, Literature, Readers, Artist and Composer Studies, Poetry, Music
Appreciation, Natural History/Science, Free Reading List--Ambleside Online.
::Math--Teaching Textbooks 3
::Language--finish Primary Language Lessons
::Penmanship/Copywork--Pictures in Cursive
::Spelling--The Modern Speller (a classic) and customized spelling lists
:: Art--ARTistic Pursuits
::Foreign Language--Looking into free Spanish lessons in town at our local teacher's shop.

The free curriculum at Ambleside Online has been a treasure-trove discovery for me. I love Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education (that's right! More on that later), and Ambleside Online bases it's whole curriculum on her principles. It will be an intense and exciting year. I have much learning and growing to do as a mother and a teacher, but I've seen the start of it this past year as we started our journey down this road.

Carli's Photography

2011-06-01T15:17:00.006-04:00

I'm trying to think of a suitable introduction to this post, but it eludes me. At any one time when I download pics and videos, I find dozens of photographs and video clips. I think I need to have her start chronicling some of her school work on video because she can be quite the little teacher. She just needs a steadier hand! :)

Hot and Sweaty Memorial Day Bliss

2011-06-01T08:00:00.003-04:00

Memorial Day turned out differently than originally planned. We stayed put her in Indiana rather than heading to PA. Would have loved to visit the cemetery and Mom's newly found bench just a few feet away from Daddy's grave and to see the lovely geraniums she planted.

Instead we sweat it out here in Kokomo! It was a HOT one! I stuck to the cool house for most of the morning. Carli was at her friend Katie's house all morning, so Glen took Olivia on an hour+ bike ride. I finished up a sermon file, "putzed," as Mom would say, and continued to research 2011/2012 school year. Love nice long lazy holidays!

Olivia and Carli were in begging-to-help mode, so I taught them (again) how to peel potatoes for our potato salad, and Carli set the picnic table on the deck. She chose a red table cloth and cut strips of paper to write place cards, held down by pebbles. :) Madeline wheeled around the kitchen, keeping me company while I put our simple meal together.

I think the girls were in their swimsuits all afternoon (Olivia for most of the morning, too). I pulled out sundresses for when our company arrived for a tad more sophistication.

Trying to tell Mommy something by mouthing it!

Glen's burgers were juicy and delicious, and if I could remember what brand of baked beans we bought, I would freely tell you which ones NOT to buy. Mealy beans anyone? Definitely should have tasted them first. Potato salad and chip dip and Mom's made-from-scratch brownies and raspberry tea were fantastic, though.

So fun to have friends to spend the holiday with. Danny, Lisa, Emily, and Cameron...glad you're in our lives!

The one and only picture I have of the Bryants yesterday. Ooops.

Clean again!

Very tired bedtime prayers.

Plans for Madeline

2011-05-31T08:00:00.002-04:00

Last week, I attended my first-ever case conference and helped write Madeline's first IEP (Independent Education Plan). Madeline will be in an integrated (typical/special needs) preschool setting at a terrific school here in town. This is how she will receive most of her therapies since she will be aging out of First Steps in July.

Here are my remarks of that day, posted to Facebook:

Have to admit, all the paperwork, all the therapists, school reps, liaison, all the compliments about my little girl, all the clinical numbers showing lower numbers than I'd like, all the recommendations, and just the fact that we were writing an IEP...It was all a tad (or more) overwhelming today. It's amazing to know your child insi...de and out and still have to listen to someone read through the list of what she can or can't do. Everyone was so sweet. Nobody loves her and knows her like I do, and no numbers or checkmarks or Xs will ever paint the beautiful picture that is Madeline.

If you want specifics for prayer, please intercede for us on behalf of Madeline's speech. She signs a lot, but we need her to do more than label items. Cognitively, I think she's not as far behind as what her speech would indicate, but overall, being non-verbal is slowing her down across the board. She signs, mouths some words, but only babbles a little. Her neurodevelopmentalist has given us a referral for a communications evaluation to see about getting a communication board of some sort. This could be a vital tool to coax it out of her!

I'd love to see her take off soon so that we can see where she's at in that little mind of hers! This preschool experience will give me a chance to gauge whether or not I will have the ability to school her at home once she's ready for Kindergarten, a couple years away, thankfully.

Lazy Days of Summer with an Easter flashback

2011-05-30T15:02:00.002-04:00

Since I never posted Easter pics, this is just for you!

I'm enjoying my cool house on one hot Memorial Day. This past Tuesday we officially finished school for the 2010/2011 school year, and we've revelled in our new-found freedom of summer. Still a little crazy with therapy, meeting with the school (more on that in a bit), and company, but the pace is a bit slower.

Olivia's closing program at preschool was bittersweet. I've seen her grow and change and start to say her "th" sound, which she likes to practice on me every once in a while, exaggeratedly sticking her tongue out to get it right. Her teachers declared her a delight, always quick to obey, and kind to others. Kindergarten, slow and gentle, awaits around the corner, and since she's been begging me to teach her to read, I'm sure that will be a priority for the coming year.

Second grade for Carli took us on a tour of the United States and some of her history, filled two notebooks on our first ever notebooking experience, delighted us with hands-on science activities, and started us down the path of nature study (though we want to indulge in this more consistently this summer and through the years ahead). Even though Carli is sure that she "hates math," she has done a terrific job, and this year she discovered a love for chapter books with bookmarks. The "code" is finally embedding itself in her little brain which makes the "work" of reading much more enjoyable. We did not do as much handwriting practice or art as we should have, but we loved the book basket full of living books and our study of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty.

Carli has fully arrived at the questions stage. She could sit for long periods of time asking endless questions, especially if it will keep her from a math worksheet, eating something she's not fond of, or settling down for sleep. Right now she's concerned for poor old Satan. She doesn't understand why he can't just say he's sorry and go to heaven. When asked not too long ago what question she would like to ask Jesus the most, she said, "I'd ask if He would please just forgive Satan so he wouldn't have to go to hell." Okay then.

Three of Madeline's therapists have flown the coop, so to speak, one to a maternity leave, and two because of changes with First Steps that necessitate us choosing from agencies rather than independent therapists. We MISS them! They are like family after three years of working closely with them every week. Our two new therapists are lovely ladies, and we will be sad to see them go in July when Maddy ages out of First Steps.

Last week, I performed the dreaded deed of attending the first case conference with the school system. (More on that in another post). She continues to astound us with her wheeling abilities. She loves the big open areas at church, especially where she can practice circles and steering toward whichever person she most wants to bless with a hug. Due to some job uncertainties, we're praying her new wheelchair will be approved before insurance becomes an issue. The demo chair is still in our possession and I'm NOT calling her rep back to see when he's going to reclaim it! :) He's fully aware of the lapsed pick-up date...I heard through the grapevine that he just may be engineering it so we can have it as long as possible, since he's so amazed at how well she's doing!

I'm not quite ready to unveil 2011/2012 plans for Carli and Olivia. I have been research mode (one of my most favorite times of the year), and I have about 95% of my mind made up on a big leap. Still praying much for wisdom, so much so that sometimes my mind will not shut down at night and I lie awake too long pondering the possibilities. Exciting stuff, but besides actual curriculum, I have a big reading list of my own to get through so that I can successfully carry out this style of education I wholeheartedly believe in. More on that in another post, when I actually have all plans a go.

This is a weekend for company! We were blessed to have Mom and Dad Asbury, Emeline and Lorraine (Glen's younger siblings and aunties to our three girlies), and Carli's friend Katie over for Sunday ham dinner. Mmmm. (The ham gravy and pineapple sauce were divine!). Last night, Kirsten and Caitie, dear claimed sisters of mine, and The Boy (Andrew) visited for lots of homemade pizza and laughter and getting acquainted with said Boy. (Nana Di, I have to tell you that he sat and played gently with Madeline, oohed and ahhed over her x-ray pics, and listened with earnest attention to Olivia's performances, so I'm thinking we can put a big A in the "interaction with children" column.) Today we're happy to relax with the Bryants around our grill.

We were supposed to be in Pennsylvania visiting my lovely mother for the weekend and beyond a few days to see Jordan's family, too, but due to the job situation briefly mentioned above, we thought it best to stay put for the time being until we know the next step in the journey. We're disappointed, but thankful for friends and family to fill our days so we don't sit around and mope about Jordan having all the fun! :) By the way, Jordan, I don't want to hear even one comment about Gibbles Fire Chips or Tom's Pizza. That would just be mean. Humph.

I trust you all a meaningful Memorial Day.

Olivia about to take off on a bike ride with Daddy.

Must have been fun...they were gone for more than an hour!

Letter to the President

2011-05-19T16:20:00.003-04:00

Today we finished out our history lessons by putting our current President's picture on our timeline. When I told Carli that even though we may not like him or agree with him very much, we still need to pray for him, she told me, "I don't want to pray for him. When I see his picture it makes me sick in my stomach." [One of the little boys in her Kindergarten class (2 years ago) told her that he kills babies, so she's not been really fond of him since. We had to explain a little more than we intended to at her tender age of 5.] Our last assignment in history was to write a letter to him. Here is what she dictated to me (she'll copy it to writing paper):

Carli Asbury
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Carli. I am a homeschooled little girl. I am 7 years old, and I'm almost 8. I'm just writing to say I'm going to pray for you. I'm praying to God to give you wisdom.

Would you like to write back to me?

Sincerely,

Carli

Wheels!

2011-04-30T08:21:00.003-04:00

Just in case you missed it on Facebook...

Madeline's wheelchair rep brought her a demo wheelchair about 10 days ago. This video was taken within five minutes of the rep's departure. Her smile says it all! Watch her mouth...she's "counting" with me!

Oral Narration on Abraham Lincoln

2011-04-07T16:09:00.001-04:00

Would you like to "hear" one of Carli's oral narrations for history? She's doing a pretty good job considering this is our first year doing Charlotte Mason style. We continue to work on what starting at the beginning, including the most important facts, etc., but for second grade…again not bad! J

For this particular narration, I asked Carli to tell me what Abraham Lincoln was like. She included a story she remembered from a while back (President's Day??), I thought it was a good example of Lincoln's personality. I then asked her to tell me briefly about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War and slavery.

This is unedited. I did help her with the date and the names of the two armies.

Abraham Lincoln had a very big smile. When he was young (like 15 years old), he loved to study the law book. He lay with his nose in a book and his feet on the tree. He was very smart and kind. He was more than six feet tall.

One time there was a man driving down the road and Abraham Lincoln said, "Please let me pass!" And the man said, "No, I'm not going to." Abraham Lincoln stood up and got taller and taller and taller and the man said, "Stop getting taller!" and got out of the way into the mud. Abraham Lincoln laughed and helped him out of the mud.

He was elected President of the United States. There was a war in 1861 and one side was called the Union and the other the Confederacy, and they were fighting and Abraham Lincoln did not like it.

He did not like slavery, and he let the slaves free.

Before and After

2011-03-08T08:13:00.026-05:00

Before surgery

Perched on Mama's lap...a little sleepy at only 6:15 AM

All dressed for surgery

Silly girl rolling her eyes (probably at Pastor Kraig!)

Granny comes bearing gifts from afar (Pennsylvania!)

Breathing treatment (she was as happy as a clam with Granny holding her)

And she's off to see the surgeon!

After Surgery

In PACU (Post-Anesthesia Recovery Unit)

Before Morphine

Now in PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit)

After Morphine

Good Night!

Before-Surgery X-ray

The severe curve is called kyphosis.

Since she had her head tipped back for this x-ray, you also get a good look at her VP shunt.

After-Surgery X-ray

You can see the two rods side by side.

There is still a very slight curve, but the huge curve is gone!

The cables wrapped around near the top of the rods allow the rods to grow with her

so that she will not require surgery every year to adjust.

Before-Surgery Back Pics

This is one of the few really good pics of her back I have.

She was less than a year old here, I believe.

Ready for surgery

The discoloration over this area is probably due to how much they had to stretch the skin to put her all back together after her myelomeningocele repair two days after birth.

After-Surgery Back Pic

Yesterday Madeline was pretty sleepy most of the day, waking only to wimper, sign cup, and get more morphine. She drank lots of water and generally looked at us like, What did they do to me?? She ran a high fever which Dr. Didelot said is completely normal for spina bifida kids. Evidently the since so many of her nerves are dead, they cannot tell the brain that there is inflammation, so anything this huge causes high fevers especially at night for around three days. Last night she was running a fever up to 103.

So far today she has been awake more, and her temp is down to 99.5. She has had some valium for muscle spasms. She ate a couple bites of pudding and drank lots of PediaSure, cried when the bubbles and music went off on the thingy at the side of her bed, refused to smile for Mommy, and smiled and blew a kiss to Daddy when he came in!

We were moved out of PICU today, so we are all settled into our private room with a private bathroom and shower!

We've been so blessed by so many of you. Diana and Kirsten Metz kept the girls overnight so we wouldn't need to get them up so early in the morning, my mom drove from Pennsylvania to be with us during surgery and then to keep the girls through the week. Pastor Kraig and Aunt Pam and my mom's friend Susan spent hours with us here. We've received so many texts, emails, phonecalls and Facebook wall posts, and to top it off, a bunch of Glen's Twitter friends from all across the country went together to bless us with "out-to-eat" money (and evidently, we're going to have to eat a LOT (: ). You know who you are, and there is no way we could ever thank you enough.

Our worship pastor, Liz, sent me this verse yesterday, and I was so moved by it: Proverbs 14:26--Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

Happy 5th Birthday, Olivia Grace!

2011-01-15T18:54:00.007-05:00

Miss Olivia turned 5 this week! I can't wrap my mind around that. Bittersweet, indeed. She's growing into a lovely little lady, with her innocence and charming personality always leaving us with smiles and chuckles.

Since it was her big birthday #5, we let her pick what she wanted to do. She picked Chuck E. Cheese (We should have known). We invited a couple of her friends to join us. That day we were blessed with a healthy dose of beautifully fluffy snow, and the restaurant was practically empty, thus reducing the noise level to that created by our own children!

What a beautiful smile from Elizabeth!
The rodent himself

Opening a handmade card from Lizzie.

Olivia has been attempting to reproduce it all week.

Olivia, Elizabeth, and Kalli

Carli was sure that Olivia would need help riding her new bike.

Olivia donned her new tutu.

Madeline and Daniel

2011-01-03T15:48:00.002-05:00

Daniel Ray and Madeline Kate are exactly two weeks apart. It was such fun this Christmas seeing them interact with each other. Aunt Kayla envisions Daniel pushing Madeline around in her wheelchair in the years to come. Hoping they'll always be close!

Christmas at Mom's!

2010-12-26T17:25:00.002-05:00

Christmas at Granny's is: Sweet. Loud. Yummy. Fun. Giggly.

Did I mention CRAZY! With the 6 grands, three of them practically babies, CRAZY it definitely is, but we wouldn't have it any other way! :)

No way!

2010-12-14T21:22:00.003-05:00

I've always wanted to sample Rosetta Stone to see if it would be right for our family. Here is a great way to WIN a Level 1 Homeschool program...so no money lost if it doesn't work for you!

Follow the directions below to enter:

**********************************

Now is the perfect time to give your child the gift of possibilities for the holidays with Rosetta Stone Homeschool — and you can WIN a Level 1 Homeschool program, language of your choice (valued at $249)!

Right now Rosetta Stone is having a special Holiday promotion on our Homeschool Edition program and we’d like you to help spread the word! Everyone can save up to $150 on Rosetta Stone Homeschool by visiting our website at http://www.RosettaStone.com/hsw1110.

By helping us spread the word you can win a Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition Level 1 program, language of your choice, valued at $249.

This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever!

Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this program, copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR post about this contest on your facebook page. Then go to the original page at
http://www.othersuchhappenings.com/2010/12/rosetta-stone-giveaway-yay.html
and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post, and good luck!

*****************************

2010-10-29T15:38:00.002-04:00

In case you can't tell, Madeline is thrilled to be mobile--all over the house, she is!

I didn't realize until today that October is Spina Bifida Awareness Month. Erin at Tear & Mend so sweetly reminded us of all the many families out there who face a seemingly devastating diagnosis. One in a thousand (or so) babies are diagnosed with SB, and approximately half of those babies are aborted before their parents have the chance to realize that these babies are WORTH IT (as Erin said).

Being decidedly pro-life, Glen and I never considered or wanted to end my pregnancy. However, I do remember in that first rough day thinking that I could understand a little more why some mama's might consider it. It's terrifying to wonder what extreme difficulties your little one might go through. Today I ran across a blog written by a mother who struggled intensely with her decision. This was one of the most tear-jerking and eye-opening posts I've come across, and it hits so close to home, knowing the uncertainties that come with a spina bifida diagnosis. Also addressed are the varying reactions she received in response to her honesty and vulnerability. If you have the chance, stop by and celebrate her decision of life. Then continue to pray for peace for her and her family as she walks through the weeks and years ahead.

Today I can't imagine my life without Madeline, special needs and all. I wrote last year, "What did I do to deserve this?" Through ups and downs, challenges and victories, one smiley and determined little girl brings joy to our home every day, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Am I the only one?

2010-10-28T12:34:00.002-04:00

I seriously need your feedback on the following question:

Am I the only homeschool mom that occasionally has to take the day off just to catch up on housework after a bizarre week? I hate to not appear perfect here (heehee) but I seriously couldn't take it one more moment. I knew I'd never have time to get done what needs done if we didn't take off. Kokomo is on fall break anyway, but we had decided not to take off since we didn't count all of our vacation as educational.

Still to go:

the rest of the dishes
mop the kitchen floor
laundry
kids' room
finally finish sorting through the fall/winter clothes and...
get those boxes out of the house
possibly make cookies for the campaign bus
go to a campaign rally
exercise
transcribe a sermon due back tomorrow
figure out the rest of school this week...

A mother's work and all that, but I have three Excedrin in me now to cover pain from wisdom tooth extraction on Tuesday, so I have lots of caffeine energy! :)

Trip to the apple orchard

2010-10-22T22:24:00.003-04:00

At the end of September, Olivia and her preschool friends went on a fieldtrip to a family-run apple orchard. We'd planned to all go along, but Carli ended up sick, so I left her and Madeline with Glen. I love spending one-on-one time with each girl.

Kissable, huggable, loveable, unbelievable.

Olivia and her teacher.

I took pics of this little guy for his mother, and I couldn't resist putting one up here. One of Olivia's favorite people! :)

I could just eat her up...figuratively speaking, of course!

Of Sign Language, Sippy Cups, and Sufi (OK! So my alliterative skills aren't as good as my Daddy's!)

2010-10-05T15:01:00.006-04:00

Madeline Kate is making great progress with her communication skills, thanks in no small part to her incredible speech therapist, Ann, as well as her other therapists and sisters who speak non-stop to her. In the past week, she's been putting two words together using sign language--"Please cup" and "More please." She's also starting to answer "yes" or "no" appropriately. I love that she can get across her desires a little more.

In the feeding-tube arena: We're almost done with it! Madeline finally has 5 or 6 teeth and she can handle almost any table food from soft to semi-firm. She gets most of her fluids through the sippy cup with Thick-It mixed in to thicken it to a consistency she won't aspirate on. We use the tube only for her medicines and water now, and occasionally to get an extra feeding done if we don't want to wake her.

Tomorrow Madeline will visit Dr. Sufi in Indianapolis. Dr. Sufi is her new pulmonologist, and I'm really anxious to see if we can find some answers for her continued need of oxygen. If it's due to the DiGeorge Syndrome? If so, will she outgrow her O2 requirements? Will the kyphosis (sever spine curvature) correction in the spring help her breathing at all? So many questions, and only One Great Physician who has all the answers. We beg for your prayers, that the doctors will have wisdom in dealing with her situation, but more importantly, that His will will be done in her life for the primary purpose of bringing glory to Him.

MFW Adventures, Weeks 7 & 8

2010-10-03T23:29:00.015-04:00

Let's take a poll right now and see how many people think that this is a downward trend? I started out trying to get the weekly update in by the weekend of, and now has turned into every two weeks. Thank you to all my lovely readers who show such patience! :)

Besides keeping up with the three R's (or technically, the R,WR,AR)...

During the past two weeks, our Bible lessons taught about Jesus, the Bread of Life. We started off the week with homemade English-Muffin Bread (mmmm), and through the weeks, we tied in yeast experiments, dough making, and a fun book from our book basket.

Glen's boss sent home a huge bag of books home for the girls. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this book, so perfect for our study.

Mixing up the yeast/water/sugar combination for experiment

...which is poured into a bottle and capped with a balloon.

The yeast feeds on the sugar, producing carbon dioxide. The balloon expands.

Olivia documents the experiment
Cute, huh?Carli's narration of the experiment (She dictated it to me, but drew the pics herself).
Carli joins the littles for an afternoon nap, making mama very jealous!

In history, we studied the colonists in New Amsterdam (present-day New York City) and the pioneers in Michigan. Besides enjoying the Pioneers and Patriots book, we read several books from our book basket (forgot to take a picture). One of the favorite parts of our day is always the read-aloud, related to history. Carli begs to keep going. Our current read-aloud is The Courage of Sarah Noble, based on the true story of a little girl who accompanied her father to the wilderness of Connecticut in the 1700s.

We also made butter (in pajama bottoms with a sweatshirt that doesn't match, evidently)!

Lots of shaking...

...turns whipping cream into butter in about 15 minutes.

I chose Amelia Bedilia for Carli's reader this week. She laughed herself silly, as you can see.

Ooops, these should have been up further, but here's Carli making homemade modeling dough. The intention was to bake her creation and then paint it, but evidently Daddy didn't get the memo. After it was out of the oven, he picked it up, asking, "What's this?" while it fell apart in his hands. Ah well, she had fun making it.

Comparison dictated by Carli

Just for fun...One day we ran over to the Pointy Pencil to pick up some primary-lined paper, and they had a craft going on for Oktoberfest.

For a nature walk this week, I had Carli draw in her nature journal one item and take my camera (!) and take pictures of something that made her think of fall. Her pics included...

...fading hydrangeas...

...leaves starting to turn...

...the neighbor's bush changing color...

...herself in the grass (huh??)...

...the clear blue sky....

Our weeks were especially busy with extra activities. We took Kirsten to Indianapolis Museum of Art (more on that in another post),

...visited an apple orchard with Olivia's preschool (pics coming soon)...

...trekked clear over to Flora with our homeschool group to take in an Amish sawmill and honey farm...

...celebrated National Reading Day with books I'd saved back from my Usborne party (one for each girl..they were beyond thrilled and we had fun reading them aloud together).

Although I didn't get pictures, the girls also spent two nights with Grandma and attended Old-Fashioned Days at their aunties' school, and on Sunday we took part in a Life Chain to support the rights of unborn babies.

Aw, Thanks!

2010-09-27T15:06:00.006-04:00

You're so sweet, Monica, for thinking of me when it came time to pass this award along! We are both members of the MFW Blog Roll, and Monica and her little ones are one week ahead of us in Adventures, so I feel like I get a little sneak preview! :) You can check out her awesome blog here.

There are a few rules for accepting this award:

1. Post a thank you from the person who awarded you and include their blog link.
2. Pay it forward to 10 to 15 other bloggers.
3. Comment the blog owners and award them.

I really enjoy these lovely blogs (~~in no particular order~~ in alphabetical order):

A Moment In My Father's World
Being Made New (corrected!)
Clemens Clan Current Charades
Golden Acorn Homeschool
In the Heart of My Home
Indy 2 Guam
Jimmie's Collage
Joyous Family
NieNie Dialogues
Sumana's Faith
South-Dakotan Satterfields

Grab a cup a copy and enjoy these lovely blogs! And thanks once again, Monica!

Preschool for Olivia

2010-09-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

Olivia is over the moon that she gets to go to preschool. We are sending her three mornings a week (for two hours) to the same preschool that Carli attended, and we absolutely love this school. She is constantly asking when she can go back on those off days.

Open house:

I love this picture! Carli and Liam were in the same class in preschool, and now Livy and Rhys are. We get together with them quite a bit through the year for homeschool outings or just to play.

First day excitement

Walking in to the school...

...down the stairs...

...and onto the circle rug.

A little quiet this first morning, but no tears.

Her turn to take the Mystery Box. (I know she had white on after Labor Day, but I haven't gotten Fall stuff out yet.)

Just altogether too adorable.

Labor Day and MFW Adventures, weeks 4 and 5

2010-09-20T00:40:00.013-04:00

Week 6 is just hours around the corner and I have yet to update you on weeks 4 and 5. For those of you who don't really care that much about our homeschooling adventures, just enjoy the pictures and understand that one of my main objectives for blogging about them is to keep a record of sorts of our year. Thank you for dropping by.

Of course, we started out our week 4 with Labor Day. We stayed home…slept in, enjoyed a late breakfast, worked in the yard, sat around and read, watched the girls play outside, and then grilled some ribeyes and roasted marshmallows. Mmm…

(Note the lovely non-matching outfit!)

Glen was proud of his perfectly roasted marshmallow, so of course he tweeted it. :)

Besides keeping up with our basics (math, phonics, spelling, handwriting, reading—Mouse Tales by Lobel), this is a bit of what we learned:

Bible: During weeks 4 and 5, we studied "Jesus, the Light of the World." Carli memorized John 8:12—"I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." As a reminder of this special name of Jesus, the girls both decorated a votive candle that we burn during supper.

We studied several passages from both the Old and New Testaments concerning the Light that has come to the darkness. I absolutely love the Discoverer's Bible for Young Readers. The language is so simple and clear. I find Carli reading it when we're not "doing Bible" or quiet time.

(Carli unscrambles the words of John 8:12)

Science: Our science studies for the last two weeks were tied into our study of the Light of the World. Studying the universe, the sun, other "close" stars, and constellations, specifically the Big Dipper. Carli now thinks that we need to go outside every night to look at the stars.

Study of the universe fascinates me. For instance, you probably remember that the sun is 93,000,000 miles from us. I ran the numbers for Carli to break it down a bit—that's 25,000 plus trips to Alaska for us. I don't think she could even wrap her mind around that, but she knew it was a lot. Proxima Centauri is the next closest star, and it is 25 TRILLION miles away. If we could travel at the speed of light, it would take us 2 seconds to reach the sun, but 8 minutes to reach Proxima Centauri.

To illustrate the difference in size between the sun and Betelgeuse (pronounced beetle juice), we cut out a one-inch circle to represent the sun. Olivia stood with it while Carli and I measured 16 ¾ yard away, which is the diameter of the shrunken Betelgeuse compared to the one-inch sun.

There are an estimated 200 billion stars in our galaxy, and possibly billions of galaxies. That just boggles my little mind. God is so great, such an awesome Creator.

History: Week 4 covered the Native Americans. Lots of hands on activities.

A wigwam…

And a teepee village. One of my dear friends (awwwwwwwwww), Kirsten, and her sweet mother, Diana, took Carli and Olivia for the day while I took Madeline to several doctors' appointments in Indianapolis. Diana homeschooled four girls and has homeschooling so etched in her that she loves any chance she can get to work with little ones. I love it when my girls get to go to Nana Di's. Kirsten is a fixture in our home (or almost), loves reading as much as I do (and can describe exactly what I feel about books in general or a book we both love), and most importantly, is in love with my little girls.

All that to say, when my teacher's manual scheduled making a teepee, I knew Kirsten would do that better than I. Not only did she help make a teepee, but entire Indian village, complete with teepees, a river with fish, trees, a fire pit, Indian children, and baskets full of beads and corn kernels. The girls had to show everyone who entered our house for the next week, and they still stop and admire it several times a day.

Week 5 launched us into a brief overview of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims. We'll be doing a unit study more in depth Thanksgiving week. Our activities were a lot of fun for this study…I learned something! I did not remember that the Pilgrims used oiled paper for windows when glass was not available. The oiled paper not only was a lot stronger, but was waterproof and let in a lot more light than non-oiled paper would have.

The non-oiled paper (above) doesn't let in as much light as the oiled (below)

(testing with water)

Second, we planted corn, planting alongside in one cup, as Squanto taught the Pilgrims to do. We will be watching the corn grow to see which grows more quickly, the one planted with fish or the one without.

Carli was very sad to wrap up Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims. We also read Native American Indians, and from American Pioneers and Patriots and The Story of the U.S. (We still have a bit to wrap up in the last one since I forgot it on our trip to Brown County.) Our book basket books included selections about Native Americans, the Pilgrims, as well as universe and our galaxy in particular. (Because I couldn't find the some of the recommended books in the manual, I had to substitute with some that mentioned the Big Bang. This opened up discussion for us, all the while looking at some awesome pics!)

Our selection from Celebrate America is "America" aka "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

Art: We have completed part of lesson 2 in Draw Write Now. We didn't get much art in the second week due to our trip, but we did enjoy Vincent's Colors, a delightful book of van Gogh paintings, using his own words to describe the colors that moved him so much.

Field trips: On Thursday and Friday of this last week, we totally enjoyed some time taking in the slower pace and fresh country air in Brown County. Glen had a work obligation in Nashville, and we tagged along with him. The girls spent a lot of time in the pool as well as rollicking around the park and wandering the streets of Nashville. I'll be posting more on this later (hopefully soon). We did a few lessons, but left the math and phonics at home.

Funny story: While the other children were trying to sleep, Carli was exclaiming loudly every time she found a flag of a country she knew about. She had picked out this DK Flag book to bring along, but I had no idea how much she'd enjoy looking at it. She was almost giddy with excitement.

On Saturday, I took Carli, Madeline and Kirsten over to Koh-Koh-Mah & Foster, a living history re-enactment centered around the French and Indian War. I had no idea we had this major of a production in the Kokomo area. Not only was the reenactment exciting, but the various camps were amazing. (I heard that our Indian camp is the best in the nation in these sorts of events.) Again, more on that later. I'll just leave a picture for now.

Gene Stratton Porter's home (one of them, anyway)

2010-09-12T22:00:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago, we took the day to go visit one of Gene Stratton Porter's homes, the one her husband built for her right on the edge of the Limberlost. I grew up loving GPS's book The Girl of the Limberlost, but I've since listened to more of them on tape. It was a treat to find more about the lady herself. Sadly, much of the swamp has been drained, and what has been preserved was a little dry while we were there, and since it was very hot, we didn't tour very much of it.

However, the tour of the house was fantastic...even the girls enjoyed it. They were fascinated by her collections of butterflies and moths, the blue herron and the golden eagle beside her fireplace, her daughter Jeanette's room and porch, the huge clawfoot tub where Gene mixed the chemicals and developed her own film. And showing my one-track mind, I forgot to take any pictures inside while I was busy trying to listen and keep little fingers from touching and little feet from climbing.

At the end of the tour, the guide gave the girls a sheet of stickers and a page of questions to match the pictures to. I was amazed how much even Olivia picked up and remembered.

So without further ado, the pictures....

(below) If you look closely at the fence, toward the edges of the picture, you can see small open spots in the wall. Gene wanted the small creatures to be able to get into her yard. The fence are original and made with rocks from the Wabash.

Gene's daughter Jeanette had her own little porch. Gene called it "A girl's fantasy porch" or something like that.

There was a cat on the premises, which Olivia absolutely loved. She would not let the poor thing alone. (I know Grandma Asbury is gasping in utter shock! And yes, my tongue is planted firmly in my cheek.)

This was my absolute favorite part of the house. Inside there is a small room brimming with plants and natural sunlight, opening into the dining room. At night, Gene would open the little windows at the very top, close off the room with the glass and oak pocket doors, and wait for the butterflies and moths to come. They were attracted to the gas lights, of course, and would land on those huge doors, making it easy for Gene to study them.

Snack time! She loves being able to drink on her own (with Thick-It)

The only remaining covered bridge over the Wabash

Enjoying the Wabash

Just because.

MFW Adventures: Week 3 in pictures

2010-09-06T20:48:00.006-04:00

Week 3, and still in love with Adventures in My Father's World curriculum. This week:

Bible: We continued to study about Jesus and how He came to save us from our sins. We talked about living like Jesus would live. We made a WWJD bookmark (Carli had never heard of WWJD) and a Jesus sun catcher by melting crayons shavings between wax paper(Um, yeah, we're doing Carli's over again because Mommy and Carli didn't notice that some of the letters were backwards. To defend myself a little bit, I was on the other side of the desk looking at it upside down. I have no idea what Carli's excuse was...)

Math and Phonics: We continued working on our first of the year review, and while I know it wasn't that long ago that we studied some of this stuff, I can see how it builds Carli's confidence to work quickly through a lesson and easily handle stuff that wasn't so easy last year. For our "reader" we continued with The Big Balloon Race.

Science: Still learning about air. Here we are doing a simple experiment to show that air pushes.

Step 1: Fill a glass to the brim.
Step 2: Place a styrofoam plate over the top, making sure there are no gaps between the glass and the plate.

Step 3: Invert. Air pushes against the bottom of the plate to hold it in place.

Second Experiment: Collapsing Carton. Sucking air out of the carton causes the sides to collapse and blowing air in "makes them fat" (Carli's words).

Geography: Carli seems to have inherited Grandpa Asbury's loves for geography. She loves to look at atlases and the big maps on our walls. Here she is labeling the continents on a placemat I got from Target's $1 bin (last year?).

Poring over the Usborne Children's Atlas...

...while Olivia "labels" the continents with letters from her name....

(which she is doing constantly, it seems)

We get as much outdoor learning in as possible. All that vitamin D is good for our spirits.

Breaks to climb in trees bring smiles.

Madeline enjoys a drink break. (Thick-It is a wonder, by the way.)

Olivia wanted to make her own sandwich: Multi-grain bread, lunch meat, yogurt, cottage cheese. And she ate it all.

History: Jamestown! Pocahontas! Below, Carli shows a favorite book from the book basket. We also started Squanto: Friend of the Pilgrims, and backtracked to read Eric the Red which finally came into the library. Right now, most of our narration and copywork is coming from history, and Carli has been asking to do copywork (!!!), which is a real surprise for me. We're still striving for her "best work" but at least there's progress in the "want to."

Family Read-Alouds: We are still working through the Gospel of Matthew around our supper table. It was a bittersweet moment when we finished Strawberry Girl, and I'm continually met with "Just one more, Mom!" while indulging in Shel Silverstein's delightful poetry.

More sunshine: Carli found a hat to protect Maddy a bit and it made it's rounds...

Standing

2010-08-30T17:30:00.004-04:00

Our little Madeline Kate got her first taste of standing last week. After many tears while being pulled in and out of the stander, and many adjustments by the orthotist, we finally swung Madeline into an upright position. The tears fled away and a brilliant smile instantly covered her face.

Repeat when I brought her home and she showed Daddy and sisters her new trick! They were all squealing with delight, which made Madeline clap hysterically and pump her fists in the air, all while beaming radiantly (Is that redundant?)

Right now she is tolerating 20 to 30 minutes in her stander, made especially for her by Abe at Advanced OrthoPro, INC in Indianapolis. The back is molded to the exact shape of her very curved little back to prevent any undue pressure. While in her stander, she plays at the couch, the piano bench, or the (too-HUGE) doll house (which someone gave us for free, and which Kirsten is going to remodel!). She also enjoys standing in front of the door.

To answer some quick medical questions: I've been asked several times what the point of this stander is. First, Madeline cannot weight-bear even slightly. Because of this she has no regular joint or bone compression from her hips on down. Bone compression is crucial for growth. This stander gives her added doses of compression, all while she's having fun being up on a normal 2-year-old level, which, of course, is the second reason to use a stander.

We also visited Madeline's orthopedic surgeon, Dr. William Didelot. The great news is that Maddy's bones are FINALLY getting big enough for surgery to correct the severe kyphosis in her lower thoracic spine. (You can see a little bit of how bad her curve is here. Picture a golf ball or a little bigger coming off the back of her back. It's hard to really tell how bad it is without seeing her in an upright position. The x-rays are bizarre.)

So she's being scheduled for surgery in March, when Dr. Didelot will remove a couple vertebrae and put rods in her back, hopefully ones that will grow with her to reduce the amount of surgeries required. He can't get her on the schedule before November and he doesn't do this type of surgery during the holidays or cold/flu season because of the high risk of infection. Any infection around the rods would most likely require removal of all hardware and another surgery to redo later on.

The hope is that a straight back will free Madeline's lungs up to breathe better and possibly get her off her oxygen. We have seven months to pray that miracle in, okay? :)

Thank you to all of you who prayerfully follow Madeline's journey. I cannot begin to tell you how blessed we feel that she is in our home, brightening our days with her constant kiss-blowing, smiles, and shear determination. Knowing that we have such wonderful family, church family, and friends who continue to rejoice with us and pray for us is buoying.

Blog change and a quick question.

2010-08-30T11:48:00.003-04:00

Over the last couple years, I've heard from lots of you that you love my playlist and several of you have said that you go to my blog and leave it up just to enjoy the music.

The problem is it drives me nuts. Don't get me wrong...I love the music, but it restarts every time I navigate back and forth, and at other times, I need to be working with other audio files and it's a pain to go turn the playlist off.

So for now, I've added the link to my playlist to the side of my blog. The playlist has it's own URL and I will (try to) keep it updated for your listening pleasure! :) http://www.playlist.com/carlivia

And a quick question: Does anyone know of a great blog counter or site tracker that I could use to keep accurate totals of readers to my blog? It seems like mine only last a few weeks and then, it needs redone, and it's getting annoying.

Ok, enough griping. ("Does somebody have a case of the Mondays???" **high, shrill, too-happy voice)

MFW Adventures, Week 2

2010-08-29T14:12:00.003-04:00

Right up front: I couldn't find my camera this week. I knew that I had uploaded pics while sitting in my chair last Saturday. I pulled that chair out at least 5 times, tipped it, felt down in it. No luck. Turned every other nook and cranny inside out looking for that thing. Glen was leaving for DC on Friday--and wanted the camera, of course. So we started tearing apart our room one last time looking for the camera. I asked him to go look under the chair again...and Voila!

While I was (am!) very happy to have my camera back, I was (am!) very bummed about all pictures I missed.

(Quick note: MFW Adventures is our core curriculum and does not include math, phonics, spelling, or language. This blog post and others like it will mainly be about MFW.)

Bible: This week we started studying the names of Christ, starting with Jesus, which means The Lord Saves. We used Carli's Discoverer's Bible for Young Readers to read the story of the angel's instructions to Joseph concerning Jesus' name, as well as read some prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Jesus. We started our Jesus' names poster as well.

Math: Ok, I know I just did a disclaimer above, but I did want to say that we started using our Usborne Math Wrap-Ups this week, and they are a hit! It's fun to do something different than flashcards everyday.

History/Geography: Christopher Columbus dominated our week in the history lessons. We enjoyed reading about him in The Story of the US. Carli placed his picture on our timeline, narrated about the lesson and then did a short copywork based on the lesson as well. We also sailed the Santa Maria, Nina, and Pinta across the Atlantic Ocean, blowing to help them cross. The boats were made from aluminum foil and a pencil to hold the mast, decorated with the red crosses that various illustrations show. This activity tied in nicely with our science for the week.

We started a new read-aloud book for history American Pioneers and Patriots and I agree with every other MFW blogger out there that this book was a huge hit in our household. Carli keeps asking me to read ahead.

Carli and Olivia both remind me everyday to listen to the "Pledge of Allegiance" and "God Bless America" which we're learning in history time now.

Book Basket: Our book basket included books about Christopher Columbus. Our favorite read this week was I, Columbus, which includes Columbus' journal entries as he led his men across the Atlantic.

Science: We began the Usborne book Science with Air. We learned that air is everywhere within the earth's atmosphere, that it does not have a shape, but fills any available space. We performed one simple experiment which showed that even an "empty" bottle has air in it, as evidenced by the air being pushed out when dunked in the water. (This simple experiment we documented using a page from http://www.notebookingpages.com/). We also had fun moving the air during a paper race.

Art: This week we enjoyed looking at art in Children: A First Book of Art. We talked about different styles (not really in-depth) and then Carli chose one picture she especially liked and told me a story about it.

Nature Walk: What a beautiful week for a nature walk! We enjoyed two days of doing all of our school work outside. I think mommy benefited from the extra sunshine as much as the girls did. Maddy had fun crawling off the blanket and around the yard.

On Wednesday, one of our outside days, the girls were outside eating lunch while Maddy and I worked with her developmental therapist. Suddenly Carli and Olivia came crashing into the room saying they had seen a raccoon. Sure enough, a small raccoon was in storm drain right at the edge of our driveway, vigorously clutching a grape in his paw. (Evidently the girls had a "bad grape" and were donating it to the drain.)

Yes, I'm getting to our nature "walk." On Friday, we had school in the park, spread out on a blanket in the shade. We read and played lots, studied a little (Friday's our generally our light days), and drew in our nature journals. Carli decided to draw a plant, a pine cone, and a feather she found while Olivia and I drew raccoons. Since I am NOT an artist, I cheated and used a tutorial from http://www.dragoart.com/. I can't believe that I actually drew something resembling a raccoon because my brother Jordan inherited every ounce of creative ability from Daddy, leaving me nothing to work with. Yes, I'm bitter. :)

Reading: Ok, so this isn't MFW either, but in reading, Carli finished The Fire Cat and started The Big Balloon Race. As a family we are reading aloud Matthew, The Strawberry Girl (Lois Lenski), and Where the Sidewalk Ends (Shel Silverstein). I wish I could tell you how happy it makes this book-lovin' mama to have my kids begging to have "Birdie" (Strawberry Girl) or "The poem book" (Where the Sidewalk Ends) read aloud to them. Many times I heard, "Just one more, Mommy!" when I would finish one poem or one chapter. The kids have been asking for their favorites of the poems. Right now the reigning favorites are "I Must Remember," "Captain Hook" and "Homemade Boat."

So I leave you this time with "I Must Remember."

I must remember

Turkey on Thanksgiving

Pudding on Christmas

Eggs on Easter

Chicken on Sunday

Fish on Friday

Leftovers, Monday.

But, ah, me--I'm such a dunce.

I went and ate them all at once.

Yep, I've done that!

Coming tomorrow: Awesome news on the Madeline Kate front!

Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop: A Day in the Life

2010-08-24T10:20:00.004-04:00

So this is the final week of the Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop hosted by At Heart of the Matter {online}. This week's topic is "A Day in the Life."

As a short disclaimer, let me say that this is a look at last week, when we had no therapies or other major interruptions. This week we added back in Madeline's therapies (4 hour-long sessions, spread over three days), as well as two appointments in Indianapolis. In September, we will add taking Olivia to preschool three mornings a week (two-hour days...Glen will take her as often as possible so as not to halt homeschool for very long.), as well as a women's Bible study that I'm helping with every other week. (Yes! That every other Wednesday will be a little crazy: homeschool, preschool, Bible-study, therapy, and choir/kids' church at night!)

Without further ado..."A Day in the Life."

6:00 or 6:30 I get up, start the coffee pot, sit in our easy chair enjoying coffee and quiet time, reading my Bible and Bible-study book and journal about what I read. Shower, dress, check email and Google reader and The Homeschool Lounge feeds.

7:30 Girls up and while they work through the first part of their routine (pictured below), I change and dress Madeline. Then Carli has quiet time on her own or with Madeline while I do quiet time with Olivia (only about 5 minutes). Then breakfast/cleanup...Ok, I admit it! We only have cooked breakfasts about 3 or 4 times a week. Some days we just need to get started on school. Some days I do the dishes then, or Carli does, and some days we just get on with school and do dishes at lunch.

8:30 or so We start school with Bible and then work through the remaining workboxes. I mix up the order everyday so that we don't get too bored! :) Now that there are other things that come up during our school day, like therapy, I place Carli's number tag on the opposite side of the box for those things that she can do by herself, i.e., reading, Math worksheet, activities, etc. If we have therapy, I try to set it up so that we can work through lessons I need to teach before then, and then she can cover the boxes she can do on her own during therapy.

Workboxes include...

Bible or Bible activity
phonics and worksheets
math and worksheets
history/geography and/or activity
science and notebooking page for documenting experiment
art
music
read aloud
"reader" (doing Sonlight's second-grade list this year)
random activities (like Math Wrap-Ups from Usborne, or an extra supplement to something we're studying)
book basket, handwriting or copywork.

Some of those aren't everyday, but you get the idea.

10 or 10:30 Small snack and quick pickup of the school room, then continue working through the boxes until lunch.

While Carli works diligently on her projects and lessons...

Olivia either works with us, or works on a letter activity...

...or plays and reads...

...while Madeline crawls around getting into everything and is just being too adorable for words. See?

12:00 or 12:30 Lunch/cleanup and outside play time.

1:00 or so. Maddy and Livy lay down for a nap and Carli and I work on what's left, usually not very much by this point.

After school I work on the house and laundry and working on the next day's workboxes and researching for future lessons, while Carli plays outside or inside with this humongous handmade dollhouse someone just donated to our (limited) space...or whatever her little heart wants to do (ok, that was hyperbole, but you know...).

6:00 or so Supper/clean up with Bible reading by Daddy, more outside/inside play for the girls.

8:00 Kids inside for baths, bedtime snack, picking out next-day's clothes, quick room pickup, read-aloud with Mommy and/or Daddy.

9:00 Bedtime for kids, but usually with reading or music for a while.

After the kiddos are in bed, I continue to work on my chores or school stuff, take some computer time. I go for a walk around 9:30 and chat with my mother for a while. After that, if I'm done with all (most) (ok, some!) of the work I need to do, I read and/or watch a show/movie with Glen. I try to be in bed by 11 or midnight. Sometimes happens, sometimes doesn't.

One thing that has made our routine a little bit easier is that Maddy is almost completely off the g-tube. She eats what we eat (pureed) or Stage 3 baby food and small bites of soft Gerber cookies, etc, and drinks from a cup with Thick-it added. SO we're eating as a family of 5 a lot now! She now has a better routine of eating, napping, and bedtime, and it makes mommy a lot happier!

Thanks to A Heart of the Matter {online} for hosting this blog hop!

MFW Adventures, Week 1

2010-08-21T14:00:00.000-04:00

I must say that one week in, and I'm absolutely in love with the My Father's World curriculum. My Father's World follows Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education and teaching methods. For a mama who has always wanted to do more than just workbooks and inspire my kids to love learning and reading, but also not being overly creative on my own, this curriculum is does what I couldn't do on my own.

We are doing the second grade core this year, called Adventures in My Father's World. Through the course of our year, we will be studying the history of the United States and learning about each of the 50 states. Next year, we will get a good dose of geography and culture with Exploring Countries and Cultures, to be followed in 4th grade with Creation to the Greeks. Each year after that, we will be studying another section of history. What I love about MFW is that I can incorporate all the children into the core without having to teach separate history lessons to each one.

So these are pictures of our first week of school. Carli was not at all excited about starting school until the night before, but halfway through our first day, she said, "I'm excited now! I can't wait till tomorrow so we can do more!"

Here's Olivia on the first morning of school. (Funny...the girls laid out darling little sundresses to wear and we woke up to a chilly house. Someone had accidentally bumped the AC down way too far, AND it was in the 60s outside! Most beautiful weather this week. So they found sweaters to keep them warm for a while. They wanted to wear their robes, but I didn't think that would be fun for first day pics!)

Carli ready to start

Oh, and she wanted to show off the rock she painted.

All three littles.

Day one called for a red-white-and-blue snack. We had Icee treats.

One of Carli's favorite activities was the timeline. Since I didn't have wall space to make the line on the wall, I accordion-pleated cardstock. I was going to buy a book, but I talked to a MFW rep and they suggested that we do a more simple timeline this year, one that could be stretched out so she could see a full line at once...something about how young ones see time at this stage of development. So we'll start our big timeline books in two years with Creation to the Greeks.

Carli adds Leif Ericsson to the timeline. We also had a brief geography overview of the United States, as well as the continents and oceans. (My camera was dead for a couple days and I didn't get that photographed).

I bought Draw Write Now book 1 for art this year, and we worked on it twice this week. (This is day one). This will be a favorite activity of ours this year. Carli, Olivia, and I all worked on this. I am NOT an artist, so we started simple with this book. Carli enjoys art, but Olivia LOVES to draw/paint/color/marker and does a good enough job that I think she has a more creative bent than Carli or me. I'd like to get them into art lessons next year. Carli was constantly complaining that hers didn't look as good as the book, and saying things like, "I'm just horrible at this!" If anyone has great ideas about making art lest scary, encouraging us both to try and practice and be happy with our best efforts, let me know! :)

Carli working on her aBeka math and phonics workbooks

In Bible this year, we are learning about the names of Christ. This week we talked about name meanings and how our names were specially chosen.

I wrote her a letter to tell her about her name.
Carli did some copywork on special paper.
We incorporated Chrysanthemum to remind us that our names are special.
We did a simple notebooking/lapbook hybrid page
We made name necklaces to remind us that our names are special.

On highlight of the week would have to be Science. MFW includes the Usborne First Encyclopedia of Science, and we enjoyed the bright and colorful pictures, the internet links(!), and the simple science experiment. We used a notebooking page from http://www.notebookingpages.com/ to document our experiment.

On Friday, our whole family traveled about an hour and a half away for our first field trip and nature walk. We visited one of Gene Stratton Porter's home and Rainbow Bottom. More on that coming soon.

Another part of our school day that did not get documented photographically is our Book Basket. We really enjoy any chance to read and we definitely have plenty of chances to read between our read-aloud (Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski, sometimes read during school and sometimes before bed since it's not part of the curriculum), book basket time, and "reader" time for Carli. (We've been using Sonlight's reader list mixed with ones we choose) The Book Basket is used with MFW to provide read-aloud or independent reading related to our history, science, or Bible topics. This week, we read Chrysanthemum, the Usborne Vikings book, and have started Paddle-to-the-Sea (we're practicing our narration skills with this book, and Carli is really enjoying that process!).

Coming soon: "Not-back-to-school blog hop: A day in the life" and "Limberlost"

Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop: Student Picture Week

2010-08-21T11:00:00.003-04:00

Our students: Carli Brooke, age 7; Olivia Grace, age 4; Madeline Kate, age 2(!)

Carli is the only one officially doing school at home this year. Olivia is going to a great little preschool here in town, and Madeline does lots of therapy and playing (see her story under the tab at the top of the page)

Hop on over to Heart of the Matter {online} to visit other homeschools across the country.

Coming up next: "A Day in the Life" and "First week of school using My Father's World."

Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop: School Room Week, a little late

2010-08-20T22:10:00.007-04:00

Thank you to Heart of the Matter {online} for hosting Not-Back-to-School Blog Hop! Since I finally uploaded all my pics, I'm ready to post for the School Room Week, even though most are already done with that.

For those of you who could care less about school rooms...well, go read politics or something on my hubby's blog: Ramblings...

We live in a small three-bedroom house: no family room, no basement, no dining room. So we converted on of the bedrooms into a schoolroom/playroom/office/part-time nursery, and even though it's not a lot of space, we love having a semblance of a school room, at least. Here you see part school and part play. That shelving unit holds toys, mostly the non-educational kind! :)

We incorporated workboxes into our school this year. Since we will have many interruptions this year with Olivia going to preschool three mornings a week and Madeline in therapy here at home four times a week, we needed something that would give Carli some ownership and would keep her on track with what she can do. This is based loosely on Sue Patrick's system, but I've never read the book. I have however read lots of info from many great blogger's out there! I used the tags and grid from The Heart of Wisdom blog.

The shelf under the window holds a our pencils, markers, etc, and lots of our educational activities. Carli's desk under one of our maps (beloved by all....the maps, that is) and mini-office.

Mini-Office (I used some of the things from Teaching Heart, but I don't remember where each piece came from.) The mini-office includes ASL alphabet; ZB cursive and manuscript alphabets;

months and days (for spelling); fraction circles; greater than/less than chart; clock; number chart which includes number words, tickmarks, and ASL sign; US map; skip counting chart; 100 chart; coin value charts.

Mommy's corner

Our shelf for baby board books, level reading books, etc. The board has the kid's morning routine to keep them on track while I get Maddy ready for the day.

Yep, that's a changing table in the closet! :)
The other tall shelf holds a lot of our read-alouds, puzzles and blocks. Livy's desk below the other big map.
Stay tuned! Coming soon: First week of school using My Father's World curriculum.

Take my word for it

2010-07-23T15:25:00.001-04:00

I had the post below artfully laid out just the way I wanted it. Blogger started helping me out and rearranging it. I finally gave up. So just imagine it all in perfect symmetry, ok?

Summer Reading

2010-07-23T13:53:00.014-04:00

One thing I love about summer is the extra time available for reading. Are there any readers out there who feel like you there are "so many books, so little time"? During the school year, I read, but in the summer, I READ. I enjoy getting up early to brew a pot of coffee, sit in my easy chair with my Bible and stack of books. In the morning I generally read my Bible and a Bible-study book of some sort, journaling along with it. And on days when we don't have an extra-busy morning schedule, I read a little more from books listed below.

I know, I know, it doesn't sound very productive to sit around and read, but summer is my time to catch up on things I want to learn for myself. I view it as part of my job description to research and learn. And what's wrong with having fun along the way?

This summer I've reading a lot about...well, reading. Reading aloud to be more specific. These books are ones I've read or I'm working on now.

The Read-Aloud Handbook shares studies showing the difference reading aloud to children can make in their lives. Mr. Trelease also lists excellent books that children love. (I LOVE book lists.)

Reading Magic is a great handbook on how to read-aloud, how to bring excitement to the reading adventure.

What to Read When not only has great book lists for appropriate ages, but also what books are "right" for certain occasions, such as going to the doctor, losing a tooth, the first day of school, the death of a grandparent, the birth of a sibling and on and on.

Honey for a Child's Heart is an invaluable resource for families in love with reading. Gladys Hunt offers a Christian perspective on this key building block of family life.

Those who love Honey for a Child's Heart will enjoy Honey for a Woman's Heart. I haven't started it yet but the subtitle tells why I am excited to read it: Growing Your World through Reading Great Books.

When I began researching curriculum for the coming school year, I fell in love with My Father's World curriculum. On researching further, I found that the program incorporates a lot of Charlotte Mason's methods of "the gentle art of learning." A Charlotte Mason Companion has been a treasure to me as I work toward understanding this way of education. Charlotte Mason's methods incorporate a lot of reading aloud from living books, many of which are listed in the books above...especially, Honey for the Child's heart.

For the Children's Sake was one of the first books written during the revival of Charlotte Mason's teaching methods in the last several decades. She offers great insight into practically applying the methods in home education. As a side note, the author is the daughter of Francis and Edith Schaeffer.

Speaking of Edith Schaeffer, I currently have The Hidden Art of Homemaking checked out.

Jesus Saves--Travis Cottrell

2010-07-19T11:50:00.003-04:00

I'm always thrilled to the depths of my soul when we sing this as a choir with the congregation. I can imagine what it will be like to sing it around the throne, every tribe, every nation joined together singing in praise to the One who redeemed us. (You'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page to pause the playlist box before listening to this. Believe me, it's worth it.)

Versatile Blogger Award

2010-07-15T13:43:00.004-04:00

A big thanks to Monica at Discover Their Gifts

for the Versatile Blogger Award.

I found Monica's blog when I was researching workboxes.

She's also a member of the My Father's World Blog Roll

2010-2011 along with many others of us.

The rules for the award are as follows:

Thank the person who gave it to you.
Share 7 things about yourself.
Pass it on!

7 things about myself (I'm trying to decide whether I should be serious or funny):

I'm thankful for a growing relationship with Christ and His Word coming alive to me every morning.
I'm blessed with a husband who is my best friend and three darling girls, 7, 4 and 2.
I hope there are libraries in Heaven.
I have to eat something sweet after my meal, even if it's only a bite.
I've lost 30 lbs since January...if you round up a couple pounds. I don't diet. I'm just trying to listen to hunger and fulness cues. I hate to exercise, but I do enough to count to get paid for the wellness program at Glen's work.
I love Gibbles Fire potato chips and Pad Thai (not necessarily together), and anything chocolate or cheesecake-y.
I'm learning about Charlote Mason.

Passing it along:

My friend Lisa @ The Story That God Wrote
My sis-in-law at her two blogs: Reflections of a Homeschool Mom and Shore Girl's Creations
Richele @ Under the Golden Apple Tree
Michelle @ Holistic Homeschooler
Jen @ Our Journey with Micro-Preemie Twins
Brandi @ Living Sola Gratia

Hope you enjoy these sites as much as I do. I could go on and on, but I have two little ones that want fed immediately if not sooner.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Madeline Kate!

2010-07-14T14:18:00.004-04:00

Though she was not like the other girls...

...they thought she was the best.

And through all the years of struggle...

...Neither whispered one regret.

They remembered the words that God had spoken...

And they both broke down and cried.

See to them it just did not matter

Why some things in life take place.

They just knew the joy they felt

When they looked into her face.

They learned sometimes miracles hide.

They said, "God has wrapped our blessing in disguise."

--Bruce Carroll

Updates on Madeline

2010-07-12T09:38:00.006-04:00

Madeline...

...acts more like a "big girl" everyday (notice the eye-roll).

(Pictured here in a museum in Mobridge, SD)

Please excuse the horrible spacing issues on this post. I've "fixed it" several times and it keeps going back to run-on paragraphs.

It's been way too long since I've provided an update on Madeline. I'm not even doing that great at putting updates on Facebook. But I'm not putting that kind of pressure on myself. (Ha)

Madeline Kate is turns two this week (Wednesday). Since her ear-tube/Nissen/g-tube/vesicostomy/clubbed-feet-correction surgery last September, she has really taken off in a lot of ways. She continues to receive four, hour-long therapy sessions per week: occupational, physical, developmental and speech. A dietician visits once a month.

Ida works with Madeline in occupational therapy. She works a lot on oral motor skills, i.e. stretches around the mouth, introducing lots of textures, feeding skills, etc. Madeline loves anything salty and will allow about anything near her mouth as long as it's food, so she has become a lot less defensive when Ida works with her. Ida also oversees seating options for Madeline and is working on fine motor skills with lots of tactile fun.

We were very sad to say good-bye to Dex for physical therapy, but he has moved on to focus solely on his own clinic. (He told my girls that I fired him, and the girls still think that happen, even though I would never have wanted him to go, and I've told them that many times.) Amanda has joined our team and is working Madeline hard (and that's good!). She has Madeline use 1/2 - 1 lb weights on her arms and Maddy is finally accepting that well. She does sit ups, balancing on therapy balls, four-point balancing (hands and knees) and on and on. Maddy has made a lot of progress physically. She can roll all over the living room, and is now pulling herself along on her belly using solely upper-body strength. She is such a determined little girl and you can see the immense pride that she has in herself when she accomplishes something new.

Madeline has made such great strides since Ann has come on board with speech therapy. She is vocalizing a lot now (though only "da da" for words) and is signing a ton. Ann uses books, flashcards, finger plays and songs and lots of awesome toys and Maddy really enjoys that session. Maddy can sign mama, daddy, Lisa, monkey, cookie, dog, car, truck, train, fish, all-done, more, milk, eat, play, elephant, book, baby, and lots of other things I can't think off right now.

Erynn continues with Madeline in developmental therapy. She is a big help to me since her little boy (9?) has spina bifida as well. She's my own support group! She works a lot with Maddy on stretches, sit ups, rolling, playing, and lots of other things.

Madeline is up to 19.2 lbs, at long last, and Dr. Escobar (neurodevolopmentalist) is thrilled with her progress in this area. She is down to two g-tube feeds per day, for her PediaSure which she still aspirates on a lot. She eats chunky purees, either State 3 baby food or purees from our meals, yogurt, cottage cheese and on and on. We're planning to use ThickIt soon so that we can try to get off the tube completely. She still has no teeth, though we can feel bumps all over her mouth. Dr. Escobar said this is due to the DiGeorge Syndrome which caused hypocalcemia. We resolved this quickly after birth--by 3-6 months, she was no longer needing calcium supplements. But that was 9 months plus 3-6 months in which she was hypocalcemic, which put her behind in the tooth department.

Dr. Escobar is not completely thrilled that Madeline isn't speaking more than she is, but suggested that within six months or so if she isn't talking yet, he will order more hearing tests and look into other devices for communication, possible an iPad. Who knew? :)

Dr. Escobar also has referred us to Dr. Wilner, a physiatrist or rehabilitation doctor. She will be the one who will oversee any equipment that Madeline will need, such as a stander.

From a pulmonary standpoint, we haven't had much change. Her last sleep study in late winter showed continued apnea without oxygen, but since she's on oxygen continually, she does great at home. We continue with 1/2 liter of flow, and we're working at getting better with daily breathing treatments. I've said this on FB, but if I could change anything for Maddy, it would probably be that she wouldn't have to use oxygen at all, even over healing her paralysis, etc. Would you join with me in praying for this miracle?

So what a long update, eh? She's our little angel and we are very pleased with her overall progress.

And so I must wrap this up. Here's a quick look at how much Maddy's hair has finally grown! Yeah, Mommy experiments a little too much, probably.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-07-08T17:01:00.004-04:00

Hosted by Peggy Hostetler

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... rain.

I am thinking...about the quote I just saw: "For Christians, the beginning of the day should not be burdened and haunted by various kinds of concerns that they face during the day. The Lord stands above the new day, for God has made it. All restlessness, all impurity, all worry and anxiety flee before him. Therefore, in the early morning hours of the day, may our many thoughts and our many idle words be silent and may the first word and the first thought belong to the one to whom our whole life belongs " ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I am thankful for...a great physical therapy session for Madeline. She impressed the therapist by scooting clear across the room, pulling herself along with quite the show of upper-body strength.

From the learning rooms...I'm still reading a lot about Charlotte Mason, visiting homeschool sites for inspiration, and thinking about workboxes.

From the kitchen...Just got a call from Kirsten that she's feeding Carli and Olivia. Glen is in Indianapolis, so it's me. Tempted to make something fattening! :)

I am creating...me? Create? Ok, how 'bout a sense of balance and peace in our home? What? That's not what you mean? Oh, I know...Plans for Carli's b-day party.

I am going...no where tomorrow, for the first time in a long time.

I am reading...For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay, daughter of Francis and Edith Schaeffer. Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski to the girls.

I am hoping...that I have what it takes to implement what I've been learning from Charlotte Mason.

I am hearing...Rain and the a/c and Madeline blowing kisses.

Around the house...I need about an hour to whip it back into shape.

One of my favorite things...a cup of coffee during my quiet time with Bible and devotional book (Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, which is what we're reading for Bible study).

A few plans for the rest of the week: Finish transcribing a 55-minute sermon, sleep til 8 on Saturday and read on the couch until Carli's party on Saturday (maybe that's a little optimistic), read a big stack of library books to the kids, kiss Glen, cuddle Madeline.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Snow White, Meet Uncle Sam (and praise for Miss Nancy)

2010-07-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Most of you with children in the kids department at Kokomo First Church of the Nazarene know that Nancy Beaver (aka "Miss Nancy") is awesome. She teaches Olivia's 3s and 4s Sunday School class. I've had the privilege of helping her once a month during second service, and let me tell you, it's not a myth. She has pages and pages of notes for one class, and you can tell that she puts much prayer into the planning. She knows how kids think and work and she gets right on their level in bringing a story to life, instilling a love for God's Word, and finding ways to help them create. She teaches them respect for herself and others, to listen quietly and obey quickly.

Sunday was, of course, Independence Day, and one of the crafts for the day was this darling hat. She folded a gazillion newspapers during the week and brought stickers, feathers, foam stars and napkins (the flag folded over the edge) for the kids to decorate with.

And now to the other reason my kids love Miss Nancy. I was helping in Miss Nancy's class this Sunday, but Olivia wasn't in church due to a brief bout something or other. Miss Nancy insisted I take hats home for all three of my girls to assemble, along with coloring sheets and fruit roll-ups, too. They had alot of fun putting it all together.

We love you, Miss Nancy!

Olivia wearing her hat. She loves to dress up, so I guess she was doing double duty being Snow White and Uncle Sam! :)

Nature's Miracles GIVEAWAY

2010-07-08T07:33:00.004-04:00

Living Sola Gratia is hosting a giveaway for the Nature's Miracles book series, which includes the following titles, great for read-alouds or science readers:

Once there was a Tadpole
Once there was a Seed
Once there was a Raindrop
Once there was a Caterpillar

Also here is a link for the TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) Crew Blog Walk (week 2) at Living Sola Gratia.

Happy 7th Birthday, Carli Brooke

2010-07-07T13:10:00.002-04:00

"Sometimes I wish...

...I could freeze...

...the picture...

...and save it from the funny tricks...

...of time...

...Slipping through my fingers all the time.

Changes

2010-07-05T01:45:00.002-04:00

I'm making some changes to my blog. Please bear with me the next couple of days while I work on it! New pics coming soon.

1 Corinthians 13 for Homeschool Moms

2010-05-17T16:01:00.002-04:00

I love this piece by Misty Krasawski. I need reminders about this every once in a while.

http://heartofthematteronline.com/1-corinthians-13-for-homeschool-moms