This morning, Brandon was so excited to announce to our Sunday School class that we are matched and let everyone know that we are expecting Annalise to join our family soon. We briefly got to share the story behind her name and how old she was. We also asked for prayer for her UTI. Everyone was thrilled for us.
Then this afternoon, we met up with some classmates at a local restaurant to eat lunch and chat. I was able to let our new friends know that Annalise has some special needs and briefly got to share about them.
And they didn't blink an eye. It was as if I said, "Our Annalise has brown hair, brown eyes and one dimple." There wasn't an awkward silence.
But I know what was there: Acceptance.
I nearly burst into tears at the table. Instead, I looked away and took a few deep breaths and my heart sighed.
I can't wait to see how God uses Annalise for His glory. I wonder how He will use us as we parent Annalise. We are praying you home, Baby Girl and can't wait to introduce you to our friends, near and far, that are so diligently praying for you and us.
Father, as I look back over our journey the past few years, I'm always amazed. Part of the journey was painful. Some days were lonely. The pruning hurt. But the growth that I see in Brandon and I as Believers and the strengthening in our family unit, is nothing short of amazing.. Thank you!
~Steph
PS: The form does have to go to South Carolina. Our socialworker is going to call this week and politely ask that it be expedited. Pray that it returns quickly!!!
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sickness and The Mouse
WOW! The month of October really got away from us.
It hasn't been a great month healthwise at the Bee House.
The last time I posted Xander was cutting teeth. This has been a continuous process. Those two are in and now he has more coming. He's had all the usual symptoms that accompany teeth: runny nose, fever, congestion, etc. It's getting old.. quickly!
Julianne has some mild coughing and congestion. I'm amazed at how mild this has been for her. She used to be my child that caught everything to an extreme-- especially if it was respiratory!
Lainey had a mild cough for a few days but quickly recovered. Once she got tubes as a baby for her multiple ear infections, her health really turned around and she has been very healthy since.
Julianne sneezed in Solomon's face as I was holding him. *sigh* It was one of those things I saw in slow motion but couldn't make stop! And now Solomon has a little cough. No fever, no congestion. Ahhhh.... the blessing of a breastfed baby! Solomon is also drooling pools worth of saliva requiring multiple shirt changes now as well. Guess what I found? Two little white knots on his lower gums. And he started chewing his hands like they were just the most delicious things ever!
Then, I came down with a headcold. Since I have no spleen, when I am hit with sickness I go down hard and fast! I went from sinus drainage down the back of my throat to barely being able to swallow and a fever in the matter of a couple hours. As the night wore on, I got worse and worse. Finally, the next day (on Sunday, doesn't it always happen that way?) I decided I needed to go to Patient First and found out I have a sinus infection. Unfortunately, I am prone to sinus infections but I'm thankful that I haven't been very sick like this since I had my tonsilectomy in 2008!
So, if you are still with me after that laundry list of ailments, BRANDON is the only one that has been well for the month of October.
He also celebrated his 29th birthday this month! We managed to celebrate his birthday in between illnesses. (I'm very mindful about exposing others to germs since I have no spleen!) We went to Maggiano's and had a yummy family style dinner and I stopped at Frostings, a gourmet cupcake shop, and picked up a half a dozen. Brandon had 2 red velvet cupcakes, one with buttercream frosting and one with cream cheese frosting and the kids and I had American cupcakes (vanilla) with chocolate frosting.
Solomon did not enjoy any cupcakes during this celebration. Poor fellow.
Brandon and I have also been planning for Christmas. This has involved code words and late night chats because the children do not have any idea that we are....
FLYING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!
We did not take a family vacation this year other than a brief visit to Augusta in September so we are combining our vacation budget and our Christmas budget to make this possible. I'm so excited. I'm the only one in our family that has been to Disney before but there have been alot of changes since I went in highschool with our band. (What year was that? My freshman year? So Spring of '99? Erika, you'll have to be my fact checker!) For example, Animal Kingdom wasn't there when we went and many rides have been added. More importantly, I'm excited to see the reaction that the children and my husband have.
Brandon and I have talked about a Disney trip for years. It's been postponed due to pregnancy, school, careers, babies being too little, our adoption, etc. We finally just decided to go. Hopefully we can go back in a few years so the boys will remember a trip.
We've also been plugging in at church. We are still attending the *tiny* church and we are finding it more and more comfortable each Sunday. (We've also missed quite a bit due to sickness this fall.) Our Sunday School class has an email group so we've been in touch and we continue to get to know the other members. Our church also recently changed the schedule. Now it is Sunday School, a fellowship time and then worship. They usually serve snacks and juice during the fellowship time and people intermingle. I've met quite a few people this way and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know people more in depth this way. I have a feeling we'll be talking about joining the church soon. It's starting to feel like home.
I have a few other events to post about, but this is getting long and the tribe is getting restless.
It hasn't been a great month healthwise at the Bee House.
The last time I posted Xander was cutting teeth. This has been a continuous process. Those two are in and now he has more coming. He's had all the usual symptoms that accompany teeth: runny nose, fever, congestion, etc. It's getting old.. quickly!
Julianne has some mild coughing and congestion. I'm amazed at how mild this has been for her. She used to be my child that caught everything to an extreme-- especially if it was respiratory!
Lainey had a mild cough for a few days but quickly recovered. Once she got tubes as a baby for her multiple ear infections, her health really turned around and she has been very healthy since.
Julianne sneezed in Solomon's face as I was holding him. *sigh* It was one of those things I saw in slow motion but couldn't make stop! And now Solomon has a little cough. No fever, no congestion. Ahhhh.... the blessing of a breastfed baby! Solomon is also drooling pools worth of saliva requiring multiple shirt changes now as well. Guess what I found? Two little white knots on his lower gums. And he started chewing his hands like they were just the most delicious things ever!
Then, I came down with a headcold. Since I have no spleen, when I am hit with sickness I go down hard and fast! I went from sinus drainage down the back of my throat to barely being able to swallow and a fever in the matter of a couple hours. As the night wore on, I got worse and worse. Finally, the next day (on Sunday, doesn't it always happen that way?) I decided I needed to go to Patient First and found out I have a sinus infection. Unfortunately, I am prone to sinus infections but I'm thankful that I haven't been very sick like this since I had my tonsilectomy in 2008!
So, if you are still with me after that laundry list of ailments, BRANDON is the only one that has been well for the month of October.
He also celebrated his 29th birthday this month! We managed to celebrate his birthday in between illnesses. (I'm very mindful about exposing others to germs since I have no spleen!) We went to Maggiano's and had a yummy family style dinner and I stopped at Frostings, a gourmet cupcake shop, and picked up a half a dozen. Brandon had 2 red velvet cupcakes, one with buttercream frosting and one with cream cheese frosting and the kids and I had American cupcakes (vanilla) with chocolate frosting.
Solomon did not enjoy any cupcakes during this celebration. Poor fellow.
Brandon and I have also been planning for Christmas. This has involved code words and late night chats because the children do not have any idea that we are....
FLYING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!
We did not take a family vacation this year other than a brief visit to Augusta in September so we are combining our vacation budget and our Christmas budget to make this possible. I'm so excited. I'm the only one in our family that has been to Disney before but there have been alot of changes since I went in highschool with our band. (What year was that? My freshman year? So Spring of '99? Erika, you'll have to be my fact checker!) For example, Animal Kingdom wasn't there when we went and many rides have been added. More importantly, I'm excited to see the reaction that the children and my husband have.
Brandon and I have talked about a Disney trip for years. It's been postponed due to pregnancy, school, careers, babies being too little, our adoption, etc. We finally just decided to go. Hopefully we can go back in a few years so the boys will remember a trip.
We've also been plugging in at church. We are still attending the *tiny* church and we are finding it more and more comfortable each Sunday. (We've also missed quite a bit due to sickness this fall.) Our Sunday School class has an email group so we've been in touch and we continue to get to know the other members. Our church also recently changed the schedule. Now it is Sunday School, a fellowship time and then worship. They usually serve snacks and juice during the fellowship time and people intermingle. I've met quite a few people this way and I've gotten the opportunity to get to know people more in depth this way. I have a feeling we'll be talking about joining the church soon. It's starting to feel like home.
I have a few other events to post about, but this is getting long and the tribe is getting restless.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
A New Chapter
All adoption decisions are on hold right now. We continue to pray for guidance and pray for families that are currently on their journey to uniting with their children. Many of you know just how passionate we are about this and how strongly we desire to adopt again. My flesh wishes we could have started yesterday! But the rules say that we can't start another homestudy until January at the soonest. We are trusting Him and waiting. As much as it frustrates me, much of the adopting process is jumping through hoops and waiting.
In other news:
We may have finally found a church home. God is such a patient Father. He had to let us flounder in churches that WE thought we should be in and none of those worked.
There was one certain church that we kept passing... we looked online and they didn't match up with what we thought we needed or even wanted. This church is crazy small. The list of things they don't have that we thought we desired/needed is very long.
But we kept being drawn to this church. We surrendered... and went on Sunday. We were greeted by a very nice lady that helped us find our way (down ONE hallway. HA!) We were introduced to people that we had things in common with (SAHM, homeschooling, adopting, more than 2.5 children!) We were welcomed with open arms. Our three children that attended Sunday School/Nursery were well cared for and comfortable.
We were asked if we had prayer needs... We were included. We were not mocked, ignored or belittled. The sermon was biblically sound and unapologetic.
The peace in my heart is so very sweet right now. And I can't wait to meet more people, build relationships and finally have a regular place to worship and fellowship.
What I didn't expect was the tears that would come with closing the chapter to our old church. Yeah, I know, we've been here almost TWO years (can you believe it?!) But I had very special memories at my old church and very sweet friends. Brandon and I had unbelievable mentors and I had great memories of teaching a Sunday School class. Brandon and I met some incredible prayer warriors... who prayed us through a job loss, me going back to work and then coming back home, Lainey's public school issues, infertility diagnosis and failed treatments, our adoption and my most recent pregnancy!
It hit me like a ton of bricks on Monday morning, when I realized that we may have found a church that we can call "home." So the tears flowed. Everything made my eyes well up with tears on Monday. And it is with much sadness, that I realized that the friendships and memories will remain, but that Richmond is home. I've told myself a lie for almost 2 years. I told myself that this is a temporary assignment and that this will never be home. This was supposed to be short term... a stepping stone if you will. And as things line up, fall into place and become more clear, I realize that for now, this is home. I'm not sure if we will ever leave Richmond. And I'm not sure I would have ever agreed to come if I had known it was permanent. But, I certainly feel like God has more to show us about this place and about where He desires us to be.
And for the first time in a long time, I'm not dreading turning the page to see what is up ahead.
~Steph
In other news:
We may have finally found a church home. God is such a patient Father. He had to let us flounder in churches that WE thought we should be in and none of those worked.
There was one certain church that we kept passing... we looked online and they didn't match up with what we thought we needed or even wanted. This church is crazy small. The list of things they don't have that we thought we desired/needed is very long.
But we kept being drawn to this church. We surrendered... and went on Sunday. We were greeted by a very nice lady that helped us find our way (down ONE hallway. HA!) We were introduced to people that we had things in common with (SAHM, homeschooling, adopting, more than 2.5 children!) We were welcomed with open arms. Our three children that attended Sunday School/Nursery were well cared for and comfortable.
We were asked if we had prayer needs... We were included. We were not mocked, ignored or belittled. The sermon was biblically sound and unapologetic.
The peace in my heart is so very sweet right now. And I can't wait to meet more people, build relationships and finally have a regular place to worship and fellowship.
What I didn't expect was the tears that would come with closing the chapter to our old church. Yeah, I know, we've been here almost TWO years (can you believe it?!) But I had very special memories at my old church and very sweet friends. Brandon and I had unbelievable mentors and I had great memories of teaching a Sunday School class. Brandon and I met some incredible prayer warriors... who prayed us through a job loss, me going back to work and then coming back home, Lainey's public school issues, infertility diagnosis and failed treatments, our adoption and my most recent pregnancy!
It hit me like a ton of bricks on Monday morning, when I realized that we may have found a church that we can call "home." So the tears flowed. Everything made my eyes well up with tears on Monday. And it is with much sadness, that I realized that the friendships and memories will remain, but that Richmond is home. I've told myself a lie for almost 2 years. I told myself that this is a temporary assignment and that this will never be home. This was supposed to be short term... a stepping stone if you will. And as things line up, fall into place and become more clear, I realize that for now, this is home. I'm not sure if we will ever leave Richmond. And I'm not sure I would have ever agreed to come if I had known it was permanent. But, I certainly feel like God has more to show us about this place and about where He desires us to be.
And for the first time in a long time, I'm not dreading turning the page to see what is up ahead.
~Steph
Monday, March 15, 2010
A Sermon that Blessed Me
Voddie Baucham is kind of "new" to me. I've only known of him for a little over a year. I missed hearing him at the homeschool convention in 2009 but did manage to catch a sermon when he was a guest speaker at one of our local churches. He even prayed with Brandon and I, when we shared briefly our calling to adopt another child and that I was expecting in June. Ya know what he said? "Ahhh.. just getting started I see." We loved his positive comments and loved that he took the time to pray with us as a long line formed behind us.
Voddie is very "cut to the chase." A friend and I have a joke that when you listen to Voddie, you either AMEN or OUCH. I've done both listening to his sermons. He's a pastor at Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. He's a homeschooling father and an outspoken adoption advocate. The Bauchams are blessed with 6 children so far (wink), including four adopted children.
I'm currently reading his book titled "Family Driven Faith," but was sent this link by a friend. I've heard this particular recording a few times, but today it really hit home.
Hopefully, it will bless and challenge you too.
The Centrality of the Home in the Evangelism and Discipleship of the Next Generation
NOTE: This was actually spoken at a Evangelism Conference just for a frame of reference.
(There was a problem with my link before, but it should work now.)
~Steph
Voddie is very "cut to the chase." A friend and I have a joke that when you listen to Voddie, you either AMEN or OUCH. I've done both listening to his sermons. He's a pastor at Grace Family Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. He's a homeschooling father and an outspoken adoption advocate. The Bauchams are blessed with 6 children so far (wink), including four adopted children.
I'm currently reading his book titled "Family Driven Faith," but was sent this link by a friend. I've heard this particular recording a few times, but today it really hit home.
Hopefully, it will bless and challenge you too.
The Centrality of the Home in the Evangelism and Discipleship of the Next Generation
NOTE: This was actually spoken at a Evangelism Conference just for a frame of reference.
(There was a problem with my link before, but it should work now.)
~Steph
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Could it Be?
Today has been a very blessed day!
I woke up this morning to the sound of giggling girls and a cooing son. Not too long after that, my Solomon playfully flipped and poked me.
I enjoyed a hot shower in peace.
We thought we were going to run late, but we were ready BEFORE our load up time.
Our ride to church was beautiful with a big sky to look at and fluffy clouds.
We were welcomed into church with open arms. No one gasped that we had "three!?!?" We were even called "blessed." My heart jumped in my throat.
We had a helper guide us around.
The second song we sang was a favorite of ours. The hair stood up on my arm.
The last song was yet another favorite of mine. At this point I was almost in tears.
Solomon danced during worship.
The sermon was convicting, encouraging and honest. It was on a topic near and dear to my heart: The Covenant of Marriage.
We'll be returning this coming Sunday. Dare I ask if we've found a home? All I know for sure is that we will return for another week. And today I'll rest in that peace.
With a happy heart,
Steph
I woke up this morning to the sound of giggling girls and a cooing son. Not too long after that, my Solomon playfully flipped and poked me.
I enjoyed a hot shower in peace.
We thought we were going to run late, but we were ready BEFORE our load up time.
Our ride to church was beautiful with a big sky to look at and fluffy clouds.
We were welcomed into church with open arms. No one gasped that we had "three!?!?" We were even called "blessed." My heart jumped in my throat.
We had a helper guide us around.
The second song we sang was a favorite of ours. The hair stood up on my arm.
The last song was yet another favorite of mine. At this point I was almost in tears.
Solomon danced during worship.
The sermon was convicting, encouraging and honest. It was on a topic near and dear to my heart: The Covenant of Marriage.
We'll be returning this coming Sunday. Dare I ask if we've found a home? All I know for sure is that we will return for another week. And today I'll rest in that peace.
With a happy heart,
Steph
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
I had a meltdown and it was ugly...
I typically only share things like this with very close friends, but I figure that if this blog is going to accurately portray our lives, I should share the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I have my flame suit on and ready.
Last Wednesday night, we visited a new church for their Wednesday night services. (Our 17th church since we've been here.) We were happy to get out of the house after a big snow the weekend before so we attended their Wednesday dinner and then wanted to go to their Biblical Parenting Bible Study. Since Brandon is currently working on Sundays for his new project, Wednesday would have to be our visiting day.
We packed up and went. We were all very excited and hopeful that we would find a place to call home. The dinner was yummy and seemed to be run well. A few people came and introduced themselves when we were eating and the nursery staff was very welcoming and assuring. Lainey's age group was a little unorganized. Julianne's class was well organized and she was happy to see "friends" (defined by my three year old as anyone that is a kid. LOL)
We went to our class and it was awkward and vague. It was almost as if the facilitator was afraid to pick a side of the fence to stand on, for fear of offending someone. We've seen it here.. alot. *sigh*
After class, I went to go gather our children and a man walked up to me in a very crowded hallway and loudly exclaimed "Have you figured out what causes that yet?" and motioned towards my three children and my obviously pregnant baby belly. A few other people laughed.
Let me pause here and say that I completely understand that the "world" doesn't see children as blessings. I don't see it that way and I have trouble wrapping my mind around it. But I know it is there.
But in a church? Obnoxiously asked by a stranger loud enough to make a scene in the children's hall.... I was floored. And for a split second, I almost wished I wasn't standing in a church. *blush* That's just being honest with you.
But I was... so I took the easy but polite way out. I used humor. I said "Of course! And we obviously like it because we keep on doing it huh?" and I winked.
And then I fumed during the drive to the grocery store. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to march back into that church and ask him what he was really getting at. Did he think my children were mistakes? Consequences of irresponsibility? And if I have too many.. which one SHOULDN'T I have had? And how does he suggest that I "put one back?" But I didn't... I fumed... quietly in our van, upset that my children (and the other children in the church) were exposed to such rudeness.
Coincidentally, in the grocery store, as we were checking out with our provisions for the next snow storm, a lady complimented my family. She told us we were very blessed, that our family was beautiful and the children were very well behaved. She also told the girls that it is "very exciting" that we are adding a little brother.
And then, I once again fumed on the way home. How is it that we are mocked and ridiculed in a church, for simply accepting the blessings that God has given us (and answering the call of the orphan)? And praised and encouraged in a grocery store? Doesn't the Bible call every child a blessing? The Bible surely doesn't specify or qualify which children are blessings, and which children are not blessings. #1 and #2 are not any more of a blessing, according to God, than our #3 and #4.
I tossed and turned that night while attempting to sleep... I was hurt and angry.
And the next morning, the tears started. I cried off and on for hours. I know part of it was hormones, part of it hurt from the incident the night before, and part of it just complete and utter homesickness.
But the tears came and they flowed. They flowed until my face was splotchy, my eyes were bright red and it hurt to blink. Brandon came home for lunch that day and even him holding me couldn't make my tears stop coming. I sobbed on his shoulder and left a big huge wet spot and he still wore the same shirt back to work. After several hours of crying, I eventually ran out of tears.
I am homesick. I am hormonal. I am the mother of soon to be 4 children.. and I love them deeply and fiercely. And I hate living in liberal, children-are-a-burden-and-inconvenience Richmond. I'm NOT sorry that God showed me what a blessing my children are. I'm NOT sorry that I *gasp* enjoy my children. And even when I start to think moving to Richmond was a huge mistake, I look in my Xander's chocolate brown eyes, and KNOW that God called us to be here. Without Richmond, there would be no Xander in our lives. And the addition of Xander makes it all worth while.
And yes Mr. I-am-going-to-attempt-to-make-a-scene-and-embarrass-you, I do know what causes it.
God abundantly blessing my life as I follow His will and ignore the world.
~Steph
I have my flame suit on and ready.
Last Wednesday night, we visited a new church for their Wednesday night services. (Our 17th church since we've been here.) We were happy to get out of the house after a big snow the weekend before so we attended their Wednesday dinner and then wanted to go to their Biblical Parenting Bible Study. Since Brandon is currently working on Sundays for his new project, Wednesday would have to be our visiting day.
We packed up and went. We were all very excited and hopeful that we would find a place to call home. The dinner was yummy and seemed to be run well. A few people came and introduced themselves when we were eating and the nursery staff was very welcoming and assuring. Lainey's age group was a little unorganized. Julianne's class was well organized and she was happy to see "friends" (defined by my three year old as anyone that is a kid. LOL)
We went to our class and it was awkward and vague. It was almost as if the facilitator was afraid to pick a side of the fence to stand on, for fear of offending someone. We've seen it here.. alot. *sigh*
After class, I went to go gather our children and a man walked up to me in a very crowded hallway and loudly exclaimed "Have you figured out what causes that yet?" and motioned towards my three children and my obviously pregnant baby belly. A few other people laughed.
Let me pause here and say that I completely understand that the "world" doesn't see children as blessings. I don't see it that way and I have trouble wrapping my mind around it. But I know it is there.
But in a church? Obnoxiously asked by a stranger loud enough to make a scene in the children's hall.... I was floored. And for a split second, I almost wished I wasn't standing in a church. *blush* That's just being honest with you.
But I was... so I took the easy but polite way out. I used humor. I said "Of course! And we obviously like it because we keep on doing it huh?" and I winked.
And then I fumed during the drive to the grocery store. To be perfectly honest, I wanted to march back into that church and ask him what he was really getting at. Did he think my children were mistakes? Consequences of irresponsibility? And if I have too many.. which one SHOULDN'T I have had? And how does he suggest that I "put one back?" But I didn't... I fumed... quietly in our van, upset that my children (and the other children in the church) were exposed to such rudeness.
Coincidentally, in the grocery store, as we were checking out with our provisions for the next snow storm, a lady complimented my family. She told us we were very blessed, that our family was beautiful and the children were very well behaved. She also told the girls that it is "very exciting" that we are adding a little brother.
And then, I once again fumed on the way home. How is it that we are mocked and ridiculed in a church, for simply accepting the blessings that God has given us (and answering the call of the orphan)? And praised and encouraged in a grocery store? Doesn't the Bible call every child a blessing? The Bible surely doesn't specify or qualify which children are blessings, and which children are not blessings. #1 and #2 are not any more of a blessing, according to God, than our #3 and #4.
I tossed and turned that night while attempting to sleep... I was hurt and angry.
And the next morning, the tears started. I cried off and on for hours. I know part of it was hormones, part of it hurt from the incident the night before, and part of it just complete and utter homesickness.
But the tears came and they flowed. They flowed until my face was splotchy, my eyes were bright red and it hurt to blink. Brandon came home for lunch that day and even him holding me couldn't make my tears stop coming. I sobbed on his shoulder and left a big huge wet spot and he still wore the same shirt back to work. After several hours of crying, I eventually ran out of tears.
I am homesick. I am hormonal. I am the mother of soon to be 4 children.. and I love them deeply and fiercely. And I hate living in liberal, children-are-a-burden-and-inconvenience Richmond. I'm NOT sorry that God showed me what a blessing my children are. I'm NOT sorry that I *gasp* enjoy my children. And even when I start to think moving to Richmond was a huge mistake, I look in my Xander's chocolate brown eyes, and KNOW that God called us to be here. Without Richmond, there would be no Xander in our lives. And the addition of Xander makes it all worth while.
And yes Mr. I-am-going-to-attempt-to-make-a-scene-and-embarrass-you, I do know what causes it.
God abundantly blessing my life as I follow His will and ignore the world.
~Steph
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
It's been busy around here!
Well.. more busy than usual. *grin*
Brandon and I have always seemed to have a very fast paced life. So what we consider a "slow time" still receives comments from friends and family like "Don't you EVER slow down?" Oh and we got lots of "Number 2 will slow you down." And that was followed by "Number three will slow you down." Well.. now we are starting to get "Number 4 will slow you down." HA! I think each one adds a little bit more speed to our "busy." But we do slow down.. in our own way.
So let me catch you up.
1. I've been busy thinking about revamping our homeschool for the 2010-2011 school year. Our homeschool is an ever evolving process and I'm okay with that. After 20+ years of watching my mom change her thoughts and plans as a public school teacher, I see this as a normal and good thing and it doesn't freak me out. January starts what I call "Homeschool Season" with new catalogs arriving and conventions. I've been keeping a working document on my computer with my thoughts and what I'm looking for for each subject so that will help me decide. This next year will add the challenge of adding another "little" as I teach Lainey who will be in 2nd grade this coming fall. 3 littles, 1 student and 1 teacher/mom. Some days it feels frazzled but Lainey gave me the best compliment that I could ever receive as a homeschool mom. We were at a restaurant and someone asked her what grade she is in. She said 1st. Next they asked about her teacher.. do you like your teacher? She said "Oh she's great.. and she's my mom. We homeschool." This big blob of hormones had to fight back tears.
Sooo.. we are keeping Math-U-See. As a visual learner this is a definitely a plus in my book (and Lainey's.) She loves the video lesson that she watches once a week and loves playing with (ahem.. manipulating) the blocks as she does the work each day. Thumbs up!
For science and history/social studies we'll be using a unit study approach by Christian Cottage. Unit studies will be new for us but I love the way the curriculum is laid out and compared to other unit studies, this is a steal of a bargain!
Bible, phonics, reading and grammar are still up for discussion although the field is narrowing quickly. I'm also looking at more "fun" elective type things for Lainey to explore this coming school year. One of the huge advantages of homeschooling is that you can really tailor your child's learning to the way that they learn best and what they are passionate about or interested in. The flip side of that, is that the choices are numerous so you really have to pick and choose what works best for your family.
2. We are going to a convention! HEAV has their convention in Richmond in June.. but it is pushing it due date/delivery wise, especially if I follow my past pattern. I've not seen a due date yet without holding a baby in my arms (for successful pregnancies.) Walking a convention either hugely pregnant or newly delivered is not my idea of fun. So we branched out. We'll be attending the Midwest Homeschool Convention in April! It's in Cincinnati, Ohio which is exciting for Brandon and I since we've never been. Brandon actually has never been to a homeschooling convention and I only attended one day of the HEAV convention last year.
3. We are taking a detour to the Creation Museum the day before the convention starts. Brandon and I have wanted to go for quite some time and we are finally going to be near enough for a little detour. I can't wait to report back!
4. There is a tiny rumor that we are expecting snow on Friday and Saturday. Saturday is my new shopping day after being moved for Brandon's schedule. Normally that would not worry me but since we've been doing the Pantry Challenge, things were looking pretty bare. So we went shopping to replenish things.
5. Xander is highly mobile! We've had to put the Bee House on lockdown with babygates. Not only is now a speed crawler he is also pulling up on things and taking steps to reach for things. He also has a new found love for touching things that are not his. He is by far my youngest mobile child in the history of Bee children at 9 months old. For example: Lainey was barely pulling up and walking holding onto both of my hands at 13 months. We have a record breaker on our hands folks!
6. Lainey's 7th birthday is coming up and we've been busy preparing for that celebration. Since moving so far from family, we've greatly toned down birthdays. But they are still fun and she'll still feel special on her special day. I'm trying not to think about how much my first baby has grown and blossomed because I do not want to get mushy. I'm usually fighting back tears around 4:48pm on her birthday which is when my first princess made her appearance now almost 7 (goodness is that really right?) years ago.
7. I'm 19 weeks today! Given my above mentioned history of delivering early, I'm over halfway through this pregnancy! It seems to be flying by! Maybe the distraction of my three little blessings are helping that right along. I'm still feeling good. I do have some back pain but after three surgeries on it, I think I'm holding up okay. I'm still losing weight and don't have much appetite. My love for chicken has returned.. so that is nice! Every now and then I do experience nausea but it's nothing my little friend Zofran can't handle. Sleeping isn't going so well lately but I'm just dealing with it at this point. I'm craving protein A LOT and carbs just aren't doing it for this former carb junkie. Brandon is a little concerned about my lack of appetite and he doesn't think I'm eating enough. We'll see. My next appointment is February 2nd and hopefully we will see a beautiful, healthy baby and know the sex. I can't wait to announce the name we've chosen! This was the easiest name decision we've had so far, although actually finding names is quite difficult for us.
8. Speaking of craving protein, Brandon and I realized that Q Barbeque is here in Richmond! Brandon has been watching TLC's BBQ Pitmasters and I put two and two together when we saw the logo after my dentist appointment. So we stumbled in yesterday. And guess who was standing behind the counter? Tuffy Stone himself. He is a very nice, friendly, humble gentleman and he chatted it up with Brandon. Brandon asked if he could take a picture with the pit and Tuffy said sure.. and even took pictures with us! It was BY FAR the best BBQ I've ever had... although that may get me disowned by some of the in laws since I married into BBQ Royalty. Oh well.. I'm honest.. right? Oh and this Georgia girl approves their sweet tea and banana pudding! (It's very hard to find good tea here and the pudding tastes just like mine.. so maybe I'm a touch biased?)
9. The Church hunt is back on. We actually have a few candidates on our list. They are a bit of a drive (25 miles) but we are thirsty and hungry and NEED a church home!
10. Taxes are prepared but not filed. We are waiting on Xander's birthcertificate to arrive and then we can apply for a social security card. I'm SO excited and can't wait to call Dave Ramsey with our debt free scream! It's coming soon folks!
PS: I finally figured out how to hyperlink! Thanks Google!
Brandon and I have always seemed to have a very fast paced life. So what we consider a "slow time" still receives comments from friends and family like "Don't you EVER slow down?" Oh and we got lots of "Number 2 will slow you down." And that was followed by "Number three will slow you down." Well.. now we are starting to get "Number 4 will slow you down." HA! I think each one adds a little bit more speed to our "busy." But we do slow down.. in our own way.
So let me catch you up.
1. I've been busy thinking about revamping our homeschool for the 2010-2011 school year. Our homeschool is an ever evolving process and I'm okay with that. After 20+ years of watching my mom change her thoughts and plans as a public school teacher, I see this as a normal and good thing and it doesn't freak me out. January starts what I call "Homeschool Season" with new catalogs arriving and conventions. I've been keeping a working document on my computer with my thoughts and what I'm looking for for each subject so that will help me decide. This next year will add the challenge of adding another "little" as I teach Lainey who will be in 2nd grade this coming fall. 3 littles, 1 student and 1 teacher/mom. Some days it feels frazzled but Lainey gave me the best compliment that I could ever receive as a homeschool mom. We were at a restaurant and someone asked her what grade she is in. She said 1st. Next they asked about her teacher.. do you like your teacher? She said "Oh she's great.. and she's my mom. We homeschool." This big blob of hormones had to fight back tears.
Sooo.. we are keeping Math-U-See. As a visual learner this is a definitely a plus in my book (and Lainey's.) She loves the video lesson that she watches once a week and loves playing with (ahem.. manipulating) the blocks as she does the work each day. Thumbs up!
For science and history/social studies we'll be using a unit study approach by Christian Cottage. Unit studies will be new for us but I love the way the curriculum is laid out and compared to other unit studies, this is a steal of a bargain!
Bible, phonics, reading and grammar are still up for discussion although the field is narrowing quickly. I'm also looking at more "fun" elective type things for Lainey to explore this coming school year. One of the huge advantages of homeschooling is that you can really tailor your child's learning to the way that they learn best and what they are passionate about or interested in. The flip side of that, is that the choices are numerous so you really have to pick and choose what works best for your family.
2. We are going to a convention! HEAV has their convention in Richmond in June.. but it is pushing it due date/delivery wise, especially if I follow my past pattern. I've not seen a due date yet without holding a baby in my arms (for successful pregnancies.) Walking a convention either hugely pregnant or newly delivered is not my idea of fun. So we branched out. We'll be attending the Midwest Homeschool Convention in April! It's in Cincinnati, Ohio which is exciting for Brandon and I since we've never been. Brandon actually has never been to a homeschooling convention and I only attended one day of the HEAV convention last year.
3. We are taking a detour to the Creation Museum the day before the convention starts. Brandon and I have wanted to go for quite some time and we are finally going to be near enough for a little detour. I can't wait to report back!
4. There is a tiny rumor that we are expecting snow on Friday and Saturday. Saturday is my new shopping day after being moved for Brandon's schedule. Normally that would not worry me but since we've been doing the Pantry Challenge, things were looking pretty bare. So we went shopping to replenish things.
5. Xander is highly mobile! We've had to put the Bee House on lockdown with babygates. Not only is now a speed crawler he is also pulling up on things and taking steps to reach for things. He also has a new found love for touching things that are not his. He is by far my youngest mobile child in the history of Bee children at 9 months old. For example: Lainey was barely pulling up and walking holding onto both of my hands at 13 months. We have a record breaker on our hands folks!
6. Lainey's 7th birthday is coming up and we've been busy preparing for that celebration. Since moving so far from family, we've greatly toned down birthdays. But they are still fun and she'll still feel special on her special day. I'm trying not to think about how much my first baby has grown and blossomed because I do not want to get mushy. I'm usually fighting back tears around 4:48pm on her birthday which is when my first princess made her appearance now almost 7 (goodness is that really right?) years ago.
7. I'm 19 weeks today! Given my above mentioned history of delivering early, I'm over halfway through this pregnancy! It seems to be flying by! Maybe the distraction of my three little blessings are helping that right along. I'm still feeling good. I do have some back pain but after three surgeries on it, I think I'm holding up okay. I'm still losing weight and don't have much appetite. My love for chicken has returned.. so that is nice! Every now and then I do experience nausea but it's nothing my little friend Zofran can't handle. Sleeping isn't going so well lately but I'm just dealing with it at this point. I'm craving protein A LOT and carbs just aren't doing it for this former carb junkie. Brandon is a little concerned about my lack of appetite and he doesn't think I'm eating enough. We'll see. My next appointment is February 2nd and hopefully we will see a beautiful, healthy baby and know the sex. I can't wait to announce the name we've chosen! This was the easiest name decision we've had so far, although actually finding names is quite difficult for us.
8. Speaking of craving protein, Brandon and I realized that Q Barbeque is here in Richmond! Brandon has been watching TLC's BBQ Pitmasters and I put two and two together when we saw the logo after my dentist appointment. So we stumbled in yesterday. And guess who was standing behind the counter? Tuffy Stone himself. He is a very nice, friendly, humble gentleman and he chatted it up with Brandon. Brandon asked if he could take a picture with the pit and Tuffy said sure.. and even took pictures with us! It was BY FAR the best BBQ I've ever had... although that may get me disowned by some of the in laws since I married into BBQ Royalty. Oh well.. I'm honest.. right? Oh and this Georgia girl approves their sweet tea and banana pudding! (It's very hard to find good tea here and the pudding tastes just like mine.. so maybe I'm a touch biased?)
9. The Church hunt is back on. We actually have a few candidates on our list. They are a bit of a drive (25 miles) but we are thirsty and hungry and NEED a church home!
10. Taxes are prepared but not filed. We are waiting on Xander's birthcertificate to arrive and then we can apply for a social security card. I'm SO excited and can't wait to call Dave Ramsey with our debt free scream! It's coming soon folks!
PS: I finally figured out how to hyperlink! Thanks Google!
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