We're a Homeschooling Family

My friend Jennifer invited me to write a guest post for her blog.... you can read it here. She also has so many words of wisdom to share on her blog and lots of fun ideas for crafts, recipes, etc. And I love all her photos of her sweet kids. So take some time to look around at The Kindle Crew while you're there!

Beginning to walk...

Bodie took his first steps yesterday, at one year and 3 days old. He started out the morning taking two steps and falling into me. But we kept practicing. Every time he made it a few steps to me without sitting down or falling over, I raised him up in the air and we all cheered for him, and he thought he was the champion of the world. By last night, he could go about 6 steps on his own! I'm so excited for him... mostly because I know he will enjoy getting to be a part of what the girls do, but also because it will give my poor arms a break from carrying him everywhere!

This past Wednesday was his 1st birthday. Since we already celebrated his birthday before, we didn't do much on the actual day, except I did make chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. He had two smash cakes for his birthday. We did one in SA with my family last week.

Then we did one with Brian's family here in Houston.

He is one lucky boy, getting two birthday parties! He enjoyed both thoroughly. Our girls didn't dive into their 1st birthday cakes nearly as eagerly and aggressively as he did. They were dainty and delicate with theirs.

Avery...

Tatum (She barely touched her cake!)

and Laney...

We had a great spring break. We drove to Aggieland to see a baseball game in the new Blue Bell Park there. They now have the option of lawn seats, which are on either side of the bleacher seats. It was so fun to just sit on our big blanket and watch the game and let the kids roll down the hill and play. The Aggies didn't play very well, but it was a fun experience. We got some Layne's after the game and drove around a little bit. We drove by my old apartment and Brian told the girls that was where he kissed me for the first time. Tatum said, "So you got married there?!?" Ha! We'll save the conversation about kissing for a later date. For now, we'll let them think you kiss for the first time when you get married!
On our way out to College Station, we passed by our spot where we always take our bluebonnet pictures, so Brian suggested we get out and take some. Bodie was a pretty good sport and we got a few cute ones, but the crazy lady in me does wish their outfits coordinated better. :)


We also went to San Antonio for a few days to help celebrate my Paw Paw's 90th birthday. My cousin and his family live out in the country on a beautiful piece of land covered with bluebonnets. It was such a fun night, catching up with all my cousins, aunts & uncles. I got to thinking about Paw Paw... I wonder how it must feel to look around at a large group of people and know that all of them are there because of you... not just to celebrate you, but because they were all birthed by you, or married to someone birthed by you. It made me miss my MeMe so much. I came back to Houston and cherished my photos of my grandparents. I spent an entire quiet time last week just crying out to God because I miss them so much.

Paw Paw and Bodie, born 89 years and 4 days apart.

These bluebonnets put our Houston ones to shame. Here's my mom with the kids. My sis-in-law took some family photos of us at this same spot, so I'm hoping we will have a "keeper" of the 6 of us from this spot.

Here's my two cowgirls practicing their "Yee-haw."

And Bo trying on Daddy's cowboy boots.

We were invited to throw out the first pitch at the Cy Falls home opener a few weeks ago. Brian was so excited to be back at the field. Although we are both glad Brian is where he is now and no longer coaching high school sports, we do miss the family at Cy Falls. Brian will always be an "Eagle" deep down inside, no matter where he works.

Last time we were here, this boy was kicking at my ribs, eager to meet the world. Brian was very proud to introduce him to all the teachers and kids we saw.

Our sweet friend, Ms. Evelyn, brought the girls a goody bag to enjoy during the game, complete with M&M's (all in Tatum's teeth!) and bunny ear masks, which they wore proudly most of the game.

We are enjoying our 3 new pets... Camo, Dot & Spike. We adopted them as a result of one of Brian's fishing adventures. This is them the first night he brought them home. I can't believe how much they've grown in the past month! They are almost twice as big now. They live in a much bigger tank now in our schoolroom and they do a good job of entertaining us. Camo is not afraid of us, but when any of us put our face right up to the glass next to Dot or Spike, they jump off their rocks into the water and swim to the opposite side of the tank. They are amazing little creatures, designed by an amazing Creator.


Here's our official birthday photo of Bodie on March 21, 2012, his 1st birthday.


I still sometimes pinch myself because it's so amazing and fun to have a little boy.

We went to a nursing home a few weeks back to "play with" the residents... we did a little craft and played ball with them... they sat in their wheelchairs in a circle and they could either kick or hit the beach ball to anyone else in the circle. Tatum was the queen of that game. Anyway, I was sitting next to one sweet lady named Lois... the girls were around me and Bodie was sitting on my lap facing her and reaching his hands out to her. She started crying and told me, "You have a million bucks."

That scene has played over in my head a hundred times. I can still hear her voice saying those words. It's true. I do have a million bucks. I may not have much money, but my children are gifts from God and they do make me so wealthy. I am rich with hugs from little arms and kisses from little puckered lips, colored pictures and drawings that say "Mama" on them, wilting flowers from our backyard given to me with love, four sets of little eyes that light up when they see me, four little voices that call me "Mama"... I am richly blessed indeed.

"Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15

Eleven Months

It was hard this month to get him to sit still in this pose. He is very busy now. Trying to walk has become one of his favorite activities lately. And sitting still is definitely not.

These two are glued at the hip. He loves her attention. It is sweet to watch him develop a different relationship with each of his sisters. He lets Avery carry him anywhere and he is usually very happy with her. He likes Tatum because she knows how to make him laugh with her silly faces and noises. Laney is usually content to just sit next to him and give him toys and talk to him. He is a blessed little guy having such attentive sisters who want nothing else but to play with him all day.

This was one of our little science experiments... letting colors from pen marks climb up a piece of coffee filter paper dipped in water. It wasn't the most amazing experiment, but it was fun to do it together. Avery went to one of her friends' Mad Science birthday party a few weeks ago and in the party favor bag was a bunch of fun simple science experiments for kids, so we've been trying them out.

Here's Brian and Avery at Daddy-Daughter Date Night at church last weekend.

Laney got tubes in her ears on Thursday. I was so excited about it that I really didn't feel too nervous. We had it done at a surgery center rather than a hospital, which made it very low-key and easy. We were the only ones there that whole morning... it seemed like they opened up the facility just for us. Laney did really well through the whole thing. She did scream when I handed her to the doctor. I knew that she would not go with the doctor unless he picked her up and took her. It took a little longer than usual because her ears were filled with such thick snot that he had to get two different vacuums to suck it out. Brian met me there and we waited about 20 minutes until the doctor came to get us. As she came off the anesthesia, she was a crazy lady. Squirming, thrashing around, screaming and crying. They told us it was normal, so we just tried to keep her from hurting herself or us. Finally she opened her eyes and started settling down, so we were allowed to take her home. She cried and fought her seat belt the whole way home like it was a snake trying to attack her. It was pretty crazy. I fed her chips & queso with apple juice when we got home and she starting acting more like herself. After we relaxed and read a few books together, she seemed completely back to normal.

We have been watching her closely to see if we can truly tell a difference in her hearing. So far I've noticed two things. I haven't had to repeat myself to her once. And Brian & I both agree... she has a new twinkle in her eye. It's hard to describe, but she is just happier now. And so am I.

So how's homeschooling going?

We now have two days under our belt. I have felt like I was crazy at times, but I have also found myself genuinely thanking God that He has made us a homeschooling family. This was not in our plan, but if I have learned anything about life, I have learned that when my situation becomes uncomfortable and I feel God start to pry away layers of junk around my heart, it always turns out good when I trust Him and obey.
We withdrew Avery from school last Wednesday. It was a very hard day for me. I cried my eyes out several times. I can't really put into words why I was so emotional... I guess it was the finality of admitting our child is different. I had so many mixed emotions going on inside me that day... relief that this decision had been made, thankfulness that all the pieces had fallen into place, fear of the unknown world of homeschooling, sorrow for her missing out on the fun times she would have had at school, but mostly relief that the battles were over.

So last weekend, we re-arranged the furniture in our study and made it into a pretty cool little schoolroom. I bought a few educational posters for the walls. I bought a math curriculum. I bought a lesson planner. Everything else we are borrowing from friends or just making do with what we already have.
So yesterday was Day One. Laney stayed home from preschool because she wasn't feeling good - that's a story I will tell more of later - so my plans for a quiet house quickly disappeared. But we still got everything done we had planned. Math, Reading, writing, history, spelling, phonics and storybooks. Today we added science and Bible. Tomorrow we are planning to add piano and baking. We probably won't do every subject everyday... I plan to do Bible, math & reading everyday for sure, then the rest I will throw in a few days each week.
Today all 4 kids were home all day. I discovered several challenges I hadn't anticipated, but I also discovered the greatest thing about homeschooling ... immediate feedback. In just two days of homeschooling, Avery is already writing her letters and numbers way better just because I have been telling her immediately when she writes something the wrong way.


So onto the story about Laney... Since before she turned two, I have been concerned about her hearing. I would walk into her room when she was still in her crib and she wouldn't turn to look at me and I sometimes had to call her name several times to get her attention. Our pediatrician said it was "selective hearing." He said the fact that she speaks and understands instructions means that she doesn't have a significant problem. Even though I didn't completely agree with him, I didn't think there was anything I could do with her so young.

So fast forward to this year. I knew at her 3-year old check up, I wanted to talk to our pediatrician about her hearing again. This time, since she had a pretty bad ear infection and he knew our history of concerns about her hearing, he referred us to an ENT.
So I took her to the ENT today. First, an audiologist put us in a sound booth and did a hearing test on her. She had headphones on so I don't know all the sounds she was hearing, but there were several times I heard a sound and she didn't respond. So when we came out, the audiologist said she does have significant hearing loss. But the good news is, her ears are filled with fluid so hopefully when that is cleared, her hearing should be fine.
So next we saw the ENT. Right when he walked into the room he said, "So you know you have a deaf child, right?" Oh my, I had no idea it was that bad. He said the fluid in her ears may very well have been there for a whole year! She may have had several ear infections over the past year and I never knew because she didn't run a fever or act like she felt bad. My poor little Laney all this time, we've known something wasn't right, but didn't know it was that bad. She can't hear consonants, so in most of her words, her vowels are right but her consonants are off. I can understand most of what she says, but sometimes I need Tatum to interpret. Tatum always knows what she is saying.

So we are planning to get tubes in her ears, hopefully this week or next. It's immediate and easy. He said the surgery will take a total of 6 minutes. When she wakes up, she will be able to hear! I can't wait to see her little face as she hears things she has never heard before. I am hopeful that her new ability to hear things will help her have the confidence to try new things and reach out instead of clinging. I am excited for her to "get it" the first time rather than the seventh. I am excited to teach her how to say words correctly. I am so excited for her.

Guess who lost her first tooth?

Seems like just yesterday she was just getting all those teeth!

How on earth can she be turning FIVE in just a few months?

Princess Tatum, we love you!

10 months

He doesn't like to sit for too long anymore...

I don't know who gave him the necklace to play with, but I'll admit I put the skirt on him... I just couldn't resist how well the red matched his shirt and his rosy cheeks!
This boy lights up our days and brings us all lots of laughter and joy. He is such a cuddly and sweet boy. I just can't say enough about what a gift from God he is to us.

Laney-Lou is THREE!

Laney turned THREE last week.

We had all the family meet at Chuy's, her favorite restaurant, for lunch. Then everyone came over to our house for cake and ice cream. She was not in the greatest mood. She naturally has a shy, timid personality. I have learned if I rehearse things with her before they happen, she generally does better, but that is not always the case. So she cried when everyone sang happy birthday to her... I think that is mostly because she doesn't like having everyone's attention on her. She would much rather be a wallflower than be the center of attention. She wouldn't blow out the candles, even though I had practiced with her beforehand. But her sissies were happy to help her out with that. She wouldn't open her presents, but again, her sissies were more than happy to tear into them. The theme was Rapunzel and she got her own stuffed Rapunzel and some fun princess things. She also got some new books and a big girl booster seat for the car, which she loves!

When I took her to the doctor for her 3-year old checkup, he found that she has a double ear infection and a lot of fluid in her ears! She never complained that her ears hurt and I never saw any signs of it, except for her less-than-pleasant mood. The doctor said he would expect a child with that bad of an infection to be writhing around in pain... guess she has a pretty high pain tolerance. So we started an antibiotic on Tuesday and I can already tell she is feeling better. She is still in the 95th percentile for height and the 75th for weight at her age.

We had a wonderful Christmas, although it flew by too fast! I can barely believe it's already been almost a month since we celebrated. A few of the highlights were...

Avery's own camera

Tatum's Rapunzel wig

and Laney's Rapunzel dress (and cool shades)

We got to spend some time in San Antonio with all of my family. It was nice to just unpack and relax there for most of a week and visit with childhood friends and my family. We also celebrated in Houston with Brian's family. The kids enjoyed lots of play time with their cousins, Tara and Matthew.

Matty & Bo lookin pretty cute in their coon-skin caps!

They have been getting a lot of enjoyment out of their new John Deere. I am glad to have something fun that they can all ride in together. Don't worry - I walk right next to it when Bodie is in it so I can rescue him if he decides he wants out. He is usually pretty happy to sit back there in someone's lap.

We loaded it up and took it to Bear Creek Park on MLK day... they had so much fun driving like maniacs all over those fields. Lots of wide open space is good when teaching a 3-year old how to steer a vehicle. Avery & Tatum took to it right away, but Laney with her timid personality, was very reluctant to even ride in it at first, much less try to drive it herself. But finally right before we were going to load it up and go home, she slid over to the driver seat and with one hand holding mine and the other hand holding the steering wheel, she stepped on the pedal and started zooming along. After a few minutes of helping her steer, she got the hang of it and loved it.
Bodie loves to swing. His little face lights up and he starts kicking his legs and just giggles the whole time.
This little one is definitely a mama's girl, and I absolutely love that about her. She always wants to be within five feet of me wherever we are.
And this one is getting so tall and strong. She is so smart and such a hard worker. And she is still the sunshine that brightens our day.

I look at these faces and I can't thank God enough for these gifts.

We are making some big decisions right now, particularly about our kids' education. It's funny how God gently leads us small step by small step to places we would never have dreamed about just a few steps before. But when you trust Him for one thing, it becomes easier to trust Him for another and another and so on.

I was a working mom just 8 short months ago... I mean a "working outside the home" mom... because honestly I am more of a "working" mom now than I have ever been. Anyway, God opened the door and led us to step out in faith at just the right time and for me to resign and stay home full time. That was a major leap of faith for us. Amazingly, it has worked. It hasn't been easy... we've had to sacrifice things that we still miss terribly and I feel like I deserve a degree in accounting with all the time I spend tweaking our budget to make it work. But we have had the privilege of watching God come through for us over and over and over. Things have just worked out. That's the only way I know how to say it because on paper it makes no sense.

Anyway, now we are feeling like God may be gently nudging us to take another major leap of faith, something we never truly considered and quite honestly terrified me until just recently... homeschooling. Did i really just type that? It still looks a little intimidating to me. But it also looks like the salve that God just might use to heal some aches and discomforts in our family. And I'm getting pretty excited to begin the journey.