Fridays Mean War

Our house battles it out every Friday and each member of the family looks forward to the event.  We call it Zone Wars, based loosely on FlyLady's cleaning zones.  My kids spend Monday through Thursday cleaning their personal zones (Monday - bed, Tuesday - floor, Wednesday - dresser, Thursday - school area).  On Friday, we attack the house with Zone Wars.  Here's the battle plan:

1.  I make a list on the white board of all of the tasks that need to be accomplished.  The length of the list is determined by the amount of time we have, what the week has been like, and what is coming up.  For example, if it has been a crazy week or we are expecting company, the list will be more detailed.  If we've done a really good job of keeping up with things through the week, it will be a shorter list.  Another thing I keep in mind is the length of time it will take to complete a task.  I try to break big tasks up into smaller tasks that can be completed quicker.  The ideal task is 3-5 minutes long so rather than writing "clean the living room,"  I will write "pick up books," "dust the living room," and "vacuum the living room."

2.  This step varies from week to week.  Here are two of our more common methods:

• Divide into teams.  Each team chooses one task to complete.  The timer is set for 5 minutes and each team hurries to complte their task.  Points are awarded to each team according to how well each task was completed.
• Divide into teams that switch after each task.  The timer is set for 5 minutes and each team hurries to complete their task.  Points are awarded individually according to how well each task was completed.
• Attack the tasks as individuals.  Rather than setting a timer for each task, we set an overall time limit.  As a person completes a task, he/she initials it and chooses another task.  Points are awarded individually according to how well each task was completed.  As needed, teams are formed and both people get points for those tasks.

While the kids work on their tasks, I alternate between cheerleader, coach, and teammate as necessary.  When tasks are completed, I judge the work and award points.

3. After the Zone Wars are over, we go to the score board.  Sometimes everyone gets a prize if they meet a minimum number of points and sometimes there are four prizes awarded in order of the points earned.  It depends on what I think will motivate everyone to participate that day.

We have tried several methods to teaching the children to care for our home and this has worked best.  I appreciate that I am not the only one trying to get it all done.  Our kids love the feeling of accomplishment when they have worked hard and see a clean house.  They also love their prizes (tonight's prize package is movies and ice cream for anyone with 20 points).  My husband loves coming home to a clean house and a happy family.

Midwest Parent Educators Conference

This weekend I have the honor of representing Tapestry of Grace at the Midwest Parent Educators Conference.  If you happen to be there, please stop by and say hello!  If you can't make it, check out the Tapestry of Grace page here.

Preparation

Have you ever prepared for something and it didn't happen?  Or maybe it didn't happen the way you expected.  Did you ever feel that the time spent preparing was in vain?

I spent four long years (almost an eternity, it seemed) going to school for a bachelor's degree in education and child development.  As soon as I graduated, my husband and I moved out of state to his army duty assignment.  The local school district wouldn't even allow me to substitute teach without credentials and I felt that my time in school was wasted.  The following year we had our first daughter and we chose for me to stay home with her. 

For several years I felt that I had wasted all of that time and money attending school to get a degree I wouldn't use.  Then we decided to homeschool, something we had never considered until circumstances caused us to view homeschooling in a  new light.  Finally, I could use my degree!   Really, in hindsight, I had been using my education all along with my children.  I especially used that wealth of knowledge with our second daughter.  Without my training, I don't think I would have recognized as early that she had special needs and I certainly would not have coped as well.  I know that I would have been a good mom and even a good homeschooling mom without formal training, but I can't say that it hasn't helped me (and my kids).

It reminds me of Ephesians 6:10-20, where Paul talks about putting on the armor of God.  If you skip ahead to verse 20, Paul says he is an ambassador for God.  Then go back and read from verse 10 again.  We are to be ambassadors for God, but we are also to be prepared for battle.  At first it would seem silly to put on armor to be an ambassador, but this is a powerful message we carry and there are some who will do anything to stop us.  Never does Paul say to be a soldier or go looking for a battle, just to be prepared to stand firm when the enemy comes our way.

Likewise, I was not meant to be a classroom teacher.  My education was preparing me to be the best mom for my kids.  What preparation have you received that has been used in a completely unexpected way?  Maybe you are still waiting to see its benefits, but God prepares us for His plan and then uses us in ways we would never expect.

Tapestry of Grace Review

Tapestry of Grace is a classical curriculum that covers History, Bible, and the humanities. 

Our family is using the hybrid (print and digital edition) version of Tapestry of Grace Year 1 including the Lapbooks, Pop Quiz and Map Aids.  Our children are ages 12, 8 and 6 (times 2).  They fall into the Dialectic, Upper Grammar and Lower Grammar levels.  One of our 6-year-olds was recently adopted into our family and speaks very little English.  He mostly listens to our conversations and read-alouds at this point.

I wanted a curriculum that I could do with all of my children together rather than having each child studying something different for each subject.  With this in mind, I wanted something that challenged all of our kids(especially the older ones) and incorporated our religious beliefs throughout the lessons.  While at a homeschool conference, we ran across the TOG booth and my husband was immediately drawn to this curriculum that offered him the opportunity to be involved in our daily lessons.  I liked it because it met my criteria.

It took me longer than I expected to fully own this curriculum. At first I wasn't as overwhelmed as I expected to be, but that was partly because I didn’t realize all that was available to me.  I simply copied the student pages, printed the maps, assigned the reading and discussed the materials with my kids throughout the week.   After a few weeks, I began to dig and find a plethora of resources available on the loom and through the Tapestry of Grace Yahoo groups.  This wealth of information did overwhelm me and it took me another few weeks to remember the first rule of teaching: you don’t have to do it all and you and your children will go crazy if you try. 

Now that we are near the end of the third unit, I am thoroughly enjoying teaching with Tapestry of Grace.  Our entire family is learning a great deal of history and putting pieces together to connect the random knowledge we have learned until now.  I would also say that more learning is taking place with this curriculum compared to others we have used because it presents material chronologically and information is woven through the disciplines.  My kids love being able to connect their art project with their literature and writing assignments.

I have learned a few tidbits along the way (probably enough worthy of another post).  Every Friday, I set aside some time to place holds on library books for our studies 2 weeks out.  This gives our library enough time to get the books from other branches if needed and I can go in the following Friday to pick up the books.  I also use Netflix and supplement with movies (very good for our English learner).

I have taken advantage of the material offered in this curriculum to develop other skills in my children.  My oldest daughter likes to act and my middle daughter has speech problems. Often, they work through the Pageant of Philosophy (the rhetoric level philospohy component) and perform it for the younger two.  To improve our culinary skills, we often prepare a meal appropriate for that week’s lessons.  In addition, my oldest daughter teaches one of the art activities each week to her siblings. 

My kids enjoy the history and appreciate that they learn from literature and a variety of sources rather than a textbook.  They also enjoy the ability to do their assignments together. Although they didn’t mention this when asked, I often overhear the older kids yelling such things as “Hey did you know….” or “Wow, this is cool!” as they read their assignments.  That speaks volumes. 

My husband thoroughly enjoys listening to the Pop Quiz and sharing the teaching with me.  However, he listens to the CDs in the car and often has to go back to listen again so he can write down Scripture references.  He would like a resource that offers notes to coordinate with the Pop Quiz information.  Also, there are weeks when I take the lessons in one direction the Pop Quiz takes him in a completely different direction.  He would like for me to know, in general, what he will be hearing on the Pop Quiz so the kids can be better prepared for their discussions with him.

Tapestry of Grace is one of the few curriculums I have used that I am eager about continuing into a second year.  This is a curriculum that meets the needs of our family and everyone enjoys it.  In my dream world, they would add science and character supplements (hint, hint).

Just last week, the two older kids finished their 4-week writing project: writing and performing a play. They poured their hearts into this play, complete with costumes, light effects, props and their two younger siblings acting.

Check it out for yourself at

Home At Last

In our adoption preparations, I read many books and spoke to even more people about how to prepare for our homecoming.  We were prepared for things like nightmares, defiance, temper tantrums, problems eating, and all sorts of scenarios when we picked up our son and especially when we brought him to our home.  I did not expect love or affection or even smiles from this boy because I did not want to set myself up for disappointment.  We were not prepared at all for what actually happened.  Tears are running down my face as I type this.  In the week we have been home, we have seen huge smiles, experienced belly-ache laughter, and listened to this boy joke with his sisters and new friends.  We have a boy who eagerly completes his English lessons and asks for more.  Today he played his first basketball game after one practice and scored!  Then he got a haircut with his daddy.  Often he cuddles up with us or gives us hugs at random moments.  He proudly shows us things he has created and completes his schoolwork quickly and accurately.  And, he told me he loves me at bedtime a few nights ago. 

I'm not blind, I know there will be troubles as with any child.  However, I do appreciate the gift we have in our son and the expected hurdles we didn't have to face.  I am thankful for the blessings that God continues to pour on our family.  I am also thankful for your prayers.

New Year's Celebration

As much as I love tradition, our family doesn't really have any traditions for New Year's Eve. For a few years while we were dating, my husband and I went to Pasadena for the Rose Parade.  For a few years, we went to a friend's house for a huge dinner with several families.  For Y2K, we planned to be at my mom's house in Missouri and ended up at my brother-in-law's house in California due to a family emergency.  Last year, we started what we expected to be an annual tradition - a big dinner at our house with family and friends.  On December 31, 2010, we had no idea that God would turn our world upside down like He is so good at doing and exactly one year later we would find ourselves in Taipei, Taiwan picking up our newly-adopted son on New Year's Eve.

Our adoption would not be possible without our friends and family, but especially our church family.  Our church has a heart for orphans like I have never experienced.  Several families in our church have adopted, locally and internationally.  Through this desire to help the orphans, our church created Project Nic.  This is more than just a fund for families to use for adoption expenses, though it definitely does serve that purpose.  It is also a network of people who have adopted or just want to help walk families through this oh-so-confusing process.  Because of Project Nic and the people behind it, this little boy was put into our lives in July and we will be bringing him home in a matter of days. 

As you consider your New Year's celebrations, would you consider helping Project Nic give another orphan a home and family to call his own?  So many families like ours would love to bring a child into their home and call him their own, but the cost of the adoption itself is standing in their way.  If we work together, we can bridge that gap.

You can click here to donate or get more information to mail in your donation.  Make sure to designate your donation for Project Nic.  Your donations to Project Nic are tax deductible and greatly appreciated.

Up To Date

We first heard about National Adoption Day two years ago as we sat in church and watched a short video about adoption and our responsibility to care for orphans. What happened next took my breath away. Our pastor invited everyone to stand who had adopted, been adopted, or was in the process of adopting. He also included foster parents in this call. More than half of the 250 or more people in the room stood!

My husband and I began attending this church only three months prior to this event. In the winter of 2009, DH experienced cutbacks at his job in California and we faced some big decisions. Unable to find a comparable job, he accepted a job in Iraq as a contractor using the skills he learned in the army. We felt that God was leading us to take some bold steps. We rented out our house in California and, while DH was in Iraq, I moved our household to the Kansas City, Missouri area where my mom lived and where we felt God calling us to go. After six months in Iraq, DH came to Missouri and quickly found a job. We knew we were where God put us, but it wasn’t clear yet why He put us here.

That Sunday when so many people stood left an impression on us. Here was a body of people that did not hesitate to make a difference in their world. We were also impressed that their world didn't stop at the edges of the small farming community where this church was located. Adoption wasn’t on our hearts, but we knew from that moment that this was where we wanted to be. Little did we know how much this church lived their faith, but we learned quickly. A few months later, our church put on “Love Out Loud” where we went into the community over the course of a weekend and loved hundreds of people by visiting nursing homes, babysitting children so single moms could have a day off, and performing all sorts of home improvement projects. Our family had the pleasure of going to a senior apartment complex to repaint the recreation room and remove some debris from their basement. It was a great day and again we were blown away by this church body and how they lived their faith.

As we got more involved in the church, we became friends with many of the families who were involved in adoptions in various ways. Our two older daughters began to feel a desire to adopt, but DH and I did not. We encouraged the girls to pray about it and we began to do the same because we always want to be open to where God is leading us. Two major factors that held us back were DH’s crazy work schedule and the small duplex that we called home.

In March of this year, our church announced the dates for the annual mission trip to Taiwan. DH eager to use his passport again and travel, signed up for the trip. We also decided to sign up our 11-year-old daughter. This trip was for the purpose of helping two churches put on an evangelistic play that our church does every year.  Our daughter has been integral in this play for the two years we have been in Missouri and we felt that it would be beneficial for her to participate. So the planning began, or so we thought.

On June 30^th, I received an email from one of the ladies at church saying that there was a little boy at Harmony Home, Taiwan that needed to be adopted. Her husband is on the Board of Directors for this children’s home and they had adopted from there earlier this year. When they heard of this 6-year-old boy, they thought of our family and how well he would fit in.  DH and I discussed it at length and talked to other friends who would add valuable insight. We decided to wait until the end of July when my husband went to Taiwan to make a decision.

As time progressed, one of the churches in Taiwan chose not to follow through with the program and that left a week of unscheduled time in Taiwan. Our church chose to fill that time with a camp for the children at Harmony Home.  DH was asked to be one of the leaders and so he and Annie spent an entire week with this boy whom we had been asked about. Within a day of meeting each other, the boy called my husband Papa and melted his heart. While in Taiwan, DH felt the concerns of his heart lifted as he continued to pray over the decision. By day three, my husband texted me and said he wanted to start the paperwork.

We knew that there were still obstacles to overcome, but if this was God's will, it would all work according to His plan. My husband was offered a new job at his company which allowed him to be home every evening. Somehow, we passed the home study even though we thought our home was too small. Also, God has provided the necessary funds at just the right time for each step in the process.

All the way through this we have prayed for God’s will and things have moved at an incredible pace. Our home study took only two weeks, my passport came in less than three weeks, our son’s Visa was approved in a few short weeks, and our judge has chosen to cut in half the wait time after the judgment is issued. It is progressing so fast that we are speechless at times, but we can clearly see God’s hands in all of this.

At this point, we are excited to put together a bedroom and toys for our little boy and prepare for the addition to our family. We expect to hear from our attorney in Taiwan any day telling us that we can come and get our son. We aren’t always sure how we will make this all work, but we know that we look forward to celebrating National Adoption Day in 2012 with a whole different perspective than we could have imagined when we first celebrated in 2009 with our newly-adopted church family.

If you'd like to find out what's going on with our adoption, you can go to https://www.facebook.com/flowersforafamily. Thank you for taking a few minutes to read our story.