What I'd Say

I don't have those days too often anymore, but today was one of them.  I had an overwhelming urge to call my grandma today and tell her all about my day.  I didn't expect to have those days two years after she left this world, but it still happens sometimes.  If I could call her, there's so much I'd say.

Today we went back to school.  We didn't plan to take a summer break, but we ended up with four weeks off due to summer camp, Vacation Bible School, and visitors from Taiwan.  So today was our official first day of school. 

Can you believe Annie is in 7th grade?  Time just flies!  I remember being in 7th grade and how hard the first day was.  Not for Annie; she's doing just fine.  She's so smart and loves to learn.  And read!  She will read the most boring textbook and can't wait to tell me all about it.  Now if I could just get her to get her other work done.  Usually she gets distracted by all of the wonderful thoughts in her head - things like donating magazines to the hospitals and collecting toys to take to the orphanage.  By the way, you wouldn't believe how tall she is - almost as tall as me.  Whenever she asks to borrow something, I think of all of the times I borrowed something from you.  It's a strange feeling having my daughter looking through my things, wanting to wear them!

Did I tell you about Cece's haircut?  For her ninth birthday she wanted to surprise AJ with a new haircut.  The only problem was that she ended up HATING the haircut so much that she cried Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.  We think it's cute, but you know how it is when you don't like your haircut.  Oh, and if the bad haircut wasn't enough to ruin her birthday weekend, she discovered on Sunday that her salamander died.  She didn't even tell us until I saw that she was sitting at the kitchen table crying.  She rebounded though.  This morning she was up bright and early to tell AJ goodbye before he went to work.  The happiness was gone when we started school work, but we did some of it together and she enjoyed that.  She has some great ideas but wants perfection when her pen touches the paper.  Rather than have mistakes, she just doesn't write.  We compromised and I typed while she dictated.  She is looking forward to biology - we are studying flying creatures this year.  Anyway, when we finished her work, she went outside to use the roller blades she got for her birthday.  That girl can already fall with grace and always gets right up and tries again!  I love her spirit!

Alex is the same as always.  He was frustrated today because his work was more challenging than what he had last year.  He got used to things being easy and didn't like that he couldn't do it perfectly today without some effort (yes, another perfectionist in the family).  I think second grade will stretch him more than he expected.  Everyone comments at how well he is doing for only being in the United States for seven months.  Last night at dinner, he told us about the night he called his mother and told her that he wanted to come to America.  I couldn't imagine making a decision like that at such a young age. He seems to have adjusted well to life with us, even homeschooling.  He reads and writes very well and his math skills are impressive.  We are still working on things like contentment and patience, things that most any seven-year-old boy is probably learning.

Miss Corina is super-excited that her birthday is coming up.  She can't wait to be seven like her brother.  She could do without the school work of second grade.  She asked tonight if she could take her baby dolls when we go to work tomorrow instead of her school books.  That girl drives me nuts, not wanting to do her school work.  The crazy thing is that when she sits down to do it, she knows it.  I often wonder when she learns it, but she knows it.  She has also really stepped up about doing her chores without being told, especially since she got that kitten a couple of weeks ago.  Today she was the first one done with her work.  That doesn't happen often, so she was happy when she got to go ride her bike before anyone else.

I have so much more to tell you, but I know you need to go.  Later I'll have to tell you about my crazy day at work and the house we're moving to (I still can't believe it).  I love you and wish I could give you a hug.  Remember that night a couple of years ago and I called you to chat?  You had no idea that I was near the end of my 2 day drive to your house while we were talking and you jokingly told me to bring the kids for a visit any time.  The look on your face the next morning when we rang your doorbell was priceless!  If I had only known that would be the last time I could give you a hug... I'd do it all over again the same way.  I'm so glad I stayed an extra day with you for that visit.  And I'm glad I took all of those pictures of you and Grandpa with the girls.  OK, I can't end this conversation crying.  That's no good for anyone.  Here's a happy thought for you before I say good-bye.  Annie is researching what kinds of flowers to plant in the backyard of our new house so we can attract hummingbirds just like in your garden.  We want it to be a peaceful place where we can be reminded of you in the beauty of the flowers and the animals.  You know, we think of you often anyway but this is just an excuse to share stories about you with our guests so they can know you too. <3

The Price of Freedom

My family loves celebrating the Fourth of July.  The grilling, watermelon, swimming, and staying up ate are all great. Some members of our family even like the fireworks.  Our youngest daughter has never really enjoyed the noise, but sometimes stops hiding long enough to marvel at the colors in the sky.  My husband used to love fireworks, but the past two years haven't been the same.  What's changed?  He paid a price for freedom that no one warned us about.

Three years ago, our family celebrated the holiday as usual while my husband was in Iraq helping others regain their freedom.  He did well adapting back into a normal life when he returned, but had a difficult time hearing some of the whistling fireworks.  They reminded him of the noises he last heard in a desert where life was dangerous to say the least.  All in all, the day went well and he was able to bounce back after those fireworks were finished.

This year was even harder than last.  We spent our holiday at a friends house and drove a short distance to get to a place to see the fireworks display.   On the way there, someone didn't see us driving up and threw a small firecracker into the street near our car.  While waiting for the show, people shot off crazy amounts of firecrackers all around us.  After the show, we drove back through the neighborhood, dodging kids, trash and even more firecrackers.   By the time we made it out of the neighborhood, my husband was lost in his memories.

When I think of freedom, veterans always come to my mind.  Whether they stayed stateside during their enlistment or went overseas, whether they lived to tell their stories or paid the ultimate sacrifice, they give up so much for Americans and those they defend around the world.  I find it ironic that the very way we celebrate our freedom can be harmful and bring back terrible memories for the men and women who helped guarantee that freedom for the rest of us.  Next year when you sit down to enjoy your displays, please remember those people for whom fireworks will never be the same.

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing you and your family a safe and fun holiday celebrating our history and our heroes!

Itty Bitty Homes and Great Big Blessings

When my husband and I first married 14 years ago, we moved into an itty bitty house.  It was built during World War II for the soldiers returning home from war.  We loved our little house and were thrilled when our first daughter arrived to share it with us.  We didn't care that the other half of her bedroom was our office and my husband's storage area for his army gear.  We learned to love the house with the washer and dryer in the kitchen.  We didn't need space because we had love.

When he got out of the army, we purchased a slightly bigger house near our family.  The house was on a piece of land and was built in a way that made it easy to dream of adding to the house as our family grew.  It didn't take long for our family to grow, but the house remained the same.  We still spoke of one day when the house was bigger, but after nine years, we moved again with our three daughters.

We are now in a duplex which is larger than any other place we have called home, but it is still itty bitty.  Especially now that we have four children sharing our three bedroom, barely over 1000-square-foot abode.  The funny thing is that we are comfortable and happy in our slightly-cramped sace.  We have learned to count our great big blessings in our itty bitty home.

• We enjoy lots of family time.  When we all have to share the same space, we find ourselves playing games, having conversations, watching movies, and interacting more than if we each could go to our own corner.
• When things are tough, we work out the problems because we can't run away from them. There is nowhere to hide.
• We clean out the closets, cupboards and crannies often.  We have no spare space to become hoarders.
• We get outside a lot.  When we do feel the need to spread out, we go to the park, play in the yard or go somewhere. 
• We can still have friends over.  It took me a long time to learn this one.  I kept waiting until we got a bigger house to invite friends over.  Two years ago, I finally decided I couldn't wait any longer and we hosted New Year's Eve dinner for 15 people.  It was tight, but no one cared.  We all had a great time.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a big house, but good things do come in small packages sometimes.

The Fishing Hole

Father's Day was not what we planned.  This is my life, I shouldn't be surprised, but I'm still working on that.  My husband spent Thursday and Friday in bed with the flu.  Our oldest daughter and I spent Friday in bed with the flu.  I would have stayed there Saturday too, but our middle daughter fell off a curb and landed in the emergency room where she received 7 stitches.  Needless to say, Father's Day festivities were the last things on most of our minds.

I pulled myself together and took three of the children to church while my husband stayed home to spoil our injured daughter who slept very little the night before.  After church, we all piled into the car and went down to the family farm.  Together with my mom and step-dad, we set up our chairs around the fishing hole expecting to have a picnic and possibly take home a fish or two. 

Before we could get set up, one kid caught a fish, and then another and another!  We lost track of all of the fish caught, but we took home 7 fish for dinner.  Each kid (big ones too) was able to catch at least one fish and spend some time with two of their favorite men.

Sometimes what I have planned doesn't compare to what God has planned for me.  God's plan always works out better!

A Day of Firsts

It's not too often that we celebrate two, completely unrelated firsts on the same day.  Today is one of those days.  Today is one of those days.

This afternoon, our son and I will go on our first date.  My husband has taken the girls on dates for their birthdays for the last ten years and I had gotten used to the idea that I would never get a birthday date (other than on my own birthday).  A few weeks back, my husband pointed out to me that I had a date to plan.  It took me few minutes to realize what he meant.  Now that we have a son, I get to take someone on a birthday date!  I'm not exactly sure what we will do, but I have some ideas.  We could go to the dinosaur exhibit at the local mall, see a movie, or go to the zoo.  The girls have told our son that he should ask to go to the bookstore - their favorite date destination.  Choices...

Tonight will be our other first.  Our oldest daughter will attend her first youth group function at church.  I didn't expect that she would want to attend, so I was a little surprised when she asked to go.  Knowing that most of the attendees are high school aged, we invited another friend to go with our daughter.  Such events are always better with a friend.

I'm looking forward to a memorable day with my favorite kids.

Saxon Math Review

Math is one of my least favorite subjects.  Not because I don't understand it, but because it has been difficult to find a curriculum that works for our family. We have tried textbooks, workbooks, software and websites with little success.  Either my kids get bored or they don't retain the information.  In any case, I am usually frustrated by the end of the year (or sooner) and we go back to square one.  This year we finally found Saxon Math, a curriculum that meets the needs of my child. 
My oldest daughter (the guinea pig) sits down with her textbook every day and reads through the lesson.  If she has questions she asks, but usually she understands the explanation.  After reading the lesson, there are several sets of activities to complete.  Some are to practice the lesson that was just taught, some are problem solving, and some are review from prior lessons.  She also has a facts test every day to review basic skills such as multiplication and division facts, converting measurements and reducing fractions.  If she needs extra practice for a particular lesson, there are extra problems at the back of the book.  A test is offered every five lessons and an investigation activity is offered every ten lessons.
I have found that the number of problems within a lesson is too much for one day.  Generally, my daughter completes the even or odd problems and I grade her work.  If she needs more practice, we review the lesson and she completes a few more problems.  This system serves our needs better than having her complete the entire set of problems for every lesson.  
Taking into consideration our experience with the product this year and the cost to continue it with my other children, I will be switching everyone in our family to Saxon for the upcoming school year.

You might want to know that Saxon offers math curriculum for kindergarten through twelfth grade. 

Saxon Teacher is a component that I was unfamiliar with until this spring when I saw it at the homeschool convention.  This multimedia presentation teaches your child as she goes through the lessons.  When I get to the point that I don't feel comfortable teaching math, we will take advantage of this product.

I did not receive any product or compensation in exchange for this product review, nor did anyone ask for my opinion.  I freely share my opinions with anyone willing to read or listen.