Skipping School and Ice Cream Cones

     Today was our county's first day of public school. We made the switch to year round homeschooling so what did we do to celebrate homeschooling today? As the kids came into the school room and sat down ready to get started I looked at them, closed the book I had open, and said "we are taking the day off!" They were confused and kept asking me why. I explained to them that there was no specific reason other than the fact that I wanted to celebrate our ability to learn at home, their many accomplishments, and that I'm proud of them. So, we went to lunch and then I took them to a local ice cream parlor and we sat and chatted. And do you know what? They LEARNED! There were pictures of animals on the walls and Haleigh kept asking me what types of foods came from certain types of animals (i.e. bacon from pigs, steaks from cows etc.), which led Lucas into asking about what those types of animals ate. So we discussed how many animals prefer plants and are vegetarians while others are predominately meat eaters....carnivores. Then the younger ones wanted to know how ice cream was made so Noah and Haleigh took turns explaining the process to their little brothers. It was awesome. And I honestly believe that children have so much ability to learn outside the walls of a typical "classroom". And I am blessed to have the opportunity to teach them at home. :-)
     Now we are back at home, unfortunately due to another one of my migraines, which the doctors still can't seem to explain. I'm hoping a higher dose of Topomax will do the trick but only time will tell. The kids are off playing together in their rooms...I wish I could say they were being totally sweet towards each other but there is definitely arguing; something about the monster trucks being the bad guys and it's not okay for them to be the good guys. But hey, there are worse things to fight over, right?! :-P
     On a bit of an unrelated note, Lucas starts speech therapy on Friday. I'm really nervous for him but am excited more than anything. He has such a difficult time communicating where people can understand him and I can tell it frustrates him. I believe it's the main source for his tantrums so I'm very thankful for this service. He will be going Wednesdays and Fridays each week until the end of June. We will then re-evaluate at that point to see if he will need to continue for a second year of therapy. Lucas is really excited for it to start and he keeps saying "Mommy, I'm so excited for my speech classes because now people will understand me". It makes me relieved to know he isn't scared or upset but realizes this is something he can be proud of...that there is nothing "wrong" with him. Just that we all need a little extra help sometimes. :-)
     But anyways, please be praying for him as he starts this new endeavor. And for us too. Wednesdays are going to be quite busy with school full time, speech therapy at 1pm and Haleigh's ballet class starting at 4pm. But we will manage. Just thankful for the here and now as I'm sure the future years will be much, much busier. :-)

Catching Up

     Hey guys! Long time since I've been here but my life finally has a nice groove to it and my youngest is almost three...which hopefully will leave a little more time for writing. I can't believe how much has happened in the time I've been away...honestly, too much to include in one post but hopefully, over time, I'll be able to catch you up.
     We just started back into our fourth year of homeschooling...which is seriously hard to believe. Noah is technically a third grader by public school standards but I don't really like labeling the kids because they have their strengths and weaknesses depending on the subject. Haleigh started first and Lucas is our big boy Kindergartner. And then there is Judah....our strong willed two year old. :-)  He keeps me on my toes...and if I turn my back for a second you can bet something has been destroyed or he has scaled a building; the kid is a Houdini.
     We also just added a seventh member to this chaotic family...our puppy, Abby. She and Judah make quite the combination...I think that may have been God's answer to my prayers for a more patient and loving attitude. <3 at="" but="" get="" hearts.="" i="" it="" just="" leave="" less="" ll="" moms="" nbsp="" p="" picture.="" that="" the="" their="" think="" you="">     Just a little update on our kids who are growing up far too quickly.

Noah- Loves Coyote Peterson, Bugs (specifically spiders), is a Minecraft champ, his favorite game is Chess, his favorite subject is Reading and he loves to cook. On his current list of books he is reading is Goosebumps and The Hardy Boys. I love his enthusiasm and joy that comes with opening the pages of a book...just like me. When we go outside, he often has a book in hand and searches out the perfect spot to sit and read. He always does his chores without me asking and is our most sensitive kid. He is a Mama's boy and I love every second.

Haleigh- She is my girly girl and my mini me. She is starting her third year of ballet and absolutely loves it. She is an amazing artist (like, this kid puts my college art classes to shame) and we will be enrolling her in art school next year so that she can excel at her favorite subject...since this isn't something I can help her much with. She is very hyper and we often find ourselves searching for new creative outlets to channel her energy into. Just another reason I'm thankful we homeschool because I sometimes wonder if that hyper, talkative self would often stay in trouble in the public school system. Maybe not, but I worry that would be case.

Lucas- He is my all american boy. This kid loves wrestling with his baby brother, Imaginext, sports, and books. He is my problem solver. He loves puzzles, I Spy books, and anything else that requires critical thinking skills...I like to call him my little engineer in the making. This kid just told me the 50 piece puzzle I got for him was "too easy" so on to bigger and better things lol. He struggles with reading/letter recognition/phonics because he has a speech issue. He will be seeing a speech therapist two days a week for the next year so hopefully the issues he is having in school will improve as his speech issues do. It's hard to watch him try so hard and get frustrated because he isn't able to accurately articulate a letter sound even though in his mind he knows it. Now, math, on the other hand...Lucas excels at. That's definitely his favorite subject.

Judah- He is my very strong willed child but he is also extremely sweet when he chooses to be. He will come up and pat me on the face and say "love you, mama" for no reason at all...just out of nowhere. He loves playing in the water and getting muddy. He likes to drive his Mama crazy and I won't lie, many days I wonder how I'm going to survive this stage...but then he looks at me with those big, beautiful eyes and grins at me, and I melt.<3 absolute="" and="" at="" begs="" but="" cars="" favorite="" go="" he="" his="" imaginext="" is="" likes="" me="" nbsp="" often="" p="" place="" play="" salem="" the="" there.="" thing="" to="" trash="" trucks.="" with="" y-town="" ymca="">