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You can follow me on my current blog here: HappyGoMommy! I will soon begin blogging from Blogger instead. Watch for changes coming soon!

Clean Sweep!

I am always, always, always trying to find something for Owen to do in the mornings while we get our schoolwork done. I've tried activity boxes, cartoons, activities with the older kids individually, etc . . . without much luck. Who knew that all it would take was a DustBuster??!
My sweet two-year-old has decided that he sees specks of dirt on the floor everywhere (he gets that from me - I love to vacuum and do it constantly). He will start with the little DustBuster at the front of the house and go all through the house using it!

It keeps him entertained for quite awhile . . . he keeps going until the battery completely dies! I love it - he is having a blast and we are able to accomplish some work (though it CAN get a little noisy!).

(Oh, and don't worry - he gets lots of other interaction on a daily basis, too! Reading, playing, walks, games, cuddling, etc! We let him do more than clean our house!)


In the picture to the left, you may not be able to tell, but he is concentrating so hard that he is sticking out his tongue - a common occurrence!

And who knows what he is doing with this face in the last photo??!?! Silly!!

School Plans

If you were wondering, YES, we plan to homeschool again next year. We're just not sure what we are doing with Owen yet. :) A big thanks to those of you who continue to support our decision to homeschool. It is very discouraging when people disapprove or make offensive comments. Homeschooling is a personal choice, and it works well for us and is very rewarding.

This is the time of year we begin planning for next year, so I thought I'd share our curriculum choices for '09-'10. I know this is a subject that interests many homeschoolers, but if you don't homeschool or aren't interested in this post, please feel free to skip it! :) If you do homeschool, I would love to hear your plans for next year!

Bible: Sonlight
Geography: Sonlight
History: Sonlight
Reading: Sonlight
Readalouds: Sonlight
Science: Answers in Genesis (though we started it this the past week!)
Math: Math-U-See
Lang. Arts: Abeka
Music/Art: Co-Op, piano lessons, handbell choir, and possibly the Fort Wayne Children's Choir
For. Lang.: Not sure yet
Phys. Ed: Co-Op

We've made quite a few changes for next year, with the biggest being switching from My Father's World to Sonlight. We are changing for a variety of reasons, but primarily because my kids love reading and we aren't reading enough good books together! We are looking forward to using Sonlight (though it is very expensive!), and I am also planning an entire curriculum for Quinn, whereas before he has usually just tagged along with Riley (other than math and reading). He'll get his own, complete, curriculum next year! (Lucky guy!!)

I am thrilled, also, to have found Answers in Genesis' science curriculum. It teaches science from a creation-based perspective and is a very Biblically-sound, evidence-based, strong science curriculum. We went ahead and started it this past week as I feel our science for this year was too light. The kids have enjoyed the switch so far!

We are sticking with Math-U-See for the fourth year in a row. It is working great for our family, and Riley usually wants to start with math first every day! She is now in the Delta
book, and Quinn will begin with the Alpha book this coming fall. We are big fans of MUS and love their teaching methods!

We are also planning to be involved in a local co-op for the fourth year in a row! This year, the kids will be focusing on critical thinking, drama, health/anatomy, and music/art. Our co-op meets once a week for two hours and each parent takes a turn teaching and planning lessons every month. I get to teach with one of my favorite friends, Joy, and we are teaching health & anatomy to kids in K-2nd grade. With her physical education/teaching degree and my health sciences/athletic training degree, we are both well versed in that area and looking forward to it!

Catching Up with a Quick Recap

I'm sure some of you are shocked to see a new post here!! (If you are still even checking my blog!) I realize I've been MIA for awhile now - I'm sorry!! Thanks to those of you who have emailed or called (or stopped me while I was driving - Sue!!) to let me know that you miss my blogging! I enjoy blogging and writing, but don't always get to it as often as I would like. But now I am back at it. The photo to the left is from EPCOT when we were there about a month ago. More on our trip soon....!

For now, here's a quick, brief recap of everything that's happened since I last blogged:

• We celebrated Quinn's 6th birthday!
• We had both cars repaired at least twice (three times for the van)...ugh!
• Still plugging away at my 12-week, online scrapbooking class.
• I spent a lot of time getting ready for and helping run our church's children's clothing resale. Lots of fun...a ton of work!!
• Loved on my husband. :) He's a cutie. He starts softball soon and has been doing a parenting study at church on how to raise boys.
• Went to South Bend for a night to celebrate a great friend's 40th birthday - love you, Chris!!!
• Helped my kids with their Geography Fair projects and learned a lot about Ukraine and Madagascar. Tried lots of new foods at the Geography Fair! The kids are trying to decide now on their countries for next year already! Any suggestions??
• Homeschooled my kids almost every day - we are now only 6 weeks away from the end of the school year! Riley has moved into division for math, Quinn has almost mastered learning time & money, and I am still undecided about sending O to preschool in the fall. Any thoughts on whether I should or not?
• Went to Disney World with my entire family for a week - there were 11 of us - it was FABULOUS!!! Lots more on this later, but suffice to say - we had an awesome time and I loved being able to see the parks (we went to all 4) through my kids' eyes.
• Enjoyed a few moms' nights outs with my girlfriends - always a good time!
• Celebrated Easter with my family, parents, and grandma.
• Took my kids to a "Jump with Jill" concert - lots of fun. Check out her website for video clips. If you ever have the opportunity to see her, go for it!
• Made lots of food in one afternoon - only to have my entire range break that same afternoon when I was halfway through! After a week of microwave meals and eating out, it's now hot - yay!
• Went to the Midwest Homeschool Convention with some girlfriends. Learned a lot, was convinced, once again, that we are doing the right thing by homeschooling our kids. Had FUN with my friends - eating out, texting each other, chatting, shopping at IKEA, and watching people ride a mechanical bull. :) (Hey Karen & Beth - it brought back great memories of Gilley's in Dallas many years ago!!)
• Shopped for bunk beds for our boys - we need to get their room redone and GET RID of our crib!!!
• Found a FREE piano for Riley! What an awesome blessing from God. We had been looking for a few months, and we were able to find a man donating a FREE piano to a good home. It is in great condition and Riley has been playing and practicing even more. I love to hear the sound of her playing fill our home.
• Went to the Dave Ramsey live simulcast with Brad at a local church. I always enjoy hearing him speak.
• Scheduled some summer activities for our family - VBS, golf, soccer, zoo camp, and possibly a vacation.
• Had the outside of our home sprayed for ants so hopefully we don't get any this year (you do know I have a phobia of ants, right?!?).

So there you have it!! Lots more coming soon - as well as photos!!

Turning 6 . . .

Today is Quinn's 6th birthday! Happy birthday, my little man!! Can't believe he was my preemie. Now he is such a great kid - a huge reader, full of funny one-liners, and he prays amazing prayers for his age! He loves to build forts and build anything & everything he can! He is absolutely handsome, too. We'll have to fight the girls off when he gets older. :) We have lots of nicknames for him, too - "Qty (cutie)" and "sQueaks" being two of the more common ones!

We are so proud of Quinn for becoming such a great little guy. Although he challenges me on a daily basis, I am learning lots of patience and compassion. I'm being challenged and growing a lot as a parent with him. He brings a lot of joy into our house and we are so thankful to have him in our life. Happy birthday, Quinn!

My Morning

I was woken up this morning at 6:30 (ugh) by a crying toddler. I walked into his room to check on him, saw his little hands reaching up for me, and heard "Me sleep you bed." How could I resist? Somehow our little Owen still manages to be cute at 6:30am! :) Of course I pulled him into bed with me! I tried desperately for another half-hour of sleep (contrary to my family's opinion, I don't sleep in!), but unfortunately he just wanted to play. I thought he said he wanted to SLEEP in my bed!

Memories

I am really enjoying my scrapbooking class. I'm been sorting through and organizing thousands (literally) of photos and look at this sweet jewel I stumbled upon today. Ah, yes....this is my sweet baby Owen at just 10 days old. Beautiful! And I'm leaving it big on my blog because I absolutely love it!

Happy Hearts Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to all my favorites - you know who you are! :) Brad, Riley, Quinn, & Owen, here are just a few reasons why I love you so much:

Brad
1. I love that you are silly and crazy around me.
2. I love that we can do nothing together and still be completely happy.
3. I love that you do all of the dishes for me. :)

Riley
1. I love the AWESOME back massages you give me (you rock!!).
2. I love that you are a hard worker and that you don't give up easily.
3. I love that you are so helpful to those in need.

Quinn
1. I love all the funny things you say - you crack me up!!
2. I love your laugh - it is completely contagious!
3. I love that you can be really serious at times.

Owen
1. I love your phrases right now ("Me do," "Love I you," and "phone ringing!").
2. I love that you still snuggle with me. :)
3. I love that you will always be my baby.

I hope you have a great day with all of your loves!!

Back to Class!

I've gone back to school! Well, sort of. I signed up for an online class (Library of Memories) in December about photo organization/scrapbooking and it started yesterday. I am already loving it! Yay!!

I'm enjoying doing something for myself and getting back into the groove of scrapbooking. I have years' worth of photos to get organized, but feel it will be well worth it in the end. I've already listened to my video lesson, watched my slide show presentation, and started on my homework - and it's only the first week! Why hasn't school always been this fun?!? :) I am finding time to work on it late at night when everyone else has gone to bed (my time to get things done!). I am enjoying my scrapbook room lots and am sure I will be in here even more now! It's a 16-week class, so I will have lots of time to get my scrappin' groove on!

The class is offered by Big Picture Scrapbooking and this is the first time I have taken a class with them. I have to say I am quite impressed! I received a welcome packet in the mail about a month ago, and the online class is set up extremely well (with a photo gallery, message board, lesson area, etc.). They also offer lots of other classes, so check it out if you are interested.

Now I just need to save up my money for a few more supplies I need (storage binders for my photos, category drawers for my photos, and library albums for photos)!

I Don't See It . . .

I love my cutie-pie boys! They are adorable and ornery and fun! Lots of laughter fills my house all the time as they run around chasing each other like crazy! Then they fall down and collapse giggling! And Owen says "Me fall!"

I am often told how much they look alike, but I don't really see it myself. (I think I'm in the minority!) When I look at Owen, I see Riley when she was Owen's age. They have the same coloring and I think they look a lot more alike than Quinn & Owen. The boys do have similar personalities, though!