Category Archives: Kids

December 17, 2012 · 10:38 pm

Stressful Park Day, With a Surprising Conclusion…

So…My children and I have attended regular park days on Mondays since a couple of weeks after moving to New Mexico, with an unschooling group. It was made very clear in the description of the group that “pushing a religious agenda” was not allowed, so we have carefully not done so, rather choosing to simply do our best to live our faith and testimony, and talk about it only if a door is opened. At the same time, I’ve tried very hard to respect different views, whether they be political or religious, by not mocking them. I believe strongly that healthy debate is a good thing, especially here in the USA, but it truly bothers me when those who are adamant about non violent behavior seem to believe there is an exemption for those who choose to be verbally violent (at least in my opinion) in the way they mock someone else’s faith. To quote, for example “I can’t believe that 82% of people in this country are so stupid as to still believe in the rapture”. I believe in it, and at that point, I chose to say so. I was also told (by someone who was being very angrily sarcastic) that it was not Christian to disagree with mandated government-funded health care. It did, in fact, get to the point where I raised my voice right back, although I did subsequently apologize for that. I do NOT believe it’s un-Christian to disagree with forced government-run health care, or even government mandating that everyone MUST purchase health insurance, or be made to pay a fine for not doing so. I think if someone can afford to buy it, but chooses not to do so, then they should not be able to ask the taxpayers to cover their costs if they need medical care. I do wish everyone had access to whatever healthcare they needed, but I believe that the government is inefficient, at best when it comes to running any sort of aid. All that said, again, I believe healthy debate is a good thing. I grew up on it. My parents encouraged it, and we had very lively discussions around the dinner table and elsewhere. I also believe, however, that when one must resort to treating someone like an idiot because of their deeply held faith, they’ve lost the argument,whether they want to accept that or not. I believe that twisting what the Bible says in order to say another person is not acting in a Christian way is not a strong argument, either. I got to the point where I basically threw up my hands and said “whatever…”, and was about to pack up my kids and leave, and probably not come back. I have NEVER done to anyone in this group what was done to me today, no matter how strongly I disagreed with them. I’ve never rolled my eyes when someone refers to the “goddess” as in “if the goddess had wanted me to do (whatever it was) she would have given me (something, I don’t recall what that was)”. I’ve debated, as kindly as I could, the issue of abortion, Obama care, etc, as calmly and carefully as I could. In return, I’ve been yelled at for asking about whether it was the law here to only use call phones hands free while driving, yelled at when I said I hadn’t gotten used to not having to save pop bottles to return for deposit (yelled at that I should be saving them for recycling), and now verbally mocked for my Christian faith, and yelled at because of my deeply held views, both faith wise and political views. This came close to being our final park day, which made me sad, because I’ve come a lot of times because my kids love going, and have friends there. It is one of the few places they have since we’ve been here where they can have an extended, weekly time of fun and play with kids who accept them in spite of all their differences (they are special needs children, with issues ranging from fetal alcohol syndrome, bipolar, ODD, OCD, etc). What changed my mind, you ask? Well, after things calmed a bit and someone got the subject changed, another mom who has only been coming for a few weeks came to me and very quietly told me she agreed with me, and asked me for information about my church. The Bible says we are to be the salt and the light in the world.

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is henceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world, a city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Matthew 5:15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on on a candlestick, and giveth light unto all that are in the house. Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.
And for those who wondered why, if we’re under grace New Testament) the Old testament is relevent to our lives today:

Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law,, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

I believe this means we are to influence others by our testimony, and living our faith. I do try very hard to show my faith and testimony in the way I live, the way I treat others, and in the ways I react to what others do to me. As a result, unbelievers have told me that they can see my faith, they can see that I do my best to treat others with a grace that appears to be what someone claiming to be a Christian should be doing. I hope that one day, when I stand before Him, the Lord will say to me “well done, thou good and faithful servant”. And I pray that the lady who came to me today will come visit this Sunday evening for our Christmas candle light service. I invited her, after she asked me several questions about our church, and about where it is. And I came to the conclusion that her doing so, even after the derisive, mocking way I was treated for daring to disagree, means God has me there for a reason, at least for this season in my life.

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Filed under Christian faith, education, family, health, home education, Kids, Politics, unschooling

December 13, 2012 · 10:26 pm

Schoolhouseteachers.com…Point, click, teach!

As a brand new member of The Schoolhouse Review Crew, I’ve been very excited this past two weeks to have been using materials from the Schoolhouse Teachers website, which is owned and operated by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine</

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This site is absolutely wonderful! There is just so very much there that you can use, at whatever level your children happen to be, from Pre-K/Elementary right on through High School. All four of my children have special needs, and we’ve found plenty to keep us busy for a LONG time.

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Dring our review period, we chose a two week literature lapbook based around the short story ” Christmas In The Barn”, by F. Arnstein. This lapbook unit was created by Kimm Bellotto, along with several other lapbooks just waiting to be dug into on Schoolhouse Teachers during the next year.

Christmas in the Barn is a charming little story about a boy named Johnny, who discovers that his parents, unbeknownst to each other, have each ordered a Christmas tree to be delivered. Johnny comes up with a clever idea of how to use the extra tree. My children enjoyed the story, and it was fun having part one available, but then having to wait until the next week for part two, although they didn’t think the wait was so fun at first, LOL! Each week there were five different activities for them to do. In part one, the activities covered the following concepts:

1. art (completing an illustration for the part of the story that talks about how Johnny wondered why there were two trees)
2. language (a small concept booklet in which they were to think of two different similes that described Johnny’s cat)
3. creative thinking ( making a divided book in which they listed three different ideas of things they might do if their parents bought an extra Christmas tree and gave it to them)
4. listing and predicting (a two door book, under one flap they listed all the items Johnny got from the cook, and under the other flap they wrote what they thought he might be going to do with the items)
5. Narration (they each made a small book in which they wrote a summary of part one.

Working on booklets for their lapbooks

Working on booklets for their lapbooks

This past Monday was the day part two came out on the website. I went ahead and printed everything out, however, I was at the hospital all of that day with my husband, who was having spinal surgery, so we didn’t actually work on part two until Tuesday. We read part two of the story before leaving to pick up my husband from the hospital, and worked on the activities after getting him home and settled. In part two, the remaining activities covered:

6. art (complete a picture of the Christmas tree by drawing Johnny decorating it for his animal friends)
7. thinking skills ( a four door booklet listing treats they might put on or under a tree for a duck, a monkey, a mouse and a seal)
8. creative writing (write an additional ending to the story telling what they think happened after the original story was finished)
9. narration (a three door booklet telling about three traditions our family has each Christmas)
10. creative thinking (a booklet about a new tradition they would add to our family celebration)

My boys very much enjoyed making their lapbooks, and are asking for more. I was very happy to be able to tell them there are several more on Schoolhouse Teachers just waiting for us to dig into after the holidays!

The finished product!

The finished product!

We also played with some of the daily games, which you’ll find under the dailies link, and one of the “this Day in History activities, which is at the same link.

my twins, playing the consonant vowel consonant word game

my twins, playing the consonant vowel consonant word game

I enjoyed the ease of downloading this month’s free E-Book, Homeschool Dialogs to my ipad for accessibility anytime and anywhere I would have time to read it. It’s a good read, filled with conversations with some of the most respected leaders in homeschooling. Here are just a few of the people interviewed in this book: John Taylor Gatto, Lisa Whelchel, “Little Bear” Wheeler, and many more.

Reading my free e-book!

Reading my free e-book!

The e-books can also be downloaded to a kindle or your computer.

There is a group of teachers on the site for a wealth of weekly and monthly lessons:

Geography: Terri Johnson of Knowledge Quest
History: Diana Waring of Diana Waring Presents
Home Economics: Malia Russell of Homemaking911.com
Technology: lesson plans on Google Earth from Andy Harris

and many more, including subjects such as filmmaking, High School Math, Economics, Chemistry, and Helps for Struggling Readers. All of this and more is available at Schoolhouse Teachers

In addition to all of this, there are also available each and every yearly planner put out by The Old Shoolhouse Magazine, Monthly bonus e-books, Supplemental back issues of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, video recordings of several Schoolhouse EXPO’s,a monthly menu list of recipes contributed by other homeschoolers just like us, and oh, so much more!

You can join Schoolhouse Teachers with a one month trial for just $1.00. After that, it’s just $5.95 per month for “ready to go, unlimited classes and lesson plans made convenient for your family’s homeschool day”, which I feel is very affordable, and well worth the price.

I know my children and I will be able to use so much of what is on Schoolhouse Teachers!

I received a free one year membership to Schoolhouse Teachers through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

To read what others thought of this product, please go to http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/schoolhouseteachersreview/

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Filed under education, home education, homeschool products, homeschooling, Kids, Schoolhouse Review Crew Post, SchoolhouseTeachers

November 15, 2012 · 6:59 pm

A New Journey… in Hope of Becoming a Member of The Schoolhouse Review Crew!

This week, I have been reading the November issue of The Home School Magazine, which you can read, for free, at http://www.TOSMagazine.com, or with the free App, found at http://www.TOSApps.com.

I have been a longtime subscriber to this magazine, even before it went totally digital, and at first, I was very disappointed at no longer getting to read it as a print magazine. Although I do still prefer to read magazines in print form, I have come to enjoy the digital edition of this magazine, since I’ve learned how to navigate my way through the issues! 🙂

With 156 pages packed with information, the November issue has a lot to offer, whatever your preferred style of home education. As a very eclectic homeschooling family (we use lapbooking, Charlotte Mason style, unit study and unschooling), I always find articles of worth to my family. In this particular issue, one that really spoke to me right off the bat was the Editorial “It’s Time To Wake Up!”, by Deborah Wueler, Senior Editor, on page 14. I have actually had a very stressful several months, and have been feeling pretty much exactly as the author describes in her editorial. She talks about going through a season when we may feel “the enemy has had the upper hand in the boxing ring and we are down for the count”, which is where I’ve been for a while now. However, the reminder is there, in Deborah’s editorial, that the Lord is still right there, and He defeats the enemy, that He saved me, and continues to be there, if I just will let Him. Just reading this editorial has of course, not solved all of my problems, but it has reminded me that I don’t have to go it alone.

Another article that I thought particularly good for my own family was “Crunching Through The Cracker Crumbs” by Mary West, page 126. This article reminds me why I have in the past, used a list every time I need to clean, but also shows me that I don’t have to do exactly as this author, either. I have four boys, age 11 – 19, and they can help me, too. I do think it will be beneficial to all of us though, to write-up a simple chore list similar to the one in this article, showing what each person does, and when. I think it will make a difference in a lot of ways, and I’m glad I read this article.

There is a Special Feature section on the Amish people in this month’s issue. This section would be wonderful for the family who uses unit studies, or even if you don’t, I recommend it as perhaps an interesting unit study to use as a break from your normal educational routine. With articles such as “Just Plain Interesting: Springboards for Research on the Amish” by Karen Robuck, which gives a lot of information as a standalone article, it also provides a list of books about the Amish, websites about the Amish, and a nice list of unit study activities and questions for all students, from young right on up to and including teens and adults. In the same section, you will find “The Amish: Simplicity and Satisfaction Personified”, by Shannon Swanson. She has written a very informative article that gives just a taste of what a to a Lancaster County working farm might find as part of their time there. She will tell you about the schools there, the food, and even has a recipe for Amish Funnel Cakes that you can make yourself! Follow that up with Liz Lane’s article, “A Day in the life of a Young Amish Mom”, a very interesting interview with Rachel, a mother of five children.I found this to be the most interesting interview! In a lot of ways, Rachel’s life is like that of any other mom, she shops at Costco, I shop at Sam’s Club. I was surprised by that! This article also has two recipes, “Rachel’s Breakfast Muffins”, and Rachel’s Country Brunch Casserole”. They sound yummy! Finish up your unit on the Amish by reading the wonderful short story written by Tricia Goyer called “On an Amish Farm”. This story tells us about a day with Ellie, a 13-year-old Amish girl from Kentucky who is visiting with her aunt and uncle in Berlin, Ohio. On this day, a school field trip of non-Amish children is coming to the farm, and Ellie doesn’t want to go spend the time with them, because three years previously she had been badly hurt by ugly comments made by “English” children about how different she was. During her day hiding away from the school children, Ellie meet Madison, one of the school children, who has also been hurt because of her differences…and well, you’ll have to read the story to discover what each girl learns! 🙂

There is a section about poetry, and why it’s an “extra” that should be put at the top of the list when deciding what to include in your home educational journey… and article by one of my favorite authors, Karen Andreola, called “Old Fashioned Courtesy”, and “365 Ways to Simplify Your Life”, an interview with Patrice Lewis who, with her family, changed their lives completely to live the simple life.

There are articles for the Charlotte Mason home-schooler, the struggling home-schooler, the unit study home-schooler, the classical home-schooler, and even for the veteran home-schooler. Interested in music? Andy Harris, The Tech Homeschooler, will tell you about several free tools for creating and enjoying music.

With Christmas fast approaching, you’ll want to read the section on educating with toys, which includes the articles “Toys That Teach-Playing to Learn” by Lindy Abbot, and “Play Your Way Through Learning”, by Jan May. Follow those up with the “Last Minute Gift Directory”, beginning on page 102, for quite a few great ideas!

There are so many good articles, so much good information in this magazine, it would be impossible to give you all of them in a blog post. I will say that one thing I appreciate about the digital format of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is that the advertisements are linked to the internet. No more marking up my magazine or keeping a pad and pen nearby to write down the websites for products I want to check out, I can just click on the ad and away I go, only to come right back to the page in the magazine I was reading before becoming interested in a product. And speaking of pages, there’s also no more of being in the midst of a great article and suddenly seeing (to finish this article, please go to page 86). All the articles are completely together, no flipping back and forth anymore.

I like Haptoon, by Mike Halpin. It’s a nice little cartoon with a good Biblical message. This month the cartoon is a reminder that while we choose our country’s leaders, God has chosen us, as believers, to be His ambassadors to a lost world. I like having this cartoon in the magazine, it’s a fun little reminder that we need.

The only drawback for me is that my family uses only the KJV Bible, if your family is like mine, you will want to have your Bible along side while you read, as not everyone uses the same version. That way, you can look up any scripture used in the Bible version used by your family.

Over all, I really enjoy The Old School House Magazine, and especially enjoyed this issue. If you are a home educator, I believe you will enjoy it as well.

To read about more home education products, please pop on over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog at http://SchoolhouseReviewCrew.com, where you will be able to browse through a plethora of reviews written by other homeschooling parents who have looked at, and used with their children, a wide variety of curricula, games, and just about anything that can be learned from! Enjoy…and do bring your coffee, tea or something else, because there’s so much on the SchoolhouseReviewCrew site, I think you’ll be there for a while!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

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November 8, 2012 · 10:29 pm

Homeschool park days, in November! :-)

Yet another very cool thing about having moved from MI to NM, Here in Albuquerque, we are still doing homeschool park days, in November, in summer clothes! Today was our weekly park day with the ABQ homeschoolers group,the kids were having a great time, and so was I! I was very included in the conversations with the other moms, and so caught up in the enjoyment, it was 4:00 before I even realized it! We usually leave park days by around 3:00 – 3:30, and do at least one errand on the way home, leaving time for me to get supper going so we can eat shortly after my husband gets home. Fortunately, today I made use of my slow cooker, because even without an on the way home errand, we got home about 15 minutes before my husband did. It was a fun afternoon! Now, if I can just find the time to get to the MVD and get my driver’s license changed to a NM license, then we’ll be able to get library cards, and it will help if any of the museums have lower prices for local residents.

One cool thong we’ve done since moving here is to go to the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Tons of fun, and educational, too! There was a Nasa tent, where we watched a good demonstration of why one would have to have a space suit in space. The demonstration was done using peeps, which was kind of fun. 🙂 There was a hot air balloon simulator that all four kids got to go in and “fly” the balloon, seeing on a big screen everything that was happening. We got to meet some of the balloon pilots, and watch all the balloons being inflated and set up for the balloon glow. After that, there was an awesome fireworks show, better than any we’d ever seen, anywhere. Next year, we plan to try to go to both a morning session, when they do the mass ascension of all the balloons, and an evening session, to see the glows and fireworks again. It was an awesome evening, and I highly recommend that if you ever get to Albuquerque during the fiesta, you should make it a point to go. My kids liked it so much, we purchased from amazon.com two books about the first hot air balloon flight and plan to do a lapbook about it.

They’ve also asked to do a unit study about Route 66, because it runs right through our city(Albuquerque), and because the original Cars movie was based on Route 66, so now that we’re getting settled in here, I will find the unit study I had saved on the computer, and they can do it. I’m saving some of thos stuff, though, so that if I can find someone to sit with the kids next month when my husband has surgery (I will need to be at the hospital all day with him), they’ll have something to do. I don’t know any unschoolers who might be willing to keep them that day, so if I find anyone, it will likely be regular homeschoolers, who will have their own kids doing school, so mine will need something schooly to do, too, even though we generally are relaxed/homeschoolers. Lst resort will be having to bring them to the hospital for the day with me, which would NOT be my first, or the best choice.

Another educational thing they want to do is learn about New Mexico, along with each state we drove through on our way here to NM, so we’ll do that before continuing on with our study of all 50 states. My two youngest, for about the past year off and on, on their own, have been making notebooks in which they draw and color each state flag, then label it with the name of the state, the number (1st, 2nd, etc…) of state, and the year it became a state. They are enjoying that, probably because it was their own idea. My stepson has for some time been writing stories for the Fossil Fighters DS game, and drawing pictures to go with them. He’s keeping them in a notebook. Our oldest is most interested in playing baseball on DS, sorting his sports cards, and reading.

I have been considering getting the Write an Adventure Novel in a year curriculum and doing it myself! I had made a goal to learn to knit this year, but then we found out my husband was being transferred to NM, so my time became cosumed with packing and getting us moved. Now it’s November, so if I’m going to meet my goal I will need to find the DVD set I purchased from a homeschool catalog and get going on it, hadn’t I? But first, I need to complete a baby gift I’ve been working on for a new grand niece.

We have my cousin and her teo boys from Ohio coming the first part of next week for a short visit on their trip out west, so the kids and I will be getting the house in order as best as we can (we aren’t completely unpacked as yet) tomorrow and Monday, and while I run errands tomorrow, they’ll be doing their Saturday chores under their dad’s supervision. I think I will call my cousin tomorrow and ask her if she will teach me how to make omelets while she’s here. That way I can buy what I need for them on Saturday while grocery shopping.

Next on my list is getting desks for the computer room, so I can have back the tables I need for cardmaking/stamping/scrapbooking workshops. I’m a consultant for Close to My Heart http://lorimoffit.ctmh.com and am really trying to get my business off the ground now that we are finally here. If any of my readers enjoy scrapbooking, stamping and/or card making, please consider me for your papercrafting needs, and go to my website. I have a current party going, so if you go to the site and scroll down, you’ll see a link for hurricane sandy aid gathering. Click on that to begin shopping. In November, everyone who gets the stamp of the month set can also choose another stamp set for 50% off, plus, with every stamp of the month set, Close to My Heart will donate $1.00 to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief. Get a great deal, and help others at the same time! You can also order when there is o current party, but I do try to have one up each month. If you are interested in having your own party, you can email me at lorimoffit@gmail.com and I’ll set you up with an EZ invite so that you can have your own online gathering, earning free and half price product for yourself. I will also be happy to mail you catalogs to show to your local friends, and your non-local friends can order from your personalized link on my website. Their online order will be sent directly to them, and you still get the credit! 🙂

Well, I think that’s all for today!

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Filed under card making, Close to My Heart, education, family, Kids, scrapbooking, stamping, Travel, unschooling

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October 25, 2012 · 2:20 pm

Today’s happenings…

Got a load of towels done, still need to fold them, though… Kids have all finished their Bible studies for today, now the twins are going around with their dad’s measuring tapes, measuring everything in sight, LOL! They just a little while ago spent time reading to each other, taking turns page by page. one twin chose one of his Biscuit the dog books and The other chose a Little Bear book. My twin who didn’t want to do the work involved in learning to read is really improving in his reading now! 🙂 my teens spent a little time on the wii, now A is playing baseball on his Nintendo 3DS, and I is watching Kung Foo Panda on DVD. I have spent most of the morning trying to find out how we go about transferring our guardianship of A to a judge here, because obviously, the original judge back home has no jurisdiction in NM. We’re hopeful it will be a simple matter to just transfer it. I have a pressure band on my left arm, it has been very, very painful lately to go without it. I had to take a pain pill and muscle relaxer this morning, so it’s as well that I’ve planned not to have to go anywhere today, because I’d prefer to not drive. 🙂 Still have a bunch of boxes in the front room to unpack, but I need to get more big plastic bins with lids for things that get stored between uses, as I don’t want to store them in the garage in cardboard moving boxes. Most of the school stuff is still in boxes too, because we really need some more bookshelves to put them in. 😦 And of course, still wishing for a piano, had to leave mine behind to save money on the moving truck, and I miss having lessons, and really miss my practice time! 😦

We very much like our new church, though it was hard leaving our church back home when we moved. But, it’s really not possible to be an active member of a church that is nearly 1700 miles from where you live! Our church here is a good fit for us, and we hope we’ll be a good fit for the church (http://www.mesabaptist.org)! I’ve joined e adult choir, our older boys are in the teen choir, and the two younger are in the Sunshine Kids Choir. I also attend the weekly Ladies Bible Study group. There are other families with adoptive children, including some with special needs children adopted from foster care, like us. We really are happy at Mesa!

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Filed under adoption, education, family, Kids, unschooling

Aside

Something new!

I’m sure that at sometime in this blog I’ve talked bout the fact that we homeschool. Well, now that we’ve gotten at least partially settled here in New Mexico, the kids are asking to do some school-ish things. They really want to do a Route 66 unit study, because we drove on part of Route 66 during our trip here, and because the original Cars movie was based on it. I think we can manage to do that soon. 🙂 

I’m hoping to get more followers here, because I’d like to apply to be on the Old Schoolhouse Review Crew for the coming year. To do that I need a bumch more followers of my blog. I will be blogging about what my kids and I are learning, along with other journeys in my life. Now that we’re here, and at least partially settled, I should have more time to write. 

So far since being here, we’ve been to the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, where we learned about flying hot air balloons, and also learned some interesting things in the Nasa tent about how the pressurized space suits protect astronauts. In the demonstration, they used marshmallow peeps to represent toe astronauts. We also learned that in space, the boiling point is at a much lower tempurature than it is on our stovetop! 

At home, we’re learning how different it is to cook here than it was in Port Huron, MI. We are nearly six thousand feet higher here,  so cooking is different because of the altitude. 

The weather here is amazing! Our friends ack home are running their furnaces, wearing jackets, and ladies are pulling out their tights to wear with dresses, whereas here, we are still in summer clothes, and I’m wearing sandals. 🙂 I’m liking the weather so much! 

It’s very beautiful here, in a different way than the beauty of Michigan. I think it’s going to be a wonderful place to homeschool, there are a bunch of different museums here, which I’m told are very kid friendly, and as soon as I have time to change my driver’s license to a NM one, the kids and I can get library cards, which will also help a lot. 

Well, as I said, this is a new journey, homeschooling in New Mexico. We’re looking forward to it! 🙂

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October 20, 2012 · 11:08 pm
September 3, 2012 · 9:29 pm

New Journeys!-

It’s been a long time since I posted anything, I can’t believe how time has gotten away from me! However, I plan to try and be so much better about frequent posting now. I’m in the midst of a brand new journey. My husband’s job was transferred, so we have moved across the country! I’ve lived just about my whole life in Michigan, but he was transferred to Albuquerque, NM, so that necessitated  a BIG journey!  

Mike’s last day of work in MI was June 28th, 2012, and the following morning he left for Albuquerque. His first day to work in Albuquerque was July 9th, so he wanted to get there and have time to find a house for us to rent before beginning work. He made it there by July 1st, which was considerably faster than he should have done it, given that he also needs spinal surgery. It would have been so much easier on him if he could’ve taken a longer time with more overnight stops. We reserved a room for one week at a Super 8 in Albuquerque, and he was able to move out of it before the end of the week, having found us a BEAUTIFUL home to rent!  

The children and I did not leave until July 30th. I am a consultant for Close To My Heart (http://lorimoffit.ctmh.com), and had pre-orderered my fall/winter catalogs, which were not shipped until July 12th, so we had to wait. That turned out not to be too bad of a thing, because I needed every minute I could get to get our life packed up and ready to move across the country! In fact, I finished up the packing the morning of July 30th, while waiting for the moving truck to arrive! 🙂

It was very hard, that last month, basically living as a single mom, while trying to pack, have a moving sale, plus add in how hard it was as each week went by, another goodbye either was happening, or getting closer. Before Mike even left, the kids and I went to my best friend Charlene’s for a few days, it would be our last time to celebrate our ks birthdays together. So in the 3 days we were there, we had on one day a party for my twins, whose birthdays are May 1st, and the next day a party for 2 of her kids, whose birthdays are in June. I was just fine, until it was time to leave for home. When we said goodbye and hugged, it felt like it would be the last time (and it will be, for a long time), I began to cry. I forced it back, but when we pulled out of the driveway and got to the end of the street, I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I sobbed for at least the first half hour of our trip home. Charlene and I have always been such an important support system for each other, and now it’s pretty much impossible for either of us to take care of the other one’s kids if needed. She kept my kids when I had my bariatric surgery, for example. I have hope that they will be able to come and visit us sometime within the next year, I miss em all, so much, and so do the boys.

When we left on July 30th, we stretched our budget as hard as we could to enable the boys and me to go up north (in MI) to spend two days. I wanted that, so we could spend time with my mother’s  only surviving siblings and their spouses. They are all in their 80’s, so I’m fairly certain this was my last time to ever see them alive. 😦 I’m so thankful that my husband felt strongly enough about my doing this that he also made sacrifices in order that we could go. We really enjoyed our time there, we spent time with my aunts and uncles, and my Uncle Jim took the boys out in his truck for 2 or 3 hours and showed them all kinds of things, and took them rock hunting. The kids got to watch Uncle Jim use his machine to polish a piece of rhodonite that is shaped like a heart, and make a necklace out of it for me. My Uncle Leon made me a beautiful bird house which will sit on a post made from part of a slender tree trunk. We also went to Torch Lake, where I spent just about every weekend with my family during my younger years, so that my kids could have one last time swimming there.

Wednesday, we left to begin our trip to Albuquerque. We stopped in Holland MI to see my Aunt Carol and went to the Lake MI beach and supper with her. That was so fun! After that, we spent the night in Portage, IN, which is just outside of Gary, IN.

Then it was on through IL., on our way to St. Louis, MO, where we spent the night at the Hampton Inn, which was a lovely gift from my cousin Anne. She met us there the next day and took us to the arch, where we went through the museum, and then went to the top of the arch, as well. We had an early dinner together at a very good BBQ restaurant, and then after our goodbyes, the boys and I headed for Republic, MO, where we spent one night and then spent a couple hours the next morning with my cousin Ed and his lovely wife Demara.

After Republic, we headed for Owasso, OK, which is right outside of Tulsa, and spent the night with an old friend and his wife, Chip & Sheila. Had a wonderful time with them, the boys LOVED their pool, LOL! Wen we left there the next morning, it was to head through Oklahoma City, where we met up for a late lunch with a friend from a Christian Unschoolers yahoo group. That was fun, we’d never met “in person”, only online. We met at a cool place called City Bites, good subs for the kids, and a good salad for me. It was wonderful meeting Deanna, she is as nice in person as she seemed to be online. :-).

From there, we headed to Amarillo, TX for our very last night on the road, where we found a lovely surprise. Our room at the Super 8 was a SUITE, for less than the cost of the little room we had in the Super 8 in Portage, IN! The lady at the desk said it was the only Super 8 like this in the whole country, and the only reason we were there was because the one my husband had stayed in in Amarillo was full up, LOL! It was very nice, and for once we didn’t need to use the inflatable sleeping bags for the twins! 🙂

Our last day on the road, we decided to take our time, as we needed to wait to arrive until after Mike got out of work, because I did not yet have keys to the house. I forgot that we’d be crossing into an earlier time zone again when we crossed into NM, so when I realized we were now an hour earlier, I decided to kill time by finding somewhere for a late lunch. We got off of the expressway and found a nice little diner on historic Route 66, In Santa Rosa, NM. The food was very good, and plentiful, too. Even on the little kids menu the portions were good size, and there was a taco meal on the kiddie menu as well, which was something new for our kids. They loved the place, especially the decor, very much what would make you think of Route 66. Everything was freshly made, even the salsa for the chips they brought us was homemade, and excellent!

After that, we headed to Albuquerque, and my introduction was driving on I40 through the city during rush hour. Not very fun at all! We arrived at our new home about 10 minutes before Mike got there from work.

We love the home we’re renting. We will rent for at least the next couple of years before even thinking about purchasing a house again, so it was important to find a house that was right for us. We homeschool, so five of us are here even during the day, so we need space to be in. It’s all on one floor, which is nice, and there is plenty of space for people to spread out and be alone when they need or want to. It has a very open floor plan, which is also quite nice, makes it seem so spacious! We have a good size main bathroom, and also a master suite, with our own full bath and large walk in closet!

We got involved right away with a local unschoolers group, and have attended every park day since the second week we were here. The boys really like the other kids in the group, and I like the other moms.

I am still working on finishing the unpacking, and we need to buy a freezer, some bookshelves, some storage shelves for the garage, and furniture for the front living/dining room, but things are coming along! Now, if I can just get used to the much higher altitude here, that will go a long way toward helping me have the energy to get it all done!

My PLAN is to try to write something here a minimum of once a week, maybe more often if I have anything of any interest to write about. I’m hoping that getting used to this new life, and homeschooling, etc, will be plenty interesting, and that I’ll actually remember to get on here and write about our life!

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Filed under Birthdays, family, Kids, Travel

June 13, 2010 · 1:55 pm

Busy weekend…

This has been one of the busiest weekends I’ve had in a long time! Yesterday, I was up and out much earlier than usual to grocery shop, because I go to several different stores in order to get the best savings, and we had two graduation open houses to attend as well. I did not get all the shopping done, but had to get home and ready to head out to the open houses, all the while hoping the rain that had been forecast would hold off. It did, so both graduates had a good day for their parties. I was good, I resisted the lure of drinking pop, and had only about a half of a brownie for dessert.  On the way home, we stopped off at the last grocery store I had on my list, Kroger, and I went in while my husband and children went to gas up my car for me, since I won’t have time tomorrow. While in Kroger, I had to get three money orders, totalling $75.00, which I realized a few hours later had not been handed to me, I had only gotten my change. Went racing back up to Kroger, and thankfully they were waiting for me in the cashier’s drawer. God is so good even when I do something stupid! After all that, and running all children through baths and showers, I had them all bringing down clothes to pack for an overnight trip to a friend’s tomorrow. We’re going for the birthday parties of two of her children. So today, in between church services, I’m trying to get the rest of the stuff ready, get the last of the bills paid, and update this blog. Tomorrow morning I have a Dr. appointment at 9:00, and my husband has one right after, so he will meet me there with the kids so that we can leave right from my appointment for our little trip, while he goes home to a quiet house. 🙂 Right now, we’re working on finishing up the laundry, and our two oldest children are still at church working on the VBS play. Our VBS will be starting a week from Monday and go through that Friday, and this is the first year for my two oldest boys to be characters in the play, which is done in five parts, one for each day. The play is about the Apostle Paul and his journeys, and the two of them are very excited to be participating this year.

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May 9, 2010 · 9:34 pm

Mother’s Day

Today is Mother’s Day, my first one since we added the twins to our family.  This morning in church, the message was from 1 Samuel 1 & 2, about Hannah, who was very bitter because “the Lord had shut up her womb”  In her bitterness and grief she prayed that the Lord would give her a son, that if he would, she would give him back to the Lord all the days of his life.  And the Lord did.

I remember feeling that bitterness and grief, I remember when I didn’t even want to go to baby showers anymore because it hurt too much, and I remember spending Mother’s Day at family gatherings and being the only woman there who’s day it wasn’t.

And this morning, and this evening a church, I looked around me at all the families with all their children, and smiled, because my family just about fills a pew.  God had a different plan for my husband and me.  He trusted me with very special children who needed me to be their mother, and I’m thankful for that. I cannot imagine my life without our three adopted children, and my step-son who has now lived with us for more than half of his life.

A while back, I came across the following essay written by the mother of a special needs child.  I think it’s as appropriate to those of us who did not give birth to our special children as it is to those who do.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by Emily Perl Kingsley
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this…

When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip -to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”

” Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”

But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around… and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills… and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy…and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away… because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But… if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things …about Holland.

While searching for the text to the above essay, I came across the following to go with it:

Celebrating Holland- I’m Home
By Cathy Anthony

(my follow-up to the original \Welcome to Holland\ by Emily Perl Kingsley)

I have been in Holland for over a decade now. It has become home. I have had time to catch my breath, to settle and adjust, to accept something different than I’d planned.I reflect back on those years of past when I had first landed in Holland. I remember clearly my shock, my fear, my anger, the pain and uncertainty. Inthose first few years, I tried to get back to Italy as planned, but Holland was where I was to stay. Today, I can say how far I have come on this unexpected journey. I have learned so much more. But, this too has been a journey of time.

I worked hard. I bought new guidebooks. I learned a new language and I slowly found my way around this new land. I have met others whose plans had changed like mine, and who could share my experience. We supported one another and some have become very special friends.

Some of these fellow travelers had been in Holland longer than I and were seasoned guides, assisting me along the way. Many have encouraged me. Many have taught me to open my eyes to the wonder and gifts to behold in this new land. I have discovered a community of caring. Holland wasn’t so bad.

I think that Holland is used to wayward travelers like me and grew to become a land of hospitality, reaching out to welcome, to assist and to support newcomers like me in this new land. Over the years, I’ve wondered what life would have been like if I’d landed in Italy as planned. Would life have been easier? Would it have been as rewarding? Would I have learned some of the important lessons I hold today?

Sure, this journey has been more challenging and at times I would (and still do) stomp my feet and cry out in frustration and protest. And, yes, Holland is slower paced than Italy and less flashy than Italy, but this too has been an unexpected gift. I have learned to slow down in ways too and look closer at things, with a new appreciation for the remarkable beauty of Holland with its tulips, windmills and Rembrandts.

I have come to love Holland and call it Home.

I have become a world traveler and discovered that it doesn’t matter where you land. What’s more important is what you make of your journey and how you see and enjoy the very special, the very lovely, things that Holland, or any land, has to offer.

Yes, over a decade ago I landed in a place I hadn’t planned. Yet I am thankful, for this destination has been richer than I could have imagined!

Cathy Anthony is a parent, advocate and presently the executive director of the Family Support Institute in Vancouver, BC (www.vcn.bc.ca/bcacl/fsi.htm

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who have given birth, adopted, or are in some way mothering young people!

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Filed under adoption, family, Kids

May 8, 2010 · 1:04 am

Busy Day

Tomorrow (Saturday May 8), my twins are having their birthday party, the first one since they’ve been with us, because they hadn’t yet been placed with us for adoption at this time last year, so I did my grocery shopping today, which means the only shopping tomorrow will be to pick up their Disney Cars theme cake from Kroger (they make a very good cake, and all our boys have been able to find any theme they really wanted in the book at the Kroger bakery).  Their birthday was actually a week ago, but the friends with whom we always have our children’s parties could not be here last week, so we’re having it tomorrow instead. I just finished printing coloring pages of all the main characters from the Cars movie for all the kids to do tomorrow, plus business card size Lightning McQueen for them to use for the “pin the Lightning McQueen on the Mater” game.  The weather isn’t very dry, so instead of playing outside we’ll do the game, coloring pages, and we’ll play the Cars movie. My husband will be cooking burgers and hot dogs on the grill though, he usually puts the grill under the carport.  I think they’ll have fun, I got Cars theme decorations, tableware, & favor boxes with Cars theme things to put in them.

On another note, while shopping today I bought a pedometer and a small food scale, to go with the Complete Food Count book I bought the other day, so I’m ready now to get going on my food and exercise log that I have to keep for my bariatric program. My blood sugar levels have been much better lately, and I’ve found an online source (thanks, Leslie!) for protein powder that allows you to order samples of the different flavors, it’s http://www.unjury.com, so I’ll be doing that too, probably this weekend.  I’m going to check out the library for some exercise DVD’s that will make exercising fun, too, because I’ll be much more likely to actually do the exercise then.

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Filed under adoption, Birthdays, family, health, Kids, weight loss