Today

Well I just thought that I'd hope on her and make a quick note about how "fun" it has been to watch how each person in our family handles the stress from moving.

Ryan- Gets short, the joking slows and things that usually would have him smiling don't

Becky- Gets crazy, Happy one minute and yelling about never being prepared the next.

Summer- Gets mean, she says things to try and hurt Ryan and I. good thing we recognized it as her trying to take control of the situation that is out of her control otherwise we might be down one child after she called me fat. ( note to future husband she aims to injury severally when she is hurting.)

Millie- Gets unsatisfied, with everything food cloths life in general. I don't think she has eaten in2 days even a precious lunchable tasted yucky.

Emmett- Right now he is just loud, it is possible he has gotten louder!

Now to go get ready for the movers and hug my family!!!!!!

Movers

The movers come tomorrow and our days have been JAMMED packed.
Leaving a community that we have been so connected in is difficult!

Friday
- Jenn and Andrea took all the kids to see Sesame Street at the USO and to lunch.
   Emmett and I stayed home and cleaned the garage. (he is a yeller so no shows for us for awhile)
-Then Friday night was Millie's soccer party.

Saturday
- Last Soccer games
-Then when I was supposed to be going home and cleaning for an hour but I talked to a new friend whose husband is deployed and she has a 3 week old and 2 kids Millie and Summers age.
-Then Summers pizza party
- a run to the thrift store
- then a last get together for the kids at the carnival with some soccer friends.

Sunday
- Church
_work in the nursery
- go with Courtney to lunch
-Decided that wasn't enough time invite them to the house to play in the back yard.
-kids nap
- never mind no nap Andrea rushed Lincoln over because he was having an allergy attack. (we are kind of the go to people now that Emmett keeps having them)
- Our Church going away put on by the youth (They even invited our adult friends from church which is very thoughtful of the youth)

Monday
- cleaning Ryan is cleaning I am in denial and am drinking coffee reading blogs.. I think he is giving me the stink eye from outside.
- Ryan's going away luncheon for work.
- tonight making time to watch and support my dear friend release a lantern for her daughter Emory who went to see Jesus just minutes after being born.

Tuesday
-movers


I suppose i should do something

last days and nothing with depth....

 

9 days and counting till we leave Florida.

Before Pictures

Our plans to spend the last of our free time relaxing on the beach has been cancelled.

Saturday after the girls soccer games we packed up to go on what was to be our first and last ride on a boat in Florida. The day started out beautiful, the kids were behaving and literally
I was thinking how those were the memories I want to keep of Florida.

Before Pictures

The boat ride ended 30 minutes later in a pool of blood as we rushed to the ER.

Summer was running along an undeveloped island in the waves and sliced her foot open very deep.

After practicing my rusty buddy care knowledge from basic we bandaged her up with pieces of Ryan's shirt. Swam back to the boat and started to rush towards shore.

Then we hit the wake of another boat and Millie slammed her face into the side of the boat. She ended up with a huge knot on her head and both nostrils bleeding.

 5 hours in the ER later, we realize Emmett had slept through lunch then all chaos happened and he had not eaten since breakfast, Ryan was shirtless because we ripped it up for Summer. I was in a bathing suit and our kids were bruised and battered.

 Summers only cried when the Doctor explained her soccer season was over. Millie only cried when she realized Summer was getting stitches. Those are 2 tough girls!!!

After Pictures

I also have been struggling to find any depth in myself.

Some meaningful words to say to friends.
Tears for the friends I will miss.
Laughter over our time here.


I have nothing.
I am not happy
I am not sad
I can't laugh
I can't cry.

I know it will come and probably once we are gone...

But every time we move I can not help but wonder..... am I a robot?
Where do my feelings go during a move?
Why do i watch tears of friends with none in return?

Our important things to know.

(beyond the basics)

 

Hopefully I get to a post about the basics but this is a list Ryan and I discussed at length during a nap time lunch date we like to try and schedule. Usually we pick something important and talk and plan it to death before the kids get up. This topic was fun because they were things that we had not been introduced to before college or are being taken out of public school educations as we speak. The might be considered the fluff to the rest of the world.

 

cursive : this is one that is being removed from public schools. I want my children to be able to read our historic documents themselves with out a translator for their own language. (besides I am a girl and its just soooo pretty)

 

The presidents: This is on here for 2 reasons. I took many history classes and never learned them until wasting many weeks in college when I should have been focusing on their history not just their names. Ryan has actually never had to take a history class. Not in highschool or college. He fell through the cracks (he also started college before graduating highschool and it took the school 2 years to figure it out)

 

Basic state history for each state: This includes capitals, major landmarks , general climate and a few key items from history. I want them to be able to place major events in history in their correct location not just on a timeline.

 

Extensive vocabulary / Latin: We both agree that this helpful for many parts of their education including comprehension/ testing/ linguistics/ grammar/ scrabble.

 

Piano: We both wish we knew how to play so family lessons are in our future.

 

Foreign languages: at least 2. We are linguists its important to us. It is up to this point our life's works. I am thinking French and Persian (Farsi) to start because believe it or not they actually are related because of the french presence in Iran. Maybe I'll teach Ryan too so we at least have one language in common.

 

Art history: I do not want my children to walk into museums and not recognize anything there.

 

World geography : Including landmarks, languages, religion and its history and culture.

 

civics and anthropology: two classes we did not take in highschool we wish we had.

 

English history and literature: this includes royalty, government structure, and an extensive knowledge of Shakespeare. To me it is just like learning the earliest parts of American history it is who and why we fought for our freedom.

 

Periodic table: lets just take a minute to be honest and not judge me, I still do not know it or get it and I may have cheated on the test. My kids will not have that problem.

 

Like I said before there are things not mentioned here but for the most part they are in what would be considered a normal scope and sequence of most programs we would choose.

 

Do you think I missed something? Let me know!!!

Have a different list? Let me know!!

I am open for new ideas!!

 

Long term October:

To homeschool or not?

 

The reason we homeschool is because we were not satisfied with the way our children's educations were going.

Going to school 2010!

 

Having moved many times and many more moves pending I could not sit through another parent teacher conference in where the point out the inconsistencies of Summers education. She had by second grade moved in the middle of every school year.

 

We had great schools and great teachers we have even had bad schools and bad teachers. The only constant in the children lives was me.

 

But I had thought about it once before when Summer was in kindergarten.

 

After sitting in a circle of women where I was ridiculed, belittled and degraded (actually I maybe describing this nicely) for even thinking about homeschooling I decided against it.

 

I ran alone (Ryan was gone for 2 months) inside crying where a newly opened box of curriculum was waiting for me, taped it up threw it in the back of a closet and was done.

 

School 2011

 

Fast forward several years, not to toot my own horn but I had matured greatly in those 3 years. Sitting in church one day the pastor was preaching on being scared about what we are called to do. Weather your Christian or not I am sure you can relate to fear controlling your life if you let it.

 

Then the pastor said " Some of you are afraid to....."

 

and he began listing things. I had tears streaming down my face because I do have a personality that can be RULED by fear.

 

Then he said it.............. "homeschool"

 

I have been homeschooling since. At first I did not tell anybody afraid of failing, afraid of being ridiculed but then slowly I began telling my closest friends and family and so on.

 

So for our family the question about homeschooling was from the beginning a big YES it just took me awhile to actually say YES!

 

School 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long term October:

Reviewing our educational goals.

Can you tell I have had school on my mind lately!

I really can not tell you the reason except for it is a pretty consuming task and I enjoy being consumed. .

Well I read an article last week about long term Homeschool goals. I just have not been able to let it go. So I've been making list trying to decide exactly what our long term goals are.

I read that by setting these goals you actually are cutting planning time in half. When you go to search for a curriculum change, math text or literature program you can easily wade through most of them if they don't align with your education philosophies and long terms goals.

Read: MAKE MY LIFE EASIER. (I'm in)

Now a disclaimer. I plan for these to be fluid as the years go by they are more meant to be a gentle guide rather than an absolute.

This whole month I plan on reading and writing on our long term goals regarding our children's education.

Why you ask because it is important to me, because as of right now I don't even know our long term goals and I value others thoughts regarding the topic.

What this is not meant to be
       is a validation of any kind.
       an absolute, long term goals are a personal choice these just happen to be ours(for now).

Here are the topics I plan to write about throughout the month.

To homeschool or not?

Short term or long haul?

Our educational philosophies?

Education timeline.

Our important things to know.

Our important places to go.

Our important things to do.

Our important books to read.