So...September 4th is not only our (as in Tim/Jennifer "we"...not the dog and me "we") anniversary... it is also Bailey's birthday. :) She turned 1. Funny... I somehow have a photo of me with Bailey...but not me with TIM! Somehow this does not make sense... but (and you can't see it because I have a jacket on) but I am sporting my T-shirt that says "MY HUSBAND ROCKS"... so maybe I can get points for that??
The next day we took the whole clan (plus Laura and Paige) to the Lexington Opera House for a ballet performance featuring the Lexington Ballet Company. Miss Ayako from Town and Village was performing... and she is Rachel's ballet teacher. It was really cool - they also had the Lexington Bach Vocal Choir singing. FABULOUS performance!!
Mamoo came out one day and McCaleb talked her into a ride on the new 4-wheeler. It was great... but my battery died!! :( I am not getting very good marks for camera preparedness lately.
Then it was time for SWEET SWEET Sara to turn 11. I'm not sure where the time has gone. We found out about Sara a few weeks after being home with McCaleb in 2006... so we have "known" about Sara for over 5 1/2 years. I still look at her and think of her as a 6 year old little girl... that seemed so sweet - and yet so scared.
(Banana pudding for her birthday - no cake for this lady! LOVED IT!! A girl after my own heart, that's for sure!!)
Lately - Sara has been having issues with feeling like she is not doing well. She can't do anything... and that she is waaaayyyyyy behind. In a lot of ways, she is. (read: THANK GOODNESS) However... in many other ways... she is far from behind.
She absolutely hates school right now... and sadly since we home school... that's kind of hard for me. However... some of it is because when she came home we started at the "very beginning" and she is behind other kids in her age group. So she is currently finishing 3rd grade.
So I knew she was down in the dumps and all... so I began typing her a list of all the things that she has done since she has been home. "Accomplishments" - if you will.....
I typed her a list of over 3 pages of things... and she was thrilled to death with it. I think it gave her a visual for all the many things that she has accomplished since coming home - and hopefully she can begin to build more confidence and self-esteem. Pray for her... she still struggles. But I must say...she is doing amazing. (even with me as a teacher...) Her English is really SUPER, and she is really EXCELLENT at math. She is almost done with 3rd grade and will begin 4th... completing K, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades in her 2 years home. REMARKABLE!!
For her birthday, she wanted to go flying. So that's what we did. And since Laura had never been up in a plane (EVER) she asked Laura to go with her. :)
The kids and I stayed behind and played, ate Pizza... and the kids rode bikes while Sara went flying. I think she liked it... but it was a bit choppy in the air... and the Cessna has not PUKE BAGS on board... so they came back after an hour or so.
Training wheels were taken off the very next day...it was a little bit shaky for a few hours...especially since Rachel just came out of the cast and all. However, they have all begun to figure it out.
A week later it was Yuli's birthday - so Rachel, McCaleb and I drove to Nicholasville for her birthday party. They had a magician... and the kids really loved that!
And finally... as I already mentioned...we home school the kids. It is a FULL TIME job... and I think that most days it is way harder than it would be to send the kids off to school for 6 or 8 hours a day. But wow... it is so rewarding. I honestly can't imagine not being able to spend as much time with the kids as I do now. I love being able to set our schedule... and make sure that they actually "get" things. There are so many other lessons they are learning that they can never get from public school. Being educated at home offers us the freedom to spend more time together as a family...as the kids are often with their father more during the day than they are at night. I just can't imagine only getting to spend 2 - 3 hours a day with them.
Like I said, though... it's not for everyone! It's hard... it's a lot of work, planning, paperwork, and trying to figure out HOW to reach them at some points. I spend most evenings doing THAT instead of doing all the stuff I used to do. :) This particular day, McCaleb and I were learning about Science - and were outside to collect biotic and abiotic items and place them into two bags. He was determined to catch this frog!! (More about the homeschooling later...)
It jumped at him once - and I laughed so hard... he squealed like a girl and ran. He asked me to please not post that photo on here. But it WAS really funny. :)
It jumped at him once - and I laughed so hard... he squealed like a girl and ran. He asked me to please not post that photo on here. But it WAS really funny. :)
I personally love his T-shirt - "Caution: Unsocialized Homeschooler". If you know my son, you know that's hardly true.
I am crazy about these kids... and so blessed to be their mom!
