Homeschool Formal

This year some amazing gifted mommas coordinated a formal dinner for the 6-12 grade crowd at our homeschool co-op.

The event took place at our church.  They mingled among candle light and cafe tables filled with hors 'd oeuvres and took turns with the photographer (EH!) capturing memories with each other.

Then they took their assigned seats at elegantly set tables (moms shared their fancy china and tableware) and music played as some helpful fifth-graders served them their meals course by course. The kids got to pick from turkey pesto roulade or herb crusted pork loin, a few veggie choices, and rolls (bless those moms in the kitchen!!). The desserts were so beautiful and impressive! They picked from bananas foster, cherries jubilee, and I know there were more but that's all my memory can recall.

The evening was complete after some board games.

Moms and kids alike raved about the evening. Hopefully an annual tradition has begun.

EH & Agent H on their way out the door to set-up the photo/audio gear.

A place setting. Oh how I love our wedding china!

Agent H

Agent H and one of this best buddies.

I bring you BOOM, or at least boom minus one. 

This self-labeled group has banded together for many hours of Minecraft fun.

And this is a great shot of some stylin' guys!

Seventh Grade with Agent H

Agent H's seventh grade curriculum was a bit of this and that.

We switched him from Teaching Textbooks math to Life of Fred math this year. We liked Teaching Textbooks but I had a hunch Agent H's learning style leaned towards LofF and after a year of it I think I was right. I had him get used to the LofF style by doing an Intermediate level that was a little young for him. Next he did the Fractions and Decimal & Percents books, then he started the Pre-Algebra books.  It was a lot of math.  He hasn't completed it all yet so we'll continue on through the summer months but I feel like it will keep him fresh for starting Algebra in the fall. He self-corrects and for every lesson that he gets less than one wrong on he gets to go to the SunRidge candy jar and dig out a few. I happily have had to refill it quite a few times.

I also used the free allinonehomeschool.com (more about it in this post) for his english, computer, reading material, science, Spanish. I was impressed with all of the assignments, really! They also do a nice job of breaking up the assignments with the occasional "thinking game".

Agent H has really enjoyed the history curriculum with Living Books Curriculum over the years so we decided to stick with them. History is his joy so he happily put his nose in the books and did mostly oral narrations for me.

He had such a busy year and handled it very well. Karate on Monday nights, Assistant Games Director for the Sparks at AWANA on Tuesdays, Middle School Ministry activities on Wednesday, our small group met on Thursdays, more karate on Saturday mornings, random social events. By the Lord's grace only is his introvert mama handling all this running around.

In the picture below I think he's giving me one of those "hammy" if-I-have-to-do-one-more-math-lesson-my-brain-will-burst looks.

He found a neat spot out in the woods behind us to build a little lean-to. He'll head out there with his knife and hatched and tinker around. His heart is leaning towards some type of military or police career. My mama's heart kinda quakes at the thought of the danger involved in those careers. Time to pray some more.

First & Fourth Grade with Agents L & E

We tried out a new curriculum this year. It's called Allinonehomeschool.com. It was created by a missionary mom and it's free.  Their website is set up so that you pick what year/level your student is on for basic subjects (math, language arts, computer, etc) and then you pick what level history/science combination you want to do. I had Agent E and L do their respective grades and then we joined together and did Level One history/science together.

It worked pretty slick. My goal for the year was for the kids to gain another level of independence. I used an application called Evernote to create them daily school to-do lists. The application allowed me cut and paste text from the allinone website directly into their online to-do list. They would simply click on the links in their to-do list and go read about their language art lesson and do an online game that reinforced the concept. I like the concept a lot but ran into enough of problems with Evernote that for next year we're switching to Google Docs.

Along with a lot more computer access came a lot more online security measures. It was a necessary hassle to go look at each new website that a lesson was at and approve them so the kids could have access. Again, it was a free curriculum.  It was worth the hassle.

Agent E still used Teaching Textbooks for math and Agent L used Life of Fred.

Preschool with Shortcake

For preschool we followed along with the free Getting Ready 1 schedule that Allinonehomeschool.com created. We added in some favorite activities from Heart of Dakota and joined her big brothers in some of their activities, but mainly she just did lots of playing and helping mom.

2015-16 School year photos

Oh how this year flew by! This is what everyone looked like when we started our school year:

BB Guns in the backyard

Oh Joy! Agent E has been waiting all day for Papa to get home so they could shoot BB guns together. One gun is just a few month old (Christmas). The other gun is . . . let's just say "experienced".

Bless their hearts, they came

This month marks the one year anniversary of my business venture.  With some fear of "will they come?" I set out my shingle: Massage by Sheryl.  Bless their hearts, they did.

You don't have to be pretty

Agent L shared some very insightful words with his little sister.

"Ya know . . . you don't have to be pretty to get married, you just have to find someone you like and who likes you."

Agent H, you're kinda awesome

All the years that I dreamed of being a mom . . . it was always the baby/toddler years I envisioned.  All the rocking, tickling little toes, and the sweet smell.

Now I find that we're in the middle school years with our oldest.  He doesn't want to rock anymore unless it's to Toby Mac. We've traded toe tickling for arm wrestling. In case you don't recall, 12 year old boys don't smell very sweet.

His voice is changing, his facial structure is changing, he's growing taller and stronger, his appetite is rarely satisfied.

He's also a lot of fun to be around.

I. love. this. kid.

Lord willing, I look forward to finding out how awesome he is for years to come.

Happy 5th Shortcake

The memory of Ed whispering "it's a girl" to me and my eyes not fulling believing that the little sweet babe that I held was actually a girl this time is still so real. How she turns five years old today, I don't know. Shortcake-adorable-sweetness, how we love you!

Tea for two

Once upon a time, I used to dream of having a sister. Growing up as an only girl with four brothers . . . well, I had some pretty great pity parties. I couldn't see to the day when the Lord would provide me with sister-in-laws. Okay, I guess they are first and foremost my brother's wives and my husband's sister but in my heart they are my sisters. I am thankful for these women in my life. 

Jenny was my first sister and holds a very special spot in my heart.

The Sleeping Bel-Ray

This summer I dropped Shorkcake's nap time.  Most days she just plays hard all.day.long.  Then there are the days I find her curled up in a chair or on her bed fast asleep.  She was dressed in her ballet outfit this day (or bel-ray as I called it back in my little girl dancing days).

What we will to do

Joy and Strength by Mary Wilder Tileston did an inspirational job of compiling soul-filling text. Each morning I find my heart stirred and strengthened.  These words I copied in my journal and was compelled to share here as well.

"What we can do is a small thing; but we can will and aspire to do great things.  Thus, if a man cannot be great, he can yet be good in will;  and what he, with his whole heart and mind, love and desire, wills to be, that without doubt he most truly is.  It is little we can bring to pass; but our will and desire may be large.  Nay, they may grow till they lose themselves in the infinite abyss of God.  And if ye cannot be as entirely His as ye fain would be, be His as much as ye may attain unto; but, whatever ye are, be that truly and entirely; and what ye cannot be, that be contented not to be, in a sincere spirit of resignation, for God's sake and in Him.  So shall you peradventure possess more of God in lacking than in having."

-John Tauler


" Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

-Philippians 4:13-14

Happy birthday to our Agent E!

Agent E,
Pure and simple you are a delight!  Happy 9th birthday!

Shortcake turns FOUR!

Our princess Shortcake is four years old!

At four you:
- Luv your "friends" (AKA: brothers)
- Play kitty for hours
- You ask if we think you're pretty and clearly state that "gurils are pretty, boys are cool"
- You nap for about an hour every day but you party and keep Agent L up when it's time for bed
- Doing things "all by myself" is important to you
- You adore being tickled and laying down begging Papa to tickle you more
- You sing songs about God and about how you're never alone with Him and you sometimes slip in "don't be mad mom, I'm just a princess having fun" (seriously!)
- You love being outside and you can chase a soccer ball and tackle along with your brothers
- And finally, you love pink, pink, and more pink and dressing up like a princess.

Planning a party, but not

Dates are flying by and I find myself dragging my feet to plan Shortcake's fourth birthday party.  Her big day is two days away and the family party is five days away.  It's not the sentiment that "she's growing up too fast".  There is that but what it really is . . . is that we've passed over the half-way mark.  Of her nearly four years she has spent over half of them without knowing my mom.  Bless Oma's heart because she is a dear heart but Shortcake knows Oma, not Grandma K and it hurts so terribly.

This is all probably compounded since it looks like the family home is as good as sold.  Last weekend I breathed the smells of home that I'll probably never smell again, open doors and cupboards for the last time, ran my hands over shelves my Grandpa built, spent time in the last room my mom ever had consciousness in.

I probably shouldn't be writing when I weep.  It's all pretty raw right now.  How do we become so attached to stuff and places?  Lord please help me to be more like you because of this pain.

Talla Teening!

Agent L (age 6): "Shortcake you're talla teening!"
Translation: "Shortcake you're tattletaling!"