Homeschooling has begun!

Despite the denial I was feeling for weeks before the big day, it came. I have begun Homeschooling Josiah.

To give a little background, about a year ago, when Josiah was 4, Shane and I begun talking about what we would do for school with Josiah. I just always assumed we'd put him in a public school because we can't afford private and thre was no way I was Homeschooling. As we sat down to talk, Shane began mentioning how he would like it if I could Homeschool him. My exact thought in my head was, 'Um, yeah, I'm not doing that!'. But I continued to listen patiently to him, thinking that it was a nice thought he had but it wasn't going to happen.

But things began to change. Well, God changed things. I thought that if it was something Shane was bringing up, and it was on his heart, then I should pray about it. Within a matter of a couple of weeks, God had done a complete change in my heart. I started to not only be okay with giving Homeschooling a shot, but I actually really wanted to do it and was super excited about the opportunity to do so.

The research, Homeschooling convention, talking to other Homeschooling families and continual prayer started. That process felt overwhelming to me. Do we teach independently, go through a school, what do we do? The options, though there weren't too many, seemed endless.

Just when I thought we'd go through a certain school, God (through a friend's encouragement) got my attention that I was only going that route for the money. Though, that may not be a bad thing in many situations, in this one it was not the way I needed to go about it. With the free money option, it left me without being able to pick my curriculum, going on field trips & play dates that were in a completely different city which would feel very far away and cost a lot of gas money, etc. When I let go of the money, and trusted God that He would provide for whatever materials we needed, I had a great peace.

So, I had to really re-evaluate why I was Homeschooling Josiah. It came down to wanting to be able to invest in him...his character, education, personality, etc. We had already found great resources we wanted to use, and I liked the flexibility idea of me just doing it on my own instead of having to go by what a school was telling me.

That's how we came to the conclusion to just Homeschool independantly. Once we decided that, I felt very peaceful about it. I'm real thankful that we figured out a plan that works for our family.

Here's what most of our days will look like:

7:45 Bible time with Josiah

8:00 Breakfast

8:20 Piano practice

8:40 Character Study (kindness, obedience, patience, etc.)

9:00 Bible verse

9:05 Months of the year, Days of the week, Seasons

9:10 # of the week

9:15 Math

9:25 Letter of the week

9:30 Writing

9:40-10 Reading

Today was our first try at this. It seemed to go by fast and it was a lot of fun. Taking a few minutes to learn something and then move on, was great! We weren't spending a lot of time drilling one thing. For example, this week, we're learning to write the letter 'S'. He traced it about 6 times and wrote it himself another 6. That was it for letters. Next week we'll add in another letter and also write 'S' a few times to keep him up on it.

I have a few fears, that I know are normal and understandable. One, is just how Josiah and I relate to eachother. I need to make sure that later in our day is some fun and play time, so that Mommy doesn't just become a teacher role. Another is my patience with him. Patience is one of my weakest character qualities and it is something I have to rely on God to grow in me. Something else, is Josiah wants to give up easily if he thinks he can't do something. This will require my patients, and also me helping him understand that even if he doesn't do it right or perfectly, it's okay. We'll work on it. The last thing that may pose a problem is entertaining Meghan during these 2 hours of school. I think she'll have fun just being there with us, coloring or painting while we're doing school. She can join in on some 'writing' time as I give her dry-erase markers to play on the white board with. She loves having reading time with us too.

I'm so thankful that God laide Homeschooling on Shane's heart and that He guided me into the decision as well.

Pictures!

Mother's Day at Lucille's for dinner and dessert.

Playing soccer with AYSO.

At The Children's Museum dressed up as a Police Officer.

His first piano lesson :).

Being silly at the beach.

In mommy's sunglasses :).

Loving her shopping cart she got for her birthday.

Hunting for eggs at Easter.

Pushing her baby in a stroller around the mall :).

Giving her brother kisses!

Ahhhh!!! Brother & Sister!

I found them like this on our couch. I can't believe she got a pillow & blanket too :). They're too funny.

Out for a Family Movie Night.

Meghan and Shane.

Me and Josiah at Disneyland.

Shane and Josiah racing through a bounce house. Josiah caught air!

On the carousel at Disneyland.

Those are some pictures of what has been going on in our lives over the last several months.

It's been a while

I haven't blogged in 9 months! It hasn't really been on my mind. Life has been very busy. Between church stuff, fun classes for the kids through the city, Disneyland passes, Homeschooling research, doctors visits, and I'm sure much more, I just haven't had the time or brain power to blog.

We celebrated Meghan's 2nd Birthday in January at McDonalds with her cousins and family. Josiah turned 5 in April and he had a 'Jake and The Neverland Pirates' party (from Disney). It is wonderful watching my kids grow up and seeing the things they're into lately.

Josiah:

*He just started piano lessons with Shane. He's had 1 lesson so far, but likes it a lot.

*He just ended his first soccer league through AYSO. Though our overall experience wasn't the best, Josiah still had a good time. He even scored 2 goals!

*He is really into hearing Bible stories and learning about characters in the Bible. I love it! Shane is great at sitting down and telling him about people in the Bible that we can learn from.

*He got a scooter for his birthday and loves riding it.

*His tonsils are HUGE! They got that way during the 2 times he had strep throat a few months ago. We got them checked out and they're a '3' out of '4'. So, the doctor said he would pull them if he wanted us to, but right now he'd like to wait since he doesn't have sleep apnea. We're still thinking about what to do. I hear it's better to take them out as kids than when they're adults.

Meghan:

*She wants to sing with us at bedtime now instead of us just singing to her. She actually hits some correct notes in there a lot of times.

*She really wants to pray by herself...which is adorable. So, she repeats after us.

*She's taking a really long time to go to sleep at bedtime. I might need to start putting her down for a nap earlier. Bed time is at 8, but she's still up there talking & singing past 9.

*She's answering back when cartoons on tv ask her questions...'Do you like balloons?'...she respond, 'yes' :).

Here's Us:

*February marked our 10 years together! That blows my mind. We've been together since we were teenagers. How fun that is! It was been the best experience to marry my best friend and watch eachother grow and change and do life together! In August, we'll have been married for 8 years :).

*Shane just started his new position at work. We are grateful for it! Though it does not come with a pay increase, it got him away from sitting behind a desk. He is now a field technician, so he drives around and installs and fixes computers for his company. He likes it.

*Shane has been playing the bass in the band at church, which he just picked up 3 days before he was asked to play. That just amazes me! He still plays the keyboard some Sundays as well. The talent, I tell you!

*I helped with our church's Women's Conference again this year. That is always a great experience to help with an event that brings women together where they can learn about how to follow God better.

*I was trained in leading a Women's Small Group last month. At first, the experience was nerve wracking for me as I felt at a loss. But, God really helped me to rely on Him and relax as I led the discussion for woman. He came through!

*We'd like to have another baby, and are waiting on God's timing with that.

*A few months ago, we spent over $400 on doctor's visits in 6 weeks. The sickness kept being passed around an it just wouldn't end!!!

*We're trying to decide what to do this Summer with the kids and also our Anniversary. I'm really looking forward to spending time together!

*The biggest thing on our minds right now is Homeschooling.

Homeschooling!...Not something I would have ever imagined myself doing. When Shane and I started to discussing it a little over a year ago, I was expecting him to say, 'We'll put him in the nearest public school to us'. I knew we couldn't afford a Private School and Homeschooling was the farthest thing from my mind. In fact, to be honest, I knew I would never homeschool my kids. It didn't appeal to me in the slightest. But, when Shane brought up the idea that he'd like us to think about it, I did what I knew I needed to: PRAY!!! I thought that if it was something on Shane's heart, I need to see if it is something God wants me to do. As it turns out, He wants me to do it! Boy, have I had a heart change. In a matter of a few months, I went from hating the idea of homeschooling, to now being genuinly excited about it. I'm excited because I get to continue to spend the day with Josiah, teaching him, shaping him, getting to know him more and spending time with him. School will be done in aprox. 1 1/2 hours and we'll have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. So, now we're in the process of researching curriculum and organizations to go through. It's really important to us to keep Josiah involved in things that will still get him around other kids and adults. So, we'll find a place to go through that offers field trips and possibly a class a week for him to build relationships with other Homeschooled kids.

That's all for now :). I'll post some pictures of what has been going on in our lives in another blog.

Old Town Temecula

Last weekend, the kids & I spent the day at my parents house in Temecula. That evening, we went out for a fun evening in Old Town Temecula. Every Friday night in the Summer, they have sidewalk vendors, music, balloon artists, food & more. It was so nice walking around together. Josiah loved stopping & listening to the bands play music. The first picture below is of us stopping for a dance together :). We 'boogied' for about 5 minutes! He cracks me up! We walked to another corner & there was a balloon artist. He was making animals, hands, swords & more for kids & any adults too. They were even free! I picked a purple poodle for Meghan. She really liked it, but not as much as the swords. Josiah was too shy to ask for anything, so I got him a sword. The balloon artist not only gave us 1 sword, he gave us 5 & a sword carrier. He thought it would be fun for us to all have a sword fight...and it was sooooooo much fun! By far my favorite part of the evening. Josiah & I dancin' in the streets :)

Our swords...they were awesome!

Meghan really got into the sword fight!

I love how involved my Dad is. He plays great with Josiah & Meghan. They love playing with him!!!

Beach, Farrell's, Mulligans & More

Josiah laughing at the waves...?!!! :)

All cutely wrapped in her towel

Mommy & Sis

Josiah helping Daddy

At Farrell's

Josiah enjoying the fun

Meghan enjoying the ice cream cone!

Josiah got a hole in 1!!!

Getting ready to go in the laser tag room

Drivin' with Mommy

Here we go, Dad!

Riding around the property

Mommy & Meghan dancin'

Josiah dancing with me outside. He wouldn't dance in front of people :)

Here's the explanation of the pictures above...

We've gone on a few family day-cation trips...if that's a word :). We took the kids to the BEACH. It was Meghan's first time and Josiah hadn't been in about 2 years. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but it ended up being a great day. Shane had Josiah carry his own beach chair from the car to our spot on the beach. He was not excited about this & complained a great deal of the way. I thought it was good that Shane had him do that, to teach him to start helping us & that we all pitch in together. At first they said no to the water as soon as their feet hit it (it was pretty cold). But after some ball playing, snacks & running around in the sand, Josiah was up for it. He loved it! He kept 'chasing' the waves & then running from them. They took him under a couple times, but it didn't seem to phase him. Our little messy Meghan just wanted to play in the sand...all day! I love seeing how different my kids are. Josiah hates being dirty & Meghan thoroughly enjoys it :). The day was wonderful & we can't wait to go back. Though next time I will give them showers at the beach instead of waiting until I have 2 sleeping children that I have to wake up & bathe when we get home.

If you & your family haven't had the chance to go to FARRELL'S Restaurant in Mission Viejo, I highly recommend it. The place is full of fun, candy, balloons & ice cream :). We should have planned the evening out a little better. We thought we left in plenty of time to get there around 6. But both our kids had to go to the bathroom a few times on the way down, so we had to make several stops. We got there around 7, but it took us 45 minutes in the line to finally get in. It was well worth the wait though. We ordered scrumpious dinners...hamburgers for us & pizza for the kids. A balloon artist walks around & makes you a hat, animal, or whatever you'd like. Then if someone orders certain ice cream platters off the menu, the staff starts ringing bells, setting off sirens & running around the place with a wheel barrell. They have the customer do some silly things too. Josiah & Meghan got a kick out of watching everyone. We, of course got some ice cream as well. None that would make us sing or push our noses up like pigs though! After the eating was over, we took the kids into the candy shop & let them pick out a few things. When all was said & done, we left at 9:30 pm! I had no idea it was that time. The kids bedtime is at 8, so we had some pretty exhausted little ones on the car ride home.

The next day we headed to MULLIGAN'S Family Fun Center in Murrieta. My Mom met us there & took Meghan to her house. We thought it would be better if we just spent the day with Josiah since there wasn't much for Meghan to do anyway. We got the all you can play & ride pass. We started off playing miniature golf (Josiah's request). Then headed in for some arcades. Josiah kept wanting to go play golf, so we ended up playing 3 times (18 holes each). He was getting quite good towards the end. Shane beat me 2 out of 3 games. We tried to get Josiah to play Laser Tag, but he was very unsure about it. So they let Shane hold Josiah & run around the room with him while I played. He got a little freaked out when he looked at my face under the blue lights. My freckles sure stand out under that lighting! We road the bumper boats only once...they weren't that great. Then we each took him on the Race Cars. He really liked that...though I must say there are some crazy teenagers on those tracks that don't look out for us slow drivers! One fun part of the day was that it started pouring rain while we were on the golf course. The day was beautiful, then just started raining! It was fun trying to finish our last hole & then run inside :).

Some MORE fun we had was spending the day at my Aunt's 50th b-day party. The kids got to ride around in my Uncle's jeep, Meghan played in the dirt a lot & Josiah enjoyed throwing the football around. I took some time to dance with the kids. They enjoy dancing with me, so I take advantage of that time together.

June fun!

June was filled with a lot of fun things...

*Josiah had swim lessons. He did great at listening to the teacher (our friend). He enjoyed the lessons a lot! Though he can't swim by himself still, he has improved a lot.

*We had our first Family Movie Night. Shane made a pallet on the floor of blankets & pillows. We had pizza before hand, then had candy bars & popcorn during the movie. None of us had seen 'Alvin & The Chipmunks The Squeakquel' before. So, we popped that in & had a great night. Meghan went to bed at her normal time (7:30), but Josiah stayed up until 8:30. He was getting really tired. He said a few times that he just wanted to lay down. He was so cute. What a great time together. We'll be making it at least a monthly tradition.

*We spend an evening at The Pond in Temecula feeding the ducks.

*I painted Meghan's toenails for the first time. I was painting my nieces & asked Meghan if she wanted me to do hers too. She said yes & sat down perfectly still. She kept staring at her feet. I love having a girl!

*I threw in a picture below from mine & Shane's get-away that I surrpised him with in May.

*Then there are some other random pictures of the kids.

I'm looking forward to some other family things we're doing throughout the summer, as well as an Anniversary trip next month.

Surprise Get-Away!

I surprised Shane and took him on a little Get-Away at the end of May!... My sister's husband was going to be gone for a couple of days & she asked if she could watch the kids that weekend since she'd never had them overnight before. A few weeks later, at my church's Women's Retreat, I won a free-nights stay at the hotel we held our retreat at. So, that's what started the plan... I knew I needed to make some $ for this to be a complete surprise. Shane would have known if money was disappearing from our account, plus I knew we didn't have the money for a trip at this time. I began selling things on craigslist & then had a garage sale at my parents house. I made more than enough money to cover the weekend. So, I booked the free night at the hotel, plus 1 more night to make the weekend even longer. The week before the trip, I was able to get approval from Shane's boss' to get 1/2 day on Thursday & all of Friday off. They were so helpful! They kept it a secret from Shane and got other people to cover his shifts without him knowing. So, it was finally here! I packed mine & Shane's bags and a friend drove me to his work (so we would have 1 car on our trip). I thought there was a good chance Shane had found out somehow, but I was still excited to be able to get away with him & spend time together. He was 100% surprised! He saw me at his work and said, 'What are you doing here?' I told him I'm taking him away for a couple of days. My plan was to go straight to the beach, or go kayaking, but it was raining :(. So, we checked into the hotel, (The Double Tree in Orange), walked around the block at Orange, rented a couple movies, grabbed dinner to go at Lucille's BBQ, then ate dinner in the hotel while watching the Laker game. Sleeping in was so nice! We haven't been able to do that in quite some time :). Then we headed to the beach, which we hadn't been to in quite some time. This beach has a special place in our relationship. It is where Shane asked me to be his girlfriend. Then over 8 years ago, it is where he proposed! So, we love going to this beach! Another fun part of our get-away was that I had a certificate for 2 free breakfasts, 2 free appetizers & drinks and 2 free dinners! So, we had a full day of free meals...wonderful! We went to check out & were supposed to pay $26 for parking, but the hotel waved that as well! What a blessing! It was so fun to be able to have a trip fully paid for & to relax and spend much needed time together away from the kids for a few days. We had a blast laughing about old memories, talking about the kids & just walking side by side. I'm so thankful for that time with him...and I can't believe I pulled it off!!! I love surprises! (I wish I had pictures to show, but we don't have our camera hook-ups right now).