Teaching At Home

For those of you who have been reading since this time last year, you may think this post as a little de ja vue...but it's just all in God's timing! I've noticed that God has a way of planting an idea in my heart, but then I have to wait...and once He places it on David's heart and we come into agreement, then I know the time is right. It was that way in the decision to adopt and in so many other areas of our married lives, too! Well, this decision is no different. God planted the idea of homeschooling on my heart a year ago, but the time was not right. I really wanted Christopher to experience Kindergarten at the school where he attended Pre-K (for many reasons), and we were blessed to learn his teacher is the one I'd taught with ten years prior and knew would be good for him. It was really a blessing for him to be in school with all that was going on in our lives this school year. He has a teacher who loves him and he absolutely adores her. So during the stress of a our move, my surgery, and everything else, Christopher had the constant of school to keep his world from completely spinning out of control!

As we looked toward 1st Grade, a decision needed to be made. The school is raising the tuition to almost $9,000, including registration and monthly fees. Due to the move and other issues, David didn't have time to complete our taxes before the financial aid deadline, which meant that we would need to foot the whole bill ourselves. We considered public school, home school, and of course, his current school. We prayed for God's direction and, as much as we were determined to keep our options open, it became obvious that God had only one direction in mind for our family...home school.

The more I think about it, the more excited I'm getting about it! I get the joy of teaching without the bureaucracy of the school system. More importantly, I get to spend more time with the child God blessed our family with six years ago...and I get to guide him in his learning journey! What a blessing!

As I look back on my life, I can see God has been preparing me for this moment for more years than I care to count...long before I even knew David! When I was single and lived in Alabama, God blessed me with two dear friends who home-schooled their children - Tina and Mona, who each had five children. Tina's husband was the youth pastor of my church at the time and Mona's oldest daughter was in my GA (Girls in Action) group and later I also had the joy of teaching Ariel in youth Sunday School. When Tina and her husband went out of town for youth trips, I had the blessing of babysitting for her younger children (their oldest was in the youth group). This was my first real experience with home-schooling! With a goal of being a teacher someday, I completely enjoyed this! These children, by the way, are now all grown - several with families of their own! :)

As I earned my teaching degree and moved down here to begin my teaching career, I had no idea the plans God had for me! God not only blessed me with a husband, and later a precious son...but he also blessed me with challenges that I didn't see as blessings at the time. During my years of teaching, God used the principals of the schools in which I taught to move me through all the grade levels of my certification. At some point in my career, I have taught every grade level in the elementary school! I resisted the change, at times even resented the change...but looking back, it was all preparation for what God had planned for our family!

So, even as we prepare for Christopher's Kindergarten graduation in a couple weeks, I am preparing to teach him the 1st Grade curriculum next year. I went to the library this weekend and looked at every book they had on the shelf regarding homeschooling and checked out the ones I thought would be most helpful in making the first preparations for our adventure! I also joined a Christian Homeschool Co-Op here so that I can connect with other Homeschool parents and Christopher can participate in their field trips and other events (including a PE class with the other homeschooled students). This group was highly recommended to me by my sweet friend Jennifer, who also homeschools her children. Interestingly, Jennifer and I began our teaching careers together at the same school where Christopher is now attending Kindergarten!

I love that I'll be able to coordinate Christopher's interests with the curriculum, thus keeping him authentically engaged in learning (a catch phrase that's very popular among the public school set)! ;) Most importantly, I can push him toward his God-given talents and abilities, while at the same time, gently encouraging him to strengthen his areas of weekness. We will be using the Awana program to guide our family scripture memorization and I will also be reviewing curriculum for the basics of Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmatic! ;)

If you homeschool your children, or have in the past, please feel free to share tips, ideas, and curriculum you found helpful. For everyone, I humbly ask for your prayers ande encouragement as we set voyage on this new adventure God had placed before us! :)

Long Time, No Blog

My mom mentioned seeing herself on my blog and suddenly, I decided to go back and check my blog! To my utter amazement and embarrassment, I discovered I hadn't blogged all school year! Things have been crazy...and most of what I've been doing has been posted on facebook...but that's really no excuse for neglecting the blog. So...here's the Reader's Digest version of our lives...

Christopher's been doing very well in Kindergarten! He's already reading at a 1st Grade level and loves his teacher! His class has gone on lots of field trips - the fire station, the conservency, to the nursing home to sing Christmas Carols, to the Phil to see a production of Pinoccio, and oh so much more! It was almost like a Field Trip of the Month Club! :)

My parents came down and celebrated Christmas with us. Christopher got a new bike from Gran & Pop and a Leapster from Grandma Jansen. We had a great time with family!

We've been packing and unpacking boxes since the last time I blogged. The move finally took place in February. We love our new home. It's smaller than where we were...but now I have my own Avon office! Christopher loves having neighbors close by. He's made friends with the older gentleman who lives next door and his grandson, who visits occasionally.

Christopher had a big birthday bash at a local park with all his friends from school and church. He had a blast playing with all his friends on the playground. Everyone seemed to enjoy the cookie cake! Afterwards, we had lunch with our friends Mike, Kim, & Cole - they came all the way from Boynton Beach to celebrate Christopher's birthday! :)

I had my gallbladder removed a few weeks ago. I'd been having pains on and off for quite some time - but they never lasted very long. One morning, I woke up not feeling well at all. I tried to tuff it out because I had way too much to do to be sick...but my body would NOT cooperate. :( So, a doctor's visit and an ultrasound later, and a few days later, I was in the hospital! They only had to keep me in overnight (less than 24 hours). Christopher got to go to Wannado City with my cousins Karen & Kathy and their kids while I had surgery.

When I last wrote on this blog, Christopher was just beginning Kindergarten. Now, he's almost done. Just a few weeks and he'll be a Kindergarten Grad! We're still seeking God's will about his schooling next year, but there's a good possibility that I could be home-schooling him. The school where he goes now is raising their rates, so unless God makes a way that we can't yet forsee, then he won't be going there next year. No definate plans have been made...but I'm beginning to wonder if this might be why God kept moving me while I was teaching - which enabled me to teach every grade level PK4-5th grade at some point in my teaching career! :)

I've also been involved in a group at church called HOPE. It's a support group for infertility, miscarriage, and child loss. Through this group, I've met some wonderful new friends - and have watched at how God has worked in each of our lives. Several have conceived since we first began meeting, two became foster parents, and one adopted a newborn baby. God has worked in each of our hearts and I'm encouraged to see just what God will do through this group in the future.

We are still praying for God to expand our family - whether that be through conception, adoption, or fostering is completely in His hands. Right now, we're just seeking His will for our family. Christopher continues to desire siblings & often lets his wishes known. One night, he made the comment to us that he'd been praying and praying and God just wasn't answering his prayers. It gave me the opportunity to share with him that God doesn't always give us what we want or when we want it...but that His ways are always better than ours! I told him how I always wanted to marry a man with brown eyes...but that's not what God gave me. Instead, God knew David was my perfect mate...and He waited patiently until I gave up the desire for brown eyes. When I did, God opened our eyes to the plan He has for each of us all along. I was also able to share with Christopher that God knew the real reason I wanted to marry a man with brown eyes is because I wanted my child to have brown eyes...and so, God gave us Christopher (who DOES have brown eyes). I didn't share this part with Christopher, but while I'd never have chosen infertility, I also know that's what God used to give us Christopher...and I've received so many other blessings as a result. Now that I look back on it, I wouldn't trade our journey through infertility for anything...because by doing so would mean I'd have to give up all God brought into my life as a result! :)

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, Christopher is now officially in Kindergarten! We woke up before the sun did this morning (about 5:45am) and started getting ready! Christopher was so excited, he was bouncing around the house! He helped Daddy fix breakfast and we all sat at the table together! Christopher had cinnamon toast and Dinosaur oatmeal!

After breakfast, I helped Christopher put on his uniform and we took some pictures before leaving the house. His backpack was a little heavy because of all the supplies, so Daddy carried the backpack and Christopher carried his lunch box! We got a few pictures with his backpack on, but it didn't last long. ;)

Since Daddy needed to go to work after we took Christopher to school, Mommy and Daddy drove both cars. Christopher rode with Daddy this morning. And let's just say, it was a good thing! As I was driving, my heart was full, and so I began to pray. I thanked God for Christopher and for Mrs. A, asked God to help Christopher make good choices, and generally prayed for Mrs. A, Christopher & his classmates, and the year they had ahead of them. Somewhere during this prayer, the tears began to fall. There was no use trying to stop them, it was useless! So, my prayer took a new direction, as I asked God to keep me from crying in front of Christopher. I didn't want him to think I was sad about him going to Kindergarten or to think it was a bad thing. He's very sensitive to others when they cry and I didn't want him worrying about me. God very graciously answered my prayer!

After taking the now traditional family photo outside the Commons, we found Mrs. A's room and helped Christopher put away his school supplies. We also got a special picture of Christopher with his teacher! Then, we went outside to the playground where the rest of the kids were. We waited there until Mrs. A came to pick up the class. Christopher walked in, sat at his seat, and immediately began working on the paper in front of him (all the while paparazzi mom was taking photos). He knew exactly what to do - and some of the other kids began following suit.

The only thing he said to me was, "I thought you were going to sub at my school, Mommy." I told him I would, but not today. He seemed satisfied with this answer and went back to his work. Daddy and I hung out against the wall and watched him work for awhile. It was apparently much harder on us than it was Christopher! :) I wanted to turn into a fly right then so I could hang out on the wall and watch my precious son all day...but, I had things to do, and so did he! So, as some of the other parents began to make their way out of the room, David and I reluctantly followed.

I called Gran & Pop when I got back to my car to tell them about Christopher's morning (since they live so far away). Grandma Jansen was still in the hospital, so I went by her room and showed her the pictures on my camera from First Look last night and from today. She loved all of them (except maybe the ones where I accidentally snapped a mom who walked in front of my camera just as I was snapping away)! :)

At lunchtime, I came to eat lunch with Christopher. He said, "Mommy, what did you tell me? Did you say you were going to come pick me up at lunchtime?" When I told him I was just comming to eat with him, he said he wanted to go with me. I reminded him that if he did, he'd miss out on recess and our after-school ice cream treat. Since ice cream is pretty much his currency, he decided he'd stay the rest of the day!

After school, we went to the Cafe' with his friend Emily from PK4 and her mommy. I started the tradition last year of having ice cream together in the Cafe' after the first day of school. It's a good time to sit down and talk about his very first day of school. Emily's mom was so sweet - she paid for our ice cream! What a treat! :) Last year, after school, Emily's mom (Maureen) and I would take the kids to the playground to play. Emily has a big sister in Middle School, so we go to the playground to wait until MS is out. Maureen and I got to be good friends as we talked while we watched our kids play! Emily and Christopher are in different classes this year, but the friendships still are strong! As the saying goes, "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold!" :)

When David and I asked Christopher what he did today, his reply was, "Nothing. We just sat around all day!" Oh my...that kid can come up with some real doozies sometimes! Last week, he told me he could be the boss now because he went to "cowedge" (college)! I'd told him several weeks ago that he couldn't be the boss because you had to go to college to be the boss...so the stinker filed that information away and came up with it just when he needed it most! It reminds me of when he was about 2 years old (give or take a few months) and he kept pointing at everything in the store and saying, "Mine!" My friend Robyn told him he had to have money if he wanted it to be his, so he very promptly stuck out his chubby little hand to me and said, "Mommy, I need money!" Then when she told him he need a job to make money, he said, "Awww Man! I need a job!" I think David and I are gonna need a lot of prayer for wisdom as we raise this one! He's a quick thinker, that's for sure! :)

A First Look at Kindergarten!

I can not believe that I'm writing this already...but my little boy is going to be a big Kindergartener starting tomorrow! WOW! Time really flies by! It seems like just a few days ago we got the call that we'd been matched with his birth parents, and only yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital! But now, he's a big boy!

Tonight, Christopher's school had what they call "First Look" - which is basically a time to find out where his room will be and meet his teacher before school officially begins! I actually met his teacher, Mrs. A, about 10 years ago when I started my teaching career at that very school (different building, but same school)! During my 2nd year of teaching, I had the pleasure of teaching Kindergarten along with her...and she taught me so much about the profession! It was, by far, my favorite year of teaching! Now, Christopher has the opportunity to learn from Mrs. A, too! :)

I was also pleasantly surprised to realize that so many of my friends with kids Christopher's age are also in Mrs. A's class! I was also surprised to realize that none of Christopher's classmates from PK4 are in his class this year...but, I know that God is giving Christopher the opportunity to grow and make new friends! Some of his Kinder classmates are also his friends at church, so there were some familiar faces in the classroom for him, too! :) I think it's going to be a great year for him! =)

After First Look, we came home, Christopher took a bath, then we read a bedtime story & had a family prayer time (Christopher requested that I pray first, Daddy pray next, and he would pray last), and he went to bed with visions of Kindergarten dancing in his head. ;) I've checked his backpack to make sure all his supplies are ready for the morning, and I'm about to join David in bed so we can all get up at "Oh Dark Thirty" in the morning and be ready for our traditional 1st Day of School Family Drop-off! What that means is that all three of us will get up, get ready, and go to school on the first day. After that, David will take him to school an I'll pick up...unless I'm substitute teaching, then I'll do both! :)

For some reason, I'm a little more emotional about Kindergarten than I was about PK4. On his first day of PK4, I didn't cry...didn't even tear up. But, there's just something about realizing he's in "Big Boy School" (uniforms and all) that pulls at my heart strings...and I'm afraid I might not be quite as strong! We'll see...I'll let you know how it goes! :)

The Search Continues...

We spent the majority of our Friday and a portion of today looking at possibilities for where we will live next. We're still waiting on the bank to approve the short-sale...so, it's not like we can really accept anything right now, but we wanted to get a look at what might be out there in our price range.

We had 4 appointments scheduled for Friday and another one scheduled for today. We met a realtor guy at Publix at 10:30am Friday morning and he led us to two properties he had available in 2 different communities near where we live now. David fell head over heals in love with the first community we saw. While I will agree that the aminities were nice (they even had their own mini-water park for the kids), the house was a little small for our needs...or so I thought. But, if push came to shove, then I guess we could make it work. It was 3 bedrooms, 2 baths - the bedrooms were pretty small, so I was concerned about the ability to fit our furniture without being cramped, but David seemed to think it would work. The best part about the house itself was that it had a large lanai, which would give Christopher a lot of room to play outside. Another big plus is that it's at the low end of our price range. So, it's still on our possibilities list.

The second place we looked at, both David & I agreed it just wouldn't work for us - for many reasons. When we went to our 2nd appointment (3rd house of the day), we were surprised that realtor (a different one than we'd met this morning) wasn't there to greet us. We walked around and peeked in the windows while we waited, then decided to give him a call. He said he'd left a message on our answering machine a couple hours ago that it had been rented two days ago. So why, you may ask didn't he call us two days ago? We wondered the same question! ;) Oh well...it worked out OK. I got to fit in an AVON appointment that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to schedule that day.

The last appointment of the day was a 3-bedroom plus a den - and while it certainly has possibilities (and the owners seemed to really like us and even said they'd prefer to rent to us), David and I both have reservations about it. It just didn't "feel" right...but we haven't totally ruled it out.

Today, we went for another appointment and this time, it was my turn to fall in love. I knew the community well because we have friends that live there and we used to have our AVON Leadership meetings at the clubhouse there. There's not much available as far as community ammenities - it's a relatively small & basic clubhouse, an OK playground, and it does have 2 pools - a lap pool and a family pool, but no fitness facility (which David would really like to have). But the house, in my opinion, was AMAZING! :) The floor plan was wonderful! It has a nice, big master suite that leads out to the pool/spa & has 2 walk-in closets. :) There are 3 other bedrooms which are nice and all bedrooms can be closed off from the main living area with pocket doors. With the pocket door closed to the front bedroom, it has a private area between the bedroom and the bathroom - so Christopher would not have the bathroom excuse to come out where we were after bedtime...and it would be nice for company as well. The back bedroom also leads out to the pool and is where I envision my office being and there's another bedroom just across from that that could be either David's office or maybe someday a nursery (a girl can hope). The kitchen is large and open with a breakfast nook. I'm just in love. But, David's worried about the lawn & pool maintenance and it is at the top end of our price range, so he's also worried about finances. So, needless to say, we're not quite seeing eye-to-eye on this one. Add to that the fact that there were at least 3 other couples looking at it today and we don't have any idea when we could possibly be ready to move in, and chances are very slim that I'll ever actually live in that house. :( But, I did take lots of pictures, so someday when I can afford to build my own house, I'll take the things I love most about that house and implement them into my dream home! :)

Time to Get Packing!

It's almost surreal. We've only had 3 couples look at our house...the second one made an offer. We just barely had time to get a lock box on the door & not even enough time to get a sign placed out front. It hardly seems real...almost like a dream. But, it's real - it's very real!

The couple seems nice enough - we passed them as we went out to breakfast so they could check out our house in peace. They came early so they could see our house before they went to church (which makes our neighbors happy). They made an offer for the full asking price...which was the high end of what it appraised for. Now, we just need to wait and see if the bank will accept the short sale.

In the mean time, we're doing some serious sorting and packing. I have a feeling we might be on Goodwill's Christmas Card list after we're done - so much just has to go! A lot of what's finding it's way out are the teaching things I just couldn't bear to part with when I cleaned out my classroom. But, chances are we won't find a home with as much storage space as we have here, so it's time to let it go. This has pretty much become David's task because I just become too sentimental and still can't let it go (especially when I think of the money I put into those things & only got to use some of them for a year or less). Oh well...if God leads me back to teaching, I get to go shopping! ;)

The other thing we have to get serious about is finding a new home to live! We've only looked at a few places and only one of them is a real possibility. Thanks to a Google search, Craigslist, Needs News (from our church), and my friends on Facebook...we now have a stack of rental homes to check out in the next few weeks. I'll be calling on those places tomorrow to set up a time when we can come look at them in the next few weeks and see what we find.

When we first told Christopher we were moving, he said in his sweet little fearful voice (tears brimming at his eyes), "But...I love my house...and what about my toys?" Once we both assured him (at different times) that his toys would indeed be coming along with us, he was all about the move! Now, he keeps asking, "Today? Are we moving today?" What has added to his excitement is the fact that a few of the places we've looked at had stairs...which, apparently, is a very exciting novelty to a 5-year-old who has lived his whole life in a single floor home!

I'm hovering between excitement of a new home, nostalgia of the memories we've made in this home, and feeling completely overwhelmed by all that needs to get done! This is the home where David and I began our married life....the only home Christopher has known. The wall in the nursery has a mural of a train & bears that I painted while we were waiting to be matched with Christopher's birth parents. The wall in the kitchen has growth markes where we've chronicled Christopher's growth each year. The mailbox out front has a train & bears resembling the nursery wall that I painted when David & I bought the house. Yes, this house has held a lot of precious memories. The good thing is that while we can't take the nursery wall, the mailbox, or the wall with Christopher's growth marks with us, we can certainly take our memories. Cameras were made for capturing memories. We do have pictures of the nursery wall and I think I've got pictures of the mailbox when it was new somewhere around here. We've got the measurements for Christopher's first 5 years - so we can recreate that on something we can take with us until we find a new home we'll call our own. And we'll always remember the day we brought that precious bundle from God home...that memory is forever etched on my heart!

Please pray for us as we pack and move. Pray that we find a home that will meet all our family's needs in a price range that fits our budget. Pray that we have wisdom to know what to take and what to let go. Pray for strength as we pack boxes and prepare for the move. Just pray! :O)

Life...it happens!

Sometimes I feel like my life is like the zebra above - completely unraveling! This is certainly not what I thought my life would look like at this point in my life. We all have dreams of what the future would hold. Mine was that I would be living in a nice home, pool in the back yard, wrap-around porch on the front, and a house full of children! But, that's so not where we are right now.

Don't get me wrong...I'm thankful for the things I do have! I am so thankful for my wonderful husband who loves me so much I can't even begin to understand his love for me! He's one of the few people in my life who love me just the way I am...not what I can do for him, not for the way I look (obviously!), but just because I'm his wife! I can't even begin to put into words how much that means to me! :)

I'm also thankful beyond words for the precious son that God gave us! What an amazing blessing that child is to us! And if you don't know the story, go back and read my very first blog. There is no doubt in my mind that God orchestrated every single event to bring sweet precious Christopher into our family!

I'm also thankful for some pretty amazing friends in my life who are faithful to pray for me and lift me up when I'm feeling down! You all know who you are...and I can't begin to thank you enough!

Lately, life has been really rough - one of the toughest in my life. We are in the position of having to either do a short-sale or lose our home. Either way, we'll be moving soon. We don't yet know where...but it won't be too far from where we are now, as we'll want to stay close to church (which is also Christopher's school) and David's work. We looked at a couple of places today. They were almost identical townhomes...except one had a pool & the balcony was more open. We both like them...the only thing is the garage is not attached and it will be a little bit of a drive for church, school, & work. We will continue to look, though.

The good news is that we finally have a realtor for our house. She is experienced in short-sales and as David was talking with her today, she said she had some clients who might be interested. This, of course, is great news...and also means we will have to get serious about packing up our home!

So...I'll be a little busy for the next few weeks between packing and keeping up with my AVON business (including the recently aquired customers from my upline who is moving to South Carolina)! But, as I was looking for an appropriate picture for my unraveling life, I came across this video, which reminded me of something very important...that God is the glue that holds me together!

So, even though my life seems like it is completely falling apart right now, it's not. God is NOT surprised by the events in my life right now. I'm sure there's a lesson I need to learn in them...and maybe, just maybe, a blessing I can't even imagine yet that will be waiting for us when we come out on the other side of these trials! God has a way of doing that...sending me through some pretty tough times...then blessing me beyond anything I could ever imagine! It's what keeps me going every day! And for that, I can be thankful...even in the midst of the storm!