Merry Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away! The stockings are hung, tree is decorated, presents are wrapped and we are enjoying this season to the fullest. The kids were able to go caroling with the CHEVA Choir in Exeter to kick off the month. Then Sami had her first choir performance with CHEVA just last week. She has loved every minute meeting new friends and learning more about music. To add to it, she recently started back up her piano lessons with a new teacher. Matthew can't wait to be able to join choir too, we just snuck him in for the caroling! This week will be full of festivities, ending with a birthday party for Jesus on Friday night with friends! We are all excited for Christmas and enjoying some quality time together. School has still been going well...I think the kids enjoyed our Thanksgiving lessons the best so far. We have just started doing a review of the 5o states and formation of the US. We have all decided that we want to take a trip to Pennsylvania for all the history to be absorbed! So here are some pics of our recent adventures!

Livin' & Learnin'

I can't believe so much time has past since my last post! Although, when I take inventory of all that has happened these past 3 months, it's easy to see why. We started school with a bang on Labor Day. In a single day we lost our dog, electricity went out on the property, called an ambulance for Sami who had a seizure, got a new dog, new dog gets skunked and in the midst of it all we DID get through our very first day of homeschool! Sami said it best, "The devil really doesn't want us to obey God and homeschool does he?!" Even 2 days later, when I was hit with a nasty stomach flu, Sami kept telling me we couldn't let the enemy win and needed to do school anyway. I love her spirit and deep love for the Lord!

About the same time, both kids started soccer season. Sami liked it, but there was no love lost when the season ended last week. She did agree to play one more year, but on the condition that she got a hair feather?! Matthew, on the other hand, ate up every minute he was on the field! He hasn't met a sport yet that he doesn't love. I'm starting to see that Sami's niche is really in music. She is blossoming in choir and just about to start back up her piano lessons. Might have a musician on our hands! The remodel on the house was done much sooner than anticipated. We were able to move into the home on October 1st. We couldn't move in quick enough!! I appreciate every square inch of this small, cozy home. I don't want to step foot in another trailer for a very long time. We are especially enjoying all the room the kids have to explore and roam. From treehouses to digging up coyote bones, these kids have no reason to be bored!

And lastly, homeschooling continues to be a huge blessing and answer to prayer for our family. I wish I had listened to the Lord's calling years ago! Sure, there are days when I want to pull my hair out. But most day, I am grateful for the peace it brings to our home. My plan was to have Matthew do PreK this year, but that little booger is smarter than he lets on! He had his first day of Kindergarten on Halloween...which he thought was very cool! I love seeing them learn and grow, but most of all I love seeing their love for the Lord grow!

Risen Son Christian Academy

Well, the countdown is on. Only 2 weeks left until we kick off our 2011-2012 school year. I can't believe it's here! For those who homeschool (or who don't), I wanted to share my curriculum choices and see what ya think!


Sami ~ 3rd Grade

We are using Adventures in My Father's World for Geography & History, Bible, Art and Science. We decided to not use the music recommended.

We will be studying US History as our core subject. We will go over history of how the country was founded and dive into each state individually. I'm thinking we will slow down and take a couple weeks on California. We have so many cool resources at our fingertips with museums and libraries.

With Bible, we will be pulling in our AWANA's lessons and memory scripture. Also adding in daily family devotionals with Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M. Schoolland.

For English/Language Lessons, we are using the recommended Primary Language Lessons. I really like the simple and straight forward format.

For Math, we are using Singapore Mathematics. This is the one I am most intimidated by...likely because it is also my least favorite subject. I have scoured the Manual and pulled together all the manipulative's. But I am afraid..very afraid!

We are adding in additional science with Apologia's Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures. I love digging into one topic all year long. It helps that all of us LOVE the sea and are intrigued by all its creatures.

Building Spelling Skills and Writing with Prayer by Christian Liberty Press will round out Sami's curriculum. I am hoping to incorporate Spanish but I want to be realistic too. With this being our first year homeschooling, I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. We will just get the school year going and see how it works out.

Matthew ~ PreK

Matthew will be joining in with many of Sami's lessons. Geography/History, Bible and Science (including Apologia) will all be done together.

Then he will have Rod & Staff 4-5 year old program for more age specific lessons. I was torn on which route to go for him. He went to preschool last year at St. Paul's School. So he knows the letters, colors, cutting, pasting..all the basics. But he is just turning 5 this month and I don't know if his attention span is ready for a full Kindergarten program. I went with this one and I think it will work out...but I am still hesitant if it will bore him.

We are going to add in BOB Phonics books for reading skills and basic counting/math skills to beef up the Rod & Staff.

I have a proposed schedule made up but still haven't found a way to make it attach to my post :( Once I get it figured out, I'll add that too! So there it is...this is our plan. Let me know what you think or any tips you might have for a green newbie!

Pruning

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." John 15:1-2

And pruning He is doing! Not only are we preparing to start our first year of homeschooling, we are also moving. All was going as planned, too good to be true - and we finally hit a snag. The home we are moving to is being remodeled and is not yet done. It actually won't be done until November 1st?! Wouldn't be too bad if we hadn't already found renters and need to be out by September 1st. Praise the Lord for wonderful neighbors, ours are saving us! They own a HUGE trailer and are graciously allowing us to use it until the home is done. The new house is on 2 acres so we will be putting the trailer on that property while we "patiently" wait. Still working on praising Him for the not so good things as well as the wonderful things. I am being stretched to fully rely on His timing and provision for our lives. So, we will embark on this next school year living in a trailer with school books in hand! Amen!

The Rumors Are True..

After lots of prayer, serious discussions, research up the kazoo...we have finally decided to answer the Lord's call and homeschool. This was laid on our hearts months ago...but we fought it tooth and nail. I had every excuse in the book, listed out all of my faults that would cause me to fail the kids, even had a few nightmares of college age children who can't read! But the Lord knew better, duh! Now, with just a little over a month before we kick off our adventure, I can honestly say I am excited. I know that we are going to encounter hurdles and meltdowns, both the kids and me! I am anxious if I picked the right curriculum or if I will be able to answer all their questions. But knowing that I am following the will of the Lord and the direction He has shown us...well, that part is just plain awesome! His wisdom, patience and endurance are the only things that will get us through this next year. We are praying that His grace would flood our lives and our home will be filled with all that is pleasing t0 Him.

What We've Been Up To

Sami & Kate ~ AWANA Award Ceremony

Matthew ~ AWANA Award Ceremony


T Ball Trophy ~ Only time we will ever say "Go Yankees"

Sami's Birthday trip to American Girl Store in LA

Best Buds ~ Sami & Amelia

Last days of school at St. Paul's ~

Sami finished 2nd grade and Matthew Preschool

End of the Trail Half Marathon

I can't believe I did it...13.1 miles in 2:17! I CANNOT wait until the next one!

Blessings

These past couple of months have been a whirlwhind of activity! February brought us Valentine's Day and the Father Daughter Dance which Sami looks forward to ALL year. According to Sami, "when Daddy gets on his knees and dances with me, it's the best night of my life! And when he does the robot!". I love that girl and I love that man for showing her what real love looks like! March held two birthdays-including a surprise birthday for my Mom which was priceless. I ran in my first race, a 10K in Exeter and squashed by goal time - made in 58 minutes! Cory and I spent 3 nights in San Diego to be a part of the Master Pools Guild meeting and Excellence in Design Awards banquet. Genesis Pools brought home 4 Gold Awards! I didn't fully understand or appreciate what the Guild is until experiencing it first hand. Now I am just as proud to be a part of such an elite group of builders as Cory always has been. But even more so, I am extraordinarily proud of my husband. Being there to see all of the hard work pay off was phenomenal, it really was! Then this week a man by the name of Randy Dukes came with some others to film one of Cory's pools under construction for training purposes. Mr. Dukes is huge in in the pool industry, a leader and expert in plaster/quartz and various other products for pools. It was quite the honor to have him here on one of Cory's jobs and Cory gained massive amounts of knowledge during the visit.

So, now you can see why this post had to be titled "blessings" because that it what all of this has been...blessings from God plain and simple! And we give Him all the glory!

Love the Lord our God

January 10, 2011 marked the rebirth of Samantha Jane Reeder as our sister in Christ. That's right folks, our dear Sami asked the Lord to be her Savior and for the Holy Spirit to fill her heart! It was nothing short of amazing and completely inspiring to see the innocence and trust of a child. I don't know that she even fully understood what had happened, it was completely Spirit inspired and led. Sami had actually been in a little bit of trouble that evening. Cory had taken her into her room to talk to her about her behavior. A little while into it I saw him come out and get his Bible. Finally, 30 minutes after that, Cory emerges with tears streaming down his cheeks. I wasn't quite sure what had happened, almost scared to ask. But when he started telling me what had unfolded in that room...I was amazed and full of joy. The two of them had a good conversation and when it was done Cory had told her to go ahead and pray on her own that night. She asked if he would just stay with her while she prayed, so he did. They knelt by the bed and she began praying. Before Cory knew it, she was asking the Holy Spirit to "come into her heart." After hearing what had happened, I went into her room with tears now streaming down my face and gave her a huge hug! She looked a little confused....I told her, "honey, you're my sister in Christ...we'll be together forever in heaven now." She says back, "I wasn't going to heaven before?? I've always loved Jesus Mommy!." Oh...how I love that girl and even more love our Lord who chose Sami to be part of His flock!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We have had the most wonderful past 2 weeks celebrating the holidays with family and friends! We had four different Christmas celebrations, 2 holiday parties, a trip to Hartland Christian Camp and New Year's with family we hadn't seen in too long! My Grandma Horton (who lives in North Carolina) has been here for the last couple of months and has been able to spend the holidays with all of us, not to mention meet the kids for the first time! We spent the weekend before Christmas celebrating with my brother and his family, Christmas Eve at my parents, Christmas Day at our house and the next day with the Reeder's. The kids were spoiled rotten, we all ate to much and laughed even more. It was wonderful! A couple days later we then went up to Hartland Christian Camp and spent 2 days there before heading home for New Year's. An old friend/family Lars and his mom (from Denmark) were able to spend New Year's Eve with us as they traveled through the area to cap off a month full of celebrating and memories! We are so blessed...and exhausted!

Drama King

Selfless

As Christmas season was approaching, we knew we wanted to do something to help show our kids that there is more than toys and gifts. It was also the first Christmas without my Grandma. So we came up with what turned out to be a wonderful event! We invited over several family friends and all the cousins for a "Cookies, Crafts & Christmas" Celebration that was all about giving back. We had a table set up for decorating cookies, a table for decorating ornaments and my Grandma's Christmas tree that was always set up in her room at Westgate Gardens, where she had lived for the past couple of years. The kids had so much fun decorating the tree and filling a tray with beautiful Christmas cookies. There were a few moments of the "I wants" since we made a point that the kids could not eat any of the cookies decorated or keep any of the ornaments. But they were actually the perfect moments to teach about being selfless and putting others before ourselves. Gotta plant that seed at some point, right?! We all then drove over to Westgate Gardens and presented our gifts to the residents there and many of Grandma's close friends. We all held hands and Cory prayed a blessing over the gifts and people gathered. With tear filled eyes we hugged and celebrated this holiday. It may have been our first Christmas without Grandma, but it was her first Christmas with the Lord - and that is a reason to celebrate! And the kids, whether they liked it or not, began to learn the true meaning of CHRISTmas!