I love you sweetie!
Leslie
Friday, October 30, 2009
20 Years Ago
I had typed up an entry and our computer froze and lost it. So for now, I'll just let the picture speak.
I love you sweetie!
Leslie
I love you sweetie!
Leslie
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
New prayer request
Actually, two requests. One for me and a bigger one for Daniel.
For me. I'm not sure what to share and will just say that I just feel weak and hurt. At times, wondering if God is even hearing my prayers. I *know* He does - it just doesn't feel like it when there is no answer. I really want to walk in the path He has for me and hearing nothing can just be painful. Does this make sense?
My feelings are not pretty. I know that. I know that the Bible says God loves me. He hears me. He is with me. He has a plan for my life for good. I just would like to feel it too.
Or maybe I just need to trust more.
Could you also pray for Daniel? This is such a deja vu request. Today we went in for a routine eye appt. When the looking got longer - I knew. Something was wrong. I just prayed for the dr to be able to know clearly what was going on. Like last year, she saw problems with his optic nerve. (He had an MRI on this very day last year and all was fine.) Well, the problems are different and still not "normal looking". He is going to be referred to a neuro opthamologist at Duke.
I didn't ask what this could mean. Didn't want to do that in front of him and wasn't sure I wanted to know. Did a quick google search though on the specialist and what they do as well as her description of the color of his optic nerve.
We don't see any other symptoms or signs of problems, but she wants someone else to check him out to be sure.
We will probably get the referral within a week and then have to wait a month or two for the appt - sooner if there is a cancellation.
I was calm when she told me and now it's late and I need to go to bed. Could you pray that there is nothing wrong with our little boy? Alternately, if there is something wrong that they would find it quickly and that it would be fixable.
Thank you for your prayers.
Love,
For me. I'm not sure what to share and will just say that I just feel weak and hurt. At times, wondering if God is even hearing my prayers. I *know* He does - it just doesn't feel like it when there is no answer. I really want to walk in the path He has for me and hearing nothing can just be painful. Does this make sense?
My feelings are not pretty. I know that. I know that the Bible says God loves me. He hears me. He is with me. He has a plan for my life for good. I just would like to feel it too.
Or maybe I just need to trust more. Could you also pray for Daniel? This is such a deja vu request. Today we went in for a routine eye appt. When the looking got longer - I knew. Something was wrong. I just prayed for the dr to be able to know clearly what was going on. Like last year, she saw problems with his optic nerve. (He had an MRI on this very day last year and all was fine.) Well, the problems are different and still not "normal looking". He is going to be referred to a neuro opthamologist at Duke.
I didn't ask what this could mean. Didn't want to do that in front of him and wasn't sure I wanted to know. Did a quick google search though on the specialist and what they do as well as her description of the color of his optic nerve.
We don't see any other symptoms or signs of problems, but she wants someone else to check him out to be sure. We will probably get the referral within a week and then have to wait a month or two for the appt - sooner if there is a cancellation.
I was calm when she told me and now it's late and I need to go to bed. Could you pray that there is nothing wrong with our little boy? Alternately, if there is something wrong that they would find it quickly and that it would be fixable.
Thank you for your prayers.
Love,
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Field Trip - Historic Oak View County Park
Today was field trip day. It was a beautiful, sunny day - just perfect for an outing with friends. We visited Historic Oak View County Park. This is a 19th century historic farmstead. Our larger group was split in half and we then toured the grounds. We viewed the home from the outside only. The left side of the house is the original house (1855) and is built in Greek Revival style. The right side of the house (Colonial Revival) was added on in the 1940s.
There was a lovely gazebo in the front of the house.
We went into the kitchen, a separate building behind the house. We talked about things that we used and done differently than today.
The children helped start the making of butter by using cream in a jar. (Much easier than using a churn, though mine have liked doing that in the past.)
Next, we went outside and the children had the opportunity to try using a washboard to clean some clothes.
Three children at a time were able to wash clothes.
Eliana loved this. Of course, she loves anything with water! Her wonderful big sister was helping her!
Just thought this was a fun picture of Isaiah and Joshua with their buddy Joe.
The cash crop for the plantation was cotton. Until the boll weevils came through destroying cotton in the US. They switched then to pecan trees. The children were able to go into this "field" of cotton and pick one.
I know you can't see it, but I love the he wears a Down Syndrome Awareness bracelet on his right arm. :-)
Getting the seeds out is hard work.
I think this is a really pretty plant. Feels so soft too!
Next we went into an old barn and learned more about cotton.
The children twisted cotton to show how it strengthened the fibers.
We saw an old gin,
a huge bale of cotton and even a boll weevil. (It was much smaller than I had imagined.)
Eliana loves hanging out with her friend!
The children learned about artifacts. We were told that to be an artifact it had to meet these three criteria
*must be old
*must be made by humans
*must be used by humans.
The children were given several artifacts and then tried to figure out what they were used for - and it wasn't as easy as you might think! Two of the items are in the next two pictures. See if you can guess how they were used.
After figuring it out, a spokesperson from each group shared with the rest of the group what the tools were used for. Did you have a guess?
The first one is a tool used to remove the nails from horseshoes. The second is to scrape away the hair and skin from a pig in order to have clean meat. (yuck!)
We stayed for a picnic lunch. There are large grassy areas (where the pecan trees are growing) that are an ideal spot to picnic and play. Daniel loves hanging out with his friend Miss Lynn!
We played for a short time in the museum. There is a really cute hands-on children's area. Eliana loved the dress-up.
A beautiful fun day. I had fun hanging out with my children and my friends. I'm so thankful I have the opportunity to do these fun things!
Blessings
Leslie
There was a lovely gazebo in the front of the house.
We went into the kitchen, a separate building behind the house. We talked about things that we used and done differently than today.
The children helped start the making of butter by using cream in a jar. (Much easier than using a churn, though mine have liked doing that in the past.)
Next, we went outside and the children had the opportunity to try using a washboard to clean some clothes.
Three children at a time were able to wash clothes.
Eliana loved this. Of course, she loves anything with water! Her wonderful big sister was helping her!
Just thought this was a fun picture of Isaiah and Joshua with their buddy Joe.
The cash crop for the plantation was cotton. Until the boll weevils came through destroying cotton in the US. They switched then to pecan trees. The children were able to go into this "field" of cotton and pick one.
I know you can't see it, but I love the he wears a Down Syndrome Awareness bracelet on his right arm. :-)
Getting the seeds out is hard work.
I think this is a really pretty plant. Feels so soft too!
Next we went into an old barn and learned more about cotton.
The children twisted cotton to show how it strengthened the fibers.
We saw an old gin,
a huge bale of cotton and even a boll weevil. (It was much smaller than I had imagined.)
Eliana loves hanging out with her friend!
The children learned about artifacts. We were told that to be an artifact it had to meet these three criteria
*must be old
*must be made by humans
*must be used by humans.
The children were given several artifacts and then tried to figure out what they were used for - and it wasn't as easy as you might think! Two of the items are in the next two pictures. See if you can guess how they were used.
After figuring it out, a spokesperson from each group shared with the rest of the group what the tools were used for. Did you have a guess?
The first one is a tool used to remove the nails from horseshoes. The second is to scrape away the hair and skin from a pig in order to have clean meat. (yuck!)
We stayed for a picnic lunch. There are large grassy areas (where the pecan trees are growing) that are an ideal spot to picnic and play. Daniel loves hanging out with his friend Miss Lynn!
We played for a short time in the museum. There is a really cute hands-on children's area. Eliana loved the dress-up.
A beautiful fun day. I had fun hanging out with my children and my friends. I'm so thankful I have the opportunity to do these fun things!
Blessings
Leslie
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Autumn Fun!
We are doing a really fun unit study this week and it's a free one too! It's called Autumn Treasures (click on the link) and you can download it for free if you want to try it out yourselves! It has a lot of great internet connections as well as lapbook components included.
One of the things in the unit is to go on a daily Nature Hike. My boys are loving this. So am I! I'm not always so good are taking time to specifically study nature - we are kind of sporadic about it. Since nature cries out about God though - it is definitely worthy of being studied!
We are to notice and find things. Leaves are an obvious choice this time of year. We have found some very interesting and lovely ones too.
Isn't this leaf beautiful? I love the colors and how it is changing.
They have also done a fair amount of drawing of various aspects of fall. I love seeing the details that each boy adds in as it shows so much of their personality and interests. Does this boy look proud of his work, or what?
One day we gathered leaves to do leaf rubbings. Instead of going back in the house, I had an impromptu idea to go to the treehouse instead. This was a lot of fun! I loved hanging out with the boys up there - and know I need to do it more often. (It helped that this was during Eliana's nap!)
The boys really enjoyed making the rubbings. It made me wonder when was the last time we had done this? It must have been awhile.
I like using this guide book to help identify trees and leaves. You want to know what I like best about it? It has trees that are here where we live! Not trees we won't come across in our day to day wanderings. It only cost a dollar or two and I bought it at one of our state parks. Great resource if you live in North Carolina!
Here are just a few more photos that I enjoyed. Eliana loves going down the slide! It is even more fun with someone you love.
She also loves to swing.
This is a fun chalk drawing the Rebecca made of some of our favorite things at the State Fair. We were planning to go today, but one of our boys wasn't feeling well. It was a good choice to stay home and we are hoping to go another day soon!
That's all for now.
Blessings
Leslie
One of the things in the unit is to go on a daily Nature Hike. My boys are loving this. So am I! I'm not always so good are taking time to specifically study nature - we are kind of sporadic about it. Since nature cries out about God though - it is definitely worthy of being studied!
We are to notice and find things. Leaves are an obvious choice this time of year. We have found some very interesting and lovely ones too.
Isn't this leaf beautiful? I love the colors and how it is changing.
They have also done a fair amount of drawing of various aspects of fall. I love seeing the details that each boy adds in as it shows so much of their personality and interests. Does this boy look proud of his work, or what?
One day we gathered leaves to do leaf rubbings. Instead of going back in the house, I had an impromptu idea to go to the treehouse instead. This was a lot of fun! I loved hanging out with the boys up there - and know I need to do it more often. (It helped that this was during Eliana's nap!)
The boys really enjoyed making the rubbings. It made me wonder when was the last time we had done this? It must have been awhile.
I like using this guide book to help identify trees and leaves. You want to know what I like best about it? It has trees that are here where we live! Not trees we won't come across in our day to day wanderings. It only cost a dollar or two and I bought it at one of our state parks. Great resource if you live in North Carolina!
Here are just a few more photos that I enjoyed. Eliana loves going down the slide! It is even more fun with someone you love.
She also loves to swing.
This is a fun chalk drawing the Rebecca made of some of our favorite things at the State Fair. We were planning to go today, but one of our boys wasn't feeling well. It was a good choice to stay home and we are hoping to go another day soon!
That's all for now.
Blessings
Leslie
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
A Variety of Random Photos
One of the fun spots of our week is when Eliana has music/developmental therapy. She loves it. I love seeing her participating and having fun. I did Kindermusik classes with my other children and she has missed out on this (no free mornings in our current schedule to do this). I love that she has this opportunity.
We learn songs and play instruments. Is this one cute or what?
Eliana's favorite instrument is the cabasa. A close second is this big drum which doubles as a fun ride.
Isaiah received a pirate excavation kit for his birthday. He loved it!
I love his focus on this project (and all the dust on his face!).
We've had a lovely fall so far and I really enjoy being outside this time of year (as opposed to the summer when it is just so hot). We took advantage of one of our nice afternoons to go on a nature scavenger hunt in our backyard.
We used a form I got from a recent field trip and went out to see what we could find.
They found most of the things on the list - including mushrooms.
This is a "natural" see-saw that they took turns on.
I love pictures from behind and in this one I love that the boys are looking all around in different places to see what treasures they can find.
We walked down to the small creek and of course a couple of them wanted to cross it.
It was a fun way to spend some time and it's something I need to do more often. Fall is my favorite season and I'm hoping we'll get out and do this more often!
We saw Eliana's ped recently at a visit and she requested a picture of Eliana and Joshua. She is giving a talk about caring for kids with medical issues (her specialty is children with chronic and complex medical conditions). She likes putting faces in front of people when she is talking. She has used a pictures from Eliana's heart surgery in the past too. I think she is right. Hearing something and then adding a face to it certainly gets to your heart. It makes it something that is happening to a person and not just medical facts.
Anyway, as I looked through my pics I realized that I didnt have any good ones of just these two, so I snapped a few and love what I got!
Blessings
Leslie
We learn songs and play instruments. Is this one cute or what?
Eliana's favorite instrument is the cabasa. A close second is this big drum which doubles as a fun ride.
Isaiah received a pirate excavation kit for his birthday. He loved it!
I love his focus on this project (and all the dust on his face!).
We've had a lovely fall so far and I really enjoy being outside this time of year (as opposed to the summer when it is just so hot). We took advantage of one of our nice afternoons to go on a nature scavenger hunt in our backyard.
We used a form I got from a recent field trip and went out to see what we could find.
They found most of the things on the list - including mushrooms.
This is a "natural" see-saw that they took turns on.
I love pictures from behind and in this one I love that the boys are looking all around in different places to see what treasures they can find.
We walked down to the small creek and of course a couple of them wanted to cross it.
It was a fun way to spend some time and it's something I need to do more often. Fall is my favorite season and I'm hoping we'll get out and do this more often!
We saw Eliana's ped recently at a visit and she requested a picture of Eliana and Joshua. She is giving a talk about caring for kids with medical issues (her specialty is children with chronic and complex medical conditions). She likes putting faces in front of people when she is talking. She has used a pictures from Eliana's heart surgery in the past too. I think she is right. Hearing something and then adding a face to it certainly gets to your heart. It makes it something that is happening to a person and not just medical facts.
Anyway, as I looked through my pics I realized that I didnt have any good ones of just these two, so I snapped a few and love what I got!
Blessings
Leslie
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