In just ONE month

My life is going to be changed.  In some ways that I can imagine and in some that will be a surprise.  I have experienced it once thus far, so in some ways, I hope that I am a bit more prepared.  In other ways though, this is going to be totally different.  Its one of the many things that remind me that I can't do this in my own strength and sends me to my knees.

In just one month, we will be taking our beautiful, talented and amazing daughter to college.  I'm so very excited for her.  I'm excited to see what she will learn and experience and what God will be teaching her there.  I have a peace about her going there because I know it is God's plan for her.  While I would have loved for her to be closer to home, I'm happy for her that she will be able to do what she loves - theatre - in a setting that seeks to glorify God.  This was a huge part of her decision to attend Liberty.

I'm going to miss her.  A lot.  Its been a sweet (mostly) 18 years together.  Almost daily - learning, laughing and experiencing life.  (And yes, some of that experiencing involved less pleasant things too.)  I know that her siblings are going to miss her too.  They have already seen the hole that having someone missing creates.

For so many years, my family was growing and increasing in size.  I loved that!  Adding more people is always a joy!  I'm so very thankful for the 6 children I have been blessed to walk this journey with.

 Rebecca - you are a joy!  You have made parenting a daughter seem so easy.  I appreciate your honesty, strength, creativity and initiative.  I have loved watching you grow and mature.  You are going to do great in college.  I know that this is going to be an adventure and its one for which I've been praying for a long time.

I've been praying for your roommate.  What a delight to meet one of them this week-end and to see y'all talking and enjoying each other.  I'm praying that you will become strong friends who laugh and encourage and strengthen each other.  :)

I'm praying for your studies.  Praying that the transition from homeschool to college will be a smooth one for you.  Praying that you enjoy your classes, that you seek help when needed and that your faith will grow as you learn more about God and his plan for you life.

I'm thankful for your creativity and pray that you will find outlets in which to express that.  I'm delighted by your love for children and pray that you will meet others there that you can love on while those who love you here are eager for your return.

I pray that our relationship will grow and deepen even though the miles separate us.  I type this through tears.   Know that I will be praying for you often as you will be always on my heart and mind.  Dream big!  I'm proud of you and am always here for you!

I love you so very much Rebecca!
Mom

A quick look at June

This post will just about have me caught up.  :)  This is going to be a whirlwind look at June with the exception of Daniel's birthday which I'll do in a separate post.

We celebrated Father's Day with this silly photo.  We had a more serious one too, but this was just a fun one.  :)  We missed having Christopher here, but the rest did a super job in celebrating their wonderful Dad!

 Rebecca made him a delicious apple crisp (gluten free) which was devoured.  (Not all by him.  LOL)

Our church had a fun evening for graduating seniors and their families.  We enjoyed an encouraging talk, dinner and a time of prayer over the seniors.  

 We loved being able to share this evening with some dear friends of ours.  These two have known each other for many years.  :)  I'm excited to see what plans God has for them!  Rebecca and Andrew, I pray God's blessings on each of you!

 This is Rebecca with our awesome youth pastor.

 One day we enjoyed a beautiful dining experience at our house.  :)  A menu with great variety and a beautifully set table.

Daniel and Isaiah did ALL of the work to pull this off.  It was wonderful.  I'm hoping that they will do a repeat performance for us too!

 We enjoyed Kids Week at our church.  Eliana had Allison as a sweet helper again this year.

 Isaiah, Joshua and Roger helped in the snack area.  It was a fun week for everyone.

 Just a peek at something I found one day.  Yes, those are bite marks in each of these tomatoes.  I just wondered if someone thought the next one would taste different that the last one they bit.  LOL  Not sure what she was expecting.  

Rebecca and I attended her freshman orientation at Liberty.  

It was a full day.  It was helpful to see a room in the same type of building that she will be living in as well as walking to see some of the buildings where her classes will be located.  This is one of the rooms that she has a class in for the fall.

 It was also a nice time to meet some other students and parents.  We toured the new library which is amazing!  We also had several very helpful sessions.

 The day ended with a cook-out and some games.  It was a great visit.  Not too much longer until it will be time to take her there.  I'm so very excited for her and also know that the transition will be challenging too.  We will greatly miss having her here, but I am trusting God that He will equip us because we do believe that this is just where she is supposed to be.

This is a peek at what Eliana's hair will NOT look like in about a month or so.  Super cute and amazing hairstyles mean that Rebecca was doing the work.  I love seeing these beautiful and creative hair styles.

Rebecca is in a musical this summer - Suessical for any readers that are local and want more info, let me know.  She has many rehearsals.  One of the perks has been that I have been able to take very long walks (2+ hours) with a dear and long time friend.  It has been sweet to have the time to talk and encourage each other and I'm thankful for this unexpected blessing this summer.

 While the path ahead is not completely clear, I'm thankful to know the One that knows what lies ahead.  I'm thankful for family and friends who join me and make the days sweeter.  I'm thankful to God for guiding, directing, comforting and encouraging me whether the days are easy or challenging.

Hoping that your summer has been filled with sweet memories.  We are enjoying the pool, playing games and reading books.

Blessings
Leslie

The college decision ...

I've been meaning to post this for quite some time.  At least parts of it.  But, the time just slips away and now its already March.

Rebecca decided to apply to just two places, Liberty University and NC State University.  She decided that if she pursued theatre, that Liberty would be the place she wanted to go.  She wants to explore and learn about theatre in a Christian environment so that her values are encouraged and strengthened in this vocation.  If she decided to pursue a different major, then NCSU was her top choice.  Most likely in the First Year College, like her older brother, so that she could learn more about the various options available to her.

She applied to both schools in the fall.  She also visited both schools.

She heard back quickly from Liberty as it has rolling admissions.  She was accepted!

She waited longer to hear from NCSU because while she thought her application was complete for early admission, it was missing some information so that she didn't hear from them until January.  Another acceptance!  I love it when the envelope is fun!

There are pros and cons to each school.  Things to weigh, consider and pray about.

One of the biggest cons to Liberty was distance from home.  Its not "that far", but when you don't have a car, it can sure seem like it!  Its also not close enough to just pop over for dinner or to bring your friends over for a few hours - both things that we have LOVED about having Christopher at NCSU.

The other challenge to Liberty was cost.  As a private school, the yearly cost was just high.

The biggest benefit to Liberty is the opportunity to study theatre in a great program at a Christian school.  This is something that is exciting to Rebecca!

Then looking at NCSU, the positives included a strong academic program, having a brother and friends already there, being able to stay connected to her own church, a fabulous campus ministry and being close to family.

The negative was really that there isn't a theatre program.

In January, Rebecca received exciting news.  She received a full tuition scholarship to Liberty!  We were elated to see her academic work rewarded in this way!  We are so proud of you Rebecca!  This certainly made the decision a bit easier for her too.

Next year, Rebecca will be attending ...

If any of you have friends attending, Rebecca is looking to meet some people that will be there and is also looking for a roommate.

We are excited for Rebecca and for all that lies ahead of her.  My heart is at peace, though I will sorely miss having her here!  I don't think about that all too often as it is just going to be hard having her gone.  This growing up stuff is really hard sometimes, isn't it?

Blessings,
Leslie

College Visits

How can it be that time again?  My sweet daughter is in her final year of high school.  She has worked really hard and I'm so proud of her.  I loved the sweet girl that she was and and I love the beautiful young woman that she has become and I am excited to see what God is going to continue to do in her life.

After pondering and praying about what she might like to do after high school, she has decided to look at 2 colleges.  Each of them for different reasons.

She is interested in majoring in theatre.  She feels that it would be best for her to learn this in a Christian environment.  For that reason, she has applied to Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.  Its a beautiful school!  We drove up for a 3 day visit called College for a Week-end.  There were a lot of other people visiting then too!

Rebecca stayed with some students on campus and went to classes of her choice.  (She went to theatre classes.)  She also had the opportunity to eat on campus, tour buildings and attend a variety of seminars.  One of the highlights was attending convocation which was packed!  The parents visiting were seated on the floor.

 Music at convocation was David Crowder.

 And the speaker?  Willie Robertson.   You know, from Duck Dynasty!  He was a great speaker and I enjoyed hearing him share with us.

 While we were there, we had an opportunity to see a student production of Les Miserables.  Wow!  It was amazing.  All of it.  The acting, the singing, the stage work.  I know this was exciting for Rebecca to see and consider being a part of in the future.  We were both very impressed and excited.

 I didn't take a lot of photos while I was there (surprise!), but did enjoy a lot of the artwork around campus that was done by students.  Aren't these saran wrap sculptures amazing?

We also saw work done by a comic book artist.  I know that I have some boys that would have loved to see this too!

 Rebecca had a great visit and completed her application soon after the visit.  And she heard back quickly too that she has been accepted!!!

Her second college visit came just a month later.  This time to a school that is familiar to us because her oldest brother goes there.  NC State!  We visited during the Open  House which was a great day to be there.

We were able to walk around campus, learn about several different majors, eat in the dining hall (with Christopher!) and learn about some of the campus activities.

 A running list of tweets about the Open House was playing in several of the meeting rooms.  This is fuzzy, but Rebecca has a tweet on the list.

 We spot a familiar face on the Cru poster in the Brickyard.

 Loved meeting Christopher for lunch and hanging out with him for a little while too.

 He gave us a tour of the new library.  Can I just say that it is amazing!

 And a beautiful view from the deck on the top floor.

 We had to get some of the delicious NCSU ice cream before leaving.  Well, two of us did.

She is still waiting to hear back from State, but should hear before Christmas.

And now it is time to wait, pray and begin to make decisions.  In the meantime she is being recruited by some other colleges to come and visit and a couple have offered her some scholarships.  Its a lot to take in and is a huge decision.  We would love you to pray along with us as she chooses where she will be going next year.

We will share the news once there is something to share.  :)

Blessings
Leslie

Starting School

Life is moving so quickly it seems.  We've been in school now a little over a month.  I intentionally started things simply this year to try to get into a good routine.  So far, that is working pretty well for us.  I still need to get a better routine for Eliana though.  

I am thankful for the opportunity to homeschool my children.  I'm grateful this is an option in our country.  It has worked well and been a blessing for my family.  It has allowed us opportunities to explore so many fun things in our area and around the state.  I love going on field trips and know that it has been a great method of learning for all of us.  

I'm thankful that I can work with my children's strengths and weaknesses.  I pray that those with learning challenges will be strengthened to become all that God has designed them to be and not have a distorted sense of their worth based on their abilities or how they might measure up to someone else.   

I had intended on starting school in mid-August when Christopher went back to State.  I didn't realize that he would go quite so early - or that we would end up in the ER twice in one week.  So we started a little later.  Christopher was home just one day before moving back on campus.  

It really wasn't nearly long enough.  It was made easier by the fact that he is close and hopefully that means we will see him more often.

We helped him move into his new room.

Not a lot of pictures in the chaos of moving a lot of stuff into a small room.  This is the view from in front of his suite.

Love seeing my children hanging out and enjoying being together.  We all miss Christopher being here.    I am the oldest and I think its probably a lot easier on the first child to leave home.  Everything is different and exciting for them.  I think its harder on those at home, missing those who are gone.  I am so thankful he is in a school that he loves with amazing friends!  I'm thankful that he is learning and growing in his faith.  I'm thankful that we get to spend time together and also with some of his friends.  God is good.

My oldest, Christopher, a sophomore at NC State.

He missed going on our back to school night outing.  We had planned to do it when he was here, but then Eliana got sick.  Really, really sick.  That through us off for a week.  Then Daniel stepped on the toothpick.  We did finally make it out a full week later.  First stop ... Wal-Mart.  You are already thinking that this sounds like fun, aren't you?  LOL  It was a beautiful night!

Getting ready to pick out some new school supplies!  Worked well to have a wheelchair for Daniel to get around in.  (You can see his bandaged foot.)

After shopping, we headed over to Moonberries.  Love this place!  They have clearly labelled gluten free options!  I had purchased a "groupon" and it covered treats for all of us and our friends.

Yummy and fun.

Fun having friends join us!

Beautiful girls!

Here are my students for this year.  We do family Bible lessons together and each child does Awana/Scripture memory and their own Bible reading.  I am also doing worldview with all but Eliana.

Eliana is 5 and is doing preschool work.  We are using Handwriting Without Tears, Before Five in a Row and working on alphabet, numbers and sight reading.

Daniel is 8.  He is enjoying Five in a Row, Handwriting without Tears, and Math U See.

This is Isaiah who just turned 11.  He is doing Life of Fred, Math U See (we juggle between the two as needed/desired) and Beyond Five in a Row.

This is Joshua who just turned 13.  (I need to do some birthday posts!)  He is doing Math U See, Beyond Five in a Row, Worldview and Rainbow Science.

Rebecca is 16.  She is doing Worldview, Chemistry, Algebra 2, American History, and American Literature.

These are our main subjects and we will add in a few more things as we go.  For now, this is the basics and it is working well for us.

Love being a mom!

Love being able to homeschool!  This doesn't mean that every day and moment is easy or fun.  Its not.  Its hard work, but worth it.

We started back to school with some new supplies and goodies for everyone.  Eliana's things focusing on reading and writing.

A general stack of art supplies and some books for everyone.

One of the biggest hits that I bought - themed cups.  Yes, I know, not really a school supply, but it makes everyone happy.  They remember their cups too.

Fun notebooks.

Starting the year off with a clean desk/work area.  It doesn't look like that now.  But it can look neat, right?  Just not while we are actually working.

More soon (I hope) on what we have been up to.  For now, we are busy with schooling and other things.  We have fun field trips and co-ops to share with you.  I hope your year is going well too!

Blessings
Leslie