One year ... a different kind of anniversary

And not one that we will be celebrating.  I wonder if anyone other than me will even remember this date.  One year ago today, our world was changed in ways that I couldn't have anticipated.  Joshua was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  This photo was as we entered the hospital.



I didn't know much about Type 1 prior to this date.  I had suspected that he had this disease as it fit the symptoms he was displaying.  It became very clear while we were on vacation that something was just not right.  Here are some of the common symptoms  that Joshua displayed. 

*frequent urination (sometimes every 15 minutes)

*excessive hunger - food is not getting through so they are literally starving

*mood swings - I really only noticed this in hindsight.   I've heard this from a lot of others too!

Those are the biggest ones.  He didn't feel well.  He threw up one night at the beach (too much sugar at his brother's birthday party).  I called the doctor while we were at the beach and made an appointment for the following Monday asking them to check for diabetes.  I was concerned, but truly had no idea.  I had no idea how hard this would be.  A friend told me the same thing after visiting.  She told me that she heard what life was like, but really had no idea how much time and energy it took to deal with it. 

More than 90% of diabetics are Type 2.  Most of the information that people have or know about diabetes is true for Type 2.  Yes, there are some similarities, but there are many differences.  Type 1 used to be called Juvenile Diabetes.  Sometimes I wish it still were as it distinguishes the two kinds a bit more.  Here are some facts about Type 1.

*Type 1 does not occur because of anything you have done.  It is an autoimmune disease.  Something goes wrong in the body and it starts attacking the pancreas.  Usually by the time of symptoms, there has been damage to this organ.  Eventually it will stop working altogether.

*In order to live, a person with Type 1 needs insulin.  This is not a crutch, but is giving the body what it needs to be able to function.  Left untreated, a person with Type 1 will die.  It still happens - even in our country.

*In the early part of the disease, most people have a "honeymoon".  What a name.  This means that the body is still producing some insulin.  The needs for insulin during the honeymoon period are small and some may not need it at all.    Joshua is still in this period.

Though the last few days have given me reason to wonder if he may be coming to the end of that period.  I expected our time at the beach to have more lows.  When we were there last fall, it happened often.  There weren't as many this time and maybe being on the pump helped.  What I started seeing though were unexplained highs - mostly in the mid-morning.  We could typically get him back down though.

On Saturday, the day we left the beach, we tested mid-morning and saw something we had never seen before.  No number on his meter.  Just words.  High Glucose.  His number was over 600!  Just like when he was diagnosed.  I have no idea how this happened.  :(  We fought most of the afternoon to get his numbers back down to normal.  I seriously thought we might be headed back to the hospital.  I'm thankful we didn't have to.

Yesterday, he again had a high mid-morning number.  Then two hours later.  He was 47!  Not good.  It also makes me wonder what is going on with him.  I talked with an endo and we have a plan for the next couple of days.  I'm trying to troubleshoot and figure out where there might be a problem.  As someone said, it could be so many things ... hormones, activity level, stress, foods, phase of the moon, change in tides, etc.  (Just kidding about the moon - it is just an expression that sometimes it just can't be figured out.)

Would you pray for wisdom for us as we try to sort out how to handle all of this?  The plans I was to try are not working and I'm calling our endocrinologist first thing in the morning.  I had to give him a shot tonight.  He didn't say anything, but wasn't thrilled about it.  I asked him later how it was and he told me it hurt.  I hate hurting my kids.  I know that he would hurt much worse without it though.  I'm just ready to get him back in a good place with his numbers.  It really affects him to have such bad high numbers and I know too that it can affect his health.

So, as we mark a year of diabetes, what can I find to be thankful for?  I know I'm to consider it all joy when I face trials.  (Isn't it harder though when the trial is that of a child?) 

I'm thankful that his disease was caught early. 

I'm thankful that none of his lows have put him in a coma.  (Something he heard a medical person say one time and still scares him.)

I'm thankful for the excellent care he has received!

I'm thankful that with insulin he can live and do most things that he wants to do!

I'm thankful for the pump which has given him *and* me a lot more freedom.

I'm thankful for JDRF and the advances that are continually being made.  We do hope that one day there will be a cure!

I'm thankful that God can use this to help us be more sensitive to others.  To be more understanding of physical difficulties.

I'm thankful that we are all having to learn to eat in more healthy ways.  Still something that we need to work on!

I'm thankful for a brave little boy who has learned to deal with far more than any little boy should have to. 

I'm thankful that we serve a loving God.

I'm thankful that one day his body will be healed!

I'm thankful for this amazing little boy.



Blessings

Leslie

Happy Birthday Daniel!!!

I can't believe you are already 6 years old!  It really can't be, can it?  Growing up, but still so young.  Still my little boy. 



There are so many things about you that I love.  You have a sense of style and direction.  You are comfortable being who you are and I hope and pray that will never change.  I pray that you will seek the approval on the One who made you and not the others around you.  I pray that you will have relationships that point you to God who made you for His own purposes.



I enjoy watching you in nature.  You like to examing things and search out interesting finds.  I see this especially at the beach where you seek for your favorite things - shells.  You love the intricate designs and have learned the names of the ones we find most often on our visits to the SC beaches.  (Yes, we live in NC, but I've been going to the SC beaches almost my whole life.)  I enjoy sharing your finds with you.  I pray that you will always seek to learn more about the beauty around you.  Mostly I pray that you will seek God - for when you do this, you will find Him.



I love your smile and your sense of humor.  You often make me laugh.  I pray that you will always have a cheerful heart.



I love that you still like to hold my hand and snuggle with me.  It brings me such delight to just be with you.  I pray that you will always know how much I love you and that our relationship will grow and deepen as the years pass.  I need a recent picture of the two of us together!  I'm behind the camera most of the time and a picture of us is missing.  I'm writing this hoping it will prompt me to change that this week!

We celebrated Daniel's birthday at the beach again this year.  It has been fun to have a party with family.  He picked out the cake.  We had them write Happy Birthday Daniel on it.  He then decorated it the way he wanted, with pirate figures.



We also celebrated again today.  He picked all of his favorite foods to eat today.  Waffles for breakfast.  (It's in the shape of a 6, but hard to tell due to all of the whipped cream!  lol)



For lunch he chose pizza and chocolate gummy cups.



We went to the pool for the afternoon and one of his sweet friends gave him new pool toys.  The 3 water guns were a huge hit with all of the boys!



Home for ice cream and *another* cake!  (Rebecca has done all of the cooking up to this point too!!!)  This cake is a drum.  Daniel found the picture many months ago and has wanted this cake ever since!





We had tacos for supper.  (What a long way we've come in the last 3 years!)  He ate off of the red "You are Special" plate and we went around the table and took turns saying things we loved about Daniel.  He liked hearing what everyone had to say.  We need to do this more often.  Playing ball outside to round off the night.  Oh yes, he opened some presents too.  He really loves opening presents!  It was a fun day. 

Daniel, I thank God for blessing our family with you!  We are a better family because of you!  Happy Birthday sweet Daniel. 

I love you!

Mommy

Guess where we've been?

Our limited internet was due to being at the beach.  It was a lovely week! 



Our condo had no connection.  I was able to go to the lobby area twice to connect, but it wasn't easy or really what I wanted to spend my time doing during our vacation, kwim?  We spent a fabulous week with my family - my Mom and Dad and my sister and her family.  We've done a week long vacation for the last 4 years and it's a great tradition.  One I hope we'll keep going for many, many more!  I treasure this time together and know the children love it too!

I have a lot of photos to go through, so this will probably come in pieces.  Here's the youngest set.  We didn't have any formal or group photos done this year.  We should probably try that next year. 



We saw some amazing examples of God's handiwork while we were at the beach.  While walking on the beach one day, we saw a crowd gathered.  As we got closer, we were able to see that they were all staring at the ground.  A man had dug a small pool and had placed 2 rays in there that he had caught.



When we got onto the pier, we had more things to see.  First, were lots of jellyfish!  It was hard to get a good photo due to the movement of the waves. 



Next was a fun surprise.  We saw something I've never seen in all my years of going to the beach (this same beach!).  We saw a sea turtle!  Isn't he neat.  He surfaced very briefly and then dove back down to a depth where he couldn't be seen.



I was thankful that sharks didn't make the list of things we saw.  We also saw crabs and small fish.  The kids had fun catching them and then releasing them.



One afternoon, Isaiah came yelling as he entered the condo that there were tornados and that I needed to come look.  When we went out onto the balcony, we saw "wind tunnels".  I'm not sure what these are called and they did look like small tornados.  It was wild seeing the water spray where they hit the ocean.  There were up to 3 at a time in the ocean - though one bigger than the rest.  Here are some photos which don't look nearly as neat as it was too see them!





There are some highlights of some of the wonders we saw.  The ocean is such a beautiful place to see examples of God's work.  Honestly though, His work is all around me - each day.  More than the wonders of the sea are the people He has made in His very image.  Now that, is amazing.

God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10

Blessings

Leslie

P.S.  Please check out the blog giveaway I've posted below for beautiful Tonya.  Please let me know if you post about this giveaway on your blog or FB as you'll get an entry for that too!  Thanks!

Scrapbook Giveaway for Tonya

For those of you who have known me (here or IRL for at least 6 months), you are familiar with precious Tonya.  She is a beautiful little girl living in an orphanage in Eastern Europe waiting for her forever family to come get her.  I started praying for her in the Fall of 2008.  Rebecca wanted to sponsor a child for her 13th birthday in lieu of getting gifts.  We looked over the pictures and chose Tonya.  She was getting older (3+) and there wasn't a family interested in her (that we knew of). 

Rebecca donated her money and we began to pray for her daily and to support her fund all in hopes of helping her to find a family.  As we did this over many months, we fell in love with this beautiful child.  While I had hoped that she might join our family, this was not to be.  Another precious family has committed to bring her home.  I'm blessed that Nicole (Tonya's mom) and I have gotten to know each other via email.  I'm thrilled to be able to be a small part of her life - and do hope that we'll be able to meet in real life one day! 

The Niemiec family has been working to raise funds to bring Tonya home.  This is a tough and daunting job as the cost of an adoption often costs $24,000 or more.  Will you join me in helping to bring Tonya home?  I know she will thrive and grow as a part of the Niemiec family.  They hope to be travelling soon to get sweet Tonya. 

Here are the rules for the giveaway.  If you would like to donate money to their fund, you can do so in one of two ways - chip-in or check sent in the mail.   

1.  You will be entered into the drawing 1 time for each $5 donation you make.  The minimum donation using chip-in is $10.  If you want to make a donation smaller than $10, please mail a check to the following address:

Reece’s Rainbow

PO Box 4024

Gaithersburg, MD 20885

The reason for this is that the paypal fees for donations under $10 is 30 percent!  We want as much money as possible going to help Tonya and not paid as fees!  If you do mail a check, would you let me know so that I can enter your name in the drawing?  Also please note that it is for Tonya for the Niemiec family

2.  If you share this giveaway on your blog or facebook page, you will get an entry for that too.  Just post a comment here letting me know what you have done that so I can enter your name.

3.  The giveaway will be open until June 30 at midnight! 

Any donation you make is tax deductible!

Now for the giveaway.  I'm going to be giving away TWO handmade scrapbook albums.  All donations will be entered into the drawing for both albums.

FIRST ALBUM - This is a three ring binder with 5 chipboard pages measuring 5.5 x 8.5.  The paper is a great outdoorsy collection with navy, greens and reds.  It is designed as a "counting" book.  You can count anything - birthdays, favorite somethings, Top 10 things you love about someone, the ideas are endless.  If you have others ideas and would like me to post them - please share. 

Here is the cover.  I would be happy to personalize it with whatever words you would like.



The first page in the album.  All of the pages have room for a photo and space for journaling (writing something down).



Following are pictures of the rest of the pages in the album.  If anyone has questions, please post them.  I haven't done anything like this before and could be easily overlooking a lot of details!



These would make great gifts!  I love giving small albums to people (filled with pictures) as a gift from my heart.









SECOND ALBUM - This is an accordian-style album with a front and back cover and six inside pages.  The paper is a cheerful collection of prints in red, garden green and buttercup yellow.

Here is the cover.

This is a view from the top.



Inside pages.





This is the back cover and the two pages on the back side of the album.  Not a great photo, but hopefully you can see a little bit. 



jkljkl

Camping

My internet is limited and low this week.  Will post a few things, but it will be sporadic.  Just a few late photos on a camping outing Memorial Day week-end.  The kids have been eager to go camping and the long week-end provided a great  opportunity for a spotaneous camping trip  - in the back yard.  The kids had a few friends join them in the fun too.  They set up tents.

Eliana didnt go camping this time.  Hopefully next time.  She did like playing in the tent though. 



She did enjoy riding down the hill on our street while the campsite was being made ready. 

She had very little fear of the hill (uh-oh!).  And can you see the grimy face?  Here is a better look.  I'm not sure what she was saying to me as I snapped this photo. 



They told stories and laughed.  It was a fun night! 

Every good camping trip needs a cook-out around the fire.



It was a blast for everyone.  I'm not sure how much sleep they ended up getting though.  Here was the scene in the garage the following afternoon.



My kids have a great Daddy who is willing to do fun things with them!  Thank you Roger!

Next post will hopefully have pictures and details on the giveaway! 

Love
Leslie

Photo Shoot!

Our local Down syndrome group (Triangle Down Syndrome Network) is making a calendar.  I know that they did this last year and have no idea how long it has been going on.  When the asked for volunteers, I did.  I thought it would be fun - and I was right!

This afternoon, three realy cute little girls and their moms (and one Dad!) met with a photographer at th Rose Garden in Raleigh.  We didn't actually start in the Rose Garden as there was a wedding there - at the exact same time!  It was fine though as there were beautiful areas all around the garden. 

The photographer was wonderful.  She brought some adorable things for the girls to wear.  (We were told to have them in solid clothes and to bring cute shoes.)  As I watched another mom pulling out lots of cute, frilly dress-up, I realized that we were really missing out in this area!  I guess I am so used to being a boy mom and working so hard at having fun dress-ups for them, that I haven't really done much for Eliana.  Now, she does have some great hand-me-downs!  She is so tiny though that a lot of it is too big. 

Anyway, check out this adorable skirt!!!  It was made by two local moms (and we all wanted to know where we could buy one!).  Isn't it cute?  They also made the overall dresses on the other two girls.   ETA:  Here is the address for buying the tutus:  http://twobeestutus.blogspot.com/



They also made this cute hat.  She pinned a big flower on and I was surprised that Eliana kept it on!  (I haven't mentioned, but it was really hot this afternoon!)  The idea was to get the three little girs in various places just looking cute together.  That was tricky!  None of the girls knew each other and the setting was new too.   The idea here was to get the 3 girls running down the sidewalk ... together.



Hmm ... come on Eliana.  I didn't capture her face, but still loved the photo. 



Three little cuties - trying to get them to do the same thing.  Did I mention it was tricky?  LOL


As we try to get them to get a little closer, one decides she will scoot in the other direction. 



We've been at it awhile now and the girls are getting tired, but still don't fuss and are willing to cooperate ... kind of.



I just love this sweet face.



We found a pond which the girls loved!  I know that the water must have felt good on such a warm day.



Believe or not, I didn't take that many photos.  Just wanted some of the experience.  The photographers is going to send ALL of the photos to us so that we can use whatever ones we like!  I'm looking forward to seeing what she took! 



It was a fun afternoon.  I'm thankful for this opportunity. 

More coming soon on the give-away/fundraiser for Tonya.  I had help (thank you Kristen!!!) getting the chip-in on my blog (on the right sidebar) and now just need to take some photos of the albums I'll be giving away.  I hope to do that in the next day or two with all of the details.  Know that you are included in the drawing even if you donate prior to me posting the details.  Thanks!

Blessings
Leslie

Diabetes Clinic

I'm thankful we didn't have much planned this week.  Our week has needed a lot of empty spaces - time to spend being with and helping friends and also at the doctor's office. 

Joshua had diabetes clinic on Tuesday.  We are getting close to the one year mark.  Not a date to celebrate, but it is one that is marked in my mind and heart nonetheless.  More on that later.

As we were waiting at the clinic, our favorite doctor stopped by the door.  She is the doctor that worked with us when Joshua was hospitalized last year at diagnosis.  She is wonderful!!!  We have yet to see her at any of our clinic visits so it was really nice to see her.  I hopped up and gave her a hug.  I then asked if she was here to see us and was excited to hear her say yes!  Our visit was scheduled with one of the attending doctors and evidently she signed up for us when she saw us on the list!  I was thrilled. 

It was especially nice since this ended up being a long visit.  (We were there for about 2.5 hours.)  She talked with us about how things were going and was as always - very encouraging!  Did I mention that she is wonderful?

Joshua's A1c was disappointing to me.  It was an 8.7.  No improvement since the last time.  This number measures his blood sugars over the last 3 months.  He has been on the pump now for 2 months.  She told me that she was pleased with his numbers - though he does still have bad numbers at times.  This disease can be so hard to "control" (and I do use that word very loosely). 

The attending doctor also came in.  We talked about ways to try to improve his numbers.  One way is to get a good reading on his numbers at all points of the day/night so that a good basal rate can be set.  This is the dose of insulin that his body receives throughout the day.  It can be adjusted so that he gets more or less depending on how his body handles things.  The first rates to check would be the ones during his sleep.  This would mean eating dinner, no snack at bedtime (or a no carb snack) and then measuring his blood glucose every 2 hours through the night.  (We could do this in stages and not all the same night.  It would need to be done more than one night too.)  I've told them that he spikes in the middle of the night - always has.  Well, except for 1 or 2 times when he was low.  It's those times that keep us checking in the middle of the night as he tends to drop as he heads toward morning.  In order to set up a good rate, we need a better picture of what is happening at each hour.   I'm typing all of this out and wondering now if anyone really wants ALL this detail!  LOL  I'll stop.

Joshua also had some other testing done.  Screens for thyroid, celiac and cholesterol.  Due to the diabetes, he is at greater risk for problems in these areas and so will have testing done yearly to try to detect any problems.  Celiac is something I wonder about off and on.  Eliana is also at greater risk for this due to having Down syndrome.  I've also heard that this can be an issue for kids with ADHD.  So, three of my kids with a greater "risk" of having issues.  It has made me wonder if I  should go ahead and make dietary changes.  Honestly, the thought is a little overwhelming to me. 

Food is on my list of things "to do" this summer.  I want to work on experimenting with greater foods for both Eliana and Daniel.  Both have made great progress, but still have a ways to go.  I'd love a better list of snack options - real food and not convenience items for all of us.  I'm hoping we'll be able to make more trips to the Farmer's Market - I love fresh produce!  Food, for better or worse, is more than just fixing something to eat for many of my children.  We all have a lot to learn and I want to do my part in helping my children to be healthy and to be able to make healthy choices - not just now, but hopefully for life. 

Anyway, our visit went well.  We'll hopefully hear back in a week or so the results of the testing.  I'm thankful for the surprise of seeing this doctor.  :-) 

I'm still working on the give-away.  Haven't figured out how to post the chip-in - but have some people trying to help me.  If anyone knows how to do this, please let me know.

Blessings

Leslie

Fatherless

This was the word I saw when I opened the church bulletin this week-end.  It startled me and I started to weep.  I had not expected a sermon on this topic even though I had been talking to God about that very thing this week.  (He continues to meet me in places that surprise me and I'm not sure why I'm surprised.  Well, yes I do.  He has been silent for awhile on some things and just lately, he seems to be so very vocal - and I'm loving it!) 

The sermon was on part of the story of Ruth.  He also used the verse James 1:27.

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.  James 1:27

The book of  James.  This is the book that God had me pour over when I was pregnant with Eliana.  A book I studied not really sure what God was preparing me for.  I didn't know I was heading into what would be the most difficult times of my life (to date).  I'm encouraged at the ways He has used this book to remind me, prod me and comfort me. 

OK, back to the sermon.  The pastor described this as the heart of the gospel.  This is pure  religion - caring for orphans and widows.  He went on to say that if you aren't caring for them, your faith is not real.  A bold statement to be true.  There are so many ways we can care for these who are so close to God's heart.   The pastor also stated that genuine religion will lead  you to love and sacrifice for those in need. 

Adoption is such a beautiful picture of what God has done for us.  Where would we be without Jesus?  We would be lost and alone in our sins with no hope, no comfort and no healing.  Yet, while we were still sinners, God sent His son to die for us and He adopted us into His family!  Thank you God for doing this for me!

He shared a powerful story of a couple who was planning to adopt a child.  When it became known late in the pregnancy that the child had significant birth defects and might not live long after birth, they were given a choice.  As this couple prayed and sought God's will, there was a dream.  In the dream, there was a massive football stadium filled with people.  Loud and cheering people.  One by one, babies were brought into the stadium - beautiful babies.  "Who wants this one?"  People would volunteer to come forward and take the child.  This continued until a child was brought in that was not beautiful, but was ugly, deformed and scarred.  "Who wants this one?"  The crowd was silent and still.  No one wanted this child.  Finally standing up on the front row, Jesus walked forward and said "I want this one."   Then she looked again at the child and got a closer look.  She was surprised to see that the child no one seemed to want, was her.  He stood up for her.  He stood up for me.  He stood up for you too!

He loves us just as we are - not because of who we are or what we have done.  He loves us because of who He is -  He is love.

An orphan ministry is being started at this church.  That was another sweet thing to my heart and I've signed up to be involved.  I know God has a plan for planting this passion in my heart and I want to be available to where He will have me help.

For those of you who have known me or read my blog for at least 6 months, you will remember Tonya.  Beautiful Tonya. 



She is an orphan with Down syndrome in Eastern Europe.  I have loved and prayed for this sweet girl for 1.75 years.  Yes, I remember when I started praying for her.  God placed her on my heart.  She has a precious family that is working hard so that they can hopefully go get her soon!  They need help in meeting the financial challenges associated with international adoption.  I'm planning on posting a give-away/drawing for two beautiful handmade scrapbooks.  I'll post hopefully in the next day or two.  I'm trying to figure out how to get a chip-in on my blog and as soon as that is ironed out, I'll post the details.  Please be on the look-out and I hope you'll share it with your friends.  This is one of many ways that we can show our love of God, by supporting this family in their adoption.

If you want to hear this sermon for yourself, you can find it here.   It is entitled "I am Adopted" and the date is 6/4/2010

http://www.summitrdu.com/sermons

Please join me in praying for orphans.  Lets all ask God where and how He wants us to serve orphans and widow.  We know this is pleasing to Him.

Blessings

Leslie

Homeschool Conference - Part 3 - Workshops

This is my last post about the conference.  I thought I'd share a little bit about some of the workshops I attended.  I went to more workshops this year than I've ever been too before - and consequently, less time in the book fair (which may not have been all bad from a financial point of view).  For my first decade of homeschooling, I didn't go to any workshops, though I did often buy CDs so that I could listen to them later.  I appreciated the encouragement I received this year.  I'm thankful for the things I learned and wish I could have attended more of them.  My oldest two also attended a number of them and found them to be interesting and sometimes fun.

I went to two workshops presented by Vicki Bentley.  One was a "Jumpstart to Joyful Mothering".  She asked what we first thought of when we say the title "Joyful Mother" - was it silly that it reminded me of my blog (title)?  One of the key points was that we should ask God where we lack joy and to let Him show us.  The other key points were as follows:

*She also stressed that we need to have realistic expectations of our children.  That we need to include them, laugh with them, listen to them and realize that they will mess up and not to take it personally. 

*We need to have realistic expectations of ourselves too.  Taking care of ourselves, know our vulnerable spots and recogize that we have our own gifts, limitations and family situations. 

*We should recognize spiritual warfare for what it is.  The enemy is seeking to target our mind and rob us of our joy.  Our joy is in us because we belong to Jesus and we need to learn to take every thought captive.

*Recognize the source of our joy.  We are commanded to be joyful.  It is a fruit not a feeling!

I also attended one of her Organizing workshops.  She gave us questions to ask of ourselves such as what is working, what isn't working, why do you want to organize and what is causing problems.  (With more questions and examples under each item.)  She gave many other tips - many of which I've heard and I'm sure you have too - BUT, sometimes it is helpful to hear it again.  I think that decluttering and getting organized is a journey (that seems overwhelming at times).  Trying to tackle it one step at a time is a good thing!  She also gave many, many ideas for setting up learning centers in your home.  I like this idea and would like to try to add one or two to my home.  I have the things she mentioned, it would just be a matter of setting things up differently.  Finding the time and drive to to this is one of my biggest struggles.  Anyone want to come over and help???  Please?

I attended another workshop on "The 7 Deadly Termites" in a homeschool group by Kevin Swanson.  These were good tips and were ones that could also be applied to the family as well.  The first was not having a vision.  This theme came up several times and actually really encouraged me!  God has been good to show me some things that I think will be a blessing to our group and ultimately make it stronger.  Along with several other gals, we presented some changes to our group (prior to the conference) and I'm excited to see what God will do with this!

Some of the others things that a healthy group needs include positive encouragement, sacrifice, someone willing to make hard decisions, someone willing to deal with conflict, flexibility and delegation.  I'm very thankful to be a part of a homeschool group that is very sweet!  It's been a blessing and I hope God will direct and guide us so that we can grow stronger and reflect His love to others.

One of the sessions that was the most challenging for me was one entitled "Unprepared for College" by Amy Barr.  She talked about what college would be like and how it is different from homeschool.  She talked about the expectations of professors and things that students could do that would help them to be more successful.  I'm trying to implement some changes now based on some of the things she shared.

*Syllabus - Using this as a written contract with due dates for papers and tests.  We are starting that this summer.

*Letting your student fail - As homeschoolers we offer flexibility and the ability to work until the concepts are mastered.  She shared that it is good for them to learn how to fail, and how to recover from it before they head off to college. 

*Research writing - One of her tips was to have your students go to a local university library and use the reference materials there for writing a paper.  I'm hoping to take a small group of students to one of the close universities and ask the librarian to help them learn how to use the library.  I think this will be a great thing to know before you go to college!

*Praise students for being determined instead of being smart.  If they think they are smart and come to a challenge, they may become more easily discouraged and think that they can't do it.  If they are determined, they don't expect things to come easily and instead know that they need more practice and hard work.

The last workshop I attended was on Traditions by Jennifer Schmidt.  I went to see if I could get some new ideas.  I like having traditions in our family and know that my children appreciate these!  She discussed why  traditions are important as well as sharing ideas.  She keeps a blog if you'd like to visit and see some of her ideas for yourself.

www.beautyandbedlam.com

It was a good conference.  I left feeling encouraged and refreshed and excited about a new year.  Rebecca mentioned that she wished we were starting the new school year now!  She is excited too!  Gotta love that and hopefully we can hold on to that feeling for a few more months as we take some time off and prepare for the new year.

I hope some of this was helpful or encouraging to you too!

Blessings

Leslie

Adding a chip-in to this blog site

Does anyone know how to do that on these blogs now?  I'm trying to use chipin.com to set up a widget but can't figure out how to get it on my blog.  I tried pasting several into the "widget" feature, but they aren't taking.  Can anyone help?  I'm hoping to set up a fundraiser for a Tonya and will post more as soon as I can figure this out!

I appreciate any help!

Blessings

Leslie