Room Makeover

We gave Rebecca the gift of a room makeover for her birthday - and it has taken this long to get to selecting everything and painting.  Here are some pictures of her room "before". 

View from the door.  We painted the room and added the border.  I loved the bright cheery colors and chose it because I thought it would last a long time.  She's had it there about 9+ years.  The large red/black object is the back of a dollhouse that Christopher made and I painted for her years ago.  She loved it and played with it for year.  It is turned around so that Eliana doesn't pull everything out.  We are saving it for her to play with when she gets a little bigger.  I haven't had the heart to put it in the attic for fear it would get messed up (though I probably should to make room.)



A view from the bed.  Please excuse the really dirty mirror.  I had the dresser hand-painted by a friend of my sisters to match the wallpaper.  She did a great job. 



I sponge painted the bookcase to match the room.  Can you see that there is a lot of painting needing to be done to change it all?



A closer look at the border and curtains.



First job was to pick out the new bedding.  From there we chose colors to paint the room.  She picked two shades of blue - one as an accent wall and the other as the main color.  We added a third color for the bookcase.

We are still finishing up the painting.  We have the bookcase and dresser to go.  Hopefully we'll be able to finish it soon and mark this OFF of the "to do" list.  More pictures soon ... I hope.

Blessings

Leslie

Comments

Hi friends,

Several people have let me know that the comments feature on my blog isn't working.  It seems to be a host problem (not just my blog) and hopefully will be fixed soon.  I apologize if you are getting errors.

Have a great day. 

Sorry this is short and not news-worthy.  It's been a full day and I need to get some sleep.

Blessings

Leslie

Volleyball

Rebecca is playing on a homeschool volleyball team this year.  This is her first year playing volleyball so there is a lot to learn.  Her sport for years has been soccer.  She started playing when she was just 4 and has been playing since.  For many years, Roger coached her team.  As she got older and our family grew, this wasn't an option for us any longer.  Also, the league that she played in went through some changes and unfortunately, there isn't a strong group of teams in the older ages. 

When the opportunity to attend a volleyball clinic came up, I strongly encouraged her to go.  She wasn't sure she wanted to - but I told her to just give a try to see how she might like it.  Well, as you can imagine, she became quite interested in the sport.  One of her coaches is the same gal that directed the play she was in this past spring.  She also knows a couple of girls on the team which is nice too.  (They had not yet gotten their team shirts to wear under their uniforms in the picture below.)



They began practicing once per week in June and then upped it to twice a week in August. 



They had their first game last week.  They won the first match, lost the  second and in a close match also lost the third.  They played well though and kept a great attitude.  The coaches of this team really stress the importance of being encouraging and being a positive example to others.  I'm thankful for the Christian values that are stressed.



Most weeks they have one game and some weeks two.  There are two groups on their team - middle school and JV.  Rebecca is playing on the JV team.  There is a lot of work involved in pulling off a team sport like this - from the coaches, girls and parents too.  I'm thankful we are able to do this and pray it is a positive learning experience for all of us.  (Picture is blurry because one of my assistants smudged the lens and I didn't notice.) 



More as we work through the season.  If you are local and want to see a game, let me know and I'll share the schedule.

Blessings

Leslie

First Day of School

We started school this past week.  It wasn't a particularly good week to start as we had a lot of other things going on, but I didn't feel like we could put it off any longer.  I've tried to schedule out our weeks so that we have some room in case things come up (and we all know that they do).  I want to have Christopher be able to finish most of his work by the end of April/early May - again with some breathing room in there.

One of our traditions for the first day of school is to go out for breakfast.  Roger likes to join us on this outing and he couldn't go on our actual first day so we went a few days early.  Before we headed out I took some photos of the children (while they were still clean).  I took group and individual shots.  Unfortunately, many of the individual ones are as good as I would like with the sun in their faces.  I'll have to try again.



We chose to go to Golden Corral this year.  With so many choices, everyone was happy.  This was a treat for our family as we rarely go out to eat. 



A picture of me with all of our children.  These photos don't happen too often as I'm usually behind the camera.  I'm so very thankful for the privilege and blessing of being able to homeschool.  It has provided our family with many opportunities.  I look forward to seeing what this year will hold.



Another tradition is to surprise them with new things for the upcoming year.  These are typically some of the books that they will be using along with some fun things to add into our days.  I didn't add in all of the school books this year as we are using some of the same things (like Five in a Row), so the pictures are mostly of the fun things.  Some of these things I've been collecting for months.

Eliana has some books, counters and markers.



Her favorite item is the one she held onto tightly ... a new Signing Time! 



Daniel has a game, Reading Made Easy (he will be the 4th to use this book), handwriting book and new markers. 



He was excited about the Lite Bright (bought at a consignment sale earlier this year).  He made a picture right away.  I'm going to need to find some more patterns for him.  (The box was missing quite a few of them.)



Isaiah has a new spelling program (All About Spelling),  handwriting, puzzles, colored pencils and a lego book that I really thought he would be excited about.  It took him a few days, but now he is loving it!



His favorite was the math war game (given to us by a friend) and the balloon helicopter.



Joshua has some new books, pens, and balloon helicopter.



He is excited about the mentos experiment!



Rebecca has books (this will be a theme with my oldest children), CDs and copywork. 



The thing she is excited about ... pencils.  Yes, mechanical pencils.  She loves them.



Christopher has mostly books - and a fun book on bananagrams.  (Really a neat game if you haven't yet tried it!)  Christopher reads a LOT!  Most of these books are ones that he needs to read for school - though not all of them (or even close to all of them as I haven't ordered all that we need for the year).



Just a fun photo.



A few things for everyone to enjoy - new placemats, books and our new Bible curriculum.  (I'm really enjoy this one!)



I'm hoping to share more soon on how I've organized things for the year.  I'm hoping it will really help me to stay focused on our goals for the year.  It's only been a week, but so far, so good.

Hope your week is going great!

Blessings

Leslie

Link to share for adorable tutus!

I wanted to share a link for the Moms who made the cute tutus and hats that Eliana and her friends wore for the  photo shoot.  If you are looking for a great gift - these are adorable!!! 

http://twobeestutus.blogspot.com/

Here is a reminder of the cute outfits.



Here is a link to the post on the photo shoot in which they were worn.

Enjoy!

Leslie

Birthday

We have been busy here and my computer time has been limited for fun stuff - like blogging.  I've been trying to get organized and think this may be my best start ever.  Some of it due to the fact that I have a lot more to organize this year than I ever have in the past.  Some of it too as I'm feeling the crunch of really trying to be prepared for my high school students.  It has worked fine the other way - but I'm hoping that the planning and preparation on the front end will give us a much more productive year!

So, I feel like I've been a terrible blogger and it may take some effort to get back into the hang of things.  I'm going to give it a try this week.  We'll see how it goes.   I realized just how slack I've been when I went to download pictures tonight and realized that I hadn't downloaded any off of my camera this month.  LOL  Guess this will be an easier month to scrapbook too as I haven't taken many photos either! 

Here is a peek at our current week:  Hosting 3 co-ops, working at 2 volleyball games, 2 volleyball practices, friends staying here from out of town for a couple of days and it's our first week of school.  :-)  So far, things are going well.

I'm going to start with a bit of catching up and then will post more (another day) about our week.  We celebrated my birthday last week.  My family was very sweet to me!  The children made or gave me cards.  Eliana's was a scrapbook card (that clearly her big sister helped her to make!).



I have a new screen saver with a sweet wish from Joshua.  (Note the amazing club sandwich in the background.)



Rebecca cooked wonderful foods for me to enjoy throughout the day.  I was also lavished with gifts and cards. 



No birthday would be complete without a cake. 



I'm thankful for this past year and the many opportunities and blessings that I have experienced.  I'm thankful for family and friends.  I'm thankful for a God who loves me without limit.  I'm thankful.



Blessings,

Leslie

Quick update on various things

I know I"ve been a bad blogger.  I've really been spending a LOT of time pouring over various books and trying to plan for the upcoming year.  I'm also working on goals/plans for my children with special needs.  I'm not finished, but I have made great progress.  This is shaping up to be the most prepared year I've had.

It hasn't been all work though.  We have been attending the free movies as we could.  What a real treat!  I'm so thankful for this opportunity!

We went to a Lego event nearby with some friends.  They had very large games that the kids could try out.



The die was enormous.



And lots of fun to toss.



The games are available at Target and other stores.  I think we'll look into this for birthdays or Christmas.  They had regular sized displays you could look at of the games.



The big game pieces were quite a hit though.



One game was a giant board that you actually got on to play.



Just a picture of our little cutie!



It was a little odd being on an outing with just my 4 youngest.  It's been a long time since I had 4 that were 10 and under.  My oldest kids were busy and so we just made some fun on our own!

Rebecca attended a drama camp again this summer.  They audition for parts on Monday and go home with a script.  By Friday night, they are putting on a performance!  It is really amazing what they accomplish in a week.  In this play, Rebecca played a "character".  Her role was nutty, funny and off-beat - and she did a great job.



I think she had a lot of fun with it too!



This week, I've been writing to a friend in Eastern Europe.  Two years ago, I began praying for this little girl.



I fell in love with her just by praying for her.  (Can you imagine what God could do in our hearts if we prayed faithfully for each other?!)  God called me to pray for this beautiful little girl and I have prayed for her and prayed for her.  Well, this week, the family that is committed to her is in her country working on adopting her.  They have run into some problems out of their control.  Would you join me in praying for them that God would work out all of the details!  I know He can do this and she deserves to be in a family!

One last praise - and prayer request.  Christopher comes home tomorrow!!!  After having been gone for two weeks, we will welcome him home tomorrow.  I'm very much looking forward to talking with him and hearing more about his trip.  He has really enjoyed his time there and is already talking about going back again!  While he was there, he took on additional work to write a paper and take an exam in order to earn college credit.  (He was one of only 10 - out of over 180 - that chose to do this.)  I'm proud of him for his hard work.  More than all of this though, I pray that God would use this time to plant deep seeds of His truth that would bloom and produce much fruit.  I'm excited to see what God has in store for him.

He has a long flight home with a couple of layovers.  I know he will be tired from a long couple of weeks filled to the brim with lectures and activites (and not lots of sleep it sounds like).  Would you pray for his safety?  Thank you!

Tomorrow, I'm going shopping with some friends - for school supplies.  I love school supplies.  I've been working on a list and am hoping to get most of what I need while it's tax free week-end!  More on that later.

Hope your week-end is filled with blessings!

Leslie

Busy planning

This week has been busy even though I didn't have much planned for it.  I've been trying to work on a few projects including:

*Transcripts - Working on pulling together all of the grades and courses from the past 3 years.  I will say that I plan to do a better job of record-keeping in the coming year than I have done in the past.  I am not frustrated with my efforts thus far though because I have been keeping great records of other things over the last 3 years - several notebooks full of records from Eliana's first year and Joshua's past year.

*FIAR group - Still trying to get all the groups going and running.  I'm thankful to have friends coming alongside me to do this!

*Planning for the year.  This is such a huge task (or it seems that way).  I'm trying to be thorough now so that I can use my time more effectively during the year.  I'm planning for two high school students this year and needing/wanting to keep good records.  To aid in this, I'm designing a grading grid for each class, a syllabus for the year (dates things are due, expectations, etc) and a planner for each child. 

I want to design the equivalent of 3 IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for my children with special needs.  I want to ensure that I'm doing what I can each day to maximize their learning.  I want to set realistic goals and work towards achieving them. 

So, with all that needing to be done, I haven't had much time for blogging.  I have done a few fun things.  We attended a showing of Charlotte's Web with some families from the play.  I visited an office supply store with some friends (yes, that counts as fun!). 

More later on what we'll be doing for the coming year.  :-)  Hope you are having a fun and productive week!

Blessings,

Leslie

Answered Prayers

So many prayers.  Sometimes you wonder what ever happened in a situation.  What was the answer to your prayer.  Other times, the answer never seems to come.  Those are especially hard and I know I've experienced this quite a bit - yet, I know God is faithful and will answer.  And yes, I do still have plenty to learn about patience.

Other times though, there are solid answers.  It is especially sweet when the answers are ones that excite and thrill your heart.  I've had a couple of those today.

I talked with Christopher this afternoon.  It's the first good conversation I've had with him since he left.  He had so much to share about the classes, the experiences and the things he is learning.  I'm so excited for him!  I've been praying that God would plant seeds deep into good soil, that He would use this time to give Christopher vision and that his faith would have an even deeper rooting. 

He has done some neat things -  running up a mountain, serving in the community, listening to great lectures and making new friends.  He is being challenged in good ways.  He mentioned something he might do before he left - and told me today that he did it.  I was surprised, proud and excited!  He wrote one of the blog posts for the students on the Summit website!  It was so much fun for me to walk through the day with him

You can read Christopher's post here.

As a parent, you do your best knowing you have made mistakes.  There have been areas that I wanted to focus on with Christopher that I just haven't done.  Writing has been one of those.  My world has been overwhelmed with medical issues and special needs for much of the last 3 - almost 4 years (not an excuse, just my reality).  In spite of my failings, he has grown, matured and developed into a really incredible young man.  I see in my son a person who is focused, determined and confident.  I am proud of the work he has done and excited about the work God is doing in his life!  Thank you God!

He told me that he thought it would be fun to come back there and work for a summer.  :-)  I think it would be a great thing to do as well!  I miss my son, but am so very happy for him that he is experiencing this.  I'm thankful for the opportunity that he has to do this.  Thank you for those who have been praying for him!

Another answer to prayer came today too.  The family that is adopting sweet Tonya got their final piece of paperwork corrected so that they are ready to go get her!  They will be leaving next week - well, in just a few days - to go get her.  This brings tears to my eyes.  I'm so very thankful that this beautiful little girl is going to have a family.  I"ve been praying for this for 2 years now and it's finally happening.  Thank you God.  Please pray that everything would go smoothly - from flights to paperwork, childcare to bonding.  I hope to one day meet this precious child face to face - and her sweet mama that I've enjoyed getting to know too.

While you are praying, could you lift up another family?  I had the opportunity to meet Julia at the NC Homeschool conference and have been praying for them.  They travelled to bring Aaron home and ran into some difficulties and had to return home without him.  This was a heartbreaking decision.  There is someone there working to get the details fixed so they can return.  Please pray that all would work smoothly and that the money needed for these extra expenses would be provided.  Please visit Julia's blog to read more about this sweet family so taht you can pray specifically for them too!

Father, I thank you that You are involved in the details of our lives.  I thank you that you are with each of us, especially as we are separated from the ones we love.  Please protect and guide each of us.  Help us to keep our eyes on You, the author and perfecter of our faith.

In His Love

Leslie

A New Adventure

We just dropped off Christopher at the airport.  After a late night of packing and an early rising time, we've seen him off.  He is attending the Summit Worldview Conference  in Colorado.  He'll be there for two weeks.  I know he is excited and I'm excited for him!



Would you join me in praying for him?  Praying for his safety while he travels.  It has been many years since he has flown and never alone.  Praying for his safety while he is there.  He is still recovering from his marathon and I want him to be able to really enjoy all of the physical and outdoor activities while he is there and also to make good choices.  Praying for his roomate - that they would get along well and enjoy each other and be an encouragement to each other.  Praying for the relationships that he makes there - that they would be edifying.  Praying that he would learn a lot - in his head and also his heart.  Praying that this time would strengthen his faith and challenge him in his walk with God in really good ways.

You know, I was really fine with this as we were taking him to the airport.  I do have a peace about him going.  Still, I feel a tear slipping down my face.  I was pondering earlier this morning about how I used to be a person that didn't often cry and was able to really hold it together.  I think Christopher is a lot like me in that regard.  Then Eliana came.  Her heart had two big holes in it that needed repair.  I didn't realize that having her would also cause my heart to broken in ways that it needed to be broken so that God could do a repair on me as well.  The repair was His work, but didn't leave me the same.  My heart is more tender now and often feels raw still.  I can see good in this as it does help me to be more understanding at times (and sometimes I still really need more work in this area!).  He has replaced some of my heart's desires with His (and again there is more work that can be done there too).  I also feel more exposed, more fragile in some ways and definitely more prone to tears.  Its not something I'm entirely comfortable with, but I think it just is who I am now.  I'm trying to stay yielded to Him so that He can be the one working on my heart. 

So, back to Christopher.  He is flying now.  His plane just took off a short while ago. 



Father, thank you for being with my son.  I thank you that you love him more than I can even imagine.  Please protect him from all harm and use this time for your good and your glory.  Thank you for blessing me with this amazing young man.  I'm so very glad to be his mom!  Amen.

Christopher - if you read this, know that I love you and am proud of you.  It seems like yesterday that you were a tiny baby in my arms.  All was right with the world.  Then I turned around and you became a man right before my eyes.  I know you are ready to explore and take on the world.  Know that I'm praying for you always and love you so very much.  I'm proud of you and the man you are becoming.  I miss you already and look forward to hearing about all that you are learning and doing and experiencing there.  I love you!  Mom

Thank you friends for praying with me.  I know he is big and to some may seem so very old.  He is and always will be my "little boy" though.  My heart became intertwined in his 18 years ago when I learned I was going to be a mom.  Nobody told me that watching your child walk off into the world would be so hard.  This is just a glimpse as I know he is coming home in two weeks.  I know that in the future, those tears will slip much quicker.



Blessings

Leslie