Happy 4th Birthday Madison!!!

Madison is 4 years old! I first met her in October 2006 when she was just 3 months old. She was a very sweet, happy baby. We hoped we would be able to bring her home from Guatemala quickly, but that was just not meant to be. In fact, I had to make 4 more trips before I could bring her home. It was a long, grueling process and it took almost everything I had in me to get through it all. Thankfully 2 years after we met her, we were finally able to bring her home. The sad thing is that it would have been easier for Madison to have come home as a young baby. Lots of fear and trust issues. We are working through it AND she is still a sweet, happy girl. She had a fun birthday! She was so happy that it was finally her birthday. In such a large family, we have lots of birthdays so sometimes it can feel as if it is always someone else's birthday.

Happy birthday, Madison! We love you!!!

She is obsessed with zebras. She talks about them a lot. When we went to the zoo, she kept asking, "Can we go see the zebras?" LOL

Well not everyone was happy it was Madison's birthday. In fact, someone was downright ticked off. Zoe just sat there and cried. I couldn't resist getting a picture of this.

But since she got some cake and ice cream, she realized it wasn't so bad. Haha!

(please ignore box in corner filled with thrift store donations.) :-)

School Days, School Days!

I started this blog as a way to journal certain events about our family. I try to keep a written journal, but what I like about blogging is that I can also insert pictures and do not have to worry that a fire or other disaster will destroy the journal. Let's just hope blogger stays around! :) Today I am going to document a little about Brailyn's 2nd grade school year. I am a little later than I had hoped to be posting this post. Brailyn has been home-schooled since she was in Kindergarten. I have been home-schooling off an on since the fall of 1992. We take it a year at a time and pray about it and do what we feel is best for that child that year. Brailyn decided that she wanted to go to public school for her 2nd grade year. After much prayer and discussion, we signed her up. I was worried because Brailyn is a very tender-hearted, sensitive girl and I did not want the wrong kind of teacher to crush her spirit in any way. What can I say? I am her mom! Plus, I think all home school moms worry that maybe we are not teaching everything we should and that it is possible that our child may be lacking in one area or another. So, school started and the test began.

What can I say? She had an amazing school year! Part of that is because she had Ms. Durden......the best teacher ever (IMO). Tyson and Jordan also had her when they were each in second grade. I had worried that maybe she had lost her excitement and motivational teaching skills, but she has not! She is a Christian and has an amazing talent to fill each moment of the day with learning and fun. Full of energy! She makes a teaching moment out of any thing! What a wonderful opportunity for a child to have a teacher like this. I have captured a few of the activities and events of the year in the many pictures below:

Reading Festival:

Halloween party:

Brailyn was chosen out of all the 2nd graders to be the star in the Winter Concert. The 2nd grade teachers told she was chosen because she was the best reader in her grade! Talk about validation as a home-schooling mom. Well, I guess Brailyn had something to do with that. LOL She was the "grandmother" and we had to make her look like a grandma. I think she is a cute grandma!

A little powder goes a long way:

They also sang some cute Christmas songs:

The class Christmas party:

They also had a "pajama" party right before Christmas break. They went from class to class (between the four 2nd grade classes) and listened to stories. They finished in the library where we sang Christmas carols and had cookies and milk. Then we went home:

They had a Dolphin Dash fund-raiser. They got pledges for donations for each lap they ran:

They had some field trips. Here was one to Tree-Hill Nature Center:

Museum of Science and History:

Krispie Kreme Donuts (before going to MOSH):

They had Award Ceremonies each quarter. Brailyn made all As all year with only one B in the first quarter. She also overcame some of her shyness. I think going to school this year was a great decision for Brailyn:

Her teacher chose her to be "Student of the Month" when the value was "self-control." This was April 2010:

There are other events I could not document (other field trips, events, etc) but I think idea has been shown here. The year came to a close. This was the end of the year party. Brailyn and a friend are playing "hand" games. They are so cute:

Brailyn, your mom and dad are proud of all you accomplished this year. Keep up the good work and stay happy!

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July! What an honor it is to live in this free country. Yes, our country has many flaws......including some of its leaders (sorry, but it's true), but America is America the Beautiful! If there is any doubt, just go visit another country. I do not mean take a tour and stay in a 4 or 5 star hotel and close your eyes to the "realness" of that country. I mean really go and see how the majority of the people live there. I have many times and it has helped me to really appreciate this country. I love American and I LOVE American History. When I read of the early Americans and the sacrifices they made so that we could have the freedoms we have today...........I get goose bumps.........literally! They had such courage and foresight and I could go on and on. To be honest, I did not know I loved American History until I home-schooled. We were never taught in school all of the amazing stories of sacrifice and hardship that so many Americans went through. When I first taught my oldest son American History starting in 6th grade, I could barely get through the lesson sometimes. I felt the emotion rise inside of me and I was filled with gratitude. The early Americans were so determined and had such perseverance and they had such amazing faith! More importantly, they prayed for guidance and direction every step of the way and they went forward to fight for freedom and they fought with such honor! I only pray that our present leaders will do the same. The picture of George Washington praying at Valley Forge is one of my favorites. Pictures really do speak thousands of words! There have been countless other Americans since then who have fought for these same freedoms. So many have lost their lives. As we celebrate this country's Independence Day........enjoy all the good food, fireworks, and fun filled with family and friend time. However, let us all take some time to truly appreciate the Liberty and Independence that we all have and let us not forget that it did not come cheaply!