Today we started back to school! I forgot how much work it is! Thankfully my mom is here to help out with some of the lessons. She was entertaining the little ones while I worked with the big ones. I am terrible at being prepared. But part of the problem is, I don't know how to prepare. I like to wing it. But I know things would run smoother if I was prepared. How do you people do it? How do you school some kids and keep the other kids busy at the same time? How do you keep them sitting quietly? Things actually went rather well today, despite my pleas for help. :-) It's just that right now in my life I am desperate for organization and schedules, but I am so awful at it!
This year, I bought Teaching Textbooks for D. I still love Saxon math, but with the other kids schooling to do, I needed something easier on me. I actually just ordered it today, so I will have to let you know how it goes. But it is CD Roms and it actually teaches the lesson, has him do practice problems, lesson problems, and most importantly to me, it checks his work. He tried the sample lesson online and is really excited about it. He will also finish up his Learning Language Arts through Literature book that I got for him in January. I really like that book. When he finishes, I will get him the next book.
N is moving on into Saxon 3. It's the last Saxon that I will be doing with him. Next year, he becomes independent. He is so happy to be doing school again. It's awesome. I am still using First Language Lessons since it is for 1st and 2ND grade. We like it and I plan on using it for the other kids as well.
For science we are going to start out with our nature journals. When the weather turns nasty, we will move on to a volcano/earthquake lapbook. After that, I have Christian Kids Explore Chemistry that I will hopefully use this year. (We never got to it last year)
We are putting off our Story of the World for right now to do A Child's Geography: Explore the Holy Land. I did a couple lessons last year, and then I realized it was May and the school year was almost over, so I saved it until this year. When we finish that, we will continue Story of the World Volume II.
They will still have copywork, reading, and writing.
Princess C and Toddler B will be starting Saxon 1. Mostly Princess C, but Toddler B will be sitting in on the lessons and learning with her. C will also be practicing writing. She has hit the point where she wants to do things neatly and carefully, so that helps. B is just a nut. Today, we were doing lesson 1, and I was trying to get him to repeat the date and the year and other things. He would shout out goofy answers like, "2000 and mama!" or "Tuesmama!" Oy. This should be fun. And since we are speaking of fun, C and B are doing a shape book of some sort. It is filled with songs and rhymes with a few worksheets thrown in. They know there shapes, but the worksheets have them tracing shapes and letters. I am also going to go through the alphabet with them, and have them memorize a scripture for each letter. We will be using Psalty's song to help them memorize them. C will be learning to read this year using Abeka's reading and Bob books.
I have the book, Drawing with Children that I would like to fit in somehow. We used it once or twice last year and the kids really enjoyed it. But it's so hard for me to fit in the regular need-to-do things, that it's practically impossible to fit in optional, fun things. So, we will see how it goes.
I think that about sums it up. What are you using?
Just when I vow to be consistent with my blogging, my computer breaks. I have had such computer problems, it's ridiculous. N was holding Lil' L when her foot got caught on the power cord of my laptop. He walked away and, BOOM, down went the laptop. There were three things wrong with it. Dell only fixed one problem. We have been trying for weeks to get the other problems solved. Nobody knows what could be wrong with it. The only answer they have is to reboot the entire thing. So we had to go buy an external hard drive - which took us awhile since our "big city" is not so close. Now we have to talk to Dell again. My desk top computer has been broken for awhile. While we were at Best Buy, we picked up a new fan for it, got it working, but then couldn't install the internet on it. Of course. And the next day it broke again anyway. My mom was in CA visiting my brother, so since she wasn't going to be using her computer, she let my sister borrow it. So normally I have three computers in my house, and yet I was not able to use any of them. Very, very frustrating. Thankfully, my mom is home, and so is her computer. Phew. So that's my story. I have pictures to post and updates to share, but for now, I need to clean my house. I have a weekend full of company. Shockingly.
I am looking forward to reading what everone is doing this school year!
And, I am not sure if anyone even reads this blog anymore. But, I wanted to take a minute to update the site, so that if someone does by chance read this, they will get current info.
As of now, Rachael will be having a Tethered Cord Surgery next week. It will be to release the spinal cord that is tethered to her spine. We pray that she will be able to go home within a couple of days. However, the hospital where she is having the surgery is four hours away from home. So, I am sure how the ride home will go.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/rachaelyoung
This is the caring bridge page that I use to update about our families medical issues. It is a quite a challenge to be a larger-than-most family and to have several within your family dealing with medical issues. It has been because of this that we have had to make major changes in our lives.
We no longer can go to church camp as a family. This past year, a few of the kids got to go with family for various lengths of time. It was hard to not be able to see my good friends from around the country that gather each year at camp.
We no longer can take vacations. Our trips are for doctor visits only.
We no longer are able to make it to church each and every Sunday. Thankfully, we have SermonAudio to listen to when we are home bound.
We no longer get to go to things like singing schools like we used to be able to.
We no longer have a strong focus on academic things. It has had to go on the back burner for now. I know that there will be a time and place for that. Right now, we are just surviving from day to day.
We no longer have the degree of structure in our home that we once did. When you have children living in pain, they often also have insomnia. And that can lead to late nights/early mornings for mom. So, a routine has been strange to us for quite some time.
We no longer live tantrum free. Since my time and attentions have been elsewhere, we have a two year old that fits the classic "terrible two's" mold. She is a pistol!! I know that we have lots more time, though, to work on her, thank the Lord.
We no longer own our home. Because of the strain on our finances, we have lost our home. Now we have to rent a home that has no stairs and will allow for pets. We got Rachael a dog to help her cope with her pain. And finding a place to rent that allows pets is quite a challenge.
We now have weekly (some times daily) doctor appointments. I must use a planner for appointments now instead of lesson plans. I joke that sometimes I feel like a professional appointment keeper.
We no longer can always go out as a family. There are many times that Rachael or Hannah do not feel well enough to go places with us.
We no longer can plan a garden. Like I said, when you live in survival mode, it's just all you can get done.
So I miss being a homeschooling family. Now we are a family dealing with chronic pain, depression, anxiety, surgeries, ER visits, DR visits, and medications. We miss being the family we used to be. I miss having the physically abled daughters that I used to have. While I am extremely thankful that they are here with me, and that their conditions are not life threatening, if treated. I do mourn for the lives they may never lead that they once dreamed of.
I don't mean to harp on just the negatives. We have so many blessings, and things to rejoice in. God is so very good. And HE is always faithful!
Please pray for us. We need your prayers, and the Lord's help to wade through this deep ocean of trials.
May the Lord bless you all!
Rebecca
have I been?
I was so faithful with blogging early this year, and yet I seemed to have vanished. Ah, yes, I could blame it on a busy life, or being newly pregnant (back then...now I only have a little over 10weeks to go), or homeschooling, but those aren't legitimate reasons. I stopped because I felt convicted to stop. You see, my blog was about "finding joy" and yet my blog was in some ways robbing me of daily joy. I was writing about joy, about life, and yet not truly living. Not letting go and sitting by my toddlers and simply basking in the excitement of their happiness. Or listening to my older daughters describe the complexities of beauty found in ballet. I was writing, yet not living.
So I stopped. Suddenly, and without explanation. I had this strange guilt about not writing. I'd see comments pop up, but avoided going to my blog. I needed to think. To pray. To ponder. What was the intention of blogging? Was it to the benefit of my family?
Tough, tough, tough questions. These were questions I knew I needed to answer, and I knew they needed time. And after months of reflection I realized that in order to blog I need to prioritize it into my day and life. It cannot be something that takes away from my family. It needs to be carved into the niches of my life. And, it cannot, on any circumstance take away from the time spent at my Savior's feet. You see, I think He was truly speaking to me during these months. I felt challenged to let go of the "blogger identity"...you know the identity that could so easily be wrapped up in number of followers, or comments, or awards, or web-design, or...on and on. Instead, my identity needs to be solidly in HIM. First. And then my family. These unique individuals are gifts given to my by our Father. Gifts that only have a certain amount of time spent here, under my wings. I was to refocus my lens, again. Once that became resolidified in my mind did I begin to realize that I was missing my time writing. And, yet, I still waited. I wanted writing to be a time of blessing. A time that I knew would be spent wisely. I am to be a steward of this time, this gift. And in the waiting did I begin to discover that writing has begun to reignite joy in me. Ahh...the Lord is good!
So I'm back. Who knows if there are still followers. And you know, I'm okay with that (although I do have many friends here!)...I'm going to write to write. And hopefully encourage.
My eldest daughter, Hannah, is quite talented in webdesign. I am thinking that I will have her design a blog template for me. I'm also mulling over the direction of the blog. I'm thinking that once a week I'll blog specifically about my journey with our gracious Lord. And then during the other days I'll write about life. A life with soon to be seven children. A life that doesn't match the life society thinks that many should live. My life. There's laughter and tears. Hopes and dreams. But still, in every thread that is cast is the unbelievable faithfulness of our Lord.
So with that....I say, "hello" to you all again. And, in case anyone was wondering this new baby is a boy. So that makes us 3girls, 4boys. And, yes, all the boys will be six and under. That, in itself, should make for some interesting posts!
Rachel
If you were a fly on our wall, you might hear something like this:
N: We are not allowed to say the "S" word.
D: What about the "D" word. We aren't allowed to say that, either.
N: The "D" word? What's that... Oh, I know. What about the "F" word? Mom does NOT like the "F" word.
At that point, I'm like, what in the world?????
Then I decode their words. S = stupid, D = dumb, and F = fart. Those are the worst words my kids know. 
This morning, B came down wearing overalls looking all cute and everything. Princess C comes over to me and says, "I want to wear oreos."
My SIL informed me the other day that we only have 6 more weeks until school starts. SAY WHAT?!?! That's it?! Didn't summer just start? Isn't it still June? D still hasn't finished last year's math. I havn't bought next year's math. I will be homeschooling three/four kids next year! AHHH!!!! I say three/four because I plan on including B in on C's schooling as much as I can. If I can keep them on the same page as far as schooling, life will be so much easier in the long run. I can't imagine either one of them being ready to sit and learn, so I think I'm going to have to get creative with them. I don't do creative. I wish I did creative. But, I just don't. Oh, and I just realized there will be a new baby to deal with come Febuary. Wow, that sounded bad. But what I meant was, crying and pooping and nursing to try and keep up with therefore school will most likely come to a halt. Yikes, I hadn't thought of that. More creativity. I'm in trouble. Lil' L was born in May, so we ended the school year early. B was born in Dec, so we had an extended Christmas break, Princess C was born in August, and really back then, I was only schooling one child, so that wasn't even a big deal. This is the first baby I'll have to try and work school around.
If I'm talking in circles, I'm sorry. I just now thought of all that.
All summer, N has been working on a snake notebook. He has been researching things like what is the fastest snakes and most poisonous snakes. He has drawn pictures and written things about what he drew. He has printed out pictures and written things about that as well. He has done all of this on his own. I showed him what books to look in, and Hubby looked a few things up on the internet for him. I am quite proud of him. He is the type of kid that loves collecting things. So to have a collection of books and pencils and what not to carry around with him makes him happy. He was just carrying around the stack of things, but then he found an empty container, so he has that filled up and he carries the container around with him. Right now, he is reading over a book trying to find some cool information to write about. He probably has about 20 pages in his notebook.
I love that he is learning and loving it.
I think I lost all of my readers. Hopefully I will get some new ones. 
Life has been crazy busy. Summers are usually like that. We finished off baseball season. That only lasted about 2 months so it wasn't as bad as by our old house. Speaking of old house, yesterday marked our 1 year anniversary of being in our new house.
So on to the news, right? We are expecting baby number 6 Jan 31. We are all excited and happy about it. I have been feeling TIRED! Only slightly nauseous. Just very, very tired. I don't remember being this tired with my other pregnancies. But that's OK, because with my other ones, I was insanely sick. I am actually enjoying this pregnancy so far.
D turned 11 a few days ago. He is getting old so quickly. He is also maturing into such a helpful young man. He takes care of the animals almost completely by himself. He feeds them and waters them, lets them out and puts them away. He is always willing to help and do whatever I ask usually without complaint. Unless it's school work... that's another story. 
Hopefully I'll get back in the habit of blogging. I miss it. I am 10 weeks now, so hopefully in a few weeks I won't be so dead tired.
On the subject of babies, yesterday, my fil brought us 6 guinea keets. The are so tiny and cute. Once again, my camera is in the other room and I don't feel like getting it. I will post pics of the keets when I post picks of the chicks.
Anyway, I cut some pieces of wood and screwed them together and then enlisted my hubby to put on the chicken wire. I hate using the staple gun. It's very frustrating.
The next day I tried to put the door on. Two screws broke and the eye hook wouldn't stay hooked. So I had to have hubby to that for me, too. It's always nice to have back up.
The ducks are loving their new home.
They love the green grass and dandelions. Lucky for them, we have tons of dandelions. On nice days, we throw a blanket over half of the cage to give them some shade. Today, I had to put a tarp over it because it was rainy. A couple of days ago, I gave them a shallow container to swim in. I had visions of duckies swimming and dunking their heads. We put the ducks in the water and they ran back out. One duck sat there looking confused. The next day, one of the ducks had it figured out. It was sitting there, splashing it's head. It was everything I hoped it would be. Today, two ducks were in it. Once they all get in, I'm going to need a bigger pool. Hopefully soon, they will be big enough to wander the property without me worrying that a hawk will grab them.
I'm pretty sure I had something else to talk about, but I don't know what. Ah, story of my life....
My garden is slowly coming together. We had put chicken wire all around it to keep out the chickens. That worked, but apparently I should have built it to keep out bunnies. I have never seen a bunny on my property, but my neighbor says they are here. My tomato plants are all getting chewed to nothing. My broccoli and cabbage plants are all nibbled. My garden is so frustrating to me. We have put so much hard work into it and it looks so junky! There are weeds all over, grass, half eaten plants, rocks, slopes.... it looks awful. We were out there today working on it and it looks a bit better. My mom put some bricks around the outside of the chicken fence to try and keep out the bunnies and we all dug out some weeds and grass. I planted a few more tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, acorn squash, yellow squash, and sweet corn. I still have a lot more things to plant. The calendar keeps moving.
Last week we didn't do any school in order to get ready for the party. This week is looking like we won't be doing any school work. It's garden week. Hopefuly next week we can squeeze in a few more lessons before we quit for the year. Of course, who am I kidding? We probably already have.
My ducks are getting so big. I love my ducks! I want more! They are so adorable! I wish I had pictures to post, but the camera is in the other room and I don't feel like getting up and uploading them. Sorry, I'm just too lazy right now.
We have 16 eggs in an incubator right now. They are due to hatch the first week of June. Hopefully. I am paranoid that none of them will hatch. Reading about all the things not to do it seems as though they don't have a chance.
Well, hopefully soon I will have some pictures for you guys. Until then....