Posted in Diabetes

Tomorrow, Nov 7th, our family will be participating in the Walk to Cure Diabetes.  This is sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 

Joshua has been looking forward to this walk for many months.  We started talking about it when he was in the hospital.  He is familiar with "walks" because we go to the local Buddy Walk (supporting Down syndrome) each year. 

Here is a note from Joshua.

I think the walk is going to be fun.  I hope that the JDRF gets more money so that they can find a cure for diabetes.  I hate diabetes.  I don't like getting shots and pokes.  I want to be able to have food whenever I want it.

I know that money is tight and that there are many worthy causes.  I do feel the need to share this one though as it is important to us and many other families as well.  If you are interested in sponsoring Joshua, please go to this link.

http://walk.jdrf.org/

You can type in his name Joshua Nelsen and state and his page should come up for you.  Our team name is "Joshua's Fan Club" which should also show on the site.

Blessings

Leslie

Posted in FIAR Vol 4

We had another great co-op day last week.  I just haven't gotten around to posting about it.  It is always such a treat to spend time with friends and have fun learning in the process.  We had a beautiful day and spent it all outside. 

So what did we learn about today?  Well, pumpkins of course. 

We had a few more experiments on density and learned that all pumpkins float no matter the size or weight.  

One thing that I thought was really interesting was watching them turn in the water so that the stem was facing down.  I'm not sure why they did that, but all of ours from small to large turned in the water like that.  (Can you see that the large one is in the process of turning?)

We also learned about the human body.  We talked about joints (and had a neat visual) of how the joints can break down (ouch that one was a little close to home!).  They also learned about the bones in the body.

They came home with a neat project to label the bones as well as a skeleton to put together.  (The black dots are velcro to which the names of the bones can be attached.  There is a copy of the same sheet with the answers behind it so that they can check their work.) 

After learning about the body, we talked about the style of running done by the man in the book who "shuffled along" and won the race!  The children had several rounds of running a course.  What a fun course too!  It was through the woods and the path had pumpkins all throughout as well as pictures of various Australian animals. 

Lastly, the children learned about hot air balloons and why they float.  They made their own hot air balloons from a trashbag.

They used hair dryers to fill them with hot air and then watched them rise! 

We had a yummy snack of pumpkin muffins and granola.  While they were snacking the children watched the "dancing raisins" experiment.  More on the experiment here. 

While the other children were learning about pumpkins and such, Daniel again had his private nature study class with his sweet friend Miss Lynn.  He so looks forward to these days!

Thank you friends for another wonderful day!  I'm blessed to be a part of such a creative and sweet group of friends!

Love
Leslie

Things are busy here - no change there.  Just thought I'd do a quick update. 

Yesterday, Eliana met with the cardiologist.  She was very displeased to be there.  She fussed at EVERYTHING!  Fussed about blood pressure (so they didn't even try), fussed about having her height and weight taken, fussed about having her temp taken.  You get the idea.  She was fine until someone else wanted to touch or look at her.  Her ped told me this was an appropriate developmental stage.  LOL

Her EKG went well and it all looked good.  Her physical exam was also good.  Based on her size and how she is doing (and maybe a little on how she was acting?), the cardiologist decided not to have an echocardiogram done.  He wasn't sure the sedation would be effective on her due to her being on the cusp size-wise and I don't think either of us thought she'd be still for an unsedated look.  I was fine with that and so we were able to go home a little early.

Joshua went with us and he wanted to play a little in the outside play area.  It was a beautiful and chilly day and he and Eliana had fun playing.  We hadn't ever stopped at this play spot before as it has always just been Eliana and I. 

I'm thankful for a good report on her heart. 

Someone had asked for more details on  Daniel as my earlier post was a little vague.  I talked with a nurse today trying to follow-up about our referral.  We haven't yet heard about a new appointment and she is hoping we'll hear something by Thursday.  We should be scheduled for the first available time slot.  The doctor's notes on Daniel are "optic nerve pallor".  Basically it means the color of his optic nerve is pale and not the color it should be.  It's in just one eye and is noted as "prominent".  I have to confess that a quick google search (I know, why do I do that?) does not make me feel good about any of these words.  I just want our little boy to be fine.  I really just want nothing new to be diagnosed here!  I don't want to worry (I know it does no good), but it can be hard.  I do best just trying not to think about it.  Some days it is just too much, kwim?

Our week ahead is a full one.  I'm coordinating a field trip for our FIAR group.  It's to a new place and I need to work on final details to get it all ready.  We'll be doing some outdoor survival with the older kids and other nature topics with the younger ones.  The weather is predicted to be beautiful so I'm looking forward to a fun outing.

Both of our boys are scheduled to play in the State Championship games of the Homeschool Football League this week-end!  Rebecca also has a soccer game in between the boys' games.  This will be the last of our "Sports Saturdays" for awhile.  (Rebecca has one more game, but it conflicts with our homeschool group's Family Event.)   

As of this evening, Joshua decided that he wanted to miss his last game so that he can participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Walk for the Cure which is the same time as his game.  This is something he was interested in doing and we have talked about since he was in the hospital with a new diagnosis.  The game though was not something he wanted to miss - until now.  So, we need to make plans to join in the walk.  I really don't know much about it and we have not done any fundraising either.  I think that we will just go and experience it.  I think it will be really nice for Joshua to meet someone else with diabetes. 

Rebecca and I have been invited to do a presentation at Duke next week about community service.  We'll share some of our story and lead a class in jewelry making to about 150 student athletes.  We'd love prayers as we prepare.  We are excited about this opportunity and want to make the most of it. 

We are also preparing for our homeschool group's largest event of the year coming up in about a week and a half.  My job is organizing and coordinating.  It is a really fun event which is done cooperatively.  This year our theme is The Gullywasher (a Five in a Row title).  I'm looking forward to it.

Well, it's late and I need to get some sleep as the morning always comes faster than I'd like for it too.  Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragment to me.  I appreciate it.  This has been a hard season of life and I'm in a struggle.  I feel as though I've been buffeted by challenges on and off for quite awhile.  I am trying to rest and trust - though it has not been easy.  I have never been as aware of the spiritual warfare going on around me as I am now.  I'm thankful that I know the One who has already won the battle.  

With love,

Leslie 

Posted in Family

We were fortunate to be able to go to the Fair on a beautiful sunny day - and with friends too!  Rebecca had entered two items in the fair and was very excited to see if she had placed with either of them.  We went to a few other exhibits on our way to see her items. 

How exciting it was to go to the case and find that she had indeed gotten ribbons - two blue ribbons!  Congratulations!!!  You did a great job Rebecca!

The first ribbon was for this beautiful jointed doll that she made. 

The second was for this food made from felt.  It's a blueberry waffle breakfast.  The waffles are sitting on a waffle maker (really cute).  The meal also includes sausage and a fruit cup.  It's so cute!

My children have enjoyed this exhibit and look forward to going back each year.  You start with a basket and then wander through the garden areas of things that grow in NC.

The children are able to pick and gather various fruits and vegetables.

When their basket is full, it is weighed and exchanged for some money.

You can use this to buy a bag of goodies - including an apple and some peanuts.  Eliana loved her apple this year.  I love seeing her eating it on her own!

The DMV hosts a driving safety experiential exhibit. 

They also gave out "clickers".  (Really loud and lots of ours have disappeared thankfully!)

Of course we had to see some animals and the ducks and chicks were the cutest!

Bumper cars are the favorite ride for my family.  Just look at their faces!

I was able to do something really fun too!  There was an Artisan Bread class.  We thought it would be short and we would go in and enjoy the beginning of it.  My friend Rebecca and I and some of the kids (5) started out in the class.  Well, it wasn't a short class and so the kids drifted out.  Rebecca and I stayed because ...

it was fun and interesting and I was chosen to be a volunteer.  :-)  One of the first jobs was to cut and weight the dough.  I've had some practice with a scale and this was fun. 

The chef from Neomonde Baking Company was hilarious!  It was a lot of fun learning the techniques and making the bread.

Doesn't this look yummy?  Oh, and did it all taste good!  We made a pumpernickel with raisins and walnuts, a whole grain and focacia.  It was all delicious and I was able to bring a loaf of each home (and sample it there too). 

It was a fun day filled with lots of sights and sounds.  We were worn out by the end of the day and ready to go home to rest.  I'm thankful that we were all healthy and able to have a fun day together.  Hope you are able to enjoy a fun fair where you live!

Blessings
Leslie

I had typed up an entry and our computer froze and lost it.  So for now, I'll just let the picture speak.

I love you sweetie!

Leslie

Posted in FieldTrip

Today was field trip day.  It was a beautiful, sunny day - just perfect for an outing with friends.  We visited Historic Oak View County Park.  This is a 19th century historic farmstead.  Our larger group was split in half and we then toured the grounds.  We viewed the home from the outside only.  The left side of the house is the original house (1855) and is built in Greek Revival style.  The right side of the house (Colonial Revival) was added on in the 1940s. 

There was a lovely gazebo in the front of the house.

We went into the kitchen, a separate building behind the house.  We talked about things that we used and done differently than today. 

The children helped start the making of butter by using cream in a jar.  (Much easier than using a churn, though mine have liked doing that in the past.) 

Next, we went outside and the children had the opportunity to try using a washboard to clean some clothes. 

Three children at a time were able to wash clothes.

Eliana loved this.  Of course, she loves anything with water!  Her wonderful big sister was helping her!

Just thought this was a fun picture of Isaiah and Joshua with their buddy Joe.

The cash crop for the plantation was cotton.  Until the boll weevils came through destroying cotton in the US.  They switched then to pecan trees.  The children were able to go into this  "field" of cotton and pick one. 

I know you can't see it, but I love the he wears a Down Syndrome Awareness bracelet on his right arm.  :-) 

Getting the seeds out is hard work.

I think this is a really pretty plant.  Feels so soft too!

Next we went into an old barn and learned more about cotton. 

The children twisted cotton to show how it strengthened the fibers. 

We saw an old gin,

a huge bale of cotton and even a boll weevil.  (It was much smaller than I had imagined.) 

Eliana loves hanging out with her friend!

The children learned about artifacts.  We were told that to be an artifact it had to meet these three criteria

*must be old

*must be made by humans

*must be used by humans.

The children were given several artifacts and then tried to figure out what they were used for - and it wasn't as easy as you might think!  Two of the items are in the next two pictures.  See if you can guess how they were used. 

After figuring it out, a spokesperson from each group shared with the rest of the group what the tools were used for.  Did you have a guess?

The first one is a tool used to remove the nails from horseshoes.  The second is to scrape away the hair and skin from a pig in order to have clean meat.  (yuck!)

We stayed for a picnic lunch.  There are large grassy areas (where the pecan trees are growing) that are an ideal spot to picnic and play.  Daniel loves hanging out with his friend Miss Lynn!

We played for a short time in the museum.  There is a really cute hands-on children's area.  Eliana loved the dress-up. 

A beautiful fun day.  I had fun hanging out with my children and my friends.  I'm so thankful I have the opportunity to do these fun things!

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in Nature Studies

We are doing a really fun unit study this week and it's a free one too!  It's called Autumn Treasures (click on the link) and you can download it for free if you want to try it out yourselves!  It has a lot of great internet connections as well as lapbook components included. 

One of the things in the unit is to go on a daily Nature Hike.  My boys are loving this.  So am I!  I'm not always so good are taking time to specifically study nature - we are kind of sporadic about it.  Since nature cries out about God though - it is definitely worthy of being studied!

We are to notice and find things.  Leaves are an obvious choice this time of year.  We have found some very interesting and lovely ones too.

Isn't this leaf beautiful?  I love the colors and how it is changing.

They have also done a fair amount of drawing of various aspects of fall.  I love seeing the details that each boy adds in as it shows so much of their personality and interests.  Does this boy look proud of his work, or what?

One day we gathered leaves to do leaf rubbings.  Instead of going back in the house, I had an impromptu idea to go to the treehouse instead.  This was a lot of fun!  I loved hanging out with the boys up there - and know I need to do it more often.  (It helped that this was during Eliana's nap!)

The boys really enjoyed making the rubbings.  It made me wonder when was the last time we had done this?  It must have been awhile.

I like using this guide book to help identify trees and leaves.  You want to know what I like best about it?  It has trees that are here where we live!  Not trees we won't come across in our day to day wanderings.  It only cost a dollar or two and I bought it at one of our state parks.  Great resource if you live in North Carolina!

Here are just a few more photos that I enjoyed.  Eliana loves going down the slide!  It is even more fun with someone you love. 

She also loves to swing.

This is a fun chalk drawing the Rebecca made of some of our favorite things at the State Fair.  We were planning to go today, but one of our boys wasn't feeling well.  It was a good choice to stay home and we are hoping to go another day soon!

That's all for now.

Blessings

Leslie

Posted in DownSyndrome

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Posted in Family

One of the fun spots of our week is when Eliana has music/developmental therapy.  She loves it.  I love seeing her participating and having fun.  I did Kindermusik classes with my other children and she has missed out on this (no free mornings in our current schedule to do this).  I love that she has this opportunity. 

We learn songs and play instruments.  Is this one cute or what?

Eliana's favorite instrument is the cabasa.  A close second is this big drum which doubles as a fun ride. 

Isaiah received a pirate excavation kit for his birthday.  He loved it!

I love his focus on this project (and all the dust on his face!).

We've had a lovely fall so far and I really enjoy being outside this time of year (as opposed to the summer when it is just so hot).  We took advantage of one of our nice afternoons to go on a nature scavenger hunt in our backyard. 

We used a form I got from a recent field trip and went out to see what we could find.

They found most of the things on the list - including mushrooms.

This is a "natural" see-saw that they took turns on.

I love pictures from behind and in this one I love that the boys are looking all around in different places to see what treasures they can find.

We walked down to the small creek and of course a couple of them wanted to cross it. 

It was a fun way to spend some time and it's something I need to do more often.  Fall is my favorite season and I'm hoping we'll get out and do this more often!

We saw Eliana's ped recently at a visit and she requested a picture of Eliana and Joshua.  She is giving a talk about caring for kids with medical issues (her specialty is children with chronic and complex medical conditions).  She likes putting faces in front of people when she is talking.  She has used a pictures from Eliana's heart surgery in the past too.  I think she is right.  Hearing something and then adding a face to it certainly gets to your heart.  It makes it something that is happening to a person and not just medical facts.

Anyway, as I looked through my pics I realized that I didnt have any good ones of just these two, so I snapped a few and love what I got!

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in FIAR Vol 4

It was time again for our co-op.  We are meeting every other week.  We go on field trips during the alternate weeks with our FIAR group.  So each week we look forward to this day as a fun hands-on day of learning with our friends.

Our book for this co-op was Cowboy Charlie.  It is a true story of an artist who painted beautiful pictures of the West.  The story tells of how he went out west, learned to be a cowboy and was friends with the Native American people. 

Our day was wet and cool, but that did not dampen the fun had by all.  Some of the children dressed up.

Can you see the teepee made from branches?  The circles on the photo are raindrops.

We read the story to start the day.

The children were then given passports of various historical characters. 

There were pictures and some facts on the front and more details on the back.

It was fun to hear the stories of the people from the past. 

Sometimes the characters were a really good match.  lol

They travelled around the yard and listened to stories about these people.

They came to a table filled with interesting things ... a turtle's shell, claws from a hawk and an owl, various bones, precious stones including fool's gold and amethyst.  My boys really loved seeing and touching these things!

Eliana and her friend Julianna always have fun playing together.

The children took turns trying to rope the steer. 

This was supposed to be our snack site complete with water to pour from the kettle, but the weather drove us inside. 

The children learned about the stars and God's story behind the constellations.  They each had a hands-on poster to work with as they were learning.

We finished the morning with a yummy snack from our sweet hostess! 

Thank you Lynn and Vivian for a wonderful morning!  I love this co-op and can't wait until we meet again.

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in DownSyndrome

We attended our local Buddy Walk which was this past Sunday.  I've really enjoyed this event and especially the opportunity to see so many people with Down Syndrome.  I still remember the first year when we pulled up to a very full parking area.  I cried.  I was overwhelmed with the number of people there supporting the Buddy Walk and the many beautiful faces that I saw with Down syndrome.

On our way to the event this year, Isaiah got sick in the car.  I was so bummed for him and for all of us.  He had gotten dressed with his Buddy Walk shirt from last year because he was excited about going to the event.  I hated that he would miss it.  Roger dropped the rest of us off and he and Isaiah went home.

We were able to enjoy more of the games and activities this year.  Some of the fun included a large inflatable slide.  Eliana LOVED this and was happy to go again and again on it.

Mini golf was fun too.

Fun firetruck ride.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day.  After the forecasts for rain, we were very happy to see the sun. 

We enjoyed lunch there (bbq) and treats too.  Joshua's numbers were good and he managed to have a few treats too.  :-)

Daniel loved the art table.  I need to do more of this in our days. 

It is on a nice canvas that I need to hang up soon.  Daniel was very proud of his work and I really like it too!

Hanging out with my dear friend Rebecca.

Sisters.  (One of my favorite kinds of pictures - from the back.)

Going on the walk.  This year Eliana was big enough (and willing enough) to do the whole walk herself.  It isn't a super long walk, but she is still small.  She seems to enjoy the walking and seeing the many posters along the route.

Just loved Eliana's sweet face in this way.

As we were walking and looking at the signs, we were keeping an eye out for Eliana's sign.  It was towards the end of the walk, and there was a lot of excitement to see her cute little self looking back at us.

Don't you wonder what she is thinking?

We ran into my friend AJ and her cute daughter Janna.  It's fun to see friends at these events.  I wish we lived closer and could see each other more often.

It was a fun day.  I look forward to going again next year.

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in FieldTrip

We had a wonderful field trip last week with our FIAR group to learn from the people of the Occaneechi Tribe of the Saponi Nation.  This is a field trip that I was very excited about coordinating and it fully lived up to my expectations and then some!!!  I highly recommend a trip if you are in this area.

We visited with the link and learned more about their life in the past and their contributions to our culture.  It was a fascinating day.  It was made all the richer for the many wonderful men and women that took part in the day.  They were kind, patient, interesting and informative. 

We learned about the archeological work that is going in excavating an old Indian village (thought to be Occaneechi).  (Click on links to read more.) 

Some local university students talked with us about foods that were native to the Americas.  We also heard from a man representing the Trading Path Association that is working to locate and preserve old trading paths.

Next we watched a tribal dance.

Then we participated as a group in a large circle.  (I'm carrying Eliana in a bright pink sling and holding Daniel's hand.)

There was a run-down shell of a home on the land and the man that was there told us that he lived in this house many years ago.  It was just part of the original home where he lived with his 10 siblings.  He told us about what life on the farm was like.  He also demonstrated using a saw, splitting wood and shucking corn as he told about the chores he did before school started.

Some of the children taking a turn at getting the dried corn off of the cob.

Playing at the well - which still worked!

Just a picture of my little cutie just hanging out.

We listened to some storytelling which was fun and heard the story behind this dress.  It weighs 45 pounds!!!  Can you imagine wearing that?

We learned about tools used in farming and fishing.

We also learned about weapons.  This table was fascinating for the children - especially the little boys!!! 

The interpreter had made all of the weapons on display. 

He told about each one and patiently answered questions. 

He also demonstrated making a dart out of a thistle.  I thought this was so cool!

He shot the dart many times so I could get this picture.  Can you see the dart to the right?

Here is the target and many darts.

A cricket holder is fascinating.

Or maybe it is just playing with a bigger friend.

We also learned about foods and cooking.

Above are some tools and things used in daily life.

Below, we learned about dream catchers.

This gal was so very patient and had a sweet chat with my little Daniel.

Just another shot of my little cutie pie.  I can't resist.

We had an awesome day.  The weather was beautiful!  The site was interesting and fun.  The company was sweet.  What more could we ask for!

Blessings
Leslie

I host a monthly meeting for our FIAR group.  This is a mom's meeting and is time to relax and be refreshed and encouraged.  I enjoy these times with my friends.  We typically talk about what we are doing with FIAR, upcoming field trips and then move onto our monthly topic.  This month, we had a guest speaker (and friend) return to our group.  Sue Patrick (workbox system) spoke to us about how to use posters and make centers.  We learned a lot and saw a lot of examples of things she had made and ways she made things fun and interactive.

We all left inspired.  A couple of nights later a local educational store held a homeschoolers reception.  Many of us from the meeting were there - buying posters and other fun things to add to our homeschool day.  I'll hopefully share some examples as I make some things to use in our schooling.

Awhile back, I don't remember when, Rebecca offered to make dessert for our mom's meeting.  I was happy to have her do this.  Cooking is not my favorite activity and Rebecca really enjoys baking and decorating.  This month we saw a really cute dessert on the front of Southern Living Magazine and thought it would be great!  It was!

Rebecca invited her friend Hanna over to help with the decorating and they did an awesome job!

The cakes are pumpkin and the stems, vines and leaves are made from caramels.  Yes, they  hand-fashioned each one!  Aren't they adorable?  And they tasted good too.

I'm sure we'll be having these again since we now have a cute little mini Bundt pan.  Mom, want us to have these for Thanksgiving? 

Just wanted to share in case anyone was looking for a cute and yummy fall treat.

ETA:  Sorry about the missing pics.  I wrote the post the night before and then posted it later thinking the pictures were in it already.  Thanks Sheri for letting me know!

Blessings

Leslie

Thank you friends for your encouragment and support of me teaching Eliana.  I appreciate it so very much!  I will definitely keep posting as I have news and as we figure out what is best for our little cutie. 

I wanted to post a few more things from last month.  I went again to the consignment sale and found some wonderful things for our children.  Of course Eliana got the most.  She needs it and there are soooo many cute things for little girls!  Rebecca has had fun trying some of the new things on her - and I think Eliana enjoys it too.  Hope we aren't creating a monster.

Rebecca went with me to the sale and she loved picking out things for Eliana too.  Here is one of her picks.  Eliana loves the soft fur.  Not what I would have picked, but it is cute on her.  I think those two girls are going to have fun shopping together when they are old enough to go without me. 

I was able to find things for the boys too though none of them needed too much.  We even found some things for Rebecca.  I also bought some books and toys and hooded towels.  Eliana loves wearing the hooded towels after her baths.  Just makes me laugh!  Oh, and a cute little pink chair for Eliana (another one of Rebecca's picks). 

All in all another successful trip to the sale.  I'm thankful to be able to shop here as it saves us a lot of money!

Blessings
Leslie 

Posted in DownSyndrome

I am blessed in so many ways.  I know that sometimes people look at my life and see the weight or the burdens of things we are dealing with.  I understand that.  I probably would have viewed it that way a few short years ago.  A lot has changed in our life in a few short years.  I won't say that it hasn't been hard - or that it doesn't continue to be hard some days.  Without going through the hard times though, I wouldn't have learned about God's faithfulness, love and goodness. 

The hard times have changed me and given me a different perspective on things.  For me, this is a good thing.  That doesn't mean that I don't wish at times that it were easier, that there weren't so many decisions and things to figure out.  It is an area though in which I have much to learn about leaning on God, listening to Him and following where He leads me (and that isn't always where *I* want to go!). 

Lately, I feel overwhelmed with the need for information and also the need to make decisions.  What is best for each child?  How can I help my children to learn given their unique and sometimes challenging learning needs?  How do I even know what is best given the myriad of choices available and the conflicting advice on which route to take.  It leaves my head swimming sometimes, though I'm trying to tackle it a little bit at a time. 

One of the blessings of making decisions and that most of them aren't final.  I'm not commiting to something that can't be changed if it isn't working for our family.  I'd like to make the best/right decisions the first time, but know that isn't always possible.  I don't want to make wrong decisions though that are detrimental.  Does this even make sense?

One of the decisions looming in our future is what to do with Eliana when she turns 3.  She is currently in a program for children age 0-3.  While in this program she receives therapy for her various developmental needs.  This is a wonderful service.  Most of these therapies occur in our home which is also a blessing.  She currently has 5 therapies per week (2 speech, 1 occupational/feeding, 1 physical therapy, and 1 developmental/music therapy).  This will all end when she turns 3.  The typical course of action is to then enroll in public school preschool where she would get therapy.

Personally, it would be very hard to enroll my little girl (she is still so very young developmentally) in school and have her gone each day.  I do want to do what is best for her though.  I'm not sure that for our family though that this is the best choice.  I'm still praying, pondering and looking into our options.  I'm wanting God to show us what is best for Eliana.

I've had a couple of things recently that are encouraging me that we can school our girl at home.  Not big things.  I'm not sure God always speaks to me in big ways though. 

Therapy.  That is honestly the biggest draw to putting her in school.  Our insurance will cover some therapy, but not all of it.  We recently had good news about the therapies that Eliana will be able to receive that is covered by our insurance.  She is eligible for twice what we thought she would be able to get.  One half of that would be for speech and the other half for pt/ot.  It is not the amount that she gets now, but is still much more than we thought we'd be able to get.  I'm thankful for that!

Teaching Eliana.  She learns in some different ways that will make using a traditional curriculum challening unless adapted for her.  I have a lot to learn about how best to do this (while juggling schooling for my other children as well).  I've gotten some encouragment here too.  I'm going to share three of them.

First, my friend Hollie recently showed me a curriculum designed for special needs children (specifically Down syndrome) made by/for BJU press.  I wrote to the gal that wrote it and she sent me a copy of the curriculum for 3yos.  It isn't complete, but is a great start.  I need something to help me as I get started and I think this will be a great thing.

Second, I ran into a blogging friend while we were on vacation!  How ironic is that?  I recognized her daughter from pictures on her blog and when I heard her name, I knew it had to be her!  Beth is homeschooling her 11yo daughter who also has Down syndrome.  She has shared great information with me in the past about homeschooling DS.  We were able to talk briefly and I shared some of my concerns with her.  Beth was very encouraging to me that I could do this. 

Third, just today I received a gift.  Two new books that will help me teach Eliana. 

Teaching Math to children with Down Syndrome
AND
Teaching Reading to children with Down Syndrome.

Rita was doing a give-away on her blog to celebrate the birthday of a little girl that lives far away that has captured her heart.  You can read more about this celebration and see her beautiful family on her blog.  Thank you Rita!

Now, I realize that none of this is huge.  I realize that this may not be God's answer.  I'm open to hearing, but am increasingly at peace with the path I believe He is leading us down.  I am thankful for the opportunities that I have to learn, to be molded and to grow.  I'm thankful for a Father that guides me, teaches me and loves me completely. 

I'm thankful for the sweet gifts He gives along the way!
Leslie

Posted in Family

Part 2 of our beach post.  More on our current week and field trip today - tomorrow.  :-) 

On our way home from the beach, we decided to stop by the Battleship.  We had seen it on our way down and Isaiah was very interested in going on it.  We went there with our History group, but at that time Isaiah was very small - and Daniel was still tucked inside. 

We had a beautiful day and there were lots of other people there wanting to visit it too!  The crowds and tight places were a little difficult for Isaiah.  I was surprised as he had wanted to go so very much.  God was gracious to give me patience to work with him despite the crowds waiting on us.  Things did improve and though he wanted to exit numerous times, I think overall he remembers it positively.

Here are some photos.  This was just outside the battleship.

We started in a small museum where there were models of all of the USS North Carolinas throught he years. 

There was also a dress up area which of course my boys wanted to do!

Then we toured.  You are able to go on so much of the ship and learn about what life was like on it.  It is definitely worth a stop if you are interested at all!

This is from the bakery - the muffin trays were HUGE!

The bunks for the enlisted men were 4 deep!   Talk about tight quarters!

Lots to explore, touch and learn about.

A fun family field trip. 

Blessings
Leslie

Posted in Family

This is a belated post - but better late than never.  We had two big trips in September and I want to post pics from both of them. 

The first was a week at the beach.  We met our friends from VA there for the week.  They are in a unit just a short ways down the beach from us.  This is the third year we've met there and it has become a fun tradition.  I'm not going to write much, but wanted to share some photos.

Eliana LOVES the beach!  She loves the sand and also the water.  We had trouble with her eating the sand this year.  I couldn't figure out why she kept eating after taking the first fistful.  Yuck! 

Daniel loves to find shells.  He spends a lot of time looking and is really quite good at spotting them too.  He loves his shell collecting bag that he got from the Kenkels too!

Christopher giving Aaron a ride. 

I'm not sure why anyone would want to be buried up to their head in sand - but apparently it is fun for at least two of my boys. 

I just love seeing my boys hanging out and having fun together.

Boogie boarding is a big hit with my older kids.

Hannah and Rebecca enjoy having a week to hang out as they miss being able to just run next door.

Another one of Christpher and Aaron.  Christopher is really great with younger kids and it's sweet to see him playing with Aaron.

Of course, we have fun building sand castles - and not too many pictures though.

Just having fun looking for shells and stopping for a picture so I can remember the moment.  We were down by the "river" (an inlet from the ocean) where there are always lots of good finds.  It was a sweet time.

We had a wonderful week and were thankful to share it with our friends.  We look forward to doing it again next year.

Blessings
Leslie

Today has been a very, very full day.  It was our "Sports Saturday".  Roger was working a half day today, so the kids and I got up this morning to get Joshua to his game (30 min away) by 9:30.  His team played great and won their game.  It was a beautiful sunny morning too.

We went home and had lunch and little down time.  Next at 2 we left for Rebecca's soccer game in the next town.  She played well and scored a goal for her team.  Home again for a short time - to pack up a picnic and get things ready for Christopher's game.  It was an away game over an hour away.  We left at 5pm.  Had a picnic dinner when we arrived and then waited.  By this time it is dark - and cold! 

Christopher's team was missing a lot of players and as a result, many of them played both offense and defense.  They played hard but were unable to win the game.  I'm proud of their effort though!  We got hom very late - about 10:30.  Everyone is beat and headed to bed already.  I'm going to join them soon.  First though, I wanted to share some pictures of our first fun co-op!

We are part of a new co-op using FIAR volume 4.  I did this years ago with Rebecca and thought it would be a fun thing to do with my boys this year.  We have 7 families in our group and I think this is going to be a really fun year!

Here is a picture of our group.

For our first book, we chose Higgins Bend Song and Dance.  This a delightful tale of a fisherman trying to catch a big one and the antics that go along with it.  For the co-op, my partner and I decided to focus on two lessons - worms and water.  We started with a short devotion and prayer and then read the book.

First, my sweet friend Adele taught about worms.  She had fact cards for them to read about worms.  They learned about the parts of a worm. 

Then we started a worm experiment (one of our science experiment bags from the swap).   The children added dirt to a cup and then worms.  Some were very wiggly and active. 

Water was added to keep the worm  happy. 

The children used magnifying glasses to observe the worms. 

Lastly, they add leaves for the worm to eat and they recorded their observations.

The second part of our morning was spent doing some experiments with water focusing on it's weight and density.

Our first experiment involved a balloon filled with cold water (blue) and one filled with warm water (red).  I asked the children what they thought would happen when we put it into the large tub of water.  Lots of answers - though popped seemed to be the most common one.

What we found out is that the cold water sank and the warm water floated.  This is because the cold water molecules are closer together, making it more dense and thus heavy.  Have you ever noticed this when you were swimming in the ocean (or maybe a lake)?  You felt the water at your feet was colder than the water around your chest?  It's because the colder water sinks to the bottom. 

Next experiment involved clay.  Each child was given some clay to make into a ball.  I asked the children again what they thought would happen.  Again, lots of answers.  What we found was that it sank. 

Next, they took the same clay, flattened it into a larger piece and then turned up the sides like a bowl or a boat.  Now what happened?  It floats.  This is because there is a larger surface for the water to "push" back on and causes it to float.  The ball had less surface for the water to push on and was also more dense/heavy than the water.

The last experiment involved cans of soda.  I again asked what they thought would happened.  Popped is a common - or perhaps desired - answer again.  We first tried putting in a can of coke.  What happens?

It sinks.

Next we had a can of diet Dr. Pepper.  Same size.  Same volume.  What happens to this one?

It floats.  Surprised?   I was!  I thought this was really cool.  We talked about why this happens.  What is the difference between the cans?  They are the same size.  One is "diet".  I had them look at the nutrition label.  Joshua read the first one as I knew he would know what to look for.  It was the carbs - something he has had practice at doing for a few months now.  In the coke can, there were 39 grams of carbs.  This is the sugar.  In the diet drink there were 0 grams of carbs.

The difference in it floating and not floating is the addition of this weight.  Pretty cool, huh?  We tried it again with two more different drinks.  Again the diet drink floats and the regular does not.

The moms remained curious about this, so we got out Joshua's nutritional scale to see if the weight was different.  It was.  The diet drink weighed 5/8 of an ounce less than the regular.   If you want to read more about this experiment, visit this link. 

While I was helping to teach, Rebecca played with Eliana and her friend Julianna.  She has some pictures which I'll try to add tomorrow.  Daniel also played - though I had thought he might join in with the co-op.  He had the opportunity to have some fun one-on-one nature studies with my dear friend Lynn and he took her up on them.  He really loves one-on-one attention!  He spent time with someone who knows and appreciates nature greatly too!

All in all, we had a beautiful day and we played with dirt, worms and water.  Add in friends and what could be more fun!  I look forward to our next meeting in 2 weeks. 

Blessings
Leslie

We were travelling when Joshua had his birthday (in Williamsburg) and I haven't gotten to posting about him.  I wanted to get this done before his birthday month ended!

Where do I start with this amazing little boy?  I prayed for him for several years before God answered my prayers.  What a sweet blessing it was to have him join our family.  He has always been a laid-back and easy-going little man.  He began as a very pudgy (with great thighs!) baby and now is a slim young man.

Joshua has a sensitive heart - in a very good way.  He listens and ponders and remembers.  I sometimes have to be careful in what I share so as not to burden his heart.  I pray that we would encourage his sensitivity toward the things of God.  I've noticed this about him even from the time he was a very small boy.  I remember God using Joshua's words to encourage me when he was just 3 in ways that were beyond his years.  I had lost a baby in the summer and in the winter on that baby's due date, I was sad about missing this baby we had never met.  Joshua commented to me that day about this baby being in Heaven with God.  It was a sweet reminder to me that my baby was in a better place, and also of how very much God loves me!

Even now I see his sweet heart in our day to day activities.  (Not that he is sweet and perfect all of the time mind you!)  Just today as part of his journalling, he was asked what he would do if someone gave him a million dollars.  Here is his answer.

"Buy him a candy bar.  Pay off the price of as many orphans as I could." 

He kept nothing for himself.  I love that answer. 

Joshua is brave and strong in ways I never knew he could be.  He has faced diabetes head on and with great courage.  That doesn't mean it is easy or that he never gets frustrated and upset about it.  He does.  So do I.  It is a hard thing to live with.  Just tonight he asked me if he would have diabetes in heaven.  I loved being able to tell him that "No, there would be no diabetes in heaven!". 

Joshua is creative - loves to draw, pretend, play games and more.  He is athletic and has played a variety of sports - basketball, soccer, baseball and now football.  Joshua loves to read and is particularly interested in history.  He has similar interests to his older brother in reading which is nice.

Joshua is helpful, interesting, affectionate and sweet.  I feel so very fortunate to be his mom.  We are blessed to have him in our family and I thank God for this precious gift!

I love you Joshua!

Mommy