Homeschooling a Houseful

A not normal day...which actually happens more often than not

7:22 PM, May. 12, 2009 .. Posted in Family .. 1 comments .. Link

So we are up and getting the house straightened up so we can start school and a big yellow tractor pulls onto the street. In the past I have called the big yellow tractor a babysitter because my boys will sit outside and just watch. They are working a few doors down and it is really windy and cold today so the boys don't stay out the whole time, but there is a lot of in and out. You just can't get any school work done when there is heavy machinery outside. I learned this along time ago and I don't even try.

Hilarie needs to be held...she is so sweet, when she is hurting because of her skin she will say to me, "I just want to hold you." When she was younger it was, "Hold you." So, I sit to hold her and she falls asleep, at 10:00, not normal but very precious. I have a tractor outside to occupy the boys so I figure I will just enjoy the moment....and then I fall asleep and we wake up at 11:00.

The day seemed to continue on in that way. You know, those kinds of days where it just doesn't feel like anything productive is going on. I am ok with that. I know things were happening. I did get 3 loads of laundry done. The house isn't a wreck. We had a terrific dinner of french toast made my Haylee and Joseph. Those two are so fun to listen to when they are working together. They are just silly.

Well, this is what I would call a non-normal day. One where the things we are "supposed" to do didn't get done, but good stuff did get done. It actually is more normal than not. It is what is like when you have household of children...sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

My day today

8:20 PM, May. 4, 2009 .. Posted in Family .. 1 comments .. Link

So many people ask me how I do it and I honestly don't know what to say. I don't think I do that much! We do keep life pretty simple.

Here is what my day today was like.

4:15 am up and out of bed.
5:00 work on ministry...I am a board member of our local homeschool support group and I handle the e-mail that comes in and changes to the website.
5:45 start a load of laundry and then scrapbook time, today I worked on power layouts for Jacobs 2007 photos. I have a scrapbook night coming up and I like to have all my page supplies ready to go so that I can travel light.
6:30 clean my room
6:45 younger children up and get their breakfast for them (we have cereal and toast)
7:00 out the door and off to the gym for 1 hour of cardio and strength training
While I am gone, the children finish breakfast, get dressed, brush their teeth, do their chores, clean their rooms and then play quietly until I get back home.
8:40 home, start another load of laundry and head right back out to take Heide to work
9:00 shower
9:20 begin school with Joshua, we begin with Math then Language, Reading and Handwriting
10:00 begin the last load of laundry for today
10:30 begin school with Jonathan and Jacob, Reading first, Language, Math and Handwriting
11:30 Haylee makes lunch while I read History to the 4 younger boys
12:00 lunch, chores which includes folding laundry
1:00 leave to pick up Heide from work
1:30 school with Hilarie and James. This involves coloring, counting, learning shapes and stuff like that.
the rest of the afternoon is just spent doing whatever with the children.
4:30 I begin making dinner..tonight...gasp...Hamburger Helper. Like I said I keep it simple and we have a helper about 2 times a week.
Dinner and chores.
5:30 I make peanut butter cookies while the children watch a Planet Earth episode with daddy.
6:30 quiet time with kiddos reading books, chatting.
7:00 Hilarie, Jacob and James go to bed. Hilarie needs some extra holding before bed tonight as she is pretty itchy.
7:30 Joshua and Jonathan go to bed.
Now I am here, blogging, something I don't get around to very much because I just don't make the time.
I also need to print some worksheets for the boys school tomorrow. I have put some assignments in their folders that they can work on while I am at the gym.

Maybe I should do this everyday this week. It might be interesting, for me, to look back and see my week in writing.

Too Soon

9:05 PM, Aug. 13, 2007 .. Posted in Family .. 1 comments .. Link

I figured it out, I finally figured out how to get a slideshow on my blog.

Hilarie Climbs the Ladder

This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog

Fun Day at the Farm

7:29 PM, Aug. 7, 2007 .. Posted in Family .. 2 comments .. Link

We had a wonderful time at the Hogan's today. They raise organic carrots and it was educational to see all they do to raise these carrots. At the end of the day, most of the children couldn't pick their favorite part of the day. Jonathan's favorite was picking up the apples. Jacob, he liked driving the tractor.

Of course I have pictures to share.

Here is Joseph, he also would pick driving the tractor as a favorite part of the day.

Joshua loved his turn at driving.

Here is Haylee, not a great photo. She was smiling from ear to ear.

I have to admit, I was very surprised when Jonathan didn't even hesitate to have a turn. He had a blast.

Jacob, a serious driver.

Time for some apple picking.

Feeding the chickens, something our children have never done before.

Hilarie takes a moment to enjoy a little snack.

To the Hogan's, thank you for having us. It was a great day.

A long overdue update

6:10 AM, Jun. 25, 2007 .. Posted in Family .. 3 comments .. Link

Wow, again I find that time just flies.

There is a lot going on in our sweet little family. James, he is 3, is potty training and doing very well. About three weeks ago I asked him if he wanted to wear his "tighty tighties" and he answered "Tomorrow". So when it was tomorrow I just put them on him and he did super. My idea of potty training is to wait until the child is ready. We try it out every now and then and if they have a couple accidents in a short amount of time we quit. You can tell that they just don't get it and I like to keep stress to a minimum.

Heather is on her way via car to New York. She is going to meet her beau's parents. Did I ever mention that in December we met with a young man who is interested in our daughter. They began courting and it has been a beautiful thing to watch. He is a terrific guy who has become a part of our family.

My dh had the pleasure of meeting with another young man just this weekend. He is interested in our Hollie. They have been friends for quite some time and have already developed feelings for one another. That is where it got tricky for us parents. This young man does not feel he will be ready for marriage for another 2 years. We feel that is a bit long to be in a relationship and we wanted to have them wait. The dilema came in when trying to figure out how to do that. We decided to let them proceed with caution.

This whole thing is new to us. It is an exciting time and we are loving it. We have a pretty good idea of what we want to see happen when it comes to our children courting. Of course we also know that the way that plays out will be completely different with each of our children. Guess that is what keeps life exicting.

We have began a new school year. I love to start in the summer because the children are motivated to work fast. The lessons at the beginning of the year can often be filled with review, so that makes them go fast too. Joshua is getting the hang of reading and I am teaching Jacob and Jonathan to read. I will admit it is a bit challenging to have 3 young ones in the beginning reading stage. When I teach phonics/reading i need quiet so the older children help with Hilarie and James for the first hour of our day so that I can concentrate with they boys. I can, in one hour, get all three boys through the phonics/reading lessons. It is so fun to watch little one catch the thrill of reading.

Hilarie went to an allergist and we discoved she is very allergic to eggs and cats. We of course had a cat and we were able to find a home for her. This was very important because this kitty came to us when she was 3 days old and Hollie hand raised her. Hollie found a home for her. Remember the boy I mentioned earlier, his family took that cat. That was a big clue to Dan and I that this boy had intentions. :)

Hilarie has battled with head to toe dry skin/excema since she was about 6 months old. The overall dryness has improved greatly since removing the two allergins but the excema is still a battle. This little girl scratches continually. She scratches in her sleep. It breaks my heart. The bottom of her feet are even covered in excema. We have tried so many things, Emu oil (love it, very expensive) and a whole shelf that is full of perfume free/fragrance free lotions and creams. Steriod creams work, and then as soon as I stop using it the excema is back. But Hilarie is a delight. She has fallen off of her Princess throne though. She has found her opinion on things and her opinion and mine don't often agree anymore. Me thinks she is a bit strong willed, I have no idea where she gets that from. :0

Heide is working on building a Tea Garden, as she calls it. She has flatted the corner of our yard and put some patio bricks down. She now wants trellis, climbing vines and a bistro set. $$$$$ I sure wish we could get the things she needs, we need to hit some garage sales. What a great idea and I just now thought of it. Heide bakes a lot, she loves to spend time in the kitchen and has learned how to bake just about anything without using eggs. She has done a fabulous job.

Joseph is very much into building models right now. I have seen him develop an obsession with cars. He knows so much about them, what a boy. He really likes the very detailed, very hard models. He has a few lawn mowing jobs and that his keeping him busy and in the $$. You know a boy can mow a lawn and in 1 hour make as much as his sister can make in 4 hours of babysitting.

Haylee is loving the outdoors. She is on her bike a lot, in the pool when the weather allows, and taking Hilarie on walks. What a huge help that is, when Hilarie is having a rough time (because of her chronic itching) off they go for a stroller ride. Haylee also has an interest in cars, but only the cute ones. She likes the little cars like the Mini Cooper, or Porsche. That girl has expensive taste. She was having so much fun at grandpas the other day just looking through his wheel deals ads. I think I should go to the store and get her a Wheels Deals.

My dad is doing well. He is on hospice care and that has been a big help for my mom. He has a good day every now and then, but you can sure see his decline. He sleeps a lot and is eating less. Heather took her Dan to meet the grandparents and they liked him. Grandpa doesn't like boys, he doesn't like his girls being taken away. I think he is still has issues with my dh taking me away. :)

Well, I hear little voices upstairs, little voices which are getting louder, so I must go now.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

My Children

1:07 PM, Jun. 7, 2006 .. Posted in Family .. 4 comments .. Link

I was introducing my children to a new homeschooling friend who recently moved to this area. This sort of just happened, I didn't plan it at all, but once I started it just flowed so I thought I would share.

Heather 21 --leaving Monday for a 7 week mission trip with Wycliffe to Ghana

Hollie 17 -- getting her driver's license on Thursday

Heide 13 -- becoming my right hand helper

Joseph 12 --to smart for his own good

Haylee 11 -- her birthday is TODAY

Jonathan 9 -- our special blessing who loves to make us laugh

Joshua --6 loves, I mean loves electrical things

Jacob --4 too charming for his own good

James 2-- too busy for our own good

Hilarie 5 mo-- I said I would never have a princess....I lied.

Follow-up to earlier blog

6:45 PM, Mar. 23, 2006 .. Posted in Family .. 0 comments .. Link

My daughter is doing fine...now. Her finger bled of for about 20 minutes. We applied pressure and elevated her hand. I did not want to take her to the ER, although I am still wondering if it could use stitches, It is really deep and the skin is separated..won't stay together. We are using triple antibiotic cream and keeping a clean band-aid on it.

3:47 PM, Mar. 23, 2006 .. Posted in Family .. 1 comments .. Link

Too funny. The local Moody station has been having a veggie tales singing contest. You be the first caller and sing your favorite veggie tales song. We had been planning for two weeks to try this. We already new what song we would sing.

So, I am putting a load of laundry in and I hear him say he is opening up the phone lines. I run upstairs, grab the phone and can't remember which speed dial number is for the station. Start with zero, nope not it. 9..no, 8..no, 7 yes, it is ringing and I know I am too late. NOT...He answers and I hear it on the radio and on the phone. Yikes..I am not ready for this. I look over at my daughter who has a huge amount of blood dripping from her thumb..a huge amount. OH gee, I am trying to get children gathered so they can all sing. He asks if I have the church choir and I say no but a lot of children. Of course the 2 month old and the 21 year old are sleeping but the rest are here.

They didn't sing very loud, those turkeys. Joseph admits he muttered, �yeah mom I could have muttered the whole song.� We didn't even sing the chorus because I just kept looking at my 10 year old daughter crying in the bathroom with a soaked washcloth in her hand.

Now we need people to vote for us.

Click Here

go to this link and scroll down to hear Liz and the Choir.

Such a bummer that we don�t sound better, we had prepared and it WAS going to be good. The blood dripping on the bathroom floor was just so distracting, plus Haylee is our best singer, but she coudn't sing because she was crying.

A 21st Birthday

10:30 PM, Feb. 1, 2006 .. Posted in Family .. 2 comments .. Link

It is Birthday Day in our house. My daughter Heather is 21. We don't do any real fancy for birthdays and today I feel a little guilty for that. Seems like we should have done more for this birthday. I did find some window paint and painted the windows of Heather's car with Happy 21st Birthday. The children get the day off from chores. They get to choose what they would like for dinner. Heather chose chicken parmesian and herb and butter pasta. I make the chicken parmesian with frozed chicken patties, prego spaghetti sauce and cheese.
. For dessert Heather choose strawberry shortcake. We let the children choose desserts so that we aren't getting burned out on cake. We get a nice assortment of desserts this way.

Hilarie is 1 month. I am posting a photo of Heather and Hilarie that was taken today.

random musings

10:20 PM, Jan. 31, 2006 .. Posted in Family .. 2 comments .. Link

Started working on our income taxes today. I am so excited for our refund this year. My dh and I are buying new furniture for the living room. We have been married for almost 22 years and have never bought new furniture.

Tonight I went grocery shopping. I shop at Wal-mart, not because I like it there, but because it is so much cheaper. I usually shop at about 5 am. I can leave before the children are up and be back just as they are getting up. Because of having a new baby I am doing my shopping in the evening and going every week instead of every other week. This way I can be gone for just 1 hour. I spent $153 which included some Superbowl snacks and dessert for my daughters birthday tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a special day...my baby will be 1 month old. I cannot believe how quickly the month has gone. I am a little sad, I so love the newborn stage, especially these early weeks. Tomorrow is also special because my oldest daughter turns 21 YEARS OLD. How is that for special on the same day I will have a 1 month old and a 21 year old. Now, how many people can claim that!!!

It is hard to believe that my first born child is 21. Seems like only yesterday she was a month old. Isn't it amazing how long the first months are with your first child, but with the next children the time goes by so fast. Just when we realize how precious the days are they just fly by because we are so busy with other things.

My children are going to be starting their own blogs. I thought it would be a good way for them to work on their writing..something we need extra work in. Haylee has hers already started and is very excited. She wanted to spend the whole evening blogging. Her user name is honeybunny.

Well, I probably should get myself to bed now. Maybe I can get an hour of sleep before Hilarie wakes up.

More about the children

6:21 PM, Dec. 5, 2005 .. Posted in Family .. 5 comments .. Link

Haylee is our 10 year old daughter. She is our energizer bunny and has been since she started moving around. She loves to be busy and is quick with a smile and has a very hardy laugh. She loves to play Polly Pockets, and does not like to read...but we are working on that

Jonathan is our miracle child. It is a long story that I won't share now, but he is such a wonderful blessing to us. Jonathan has Down syndrome and turns 9 years old this coming Sunday. My how time flies. He is learning to read....it is going slow. He communicates very well and is always trying to keep up with his younger brothers.

Joshua is our love monkey. He was my first baby who needed to be held all the time. So, that is what I did. Thank goodness for the baby sling. At 6 years old he still loves to cuddle and be close. He is very affectionate and loving to all.

Jacob is our energizer bunny in male form. That boy just moves all the time, including the night. He is 4 years old and can be found sleeping in our bed or his big sister Hollie's bed. He just needs to be with someone.

James is our baby, for now. He is almost 23 months old and will be just shy of 2 when our new baby makes its entry into the world. He is a very good talker, I guess that is because he has so many people to talk to all the time.

Baby #10, yet to be named will make its appearance in 2-3 or maybe 4 weeks. Please Lord, not 4!!!!!! We do not know what we are having, much to the dismay of the children and everyone else we know. I just really like the surprise. My due date is the 21st and since I am always late I am wondering if we might not have a Christmas baby.

Well, that is a brief summary on our blessings. Thanks for reading and thanks for all the welcoming comments I have received. This is a scary frontier, but I am glad I am here. I suppose the next thing I should do is share more about myself. I will save that for another day.

A gentle nudge

6:35 AM, Dec. 1, 2005 .. Posted in Family .. 3 comments .. Link

Thank you moms4psalms for the encouraging note reminding me about my blog. I have been so occupied with getting ready for a baby that is due in less than 3 weeks and getting ready for Christmas that I completely forgot I had started this blog. I am very surprised that anyone even noticed.

Heide is our 13 year old daughter. She is growing to be a fine young lady. She has recently become very interested in clothes and I am so happy that she is making the correct choices without any battles. She is a very sensible girl and has always reminded me of Anne in Anne of Green Gables. Heide tends to talk a little like Anne does, even before she ever read the books.

Joseph, our first son, is 11. He is a terrific boy who spent his early years playing dolls with his sisters. He loves to play games, especially risk. Joseph was an early reader and his book of choice was the encyclopedia. It was a couple years ago that I discovered his fascination with the military. He knew every rank for every branch of the Armed Services. I asked him where he learned these....the encyclopedia. I will say my first thought was to get rid of the encyclopedias!!! I didn't do that, and I have gotten used to the idea and actually am quite proud of him. His favorite books to read are books about war.

Oh my, must looked at the clock. I really must go. At this rate it will be January before I tell you about all of our children. :)

Oh my!!!

1:46 PM, Nov. 10, 2005 .. Posted in Family .. 2 comments .. Link

So I come back to start our introduction and find that people have read my blog. Hmmm, kinda weird I have to admit.

Okay, Who AM I???

Well, I am a Christian... I love, love, love attending Precept Bible Studies. I am married to my wonderful husband Dan for going on 22 years. Wow, that is amazing. Dan and I have been blessed with 9 children. Heather, age 20, attends Moody NW Bible college. This is an extension school for Moody Chicago. Hollie, age 17 (this coming Monday) just got her first job at Shopko and tomorrow I am taking her to try and get her permit. In our state you actually have to pass the written to get your permit if you are not enrolled in Driver's Ed.

You can probably now tell that we delay driving for our children. Works for us. We do like them to take Driver's Ed, but we like them to pay for it which means they need a job first. We also like our children to be nearing their 17th birthday before they get a job.

Well, gotta run, I hear little voices that are supposed to be resting.
I'll be back!!

Our Family

9:48 PM, Apr. 16, 2003 .. Posted in Family .. 0 comments .. Link

I copied this off of our family website. I have adjusted the entry date to match that of the last date that I had done editing on the site.

Both Dan and Liz are born and raised in Spokane, WA. All 8 of our children also have been born in Spokane. Dan and I came to know Jesus as our savior 16 years ago. We strive to live our lives
according to God's Word. We pray that in our lives Jesus is revealed to others.

Our goal for this page is to give God the glory for the great things HE has done in our lives. God has taught us soooo much as we have traveled the narrow path. We would like for these pages to be an encouragement to others to keep walking in true faith. We would like to challenge others to submit themselves to the Lordship of Christ and to leave the things of this world behind

Dan loves automotive work and enjoys rough housing with the children.

Liz spends her time being a mommy, homeschooling mom, attending Precept Bible Studies, creating albums for her children to share with their children one day, encouraging other moms, oh,   and in her spare time she enjoys running 2 home businesses.

Heather works at Sears and also enjoys Precept Bible Studies.  She had a great time going to Tennessee to attend Precepts Teen   Boot Camp and is looking forward to leading others in Bible Study. Heather is attending college at Moody Northwest.

Hollie loves being creative, cooking, decorating and also attending Precept Bible Studies. She is a big help to mom around the house keeping the little boys out of mischief.

Heide, age 10, loves to read and is a very good artist. Heide loves helping out in the kitchen and is learning how to prepare family meals.

Joseph, age 8, enjoys building with legos and knows just about everything there is to know about dinosaurs.

Haylee, well she is 7 and likes to keep busy doing just about anything. Haylee enjoys the computer and going everywhere with her daddy.

Jonathan is 6 and is keeps us on our toes in laughter. Having Down syndrome, Jonathan and his little brother Joshua, age 3, are at about the same developmental level. Mom thinks it is quite amazing how much energy there is in 2 little boys. Make that 3, Jacob at age 17 months keeps up with the boys very well.

Joshua loves batteries, screwdrivers, flashlights and taking things   apart. In order to keep him from taking apart our home, Dan brings all kinds of things for Joshua to take apart and Joshua has acquired a whole tub full of things he has disassembled. Mom hopes that one day he will love putting things back together.

Jacob was on the move earlier than any of our other children, He runs right along with the other boys. Jacob can often be found in the kitchen getting into food. He is notorious for reaching into a container of cereal, pulling out a handful and running.

Our Family

11:06 AM, Aug. 30, 2000 .. Posted in Family .. 0 comments .. Link

Welcome to the Smith family home page. We are glad that you are here. We are a homeschooling family with seven children. We make our home in beautiful Spokane, Washington.

Our family members are Dan and Liz married for 16 years. Dan and I have been Christians for 14 years. We believe that children are a blessing from the Lord and we have been convicted to let God plan our family. Heather, our sunshine, is 15 years old, and very proud to be as tall as her mother. Hollie, muffin, comes next at age 11. Heide is our precious 7 year old. Joseph, yes a boy after three girls is 6 years old. Haylee, our little energizer bunny is 5. Jonathan who's birth is really a miracle, is a special blessing from God. Jonathan has Down syndrome and has added much joy to our family. Our latest modes, (to steal a phrase from the book "Cheaper by the Dozen"), is Joshua and as of this update he is 9 months old. Joshua is our first baby to be born at home.

Actual Date November 28, 1994

9:29 PM, Jan. 1, 2000 .. Posted in Family .. 0 comments .. Link

Welcome to the Smith family home page. We are glad that you are here. We are a Homeschooling family with six children, We make our home in beautiful Spokane, Washington.

Our family members are Dan and Liz. We have been married for 14 years. Dan and I have been Christians for 12 years. We belive that children are a blessing from the Lord and we have been convicted to let God plan our family. Heather, our sunshine, is 13 years old, and very proud to be as tall as her mother. Hollie, muffin, comes next at age 10. Heide is our precious 6 year old. Joseph, yes a boy after three girls, he is 4 1/2. Haylee, our little energizer bunny is 3 1/2. Jonathan is our latest little miracle. His birth is really a miracle and we praise God for sending us this precious baby boy. Jonathan has Down syndrome and has added much joy to our family. Jonathan turns 2 in just a few weeks.