If you are just visiting for the first time and have found my blog through my book, "Dreams & Designs" from The Old Schoolhouse, WELCOME!! Please drop me a comment so I know you stopped by and feel free to browse my entries. If you haven't seen the book, and would like to learn more about it, check it out here:  Dreams and Designs: Homemade Supplies to Complement Your Homeschool (http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=334_425&products_id=12024)

I apologize for my absence from blogging, it is an incredibly busy time for our family. We are in the midst, and now only weeks away, from the wedding of our oldest child. It is a time of wonderful memories, and a bit of intrepidation as I let go of my first baby...and of course, she'll always be my baby.

At 22, 1G22, will marry a young man of 25, who is already serving his country in the service, and currently completing his degree in Aerospace Engineering, just like her. They have much in common while being really fantastic individuals and make a truly wonderful couple. I am praying for God to bless their union, as I am sure you will join with me in praying for as well.

We continue work on book two in her series and you can still check out book one on her site (www.jessicalynncampos.com) or at amazon under the title "The Risen, the Chosen, and the Dark: The Dawn of It All" or her name. The editing process is slow as we are certainly more focused on her wedding right now. We've also put on a few activities at her site if you go and check out the "Book One" tab and find at the top of that page "Available Activities Corresponding to Book One." I'd really love any opinions about the activities. I hope to work out an entire little unit study of some sort, I just don't have the time right now. But soon.

Homeschooling is forging ahead and 3B10 continues his work with reading. My Reading Coach continues to be a tremendous blessing for him, I don't know what I would have done had we not reviewed that program. He still complains at times, but then, some days I can't blame him. A lot of learning is work for him, I don't know if it is the autism or just him, but it is work. We make it as fun as possible and the Workbox system continues to yield wonderful blessings in that area as well. I can hardly believe 2G17 begins her final year next month officially. They truly do grow up too fast.

We began mounting 3B10's artwork for "grading" by other family members and his drawing is improving. I wasn't sure how well he would take to the idea, but he jumped on it, and has taken to heart the tips and advice offered by his older sisters. Anyone can do the same using sticky notes at the bottom or around a picture with whatever grading scale suits their family. The activity really does depend on the child because I would never use it with a child not interested in the idea, then you might do more harm than good, and we'd never want that. But for him, it is working wonders. He just posts a new picture and lets everyone know, or when we notice it we'll "grade" it appropriately, and then he checks out his grade. He has even gone to some of us to ask why we graded a particular way, wanting to know how he could improve, which was a HUGE thing for him. Having any consideration about what other people think of his work, or anything else for that matter, is one of the big drawbacks with autism, these kids just don't have it--they very literally couldn't care less. But this has really drawn him out as he has discovered that he can make improvements by considering other people's opinions. A new thing!! And a really great way to introduce it.

As usual, 2G17 is remaining very busy with summer activities. This year she has worked as a counselor at a camp for the middle schoolers in her youth group, has attended for the second time a leadership training camp, and just last week was out for the standard week long summer camp with her youth group. We have missed her as at times I feel she is just a blur I watch run in and out of the house!! We also enjoy quite a few evenings with all of the kids over at our house to watch movies, which I really love! It is nice to know they have a safe place to go and hang out together, and I really appreciate that they feel comfortable in our home. Stocking pizza rolls, taquitos and popcorn probably hasn't hurt either. ;-)

Wedding plans are crazy! We are so close now, less than three weeks. We are knocking out the little annoying details at this point. Decorations for the reception, plans for a bridal shower this weekend, going through her things to determine what she wants to keep/give away/or have us store indefinitely for her. I am so thankful we really do have the space to do so, I only wish we were more organized about it. And my mind seems to be reeling almost constantly. There really are so many aspects to a wedding. And my 2G17 is busily making plans for her "some day" ceremony and all that she may want to have take place. I pray God brings her the right young man in His time, and that he will be a wonderful leader for his family.

I will post our curriculum plans after the wedding has passed and life quiets down again. For now, things are good. 4B4 is into everything and will begin more little activities this year. 5B2 is as adorable as ever and really does think he is "all that and a bag of chips" and regularly cracks us up. And as I said, 3B10 continues to work through his schoolwork fairly well and is enjoying summer afternoons in the little blow up pool their uncle gave them last year. We are blessed this summer, I hope that you are too!

Tell me what you are up to??? I'd really love to hear it.

Copyright 2009 Donna Campos

End of school year, approaching vacation, and wedding plans, have ALL been keeping me very busy. I miss keeping up on blogging better.

Around here things are good. Everyone is growing so quickly. The big boys (Dad and 3B10) had birthdays at the start of the month and now we have the little boys (4B4 and 5B2) this weekend. Time does go by too quickly.

Our oldest will be married in August, so plans have begun in earnest for the big event. Very exciting. Her fiance is a really wonderful young man, we really like him. Planning for her has brought back wonderful memories of our first days as a married couple. We may have to plan a second honeymoon soon, just to relish the memories.

Our second child is busy completing her junior year of high school, although we school year round I am blocking out more of a summer this year. She will need it with the many church youth group events she has coming. School will continue for 3B10, more because of his needs than for any other reason. We continue using "My Reading Coach" and are thoroughly thrilled with it. I want him to continue through the summer and not miss a beat with it. Otherwise, I hope to enjoy some swimming and relaxing and a lot of read alouds.

Reviews are going along well enough, I am still completely in love with the job and The Old Schoolhouse magazine! I hope to get an ebook out soon, but we'll see whether or not I can actually hold up to the experts...I'm still thinking it may not turn out well enough. Anyway, I am enjoying the effort and hoping to help a few others with some good ideas. I have failed to keep up on blogging well enough to regularly encourage others, this could me the next best thing.

1G21 is still writing and we are still hopeful to complete editing on book two of her series very soon. Wedding plans may throw a bit of a wrench in our efforts, there is only so much time in a day. You can still find her at her website (www.jessicalynncampos.com) and the book received a wonderful review from a TOS Reviewer. You may look it up by book title "The Risen, the Chosen, and the Dark; Book One: The Dawn of It All" on the TOS site top left under Resources and then Product Reviews, in the books section. Take a moment to check out some of the other books that have been reviewed, you'll find some great information.

Home stuff is going well, I've been painting and finally got the kitchen done. Next is the boys bathroom, which is actually the master bathroom. Then I hope to take off some doors this summer and sand and repaint them smoothly. The previous owners textured everything in our house: doors, frames, outlets, didn't matter. Very annoying now. So I am slowly trying to rectify the problem, but it will take years!

So do you have big summer plans? How are things at your home? I'd love to hear from you!!

Before I know it, two weeks will already be gone for this new year! Where is time flying to? It seems we are constantly accomplishing quite a bit, but I am missing the moments of slow down and really need to find a few quiet moments for myself.

Our New Year has brought a straightened and sorted storage room, which excites me very much. We actually spent a week of vacation cleaning and sorting the basement, which has included really digging through a mess of a storage room. Previously, we could hardly walk into the room, and I certainly didn't know where much of anything was in all of the mess. After hauling literally loads and loads of junk to the garbage, we have a newly organized junk room. It is still a junk room, unfinished, and filled with storage, but it is a straightened junk room. I was stunned at the amount of cardboard we had been storing. Boxes for computer parts. Boxes for baby strollers. Boxes for car seats. Boxes for toys. Ridiculous. I really have no clue why I felt the need to save such things, but they are now gone. I just had to keep the ones that we rotate through, things like playpens and swings and such still have their little cardboard houses to return to when not in use, but all of the rest is GONE!! I'm so glad.

School is going along well enough. 2G17 and I are filling extra class time with whatever books or bible studies interest us. It has been so fantastic to work through some classes more quickly, spending additional hours on an area just because we became more interested! The joys of homeschooling! She is going to join me in Genesis of a Legacy soon. And I am thrilled to have us both wander the house and grab whatever book interests us to sit down and read together. Our discussions have grown tremendously over the years and I treasure these moments.

3B9 is learning all the time and surprises us regularly. He is quickly testing into his grade level and managing subject matter that has been causing heartache for him for far too long. It is true that unschooling and natural homeschooling and all of the other things people call it when you let children have some freedom to grow, expand in their own right, and learn from their own interests--children learn quite well on their own. Now, don't get me wrong, we have been using curriculum like crazy, but I had come to understand that he needs to learn things from about a million different angles and ways (or methods and styles), but he is learning. I am so proud of him.

Before I know it 4B3 and 5B20months will officially enter our S.T.A.R. Academy. (Shooting The Arrows Righteously Academy Home School) They are both growing up so quickly. It seems that at any given moment and time of day, they are either giggling together, or fighting. Toddler/Preschool boys, what a treasure. And I really do mean that. They cause me days of grays, but the wiggles and giggles easily overtake the stress and make up for any mess. I love my little boys, they crack me up.

The oldest is staying incredibly busy juggling her book writing along with continuing school. Summer of 2010 both girls will be graduating; one from high school and one from college. Wow, time flies. Her website is still going along and she has fairly regular hits, which is good. You can still check out her book at www.jessicalynncampos.com. Or on Amazon, search her name or pull up "The Risen, he Chosen, and the Dark: The Dawn of it All" and you'll find her. She will graduate with a double major of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Religous Studies.

And my honey and I? Well, we are staying busy just keeping it all going. I am determined to finally get some weight off before it completely destroys my health. And he is diligently working his job, particularly as it seems more and more people are hitting difficult times finding employment. Our small business is moving along and we hope to send out a mass email in the near future to inform family and friends of our "extra job" that has been keeping us extra busy. Good days. And it is tax time, so we'll need to make time to get all of that done, such a joy.

So, what marks the new year for you and your family??? How is your school year going? Share!!

We are officially in the middle of the Thanksgiving Weekend, and it certainly has been a beautiful one. I am thankful to have my oldest at home for a time, she is spending the weekend with us along with a friend of hers, so we are enjoying the fellowship. It is nice having a guest in the house. My parents will be visiting in another week for a week or so, we are looking forward to that as well.

The kids are all doing well. We set up all of the usual Christmas decorations this afternoon, as is our tradition. It is looking so beautiful already. We do need to do the exterior lights tomorrow, but we don't do many, so it won't take very long. It is beginning to cool and truly feel more like winter, it makes the excitement of Christmas grow each day. And 5B19Months is enjoying standing around the tree swinging at ornaments in complete fascination. What a blessing!

My 2G17 is going to be "Mary" for our first weekend of Bethlehem hosted by our church this year. She is so excited and feels incredibly honored for the opportunity. For weeks the church family has been building the framework of our small town of Bethlehem and in one more week it will be busy with the sites and sounds of the First Christmas!! We perform the living remake of Bethlehem for two weekends and it is a wonderful thing to see. What an honor to really relive a small bit of what it might have been like for Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, wisemen, and all of the usual people who had a part in that very special miracle of Christ's birth.

This will be the first time 4B3 will be able to really enjoy the event, as it has been three years since we last performed "Bethlehem" and so he was only a newborn then. I can hardly wait to see his face as he watches the camel, pets the goats, and walks around on the sand and straw covering the ground to enhance the experience. 3B9 is much older and his sensory issues have come under much better control for him, so he will truly enjoy the experience to it's fullest this time. Last time, he was far more interested in the sand beneath his feet than even the tall Roman Soldiers he stumbled past.

Next weekend will also be incredibly busy as 3B9 will perform in his second Children's Musical. I'm sure many of you are excitedly preparing for your children to take part in similar events. This kind of thing has been a very long time coming for my little guy, as the sounds of such a presentation have been too much for him until recently. It is truly phenomenal to me to be able to see him seated on stage with many of the children from our church without the necessity of plugging his ears, rocking, or the inability to pay attention to the leaders. He has come so very far since those early months of an autism spectrum diagnosis, I am so very thankful for him and all that God is doing in his life. Thank God for your children and every little ability they are blessed with, the very value of their lives alone should never be taken for granted. I so often have missed the many little blessings we receive every day from our children, I am trying much harder to appreciate every moment as we near another year of enjoying life together.

As for Thanksgiving? I am very thankful this year. We are healthy, we have a warm home to share with friends and family, learning is moving ahead at a decent pace, my review work continues to be a blessing, and our extended family is happy and healthy in general. God continues to move in our lives and home, and I thank Him daily for the blessings He bestows. Did you see my little picture in The Old Schoolhouse Magazine?? I actually made it into the Twelve Days of Christmas article as a staff member. What an honor. If you check it out, I am actually the little baby in the picture, with my oldest sister and older brother holding me. I don't usually consider myself official staff of TOS, but I absolutely love the magazine and the tremendous opportunity being a Product Reviewer has afforded my family.

Did you check out their deal for the weekend??? $7.95 for a year subscription for Newbies?!!!? WOW! Now THAT is a gift that keeps on giving. Check it out quick!  Black Friday Sale  This is only for Thanksgiving Weekend, so jump on it now while you can. You can order one for friends and family, anyone you know who has been curious about homeschooling, every new homeschooler you want to help get and stay on the right track, your local library, even the doctor's office would be great for this!! It's only $8!! What a wonderful way for you to help other homeschoolers with a Christian magazine. I have never seen an opportunity like this before, you don't want to miss it.

Schooling for us is going to continue over the next few weeks, although we will be taking an extended break while 1G21 is home from college, we are all looking forward to it. We have stayed on track this year and all is moving along well and even I am enjoying the learning together with my children. Reading is clicking a little more regularly for 3B9, although it is still incredibly difficult some days. I do wish that life would slow down a bit, but it continues to move along at a feverish pace, so I continue to strive right along with it.

How is your schedule changing for the holidays? Will you take a break from schoolwork? Or do you just switch gears and learn more about Christmas history, authors of Christmas songs, and/or Christmas artwork, and anything else connected to Christmas? Do you have favorite verses you enjoy reading during the Christmas season? What about a favorite movie? I'd love to hear details! Hug each and every one of your loved ones this Thanksgiving weekend, and consider yourself hugged via cyberspace. HUGS!!

I hope to finally begin keeping up, but I just finished the best Marketing class ever, hosted by The Old Schoolhouse magazine, LLC. The staff at TOS is so phenomenal, and I have grown as a person and as a business owner. I can hardly believe the knowledge gained in a brief month.

Did you know those wonderfully long, sometimes annoying, pseudo letter advertisements we get in our email are called "long sell sheets" and the short are "short sell sheets" or blasts? Fantastic things, they can turn us from a simple reader into a customer with a few scrolls of the mouse. And I've been learning how to write them, and it was so much fun. The last month has been incredibly tiring, but worth every minute, and definitely worth every 1AM chat with my classmates. You ladies know who you are!

I am jumping back into the family business and will probably blog a bit more about that as I get it more in line. School is going well, and somehow, we are actually staying on track with our assignments and coursework. I can't believe in another year and a half we will be graduating our first homeschooler. Scary. She stays busy juggling work and school, makes for a crazy household, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

Hope everyone is doing great, I hope to write again soon. Tell me, what did you do for the month of October??

We all know there is such a thing as "Good Busy" and "Bad Busy" and I must say that recently we have been a very good busy! It certainly shows in my lapse from blogging. I miss being on here more regularly, but life just keeps on moving along far too quickly. So much to do, and time keeps moving too fast.

For those who keep up, I did begin teaching in our 3s Sunday School class a month ago, I can hardly believe it has already been a month!! They are a fun little group and it helps me come up with new activities for my little guys at home as well, which is an added blessing. The little boys are doing well, staying busy with the usual toddler and preschooler activities that seem to spur them on to growing up far too quickly. Hearing them laughing together is such a joy, once I get past the "uh oh, what are they up to?" feeling! Oh, the things these two can giggle about, and yes, they are definitely boys. I even caught them one day spitting, yes spitting, lovely thing to have a 1 year old and 3 year old boy doing, part of the joy of having them in the same room together! Anyway, that was just one of their gross moments, usually I find them bouncing balls all over the place, rolling matchbox cars off of tables, or sitting beneath the piano lightly banging their heads in unison to hear the echo. If you haven't seen two little guys sitting side by side under a piano, it truly is something to see. I'll do my best to get 2G17 to click a picture for me to put on here, they are adorable.

School is going full force and quite well, we are enjoying the year and can hardly believe the holidays are creeping closer. We were in Lowe's the other day and they already had Christmas trees up!!! YES, Christmas trees, at the end of September! Commercialism, such a sad side of the holidays. BUT, on a good note, I made it into a Marketing course with The Old Schoolhouse, and am so excited about it. Perhaps I'll learn more so that I can understand the up-side of commercialism. This should help me write better press releases for our daughter. And I hope to learn about the marketing side of the business world, what works and what doesn't. 1G21 is done with the first round of editing for Book 2, so the coming months will bring much more editing and proofreading work as we near the publishing of her second book in the series. You can still check it out at www.jessicalynncampos.com. Perhaps you'll see some website improvements soon as I learn more about marketing!

If you are one of my marketing members, please drop a comment. I will be doing my best to add you all as friends if I know you have a homeschoolblogger account. I love to learn, it is one of my greatest joys in homeschooling. I've learned so much more while teaching my children than I ever did in public schools. Learning is definitely a lifetime joy, enjoy it!!

So what is your October bringing for your family? Will you Trick or Treat traditionally? Or attend a Fall Festival of some sort? Or do you choose to skip it altogether and focus on the wonderful season of Fall? Share, we'd love to hear it!

Blogging is becoming far too difficult, I keep hoping as the start of another year begins we will get back on track and I will be on here more regularly.

Things around here continue to move along at a feverish pace. 1G21 is preparing to return to her university, as she is busy writing book two in her series, it is now approximately 75,000 words, we will begin major editing over the coming months. Release for book two is scheduled right over the first anniversary of book one, May 2009. For now, she is busy writing, we juggle the usual annual preparation for returning her to school as we sort dorm supplies and gather necessities. I know she will appreciate the solitude of her dorm for writing, while also missing her siblings and the comforts of home. You can find her book here: www.jessicalynncampos.com, I know, it blows all sense of anonymity, but oh well.

2G16 safely returned from the UK mission trip a changed young woman! The experience was awesome and in today's world of technology she has made international friends she emails regularly. Her group was able to share the Word of God with many young people in Wales while expanding their own personalities as they stretched themselves in unfamiliar territory. It is amazing how the hand of God can work, simply because they were "Americans" they were quickly accepted and drew complete strangers to them, enabling them to share. What a blessing! God blessed her with His care, even as He allowed her camera to break--requiring her full attention to the task of missions rather than any photography.

Reading continues for 3B9, and what a challenge it is!! We juggle multiple reading curriculums in an effort to tackle this incredibly difficult skill for him, and it is a daily challenge. If anyone reading this has found a way to teach an autistic spectrum child to read, I would appreciate any help. There are days I am incredibly frustrated as he seems to completely grasp a concept one day and the next, it is gone. Other subject areas are going along well enough, I am thankful that he is incredibly bright and his memory is phenomenal. He is enjoying more science material and is becoming a wonderful help in teaching his younger brothers.

As for younger brothers? Well, 4B3 and 5B1 are becoming quite the clowning duo!! My morning wake-up has become their giggles as they go back and forth in their room entertaining one another, they will do almost anything to get a laugh out of each other. I have found 4B3 standing on his head with legs completely up in the air, as his brother is giggling wildly. And 5B1 misses no opportunity, as he has learned how to "bounce" anywhere possible: the crib, his bouncy chair, shopping carts, high chairs, even while sitting in the middle of the family room floor, he can bounce anywhere. And it is so adorable, a smile naturally comes to anyone who sees him happily bouncing everywhere he goes.

If you are wondering about our school plans, we have continued with various things throughout the summer, but I am in the midst of major planning now. And of course, before any official beginning to the next year's curriculum I want everything in the house in order. So I plan to paint the kitchen in the next couple of weeks. Always something!! I may very well have some family come and visit soon too, so the next month will be incredibly busy as we knock out more of life's tasks as the next year gets into full swing. I am so thankful for health, my hubby's job, my wonderful children, my reviewer job, friends, and family. As much as I complain about this old house of ours, I am thrilled to have a roof over my head and a kitchen that needs painting. And paint. We have been incredibly blessed, and I am so very thankful.

So what are you thankful for these days? Have you been busy with home improvements this summer? What about vacation, did you take one? Are you all set and ready for this school year? Talk to me!! Any encouragement to getting back into regular blog entries will be greatly appreciated. ;-)    HUGS!!!

This summer has certainly held many "firsts" for our family, and over the coming days it holds a tremendous amount of firsts for our 2G16 as she has embarked on her first mission trip!! In a mere twelve hours from when I write this, she will be flying out to the United Kingdom to serve full time missionaries on the field there in whatever capacity is necessary. This will be her FIRST airplane flight, and FIRST international airplane flight, FIRST trip on her own beyond her history of summer camps, FIRST mission trip, and FIRST trip with no other people she knows beforehand!! God has called her into quite a growth experience over these next two weeks. I appreciate your prayers on her behalf.

I am avoiding focusing on my motherly concerns for her right now, I'm doing my best to focus on God's calling in her life. I am so thrilled that she heard...and obeyed! What a blessing she is to our family. The last year has been filled with many confirmations that this trip is what God wanted to do in her life right now. I pray that she is a blessing to everyone she works with, and that the witness she and the entire group offer to those around them will bring others to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. I pray that she will be blessed by that true blessing: witnessing firsthand someone else finding salvation for the FIRST time!!

Suddenly, the FIRST book written by our daughter, FIRST exposure to publicity for our family in the book effort, and planning this FIRST mission trip pale in comparison to the firsts my 2G16 will experience. We have been very blessed and pray that this summer reveals many blessings for your family.

We have continued learning a bit about the United Kingdom, and are enjoying a clock up right now so we can follow 2G16's time while she is away.  Reading study continues in earnest for 3B9 and is finally coming along fairly well. Study of business practices and all things publicity continues to take some of our time as we push 1G21's first book. And I am busy with continued organization of the house and the last of the odd jobs around the boys' bedroom transfer that began more than a month ago. I don't even want to look back to see when I actually STARTED that job!! Things are moving along well enough overall, though.

Has your family decided on a particular curriculum for next school year? I'd love to hear about it!

While I finally have a moment, I thought I should probably put a quick update on this blog. We are still very busy with all of the excitement from the book release, it is hitting the local paper again this week! Several people have congratulated us on a homeschool job well done, so I thought I'd better clarify some information, just in case you wonder, and so that no one gets the wrong idea.

Our oldest, who has just published her first book at the age of 20, wasn't technically homeschooled-we didn't wise up until her junior year in high school- but I can only imagine where she would be if we HAD!!! She is the one who strongly encouraged my now sixteen year old to take us up on the offer of homeschooling. Quick rundown: God led us to homeschool because our then 5 year old was special needs/IEP/school nightmare on the autistic spectrum, we asked the girls (then 6th & 11th) if they wanted to come home as well, our oldest was completing a full load of AP courses and chose to finish out her public school career, but strongly encouraged our 6th grader to come home. So she did.

Soon after that we found God had mandated that we homeschool regardless, so we wouldn't give the same choice today, let's just say we've grown.  God has walked us through quite an education. But I firmly believe, had we homeschooled, she would have completed this book three years ago!  And we did what many people on this blog system and within the homeschool community have done while involved in the public school system: I actually volunteered at her elementary school running a small publishing center helping all of the kids get their ideas into mini-book form, we taught her how to read long before school began-she was reading at the age of four, and she had gained plenty of confidence while being the in-house child-teacher of our family child care home for many, many years. She was always an honor student while within the public school system, but in so many ways they actually held her back. It is only now that she has the freedom to run with her ideas, and we plan to facilitate her and support her in any way we can. As we all do with all of our children.

We hope to have some sort of teaching supplement for use with the book created soon, and will offer it through her website for free. Her book is fantasy, and is being fairly well received, you can check out her website if you have not done so already at www.jessicalynncampos.com. I will update on here as well whenever we finally get a teaching supplement available on her site. It will most likely include some word games, vocabulary work, and possibly some character questions for the reader to fill in. If you have any ideas for something you would like to see, please share because we are truly new at this whole thing! And if you want to be sure to receive whatever we create when we reach that point, drop her a quick note through the site at the "contact Jessica" link so we have a record of you. This will place you on the email list when we get it all set up.

Wishing you every day enjoyment with your children, I hope this finds you peacefully at home with each of yours! HUGS!!