Today, July 4th, I'm reminded of a particular Brad Stine joke about blame that goes something like this:

"Get out of our Boy Scouts God, get off our money God, get out of our universities God, get out of our military God, get out of our textbooks God, get out of our homes God, get off our televisions God, go away God, we don't want you God, we don't need you God..."

"KATRINA HITS"

"God? Where are you??!"

He's a Christian comedian so he's pointing out people's reactions to bad things that happen. As he says you'll never see pastors consulted on CNN when we have a lovely day outside thankful to God for his blessings...

So today, maybe between the fireworks, barbeques, & various celebrations, people should take time to ponder the Christian roots of this country. Christians among us might want to pray fervently for those in government, for the future of our country, for His protection, & for Him to have mercy in not lifting His Hand of protection, despite how many people keep trying to push Him away.

You can't have His protection & not want Him at the same time.

Just a thought for today...

Please keep Raising Arrows in your prayers... One year ago today they welcomed their beautiful little girl into the world, however, they are not able to celebrate her first birthday together. She went home to be with the Lord this past February. I'll hold my littles a bit tighter as I pray for them & feel a fraction of what that mother's pain must be like.

On Friday, after we had left the ER, I decided to walk up to front of the hospital where there were benches & it would be more pleasant to wait with Ladybug II for my husband. We saw a lot of people going in & out, & most of them smiled at us & many noted the cute little baby I was holding. A lady came around, & while waiting for her husband to catch up sat down next to us to get a better look at my Ladybug.

We chatted a few moments & I gave her the short version of why we were there & how my baby had a twin. She had a grown son, three grandchildren, & had just been blessed with a great grandchild. She then asked me, "How is it, having twins to care for?" I loved her question, because it was so open ended & with true interest. I answered her with the first word that came to mind:

"Fun!"

So then she said, "Oh, then it's easy."

I said, "No! It's definitely not easy, but it is fun!"

Things aren't easy but that's okay. If it isn't one thing it will be another anyway. Jesus said in this world we'd have trouble. If it's trouble caused by following Him I can count it all for blessings. If it's trouble that pulls me closer to Him then that's a true blessing as well.

I'll never be perfect & I can't even strive for that (just read my last post!). But I can strive for truly living in obedience to Him. That means shaking off the influence of the world & not worrying about what anyone else thinks & looking toward Him only.

Definitely not "easy", but most things that aren't easy are more worthwhile, & when the hard stuff leads to Christ, it is all good.

Last weekend was very productive. Since I'm stating that it was obviously a bit unusual in that respect. Even though it was horridly hot we got some errands done. I don't have the freedom to just run out here & there as needed during the week because it's difficult with my Big Guy's issues, so weekends are typically it for me for the most part.

Some searches were unsuccessful, such as the stop at Staples for new pencil boxes. They were sold out. Sold out of pencil boxes. Sold out of pencil boxes in June...  Regardless, as a homeschooling mom, Staples for me is better than a toy store for a kid, so I can always find something needed (or wanted) at Staples, & I didn't leave empty handed.

The next stop, Linens & Things, proved totally useless. They didn't have the storage bags I needed so I could clean up some clutter; or at least contain it & bring it to the basement for now. They also didn't have the refills for our water filter, or a new (& very needed) toilet seat for our downstairs bathroom.

So from there we stopped at Home Depot where the latter two were found & purchased. With that done the health food store was our last stop, then home & back into air conditioning (praise God for a/c).

With the toilet seat successfully replaced (& you have no idea how happy I was about that), I set to lamenting the mess that was my "desk" in the kitchen (actually it's a narrow black folding table with all my homeschool record keeping & other books - actually a "catch all" table is what is was becoming). Between that & the loaded breakfast bar, the mess was taking on a life of its own & I was feeling strangled by it all.

It was interesting to me that the week prior I had been thinking how small the portacrib was for two growing babies, & pondered the thought of one of the full size cribs in the kitchen (which is thankfully roomy). I dared not bring it up for fear of an "Are you crazy?" type response. However, that same week, Mike brought up the idea himself. Go figure... I was all for it.

We brought down the lighter crib (the one without the storage drawer), & placed it right where my cluttered table was, which had already been dragged into the dining room. Instead of bringing the portacrib into the dining room as well, we kept it in its place & raised the mat to turn it into a much more comfy (for me) changing table (my back is ever thankful). The Jumperoo & Exersaucer remain in front of both the cabinet that I use for books, & the full size crib.

Yes, it's a lot in the kitchen, but as Mike so wisely stated, "Twins call for drastic measures".

As if that wasn't great enough, he straightened out the books & folders & such on my table "desk". (I had already sorted out what I wanted there & re-homed everything else, either in the garbage or another room).  The breakfast bar was now almost clear as well.

The dining room, well, it's a far cry from anything "formal", but, guess what? I don't care!

I'll have to admire that in others' houses, (in pictures mostly since I don't get out much), because for now my home is for raising & homeschooling 6 children, with special needs as well.

And it's okay!

I have a cleaned off counter which will be great for some easy crafts again (as time allows), the babies have a crib where they don't have to step on each other (when they don't actually want to), & my stuff is somewhat organized in the other room where I can easily retrieve it when needed.

Doesn't seem like it can get any better? It did! I found really great pencil boxes on Ebay, & they arrived later the next week! All is well...

Except I still need storage bags; but I won't let that ruin my fun. I'll get that done in time as well.

There's still some room left for play too. Storyman & Butterfly are back into Thomas lately, so they decided to use baby ride on toys to pretend to be trains riding around the kitchen. I was the signal. Ladybug I was the owner of the railroad. A couple of times Butterfly abandoned her "train" causing "confusion & delay".

Here's a picture of them stopped at the "signal":

You can see Ladybug I is truly "overseeing" things. You can also see how the crib is strategically placed under our world map, because it's never too early to learn geography ...

In April, I took part in a "Bible reading challenge" my friend Leah at friends4tea created. I was really blessed by it, as it got me back into daily readings. I didn't realize she had a little drawing going at the same time, & I was again blessed in that my name was (randomly) chosen.

Today I received this lovely gift:

Little Guy is chewing, mostly his shirt.

Once he went for my shirt, but got my arm with it... & once he got Ladybug I's little foot.

I thought it might be a regression, as with our new treatments it may be a common thing, but I'm told it's probably a sign of detox. Big Guy is soiling a lot too, which is also a detox symptom.

I count it all for good. We have to get through the not so great to get to anything better.

Little Guy has had some nice social behaviors, such as the playing on the recent video post. That's not a common thing, but it's a great start.

Big Guy came & sat on my lap today & gave me a hug; this went on for several minutes with him being so happy & loving. That certainly makes all the extra loads of laundry well worth it...

I keep a diary of both good & bad behaviors. My next monthly consult for them is next week & I'm getting ready to compile my info for the month.

For Sunday I continue to cut back on my workload by doing most of the supplement mixing on Sat morning, & now I've started pre-mixing a lot of the remedies for the day as well, which helps alleviate some of the workload. I thought perhaps we should at least try to look a little better for Him that day, so Butterfly wore a nice pink flowery skirt & the babies wore some cute dresses I had gotten for them off Ebay. I wore a plain skirt, not much different from my typical capris (it was a minor improvement, just for Him).

The babies looked so cute...



These little pantaloons the babies wore are so cute. I got them from Works of the Heart. I've gotten them for Butterfly as well. (How I wish I could sew!).



Even though they wear so much pink, my husband's comment that they looked like "little girls" was interesting. I'm learning a lot these days, & it seems maybe that's the way He wants us to look!

I went into my Bible reading tonight with a silent prayer about needing encouragement... my reading included the following.

Psalm 146

 1 Praise the LORD. 
       Praise the LORD, O my soul.

 2 I will praise the LORD all my life;
       I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

 3 Do not put your trust in princes,
       in mortal men, who cannot save.

 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
       on that very day their plans come to nothing.

 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
       whose hope is in the LORD his God,

 6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
       the sea, and everything in them—
       the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
       and gives food to the hungry.
       The LORD sets prisoners free,

 8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
       the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
       the LORD loves the righteous.

 9 The LORD watches over the alien
       and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
       but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

 10 The LORD reigns forever,
       your God, O Zion, for all generations.
       Praise the LORD.

...I received some of the best news in my life. I found out I was having twins!

I already knew we were expecting, & my blood tests were good, no great! I had an "inkling", although I didn't want to "go there", because I might have been wrong.

I can still remember seeing my two little peanuts on the ultrasound, each in their own little sacs, each with a strong heartbeat - "Twin A" & "Twin B" they were then, & would be until their birth.

All babies are miracles; looking at two in there I was dumbfounded. Wow. I couldn't praise Him enough for this enormous blessing.

I knew the road ahead would be long. I had a difficult 1st trimester to get through. Lots of morning sickness, so tired I could barely move, & always the fear of losing one or both. The only thing to do was take one day at a time & pray - a lot. All the prayer requests went out, & we had many prayer warriers approaching His throne, just for our babies.

Every ultrasound was good, praise God. They did so well, always growing in unison, within just a few ounces of each other. Since we already had 3 boys & 1 girl, I was fully prepared for the news that we'd be expecting twin boys! We both hoped there was one of each, so our little Butterfly would get a sister, but I would have praised Him for our babies no matter what they were because I was already in love with them & praying for them all the time.

To my huge surprise, early last April, we found out they were both girls!

More prayers carried us through to the very end, when they were born on schedule, at great birth weights, with no pre term labor or problems.

Praise Him for taking such good care of us, always.

I pray He will carry these two lovely babies in His strong, protective Hands all their days, & that they will know Him & follow Him all the days of their lives.

What a sweet memory this is, of this day, one year ago...

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Thank you Lord...

We don't celebrate Halloween - please refer to my entry for more info on that.

However, I don't hide in my house either. Last year on Halloween I decided to hand out gospel message tracts along with some candy. That went well & over all the kids were well behaved & used good manners.

What a difference a year makes!

I planned on doing the same this year, although I knew it would be tougher to do all this while taking care of the twins.

The kids started coming earlier. I was nursing & missed a few of them (no problem really). We got a few really large groups. They would ring the doorbell at least twice right after another. One group rang our doorbell multiple times in a row (before I had a chance to even get up never mind put the twins down) & even banged on the side windows!

Enough...

When it got dark I decided not to put the outside light on this year. Thankfully we're set way back so if the light is out no one makes their way up to our door.

Whatever happened to manners?

Next year I may just not open the door at all.

These babies are growing! Oh, they may not be chunkers, & they are gaining on their own curve, but they are growing & gaining.

Ladybug the First is 7lbs 9oz now, according to our scale. She is now in size 1 diapers. She is finally getting out of the preemie clothes (which are very generously sized) & into regular newborn & 0-3's. So I am finally able to get her into some of Butterfly's old clothes...

As I was talking to her softly this morning, she smiled at me!  Her first little baby smile...

Ladybug the Second just made 7lbs, & can still wear some of the larger preemie clothes. I had to put her in this outfit before she totally outgrows it.  This is such a pretty sweater, & it came with a "lot" of clothes that I won from an Ebay seller a few months ago.

It came with a little hat too. She looks so cute but she didn't like the hat much!

This morning she also had her first smile - she smiled at my son, Storyman! He was so excited!

They go back to the doctor again in 2 weeks.

I saw my holistic health care practitioner & she says I seem to be doing well, actually, better, health wise then when I saw her last year before the pregnancy... go figure.  I do feel better then I did this time last year. Eliminating certain foods & taking certain supplements has really seemed to help. She won't do any testing yet though, until I'm a good 6 months postpartum. She just wants me to add in a protein shake everyday, since it's really tough to eat well right now & nursing two is very physically demanding.

I'm going to take my Little Guy to see her soon & we'll work on some of his issues together.

The babies will be 6 weeks old this week. Time flies. I might make the 6 week postpartum OB visit when they are 6 months old - seriously. Life is too demanding for me to get there right now.

We've been blessed with some incredible homeschool angels. I am part of 2 groups, but have not been able to get really involved in either, considering I'm typically housebound with my kiddos, in particular, my autistic kiddo. One of the groups has had several people dropping by meals at various times, & this week one mom came by with food & some clothing for the babies & my Little Guy! In fact, Ladybug the First is wearing one of the little outfits today.

She also brought by a gift card for our local health food store, contributed to by 4 families in the group. I am so appreciative of their help & support, especially considering most of these folks are from the next county & kind of far from us, even up to an hour away! Also, not one of them had ever even met us before, yet they've done more for us then others who have known us for years, & continue to offer their help & support unconditionally, including offers to shop for us & clean our house. Wow; I'm just not used to this...

Matthew 12:48-50

 He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"  Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

The family of God!

Having twins is definitely double everything - nursing them has become a full time job for me.

They had a weigh in last Monday & they're still gaining, slowly, but they are gaining. There was some speculation that day & all this week with everyone I spoke to, as to what is acceptable weight gain. For one thing they are twins, they were born at 37 weeks, which is 3 weeks short of a full pregnancy, they are on the smaller side, & many twins do stay on the smaller side. Think of preemies that need "catch up" time; it's the same idea.

I spoke to several people, & it seems they are doing fine, although I did have a few suggest starting to supplement. Supplementing is not a quickie decision, given our food allergy issues here. It's not something I would rush into, & I've been researching the options. There really aren't any good ones. Formulas are loaded with corn syrup solids & allergenic ingredients; this isn't something I can jump into giving my kiddos with our family history with foods & GI issues.

The plan turned out to be nurse, nurse, nurse, as I've been doing. I also made sure they are sucking effectively, which they do seem to be, & am encouraging my smaller twin to keep awake & not give up too easily, which she tends to do. I also made a trip back to the hospital to pick up a better quality pump, which will help increase my supply, & provide a supplement using my own milk.

This week was worrisome & stressful for me, to say the least. I had asked folks to be in prayer about it all, as I was myself. Well, the Lord knew I was at the end of my rope with all this, because He arranged for some help and encouragement for me today.

I had left a message for the lactation consultants at the hospital yesterday, not knowing if they'd even be in on Sunday. I thought I'd have to call back again today sometime to find out. Well, she returned my call first thing this morning! I told her what was up & she felt the babies are doing well & we're fine, & was very happy we hadn't supplemented. We talked about pumps & that I have been looking for a better one. It turned out they sell a model that had many advantages over another I was considering. It was also a bit cheaper & I could buy it right from her at the hospital. She was going to be in for a little this morning so I told her I'd be coming to pick it up, which would be a 30 minute drive (after I finished nursing the babies & getting them in their car seats!).

Once I got there I took out the twins double stroller. You'd think after having this many children I'd have the hang of baby gear better, but the stroller got a little stuck as I was trying to open it & I couldn't figure out what the problem was. A nice lady who was interested in seeing the twins (everyone I run into is!) came along & helped me unstick it & get the stroller in place properly. That probably took about 5 minutes, & afterward I headed for the door.

As I got closer I noticed this guy walking my way who looked like our family doctor. Turns out it was him! I called out & we both thought it was funny to run into each other. He stopped to chat for a few minutes. He knew I was uptight when I left his office the other day & assured me even though they are on the low end, the twins are still gaining & he felt "they will be fine". When we parted I definitely felt more reassured.

After picking up the pump & speaking to the lactation consultant I felt even better & now I have a good pump to increase supply AND supplement them with my own milk if necessary.

When I thought about everything that happened, I realized the timing of it all had to be perfect to work out as it did. To get the phone call (when I usually don't even leave messages), for the lactation consultant to be at the hospital this morning (just for a short window of time), for them to have a better pump then the one I was thinking of buying & for less money, for the nice lady to help me with the stroller, & to run into my twins family doctor, had to have happened on just the right schedule.

It was all perfectly timed by the Lord to help me during a difficult time, & I am very thankful to Him for taking such good care of us, & for providing the help & encouragement I so needed today from the right people.

Praise God & thank you!

The babies are each gaining. Little Ladybug the Second has finally passed her birthweight, & our first little Ladybug is less then an ounce away from hers.  Since their gaining was of some concern in the beginning, this is great news!  A great book I got, Mothering Multiples by Karen Kerkhoff Gromada, suggests 1/2 ounce per day is good for multiples to be gaining. They are averaging 3/4 ounce per day now - praise God.

Baby feet are the cutest!!

We got some beautiful flowers with 2 "It's A Girl" balloons from someone my husband works with. I love balloons...

And I love roses... these are such a pretty color.

My little guy is doing MUCH better. He's almost back to normal & his diaper rash is gone - more praises! Hopefully, the bug has passed through all of us now & is gone for good.

Before the twins were born I had called a local La Leche League Leader for her since her son was having some gaining issues. It was nice to re-connect, because I was a member for years while having my 1st & 2nd children. I almost became a leader, but was too busy with taking care of the children & dealing with my oldest son's autism. I always enjoyed the meetings & didn't realize how much I had missed them.

Well, since then the group leader knows of 3 other moms besides myself who have had twins, all of us within the same month. I haven't been to a meeting yet, but was considering attending if I could get away for a little bit. The leader emailed me to say since they know all these twin moms, they want to have a twin meeting just for us in Sept (not something they normally do). I hope it happens because I am planning on attending if at all possible. My husband has already said he will watch the other kiddos for me that day. It will probably only be 1 meeting, & might be fun & definitely encouraging.

Many people don't understand that nursing is a matter of supply & demand - the more it's demanded the more the supply!  So a lot of moms, especially of twins, get the "can you make enough milk for two" question. Even if you're nursing one, sometimes the support & understanding is just not there. I encourage you to track down your local La Leche League Leader (using the link above) & find that support for you & your baby (or babies!)...

My HSblogger friend, Tiany, has a good post up right now with excellent reminders about the "seasons" of life. A lot of moms, particularly homeschooling Christian moms, feel they have to strive for excellence in every area, & all aspects of life must be perfect at all times. For some, they may have the resources & the support available to make that happen. For the rest of us, we have to do the best we can!

The house just isn't gonna be perfect; hopefully it will be acceptable most days. Some days it will go to pot, until the time comes again to catch up. That's just part of life when you're stretched & alone. I understand this in particular, having 4 children of varying special needs, & with 2 more on the way. Meals must be simple & quick, & priorities are key. When the schooling is done & laundry is caught up, & everyone is at least fed with something (that they can tolerate allergy-wise), then it's been a "good" day here!

My focus is on school for all the kids (which includes lesson plans, researching & buying curriculum as needed, & record keeping), therapies for my autistic son, special shopping for special diets, getting simple meals on the table that are "safe" & healthy for all, buying & administering the appropriate vitamins & supplements, keeping everyone safe & healthy as much as possible, & keeping the laundry up to date. There are "wipe ups" of various areas of the house, but big cleaning comes sporadically as time allows. "Decorating" consists of the kiddos helping pick up their toys every couple of days or so!

The kiddos are pitching in a bit more lately. They are being instructed that being part of a family means teamwork & helping out. That means cleaning up after themselves at mealtimes, keeping their toys picked up, making simple meals here & there for themselves, watching out for their siblings, making their beds, etc. There is lots of work to be done in those areas as well as others to be added, & that is also a part of life I am implementing at the moment. It's good training, & I believe the Lord wants that for them & is making it necessary at the moment to give me that push to get them going!

As much as a mom like myself, who does not have a support system & cannot afford to "buy one", has a responsibility to make sure certain things are getting done & people are cared for, at the same time is not a "work horse" expected to go, go, go until eventual burnout sets in (which I've experienced many times!). Certain things have to be left for another day, & others need to be delegated. Sometimes I need to take a step back for my own health & well being.

Sometimes help is available to folks, but real help is in what is needed to be done, not in holding a baby or playing with the kiddos! Sometimes mom needs some rest time, nursing time, or just time with her own littles, while someone else picks up the slack & gets some work done! Otherwise it is not really "help" & better off done without.

There are times there is irritation over the almost staggering "needs to be done list", however, those times are the times He drags me back to Him. It's sad I often must let it get to that point, but I guess He knows us well enough to know what we need to stay close.

I often get questions such as "How do you do it all?", or, now that I'm expecting twins as well, "How will you do it?". There is a lot of compromise involved & letting things go. As stated earlier, priorities are key. Nursing babies will become a new priority in a few months, & others will have to learn patience & how to do for themselves, & how to do a little extra (& that means everyone!), which is not a bad thing. Mom doesn't really get "recoup" time here; only as much as is necessary not to get sick or injured. But things have to get done & I'm the one who has to do it!

Also, from a Christian perspective, I feel I do see things quite differently then others. I do feel He equips us, as we come to Him for help, to do the job He's given us to do. What other people see as impossible, I see as "all things being possible through & with Him". What others see as some kind of superhuman strength, I see as "I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me" (hence my life verse & blog title!). I do not feel He gives us what He feels we can handle. I DO feel He gives us what we need to stay close to Him.

I guess, looking at it that way, I should feel honored to have Him want me to be SO CLOSE!!

Praise & thanks to Him, as always...for I am NEVER ALONE!!!

Congratulations to my blogger & Yahoogroup friend, Dana, on the birth of her 4th child, a beautiful baby girl! Those pictures are awesome - newborns are so beautiful! All are well & home now resting.

Check out her blog which is always amazing for informative & thought provoking articles!

God bless you & your lovely family Dana!

"Break" meaning the kiddos...

We're having an impromtu Spring Break this week. I had not wanted to do that nor had I planned it, but it just happened that way. I needed time to get a few things done & plan for getting a new My Father's World program started for my 9yr old son. So the kiddos are on "break", but definitely NOT Mommy!

I've sorted through, washed, & put away a bunch of baby clothes this week. I'm still, slowly, working through a new biological intervention for my autistic son, which means a lot more hours of research online, probably this weekend. I've also got an application to get completed & sent in for him for some services (after years of waiting probably, but I need to at least get it in). I have an appointment tomorrow, but Friday I do have to work on lesson plans for next week as well. And on top of it all today my washer & dryer are giving me problems (again ).

So our "break" week is even more draining then a "typical" week!

I'm not a stay at home mom. There's so much more to it than that - I wish I could just focus on enjoying the kids more often. But there are educations to implement, curriculum to research, buy, & plan for, autism therapy to plan & implement,  biological interventions to research, research, research, & get going with as well, vits & supps to keep up with for everyone (including me or I'll just totally drop!), discipline & training to keep up with, re-directing autistic behaviors on a constant basis, health food shopping & keeping 4 kiddos with various food allergies somehow fed, keeping them clothed - appropriately - for the coming seasons, laundry, laundry, laundry, & more laundry, changing diapers (& not just a baby's diapers ), &, as I can, keeping the place somewhat clean & tidied up.

I get real weary at times... like this week; burnout time!

I've got to try to eat a bit better too. I concentrate a lot on proteins for the babies, but I eat more wheat, dairy, & things with sugars in them now too, which takes it's toll on me. I do better without them, but cannot stand a meat & veggies diet either!

Well, this too shall pass, right? It will probably feel better to get back to work next week, once everything is in place to do so (lesson plans!). There are the usual daily grind discouragements, attitudes to deal with, tantrumming autistic child, etc. Those are consistently draining. It occurs to me I have not made time for Bible reading lately either; not just a coincidence I'm thinking, that this tired mom is running on empty!

Thank you to all my HSB & other friends who have expressed their joy & are praying for us & our twins. In this world where children are often seen as a hindrance rather then the incredible blessing that they are, it is really nice to be able to share this wonderful news with folks who really appreciate & understand the specialness of it.

God bless you all!!

New on this blog are a couple of Valentine Day graphics & a few new blinkies (all along right sidebar).

I have also changed the song on my blog. I'm really thankful for the blessings of my husband & beautiful children, so I chose a really pretty song just for them this month called God Gave Me You. Thank you precious Lord, for the undeserved blessing of this beautiful family!

I love you all so much ... 

I don't know why exactly, but I've never really liked January. I'm not a winter person, so maybe that has something to do with it. It always seems like a long, cold, dreary month (even though we've had mild weather mostly; nothing to complain about Praise God). I do enjoy the February Valentine decorations, & my daughter's birthday is in February, so all that makes Feb more fun. March is so-so, being that last, long month of winter. But when it comes I know Spring is around the corner, & another child's birthday as well!

We've been laying low, sort of, this month. School has been going on, but slower then usual. I did not start my daughter's K program as hoped. But we'll be picking up some steam, hopefully, in February. I plan on using a few different things for her, & will blog more on that as we get to it. She's not as self motivated as my 8yr old son, so it will be interesting to see how things go as we get into more schooling together.

I'm pleased to be keeping up with my Bible reading so far, almost daily. Last year I had started a reading program, hoping to read through the Bible in one year. Since I fell WAY behind last year, I'm actually a bit ahead so far this year...