We are on day 2 of potty training and doing GREAT!  I wasn't planning on doing it yet, because I didn't think she was ready.  Yesterday she changed her pullup 6 times before 9:30 am and most were not wet, so I figured it was a ripe time.  I asked if she wanted to wear panties and she said yes.  She went all day yesterday with no accidents, even naptime!  Today she went with dad to the store for 2 hours and came home dry (and running for her potty).  LOL!   We even did #2 today!  Way to go, mama's baby!  (That's what she insists I call her....)

The Reckless Faith video is a little long (about 10 minutes), but SO worth it!  Please take a moment to watch it.  And if you get a chance check out the other 2 by her at www.godtube.com.  There's Gaby's story about adoption and Joel's story about God's amazing answer to the prayers and faith of a child.

The old mobile home is G-O-N-E, gone!!!!  Yea, God!!  They moved it yesterday.  We went out there this morning to see it and it looks GREAT!  Now we just have to finish cleaning up the junk left by the previous owner and cut a few trees to fit the new mobile home parallel to the camp, not perpendicular like the old one.

Here's a picture with it gone.

We've been doing school the last 2 weeks.  And I am attempting a schedule!  We do Bible time from 8-8:30 and table time (math, copywork, Language Daily Grams) from 8:30-10.  That's where things get out of whatck.  We have tried doing our creative outside time from 10-11:30, but it just doesn't feel right.  It is so hot to do it in the afternoon, but that's when it feels good/right.  So I think we'll be making some adjustments.  Then from 11:30-12, we do either art or music.  Lunch.  Then either 106 Days of Creation Science or Story of the World.  It just seems to easy... I guess we'll just continue to refine it.

If you see anything you think I'm missing, let me know!

Then this morning, one of the boys comes running out of their room yelling something about the cat eating their pet beta fish...

Apparently the bowl was knocked over and no fish to be found anywhere...

What a grey Tuesday.  One year ago today, mom died.  She had surgery at the end of March.  Went straight to ICU for 2 weeks, then we transferred her to a long term acute care facility.  On Mother's Day, we went in to find that she had had a stroke.  It was still another 5 weeks before she passed.  We had all said our good byes.  We knew it would be that night.  I had packed my bible and journal and address book.  About a mile from the hospital, I heard the song "Walking her Home."   I felt a wave of cold pass over me, the cold of fear and death.  When I got to the hospital, the nurses stopped me.  They had just been getting my number to call me, mom had died about 5 minutes before I got up there, the same time I heard the song.  I still can't hear that song without breaking into sobs.

My sister Charlotte and I put flowers and a balloon on her grave on Sunday after church. 

Then to add to this, we've been caring for the baby bunnies.  We got up and ate and started school work (I know, what was I thinking?).  Around 10, I went to feed the bunnies.  As I was lowering it down from the top of the fridge, I saw one bunny laying allong the side of the "cage."  I knew the instant I saw it, that it was dead.  I removed the towel off the top and there was the other bunny, dead.  What a day for death... 

I have been a wreck all day.  My husband and the boys took them outside this evening and buried them.  I couldn't go. 

We only worked on Saturday again this weekend.  We were burning ourselves out too quickly.  Thankfully it was uneventful in the way of creatures this time; no more snakes, spiders, or babies to nurse.  We did break down and buy a riding mower, so I got to cut grass this weekend.  Troy attacked some more of the bank and it is looking great.  Probably one more 15-20 foot section and that's it, we'll leave the rest of the growth.  There is an amazing breeze that now comes off the river.  It feels SO good as it washes over you. 

This is our fourth day of caring for the bunnies and I thought I'd share how they're doing.  They are taking their formula really well.  They're even trying to suck from the syringe now.  They are easily taking their 2-3 cc of formula without much prompting from me.  They are getting active and wanting to climb around.  Their eyes opened this morning! 

DS #1 and his bunny

DS #2 

And of course DD had to get in on the act, so big brother let her hold his.

We've wanted chickens...maybe this is God's way of breaking my husband into the idea!  We nursed a kitten 2 years ago, now the bunnies....

We are testing this morning.  A friend directed me to www.FamilyLearning.org .  It is a homeschool consulting organization that also supplies testing materials to homeschool families.  They provide the test booklet, answer sheets, and examiner manual.  You have 2 weeks to administer the test and send it back for them to grade and score. 

I've been homeschooling my oldest son for4 years and this is our first standardized test.  I guess it's a good time.  We're getting ready to move more toward the Charlotte Mason style.  This is a good marking point of sorts.

We spent yesterday working on the camp again.  I thought I'd use this as a way of journaling it's progress.  We took today off.  DH had worked about 13 days without a break (between work and the camp).  He usually has off Wednesday afternoons and every other Friday afternoon; but since the tornado, he's had to work his afternoons off to see all the patients and then we worked both Saturday and Sunday last weekend.  Yesterday he had a friend helping and our 2 boys and the friend's son.  They did some great work.  So here's this weekends update:

THE GOOD:  Check out the river!!! 

THE BAD:  (the spider in the middle of the picture!  Including legs, he was larger than the size of my palm!) 

AND THE ADORABLE:  (DD thought she was IT!)

And our two newest additions, little baby bunnies.  Troy was clearing the area and pulling up stumps.  Under one of them...bunnies.

Just before our Disney trip, we purchased a camp on the river.  Currently it has a 40 yr. old mobile home on it that we are going to have removed.  The property is on the river, but it's so overgrown you can't even tell there's a river there.  We spent many hours there this weekend trying to clear an area of the river bank. 

Welcome to our camp! 

Current camp:

This is the area before we worked on it(and my DH and DD!):

Here's the boys working on it:

And of course every job needs a supervisor (and snack manager):

End of Day 1.  Look at the progress!

Day 2 had a little excitement...

a copperhead! (yes it is dead and has been for several hours!)

And end of day 2.  Today was a little harder.  It was mainly up to DH to use the chainsaw and get in the water and clear a view of the river.  This isn't the usual height of the water.  The river is WAY about normal level due to the melting ice up north.

I can't wait to get the old one moved and the new one on it so we can start staying out there on weekends while we work on it!  Keep you posted.

We are known for being pretty strict about what our kids see, hear, and do.  I know they're not always happy with our decision, but I know that God did not entrust us with our 3 blessings to be their friend and give them everything they want.  He entrusted them to us to love, guide, train, and protect.  That means sometimes saying no.  (Like baseball practice on a Sunday!)  I know our family often sees us as "oddballs" for how strict we are about what they can watch on tv or what language we allow them to use.  But today I read 2 blogs that really encouraged me that we are doing the right thing.  Please pop over and read them, they are great!

http://www.marybethwhalen.com/2008/03/teenagers-and-cell-phones.html and http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/ (To Text or Not to Text, May 20, 2008)

Wow! I am in the middle of making the "switch" to a more Charlotte Mason approach.  I just came across this from www.NotebookingPages.com and did it make me sit up and take notice. 

"What kind of busywork can you cut from your child's day? How do you decide what is busywork? I decide by looking at the end product of whatever it is that they are doing. Does the project or activity create a lasting effect on them? Is it enjoyable? (Now I realize that not everything about learning has to be fun, but some activities we subject are kids to can definitely be replaced with more enjoyable ones!) Will their work end up in the trash can, on a shelf or in a tote never to be seen again? When asked "What did you learn?", do they have an answer or a blank look? That is probably the best way to determine if what you are doing is busywork. Busywork summed up about half of what I was doing with my kids in every subject before I started notebooking. When creating a notebook, they are actively working with the studied material and are showing you what they learned. So they will always have an anwer to the question, "What did you learn?". Their notebooks will become filled with all these morsels of their learning! They will treasure these notebooks, as will you, for years to come. So, what can you cut to make time for notebooking?"

http://www.notebookingpages.com/index.php?page=Notebooking-Getting-Started

Unfortunately, I know that blank look all too well.  I do know they remember stuff from the 2 lapbooks we've done because they keep talking about them!  That's what I want.  I want my boys (kids) to be excited about what we're learning.  I want them to want to run to Dad when he comes home and excitedly tell him about their day and what they've learned.  I want to see that spark again...

Here are some pictures of the damage that happened to Troy's office and the building behind it during this morning's tornado.  We are thanking God that this happened when it did and not 30 or 45 minutes later when the buildings would have had people in them.  No one was injured. 

Things don't look too bad from the front...

 but from the side...the roof use to go all the way to the end of the building!

This is the view from Troy's office.  This building will have to be demolished and rebuilt.  Thank you, God, that no one was in this building.   

My first Mother's Day without my mom...  I held it together all day, until bedtime...  now the tears won't stop flowing.  Last Mother's Day after church, we (dh, kids, and I) walked into mom's hospital room to find her staring, mouth open, unable to move her right side.  Sometime in the early morning hours she had had a stroke.  I can still see her face and the room.  All hope was gone.  She'd already been in the hospital about 6 weeks after her surgery and she hadn't recovered.  I knew that this was it.  We held on to her another few weeks, to no avail.  She's gone.  She'll never see her grandkids.  My baby girl will never have any memories of her grammy.  My mom will never know that we are going back to China for another daughter...another grandchild. 

Looking back now, to see all that I missed in her life.  I never understood her ways, yet she was a simple woman.  She loved doing for the kids and me.  She lived for her grandkids.  She bragged about them everywhere she went; she carried pictures upon pictures to show to anyone who'd stand still long enough; she didn't care how much they messed up her hair when they played all over her.  They adored her.  I can still picture how excited they would get when she came over.  The squeals and jumping up and down.  They loved her so much.  She wanted to spoil them rotten, yet I held her back.  Why?  Don't know.  Power, thinking I knew better?  Now she's gone and can't...

If you're at odds with your mom, what can you do to make it right?  What if you knew this was your last Mother's Day with her?  What would you do different?

For me, it wouldn't be gifts or things; it would be time.  Real time, not time spent thinking about what else I could be doing.  Not resentful time, but time to share life.  One of the biggest things mom wanted was for me to bring the kids to her.  I couldn't understand why.  I always rationalized it away saying it was easier for her to come to us, she came to town anyway...  Looking back, did it matter why?  No.  It would have made her happy.  Isn't that what life is about?  Joy.  Love. 

You don't know what you have until it's gone... 

I'm aiming to change our schedule for 2008-09.  We're going to start back up the beginning of June.  I want to be able to take off time during the fall and spring when it's more comfortable to play outside.  It gets so hot here during the summer, they really can't play outside from 10-3.  Even our pool is too hot!  The water gets into the 90's, that is not refreshing to me.  Then I want to be able to take more regular breaks.  We got a late start this past year, so I didn't leave room for many breaks.  My goal is to take a week off every 4-5 weeks. 

Anyone else teach through the summer?  We don't live in a neighborhood, so the friends playing outside shouldn't be an issue.  I think once they get use to it, they're going to enjoy the time off in the fall.  It will just take some time to get use to it.

I haven't told the boys yet, but this is going to be our last week for 2007-8!  We're going to DisneyWorld next week, so I think we're done for this year.  Can't wait to tell them!  What an end of year blowout!