http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:40:00 -0600 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:40:00 -0600 I think I know now what it feels like to be stuck in the spin cycle of a washing machine.  Our lives are spinning so fast, it's making me dizzy.  It's making me feel like this: And this: And especially this: Without the intervention of a couple dear friends, I think I may have ended up like this today...... ....which would've been bad since 4 little lives depend on me for their survial.  Greg has been gone for 10 days now at Squadron Officer's School at Maxwell AFB in AL & he's not the only one learning alot right now!  Besides only one other time I can think of, holding down the fort here alone has to be the toughest challenge I have ever faced in my short life!  We are not to make for ourselves a paradise here on earth so I realize life isn't always going to be easy.  Easy is not what I should strive for.  But sometimes I do.  And then I begin to feel like I'm being cheated or underserving of my trials.  I want all the t's to be croseed and the i's dotted and everyone's hair to look perfect and socks to match and a gourmet meal to sit around every night as we discuss how much we love each other and all the toys to be in their correct bins and no more messy bibs or sticky Pediasure or Phoebe screeching or running late.   All these examples are petty because I don't have the time now to delve into the real ones.  Actually, challenges always bring me closer to the Lord in realizing that I am weak and incapable of accomplishing His will in my own strength.  It's true - I am not deserving of my life - I deserve far worse.  But God in his mercy chose to give me an inheritance worth far more than gold and rubies.  If you feel led to pray, please pray that I grow in understanding of this good news.     I am looking forward more than ever to a visit  rescue from my mom tomorrow and next week will begin to re-evaluate my priorities and expectations to enable sanity preservation until Dec 12 when Greg returns.  In the mean time, here is a sampling of our lives from the past month.    Sisterly love - our little Eden has been a blessing to us all!! Phoebe is walking with a walker now!  Her preschool has been so good for her!!  We are still awaiting results from her sleep study and genetic testing.  Very anxious to hear the results!  I realized why living without a diagnosis has been tough for me - because I don't have any standard to "compare" to execept a typical child. Maybe she is doing amazingly well for her condition, but we don't have the luxury of knowing that.  How many times do you think "She learned to read and she was only four - wow" or "He learned to walk at 9 months - can you believe that?"  I realized recently how often I make these comparisions in my mind to validate my job as a parent/teacher.  And how often I have felt defeated for Phoebe's delays, impairments, sensory dysfunction in wondering if she could do more if only I......(spent more time with her, found better therapists, bought more resources).   I have no silver lining here - just a confession that I'm still working through this and it's a hurdle.  I don't know which makes me smile more - Brady (outfitted by Greg) or Phoebe hugging him? Eden - 8 months old Heading out to our soccer games with DD and Poppa in October.  The day Greg left for SOS.  I hold his picture up to her every night and she "kisses" it.  It's amazing the way she shows emotion and love.  She loves her Daddy!!   Wanted to make you smile!  It sure makes me smile!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/744378/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:40:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/744378/ It's Fall and time to do our favorite Fall things - admire God's handiwork in the mountains, play soccer and go to the pumpkin patch! I cannot believe we live an hour away from THIS: Our newest soccer player - she loves it!! Our annual field trip to Black Island Farm with our homeschooling group was so fun!  We took a hayride, picked pumpkins, wandered through corn mazes and played in the fields!  I'm so thankful for our great group of fellow homeschoolers and friends!!  They're so dear to us!    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/736678/ Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:02:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/736678/ Here's a story for you about being in the WRONG place at the WRONG time!! The kids and I were at the duck pond on this beautiful day having a great time walking along the edge of the pond talking about ducks and sticks and the water.  It happened to rain last night which made the ground soft and muddy in patches around us.  Somehow the older two and I managed to steer clear of the mud and to focus on the ducks and finding the best sticks in the park.  Here comes the unfortunate part........while I was squatted down next to the double stroller smiling and talking to my two precious little girls, I feel a splatter of mud across my back!  OK - where did that come from?  My kids were all in front of me?  Then I hear a father severely scolding his son.  Now I get it - this boy also was facinated with all the sticks & found himself a humdinger which he was poking in the mud behind us.  Since my eyes in the back of my head were closed at that moment, I failed to see his stick flicking mud all over the back of me, the diaper bag, baby Eden and the stroller.  Whether or not he realized he was doing it only he & His Maker know?  I wanted to take the stick and wrap it around his little ........well, the kids were watching me and so all I said was that it was OK and that it would all wash out.  I figured he got enough scolding from his papa with an ear pull too!  Esther must not have wanted us to feel so bad so later she slipped in the mud after running down some dirt hills and got some pockets full of mud.       What a memorable day at the park!  Now I better go atart some laundry! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/728842/ Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:51:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/728842/ It's facinating to me how your worldview and perspective influence how you react to life's joys and trials.  So many areas of life are affected when you believe that the Lord gives and takes away, that all good things are gifts from the Lord and that He is sovereign over all.  I actually cannot imagine going through life without the peace these truths give. We got off to a great start to our school year the past 2 weeks!!  All the planning, preparation and praying have eased the transition and given us so much joy to use our minds and bodies in new ways.  If this tells you anything, I gave them the day off Monday beacause I hurt my back and was in bed all day, but Esther still insisted she drag all her books up to my bed and do all her subjects!!  It's my mission during the planning weeks to find curriculum that will suit their learning styles and challenge them without being frustrating!  Seems like this year the eclectic mix of resources is a great fit.  I'm using a century old grammar primer for 2nd/3rd graders that I bought with a little caution.  I realize modern grammar has gotten more involved and technical so I didn't know if the simple focus on memorization, dictation and copywork would be a good learning tool.  I deciedd to go with the tried and true methods of a time ago and am so impressed with the results already!!!  A boy who normally gets very frustrated with writing is cheerfully writing sentences I dictate with few spelling mistakes.  He is memorizing the sweetest poems and learning grammar forms just from copying famous pieces of literature.  He put me to tears when he recited the poem "If I Knew" after a few days of practicing.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to teach them and see their eyes widen with excitement over every new discovery and achievement!  These days are going by fast and I'm trying to savor them.  Our 2nd/3rd grader (this "cloak" hasn't left his back since I brought it home from the plane a month ago.  It is an airplane blanket that I inadvertantly stole, but since the kids found it has been a king's cloak, baby sling, superhero cape and fort roof:  Who would've thought?) Our spunky kindergartener (she's still four but she likes a challenge!) Our cheerleader! On another note, Phoebe had her first day of preschool today!!  While it is our goal to homeschool her also we thought having her regularly in a theraputic environment would help her reach some milestones.  Since she is oblivious to the influences we seek to protect our children from in school, we don't think we are compromising having her in a school setting.  It is actually more like her therapy.  We didn't think she understood anything, but she showed an unusual excitement this morning that proved me wrong.  She even gave us lots of smiles for the camera!  Taking her to school was a strange experience - the other kids just looked around at all the kids and activity in amazement & asked lots of questions.  What are they having for lunch?  How long is recess?  Where are all their mommies?  When do they go home?  Phoebe had a few sad moments but overall she did great today according to her teacher.  It'll be a huge adjustment for her but one we hope and pray will be good for her! Our sweet preschooler!!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/725588/ Wed, 9 Sep 2009 22:54:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/725588/ We've been swept up with the adjustment to a new Fall shedule that includes Greg teaching 2 nights/week at a local college, homeschooling, soccer and AWANA.  We try intentionally to preserve  time for family/marriage and friends, but this Fall will definitely be a challege.  Greg and I have an in-house date night once a week to listen to Tom Nelson's Song Of Soloman sermon series that taught us, challenged us and made us laugh when we listened to them during our engagement.  We have a different perspective now since we have some years of marriage under out belt.  It's neat how God's truth can speak to you differently at different times of life.  Way past the honeymoon stage, we are coming to understand and appreciate God's plan in marigage to obediently love and perserve the commitment to each other through all life's ups and downs.  Our little Eden is 6 months old now and started eating solid food.  Another bit to make life interesting!  She is a happy, sweet, adorable little bundle of love that makes caring for her seem like all fun & no chore!!  I predicted during pregnancy that between her 6th and 9th months my tasks as a mother may intensify more than ever before.  Spoon feeding and diapering 2 will be like having twins!!  Here are her reactions to her first feeding.  Can you guess whose little chunky fingers are feeding her?  E-S-T-H-E-R!  She's so multi-talented with babies!!    I'm so thankful for her interest and willingness to always help!  She has such a servant's heart. One sanity-preserving thing I've always heard but just really learned in the past few years is to take one day at a time.  I try to remember these verses when my mind gets swept up with the unknown challenges or fears of next week, year or 5 years  from now:  So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Matthew 6:27-29 Seeing how God creates such beautiful coverings for the fields and loves us so much more than flowers gives me peace and faith to trust Him for each day's provision of grace.  It's easy to let the blessings of life become burdens, but it's refreshing to remember how things like keeping a home and raising little children truly are priceless gifts! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/722293/ Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:13:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/722293/ Phoebe is 3!! We celebrated Phoebe's 3rd birthday last week with root beer floats and a cake!  Our little Phoebe is three already....and what an interesting and life-changing three years we've had with her.  We're so happy Grandma (Greg's mom) could be here for her birthday.  Grandma left that day after helping us out for a week while Eden and I visited family in Clemson.  We squeezed in a quick trip to Temple Square before she left. I thought I'd give y'all an update on what Phoebe is up to lately.  Slow and steady would descibe her progress over the past year.  She visits her physical, occupational and speech therapists regularly and checks in with her neurologist, geneticist, ophthamologist, developmental pediatrician and audiologists twice a year.  No diagnosis can yet describe the collection of neurological abnormalitles she has, but we have a better handle on the big picture and what works for her.  She remains seizure-free on medication (21 months and counting)!   She saw her geneticist today.  As follow-up, she'll have a combined overnight sleep-study/EEG to see if she has sleep apnea (we've wondered about this for a while) and a micro-array, the most comprehensive detailed genetic study that currently exists.  I wanted this study done 2 years ago, but her geneticist wanted to try more conservative paths first.  Nothing has come up abnormal yet so we'll see what the micro-array tells us.  We are at peace if we never know what's caused her issues, but I suspect she does have a minor spontaneous genetic mutation that has not been discovered yet (does not have a name).  There currently is a lot of focus in the genetics world on Rett & Angelman's Syndromes.  Researchers are discovering alternate forms of the traditional MECP3 mutation which I wonder if her case may fall into.  You may be asleep by now - sorry!  I find this fascinating!      In her therapies, we're working on walking, going up/down stairs, eating independently, accepting textured food, playing functionally, decreasing her stimming, choice-making with vocalizing, learning cause and effect and communicating.  She's showing improvement in all these goals and has mastered stair-climbing!  We're getting her a recordable switch, battery interruptor and some switch toys for her birthday so she can operate her own music and adapted toys.  Her favorite things in life right now are music, her baby sister and her Daddy!    She has good days and bad days - this summer has been a real mix.  Lately she has been doing very well and many friends and neighbors have commented how much she has progressed.  We thank the Lord for her progress and joy.  We celebrate all her accomplishments.  Just watching her roll down the sidewalk on her scooter tonight gave Greg and I huge smiles.  Seeing her sense of humor emerge is a highlight of my day.  Any words of encouragement or acts of kindness you've given on her behalf have been so uplifting and heart-warming.  We know every child is a gift from the Lord and love hearing from those whose hearts Phoebe has touched in a special way.        http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/718854/ Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:23:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/718854/ If you know me, you know I am hairstyle-challenged.  I never do anything different or exciting to my hair.  Some days I just want to wear a baseball cap and forget about it.  So having 3 daughters whose hair needs to be styled may be God's little joke on me.    I'm thankful Esther always wants her hair down since it has finally grown out from the big CHOP from 2 years ago.  However she has discovered curls and wants them every day.  We tried it once and she loved it.  So I twisted her hair up again tonight after her shower to sleep on for church tomorrow.  Her bedtime prayer went something like this, "Dear Jesus, please help Mr. James and Claire's dad to get home safely from Iraq and help me to have really really curly hair tomorrow.  Amen"  What do you say to that? Before:   After: I am so thankful for my spunky and ENERGETIC little girl!  I love that she can paint toenails and play in the dirt, rock her babies and jump off the fort to the trampoline (oops, did she really do that?).  She is A LOT of personality packaged in one adorable little girl!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/711413/ Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:14:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/711413/ $35 spent 36 meals made 3 friends = relief for mommy! I spent Monday afternoon with 2 dear friends whipping up frozen meals that now stock our freezers.  What an afternoon well-spent!!  Thankfully my friend spearheaded the effort, did all the planning, shopping and hosted us at her house.  Phoebe and Eden took turns testing our eardrums, but the other 7 kids played for 3 hours while we trimmed meat, chopped veggies and measured spices.  Now we each have 12 meals in our freezers ready to pull out and grill, bake or slow-cook!  What a relief to have home-cooked meals already prepared!!  I tried a little experiement this week.  Beacause of my sister's inspiration to spend less $$ on groceries, I wanted to see if we could go a week without grocery shopping.  I had a feeling that we had enough food sitting in the pantry and freezer that we just kept burying with new stuff.  Then when it comes time to move it all just gets thrown out.  Well, it was a huge success!!  I did need to buy milk and bananas at the beginning of the week, but we survived (and ate well) with all the food we had.  Some things I observed: 1.  I became less of a short-order cook.  Usually we don't cater to the likes of individuals, but I realized I did more of this than I thought.  This week, because there wasn't a lot of extra food, the standard line of "Well, this is what I'm serving." was used frequently.  2.  I prepared more homemade goodies - cookies, pudding, breads.  And who doesn't prefer the homemade over store-bought? 3.  I spent less time preparing and cleaning up.  4.  We (ok - mostly I) didn't snack as much.  5.  There is a lot more food in the house than I realized & we don't always need to succumb to our cravings. This was a valuable lesson.  I may just incorporate these "no shopping" weeks into our lives regularly.    Having fun in the sun, K p.s. Daddy can make everyone smile! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/711180/ Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:08:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/711180/ Excuse my poor use of English - it's been a very trying day (make that week, no month)!  Our little Phoebe, the precious golden-haired cherub, has been screaming her cheeks red and my head aching for weeks.  This photo may be the only smile she's had in the past month.  I keep looking at it to remind myself how cute she is.  She'll be 3 next month, but developmentally she is about 6-12 months which puts her smack in the middle of separation anxiety time.  HOWEVER, we've been through this before with 2 other babies and I'll tell you, what we have here is two screams shy of a mommy breakdown!  If she wasn't our first child, I'd think we just really messed up somewhere along the way.  But Esther especially had a long and intense separation anxiety phase and that doesn't hold a candle to this.  With her sensory integration/processing disorder, being apart from me may seem more intensely scary.  Add to that her central vision and hearing impairments and no one really knows what she understands or processes.  And it probably changes daily.  No easy answers - hoping she outgrows this and we all survive.  Even poor Andrew said he wanted to give her to an orphanage - he especially struggles with the constant ear-piercing noise.  So who's been taking care of Eden?  Here's who: She's been begging me since Eden was born to change her diaper & I finally decided Eden was big enough to handle diaper-changing Esther-style.  We'll see what Esther thinks about it after Eden eats peas and squash in a few months? It's never too early to read the latest Lego magazine! So you can understand my long pause in blogging - at night I'm either collecting the pieces of my brain to form 2 coherent thoughts or tidying up from all the housework left undone all day.  Except for Sunday when I was in bed all day after a stomach bug ravaged through me the night before.  Yuck!  Thankfully Greg could keep everyone alive while I recovered so I could tackle today.  And how did the big kids spend their Sunday?  Playing in the mud and hunting rats!  Go Daddy!  We just discovered that the big holes along the fence in our backyard are the homes to Templeton and his family.  Our neighbor is taking this seriously with his pellet gun so we're hoping the problem gets resolved soon! When Greg is home things relax more and we try to have some fun: There's nothing like coming home to a house that smells like dog doo-doo!  After Esther's dance recital this sight welcomed us home.  And it's in Phoebe's room (hmmm, maybe this is why she's so unhappy lately?)  Ahhhh, it's nothing that a good steam vacuum and $100 worth of candles didn't fix!  Don't you love Greg's cleaning gear?  Esther's dance recital was lovely.  We thought she'd glow in the spotlight since she is always so full of life, but she surprised us by acting reserved and shy.  We were thankful her first dance class experience included Bible devotions, prayer and modesty.            And a couple more photos of our lil 4 month old - We call her our little "small and mighty"!   How could I leave out a farewell to the truck??  It's gone now after 8 good years of seeing Greg come home from work in it - to a Mormon family with 11 kids.  I was actually sad to see it go! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/707820/ Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:36:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/707820/ If you're a mom with young kids, there's no telling what's in your pockets at the end of the day.  So tell me, what's in your pockets right now?  In mine tonight there were 3 lifesavers, a grocery store list, lego space hemlet, hair elastic, chewed gum (not mine), and a friend's address.  We stayed home for Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed some family time with Dh who was home for 4 days.  Here are some things we enjoyed: Holding our sweet baby Eden who is not sure she likes bright sun, Utah heat and the sound of fighter jets flying by all the time! Getting wet anyway we can! Starting to teach Phoebe how to pedal.  We got some second glances and concerned faces from passing strangers for taping her feet to the pedals with red duct tape!  Hanging out outside as much as we could! Learning to ride a 2-wheeler and being SO proud of herself!   And here's our little 3 month old who we put in the Bumbo to celebrate her big day!  Unfortunately the rest of us were a little green in the face from a stomach bug that hit us hard that day.  Thankfully Eden escaped (and we're all better now)!  She smiles all the time!! Sometimes I'll look at her while she's in the bouncy seat with no one watching her and she'll be smiling ear-to-ear!  I wonder what she's thinking about?  I had my second "big family" comment this week.  I was watching my friend's 3 kids while she went to a luncheon so that made 7 kids ages 7 and under playing in our backyard.  When I smiled and said hi to our neighbor, she (seriously) asked me if I was running a daycare!  The first comment was at Lowe's in the garden department when a salesman asked the typical "Are they all yours?" question.  So many tempting answers to give?!?!      And to you Air Force readers, my dh had the shocking honor to sit next to General Norton Schwartz, chief-of-staff of the Air Force at lunch on Monday where they attended a symposium together.  He's not sure why he was placed between Gen. Schwartz and a Utah Congressman, but he thoroughly enjoyed meeting him and getting the priviledge to talk with him. So now tell me, what's in your pockets today?    I can't wait to hear! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/695694/ Wed, 3 Jun 2009 23:26:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/kcameron/695694/