one week into homeschooling...

Bringing Hagan and Griggs home to school 

has been a huge blessing!!

Not only for Hagan, mom is pretty boring to hang with all day!

And well, little 4 year old brother...

he takes a lot of leading and more patience!

But Griggs, he's just right!

Not unlike Goldilocks and the three bears!

Watching them learn together,

challenge each other 

entertain each other

and encourage each other

is a joy! 

I love seeing their personalities work together!

For those who may not know,

Hagan and Griggs came home together.

They are not biological brothers 

but when we were matched with the two of them

Hagan was moved into the same foster home as Griggs -

so they were brothers for about 6 months before we got to them!

I've been thinking about the journey to bring them home -

that was a hard one!

We had no extra cash!

We already had 7 kids and dealing with Elijah's hurts day in and day out!

But, you know when God calls you to something -

HE is going to bless you!! 

I remember praying, "God, if you want to close doors,

if these adoptions are not from you,

I'm okay with that."

I know, can you believe I said that!!!

But, y'all, I was tired!! 

I was run down and at my wits end most of the time!
Not really a happy person.

Treading water through your days 

is a hard place to be!

My health wasn't good, but I faked it!

You know, "I choose this life."

It wasn't anyone else's problem! 

We had been told by numerous doctors -

"Don't adopt again! 

You have enough on your plate and things won't get better."

My response, 

"You are NOT my God! 

I will do what my God tells me to do!"

We fundraised e.v.e.r.y. penny to bring our boys home!

We are so thankful 3 1/2 years later for everyone who helped us bring them home!

And then,

we were done!!!

Let's end of a good note!!

But, before we left China - 

God whispered in both Bryan and my ears -

"You are not done,  your daughter is still here."

(story to be continued...)

Understanding differences

If I want my child's differences to be understood,

then I need to make sure they understand other peoples

differences.

Our little boy Donovan is missing half of his index finger 

on his right hand.
Though this is not a big deal to us -
it can be to 5 and 6 year olds.

So, we decided to take a day of school and work with 

one arm. 

The girls were very excited for this experiment.

(I promise Jorja was happy - just pretending to be hurt)

Well, until they actually had to do their work.

They got tired of it quickly but 

they learned a very good lesson.

Pumpkin day at school!

Measuring our pumpkins

(Jailyn decided Cosmo needed to be measured too!)

 

Science experiments with pumpkins

Sink or Float?

Daddy took over the science portion! 

 And painting pumpkins!

I love happy, school days like these!

Cool Whip please!

One of Jailyn's favorite 

projects is 

~

coloring with cool whip!

Every trip to the grocery store,

I will be told at least a dozen time,
"We N.E.E.D whip!"

Jorja is not so excited about it -

but getting better!

And not so nervous about

getting a little messy!

And she even decided to taste it!

Chaos broke loose when
Cosmo decided Jorja was on to something!

Kindergarten in our house!

We had decided to give Jorja at least one more year at home,

schooling and focusing on her needs,

one-on-one rather then in a crowded 

classroom. 

And, since Jailyn's age makes her ineligible for 

public school,

we are doing kindergarten at home! 

And we are LOVING it! 

The girls are excited everyday 

to do their projects! 

Cutting and gluing are Jailyn's favorite! 

Jorja loves coloring! 

I am loving spending this special time

with my girls! 

And learning more about them and

their styles of learning!

(And their eye-glasses help this year too!)

"Here I am, send me."

Psalms 6:8

This is easier said then done.

In the adoption community we use this verse often,

as we encourage others to take a leap of faith

and obey God's calling to care for the orphans.

For me, 

loving a child that did not grow in my womb,

is not an issue. 

Many kids and adults who know me,

know that I will allow my 

Mama  Bear attitude to come out

when I see any child in a bad situation.

(I drive my big kids schools nuts 

with this personality issue.)

But, 

I have been struggling with what 

God is calling me to do

in my own home.

Home schooling.

This scares me to death!

I have been home schooling Jorja for the most part of 

this past year -

and it has gone well.  

There are days that I love it and 

days that I wish I could just drop her off at the entrance of our 

neighborhood school,

give her a kiss and send her on her merry way.

But, 

seeing how far she has come in the last 6 months.

Academically she is understanding.

Socially she is  growing.
She is gaining confidence in who she is,
and 

our relationship is getting closer and closer!

She is succeeding! 

So, what do I do with this -

I begin thinking, 

"I did my job, I'm done,

she can go back to school next year."

Oh, but God has a different opinion.

R.E.A.L.L.Y?

And now for that step of faith!
Am I really willing to say,
"Here I am, send me."
When I don't want to go?

To tell God, "I can't"

Is truly a slap in the face.

He created me,

He is asking of me,

He will equip me.

What am I so afraid of?

So, here, publicly, 

I am committing to home schooling 

Jorja and Jailyn

next year. 

(I type this with sweaty palms)

I'm scared to death! 

But, when God asks -

I must obey.

Any home schoolers out there?

I'd love any advice you can give me!

We need hands on curriculum - 

I get too bored! :) 

Thank you for your prayers and advice!

Being kind to the animals

We decided to make some bird feeders 

for our feathered friends!

And sharing them with our friends! 

We are excited to watch the birds enjoy 

their snacks! 

Spring fun!

And wonderful weather to enjoy 

our study on birds.

Going on a nest hunt!

Found one! 

Now let's make nests!

Adding eggs!

Posing for Mom!

A beautiful day to eat our snack creation 

outside! 

Brought to you by the number 11

I don't think I mentioned before,

that we had pulled Jorja from public school the end of November.

We love our school and Jorja's teacher -

but we decided she still needed time at home with mom.

And being in school for so many hours a day -

was too much for her.

Anyway, we are having a great time schooling at home!

She loves math and writing

and is loving the one-on-one time.

This day we baked cookies

and added 11 chocolate chips to each cookie!

Good times!