Home Schooling

I have LOVED learning about home schooling as I really started to get into it with Gabby this year. I have been reading anything I can get my hands on. And now I am going to branch out and start a blog exclusively about our home schooling journey, called Faith-Based Home Schooling. So I was so excited to hear about this offer to the Old Schoolhouse home school magazine.

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=v8kuxxbab&v=001ljJ4p7aX-nEIXLBXeW7Fd2OWw_QtqEaMb6IkC_QsD3lJYPh9J48P6zMMokrt-Ov4nUmuCOc_DydLef8B05aTxsZU1WMW8RluveUCmowXRl0w66J7FFVCdqxduV1w_xugVYDtHkAZDg9I_q5tjhiSJssYOhc7s5m5KP_2nDKSu1UAKecdeqwee44CRNJzL6-6BRISOcVeQWKOdsXn3by3YrDkTB1_aGG_GPlt5IhrGHgkZKxee4vkPfvE_sadUw_NMZjV_NT1ev4o7bvJVUUDjOSkz7uecXJOO4TQTHopfVEEdLXKoIF85qTmL1EiFfX52_sq3Mcm_IxMxsLNkqJ1pf6YEV6MDbpJ&id=preview

I can't wait to dive into my first issue!

Christmas Cards

It has been a few years since we sent out Christmas cards or pictures. Either time just seems to get away from me and before I know it, Christmas has come and gone and I never got around to doing cards. Or there just didn't seem to be a lot of "newsworthy" things to share. And to be honest, I am not sure people really wanted to see a picture of Miles & I every year. We really don't change much from one year to the next!

But since God has brought us 2 incredible blessings over the last year and a half, I am going to make it a goal to send out cards, with pictures, and hang on to your hats . . . . maybe even a Christmas letter. And to be honest, it is a little bit selfish because it is a recap in words and pictures that I want to have for our own family history every year.

This past spring I discovered Shutterfly's photo cards and fell in love. I made really cool cards for both mine and Miles' moms for Mother's Day and an awesome Father's Day card for Miles. So of course that was my natural choice for Christmas cards. Here is the link: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

You can put one or several pictures on one card. The picture quality is unbelievable. And let's face it . . . there is no way I will be able to choose just one picture to put on our Christmas cards because I have a few unbelievably cute ones. So this was the perfect solution for me. Go check it out. It's incredibly easy to do and doesn't cost that much.

And be checking your mailboxes for the renewal of our annual Christmas cards! I know you can't wait!! :)

Just an update

I have committed to keeping up on this blog, and I've slacked off the last 2 weeks. Oops! I think it's because either we were so busy, or there was just nothing out of the ordinary to write about. We had a crazy few days in a row. First, it was Mother's Day and Jax was dedicated in church that morning. It still felt surreal to be standing up on the stage with TWO children. Especially since we just had Gabby dedicated a few months ago. Miles' family was able to come for the dedication, and after church we went out to lunch to celebrate Mother's Day. Gabby was so funny because she kept drawing me pictures ALL DAY as a Mother's Day gift. She probably drew about 12 pictures that day of random things. After lunch Gabby left with Grandma Torres to spend a few days with her. It was so quiet around the house with her gone. For those of you who haven't met her yet, she comes by the name Gabby honestly because she talks constantly. It was a nice break, but I sure did miss her.

On Monday, Miles & I celebrated our 7th anniversary. We had plans to go out of town Sunday night, but alas, Jax wanted to keep us around! We tried and tried and tried to get him to accept a bottle for his middle of the night feedings, but he absolutely refused. So we knew we couldn't leave him with anyone. So we just made the best of it. Miles & I went out for coffee that morning and just sat and reminisced. Then we had a special dinner at home that night. Jax sat in his bouncy seat and enjoyed the moment with us. :) We don't have "fancy" things so we improvised. We had fondue and wine (YUM!) and since we don't have china, we ate off of the two "You Are Special Today" plates that we have. It was pretty fun.

On Tuesday morning I left early in the morning and flew to Boise for work. I had to help train a new employee. I didn't want to leave Jax because it was originally supposed to be an overnight trip, so my boss graciously agreed to let him come with me. I work for the best company! So Jax and I got on a plane early Tuesday morning. He did really well on the plane. Fell asleep right after take off and woke up about 10 minutes before we landed. He didn't even make a peep. It was great. I finished up my training at around 3:50 that afternoon, and was dreading the thought of having to stick around until my plane left at 1:30 the next afternoon, and spend the night in a hotel room with Jax. So I called Southwest Airlines and they got me on the 4:55p.m. flight home. It was quite a scene with me on the phone with the airline, one co-worker holding Jax and trying to help me get my stuff together, and another co-worker putting all my bags and the stroller in his car to drive me to the airport in a hurry. But, we made it to the plane on time and once again Jax slept the whole flight. So we made it to Boise and back home in a 12-hour day. Needless to say we were both pretty exhausted.

Thankfully things have calmed down since then and we're just back to a normal schedule. The weather has even warmed up so we've been outside a lot. Two days ago Miles and I took the kids on a nature walk. Jax just fell asleep in the sling, but Gabby had a great time running around, collecting flowers and bugs, and looking at things through her magnifying glass.

This is what love looks like

I received a challenge to post a picture that defines motherhood to me. Well, here it is:





After being a family of 2 for so long and being told we would never give birth to a child of our own, after going through 4 years of foster parenting and the pain of 8 foster children coming into our home and leaving again, this picture captures the joy I have in finally being a mom (both through adoption and through birth). This is the night that our little miracle, Jax, came home from the hospital and we suddenly became a family of 4. The baby whom we were told by the "professionals" would never grow in my womb, and the boy that I labored 36 hours to bring into this world. The little girl who came to us lost and broken at 3 1/2 years of age and who we celebrated becoming a permanent part of our family just 3 months prior to this picture being taken. And the man who I married for life, and with whom I have shared many joys and many sorrows. I love that this is the moment I remember about bringing Jax home from the hospital. I love the look of adoration on Miles' face as he watches his son and the tenderness of Gabby as she too looks adoringly at Jax, but lovingly touches her daddy's face.

This is what love looks like.

My, how time flies

Jax turned 3 months old this weekend. In some respects it feels like I've always known him and he has always been a part of our family, and in some ways it feels like just yesterday that I was still pregnant and wondering WHEN he would come, what he would look like, what his personality would be, etc. He has turned my world upside down in so many good and amazing ways.

Every day I feel like I see some new thing that he is learning. He is teething already, which just seems unbelievable to me. Thankfully he's not too cranky and teething tablets have been a life saver in helping him sleep better. So really he just likes to drool and blow spit bubbles, and gnaw on everything he can get his hands on.

He is getting much greater head control. He has always had a strong neck, but now he likes to sit up. This morning he was in the bouncy seat and I caught him grabbing the toys attached to the bar that goes over the seat and trying to pull himself up. Unbelievable!

But he is so much fun these days because he laughs and giggles at things. He still likes to know where Miles & I are at all times and gets a little scared whenever he goes to someone new. I still haven't tried him in the church nursery. But that is coming soon too. Yesterday he was playing on his floor mat and I was walking around the living room cleaning and I noticed that he was tracking me everywhere I went. He had this look in his eyes that I can only describe as adoration or pure love. What a humbling moment. I want to remember that look for the rest of my life. This child, who we never thought we would have, loves me. He loves me. He thinks I'm the best thing in the world and right now I'm his favorite person. Wow. I love that feeling. But it's also humbling because I know that he adores me and I want to be the kind of mom to him (and Gabby) that is worthy of that adoration.

Speaking of Gabby, she still keeps Miles & I on our toes on a daily basis. I know that she has made so much progress in the last year and a half, but we are still battling her overwhelming need to control EVERYTHING. And she changes her control tactics almost daily so we also have to think on our feet. I am still doing some home schooling with her, but I have decided to really take it slow and not have much "formal" learning until she is about 6. Everything that I've read recently talks about the importance of play, imagination, exploring, being read to, etc. for this age. So if she shows an interest in something, I'll teach it to her. Otherwise we're going to spend our home school time doing crafts, reading books together, exploring, and doing imaginative play. Plus she still has so much emotional work to do and Miles & I agree that this needs to come first before her brain is really ready to learn. She still struggles with even being teachable (once again not wanting to give up control). But she has a great aptitude for memorization. So now that AWANA is over for the year, I am still doing scripture memory with her.

She has also made a new friend in our neighborhood. We first met our neighbor, Tina, last year when she came to our garage sale. She told us that she had a daughter Gabby's age. Then a few weeks ago we all ended up at the same birthday party and Gabby really hit it off with Tina's daughter Sophia. They only live a few doors down from us, so a few times a week Gabby is at their house or Sophia is at ours. It's great because the girls play so well together and it gives Tina and I both a break from time to time.

Last weekend we did respite for a 2 year old boy. Although things went well (although very busy!) it made me realize just how content I am with our family as it is now. I love that I can spend good quality time with both of my kids. I know our family is not yet complete, but I am no longer anxious about how God is going to bring another child to us. I am just excited to live out the story that HE has written for me. It's an amazing story already.

Prayer and the Art of Household Maintenance

I've always believed in the power of prayer. I've always considered myself a praying person. But until just recently I don't think I put enough emphasis on my prayer life and certainly didn't spend as much time in prayer as I should if I truly believe in it the way I say I do. But one of the things that the Holy Spirit is working on in me is the importance of praying for my family on a daily basis. For most people that might seem obvious, and something you have been doing on a regular basis for quite awhile. Me? Not so much.
Oh, I'd pray for Miles if he was going through a difficult time, or if he had a job interview, etc. But I didn't really think about praying for his spiritual growth, for strength to fight temptations, for him as the leader of our home, and things like that. When I started meeting with my mentor, Jonika, over 2 years ago she really challenged me regarding the importance of praying for Miles on a daily basis. I have to admit that I am better remembering it some days than others, but I usually take time to cover Miles in prayer. I pray about his day, the challenges he may be going through at the time, and for his spiritual growth. Often I use the prayer guide from "The Power of a Praying Wife." Since I started really focusing on this area of my marriage I have noticed a difference. Not in Miles, though I know that God is continuously working in his life, but in me. I am less critical, more compassionate and grace-filled toward him when he "messes up" and I no longer feel that I am responsible for pointing out areas in his life where I think he needs to change. I can more easily step back and let the Holy Spirit do His job rather than try to do the Holy Spirit's job.
Now I am adding a focus of prayer for our kids into my daily routine. Lately I have been learning the value of praying Scripture and I found this wonderful resource:
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/downloads/index.php?id=9479
It is 31 Biblical Virtues to Pray For Your Children. I have written each of them down on an index card and then together Miles & I chose 3 to focus on at a time. Obviously it pertains more to Gabby than to Jax right now. But as Jax gets older and we learn his personality and "hang-ups" we will probably pick different ones for each kid. I took the 3 we had selected and hung them up in a spot where I frequently stand during the day. Right now they are taped to the front of the microwave because we use the stove fan as white noise to get Jax to sleep. You can find either Miles or I just standing with a swaddled baby in the kitchen next to the stove at least a few times a day. (I know, strange, but it really works. Sometimes you just have to turn the fan on and he instantly gets drowsy!) So we have the cards hanging there so we can pray those Scriptures while we're rocking Jax to sleep.I have also started laying hands on them and praying over them when I check on them at night. I pray for Gabby that God would give her a heart at rest, that he would fill her with peace and that she would continue to trust us as her parents. I pray for Jax that God would keep him healthy, help him to sleep well, and that Jax would grow up to love and serve Him. I pray that both kids will one day make a decision to turn their hearts and lives over to Christ's saving work.

I know that one of the best things I can do for my marriage and for my children is to pray over them daily.

I'm back

Now that we have 2 kids, I've decided to start blogging again. I figure it's not only a good way for the family to keep up with what we're doing and how the kids are growing, but it's also a good way for me to chronicle the life of our family and my journey as a mom.

I feel like I've always been pretty serious about my spiritual growth, but in the last few months I've really felt a pressing desire to grow more. I know it's because I feel the weight of being a godly example for our kids and seeing them grow to love and serve the Lord. So some of the posts might be pretty serious as I muse about what God is doing in my life and how He is growing and stretching me.

I also want to be able to look back at the different stages of our family and see what we have gone through, memories we've made, things that were important to us, etc. And blogging it just seems to be the easiest way to keep track of all of this. I still find some moments to journal or to scrapbook, but for now this is going to serve as a little of both. So you might not care about some of the things I write about because they might read more like a journal entry or just highlight a family memory for Gabby and Jax to remember later in their lives.

So . . . read it if you wish. Check in on us every once in awhile. Or just ignore it altogether. It's up to you!