Parting the Sea, Trees, Bees, Byes, and Sickies

Tough week at our house. Monday was Grammy's last day with us (boo!) and yet we accomplished a lot of our lesson and some memory-making art, too!

Our Bible story was about Moses parting the Red Sea to save God's people. This story is full of energy and anticipation. We read the story from the MFW guide and then Sugar reads it from her Bible reader. She narrates the story back, summarizes it into one sentence, writes that sentence in her best hand and with attention to punctuation, and then illustrates the story ...

At lunch I read from Vos's Story Bible ... the same story as our lesson ... and we "wonder" about the story, the people, the place, the time, the weather, the animals, the emotions, etc.  The Child's Story Bible is my favorite reading Bible. Love it.

We had a short reading lesson ... a fill-in-the-blank worksheet on what we read in The Red Sea. Not Sugar's favorite part of the day. She much prefers math and science, this one. She's her father's daughter. :)

Our Proverb this week builds on the one we started last week ... I revel in watching the girls memorize the words, recite the verse, learn the meaning, and walk it in their lives.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your path straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Speaking of math ... she is loving Singapore. Miquon has prepared her well for the more structured approach of Singapore and she begs to do lesson after lesson in her math. I have to remember to reign her in to make sure that she is really conceptualizing the material.

We had so much fun making family trees, in the spirit of learning about Abraham and his descendants. We thought about using tempura for the trunk and mixing colors for leaves, but then decided it would take.too.long to dry before we could add names, so we opted for Sugar's favorite medium ... tissue paper. 

They cut out colorful leaves and wrote our family's names ... for the sake of privacy I leave the end result to your imagination ... but they are SO darling.

Later that afternoon, before the dreaded drive to the airport, we made beeswax candles. They smell delicious, it was an easy craft, and they burn beautifully. Bugs had fwoot and protected his beloved marmles.

Then, we headed for the airport, cried Grammy goodbye, and woke up the next day with the stomach flu.

To a healthy, productive new week ...

Because of Him.

wait ... has it been TWO weeks?

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. We were off to a strong start on Day 83 with MFW1 ... even the next three days continued smoothly and as always, we were loving our MFW days. Then, a little off track, but so worth the derailment.

Grammy arrived late Thu night and was here when the kids woke up extra bright and early (not realizing that we are three hours ahead of Grammy already). Ah, what grandparents won't do.

Friday was less than productive on the 3Rs, but we did have fun painting birdhouses, counting marbles (specifically finding the elusive "beeeg marml" according to Bugs, and reading stories ... lots of stories... and playing Animal Yatzi.

But, to step back for a moment to the lessons we studied before Grammy arrived.

MFW is beautifully and deeply intertwined with the Bible. It is not a separate subject of study. It is not an afterthought. It is the heart of this program. The curriculum is complete with a Biblical worldview. It fits our family perfectly and we've loved MFW for K and now for first.

This week (and a couple days from the week prior), we moved from learning about Joseph and his place in Egypt to seeing Israel's time in Egypt on our timeline to the birth of Moses. Oh, one of the most bittersweet stories in the Old Testament. My girls were riveted to the story of Moses in the basket, of his mother's heart, of his sister Miriam, and of the compassion of the princess. Sugar has begun summarizing the Bible story into one sentence, with my help at first. This is a tremendous skill to refine and she is well on her way.

Her Bible notebook is her favorite part of the day. She selects all different art media to play with and experience ... crayons, soy rocks, tissue paper, oil pastels, watercolors, tempura, watercolor pencils, glitter, pencil, beeswax crayons ... this is our adventure while Bugsy naps each afternoon. We play Beethoven in the background and the girls get lost in art.

Sugar's reading is really blossoming. I am an advocate of waiting for formal reading instruction until the children are older, ala Charlotte Mason, and I never have once regretted my path. Her phonics is systematic and amazingly organized in her little brain. She has no need for sight words because nearly all sight words are phonetic anyway, so she pulls her phonics rules out of her mind effortlessly and reads not only well but with comprehension and inflection.

Sugar memorizes one Proverb per week, writes it in her best hand, and we find ways to apply it and to talk about it daily. Sparkler helps with the application of the Proverb, too!

We are now working in Singapore 1A currently, for math, after completing Miquon Orange through subtraction. Before moving to multiplication with Miquon, which I adore, I decided to drill our math facts with Calculadder and work through Sing 1A & 1B. I don't think we will continue with Miquon as our core ... rather, it is an excellent supplement to our Singapore studies.

Despite our location in one of the most historically and culturally rich parts of the country, our library is mediocre, at best. Before we moved to our present house, our library was truly phenomenal. Then, we moved. Sigh -- guess that's what happens in a town of less than a few hundred year-round residents. Well, we do our best with what we have for our book basket.

At the moment, I've taken to filling the basket with readers for Sugar and Sparkler. Sugar reads them to Sparkler and Bugsy and the littles love to look at the pictures and pretend read.

Sparkler and Bugsy are always involved with preschool and all things toddler. Here are a few pictures of them loving "school" too.

Thanks for reading for so long ... I'll whittle down my reflections on our week with time.

Because of Him.

Endeavor

I am endeavoring to chronicle our home school lessons in a weekly journal.
More to come ... please check back, sit a spell, and have a good read.

Because of Him.

We Know

We know that we move a lot (13 times in 13 years of marriage, exactly).

We know that you think this is disruptive for our kids ... that they cannot possibly be happy or well-adjusted.

We know that you think we are impulsive and flighty.

We know that you think that families who live in the same house forever are the ideal.

We know that we will never live up to your expectations.

We know that Kev works a lot of hours to provide for us solely.

We know that moving is expensive.

We know that adoption is expensive.

See ... in 1991 I met this boy in high school. He was my best friend's "boyfriend"--whatever that is at 15 years old. That sounds awful (we know that too). I loved him instantly. Love? No idea. But I knew I loved him. His arms. The curve of his ears. His chipped front teeth. His smirk. His heart. His goodness. We were close all through high school. He was my best friend and everything to me. Off we went to college together and were engaged when I was 19 (we know that was terribly young). We finished college and were married at 21 and 23 in a beautiful and sweet ceremony. We made a promise to love each other for life and death and to protect one another and to be faithful to our beliefs, even when others don't get us.

Here we are. 13 years of marriage later. 3 home-grown children later. 1 amazing adoption later. 13 moves later. Lots of memories, and places, and people who have peppered our lives with so much heart (and some with anguish). We know that we are solid and stable and warm and rooted in and out. Appearances are what they are through your own lens ... appearances.

We know that we have been blessed to establish 13 homes for our family. To live in new places with new people who afford us teachable moments to our children through living.

We know that our children are the happiest, most centered little people we know. Simplicity and home makes them happy. Home is us, not just the walls that surround us.

We know that Kev has a tremendous career. He is impeccably trained and a gift to his field. We know that we are blessed by his company and we count ourselves lucky. We know that EMS requires a level of selflessness and compromise that many would never tackle. I know that he does, every day, and he lives for it and for the strangers he tends to day in and day out.

We know that we will probably never live in one house forever. Why? This world is bursting with places to see and people to learn from and to laugh with. Maybe Maine, maybe Africa, maybe Hong Kong. We know that we are settled in magical, enviable ways, but to your mind, we are unsettled.

We know that we are deliriously happy.

We know that there is a little boy half way around the world who we belong with. We know that it is well outside of some friend's and family's understanding or willingness to understand. We know adoption is expensive, but "Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes." ---David Platt

I know that 36 years ago God put my husband on this earth for me and for our four children, those near and far. We have the intensely intimate pleasure of growing up and old together and living thoughtfully and compassionately.

We know that we are true to what we believe and to those who love us for who we are, not despite it.

We know that you mean well. We do too.

For the Love of Lobsters

When we first announced that we were moving to New England (and yes, we announced it ... kept it completely quiet so as to avoid all of our friends' and family's opinions on the matter ... just wanted our own uncolored decision to shine through) people repeatedly said, "Oh, you'll love Maine." "You seem like Mainers." "Maine is so beautiful." Maine, Maine, Maine.

So, we left our crazy existence in Colorado and moved and settled (figuratively speaking) into our little house and new town (not in Maine ... gasp).  Our first weekend in the area we took the short drive up to Maine. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, MAINE. It is lovely, and sweet, and clean, and cute, and charming, and seaside chic, and for heaven's sake ... the love of lobsters is really something to witness. From that day forward, we spent every Sunday soaking up the culture and richness of Portsmouth, NH and the slow, seaside way of Maine just over the bridge.

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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="259" caption="bridge from portsmouth to home"][/caption]

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[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="259" caption="our home town perfectly captured"][/caption]

We are only four short days from calling Maine home. I cannot imagine a more quintessential spot to raise our children, home school, and live simply and sweetly.

Thirteen years of marriage and thirteen moves later we can finally say that we have found our home.

Love

It was a beautiful week indeed. We accepted the referral of our little Ethiopian boy! (I love numbers and have to mention that we saw his face six months to the day that we applied to our agency and accepted his referral two months to the day that he arrived at his orphanage.)

He is four years old and his expressions are a swirl of sadness, curiosity, and soulful happiness. We loved him the very moment our eyes fell on him. Knowing his face, his temporary home, and even where he eats his lunch makes the urgency of getting to him that much more tangible.

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Last night, during our bedtime prayers, Gracie said, "Jesus, Please whisper to ___ that he has a family who loves him already and who is coming for him. Help him feel happy and hopeful and warm." Ellie said, "Jesus, what sissy said. Amen."

Smitten

We are moved ... far from "home" ... and mostly settled. We had to put our adoption on hold while we moved and adjusted here for the summer, mostly since we needed to find a new case worker in the right state and we have the task of redoing much of our paperwork.

We knew all along that we'd be adopting a toddler boy, one within a couple of years of Bugsy, and a bit younger than Ellie. We see our girls pair off when they play and during school lessons and that is part of our reasoning. Kevin and his brother are so close and we want Bugs to have that same experience, and there is a little boy out there that we were made for ... without question.

This week, just that happened. A little boy etched himself on our hearts and souls. And, we are smitten. I cannot stop looking at him and thinking about him. We've requested his file from our agency but with the holiday today we have to wait ...

We are praying and hoping for the start of something beautiful this week.