What's Been Going On?

My grandmother lovingly reminded me that I have had quite a lapse in blog updates...so here I am!

Yes, I have big things to cover like important updates on Rwanda this summer (coming soon!) or our amazing trip to Disney World with Mark’s family! That one's coming soon too, but, since I haven’t edited the 600 pictures yet, that won’t be happening tonight.

Here’s a few other mini-updates instead...because those come alot easier at almost midnight.

*I used to think of the Mother's Day/May birthday combination as a bad thing. But, I'm discovering how good it is to have combo holidays, because my sweet girls (and really sweet hubby) spend lots of days in a row treating me to my favorite things. These last couple of weeks, I've had delicious dinners at my favorite places, "mommy-break" time reading, shopping, and an all-day trip to the SPA! I've had my car washed, movie night, dessert baked for me ("Strawberry Slop" as Kendyll named it),

...and the sweetest cards ever. I mean, so sweet that they made this mommy cry. :) What a fun way to be celebrated. I'm so thankful.

One of my favorite moments was on the way to church on my birthday. Abby Kate was SO excited about my birthday, and after we stopped at Starbucks for my favorite treat, she began singing Happy Birthday "like the Ghana kids do". As they all sang "May God bless you now", I just kept picturing my sweet friends in Ghana, and I was so thankful that my four year old even knows "Happy Birthday Ghana-style". Nothing's better than that. :)

Thank you, Mark and girls for making my week of celebration so great. It was so relaxing and so special for me.

*School is, of course, coming to a close for most everyone. Abby Kate just finished preschool for the year on Thursday, and she is really excited about summer. But, she was even more excited about her spring program this week. I've never seen her like this before. She asked me an hour before her program if I was going to bring her flowers. I said "Well, we don't usually take flowers to the school program." To which she said, "But, you always take flowers to Kendyll and Carlie!" Oh my, she melted my heart with that one, because we DO! For ballet and piano, they get flowers for their performances, and AK has never had one of those! So, don't you know, this girl got FLOWERS for her three-year-old five-minute-long singing debut. :)

She did great as a "sun" in the preschool program. And, she was so proud!

Even though we were out of town for the week before, she was ready for the stage. A couple of days before the program, I asked her if she knew the words. She said "Well, I kinda do, but the ones I don't know, I'll just copy my friend next to me." I laughed so hard. Such a third child. :)

One of our favorite things from Sunshine School every year is our girls' ME books. Mrs. Amy did an awesome job creating a book of memories from this year too, and it was so fun to read through it and see how much Abby Kate has grown this year! The best quote from the book:

On the Mother's Day page, "What does your mom always say?" Abby Kate: "Well, she's kind of like, mean." Nice. I'm so proud. What's sad is, lately, she may be right. She's been in trouble a little more than usual, so my mean voice has also been out a little too much. It was a good reminder that those little ears are listening to every word...and every tone. :)

Anyway, she's had a wonderful year of school. Thank you, Mrs. Amy for being THE most amazing teacher and friend to Abby Kate and our family. We have been changed forever by you. You know how much you're loved.

* Even though I'm called mean by my four year old, I am thankful every day for the days I get to spend with my kiddos. They may not all be nice and neat days, full of smiles and happiness, but I'm really liking this homeschooling life I lead. There are also moments that literally take my breath away as I get to watch the lightbulb moment in their learning…or get to listen to their conversations…or get to spend the whole day completely carefree at the Arboretum just because we can. (more about that in a minute).

A couple of updates on the schooling area of life: We have one week of school left! And, we’re actually going to make it through our entire curriculum! (I had really doubted this a few months ago.) Now, one of these days, I’m going to do a follow-up to my original homeschool planning blog back in August. I now laugh {just as I knew I would} at what I THOUGHT our structure and schedule would be. However, I’m so okay with that. We have settled into a daily “thing” that works well for us. I do have quite a list of goals for next year that I want to improve on…but I love knowing that I don’t have to be perfect in this. This is HUGE for me. And, I have loved every minute of learning that…and then relearning that. :)

The other day, the girls asked if they could take a big test at the end of the year to see what they had learned. Ummm…what? Do they not know yet that you aren’t supposed to LIKE tests, much less ASK for them? But, I decided that it would be a good idea, both for me and for them. So, we’re doing it. Our test won’t look like a standardized test {especially since I’ll be the one writing it}, and they may not know every answer. But, I’m looking forward to seeing what “stuck” and what they enjoyed learning most. {Plus, I really want to keep these over the years…what a memory they will be!}

Last week, we had a rough start to the week. Let’s just say the morning after you get back from a Disney vacation is NOT the easiest morning to get back to math and reading. But, we pushed our way through because we really want to be able to end next Friday. There were some ATTITUDES for sure!

So, I literally prayed for God to just lighten our hearts and show me AGAIN that this is all part of it, both the good and bad days. Later that day, they got to listen as I “vented” to Mark about the adoption process and the struggle I was feeling. I’m very down about it right now, but that’s another post too.

Kendyll came in with tears in her eyes, asking if we weren’t going to be able to adopt now. It was such a sweet conversation as I talked to her about true faith….walking forward in total trust knowing God is working it out. But, also knowing that it may not go the way we would like and how important it is to praise Him in the waiting. After she walked away, I felt the nudge…God saying “This is what it’s all about. Not just math or science.” Whew. Good stuff.

The next morning, in Carlie’s prayer journal {side note: They write one person down to pray for each morning. To help Carlie “branch out” from her usual list of two friends and the rest family members, I put a basket of our Christmas cards in her room. She can see pics of families we know and their names are spelled there too. So, she uses these sometimes. But, most of the time she sticks with the familiar: her friends and family.} Okay, back to this one morning.

She came and told me that she decided to write “Home of Hope” that morning…the orphanage we are adopting from. She said “I really wanted to pray hard for them today while they are working on these adoptions so all the children will find the right families.”

Once again, that is what it’s all about. I love the conversation time we have and the life-learning that happens, not because of me, but because of Him.

By Friday, we had really had a good week, and were {kind of} back on schedule. When I saw the weather was going to be beautiful, I looked up the Arboretum to see what was there.

To my great surprise, it was a Peter Rabbit theme!

Abby Kate is truly obsessed with all things Beatrix Potter and of course, Peter Rabbit is her favorite. She knows every word of the book, and she received the entire box set of “little books” as she calls them, for Christmas last year.

So, we spent the entire day outdoors, having a picnic, rolling around in the grass, identifying flowers and birds, sketching, splashing in the fountains,

playing Pioneers and Indians in the Pioneer Village,

...and most importantly, visiting the flower homes of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, Squirrel Nutkin, and Mrs. Tittlemouse.

Abby Kate brought these four books with her, and I had to read each appropriate book in each house.

It was precious time with my little one. We would crouch down in the corner or sit at the little table inside these houses and I would read the books we’ve read so many times. Her eyes were like saucers as she would look around and find the little objects mentioned in these stories. They truly came to life and it was SO FUN!

Meanwhile, my biggest two were being inspired by two retired women who spend their days in nature, painting. The girls watched their every stroke, and then began sketching similar scenes in their nature notebook. These two women were so kind to my girls, encouraging them to draw or create every day, and to not be hard on themselves, but to enjoy the process of learning. I loved watching Kendyll and Carlie soak in every word, and I thought once again, "This is what it's all about". Not just ME teaching them, but them learning from all kinds of people in all kinds of situations.

It was just a beautiful day, and made us ready for the fun of summer break very soon!!

Well, so much for mini-updates, huh! Guess I had more to say after midnight than I thought. :)