School

I've had a lot of people ask what curriculum we are using this year, so I decided to make a blog post about it so it's all in one place.

I'd like to preface my list by saying that over the last several years we have tried so many different things.  I've had a really hard time finding our homeschooling "groove," but I think that this year we are finally (about) there.  

If you have any questions about what we use or how it works, please feel free to ask.  I love talking about it!

Reading:  Progressive Phonics (Megan); books from Ambleside (boys); Victory Drill (all)
Writing:  Getty & Dubay Italic (Megan); Writing with Ease (boys)
Grammar:  First Language Lessons (all)
Spelling:  Spelling Wisdom (boys)
Math:  Singapore (Megan); Teaching Textbooks (boys)
Science:  Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology w/ Journaling notebooks (all)
History:  Mystery of History (all)
Bible:  Catechism (all); God's Wisdom for Little Girls (Megan)
Other:  Picture Study Portfolios (all)

A few notes for those who care...  The handwriting book that I chose for MEgan is awful and I'm looking for something different.  I do not recommend Getty and Dubay Italic at ALL, but haven't made a decision about what to switch to so we are using it for now.

Singapore kindergarten math is not working either.  I don't love that you have to cut things out every single day, and it is way too easy.  I ordered Sunrise Math 1 for her, so I'll post a review of that once we receive it and have tried it out.

Progressive Phonics is a FREE program that is awesome.  We've been doing it on the computer, but I'll be printing off everything once our printer arrives.  This program is way better than the phonics I used for the boys (can't even remember the name of it), and Megan loves it.

I am using First Language Lessons Level One with all three kids, which might seem strange considering their different ages.  Last year we used Growing with Grammar for the boys and it didn't work for us at all.  They could get through the lessons, but they didn't retain anything.  I decided to start at level one with them so that they can get a firm grasp on the basics before moving on.  We are currently doing 2-3 lessons each day, and as soon as we finish the book we'll move to level 2.

We haven't started the Picture Study Portfolios or spelling yet because they haven't arrived, so I don't have a real review on those yet.  

Whew.  It looks like a lot when I type it all out like that, but it's really not.  We do science two days a week, and same with history.  Those also happen to be the subjects that take the longest, and that the kids enjoy the most.  Fridays are pretty light days this year, and I'm leaving them light so that we can do other activities on that day.

Okay. I have to go start school with the kids, so I'm going to close this insanely long post.  Feel free to ask any questions!!

30 days

About a month ago my mom invited me and my sister to participate in a 30 day challenge with her. She sent us this video, which inspired me to give it a whirl: Matt Cutts: Try something new for 30 days 

My goal was to run for 15 minutes every day for 30 days.  

I know that 15 minutes isn't a lot.  Most people probably would have done it for 20 or 30 minutes.  But I was starting from absolute scratch and for a total couch potato, 15 minutes is a lot. 

A view from my running path...

The first week was brutal.  My body let me know each and every day that it was mad at me.  I had to learn to jog while pushing a stroller, which was challenging.  I had to learn which socks would not fall down into my shoes.  I had to learn which sidewalks had the least cracks and were the least busy.  But most of all, I had to learn to run.  That first week, I'd run for just a minute or two and then stop and walk and try not to keel over dead.  I'm sure if anyone was watching me, they must have thought I was the biggest wimp ever.  Every single day that first week, I thought about quitting the stupid challenge.  I considered the challenges that my mom and sister were doing, and I would rationalize quitting by telling myself that their challenges were way easier than mine so I should get to switch to something easier.  Ray really encouraged me to keep going, though.  He kept telling me that the first week was going to be the hardest, and that it would eventually get easier.

On October 6 (my 6th day of running), I ran for 15 minutes straight.  I thought I might die, but I did it.  I was so excited, and so proud of myself.

Megan came running with me one day. 
She did a fabulous job and stayed right with me for the full 15 minutes!

After that, it got easier and easier.  I am the slowest runner EVER, but I didn't give up.  And yesterday, which was day 30 of the challenge, I ran for 33 minutes straight.

I wanted to share this on my blog for a few reasons.

I've talked to a lot of people lately who say that they don't have time to exercise.  They are wrong.  I have five kids to homeschool (including a nursing baby), a big house to keep, a laundry pile taller than my 8 year old, a Sunday School class to teach, and for five days of my challenge my husband was in Germany.

I still made it happen.

If you have 15 minutes to facebook, you have 15 minutes to exercise.  If you have 15 minutes to pinterest, you have 15 minutes to exercise.  

We make time for the things that are important to us. 

Another reason I wanted to share is to challenge YOU to try something new for 30 days.   It doesn't have to be anything fancy or big.  But doing something new for 30 days has made me feel so much better.  Not only physically (even though the benefits physically have been a bit mind-blowing for me), but also emotionally.  I feel so proud of myself for not giving up, and for accomplishing more than I set out to do.  I intend to start a new 30 day challenge tomorrow, and I invite you to do it with me!  Let me know in the comments if you want to try, and what you will do.  We can encourage each other!

Is it too soon to say this?

I know we've only been in our new home for a little over a month, and I know that life isn't perfect, and I know that just a few weeks ago I was crying every day because it was just SO HARD, and I know that I have days that I can't stand being across the world from my loved ones....  But....

I love Spain.

I love the people.  They are so friendly and helpful.  They smile at us and say the baby is beautiful and look at our family with wide eyes when they realize we have "cinco niños" and they tell me it must be "mucho trabajo!" and I nod in agreement.  They don't get frustrated when we use ridiculous made-up sign language to communicate, and they go out of their way to help us find what we need.

I love the ocean.  I love being a 10 minute walk from a beautiful beach.  I love feeling the sand between my toes and picking up smooth pieces of sea glass, and watching hermit crabs scoot along in the water.  I love the joy on the kids' faces as they pluck seashells from the ground and as they examine seaweed and rocks.  I love their tan lines and the freckles on AJ's nose.

I love our neighbors.  We left behind some amazing neighbors in Las Vegas, but God gave us the perfect neighbors here in Spain.  We have retired couples on both sides of us.  Both families are very quiet, and of course very friendly.  One neighbor has brought over home grown tomatoes and homemade tomato sauce.  She has let me borrow her can opener and has taught me how to buy from a door to door salesman.  Pretty soon I will be teaching her how to make a pie!  And no, she doesn't speak English!

I love the atmosphere.  I wish I could describe it.  The evening sounds of families laughing in their homes, and moms pushing their babies down the sidewalk, and scooters buzzing in the streets, and the bird next door singing his little heart out, and the breeze in the trees.  Everything is more relaxed here.  People aren't in such a big hurry all the time.  I love the slower pace. 

I love our home.  I love the green and white tile that reminds me of my dear friend whose favorite color is green.  I love our rooftop terrace, and feeling the breeze through my hair while I hang our laundry.  I love that my children have room to run and play and that we aren't right on top of each other all the time.  I love having a window above my kitchen sink so I can watch the kids play outside while I work.

Yes.  I love Spain.

Walking

Some photos from our evening walks:

These little snails are all over everything!  Drew pulled these ones off of a light post.

Melly loves to swing.

Beauty

Daddy gave each of the girls a flower for their hair.

This one was taken on our five mile walk. 

Crabs!

Exploring.  The little yellow dot is Drew.  AJ is in the middle.  Ray has Kay (you can't see her in the picture) and Megan.

The first week

We have now completed our first week in Spain.  I won’t lie.  It’s been a very rough week.  There have been many tears and meltdowns (by grownups as well as children), but God has proved faithful.  

One of the biggest things that we have been blessed with is a beautiful house.  Although we aren’t living there yet, I am excited to move in soon.  Where to live was a concern for us.  Base housing for the enlisted is pretty awful here.  As soon as we saw our temporary house, we knew we would need to look on the economy and explore our options.  The very first day we were here, Ray’s sponsor took us to see a house that she knew was available.  It was more than we had ever hoped for.  It is going to take us a while to furnish it, but the space will be a huge blessing for our big family.

Another blessing was that we were offered a ride to church last Sunday.  I stayed home with Kay and Melly because of illness, but Ray was able to go with the three older kids and was very uplifted by the fellowship and message.  Church is going to be difficult for us until we have a vehicle, but it was good that Ray was able to visit.  (As a side note, we *think* that our church is within walking distance of our house!  That would be a HUGE blessing since we likely won’t have a vehicle for several months, but we will be moving into our new home as early as next week.)

I also wanted to share a small blessing that felt really big during some pretty low moments.  Drew was devastated when he realized that he left his Nintendo DS on the airplane.  I held him and we cried together over the lost toy, but we thanked Jesus that we were all safe because that’s what was important.  A family member heard about the loss, and without being asked she offered to pay for a replacement.  With all of the expenses that we are facing right now, there is no way we would have been able to buy him a new one so soon.  The generosity blessed little Drew more than I can describe, and it made my mommy heart soar when we gave it to him and talked to him about God providing for even the things that we *want*.

The kids are doing great so far.  Everyone is sleeping through the night (mostly), and they are learning to play outside.  They often talk about the things and people that they miss, but they don’t seem to be terribly homesick.  In the last few days, Melody has learned to sit up without tipping over, and she is eating lots of finger foods in her new booster seat.  It’s hard to believe she is almost 8 months old already!

God is good.  He continues to provide for us and show us His love even in this far away land. 

Welcome to Spain

We touched down in Rota, Spain a little before 11am local time.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it isn’t what I got.  There was no big terminal or bustling airport.  There were no familiar faces in the crowd waiting anxiously to greet us.  Instead, we departed the plane straight onto the tarmac, and then had to wait in line for an hour to get paperwork signed and passports stamped.  We had to go through several stations, and I felt like we were cattle being prodded on.

When we finally got through the line, we saw a lady holding a sign with our name on it.  I was thankful that at least someone knew we were there, but I was so tired and struggled to put on my “happy-to-meet-you” face.  Many introductions were made.  We met the people Ray will be working with, and the commander and his wife.  Those first moments are a bit of a blur in my mind, but I know Ray somehow managed to find all of our luggage and we ended up in a blue van headed to our temporary home.

Our temporary home was a shock to say the least.  It was not at all what we were expecting.  We had specifically requested to be in TLF, which is pretty much a hotel on base.  It would have been very small, but we would have everything a hotel would offer including internet and room service.  Apparently though, TLF was full.  So we ended up in temporary housing.   

The three bedroom house that we were given was fairly spacious (compared to our condo in Vegas, anyways), but it was very sparsely furnished.  There was a table with four chairs (doesn’t really work for a family of 7), a couch set, and six beds.  Unfortunately there were no pillows, sheets, towels, shower curtains, toilet paper, etc. 

Ray’s sponsor took him to get a rental car while the rest of us stayed in the empty house.  We were exhausted and homesick, and just wanted to sleep.  Each kid had a blanket, so we spread out the blankets on the bare mattresses, and they each took a nap.  I had no blanket, so I just laid on the bare mattress and cried myself to sleep.  It’s a moment that I will never forget as one of the worst moments of my life.

A plane to Spain

In line to board the plane

On August 16^th, after many miles and many tearful goodbyes, our family boarded a plane in Norfolk, Virginia that was headed to Rota, Spain.  The flight did not leave until 9:30pm, so it was dark as we soared into the air.  Tears streamed down my face as I watched the lights of America get further and further away.  I knew that life was changing, and I was terrified.  Ray looked back at me and smiled.  I reached out my hand and he gave it a squeeze.  

The plane ride was fairly uneventful, thankfully.  The kids were amazing.  Kay and Melody slept almost the whole time.  The older three kids dozed on and off, but mostly enjoyed the airplane food and played games on their handheld electronics.  

Getting closer!

  

About five hours into the flight, we watched the sun rise over the ocean.  The beauty was indescribable.  Ray snapped pictures as I watched the awesome display of God’s creation.  Our bodies were weary, but somehow watching the sun rise from 35000 feet brought hope and life.  It would only be a few hours until our big adventure would begin.

Sunrise from 35,000 feet

Busy, Busy

No major news to report...

We now have all seven birth certificates in our possession, so we can start the passport process.  YAY!

The kids are all done with the dentist.  AJ had just one tiny cavity, which has been filled.

I have a physical on Tuesday, and then another dentist appointment a week from Monday.  Megan has a follow-up with her eye specialist that same Monday.

VBS starts on Monday, so it will be an even busier week because of that...  But at least it will be a fun-busy!

Doctors, Dentists, and Realtors...oh my!

Well, this week has been super busy so far, and we have had a few significant things happen.

Monday the boys each had a physical at the pediatrician.  Both boys are healthy and strong, of course!  AJ is 68 pounds, and Drew is 58 pounds (and there is a 1 3/4 inch difference between them).  Seems so strange to me that they are getting so big!  The doctor's office has all of the kids paperwork, and hopefully they will be getting that back to us soon.

This morning both boys had dentist appointments.  AJ had one tiny cavity, but other than that there were no problems and they got high praise from the dentist.  (whew!)  This afternoon is my first dentist appointment, and I have some anxiety about it.  I'm sure it will be fine.

Tomorrow, the girls see the dentist, and then we will schedule an appointment for AJ to get his cavity filled.

The biggest news right now though, is that we met with a realtor yesterday afternoon and our condo is now on the market.  We are attempting to short sell it, and would appreciate your prayers.  It's one of the biggest road blocks right now, but we know that God has a plan.

6/9/11

Clever title that is, yes?  

Today was busy.  We're in the midst of a LOT of logistics.  So many phone calls, appointments, and countless conversations about this or that.  All of the kids who have teeth will have dentist appointments next week, as will I.  Tomorrow I will go over to the Tricare office and get our medical paperwork rolling.  (And I'm really hoping that they are in a TriCARE type of mood and not the Try-and-get-some-care type.)

Kay and Melody's birth certificates arrived in the mail earlier this week, so we are a bit closer to being able to apply for passports.  I'll be very relieved when that can happen.

The biggest news of the day, however, is that we got word that they want us in Spain earlier than November.  We're thinking August.  Obviously that is SO soon, and nothing is set in stone yet.  We won't know our actual dates until we have actual orders.  And we can't have actual orders until we are cleared medically and dentally.  (Hence the trip to Tricare and the pending dentist appointments.)  In any case, our summer is shaping up to be insanely crazy. 

I have a few praises to share with you and then I'll share a few more prayer requests:

PRAISES:
1.  We found cheap bunk beds for the girls.  They are really nice and have drawers underneath, so they really maximize the space well.  And the people we bought them from had super cheap mattresses to give us as well, so that was a huge blessing.

2.  I was able to get the kids in to the dentist that we wanted.  At first, they weren't going to be able to get them in until the end of the month, so it's a blessing that they can be seen next week.

PRAYERS:
1.  Dentist appointments.  Please pray that we don't need a lot of work done afterwards.  Our dental insurance isn't great, and most work will have to come out of pocket.

2.  Paperwork.  Please pray that we will be able to get our orders very soon so that we can plan the next few months.  Without the leave date, it's really hard to plan.

3.  Megan's birthday party.  I know this seems random, but Megan didn't get a 5th birthday party.  Melody had just been born, and I just wasn't up for it.  We promised her a party in the summer.  Well, the summer is here, and despite the insane craziness right now, I need to plan a ladybug party.  Please pray that I will be able to find somewhere to have the party that Megan will really love and that isn't very expensive (thinking a park or something).

9 hours

Rota is nine hours ahead of Vegas.  The kids and I have had fun talking about what is going on in Rota while we are doing various things throughout the day.  As we are eating lunch, the people in Rota are going to bed!  And as we are sleeping, they are going about their day!

It's strange to think that in a few months, we will be the ones who are nine hours ahead.  Most of our family is in central and eastern time zones, so we will be 6 or 7 hours ahead.  That will make communication tricky.

Almost every morning, my daddy sends me a good morning e-mail.  I look forward to it every day, and will probably have to get used to getting it around lunchtime!  My sister and I usually e-mail many times throughout the day, and we probably won't be able to do that very often once we move.  My mom and I chat on the phone often in the evenings, and that won't work because I'll be asleep when she comes home from work!

We'll get used to it eventually I'm sure.  It's just one of the many adjustments our family is going to have to make.  I'm just so thankful for technology.  Just a few years ago, we wouldn't have been able to video chat or e-mail all the time or keep in touch via facebook or blogs.  Thankful for those blessings.

Not much to report

No real news today.  Ray had most of the day off, so we spent a lot of time hashing stuff out and throwing around ideas.  I guess the biggest new today is that our family started learning Spanish.  I took four years in high school and college, so I have a bit of an advantage.  It's amazing how much I *don't* know, though.  I obviously wasn't paying very close attention in school. 

Here's a good link I found to info about Spain.  Not about Rota specifically, but good info about the country.

Links

Some good links for more info:

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/Rota/index.htm

http://www.militarymoney.com/MilitaryLife/Bases/tabid/108/itemId/2354/Default.aspx

http://www.navy.mil/local/rota/

http://issuu.com/navstarota/docs/welcome_aboard_2011

Hola! (Not to be mistaken for "holla".)

We have had so many questions from so many people so I decided to start a blog to chronicle our journey to Spain!  It will be nothing fancy, as we will be posting mostly just the day to day stuff as we prepare for our move. 

The first major thing that I am working on is passports.  Since it can take a while to get passports, we need to get the ball rolling fairly quickly.  I have birth certificates for Drew, Megan, and myself.  AJ's has gone MIA, so we have to order him a new one.  Ray's mom has a copy of his.  And we ordered them for the little girls as well.  Once those are all in hand, we can go to the passport office and get that taken care of. 

Other than that, I've spent most of the day with my head in the sand, trying really hard NOT to think about the huge list of things that need to be done.