I thought it was probably time to update my blog. I'm sorry for the lack of posting but the world of Facebook has sucked me in and claimed most of my precious internet time. We've been doing school for some time now and I've been spending my mornings educating my children. The afternoons have been spent either catching up on sleep, cleaning or sewing. Time is even more valuable to me lately. So, unfortunately, blogging has taken a back burner.
In other news, Grant is now 4 1/2 months old! He is now rolling over both ways and laughing and cooing. He has cut two teeth and has started eating bananas (still nursing also) recently. He dropped down into the 50th percentile for his weight but shot up into the 90th for his height. He sleeps 10-12 hours at night- waking up once to eat. He loves his excersaucer and his Bumbo seat. He laughs at his brothers and thinks they're the greatest people ever! He melts mine and his daddy's heart. He has been (and is) such a joy! Grant is one of the greatest surprises God has ever given us! He has added and will continue to add so much to our family.
Noah is going to be 3 next month! He is now fully potty-trained! He had regressed pretty bad for a few days a couple weeks ago. It was awful! It's like he had never been trained! He had about 15 accidents in a matter of two days. I don't know what happened with him that he started messing himself again but I refused to put him back in diapers. It was rough but he did snap out of it. He hasn't had a single wet or poopie accident for 9 days! Go Noah! He is also talking up a storm recently. He was pretty late with talking but seemed to understand everything we said and would respond to us (do what we asked of him, ect.)for quite some time now (since he was a year old). He is by far our most stubborn and strong-willed child (Jonathan coming in a very close second). We've been having discipline issues with him going to bed. This is an issue we've never experienced before with any of our children. They've all been very ,good sleepers and have always stayed in their beds once we laid them down. Until recently that is. It's been hard but hopefully soon he'll decide that getting out of bed just isn't worth it anymore.
Austin is 5 now and has officially started school. He's doing pretty well and was blessed with common sense. He just gets stuff and people always think he is older than what he is. We have been having an issue with him being lazy. He just doesn't like working. This is something that has Tim and I concerned and will be an area that we will be constantly working on with him. I think some of it is due to Austin's laid back personality. The beauty of homeschooling though is that as parents we can spot our children's weaknesses and strengths and focus on those accordingly. It's amazing how we've been able to pin-point some of those already. Each of them are so,so different!
Jonathan is 7 and is doing amazing in school! He's in second grade and is really been taking off in his reading. We have been using a different curriculum and I'm really enjoying it. I think we've found what works best for us and our family. I would greatly encourage anyone who is considering homeschooling to not be afraid to try different curriculum until you find what is best suited for your children. This is just yet another advantage to homeschooling! Anyway, back to Jonathan. He has been praying with Tim every night. His prayers become longer and more sincere as time goes on. He's been asking allot of questions about God, Heaven, Hell, Satan, ect. He has also been asking allot of questions about life in general. His mind is so inquisitive and he is so anxious to learn. Tim and I have always made it known to our children that we encourage them to ask us anything and we will try as hard as we humanly can to answer them. Jonathan takes full advantage of that and asks us just about anything that comes to mind. And yes, he's asked us questions about sensitive subjects. Which we answer as best we can according to his maturity level. he doesn't always understand our answers but we know someday he will. Sometimes Jonathan's question asking habit becomes annoying to people (other than Tim and I). I simply don't understand why. He's just trying to learn, so why discourage him from doing so?! One of Jonathan's favorite shows is Extreme Engineering (Tim watches it with the boys). I'm sure he doesn't understand everything but he sure understands allot more than you'd think a 7 year old could. Jonathan is growing, changing and maturing so quickly. He's such a great helper, hard worker and incredible big brother!
Homeschooling has been going awesome this year! My attitude has changed allot this year and I've been seeing the many benefits of keeping my children at home. The things/time I would miss out on if I sent my children to school is more than I would want for our family. Time is valuable. Also- I feel much better knowing our children are being taught the values we'd like them to be taught. I've also been encouraged to have a few of my friends decide to also teach their children at home this year. I needed the support. Homeschooling can be hard and support is so essential. I'm looking forward to sharing this journey with other fellow, homeschooling mothers. I know homeschooling is not for everyone and I respect that. I believe God will show you what is best for your family. Homeschooling is best for ours. =)
Tim's been at his new place of employment for four months now. He seems to enjoy it and is doing very well there. He's been getting some overtime in and we are truly grateful for that. We still have some catching up to do. We are still slightly skiddish about his position there. Being he's the new guy we don't know if his position would be secure if they had to start laying off again. The only thing we can do is trust in God and take one day at a time. In this we are confident- God will supply all of our needs! He has never ceased to do so before and he won't cease to do so in the future!
I think that pretty much sums up the latest news in our family. Nothing too new and exciting. Hopefully time will free up and I'll be able to post a little bit more frequently.
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