THANKFUL!

I realize it's been awhile since I've updated.  Two months to be exact.  :)  Between dishes, laundry, school work, home study updates, birthday party plans, sewing Halloween costumes, and well, just LIFE, my blog has kind-of taken a back burner.  And really, I'm OK with that.....one less thing on my "list" is fine with me right now.  Buuuutttttt...... many of you have asked about Charles' new job and the status of our adoption, so I thought it was time for an update.

Here's how life has been treating us.....

ON THE JOB FRONT - Charles working again has definitely been an adjustment for the entire family, but we are so THANKFUL he has a job!!!  His new job comes with very early mornings, however, it (most days) leads to earlier afternoons as well.  THAT makes mama happy. :)  Overall, we have seen some wonderful things come from this new position.  Things that we may not ever have thought to have prayed for.  Things that we know could only have come from a detail-oriented God.  So, so THANKFUL!!!  THANKS friends for your prayers!

IT'S A PARTY!!! - Since my last post, we celebrated a birthday around here!!!  My second oldest, Joseph, turned SEVEN!!!  We are so proud of the little man he is becoming.  This year he celebrated with a Star Wars themed birthday party in our backyard.

A Death Star Birthday Cake for one very special Jedi

I had a gazillion more pics, but unfortunately they were lost to an untimely incident between a mug of hot chocolate and my MAC book.   Ahhhh......life with kids.  :)

Joe's most favorite present (besides the gobs of Lego Ninjagos he got)???  Losing a tooth right before bed.  And then, he literally LOST it.  So......he wrote the tooth fairy this little note......

Apparently in our house, if you lose a tooth ON your birthday, it gets you $5.  Lucky dude.  :)

HURRICANE NEWS - Unless you live in a hole, you've undoubtedly heard about a little Hurricane named Sandy wreaking havoc up and down the East Coast last month.  Fortunately, we live far from the coast and didn't experience any damage in terms of water.  The biggest concern where we live was the wind.  More specifically:  trees falling down due to the wind.  And OH!!  were there a TON of trees that fell!!!  During the height of the storm, we took our flashlights, pillows, and blankets down into the basement and camped out for the night.  Despite losing power early in the evening, we made the most of it by eating ice cream (Hey!! You can't let that stuff go bad!), playing Pictionary (by candlelight!!), and reading Detectives in Togas.   Memories were most certainly made!!

When we awoke the next morning, it seemed that everywhere we went, trees were down.  Blocking roads, on top of houses and cars, and resting precariously upon telephone wires.  In my brother's wooded backyard, approximately 20-30 trees fell, all piled up in a neat, not-so-little stack.  This is actually where we spent the week.  Our power went out on a Monday night and wasn't back on until the following Sunday afternoon.  With temperatures drastically dropping, it made for one really cold house.  :)  Honestly though, seeing the stories of the victims in New Jersey and New York, we felt quite fortunate that we merely experienced a slight inconvenience.  We spent the week at my brother and sister-in-law's house. My nieces had off from school for the WHOLE WEEK due to the storm, so we got to spend time with cousins.  It was an instant party!  So THANKFUL for family and friends in the area who helped during this time!!!

IT'S HALLOWEEN!!! - Really, I'm not sure where the year went!  Just a minute ago it felt like the beginning of 2012!!  Before I knew it, Halloween was here, and with it came the costume demands.  So......out came the sewing machine, and with a little bit of creativity, here is what we came up with.....

An Egyptian Princess...

A red ninja...

A green ninja...

And a princess....

SCHOOL - As if hurricanes, birthdays, and job changes didn't keep us busy enough these past couple months, there is always school!!  Our year has gotten off to a great start.  We have managed to keep quite busy.   Here are a few of the highlights so far....

Making mummies using paper mache.....poor Barbie. :)

Haha.  An attempt at marshmallow pyramids....

Class trip to Crystal Caves

Inside the caves with my little love bug.

Apparently soaking a raw egg in vinegar for 72 hours creates a "naked egg" (the shell has dissolved) that you can hold in your hand!  Who knew??!  My kids had so much fun with this experiment!

Field trip to the local dairy farm....

followed by a hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Gearing up for the Presidential Election....took a tour of the Capital Building in Harrisburg, PA.

The outside was beautiful, but OH MY, the inside!!!!  So fun!  We even got to tour the Senate, House of Representatives, and Supreme Court!

Voting Booth!!!  Tonight's decision??  Honey, I Shrunk the Kids or Orphan Annie and brownies or ice cream for dessert.

 (for the record, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and ice cream won)  :)

The three oldest stayed up late watching the results come in and coloring in their Electoral College Maps.   

Philadelphia Art Museum field trip!!!

By far, the kids favorite was the Arms and Armor room.

Taking a break to play some chess.....

ADOPTION - And finally, our adoption.....all is trucking along there as well.   Due to Charles' new job (and the fact that 18 months are up), we are having to update parts of our portfolio.  Financial statements, insurance information, medical records, FBI fingerprints, clearances, and such.  I'm not at all excited to be back doing paperwork again (it's A LOT!!!!), however, THANKFUL to still be in the process! Once we finish up with our updates, we can be added back onto the wait list at the number we were "frozen" at.  Looking forward to moving DOWN that list again real soon!!!

THANKS again friends for all your thoughts and prayers!  We are certain that without them, we would have struggled much more than we did during this time.  We have so much to be THANKFUL for going into this season of THANKFULNESS.  We even managed to steal away last month for a little date night:

Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit - Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA

Have a wonderful THANKSGIVING!!!

Kirsten

Georgia!!

So, it took a little longer than we expected.  14 hours to be exact, but we had a great trip visiting family down in Georgia.  The kids kept busy in the car listening to books on tape, reading, playing, and counting license plates.......and, oh, the DVD player we bought right before the trip didn't hurt either. :) 

What made this trip particularly fun was that in school the kids had learned about U.S. geography.  They would get so excited to identify landmarks they had learned about.....the Blue Ridge Mountains, Cumberland Mountains, Chesapeake and Ohio canal.  It's made traveling so much more fun.

Here are some pics from our time together....



Eliza, Rosie and Kaya at the Root House Museum in Marietta, GA





Tour of the historic Root House





Hosanna and Sophia playing peek-a-boo around the well.  So cute!!!





Our attempt at a group shot.  Where's Jackson??  Oh, he's refusing to get in the picture despite our coaxing.





There he is, well, the back of him at least.  But now Sophia has had enough.  Good thing she's cute. :)





Learning about spinning wool.





Headed to a park for lunch after our morning outing. 





Kaya and Rosie were inseparable all weekend.





Birthday Breakfast to celebrate Charles and Dan.





There's my sweet Jackson.



Watching the donuts get made.

Such a fun thing for the kids to get to do!!!

Saturday night we packed up a container of [delicious] pulled pork and some rolls and had a picnic in the park.  Rebecca's dad sings in a do-wop group that happened to be performing that night.



The kids had a blast dancing to the music.  I believe the exact quote was, "That was the most fun ever!'





Kaya, in her element.



The kids were in their glory all weekend playing in what they referred to as "the swamp."  Really it was just the creek that runs through their yard, but it certainly impressed the kids.  And yes, that is my son wearing a polo and khakis.  Don't judge. :)

1-2-3 JUMP!!!!



The Swamp People.....Kaya, Jackson, Ezra, Joseph and Rosie.

So there you have it.  A weekend of fun, family-time.  Hope yours was a great one too!!!!






Kirsten

Hello again!!

It's been awhile....and quite frankly, I've been enjoying the break.  :)

Since my last post, life has just been, well,  really busy.  Here are a couple of the highlights though....

Last year, in the beginning of September, Kaya had decided that she wanted to go for something called, "Memory Masters".  It is a really big honor within Classical Conversations (the homeschool group that we are apart of).  MM is completely optional.  It is an oral exam in which the student must recall from memory EVERYTHING they have learned this year.  This includes: skip counting through the 15's (plus the squares and cubes), geometric formulas and equations, listing all 44 presidents of the United States in order of their terms, recalling a 160 point timeline beginning at Creation and going all the way to the Obama presidency, the periodic table of the elements, human anatomy, 24 history sentences, with dates, of major historical significance, conjugating irregular verb tenses, locating all 50 states and their capitals on a map, locating major geographical U.S. landmarks (rivers, mountain ranges, prominent features such as the Grand Canyon, etc....), memorizing John 1 in Latin and then translating to English, and many other terms to be defined.  All together, the facts that the student needs to recall total over 500.  In order to get MM, students need to be able to answer EVERY question correctly.  No room for error, people!

Well, on Monday morning she went for it.....And......SHE GOT IT.

It was a fun, but stressful morning for all the moms and kids involved.  8 students total from our campus went for it.  There were tears of happiness, anxiety, lots of hugs, shouts of joy and nerves on end.  Each student tests individually with their tutor, with testing taking a little over an hour per child.  But in the end, ALL 8 students achieved Memory Master.  What a celebration we had after!!!  So, SO proud of each and every one of these kiddos.  Sitting in and testing with these kids really gave me an appreciation of our Creator and this amazing brain He has gifted us with for learning.  Truly a miraculous organ!!

Here are Kaya and I last night celebrating her accomplishment on a Mommy-Daddy-Kaya date at the Melting Pot. :)


                           

She's beautiful, isn't she?? :)

In other news, today is my hubby's birthday.  We are celebrating by heading down to Georgia to spend the week with family.  WE.  CAN'T.  WAIT.  Tonight is birthday dinner and packing the car up.  Then, tomorrow, bright and early, we head out.  12 hours. 7 states.  4 kids.  It will be quite the adventure, I'm sure. :)    Either I'm very naive, or incredibly confident in my children's car-riding abilities.  Haha!  Not sure which (probably naive!), but I do love long car rides and am really excited.  We'll be staying with Charles' brother, Dan (who coincidentally, happens to have the same b-day as Charles, just 5 years apart), his wife, Rebecca, and their 7 children.  It's going to be a BLAST!

Lastly, we have adoption numbers for you from last month.  We moved down another three to.....

#73

Seriously, are we cruising or what??!?  ;)

Thanks for all your continued prayers!!  We have been really blessed by each of you along this journey.





Kirsten 

Classic Re-post: One Small Act

Classic re-post from March 2011.....A look back at our journey to Ethiopia....

One comment that we’ve heard over and over by people as we’ve told them about our plans to adopt, is, “Wow!  What an awesome thing you are doing for that child!”

Years ago, I would have thought the same thing.  After all, isn’t it noble to provide a home and clothing and food for a helpless child without?  Isn’t it admirable to love on “the least of these” as Jesus commands?  Isn’t it the responsibility of the church to “help orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27)?  While obviously, all this is good, I am struck by the fact that it is a view that places us as the rich westerner riding in on our white horse to “rescue” some poor, helpless, forlorn child from poverty and what we deem unacceptable.   In reality, instead of God using ME to “rescue" this child, I believe that God is using THEM to rescue me. 

Rescue me from what, you ask?  The idols of materialism, “The American Dream”, etc…  Their presence in my life and in the lives of the people they touch, is doing much more for us, then we could ever possibly do for them.  Already I have seen how God is using this one child, a child whom we have never met….a child whom may not even be born yet, to impact a community.  To stir hearts.  To change lives.  This child, by simply being whom God created him/her to be, is allowing us to catch a glimpse of Jesus. 

Now, understand when I say, that adoption is a beautiful thing.  It is a beautiful picture of how God has rescued us all from our spiritual “orphanages” and made us a new creation in Christ.  Just like a bride and groom depict Jesus (the bridegroom) and the church….or how the love of a parent for a child models the agape love that God has for His people.  Adoption portrays how God has loved us, pursued us, and given us an inheritance far greater than what we were destined for.  It is a picture of the place we hold in the family of God.  But God is at work, and He is doing something even bigger.

So how did we get here?  Honestly, we just felt that God was calling us in this direction.  We felt that we wanted to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.  Right now, there are 145 MILLION orphans in the world.  We are hoping that when we return from Ethiopia, there will be one less.   But sadly, that will still leave 144,999,999.  We are but one.  And so, some may wonder (quietly, to themselves), “So, what’s the point?”  The point, for us, is to in some way inspire others to follow God’s leading.  That may look differently for you, than it does for me.  God may not be leading you to adopt at this time.  But certainly He is leading you somewhere?  How can we climb out of our comfort zones to truly be the hands and feet?

Many of us are looking for Jesus in the churches.  We are looking for him in Christian books and theology.  In worship music and Christian radio.  And while all these things are well and good (and necessary!!), I can’t help but to remember that that is not where Jesus hung out.  He hung out with the prostitutes…the tax collectors…the blatant “sinners”.  He was more commonly found amongst the poor and the needy, than the rich and the affluent.  So while I do recognize that adoption is a beautiful thing, a noble act that mirrors how God has taken us, and adopted us as His sons and daughters and bestowed upon us all of His inheritance, I see how this “thing” is so much bigger than us.  It is so much bigger than this one simple act.  God is using it, and HAS used it already, to reach others.  To show His glory.  And He’s doing it through one small child.

I’d love to hear how God is revealing Himself to you.  How is He using “the least of these” to make Himself known to you?  God is constantly at work…often times we are too busy doing “His work” to notice though.  But HE is there…in the face of a homeless man who climbs into your dumpster at work to collect scrap metal…..in the face of a single mother who is working two jobs to support her children….in the face of a small Ethiopian baby who has already captured the hearts of so many.  He is there.  Will you see Him?  Or will you walk right past?

So what small acts are YOU doing today??  Might I interest you in running/walking a 5k and/or a 1 mile walk to raise money that will build an orphanage in Kenya??  My parents and brother are heading there in a couple months with their church to do just that.  They'd LOVE your support!  Check out the link here to register for this event.



Visit here to register.  Scroll to 4/14/12 - Jamison, PA: 5k for Kenya Kids and 1 mile walk for more details.

                                                             

And.....here is Kaya working on one small act of her own.....



Joining us for a girls-night-out to help sew dresses for little girls in Kenya.  So proud of her!!!



Right now as I type, a group of guys are playing poker to help us raise money for our adoption. I have said it before, but we are truly blessed with some GREAT friends. 

So, SO many ways to get involved and create some small acts of your own.  What is God laying on YOUR heart?? I guarantee that what you intend as a small act to bless someone else, God will use to bless YOU. 




Kirsten                                                  

Survivor

So many of you have faithfully continued to ask about my sister-in-law Anna and how her recovery has been now that she is at home.  Here is a little something that her husband Brian posted to his FB page yesterday:


                                                    

Survivor-Woman. Had a great appointment with one of her surgeons from the January Journeys. Dr.'s words, "you almost died...twice. I didn't think you'd survive the second time.".

But here she is 2 months later. Crazy.

 

Isn't she beautiful???  Thanks for all your continued prayers for Anna.  My mother and father in-law finally left to head back home to Florida yesterday after spending the last 65 days in California by her side.  Brian has not yet returned to work, but eventually he will.  Each day Anna is getting stronger and stronger.  Praise be to God alone!

Thanks for your continued prayers!

Kirsten 

When Learning Comes Alive

Every year around this time, I find myself getting the homeschool blahs.  Stuck in a rut, bored, and oh, so tired.  Whether or not you too are on a homeschooling endeavor, I'm certain you can relate.  Wintertime (even one as mild as this one has been!!), can do that to you. 

And, every year around this time, I start reevaluating my goals and methods, trying to determine what must stay and what must GO.  After all, change can be good, right?  It's one of God's most wonderful blessings to us.  The freedom to problem solve and to infuse change into our routines every so often. 

As an educator, I absolutely thrill to the idea that learning can come alive to my children.  History stories that leap off the pages of stale textbooks, science experiments that make us stand in wonder of our Creator God, and even Latin lessons that cause us to better understand and appreciate our mother tongue.  The backbone of the education that we have strived to give our children is inherently classical, yet with a flare of an eclectic mixture of fun thrown in.

Here is a look at some of the ways we've attempted to make learning come alive to our kids the past few weeks, despite the wintertime blahs.....



A sick day doesn't necessarily equal no school!  Here the kids are creating their own inventions after reading about famous inventors of the 1800 and 1900's.





Jackson, busy working on his "invention" also. :)

 

The finished product - a robotic dog for kids who are allergic to dogs.  Can you tell what they are hoping for??



Jackson, fishing for ABC's.





Breaking out the shaving cream to work on our memory work.  So fun!





Practicing skip counting....



And letters...for little ones. :)

And this is what happens when you turn your back for a minute to unload the dishawasher while the kids are happily oocupied finger painting with shaving cream. :)

Took a little break to play in the snow.  Not much of it this year.....have to take advantage while we can!

Edible fractions....

Sophia wants to be just like the big kids!



History comes to life....here are my kids wrangling up some cattle and building a fort out of sticks in our backyard.  Can't believe this February weather!!



Laura Ingalls Wilder

And a random cowboy. :)

Taking a little break for some reading.  Currently, a couple titles we're reading are, The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder and a biography of Gladys Aylward.

Here we are at the Valley Forge Visitors Center on President's Day.



Yeah, it sounded great in theory, but in reality it was super-crowded and the kids were more interested in stick-fighting. Oh well. :)

 


In CC this year, the kids are learning about the periodic table. Here are the first twelve elements.  Red jimmies = protons, blue jimmies = electrons, and the chocolate chips = neutrons.  Super fun...and yummy. :)







Some of us helped more than others. :)

 



 

So, there you have it!  A handful of things to balance out the monotony of a normal school day.  This week?  We're heading to the city to see the Philadelphia orchestra!!  Love learning right alongside of my kids!

Kirsten