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| Tuesday, September 25, 2007 |
| Progress Reports |
All of the kids have now received progress reports and are doing really well. Almost every average for all four school kids is 95 or above. E had one subject that is a 90 and H has one subject that is in the 80s (there's a long story behind that one). Overall, everyone is doing really well academically. They all have met several friends too. H still says she doesn't like public school, but never complains. She says that it is a whole lot less work.
Yesterday when I picked the kids up from school, I had two great reports. H made a 100 on her science test (the average in the 80s). Also, Z hopped in the car and said she now holds the school record for chin-ups. She can do more chin-ups than everyone else in her elementary school (K-5). I was pretty impressed.
A few weeks ago, I still wasn't sure about the school thing, but everything is starting to settle down. We're beginning to get in a groove. At first the kids were bringing home a ton of homework. They kept asking me just what I was thinking: How come we're at school so long and we still have to bring so much work home? They kept saying that they got a lot more work done a lot quicker when we homeschooled. So true. I tried to explain possible reasons. The bottom line is: they're right.
Overall, it is giving me a good break before we homeschool the rest of our lives starting next year. Also, L and El are certainly demanding my complete attention and even more with their schoolwork and even behavior this year. It is a good time to work with them. I know God led us to put the big kids in school and I believe it will be a good school year. |
posted by 6blessings @ 8:30 AM  |
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| Monday, September 24, 2007 |
| I'm Back |
This weekend went really well. As I mentioned, I went out of town this weekend. My MIL's husband sent my MIL, SIL, and me to the Joyce Meyer Women's Conference. I had never really heard Joyce Meyer before, so I was a little leery. I really didn't know where she stood on many issues and beliefs. It was definitely out of what I am used to at our home church, but overall it was really good. I went along with about 90 percent of what she said.
The Christian band Delirious? led the worship music every session which was awesome. I love music. In fact, H was a little jealous because she likes the band. (I brought her back a poster.) CeCe Winans also sang and led some of the worship. Boy, is that woman blessed with a voice. Her backup singers were incredible too!
Bishop T.D. Jakes preached the first night. He was very good and it was very interesting. He sure got fired up! We left a little early that night, but the next morning they said 900 people had made decisions either for salvation or rededication of their lives to Christ. There were almost 30,000 women at this conference! It was huge!
Joyce Meyer taught the Friday morning, Friday night, and Saturday afternoon sessions. The theme was passion and purpose. She asked what is your passion and what is your purpose. The answer was that we should be passionate about the things God is passionate about- the needy, the poor, the orphans, the widows, the children stuck in prostitution, the hungry, etc. She burns with a passion for missions all around the globe and tried to give everyone a global view on life. Of course, I totally agreed and even felt a bond with her in these areas. They are truly my passions.
Next, she said that our purpose was to glorify God in everything we do, whether that is teaching 30,000 women or washing dishes at home. Whatever God puts in front of us at that time is our purpose. She said we mix our purpose and our vocation up too much. She said it doesn't matter what you do for a living as long as you do it mightily for the Lord.
Saturday morning, Christine Caine was the speaker. I had never heard her before either. She is from Australia and was terrific. She said that the church has gotten so full of "religion" and there is no relationship. I couldn't agree more. She was a very energetic person, full of passion for what she was saying.
Saturday afternoon after the conference, we went sight-seeing and souvenir buying for the kiddos. We walked to the arch, but didn't go up in it. It is definitely an amazing sight. The rides to the top were sold out. I bought E, Z, El, and L something there. We then caught the Metrolink and went to Cardinals Stadium. My SIL bought something for her two boys and I got a pennant for J. We went to eat and went back to the hotel. The trip went pretty fast, but was good. I learned a lot and a lot was confirmed to me. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 11:10 AM |
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| Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
| A Little Break |
A few months ago, my MIL called and said her husband had booked her, my SIL, and me for a women's conference this weekend. He was buying airfare, booking a hotel, etc. After arranging for time off from work and getting everything with the kids lined up, I'm ready to go.
My family hasn't been without mom for a long time. I've written detailed plans, prepared everyone, etc. This week has been so hectic that I haven't had a chance to pack or even do my laundry to get ready to go. As I was going through stuff last night with D, I realized that I was telling him about a b'day party the girls are supposed to go to that they have no present for. I guess I have a quick trip to the store to add in to the before noon.
Anyway, I'm gone until Sunday. I'll let you know how it goes. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 4:37 AM |
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| Tuesday, September 18, 2007 |
| Orthopedic Problems |
Okay, as you all know, we frequent the orthopedist's office. However, we've had a few months off. A few weeks ago, right after vacation, E hurt her foot/toes at the gym. They have had a lot of swelling and pain and she's been walking on the side of her foot. Therefore, we finally took her to see the doc. The result: she's in a boot for two weeks. They will re-evaluate then. He gave her the choice of a boot or a cast. She obviously chose the boot, but it's huge. It was the smallest one they had.
D's shoulder has been bothering him for quite a while. We wanted to make sure he had it fixed before we move. A while back, he had been told it was just bursitis and to take some ibuprofen. However, it has been getting progressively worse. So he went to the orthopedist today also. He has shoulder surgery scheduled for next Thursday, the 27th. They are going to try to scope it, but may have to open him up depending on the extent of the damage. You have to understand, this man took his first ever trip to the hospital two years ago when he got a bad cut taking the trash out and had to have stitches. This surgery will be a major deal to him.
I am also still hoping to get my ankle fixed before the move. The insurance denied removing the rider, so it will all have to be out-of-pocket. D is hoping to have enough saved by the beginning of 2008. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 11:41 AM |
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| Monday, September 17, 2007 |
| SDC |
More pics. This time of Silver Dollar City. This was the hit of the vacation, of course. I love this one of the six kiddos. What a crew!  My kids found themselves in some trouble and had to be put in jail. (Actually, there was a real cell in there with a fake man lying on a bed. There was a recording playing that sounded like he was snoring. It scared El half out of his wits and he refused to go in for a little bit.)
 Lost Mine ride. It was a slow boat ride through tunnels with tons of targets set up everywhere to shoot at. D was the master of this, getting more points than all the rest of us combined. What I love about this picture is El's face. This is the face he makes when he is concentrating super hard on something or working at it with all of his might. D first noticed him doing it on our first trip to the orphanage. He would make the face when he would throw the ball back to D in front of the orphanage.
 This is H and I on the Giant Barn Swing. It went back and forth over 7 stories high, covering 230 degrees of the sky at about 45 mph. Here's a link so you can see the full picture.
 The log ride. El cried. He didn't like getting wet, even though we were quite hot. L loved it!
I will ride almost anything, but this is the one ride D rides with the kids. I was scared to death to let L and El on it, but they loved it! They are toward the middle of the boat. The girls are out toward the top end. J and I stayed on the ground this time.
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| posted by 6blessings @ 10:44 AM |
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| Friday, September 14, 2007 |
| Pool Pics |
Here's some more vacation pictures. This is the pool area at the place we stayed. Up under the gazebo-looking area there were waterfalls that the kids loved to swim in and out of.   Kids' play area/wading pool  Under the waterfall in the "big" pool.  I love this one! |
| posted by 6blessings @ 12:56 PM |
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| Thursday, September 13, 2007 |
| to.do.list. |
Tuesday night is family night. All of us are home on Tuesday nights. I told my boss that I needed one night off from gym and so did my kids. Anyway, the kids always have big plans for Tuesday nights. One special "treat" is that they like to watch some TV because they never have the chance to at any other time.
This past Tuesday night after homework was done, J disappeared for a while and came back in and showed me a piece of paper. Here's what it said:
to.do.list.
make super poshen.
trie poshen.
watch two shows.
eat dinner.
watch two shows.
walk with mom and dad.
Now, as we all know, our lists never get completed. He only watched one show all night and the kids had dinner cleanup duty while mom and dad walked. He did however eat his dinner and both make and try his super "poshen".
You see, J has a fascination with all things superhero. He also loves science and experiments. He took a bowl and made a mix of lotions, powders, and some of the thousands of the girls' "smelly sprays". He then announced that he had made the "poshen" for the boys so they could do well at wrestling practice (which takes place several nights per week in our living room). After rubbing it on them, they had superhuman running and jumping ability, as well as amazing strength!
The next day, J had gymnastic practice. Before we could leave, he had to put his "poshen" on his body. However, before doing so, he had to add in a few superhero powers: a locust shell so he could transform into a being with a hard protective shell, a piece of paper so he could crumple into another form, and a bug wing so he could fly.
Anyone interested in marketing the stuff for us? It smells really good. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 7:37 AM |
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| Friday, September 07, 2007 |
| Asia It Is |
As many of you "uncovered" in a previous post, we are moving to China. My husband is giving up his law practice and going to teach English in a university over there. He will have two years of intensive language learning and then be assigned to a university. We are so excited about serving in China.
As many of you know, we spent a year in China in 1995-96. We will be going to a different area this time. By next summer, we will have sold everything we own, except for probably a suitcase and carry-on for each family member. We will be gone for two straight years while D is learning language. Then we will be able to come back to the US for a few months in the summer of 2010 to visit. Every summer after that we will be able to return for a visit during the university's summer break.
We have always loved the Chinese people and their culture. We have thought about going back for many years. Last April, we began thinking heavily about it again and felt very directed that it was time for us to return. H was with us on the first trip, but none of the others. E, Z, and J have never even been on an airplane before.
We are busy learning Chinese with Rosetta Stone and hoping to get some tutoring also before we go. We found out about a Chinese school for language and culture very near to us, but so far that isn't going to work out because of when it takes place.
D has already given us all Chinese names and is progressing very well in his language acquirement. He has a Master's degree in Linguistics and is an extremely natural language learner. I, on the otherhand, am the extreme opposite. I can handle Spanish, easier languages like that, but Chinese is one of the most complicated languages there is because it is tonal.
Well, there it is. I'm thinking about starting a new blog in the next few months that would focus on this new adventure. If I do, it will probably be a private blog for many reasons. Of course, if you are a regular reader, you will just need to request an invitation. That's all a little ways down the road though. For right now I have enabled comment moderation, so bear with me in this phase. I appreciate everyone's comments, but from now on I must be careful about which ones I post publicly. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 9:43 AM |
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| Thursday, September 06, 2007 |
| Cave Pictures |
Here are a few pics from our first day: Talking Rocks Cavern. We had some time to kill before our cave tour, so we hiked up to a lookout tower. Here are some rocks that the kids climbed up along the way.  Here we are at the top of the tower overlooking the Ozark Mountains.  I love this pic! They are inside an air bubble in the cave where it washed out. It was a little room (sort-of).  Stalactites meeting stalagmites.  This was a really cool part of the cave. The picture, of course, didn't do it justice. At the bottom of the picture there is a formation looking like angel wings. The guide said that the angel was bowing to something and they always wondered why. One day, someone pointed out what seems to be a formation that looks like a cross higher up on the cave wall. It really was pretty cool, but is hard to see. My camera angle wasn't great either. I have traced it in red in the picture below the original.  |
| posted by 6blessings @ 10:00 AM |
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| Tuesday, September 04, 2007 |
| Our Trip Tour |
Here's a tour of our vacation. It started on Sunday, August 26, with my hubby taking "the scenic route" through the winding hills. Everyone enjoyed the view and the thrill (freaking out) of turning those tight curves and going down those dangerous hills in Big Red, except for E. E gets car sick pretty easily and was ill along this path. When we let her out at one stop, she refused to return to the van. She actually made it to within the last 30 miles before spilling everything (twice).
We arrived here after the long, hot, scenic drive. The kids were so glad to get unpacked and jump into this.
On Monday, we headed here for great exercise and an incredible history and science lesson. We hiked up to a lookout tower before going deep down inside the ground. We swam again that afternoon and went here for our evening entertainment. The kids LOVED it, especially J, our own little magician.
On Tuesday, we hung around the place for most of the morning, took a nap after lunch, and went swimming in the afternoon. We went out to dinner and then went here. The boys liked the fake fights and the gun shows. Z looked at me at intermission and said, "I don't get anything that's going on." The plot was a little complicated and had to be unravelled for her 9 year old mind.
Wednesday was a menagerie of a day. We did a little schoolwork and hung around in the morning. After lunch, we took out for town. We went to see this at this place. We tried our hand at this. (Guess who won? ME!) We ate dinner and then went here that evening. Let me just say, "WOW!" For a bunch of gymnasts, this was super interesting. We now have our own family show if anyone would like to attend. They can do all kinds of breathtaking things (okay, at least they do things that make you gasp in great fear).
Thursday and Friday we went to this place. It was the family fav! The funnel cakes are the best! I rode enough rides for everyone! I'm the designated rider. D isn't really into roller coasters and such.
Thursday evening we went to go see this.
Saturday, the gals went and fulfilled a dream of E's. It was a lot of fun. That afternoon we did some last minute shopping and took the pic in the last post. Saturday evening was for a final swim and packing.
Sunday's drive home was fairly uneventful (no puking this time). We took the straight shot home. We rested and tried to do some more schoolwork.
All in all, it was a God-blessed vacation. No injuries, no breakdowns (automobile or mental), no hitches! Hope you enjoyed the tour. I'll post real live family pics over the next few days. BTW, where we're moving to is hidden in this post. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 12:09 PM |
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| Monday, September 03, 2007 |
| Howdy Folks! |
Hey there, y'all! We was up yonder Missouri way recallin' the paths of ourn kin this here past week. We et sum really tasty vittles an' seed sum really citin' shows! We ride sum right fearful rides and jumped in the swimmin' hole a batch o' times too. We had to work on sum readin', ritin', and rithmetic. That ain't be too fun! I'll be a fillin' ya'uns in over the next lil' spell bout ourn outin'. Hope yous like the family pictograph. Maybe I be fixin' my grammar soon now that we be civilized folks agin!
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| posted by 6blessings @ 2:28 PM |
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