gearing up to school

Welllll, my big plans to continue our schooling this summer did not come to fruition :).  It's okay though, we have spent our summer playing hard with all of our friends!  Trips to coney island, swimming, lessons, zoo, museum, playdates, you name it!  We have been busy and out of the house most every day.  I'll actually be so glad to get back into our consistent homeschool routine, i'm starting to want to just stay home!!!!


I'm trying to figure out what we will be studying and using this year.  Some things will remain the same, saxon math, handwriting without tears, we have added a grammar book; first language lessons.  We will be using both Story of the world and Biblioplan http://www.biblioplan.net  for history.  I feel pretty good with the big kids lessons.  My question that i am continuing to ponder is what will i use with Eli (5) and Luci, (1.5).  I'd like to find things to keep them both occupied when i am working with the older kids.  Then the older kids will have independent work while i work with the other two.  I'm looking for simple activities, sorting, matching, stringing beads...but also looking for something new and exciting...any ideas from more experienced homeschool mamas????  Any suggestions would be very welcome!!!

And, just for fun, here are some pics from the first days of homeschooling last year

Other families who need HELP!

My heart is so burdened for all these children who are waiting for their mama's and papa's to find them.  It breaks my heart to think of innocent children living their lives out in orphanages and institutions.  Believe me, not all orphanages are as nice as Eli's place is.  In some places, there are 9 year olds who weigh 11 pounds, and 14 year olds who weigh 14 pounds.  Those are not typos, those are the actual weights of the children i am speaking of.  Why these children are made to suffer is beyond me.

Thankfully, some of these children do have mama's and papa's coming for them.  I speak from experience, but taking that leap is one of the scariest things i have ever done as a parent.  The thought of trying to find 20-50 thousand dollars (depending on the orphanage and region) and not knowing what shape your child is in is terrifying.  Words cannot describe the heartbreak of not knowing how your child is doing, if they were fed that day, if someone spoke a kind word or gave a hug that day. 

So, i'd like to draw your attention to a couple of other families who are willing and ready to cross the ocean to save these precious treasures, and they need our help.


First, is dear Lyla.  Lyla's story is quite amazing.  She had a family commit to her, and then the family was told she was not healthy enough to live until they were going to be able to get her.  Heartbroken, then committed to a different child but Lyla never left their thoughts.  After crossing the ocean to rescue sweet Belle, they enquired yet again about Lyla.  She was still not available to come home due to her health, so they brought Gavin home.  Then, a miracle happened.  Lyla had lived and was healthy enough to come home.  A different family committed to bringing her  but unfortunately they were unable to continue.  So, the original family said they couldn't just leave her, and made the committment to cross the ocean for the third time in TWO years!!!  This family is so dedicated to these children, and they desperately need OUR help!!!  They have a great giveaway going on right now, and they also have a matching donation of up to 1000.  That means if we can raise $1000 they will get another $1000 to add to their funds!

http://thestarsaligned.blogspot.com/2012/07/giveaway-fit-for-princess-matching.html







Next up is Sara!  Sara's mommy is going to be a first time mama of this precious girl.  Think about that for a minute...she is bringing home a child with Down syndrome as a first time single parent!  I'm so impressed with her heart and love for these children, and i hope you all will be too!  She isnt having a giveaway right now i dont think, but we can still help her out !!!!!  All donations are tax free and get her one step closer to bringing sweet Sara home!

http://nataliekeller.blogspot.com/



Lastly, is Kenzi!  Kenzi is going to be coming home to a great family who have 2 little boys!  They are so so excited to be bringing her home and have been working tirelessly to get her here.  Her mama stays up till all hours of the night making bows and other crafts so that she can sell them to bring this treasure home!  Her dedication to her baby is absolutely amazing, and i'd love it if someone could help them finish up!!!!

http://love--conquers--all.blogspot.com/

My baby

Okay, okay, i know Eli is not a baby...but, he is MY baby :) 

We got wonderful news from his country that we are officially matched with him!  That means more paperwork (although mostly not on our end this time).  And we are waiting for an official date to go get him!

Our facilitator in his country was able to go visit him for a day and spend some time with him.  We were so excited to hear from her!  She said he is fabulous, which of course we knew :)  He has language and has friends.  He loves teddy bears!!!  She also sent us a whole bunch of pictures, which was great! 

The part that made my mama's heart sad was when she told us that he knows what a mama is and he wants to be adopted and go home with his mama!  SNIFF SNIFF SNIFF!  We are coming little buddy!  You DO have a mama and a papa, you just don't know it yet!!!!

Cute pictures below, i know that's why you are really here ;)

Working hard on putting these pieces together!

He was doing the motions to a song that a caregiver was singing!  I think this picture is hillarious!

Soup is delicious!!!

I'm not doing anything...i swear!