observation from the point and shoot

Since we gave Samuel the camera a few times, and we know he's short (roughly 43 inches), it's amazing the perspectives we get sometimes. For example, I think I look so different from his height. What he find important to take photos of can seem odd.

I hope you enjoy "Samuel's View" of Williamsburg. I know I do.

The end of the Neverending Day

Well, honestly, the end of the visit to Colonial Williamsburg in the daytime. We did end the day by doing a night time event there - The Gunpowder Incident. I have no photos of that, but suffice it to say, we LOVED it. Actually, I might have point and shoot images prior to the event as I did give Samuel the camera - thus the movie of his feet. ;)

But, somewhere around 2:30pm, Samuel wore himself out. While Katie was still going strong wanting to walk everywhere, Samuel claimed the stroller. We went to sit in the shade and hear "Thomas Jefferson" speak. If you are ever there, do make a point to listen to him. GREAT presentation!





That night, like tonight, I am worn out. Long day in the sun, long day with the kids, and it's time for some relaxation. Hope you enjoyed "Day 1" of our vacation.

The never ending day - part4

see, I told you it was never-ending. It seemed that way to us as well.

The kids all loved the Harpsichord that we were allowed to play.


JM didn't care to pose for me, but he did stop. Just didn't smile. Funky color though, not sure why.

We paused to look off of bridges. Katie "posed" for me, then because I was squatting to take her photo, she squatted as well.



The boys begged us to hurry it up!

Katie danced and played at every building we went to see. I was chasing her. Dh was "learning" new and interesting things while corralling the boys and trying to get them to learn the same new and interesting things.

She's been corrupted

What do you get when you have 2 boys who love all things Star Wars, one of which loves to hum the songs? What do you get when you add a new little sister? I'll tell you...you get woken up to a 22 month old walking around on the bed, holding a mini-maglite flashlight like a microphone singing "da-da-da.da-da-daaaaaa-da-dada." (that's the Imperial March in case you can't read that)

That's right, our little precious princess sings Star Wars music, and not just any, Darth Vader's theme song. Is it an omen?

The never ending day - part3

Remember Samuel's propensity for touching things?


Then we also enjoyed many of Katie's faces - I love how she gives us that funny look then smiles so big!


Then the boys found a tree perfect for climbing on, which made them happy.


Katie was just happy walking around.

The never ending day - part2

We found an old fashioned swing in a tree. I was amazed at how hard it was to balance on the swing, but that did not stop the boys at all.




Doesn't Katie look terrified of the swing? That has been her reaction to most of the swings we've introduced her to.

The never ending day - part1

Our first day of vacation started at 5am. A rather early 5am. We got to see the sunrise in Atlanta it was so early. I'm not one for seeing sunrise. Since I'm not one to see the sunrise often, this means I'm not a morning person at all. No pictures prior to Williamsburg.

In fact, this was my first photo of the trip

and I was quickly distracted by a ladybug. Dh humored me by walking on toward Colonial Williamsburg, leaving me to photograph the little ladybug. I won't bore with with how many photos I took, but this was one of my favorites. ;)

JM wasn't too sure about the entire "historical" thing, until we went into the Guardhouse. There we saw something that got his attention, and they were over 200 years old. Some older than George Washington himself (that impressed Dh).

You can see by the look on his face the dawning understanding that this might not be too bad.

Samuel, on the other hand, wasn't convinced yet (gotta love his shilouette here)

Samuel wanted to touch and play with everything, it was a challenge to keep his attention to things he could touch!

Katie, well, she just wanted to walk and stretch.

I've been Tagged!

Oh, I've been tagged by my friend Cheri, over at Loving Lia so here I am playing along! (*grumble grumble, but with a smile on my face*)

*For those of you who are not bloggers, you probably don't "get" this, but it helps us all get to know one another.

Favorite person (outside of family): Just one?! :)
Favorite food? Chocolate. Anything chocolate.

Quirks about you? I like to talk....a lot.

How would the person who loves you the most describe you in ten words or less? Ummm...I'm really not sure. I might be a little scared to find out.

Any regrets in life? Yes

Favorite charity or cause? Charity - Love Without Boundaries, followed closely by A Child's Right, followed closely by Half the Sky....then OH so many more!

Favorite blog recently? Recent favorite? Oh ummm...well...ummm....how recent? In the past 6 months, most of the ones linked to the right PLUS many that I have bookmarked. Nothing "new" in the last month.

Something you cannot get enough of? hugs from my kids

Worst job you ever had? Fastfood...I have a greater appreciation for the workers...especially the ones on drive thru.

What job would you pay NOT to have? Anything in the medical profession! (I'm LOL here, I would LOVE being a Math teacher and Cheri (the one who tagged me) is in the medical profession (nursing).

If you could be a fly on the wall, where? Not sure. Would love to be in China in Katie's foster home to see how they are doing and learn about them, would also love to see into so many "places" as well.

Favorite Bible verse right now? again...just ONE?!

Guilty pleasure? Romance novels.

Got any confessions? I'm not in the mood to take photos.

If you had to spend $1000 on yourself, how would you spend it? On me? oh man, I'm just not sure. Me personally? clothes, makeup, shoes. What I want? furniture for the house

Favorite thing about your house? The mortgage payment. ;) It's tiny - 1600 square feet, and it is what allowed us to be able to basically not go in debt for Katie's adoption.

Least favorite thing about your house? It's 1600 square feet (or 1700, not sure which). We have 5 people here, and we homeschool. It just seems like some days there is not enough room.

One thing you are bad at? sick kids.

One thing you are good at? ummm...not sure. I don't think photography, but others do.

If you could change one thing about your circumstances, what? Being content in everything.

Who would you like to meet someday? Katie's foster parents AND birth parents.

What makes you feel sexy? This new dress I bought. I tried it on and all 3 of my "boys" liked it. I got it in red.

Who is your real life hero? My Mom. I honestly do not know how she accomplished all she did while I was growing up.

What is the hardest part of your job? Which job? Mom? Other? The Mom one is knowing that I am responsible for ensuring my children grow up to be productive members of society. The other? Dealing with people who are not happy.

When are you most relaxed? ummm...reading a romance novel.

What stresses you out? Deadlines, kids acting up, kids whining incessantly, my house being messy...really though, the house being cluttered and messy.

What can you not live without? my faith

Do you agree with the recent article that blogs are authored by narcissists? Some are, but not all.

Why do you blog? I blog to keep friends and family up to date on our lives, I also use the blog as a place to keep memories...much like an online scrapbook. I also use it as a journal (just don't always post those).

Who are you tagging? I really dislike tagging people.
New/newer bloggers-My sister and Lisa (though she's not new to blogging)
Bloggy friends-Kimberly H and Jenifer S
Bloggers you'd like to get to know better- Fliss and Luci's Mommy
Bloggers who you don't think will respond but you hope will --- Kathy and Char.

Rules:1. Answer the questions.2. Link back to who tagged you.3. Tag 8 bloggers in the above categories to do the same.

Subway doesn't want homeschoolers!

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId=65217

http://www.subwayfreshbuzz.com/kids/disclaimer.html

Subway, the sandwich restaurant, wants to hear your child's story – unless he or she is homeschooled.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Contest is open only to legal residents of the Untied (sic) States who are currently over the age of 18 and have children who attend elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted.

Now I can understand why they excluded homeschoolers since the grand prize is $5000 worth of athletic equipment for the child's school. But seriously, many homeschoolers are affliated with some sort of organized group (ours is by a cover school). Then there is the possibility that many homeschoolers are involved in parks and recreation program through their city. But to EXCLUDE them? Ugh.

Not to mention the spelling errors that someone didn't bother to proof before publishing to the web.

I'm really not sure....

This is what happens when you give the point and shoot camera to a bored 5 year old, who then plays with the movie feature. I'm REALLY not sure what he was thinking here. Taken in Colonial Williamsburg - the Drum and Fife celebration was going on. :)


Another I'm not entirely certain what was going on - the khaki pants is me, the shoes are JM, and Samuel was taking the photo of Katie. We were in a building in Colonial Williamsburg. I swear, I made them behave. I really did.

I'm asking forgiveness

For not letting people know exactly when we'd be going to DC. For not making plans to meet up with people. I had a great reason, I really did. We were incredibly busy. I was not sure WHEN we would be places, nor was I certain how long things would take. Then, there is the whole Dh is a little apprehensive of meeting strangers from the internet.

At any rate, our vacation plans were not set in stone (much to MY dismay) and I did not even have a schedule of where we were going except for we were in this hotel Saturday through Tuesday morning, and this other hotel from Tuesday through Saturday morning. As I was talking over my "loose" plan with a fellow mom here locally, she asked me "When do you relax? Isn't this a vacation? Aren't you taking the YOUNGER kids?"

I should have listened to her. I really honestly should have.

Friday May 16 - leave town, drive to Atlanta (yes you all know we're in the South). We got to Atlanta around 1am Easter time. Our flight left at 8am. Why so late? Let's just say we were NOT prepared for a vacation at all.

Saturday May 17 - 5:30am - get up, at airport 6am (let me just say I do not care at all for the Atlanta Airport). Got to Richmond, VA (cheap flight!) and in our rental car around 10:45am. We went on in to Colonial Williamsburg. Samuel had had 5 hours of sleep. Katie wasn't too sure of things. Dh and I were EXHAUSTED. Not our brightest move. Left Colonial Williamsburg around 4pm, much to the kids happiness. Checked into our hotel, went to eat, bought groceries for the first 3 days, changed clothes so we could go to "The Gunpowder Incident" at Colonial Williamsburg...at 8:30pm. Again, not our brightest idea, but it was WONDERFUL. Probably the best part of the entire day.

Sunday May 18 - Busch Gardens (funny story here that I'll cover in the photos). We opened and closed the park. Samuel rode his first "big rollercoaster" and JM got to ride the "adult" rollercoasters. You know, the ones with the 54" plus height requirement? Yes, he's THAT tall now. Yes, we fell into our beds that night.

Monday May 19 - Historic Jamestown. More walking. Cranky kids and adults, but hey it was cool! Then Dh got a business call, we were driving to Newport News to go to the Mariners Museum to see the Monitor stuff and the naval history stuff. Kids adored this museum.

Tuesday May 20 - left hotel by 10am, drove to Mount Vernon - toured it. LOTS of buses and kids. It was rainy, cold, and we were tired. Finished up there, went grocery shoppping in Alexandria so we could check into hotel. Fixed dinner, then attempted a Nationals game (more on that later).

Wednesday May 21 - cold again. Up EARLY to get Bureau of Engraving and Printing tickets, WAshington Monument tickets, then at 9, did BEP, then the Holocaust museum (well the child's portion of it), then Washington Monument, then Natural History Museum with I think the entire state of Virginia's school kids! (Not really, but it was very crowded), back to hotel at 5pm. Changed clothes, went to Nationals Game. OH my heck that is worthy of a blog post in itself!

Thursday May 22 - slept in a little, Arlington Cemetary, National Zoo. Back to hotel around 8pm.

Friday May 23 - drug ourselves out of bed normal time to be at Air and Space museum at 10am. Did that, then walked to see the monuments/memorials. Back to hotel to rest and pack.

Saturday May 24 - left hotel between 9:30 and 10am to drive to Richmond, VA. Big accident on I95, went 25-30 miles in roughly 2-3 hours. Good thing our flight wasn't until 3pm. We made it with about 1 hour before our departure...good thing it's a SMALL airport. ;)

I tell you this so you understand WHY we were not able to meet up with people easily...and to make sure you never agree to let me plan anything BUT a Disney vacation for you. Honestly, though, our Disney Vacations are similar.

Happy Memorial Day!

We're home from vacation, tired and brains stuffed full of new and interesting things learned in our country's capital. I think I have around 5gigs of photos to go through (I shoot raw, so it's not really as many photos as one would think). One day, after the house is set to rights again, I will fill everyone in on our wonderful family vacation.

But for today, well, after a week spent learning about the history of our nation, seeing such places as Arlington Cemetary, and teaching the boys all about WHY we have memorials for World War 2, Vietnam, etc., I want to encourage everyone to stop and think for a moment about the men and women who have served our country, who have given their lives so that we might be free. Free to write in blogs such as these.

One of my favorite quotes from the trip:

"Freedom is not Free."

Having fun!

Playing at the ballfield - yes some more.

Look at her...ALL THE WAY AWAY from us. ;) (JM was right down there with her btw)








I love how she turned around and looked at me, then came running back.

Why Homeschooling? Part 3

Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Along with that comes many things that are both GOOD and BAD. Many things that I try to explain to people who are not homeschooling, and these things are the reasons why I will never say that someone else should homeschool. It's very much something each family must decide for themselves. I do, however, tell people that it's not that hard or difficult. :)

Things I LOVE:

*We can vacation during any month of the year. Especially nice in planning Disney vacations.

*Exposure to less germs. It doesn't mean we don't get sick (just read the archives of 2008 where we spent so many weeks with someone sick in the house). But it means that we are less likely to catch every strep throat, cold, and stomach bug going around.

*We can choose which weeks/months are best for schooling and which we want to take off. Like for our family, we start during the summer months when it is HOT. We then, because December is so busy, take most of December off. Works nice for our family.

*We can tailor the curriculum to meet each child's needs. We can go at their pace. We know, pretty much immediately, when a child doesn't understand or needs more help. In the same regard, we can follow an interest easily such as when the boys were obsessed with all things Pirates. We turned it into a unit study where we learned geography, history, study of "fact vs. fiction," tall tales, science, and math.

*We can do lots of hand on activities related to school work.

*We can do some activities during the day, like karate, speech therapy, occupational therapy, piano lessons, etc. Which then leaves our evenings for other things like sports, family time, dinner at the table, and church activities.

*We have the ability to introduce only those aspects of science we are comfortable introducing the kids to at this point (we're teaching them creationism, and later, when we feel that their religious beliefs are solid enough we'll talk about Darwinism).

*We can sort of keep them from learning about things too early, things we would rather them not know at this point. Of course, as we learned this year, the kids at church can and do teach them a lot.

*We can teach them a more in depth look at certain subjects - like the Civil War and all the reasons it was fought. We can look at the history books written from the point of view of those who lost a war (it's often VERY enlightening). We can choose curriculum that has a biblical point of view. We were able to study China while waiting for Travel Approval to get Katie. The boys, as a result, have a deep love and respect for China and it's people.

*I am able to choose whether or not we want JM's work to be on a computer, how much he must write out, and can work with him on things he struggles with. We can build therapy into any curriculum choice as well.

The Bad

*I get zero break from the kids. They are always around. The house is always messy. I must take them everywhere with me.

*They are invited to less birthday parties than my friends with kids in traditional school environments.

*If they have not learned something, it is solely on myself. No one to blame but ourselves.

*Constantly second guessing ourselves over every decision.

*It's expensive to make sure they are involved in enough to stimulate their abilities, their friendships, and such.

*Lots of time spent sitting and waiting on them to finish a class or an activity on a field trip. Lots of time.

*Having to make sure that when they are out in public during a school day, that we are circumspect. While homeschooling is accepted here, you never know when someone will say something.

*Constantly feeling like you have to defend your choices.

*Did I mention the TIME involved? It's a huge commitment.

*We have to make decisions on curriculum, therapy, and other things with only the guidance of internet and therapists. We recognize we do not have the schooling in teaching to correct certain disabilities. Luckily, our cover school has a special ed instructor to help parents evaluate their choices and help them out.

Yes, we could have many of these things from both good and bad list if they were in traditional school environments. But one thing was clear very early on, JM is an active learner. He loves to move. I have vivid memories of him rolling around on the floor while I was reading a book to him. I thought he was not listening, but he was.

There are quite a few other things, and if you have a specific question please ask. Also know that I completely understand WHY some choose not to homeschool. I honestly believe it's not for everyone. I believe it is what is currently best for our family at this point in time. Will it be best for our family later? I don't know. We evaluate every year for the next year. If the kids at some point ASK to go to school, we will investigate that with them and let them go. So far, JM has talked to his friends and seen enough of school to think that he's currently happy where he is!

There are good things about public schools and private schools. For our family and situation we looked at the options and chose what we felt was best for our kids.

A photo break!

Katie and Samuel





NOTICE, Samuel got his hair cut! He asked for it to be buzzed, and I finally complied. It took him asking for 6 months for me to agree. I loved his shaggy mop of curls. But with his newfound independence, he wasn't washing the hair as good as we would all like for him to do.

For the record, I do believe his eyelashes are longer than his hair now.

Why Homeschooling? Part 2

So, what were the questions and answers?

1. What about socialization? This was truly scary for me as I am not a great person to seek out others and do the playgroup thing. We had JM in sports, church activities, and the cover school had a "co-op" class one day a week. In talking with other homeschooling families, I learned that there were lots of opportunities available. I also read online about socialization and how it occurs in traditional schools. I had to adjust my thinking slightly as I was thinking "socialization = friendships and playing" and not the "socialization = how to function in a classroom and society." Both are needed, and homeschooling families can teach both. I still agree with my friends who are teachers that children DO socialize with other kids in school, but I also agree with the homeschooling world that says that socialization in schools is not "real world" socialization and that children who are homeschooled learn how to operate in the world and learn how to interact with people of all ages. Read the definition of socialization. My goal, as a parent, is to train my child how to act in the world and in society. Now, I'm not going to say which way is better, but do sit and think about the training your child(ren) get in how to act in society. Where does that happen? Dh and I realized that mainly how JM was learning to act came from us, from church, and from experiencing life as we took him places. Yes, he could learn some of that from school. Yes, it's easier to make friends at school - same age friends. Yes, traditional school environments do teach children skill as well, but I believe we could teach those as well (and through activities like classes at a museum, classes at cover school, etc.).

4-5 years later, I sort of laugh about this fear of ours now. Everyone we meet is surprised that JM is homeschooled, and does not realize it until we say something. However, I do get quite a few comments from people that tell me that he is very well behaved. Dh, who teaches a church class with boys that are JM's age, has mentioned that he does seem a little more naive in some regards. JM doesn't know all the curse words, nor does he care about certain clothing styles or hair styles. He doesn't know the latest and greatest fad. We have both observed that he plays happily with children who are older and younger than him.

2. What about friends? Where would JM make friends? Well, Dh and I both wanted him to make his best friends from those at church. Our church, however, had few kids going to the elementary school we were zoned for. JM, is fairly outgoing, and talks to just about anyone. We figured that going to church, playing sports, and participating in "Friday Classes" would fuel enough "friendship possiblities" for him. We also realized that we are limiting his pool of friends to those with similar values and family structures as ourselves. This, we recognized, had both pros and cons to it. The pros were mainly for early elementary ages where we knew he would not be introduced to things we didn't approve of early on. Cons were that we would have to seek out opportunities for him to develop relationships with families that are different from us. We also realized that if we controlled his friends, then it was entirely possible he'd never have to learn how to deal with teasing, or bullies, or confrontational people, or that sometimes you just don't plain like another person.

Excuse me while I laugh for a few minutes. This one was totally unfounded, and honestly, JM has dealt with all of the above and more. He seems to make friends easily. We have noticed, however, that there is a certain awkwardness to his social skills that is not present even in our homeschool friends' kids. It's more of a "not reading body language clues" kind of awkward. I do think, if he were in a traditional school environment that he would be teased more and have less friends.

3. How will he learn "classroom behaviors" and other things you learn in school that are considered "general knowledge" type of things? This was a little hard for me to understand WHY this would be important. But, honestly, he does need to know that you raise your hand to ask a question or make a comment. He needs to learn that you can't go to the bathroom just whenever you feel like it. He also needed to learn that sometimes he does have to wait for others to finish their own projects before the class can move on. All sorts of things he needed to learn! Well, we addressed this through the science museum classes, Sunday School, and co-op classes.

No issues here. :) It was much easier to teach than I thought.

4. How do we make sure he learns all he is supposed to learn? This is probably the one that keeps me up the most at night. I worry he's not learning enough, or I'm forgetting something important. But, as I learned more about curriculum I learned that he WILL learn quite a bit. I also learned that we have to have him tested to make sure he is on level with other kids in our state. Teaching a child to read, in my opinion, is the greatest responsibility. The most frightening thing I have ever undertaken.

Let's just say achievement tests keep us honest and tell us quite clearly what he does and does NOT know. ;) I still stay up at night worried about this, but I'm dealing with it better and better. I'm not so worried about Samuel though as I have seen how well JM has done with things.


5. But what about the separation of Mommy and Teacher, and the fact that struggles will ensue in trying to get him to do the work? Much like parenting, I have a million theories that will help this, none have worked yet. However, we do fight less than I thought we would. He understands that this is "learning work" and he must do it. If he does not, then he would be in school and having to do this in school. He knows that we have tests and oversight making sure he IS learning what he is supposed to be learning.

Some days it's a good thing Dh can come home and take over in the evening. Samuel and I are at odds more than JM and I ever were. Doing schoolwork at night is NOT outside the realm of possibilities either.

6. But what about CALCULUS? Seriously, this was a question I was asked when I mentioned I was homeschooling JM for Kindergarten! I told everyone then, and tell them now when I get that question. I have a BS degree in Math. I love calculus. I have no qualms teaching that to him, but other subjects? Well, that is why I will seek out other classes for people who love that subject to teach him. However, that is WAY down the road, and we're not even sure if we will be homeschooling through high school or not.

I fear teaching the kids biology/dissection, physics, and English composition/grammar/essay writing...oh and finding the meanings in classic literature. Math? Math should be easy to teach for me. This next year, JM is taking a class called "Young Authors" where he will learn about writing a book and be required to write, illustrate, and "publish" a book. I'm hoping this will help him learn and remember his grammar better. If not, then we will send him to one of the many homeschool classes on "grammar and English" enrichment taught at the local community college.

7. Well, what about high school? If we choose to homeschool through high school, then we will have to work closely with the cover school. JM will take any classes from others that I can not teach him, or find a good curriculum for him. There are homeschool leagues for all sports. Homeschoolers participate in all academic team competitions, they have orchestra, they have drama teams, they have yearbooks, senior trips, newspapers, student councils, and yes...even Prom. ;)

This is all still true, and Dh has now come to realize how much is readily out there for homeschoolers now.

If you have ANY question you would like me to address, please ask. :) I will be happy to try and answer, or try and find the answer.

Why Homeschooling? Part 1

Both Dh and I grew up going to public schools, and yes we both got good educations from them. There are "lapses" in certain things, but that might have been more in part to our not learning something rather it not being presented. However, we both noticed that we were not challenged (okay I think I was, but Dh says he was not) enough to learn how to study and not struggle in college. We also saw, through my younger brother, how things were changing in the school systems as well.

When we had JM, I had never even heard of homeschooling. I had no idea such a thing existed, and Dh and I were discussing private schooling and how to afford it. We also both knew that not all private schools are equal. Someone on an internet forum mentioned homeschooling, and I questioned them and started learning. All while JM was a baby! We had years to go, but I knew then that wanted to be an "at home" Mom to the kids if possible, and I knew we had to figure something out for schooling. I mentioned it to Dh, and he brushed it off thinking it was something "weird" people did.

I, meanwhile, am finally home with JM and researching more and more about this strange phenomenon called homeschooling. JM is 3, and I'm doing quite a bit of teaching him already. We learn about dinosaurs, space, trains, and anything that catches his eye. Like Bob the Builder, which spurred a long obsession with tractors. Dh still thinks private school is best and wants to do that for school and I want to at least try homeschooling, so we compromise on preschool. I "homeschool" 3 days a week, and send JM to preschool 2 days a week. At the beginning of preschool JM knew all his letters, and was working on sounds the letters make. His preschool class was working on learning the names of letters. JM was doing basic addition, his class was working on numbers. We also saw, that JM wass emotionally not mature enough for school. I developed a good relationship with his teacher, and have a good friend who is a Kindergarten teacher herself. I learned, and told Dh, what academics are covered in Kindergarten where we live. I also learned more about the public school and private school options we could explore. I networked with anyone I could talk to to find homeschooling Moms to find out about which coverschools would be a good option for us!

In February of JM's preschool year (ummm, that would be 2003? 2004?), his teacher asked me what my plans were for the next year. I told her I was considering homeschooling, and she sighed a HUGE sigh of relief. See, she was a special ed teacher prior to becoming a SAHM who worked at the preschool 2 mornings a week. She told me that JM was academically ready for Kindergarten (well, actually he was ready for 1st grade), but that maturity wise he would really struggle. She was concerned because in a traditional classroom environment he would be punished quite a bit for his hyperactivity and would come to hate going to school. As it was, she had already tried to stay at his level academically and was struggling to teach to him AND a class. JM was already telling me he disliked going to preschool because he was always in trouble for talking to his friends in class. The teacher confirmed that he just breezed through everything she gave him, and being bored and done with work would disrupt things in the classroom. She said he was a good kid, but he was going to need to be really challenged in a classroom. She knew which school we were zoned for, and knew it was already overcrowded and did not recommend that direction.

As Dh and I knew we could not afford private school, and the public school where we were was not really all that great (decent, just a little overcrowded) we finally had a good discussion about homeschooling. Dh had his questions about it, had his concerns, and was ready to listen to me. He asked that I find a cover school that we would use, and then find out everything I could that I think he would want to know.

I did. I started at this one site - A to Z Home's Cool website. It is truly a wealth of information, possibly too much. I had also found a great cover school that I knew Dh would like. In addition to this, I investigated a "hybrid" school that has private school 3 days a week and homeschooling 2 days a week (we didn't choose it because they stressed Kindergarten kids sitting at desks and that was NOT a good fit for JM). I talked to people I knew and trusted who had children going to the public school we would be sending JM to. I also talked to people who had kids going to the private Kindergarten at the preschool we were sending JM (we could afford the Kindergarten there). I also knew I had Samuel at home, and he was still really little. After I finally found some homeschooling Moms to talk with, I started looking at curriculum and tried NOT to become overwhelmed.

I literally spent hours online researching things.

In keeping with the coca-cola theme

Katie learned "mine" this past week.


She picks up my Dr. Pepper cans and says "Mine!" She's again, never had any, but thinks it's got to be good if Mommy drinks it all the time.

Someone made a comment

It was something small, and while I do like to think prior to Katie I would have been offended by it, I'm not sure how offended I would have been. It was a little rude, and it was racist in that the person who made the comment took a physical characteristic of a Chinese person and applied it in an "across the board" kind of way. It was not meant as mean, or mean spirited...but it was a remark made regarding a physical characteristic of a Chinese person. It stung.

The parents made the comment that because their daughter had been squinting a lot lately due to a physical ailment that when she started talking it might be Chinese.

I know they were joking as the Mom told us the context and was laughing about it. But it still stung. It was a reminder of the comments we will get for years to come about Katie. They will come from children and adults. "Does she speak English? Does she speak Chinese? Are you her mother?" I've gotten some already, and luckily Katie is young enough to not notice. She's oblivious. Luckily as my least favorite questions have been asked in her presence, "How much did she cost?" Or "Isn't it expensive to adopt from China?" Yes it is. I don't elaborate, but if they ask how much, I typically reply, about the same as a new car.

That's probably not a good answer, but it does make them OPEN their eyes. They routinely buy new cars, think nothing of it...but to adopt a child it is expensive? I personally find that all the fees we paid to various agencies, travel, and governmental entities were all well worth it. I ALWAYS mention that many of the expenses were for the US government portion as we had to pay for fingerprints, for background checks, for papers to be notarized, authenticated (in triplicate), and had to pay shipping costs to each and every place a paper came from or was going to! Then, we had to pay for a 2 week trip to China AT THE LAST MINUTE with about 1.5 weeks notice! By this point, people are beginning to understand that YES it is expensive, but the fees for the adoption agencies and the in-country fees to the orphanage and such are NOT expensive!

Playing at a playground

Being the nice and wonderful parents that we are, we took the kids to play on a nearby large playground and park. Lovely place, nice and shady, not so many other kids around this time of year.





Katie is still a little wary around dogs, but she loves to point to them. She gets so excited to see them, but does NOT want to get close enough to pet them. Although, at the ball field she has come very close. She'll reach out her hand and get within centimeters before pulling it back.


After our fun-filled time watching the kids on the playground, we opted for a quick dinner out. The kids begged to sit outside on the patio, we caved.



I realize that there are few photos of the boys here, but honestly they were mainly blurs on the playground and we have to stick right by Katie as she's a little more adventurous than her abilities allow her to be. ;)