Crawlin' Probz

Hi Everyone, it's me, Eli. Mom let me use her blog today to let out some steam. You see, since I started crawling a few weeks ago I've had some pretty serious problems. It all started when I started crawling off my blanket, and now there's trouble all around me.

The other kids were heading outside to enjoy rare cool temperatures in August and I thought I'd join them. Little did I know that there was a glass door between me and the great outdoors. I'm gonna feel that one for a while.

Then there's this mesh stuff. I can see through it, but it won't budge. I can't figure out WHAT is so funny...


Don't even get me started on the living room coffee table. It's like a rabbit snare. Once I get caught up in that bad boy I'm done with.

I still can't figure  out what these are, but they fall over really easy. By the time I get over to them momma is jumpin and hollerin like a crazy person to keep me away from them.

These will be fun. I've just got to get someone to leave the gate open. One of these days...

 

Yeah, I've got a whole new set of probz, but life on the go is oh so much FUN!!

This is Isaiah's truck, but someday soon it will be mine! It makes really cool sounds and lights up AND it rolls, so I can get on my knees and push myself around with it. AWESOME.

 

This is my new favorite thing to do. This thing makes the MOST noise of anything else in the house. My mom and sister have a big one downstairs, but I can't reach that one yet. It won't be long though...

Our Story: And Then He Went and ot a Haircut!

Welcome back for the next chapter of Our Story. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it! It's fun to reminisce with you guys. It's been fun to hear about the parts that you remember too. Feel free to share your thoughts and memories here or on my facebook page. I'm planning to combine all these posts in a book once I'm finished, so it will be great to include your memories as part of that too.
Anyway, Manly and I had a great time emailing each other for the rest of Spring Break week. As we emailed I started to get a little flutter in my stomach each time I'd look at my inbox and see an email from him. Then something happened that I can't explain. I started feeling like he could possibly be "the one." Like all girls, I pulled out my list. You know, the one with all the traits you want in a husband. I was shocked when Manly was all the things on the list other than "must be attracted to him." Granted, "plays a instrument" was a trombone. Ha! As I looked at other things on the list(which I kept, but CAN NOT find in my box of memories from the attic) I realized what a great catch Manly was. My favorite thing from the list was "must be passionate about what he cares about." I had seen this come out in him since I'd known him, but had never really thought too much about it. The other thing that stood out to me was "pursues me." I wanted a manly man who would come after me, and that's exactly what Manly TRIED to do.
I finally decided that if he might be "the one" I could pray that I'd be attracted to him. I mean, it really shouldn't have been that big of a deal, but it was. Haha! Obviously, I didn't mention any of this to him. And, you should know, I always thought he was a cute guy. I was never repulsed by him or anything. He just wasn't they "type" I would imagine myself with, and I just wasn't physically attracted to him. My heart didn't go boom in my chest when he was around. I don't even know...
So, imagine my surprise on Monday morning before school when I got an email from him saying, "You will probably have seen me before you read this, or you probably will have heard from Ken, but I got my hair cut. A lot. People say it looks good. I hope you think so too. But I will see you later. Take it easy. -Scotty" When I got this message I just prayed that when I saw him for the first time I'd know one way or another.
So, I got to school and I was totally scanning the crowd for him. I had NO idea what to expect as he had shoulder length curly hair the last time I'd seen him. I was walking down the same hallway I'd first met him in, when all the sudden he came around the corner smiling. My heart nearly busted out of my chest. I could NOT believe what was going on. It was that moment when I knew Manly would be my forever love.

Smittle Academy Coming Soon!

My favorite time of the year is upon us. I just love fall. Maybe it's my love of cowboy boots and denim, or maybe it's hot cocoa and football games. Either way, I love fall! This year we're extra excited as we'll head to Disney in just a little over 3 weeks! With fall also comes the start of school. This year feels a little off for me. I'm not sure what it is, but to be honest I didn't really want to homeschool after the end of the year last year. I'm sure you understand that teaching 6 kids under 9 is tough! I look at the amount of kids that would be in school if we sent them to public school(this year that's three), and all I can think of is how much easier that would be for me. I'm tired, ya'll!
Then I started thinking about the bottom line. The real reason why we homeschool. We have such a privilege to teach our children at home. We are able to include any amount of scripture reading we want, we get to be there when they have those aha! moments, and we can school as a family however and whenever we want. I love that.
SO, I put on my big girl pants and decided for a new plan of attack. I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm a bit of an organizer. Ha! The last two years I've been trying to go with the more classical training of the whole child, but it's really not my style, and I just ended up being stressed out if we didn't dot every i and cross every t, and there were SO MANY i's and t's! HA! I kept trying to make it work, but it just really stressed me out and the kids weren't really getting it. SO, I decided I needed to get back to what works for me know while I've got so much going on and so many littles who aren't in school yet. If I'm doing what works for me I'll be a better teacher and the kids will enjoy learning.
After looking at everything under the sun I decided to just go straight Abeka(other than Saxon Math). I love how Abeka teaches phonics, and I'll have two young readers this year, so I'm excited about that. I also love a more classic approach to history, so I'm so excited about our worksheets and state capital quizzes! We've been using Saxon Math the entire time we've homeschooled, and that's always worked out great for us, so we'll continue to use it for now.
Are you new to homeschooling? Use whatever works for you! Don't worry about doing the latest and greatest. Don't worry about what all the other momma's are using or what looks pretty. Use what works for YOU. It will make you a better teacher/mom, and it'll make your little learners happy too! It's so easy in the homeschool circle to feel judgment from other moms, but resist, find a mom who gets you, and go with your gut. That is another freedom of homeschooling!
Are you dreading starting school? Maybe it's time to look at your fall line-up. Have a curriculum that you don't understand? Change it up! Even if you get into the year and you feel like you've come too far to turn around and get into something new. STOP. Step away from the Math-U-See(the curriculum that was NOT made for me and/or Olivia). Find something that works, then finish it out however you can. That may look like Math through the summer, but that's OK. It's yet another perk in homeschooling.
All of that to say, Smittle Academy is getting geared up for a fantastic year of school. Come Monday morning we'll be rocking the new school room Abeka style!