Only a few tears

Week one of the 2013-14 school year is in the books. The girls worked hard and had good attitudes (most of them anyway). Some things are coming back to memory from last year and others are not. The school day is longer for the older girls, so finding things for the little one is proving a little more challenging. I am proud of Hannah who is willing to take on the challenge of doing algebra and geometry simultaneously. Thankfully, she is already half-way thru algebra, so it makes it a little easier. Emily is not thrilled school is taking longer, but she is handling it well. 

The next few weeks will be interesting with more activities being added to the schedule.  In addition to tennis for Hannah and Emily, that is in full swing, art, drama, and piano will be starting after Labor Day. We will be running hither,thither, and yonder till October.  It will be crazy, but over in October.

Hubby has started his grad classes back again too.  He is taking 2 classes this semester which is going to be killer because his professors are requiring alot of work this time.  He has all of this in addition to the church work, the occasional helping me run kids somewhere, and making it to as many tennis games as he can. Can you see why we are looking forward to our vacation? 

This weekend we are looking forward to having Noel's dad in town.  The grill will be in full force preparing all sorts of goodies.  One good thing when we have family come up, projects around the house get done that we put off. The girls are very excited for their granddaddy to come up.  They were hoping he would get to see one of their tennis matches.

Emily with her double partner Kaitlyn in their match @ CSG Tennis Day.

Hannah in her first match as a high schooler

Please click on this banner and vote for my blog. If you can, please leave me a comment on their website.

First Day of School - 2013

My summer has been hijacked. Is it really time to start back? Didn't we just finish school? Our summer was filled with 4H projects and fairs, 4 camps, swimming, tennis, and finishing projects around the house.  The girls were not excited about starting this early, but with tennis season already underway and a vacation coming in November, we started this morning.  Many discussions over dinner were held between hubby and I about what we were doing and what goals we wanted for the girls.  With a freshman, we are getting in college prep mode - YIKES!!

So, this morning we started the 2013-14 year for the Dear School for Girls today! Hannah is a freshman, Emily a 7th grader, and Rae a 2nd grader.  We are working on trying some new things in our school, but with several the same.  Hubby is being even more involved this year with subjects for Hannah.  I am so thankful that I married a math major! The girls are really ready for band, drama, and art to start so they can see their friends again. Emily is excited she is old enough to go to Teen Night.

Tennis season is going strong. Both girls have already had matches, and it plans to be an exciting and busy season. We will be running between middle school and high school matches and practices.  I am thankful for parents in our neighborhood who can carpool for tennis.

Here's to a successful school year. Ready or not here we go!

The Basement Remodel

This process started over a year ago. Since we homeschool, we try to have an area dedicated to our school room stuff. When we moved in our current house, the extra bedroom was our school room. After adding Rae to our family, the schoolroom became her bedroom. Our school stuff and all my office stuff was moved to the playroom and the basement.  Emily had to do school in the dining room, and all the other stuff was a mess and disorganized. It made doing school hard and the landing in the basement was always in a state of disarray.

Last year we came up with the idea of turning the storage area in the basement into an office and new schoolroom.  This area had been our workout space, but since joining the gym, we no longer used it as that.  It became the best solution.  I needed a place where we could be organized.  I also wanted a desk that was not a 6 ft. folding table.

This summer we decided we were going to finish what we started last year.  We had been working this past year to get our home more organized, and this was the last area to conquer.  So, this past weekend it was finished (almost).  A great deal of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this project, but we are so happy with the results. I now have an awesome set up for school, crafting, sewing, and my office. We even have been able to get my photography lighting set up in part of the playroom.

Sealing the wall to get ready to add shelving for storage

The disorganized mess!

The walls are up.  The other side will be our storage or the "tunnel" as the girls call it.

My office area which also serves as the area for crafting and sewing.

School books and one kiddo's desk. The other one is on the other side of the short bookshelf.

This is the view from my desk.  The curtain hides all the house's mechanical stuff.  The table is for group projects and fabric cutting.

I am so thankful for this all to be done.  My hubby worked hard, and I am very thankful for him and his abilityto do little projects like this. There are a few little things left to do, but it is ready to go.  We just feel sorry for the trash man who has to pick up all the things we got rid of.

Don't forget to click on this banner and vote for my blog.

Has it been that long?

Two years ago today, the girls and I were working on cleaning out the basement storage. We were working hard, when my phone rang. It was a call from Virginia. I thought it was odd for our agency to call out of the blue. We had been waiting several months on those late night calls when referrals would come in, but our phone never rang on the those nights. So, I answered the phone, and it was Amy our coordinator. She said that they had just received a referral for a 6 year old girl whose special need was a maybe on our list.  Did we want to look at her file? Yes, we were interested in looking at her file.  After trying to get hubby on the phone, we looked at her file and happily sad yes to this little girl whose smile we fell in love with.  What a journey it has been, but one we would do over again.

Funny that today we are still working on the basement, but it is now being turned into our new schoolroom/craft room/office (will post pics later).

Here Comes Summer !

School has kinda ended for us. There are a few things left to do, but our end of year testing is over. So, I called the official end, and we promise to work hard in August. We are also still working on finishing their 4H projects. It almost doesn't feel like summer since things haven't slowed down too much. The girls are still doing tennis. Hannah and Emily got home this past weekend from their respective camps and conferences. Rae and I had a good time at home without dad and her sisters. We did have to cut a few things out of our schedule, but we still had some fun. Emily went to Pioneer Camp at Sky View Ranch. She had a great time and made new friends. She stayed the week in "Conestoga wagons", camp under the stars, ride horses, visit an Amish farm/zoo, and learn more about Jesus. This was her second year to attend this camp, and she cannot wait to go again next year. Hannah along with Noel attended Student Leadership 101 in Orlando. She was able to learn more about becoming a Christian leader and set under some great teaching of top Christian leaders. I am happy she came back with some more focus on being the best she can be. This past Saturday, I was glad to have all my family back together after being a week apart. This week has started off with a bang. Rae had an IVIG treatment to get ready for her second eye surgery next week. This week at church is also VBS. It is fun working along side my girls and seeing Rae have fun in her class. She loves having Ms. Beth. It is had to believe Hannah and Emily are old enough to work in VBS now. I still remember their first time going to VBS - Polar Expedition. My how time flies. Rae is loving the singing and crafts. It is just fun seeing all the kids at church learning about Jesus. I will try to post pics later. I am having issues with my computer.

Tuesday Flashback Fun

I was looking thru some photos from last year and found this one. It was a nice warm day and we were getting the "redneck" slip-n-slid ready for Memorial Day. She loved playing in the scooter, but no the slid too much. She has changed so much in a year.

18 Months

Has it really been 18 months since that day in Chengdu when Yang Rui became Rae Michelle Dear. A LOT has happened in the last 18 months. There have been great days and some horrible days. God has blessed us with this amazing little girl who is full of wonder and many questions. She is making great strides in her language thanks to her awesome speech therapist. We seem to have her blood disorder more manageable, and we do not have to do weekly platelet counts.  She will have have her second eye surgery (hopefully the last)this summer. She has also been seizure free which is truly a miracle.  She has defied science and baffled doctors of how well she is doing. We do still have a medical thing or two creep in occasionally (like missing a permanent tooth and no wisdom teeth), but we mostly just laugh and move on.

Yes, we found out she is missing a permanent tooth, one of the front teeth.  I just laughed when the dentist told me, what else was I to do.  Thanks to our wonderful orthodontist, we are waiting till all her permanent teeth come in before they do an implant.  Thankfully she has plenty of space in her mouth.

Rae is an amazing little girl, and it is fun to watch her get excited about things and learn new things. Our family has been so blessed by her.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for her.

Our first family photo 18 months ago

Please click on this banner and vote for our blog.