What have you been up to?

I get this question a lot. I always just say, "Oh, nothing much." I know most of you are probably guilty of this too. People usually don't really want a laundry list of all the things that we do to keep ourselves busy, so it is just easier to say "not much" or "same old stuff". So why do people ask?
Well, when I stop to think about what I have really been up to, this is what comes to mind. . .Kurt plays baseball. He has games on Saturdays and Sundays. This makes for a busy weekend.

Craig plays baseball. He had several practices and games through the week. He actually had a short season this summer (long story) but is looking forward to getting on a travel team soon, so that will also keep us busy on the weekends and he will be playing basketball when it starts this fall.


John plays soccer. Again, practices and games through the week. I believe that he has decided to play basketball this fall. So again. . . crazy schedule through the week.Katie loves to dance. Thank goodness this only takes up one evening a week. She was in Lyrical class this past year, but has decided to try Jazz again this year. We will see what she ends up doing. She changes her mind a lot. LOL
And last but not least, Amilynn does gymnastics one day a week. She loves gymnastics!!
For the record, I am not fond of this pose, Katie took her up for the pictures and this was the pose they selected. Live and learn, next year I will go with her and help her pick out a different pose.

On top of all these activities we have Church and youth group activities most of Sunday.
And we have been hosting a boy from Hungary for one month this summer. I love hosting for a month during the summer, last year we hosted a boy from Spain. It is a great opportunity to learn about another country. We have very much enjoyed having our host student, but it does add to the chaos, but in a good way.

So think about all of this the next time you are going to ask someone, "What have you been up to?"

My children/Why Homeschooling?

(Taken when we had A's 4th birthday party. This photo was taken by C.)

(This photo was taken at the boy's soccer tournament. The girls were supposed to be cheering for the boys.)

(For Christmas 2007, C got his own drum set. Here he is playing at church.)

(C really likes to be active in sports and in addition to playing soccer for the home school team he also played basketball.)

(In 2007, C and J both got to play soccer for the home school team: the Crusaders)

(In 2005, J's painting was entered into an Art Competition.)

(J really enjoyed his time at the art competition, especially when he got to make a clay pot.)

(taken in 2005, before K took a class to learn how to knit.)

Well, you may all be asking yourselves, "Why in the world would she home school her children?"
I always rejected the idea right away, always made excuses as to why I would "NEVER" do it. My favorite excuse was, "I don't have the patience for it?" They say "never say never" for a reason.
Just before bringing A home from China in June of 2007, we were asking ourselves what we would do the following year. The children were attending a local Christian School and I was working in the office. My entire paycheck was going back to the school for tuition, sports fees, uniforms, lunches, etc. After looking at many options--none of them being home schooling--it was time to make a decision. I really felt lead one day to look into home schooling. I knew where the feeling was coming from but wanted to reject it. REALLY wanted to reject it. But after some prayer, investigation into curriculum, research about the laws for homeschooling in our state, and more prayer, I began to get excited about the idea.
It's kind of a funny story that when we asked the children about it they were all on board right away and I kept asking them, "Have you prayed about it?" They would say, "Yes! We did and we still want to do it!!" For about two weeks my response to them was, "Well, go pray some more!!" I was still in denial about what God was telling me to do.
After much prayer we made the decision to home school all of the kids. We named our homeschool: Soaring Eagles Academy. We had a little inspiration for choosing this name.

We know that the decision to home school was the right one. Although we have had a few trials and errors this year, we have drawn closer and have had a very good year.
I am currently very excited about getting prepared for next year. Researching curriculum can be very exciting and can give you a major headache all at the same time. In addition to researching curriculum I am also working on a new schedule for our day. I try to be very organized--it just doesn't always show through.
We have also been busy during the year with sports, extra curricular activities and much more.
The boys both played soccer for the home school team. C played basketball for them as well. C is getting ready to start baseball for the Parks and Rec and has taken drum lessons this year. J took an art class that he enjoyed very much. Ever since he was able to go to the Art competition in 4th grade, he has really enjoyed doing different art projects. The boys are also becoming more involved with their youth group at church. K did gymnastics for a few months then decided she would wait until the fall and get back into jazz classes. K also took a knitting class and made a couple of good friends. A is in gymnastics and is very much enjoying it. Needless to say, we do stay very busy and the kids have lots of social time.
I believe it is one of the greatest joys of my life that I am able to home school my children.

"Everything is possible for him who believes." Mark 9:23