Back to Blogging! Update....

Well, it's been a long time! I can't believe the last post was about my decision to homeschool! We are half way through Kindergarten and I LOVE IT! God has been faithful to me through this journey and He has provided me with the strength, patience, discipline and wisdom I need to homeschool. Kolby is doing great in school...his best, most favorite subject is math...but I think it's because he is good at it :) One thing I have learned is that he doesn't like making mistakes, or getting things wrong. Hmmm, sounds a bit like myself. For me, the hardest part about homeschooling isn't teaching him to read, write or do math...it's teaching him how to deal with success and failure in a healthy, godly way. The most rewarding and exciting part has been those little moments where I see something "click"...like when I was teaching him how to count by 2s and 5s and through that, he did multiplication, by no means is he doing that yet but it was incredible to see him do it. Teaching him to read has been very challenging (in part because of the way he handles getting things wrong) but I began using the DISTAR reading program and it is working SO good and it's "clicking"! Outside of homeschooling, Kolby is doing great, he is growing into a nice, respectful, kind boy. He has a great group of friends from school and church and I am SO thankful that the Lord has provided him with such good friends, from godly families. For fun he loves swimming, riding his bike, playing football (he is a huge fan of the 49ers-brainwashed by my brother and stepdad!)playing the wii with his big sister Randi, having play dates with friends (he is VERY social) going to AWANA and of course, his favorite hobby is deer hunting-he is Deven's "mini-me". Now onto Kamryn, my sweet and sassy girl. She is still full of personality and is a little love bug half the time and a sassy pants the other half (we are working on changing that! but she is my daughter so who knows if we can help her ;)lol ) She is doing great in preschool. At the beginning of the year she had separation anxiety when she went to AWANA and preschool but now she feels at home and does great. She is always a little hesitant with new places and people so we are working on learning how to deal with that and move past those anxious feelings. Once she is over those feelings, she is a very loud, social girl. She is the most girly girl ever! She loves: pink, jewelry, swimming, sparkles, dolls, Tinker Bell, playing dress up, wearing ballet dresses and dancing around, playing with stuffed animals (she sleeps with about 30 of them, I AM NOT JOKING!), books and movies. She is such a lovey girl, she cries if she doesn't get a hug or kiss from one of us if we leave...She loves her brother and sisters and giggles all the time at Kolyn, I just love watching them all play together. Kolyn gets SO excited when she sees the kids. She is turning into quite the "opinionated", determined girl. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to tell you (sounds familiar!) Her soy allergy is calming down, I still try not to give her soy, but occasionally if I do eat it (I'm still nursing), it doesn't seem to affect her like it used to. Her 2 bottom teeth popped through last week and she is a fast army crawler, and started standing and walking along things (just a little bit). The poor kid hasn't been able to have a regular schedule because of the older kids' activities. She handles it well though, so I can't complain. Speaking of can't complain...Randi, she is almost 14 and she is such a pleasant, sweet teen. We have so much fun with her...This summer we sent her to horse camp and she found a new love, HORSES...this summer my grandma and grandpa got a horse named Piper for us to take care of and ride. We go every week to work with her, clean stalls, feed the horses (they have 7) and just to be around them. She is always so happy there, no matter what the chore is and she is always happy when we leave. I am SO thankful she has this opportunity. Well I think that's about it for the kiddos. Deven and I are doing great, he still works in Seattle all week but we are just so thankful for his job and with it, I am able to stay home with the kids, so even though it may be a struggle in some ways, it is a struggle that brings about a blessing. Deven works hard for us and when he isn't working, he is being a great dad and husband around here. Now onto me...Just busy being mommy and wife! This past month I got rid of my facebook! I can honestly say I am SO happy I did...for me it was such a distraction and the verse in 1 Thessalonians 4 that tells us: "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life,to mind your own business and to work with your hands" convicted me to the core, and for ME (not saying anyone else needs to feel this way) facebook was the complete opposite of what that verse commands of me. I am so thankful to be free of it so I can serve God, my family and anyone else who comes into my life better without such a distraction. Well...I hope to be blogging more often...my hope is to share homeschooling stories/experiences, yummy recipes and my personal thoughts on certain topics. Blessings to you!