Philippines Vacation 1

I thought it would be nice to give an update on our first vacation to the Philippines. We arrived at midnight on May 11th, in Manila. That was after a total travel time of 18..5..hhr and a 2hr layover in Chicago. We then had an almost 5hr layover in Manila to take a domestic flight to the island of Negros Oriental to the city of Bacolod. Then we had about a 3hr van ride to Mabinay which is where my mom's family is at. The kids did awesome. We were all exhausted when we got there but the kids acted like they were wide awake ((ffor a few hours anyway). Brandon was able to get the kids involved in a few games right away like Set, and Bingo, and Uno. For a couple of days we were adjusting to the time change by sleeping in 6hr chunks no matter what time of day it was. Eventually the kids became good friends with their cousins, especially Jess and Gretski. They fought over them often.... May repeatedly would say Jess is her best friend.. It was adorable!

We celebrated my mom's birthday on Thursday with fresh Lechon ((pppig) that you could hear squealing at 5am. Family came in from other areas to see us, the Pastor from the Baptist Church we go to when we come came to do a mini service with us and bless our family and wish my mom a happy birthday. It was really nice and touching. I was often asked when we would be back and there was//iis lots of heaviness in my heart because the truth is I really don't know..

We left for the island of Cebu on Saturday the 19th. We took a bus to the ferry followed by the ferry ride and then another bus to Cebu City.. Total travel time was 9hr with waiting times factored in. We settled into the hotel, world went to the mall across the street for dinner and called it an early night.

I will update more on our trip in a day or two... It is almost 1am here and we have an early start tomorrow.

Till next time,
Chrissy

Our first homeschool year...

I figured I really want to get back into this so I need to update more often...the problem is - I am not sure what to share!

We have fully wrapped up and finished our first year of homeschooling!  Yay!  Brandon has officially finished the first grade and we are all so excited and relieved (at least I am).  It was fun, stressful at times, amazing at times, and overall a learning experience for all of us.  Tim took the role of being Principal majority of the time (lol) and he also taught math majority of the time.  I would teach the rest of the subjects.  Our days typically started with morning routine (breakfast, teeth brushing, getting dressed, etc) followed by Bible, Language Arts (phonics), Reading, Social studies, Science, Computers, Art and then Math in the evening with dad.  We used a curriculum called Christian Light Education which is made by mennonites and in a workbook format.  He enjoyed it for the most part but it did get boring about half way through.  I thought he would love this curriculum because it is self directed once he learned to read to directions and it has lots of workbooks so he would feel like he was accomplishing something...I soon realized he just didn't care for that and he wanted more hands on..more moving.  I also supplemented with Konos but it was extremely planning intensive that I couldn't do it.  I LOVE the program but I couldn't keep up with it since it required so much planning ahead of time...obviously not a good fit for me.  This is a great characted based curriculum that I really wanted to make work for us...I was so stressed that I couldn't keep doing it.
 
Next year we will be trying out Adventures in My Father's World.  It is more hands on mixed in with lots of classical literature (which both kids love to read books and be read to a lot).  We will be using Singapore Math for his math curriculum since it works more with mental math and is mastery based.  We will be using Bob Jones University English for phonics and Reading.  I am so excited for next year I hope and pray that this is a good fit for us! Per Brandon's request we will be doing some computer stuff too I am just not sure what yet...

There you have it...a short synopsis on our first year homeschooling.  It definitely wasn't easy but it is what works for us.  He has a great group of friends that he gets to see often.  He is in a couple of homeschool groups and he is academically right on if not above his grade level for the most part. Now to enjoy the summer :-)

To finish of the year the kids wanted to do a crazy hair day...so Brandon colored his hair blue and green, Maya colored hers pink and purple, and of course they had to do mine too...I got all four colors (but no pictures were taken - darn)....here are some random pictures of the kids...enjoy!

Coming Back Soon!

I am fully aware that I have been slacking.  Part of it is because I am not sure anyone really reads this thing or keeps tabs on what I have to share but I have come to the realization that I have to get over :-)

There are some that would like to know what we are up to and how we are doing so I figured I should get back into this somehow, someway and what better time than at this very moment when I am actually at the computer, awake and able to post - forget the fact that it is 1am on a Wednesday night and my kids will be up bright and early ready to go around 7am...oh well, life goes on...

It has definitely been a very long time since I have posted so I will share some 'updates' so to speak.

•  Brandon had an interesting kindergarten year with Livingston Christian School. He was officially diagnosed with ADD, failed a hearing test that then required T tube placement, he received the Timothy Award for persuasiveness, and did really well academically. 

• Maya has gotten pneumonia every year since being born and has since been diagnosed with asthma officially and we did start flovent, however, with the very mild Michigan winter this year she didn't stay on it.  She still has blue eyes and has blonde streaks in her hair :-)

• We went on our first family vacation last summer to Disney World!  Of course we decided to go when it was the absolute hottest (August) but there wasn't really a choice when vacation scheduling goes over the summer due to my work schedule.  We visited SeaWorld and we were there for a whole week!  We even got to have Lola and Grandma and Grandpa join us!  It was so much fun - I think the kids will remember this for a while (or at least we hope so anyway)....Check out the pictures below from our trip :-)

• Perhaps the one of the biggest news and change that has occurred is that we have just about finished our first year homeschooling! Yay!  Now that we have gotten into a nice swing of things, we are just about finished (I figured this is how it would happen).  Brandon has learned tons and really enjoys being at home.  He is involved in soccer and gymnastics, as well as a couple of homeschool groups where we go on fieldtrips and do different things (one thing he loved this year was the monthly book report where he gives an oral report on a book he read the previous month in front of approx. 20 other people).  We've learned what not to do as part of his learning and what changes we would like to make. More on this in another post perhaps...

• The other biggest news is that we will be venturing on our First Family Trip to the Philippines!  We will be gone for almost 3 weeks!  I can't wait and we are all super excited and nervous!  It will quite an experience...

So there are the quick updates...I will post more as I can and as I get more ideas on what to share...Till next time

Road Trip to Alabama!

We finally went on our first family road trip!  Out of places we decided to go to Huntsville, Alabama in the middle of August (it was 90+)!  We went to visit some friends of ours, Mike and Brianna and their two little ones, Tyler and Kalen.  The kids are very close in age to Brandon and Maya, in fact Bri used to watch Brandon when I was finishing nursing school.  It was so nice to be able to go visit and spend time with them.

While there we went and checked out the Davidson Space Center which was really cool and exciting.  The kids liked checking out all the cool exhibits from trying to push up a rocket to learning how to make a lava lamp and more.  There was a cool Mars ride and a rock climbing wall too!  We didn't get to see everything as it is huge and the kids were just tired of it all after a couple of hours but it was fun and we will have to visit it again next time!  Here are just a couple of pics from our visit to the Space Center.

A kid gravity ride...Kalen even went on Tyer and Brandon!

Brandon and Tyler plugging their nose and eating a Jelly Bean to see what it feels like to eat like an astronaut - kind of funny...

Brandon climbing to the top of the rock wall

Tim and I had to do the rock wall too :-)

The next couple days after that we went to a few different places.  The kids played a ton together and got along so well - hardly any arguing at all!  tim and I got to play in their church softball tournament which was fun.  I got stung by a wasp for the first time in over 20 years to find out when we returned that I am indeed alergic to them.  I even ran with some of the girls from the church one morning (3.5miles)!  We went to a splash pad in downtown Huntsville, we went to Point Mallard in Decatur, AL, and we went out on the lake in Bri's Dad's boat.  We had a wonderful time that was so relaxing (yet busy) and so nice to get away!  Thank you to Mike and Bri for having us (and Bri's Dad for taking us out on the boat) and we will definitely have to come again if you'll let us :-) Enjoy the rest of the pics...

Brandon and Tyler playing with Dominos

Kalen and Maya enjoying frozen Gogurt

Brandon and Maya at the splash pad

Maya and I in the lake...she loved laying on her back!

Brandon and Tyler taking a break from swimming...

Couldn't leave out a picture of Tim and I :-)

Brandon and Tyler on the tube!

Remembering Lola

Chrissy's Grandma (Lola) passed away at the end of July - on the same day as her grandfather 3 yrs ago.  She was 87 years old.  

My mom and I went to visit her in March of this year because we had heard that she wasn't doing very well and that if we wanted to see her alive then we should go right away to see her.  I am glad we did - she didn't look the greatest then and was quite surprised that she lived as long as she did.  I have a few pictures that I am sharing from our trip there.  My mom and I find it very strange that on both of her parents death certificates and on Aaron's will all be the same day - July 31st...makes one ponder...

 

Lola and my hand

Me and Lola

My Aunts and Uncles with Lola

My mom, Aunt Gina, Aunt Sara and Lola

Aunt Sara, me, cousin Gretchen and Lola

My mom with teddy that she had to do for Brandon :-)

My next post will be more upbeat and positive I hope :-)  We have been doing some fun things this summer that I will share some pictures later.  Most notably, Brandon has been enjoying some swim lessons and is doing awesome, he has also done a horse camp.  Both kids have enjoyed bike rides, trail rides (with Tim and I running), time at the pools, visiting some friends occasionally and we will be going on our first road trip here in just over a week.  We are going to visit some friends in Alabama for a few days...it will be exciting to getaway for a little bit. 

Hard to believe...

It is so hard to believe that July is almost over and Brandon will be starting kindergarten this year.  Only a month left and he will be in school 5 days a week all day...where does the time go?  Maya has been talking more and more...she is putting things together and letting her personality shine through...I love it! 

This has been a rough month for me and not sure why entirely...I've been thinking a lot about Aaron and I am sure it doesn't help that I work with Cancer kids and their families.  I LOVE the unit I work on but I do find that it takes a toll on me and I know God has a purpose for me there; I just sometimes wonder if I am really strong enough.  I hate crying in front of others and I don't like showing emotion to those not close to me...maybe it's time for me to let go and let it out when it comes....who knows?...

Tim sent me an email awhile ago about a contest to win a free book...I didn't get time to do it but the request made me think...it was writing about your life story and how important it really is.

I've lived a life full of all sorts of stuff and I am not sure many people even know all the things I've done, I am thankful that I even have the chance to tell my stories and that I am where I am today because I sure don't think I deserve it.  I've put my parents and extended family through it all and I am sure I haven't told them enough how thank ful I am for all that they have done for me...I am sure I haven't apologized enough for all the bad things I did and for causing them so much worry and heartache.  I am sorry and I hope one day everyone will be able to forgive me for it.  I often wonder if we had to deal with the struggles of Aaron at such a young age because of all that I did before he blessed our lives...

Eventually I will write my stories and let them be know at least to our children but I don't think I am ready to divulge all of that just yet...mainly because I am not sure I have forgiven myself for it all.  I have asked God for forgiveness and I know He has...it's an internal struggle that I am still attempting to overcome.

Sorry to get sappy...this is how I have been the past few weeks...periods of crying with periods of pure joy that I get from spending time with my family.  I LOVE watching my kids laugh and play...hug and kiss...grow and learn...I miss Aaron and the fact that I can't be with him to watch all these same things.  9yrs and it still is hard...I remember bringing him home for the last time and July 31st is his birthday in Heaven.  We miss you Aaron and think about you often.  We love you!

Freedom!

Happy Belated 4th of July to Everyone!

I was really bad this year and didn't take any pictures on the holiday this year.  I really just enjoyed having the day off of work and spending time with the family.  I was able to get 6 days off of work around the holiday and it was greatly needed.  I have been working tons - averaging 8 hrs of overtime every two weeks and some times I got 12 hrs.  In addition, I have been training to become chemo-certified as well as a Bone Marrow Transplant Nurse.  I have since completed both and can now push certain chemotherapy drugs and care for transplant patients (which is scary and nerve wrecking!). 

I really LOVED having the kids watch the fireworks this year.  Maya LOVED them...she kept pointing and making loud noises whenever she saw one in the sky - it was darn cute!

Brandon had the opportunity to participate in shooting off a rocket or two and of course play with sparklers. 

The biggest downside to the holiday festivities was the mosquitos!  They were horrible!  It didn't make us go inside but we kinda wished we did later when we were home and itching all over.

Next post I will hopefully post Maya's 18 mont pictures.  She wasn't very cooperative this time around...I couldn't get any good pictures and when I tried to take her in she screamed at the photographer and told him, 'No, No!'  She also proceeded to throw the toys and items he gave her right at him and scream at him...it was quite a sight to see and we tried twice!  Then, I gave up.  Maybe her 2 yr pictures will be better...

Here are the kiddos on the tractor at Dominos farm