11.25.2011

classroom re-do

since we're still new to this homeschool thing i've been spending a lot of time researching homeschool rooms online. the kids both get distracted easily, so i know i want to keep it relativly calm in the diningroom/classroom. here's what we have so far, but it's still a BIG work in progress...sorry the picture's not the best quality, i snapped it with my phone.

11.15.2011

are you smarter than a kindergartner?

so, homeschooling has been beyond fun (challenging at times, but fun). not to toot my own horn or anything but i consider myself a relatively smart person and didn't see myself having any issues teaching kindergarten (5th grade, perhaps, but not kindergarten)...enter geography...seriously? she's in kindergarten. yesterday, we were continuing our study on europe and i had to look up on google maps where germany was...hello...is it too much to ask for a teacher's manual!?!

capri in all her sweetness looked at me and said, "mama, if you don't know where it is, how will i?" here i thought i was poker facing it rather well...apparently not. but at least i'm educating not only a 2 & 5 year old, but this old broad as well. fingers crossed, i'll pass.

10.13.2011

we've come a LONG way baby!

upon reviewing our pictures from our recent family vacation to denver, co...i couldn't help but be in awe of what i was seeing. let me back up a few years. when capri came to live with us, she had been through quite a bit, to say the least. for some reason she was terrified of swings. she wouldn't even go near them. so we started praying about this phobia and trying to work with her through her fears. once we could finally get her on a playground, my husband would get on the swing to show her that if daddy did it, so could she. she has gradually moved closer and closer to swings but took years to get on one, and even then, she never smiled or enjoyed it...it was more like she was on them to appease us.

while visiting boulder, we stopped off at a playground for the kids to get some wiggles out while we visited with our friend. i looked over and to my amazement, this is what i found



yep...that's my sweet baby girl, swinging and if this were a video you'd hear...GIGGLING! she had so much fun on that swing.

it's so amazing to me that GOD blesses us, even in the little things.

9.07.2011

unchartered waters


we're preparing to take a HUGE leap of faith, like, boldly going where we've never gone before. it's scary, but it's also a chance for us to really let go and let GOD. HE has this, whether we keep taking it back from HIM or not, it's completely HIS.

whenever we take these steps, it's a chance for a deeper understanding of who HE really is. it's also a chance for our family to grow closer together and us to teach our kids what faith is all about.

we can't help but feel anxious about what's ahead, but we're reminded of Philippians 4:6, "do not be anxious about anything; but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to GOD."

so here we are...presenting our requests to GOD..."FATHER, open the doors wide if it's YOUR will, if not, slam them in our face so we know without a shadow of a doubt, that this is not the way."

the journey has only begun...

8.26.2011

TOOTHLESS GRIN


so, after nearly a year of telling people she lost a tooth (since she has a cute gap between her upper teeth)...capri finally lost a tooth yesterday! she didn't even cry...just looked up and said, "here it is!" thanks to a little help from nina, the ever so wiggly wedge came right out. had to capture the precious smile. gotta love those little milestones.

8.19.2011

fun with nana


what a blast the last two weeks were. having my mama here made my month! there is nothing better than seeing my kids loved on, they seriously ate her up. each morning, nana would come to the bottom of the steps and wake the kids up by "mewing" like a kitten...they would squeal with delight and scream "nana kitty's awake!"

some highlights for the kiddos with their nana...according to capri...

*we liked feeding the turtles cheerios and then getting tucker (our newest shelled friend), cause he's so cute and we love him.

*we loved going to dolci and joe's, and i love the cranky turkey

*we liked going on walks to the neighborhood park and finding bugs and butterflies and seeing chloe (the neighbor's dog...i think)

*oh, and we loved going to kansas city and showing nana my loose tooth (my baby girl's so big!)

so, judging by what capri has to say, i would say overall it was an AWESOME visit from my amazing mama! she had her art show at mead's corner in wichita, ks...it's still going on and we're so proud of all of her work...check it out at itiswrittenonmyheart.blogspot.com...so proud of her as an artist and so thankful for her as my mama...GOD blessed me beyond measure with her and i pray we can live closer to each other soon.

7.29.2011

act your age!?!

i don't care how old i am, or the fact that i'm married with children and moved out of my parents house over 12 years ago...it does NOT matter. what does matter!?! MY MOMMY'S FLYING TO KANSAS TONIGHT!!!!!

it's amazing how being a wife and mother i sometimes lose sight of the fact that i'm a daughter, and i need my mama....even at 32, she makes me feel like a little kid.

so, what am i planning to do with my wild mama!?! here's just few of our plans
***i'm gonna talk her ear off...and she's gonna talk mine off.
***we're going to get our hair "did"...cause my roots are freaking me out
***girl's pamper day...complete with pedicure and coffee
***beinets and praline bacon breakfast...mmm bacon
***kingdom comedy club...christian comedy club, it's clean and fun
***the hubby's softball tournament...please GOD let it be under 100 degrees
***we're going to laugh...it's what we do best
***HERE'S MY FAVORITE...putting up her artwork at mead's corner in wichita

i'm so proud of her, not only is she one of my best friend's, but she's a VERY talented artist. if you get a minute, check out her blog www.itiswrittenonmyheart.blogspot.com

7.23.2011

All About 'Pri

you know those crazy facebook surveys? well, for fun, we thought capri should answer the questions.

1) What is your salad dressing of choice?
"um, well, i don't love salad."

2) What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
"dolci & joes, maybe 5 guys"

3) What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of?
"well, i like dinner"

4) What are your pizza toppings of choice?
"salmon in kansas city"

5) What do you like to put on your toast?
"nana's jam"

6) How many televisions are in your house?
"i don't know, but i like to watch fresh beat band"

7) What color cell phone do you have?
"pink with princesses"

8) Are you right-handed or left-handed?
"what does that mean?"

9) Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
"what were they called again?" (adnoids) "oh yeah, altoids"

10) What is the last heavy item you lifted?
"your purse, remember mama? oh, it's so heavy"

11) Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
"i don't remember" (hehehe)

12) If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
"i wanna be in the rat pack, how 'bout blue eyes" (not sure where that came from!)

13) How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
"oh, i love flit lops"

14) Last person you talked to?
"mama, i talkin' to you now"

15) Last person you hugged?
"daddy and gaven"

16) Favorite Holiday?
"my birthday cause i'm gonna be 6"

17) Favorite day of the week?
"monday"

18) Favorite Month?
"december 1st is my birthday"

19) First place you went this morning?
"dolci and joes for breakfast"

20) What's the last movie you saw?
"annie" (then she burst into "tomorrow"...ahh the joys of annie)

21) Do you smile often?
"i smile when i'm happy"

22) Do you always answer your phone?
"mama, you won't let me"

23) What flavor drink do you get at Sonic?
"oh, i love that cranberry one, with ice"

24) Have you ever had a pet fish?
"i like to eat fish and salmon, that's a fish, but i don't pet them" (PETA would not be happy about that answer)

25) Favorite Christmas song?
"maybe jingle bells"

26) What's on your wish list for your birthday?
"i want a new kitchen with a paddle that fits in my drawer"

27) Plans tonight?
"i wanna go to the basement and play with my toys"

28) Name 3 things you bought yesterday.
"we went to target, we bought a toy box, homework and big boy panties for gaven"

i think she needs to fill out my surveys from now on...her answers are WAY more entertaining then mine. have a blessed day!!!

7.20.2011

manna for moms

i've started doing a "mom" devotional each day while the kiddos have breakfast. it's such an amazing time to fill up my tank before i pour into theirs. at first i was just resourcing from biblegateway.com...which i liked, but then i fell upon an amazing site... called manna for moms. (www.MannaForMoms.com) the author, megan breedlove, has great mom perspective. i feel like she's real and i can also do a search for specific topics which is nice on those hard mornings when the house is a mess, the kids are a mess and i am a mess!

also, i want to report, that homeschool is still going great. i feel like the attachment issues we've been having with capri seem to completely subside during "school." i'm seeing her lightbulb go on right before my eyes, and there's nothing better!!! my relationship with the LORD has never been stronger as i feel that i'm a conduit for HIM when i'm teaching. capri keeps asking more and more about GOD...how cool is that!?!

7.06.2011

THAT'S MY GIRL!!!

after only four weeks of homeschooling...capri read her first word today!!!! i shouldn't be as proud as i am, but really, how can i not be!?! she's had such a difficult go of things and to see the lightbulb go on literally takes my breath away. i am SO enjoying homeschooling, sure, there are times it's hard, but i know that i'm doing what's best for them and GOD is giving me patience during school that can only come from HIM. I've loved seeing gaven get excited too. he's learning his colors and he's picking up a lot from the BIBLE stories too. capri can tell you every BIBLE character we've learned about since the day we started...her favorite...malachi!!!

7.04.2011

St. Louis Arch

we had a great time visiting st. louis and our hotel was directly across the street from the st. louis arch. the kids had a blast going up in the elevator to look out over the city...mama, not so much (i HATE heights), but i put on my big girl panties and pretended like i was enjoying it (even if the pictures say otherwise).

daddy with capri linay

the girlie against the arch

little man being a goofball!

6.20.2011

i'm tryin'...

i've been trying to post videos on our blog for months and it isn't working. the kids are getting so big and i feel like a failure that i haven't kept this up. so, here is my attempt at starting this up again.

what's happened since our last post...A LOT!!!

capri is growing up before our eyes. she completed "capri" school and is gearing up for kindergarten...kindergarten at home...yep, after months of wrestling with GOD, HE won...i started homeschooling before school ended and now, after much prayer, we are having school wednesday thru saturday (since i'm still working @ the church) and it's going very well. when asked if i have the patience to do this, my answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! but with GOD i do, because HE called me to do this. we're pleased with how quick she's learning and i love seeing the bond grow between the two of us. (she's been having attachment issues over the past year as well, but with prayer, patience and a CHRISTIAN psycologist, we're slowly overcoming this...being adopted comes with it's issues, but we wouldn't have it any other way with our miracle girl).

now for gaven...what a hoot! right now we are in the midst (or rather "mist") of potty training...i would say 75% successful (but the remaining 25% makes me want to throw in the towel!) he's been homeschooling as well and is picking up a lot of what i'm teaching capri. he's quite the entertainer & can sing "tomorrow" in it's entirety, which is pretty impressive at only 2...althought i'm sure his dad would much prefer a more manly song. i have a video that i will try and get on here...it's hilarious.

okay, so now, the plan is to keep this up. i have tons of pictures to post, so i will try and do that over the next few weeks. thanks for being patient!

here's why i do what i do...