School Choice

Every year, we consider whether we want to homeschool for another year--it's very much a year to year decision around here (OK, honestly, sometimes it's day to day!). With the way our school systems are set up down here, we have to be thinking about it before the school year is even half over--to put the kids into public school for the next year, we have to enroll them in January/March, or else we are probably not going to get into the public school we would like (even if it's the closest one to us). Usually, we have gotten to this point in the year and have not been interested in changing our situation.

This year, though, that has changed. We are in our sixth full year of homeschooling (which sounds like a long time to me!), and I'm getting tired and discouraged, and a bit overwhelmed. I am strong in believing that homeschooling was the right choice for us up to now, but at this point, I'm thinking we're ready to move on, both for my benefit and more especially for the children.

We haven't decided yet, and just thinking through it for the past few weeks is alternately stressful, liberating, overwhelming, depressing, and a little bit hopeful. If we choose public school, we have just a few more days to get their names in for the lottery. We are actually considering private school as an option, too, for a variety of reasons (the main question being which child to sell so that we can afford it...just kidding! But if they are in school, I might even be able to work some! which, in turn, might help pay for that option).

Obviously, there is a lot more going on in my head than just the above, but it's too much for a blog post (and will get too overwhelming to put on paper!). I just wanted to share in a general way that this is going on, and if you are the praying type, I'd appreciate your prayers as we make this decision. In the next week and a half.

Merry Christmas 2010

I wondered if I should put this blog address on our Christmas card or not this year, since I've fallen into a pattern of unfortunately rare updates, but I decided I wanted to keep it if I could, so I guess my New Year's resolution will be to actually get here and get some content up for you!

It's been a good year for our family, for which I am thankful. Andy decided at the beginning of the year that in addition to completing his MDiv through Fuller last year, that he would go ahead and pursue ordination as a "teaching elder" in the EPC as well. In May, he took a series of written exams (you don't even need to ask, of course he aced them); in June, he and I flew out together to Denver for our "regional" presbytery meeting for the oral exams. And this fall, our church had the ordination service and now I'm married to Reverend Andy Cornett. Which makes us both laugh a lot...not because it's funny, but because it is. His job isn't changing, his calling to ministry isn't changing...but now he has a title. It's funny on the one hand, but I will say that I am very proud of him.

The children have thrived as well...we continue to homeschool, and they seem to learn and grow in spite of their teacher. I counted on my fingers and realized that somehow this is my sixth year of homeschooling, which seems like I ought to have a better grasp on it by now than I think I do. But I'm thankful for the opportunity to challenge them where they can take it, help them where they need it, and to watch their minds grow. And, I confess, having the flexibility in our schedule is great, because Andy's work (and mine) don't always quite match up with a public school schedule. We started early because it was too hot outside to play, and spent December with a bit lighter schedule than otherwise because I was designing Christmas cards for clients! They also continue in soccer and ballet, and really enjoy all of it.

My photography business has rolled right along, and I continue to learn new things about running a business, taking pictures, and internet/web stuff, oddly enough. I've met new people this year, and taken new pictures of old clients, and kept myself reasonably busy. I also inadvertently stumbled into helping our friends Mark and Mylissa redesign the Habitat for Hope website, which was both fun and a challenging way to learn a lot in a short period of time.

If I try to say too much more here, I'll never hit publish on this, so I'm just going to leave you with a sequence of images showing what happened on my first attempt to capture the kids for our family Christmas card:




I'm sure that I don't need to explain that we ended up doing a "take two" on our family Christmas card session. I'm really thankful that my clients' children handle this better than my own!

Merry Christmas to any of you who visited our little blog, and a very happy New Year as well!

rebuilding

Last week we experienced a wonderful gift--a family within our church gave us the use of their family beach home in Sandbridge, Virginia, for a vacation. It was unbelievably wonderful. Basically, our days ran something like this:

1. get up (unbelievably early for some reason, no sleeping in on this vacation)
2. drink coffee
3. eat breakfast
4. go to the beach for a few hours
5. come back to eat lunch at the house
6. nap
7. go back to the beach for a few hours
8. eat one of andy's fabulous dinners
9. watch another episode of "How I Met Your Mother"
10. crash

Exciting times, yes? We loved it, every single minute! There was not a lot to do except enjoy the perfect weather, and contemplate small matters, and build sand castles. This part really fascinated me, because every time we went to the beach (twice a day), we (I use the term loosely here) built another sand castle, knowing full well that the next high tide would obliterate it.
This fact alone really intrigued me, because honestly, I hate having to redo certain jobs every. single. day. Like unloading the dishwasher. Washing dirty clothes. Loading the dishwasher. Sweeping dog hair off of the floor. Shaving my legs (TMI? Sorry about that.). And here we were, blithely doing work that we knew, without a doubt, would be destroyed within hours.

I wondered how God feels about the work that he does in our life sometimes--whether he gets excited when we make spiritual "progress" in an area, like prayer, or reading our Bible, or serving others, even while he knows that in a day or a week or a month, we'll get distracted or bored and move on, only to be reignited in another day, week, or month, and do it all over again. Does God enjoy our baby steps of trying to build godly lives? Even though our selfish hearts will often wash away the work, so that it has to be done again? Does he view it like I view dishes? Or is he more like Andy with cooking yet another delightful meal (thank you, Lord, that he enjoys it so much)? Or is he like my children, building sandcastles, doing the same work again with joy?

completely random

Many apologies for neglecting this poor blog for so long. There's really just no excuse for it! The spring around here has just been kind of nonstop busy and I think all I will do here is just share a really random, stream of consciousness kind of list of what's been happening around here:

• Andy is almost done with his master's degree. I feel like he's the Little Engine That Could. "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." He had a class in January, is currently flying to Houston for four Friday/Saturday classes, and will be in Orlando at RTS for his last class. Which is apparently two classes. It's added just a bit of chaos to the spring.
• I've been taking a lot of pictures. It's been fun.
• I've also been a featured photographer for the company which produced my blog theme. Really really fun, although it has resulted in some extra email.
  
• My dad is in Ireland right now. With my uncle.
• Andy planned and executed a major drama/presentation/something with his students in April. It was kind of an exploration of who Jesus is, called The Jesus Journey. Michael had a migraine, so the kids and I left early, but it was well received.
• I dropped my camera last week as I was climbing out of the car after an evening at the beach. The camera was fine, the expensive lens which was attached to it was not. Shipped it off to Canon the next day for repairs. About half of the cost will be covered by my insurance, which is awesome. State Farm has been fabulous and fast.
• I replaced my desktop a month ago and have given my "old" computer to the kids to learn on. The graphics card on it went bad just two days ago. If it had been my primary computer right now I would be freaking out. Thankfully it is even still under warranty and a new card is on its way.
• The line to our icemaker/water dispenser is apparently leaking somewhere under the fridge. And has been for a while. Oh snap.
• The kids and I are all just about ready for school to be done this year.
• We adopted a new puppy from the local humane society just over a month ago. His name is Judah. Oddly enough, it took us about two weeks to realize how closely he resembles Emma. For now. Supposedly he will be rather a large dog. Larger than Emma. So far, he is mostly very sweet, and he loves to be wherever we are, especially if we are in the kitchen (not just for cooking; he also loves to be underfoot when I'm unloading the dishwasher, making an already challenging task slightly dangerous). The only issues we've been having are related to the differences between puppy play (wrestling, jumping, nipping) and children play (squealing, running, squealing). Mostly, though, he is a darling, more or less.
• The kids, my dad, and I are all going with Andy on the high school work trip to New Orleans at the end of June. We are really looking forward to it. (I am going as a photographer/pseudo adult leader; my dad is going because between the two of us, one can be working and one can be with the kids, and therefore we equal one "real" adult.)
• I bought a really cute sundress at Target last week (told you this would be random).
• The kids have been watching Star Wars and Star Wars related shows for way too long. We are about ready to burn it all. And if it's not Star Wars, it's Bionicles. I at least have a frame of reference for Star Wars, but Bionicles? Seriously? Some of us are quite tired of Star Wars and long for the good old days when they were just trying to decide between VeggieTales and "Mommy's video".
• Andy and I are finally watching the last season of Battlestar Galactica. I was avoiding picking it back up for a while, and unfortunately know some of what happened thanks to a spoiler article about something else (but NO I do NOT know yet who the final Cylon is, so please do NOT tell me).

Time to take Judah for a walk and let the kids begin the bedtime/unwinding process. Again, many apologies for the prolonged absence.

Merry Christmas 2008

I just realized that since I mailed a big batch of Christmas cards yesterday, I'd better get my act together and put some kind of Christmas letter up on here right now. See, we've been putting just the blog address on our Christmas cards for a few years now, kind of figuring that if you want to know how our year was, well, you might be willing to take that extra step to find out. And then, if we're really lucky, you'll come back and visit periodically throughout the year and hear my ramblings, see some pictures, and kind of see what's going on with us. So, here's a lightning review of our year.

We are still in Fort Myers and loving it. Going on eight years now, minus the one in Pasadena. We have to say that we like it more than we thought we would.

Andy is three--count 'em--three classes away from finishing his MDiv. I'm excited about that! He has a class coming up in just under a month and then has to figure out how to snag the last two. It may make for another whirlwind summer schedule, but he has promised me that he will finish on time (it will be 10 years from start to finish!)

The kids are being... kids. Caroline has "officially" joined our homeschool this year and is doing really well. She has finally started reading and is doing really well. It's still quite a bit of work for her, but she's taking the time to make sure she understands everything she's reading (she is at the stage where it's sometimes easier to just figure out the words and miss the forest for the trees altogether). She has an incredible memory and diction, and continues to just steamroll her way through math. Michael does well in everything and tries to spend as little time as possible on his school. Elanor is our little pistol--full of personality and sass, and boy, does she know it. She does some school with us, but is mainly along for the ride. Michael played on a recreational soccer team this fall and loved it, although please don't ask about his team's record. The girls are doing ballet for their second year now (Caroline has moved up to a higher level class but "helps" with the little girls' class) and really have enjoyed that as well.

I have been working on homeschooling and building my little photography business, which has been really fun. [Hi! Andy breaking in here - trust me, Robin is absolutely awesome at this. I am so proud of her! normal programming resumes now ...] I love being able to observe families and document a little bit of their lives. It's also spilled over a little bit into doing some web design--my own site, and then the girls' ballet studio's site, and our church's site. I have really enjoyed that side of it, which was not something I ever expected to do!

I guess one of the big events of 2008, which I don't want to go into for this post, was that our congregation voted to leave the PC(USA) denomination this spring. Although our vote passed, the local presbytery voted to keep the property as a PC(USA) church (as was their right), so many of those who voted to leave the denomination did so and formed a new church in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) on Easter Sunday. This included our family, so our church home is now New Hope. The winter/spring were both kind of a wild ride at our house, as we (well, I) worried a little bit about whether Andy would have a job when all was said and done, but God has provided for both churches. If you would, join us in praying for New Hope, that it would become one of those shining places where people are growing in a love for God and for others, and are known for their love.

Our other big event of 2008, which is closer right now, is that we had to make the hard decision to have Emma, our dog of ten years, put to sleep just last week (the kids are doing all right with it, but it was much harder for Andy and me. We adopted her before Michael was even thought of and she was a great dog for a family of kids (see here). I was just remembering how Michael would crawl over to her and sit and play with her... she'd start licking his face and he'd start giggling like crazy, so his mouth would open and yes, she would lick inside his mouth. I suppose it's gross, but it was always so funny to watch. Emma apparently had cancer all through her abdomen and it was really starting to hurt her, so we took her in, which was really hard. We do plan to get another dog, but not until March or so (we have family trips in January and March and that doesn't fit with a puppy somehow).

I'm sure there is much more to tell (as is true for everyone's stories), but we'll leave it here for now. May God grant you grace and peace this coming year.

in memorarium

I'm going to be merciless today and make you look at many pictures, just because this is my blog and I feel like it. Today, Andy and I took our faithful dog Emma to the vet to be put to sleep. It was really hard. We got her from the Humane Society as an older puppy ten years ago this month (I blame her lack of training on her age, certainly not any deficit on our part--ha!). She was with us through two moves (one temporary, in between homes), three babies, and was only not with us when we went to Pasadena (thank you again and again and again to the Elliotts for taking her in while we were gone). Last week, we got confirmation from the vet that Emma was dying of cancer and we brought her home on hospice. Yesterday we decided that we needed to let her go, and this morning we did. We wept. Emma was very calm; she trusted us to the end. For all her issues, she has always been just about the nicest dog on the planet. And here are pictures.

OK, seriously, I do not know why Blogger puts my pictures up backwards from how I actually uploaded them. So I apologize for them being completely mixed up.

Emma felt she had a moral obligation to attack this strange orange monster which was eating our children. She always went for the wheels:
Oh yeah, same issue with their toy lawnmowers:
See, this is back in Lumberton. She loved to sit at the front door and watch the street through the glass. She also loved to climb up on the couch and sleep right here in the sunbeam:
Remember those Johnny Jump-Up bouncy seat/swings? We'd put Michael in his and Emma would intentionally come and lie down underneath him. And he would jump on her. And let me tell you, this boy was no pixie:
She looks so long-suffering, but she put herself there. Seriously.
I took this last week when we came home from the ultrasound. She wasn't too interested.
Did I mention long-suffering? She just let him do this. I think the Aunt Jenny blanket in the back had just arrived.
Never liked her bath.
This is Elanor aiding and abetting in the bath. It should have been before the wringing out picture above, Blogger, just like I uploaded it.
Emma and Michael have always had kind of a special bond. She liked to nap with him.

That's all I've got for today. Well, just should shout out an additional big thank you to my father for being here and taking the kids to the library while Andy and I went to the vet.

holy laughter

Yesterday I was listening to something Erwin said in November about how we always associate the "Sacred" with the boring, mundane, old, (yawn) ... you get the picture. And he asked: why can't we learn to think of the sacred and holy in the same breath as laughter, joy, pleasure, praise? It made me think of two hilarious episodes I have recently enjoyed in our family.

One: right before our Thanksgiving Trip to Virginia, I was tucking the kids in bed when Michael randomly announced that he would make a following declaration out loud at the Thanksgiving Meal. "Down with Spuds!" he cried out in a loud voice, and immediately cracked himself up. He laughed so hard I thought I would have to get him off the top bunk just to get some control. I swear the whole bedframe was shaking as he convulsed in peal after peal of belly laughter. The girls went around saying it for days.

Two: On Sunday I made lemonade out of some Meyer lemons we bought off someone at church. It was delicious, but strong stuff. In fact, so strong that I told Caroline (who was politely sipping through a grimace) that it would "put hair on your chest." She lost it. She laughed hysterically. Meanwhile Michael lifted his shirt and examined his chest for hair, and Ela nearly burst into tears telling Mommy she never wanted to have hair on her chest. Robin calmly assured her there was nothing to fear. But Caroline only laughed harder with those silent, shaking heaves that leave you gasping for air. She literally fell off her chair, slipping bonelessly off the seat and ended up flat on her back on the floor. I was howling at the whole thing. Now the girls toast each other and talk about how strong drinks put hair on their chests.

Holy laughter indeed. And we needed it today: we found out that our sweet, 10-year old dog Emma is just shot through with cancer. All five of us are resolved to enjoy the time we have left. There's holiness there as well.

haiku

Here is Caroline's haiku (with assist) from today's Writing Wednesday:

pink and red leading
inside is white and creamy
my radish does grow.

Michael's (no assist):

A dog, sitting in the
dirt, look quick--what's there?
Nothing but a hole.

yes, dad, i still do get motion sickness

A guy I know in Salt Lake City had taken a really cool picture of his three kids on a little merry-go-round at a neighborhood park and I thought I'd like to try it since we have one in our little park. I failed to factor in the following:

1. There is way more light down here than there is almost anywhere else in the US. This matters because part of the fun was to slow the shutter speed down enough to make the background really blurry, but slowing the shutter speed lets in MORE light, and when you're starting with oceans of light already.... and yes, it was almost sunset. Still just lots of light.
2. I really have serious problems with motion sickness. And this shot required me riding the merry-go-round with the children. Serious problems. As in, I have to be the driver in any mountains, or else I will be miserable. It's really not a control thing, honey, it's my stomach.

The kids thought it was hilarious. Here are some of the shots I liked:






When we were done, I had to collapse.

could* and hot

So the other night, the 8-year-old comes storming out of his room, in a hurry, asking if he can get some paper and pencil to write down a poem while he was thinking about it. I said sure, and today this is what I found.

"Could and Hot"

I'm could and hot,
sick and not,
and have an upset stomach.
The light is on,
I've got some girls,
the room is hot,
I'm sick and not.
Got a clock?
motion, motion, all that motion,
It makes me so crasy.
It's very hot and I've
some snot.

The End
11/6/08

* I think he meant, "cold."

panthers!

pickup game

After today's game was over (yes, another loss, and I have some philosophical growlings about recreational youth soccer to probably not share here--not our team or coaches, because they are great and play their hearts out), some of the kids stayed behind to have a team/parent pickup game. I don't play soccer, so I just took pictures. Here are some of our family playing (can you see which parent they get the tongues hanging out from??). The girls played for the parents.

panthers' first game

I know, the boys had a soccer game last week, but I can't count it since they mixed up the teams and all. I posted pics on my other blog already but figure not all of you are breathlessly checking that one (although you should be). So if you've already seen these, I apologize and you can sleep through or something. I will warn you as I warned the photo readers--I played with post processing on these quite a bit more than I normally do--it was pretty fun.

fritos: a fairy tale

So, Elanor wanted to join in the fun. I have to confess that the first story she told made me howl even more because the hero and heroine were actually eaten at the end of it. Guess she got a little gun shy for the camera.

I do have to say that this is about the level of video-ing with which I feel comfortable. Weird, I guess. But I still don't see myself wanting to be one of the moms who is too busy taping an event to really get to watch it. There are times when I approach that just with my real camera, but at least I can put that down and watch the game or show if I want to (and if I give a hoot or holler while in the middle of a shot no one has to actually ever hear it, thank goodness). I confess that I was looking forwared to the new 5D from Canon and I'm kind of disappointed that it has a video feature. I don't want to take video! I want to take pictures!!! It's still on my lust list, though.

where did he get this from?

This is Michael's current ambition. Why, I have no idea. If you know how techy I am, this may surprise you, but I have not actually allowed him near the computer yet, except for writing an email here and there. This is, however, on the list of things to change in the near future--now that we have an "old" computer where the kids can't hurt my work.

Never done a video before (we have never owned a video camera and don't actually want to, but I saw a great deal on these little cameras and we got one for the youth group and one for us, I think), so if it doesn't work for you, I apologize.

soccer season

Ever since the season was over last fall, Michael has been begging to play soccer again. We changed leagues because of some friends and Andy is being a "helpful" parent (I may miss some games due to client shoots, but hopefully not many!). I love this new league already and here are some reasons why:

• His coach (one of our friends) says that she (yes, she) would volunteer to coach a team even if her son wasn't playing.
• They are learning real ball handling techniques.
• The coaches (and "helpful" parents) went to an extra coaching seminar last week to learn what they are supposed to be teaching the boys.
• Once a month, the teams attend a special (extra) clinic, to receive coaching from an actual soccer player (well, today he was probably a footballer).

This is all pretty amazing to me. First game is Saturday. But I did take my camera to the clinic tonight and wanted to share pictures of Michael and the girls.

Not sure what Elanor was up to here. But yes, her tongue is always hanging out when she's concentrating.
Michael wasn't smiling at me--Ihad my zoom on. I think he was just having fun.
Normally when there are people in the background of a picture, they are all uncooperatively piled on top of each other. How did I get this lovely V arrangement?
Elanor, doing ballet with an extra ball.
Caroline, also balleting with the ball.
I love her face in this shot. And yes, Dad, I know she's not actually completely in it.
Getting them when they are just happy instead of cheesing it up for the camera is a real thrill.
Oh yeah, there was soccer going on here somewhere, wasn't there?
Dude in front of Michael was the footballer (at least he sounded like he'd say football, not soccer).
I could be wrong, but I actually don't think soccer is that much of a contact sport. Is it?

why is it that...

Caroline is naming all her stuffed animals after hurricanes? Only the girls, though. So we have Wilma, Fay, Josephine, Katrina (ew), and Rita.

one reason i love the olympics

i was in the kitchen making some sticky buns for tomorrow morning, when I looked out and saw Elanor jumping on the couch, saying ...

"Go, United States! Go, Go, United States! YEAH!!! Mommy Mommy - our country just won the game! Yeah United States!"

wonderful. And all the athletes are household first-and-last names to Caroline with her impeccable diction. I love it.

when faced with a choice...

Hypothetical situation: you take your children to SeaWorld and are trying to decide which Shamu show to take them to. Without knowing anything about them but the names, which one would you go to: "Believe" or "Shamu Rocks"?

I really hope you answered "Shamu Rocks". Because I can say with confidence that the other show is about the cheesiest thing I have ever ever EVER seen in my life. It is also mostly a video show, with very little actual animal performance. "Shamu Rocks", however, has got to be one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my entire life. It's fun, it's exciting, and it's awe inspiring (the things these whales can do is just staggering, and to think that they can do it with timings and on command.... just amazing).

It's a night show, so I guess it would be a long day if you were there all day already, but it is one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen. Guess where the kids and I went yesterday?

poor piglet!

A lovely friend of mine offered to watch my kids for me this morning so I could have some "me" time, which was very exciting, both for me and for them. However, things just didn't quite turn out as planned.... after about 45 minutes or so (just enough time for me to order a cup of coffee and sit down with my strata at Bennett's), my cell phone rang with bad news... Elanor had fallen and gashed her chin. She and I spent the rest of the morning at the ER so she could get it glued back together. Once again, though, she was a total trooper. She didn't cry the entire time we waited and lay completely still while they swabbed out the gash (about an inch long). Interestingly enough, she burst into tears as soon as they were done. I think she had just had it emotionally at that point. She's a tough kid.

Of course, Andy won't know what happened until he gets home tomorrow as he is currently in Belize....