Reading Joys!!

One of the things I don't enjoy is teaching the kids to read! 
I homeschool.  What is wrong with me?  I hear moms say how wonderous the task is to cuddle up to their child and listen to them discover the mystery of the printed word.  Nope not here. 
KUUUU aaaaaaaaaaaaa TTT 
KUUUU aaaaaaaaaaaaa TTT
KUUUU aaaaaaaaaaaaa TTT
Cat already!!! let's move onto the next word please and it starts all over again. 
5 minutes to read one sentence.  Bring me the super glue and toothpicks to hold my eyes open.  We have read this mommy to sleep more than one afternoon and sometimes morning as we labor through the process. 
It is miraculous. It is wonderful when they learn to read.  But this miracle doesn't happen with the immediate task of sit down and open a book.  It is a process.  A long one in the midst of life. 

Much to my JOY my younger two have been really quick to take off. 
YEs!!! Smiley face does a happy dance.
The next hurdle to tackle is reading one's Bible and Awana workbooks, not to mention all the instructions on one's school work. 
The Man is hard at work.  Today he has discovered he can read the names of the Books of the Old Testament.  You see to finish last years book, one of the things he must do is recite all books of the Old Testament.  A fact I find humorous, some of the names can be difficult for an adult to say.  Take a tooth losing, lisping, & whistling first grader and have him say all the books of the Old Testament.  Absolutely adorable.  I must say, I have had a few chuckles over my kids mis-pronunciations over the years.  The Man had half of them memorized last spring.

 

 

You know what that means, he has to review and re-learn all of them this fall. 
Since he has to wait for me to sit down and work on his mom-led lessons today, I asked him to work on his memory work, handwriting and math. 
I had no idea he had crossed over and could read/recognize the incredibly long and difficult names of the Old Testament books.  But he has!!!!
He has followed me around EVERYWHERE reciting/reading the Books of the Bible. 
EVERYWHERE.  ALL DAY LONG. 
While I tried to teach Middle School Science, he was across the room, "Did you hear me?" 
"Did I get them right?" 
When we were discussing Romeo and Juliet there were murmurs of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus...
When we left the house, I was captive.
Joshua Judges Ruth.....Nahum, Obadiah 
When I go to the bathroom, there is a closed door, but I am still captive, until I flush and wash my hands. First and Second Chronicles
Then the sound of running waters drowns out all other noises.
All through lunch, all through Thursday activities, while I walk into the house, while I put things away, I hear...
First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings.......Isaiah, Jeremiah....Zephaniah, Malachi. 
"How do you say this name again?"  Genesis.
"First and Second Psalms"  He knows it is not Psalms but for some reason Samuel and Psalms, well they go together like ham and cheese.
Don't forget Judges...
"I will start over;  Joshua, Ruth..."
"Can I borrow your phone so I can time myself?"  34.8 seconds later he has read/recited all the books.
He tries again.  30 seconds!  Best time yet. 
I asked for 3 minutes so I could type this, just 3 minutes of not being talked to and he humbled me so quickly.  In spite of all the humor and truth I kept reminding myself all day, he is the last one.  There are no more kids to follow you around like this.  This will pass all quickly.  This is awesome.  There was the me, that just wanted to not be talked to for just 10 minutes.  I have been juggling 5 conversations and sometimes more and half a million different tasks all day.  1o minutes of brain rest.
In his most endearing way, "Thank you Mom for listening me say the Books of the Bible"

The war of insanity inside me that just wanted a quiet closet for a minute, melted away. 

And now he is back, asking me, "Are the 3 minutes up?"  Sure are.
"Where is my book?"  Where you last put it. (LOL)
And it begins again....Genesis Exodus....

 

Why I don't blog....

My eldest has been giving me grief.  She likes to read my blog.  Which leaves me just a little bit puzzled.  I mean she lives here.  She knows what is going on.  So why does she need to catch up on our lives???
She reminds me gently I haven't posted in a while.  She tells me I need to finish posting about our vacation. 
I just look at her and wonder where she came from???
She even offers to paint my toes or do dishes so I will sit down and blog. 
I still don't get it.

Here is why I haven't blogged in no particular order:
Since July 1

We have had baseball
We have had summer volleyball
I have had memory therapy...yeah that went really well till I actually forgot an appointment.  That would have made a great post!
I had a child in Lego robotics...1/2 hour drive one way.
A child golfing weekly till mid July
summer dentist appointments
orthodontist appointments...put child #4 in braces
Throw in some physical therapy for the eldest cause she is a klutz when running late for work.
Church garage sale that ate up 30 hours of my life in one week...fun yes, but still that is a lot of hours for a crazed stay at home who rarely stays home.
My helpful eldest who shares driving responsibilities went away to Kids Camp the first week of July.  That really didn't help much.
Fall Volleyball started
Fall soccer started
College research started....
College enrollment worked on cause she is a senior and she can take 2 classes a semester this year.
Dog started having weird symptoms, talked to vet.  They think he is in the early stages of Doggie dementia.  Like I really needed that in my life. But he has these eyes and ears and well what are you going to do?
Cats that catch baby bunnies, birds, snakes, frogs and mice and create all sorts of a ruckus as a result. 
In other words, the animals can derail a day as much as the children can.
We started school last week.  What was I thinking????
I lost 2 sets of middle school curriculum.  Science and English.
Ordered replacements and found it all a week later.
But hey, the storage room is cleaned.
I cleaned Fun Girl's room for 6 hours and made $50.  Yep, I charged her for cleaning her room.
Also, accumulated a pile of clothes to put on EBay.
Sorted Boys clothes, another huge mountain of clothes for EBay. 
Sorted through Hockey gear and soccer gear...more EBay
Took about a thousand pictures for EBay.  It is easy to do.  Then I edited and deleted some.
Created High School transcripts.
Working on scheduling a college visit before sports have us out of town most of our fall/winter.
Planning a get away with Little Princess
First Aid on 2nd degree sunburns on kiddos this summer....4 times.  You would think we would get a handle on that.
And Memory therapy/Brain therapy is E x H a Us Ti NG !!! Like taking the ACT exhausting.  Requiring naps.  Anything that challenges my brain...that isn't saying much....almost requires an early bed time or nap.
I re-learned my Math Facts!!! 8s, 9s and up
Learning to work math faster.  Accepting I need to write most problems down now if I don't have a calculator.
Making lists everywhere cause well that is how my brain rolls these days.  Memory therapy helped a lot.  But I am "high functioning" so there isn't much they can do to help me.  Time and working on it and maybe I will get it all back, maybe not.  At least, I am high functioning...  I try to be grateful for that when the frustration builds about not being like I once was.
Trying to put the house back in some kind of order after this past winter and spring.
Sleep blessed sleep...which is where I am heading now. 
Life can be Hard.  Life is Full.  Life is Good. 
I am hoping soon, very soon, I can sit at the computer and do some more blogging.  Fun blogging. 
With pictures maybe.
But for you my dear Fun Girl, my latest update.  :)

Hospital Pictures

I have had my doubts as to whether I should post these pictures.  Each time I look at them, I can't help but smile.  My girls missed me.  They were a bit scared by their Mommy's stay in the hospital.  They can up to see me one evening.  We would learn later, they were well past visiting hours.  Oops.  They climbed in bed with me and we began the picture session.  Fun Girl even gave me a pedicure.  Such a bright spot to be able to look down at my toes.  I am so blessed to have these 2 for my daughters. 

Counting some more...

Counting is good, we all do it.  We count the number of heads, just to make sure we leave no one behind.  We count our money. We count to 10 to keep from losing our minds.  We count and count.  Sometimes we find it easier to keep track of the negatives, like in our checking accounts.  Life starts weighing us down.  I challenge you to take a moment and start counting the little blessings in your life and watch joy take over.  Maybe it is only 3 a day....that is okay.  Life isn't perfect.  It is messy.  It is hard and it is Good!  Even in the hard there are joys to count.  I am still counting....maybe just not the numbers.
Loving reminders the best good bye is the quickest one, not to drag them out.
 Camp goodbyes from a bus window
Grace for my late Hockey Player and allowed to play golf
 Squawking birds in the dark hours of a morning and a GOOD dog that puts it out of its misery
 Board games and my children
Water gun fights
Baseball coach husband who coaches practice with water balloons....Best Coach Ever!
Progress on projects
God appointments in Target
Vulnerability and openness
Camping in backyard tents
Being outside with no allergy restrictions for the first time in a year.
    and  Gardening
    and  Watching ball games
    and Going for walks
    and   Just sitting on the porch swing and laying out on the lawn watching the sky
 Hugs from my children
Rubbing, swishing cat tale on my leg with a purr
Little Princess playing volleyball

still counting.....1150

1126.  Teens that live and like to cook
1127.  New recipes
1128.  Antibiotics for strep
1129. Travel plans
1130. Beloved sister in laws
1131.  Hanging out with my kiddos
1132.  Walks with a buddy... Husband, a kid, a friend....wonderful one on one time
1133. Sunshine
1134.  Rain, snow, sleet ~ much needed moisture
1135.  Garden and a husband that builds it
1136.  One step at a time, getting my home back in order after months of neglect
1137.  Freshly mown grass
1138.  Memories of blowing dandelion clouds
1139.  Watching Awana clubbers receive their awards... All the hundreds of memory verses put in hearts and minds
1140.  Pain in my leg... Sensation is returning.
1141.  Less stuttering, and lots of naps ~ healing happening
1142.  Praying with my mom
1143.  Sharing memories with my sister
1144.  Laughter with cousins
1145.  New adventures and the joy that comes
1146.   Vacation days just me, my husband and kids
1147.  Friends taking care of the home front
1148.  Listening to my children enjoy God's creation and counting their new experiences
1149.  Family giggles and humor in the car
1150.  Beautiful weather for the trip.

Garden of the Gods ~ 2013

We were having a lazy day 3 of vacation. 

Spent some time at Rock Ledge Ranch with cousins. 

Then they needed to head home.

Daddy-O and I decided to take the kids to Garden of the Gods. 

Wow!  You would have thought we were going to torture the kids or something.

The thought they were going to miss some time with cousins

quickly turned us into vacation ruining parents!

 

Below: Kissing Camels

 

 

We bribed them with time in the gift shop!

And found photo opportunities on the balcony.



 

We made it through the gift shop, with minimal tears.

Mostly cause Daddy O threw some money out and let the kids buy a couple of things.
Plus, there was the purchase of fudge!

Then the promise, we would only drive through the Garden of the Gods, to make the torture go faster.

 

It didn't take long for them to begin to appreciate the beauty of the park.

 

By the time we arrived at Balance Rock, they were ready to get out and explore. 

 

Just the perfect amount of rock scrambling.

I think they quickly came to believe their parents weren't the wet blankets of vacation history.

Mueller State Park 2013

Day 2 of our vacation. 

We joined my sister and her daughters and grand-daughter and loaded up for Mueller State Park.

We didn't expect the elevation to have the effect it did on me. 

I ended up with a horrible "concussion" headaches. 

That is what I call them. 
Never have I had headaches like these till the accident.  They bring me to tears.

We stopped at a grocery store, bought some Ziploc baggies, so I could make ice packs.

I stayed with my grand-niece and her momma.

We had a great visit just the 3 of us, I settled in and relaxed. 

I listened to the trees and the wind.

I may even have dozed off a bit.

When we came home, Fun Girl had captured the best pictures and she shared them with me.

Makes my heart soar to see these cousins bond and enjoy their time together like they do.