Joplin

Chris grew up just outside of Joplin, so it is close to our hearts.  I headed down with three friends this morning after loading our big van with supplies from Sam's and Lowes.  The scenes are unimaginable.  We helped at College Heights Christian Church today and plan to help again tomorrow.  I'll write more later as things cement in my mind.  For now here are some pictures of our day.

School's Out!

This was our fourth year of schooling all of the kids at home.  In years past we've schooled at home for just kindergarten and first grade, then Michaela and Benjamin went on to a private school.  Essentially we've been home schooling for more than ten years now, but these last four years have definitely been more challenging with multi-levels and the addition of more children.

Despite the challenges, we have seen much growth academically, as well as emotional and spiritual growth that we wouldn't have been able to witness firsthand otherwise.  As as parent I have learned so much academically, too.  I have appreciated and learned so much more by going "back to school" than I did when I went through as a child.  It has been a blessing to learn alongside my kids.

 
Here's a little recap of some of our school year:

Michaela took a huge leap this school year from doing most of her work alongside the rest of us to doing 100% on her own.  I've been there to grade and make sure she's on track, but she has done a great job of staying on task and working through her first year of high school.  She worked through Ancient History and Literature which included reading the whole Old Testament, as well as classics such as Iliad and Odyssey.  She has completed Geometry, another level of Japanese, Physical Science, Drafting, a Logic course, and a few other random pieces. 

The three middles also worked through Creation to the Greeks with me in our history and science.  Benjamin is my one who least favors school, but he made great strides in spelling and composition this year.  When reading isn't your favorite thing to do, then spelling and composition can be challenging!  We found some great books that he enjoyed, so that definitely helped.  He has also become more independent in some of his subjects this year, which will be a great boost as he moves into junior high level work this fall.

Elijah......he continues to amaze me.  He works so hard, loves school, tries his very best, aims to please, and wants to learn more.  He went from reading Green Eggs and Ham at the beginning of the school year to finishing chapter books in a short amount of time.  His reading, spelling, and comprehension has sky rocketed this year.  With just over two years of speaking English and all of his transition, he has a lot to be proud of.  Elijah and Benjamin also spend hours playing with Legos, building and creating machines, and designing all sorts of gadgets.  Their learning outside of our "regular" school hours has been unmeasurable!

Johanna is my second bookworm, after her older sister.  Because of her love of reading, her spelling and composition skills are super.  I've even asked her at times how to spell a word that I was unsure of.  One of her favorite things this year has been our read alouds, such as Children's Homer, Aesop's Fables, and Patricia St. John books.  The younger four kids have memorized several long Bible passages this year,  which they love to rattle off with great animation.  I would love to get this on camera, but I'm afraid they would never let me record and post.  Let me assure you, it's great entertainment!

 
Last, but certainly not least, is Ami.  Though officially she won't be in kindergarten until this fall, she has been doing work far above that level.  She is easily reading at a 1st or 2nd grade level and loving the new world that reading brings.  She counts to 100 with ease and speed, and knows her days and months.  It is definitely a privilege to be the youngest child and be exposed to so much of the learning that her older siblings "have" to do.  She prompts her older siblings when they are stuck on their Bible memory work, and spits out random facts about the Pharaohs, Hammurabi's Code, or Archimedes.  It's so funny coming out of the mouth of a five year old!

 
So, for now we are done.  I'm looking forward to our break celebrating in Branson this weekend.  Then, believe it or not, I'm anxious to dig into our books for next school year and get plans taken care of for when we start back up in August.

Almost done!

We're so excited that this is our last week of school!  Chris is off to Boston, but as soon as he returns we're headed down to Branson again to camp and enjoy Silver Dollar City.  Woo hoo!

Ami enjoyed tea with her beautiful flowers from her supplier, Grandpa Hires.

Our new deck table, finally!  After having our deck built last summer we could only afford to have picnics on a picnic blanket.  Ha!  Now, we have a great table, so come and join us.

Eyes, Mud, and Music

You know, when I'm trying to catch up on blogging it's difficult to make a themed post, so the title just portrays the variety of things that I caught on camera this week.

Ami had her first eye appointment and I'm thankful to report that she is seeing everything just fine.  Hopefully her genes are better than what Chris and I passed down to some of our kids.  She was excited to go through the processes that she has seen her older siblings go through at their annual exams.

We're still enjoying the spring weather (except for torrents of rain!) and here is some of Elijah's handiwork made from good 'ole Missouri clay.

Michaela had two musical performances this last week.  On Thursday she played with the band at our local Christian school where she has been involved for the past five years.  She also performed two duets, one being part of Stars and Stripes.  It was super!  (The video doesn't do it justice.)  The second song was one that she had composed as a duet for her and her friend to play entitled The Flowers of Yesterday.  She had kept it as a secret to us and we were very much impressed.  

 

On the way home from the concert the kids saw this rainbow and said it was a sign that we needed to stop for a celebration treat.  Chris agreed.  :)

On Saturday was Michaela's second performance.  She played a duet with a friend at her piano recital.  It was a beautiful arrangement of Here I Am to Worship.  We are very proud of you, Michaela.  Your hours of practice have not been in vain and you are making beautiful music that pleases Him!

Service

One of our family goals is that of stewardship, and one way that we try to be good stewards of our time is to serve others.  For the past several years we have volunteered once a month at our local food bank.  We usually meet with friends and the time flies by as the kids race to see how much they can get done.  It's great to see them be creative in their ways to work as a team and accomplish their tasks.  The food bank is a great fit for our large group and variety of ages.  Ami started out by accompanying us in her stroller, but as the years have passed she has progressed to becoming quite a helper.  The kids all have a sense of satisfaction and at the end of the day we talk about the importance of helping others.

A job that we frequently work on at the food bank is to fill bags called "Buddy Packs".  These bags are given to underprivileged children on Fridays when they leave school.  Each bag is filled with several food and drink items that will help feed him/her over the weekend.  My heart aches for such children, as I cannot imagine the circumstances that they must be in to need this kind of assistance.

It is our privilege to help.  We pray that our children will be moved with compassion for others and that they learn that even just an hour of their time is very valuable.  In our short time at the food bank today, our group of fifteen (12 kids and 3 moms), filled roughly 375 bags.  That's 375 children with food for the weekend.  That's 375 children with a little bit of hope.

Spring Means.....

......Lots of outdoor play

(Elijah making clay pots)

(Johanna and Ami playing barefoot on the swings)

It also means garage sales!  This is an annual neighborhood sale that I go to.  We start at 6am and cars are already lining the streets, traffic is crazy, and even port-a-potties are set up!

Spring also means watching the birds come to our feeders and those around our woods.  Below is a rare Summer Tanager.  We were also treated to a Rose Breasted Grosbeak this morning, along with the usual Titmice, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Wrens, a variety of Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, Nuthatches, Bluebirds, and more. 

Spring also means Mother's Day.  I am so thankful for my five treasures to love and hold.  I am blessed!

And She's Off!

After a "new" bike, some encouragement, going back to her old bike for a bit, then more encouragement, Ami is off and rolling on just two wheels!  We're still working on take off and landing a bit, but each day her courage is stronger and she is going farther and farther.  Ami is a pretty coordinated kid, so we knew it wouldn't take long, it was just a matter of her telling herself that she could.  It's been fun to watch her siblings help her and cheer for her as usual. 

She's all business in this video:

Earthquake/Tsunami Relief

We don't hear anything much about Japan in the news anymore, but there are still thousands living without utilities, living in evacuation centers, and relying on the help of others.  My family in Japan is still very much involved in the relief efforts.  I have added a link on the sidebar to my sister's ministry.  I encourage you to once in a while click over and ready the daily updates from Jennifer and to view photos.  There is much work going on and yet much more still to be done.  Thank you for your continued prayers!

Nothing Much

We've been busy lately with just life in general.  I've hardly taken any pictures lately, but here are a few from last weekend.

Ami is about ready to take off on two wheels, but we needed to get a bigger and better bicycle put together for her.  With five kids, we've had quite the collection of bikes and last weekend it was time to clean out the garage a bit.  So Benjamin took the three smallest girl bikes and pulled off the best parts of each and put together a bigger bike for Ami.  It looks great and she was thrilled to have a "new" bike. 

Fort Update

Some time ago I posted about how much the kids enjoy building forts outside in our woods (here and here).  They go in spurts, but over the last month or so since we've had some great spring weather, they've been diligently building, remodeling, and constructing again. 

If you remember Wolfe Lodge, then you'll notice a definite improvement with many updates.

 The front:

Now with a swing-up door:

The back, with a turf roof:

I haven't heard a name for this fort yet.  Actually it's more of a neighborhood of forts:

I love watching the kids learning teamwork, using their imaginations, and just having care-free fun.  It reminds me so much of my childhood days building forts in the woods at Tahoe, making cabins from old railroad ties in Illinois, and playing with the neighborhood kids.  That's what I remember, not so much the organized sports, or scheduled events, just the "regular" fun and play.