Ballet

My daughter is turning into a ballerina.  It seems to be a favorite activity of hers that she is really enjoying and showing strong talent in.  She started ballet in Virginia when she was 5 and 6 years old.  Then she took a break from dancing so she could try out other physical sports like soccer, basketball, baseball, kempo, swimming, gymnastics and such.  She did ballet for one short season in California but it was for only four months.  She kept wanting to do more but she was having fun learning new sports and I didn't want to limit her on options or experience.  So in Spain, we planned to have her dance again however, the on-base lessons weren't available for her age and she didn't want to pursue it in the Spanish culture.  I enrolled her in the closest ballet school right after her 13th birthday, this year.  She danced for five months while learning a choreographed ballet for the June dance recital.  This is what she looked like in the moments before dancing "Serenade of Strings."  Of course I was so proud of her but better than that, she's proud of what she's learning and performing.  She was also presented with a promotion to begin point ballet.  So, that's what is in her near future.  She just finished a two week dance camp and in another month her point ballet will begin.  :-) 

A cousins' vacation

Cecily is visiting us this week all the way from Illinois.  She's 10 years old and is from a family of 7 kids.   I think she is really liking the extra attention she's getting from all of us.  We all want her to have fun and be comfortable while she's away from her family.  All of my kids get along so well with her and are loving the one on one time with her.  Here's a glimpse of some of the fun things we've been doing with her.

The Little Mermaids

 my niece, Cecily

 Sloan

Camryn

Camryn, age 13

 She flies through the air (and life) with the greatest of ease (and poise).

 She's the best big sister ever.

 She's crazy fun!

 She loves to laugh (in the face of danger).

 She excels at all she does.

 She's determined to keep moving and learning.

She's an all around good girl.

Ethan, age 10

 He is happy and easy going.

He's handsome and intelligent.

He's inventive and creative.

 He's a soccer superstar.

 He's not afraid to reach new heights.

 He's a knight-in-shining-armor ready to protect and defend.

 He's cool.

 And the boy can swim!

He's the guy you want on your boat.

Sloan, age 8

 She's eggs-treamly wonderful.

 She loves nature...

 and new baby birds...

 and cuddly kitty-cats.

 She's adventurous and active.

 She's an award winning athlete.

 She's beautiful and smart.

 She can swim...very well.

 She's competitive.

She's loves to swing and loves being outdoors.

Isaac, age 2

 He's a happy, bouncy, boy.

 He's good looking and obedient.

 He's adventurous and active.

 He cheers his brother and sister during soccer games.

 He knows where his nose is.

 He's fun loving.

 He's joyful and playful.

He's curious.

An excerpt from "Homeschool Daily Devotions":

"Wanted:  Homeschool Teacher
Now accepting applications:

Family seeking fun-loving, godly homeschool teacher. Applicant will be responsible for providing total educational development and daily personal care for children of multiple ages. Applicant will assume the following roles: cook, housemaid, nurse, taxi driver, administrative assistant, accountant, athletic coach, social director, computer technician, household and automotive repairman, gardener, course instructor in multiple subject areas and grade levels, and various other responsibilities. This is a full-time position — approximately 120 hours or more per week. Qualified candidates must be able to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize work loads while maintaining a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Quick thinking, good memory, and a varied background in extensive subject matter are a must. Promising candidates will be resourceful, adjust easily to distractions, and display creative, hard-working leadership abilities. Organizational and problem solving skills are a plus. Previous teaching experience and/or college preferred, but is not required. If you're interested in working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, this is the position for you! For more information on this exciting opportunity to earn fulfilling, one-of-a-kind rewards, please apply in person today.

After reading these qualifications, no wonder many parents walk away from this employment opportunity. Who can measure up to these standards? Praise God, you can! As you step out in faith and yield your weaknesses to God's strength, you'll not only get the job, you'll also successfully homeschool and discover the fantastic benefits of teaching your children at home. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Ephesians 6:10).

Lord, homeschooling seems overwhelming, and there's so much to learn. Like the new guy on the job, teach me what I need to know to successfully homeschool with Your wisdom, strength, and power. In Jesus' name, Amen."

A lot of nothing and a little of everything:

Here's a quick update on our comings and goings:

Ethan and Sloan just finished up the Spring season of playing soccer.  Ethan loves the sport and isn't ready to take a break from it over the summer.  It's a good thing that this city has spring and fall soccer programs.  In Spain, they only offered it, on base, in the the spring so it was a long wait each year for him to play.  Sloan played it for the first time and did pretty good.  She likes it well enough to maybe play in another season.  

Camryn's ballet recital is in 3 weeks.  She's loving it and I'm excited to see how her dancing skills are now that she is back into it (after 6 years of no ballet).  

All three of them are back to swimming competitively for the summer with our neighborhood swim team.    

Isaac is doing well too.  He's talking a little more and making good progress in that area.  I've packed up the baby crib this month so he's working on the skills of sleeping in the castle bed.  He started crawling out of his crib so I felt like it was safer to just get him out of it for good.  However, this hasn't been a very natural transition for him so it's been a rather sleepless month for Travis and I...and Isaac.  The last three nights, he's slept through the entire night so maybe we'll get back to regular sleep patterns in June.

Travis is in the thick of home computer problems!  We ended up with a terrible computer virus so he saved everything as a back up and wiped out everything on the computer before reinstalling everything.  Then our internet service ended up with such a mess that he spent hours and hours on the phone with tech support trying to help him figure it all out.  Shortly after he felt all was back up and running we started noticing more problems.  Little things that didn't make any sense but made our computer lock up and not function properly.  We were so frustrated so decided to give up on our current PC and move over to an Apple system.  So, this is where I am now.  There are a few programs that he's still working on to make it compatible with this new system so, his work continues.  

I'm busy with all of the above.  Other than that, I have no life!  ha/ha  Well, a couple of weeks ago I did start learning what Zumba classes are.  That's been fun and I plan to keep up with that through the summer.  Oh yeah, and I've finally started feeling inspired with drapery ideas around my house.  Two rooms now have drapes.  It takes me awhile to get a feel for what is needed...so that's my creative outlet for the time being.

It's Memorial Day weekend and we're staying at home to enjoy the slow life for the long weekend. :-)  Spending this holiday with my American hero, active-duty, husband, veteran is my way to honor the day.  Flying our flag with pride!

Classical Conversations Practicum

It's time for me to try something new.  So I've enrolled my kids in a new homeschool program for next school year and Ill get to be involved in teaching in a new environment too.  I'll be spending the next few days training to be a Classical Conversations tutor.  I'm very excited to join this team of educators.  And my children are excited to attend the "student camp" while I'm in training classes.  I'm hoping our little get-away (without the Dad) will be fun and relaxing as well as very educational.  With an extra incentive of hotel swimming each evening I think the kids will have a great time.  Here's a sneak peek of what I'm getting myself into.  It's soo exciting - I can't wait to get going already!