2009 in review
04 Jan 2010 2 Comments
in Adoption, Books, Ethiopia, Family, God, Homeschooling, Kids, Moving pictures, Random, Soap Box, Uncategorized
A review of the last year
Travel:
Ethiopia- to pick up Esuyawkal
Galena, IL- for my sister Meghan’s wedding:)
We did not travel to a lot of different places but the places we did travel we did so for great reasons!
Books I read:
- The twilight series- in record time, all 4 books in 6 days:) I know I am a geek!
- The Host
- Eldest, and Brisinger
- Unconditional Parenting
I read more books this year then last year but still not that many, I have started more then I have completed. Maybe 2010 will be a banner year for reading- but I doubt it:)
Movie:
- Star Trek- loved it!
- Avatar- loved it!
- New Moon- hated it:(
- Watchemen- hated it:(
- Wolverine- liked it.
- Monsters vs aliens- liked it.
Can you tell I go to the movies to escape:)
The Good and the Bad
- Bought our first mini van.
- Began homeschooling for the first time.
- Brought home our third child.
- Said goodbye to two of my grandparents.
- Welcomed two new brother-in-laws into my family.
- Attended my sister Theresa’s 18th birthday party!
- Witnessed the beauty and glory of Ethiopia first hand!
- I grew in my faith, and came to understand God better.
- I know myself better, and love myself more:)
- I got my first tattoo.
- Made a lot of friends this year, here and abroad.
Ewan:
- Turned 6 my baby is growing up!
- Became a master with Legos.
- Started reading, and loving it!
- Started doing math- likes it sometimes but most of the time is frustrated by it even though he knows what he is doing.
- Became a bigger brother!
- Loves to cook and do science experiemnts.
Anwen:
- Turned 3!
- Became a big sister- mostly she loves it, but sometimes she really wants to be the baby again:)
- She has really developed her interest in princesses, although some how her love of princesses is balanced by her love of Star Wars- go figure!
- Is a little dancer and a wonderful singer.
- Is sassy and a little diva sometimes.
- Was a really big girl and survived our trip to Ethiopia with flying colors.
- Falls down more then any other child I know- I hope she grows out of that:)
- Gave herself bangs- thankfully she did a good job but the scissors are now hidden from her:)
Esuyawkal:
- Turned 1!
- Started crawling.
- Is walking along furniture and behind his push toy.
- Is thriving and growing like a weed.
- Saying a few words- uh-oh, more, and hi.- we are so proud of him:)
- Shakes his head no, and yes.
- Sleeps like a champ- really loving that:)
- Is so cuddly and happy- he is amazing!
This year had had a lot more good then bad and for that I am grateful!
Your six year old…
10 Dec 2009 2 Comments
in Books, Childrearing, Family, Fun finds, Kids, Random, Soap Box, Uncategorized
Have you ever read this series of books- Your 1-year-old, two-year-old, three-year-old, etc.
I have several times, for several different ages. Of all of the books that I have read these books are the most helpful when it comes to understanding where your child is developmentally at what ever age you are reading about. I really love these books and when I start feeling like I have no idea what to do for my children I get one of these books out from the library and everything starts to become clearer.
I recent picked up Your six-year-old, Loving and Defiant, as Ewan is now six and has been having a difficult time. There are a lot of things that have been happening lately that are not “normal” for Ewan but as it turns out are “normal” for six-year olds. The section in these books called Characteristics of the age is my favorite section and where I find the most useful information. The author does a really good job at explaining the ups and downs of the age, and why certain behaviors crop up. She also gives some good advice on how to help your child through the rough developmental times in their life.
I find it so wonderful when I open up a book about children and read something that describes my child exactly I guess I like feeling like I am not the only one with a cranky, hard to please, ambivalent, pushy 6-year-old:) My Ewan is totally loving and sweet and also a little defiant and it is nice to know that it is totally normal for his age.
It is easy to start thinking that a little misbehavior is a glimpse into your child future, I know that sometimes I feel like that, but that usually because I am in the beginning of a developmental change and haven’t quite caught on yet that my child is changing. Sometimes I go weeks not understanding why I don’t feel like I know my child. I know my oldest is 6 you would think that I would have caught on by now- but sometimes the changes happen slowly, they just sort of sneak up on you.
There are lots of sections in these books, some I find to be good while others I don’t find that useful. There is a section in the back that talks about what kind of birthday party to have for a child of the age you are reading about. While I have not really used that section I think that it is neat that she writes about that subject.
And now here is a picture of my 6-year-old whom I love all the way to the moon and back:)
This photo was taken by my friend Mary Karen- I love it!
Hop on Pop
24 Jun 2009 1 Comment
in Books, Family, Homeschooling, Kids
Last night while brian was reading to Ewan I decided to pop in to see how it was going, mostly I wanted to see if Ewan was asleep yet. I opened the door and found Ewan reading Hop On Pop and Brian asleep. So I layed down behind Brian and listened as Ewan continued to read his book. I was really glad I had checked in on him, because had I not I would have missed this milestone. This morning Ewan read the book again to Brian while he was getting ready for work. What a moment when you witness your child read their first book, and love it!!!!
I have been teaching Ewan to read for about a year now, we have been using a book called; How to Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. For the most part I really like the book and I think that it uses a good method. The further we get in the book the harder it gets to keep Ewan engaged though. The stories are kind-of lame and like a lot of kids the smaller the print gets the more worried Ewan gets.
Reading game: This is a game I made up that Ewan and I have been doing since he was probably 2 years old, he really loves it. Harkening back to my days as a cheerleader, we won’t even go there;)
Here is how it goes:
You call out letter like you would in a cheerleading chant.
Parent- Give me a: C Child says back to you- C
Give me an: A Child says back to you- A
Give me a: T Child says back to you- T
Parent asks- What’s that spell? Child says: CAT, if they don’t know the word then the
parent answers for them.
You can do this with any word you want. Also you can reverse who is giving the word. Ewan likes to shout out the letters and have me tell him what word they spell. A lot of the time they spell gibberish but I think that it is good for him to understand that not all letters that are put together make a word.
The other game that we play is MAD LIBS. This is great for helping your child understand basic parts of speech, verbs, nouns, adjectives. He is learning without even knowing it, and it is hilarious:)
Basking in the glow of the beginnings of literacy, certainly is worth the time and effort you put in teaching your own:)
What we are reading
04 Jun 2009 Leave a Comment
in Books
Here is what we have been reading as of late:
Brian:
- Java Books
- Grails books
- How to talk so your kids will listen and listen so your kids will talk
Ewan:
-We have been reading the The Tale of Despereaux at night. 
-The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe
Anwen:
What ever book she happens to pick up gets read to her.
Me:
- Eldest
- Brisinger
- Unconditional Parenting
- I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla
Read a good book lately?
07 May 2009 Leave a Comment
I am looking for some good book recommendations! I just finished the Host by Stephanie Meyer (which I really loved!), and am at a loss for what to read next. So, if you have any suggestions please let me know, I am desperate for a good read:)
Thanks!
Devotional for kids
11 Mar 2009 Leave a Comment
Brian and I have always had a sit down dinner with our kids and we always pray before dinner, but we wanted to incorporate a devotional into the time as well. I had looked at several devotionals and been unable to find a good fit and then I found these two devotionals. We love them and they are exactly what we were looking for.
The stories are simple and almost all about animals, they hold my kids attention really well and my kids are eager to answer the questions that are at the end of the story. They both ask for the book every night as we sit down to dinner, it has been a joy to share this time together each night.
Book three
02 Mar 2009 Leave a Comment
in Books
So as I said before I am reading the Twilight series and I have just finished book three out of four books. I am still loving the books but I am really ready to be done with them, I want my life and my brain back. I am getting tired of thinking about these characters and all the drama that surrounds them. It is so hard to put the books down and forget about the story. I have told myself that I will not pick up the next book until tonight and give myself a day to try and get back to normal. Brian suggested to me this morning that I wait awhile to start the fourth book but I told him that I just wanted this experience to be over with. I want to know how this story ends and then put them down and stop thinking about them.
Maybe I sound crazy, sometimes I feel a little crazy, but I think this is just what happens when I read a book that I am really engaged in. I get emotionally involved with the characters and they start to feel like family to me, even if I don’t like them. The same thing happened to me when I read The Road, It took me days to recover from reading that and probably weeks for the to totally stop thinking about it. I know, I am pitiful, they are only books, and fiction at that.
The light at the end of the tunnel is that I only have one book left and then it will be over, at least until Midnight Sun comes out and who knows when that will happen.
Kudos to Stephenie Meyer for creating such and engaging and wonderful series of books. I am sure I will read them again and maybe again.
Twilight
25 Feb 2009 Leave a Comment
in Books
You know the book that has been made into a movie about Bella Swan and Edward the vampire. This is the book that last summer my sister could not stop talking about and that she told me I had to read. I would respond to her with things like, yeah I will read it sometime, or I am sure it is good. I was in no hurry to read it, I don’t really know why but it was just not at the top of my list.
This Christmas Meghan gave me the book and for two months it has sat next to my bed and every so often I would look at it and remind myself that I needed to read it. Last night, I started it, today I am halfway through it and I cannot put it down. I read for over two hours this morning in a coffee shop while Ewan was at school and then I read for another hour this afternoon while Anwen was napping and Ewan was playing, and tonight since I am still under the weather my plan is to read until I can stay awake no longer.
This book has really taken me by surprise, it was not that I did not believe people that told me it was good. I just did not know it was one of those kinds of books that you don’t want to put down it is so good. It is an easy book to read, and I like the authors writing style. I love that she has so successfully captured what it is like to be a high school girl and how vivdly I can picture this story in my mind About 100 pages into the book I went the Borders across from the coffee shop I was at and bought the second book in the series.
I am shamelessly addicted to this book and I am sure I will be to the series, at least until I have read every last page!
Magazines
29 Jan 2009 Leave a Comment
After I had Ewan I realized quite quickly that reading a book was a much greater challenge then it had been before. When I got the time to read sometimes I could only get through a few pages before falling asleep. When I tried to read while Ewan was awake I would only get through a few paragraphs, sometimes only a few words before he was tugging at the book. My solution to this dilemma was to subscribe to magazines that interested me. Magazines where much easier to get though and reading a few paragraphs at a time was no big deal since most of the articles were short anyway. These are some of my favorite magazines;
A wonderful sustainable lving magazine.
Great, easy, quick recipes. The website is nice too.
Very healthy recipes, great health information.
Really cool projects for the MacGyver in you.
Wonderful resource for adoptive parents.
The Road
15 Dec 2008 1 Comment
in Books
This book is amazing and wonderful and sad and terrifying and beautiful and it is the best book I have ever read! The Road is the story of a man and his son and their struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic America. Cormac McCarthy is a master of words and writes the desolate landscape and twisted earth into reality.
The characters — the man and the boy — became so real to me that I would be cooking dinner for my family and would have the thought that I wanted to share our meal with them. I could not put this book down and thought about it all the time, wondering what would happen next. The relationship between the man and the boy is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful; it is truly inspirational.
READ THIS BOOK!!!
