3rd Grade Curriculum

We are getting ready to start school again. This summer has been a flurry of activity and it is not quite over. I have come to the conclusion, however, that homeschool mamas don't get a summer vacation. Before we even finished 2nd grade, I was planning 3rd grade. I have worked and shopped all summer and I think I finally have everything ready!

This year, we are using Bob Jones. The exceptions are spelling (we are using Spelling Power) and math (we are continuing with Saxon). I think I am finally going to be satisfied with our curriculum choices. I have tried several different approaches, but after researching our choices, I think this is what is going to work best for us.

I am excited about the new curriculum, but I am even more excited about our "No-Curriculum Fridays" aka "Charlotte Mason Days". I am not ready to jump into the Charlotte Mason method with both feet, so this year I am just going to dip my toe in and see how I like it. I have blocked off Fridays for literature, music and art appreciation, and nature studies. We are starting with Swiss Family Robinson, Vivaldi, and Degas.

Other books on our reading list are: The Hundred Dresses, Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates, Black Beauty, Pollyanna, Winnie the Pooh, The Wind in the Willows, The Trumpet of the Swan, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Anne of Green Gables. I am sure we will add to the list. I also have several poems I want to share.

Our artists for the year are Degas, Cezanne, Monet, Rodin, Moore, Vermeer, da Vinci, Grandma Moses, and Goya.

Our composers are Vivaldi, Handel, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Williams.

I also purchased "The Bumper Book of Nature" for our nature study. I am hoping you will find us at the park, Palo Duro Canyon, Wildcat Bluff, or Lake McClellan on Fridays, sitting on my grandmother's quilt, reading, sketching, and enjoying life.

If you know our little family, then you know we are always on the go! This year Bailey will continue with suzuki violin, ballet at the Landance Conservatory, and Keepers of the Faith. Zack will be continuing with flag football, Lego Club, piano lessons, and basketball.

This is going to be a great school year!

Breaking All The Rules

Everyone has their own little oddities. I know someone who can't eat the corners of Doritos because they are too pokey. He breaks them off first. I know someone else who counts the ice cubes as they fall in the glass. Someone else can't eat the part of the sandwich that he touched. Everyone has little oddities.

My dad has more than his fair share of oddities. His socks have a left and right foot. He marks his work shirts with a "w" on the label. I could write a book about my dad. The sad thing is that I have inherited his predisposition for oddities, or as my kids call them, "mom's rules". They are more than happy to announce mom's rules to anyone who visits our home. I try to tone things down when company is around. I just haven't taught my kids to be gracious to others when it comes to my rules. That lesson is coming soon, though. I mean, I don't want people to thing I am weird or anything.

My husband calls me neurotic, my kids call me strict, I just think I am, um, whimsical.

I can't sleep in a bed that has not been made, I cannot walk bare-footed on carpet that has not been vacuumed in the past 24 hours, Kris must sit on my left when eating, at the grocery store - I must take the second item on the shelf, the window blinds must be slanted down in my bedroom - slanted up on all other windows, I cannot serve with a spoon smaller that 3 inches in diameter. . . .

I count things, like legos. I went through a period of several months, when I counted Zack's legos every night to make sure he hadn't lost any. I finally put them in the top of his closet because I couldn't stop counting them. (For those of you who are feeling bad for Zack, he now has 1,562+ legos and he is free to play with all of them. Oh, and I have stopped counting them.)

Oh, and don't get me started about the importance of hand washing, bleaching all household surfaces, and the number of bottles of hand sanitizer we go through.

Germ-a-phobe? Worry-wart? Compulsive? No! Neat freak? Not at all!

I am "Whimsical", remember?!

I am whimsical because my oddities are balanced by my somewhat messy closets, my fanciful art supplies, my unorganized recipe collection, and my love of dirt (as long as it stays outdoors).

So where I am I going with this? Oh, yes! Coloring books!

Coloring books?

Yes, I don't like pages to be torn out of them and I most definitely do not like the pages to then be stuck to the wall.

But that is exactly what makes my little Zacky-boy happy. My mother bought him a poster-sized coloring book of Toy Story 3. He colored 10 pages, ripped them out and taped them to his wall.

It looked, um, well, messy. Delightfully messy. So, I gave him some of that sticky stuff that will not damage the paint. I lived with it for a while without any major issues until it got hot and he started running his ceiling fan every night. The fan blows them off the wall. Every morning it's the same. I go into his room and tell him to make his bed and pick up those pictures - those delightfully messy pictures that have been torn out of their book and stuck to the wall!

Today I did something I never thought I would do. I actually stuck the pictures to the wall with thumb tacks. THUMB TACKS, I TELL YOU! And I did it MYSELF! Thumb tacks make HOLES in the wall! There are 10 pictures with 4 tacks in each. THERE ARE 40 TINY HOLES IN ZACK'S WALL! I don't know how I am going to sleep tonight!

This will either be major break through for me, or it will push me over the edge and I will start eating purple paint because my friend, David told me too.

Heaven help us, I don't know what my little world is coming to!

The next thing you know I will be getting a pedicure!



(Oh, yes. In case I haven't told you, I can't let anyone touch my feet.)

Wonder Woman

I love life. I love doing things. I love being involved with great projects. I don't usually do things half-way and I don't usually say "no".

In fact, "no" is not an easy word for me to say. I seldom say it. If someone asks me to do something the answer is most often "Yes!" It's not a guilt thing, it's just an "I want to do EVERYTHING" thing.

I have always seen myself as Wonder Woman. I have always been able to get a lot done in a short amount of time and on very little sleep. Really, I can do it all!

But, spring was stressful. Especially the month of May. I kept telling myself if I could just make it to the summer months, things would slow down and I could breath.

So, in June we did VBS, started working in my grandmother's house, went to Wonderland, went on a short fishing trip, had a garage sale, celebrated 2 birthdays and Father's day, went to the zoo, and volunteered at the used curriculum sale. We have 6 weeks left of summer and on the calendar we have church camp, 3 (yes, 3!)out-of-town fiddle contests, a ladies retreat, vacation, summer violin recital, July 4th @ Mom's, and whatever else pops into our lives.

Oh, and school! I have 6 weeks to wade though a huge stack (about 2 feet!) of teaching manuals for our new curriculum. I also need to re-organize our school room and set up our new workbox system. I have 300 pages of learning centers to cut out and laminate.

All of this is piled on top of normal, day-to-day chores and activities and 2 very active kids who are always on the go, creating new adventures and begging to go to the pool.

Please don't misunderstand - I love all of the activity! I really do! I am just starting to realize how over-committed and over-extended I have become.

I am a fairly organized person. I have schedules and lists and calendars. I have always believed if I could fit it into my "box", then I could handle anything. I am Wonder Woman, right? As long as I didn't have to physically be 2 places at once, I could do it. But this morning, I walked into the laundry room, looked at my pile of laundry that I could have sworn was caught up, and I thought, "Wow. I guess I can't do it all. Maybe I am not Wonder Woman, after all."

It's a sad day but, I guess I need to hang up my Golden Tiara and my Lasso of Truth. I need to slide my red patent boots back under the bed, grab my calender, a big glass of sweet-tea, and a fat black marker. Then I need to go sit in the shade and start "x-ing" things off the calendar and penciling in things like "breath", "take a long bubble bath", and "date night with Kris". I received an email from my friend, Leah, today and something she said has really resonated with me. I think it's time to cut out something "good" for something "excellent."

I'm saving my Wonder Woman gear, though. You never know, I may need to pull it back out again some day.

It's Gotcha Day!

I originally posted this on June 21, 2009. Today is my sweet Bailey's "Gotcha Day", so I decided to re-post. Happy Gotcha Day, Sweet Bailey Jean!!!




Eight years ago today, our Bailey flew home to Texas and officially became a part of our family.

We had waited 9 years to have a child we could call our own. It was, at times, an extremely painful wait. But when my baby girl was placed in my arms, all of that pain was wiped away. It was if it had never happened. The wait was over and we were finally together.

That night at the airport, cameras were snapping and people were laughing and talking. Documents were presented and information passed hands. But I was in another world. I just hugged her and cried and said over and over again, "Mommy loves you, Mommy loves you, Mommy loves you . . . . "

Looking back over my life, I realize Bailey has always been a part of me. I loved her long before I knew her. I will never understand how God put us together or why he chose to give her life a world away from my own. It doesn't matter. She is mine. We may not look the same, but our hearts beat the same beat. We are a part of each other.

At night, while she is asleep, I sneak into her room to watch her sleep. I look at her little face and wonder what she saw in the first few months of her life. Who held her first? Who changed her first diaper? Who fed her the first time? Who was the first to rock her to sleep? I want to see them, too. I want to thank them for loving her. I want them to know how much she has grown and how happy she is.

When Bailey talks about adoption, she explains it this way, "Jesus gave me to my mommy and daddy. Then, he stuck us together like glue. Our family is glue." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Craziness!

I love summer! I love trips to the pool, VBS, snow cones, trips to the mountains, cook-outs, flip flops, Wonderland, July 4th celebrations, and lazy afternoons. This will be Bailey and Zack's first year to go to church camp as real campers instead of Mom and Dad's helpers and they can't wait! I am loving this summer!

I love summer so much that I usually try to stretch it as far as it will go. I push school to the back of my mind and just drink in the sunshine. But something happened this summer that has forced me to think about the coming school year much sooner. (sigh) The PCHEA Used Curriculum Sale.

You see, I have been wanting to change curriculum. However, the curriculum I chose was above and beyond our homeschooling budget, so I knew I was going to have to get creative. I was going to have to sell our old curriculum and try to find some used curriculum. The only problem was, it was going to force me to think about school during the happiest time of the year - summer!

But, I did it anyway. I cleaned out the old and brought in the new (well, gently used.) I am so thankful that God led me to ebay, the Used Curriculum Sale, and Mardel's 90% off sale. I am so thankful He led someone to my stack of goodies at the sale.

The result? Amazing.

Next year, we will using Bob Jones curriculum for a fraction of the cost and I am thrilled. We are also using Spelling Power and Saxon Math in addition to my friend, Bob's curriculum.

All of this has brought about a flurry of lesson planning, plotting a course of study, scheduling, list making . . . .

Which has left me SCREAMING at myself to stop and enjoy summer! I have to break free from the "homeschool mode"! Quick - someone bring me a watermelon snow cone! It's too early for this craziness!

Top 10 Reasons I Don't Have an iphone

So, I'm sitting in a meeting at church Sunday afternoon when a man walks in the door and asks for help. He says he needs a gas card and some groceries. We tell him who he needs to talk to and he walks out the door. He stands on the sidewalk for a few minutes, then pulls out his phone and calls someone.

I don't have an iphone. There are lots of reasons why I don't. One reason is I buy my own groceries and gas. Maybe I am being jaded and cynical, but it bothered me.

I get asked a lot, "You don't have an iphone? Why not?" Again, there are lots of reasons. One reason is I don't need a phone to solidify my place in society. In the words of my awesome friend Lana, "Your phone is not a status symbol - it is a way to communicate."

So when did cell phones become our identities? I am a lot of things, but I am not my phone. I am an artist, a voracious reader, a wife, a mother, a lover of shoes, and a pretty good fiddle player.

I simply choose not to spend my money on things like iphones. I'm not criticizing those that do. If you have an iphone, that's fine. Really, it's ok. People who have iphones are not evil. It just bothers me when people who have iphones throw it in my face and try to make me feel second class because I choose to spend my money on something else. You are not making yourself look successful and amazing. You are making yourself look shallow and foolish. You look silly. If your phone defines who you are, then you aren't much.

To be perfectly honest, I could have an iphone if I wanted one. It's not a matter of the "haves" and the "have nots". I could re-arrange my spending habits and go buy an iphone this week. It's just not what I want to do. I know it's hard to believe, but I don't want to spend money on technology. It's not who I am. It's not what I do. It's not right or wrong, it's just me. That's all.

So, don't try to impress me with your phone. Phones don't impress me. People impress me. People who are intelligent, articulate, creative, loving, and passionate impress me. My friend who has helped countless refugee families settle into homes impresses me. My nephew who is currently in Belgium, sharing his faith with people on the streets impresses me. My husband who works endless hours to provide for our family impresses me. A fellow adoptive mother who moved to China to become a missionary in her daughters' homeland impresses me. Claude Monet, Kathy Thibodeaux, Chopin, Dr. Kim Duk Whang, Harper Lee . . . these people impress me. Good grief, the person who invented vanilla Dr. Pepper impresses me more than someone who simply bought an iphone.

So in honor of amazing people everywhere, here are the top 10 reasons I don't have an iphone:


10. I don't try to keep up with they Jones'. They try to keep up with me.

9. Bailey takes ballet at a private conservatory.

8. Zack plays sports.

7. I like to buy nice art supplies for both my children and myself.

6. I have 68 pairs of shoes.

5. I spend money on experiences instead of technology. I would rather climb a mountain, visit a museum, or go to a concert than have an iphone.

4. I am incredibly beautiful, smart, artistic, and talented. I don't need an iphone to convince others I am an amazing human being. My phone is not my status symbol.

3. My children's needs and wants come before my own. They are well-fed, well-clothed, and well-educated. We work hard to give them opportunities many children do not have. They live a full life.

2. I like to read books, not screens.

and the number one reason is ............





1. I don't want one.

The Art of Creativity

College.

I think I was addicted.

It took me 7 years to get a 4 year degree.

I am not a slow learner. I did not fail classes and have to take them over. I wasn't lazy. I took any where from 12 to 21 hours a semester. I even went to summer school. The problem was, I kept changing my major.

I had 4 different majors in 7 years. Art, Dance, Theater, Education, then back again. I just couldn't make up my mind. I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. No, that's not right. I knew what I wanted to be. I wanted to be everything.

I came close to getting my degree in dance. I wanted to be a choreographer for a big ballet company. I came even closer to getting a degree in theater. I wanted to direct plays. I also wanted to be an art historian, a photographer, an interior designer, a writer, a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker. As my dad says, every time I got "in danger of graduating", I changed my major.

If you know me, then you probably know how this story ends. After too many years in college, my Daddy took me to lunch, then took me to the registrar's office. He slapped my transcript on the desk and said, "What can you give her for this?" The answer was, "a Bachelor's degree in General Studies".

So, I graduated. My mom sang the "Hallelujah Chorus" at my graduation. Literally. They called my name, I shook the mayor's hand, my mom stood up and let 'er rip.

I learned a lot in those 7 years and I have so many sweet memories. One day my boyfriend (now husband) rescued me in the parking lot outside the fine art's building. I had driven my car over a parking curb and got it stuck. One time my dad sent me flowers after I made an 'A' on an algebra test. One morning I told my friends in the dance studio about my first date with Kris. They all agreed it was a disaster and I would probably never hear from him again! Two semesters, I helped teach ballet to some desperate Ag major cowboys trying to get their fine art requirement.

I've heard people say the most important thing about college is getting that piece of paper that says you graduated. When you interview for a job, no one ever asks what you learned - they ask if you have a degree. Maybe that's true, but I love that I was able to learn so many different things.

My favorite class was called "The Art of Creativity". It kind of wrapped up everything that I loved about college; about life. I'm in my 30's now, but I still think about that class and that goofy, slump shouldered professor who taught it. That class was a real turning point for me. It helped me see that I didn't have to settle on one area of creativity. I didn't have to just be a dancer or just be a painter. I could tie everything that I loved together and just be an artist.

Looking at my life today, I realize that I am everything I was back in college. A friend of mine once told me I was "too passionate", another told me I had A.D.H.D. My life isn't a life that can fit into any one career path. I still paint, write, create, and even teach. (See? I knew those semesters as an education major would come to good use some day!) I am always wanting to try something new. I guess that is a phase I will never out-grow. My new goals are to master watercolors and read the classics.

So, I guess I wasn't addicted to college. I just love life.

My Little Genius

My mom has always talked about how smart she thinks Zack is. She is always bragging about the things he says and does. She is always telling me what an "awesome responsibility" I have, home schooling such a gifted child.

When he was about 4 years old, I was listening to my mother go on and on about how brilliant he was as he played in the floor at her feet. Sarcastically I said, "Yup. He's a genius. That little kid sitting right there with Lincoln Logs in his ears is going to be a rocket scientist!"

My mom is a proud grandma and don't get me wrong - I've always been extremely happy that she is so involved in my children's lives. I've always been thrilled with the fact that she thinks my children are amazing.

Mom has been talking about my "genius child" since he was a baby, but to be perfectly honest, I just didn't see it . . . . until yesterday.

Zack had to eat a late lunch because he took too long finishing up his math worksheet. (He likes math, but he likes looking out the window better.) So, he was sitting at the kitchen table, by himself, eating a plate of leftover tater-tot casserole and it was taking him forever to eat. (He likes tater-tot casserole, but he likes looking out the window better.)

All of a sudden, he jumps up from the table and says "Hey mom! I just got a great idea!" Then he goes on to explain that he has seen pictures of Japan after the earthquake and he noticed something odd. The houses fell down, but the trees did not. It's because the houses didn't have roots. So, when he grows up, he is going to build an "earthquake safe house". The house is going to have roots that go deep into the ground. The house will still shake, but it won't fall down on people. It will keep them safe.

OK, so maybe mom is right. Maybe my 7 year old little boy IS brilliant. Maybe I should have seen it when mom did. Maybe I should have seen it when the pediatrician told us at age 2, his vocabulary was extraordinary. Maybe I should have seen it when he started to read at age 3. Maybe I should have seen it when he designed and built a solar-powered oven. Maybe I should have seen it when he started playing, and sometimes winning, the game of chess.

Maybe he IS a genius . . . . .or maybe he's just a goofy little kid with Lincoln Logs in his ears.

My Lovely Brown

I am not a coffee drinker.

I wish I was, I really do. I love the idea of coffee.

I think chunky, ceramic mugs are cute. I also think I would look really grown-up and trendy carrying around one of those paper cups with the nifty little lid. Coffee makes an incredible accessory. It goes with anything. Even jeans and a tee look cute with a coffee cup. It's like the "little black dress" of accessories. You just can't go wrong carrying around a cup of coffee.

I have tried to like it. I have tasted every kind of coffee I could find, but yuck. Every single sip makes me want to gag. It tastes like charcoal water and who wants to drink that?

Kris likes coffee. He frequents those trendy places with the bistro sets and the tan and burgundy walls. I always have to give him an extra long hug after he meets a friend for coffee. He smells so yummy. You see, I love the way coffee smells. I even bought a coffee candle. Imagine my embarrassment, though, when someone dropped by and asked to stay for a cup of that delicious-smelling coffee. "Oh no," I had to say, "I'm not hip enough to drink coffee. It's just a candle." Oh, how I wished coffee tasted the way it smells!

In November, Kris took me to Starbucks. (He had a gift card and he wanted a cheap date.) I stood there, desperately searching the menu for something I could choke down, when I spotted it - "Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate."

I like caramel. I like chocolate.

I was not prepared, however, for the utter bliss that I would feel upon my first sip of this nectar of the gods.

I truly embarrassed myself in front of my sweet husband. He thought I was having some sort of attack or something. I cannot mimic the sounds of joy that escaped my mouth. I thought I was going to die from . . . I don't know. . . ecstasy?

It tasted so perfectly delicious and on top of that . . . . it came in one of those paper cups with that nifty little lid! Finally, I had found perfection in my world. The most wonderful tasting beverage and a darling accessory all in one package! My heart is, even now, thumping wildly at the thought of this discovery.

But my joy was matched with an equal sorrow when December rolled around and "salted caramel" was replaced on the menu by "peppermint". Peppermint! My heart ached at the realization that "Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate" was a seasonal menu item - available during the autumn months only.

Depression set in over the months of December and half of January.

That is, until this week.

Out of sheer desperation, I asked my husband to drive me to Roaster's. I needed caramel hot chocolate and I needed it bad. Roaster's is a cute little coffee shop. It smells nice. No caramel hot chocolate, though. Fighting back tears, I asked my husband to see if the little coffee guy behind the counter would make me some hot chocolate and add caramel. You know what? The little guy said "OK. Sure thing!" He was even chipper about it and acted like it was perfectly normal for the husband of a teary, desperate, imbalanced female to ask for caramel.

One sip and I knew I had found what I had been looking for. My heart was finally home.

But, oh, what does this mean? Have I wasted almost two months mourning a beverage I could have been drinking all along? Oh, the pain, the regret! What have I done? What have missed?

Alas, after much soul searching, I have resolved to not give in to the regret of past mistakes. I will no longer torment myself. What's done is done. I cannot change the past. All I can do it look to the future and enjoy each day as it comes.

I will not take for granted my luscious Caramel Hot Chocolate. I will relish each and every sip. I will not think on those darkest of days, spent away from my lovely brown. I am bravely walking towards a new dawn; a new chapter.

.....and don't I look fab carrying my paper cup with that nifty little lid?

Time

The afternoon of News Year's Eve was spent watching videos of Bailey and Zack. It is amazing how much they have changed and grown over the years. We laughed at Bailey (18 months) picking Zack's nose (10 months). We listened to Zack (2 years) "read" The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We cried while we watched Bailey's adoption referral video, filmed at the Babies' Home in Seoul. We were amazed, once again, by the miracle of our children.

Something struck me, while watching videos of my sweet babies. Maybe it is because we were married for 9 years before having children, I don't know, but time does not seem to be zipping by like I thought it would. I have heard time and time again, parents advise me to enjoy every minute because children grow up so fast. Watching Bailey and Zack as babies I was amazed that it really doesn't seem like yesterday. It seems like 7 years ago.

I believe the agonizing wait was, actually, a blessing. I had time to enjoy my marriage and plan for my future. I think this is why I have enjoyed every minute of being mommy. I haven't taken a single moment for granted. I love my children more than life itself.

That is why, I think, I don't dread seeing my children grow up.

Of course, Bailey was cute and silly at age 2. But, you know what? She is beautiful and compassionate, and, yes, still silly at age 7. I am in love with Bailey - not her age.

Zack was a sweet, chubby, drooly baby at 9 months. I loved seeing his pudgy arms reach for me. At 7, though, he gives the best hugs and makes me laugh like no one else can. I love the boy named Zack, not his age.

So, as Bailey's birthday rolls around next month, you won't hear me complain about the fact that she is getting older. You will hear me sing and cheer and celebrate the fact that the world has been blessed by the presence of my amazing daughter for 8 entire years! What a miracle!

I am blessed.

I am excited about what the future holds for my family.

I am ready to celebrate!

Our Homeschool Classroom

This is our happy little homeschool classroom! It is actually a second living area at the back of the house. (This is the view from the kitchen.)




This is our reading corner. I started reading to Bailey and Zack when they were infants. They have now developed their own love for books and spend a lot of time in this little corner. Library books are kept in the white basket between the bean bags. This makes a huge difference when the due date rolls around. We don't have to search then entire house for library books. The cute little hedgehog bean bags came from Target. They are made out of corduroy and are super-soft and comfy.




These are the snowflakes hanging over our reading corner. We had suns in August and September, owls in October and November. I'm not sure what I will hang up next. Raindrops maybe? or Kites?



This is a handy place to keep our current favorites. These books are the ones that are most reached for. The latest and greatest titles include "Tobia, the Quig, and the Rumplenut Tree", "Tops and Bottoms", "The Wide-Mouthed Frog", "Peeny Butter Fudge", "Super Hero Swamp", and "I Saw an Ant on the Railroad Track."



Bailey and Zack enjoy having their own workspace. All of their school supplies are kept in their desks and their text books are in little book bins on the floor beside each desk.

Behind their desks, we hang artwork on a clothesline hung over the windows. There are flashcards on the windowsill.

The big yellow tub in the corner contains "Free Choice Time Activities". There are lots of goodies in the tub that serve as great motivation tools!





These are the built in storage cabinets and entertainment center (which we use as a computer desk.) The desk top is a constant source of frustration because it stays so cluttered. I am still trying to find a way to keep this area organized. It drives me crazy!



This is the front of the classroom. We have a white board/chart stand combo that my mother bought for us, a felt board for storytelling, and one of my many handy-dandy pocket charts. There is also a huge pocket chart (not pictured) that hangs on the back of the door.



Art is very important to our family. These are Bailey and Zack's art supplies that they use daily. The cabinet beneath is also full of supplies. We do something creative everyday!



Behind my desk is Bailey and Zack's library. These books are organized and color coded. I created my own coding system for our little library and it works wonderfully. We have around 520 books that are currently in our system. Bailey and Zack also have their own "private collections" that are in their bedrooms. We love shopping for books and frequently add to our library.



This is the top of my desk. Every once in a while, when working on a big project, I clear off my desk and we use it as a shared work table. Most of the time, though, this is my little spot.



At the end of each messy school day, we take a few minutes to tidy up our classroom. Bailey and Zack have a great respect for learning and work hard to maintain their learning space. Each morning, they walk into a clean classroom, excited about what new and exciting things await!

They Called Him Laughter

Zack makes me laugh.

When he was born, I said I wanted to name him "Laughter". Kris talked me out of it, but that name would have fit him very well for several reasons.

I first wanted to give him that name because of the Michael Card song about Sarah that says,

"They called him Laughter, for he came after
The father had made an impossible promise come true."

"An improbable infant, a punchline, a promise come true.
They laughed til they wept, then laughed at their tears
This miracle baby they've wanted for years".

Then later, my dad said our story was proof that God has a sense of humor. You know, begging for a baby and then having two within 4 months! That's funny! So, let's name him "Laughter!"

Zack is funny. His one-liners keep us laughing all day. He wakes up funny and he goes to bed even funnier! So, why shouldn't he have the name "Laughter"?

He tells jokes, and puts grapes between his toes. He makes insightfully hilarious comments about the world around him. He makes funny costumes and tries to train the dog to do silly things. He hides in boxes and wears underwear on his head. He helps me see the humor in the mundane. He gives everyone and everything funny nick-names. He belly laughs in his sleep, dreaming, I guess, of his plans for the next day.

My mom called they other day and said, "I just wanted to call and see what Zack said today!"

Bailey has always enjoyed his humor. When they were babies, he would make funny noises to make her laugh. One day, Bailey was upset and fussy. Nothing we did would calm her. Then Kris had a brilliant idea. Go get Zack. We held Zack over her crib and bingo! Her tears turned to laughter! He still believes it is his job to make her laugh and he does. Daily. She calls him "my funny brother".

I tried to keep a journal of the funny things that he says and does, but it's impossible to write down everything. I have decided to quit trying to record everything he says and just relax and enjoy him.

He is a delightful child. He is a little ray of sunshine that burst unexpectedly into our world. He is a joy!

So, why not "Laughter"? Or a least "Isaac"?

Well, because his name is "Zackariah" - "Jehovah has remembered you" - and that name fits him even better.