About Me

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Our adventures started in amazing Alaska, but have since taken us to beautiful Spokane Valley, Washington. Our family consists of Nick (Dad), Becki (Mom), and our four boys: Alvin, Alex, Rilie, and Jackson. I enjoy homeschooling our kids and we're excited for what adventures Spokane has for us.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Spring is here, I think?

Hmmm.... I'm tired. Emotionally, physically, and I'm sure some other parts of me are just tired. Nick is in the last 6 weeks of school. We still haven't found a job, but we have some more time before we get the final word from the job he REALLY wants. I go through boughts of thinking maybe I should start babysitting. Then I remember we don't have enough seats in our car to bring said children to Alvin's appts, and picking up the boys from school. So, faith is all we have and it's pretty good to live on.

Alvin is exploring defiance, but it's not too bad. He tries to argue his point and talk over me. I'm working really hard at not feeding the cycle (by yelling and arguing back, just ending it). Which means I have to bite my tongue and just send him to his room until he's willing to speak respectfully. He comes around, so I know it's just a phase... at least that's my mantra. GOOD NEWS! He has his annual speech evaluation. He scored in the average for all but two categories. Instead of upping his appointments, we'll actually be DECREASING! YEAH!!! For him and me!

Paul is just full of energy and joy. He is full of confidence with his new skills he wants to try out over and over again. He loves hide-and-seek. He is a strong reader, but not really interested. At school, they have a special reading group. You have to complete 5 Bob books, then you can join. Paul has been ready & able since February, but just forgets to turn in his books. It isn't a battle by any means, he'd just rather do something else. Lucky his teacher isn't pushy. She is amazing! Now his best friend is in the reading group. So, he is a little more motivated.

Rilie is mimicking our everyday activities. He likes to try and write, he actually holds pens in a tripod grip! He loves reading books. Crawling on the kitchen table is a favorite (okay, that's not mimicking anyone that I know of). Singing is a past time of his... his whole body gets into these whimsical poses as he stares at something unseen and sings. I think I have an artist on my hands.

I have been enjoying the sunshine! I can now run 2 miles straight . I'm prepping to summer school the boys myself, again. Just for an hour a day. For science we're going to learn about animals. Where and how they live, what they eat, etc. Alvin wants to learn about animals that eat people. We narrowed down the list: Lions, tigers, bears (oh my), snakes, sharks, and vultures. So far, Paul just wants to learn about dogs. Maybe we'll study the different breeds.

Primary is going AWESOME! I love my kids. We had a Primary Activity this week. Lauren lead games in the gym, Becky Marvin helped the kids dip Cake Pops in chocolate, and I helped them make Thank You cards. We separated them by classes: 3 - 5 years olds, 6 - 8 year olds, 9 - 11 years olds. We had a HUGE turn out. Next time, we'll take count.