Mountain Vacation

 It was time for a family vacation.  There is nothing easy about packing up a family of eight and traveling to unknown lands but it is a fun part of our childhood memories and we want to make those same memories for our own kiddos.  We decided on Colorado this year and we hadn't explored the Pikes Peak area in a while.  So we found a house to rent (for a family of eight it is actually cheaper than hotels) and we made a plan...a very very detailed plan because mom can't survive without a plan.  After making a long list and checking it twice, we packed and

packed for more than a week until we could fit no more.  Monte always thinks there won't be enough room but I have total confidence in his ability to fit lots of things into small spaces and he delivered once again (he has perfected the art of large family travel).  So off we went.
On the way there I had lots of fun activities planned.  The kids play a charades of sorts with pipe cleaners, snacked, played travel bingo (looking for items along the way) snacked, read, and snacked some more.  We had a progressive breakfast of sorts where each person had

 a cup and mom kept filling them with fun breakfast treats (most of which we don't typically eat at home)  cheese curds, powdered sugar doughnuts, fruit, pop-tart pieces etc.  They had fun waiting to see what came next.  We also stopped at at least two parks at small towns along the way to stretch our legs and run off energy.  I will admit I had purchased a new DVD player for in the car but was pleasantly surprised that we didn't need it much (until the trip home which is a story for later).

Jackson enjoying one of our park stops.  Prior to our trip he had not been a good traveler and rarely sleeps in the car.  He didn't sleep much but he was a happy traveler and we were so thankful!

We arrived to this beautiful secluded cabin a few miles from Divide, CO.  Our driveway was about a 1/4 mile long one lane winding road down a valley and back up the hill...

...and the view of Pikes Peak  from the front of the house was breathtaking.

  The inside of the cabin was perfect for our family.  It had two bedrooms and a loft with additional beds for the boys.  The kitchen was fully furnished.  To save lots of money, we typically make our own breakfast,  eat picnic lunches on the go out and about, and pack along freezer meals for supper.  We try to plan a few special eat-out times along the way.  My other requirements for a house/cabin is a washer and dryer.  We did at least one or two loads a day and came back with mostly clean clothes which makes a huge difference when trying to settle back in at home.  I am also happy to pay the cleaning fee and not deal with having to clean at the end of our week.  This home was very family friendly and also had a pack and play, hiking pack for Jackson, high chair, boosters, toys, games and books for the kids.  We still packed along some personal toys etc but it saved lots of space in the Yukon, which Monte was thankful for.

At the House we enjoyed baking together...

watching the humming birds on the front deck...

exploring the property...

watching t.v...

playing games on the deck...

and just relaxing.  I would like to say that I got lots of time to sit and relax but that was far from the truth.  But it was well worth all of the work.

 Finding free activities in the area is always high on the agenda for our large family.  Who can resist a playing in a park in nearby divide with a beautiful mountain backdrop in the fresh mountain air?

Conner is practicing his Superman moves.  He heard that Superman was from Kansas and adopted too!

Garden of the God's is always free and is just beautiful.  It was a short thirty minute drive from our cabin.  It has some really nice paved trails that are easy to push a stroller on.  We enjoyed watching the rock climbers.  Vaeh declared that she wanted to climb the rocks too.  We said she could when she got bigger and she continues to ask daily if she is bigger yet so she can climb!

Walking through the wardrobe into Narnia.

Another great free family activity in Colorado Springs is Focus on the Family.  We could have spent an entire day there.  They had a really fun area for the kiddos to play.  We felt quite at home with many other "large" families.  During our visit, Bentley, Payton, and Conner got to make a radio show episode of Adventures in Odyssey in a real studio.  Payton did sound affects while Bentley and Conner were the characters in the show.  We received a free CD to take home.

While we were waiting for the "bigs" to put on their radio show, the "littles" enjoyed the play spaces.  We realized that Vaeh found a puppet that looked exactly like her, shirt, curly black hair and all.

Our next stop wasn't free but we got a price by the carload so is was relatively cheap for our large family and one of the best memories.  We drove to the Summit of Pikes Peak.  It was a beautiful drive.  When we reached the top it was very cold and very very windy but we had to make a pit stop outside to take a quick picture before heading inside. We purchased a CD from the Rangers Station at the bottom and enjoyed hearing about the history of Pikes Peak and things to watch for.  The CD did a good job of narrating our trip.  At one point it said this is where you will often see deer and Bentley said "look there they are" and sure enough there stood two deer!  We got a good chuckle.  The CD also told of the famous Big Foot siting on the mountain and we joked about it the rest of our trip.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the way down in a quiet roadside picnic area.

Another day we headed to Cripple Creek to ride the train and learn about Gold Mining in the area.  It was a beautiful drive and was a highlight for Gracen who loves trains.  We had planned on Monte and the older kids returning the next day to tour the Molly Kathleen Mine but plans changed.

We had to say goodbye a day early.  Monte became very ill at the end of the week from dehydration and altitude.  In those moments as I packed up the troops I realized that  I was all alone with six children and a very sick husband.  I have become very accustomed to close family support and I missed them dearly.  I hid in the closet, tears streaming, and called my mom and texted my sister, who encouraged me and I prayed over and over for God's strength.  I knew that we had to get Monte hydrated and out of the altitude and I couldn't get packed up fast enough.  I was just hoping we could make it home without a visit to the emergency room.  Bentley and Payton's help was invaluable and after hours of frantic packing, we raced down out of the mountains.  After just an hour of traveling into lower altitude, his fever broke and he became much more alert.  I knew that I was on my own getting us home as he was exhausted.  So we drove hard.  This is when that DVD player I talked about came in handy.  We were traveling just in front of a big band of heavy storms and we had to boogie.  In my old age, I have become a wimp about driving in the rain and in the dark.  I will do either one (white knuckled) but I don't like it and both heavy storms and dark didn't appeal to me so we were motivated to keep moving. The kids did great and after only stopping for a total of 45 minutes (a record by far for us) we made it home safe and sound.  Bentley and Payton took turns entertaining Jackson the entire eight hours home without complaint and I was so thankful.  At the end I declared that I was officially traumatized by vacation and was "never going again." But time, pictures, and good family memories have softened my heart and I am sure that all will soon be forgotten.

I am reminded of Psalm 121 and I am Thankful.  Thankful for God's beautiful mountains, thankful for "our cabin," thankful for the memories, thankful for my babies, thankful for God's protecting hand on Monte (and all of us as I drove wildly out of the mountains), thankful for the Yukon making it there and back without incident, and thankful for our families who support us even from afar.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

    where does my help come from?

 

My help comes from the Lord,

    the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—

    he who watches over you will not slumber;

 

indeed, he who watches over Israel

    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—

    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

 

the sun will not harm you by day,

    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—

    he will watch over your life;

 

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

    both now and forevermore. Psalm 121

I Love You Birthday Boy from the Birthday Mommy!

This morning a little boy wriggled up onto my lap and snuggled in.  "I love you Birthday Boy," I said to him.  He replied "I love you more birthday mommy."  Yes, I am the birthday Mommy!  Three years ago today at 8:36 p.m. I gave birth to this tiny blessing we named Gracen.  God used his pregnancy and birth to teach us that children are a blessing and although he was not a part of our plans he was a part of God's. He reminds us to never second guess what God has in store for us and we cannot even begin to imagine our lives without him.  Gracen's name represents God's grace throughout our family journey.
I always say Gracen will make a wonderful husband some day,  if I ever let him leave home that is.  He tells me how much he loves me many times throughout the day and is quickly at my side when I need a helper.  He loves all of his brothers and sisters too and doesn't hesitate to tell them so.  He was a happy baby and is a happy kid.

Gracen LOVES tractors and Uncle Chris, who just happens to be a Combine Mechanic, invited us to visit him at work.  He got to see tractors and combines being worked on and enjoyed seeing the big tools and taking in the noises and activity of the shop.  He got to sit in tractors and even "drove" a big combine with uncle Chris.  It was the perfect day!!

Just look at that smile.  Payton on the other hand looks a bit uneasy about his little brother being behind the wheel!  Thank you to Uncle Chris for a Birthday he will never forget!

Oh...one other great thing about Gracen...he still thinks we hung the moon!  

Happy Birthday my Beautiful Boy!!

Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward from him.
 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
 Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents in court.

Psalm 127:3-5

"Gotcha Day"

May 15 commemorates in our family what some families refer to as "Gotcha Day", the day that we "got" Conner and Nevaeh.    You can read about the story of that day here.  I am not at all fond of the term "Gotcha Day."  It feels like in some way we are saying we won.  Nobody won.  The truth is one mama is left with empty arms and a broken heart, one child is left aching for his mama, another so young she will never know her but will always wonder, and two parents who "gotcha" are left to pick up the pieces of broken lives.  I will be the first to tell you that adoption is not an easy journey for the adoptive parent or the adopted child.  When the camera is gone and the doors are closed the picture is not so perfect and often the tears flow.  The tears of a child longing to return home, no matter how dysfunctional or dangerous.   The tears of an intense battle in our child's minds between loyalty for what was and what is now and learning to come to terms with both.  The tears of a mom who doesn't know how to help her child, stirring up deep feelings of inadequacy as a parent and as a person.  Good moms protect their children from pain and heartache right?  It is so different when you have walked through fire with your child rather than having met them on the other side.  Somehow it seems that we have arrived to the fire too late...after they have already been burned,  just in time for the huge and painful job of healing to begin.  At the same time we know that had they never walked through that fire and faced that trauma, we never would have known them.  We would never wish this pain on any child but we are so blessed to have them.  With older children, the pain is more immediately obvious.  For the little ones, it comes later and sometimes in different ways but other mamas assure me it comes.

So when do we cross over from deep trauma to true joy?  I am reminded of the second half of Psalms 30:5 "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."   But when will morning come?  We know that it is so different for each child, and for some, peace never comes while they are on this earth.  Revelation 21:4 tells us that when we reach our Heavenly Home peace and healing will come and God will wipe away our tears.  Some adoptive families say the scale slowly tips after children have been out of the trauma for more years than they have been in it.  Everyone agrees there is no magic formula or time frame for healing.  Some days it takes all of us.  Some days it takes all of them.  Some days it takes more than any of us have and we all fall apart.  Yes...we ALL fall apart.  We hide it well don't we?  There are days, even weeks, and months when we see the dawn of the morning.  Then as quietly as it came, it slips away and we are reminded that we live in a fallen world and that it is not and never will be as it should be.  So for now we will take those glimpses of a beautiful sunrise and be thankful.  Thankful for the healing, thankful for the mama who gave birth to them so that we could have them in our lives and in our family, thankful that they have the chance to know Jesus, and thankful for the journey that God has used and is using to profoundly change us as people and as a family.  So we will celebrate adoption day quietly and carefully, knowing that the same trauma that hurt them brought them to us.

" For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

I have been promising to post some of my favorite adoption resources for a long time...so here they are! 

*That We Might Be Adopted has a great list of resources.  The website is aimed at international adoption but I have found many of their links very helpful even though we adopted through the foster care system within the U.S.

*The Chuppies is a blog I love to follow.  Be ready to cry when you read their story about adoption and be ready to laugh as you read about her kids and their antics.

*Beyond Trauma and Attachment is a very raw and real picture of adoption.  These mamas honestly share their struggles and triumphs.  This link will take you to one of my favorite blog posts, Loving Fiercely. 

*One Thankful Mom is my favorite adoption blog.  Lisa Qualls is very honest about her adoption experiences and I often can relate to her posts.

Happy Birthday Bean Le Bean the Birthday Queen!

Three Years, 8 months, and 16 days ago today we were handed this tiny bundle of joy.  At that time we did not know what the future held or how long we would hold her in our arms.  Today we celebrate her fourth birthday and are proud to be her mom and dad.  She has bloomed into a beautiful little lady that has captured our hearts and those of everyone she meets.  Her smile and flare for drama are contagious and not a day goes by when she doesn't have us all cracking up over something she does or says.

A little known fact about Vaeh is that her favorite animal is a buffalo.  Yes a buffalo.  She is posing at the zoo in front of them but they are way in the back of their pen lounging in the sun.

Vaeh LOVES cake.  She declared that for her birthday supper she wanted cake and cheese puffs.  Luckily later she added in chicken nuggets and mac and cheese to give the meal more substance (or something like that).

Each year on each of the kids' birthdays we take a picture with just mom and dad.

She has always had amazing balance and rides her siblings scooters like a pro.  For her birthday she got a tricked out hot pink razor scooter with tassels and a bell.  To top it off, a pink bike helmet complete with a tiara and jewel accessories.  She was pleased!

Happy Birthday to our very special Bean Le Bean, the Birthday Queen!!

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

Happy Eleventh Birthday Payton

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAYTON!!

 Tonight at 8:25p.m. my Payton turned eleven.  Even though he is child number two of six, he will always be my baby.  For many years he was my youngest.  I cherish our long conversations that we have shared over the years, almost since he has been able to talk.  He is a young man of many thoughts and many words and he wears his heart on his sleeve.  He certainly makes it clear that he loves his mama and I couldn't be more blessed than to be able to spend my days with him. 

 Payton adores his baby brothers, almost as much as they adore him.  Gracen is his buddy, at his side constantly, and Payton takes it in stride, teaching him everything he knows.

Happy Birthday Payton!  We love you and hope you had a wonderful day!

Highlights From A Year in the Life of Homeschooling

They say there is a three year learning curve to homeschooling.  Despite a pregnancy the first year and a new baby the next, we are finding our groove and figuring out this lifestyle of learning.  I can't believe we have almost made it through another year.

 

Our History Curriculum is "The Story of the World, Ancient Times."  Our study of Egypt included learning about the Pyramids built for the pharaohs.  We had fun learning about how the engineering and work that went into building the Pyramids as well as the mummies and treasures within.  We even made a Pyramid of our own out of Duplos.  There are lots of Pinterest boards that give great ideas and video links for this curriculum.  We also purchased an activity guide that makes teaching lots easier for mom.

A highlight for me this year was returning to my passion, preschool.  Having three very willing little students we are having lots of fun being creative.  We are learning a letter song that uses sign language and teaches the letter sounds.  We are trying to do a letter of the week but sometimes it takes us a few weeks to get through our activities.   When things get really busy, it becomes the letter of the month. 

This winter while we were trapped inside because of the cold, we used the snow as a canvas.

The letter of the week is always more fun to write in shaving cream.

For "D Week" we drove diggers in rice and painted yellow diggers that's parts actually moved by using brads.  We finished them off with their pictures in the cab to make them look like they were driving.

Another highlight for all of us this year was our Olympic Study during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.  We learned about the history of the Olympics, which later tied into our history during our Ancient Greece Study.  We  learned about Russia, the Winter Olympic events, and we tracked medal winners.  We also talked about good and bad character traits of Olympians.  Bentley and Payton especially enjoyed their homework each night, which kept them up past their normal bed times watching the Olympics.
Payton especially enjoyed learning about bobsledding and it prompted him to make numerous really cool lego movies using his legos and the stop motion camera on his 3DS.  He spent hours making lego creations and movies and once again it was fun to see his learning become a part of his play.

Jackson enjoyed hearing his brother's version of his favorite stories.  My little's (and big's) love of books makes my mama and teacher's heart smile.

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With our study of Ancient Africa we learned about making Paper Bead Necklaces out of Magazines and we tried our hand at Fried Plantains.  We learned that no one here is fond of Fried Plantains but it was fun to try something new.



During our study about "The New Kingdom of Egypt," we learned about a Woman who was a Pharaoh and we built Egyptian Chariots.  We later learned about The Israelites leaving Egypt and the Plagues.  This tied into our Bible Road Trip as well.  It is fun to see our subjects overlap and come together.

Payton Enjoyed a Study of Mr. Popper's Penguins.  He learned about Mr. Popper's absent- mindedness and could totally relate!  He also did some research about penguins and was excited to continue his research at our local zoo.

We learned that Vaeh and Gracen are both close in size to an Emperor Penguin.

This is a line drawing inspired by the large Nazca Line Drawings in South America that cover hundreds of feet of earth.  Can you tell that we are discovering that we love history??








We have also enjoyed a new math program this year called Teaching Textbooks but it doesn't make for the greatest pictures.  It is computer based and saves me a ton of teaching a grading time.  Both kiddos are fairly independent and when they get a problem wrong twice, the program shows them how to solve the problem and teaches the concept again.

I had to add this one in.  Conner still attends public school and has had a great year with a wonderful teacher!  He was a musketeer in the school musical and we were so proud of his performance.  I see acting in his future.

The next few weeks will be dedicated to wrapping up our current curriculum.  We will take a few weeks off in June for  vacation and camp and then focus the rest of this summer on just a few subjects. Our musketeer will rejoin us at least for the summer months.  We are planning to cover Apologia's study of Anatomy and Physiology for Elementary students.  We will also take a break from our history series to enjoy a DVD series call Drive Thru History: The Holy Lands.  This series will overlap with some of our history as well as Bible.  For math we are going to play tons of math games to keep it fresh in our minds and have a little fun.  P.E. and nature studies will also be a big part of our summer curriculum.  To meet these requirements we will be in the pool lots and find local nature areas to explore.

" Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9

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