September 14, 2019

I'm back again to take a shot at keeping track of our family happenings on this ol' bloggy place.  I have  not been here in a while and had a bit of a hard time cracking the code to get back in, but here I be.

What a week it's been and I do not hope to repeat most of it.  I lost a friend from college days to cancer last night.  Jody Sloan was an amazing person... devoted follower of Jesus Christ, wife, mother and friend to so many.  She was an inspiration and will be greatly missed.  She was also a dedicated blogger.  I am inspired to try again by her example. 

Blog update and Anna

This blog is long due for an update!  I am picking this back up to write about what is going on with Anna's condition and help me process it all!!!

 In January of 2017, Anna was diagnosed with scoliosis at an exam in town.  An  x-ray revealed a curvature of the spine and we were referred to an orthopedic surgeon/scoliosis specialist at Children's Hospital.  Her spine had a curve of more than 50 degrees, it basically looks like an S.  We noticed changes in her posture and the appearance of her back made us suspect something was wrong, but we didn't realize it was so severe until the x-ray at her general practitioner.  Anna has never been sick, complained of pain, had any developmental difficulties other then the fact that she is very small.  She has always barely been on the 1% of the growth chart, but that has been steady and not sudden, so it really didn't raise any red flags for us and we still don't know if that is related to her condition.  In February of 2017, we made our way down to Children's and met with the doctor.  Anna had more X-rays.  We really didn't get any answers but were told we needed to get an MRI to see if there is a cause for the scoliosis or if it is idiopathic (no cause).  They did take some more X-rays at this visit.  In March of 2017, we were back to Children's for the MRI.  She had to be sedated as she would be under the machine for over 2 hours.  Anna was very nervous but she did well.  The staff was wonderful at Children's and we were glad to proceed ahead and find out if there was any reason for her condition.  About a week after the MRI, I received a call from the Orthopedic office telling us they had found a syringomyelia in her spine between vertebrate C6 & C7.  This is basically a cyst or fluid filled cavity within the spinal cord and was the cause of her scoliosis.  We don't know what, if anything, caused the syringomyelia.   At this time we are being referred to the only pediatric neurosurgeon in our location, as this condition must be addressed before we can proceed to treat the scoliosis.  We are not able to get into this doctor until June, so again we wait and pray.

Still here!

Happy New Year!  Hope everyone has a blessed year.  We are back into the swing of school and activities after a long Christmas break.  My oldest is currently the only one away from home, but it was good to have him back for a month.   Nice for a Mom to have all her children under the same roof, even if only for a time.  He will be finishing up his last semester at Bible College with a May graduation date.  Everyone else is working and schooling (except for Julia who is working full-time).

It has been brutally cold here with highs in the negatives!  I am not a fan of winter in Iowa!  Especially hard when you have critters outside that need constant care.



Some photos of the gang:

I'm here

Our family suffered a tragic, major set-back in March.  3 months later we are doing better.  Taking life one day at a time.  Knowing God is sovereign and loves us so much...clinging to Him. I am not at liberty to give more details right now, but hope to post about it in the future.

 We have been occupied with VBS.   Our church has used the Answers In Genesis curriculum for the past six years and we love it.  It features a live drama and I have directed this for the past 3 years.  This year was a spy theme and 3 of the girls acted in it.  Fun!   We also celebrated Thomas's 8th birthday on June 26th.  Otherwise the garden "monster" stalks me daily, wanting to be weeded and tended..the nerve!  Mowing is a major summer activity here as we mow our acreage, 2 church properties, MIL's yard and Pastor's yard.  That is practically a full-time occupation.  The 4 older kids are working various hours, which makes for complicated schedules.  I now have 3 high school graduates! Julia graduated from HS and we had a celebration for her on June 7th.  She is not planning on going to college right away.  Carlina went for a year to college and is also planning on staying home next year...so I will have 8 of the nine home.  Colton is going back to college to finish his senior year in August.  Garret t just returned from a week at summer camp and we hope to take a small family trip over the 4th.

Christmas Day Fun...

Merry Christmas 2013 from us to you!!!!!!

December 2013

We've had a rocky start to the month with some type of "stomach flu" infecting most everyone.  Only 3 have avoided it--so far!   We did get to Celebrate Carlina's 20th birthday while she was home and I can see the light at the end of the "birthday season"...one more!  Garrett turns 10 on the 29th!  We always have a real Christmas tree and got ours up on Dec. 1st.  So far we have lost a duck and a chicken in December, hopefully we can make it through the winter without any more losses, but I am not hopeful.  We also lost a kitty about a month back and I think we can attribute that to the mountain lion roaming around.  Jesse saw him in the field across from our house a few weeks back.  Hopefully he has moved on! That is not his actual photo, lol.

Homeschooling..

Are you considering it?  I have never regretted it, although at times I have been tired.  I have really pulled back toward a more "unschooling" type of schooling and we love it.  We read, play, write and do some math.  We do NOT do "public" school at home.  I enjoy spending all day with my children, I really do!  We do make lots of messes and it isn't perfect (we are all sinners) but I believe it is the way that things should be for us.  Here is a good site for those considering homeschooling High School:

LetsHomeschoolHighschool.com

also

hslda.org

This blog has been neglected.....

I plan to catch up one day.  School is going along for everyone and we are very busy with church "goings-ons" as well.  Today is Alicia's 16th birthday and I will try to post updated pictures of everyone soon!!!  Tomorrow headed down to college to see the 2 college students...miss them so much!!!  Hope to write a more lengthy passage soon!!!

What does Home School 2013-2014 look like?

Summer is winding down fast and we will soon be hitting the books again!  This year I will have a 2yo, preschooler, 1st grader, 4th grader, 7th grader, 10th grader and a Senior!  I think this year might be a bit more challenging then last year, due to having a very determined and busy 2 year old little boy.  He does love to color and draw, so that helps  alot.  It seems those art genes run very strong in this family--mostly from dh's side!

My senior will be taking 1 online college class, just to get her feet wet and earn some free credit.  The school doesn't allow her to take anything that they offer, so she is forced to choose from a very small bank..thus Children's Lit it is.  I am also having her take an auto care class...very important if you own and drive a car!  She will be working on German this year, since our Greek teacher left.  Also, reading some good books and doing wordly wise vocab and Easy Grammar.  She is also taking the Economics course that My Father's World has put together.

10th grader is doing MFW American History along with the German, Geometry and Biology.

Continued tomorrow......

College Bound!

Two weeks from today I will be packing the "bus" to make the 5 hour journey down to college with a college junior and one brand new college freshman.  It is so hard to believe that the summer is winding down and we are facing a new school year.  I am really not sure where the time went, but I have the same feeling each year.  Colton is continuing his journey with his Advanced Biblical Studies degree with the hope to go into missions somewhere far away.  Carlina had been taking online classes at a community college but decided to try Bible College for at least a year.   She made this decision about a month ago and we have been scrambling to get everything done.  Today we bought some of the last items she needs...bedding, toiletries, school supplies.  I am so excited for her but I am going to miss her tons!   They really do grow up much too fast.  Carlina will be 20 at the end of the year and it seems like yesterday that she was running around as a little girl, playing with her stuffed animals.  That sounds so cliche but you can't really understand it until you experience it for yourself.  I have gotten used to having Colton gone, now I will have to adjust to one more baby bird exiting the nest!  

Sisters

Hooray I'm 2!!

Summer bliss..

Gardening....(weeding, hoeing, watering-sweet corn, pumpkins, zucchini, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and WATERMELON!)

VBS-this is THE week!  We've been working on it since early April and it is finally here!  We are doing Answers In Genesis's Kingdom Chronicles and it is a blast.  I have a role in the drama this year, which tests my memorization skills!!

Swimming-NOT yet!  Alas, our pool is waiting for a new liner.

Animals-lots of time taking care of the critters..ducks & chickens.

Drivers Ed-Child #4 is involved in this right now!

Fun-picnics, birthdays (3 summer boys right in a row! Thomas turns 7, then Colton turns 21 and finally big boy David turns 2!!), and lots of time to have cousins over!

Today...May 15th

Lately I am a homebody.  I seem to get less and less done as the years go by...fatigue? laziness? internet?  When I am home, I have no excuse and can usually accomplish one small task.

The garden is coming along and some green is beginning to peek out.  Snow on May 1 and then 106 degrees yesterday...extreme and not conducive to growth!!

Carlina had her wisdom teeth out yesterday, poor soul.  She is surviving, doing well even and won't have those nasty buggers to worry about anymore.

Where's Spring?

It has been so cold lately.  We are even supposed to get a wintry mix tomorrow.  I am hoping that my apple trees won't get ruined, like they did last year..no apples:(  We are planning a bigger garden this year and have 2 plots staked out.   Right now we are getting ready for our annual Home School Presentation Fair.  The kids have to stand up and present a report.  The topic this year is Founding Fathers.  Next is VBS, which will be in June.  I am directing the drama again, so we are beginning practice already.  We are using Answers in Genesis VBS again which is always top rate!  We have so much fun with it, but it is tons of work to get ready.

Schooling is going slow!   This time of year it is hard to be motivated!  Julia did take her ACT, she was happy to get that out of the way.

Colton will be finishing up his sophomore year and coming home in a month.  He will hit the job search hard, he would really like to go back in the Fall.  Carlina is still deciding what route she wants to pursue, whether more online college or go down to KC with Colton.

Garrett & Thomas had cavities fixed today, not fun.  Thomas is going to the orthodontist on Friday to see if anything needs to be done about overcrowding.