Summer School is Cool....

The best part about bringing your kids home in May is that you have 4 months of great transition/adjusting/language learning time before school starts in September. On the flip side....you get to explain for four months why they are NOT going to school yet. The whole idea of a summer break just doesn't make sense! We have debated the pros and cons of homeschooling our children...at this point in time we know our soon to be 7yr old will be attending public school in the fall and have yet to decide for the others. So for now...Rehoboth Academy as we have fondly named our homeschool is in full swing. We're continuing the tradition of naming the family homeschool. We chose this name based upon Genesis 26:22 "...He named it Rehoboth, saying 'Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.'" We chose it because we truly feel blessed by our new house and that this home was God's plan for us and our new family.

Here are some pictures of our kids in action in our school room!

Reviewing flash cards...

Sensory Play with a shaving cream car wash...

 Field trip to pick strawberries...

 When the "teacher" is woken up at 5am...sometimes class just gets moved to a park!

 Field trip to the zoo!

  Practicing shapes...the plates also had a shape on them and the goal was to throw it to the corresponding shape on the floor.

Relay race...."Go get a triangle!"

 Puzzle time.

It has been one of the most amazing experiences to watch my children LEARN how to LEARN. To watch them let their guard down...to relax...feel safe...and absorb. I love introducing new concepts and watching it "click". Shapes have definitely proved difficult for them but it has been fun to come up with new and creative ways to help them grasp/remember the shape name. Right now we are working through basic concepts and as they are ready I am challenging them...we are not using a set curriculum right now...although we are using A LOT of great ideas from Pinterest and quite a bit from the Letter of the Week curriculum on Confessions of a Homeschooler. All four boys also love Kumon books. From the moment breakfast is finished I have one or two following me around, "Mom, school?" We love to get our school time out of the way early so we try to wrap up by 10:30 (we start around 8:45/9). When we first started "school" the week after they came home- thirty minutes was about the max I could get them to work with me...so you can see how much improvement we have seen in six weeks time!

One Month Home.

It is hard to believe. We landed in America one month ago. After hours and hours of traveling...we walked off the plane with two insanely happy little boys and one sobbing. We tried and tried to comfort him knowing our family was waiting on the other side...his brothers promised him we were DONE with planes and we were really in America now. They begged and pleaded with him to walk..."Grammy, Grandma, camera, balloons" they repeated- but nothing consoled him...and so we carried him....crying...to meet his new family members.

The next day we realized that by the time we had landed we had been traveling 29 hrs and he had slept maybe 5 of them...and it was currently 2am in Ethiopia (the day after we had started the trip)...and he is only four. He had cried on and off during the trip...and sometimes his face just said it all...as if he was thinking- "my brothers think this is a good idea?" He was the baby...but not anymore...now he is the middle child...in a family of 5 kids...and he has been artificially twinned...a whole lot to take in in one month's time. And really when I step back and think about it, he is doing great. In fact, today he attended his first American birthday party for a friend of Little Man!

It has been one month. I can hardly believe it (did I say that already?) They are riding bikes, eating McDonald's, jumping in bounce houses, riding power wheels, begging for popsicles, living it up at the beach, jumping in our pool, playing on soccer teams, asking to go to school....they are kids...kids who test and challenge, try to bargain for a second cookie, protest bedtime, tattle on their brother, and give their sister anything her little heart desires.

They are learning how to be siblings...Little Miss now has four doting big brothers who love to make her laugh...and likewise- she keeps them howling in laughter...in many ways- she was the key to bonding all five together. Little Man has gained some confidence...he has tried new foods, gotten over his fear of the ocean...he laughs...A LOT...he is also EXHAUSTED from keeping up with three big brothers.

Sometimes it is hard when you are meeting this adjustment phase- for them and me (2 to 5 kids is an adjustment for mom!) head on, day after day, you easily forget just how much progress has been made in one month. And then, I remember the morning after returning home- seven adults trying to keep track of 5 kids trying to ride bicycles- reminding them that in America cars come down the street...and my head spinning thinking "How will I do this alone?"....fast-forward one month and that day seems like a distant memory- we CAN ride bikes outside...heck, 2 are now riding 2-wheelers! And believe me- that seems miraculous!! When you end the day with a bedtime protest- sometimes it seems like the whole day was tragic...but when I look back over the day I realize- hey- we ate lunch out- like sitting at a table- and nobody complained...oh, and everyone ate dinner, showered, attended story time...wait- we played a game together like a normal family...and swam in the pool laughing...hmmm- we DID have a great day!

Many people have asked how I am? I'm busy- which I like...I'm happy...I'm often on the verge of tears if I even have a remote thought of the life my children had a mere two months ago...I'm tired of course- until my second wind around 9pm...I often don't have the answers and parent on instinct...the books have failed me more than once- my kids don't fit the books- and for that I am thankful. I am learning how to be a better parent- following through- accepting the crying and complaining because in the long-run- my consistency is going to prove worthwhile! I am living in absolute awe and wonder at my God.

When I look back over this journey all I can see is God's story coming together...it started with Him and He saw it through....HE told us these children were ours (one day I will share that story)...HE brought them home...HE is the one healing their hurts and their hearts...HE'S GOT THIS...somewhere along the way I actually started believing this...my husband just returned home from a 10 day trip for work...our kids did great- despite what all the books say and warn...he had to go on this trip and all we could do was pray that God would comfort the boys in his absence...upon his leaving I truly felt confident He would-...and you know what HE DID! They did awesome! They were so excited to see him return- he surprised them at their soccer game...and they picked up right where they left off. God's pretty awesome....He had this family planned long before we did...and there was nothing that was going to keep us from coming together.

One month home...and finding our new normal.

Redemption

      

Sometimes when I look at his smile...I can't help but think of God's Redemption

He WILL bring us all to where we need to be for HIS healing to take place.

                                      It’s the moment when humanity
                                        Is overcome by majesty
                                    When grace is ushered in for good
                                   And all our scars are understood
                               When mercy takes its rightful place
                                 And all these questions fade away
                              When out of the weakness we must bow
                                   And hear You say “It’s over now”
                                                              ~MercyMe
                                                                "The Hurt and the Healer"

Are we Cocooning?

No...and yes.

My answer really depends on the day and time you ask me. Do we let just anybody into our house? No. Are we confining ourselves to the walls of our home? No. Have we fed the boys fast food? YOU BET. Have we left home and explored public places? Yes or I'd have ripped all my hair out. Let's face it- we have three VERY active boys...+ 2 more active bio kiddos. We are busting at the seams with energy starting at 6am...add early risers to non-stop energy and mom is 4 cups of coffee in by 9am! So, yes, we are cocooning and no, we are not. We have been to the beach three times, an indoor playground, bowling, ice cream, McDonald's, Sonic, the doctor, the mall for shoes, bounce houses- I think that's everything. Have we walked into a birthday party of 50 kids and told our boys to fend for themselves? No. We are monitoring our boys for any single moment of hesitancy or fearfulness, anxiety or concern...and we have not seen it in these situations. We try to limit our outings to every other day max. We did two days in a row last week and noticed we needed to pull things back in- so we did- and it worked well.

Personally, the idea of cocooning frightened me beyond belief before bringing our boys home. With our 2 bio kids- I preferred keeping busy- morning and afternoon activities- sign me up! I like to be on the go- I like to be tired at the end of the day and I ESPECIALLY like tired kids at the end of the day. Isn't that the point? So I expected keeping all 5 of our kids home day after day could really be the biggest challenge God had in store for me. Thankfully- God gave me 3 more kids who like to be on the go..."car, go, out?"Our boys behave beautifully in public- do they always want to get OUT of the car when we get home? No, but we are working on it =) It also helps that I am not on my own just yet. My amazing mother-in-law has been here since the beginning. Some may say that is completely opposite of cocooning but for us and our personal situation it was necessary. We are a young family where Dad works very long hours and also travels- the second set of hands has been much needed during the day during this transition. The boys have responded well to her and for that I am very grateful!

So- that is the best I can answer that question. We are doing what works well for us on that day and in that moment! The boys are doing well...we are overcoming challenges- working through things- and ultimately finding our new "normal".

Our Pediatrician Calls It...

Experiential Healing.

One Week HOME...

Today marks one week as a family of seven! I'm not even sure where to begin this post....this week has held so much joy, pain, happiness, confusion, laughter, questioning, SINGING, hurt, dancing...so much of so many emotions. I'm not sure I will put it eloquently tonight- but I do want to have something written to remember where we are now- so one year from now I can look back. To start, the boys are doing phenomenal- I have read enough to know that they are not without their struggles and questions- and we are not without ours- but they are doing great. Are we seeing pain? Yes. Without a doubt. And rightfully so. Are we seeing happiness? ABSOLUTELY. This house has never been filled with more laughter, singing, and dancing than it has this week. We laugh so hard sometimes that tears flow....such was the other night when the two oldest and Little Man put on a show for us with traditional song and dance mixed in with some contemporary rock. Or when B (our 6 year old) came up to me at the stove and asked if he could eat "a foot"....you know- a chicken leg. They make us laugh, they challenge us, and they make us question everything we thought we knew about parenting. Isn't that every kid's job? Today when we surprised them with a trip to the beach and let them run free- they threw themselves in the water- face first into the waves...laughing huge deep belly laughs, screaming free...I thought of one word...soaking...we are soaking it all in, soaking in each other, learning how to be a family...soaking in God's plan for us...soaking in the hurt and the healing...and grateful that God had bigger plans for all of us.

WE ARE HOME!!!