It's Been So Long...But I'm Back (I think)

I've been really wanting to get back to blogging about our amazing and busy family...but it's been just that - BUSY!  I can't believe its been 2 years since my last post.  So much has happened since then.  Time flies, kids are getting big, and we have all grown so much. 

I went back to work, full-time, and what I was thinking, I do not know!  It's been very difficult working and trying to keep up with the kids.  They are all in school except for Mia (my high schooler who loves homeschooling).  Mia and Aliyah are going strong with their music, playing guitar and writing songs.  Mikayla is now in gymnastics, loves it, and is amazing at it.  She was asked to be on a team but wasn't comfortable so we've kept her in an advanced class for now.  DJ is doing karate, soccer, and was recently selected to audition for the Philadelphia Boys Choir!  We also ran a 5K together at his school and he's an awesome runner (we actually didn't run together - he smoked me).  Ariana is in pre-school, doing so well and getting so big.  Our new addition, Holly, past last December.  She was hit by a car and it was a really hard time.  Ariana still asks if she can go to heaven to see Holly :(  And we added yet another doggie friend, soon after we got Holly, a pitty we named Paisley.  My beloved husband, Carlos, is currently in an Army training for 7 weeks.  We have 3 weeks to go, so I'm just hanging on by a string.  It's very hard doing it alone when he travels. 

That's just a little run down of where we are.

Our Baby is 3 yrs old Today!

Here is my post from her blog, http://www.vazquezbaby.blogspot.com/

Our little miracle is 3 years old today! What a blessing, words cannot describe how grateful I am. I remember this night 3 years ago so clearly up until she was born, then things are a blur. Carlos was in PR visiting his family and I was having contractions. Since I was only 25 wks I ignored them thinking it was nothing. When they didn't stop I called the doctor and was told to go to the hospital. I have high blood pressure and that caused my placenta to rupture. At one point my blood work showed my blood was not clotting, Ariana was breach and they had to do a c-section, but were concerned that my bleeding would not stop. I remember laying in this room all night (with nothing for pain, since they wanted to do as little as possible) and looking out the window, watching this clock in Camden and praying and praying.

At 7:10 Ariana was born...naturally...she was fiesty from that moment, they didn't have time to get the anesthesiologist in so they could do a c-section. All I remember after she was born was a white haired man squeezing this balloon like thingy that basically was breathing for her and them brining her over so I could see her and they took her away. Brenda, my sister in law was there, she called Carlos and gave him the news...his flight was leaving PR. I can't imagine what he felt.

Ariana had awesome nurses and doctors at Cooper University Hospital. I will always remember Katie, Donna, and Ann - her primary nurses who cared so dearly for her. The amazing respiratory team that dealt with her breathing tube issues. She had laser eye surgery at 2 mo that saved her sight...Thank you Lord for Dr. Wasserman! And Dr Ian Jacobs, her ENT who performed her airway reconstruction a yr and a half ago at CHOP. And for our family and our church we are so grateful for their support through all this.

Ariana was in the hospital for 3 months before coming home. I remember coming home without her and seeing a little dress we had for her and crying. She's just an amazing little girl. For her I'm so grateful. God has been faithful and good to us. Hebrew 13:5 "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Only because of His mercy and grace can I write...

Happy Birthday Ariana! Baby Girl...we love you so much!

Our Holidays

The holidays are here and days seem to run into each other.  We ate Thanksgiving dinner at my parents.  We really just relaxed Thursday and Friday...and usually we are running around doing something.  So it was nice to sit around eat and watch movies and talk.  We took time to talk about the things we were thankful for...it was a sweet time together.

I have great running friends who have inspired me to start running. So I've started walking/running a few days a week and I'm enjoying it.  Today I ran with Aliyah, our 11 yr old, and she encouraged me and kept me going.  It was great! 

I also have "End of the Year Resolutions" since I'm more a last minute person. 
1.  Continue to spend time daily with My Lord and Savior.
2. To spend more quality time with my family and enjoy them
3. Not to bite my nails
4.  Set priorities and goals and work toward them
5. Finish our Family Binder by the end of the yr

Oh yeah, we found out Carlos' brother is have a baby boy...we are so happy for them, this their first child.

I've been reading some great blogs and have been on information overload!  Below are just a few, they are great women, most/all of which seem to really love the Lord and are filled with great 'stuff!'  You may see my new menu which I'm still trying to figure out, it's not totalling working, but I like it so I'll figure it out.  But I got it from one of these blogs.  Enjoy!

http://confessionsofahomeschooler.blogspot.com/
http://homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com/
http://raisingolives.com/

New Addition to Our Family

So we have a new addition to our family...her name is Holly.  She's a beautiful 3 yr old, Black Lab.  She's just amazing!  We got her friends special friends, who trained her so well.  Today Holly brought in groceries for me!  She puts away her own toys.  I really could brag about her for quite some time.  Her worse thing ~ she loves to lick people to death...especially visitors!  She's just special.

I have wanted a "big" dog for some time...a Rotti to be exact. Carlos however, was not into that.  Months ago I told him then we should get a Black Lab, it was the closest thing I could think of to a Rotti, except known to be family dogs - that was one of his concern.  Bear, our little Maltese, had to be put down in August because of cancer and I really missed him and missed having a dog around.  Friends need a dog sitter and were also looking to re-home Holly, so I volunteered to doggy sit, thinking I'd get my doggy fix.  After a week, Carlos decided we could keep her. 

I had really struggled before with being content not having a dog and at this point, I was content and grateful where God had us.  So it was just wonderful when I could take my gratefulness up another level.  I have been enjoying taking her to doggy playdates and the dog park and our walks.  The kids are split on this:  Mia is not a dog person so she's not impressed, Aliyah is torn - happy and loves dogs but afraid to get attached again and loose her,  Mikayla, DJ and Ari are Ms/Mr Dog Whisperer and taking charge and keeping Holly in her place while loving her.

Welcome Holly to Our Blessed & Blended Family!

Homeschool Struggles

I've been having such a hard time with homeschooling.  I go in and out of this phase: feeling unworthy, frustrated that the kids don't just do their work, the tantrums...ugg, yet knowing what I need to do and not doing it. I know that God is in control and if anything, I need to let Him have all the control.  It's all easier said than done.

So I'm on day 2, of sitting down with a timer and the kids close...here at the dining room table.  I've been setting the timer to 15 minute intervals, not really allowing questions, unless directly pertaining to the subject they have in front of them, and trying to get back on track.  We struggle with time management and focus, that's why I have the timer.  My kids also, as many I'm sure, feel the need to ask every question under the sun.

Grading papers and doing lesson plans...whats so hard about not only putting it on a schedule but actually doing it. I know I can be OCD about the way I want to do things but I do think I leave that dream world and come back to reality.  The reality that it will not be perfect.  And I know much of this is my struggle with self-sufficiency. 

Praise God that He is so patient with us. My prayer is that He will make me more like Christ and bring me to a point that I will depend on Him alone.  I know He hasn't given me more than I can handle and I know I need Him every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day!  As hubby and I sat and discussed my struggles, we first went back to our reason for homeschooling. It was to raise our kids with our beliefs and values, that we/they would honor God in their learning, and I realized not a day goes by that I don't tell my kids they need to honor God in the decisions they make, how they treat one another, and in their responses. 

Although hubby is not totally sold on homeschooling but supports me, he said, "then whats the problem...we're fulfilling our purpose."  It's hard to realize our kids are learning whether we have sat at the table and worked all day, with 15 minute check points of course, or if they've argued, had tantrums, I've yelled, and had chaos.  In spite of ourselves, God is with us and fills in the gaps, as I had many wonderful homeschool friends tell me our first year.

~Girls Are Back From Bermuda~

My older girls went to Bermuda to visit their father for 2 wks.  Mia, 13, made it the whole 2 wks, Aliyah, 11, came home after 1 wk. Ali was homesick, she really gets herself worked up when she's not happy and had stomach aches for 2 days before I finally requested she be sent home. 

A little background (which I asked Ali if I could share and she said, "sure.") Ali wanted to go live with her dad. She was begging me for some time and we'd talk about it and I pray for her a number of times. Finally I had to end our conversations about her going to live with her father, because she was really becoming angry that I would not give in and send her off. She was tired of living with a big family, tired of a stepdad, tired of not having her own space, tired of all the rules. We talked about how a lot of her feeling were "self-centered" and God does not call us to have that character.

I also told her how sorry I was that she even had to be in this position ~ although God's grace and redemption is awesome and I'm so grateful for it each day ~ there are still consequences to my sin.  I know divorce is not part of God's plan, but I know I serve a God of forgiveness.  So here's where God's grace came in, Ali got to go visit her dad and just a few days after being there started having these stomach aches.  I could see how God was using this trip to show her how blessed she was to be in the family she was in and how blessed she was to live with us.  The 2nd day of stomach issues, Ali says to me, "Mom, I know the sole purpose of this trip was so God could show me I belong with you." She came home on the 3rd day and still had stomach aches after being home, but I feel God really wanted her to remember how she felt.  She was so happy to be home.

It's so great to see how God answers prayer!  Mia came home today and was very happy to have spent a week with her dad, alone.  I'm overjoyed to have my girls home safe and looking forward to starting a new homeschool year.

School Room Finished!

Finally...in my 3rd yr of homeschooling and I've finally completed our school space. Our dining room is also our schooling area, although the entire house is really used in one way or another. In this picture is our shelves, which I think look messy in the picture, but there is order to them. The top shelf is our games, the next shelf is manipulatives, boxes for all writing material, tape, glue, staples, then two shelves of bins for each child, and the last shelf holds empty folders, notebooks, and boxes that don't fit anywhere else. Next to the shelves we have plastic drawers with craft supplies and paper on top.

My kids are color coded - I got the idea off of one of the many websites I've read. I've given them a color and they have everything from plates and cups, to little toothbrush holders in their color, along with their school supplies. This may sound insane, but it makes my kids take responsibility for their things. And it helps them remember that they left something out and it wasn't someone else...if it's their color, they left it out.  I'm sure there's some psychological reason someone may say I'm hindering them by color coding them or not really teaching them something or others by doing this or maybe just that I'm OCD...in the end it works for us and helps us keep order ~ so for now ~ my kids are color coded ;o)

At the end of the day we all need to find what works best in our families and in our homes to help us have an orderly home.  My new venture is making my own laundry detergent which I took the recipe from a great blog that is full of ideas and tips for large families and homeschooling families ~ www.raisingolives.com ~ I've been so blessed by many of her posts and the other mom's posts. I will be trying the detergent, I made yesterday, and hoping I like it.  I will also be trying to cook and freeze meals which she also talks about on her site.  Its exciting learning new ways to care for my family.

Corrective Muscle Therapy

Today I went to see a doctor that does "Corrective Muscle Therapy." I have carpal tunnel and suppose to have surgery next month. I have friends who told me about this doctor that could possibly help me avoid surgery.   So he said I had muscles/tendons/ligaments that were twisted and turned the wrong way and that he could correct it.  He poked, prodded, twisted, turned, and squeezed (very tightly) my hands, arms, and shoulders. I felt relief but pain at the same time. He said it would feel weird for a few days, since they've been in the wrong position for some time, however, my arm looks swollen and really hurts.  I just hope this works. 

Lost Sleep Over Chickens

Last night I was awaken at 3:30am, DJ had yet another nightmare and woke up Ari with his crying, so they both ended up in our bed.  I could not fall back asleep.  Before I went to bed I was researching homesteads and vegetable gardens and CHICKENS.  (I'm always full of projects, unfortunately, not always dedicated.)  So all I could think about was creating/building a 'mini' homestead ~ if there's such a thing.  I've been thinking about this for some time.  So I asked hubby what he thought about it and of course, he looked at me as if I had two heads.

As I balanced myself on the edge of our bed,  I began to pray, as all I could think about was sending my kids out to get 'fresh' eggs from the chicken coop that I think I'd like to have. I asked God to help me fall asleep, a while later I began praying asking God to give Carlos the same vision of having a homestead, if that was His will...that he would loose sleep (I really didn't pray that he would loose sleep).  I prayed for almost every aspect of my thoughts and most importantly that this would not be 'just another project' that I would lack consistency in and become lazy with.

Before I knew it, the sun was coming up, Ari was awake and my chances of any more sleep quickly slipped away. 

Our Summer!

Church Camping Trip ~ Our oldest was with the youth when this pic was taken. We went to a beautiful overlook.

Our summer has been so full, hence the reason for my poor blogging, or at least my 'excuse.' I don't remember when the summer started and feel like it's coming to an end. As we drove home from church, there was a breeze blowing and it was cloudy and there were fallen leaves on the ground~ I realized Fall was around the corner. Which by the way is my favorite season along with Spring.

Our summer has been a mix of swim days at the lake, my nieces coming to visit for the summer (which we hadn't seen in 3yrs), birthday parties (Jaz (my niece), Kayla (our now 7 yr old), DJ (our now 6 yr old), my mom (I won't tell her age but she's the same age as my dad), my dad (now 58...lol...he won't mind), my brother (older than me), and many friends, church camping trip, youth camping trip, our 11 yr old doggie, Bear being euthanized after learning he had cancer for quite some time, the older girls are now visiting their father in Bermuda for 2 wks (Boy do I miss them terribly), appointments, being told I need surgery for carpal tunnel, and sooooo much more. All in all...God has been so awesome to us.

So this week I begin preparing for another Homeschool yr, our 3rd yr to be exact. I'm looking forward to this yr, I feel so much more organized and prepared, thanks to great homeschool friends and great blogs which I will post on this blog. I look forward to writing about all our homeschooling experience for this new yr.

Bad Blogger gone Good ;o)

Ok...now I've been really bad at this...so I'm going to start working on getting better @ blogging. Only because there's a lot I have to write about, many memories I won't remember if I don't, so much information I'd love to pass on to bless others, however, never want to be consumed by it. So will post much sooner than a few months from now ;o)