It's a new year, and so much is different at our house! The children are growing and changing so quickly! So, here is an update on all that is new with us...
First of all, Kurt has moved his office to our small home town. He can walk to the office from home, eats lunch home most days, and sometimes has one or two kids hang out at the office for a little while.
I have been on the road to discovery and health, rebounding from some health setbacks I've experienced the last couple years. I am looking forward to continuing recovery and making an even healthier lifestyle for my family one of my highest priorities. (I will expand on this in future posts, as time allows.) I am busy homeschooling, keeping things organized, preparing our food/meals more traditionally. I am hopeful that being healthier will mean that this year I will be able to read the books on my list and blog again!
Austin is 18 now! He is finishing up his senior year, by taking some classes at our local community college, and studying to take some CLEP tests for further college credit. If all goes as planned, he will graduate in the spring with 15 college credit hours under his belt. The ACT test is now just a memory. He's been accepted by the college he wishes to attend, and has already been awarded an academic scholarship. We are working on additional scholarships, and are planning senior pictures, and graduation details. He is staying very busy working with 5th grade boys at church, attending youth cell group, and spending time with wonderful mentoring pastors. The only remaining "homeschool" assignments he has left this year are my ever-growing and always continuing list of books I would like for him to read. Of course, he has fun with a busy social life with some great friends, and enjoys time on the computer, and working out.
Sydney is 16 now, and has her official driver's license! She is such an animal lover, and has been enjoying training our puppies. She asked for a puppy of her own for her 16th birthday, a female maltipoo. And our family also now has a female goldendoodle puppy. She is excellent at training and caring for the dogs! She is working on finding a male puppy to add to the mix, and studying and trying to breed some of them in the future. Sydney is still studying piano, taking Theater and Sign Language classes, and an ACT prep class at Prep. And besides her homeschooling assignments, she is going to attend the community college with her brother, and take a stab at some of those CLEP classes. In her free time, we find Sydney studying her Bible and journaling. (AND texting her friends, AND watching movies!) She has some really wonderful friends! Sydney also attends a girls' Bible study, and our church youth cell group each week. She is going to be a very busy young lady this semester! And she always manages to find plenty of time for her little sisters!
Andrew is 12, and in the major transition from little boy to young man! He is learning to become more disciplined in his schoolwork, as this is the age that I usually start piling on a lot more "schooly" work than in the younger years. He is doing so very well in this transition! Last year he completed an 18 week program with Learning Rx, and is reaping the benefits of intense brain training in his schoolwork this year! He continues to study piano, and can play for hours writing his own compositions and playing some of his favorite songs by ear. He is also taking Theater, Choir, and Sign Language classes at Prep. Andrew just got his first pair of invisiline braces, which will be a two year program. He was anxious to get into braces, so he is so excited that the time has finally arrived! For fun, Andrew loves to play Minecraft on the computer, building and creating his own little cyber-world.
Macy is 7 now, and in 2nd grade. She is ecstatic, because she is finally old enough to join the big kids at piano lessons. She has her cute little piano lesson book, and LOVES practicing her songs! She is also doing the Prep thing, with Theater, Sign Language, and Choir, along with her homeschooling. She is a joy to teach, because she is studious, and just can't get enough learning in each day! She is blessing her mommy so much, as she always wants to help me cook, decorate, and organize! She is a great big sister to the littlest ones, always offering to help tuck them in, take them snacks, teach them preschool lessons, and watch over them. For fun, she has been playing JumpStart.com and talking to her cousins on the phone.
Our sweet little Tessa recently turned 5! And when she did, she just knew that she was suddenly very, very big and very, very smart! She is learning her letter sounds and "doing math", starting Kindergarten a bit earlier than she officially needed to. She insisted! She is always busy coloring, drawing, playing dolls, dressing like a princess, or playing learning games on the computer. She has been playing on the piano and singing like her brothers and sisters for fun. Everything is all about princesses in Tessa's world, and she is especially excited about Disney's new princess, Sofia the First.
Baby Janie is 3 now. She is super close to her big sister, Tessa. They are such close friends! They are constantly playing together, but when Janie is by herself, she has such a big imagination! She is always singing, like her big sister Sydney used to do when she was 3. She keeps a running musical narrative of the day's activities. So cute! She's learning right along with Tessa at the little schoolwork table in the schoolroom. And she would be happy to be read to all day long! She has always communicated so well for her age, so most times, she sounds like she's 3 going on 23. Happy New Year!!!
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