Heart of Wisdom Academy

What I've realized about homeschooling is that everything affects school time. If someone is sick, school is delayed or significantly reduced. I found myself discouraged this week by our "progress". We have had 6 weeks of sickness!!!! That's ridiculous. Everyone had the flu for a week, the baby had pneumonia for a combined 4 or 5 weeks not to mention the RSV and intermittent bouts of tachypnea and wheezing. My oldest had his tonsils removed and it took nearly 2 weeks for him to recover. I am "behind" on my self-made schedule, and I'm not entirely happy about it. If my oldest were in school, family sickness wouldn't affect him any; however, I am mom, teacher, and nurse which are competing roles at times. My husband and I have prayed about it a lot this week. We're not even half way through the school year, so all is not lost, and I have to remember to be thankful and grateful for all the lessons we are learning. I do stand amazed at how many things we have learned this year and how many good books we've read and experiments we've done. I think my best defense is to plan meticulously so that when our plans our interrupted Daddy or Nana can pick up where we left off, but to be at peace and surrender to God's timing because my thoughts are not His thoughts and I ultimately don't know the plans He has for our homeschooling. And when I say plan meticulously I really mean just to put down my plans in writing so that someone else can supervise their work. I very loosely write down my plans because they're all in my head and I know what I want to do each week, but if I'm not hear if I have written down that we're studying weather, look at this you tube video, read this book, make this experiment, etc; someone else can supervise while I'm gone.

Disney has been on my mind a lot. I want to write an article about some things that really concern me about the movies and TV shows that Disney puts out. I actually want to watch a weeks worth of Disney's most popular shows like Hannah Montana, and the Suite life of Zack and Cody; I found a list online. I don't know when I'll find time to watch those shows, because I don't want the kids to watch it. I do really want to put out this article, but I think I could do a better job if I watched some of the shows. I've seen 1 or 2 episodes which is all I needed to alert me to some dangers. But many Christian parents are allowing their kids to watch these shows and I don't think they understand some of the dynamics that are going on. I also am curious about Sesame Streets agenda. I was at my friends house and Sesame Street was on. Jamie Foxx and Alicia Keys were guest stars on the show. I just don't get why they have adult entertainers on a kids show. Are they trying to indoctrinate the kids with their worldy music and sinful TV shows. Can you really justify having Sarah Jessica Parker from Sex and the City; on a program intended for preschoolers? I have a whole lot ot say about all this...when I find the time.

I am making one new years resolution this year: pray with my husband every day no matter what! Usually I make a list of resolutions, this year I'm just going to focus on one thing; uniting my heart in prayer with my husband.

I love these happy memories.
Tired of taking pictures honey? Brother is happily playing away.
Now you're singing...Indescribable, no doubt!
We're making a joyful NOISE!
We have an 8 year old now!!! I read that 8-12 are the preteen years. We have been praying daily for God to teach us how to raise Godly seed for Him. These next few years are very very important. We firmly believe that raising godly teens and young adults starts right now. We've never had an 8 year old before, so we are leaning heavily on Jesus to guide us. We are specifically praying for him to hunger and thirst for righteousness; choose to walk with the wise; choose not to covet; love the things that God loves and hate the things that God hates; honor parents; purity; and not to follow the crowd to name a few.
Multi-tasking.
He is so kissable!
Who has ever seen a cuter little bear?

A car full of car seats. I got this one off of craigslist for $20.00. I love being thrifty.
I love his happy expression.
My little Ballerina. I'm so grateful for the homeschooled teen that teaches her ballet class. There is four other little girls in the class. We have wonderful fellowship over there, I never want to leave!

Well for an update, after we came home from the hospital. The baby continued to do worse. Finally around Midnight on Monday, I really started debating about taking him to the Children's Hospital. I really prayed hard. In my heart, I wanted to take him, but I was so tired and run down. It was already midnight and that meant trekking across the water by myself. After praying and talking to my husband we decided it was best for me to take him in. So at midnight we got dressed and trekked across the water. They admitted him to the hospital with pneumonia in both lungs with RSV on top of that. We stayed in the hospital until Thur. night. It is so good to be home! He is doing much better being at home. I love seeing my family all together. It is hard when we're apart. I kept thinking of the parable of the sheep, when I was in the hospital. I felt like the shepherd who left the 99 sheep he loved in order to find his one lost sheep. That's how it is, when I leave everyone at home that I love to tend to my one sick little lamb. The hospital wasn't depressing this time. I felt Gods loving care and comfort. I wasn't anxious or nervous. God gave me peace and understanding that this is a very light and momentary trial. Not all trials are light, but this hasn't gotten overwhelming for me yet. My amazing husband held down the fort at home, and we always have lots of help from my wonderful and church family. We go to the doctor tomorrow for a progress report. The baby will have a sweat-chloride test to test him for cystic fibrosis. The test is the exact same day as his heart surgery 12 months ago. We'll then meet again with the Pulmonologist who will do more tests on his immunity and a detailed study of his lungs. Prayerfully they can determine what is going on with his lungs. It is comforting that we can trust the Great Physician. Update:(i'm writing this over several days) Went to his primary care physician. Personally she doesn't think he has cystic fibrosis. She thinks he has an immune deficiency. Time will tell I guess. We can't have the tests done until he his well. His right lung is still wheezing, his left lung is much worse. He still has collapses in his left lung. We're praying for his healing. He is very happy. Almost nothing gets him down, you wouldn't even know he's sick.

I just completed my first semester of graduate school yesterday. The work load is much more intense than undergrad. Between the two classes; I wrote one or two papers a week in addition to exams, projects, and discussion posts. It was a busy semester, but I made it out with 2 A's. My goal isn't to achieve an A, but it's nice when I do. My goal is to glorify God, then serve my husband and children, whatever is left over after all of that I give to school. People ask me all the time how I do school. I guess at this point, I've passed the learning curve so I'm at an advantage. I started my undergraduate work in 2003 and have been going to school ever since so now I'm just used to this pace of life. I set aside a couple of hours a day to do my work. I do it early in the morning before the kids rise or at their nap or bedtime. I spend a lot of time on the weekend finishing up assignments. Prayerfully after graduate school I'll be able to get a job working from home teaching online, and if necessary nights and/or weekends. Sometimes people say that I'm a good example because I'm a stay-at-home mom and I go to school. I really don't hope to inspire anyone to go school. If the Lord calls a busy mom to go to school in addition to all of her other responsibilities than you have to obey God, but I find that a lot women want to go to school for self-fulfilment. In that case, I would never go to school. I am quite fulfilled and busy enough living out my God-appointed role. However, I'm in the situation where we need two or three incomes. My husband usually works two jobs and I usually have a daycare running simultaneously. It would be better for all of us if I could teach online. I'll be able to stay at home, and have a "real" job and help my husband.

My oldest turned eight today. He is a wonderful boy and I love him so much. When I was in the hospital I spent a lot of time praying for my relationship with him. He loves me so much and wants to spend time with me, and so often I am "so tired", but I know I'll want to spend time with him when he's a teenager, so I have to invest now. I've taken up playing video games with him. He thinks that's the coolest thing ever. He is so patient with me. He waits for me and instructs me in certain phases of the game. My husband thinks it's fun too. He had a blast creating my Avatar and my oldest son dressed me. My game of choice is A Kingdom for Keflings. I want to download the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack to put on the console, while I play my game. My husband is entirely paranoid that I'm going to take over his game :-) I assured him that I won't neglect my responsibilities. :-)

Well that's it for now...

I remember having to call 911 three times in my life. Once, when I was eleven because my brother was hyperventilating. Then a couple of years ago, when my Dad had a stroke. And then 12:30 this morning my baby couldn't breathe. I was by myself b/c my husband hadn't gotten home yet and I was terrified. I immediately gave him an albuterol treatment and the paramedics came and took him to the nearest ER. He got sick out of nowhere! He hasn't had a cold or a cough, not even as much as a sniffle or runny nose. I was completely caught off guard. X-ray's showed that he has pneumonia...again. Poor baby. They gave him a shot immediately and some meds to come home. We're thankful for God's mercy and loving kindness towards us and our family. I tell ya, mothering is not for the faint of heart!

I've been away from my blog for so long. We're busy with life. I have lots of pictures and videos I want to share as soon as I upload them.

My oldest son's surgery went very well. It took him two full weeks to really recover. He is now back to his happy-hyper self.

My youngest son had a birthday. He is now one years old!! He is walking and talking a little. He says "mama", "dada", "op"(stop), "hi", and "bye-bye". He is the first one year old I've ever nursed. My oldest I weaned two days before he turned 1, and the twins I weaned at 9 months. I actually haven't thought about weaning him. My only thought has been I'm sure he won't still be breastfeeding at two.

I've been listening to Parenting Young Children Seminar during laundry time. If you have children birth-10 you need to hear it as well as the Godly Home Series. These messages have changed my life.

I got this for my birthday! It is the whole bible on one poster. It is the coolest thing ever, I absolutely love it!! I like reading it for fun.

I painted my daughters room. It is so cute. I used a pink and green. Maybe I'll take a pic. I also bought a bunk bed off of Craigslist. Eventually she and the baby will go in there. I would like to buy her a pink and green quilt or comforter and some matching curtains.

KK or as he is affectionetly called by my dear friends, "Caspian"; wants an orange room. Not sure if that is going to happen.

The twins are slowly learning to read. We're using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons as a flexible guide. We also heavily use Starfall. I love Starfall.

In the learning rooms we're tackling multiple digit addition and subtraction, intro to multiplication, problem solving, time, money, measurement, typing, the writing process,Mars, the Vikings, singular nouns, plural nouns, and possessive nouns. All the kids are almost done memorizing Psalm 1. Maybe I'll make a video, they're so sweet. My oldest is currently reading Christmas at Camelot which ties in with our study of the Middle Ages. Last week he finished Viking Ships at Sunrise. I've been babysitting a little girl and the dad is a meterorologist. My son asked how the weather is predicted and I didn't know so I requested some books from the library about meterology; we'll read and do experiments for a couple of weeks and then have him and his wife over for dinner to pick his brain.

Well that's about it for now. We are blessed far more than we deserve...until next time.

I just recieved my free copy of Salt and plan on ordering more. The magazine encourages Christian, homeschooling, quiverfull, courtship minded families in the ways of the Lord.