First Day of School 2010

Austin, 8th Grade;  Larisa, 11th Grade;  Keeve, 6th Grade.

This is what unsocialized homeschool kids look like after spending nine straight years with their mother.

God be with us.

For all the Teachers out there!

Tomorrow School Starts

The first thing the pupils will be participating in here at L.A.K.E. Academy is Lost and Found.  (Crosby homeschool… LAKE is spelled by the first letters of my kids’ names.)  I hear they have Lost and Found at schools throughout the United States and Canada, so I thought we would try it here too.  It’s more of a participatory activity here…. not like at schools where it’s a last resort event.  We are STARTING with Lost and Found. 

First we’re going to find our school books that were LOST all summer.  Then we’re going to look through them until the place where we last worked is FOUND! This may seem silly and trivial to those who send their children to classrooms where organized teachers work their wonders…. but here at the LAKE, it’s serious business.  Many prayers are sent heavenward by the pupils in hopes that certain books will never be located.  My youngest dislikes math.  My middle dislikes spelling.  My eldest dislikes history.  The teacher dislikes complainers.  It’s the circle of homeschool life.  Round and round we go.

After we finish Lost and Found, we’ll have recess and lunch and recess.  Then we’ll do geography (play Ticket to Ride) and then sociology mixed with economics (play Settlers of Catan) then we’ll have third recess.  We might set up the boys’ binders…. but that’s only if we get to it before fourth recess.  We’ll see.

AND… the kid’s favorite part of the new school year…. the annual photo in front of the schoolhouse house. (That picture was taken in 2005!) Their smiles get more mischievous as the years go on.  This will be YEAR TEN!!!!  I can hardly believe it. 

Let’s roll!

Sounds I Love

Here is the short list of the sounds that are music to my ears:

1.  My son playing the piano.

2.  My children laughing.

3.  The vacuum being used when I’m not the one using it.

4.  My husband coming through the front door and dropping his keys in key dish! (It means he’s HOME!)

5.  The hooo-hooooting of the Great Horned owl that frequently rests on the light pole outside our house.

6.  My wind chimes on the back porch.

7.  Rain drops on my windows. (We live in Phoenix… it’s rare.)

8.  Ocean waves.

9.  “I love you!”

10.  “Green Tea Frappuccino with Peppermint and Mocha chips.”  (It means it’s ready!)

International vs. Domestic Adoption

We have been asked many times why we are leaving our fair country to adopt in a foreign land.  “There are so many kids in the foster system that need homes!”  We’ve heard all the reasons…. and they are valid.  Our answer is, “We are doing what we are called to do.”  If the Lord guided us toward an adoption here, then that is what we would do.  But He did not, so we’re not.  There are also other reasons that we grappled with during our initial adoption inquiries.

Before we chose an agency or a country, I spoke to any adoptive parent that would stand still long enough for me to ask questions.  One such parent was a mom from our daughter’s volleyball team.  She had a young son and daughter whom they adopted…. I thought from Russia.  I’m not sure what made me think Russia?  They did look a bit Russian… brown hair, white skin…. that’s it.  I called her to ask her some questions about their international adoption of Russian kids.  She paused and said, “Uh…. our kids are from the Arizona foster system.”  Oh.  OK.  (Now where do I go??)  She asked if I would mind sharing why we would look outside AZ for a child who needed a home.  We knew each other fairly well and so I spoke my concerns openly… “We are concerned about the psychological difficulties with kids from this system and we don’t want weird relatives showing up at our door.”  Some may say I’m narrow-minded, but hey, we all have our hang-ups. Those were mine.  Her answer not only surprised me, but confirmed our international selection.  She responded, “Oh, well, we’ve had both of those things happen in the first year alone,” and she went on to explain it all to me. 

Funny thing is, last night I found myself on the other side of the weird relative equation.  On facebook we found a niece of ours who had an adoption plan made for her shortly after she was born.  She is now 19 or 20.  She is beautiful…. and looks just like one of her aunties.  My husband and I talked about whether I should contact her or not.  We decided a quick one-liner intro and request to be a friend would be appropriate.  She is “friends” with her bio-mom, sister, aunt and uncle…. all from our family.  So I figured, what’s one more weird relative??  When I went to her page this morning, I discovered that she is getting married in four days.  She is busy and in love and doesn’t need another weird relative this week.  I’ll wait a month or two.

Totally Out of the Box Thinking

Today after church we went to a presentation about a new church launch from our current church.  It will be about 5 miles away…. and it will be dual purpose… restaurant-church.  An amazing concept.  The point is to reach the 80% of people in our area who will never go to a church-church.  It gave me a flashback to when I was seven years old and my dad taught a college and career Sunday School class in a steak house.  I’m not sure what instigated that move?  Too few rooms at the church, perhaps.  But this is so much more out of the box than that. 

The restaurant will be staffed with volunteers who are there to serve their community.  Tips will not be accepted.  And get this, on the menu under each item it will state where 10% of the cost will be going for a missions project.  So, order the Pollo Fundido and 10% of the cost goes toward building houses in Mexico for the poor.  Order the soft drinks and/or bottled water and 10% of the cost goes to fund wells in Africa.  Isn’t that the best?  It’s not just a restaurant for adults either…. next door there will be a kids “check-in” center where the kids will eat and play and learn…. yes, all staffed with volunteers. 

Yes, some Sundays the restaurant will be used for a service, but not an old-school service like our grandparents enjoyed.  Big screens with video messages.  No pews.  No stained glass.  THEN, if that isn’t enough, they are thinking of having the church closed one Sunday a month so the members can take a family from their neighborhood out to lunch… and BE the church.  They even went as far as saying to use your tithe that week to pay for lunch.  I know.  I’m processing it all too.

They also are going to have man-church.  Sunday afternoons…. with sports games on the big screens.  No women allowed.  A guest pro-player of some sport or another will come and chat at them boys for 15 minutes.  My husband was sold on that point alone.  I think he’s assuming there will be a remote for everyone.  Probably not.

The plan for the missions outreach is to invite frequent burrito eaters to come FREE and help build a house in Mexico…. see the church in action.  I love it!

Do you think it will work to reach the masses?

I’ll Start this Thing….. Tomorrow

Yes, I’ve been MIA for five days.  My roommate from college (c. 1985) came with her family from Manitoba and visited us this week.  We have not seen each other since 1995… and between the two of us, we had one child at that time.  Now we have six kids and this was their first meeting.  I always wonder how two families will mesh but I assumed the kids would do just fine as they are flexible, well-behaved, socially aware children.  (Bahahahahaha!)  They did do remarkably well and hope to see each other again.  A successful and fun time was had by all.

Their youngest son was eight-years-old and it reminded me all over again how different it will be to have a little girl running around our house.  Our youngest is 11 and he’s so mild-mannered and quiet, we forget he’s here sometimes.  Seriously.  The dream third child, in my humble opinion.  As we near the adoption referral (sometime in September it will arrive) I’m having great fear and trepidation, as most adoptive parents do at this point in time.  It IS like nearing the end of a pregnancy…. but with the unknown feelings of the first pregnancy.  With my second and third births, at least I knew what to expect.  With international adoption, it’s all a big unknown.  Yes, I’ve been reading blogs of those who have gone to Colombia before us, but there are so many unanswered questions… some that will never have answers… and I’m supposed to be OK with that?

As with most upcoming events that will change your life forever, my mind is almost entirely preoccupied with Zaza’s referral, her “Gotcha Day”, our travel and her arrival in our family and home.  That’s a good thing, except that there are three kids here who need to start homeschooling ….. soon…. and I don’t feel like it.  I’m thinking it’s not a good thing when the teacher doesn’t want to start school.  Kind of like when the preacher doesn’t want to go to church.  I guess this is all part of growing up….. doing things you don’t feel like doing because it’s the right thing to do.  I’m still working on learning that lesson.  At this late date in the homeschool game, I’ve never been this unprepared.  (The singing goat’s song “Be Prepared” from Hoodwinked keeps haunting me.)  There are at least three, if not five, books that still need to be ordered.  That doesn’t include math.  I haven’t even thought of math until this moment.  {sigh}

So, with today being Saturday, I’m going to pretend that I’m still a carefree soul in the summer of life…. and enjoy my last day without lists.  Tomorrow I will make lists… and Monday I will begin working on checking off those little boxes I love drawing next to each item.  It’s quite therapeutic.   Goodbye summer; hello homeschooling!  (I must embrace my calling.  I must embrace my calling.  I must embrace my calling.)  OK, I think I’m ready.

School Starts Today…..bahahahahahahah!

Yes, that was my sinister laugh. You see, we homeschool.  We don’t start today….but the rest of the kids who live in Phoenix do.  It’s 9:23 am and two of my three kids are still asleep…. happily dreaming of sugar plums and their favorite mother/teacher who doesn’t want to start school until September.  We are in a co-op for the boys that starts on the 31st.  So I guess we will be starting in August…. barely.  We’re studying Africa for four months.  Should prove entertaining.

My junior in high school starts this Thursday with one class, Economics (only on Thursdays).  That gets her warmed up for next week, when she starts Spanish 2 (only on Tuesdays). THEN the following week she starts Chemistry (only on Tuesdays, too.)  So she’s slowly starting her third year of high school….. not the cannon-ball style… the wade-in-slowly-while-you-get-used-to-the-water style.  Algebra is an ongoing force in her life.  And I still need to pick an English course for us to do together!  Yikes! (Hey, I have two more weeks!)

I’m not ready for school to start.  Usually by now (two weeks and counting down) I am full-blown into planning and gathering needed supplies and books.  Not this year.  I’m terribly distracted by our coming Colombian princess.  I knew I needed to finish her room before school started… and I finished last night!  Whooo HOoooo!  I asked the boys what they thought of starting school in November.  They smiled and thought it was my most brilliant idea EVER!  But it was a cruel joke.  My heart is in Colombia…. not Africa.  What doesn’t help my motivation is that we will travel to Colombia during the school year… which will wipe out about six weeks of school when my mind is mush.  I always thought I would have the kids bring at least math with them to Colombia.  I’m not thinking that anymore.  Spanish immersion is enough.

One of THOSE days…

Yesterday.  Glad it’s over.  If you want to read the whole saga, go to our adoption blog:

http://zazasmama.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/final-fingerprints-done/

Is this Old Age setting in?

I have come to realize over the years that I have some sort of mild case of dyslexia…. especially when I’m tired.  I’ll be typing along and realize that I used the right finger in the right place, but it was the wrong hand.  Also, if I quickly look at a phone number and then try to dial it, I’ll reverse the last numbers.  This has not hampered me in life, other than having more of a need for spell check than most, I’m assuming.  And I’m real careful with numbers, especially if they are important ones…. like credit cards or bank accounts.

All that to say….. this mild learning difference has now creeped into my speech.  I’ll be chatting along and I’ll use a word that starts with the right letter, but is ENTIRELY the wrong word.  Just this morning I was attempting to say, “I was standing on the porch” and it came out, “I was standing on the pillow.”  Same letter, different word, WHOLE different meaning in the sentence.  My kids find this absolutely hilarious, as kids often do.  I’ve asked for the stapler but said sandwich.  I’ve commanded, “Go make your bed!” but when it came out, “Go make your band-aid!” it threw kids on the floor holding their bellies in loud guffaws. 

My thoughtful children have moved my disability to a new level of gaming….. they hear the word the makes no sense, and it’s a contest to see who can come up with the right word first.  I love the competitive spirit!