Embarassing Moments

Do your kids ever say things that make you want to crawl into a hole? Last Sunday we were visiting a church (yes, we're STILL looking for a church home), and when we visit we usually keep the kids with us in service which they don't really like. We were talking with the pastor after the service, and as we were getting ready to leave, the pastor said to Ryan, "Thanks for coming. Come back and see us sometime." As Ryan was hurriedly pushing the door open to leave, he looked at the pastor and ever so politely said, "No thanks," and walked out the door. Everyone in the foyer laughed, but I was so embarrassed!

Valentine's Party

Our local homeschool group meets once a month, and this month was a Valentine's Day Party. Ryan and I made 30 Valentines to pass out as well cookies to bring to decorate and his cute Valentine mailbox. Ryan had such a good time. He is making some friends and thinks it's neat to meet other kids who are homeschooled.


He decorated cookies, and played tug-o-war, and passed out all his Valentines. When they did the mailbox judging, Ryan got a certificate for Ingenious Design (though everyone got something)!


He ended up with tons of candy, and I was grateful he decided on his own to share his candy with Abby. They rarely get candy, and between this and the goodie boxes Gramie sent, it was way too much! I still may end up tossing some of it (or else I might end up eating it!).

Master Builder

Ryan loves to build things, and he especially likes this building set that was given to us (and we bought some more to go with it). He made this fully-working crane almost completely by himself with just minimal input from Daddy.

Valentine's Day Preparations

Yesterday we made more Valentines to give away at Ryan's homeschool party and to the people at the nursing home we visit. We made over 50 of these little Valentines, and Ryan signed his name on the 30 we will give out at his party.


While we were doing Valentine crafts, we made Ryan's Valentine mailbox for his party. The boxes will be judged and given prizes, and I think Ryan's turned out adorable! He made the design himself (a truck carrying a load of Valentines).

Enjoying the Show

Our van was towed away on Wednesday because it wouldn't start. Ryan loved watching the man hook up the van to the winch and pull it up onto the flatbed tow truck. Once it was up on the flatbed, I took the kids back inside the house while I was finishing up with the driver. When I started back in the house, I saw that the kids went and got Abby's blanket to snuggle under and sat in the laundry room with the garage door open watching everything that was going on. I'm glad they're so easily entertained!

Great Post

I love Kendra's blog at Preschoolers and Peace, and she had a great article to help non-homeschoolers understand some of the unique challenges that homeschool moms face.

Tae Kwon Do

We have been wanting to put Abby back in gymnastics because it's so good for her motor and neuro development, and we have been seeing that she needs something for herself where she isn't depending on (or being bossed by) Ryan. But Ryan loves gymnastics too, so we decided to find something for him.








The Sunday school teacher where we were attending church moved her Tae Kwon Do class from downtown Portland to a nearby location. Ryan really likes her, and so did we. So we took him for a trial class last night, and he liked it a lot. He was a little lost at times, but the teacher assured him (and us) that his performance was very typical for his age for the first time.


He looked so small out there with the other kids. He was at least six inches shorter than the next shortest child, but he is very flexible and his kicks were quite good! Next week he will be trying a wrestling class, and then we will decide which one would be best for him. We're hoping he likes the Tae Kwon Do the best because we love the instructor, plus it's a little cheaper each month and closer to home. Stay tuned till next week...

Close Up

I thought this was a good close-up picture showing his new glasses, and I even managed to get it without a glare. I can't believe he's five...or a "whole hand" as he's been saying!

Making Valentines

We made Valentines this afternoon for friends, grandparents and cousins. Ryan punched out and glued hearts, told me what he wanted each one to say, signed his name and had a good time learning to cut out paper hearts.

First PBH

Ryan is feeling quite grown-up these days and wanted to make his own sandwich for his birthday lunch. So I told him he could make himself and Abby a peanut butter and honey sandwich. After making his sandwich, he decided it wasn't as much fun as he thought and wanted me to make Abby's. Still, I think he was on to something and I may just have him make lunch for the three of us one day a week!

While You Were Sleeping

Ryan sound asleep!
Since we had celebrated Ryan's birthday early, I saved one last surprise for his actual birthday. With fabric he helped me pick out, I made curtains, a pillow and duvet cover for his room. After he fell asleep Monday evening, I hung up his new curtains and put on his new bed covering and pillow.


When he woke up on his birthday the first thing he said was, "I have new curtains in my room!" He hadn't even turned on the light yet, so he was even more surprised to find the pillow and duvet cover as well. I still need to make a valance, but I haven't decided on a pattern as of yet.

Dear Ryan

(An excerpt of the birthday letter I wrote to Ryan.)

My Sweet Ryan,

Today is your fifth birthday, and I am bewildered by how it happened so quickly. I've been thinking about five years ago and remembering the anticipation, the fear, the pain, and the joy of that day and the week that followed. I'm not sure you'll ever know the rapture that your Daddy and I experienced when we held you for the first time. Eight painful years of trying to have a child came to a blissful end when you were given to us.

You were and are more than I hoped for, more than I had ever dreamed. You make me laugh, you make me proud, you make me think, you make me try to be the best person I can be. Sometimes you make me angry, and sometimes you make me sad too. But most of all, Ryan, you make me thankful. I'm so thankful for the privilege of raising you and calling you my son, thankful to your birthmom for her selfless love, and thankful to God for orchestrating His plan so beautifully.

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Love,

Mommy

Birthday Presents

We spent Saturday doing fun things with Ryan. In addition to Safari Sam's we took him to Toys R Us and let him pick out a Hot Wheels track he's been wanting. He was really excited!


On Sunday we had cake and ice cream and let him open his other presents. He got a few things from the movie Cars, and Abby's gift was probably his second favorite after his Hot Wheels track...she gave him "Mr. The King!"

Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Ryan's birthday a few days early so we could spend the whole day doing some things with him. He wanted to go to Bullwinkle's to miniature golf, but it ended up raining. So we went to Safari Sam's instead. They have indoor miniature golf and a huge play/climbing structure. We spent four and a half hours there, and it was a crazy madhouse! We played two rounds of golf, and Ryan significantly improved on his second game.



Because there were so many kids there, we made Ryan and Abby adopt the buddy system while playing in the play structure. Ryan was so good to look after his sister and keep her close by. He lost her one time and immediately came to us to tell us so we could locate her and bring her back. The kids had a great time!


Since we didn't have a party for him, we took him out to dinner wherever he wanted to go. He decided he wanted steak, so we went to the Outback Steakhouse. He and Abby split an adult steak and ate the whole thing!

New Glasses

Ryan got his new glasses this week! After two years of wearing his old frames, he finally outgrew them. His new ones are fairly similar to his old ones, but a little more grown-up looking. Best of all the lenses are fresh and new, no scratches and dings.

New Tool

For the last month or so Ryan has been struggling with his math flashcards. It's not that they are too hard. I think he doesn't like doing them and is bored. Usually he would do his flashcards in 10 to 15 minutes, but now it stretches into hours if I let it. He just dawdles and goofs off instead of getting the job done. I have tried several different things, but what seems to be working the best so far is a new tool we bought off the clearance rack at Wal-Mart. It's called a Twist and Shout, and it has different games and quizzes and drills for addition. He will quickly go through his flashcards now to get a chance to "play" with it. He is still doing math, but he enjoys it.


I had wanted to get him one that does all functions called Turbo Twist, but apparently they aren't making them anymore. So I was thinking about getting a used on from eBay when his birthmom called yesterday and said she is sending him one for his birthday!