Spring Break

Spring break is always a welcome event in Texas.

Every year it falls in the middle of March and 

overlaps Abby's birthday.

Usually, I cringe at the thought of making elaborate plans

and going to all the local fun places

because all of North Texas is on spring break

and they all plan to go to the same places too.

Inevitably, lines are long, parking spaces non-existent,
traffic is ridiculous, and everything is crowded.
Fortunately for us this year, the weather was not very cooperative

and we were forced to sleep a lot, 

eat a lot, and fit in some dental appointments.
We were pretty happy about that.

But on "Pi Day" we did make an excursion to a terrific place

where my children could experience some British culture

as we prepare for our mission trip to England this coming June!!!

(Sidenote:  If you're interested in donating to our mission trip,

please click on the link in the right-hand sidebar!!!  Thanks!!)

What a grand time we had!!
Everyone got to pick out a little treat for tasting or a souvenir

to take home with them.

After our exploring, we popped into a fun pizza place

to celebrate "Pi Day!" 

Valentine's Day

"All things bright and beautiful...."
Such a lovely day!!

Class President

Recently, our little homeschool co-op enjoyed a week of learning

about the democratic process of electing the President in our country.

We made this application by electing our very first "class president."

On the first day, we divided up into parties with names of their

own choosing.

They were given the assignment of having a "party caucus"

where they were to decide some new ideas for our class 

and to choose two candidates

from their party which they would vote on the next day during 

their "conventions."

They were then to create some campaign materials for their candidate,

and each candidate was to prepare a speech for the debate.

On our final day, each party voted and we celebrated the winner

with a cookie reception at the end of the day!

We had so much fun and our students can't wait

to go through this process again around spring break (term limits!)

Congratulations to our first class president, Grant Brough!!! 

Texas State Fair 2018

This field trip will not go down in the record books as "The Most Fun Ever!"
But it will probably be remembered as "The Craziest Thing We Ever Did."

Here in Texas, you can get free homeschool tickets to the Texas State Fair

by simply requesting them early in the year.

This year I actually remembered to do that.

Once we received them around the first of September, 

we checked our calendar and decided to go on a Monday in October.

It was the only Monday we could fit it in and all of us were looking forward to it.

The children would get a day off of school work and PE class so they

were especially excited.

But as the day drew closer, the weather was not cooperating.

In fact, it was becoming clear we would break records for the wettest

October on record in our state.

To make matters worse, on the day we were planning to go,

the temperatures were forecast to be frigid along with heavy downpours all day.
We had a family meeting the night before to decide together if we still
wanted to brave the terrible weather and make an adventure of it,
or just can the whole idea.
We collectively decided to go for it, and that we wouldn't gripe.
We would make the best of it and make lemonade from the bushel of lemons
we were being handed.

What a challenge it was to make that lemonade.
My plan was to create a map of what we wanted to see
and then figure out a path of walking through buildings in an effort
to stay out of the rain!
What I did not count on was how much farther we would park away from
anything we wanted to see,
and that there would be rivers of water that we would have to walk through,
jump over, or navigate around.
But often we were trying to keep our eyes on where we were going
and on what we could see
and then would accidentally be in water over the top of our shoes.
We didn't have enough umbrellas or layers of clothes to keep dry.
By the time we were ready to walk back to the car
our feet and clothing were soaked and we were freezing.

In retrospect, I learned that no matter what, it is not worth
braving the traffic and rain just to use free tickets.
All the children had a great time though
and only think fondly of our wild adventure.

So very grateful for hot showers, hot soup,
hot drinks, warm jammies and blankets,
and a cozy evening with candlelight
and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

{Butter sculpture}

{This fried pumpkin pie warmed me heart and soul!!  It was so delicious!}

Growing up: Going off Intuniv

It has been a good minute since I've talked about this guy.
He is so precious to his Dad and I, but my goodness, the things

we have had learn since he joined our family.

He has easily been our most challenging.

The one who brought the most tears and frustration to the table.

The one who struggled the most in our homeschool.

When we had him evaluated several years ago for learning differences,

it was a relief to learn that all we were dealing with

was ADHD - Combined.
I did a lot of research and came up with all kinds

of issues we could "possibly" be working with,

but thankfully, it wasn't as big a deal as I feared.
I cavalierly thought we could manage his emotional outbursts

and terribly aggravating impulsivity issues by ourselves,

with our "magnificent" parenting techniques.
We tried so many things to bring peace to our household,

and to his inner anxieties without medication.
It was just too much with 5 other kids (the oldest with

ADHD - Type 1, and another with Type 1 Diabetes)

to handle on our own.

We researched and prayed, and decided to try a non-stimulant

ADHD medication called Intuniv.
You can read about our journey with this here.
What a terrific tool this was for our family and for our son.

He was on this medication for several years and did so well on it

that I began wondering if it was time to take him off of it.
You can read about that journey in the links above.
He just wasn't ready for it.
But he's 16 now.

He is much more mature and has had clearly better brain development

to take another look at getting off of it for good.

He sleeps much better now, and is focusing so well on his school work

that we've seen a dramatic improvement in his output.

He is much more confident in social settings,
and was even able to talk to complete strangers on a flight this summer

during our missions trip and to lead them to Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Talk about victory!!

Talk about Mama tears!!

So this summer we had a conversation with him.

I pointed out all the good strides he has made over the last couple of years,

and asked him if would consider going off of it.

He agreed.

We visited with the pediatrician several weeks later who eagerly

approved our endeavor to get him off.

We kept the leftover that we had just in case he felt he needed

to wean off slowly, but there was no need.

He went off cold-turkey with absolutely no problem.

No disruption in his sleep.

No disruption in his ability to focus on schoolwork when necessary.

We have had to remind him that his behavior

reaches annoying levels sometimes,

but he very compliantly makes the adjustment and we move on!

I am happy to announce that this marks the end of an era for our family.

No more posts on Intuniv.

It is finished.

That part of the battle is over.

And we thank God for what He is doing in this young man's heart!!

God has driven us to our knees more times than I can count begging

for wisdom in how to guide, correct, and teach our son,

and He has done marvelous things in our eyes!!!