School starts and a fun outing!

Now that the first few weeks of home schooling are over and we are finally starting to work through the shock of this giant change I feel like I can post these pictures without a grudge. It has been a huge adjustment for all of us. One with lots of tears from Caedmon and Mom the first few days. As the days have gone by we've all started to see some of the benefits of this big change. There have been many very hard days, but also great ones. I'm learning that God might have been nudging us in this direction for reasons far more important then academics. I believe He's daily refining me to love my children in a more purposeful, grace giving way and it's slowly but surely causing me to become more specific with my schedule. For Caedmon, I believe that God wants him to learn to submit better to his parents and be joyful even when that is hard. This could have been learned while he was going to public school, we just have an all day opportunity now...which is wonderful and exhausting! :)

This was the first Monday of Classical Conversaitons for Caedmon. The girls go to Grandma's house every Monday morning.  Notice all the hugs from Caedmon to his sister? These guys are surprisingly getting along way better. All the time together is forcing them to become friends...which Momma loves! We have our fair share of fights around here but considering how much they are together now, I'm pleasantly surprised at how much they have been playing great together!

They are getting so big!

A benefit to home schooling is that we get lots more freedom as a family. We have way more time to go visit people, take fun outings, learn math and spelling while grocery shopping, do school in the tree house, learn home economics while cleaning together or baking muffins, and most of all incorporate God into everything we learn. Just to name a few. It's still been a difficult change and I've sacrificed a ton of "free" time, but these good things outweigh the not so good things by far!
Here are some pictures of one of our outings with Caitlin, Ki, and Ella. A trip to downtown on Cyride for a visit to the pet shop, Great Plains pizza, and the Library. It was a good day!
I hope we are all close to get an adult picture of this someday!

I hadn't been on a Cyride in years! It was actually really nice to just sit there are not think about driving.

Payton didn't like the smell in the pizza place and had a hard time focusing on eating. 

I was wishing I was napping right about then too. 

Lots of fun misc pictures!

Funny girls.

Typical Saturday morning. All the kids in our bed.

Potty training...the first few days. She's a pro now and the potty seat is back in the bathroom and not in front of the tv! YAY!

More playing outside!

Princess Roxy

Someone got into Momma's lip gloss.

Pigtales!

Reagan had a day with fevers a few weeks back and the other kids were "taking care" of her. 

A day trip to the Science Center with Grandma.

 Sorry these are so random. That's what happens when you don't upload pictures for a few months!

Adoption update!

Good news! The issues with our I600A have finally been cleared up and we have been approved to continue on in adopting TWO kiddos! Yay! Praise the Lord!

This morning I was praying that the letter would come today and it did! God is so good! Now I need to translate the letter into dumb people English so that I know what to do next! I might have to recruit a follow adopting mom to help me so that I don't freak out! :)

I know one thing for sure, we have a TON of money to raise! It seems like a task that will never come to completion but I know that God is in control of all things and he will decide how fast or IF it will come in or not. We have been so blessed and in awe at how he has moved the hearts of our brothers and sisters! We have been shocked at where the money has come from so far!

Speaking of raising money, Friday night's CD release party for Lullabies for Africa went great! Thanks to Haleigh for including us in the CD and the party! What a very special time! If you couldn't come to the release party but are interested in purchasing a CD or some handmade goods then check out Lullabies for Africa or come into Alpha Copies where some of the merchandise will be on sale along with Bethe8's Afriheart shirt! We're setting it up tonight!

Also keep in eye out for more merchandise to be coming to Beth8 in the future! Fun handmade creations re-purposed out to wool ... and vintage buttons of course! LOVE!