Life with Baby Update

No news is good news, right? Sorry, I have been a bit quiet on the ol' blog. As you can imagine life has been a bit busy since we brought baby Samuel home. Even though he is a really good baby, he LOVES to eat frequently which takes quite a bit of my time. I still have not got my routine adjusted to accommodate this.

I did manage to create a couple of baby announcements. This was accomplished by creative multitasking while I nursed Samuel. I figure if I have to sit to feed him, I may as well also use that time to create, too.

I couldn't really decide what I wanted, so I made two versions. I think the top one is my favorite, though. Credits for each one can be found here and here.

I also have some other photos to share. These were all take on Samuel's 6th day.











This last photo I used to create this scrapbook page:



Credits fr this page can be found here.

Well, I am currently experiencing the joys of a 2am feeding. I decided to pop online as I fed Samuel so I didn't fall asleep. My daughter took our camera home and downloaded some of our photos and posted them on her blog. I snagged them so I could show them off as well.

First is the before photo. Her I am with some of the kids on Tuesday. I was getting ready to head out to my doctor's appointment and had realized that I had not made an effort to get any decent pregnancy photos. So, I had Elizabeth snap a few.



Fast forward about 24 hours and you are up to this next one. Elizabeth snapped this photo of me introducing Samuel to all of his siblings.



Here is Abi and I with him. Abi has determined that she is "going to be mom when I grow up."




Here is one I took of my oldest with my youngest. They are 15 years apart in age.



Anna, Abi and Baby Samuel.

Here I am helping Abi, "the little mama," hold Samuel herself.

Where to begin...

I know I been awful quiet lately. I have had a whirlwind of things flooding my time and my thoughts. When my mind is this cluttered, I have trouble sitting down and organizing my thoughts enough to write a simple blog post.







I have really been thinking hard about the direction of our homeschooling. After ten years of experience under our belts with this, you would think I'd have this under control and be handling it like a pro. No matter how long you do this, it is still work. It takes thought and effort and creativity. What works like a charm for one child doesn't for the next. Where the kids are in life and their development is constantly changing and being able to adapt to that is important if you want them to have a love for learning.



Although we homeschool year-round, we tend to get into a simplified maintenance mode in the summer. Then when fall comes around and everyone around us is gearing up for going back to school, I feel the need to examine where we are and kick it up a notch. This year, though, I feel a lack of direction and a bit overwhelmed. Part of that is the fact that, my oldest is officially 9th grade - a freshman in high school. Technically, I only have 4 more years to prepare her to face life on her own. The clock is ticking. I also need to come up with a better system for record keeping, because right now I am terrible at it. I don't know for sure where God will lead her, but if it is college, she needs a good transcript. My little scribbles in my calendar planner are not going to cut it!


So, I have been doing a bit of studying of my own. I have been praying, and reading several books by godly homeschooling women. I feel like God is nudging me in a slightly different direction, but I am having trouble seeing it. I am considering various topics of study and curriculum options, but although they all seem good, none of them feels quite right to me. I think that is the Holy Spirit telling me that He has a better plan for us. He has just not fully revealed what it is yet. I guess I need to go through a period of spiritual growth before I am going to get it. That is one thing about homeschooling, you think you are doing it just to teach your children and it ends up that you are doing just as much learning and growing through the process!

If you are interested, here are a few of the books I have been reading and getting a lot out of:

Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+U+la by Barb Shelton

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach: Bible Based Homeschooling

Managers of Their Homes: A Practical Guide to Daily Scheduling for Christian Homeschool Families by Steve and Teri Maxwell

And I plan to read
Homeschooling the High Schooler by Diana McAlister

and, of course, the Holy BIBLE - the best instruction manual.


In other news...
I'm still pregnant - in my 19th week. I am still having a bit of nausea which is unusual for me and I am still lacking a lot of energy. This means that I am having trouble keeping up on housework and laundry along with everything else I need to do. Hubby is anxiously awaiting that "nesting" thing to kick in so he can have a clean and organized house. Sadly, it's kicked in for me mentally, but certainly not physically. So, I am seeing all the things I want to accomplish, and have no oomph to get it done.

Because of my past history of gestational diabetes, and the fact that I had periodically checked my blood sugar early on and discovered it was a bit high, I took the glucose test that you normally would get at about 26 weeks early. It came out too high so my doctor is having me watch my diet and regularly check my sugars. It looks like I am going to have to start on a low dose of insulin like I did with my last pregnancy. I'm bummed, but that worked out great before, so I am hoping that it will work out as well this time. too.

So, that's my life lately. I'm falling behind on a lot of stuff including laundry, scrapbooking and even taking photos of my kids. Thankfully, my oldest daughter has been in photography and has been making up for me.






You can see more on her blog, Everything.

Swing Joy!

There are days I just want to live with abandon like my little girl here. What pure joy! Not a worry or care, just swinging in the moment and loving it. Instead, here I sit thinking about my day's to do list and wondering how it is all going to get done. [sigh] Maybe I need a swingset ;-)

Today the plan is to go to the Z-O-O. Shhhh! Don't say it out loud or the kids will go crazy with excitement. The weather is looking kinda iffy this morning although the forecast says partly sunny and 65 degrees. I hope the sky clears up. This is our first trip since it opened for the season and the kids have been talking about going for months. I better remember to clear off the camera's memory card - another thing for the to do list. Ü
Hope y'all have a great day!

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