Broke...

Yes, you read that correctly!!  I have gone broke because I have been giving my children pennies for every spelling word they get correct.  Every week they learn more and more...they love putting their pennies in their banks, because of that we work on money and spelling and they have fun doing it.

We are spending a lot of time in school and I love teaching them.  They still want to do school on Saturdays which I think is great.  Maybe that means I am a pretty good teacher?  I hope so.

Several weeks ago we had the flu hit our house...and this mommy got it bad!  I ended up in the emergency room, thankfully released several hours later.  It took about a week to start feeling better and I am so thankful to God that no one else got sick.

I wish I could say that we are this super busy hectic family, but we are not...maybe someday we will be.  But we are busy with doctor appointments and therapies...we will do some kind of sport this summer.  I really want each of them to find a sport that they are comfortable with and have fun too.

Not much else is going on...Kristina has a birthday tomorrow and I am making everything homemade including the cake...I am not a baker at all, but I am going to try and I am doing it with much love so it should taste okay.  She wants sloppy joes (hamburger meat with a tomato sauce/green pepper mixture), baked beans, potato salad and jello.  I love making her favorite meal...she also LOVES taco pizza!  We have one place we order from when they have it on sale...

Better get going...much work to do!  Just thought I would touch base.

Dead?...

Nope, not us!!  Doing school, getting through the winter, going to appointments...you all understand.
Here we are at Thanksgiving...we went to my sister's house.  It was very nice.  Normally we have EVERY holiday and birthday at our house.  Which actually I don't mind, but to go somewhere else was a beautiful change.  She had a houseful!  I love the fact that most of my family lives really close by to us.  Helpful to work together or have someone watch the kids.

My kids are going through a funny face picture stage...but they still are cute!!  My many blessings from God!

I was emailing someone today and they said that to homeschool was illegal in her country.  Sometimes I take for granted what we can do in America.  In our state we can teach our children at home.  I am so very thankful because all of my children need extra help to be successful with learning.  Growing up I knew that I would have children with special needs...I believe since the age of ten and wanted to be a teacher that taught kids with learning disabilities.  Guess what?  Can you believe that is exactly what I am doing?  I did not finish my college degree, I got married instead.  I do wish that I would have finished my degree first...but that is not what happened.

To be able to teach my children is such a dream and brings me such joy!!  We have fun...learning can be fun!!  We start our day reading the Bible and praying for people who need prayer.  It has made a huge impact in their lives.  They are thoughtful, loving, compassionate and caring children.  Who wouldn't want that?  

Right now I am waiting for one of my kids to finish their math work to be able to go outside.  We are all going outside to build snowmen.  It snowed about fourteen inches in the last two days...YUK, but we are going to get exercise!  We try to have a little fun on Fridays...and that is it!  Until later, I hear my child needing help with their math...again!

Hello?...

Wow, what a long long absence from here...  We did some re-arranging and I was unable to get to my computer and I was not able to blog from my children's IPad.  As you can guess we have had tons going on...  School is the BEST part!!  We all love home school!  The kids are thriving and we are even having fun learning...they all have different learning abilities that make learning tough for them, but we are succeeding!  They all can read now, and try to read everything they see...which is great!

On Friday we plan to take a field trip to the zoo.  Monkeys are what we are currently studying for science class, so we are going to see them live and in person!  For social studies we are studying current events, which brings all over the world...it is fun for them.

The holidays were busy and fun...it was hard (and still is) to do our family traditions without my grandmother with us.  So this year for Christmas we changed some things...we did our traditions that I grew up and added  some new ones.  It was a wonderful time!  Most of our family was there and it was so peaceful.  My hubby surprised me for the first time in about twenty years.  He bought me a set of DVD's of a series that took place in the early 1900's.  The series is called Larkrise to Candleford!  It is an awesome series!

What else?  Just daily living I guess...learning about school stuff, our relationships with God, getting along with others and manners...things like that.

Jovan is wanting to pray for our family a lot lately...he prays from his heart and it is lovely to hear and agree with.  We have talked about Kristina's condition of CF.  So he prays for healthy lungs so that she will not die.

Oh goodness, how could I forget that Kristina was in the hospital for seven days.  She just wasn't getting better from a cold and needed IV antibiotics.  This time they could not find a vein and had to do a picc line.  It was so scary!!  Normally it is done with an anesthesiologist and a sterile environment...but ended up doing it in her room with a "happy" (a strong pain medication) drug and local numbing to the site where the vascular nurse had to insert the catheter.  Kristina was a strong little girl...just a few tear at the start and away we went...it was success!!  We had lots and lots prayers and the woman said it went well and I told her that it was like God orchestrated it from the beginning.  She agreed with that statement!  Praise God and give him all the glory!  Hubby was able to stay with her the whole time so that was great.  The boys and I went down a couple of times...the weather wasn't so good for most of that week.

Well, I am re-organizing my file drawer and took a little break, now to finish up the project.  I am ready to spring clean and re-arrange stuff.  Hubby hates when I move things around, but I like to keep him on his toes!  So, I must go...but in a few days I will post some pictures.     

An announcement...

Yep, a big announcement that is about eights weeks late...can you guess?  Bet you won't!  Well, if you guessed that the kids are being homeschooled you are correct!  All summer I had been researching and studying about homeschool.  And we had been praying...LOTS!!!  So the middle of July we did a little school off and on.  The kids were a little freaked out at first, and once they believed they could do school at home they were okay.  I did not tell them that it might be permanent though.

Anyway, the more and more I taught, the more and more I LOVED it!  We started to do it on a very regular basis and the kids were going along with the flow...then a couple of weeks before school started we told them that they would have school at home.  Srecko had the hardest time with the concept...still sometimes brings it up.  Daddy named our school Fun To Learn School and the kids love it.

On the first day of regular school, we went to McDonalds after breakfast and got ice cream cones and drove through the parking lot of their school...and I said, where do you think that the kids in school right now want to be?  They all said eating ice cream..I think I got my point across, don't you?

Well, it is now about two and a half months into school and my kids love it...and me?  Let me just say  I can hardly stand how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!!!  Even on the hard days, like today I still love it!  It is such a HUGE blessing to be able to work with my kids everyday and sometimes Saturdays.  That is Srecko's desire.

Let me say that the kids have done a wonderful job!  They have learned so much!  For example, Jovan and Kristna were learning and barely learning five spelling words a week and now they are learning about twenty words every eight days or so.  Srecko is learning about the same...to see him learn new things is incredible!  His whole face lights up and he smiles broader then anyone in the world.  Who wouldn't want to see that everyday?  Today, we learned a new phonics game and then for a boost fruit snacks were passed out.  The kids thought that was great.

We have been up to other things...but mostly school.  I have pictures to post and more blogging to do, but I am tired by the time the kids go to bed...so not much gets done after that.  Another plus is that they can sleep in later...bed time is basically the same, but instead of Kristina getting up at 5:30am to start her neb treatments and make the bus...she now gets up a little before 7am and she is able to be ready for school and work very hard.  Now you all are a little more caught up...off to bed I go!m

Sweet Sound...

Today Jovan and I were going to see his physical therapist to make adjustments and order him a walker.  It takes about one hour and twenty minutes to get there.  We were listening to KTIS a Christian radio station. Anyway, our kids have a "song".  Music calms the soul...and this particular song just fit what we were going through trying to adopt Jovan.  The song is called Mighty to Save by Laura Story.  Love it!

I called the radio station just to tell them thanks for playing that song...and told them a little tiny bit of Jovan's adoption story and they said thanks for calling and making their morning.

A few songs later...on comes the DJ and played back what I said to him and then the DJ said "Jovan if you are listening you have a very special mother"  And Jovan said to the radio..."I know".  Then Jovan said..."mom, you were on the radio"...and he said "I heard me too".  In the background of what I was telling the DJ you could hear Jovan say mommy.  So cute!

I am very thankful that I have Jovan as my son...my miracle that God gave me through His grace.  God loved both Jovan and myself so much that he matched us together forever!!   Praise God!  Just had to share that sweet moment from this morning!

Made in Serbia...

My Serbian children!!  They are the most precious wonderful gifts from God that I could have ever dreamed of having!!  I love them so much!!  I am sure that most moms say that about their kids!  For me being a mother is the best!!  And I know they love me too!  Sometimes (and I probably have said this before) I forget that they were adopted...how is that possible you ask?  Well, they feel like they have been with us forever!!  Even Srecko who has been ours for one year, two months and fifteen days.  Time flies!!

I could go on and on about them...really I could, but I won't !  I'll let you look at their precious faces and smile!  You could even thank God  for us too!  

                                                                               

I Have a Dream...

Yes, I have a dream...maybe more of a goal really.  I want to learn to use coupons!!  Silly you say...well I would like to see my dollars S-T-R-E-T-C-H as far as they can!  I have used some in the past...but no way near what I would like to.  Looking at all the coupon sites available is so overwhelming!!  And boy, have I studied them!!  It's almost like I need someone to literally lay it all out in front of me!  Or a live step by step demonstration!!

Anybody use coupons and can suggest a great and EASY place to learn?  I have been getting up before the birds to get my "chores" done so I can devote my day to my children's schooling and therapies!  So I need something easy and without much brain effort!  HA!

I hope to have this all set up by Thanksgiving, because I want to have a deadline.  So hold me accountable!

And I also have some posting to do on the children...but that takes mommy's brain power and that does not wake up for hours yet!  Just kidding!  I do the easy chores that doesn't take any concentration to do.