tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85133916074361651922024-02-19T05:06:58.332-06:00The Road to HopeHope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.
-George IsleSarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.comBlogger175125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-46191627144717289092022-04-15T19:55:00.000-05:002022-04-15T19:55:24.357-05:00Joshua's Birth: An Induction After Two Cesareans <p>Well, I finally finished <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-birth-of-jessica-rose.html" target="_blank">Jessica's birth story</a>, so I suppose I can write the next child's birth story now that he's over 17 months old... I don't remember as much as with my first stories since I was able to write them sooner, but I'll share what I do remember!</p><p>Just to set the scene of this birth, this was probably the hardest pregnancy I've had emotionally, and maybe even physically. (Yes, harder emotionally than even <a href="https://sarahs-pregnancy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Danielle's pregnancy</a>.) We found out we were expecting a baby two weeks before the pandemic shut down the entire country. (We managed to purchase a 12-passenger van the following week.) One of my friends was about a month ahead of me with twin girls and planning a c-section for their delivery. She had her c-section several weeks early, and something went wrong that still has the doctors a little puzzled. It nearly killed her. I was delivering with that same group of doctors (the same health system that did <a href="http://danielle-joann.blogspot.com/2010/05/dannis-birth-story-as-told-by-mommy.html" target="_blank">Danielle's c-section</a>), and because I had placenta previa, for most of my pregnancy, they were telling me I would also need a c-section. To say I was terrified between my past experience of a c-section with them, and watching my friend go through all that she went through, would be an understatement. Because of the pandemic, I couldn't get together with my other mom friends and process the whole thing with them. My doctor, Dr. Amy Fisher, told me I needed to see a therapist when she realized that she knew who my friend was that was lying in her hospital and knew her whole health story. I believe it was around 36 weeks that I had my final ultrasound to see if my placenta had moved enough to make a vaginal birth safe. Thank the Lord God, it had! But, there were a few concerns about some rather large blood vessels left behind as it moved that were very close to my cervix. </p><p>And with that, I will begin the story of Josh's birth... As pretty much any pregnant woman will tell you, we get up often throughout the night to pee. And, as usual on the night of October 28th, I did. In the wee hours of the morning from the little bit of light that came through the window, I thought I had seen something in the toilet other than just pee. I was tired though, and went back to bed. I thought it might be a small blood clot, but as it was very small and not the size that concerned doctors when you're postpartum. Closer to morning, I again got up to pee. This time I realized I was bleeding lightly and figured that we should probably go into the hospital now that I was awake enough to actually process what was going on. I was having absolutely no contractions though. </p><p>My mom came over to watch the rest of the kids and off we went around 8am. They originally put in me triage and the doctor on call, Dr. Kim Fischer, was great! I was concerned about being induced, since I was a VBA2C, but she assured me that my Bishop score of 9 meant I would be just fine. She also knew that I did not do well with needles and wanted to negotiate (they wanted to do a blood draw and place two IV ports, I was only willing to do one IV port with a blood draw from that port (which they told me that they can't do, but in reality they can). She wanted one IV port placed, then a blood draw, then the second IV port placed. I said she could have the first, and if it went well, she could have the second, and if they both went well, she could have the third. With the bleeding, even though it was very light, she said that I "would be having this baby today," so I was admitted.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlkVCQhN3vdxU0IFLRpbJ0xTXhDvj9ehaMthtFaMjc038-CTM5URyQF6bnnFC0iCXjLiVGaHxz4LVJWR5Jz_xyBndgKwhHCwzni0TgRnSYiN7nrDc5ClbqDK1bxdOV07WXcVvvuPvso6z0bCFrN8L2AAOmpwlPtiqUJRfYUhb1IavYegIj8Bt5Bcnbg/s4032/PXL_20201029_124532579.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtlkVCQhN3vdxU0IFLRpbJ0xTXhDvj9ehaMthtFaMjc038-CTM5URyQF6bnnFC0iCXjLiVGaHxz4LVJWR5Jz_xyBndgKwhHCwzni0TgRnSYiN7nrDc5ClbqDK1bxdOV07WXcVvvuPvso6z0bCFrN8L2AAOmpwlPtiqUJRfYUhb1IavYegIj8Bt5Bcnbg/s320/PXL_20201029_124532579.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture doesn't even show the entire room.</td></tr></tbody></table>I was told that I had the biggest room in the Mother Baby Center, and if it wasn't, then the size of the other rooms is even more ridiculous than the size of my room! Once I got settled in, we figured out a plan for how to get IVs placed and blood drawn. They had a specialist from the NICU come with an ultrasound to find my veins to place an IV in each arm. She marked the spot and put numbing cream on, and said that she used to work in the ER where they would draw blood from IVs that they had just placed. So, I had gotten the right lady for the job! She got the first IV placed without too much problem, and drew blood from it, so I let her do the second one as well. We did decide though that on top of the numbing cream, giving it a shot of lidocaine might be a good idea for next time as well. I think not being in labor helped a lot with getting the IVs placed so well too. <br /><p></p><p>With the IVs placed they were able to start me on Pitocin to try to start labor. They increased the dose every so often to get bigger contractions that were closer together. I remember in the early stages we asked the nurse if there was a deck of cards that we could play to pass some time. She managed to find some for us and we played a couple games of cribbage using the bed as a table while I sat on the birth ball. Eventually the contractions got to the point where I couldn't focus enough to play cards. I remember standing and swaying with my arms wrapped around Adam for support, but I found that my legs were really feeling crampy and I wanted to just sit or lay down. I don't remember this from naturally induced labor, so in hind sight, I'm blaming the Pitocin, but I don't think I had the mental capacity at the time to realize that that was probably what was causing it. </p><p>The nurses would come in to check my cervix periodically. And at one point, a nurse came in and unwrapped all the things in the baby warmer. When I saw that happening, I knew we were getting close to meeting our little man! I could keep up with the contractions and crampy legs for a little while longer. It would be over soon and I would be holding my baby! Whenever I needed encouraging thoughts between contractions, I would look over at that warmer just waiting for him. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1yfh91LmNc9S6VUUBODL5thH_lAxWGa2l8G2U3-zs5tWA3Eam7PTKPm5bh39Mp9P74FfU_3b59cpOo-YH95IQNuZXNuU2LUITzz8F4qhjon05mGXq470Cz0d8MINXF5FxQHFZWd9gfGd7qOTnquWbZVgKbcg_poJWpOauY945EeB2WsZ3ZSLm_ezDQ/s4592/DSC02173.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3056" data-original-width="4592" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz1yfh91LmNc9S6VUUBODL5thH_lAxWGa2l8G2U3-zs5tWA3Eam7PTKPm5bh39Mp9P74FfU_3b59cpOo-YH95IQNuZXNuU2LUITzz8F4qhjon05mGXq470Cz0d8MINXF5FxQHFZWd9gfGd7qOTnquWbZVgKbcg_poJWpOauY945EeB2WsZ3ZSLm_ezDQ/s320/DSC02173.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Then a nurse came in to check my cervix. I was at 5 cm. Not much farther along than the last time I was checked. I felt utterly defeated. Not only was I not laboring on my own, but I wasn't progressing as fast as I was hoping. Dr. Fischer had promised that I would have my baby today! I told Adam that I wanted the epidural. The contractions weren't any worse than they had been with <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-birth-of-jessica-rose.html" target="_blank">Jessica</a> when I only used the nitrous oxide, but emotionally, I was done. <br /><p></p><p>At this point I had had three other epidurals. With <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2011/09/eleanors-birth-story.html" target="_blank">Nora</a>, I could feel absolutely nothing and needed to be coached by a nurse watching the monitors as to when to push. With <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2015/10/samuel-davids-birth-story-vba2c.html" target="_blank">Sam </a>I could feel pressure on my cervix, so I knew that I needed to start pushing and I could feel the contractions enough to know when to push. With <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2016/08/liliannas-birth-story.html" target="_blank">Lily</a>, I could feel the contractions, but didn't know when I was ready to start pushing. This time, however, I felt like I needed to push, but when the nurse checked me, she told me I was only at 9cm, and she had me adjust how I was laying to try to thin out the last of my cervix. Not more than 10 minutes later, I pushed the nurse call button again, and told her that I really thought I needed to push. So, she checked me again, but told me I was still 9cm and adjusted how I was laying again. Again, not more than 5 minutes later, I really, really felt that I needed to push. By the time she got there and asked if she could check me, I was feeling enough pressure and need to push and I almost yelled at her, "No!" but, I managed to say it at least without completely yelling. She called the doctor on call to let her know I was ready to deliver. She took me seriously and helped me roll to my back, and I started pushing. With the first push, my water broke. Nope, sorry, let me explain that again. My water <i>exploded</i> all over the poor nurse. I've never wanted to laugh in labor before, but I sure did then. My brain was laughing while my body was dealing with labor. With that first push, once she saw what was happening, she quickly went to the phone again and called the doctor to get there <i>now</i>. With the second push, she stood at the end of the bed, waiting to catch the baby, but, I think to her relief, the baby wasn't out yet. Between that push and the next, the doctor walked in the room and was suiting up on the way to my bed. The doctor made it to my bed for the third and final push at 10:42pm, when Joshua Michael entered the world. </p><p>Now, let me give you a little background again. With <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-birth-of-jessica-rose.html" target="_blank">Jessica's birth</a>, the doctor that was on-call, was actually the back up to the on-call doctor. His name was Dr. Chang, not that he introduced himself. He walked in the room, starred at the contraction/heart rate monitor and told me my baby was going to die if we didn't do a c-section. No one else in the room was panicky, so I tried to ignore him until he left. When my nurse came back later, she asked how we liked this doctor that we had never met. We both said we hated him. She said we could switch doctors, and so we did, and had a beautiful birth with her. </p><p>Now back to Josh's birth. The doctor that showed up at the <i>very</i> last minute to catch him was his wife, Mrs. Dr. Chang, as we've come to refer to her as. My doctor had given me a heads up after I told her that we had kicked the last doctor out, that his wife worked with them. I would love to be able to tell you that she was the complete opposite and was absolutely wonderful. But, she was there for such a brief period of time that I really don't have an opinion of her one way or the other. She caught my baby just fine and didn't threaten a c-section or death like her husband, so she has a one-up on him there. Though, she didn't introduce herself, like her husband either, but, at least for her, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt that if she actually had time for niceties, she probably would have. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0lMKaJ4dv586nFb3XKHUKHGtJK0EdCFPM3_e49zdl0vxaPExd-85m05a68ZJv8mWvixDCG82dO7wR_-ND3252_ETkeZqMlwH8mHw00RF3QsXLPlGlhhnPWm_qDAljhSL_RDxMX-ngxmylFspAuS3fmUWmhci9Y9w7rWp8p4Uu2Ra95RURvO30I32wg/s4032/PXL_20201030_034634750.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0lMKaJ4dv586nFb3XKHUKHGtJK0EdCFPM3_e49zdl0vxaPExd-85m05a68ZJv8mWvixDCG82dO7wR_-ND3252_ETkeZqMlwH8mHw00RF3QsXLPlGlhhnPWm_qDAljhSL_RDxMX-ngxmylFspAuS3fmUWmhci9Y9w7rWp8p4Uu2Ra95RURvO30I32wg/s320/PXL_20201030_034634750.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Once Josh entered the world, he was placed right on my chest. I wasn't super focused on what was going on with birthing the placenta and whatnot, but it seemed that the doctor was getting annoyed or something (since she was wearing a mask, it was hard to get an actual read on facial expressions & emotions) with what was going on. Because this was my seventh kid and because there were a few pesky larger veins that were still hanging out around my cervix from when the placenta had moved out of the way, my doctor had told me that they were more worried about hemorrhaging this time. That must have been what she was annoyed with, because they ended up giving me two other drugs, on top of the Pitocin, to stop the bleeding. The first went into the second IV port in my other arm. But the third needed to be stabbed into my leg. When the nurse told me that she was going to give me a shot, this time I did yell at her, "WHAT!?!" She took a step back and kind of looked a little stunned that that would be my reaction. (She wasn't around for the negotiations with the IVs and whatnot, so maybe she missed the part of my record that says I don't do well with needles.) I did consent and she stabbed me in the leg. Lucky for her I had an epidural, and while I could still feel and move my legs a little, I didn't end up screaming at her again. It didn't take them too long to get the bleeding to stop. Then I just got to enjoy the cuddles and let Adam have some time meeting his new son. <br /><p></p><div>We were eventually ready to call it a night around 2am and Adam was looking to get settled in on the couch. But, the nurse stopped him from looking for sheets. It was time to move down the hall out of the poorly named "Mother Baby Center" (it should really be called a birth center, since the kick the mothers and their babies out when they're most exhausted). We went from this over-sized gigantic birthing suite to a literal closet where Adam was shoved in a little jut-out on a chair-bed that barely fit in the space. We were all exhausted though, and settled in for the night. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmaUS2eeM2rQzK_CnLap3iYCoVQ0hORHGaizGcL9jKSaN3TAaPnAnTD3HB5APWqJ-Sa0XwIzbsNBuLNkbq2yMArwZNppkmM5hsg9dqFft9KhskfufSDB6ace6La-e1JHogBAMMEH8IqgirdWh9PNK3_Lf-VlP_57bXETDqnDLBSxyNMi9dj4VYuDMwA/s3264/PXL_20201031_162525625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmaUS2eeM2rQzK_CnLap3iYCoVQ0hORHGaizGcL9jKSaN3TAaPnAnTD3HB5APWqJ-Sa0XwIzbsNBuLNkbq2yMArwZNppkmM5hsg9dqFft9KhskfufSDB6ace6La-e1JHogBAMMEH8IqgirdWh9PNK3_Lf-VlP_57bXETDqnDLBSxyNMi9dj4VYuDMwA/s320/PXL_20201031_162525625.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>With Nora's birth story, I was able to tell you about all the visitors we had the next day that came to meet her, and with the others after her I was able to show you pictures of the older siblings all meeting their newest sibling in the hospital all gathered around me (still looking tired, of course) sitting on the hospital bed with me. But instead, no one came to see us, since there were visitor restrictions due to the pandemic. Since he was born before a little more than an hour before midnight, I only had one whole day to stay at the hospital. The next day was all the paperwork to get me out of there as fast as they could. But, what I do have is a picture of us leaving the hospital with only one of our children while wearing our masks. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Afterward: Adam tells me that at some point I did use the nitrous oxide with this delivery. I didn't believe him, because during those early months of the pandemic, they wouldn't allow you to use it. But, he showed me a picture on his phone as proof. I think I vaguely remember being told that they had <i>just</i> started allowing its use again. </div>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-50183660801976183682022-04-10T19:53:00.001-05:002022-04-15T20:17:55.092-05:00Bringing Hope & Joy into a Scary Pregnancy<p>I received a phone call this afternoon from a woman in my bible study group. She told me that her son and daughter-in-law were expecting their second baby in May. But then she told me that their baby has a heart issue. She knew that our first baby was diagnosed with a heart issue in utero as well, and called to ask what I found helpful or hopeful during <a href="https://sarahs-pregnancy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">my pregnancy with Danielle</a> so she could try to do the same for her son & daughter-in-law. I had never been asked that before, but I thought it was a great question to ask. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUFcW3OMOKMp_RaYYTWNUbQLH4TBMt7p70P0qZvmYnparykyfZzs46aA4zU9E5grSV23Jdy4uBZTM0jcNy5aig_k1D9iYp-R0fbmJhWv8eHxdFRtXmKsPhA0g66v1ShBCeH4wMMjBsfYlTssHE3vmsvt9TGF-6drsGozDropOdSresiDohUkjgKxDSw/s1535/007%20(2).JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="1281" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUFcW3OMOKMp_RaYYTWNUbQLH4TBMt7p70P0qZvmYnparykyfZzs46aA4zU9E5grSV23Jdy4uBZTM0jcNy5aig_k1D9iYp-R0fbmJhWv8eHxdFRtXmKsPhA0g66v1ShBCeH4wMMjBsfYlTssHE3vmsvt9TGF-6drsGozDropOdSresiDohUkjgKxDSw/s320/007%20(2).JPG" width="267" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terrible picture of me at a baby shower <br />when I was pregnant with Danni.</td></tr></tbody></table></div>The first thing I told her that brought me hope was to hear that people were praying for us, and I would hear even after she died that people I didn't even know were praying for us. But, I think that just scratches the surface. It's a deep and profound thing and honestly if anyone would have asked me back then what they could do for us, my response would have been to pray for our baby girl. But, then I started thinking about things my own mother did during my pregnancy with Danni that brought a little joy into a scary time. I remember her bringing me shopping for maternity clothes and trying to cheer me up. I remember the baby showers she and others threw for us that made becoming a mother seem more normal and joyous. I remember my mother coming with to every ultrasound that Adam couldn't go to so that I would have someone there to support me. I remember planning out a nursey and putting it all together and the excitement at the thought of bringing home this baby. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WBlmdTaXrLSm8-DlJ6wMaFteKj6Ds8dZcNGvllgKwKEkPq3Fn9B5Ld2B_u9oQ5vaL0jPZBf97doALtes_1lVJ6bDhgn133wVAV61vetxVtmQqMn03yaBStv0HwT4prPQkc-11a5tsYyg4BzmGfIJ-fBA2P2-PihaeAlHnVqw1mBR9XP_fZ5_QWP9ng/s3072/CIMG4273.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2304" data-original-width="3072" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WBlmdTaXrLSm8-DlJ6wMaFteKj6Ds8dZcNGvllgKwKEkPq3Fn9B5Ld2B_u9oQ5vaL0jPZBf97doALtes_1lVJ6bDhgn133wVAV61vetxVtmQqMn03yaBStv0HwT4prPQkc-11a5tsYyg4BzmGfIJ-fBA2P2-PihaeAlHnVqw1mBR9XP_fZ5_QWP9ng/s320/CIMG4273.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom helped me paint the nursey.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><p></p><p>Anything that helped to make the pregnancy seem like a normal pregnancy was something that brought joy and hope into our lives during that time. </p>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-36456329127270668502022-04-07T16:26:00.008-05:002022-04-15T20:13:00.228-05:00The Birth of Jessica RoseDo you know how to make sure you go into labor? Plan a last date before baby comes with your husband. Adam had bought tickets to see our friend's play on Sunday, April 29th. In hindsight, I started early labor the day before when I was at our church's Spring Salad Luncheon with my mom. I remember having a couple contractions that were definitely more than Braxton-Hicks, but didn't really pay much attention, because I was still 4 days from my due date, and I expected to go a day or two past. But, by 1am on Sunday morning, I was awake with contractions and timed a couple of them. I don't remember waking Adam to tell him that I was in labor, but he says that he remembers being woken up.<br />
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Around 6am, I texted my mom to come over and pick up the kids. The plan was for me to labor at home for as long as possible. I've had either an epidural or a spinal with all of the other kids, and this time, I wanted to do it without. I wanted to be able to offer up my pain and unite it to Christ's suffering in His Passion for an intention near to my heart. We figured if I were at home as long as possible, I was away from the epidural as long as possible!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulIRMi71PqkFTzUtEZAq6Y9tAnto_R2MWAN4KkzlS4QFO-XNYTqgVnaJ6TFNyZBHEPJ1UUjPrJkFawaYEe7qiYu0aL_wEvhyphenhyphen34spJPu-vhQsuHTlr7v-Qe1IWd0LgvKPdfcO18wZI6BqR/s1600/2018-04-29+07.22.13.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjulIRMi71PqkFTzUtEZAq6Y9tAnto_R2MWAN4KkzlS4QFO-XNYTqgVnaJ6TFNyZBHEPJ1UUjPrJkFawaYEe7qiYu0aL_wEvhyphenhyphen34spJPu-vhQsuHTlr7v-Qe1IWd0LgvKPdfcO18wZI6BqR/s320/2018-04-29+07.22.13.jpg" width="180" /></a>I hadn't really packed up the kids yet, so between the older kids, Adam, and my mom, they got everyone packed and ready to go. Lily came in and kept me company. I don't think she really knew what was going on, but she enjoyed pointing to the mole on my tummy and telling me "mole." (Oddly enough, Jessica at 18 months or so started poking that same mole while she nurses.)<div><div>
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I don't remember all that we did to keep ourselves occupied during the waiting game. I believe Adam dished me up some peaches (the only thing that sounded good) for lunch. Once the afternoon rolled around, I texted my neighbor to see if she had a birth/ exercise ball that I could use. I remember Adam working on one of Nate's many puzzles while I pretty much just watched him and sat on the birth ball.<br />
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Once it started getting late, we decided that we wanted to settle in somewhere for the night, so we headed to the hospital around 10pm. I wanted a wheelchair at this point. No more walking around. A nurse came down from the L&D floor to the emergency room entrance to wheel me on up while Adam parked the car. It always seems that when we head to the hospital, my contractions slow down quite a bit. This time was no different. So the nurse brought me over to a triage room, thinking I was not actually in labor. I remember asking why we were there. My L&D nurse, CaraLin, who would end up being a saving grace for me, was kneeling in front of my wheelchair, and the other nurse was asking me to get up and move to the triage bed for examination. CaraLin started asking me questions, like how many kids I had and their ages and such. I wasn't super great at answering, but managed to tell her I had six kids, their ages, and that <a href="http://danielle-joann.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">our oldest died</a>. I wasn't having contractions, even though I felt like I was still in between close contractions. CaraLin told the other nurse that I knew what I was talking about since I was on my 6th child, but I think she was waiting for the proof once a contraction hit. I could tell the others around CaraLin and I were getting a little impatient, and I remember praying for a contraction to hit! And, thank the Lord, it did. They all were then in agreement to admit me and brought me straight to my room.<br />
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When you're a VBAC (and definitely when you're a VBA2C!), they want to get a 20-minute "strip" on your contractions and baby's heart rate. I hate being hooked up to them. You can't move to get comfortable during a contraction, because you need to make sure that the monitors don't slip out of place and not read baby's heart rate. I sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat comfortably while we tried to get a 20-minute strip. CaraLin stayed by my side the whole time. My doctor (whom I had never met before), Dr. Chang, stared at the readings on the monitor. He wanted me to lay down on my back (super uncomfortable in labor for me!). The baby's heart rate wasn't variable enough for him. I could feel a calm in the room around me, but an induced panic from him. He started talking, while still staring at the monitor, about how if we couldn't get some variability in the baby's heart rate, that we'd have to do a c-section or the baby could die. Oddly enough, even the mention of our baby dying didn't panic me. Everyone else in the room was calm and unconcerned. I didn't like Dr. Chang. He reminded me of <a href="http://sarahs-pregnancy.blogspot.com/2009/12/other-part-of-first-ultrasound.html" target="_blank">Scary Doctor</a> with no bedside manners.<br />
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Eventually, everyone left the room when they had the information they needed, leaving Adam and me alone. After the click of the door shutting, the next thing I heard was Adam's voice, "I don't like him." So I wasn't just an over-dramatic laboring woman. "I don't like him either."<br />
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After a few minutes, CaraLin came back in with another nurse, and she knelt down by my side at the edge of the bed I was sitting on. "I understand you haven't met this doctor before, what do you think of him?" I explained that we didn't like him, and she explained our options. There was another doctor, their on-call doctor, Dr. Burroughs, who I could meet, and if I liked him, I could switch. We both agreed that was a great idea.<div><br /></div><div>Dr. Burroughs came in and introduced himself and said that everything looked fine to him, so he let me continue to labor.</div><div><br /></div><div>(At this point I'm writing the rest of this just before Jessica's 2nd birthday, so it's not as detailed as it could be... But it's my story, nonetheless.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I know an IV was placed and my cervix was checked. I labored on a birth ball for quite a while, and eventually used the nitrous oxide for some pain relief during contractions. Adam laid on the couch either reading or playing video games or napping. I'm really not sure which. </div><div><br /></div><div>(And now I'm continuing when she's almost 4 years old! At this point in time, I don't remember as much as I could have had I written this sooner.)</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>I remember sitting on the birth ball laboring and trying to rest as best I could in between contractions. At one point, I must have actually dozed off a bit, because I tipped backwards on the birth ball, and lost my balance. Thankfully the IV pole was right next to me, and I grabbed it to keep from completely tipping over! I think after that point I stayed more awake, and I think it actually helped to kick up the contractions a bit. </div><div><br /></div><div>I must have moved to the bed at some point, because when I was ready to push, I the nurses asking me how I wanted to position myself. I literally couldn't move and I had no idea what position I should move into. One of the nurses decided to put up the back of the bed so that it was almost straight upright. I used my arms to hang on the edge of the bed and squatted on the part that was still flat. Adam was standing behind the upright head of the bed. One of my top love languages is physical touch, and he was present, but not touching me, so I remember telling him that I needed his hand. As I pushed a nurse, probably CaraLin, held my hips and pulled them down as I pushed each time. I remember that Dr. Burroughs was in the room, but I also thought that he was across the room, and not right by my bedside. I honestly thought that no one caught our baby and that she just landed on the bed. Adam told me later that Dr. Burroughs did indeed caught her!</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNO6uVQ5VzoMG8oIne2ePVGjIqum8os0yFjzUhniaP-CE2WJUqr3KJOjI3DeJ-9wTDMlDMj_mXCvXiaDwUmWP5n2jGQtjSsVa24R0qluv8bjz-EWr4CI7DHkriV-LQYZnmpImLHUoMYQmnwV_RMqzLbtMmlpFbVHnbS_KboIYO2O9x0oI5Tdgl4Xe2A/s4608/DSC08069.ARW" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4608" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNO6uVQ5VzoMG8oIne2ePVGjIqum8os0yFjzUhniaP-CE2WJUqr3KJOjI3DeJ-9wTDMlDMj_mXCvXiaDwUmWP5n2jGQtjSsVa24R0qluv8bjz-EWr4CI7DHkriV-LQYZnmpImLHUoMYQmnwV_RMqzLbtMmlpFbVHnbS_KboIYO2O9x0oI5Tdgl4Xe2A/w320-h213/DSC08069.ARW" width="320" /></a></div>Once she was born, they helped me lay back on the bed and gave me my newest daughter to hold. I remember thinking in the moment that I would never push a baby out of me again without an epidural, but by the next day, I was convinced I'd try it again. </div><div><br /></div><div>4-28 Spring Salad Luncheon @ church - contractions<br />4-29 Contractions at 1am<br />head to hospital at 9:30-10pm<br />11:35pm 7cm<br />4-30 Jessica born at 3:08am 8# 6oz 21 1/4 inches</div>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-13236054679625815372022-04-07T14:23:00.001-05:002022-04-07T17:02:17.016-05:00Encounters with God: The Bronze Statue Smiled<p>One of our churches is doing a "School of Prayer" during Lent. Father talks about prayer in the Bible and how Jesus and others have prayed, and adds in some Catechism. Then someone gives a testimony about prayer in their life. And we end with time to pray in front of Jesus. </p><p>Lately I haven't felt as close to Jesus as I have at different points in my life. Most of those points were during the trials in my life. As I was meditating and talking with Jesus last week during the "School of Prayer," I found myself telling Jesus of my desire to be as close to Him as I was during those trials. Then I realized what I was kind of asking for... more trials! So I told Him that I did NOT want Him to send me any more trials! And as I looked up at the bronze statue of the crucified Jesus in our church, I saw Him smile at me. Then I realized I was telling Jesus what to do, and laughed at myself.</p><p>You see, God thinks He's funny, because as I sit here typing this, I'm waiting to be connected to an urgent care virtual visit. I have four puking children today, two of whom like to puke within minutes of each other. It's uncanny how in sync they are with each other! I guess I'm getting what I asked for... I've been praying a lot more earnestly since the first child started puking two days ago. (Thankfully she's doing better today!) </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAwoofrJ7Q_Rf9qm-g6pUM63wXq-wYU9xFnNJDa1bNRIuNaHs4C3kPVcZn2YSdTZPjhgpFxCqcV5kWdiYGkzn3EWx_dTtB7hWe2HMhHmEV9k44bFhEnlJjLYBwyGi4l-uRXs278Q5fSuV9Szh9CqAMkDFkO7dGcHA_WOYXtJtFOQegK6A4Q80lCRv-Q/s2592/PXL_20220406_213417440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1944" data-original-width="2592" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAwoofrJ7Q_Rf9qm-g6pUM63wXq-wYU9xFnNJDa1bNRIuNaHs4C3kPVcZn2YSdTZPjhgpFxCqcV5kWdiYGkzn3EWx_dTtB7hWe2HMhHmEV9k44bFhEnlJjLYBwyGi4l-uRXs278Q5fSuV9Szh9CqAMkDFkO7dGcHA_WOYXtJtFOQegK6A4Q80lCRv-Q/s320/PXL_20220406_213417440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-63189860404818411822020-08-05T15:09:00.003-05:002020-08-05T15:27:51.795-05:00Part 4: Subjects to be Taught & Our CurriculumThis is the fourth post in a series about beginning homeschooling. In my first post, I talked about how to let your school district know that you <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-youre-thinking-of-homeschooling.html">intend to homeschool your child(ren)</a> and assessments. In my second post, I talked about getting <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/homeschooling-whats-next.html">reimbursement for curriculum from your school district and applying for a tax exempt status</a>. In my third post, I started <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/onto-guts-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">talking about curriculum</a>, and promised to continue in another post (which happens to be this one!) If you missed either of those posts, and are just beginning your homeschooling journey, you might want to go back and read those posts.<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_pNDSPakEHmqqrN9CrZNhs3aqTJT9bE5kauy8iNWHCLE1oYEamuccxL-pPXFWby6OfSIqyhGQJXpQOkbWQzbZRfqzJPSDMRIOHzwAe3H7ZvuG4_yWbWyOclGrpnvQv3nkvO5tMOYhGGQ/s1600/Part+4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_pNDSPakEHmqqrN9CrZNhs3aqTJT9bE5kauy8iNWHCLE1oYEamuccxL-pPXFWby6OfSIqyhGQJXpQOkbWQzbZRfqzJPSDMRIOHzwAe3H7ZvuG4_yWbWyOclGrpnvQv3nkvO5tMOYhGGQ/s400/Part+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In Minnesota, you are required to teach these subjects:</div>
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- reading</div>
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- writing</div>
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- literature</div>
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- fine arts</div>
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- math</div>
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- science</div>
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- history</div>
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- geography</div>
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- economics</div>
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- government</div>
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- citizenship</div>
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- health</div>
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- physical education</div>
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(If you're in another state you may or may not be required to teach certain subjects, and if you are, your list may be different. To check out your state's law, <a href="https://hslda.org/legal" target="_blank">visit HSLDA</a>.)</div>
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Does that list seem overwhelming? I think it does, and I've been doing this for a couple years. But some things to keep in mind: all of these subjects don't need a separate curriculum, and you don't need to teach EACH subject EACH year. When you group some subjects together, and consider rotating through some each year, the list doesn't seem so long. </div>
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Here is what I have chosen for our kids, why I chose it, and how it fulfills the required subjects that I listed above. I'll start with math since I've had some people ask for my recommendations on this particular subject since I was a math teacher before having kids. (For kids in kindergarten or younger, you can scroll past most of this to the bottom where I talk about ABC Jesus Loves Me.)</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.mathmammoth.com/" target="_blank">Math Mammoth</a> (Light Blue Series)</b> </div>
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<i>Subjects covered: Math</i></div>
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Math was probably the subject I spent the most time debating on. I had it narrowed down to Singapore Math and Math Mammoth. Both programs are very similar, but in the end, it came down to pricing. I could get Math Mammoth grades 1-7 in digital format to print as needed for $175. (You can also buy individual grade levels for less.) At the time we had three kids (we now have five and are expecting the sixth in November), so that would have been 21 workbooks for $175 (or a little over $8 a piece). With Math Mammoth, I could print out each grade level for each kid. I can also go back and reprint pages when I think a child needs review. </div>
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<a href="https://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/math/math-grades-k-6/math-mammoth-light-blue-series" target="_blank">Cathy Duffy Reviews</a> compares Singapore and Math Mammoth quite nicely, "Both explain concepts thoroughly, generally using visual illustrations to present new concepts. Also, both programs employ a number of different ways to explain new concepts so they can reach different learning styles." </div>
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While I think most kids can succeed with Math Mammoth, I know some kids may be only kinesthetic learners, and have trouble processing the visuals in Math Mammoth or Singapore. If you think this might be your child, Math-U-See is a great option and one that I considered in the beginning. It uses a lot a manipulatives that the kids can touch, feel, and move. The down side is that then you will have to spend more on these and find a space to store the ones you're not using. But, if it's going to work for your child, then it's worth it!</div>
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<i>Purchasing Math Mammoth (Light Blue Series):</i> <a href="https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/math-mammoth-ongoing/" target="_blank">Grades K-8 for $175</a>. You can also buy <a href="https://www.mathmammoth.com/packages.php" target="_blank">grades 1-3 for $75 or grades 4-7 for $100</a> (Make sure you scroll down to the Light Blue Series, not the Blue Series.)</div>
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<b><a href="https://www.lwtears.com/hwt" target="_blank">Handwriting Without Tears</a></b></div>
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<i>Subjects covered: Writing</i></div>
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When my oldest first started trying to write letters, I pulled out that trusty old 3-lined set of papers. You know the one, where there's a solid top and bottom line and a dashed middle line. It was confusing for her to figure out which letters touched which lines. Someone recommended Handwriting Without Tears to me (not because she was crying over it, mind you), because it taught handwriting using two lines instead of three. It was a game-changer for her. If you child hasn't started a handwriting program, or is struggling the same way my daughter was, then I'd highly recommend this program. If your child is doing just fine with the program that your school has been using, you may want to consider continuing with it. If your school doesn't have a handwriting program, I'd consider starting one, and making sure that your child learns cursive. (You can find lots of research on why it's still good to teach, even in the digital age, but that's not the point of this post. I'll let you look into that yourself, if you're so inclined.) I have not used their Building Writers program, because I cover writing (sentence & paragraph development, etc.) in other subjects. I have only used the handwriting workbooks. </div>
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<i>Purchasing:</i> I have always bought them directly from <a href="https://shopping.lwtears.com/category/products-by-type?m=Retail" target="_blank">Learning Without Tears</a> for $11.50 per workbook. </div>
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<b>Spelling Workout and Plaid Phonics</b></div>
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<i>Subjects covered: Reading, Writing</i></div>
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These are two workbooks, spelling and phonics, that somewhat line up with each other and reinforce the phonics topics being taught in the spelling words being studied. I like that they work together, so the kids are being exposed to a concept from both the spelling side and the reading side at the same time. (For example, while they're learning to read long O words, they're also learning how to spell them.) The downside for me is that the pages aren't lined up with each other. We've decided to work through Spelling Workout in order, and I've lined up the corresponding pages in Plaid Phonics (so they're skipping around in their phonics workbook a little bit.) The upside for you is that I'm willing to share my hard work, so if you're using a grade level I've already used with my kids, I'll share it with you! Their workbooks aren't numbered by grade, but rather lettered by grade (so level A is 1st grade, B is 2nd, and so on). I have also made spelling test pages using the 2-line system that Handwriting Without Tears uses that I can share with you as well. </div>
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<i>Purchasing:</i> You can find them on Amazon, which is where I had bought them in past years, but this year, my husband discovered that they're cheaper at <a href="https://thecurriculumstore.com/" target="_blank">The Curriculum Store</a>, so that's where I'd recommend buying them. I have not ever bought the teacher's manuals or anything, just the workbooks. For the lower levels, chances are pretty good that you'll be fine without them, but it's totally your comfort level. </div>
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<b><a href="https://elementalscience.com/collections/classical-science" target="_blank">Elemental Science</a></b></div>
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<i>Subjects covered: Science, Writing, Fine Arts</i></div>
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Science was a tricky one for me in selecting. I wanted something that I could teach at multiple levels, so I could group my kids together. I didn't want to have to do 3, 4, or 5 science experiments each week. With Elemental Science, I will be having my 1st, 2nd, and 4th grader all working together this coming year. Since the reading levels are different, I do have different levels of reading for them. I also expect more from my 4th grader's notebooking than I will from my 1st grader's notebooking. My 4th grader will be writing several sentences about whatever topic we're reading about that day. My 1st grader will be writing one sentence that he found most interesting on the same topic. We have covered Biology, Earth Science and Astronomy, and Chemistry for the Grammar Stage books and will be doing Physics for the Grammar Stage this year. Then we will cycle through the four areas of study again, but my oldest will be using the Logic Stage and working separately from her younger siblings.</div>
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<i>Purchasing:</i> I think the only way to buy it is directly from <a href="https://elementalscience.com/collections/classical-science" target="_blank">Elemental Science</a>, but I could be wrong. If you will be using this with more than one student, I would recommend considering the ebook package, since you can print multiple copies of the student workbook and keep it in a 3-ring binder. I like having the Teacher's Guide in a book format, so I have been buying the Printed Combo. But, I've emailed them, and they've been able to sell me the Student Workbook in ebook form for $10. The books that the students read from I've purchased second hand from Amazon (which I mentioned in my <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/onto-guts-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">last post</a>). </div>
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<b><a href="https://www.rchistory.com/Default.asp" target="_blank">Connecting With History</a></b></div>
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<i>Subjects covered: Reading, Writing, Literature, Fine Arts (art), History, Geography, Citizenship, Government (in volume 4)</i></div>
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I hated history in school (other than map day... that was fun!), so I wanted an engaging curriculum. I also wanted it to make sense. To me, it makes sense to start at the beginning and work to the end, so I wanted a curriculum that started at the beginning of time (or as early as we have some records) until modern time. Connecting With History (CWH) has four volumes that starts with the early world through 63 B.C. in Volume 1, and ends with the 15th-19th centuries in Volume 4. As with science, I didn't want to have to be teaching five different histories, so I needed something that could do multiple levels together. Each level of CWH covers kindergarten through 12th grade. My kids are all learning the same topics at the same time, but from different books at different levels. While my youngest will reading easy reader books about Abraham Lincoln and others this year, my oldest will be reading several chapter books about many of the events that occurred during the same time period. We study, label, and colors maps of the eras and areas that we're reading about. And at the end of each unit, we do art projects, write about the people, places, and events they read about, and often times they do a presentation for grandma and grandpa on what they learned. I also love that it's a Catholic history program, so they are also learning about saints that lived during those times (like St. Joan of Arc, and how she led the fight to win France back from England). The down side is cost. History is by far the most I spend on curriculum. The reason being, your kids aren't reading boring textbooks, they're reading historical non-fiction books. Lots of them. But, they're interesting. They're learning stories, not memorizing dates. But, since they're studying it all in order, they might not have the exact date that the Great Wall of China was built memorized, but they know what other worldly events it fell between, and what was going on in the world when it was built. </div>
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<i>Purchasing:</i> Like science, you have to buy the curriculum directly from <a href="https://www.rchistory.com/Connecting-with-History-Curriculum-s/104.htm" target="_blank">RC History</a>. She does offer all the books that go along with the curriculum on her website, but you can find many of them for less second hand on Amazon, or even from your local library. </div>
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<b><a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Drawing-Children-Creative-Method-Beginners/dp/0874778271/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=drawing+with+children&qid=1596653332&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Drawing With Children</a> by Mona Brookes</b></div>
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<i>Subjects covered: Fine Arts</i></div>
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This book someone just gave me, and after looking though it, I realized that I'm pretty sure my middle school art teacher used something <i>very</i> similar if she didn't use this exact book. I remember some of the drawing exercises and instructions and pictures. I wasn't really looking for a separate art curriculum, but we are working through this together. I try to get to it once a week, but it doesn't always happen. If you're really interested in wanting a separate art curriculum, we are enjoying this one so far, but if there are art projects built into your other subjects, I wouldn't go out of my way unless it's a passion of yours. </div>
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<i>Purchasing:</i> I would just get it from <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Drawing-Children-Creative-Method-Beginners/dp/0874778271/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=drawing+with+children&qid=1596653332&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon</a> or a second hand book store. </div>
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You may have noticed that we don't have a curriculum that covers some of the subjects. We didn't have a formal art curriculum for the longest time until I was given the book I mentioned above. We did (and still do) art projects all time though, sometimes together and orchestrated by me, sometimes they just grab their art supplies and go to town! We also don't have a health or physical education curriculum. But, we're teaching our kids good health habits by how we live our lives. We're eating fruits and veggies at lunch. Some times I'm asking them what veggies they want and we're talking about what are veggies and what are fruits or meats or carbs. We brush & floss teeth and go to the dentist regularly (okay, so we're overdue for a visit right now, but we haven't wanted to take all the kids to the dentist office during this pandemic!) For physical education, we're going for walks all summer long. We're playing catch in the back yard and teaching them how to hit a ball. They're exploring movement while playing on the play set in the backyard. We've had them in swimming lessons (again though, we're not doing this during the pandemic). For economics, our kids are earning allowances for chores and we're teaching them to save, spend, and tithe the money they earn. </div>
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<b><i>PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN</i></b></div>
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Now for kids that aren't yet 7 years old, these aren't all required. I tend to start at age 5, if they're able to read, with just Spelling Workout, Plaid Phonics, and Math Mammoth. The younger kids often will sit with us when we're doing read-alouds or art projects for history or they'll watch our science experiments, but I'm not expecting any written work or anything from them. It's all just for them to have exposure, and because they like participating in these fun activities. </div>
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<b><a href="https://abcjesuslovesme.com/" target="_blank">ABC Jesus Loves Me</a></b></div>
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If you're looking for a preschool or kindergarten curriculum, I have used <a href="https://abcjesuslovesme.com/" target="_blank">ABC Jesus Loves Me</a> with all my kids to some extent. When I first started using her curriculum, she had Years 2-5, but has since added Year 1, which I have not used. I have used different parts of Year 2 with all of my kids. But, my favorite is Year 3 when they start to learn letter sounds. I make sure to use this part of it with each of my kids at age 3 to encourage them to start reading. Two of my kids taught themselves to read (at ages 3 & 4) after going though this. My third child wasn't as motivated about books, so we worked with him on learning to read. My fourth is currently anxious to learn to read. I haven't used much of Years 4 & 5 with any of my kids, since I take those years to focus on learning to read. </div>
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<i>Purchasing:</i> This curriculum is free for family use, but you can purchase it so you don't have to print it yourself. I believe it then comes with some extras that used to be available for free. </div>
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<b>LEARNING TO READ</b></div>
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<b>McGuffey Primer through <a href="https://allinonehomeschool.com/days-172-222-mcguffey-reader/" target="_blank">All in One Homeschool</a></b></div>
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All in One Homeschool is a complete PreK-12 online curriculum that is totally free. While I did consider using it in the beginning (who could pass up a completely free curriculum?!), I didn't want my kids to spend all their school time in front of a computer. But, I do like using the McGuffey Primer they have online for when the kids first start to learn to read. Each day they're learning a few new words to read, and she often has a game from <a href="https://www.starfall.com/h/index-kindergarten.php" target="_blank">Starfall </a>(another app/website I would recommend) to go along with what sounds they're learning. Some days it's a different learning game from another website. The games can be a great motivator for kids that aren't really excited about learning to read. </div>
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<i>Purchasing:</i> While I have always used the <a href="https://epbookspot.wordpress.com/mcguffeys-eclectic-primer/" target="_blank">online version for free</a>, you can order it from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mcguffey+primer&ref=nb_sb_noss_2" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. </div>
<br />Here are quick links to the other posts in this series.<br />Part 1: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-youre-thinking-of-homeschooling.html">Reporting to Your School District and Assessments</a><br />Part 2: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/homeschooling-whats-next.html">Reimbursement and Tax Exempt Status</a><div>
Part 3: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/onto-guts-of-homeschooling.html">Homeschooling Styles and Curriculum</a></div>
Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-78152857446411246122020-07-18T16:07:00.004-05:002020-08-05T15:11:31.752-05:00Part 3: Onto the Guts of Homeschooling!This is the third post in a series about beginning homeschooling. In my first post, I talked about how to let your school district know that you <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-youre-thinking-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">intend to homeschool your child(ren)</a> and assessments. In my second post, I talked about getting <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/homeschooling-whats-next.html" target="_blank">reimbursement for curriculum from your school district and applying for a tax exempt status</a>. If you missed either of those posts, and are just beginning your homeschooling journey, you might want to go back and read those posts.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixxow3BfESSLQNGGaNbMFLPyHNiyfOwZNa6Of1ECkd_EIEZADEKQvZ19wlFbz0Aoeq38KYpiOXgzskMB019-3oRnuWn_Ak3wrGnA37vSOzGPv8kj4KVokn8bLPgdThfTyJtdaIupcflPfX/s1600/Part+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1544" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixxow3BfESSLQNGGaNbMFLPyHNiyfOwZNa6Of1ECkd_EIEZADEKQvZ19wlFbz0Aoeq38KYpiOXgzskMB019-3oRnuWn_Ak3wrGnA37vSOzGPv8kj4KVokn8bLPgdThfTyJtdaIupcflPfX/s320/Part+3.jpg" width="318" /></a></div>
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In this post, I thought I would discuss <b>choosing curriculum</b>. The hard part with this is that it will look different for each family. But, I will try to give you some tools I've come across that have helped me in making choices for our family.<br />
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For our family, I wanted to go with a classical curriculum, and I found Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise's book, <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Well-Trained-Mind-Classical-Education-Revised/dp/0393059278/ref=sr_1_4?crid=39S7S6M55M6CM&dchild=1&keywords=a+well+trained+mind+susan+wise+bauer&qid=1595101047&sprefix=a+well+trained%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-4" target="_blank">A Well Trained Mind</a>, to be very helpful in guiding me with my choices. There are other <b>styles of homeschooling</b> though. The seven main styles are classical, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Unschooling, School-at-Home, Unit Studies, and Eclectic. Because others have already explained in length, much better than I could, all these different methods, I'll leave you with a link to <a href="https://thebestschools.org/magazine/homeschool-style-right/" target="_blank">The Best Schools</a> that describes all these methods. You can read through it and decide which style best suits your teaching style and your children's learning styles. I would suggest to pick one style and go with it, and not try to fit a style to each child.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cathy Duffy Reviews </td></tr>
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Once you've figured out what style of homeschooling is right for your family, start researching curriculum that fits into that style. My favorite site to helping to select what I want is <a href="https://cathyduffyreviews.com/" target="_blank">Cathy Duffy Reviews</a>. She has detailed reviews of pretty much any curriculum out there. I would suggest looking at her website on a computer instead of your phone. One of my favorite parts of her website is the "Instant Key" (on phones you have to scroll all the way to the bottom to find this, which is why I suggest using a computer instead). This can tell you at a quick glace some of the key things you'll want to know. Another thing you'll notice is by many of the links to reviews have a little red apple next to them. These are her top picks. Many times they'll also be "endorsed" by other sources as well, such as "A Well-Trained Mind," that I mentioned above. If you're not sure where to start, these are some good ones!<br />
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If hand-picking curricula for each subject seems overwhelming to you, there are many "boxed sets" of curricula to choose. <a href="https://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/grade-level-packages-and-courses" target="_blank">Cathy Duffy Reviews</a> has a list with links to all of their reviews for boxed sets.<br />
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Once you have selected the curriculum you want to use with your children, you can being the search to buy it. When it's not a workbook, I like to buy second hand books. It's cheaper, and if you're friends with me, you know that that's how I roll! There are plenty of places to buy curriculum. Cathy Duffy does provide links for you, making it super convenient, but sometimes with a little looking around, you can find it elsewhere cheaper. Some curriculum is only sold through the publisher's website though, unless you can find it on Ebay or a Facebook curriculum re-sale site. A few places that I've bought curriculum from that aren't specific to just one publisher are <a href="https://thecurriculumstore.com/" target="_blank">The Curriculum Store</a> and Amazon. With Amazon, when I'm looking at non-consumables (things that aren't workbooks), I always look at the used copies and select either a "Very Good," "Like New," or occasionally a "New" copy from a seller that has decent reviews. It can save you some money! Remember to use your sales tax exempt status and to save your receipts using an organization system that will work best for you as I discussed in my <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/homeschooling-whats-next.html" target="_blank">second post about homeschooling</a>.<br />
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I think it's important to make many of these decisions yourself and choose what you think will work best for your family, so I don't want to list the curricula we use in this post. For now, start your own research. I know some of you have specifically asked me about math, since I was a math teacher before having kids. In my next post, I'll share my math recommendations and what we use for other subjects, along with why I chose them. If my reasons for choosing them seem like reasons that would work well in your family, then I'm happy to recommend it!<br />
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Here are quick links to the other posts in this series.<br />
Part 1: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-youre-thinking-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">Reporting to Your School District and Assessments</a><br />
Part 2: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/homeschooling-whats-next.html" target="_blank">Reimbursement and Tax Exempt Status</a><div>Part 4: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/08/part-4-subjects-to-be-taught-our.html" target="_blank">Our Curriculum Choices</a></div>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-76942440237187325712020-07-11T09:14:00.002-05:002020-08-05T15:11:19.821-05:00Part 2: Homeschooling... What's Next?This is the second post in a series on beginning homeschooling. Here's the <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-youre-thinking-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">first part about informing your school district</a>.<br />
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In my last post, I mentioned at the end that you should ask your school district liaison about <b>reimbursement forms</b> (<b>Aids to Non-Public Schools</b>). Each district has their own, so unless you live in my school district, I don't have an easy link to share with you. I simply email my district person each summer for the forms for that upcoming school year, and she emails them on over. Reimbursement will vary from district to district (and even if you get reimbursement can vary from state to state, but it's completely worth looking into). For us, in Minnesota, in our district, we get about $80 per year per kid in full day kindergarten through 12th grade. (Half day kindergarten gets half the amount.)<br />
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What does reimbursement cover? Curriculum and standardized testing (in Minnesota, other states may do it differently, so for more specific information on your state, I would recommend checking with your school district). At this point, you may not know what curriculum you will be using, but it will not cover "religious" curriculum. I'm not talking about Sunday School-type stuff, I'm talking about anything that may have a religious slant to it. (I will try to do another post about curriculum choices that may explain this more if you're just beginning to look into homeschooling.) From other homeschoolers I've talked to, most of us use this money to help cover the standardized testing (that I mentioned in my <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-youre-thinking-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">first post about filling out the reporting form</a>). Many also use it on "consumables," such as workbooks. Since the school district is "purchasing" the curriculum for you, they are technically the "owners" of these books. Things that are "consumables" aren't things that they are ever going to want back. (Though, I've never heard of a school district asking a homeschooling family for "their" books back, so really don't fret over this too much.) Reimbursement does NOT cover supplies such as printer paper, pencils, art supplies, or the like. Something to keep in the back of your mind, is that for reimbursement, you will need receipts for what you have purchased to submit to your district. You will want to find some organizational system that works best for you. For me, I purchase pretty much everything on-line and I submit my receipts via email, so I have a file folder on my computer where I save a copy of my receipts for easy quick access. I have a folder for each school year with the amount we will be getting that year in the title, so I don't have to look that up again. Then when I save my receipts to that folder, I name it with what it is along with the amount, so I can easily add up my receipts to the total (on the name of the folder), and pick which receipts I'm sending in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Receipt Organization (Click for a larger view)</td></tr>
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Once you've got the reimbursement figured out, you can look into getting a <b>tax exempt status</b>. In some other states from what I understand, you don't have to worry about paying sales tax on your curriculum purchases anyway, such as Florida and California. In other states, I guess you're just out of luck. <a href="https://legacyhomeschool.com/index.php?main_page=tax_exempt" target="_blank">Heppner's Legacy Homeschool Resources</a> has an excellent walk-through for Minnesotans to apply with links to all the forms you will need, and where to send them. With the tax exempt status, you not only don't have to pay sales tax on the curriculum you purchase, but also on school supplies that are used exclusively for homeschooling. (So you can't buy a computer for the family that will be used for things not related to homeschooling.) Keep in mind that if you live in a different state, the laws may vary on this if you have a tax exempt status for homeschoolers, so make sure you check your own state's laws. If you do get a tax exempt status, and you're purchasing some of your curriculum from Amazon or other online stores that you frequently use for other purchases, you will want to be careful when ordering other things. Sometimes your tax exemption will apply itself to things you're not purchasing for homeschooling. With Amazon, you can easily remove the exemption with the click of a button. I'm assuming other online stores are also as simple, but it's the only one I've used.<br />
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I think the next logical step is figuring out your curriculum, so unless I see other questions arise, that will likely be what my next post is about.<br />
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UPDATE:<br />
Here are the links to the other posts in this series.<br />
Part 1: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/so-youre-thinking-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">Reporting to Your School District and Assessments</a><br />
Part 3: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/onto-guts-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">Homeschooling Styles and Curriculum</a><div>Part 4: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/08/part-4-subjects-to-be-taught-our.html" target="_blank">Our Curriculum Choices</a></div>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-20621940908474142122020-07-10T08:09:00.001-05:002020-08-05T15:11:06.814-05:00Part 1: So You're Thinking of Homeschooling...... Now what? Can you make it work? Here's a few things you might like to know when you're considering homeschooling.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photo Credit: </span><a href="http://woodburymag.com/homeschooling-our-first-choice-woodbury-families-find-joy-learning-home?fbclid=IwAR1ICuvVLLT9FD0lvrRohIaSqAXV16QxUt426sE1qSPm3g_dwOPjJNe7lZM" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Woodbury Magazine</a></td></tr>
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Homeschooling is as flexible as you want to make it. Whether you have a 9-5 job Monday through Friday or not, you can work around your work schedule. Maybe you only do school 3-4 days a week, instead of 5. That's fine. Maybe you homeschool on weekends. That works too. Some people homeschool year-round, and then take random days or weeks off when brick and mortar schools are in session. (Think of vacations with fewer people crowding the place!) In Minnesota, there aren't any requirements regarding the number of days in your school year. A brick and mortar school year is about 180 days, and most curriculum is designed around that, but that doesn't stop you from doing some of tomorrow's work, today. It's homeschooling. It's flexible.<br />
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So now you're thinking that it's more feasible than attempting distance-learning again this fall. What's next? Well you'll need to fill out a form, the "<b>Initial Report to Superintendent,</b>" for your school district telling them that you're homeschooling instead of attending their schools this fall. Districts often have their own forms that are much longer than they legally need to be. <a href="https://www.mache.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Initial-Report-to-Superintendent.pdf" target="_blank">MACHE provides the shortest form</a> for Minnesota that fulfills all legal requirements. It is due to your district by October 1st. If your child(ren) have already been in attendance at a public school, then the district already has your child's immunization records and you can just note that on the form. If you child was enrolled in preschool and isn't 7 years old, then you don't need to include them in this report. If your child was enrolled in kindergarten or higher then you will likely need to include them on the form (this can vary by district, so you will have to check with your district). If your child is 7 years or older, then you have to include them, whether they were previously enrolled in school or not. You can read the <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/120A.22#stat.120A.22.6" target="_blank">specifics of the law here</a>.<br />
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You'll also notice on the form that you have to tell the school district which <b>"Assessment of Performance"</b> you'll give your child. That's a standardized test. If your child is between 7-17 years old, they have to be tested yearly. You have many choices (CAT tests, PASS, Stanford Achievement, Peabody, or Woodcock Johnson to name a few). If you have your Bachelor's degree, then I've found that the cheapest, easiest way to fulfill this requirement is to use the <a href="https://www.bjupresshomeschool.com/category/homeschool-iowa-tests" target="_blank">Iowa Tests through BJU Press Homeschool</a>. You can upload your information and be approved to be a test administrator. Keep in mind that these tests can be given at any point during your school year. You also don't need to report these scores to your school district. (If your child's total score is below the 30th percentile though, you are required to do additional evaluations to see if your child has a learning disability.) If you'd like to look at other testing options, you can check out <a href="https://www.mache.org/homeschool-testing-resources/" target="_blank">MACHE's website for more resources</a>.<br />
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(If you don't live in Minnesota, <a href="https://hslda.org/legal" target="_blank">HSLDA provides great resources</a> for getting started in every state.)<br />
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Now that you have your form all filled out, what do you do with it? Most school districts have someone in charge of handling all the homeschooling stuff (a homeschool liaison). Find out who that person is in your school district and send them the form. While you're emailing that person (or have them on the phone), ask them to send you the forms for <b>reimbursement </b>(<b>Aids to Non-Public Schools</b>) for any curriculum you'll be purchasing (more on that in another post, but for now, just get your district's form).<br />
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UPDATE:<br />
In my following posts:<br />
Part 2: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/homeschooling-whats-next.html" target="_blank">Reimbursement and Tax Exempt Status</a><br />
Part 3: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/07/onto-guts-of-homeschooling.html" target="_blank">Homeschooling Styles and Curriculum</a><div>Part 4: <a href="https://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2020/08/part-4-subjects-to-be-taught-our.html" target="_blank">Our Curriculum Choices</a></div>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-61833480717531838482020-04-28T16:26:00.001-05:002022-04-07T14:29:35.576-05:00New Crayons: When You Have a Kid That Breaks Them AllI've seen blog posts all over about how to make these. I'll just add mine to the ever growing list! When you have a kid that likes to peel wrappers off of crayons and also likes to break crayons... You end up with a lot of useless crayons!<br />
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Step 1: Give kids the project of peeling all the wrappers off of the crayons they broke. Some places said to break them or cut them even more. I'm lazy and they fit, so whatever.</div>
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Step 2: Spray cupcake tins, and fill them with broken crayons. Most posts I've seen talk about mixing nice colors together. Well, we had a lot of broken crayons. For the most part, I was able to fill each cup with a single color. I even separated out regular green from blue-green and from yellow-green (or green-yellow... They're basically the same, so they went together.) </div>
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Step 3: This one isn't mentioned on other blogs... It helps with timing if they're all full to close to the same level.<br />
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Step 4: Melt in the oven at 275°F. Most places said for 7-8 minutes. I did that... And then added more time. Not all of the crayons I used were Crayola and took longer to melt (some didn't melt at all, but sunk into the melted ones), and the cups that were more full also took longer to melt (see step 3). I think I finally took the fullest tray out after 14 minutes.<br />
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Step 5: Take them out of the oven and let them cool on the counter. As they cool and harden, they'll release from the sides (This was the part I was most nervous about! They do actually come out!)</div>
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Step 6: Once they're cool, dump them out! Two of mine needed a little whack on the bottom, but still came out just fine. </div>
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Step 7: Wrap up as a gift for someone, because if you're like me, the broken ones have already been replaced with a new set for each kid (thanks Easter Bunny or Santa or Grandma).</div>
Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-54478290726816517682017-12-23T14:45:00.000-06:002017-12-23T14:45:37.565-06:00The Busy Year of 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As I usually do, I have the kids help me out a little with putting stickers and stamps on the envelopes of our Christmas cards. We're lazy, and don't lick the envelopes shut, but instead just put a Christmas sticker on it to hold it shut. Apparently, our stickers weren't very sticky this year and at least one card fell out of it's envelope before being delivered. So I'm hoping that if that happened to anyone else, at least they can see our Christmas card here, and I do apologize! I think next year we'll take the extra time (and endure the gross taste!) and just lick the envelopes shut. Without further ado, here's our Christmas card and photos (taken my me, again, of course!)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://invite-shutterfly.com/x/uIa2Pj" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Tiny Print Referral</a><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">*</span></td></tr>
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Life with 4 children is always busy, even if we’re just at home! This year has been no different. In February, we decided to take a break from it all (and from the cold weather!), and take a road trip to Texas. The kids’ favorite memory is daddy trying to carry the 3 older kids across the Paluxy River on rocks, only to fall in and lose his sandal forever. Nora is in her second year with Little Flowers and with Treble Choir at church. She and Nate also did a soccer camp over the summer along with Vacation Bible School and Totus Tuus. They both have also started piano lessons with a friend of ours, but aren’t that great at sitting down and practicing. Nate has taken an interest in climbing things I wish he wouldn’t, so I’ve taken him rock climbing, and he really enjoys it! Sam started Faith Formation with his older siblings this year and loves being included with more and more “big kid” things as he grows. He and Lily have also been attending a music class, which we found out is taught by the wife of my third cousin! Lily’s highlight was probably celebrating her first birthday in May when we celebrated Danni’s 7th birthday. Adam got a little more free time when he graduated with his masters in Engineering Management from Kansas State University in May, but then marathon training ramped up shortly thereafter, and he actually had less free time. He ran in his second marathon this year to raise money for World Vision. Despite a knee injury, he still decided to run, but only made it half way (13.1 miles!!!) this year. After a couple weeks of rest to recover from his injury, he’s back running again with his team from church. This year he also shot his third deer! In August, he took me to D.C. for his annual EMC Symposium. We loved the child-free time together while my mom watched the kids back home. When I’m not homeschooling the kids, I escape the house for Parish Council meetings and Et Cetera (our young adult group at church) meetings and activities. My photography hobby is also developing into a small-time job, as I’ve had a couple families ask me to take their photos! (Shameless plug: You can like my Facebook page, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Sarah-Gibson-Photography-1970543473220997/" target="_blank">Sarah Gibson Photography</a>, or follow my blog at <a href="http://sarahgibsonphotography.wordpress.com/">SarahGibsonPhotography.wordpress.com</a>.) I have also been very busy growing our sixth child who we expect to arrive at the beginning of May 2018. We hope your year has been filled with many joyful memories, and the year to come only brings more!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nora (6 years), Nate (5 years), Sam (3 years), and Lily (18 months)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://invite-shutterfly.com/x/uIa2Pj" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Shutterfly Referral</a><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">*</span></td></tr>
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*I used Shutterfly to make my cards this year. I had a couple different codes with different specifications, where I only had to pay shipping, so I ended up sending out two types and only paid 52 cents per card! If you click my referral link you and I will both get a free 8x8 Shutterfly book after your first purchase.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">View our other Christmas Letters!</span><br />
<a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2010/12/ups-downs-of-2010-our-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2010</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2012/01/2011-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2011</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2012/12/noras-2012-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2012</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2013/12/celebrating-4-3-2-1-years-our-2013-year.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2013</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2014/12/we-all-have-stories-our-2014-christmas.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2014</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2015/12/we-had-lot-to-say-in-2015.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2015</a> <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2016/12/christmas-2016.html" target="_blank">2016</a></div>
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Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-33316582357139919082017-11-12T22:58:00.000-06:002017-11-12T22:59:06.609-06:00Number Sense: Why My Bible is Better<div>
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With the celebrations of Reformation going on, I was thinking about how Protestants and Catholics have different Bibles. The Catholic Bible was set up sometime around 367 AD in it's current form (though, obviously it has been translated into many, many other languages since then), by St. Athanasius to contain the 73 books he believed were divinely inspired. In 382, Pope Damasus approved the list, and shortly thereafter, two councils, the Councils at Hippo and Carthage, ratified the list. The list was reaffirmed again by Pope Innocent I in 405 AD and by Pope Boniface in 419 AD. Many Protestants have heard that the Catholic church decided to add 7 books (to a list of 66 books, not to the original list of 73 books) in 1546 at the Council of Trent. The Council of Trent, in reality, only reaffirmed the list of 73 books that was set in 367 AD by St. Athanasius. Nothing changed.</div>
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Enter the Reformers...</div>
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The Reformers removed 7 books of the Bible in the Old Testament called the Deuterocanonical, leaving 66 books and a chronological gap in salvation history. The Catholic Bible has 73 books, which contains these 7 books that were in the Septuagint (the Bible used by Jesus).<br />
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Because I’m a math nerd, I want to look at the symbolism of these numbers: 7, 6, and 3.</div>
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Seven is the number of completeness. Think about how God created the world in 7 days. Or when Jesus asks us to forgive our neighbors 7 times 70, He’s not asking us to forgive them 490 times, but to forgive them completely. <br />
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So, the Reformers removed completeness (i.e. 7 books) from the Bible and were left with 66. Now, what about the number 6? What does it represent? It represents incompleteness (it is one short of complete), human weakness, and the evils of Satan (Revelations 4:4). What does that say about a Bible that has 66 books in it?<br />
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The Catholic Bible has 73 books. I already stated what the number 7 represents - completeness. What about the number 3? It also represents completeness, though not as often as the number 7 does. Most commonly it represents the Holy Trinity. <br />
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So, with these number being "defined," what does each bible stand for?</div>
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The Protestant Bible with 66 books = "incomplete incomplete" </div>
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or = "the evils of Satan (and) human weakness" </div>
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The Catholic Bible with 73 books = "complete complete" </div>
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or = "complete (in the) Holy Trinity"</div>
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Thanks, Luther, I'll take the Bible that's "Complete in the Holy Trinity" over your Bible. ;)</div>
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Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-40100679548694930222017-09-30T08:24:00.000-05:002018-09-17T19:13:15.686-05:002017-2018 Homeschool Curriculum ChoicesI started sharing our <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2016/06/2016-2017-homeschool-curriculum-choices.html" target="_blank">homeschool curriculum choices last year</a>, and I think I like the "record" of where we are and where we're going. So here I am again posting our curriculum for my many (ok, <i>very few)</i> readers.<br />
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<b>Nora | First Grade (age 6)</b><br />
Nora just finished three subjects: spelling, phonics, and handwriting. She was doing all of these at a first grade level, because I thought she was capable, and she proved me right. She did very well. We're still working through her first grade math curriculum, as planned. But, it's not her favorite, and since she's already working ahead of her brick-and-mortar-schooled peers, I'm not pushing her. I don't want her to come out hating math. Though, she did get really into some of the units, like the one on time, so we moved a little quicker with that unit. Once she finishes the first grade level, we'll move onto second grade right away.<br />
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This year we're continuing on with the same spelling and phonics programs, but we're dropping a formal handwriting program. She does fairly well with handwriting, so I don't feel like she needs much more instruction. However, we're going to take another area, which I'll discuss more in a minute, and focus on handwriting.<br />
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We're adding history this year, and after much research, I chose Connecting with History (RC History). We started a couple weeks ago, and since it involves a fair amount independent reading (though at her level it's suggested that the parents read to the child, but since she's completely capable of doing it on her own, I'm letting her), she's loving it. Another part of it is either copy work or memorization of a poem or verse that fits the time era we're studying. At her age, I'm having her do copy work, and we're using that as her handwriting. There's also projects to do, which I'm excited about starting with <i>all </i>the kids. It incorporates many different books for reading, fictional and non-fictional, which I think will make history a much more interesting subject. (It's my least favorite, so I had to find something that, at the very least, made me excited to teach it.) On our way up north to go camping, we listened to C. S. Lewis's "The Magician's Nephew," a story about the creation of Narnia.<br />
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She also went to a free soccer camp this summer with her cousins and some friends. She seemed to enjoy the games they played.<br />
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Phonics: MCP Plaid Phonics Level B<br />
Spelling: MCP Spelling Workout Level B<br />
Math: Math Mammoth (finish Grade 1 as planned, then move onto Grade 2)<br />
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History: Connecting with History (RC History) Volume 1 Beginner Level<br />
Science: Elemental Science Biology for the Grammar Stage</div>
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<b>Nate | Preschool (age 4-5)</b></div>
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Nate is really starting to like reading. He's teaching himself a little, but phonics are tricky in English. We started working through the McGuffey Primer from All in One Homeschool and we're not quite halfway though it. Considering a little over a year ago when I posted, he wasn't even grasping letter sounds, but is now on Lesson 24, and reading many easy readers on his own, I'd say he's come a long way! Once he had an interest in it, he wanted to learn it! </div>
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I think math will be a strong point with him. If he's sitting at the table when Nora is working on her math, he is often answering the questions with her. I don't plan on starting anything formal with him at this point, mostly because I haven't found anything I like for his level. If I run across something I think would fit him, I might start him on it.<br />
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I think I would also like to start working on handwriting with him. I'm sure at some point I'll order him the one of the Handwriting Without Tears workbooks. I think it worked really well with Nora, and I'm sure Nate will do well with it also. </div>
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He still has some speech issues, but I think he's pretty close to other kids his age. The /th/ and /r/ sounds still seems to be tough for him, but given that he couldn't touch the tip of his tongue to the roof of his mouth when he was 2 years old in speech therapy, he's doing okay. We still remind him often of how to properly make the /th/ sound, but he can't seem to make the /r/ sound yet. Reading has helped with it a little as we're properly sounding out words.</div>
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One of the highlights of Nate's summer was being on a soccer team: Green Monsters. They had a 3-game season, and Grandpa Jack took him to most of his practices and games. </div>
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<b>Sam | Preschool (age 3)</b></div>
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I intended on working through Year 2 of <a href="http://abcjesuslovesme.com/" target="_blank">ABC Jesus Loves Me</a> with him this past year, but I other than making the creation story book with him, we didn't do much. Even without using a formal curriculum though, he now knows all his colors (his favorite is orange) and can recognize most of the letters of the alphabet, and most numbers. He doesn't know most of his shapes though (star and heart are pretty easy!). He knows the names of the different Magna Tile shapes just by playing with Nora and Nate, but hasn't translated that to other objects yet. He does know circle and line though, because he can write the "a" in his name (a circle with a line next to it).</div>
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<b>Lily | Toddler (age 1)</b></div>
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She's already been learning a lot through playing with her siblings. I have found that with both her and Sam, I haven't read to them as often as I did with the other two. I feel bad about this and hope it doesn't affect their passion for reading as they grow. Lily seems to be really interested in books, and will often bring a book to someone expecting him/her to read it. I am very thankful that Nora reads to her sometimes. She is also a talker like Nora was (okay, still is!). She has <i>so</i> many words: ba-be (baby), mama-me (mama milk), pa (up), da (down), wawa (water), mak (milk), Ra-ra (Nora), Nee (Nate), and Me-me (Sammy). I think she tries to say sentences too, but most of the words we don't understand. However, with her inflections, we can sometimes figure it out. (There it is and Where is s/he? are two that we know she's trying to say.)</div>
Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-7783944843373641132017-05-02T21:54:00.001-05:002017-05-03T08:19:45.462-05:00Danielle's Memory: A Post Dedicated to My Family and FriendsI was on a getaway with some girlfriends this past weekend... if you weren't already aware from the abundant photos that were posted by my friends on social media throughout the course of the weekend! It was a time of relaxing away from our mom duties and our jobs, but it was also a time of sharing, reflection, and healing for some of us. I can't tell the other ladies' stories, but I can tell mine.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Amanda Stombaugh</td></tr>
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Through the loss of Danielle, I have found that there are those that remember her and hold her very closely in their hearts, and there are those that forget about her or leave her "out" of our family, whether intentionally or unintentionally. I have never blamed or been angry with the latter group, but it has stung my heart. I have forgiven them, but just like the pain of losing a child never fully goes away, that sting in my heart doesn't fully go away either. This post isn't about those people though. This post is about the first group. The people who remember her at times I wouldn't expect them to remember her. Those are the people that I know also hold me closely in their hearts.<br />
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Sometimes I am amazed at the lives my daughter touched in only two short days. From the people who showed up at funeral, because they were following <a href="http://sarahs-pregnancy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">the updates on her throughout my pregnancy</a>, yet we hadn't talked in several years, to those who I barely even knew during her short life who have remembered her in various ways, and to those who have <a href="https://faithslodge.z2systems.com/DanniJoGibson" target="_blank">donated in her memory</a> to <a href="https://faithslodge.org/" target="_blank">Faith's Lodge</a> when I didn't expect them to donate, I am continually touched by their actions.<br />
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One of my friends brings her up in conversation with me from time to time. And this weekend was one of those times. Sometimes it only brings smiles to my face, but sometimes it also brings tears to my eyes. But the great thing is, these friends aren't afraid to cry with me. On a couple occasions, we talked about our grief journeys, with one of our friends still being very raw with some of her emotions on a tragedy in her life. I shared this story of my grief with my friends...<br />
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<i>... there was one day where I couldn't bear the thought of not holding my child. My arms ached they were so empty. It really becomes a physical pain. I wanted so badly for them to be holding my child, my baby girl. I went upstairs, with the soreness from my c-section still lingering. I went in her bedroom, still set up and waiting for her, and shut the door. I sat down in the rocking chair, wrapped the nursing pillow around my tummy, and grabbed, what we now refer to as, the Danni Bear (It is a bear that plays a recording of her heartbeat that was taken at one of her ultrasounds). I rocked with the Danni Bear, clinging closely to her, to it, and sobbed quietly, so Adam wouldn't hear me. But, he eventually did find me. He didn't like seeing me so hurt. He was hurting too, but much stronger than I am. He tried to get me out of the room, thinking that if I were out of that physical space, that I would be better. Of course, that's not how grief works, and he knew that...</i><br />
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Of course, I started getting tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat as I told this story. And my most of my friends did too. They don't remember her as I, her mother who carried her for 9 months remember her growing within, and nursing her in my arms, but just as she touched my heart so deeply, she touched their hearts as well. For these friends, and for our family that has remembered her by visiting her grave, and leaving flowers or praying for her, I am eternally grateful that God placed you in my life. Just as I am thankful that He gave us Danielle, even if it was only for two days.<br />
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As we approach her birth and death days, we are participating in Hope Walks & Rolls again this year in memory of her. If you would like to participate, but haven't signed up yet, <a href="https://faithslodge.org/hope-walks/#register" target="_blank">please do so here</a> and select her team. If you can't join us, but would like to <a href="https://faithslodge.z2systems.com/DanniJoGibson" target="_blank">donate, please do so here</a>. And thank you all for remembering her. It really does touch both my heart and Adam's.Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-21180604353426033802017-04-05T13:23:00.000-05:002018-05-01T19:58:07.751-05:00Laundry Room & Mud Room Remodel: Problems and Solutions - Part 1As pretty much all of our Facebook friends know, we started a laundry room & mudroom remodel last July. I had been dreaming, designing, pinning on Pinterest, talking, and trying to convince the parties I would need to get involved about it since shortly after we moved in back in 2013. Finally, Adam decided that he had heard enough, and decided to rip down a wall for my birthday present.<br />
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There were several problems with the way in which these two rooms were designed back in 1996 when our house was built.<br />
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<i>Problem</i>: When you walked in from the garage you walked into the laundry room, then walked through the laundry room to get to the mud room to hang up you jacket and kick off your shoes or boots (we do live in Minnesota, so there's a lot of boot-wearing!). Now, add four kids into that mix. The kids stopped right at the door, sat down on the floor, and took off their shoes, which were then left in the middle of the walkway for us to trip over when we tried to make it to the correct room to put our things away.<br />
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<i>Solution</i>: The rooms needed to be switched. This was the biggest challenge and I needed my dad on board with the idea. He would be able to move all the plumbing and the gas line around in order for the washing machine, gas dryer, and laundry tub to be relocated. Once Adam decided to start ripping down walls, he didn't have much of a choice.<br />
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<i>Problem</i>: The only place to hang up jackets was on a closet rod (those wire shelf ones with the rod underneath). This problem is two-fold. The rod was too high for the kids and the kids (and Adam most days!) don't know how to use hangers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/8092474307207054/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr>
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<i>Solution</i>: We needed hooks for jackets, and enough of them for six people's worth of jackets. I loved the Pinterest pictures of the lockers for each person in the family, but I didn't think the locker style was quite right for us.<br />
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<i>Problem</i>: With six people living in a house, comes six people's worth of shoes, and other than the floor or a box, we didn't have any place to put them. The usually ended up all over the floor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/8092474307054483/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr>
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<i>Solution</i>: We needed a shoe shelf with several shelves.<br />
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<i>Problem</i>: The kids love playing outside in the winter, which means hats, mittens, and scarves were always laying around on the floor. There was no good place for them to put them where they could reach them when they wanted to go outside.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ATV0F8GjQ7ByOs0dhDekBYH5k3YEIJ14a8I0T-Yw6494g0OwgEXdnd8/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr>
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<i>Solution</i>: We needed cubbies that the kids could reach to put their stuff in. In all honesty, when we started this, I wasn't sure how that would look. I had several different ideas, and it took me a while to settle on one.<br />
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<i>Problem</i>: I almost always use the awesome drying rack that my Godmother gave us when we got married, and seldom use the gas dryer. With the way the laundry room and mud room were built, there wasn't enough space for it to be in there. When it was nice out in the summer, I put it out on the deck to catch that fresh breeze. But, as I said earlier, we're in Minnesota, there's a long stretch of cold, snowy winter that doesn't mix well with drying clothes outside, so it ended up in my living room for a good part of each year. With small children playing nearby, wet clothes were often pulled down and thrown on the floor.<br />
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<i>Solution</i>: We needed to configure the new laundry room in such a way that there was floor space for the drying rack to be set up. Since there isn't any breeze like there is outside to help dry clothes, I also wanted a ceiling fan to help move the air to dry the clothes quicker. I also wanted an exhaust fan to suck all the moist air out of the room on those rainy days in the summer that I can't set it up outside.<br />
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More Posts About Our Remodel<br />
<a href="http://cookingthedeals.blogspot.com/2016/11/lowes-new-washer-dryer-for-235.html" target="_blank">Find out how we paid $235 for a brand new washer and dryer set!</a>Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-75468558855905577642016-12-05T14:19:00.001-06:002017-12-23T14:50:05.581-06:00Short & Sweet Letter: 2016This year I ended up taking our family photos for our Christmas cards. I'm having a lot of fun using my remote to take our pictures and I feel like I'm getting better at editing them. But that's still something I think I need to work on. So without further ado, here are our Christmas cards and letter for this year!<br />
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After much nagging, I couldn’t get Adam to write the Christmas letter, so you’re stuck with me, Sarah, again this year. With the birth of child number 5, Lily, in May I haven’t had a ton of time, so this will probably be short (lucky you!). Adam’s highlights this year were taking a work trip to Canada in July, and running his first marathon in October to raise money for Team World Vision. Nora has been busy with swimming lessons, vacation Bible school, Little Flowers, and choir at church, though her singing is not only contained to the choir loft. She can be found singing in the bathroom, her bedroom at night, and any other place you would expect to otherwise be quiet. Nate also took swimming lessons with Nora, and is currently playing Peewee Sports with Grandpa Jack. The only thing that slows him down is puzzles (you know the ones with 300 pieces) and coloring inside the lines. Sam has been trying to keep up with the other two, and loves to go pee pee in his “little potty.” You often need to watch your step in the kitchen, as he is often zooming cars across the wood floor while naked. As for me, I enjoyed a relaxing weekend with some friends in Lusten, MN. I also instantly lost 15 pounds on May 22 (Lily’s birthday), and am on the parish council. Lily decided that I needed to lose more weight by chasing another child around, so she started crawling at 5 ½ months, and is now pulling herself up to stand. There’s no doubt she’ll be walking sooner than I would like. We hope you have a blessed Christmas!<br />
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*I used Shutterfly to make my cards this year. I had a couple different codes with different specifications, where I only had to pay shipping, so I ended up sending out two types. If you click my referral link you and I will both get a free 8x8 Shutterfly book after your first purchase.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">View our other Christmas Letters!</span><br />
<a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2010/12/ups-downs-of-2010-our-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2010</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2012/01/2011-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2011</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2012/12/noras-2012-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2012</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2013/12/celebrating-4-3-2-1-years-our-2013-year.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2013</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2014/12/we-all-have-stories-our-2014-christmas.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2014</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2015/12/we-had-lot-to-say-in-2015.html" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2015</a> <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-busy-year-of-2017.html" target="_blank">2017</a></div>
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Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-47735548792182547572016-08-14T18:12:00.001-05:002016-08-14T18:12:32.430-05:00Lilianna's Birth Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It seems like with all our VBAC babies we've had a "false alarm." (Apparently, I still haven't got this birthing thing figured out even by number 5.) The evening of May 20th (the day before my due date), I started having mild contractions.We decided to go for a walk around the curve to try to get things moving along more. Along the way, we saw our neighbor, Kathryn, out, whose due date was 4 days after mine. I told her she should join us for a labor-inducing walk. She declined though, because she had to go into work soon. So we went home and relaxed with the kids. Probably not 20 minutes had passed since Kathryn and I had posed for a picture together, she sent me a text saying that I jinxed her, because her water had just broke! She was heading into the hospital. My contractions were getting pretty "timable" and I told her that we'd probably meet her there later. I let my mom know, so that she could be ready to come over at some point that night. She got there around 11pm and by the time Adam and I were ready to leave around midnight, my contractions were 3 minutes apart, but still pretty mild.<br />
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When we got to the hospital, they sent us to triage for monitoring. By the time we got there, the contractions had spaced out more to 6-ish minutes apart, and I was dilated to 2 cm. The nurse talked to Dr. Arnold, who was on call for the weekend, and he said they could admit me. After being admitted, my contractions just about stopped and after two more cervical checks with no changes, we decided to go home after 4 hours and get some rest in our own bed. I texted Kathryn that we were leaving and I was rather jealous that she was going to be having her baby on my due date, even though she still had 4 more days to go! Adam told the nurse we'd be back in 12 hours. I didn't think we would be, I was guessing she'd arrive on Sunday. <br />
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While I was super disappointed in not getting to meet our little girl, it was nice that she waited so that we could both go to <a href="http://faithslodge.org/hope-walks/" target="_blank">Hope Walks and Rolls 5K</a> on Lily's due date, May 21st, to celebrate <a href="http://danielle-joann.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">her big sister's life</a>, and raise money for <a href="http://faithslodge.org/" target="_blank">Faith's Lodge</a>. While I was very tempted to walk to try to induce labor again, after a night of very little sleep, I decided to wait at the start/finish line for our family and Adam's co-workers. But my body was feeling pretty great after feeling uncomfortably pregnant for several weeks, so that I was thankful for.<br />
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Thankfully, I didn't need to walk to induce labor, because at 3:30am the next day, I woke up with stronger contractions. I let Adam sleep, but I eventually got up and showered so that I'd be ready to go in when the time came. After getting the kids up and fed, I had Adam call mom to head over. By that point my contractions were 7-ish minutes apart, and I figured I'd hang out at home while mom entertained the kids, but shortly after she got there, they were less than 3 minutes apart and they were much stronger. I didn't want to head into the hospital and be told that I was still at 2 cm, or that I wasn't progressing. When I told Adam that they were less than 3 minutes apart, he said he thought we should go, but would leave it up to me. After a couple more painful contractions, I decided that he was probably right. I kissed each of the kids goodbye. Nora was really excited that her baby sister was going to be born, Nate wanted to give the baby (my belly) a hug and kiss, and Sam looked rather concerned (I don't think he had a clue what was going to be happening).<br />
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Of course, as we started driving to the hospital my contractions slowed down, and I told Adam that if they checked me and I was still a 2, that I was going to punch someone. Luckily, when my nurse, Lisa, came to check me at 8:55am, I was 3 cm. Not what I was hoping for, but at least I didn't need to punch her. I was also 90% effaced and Lily was sitting low. With each contraction, I was thinking about an epidural more and more, but didn't mention anything to Adam or Lisa for a little while.<br />
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We talked about getting the IV started and labs taken since I had such horrible experiences with <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2011/09/eleanors-birth-story.html" target="_blank">Nora's </a>and <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2015/10/samuel-davids-birth-story-vba2c.html" target="_blank">Sam's </a>births, and because I needed a bag of fluids and labs taken before I could get an epidural. We explained that they only had one chance to draw blood, and that was when a member of the SWAT team (their team of people who are really awesome at placing IVs) placed the IV. I also said that I wanted the area numbed, and of course to wait until I was between contractions. The lady was really sweet, but said she wanted to try without numbing because it usually collapsed veins. She tried in my hand without numbing it, and the vein collapsed anyway. So she tried again in my arm and after digging around and me crying because it was worse than the contractions, she finally got it in, BUT she couldn't get blood to come out. That meant that the lab tech that was standing by would have to poke me again. Since it takes a while for the the bag of fluids, we decided to give me a break and have the lab tech come back to get any and all AND <i>extra</i> blood taken, just in case someone decided that they needed more for some other crazy test (that was Dr. Mahan's idea). Once the fluids were started Lisa started the Penicillin and got me a half a dose of fentanyl to help me through the blood draw and to last me until Dr. Kent could come place my epidural.<br />
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When the lab tech came back, she pulled out extra vials, and I asked her to use the butterfly needle. She did such an awesome job, that I told her that even though the lab people don't have a "SWAT" team, that I thought she could be part of them anyway.<br />
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Lisa wanted to do another cervical check to make sure I was progressing or that I wasn't too far along for the epidural. Two hours after my last check, I had only gained 1 cm. I figured it was going the same route as the last to VBACs, and that I'd be here for several more hours before I got to meet our daughter. The fentanyl was at least helping with my contractions for the 45 minute wait for Dr. Kent and the epidural meds to come. I asked at one point if he would he there soon, because I wanted the second half of the fentanyl, but Lisa urged me to wait. So, I did.<br />
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With both Nora and Sam, I was able to lay down for the epidural, but I know they prefer you sitting up, so I tried that. Lisa had a foot stool for me, and wanted me to hug pillows while he placed it. I wanted the foot stool gone and to hold Adam. So she moved it, and I rested my head on Adam's chest. I don't remember either of the other epidurals hurting as much as this one did. Danni's spinal probably hurt more, but there were also a lot of other anxiety-driving factors to consider. He gave me a test push of drugs to make sure it was working, and then had me lie down so Lisa could hook up the drip bags of meds. I could feel the feelings leaving, but I could feel the pressure of her descending lower with each contraction. Lisa had me telling her when I could feel the contractions to make sure the monitor was picking them up correctly. At this point it was lunch time, and since I was comfortable, Adam asked permission to run to get lunch quick. I was fine with it, so he went, and Lisa stayed in the room with me while making sure the epidural was working properly.<br />
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This epidural was so much better than the one I had with Nora where I couldn't feel anything at all. This time I could wiggle my toes, move my legs (though my right leg needed a little aide often times), and turn side to side with a little assistance. After my first turn from my right side onto my left side, I had a contraction and suddenly felt a gush of fluids! My water had broken! Lisa checked me again, and I was now at 5 cm. As with Nora and Sam, I started progressing at a quicker rate once the epidural was going. I still expected it to be a while though. Lisa and I chatted for a while until I started feeling like I could use a rest. I shut my eyes and relaxed, but enjoyed each contraction feeling without pain the movement of my youngest daughter lower and lower.<br />
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Adam came back from lunch, and shortly after Lisa left the room. Adam was hanging out on the couch, while I continued to relax and enjoy the my body birthing our daughter. I don't know at what point, but eventually decided that since I could feel when the contractions were coming and since it usually takes me a while to get these babies out of me, that maybe when I felt a contraction, I could give a little extra push, just to help things move a little quicker. After a couple contractions like that Lisa came in to check me, and so she could hook up my second dose of penicillin, since it had been 4 hours. But, apparently I was complete! I told her that I how I had thought I would try to move things along by pushing a little with my contractions. She laughed a little and said not to do that! I was supposed to tell her if I felt the urge to push! (Which I never felt the urge to push like I did with Sam, I just wanted to get the show going a little faster.)<br />
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A quick 5 minutes later the doctor was in the room and everyone was in place and ready for me to push. Normally they have you grab the back of your knees and pull them towards you to push, but the baby was up in my stomach still (even though she was partway down my birth canal!), and so instead of pulling my knees to my chest, I was pushing her down out of my stomach with my hands just to try to stay comfortable. But, after a few contractions and pushes of doing that, Dr. Arnold said that she wasn't moving anywhere and we needed to try something different. I'd rather meet my daughter than have my stomach be comfortable for those few minutes, so grabbed my knees for the next contraction and pushed with all my might. She enough she started moving outwards into the world. I can't remember how many pushes it took, but it was only 11 minutes of pushing total, according to Adam's notes.<br />
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Once her head was out, I had to stop pushing for a moment, as the cord was wrapped around her neck. Dr. Arnold quickly took care of it, and the rest of her body came out quickly. I could see her blue little body, it wasn't turning pink, and she wasn't breathing or crying. Strangely though, I was calm. I knew she would take her first breath, I knew everything would be okay. And after a what seemed like a lot longer time than it actually was, she did start breathing! Dr. Arnold cut the cord, and since she didn't breath right away, the nurses took her over to assess her and put a diaper on her. While they were attending to her, I could feel myself effortlessly birth the placenta. As Dr. Arnold was checking everything out "down there," I asked if I was going to need stitches. He looked, and he looked, and said, "Maybe one," then he looked some more, "Naw, it's just a scratch." I had to laugh, "just a scratch!"<br />
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And then my third daughter, my fifth child, Lilianna Quinn was placed on my chest. She was finally here! She started nursing well right away, and was totally happy and content to be on my chest. Adam snapped dozens of pictures on my DSLR and on his phone to send to family and friends. Once he had his pictures all taken and texts and emails all sent, he wanted his time with her. So, he took off his shirt and grabbed her and a blanket to cuddle up on the couch with her.<br />
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My neighbor, Kathryn, had her son on Lily's due date at the same hospital and was four doors down from us, so we stopped by with Lily to meet Ethan the next day.<br />
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<br />Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-78564263461583884112016-06-06T15:18:00.000-05:002016-06-06T15:18:09.014-05:002016-2017 Homeschool Curriculum ChoicesI've seen some people posting their curriculum choices each year to share their favorites, so I figured, what the heck, I'll do it too! Plus, I'm super excited that I just clicked that "buy" button and our books will be arriving next week! So without further ado, here's what I've picked for our kids this year.<br />
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<b>Nora, Kindergarten</b><br />
Nora is a veracious reader (she's probably at a second grade reading level, but she doesn't like to read in front of me, so it's hard to know for sure), has been able to write all of her letters and numbers for a while, but doesn't have much interest in math, much to our dismay! Since I don't think she knows all of the phonics behind reading, I wanted a phonics program for her. Along with that, I know she can sound out and spell many words, so I thought I'd try a spelling program with her, but if I'm finding it's too challenging for her, I won't sweat it. Then, of course, I wanted a good, solid math program for her. For faith formation, Nora will continue in our church's faith formation program at the kindergarten level. I also picked out a saint or feast day for each week of the year that the whole family will learn about. Then at the <a href="http://www.mnconference.org/" target="_blank">MN Catholic Homeschool Conference</a> I won the <a href="http://www.familyformation.net/" target="_blank">Family Formation's Little Lambs Home Lessons</a>, so we will be doing that with Nora, Nate, and Sam. Nora is also signed up for swimming lessons over the summer and has moved up to the "Bobbers" class.<br />
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Phonics: MCP Plaid Phonics Level A<br />
Spelling: MCP Spelling Workout Level A<br />
Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book - Grade 1<br />
Math: Math Mammoth Grade 1 (we will likely work through this very slowly and take 2 years to do it)<br />
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<b>Nate, Preschool</b><br />
Nate hasn't had much interest in "doing school," and I haven't pushed it with him. He's a little over halfway through Year 3 of <a href="http://abcjesuslovesme.com/" target="_blank">ABC Jesus Loves Me</a>, and so we will continue on with Year 3 then start Year 4 when he is through it. While we have talked about the sounds that different letters make from "A" through "P," it hasn't yet clicked with him. Year 4 of the curriculum goes through the letter sounds again, so I'm hoping maybe the second time through it will click with him. I am continuing to work with Nate on some speech issues (currently the "th" sound and the "l" sound, as he calls his baby sister, "Willy"). This will be Nate's first year in faith formation at church with me as his teacher, and he will also be doing the Little Lambs program. Nate is signed up for swimming lessons as well, and even though he's not quite old enough, his teacher was okay with him moving onto the "Turtles" class, so he will be in the water without a parent!<br />
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<b>Sam, Pre-Preschool</b><br />
So far I have been coming up with color and shape activities for Sam to do while the other two are doing school, because he wants to do everything that they are doing. He knows a couple shapes that we talked about, but I'm not sure colors has clicked with him yet. I think I will really see him blossom while working through Year 2 of <a href="http://abcjesuslovesme.com/" target="_blank">ABC Jesus Loves Me</a>. He's eager to learn, and is always saying new words.<br />
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<b>Lily, Baby</b><br />
She'll just be hanging out with us while we're having all the fun. I'm sure she'll be busy learning to sit, crawl, and maybe even walk (God help me!) while I'm working with her older siblings.Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-24910463445762942272016-03-20T15:29:00.003-05:002016-03-20T15:29:55.504-05:00Palm Art: Field of Flowers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last year I wasn't able to get around to crafting with my palms until it was too late. They were all dried out and not bendable. This year I was determined to make new flowers for my sad looking (and dusty!) <a href="http://cookingthedeals.blogspot.com/2011/04/palm-art.html" target="_blank">flowers that I made five years ago</a>. It was time for them to be burned and buried (or brought to church for them to burn). Since the boys were napping and Adam took Nora to work with him, I was able to get some quite time to document the process and show others how to make them as well!<br />
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You can either work with a palm that it still together with it's two "leaves" or separate them and make something else with the other half. I chose to separate them. If you leave them together you'd just have a lot more flowers.<br />
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Next you need to split the palm into several little segments that are about an 1/8 inch wide. I ended up with 9 on my single "leaf."<br />
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Then you pick out strand, and figure out what height you want your flower to be (I like to vary mine so they're not all the same height. Then you start to make your petals. First, just make a simple loop.<br />
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Then make a second so that it looks like you have a bow. You're going to want to pinch the center to hold all the petal centers together.<br />
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Then make a third petal by bringing the loose end <i>under </i>the center of the flower and pinching it.<br />
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Then make a fourth petal by bringing the loose end <i>over </i>the center of the flower and pinching it.<br />
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The make the last petal, the fifth one, by bringing the loose end <i>under</i> the center of the flower and pinching it.<br />
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Now that you have all your petals pinched together at the center, you're going to use the loose end to weave around the petals to hold them in place. Start by going <i>over</i> the petal next to the loose end, then under then next one, then over... (you get the idea), making sure you pull it snugly to the center of the flower as you go. You will not want to include the stem of the flower in your over-under weave, or you won't end up with a true weave.<br />
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Keep pinching the center until you have gone around twice (once won't hold all the petals in place). Then you can let go of the center and keep weaving over-under until you only have a tiny tail left.<br />
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The tiny tail you can stick through a little hole or gap you see in the center to hold it in place so it doesn't unravel.<br />
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Once you're done with the weave, if you're finding you have unevenly sized petals (which I almost always do!),<br />
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you can adjust them by pulling a little on the smaller petal. You can play with it a little to get them all evenly sized by following the path you made with the petals.<br />
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<br />Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-41878660625689099742016-03-18T15:02:00.000-05:002016-03-18T15:02:17.385-05:00Allowances: Six Years Later<div dir="ltr">
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Shortly after we were married, we discovered that Adam and I had very different spending habits. I was a saver, he was a spender. We both still fit into those categories very much so, but almost 7 years later, we've found some middle ground that really seems to work for us.</div>
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First of all, communication has always been a huge key for us in all areas, but especially when it comes to financial concerns (and you'll see that as you read on). Even in the beginning, we were communicating about how I didn't like the idea of him spending money on this or that, and how he felt we had the money to spend on whatever it was. We were often in disagreement in our communication, but we were talking about it and being honest with each other. We have never hid money or purchases from each other, as that only causes them to not trust you, if (but more likely when) they find out, and builds resentment. Of course, we've asked each other to not check the account around birthdays or Christmas, but we've talked about what our limits on gifts are each time it comes to that time of year. </div>
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With our differences in spending habits and our almost constant disagreements, <a href="http://cookingthedeals.blogspot.com/2009/11/arent-allowances-for-kids.html" target="_blank">several people suggested we try an allowance system</a>. Adam was really for it, since it gave him money to spend, I wasn't really for it, as I saw it as something children get from their parents, and I didn't want to be Adam's parent, I wanted to be his wife. Eventually, though, he won me over to the idea. </div>
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We worked out a system that suits our needs, but have been flexible with it as well. Life changes at different stages, and so we've adapted our system to meet our needs. First, to address part of my concern, we both get an allowance from us together (not mine from him and his from me). The amount has varied at different life stages anywhere from $10-$30 per week. When we've had a had a good steady income from his job or my job, it's been higher, when we had lower paying jobs it was lower. And when Adam was in college, I was on unemployment, and we had a new baby, we weren't allowed to spend any of our allowance.</div>
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I've heard some people use a cash or envelope system, but I knew that wouldn't work for us. We use credit cards pretty much exclusively because of their benefits (and pay them off each month, but that's for a different post). For us, we kept track in a spreadsheet. We picked Monday as our payday, and I'm in charge of keeping track, since I'm the one handling all the receipts when I'm paying all the bills anyway. It is a little more work for me, but Adam helps by entering his stuff sometimes, and the financial peace (not to steal from Dave Ramsey!) we have found between us is totally worth it to me.</div>
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We came to an agreement on what would come out of our allowances, and what wouldn't, but again, it's a flexible system where we communicate. We decided it would be our "fun money." If we wanted to go out for lunch with co-workers, or grabbing a drink at Caribou, or video games, or new clothes, that would come out of our allowance. Gas for our cars would not, unless we were taking a long trip somewhere, for example, hunting up north, or going to a friend's cabin. Groceries or going out to eat together or as a family would not either. We also decided right away that if either of us were thinking of saving up and making a large purchase, that we would discuss it first, like when I bought my DSLR camera or when Adam built both of us new computers.</div>
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The day we started, we both understood that our system was going to be flexible. Adam already wanted to "pre-spend" his allowance. While I wasn't too keen on the idea, I understood that he wanted to go to a gun show with his family, and had been considering buying a gun for a while, so I was okay with it, but then he agreed that he wouldn't be spending any money until he got out of the hole. And, other than needing to grab lunch a couple of days, he didn't spend anything. There have been a couple other times since we started as well where things have come up where Adam wants to "pre-spend" or take an "interest-free loan" out. We discussed what would be fair, and then decided on what we should do. </div>
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Now,<b> six year later</b>, I think we've both learned a lot from each other. Not just from the allowance system, but from our communication. I'm finding that Adam is finding ways to be more thrifty and searching for the best deals on stuff that he wants to buy. He's also become a better saver, and not just with his allowance, but with money that we spend (or don't spend) together. In turn, Adam has helped me learn to be okay with spending money on myself and not feel guilty about it. </div>
Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-31352889512288678332016-03-18T14:22:00.001-05:002016-03-18T14:39:33.115-05:00A Little Scare for Daddy<div dir="ltr">
I had my 30 week appointment last week, and, as is usual for me, I started measuring behind. Dr. Mahan didn't seem really concerned even though I was measuring 2 1/2 weeks behind, until she looked at my chart. Apparently, I hadn't grown at all since my last appointment (when I measured perfectly!). I had an ultrasound scheduled for my next appointment at 32 weeks, so I figured I'd just have the growth ultrasound tacked onto that ultrasound. But, she wanted to get me in right away, and that she did!</div>
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Lacy, the ultrasound tech, came right to my room and brought me back. I wasn't worried about the growth part at all, but I wanted to know about the cyst that she found at my 20 week ultrasound. She checked, and it was gone! Praise the Lord! I know they told me that it wasn't anything to worry about, but I still did a little. </div>
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I was also hoping that she could get a 3D ultrasound so that I could have one of her along with the rest of the kiddos. That baby girl was all squished and cuddled in there though. She tried, and when she turned on the 3D, I could see her furrowed eyebrows. She has a mad face just like Nora did in her 3D ultrasound, and through most of her newborn stage. I'm just going she's not actually as mad as Nora was as a small baby! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">29 Weeks 4 Days</td></tr>
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Once she finished the ultrasound, she told me that she was measuring at 30 weeks and 1 day, perfectly! I thought then that I could cancel my ultrasound before my next appointment, but apparently Dr. Mahan didn't have her check that the placenta isn't an issue with my c-section scar since it's anterior. (Maybe baby girl will cooperate for a 3D next time!)</div>
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When I got home, mom (who was watching the kids) and I were working in the kitchen when we clogged the disposal. Adam hates having to take it apart and unclog it, so when he got home, I told him I had bad news and tried to butter him up. He wasn't having it though and was pushing away wanting to know what was going on. I finally told him what mom and I had done and he looked relieved. He knew I had an appointment and thought the bad news was about the baby, not the kitchen sink. I felt horrible, not even thinking that that was where his mind went! I think that's the happiest I've seen him fix that darn sink though (not that he was smiling about it). </div>
Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-42252102970408035972016-02-15T13:55:00.003-06:002016-02-15T13:55:58.716-06:00Review: Classroom Friendly Pencil SharpenerMy 4-year-old daughter, Nora, is starting to do more hand writing, but hates worksheets. She got a journal for Christmas from Daddy, and is loving writing sentences in it (with my help, of course), and drawing a picture to go with the sentence.<br />
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She had been using markers for pretty much everything, but I thought it was time to have her start using pencils. Being a former math teacher at a school that closed, you'd think I'd have enough pencils, sharpeners, and erasers. Nope. I had loads of unsharpened pencils, a few erasers, and absolutely no pencil sharpener! (I don't understand how that happened! Not even one of those itty bitty ones that you pinch between your fingers.)<br />
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So my search for a pencil sharpener began. Since we're planning on homeschooling for the foreseeable future, I wanted to get one that would last, and I wouldn't have to replace all the time. Being a math teacher, and having to stop my teaching so a student could sharpener his/her pencil, I also wanted one that was relatively quite that wouldn't interrupt me working the our other children. I checked some homeschool groups on Facebook for ideas and recommendations, and I stumbled across <a href="http://www.classroomfriendlysupplies.com/" target="_blank">Classroom Friendly Supplies' Pencil Sharpener</a>. It looked like a pencil sharpener that would work for our homeschool, so I requested to review one.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynNjCe3EObYdYYBk-ZbwyxxZ-ZSoHmWzlH22pbtNBLJCezHSEEKXHhp0ZK0JsGCQydQFrVWjokzRFV3e0YmJeLYLOLFR1j9byKria5TAqWDYYj8-DMVJwJJwQ2s2W5kJTia9W2tIUsMqb/s1600/pencil+sharpener+4+year+old+sharp+manual+pencils+classroom+friendly+supplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynNjCe3EObYdYYBk-ZbwyxxZ-ZSoHmWzlH22pbtNBLJCezHSEEKXHhp0ZK0JsGCQydQFrVWjokzRFV3e0YmJeLYLOLFR1j9byKria5TAqWDYYj8-DMVJwJJwQ2s2W5kJTia9W2tIUsMqb/s320/pencil+sharpener+4+year+old+sharp+manual+pencils+classroom+friendly+supplies.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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When I first opened it, Nora started playing with it, and the face plate popped forward. I was scolding her for breaking it, until I realized that it was supposed to come out, so that it would hold the pencil and draw it in as you were sharpening. Since we haven't mounted it, I had to hold the sharpener down while I cranked the handle, which was a little tougher for Nora's small hands, but she managed just fine! She then wanted to sharpen a bunch of pencils, so I pulled out some of those broken, unsharpened pencils I had laying around and let her have at it! I figured she'd need some help with it, but I left the kitchen and when I came back she had already sharpened several.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDDEmcytv44DRvy9nCwKgq_GPL_5IWFI0ixNgTiJ-yEPWlUupuNWoFGvxzPHYAp7qRxYs_jmkLjxJHF28HAuBVYaQd2xupoVovWa9Zkcsrjf1uTI26gCiznuF7Syl_tJsJCbkxSb-aVUy/s1600/classroom+friendly+supplies+pencil+sharpener+review+colored+pencil+yellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDDEmcytv44DRvy9nCwKgq_GPL_5IWFI0ixNgTiJ-yEPWlUupuNWoFGvxzPHYAp7qRxYs_jmkLjxJHF28HAuBVYaQd2xupoVovWa9Zkcsrjf1uTI26gCiznuF7Syl_tJsJCbkxSb-aVUy/s320/classroom+friendly+supplies+pencil+sharpener+review+colored+pencil+yellow.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Once I finally got to play with it more, all that was left to sharpen was colored pencils. (Thanks, Nora!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJ2xxuC6WD1Myk_aSYO0tctEZO3rw1mPiLk6eMcOAFu19JwmokJe8hw7jqKVxW1_sDLijbUYx3Y1S6oY6nnc7K9j6a1KCsOpe2ie7oXZzu4rOhTfaiHU6goz-873VFjS8tKzZpHyqv9Xj/s1600/colored+pencils+sharp+classroom+friendly+supplies+pencil+sharpener.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKJ2xxuC6WD1Myk_aSYO0tctEZO3rw1mPiLk6eMcOAFu19JwmokJe8hw7jqKVxW1_sDLijbUYx3Y1S6oY6nnc7K9j6a1KCsOpe2ie7oXZzu4rOhTfaiHU6goz-873VFjS8tKzZpHyqv9Xj/s320/colored+pencils+sharp+classroom+friendly+supplies+pencil+sharpener.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh & Ready to Color!</td></tr>
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PROS<br />
-Really quite compared to all the ones I've had in classrooms<br />
-Holds the pencil in there straight to avoid little hands breaking it inside and jamming it<br />
-Quick<br />
-Doesn't "eat" the pencils, but gives a nice smooth point<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qBKDI512PY0FI5LCk0KBO9NCwMRhzRAiktKPxoIh5dxqOJE6DWaD1B7_fSDb2w7lBstSdMBI9HzUB3FwJ0ibqGpWyFodwpgoIq2RexoGPTC1C2MS7-2vHtdwDGInE6UCSykDo2APJGNl/s1600/pencil+dust+pencil+crumbs+classroom+friendly+supplies+pencil+sharpener.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qBKDI512PY0FI5LCk0KBO9NCwMRhzRAiktKPxoIh5dxqOJE6DWaD1B7_fSDb2w7lBstSdMBI9HzUB3FwJ0ibqGpWyFodwpgoIq2RexoGPTC1C2MS7-2vHtdwDGInE6UCSykDo2APJGNl/s320/pencil+dust+pencil+crumbs+classroom+friendly+supplies+pencil+sharpener.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pencil Shavings Left on the Table</td></tr>
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CONS<br />
-Super fine, sharp points on the pencils quickly break when littles are still learning how hard to press (I discovered if you don't sharpen it until the face plate meets up with the sharpener it will give you a "duller" point, which is easier for my littles to write with, so it's more something to be aware of than a super big con when considering to purchase it)<br />
-Leaves little a bit of a mess (okay, I haven't found a pencil sharpener that doesn't do this, but the shavings still drive me crazy, so I have to list it as a con)<br />
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Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-28080735098379956142016-01-09T11:17:00.004-06:002016-11-15T13:04:15.677-06:00Gender Reveal: It's a ......<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Being on Baby No. 5 means that we have to start getting creative with announcements. Well, maybe not <i>have to</i>, but we think it's fun to announce in creative ways. We haven't done fancy gender reveals for all our kids, just the last two (now three) babies. </div>
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The first one we did was for <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2012/09/lots-to-cover.html" target="_blank">Nate (baby number 3)</a>. Since we had done balloon releases for Danni's birthdays, I thought it would be a perfect fit for us to do a balloon release to find out if we were expecting a boy or a girl. We didn't do a fancy party, just took a few minutes out of our day helping my mom with her garage sale to open up a box that my friend, Amanda from <a href="http://www.twolittlegingers.com/" target="_blank">Two Little Gingers</a>, had filled with balloons for us.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Finding out Nate was a BOY!</td></tr>
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For Sam (baby number 4), finding out his gender lined up with the weekend we were going to have Danni's birthday party. So I asked my friend, Theresa from <a href="http://www.bakery88mn.com/" target="_blank">Bakery 88</a>, to make a cake that was either pink or blue on the inside. She made a fantastic cake with a pennant banner on top that said "Danni's Gift: Bro or Sis" that turned out to be blue inside when we cut into it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finding out Sam was a BOY!</td></tr>
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This time we Googled and Pinterest-ed, but couldn't really find a gender reveal idea that fit us. Adam finally came up with this idea! Props to my creative husband, as I'm pretty sure it's never been done before, because when I was trying to find inspiration on how to make the box look, I came up with <i>nothing</i>! Being a electrical engineer, it totally fit as something we would do, plus, I thought since this baby is due so close to Danielle's birthday, it was kinda fitting that this baby would bring new light to us in the days that we remember Danni each year. </div>
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Adam bought two light bulbs, a blue and a pink, and a socket-thing to hook up a light bulb socket we had laying around (because when you're married to an electrical engineer, these things become commonplace in your home!). I grabbed a box, cut a hole to put the socket through, wrapped it in inside out Christmas paper (because, yes, I still had it out earlier this week), and cut hearts in it to see the light shining through. When we plugged it in, we found out we were indeed expecting a girl (as we had both suspected and hoped since we found out we were expecting). </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's a GIRL!</td></tr>
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If anyone likes this idea, and wants to use our box, let us know. We were thinking of selling the box and light bulbs on Craig's List, since we can't return the bulbs and have no use for them anymore! </div>
Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-65127409549642850242016-01-06T15:13:00.000-06:002016-01-06T15:14:59.832-06:00Halfway Through Pregnancy No. 5I guess it goes to show that once you're a mom with littles at home, you don't have as much time to sit down and write posts about each day or week of your pregnancy, since I'm already 20 weeks and 4 days along, and I'm finally getting around to my first blog post about it. (And that while writing that first sentence, I was called away from my computer twice... and that's during nap time.) I'm sure this will be a brief post, but I'll try to mention everything that has been going on during this pregnancy.<br />
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First, let's talk about due dates. By my charting, I calculated a due date of May 21st. The nurse practitioner at my first appointment gave me a due date of May 20th, which lined up with my early dating ultrasound. But, at my first trimester screening (the one where we found out with <a href="http://sarahs-pregnancy.blogspot.com/2009/12/other-part-of-first-ultrasound.html" target="_blank">Danielle about her heart issue</a>), they gave me a due date of May 22nd. <a href="http://sarahs-pregnancy.blogspot.com/2009/11/sneak-peak-at-our-baby.html" target="_blank">The same due date</a> that the same ultrasound gave me with Danielle. For a momma who has lost a baby, things lining up so well like that aren't a fun way to go through a pregnancy. While Adam and I wanted to have more kids and weren't seriously trying to avoid getting pregnant, we didn't (and would not!) plan this timing. Which tells me that God, in all his wisdom, must have some crazy plan for this baby that I haven't a clue about yet. It's been difficult with Facebook's new thing where you can view your memories from the past when my posts about Danni show up and I'm thinking about the baby growing within me, who's the same gestational age as Danni at the time of my post. It has helped having so many friends and even a cousin, pregnant and due close to when I'm due (two are due the same week I'm due!)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">20 weeks 3 days, measuring 20 weeks 1 day</td></tr>
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The next thing I wanted to talk about was my 20 week ultrasound which I just had yesterday. (This is normally the ultrasound where you would find out if your baby has any major complications that are detectable by ultrasound.) While I was pretty sure that I could see a glimpse of a 4-chamber heart at the first trimester screening, it was wonderful to see such a beautiful 4-chamber heart so clearly on this ultrasound beating away around 120 bmp. The placenta is also placed well that I should be able to have another VBA2C. I left the ultrasound room feeling pretty good about this pregnancy.<br />
<br />
It wasn't until I saw the doctor that my heart sunk a little. Dr. McDonald shared with me that while our baby had no other complications, the baby does have a cyst in the back right side of his/her brain. Combined with other abnormalities, such as heart complications or limb deformities, it would indicate that the baby likely has Trisomy 18. With no other complications though, they don't worry about it. I have the option of having it looked at again around 32 weeks, but post birth, they do nothing. I have heard from other mommas that sometimes it disappears completely, while other times it grows. Please pray, just for my peace of mind, that it goes away completely when they check at 32 weeks.<br />
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Now, the last part, the part that everyone always asks after a 20-week ultrasound... "Do you know what you're having?"<br />
<br />
Well, yes, we found out it is indeed a baby, not an alien, so good news there! But, for those referring to the gender of our baby. The ultrasound tech knows, probably the doctor, and a piece of paper in an envelope sitting on my kitchen counter. We will find out on Friday evening, and I'm sure I will post about it sometime on Saturday (kids willing!)<br />
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I'll leave you with the last baby bump picture Adam took for me on Christmas Day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">18 weeks 6 days</td></tr>
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Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-9860898449919409382015-12-26T12:47:00.002-06:002017-12-23T14:49:50.358-06:00We Had A Lot to Say in 2015!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First of all, let me apologize to anyone who didn't get a Christmas picture from us. I used two different companies and had problems with both! But, here it is! And here's the letter that went with it...<br />
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Nora: "That's when Sam was in mommy's tummy."<br />
Grandma: "Then he came out of mommy's tummy."<br />
Nora: "Yeah, he came out in pieces then mommy fixed him back together."<br />
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While playing doctor, Grandma was trying to get kisses from Nora after a shot. Nora replies, "Doctors don't give kisses."<br />
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Nora, holding up a Chinese noodle from her salad, says, "This is an angry worm."<br />
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Nora: I got cereal down my naked. Silly cereal!<br />
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Adam: True to gender stereotypes, he appears to be a much better driver than she is.<br />
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Nora: *super excited* I just licked Sam and Sam just licked me!<br />
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Nora: I'm still hungry, I want pickles.<br />
Sarah: You had pickles at breakfast.<br />
<br />
Adam: *undress Sam for bed, starts putting Sam's jammies on him*<br />
Sam: *begins crying*<br />
Adam: *realizes he forgot the important step of a clean diaper before bedtime & proceeds to change Sam's diaper and puts jammies back on*<br />
Sam: *coos & babbles*<br />
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Adam to Nora: Hey, you're not Grandpa, quit poking him with a stick!<br />
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Nate: *crying*<br />
Nora: Oh, Nate, you're okay. You're so nice. You're so smart.<br />
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Adam: Do not send me to the grocery store anymore without supervision.<br />
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Nora: Thank you for putting my clothes out momma... ...maybe we should write you a thank you note.<br />
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Sarah: Sam is not a horsey, he is a little baby. Get off.<br />
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Nora: Can you let me focus on eating? Talking doesn't let me focus on eating.<br />
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Nora: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Spider-Man, and the Doctor will hold my hand if I'm scared.<br />
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Adam to Nate: We do not strip at the dinner table.<br />
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Nora, seeing a man in a cowboy hat, says, "That's somebody else's Grandpa Mike!"<br />
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Sarah: If your tummy says, 'I'm full,' or 'I don't feel good,' you just stop eating and you can finish it later.<br />
Nora: Umm, my tummy doesn't talk.<br />
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Sarah: *singing* You and me baby, we're stuck like glue.<br />
Adam: I wouldn't say we're that close.<br />
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Sarah: How about a French braid today?<br />
Nora: Oh! That's kinda like French fries.<br />
Sarah: Um, not quite.<br />
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Modesty from a 3 year old who was wearing a cute spring dress: "But people at church will see that I'm not wearing pants!"<br />
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Adam: Nora, say, "You're the boy in our relationship."<br />
Nora: You're the boy in our silly ship.<br />
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Adam: If you sit on a camel is it like sitting on a water bed?<br />
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Sarah: God hadn't made Sam yet.<br />
Nora: Oh! I bet He made him out of puzzle pieces!<br />
<br />
Nora SITS Sam in the Bumbo, then tells him, "I'm going to babySIT you."<br />
<br />
Nora: Um, which one (bee) stung you?<br />
Adam: I don't know, I think it was Larry.<br />
<br />
Adam: ...Maybe I'll pick up a Jimmy John's the night before.<br />
Sarah: For breakfast!?<br />
Adam: It's toast... With meat and stuff.<br />
<br />
Nora: I just have to go potty. You watch my food and make sure it doesn't get moldy.<br />
<br />
Adam: Who do you want to read the story to you?<br />
Nate: Dinosaur read!<br />
Adam: Dinosaurs can't read.<br />
Nate: No, they have hands. See!<br />
<br />
Nora: Mom! You forgot something in your picture of our house... Oh, and the sun and the moon... And the earth.<br />
<br />
Adam: Do you smell licorice?<br />
Sarah: I smell spray paint.<br />
Adam: Yeah, or that.<br />
<br />
Sarah: Sam, can you say treadmill?<br />
Sam: *some utterance that's not even close* <br />
Sarah: Can you say dada?<br />
Sam: DA-da DA-da dada dada dada...<br />
Sarah: Can you say mama?<br />
Sam: Dada.<br />
Sarah: *sigh*<br />
<br />
Nora: Mommy, do you have a baby in your tummy?<br />
Sarah: I do!<br />
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So from our family to yours we hope you have a very blessed Christmas season!<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">View our other Christmas Letters!</span><br />
<a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2010/12/ups-downs-of-2010-our-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2010</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2012/01/2011-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2011</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2012/12/noras-2012-christmas-letter.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2012</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2013/12/celebrating-4-3-2-1-years-our-2013-year.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2013</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> </span><a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2014/12/we-all-have-stories-our-2014-christmas.html" style="font-size: 14.6667px;" target="_blank">2014</a><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"> <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2016/12/christmas-2016.html" target="_blank">2016</a></span> <a href="http://theroadtohope.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-busy-year-of-2017.html" target="_blank">2017</a></div>
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Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8513391607436165192.post-821223886680631602015-10-20T14:24:00.000-05:002015-10-20T14:24:51.357-05:00Our First Year of "Homeschool"Well, we are just about done with our first year of unofficial homeschool with Nora. She has been doing the <a href="http://abcjesuslovesme.com/curriculum/2-year-curriculum" target="_blank">2 Year Curriculum at ABCJesusLovesMe.com</a>, and I think we've both been having a great time with it. With Nate (and Nora too), I've been using a book called Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready by June R. Oberlander, which has activities for each week that are developmentally appropriate for the child's age.<br />
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Let's start with Nora.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wilG4KtJTyBqF4vtc8KJxvu05aWAwSKV9GRZg7QjssHUgkbsiR5qBFFRiSSIzKZYCyvdezhUCXi45k3Vnw_L8DU8RIv1ZQnyZmrMh-IVuuTGj7xbEitdVFdBaNhSNh3UD8ByxMoIzJS1/s1600/letter+o+2+year+old+toddler+circle+write.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wilG4KtJTyBqF4vtc8KJxvu05aWAwSKV9GRZg7QjssHUgkbsiR5qBFFRiSSIzKZYCyvdezhUCXi45k3Vnw_L8DU8RIv1ZQnyZmrMh-IVuuTGj7xbEitdVFdBaNhSNh3UD8ByxMoIzJS1/s1600/letter+o+2+year+old+toddler+circle+write.jpg" width="200" /></a>While she loved to listen to the ABC song on several of her toys that played it, she couldn't sing it herself. Part of that was language development, and part of it was just learning the song, I think. Fast forward to now: She not only sings the whole song by herself, but she recognizes over half of the capital letters, and several lower case letters. She can also write the letter "O."<br />
<br />
I think she was beginning to grasp counting, as she would say "one, two, wee!" when grandma would play with her), but I don't think she understood the concept of what numbers represented. Now, she can count to 11 most days, and point and count to at least 7, but sometimes more. She recognizes 2 items right away without counting, but will often count them just because she can. She also knows her age and Nate's age.<br />
<br />
She didn't know any colors or shapes before we started, but now knows all her colors (though she confuses pink and purple sometimes), and all her shapes. <br />
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Since we pray before our meals, she could kind of make the sign of the cross, but now she can make the sign correctly and say the whole prayer by herself. She has also learned several other prayers before bedtime. The Our Father, Hail Mary, Memorare, Angel of God, Come Lord Jesus, St. Michael the Archangel, and many others! She also knows the creation story, the Christmas story, and is learning about the Palm Sunday, and Jesus' Death and Resurrection. She also knows some memory versus to different tunes.<br />
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She has picked up quickly on lots of songs and finger plays, like "Red Light, Green Light," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and many more. Adam has also taught her a tap dance move that his mother taught them when they were kids called "Tick, Tock, Stomp."<br />
<br />
When we started she called herself "No-wa" or "I-nor," but can now tell you her name is Eleanor Elisabeth. She can sometimes tell you what city she's from, but often gets that mixed up with her last name. She also knows the first names of her siblings and her parents.<br />
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About half way through the curriculum, I bought a large map for our office. This isn't part of the curriculum, but it's fun for her to "explore the world" from our office. I made magnets to go with one of their books called "Furry Friends." She can usually correctly place all the animals on the countries (or state) which they are from in the book (Alaska, Brazil, Scotland, South Africa, Russia, India, and Australia). I also made magnets with pictures of our family members that live out of state, so she can usually tell me what state they are in and put them there (Washington, Oregon, Texas, Georgia, Florida, and Minnesota).<br />
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While kids are always trying to be more independent and do things for themselves, here are things that we have specifically worked on getting Nora to do by herself: undress herself and put her dirty clothes down the chute, then dress herself (though sometimes articles of clothing end up backwards), pick up toys (with help and direction), wash her hands (especially now that Grandpa Jack made her a step stool, so she can reach!), and help set the table. We have always been working on manners as well, so Nora knows to say please, thank you, you're welcome, and excuse me, though she doesn't always remember. We are always working on improving these skills, but before we started she couldn't really do most of these things. A few things we haven't worked on are brushing her hair and her teeth, washing herself in the bathtub, helping to make her bed, and helping to clear the table after meals. She can kind of do some of these things, but since we haven't had her do it much, she hasn't gotten really good at any of them (expect maybe clearing the table when we ask, but it's pretty much like setting the table in reverse).<br />
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Of course all these things don't even put a dent in the list of things she's learned I'm sure (like being completely day time potty trained and almost night time potty trained)! But it's been so fun watching her grow and develop new skills and knowledge!<br />
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So, onto my little guy Nate...<br />
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We haven't really started any homeschooling with him, but have just been playing with him and teaching him all the things you teach a 1-year-old. He's learned to crawl, walk, climb, & scare Momma with new stunts while trying to follow his big sister or explore on his own. He wants to use a fork or spoon, and has actually been getting okay at using it, but he still prefers using his hands (it's much quicker and easier to stuff his mouth full that way!).<br />
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He has really started to develop his language skills more, which excites me! He signs more, eat, thirsty, please, and poop (toilet). He also says "ma" which can mean more or mine depending on what he's doing. He says "ma ma," "da da," and "ra ra" (Nora). One word he uses a lot that I'm not as much a fan of is "dis" (this) while pointing to something. I am trying to work on the actual words for the objects with him, but I'll take that he's communicating what he wants with me. And one of his new favorites is "ba" (ball), since he just got a couple wiffle balls for Easter. He can also tell you what a puppy (va va), sheep (baa), bear/ dinosaur (raa) say. <br />
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He may (or may not!) also have some understanding of the color blue. Though, whenever you ask him what color something is he says, "bue." But sometimes I will catch him pointing at something and saying "bue" and more often than not it's actually blue.Sarah Gibsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16089932832881000529noreply@blogger.com0