Happy To Be Rowing!

We are officially beginning our homeschooling journey this year. Due to Matilyn's birthday, she barely misses Kindergarten this year. YEAH! So happy to not need to report things anytime soon. So we are continuing to enjoy our homeschooling venture, and are now beginning to row! We are getting started with the curriculum called Five In A Row, and couldn't be happier about it. It is a literature based Christian curriculum (we are adding the Bible supplement). The children are already learning so much and having a blast! We are currently "rowing" The Story About Ping. Today we learned about the cormorant in China, which was quite interesting. Tomorrow we will be studying the map or China and the Yangtze River. For our Bible craft today we made scrolls, which the children loved. Our verse for the day was from our Rod and Staff Bible story book: John 17:17 "Thy word is truth".


Also, I was amazed to see how much information is available from other homeschooling moms who have used this curriculum. They have fantastic ideas for lapbooking, notebooking, and other crafts to expand the curriculum. Truly exciting!


We are awaiting our Hooked On Phonics package. Due to their love for hearing stories, both Matilyn and Matthew are very excited about learning to read. Matilyn is already sounding out 5 letter words, and read her first little reader all by herself. She was thrilled! We have decided to use HOP in the beginning as a fun intro to phonics. We will be adding another phonics program when we finish HOP, so that we are sure not to miss any of the important facts. Right now we are keeping things simple and exciting for them, and they are loving it.


At the homeschool fair I was able to pick up some incredible Rod and Staff readers. Their curriculum is filled with the types of readers that I have been praying to find. If any of you are looking for additional stories to read to your children, or for your children who are learning to read, I highly recommend all of the readers from Rod and Staff and Christian Light Education/Publishing. You just can't go wrong with them. :)


Andrew continues to do extremely well. He has not had any problems with adjusting. What a huge answer to prayer. We are so thankful to the Lord that He made Andrew to fit perfectly into our family. He is such a joy and blessing to us all!


We will be back-posting some pics. We have some great ones to share, but have been very busy with 2 weeks of swim lessons, 1 week of praise dance camp, and homeschooling ventures. Hope to have them on the blog soon! :)

A few pics

Daddy teaches Matthew about muscles

Fourth Of July Fun

Our friends Jeff, Heather, and Olivia visited us from Charleston for the 4th. We had a wonderful weekend with them! We miss you guys already!! Also enjoyed a great family time and fireworks celebrating the 4th at Joyce and Wayne's.

Thankful For Blessings

All is continuing to go well since we have arrived home. Thanks to our church family, and my mother, we have been extremely well cared for and loved beyond measure. I don't know what we would have done without you. You are such a blessing to us!

Jet lag seems to have finally ended for both of us. We have spent the last week battling a bug, and the children have had Roseola. So thankful that we are all starting to feel better now.

The children love their little brother, and we haven't noticed any jealousy at all. They all play well together and it just seems that things have always been this way. Andrew just stepped right in as though he knew he belonged in our family, just as we had been praying for so long that he would. He is such a precious child. We are thanking the Lord for all of His great blessings.

Please pray for our friends Becky and Rodney, who left today for Taiwan to get their precious son Carson. They have to go through the same process that we did, so pray that they find incredible favor at AIT and have no difficulties in bringing Carson home.

Here are a few new photos for you all. Hope you enjoy them.

Fireman Small Making Silly Faces

Bath Time

Leaning To Jump Rope
Precious Baby Boy

Sporting Big Brother's Hat

Pre-Bath Turbin

One Very Happy Baby

Play Time At Home

Andrew is fitting into the family beautifully, just as God planned. Just a few pics from play time today....

Enjoying Big Brother In His Crazy GetUp Playing The Harmonica

Sissy and her "Little Slobber"...her fond new nickname for baby brudder

Jet Lag.......And Blessings

WOW. Never expected jet lag to be this bad! Thank the Lord for the blessings of children who are all doing well. Andrew is adjusting amazingly well, far beyond anything we could have hoped or dreamed. He is continuing to eat and sleep well and seems completely bonded to all of us, particularly Jarrod and myself. He seems to be adjusting better to the time change than we are.

We hope to post more pictures soon, when we are better able to keep our eyes opened. Thanks again to all of you for your sweet comments and continued prayers. Also to those of you who have helped in many other ways as well. We love you all and are truly blessed to have you in our lives!

Photos From Taipei International Airport, LAX, & Nashville

Taipei Airport Hello Kitty Nursery

Change a diaper, baby can nap, feed baby, or surf the net for free

Entrance to feeding area in Hello Kitty Nursery

Touch Down! A precious new American Citizen steps foot on US ground!

Meeting Nina In Nashville

Worn out...night night