So, we flew to Hawaii....

Back in March the Army decided that Chris needed to go to Hawaii. That meant that we all would be moving to Hawaii. Sounds pretty great, huh? Yeah, until you remember that you have 3 kids and you are flying for a long time. Not just 3 kids, 3 young kids (6, 3, and 19 months). And you remember that the 19 month old is kinda crazy! Our journey began the morning of January 5th at 4 AM central time. You see we had the drive from Arkadelphia, AR to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. The drive was uneventful and the traffic was never bad. We got the and everything was going super smooth. Besides from being tired we weren't having any problems. That should have been mine first clue that something was about to go wrong.

Back up a few months and my friend, Kathryn who lived in Hawaii, told me about the planes. She said they were big. She said her kids playing in the bathroom. She lied (I still love you!)!! Our plane was tiny! There were 3 seats in the middle and 2 on each side. AND it was an 8 hour flight!!! Right before we were to board J started to get a little fussy. No big deal it was nap time. I thought he would go to sleep soon after I got him buckled into his car seat. NO HE DID NOT!!! Do you know what he did? He cried/screamed for about 5 hours. Yup, 5 HOURS. He slept for 3 hours. Those 3 hours he was sleeping there was another toddler on the plane who screamed instead. Can I tell you I don't plan on flying with this kid for a very long time!

We arrive in Hawaii around 5 pm and go to the baggage claim. Just remember that we are moving so we have A LOT of bags! We look like hillbillys. Also our car is getting shipped and it's not here yet so we had to rent a car. Well when we made the reservations we accidently made two. That mistake got corrected prettly quickly but when we got ready to go to the rental car place we (of course) picked the wrong agency. Oh, did I tell you that the rental car agencies are not at the airport. You have to take a shuttle with all of our bags. We get there and realize we are at the wrong one!!! Those people very kindly took us to the right place and we got our 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan (my husband is turning into a minivan fan!). And we have to go back to the airport because Chris still has to sign in. Here it's done at the airport when you get here. Well he went in to do that and I got to drive around the airport. In the dark. In a vehicle I had never driven. And a town I had never been to. Thankfully it was basically just a big circle. By now it's after 7. And we still hadn't gotten to our hotel. Which that took another hour to find and almost another hour to figure out where to park!!! Our first few hours in Hawaii weren't great i'm sure the next 3 years have got to get better. Right? ;)

Blessed

I'm going to brag for a minute. Not about my children or husband or friends but about my church family. Last night at church my daughter passed out. The story I got from Andrew was that she was standing in a chair and fell and hit her head. Can I tell you as a momma how terrifying it is to see your child crying one minute and completely limp the next??? Extremely!! I lost it. I cried and cried and cried. I did not handle it well, obviously. But my church family was amazing. There people who prayed with us before we took Maggie to the E.R. My wonderful friend took the boys home with her. And several others offered their help. But mainly they prayed for my little girl (and for me) and they loved on us. This is what it means to be part of a church family!! And mine is stinkin' awesome!!!! :)

We did it!

So, we've survived our first year of homeschooling. Granted we still have about a month before we are completely done! There have been some things that were more challenging than I anticipated and others that were much easier than anticipated. Here are a few of the things i've learned.
1. Organization is key! I'm still working on this one but it's getting better.
2. There are some things Andrew is just better at (I know huge surprise!). Numbers and math are much easier for him than phonics. Some say that's a boy thing, I don't agree with that entirely.
3. Teaching phonics is hard!! And having a southern accent does NOT help that situation!!
4. There are no questions too dumb to ask your fellow homeschool moms (thank you Lori!). Especially the ones who have been doing this for a while!
5. Sometimes what other moms do doesn't always work with your kids. I had to figure out my own method that wold work for us. I'm sure when Maggie starts i'll have to figure out a whole new one just for her! :)
6. Teaching my child is hugely rewarding. To be there and see when he finally gets it is exciting!
7. Getting to do school in our pajamas is great!
8. It's also frustrating! To teach the same thing over and over again and just have your kid give a blank stare is the worst! But go back to #6 eventually they get it.
9. There are learning opportunities every where.
10. Homeschooling is more challenging when you have an infant.
11. Never underestimate the amount of knowledge can fit in your child's head!
I now look forward to next year and all the possibilities that come with this adventure! Overall I would consider this whole experience a success! A special thanks to Lori and Susan for being the first people to show me that homeschooling is doable! Oh and don't judge my grammar we're just in kindergarten!!! :)

My receiver is AWESOME!!

There are times in life when I really need to pass the ball. A couple of weeks ago I shared my analogy in bible study about how I try to handle my problems. I like to think of God as my receiver. When I have a problem or something in my life that is overwhelming I try to pass it off to God. Now i'm not always good at this. There are times I think I can handle this, I don't need help. I'm wrong, A LOT!! Here's the thing with God, he never drops the ball!! It's pretty awesome! There are plenty of receivers out there that could learn a few tips from HIM! But just because God has caught the ball doesn't mean it's going down to the end zone for a touchdown. Sometimes God has to run out of bounds to make time for a new play. Whatever happens, once I pass that ball off to God I can know that He's in control. There are a couple of months left in this deployment, so God here's the ball.

if there is anything wrong with my sports theory, i don't need to know. it works in my head! thanks!

My Baby

Can't really argue with the shirt! ;)

He can turn this on and off in a matter of seconds.

This is my happy boy!

That Time

I've reached the time in the deployment when I feel like i'm done. Like I can't do this whole single parent thing anymore. Where I hate going to bed by myself every night, I really don't since at some point in the night there is a kid in my bed. NOT THE SAME!! I don't want to have to bring all 3 kids everywhere I go (yes i'm whining). There are days that I just want some quiet, some time to maybe read a book.
But I CAN get through this. Because....
1. There are only 4 and a half months left. We've passed the half way mark.
2. My kids deserve more than a mom who is just biding her time until her husband gets home. For 12 months I get to be mom and dad. It's not ideal but it's our life. And my kids are amazing!! Regardless of my mood Jackson can make me smile. He's so happy and funny! Maggie is my princess and while that does come with an attitude it also comes with hugs and kisses and "i love yous" for no reason. And then there is Andrew, who continually makes me think with all of his questions. Sometimes it can be annoying the amount of questions but right now there are so many questions about God and who He is! How can that be annoying! He loves helping with Jackson and is such a good big brother.
3. I have a husband worth waiting for. I have a husband who supports me and loves me and who makes our lives that much more interesting! I really miss this guy!
4. I have friends. Friends who have gone through and are currently going through all this too. It helps having that other person know what it's like. That person that will take your kids for a few hours just so you can take a nap or a bath without anybody talking to you!
5. Lastly, I have God. How to get through this without Him, I don't know. The comfort, peace and joy can't come from anywhere else.
So now until the next four and a half months these are my reasons for getting out of bed ever day maybe not out of my pajamas (baby steps people). And there are still going to be days when it's all about survival. But it will all be worth it and this summer will be oh so sweet.

Some Days

I completely believe that I am supposed to home school Andrew. And really most days it's pretty easy but then there are days. Days like today where I really just want to send him to school. There are days where I feel like he's not learning anything even though the day before he knew everything for our lessons. It would be so much easier to send him to school but then I would miss out on those moments when he's finally gotten it and everything lights up. I would miss the joy that comes with celebrating with your child because you BOTH have worked hard to say the sentence "the pig sat in the mud"!! So while there are a few days where I think I can't do this there are so many more days that prove this is what we are supposed to be doing with our children. Also, it helps to have friends who home school and I can see them being successful with their children. Thanks Lori, Melanie, and Susan!