Daddy - Daughter Day

Last week Joel and Rachel took a trip to Duluth. Just the two of them. It was mainly to run errands and fix the van (minor repairs) but I think they tried to make the most of it...

Happenings That Have Happened

Joshua and Rachel finished up another few weeks of swimming lessons. Joshua, Level 1 and Rachel, Preschool Aquatics. They both enjoyed it very much and are more comfortable in the water now. Here is a video of Rachel, her first time in the big pool with a life jacket:




For the last few weeks Daddy and the kids came down with some bad colds. So now we are in recovery mode and I am thanking the Lord that I (Renee) did not get any of the sickness. :D
Here is a comical video of Daddy sucking Madelynn's nose. The other two kids hated having their noses sucked when they were babies but not her! If you notice Madelynn's eyes are a little watery, it's due to the cold, not from crying.





The Easter Eve concert was such a blessing. Hopefully you were able to be there or able to watch it on Live Stream. Wow. I'm still thinking about it and remembering how grateful I am to the Lord for Jesus and for His death and resurrection. I am also grateful for what a blessed husband I have, talented and mature in the Lord.
Joel is working on getting a copy of the concert from our church and hopefully putting it here on the blog, we'll see!


You can continue to pray for our housing situation. We are listening to God as to when and where He wants us to go. We do have good favor with our landlords, though. They are letting us stay here until the house sells!

The kids and I have been enjoying the early Spring. Madelynn usually eats at about 11 am so the kids and I have lunch with her and then are able to have some free time before naps at 1 pm. This way we've gone on lots of walks!
The grass is getting greener everyday. It's fun pointing out all the green things to the kids: tulips and chamomile coming up, buds on the bushes, and we even saw bluebells in bloom two days ago!

One last happening that has been on my mind is preparation for homeschool. Yes, we've been homeschooling currently but it has been relaxed and almost experimental. There is so much to figure out! For example, which subjects do I teach with both the kids, and in what order should we do things? Should I read books to them, do Bible, Science, and Geography all together, and then have one on one time with Joshua for his writing and numbers? What do I do with Rachel at this time? And Madelynn? Do I answer the phone during "school hours"? Is printing off worksheets off of the internet the best thing for Rachel, even though she loves it?

That's just one bite of the questions I'm trying to figure out the answers to, I'm really looking forward to when we have curriculum, a schedule and a routine that we are all comfortable with and I am prepared for.

Currently I've been poring over the Sonlight Catalog, trying to decide which curriculum to buy. Praying, writing my ideas down, thinking, letting a few days go by, praying, changing my mind and writing new ideas down, thinking, on and on and on. I think I've finally got it though. I think. I better have figured it out because the Homeschool Conference is less than a week away, and we're hoping to buy the curriculum there. Do I a) buy a curriculum geared for Joshua's age and let Rachel listen in and be on the outside? Or b) do I buy a curriculum that is geared for both Joshua and Rachel's ages and teach them together, buying separate age-specific subjects for Josh?

Well, after weeks of pondering and praying, I have decided on choice b. I'm going to teach Joshua and Rachel together doing History and Culture, Geography, Bible, and Science (Core P4/5 if you want to look at it). Then Rachel will have her own Language Arts (it's as simple as the ABC book by Dr. Seuss, don't worry!!). Joshua will have his own Math, Readers, Language Arts, and Handwriting.

I think that's what I'm going to do. Joel has been very patient with me the last several weeks as I go back and forth on this!!

And, (I think) once we've bought the curriculum and I become familiar with it and map it out over the course of a year, (I think) we'll start right away. No need to wait for September when the kids are so ready and eager to learn!

Early Spring Hiking

A few weeks ago, the weather was so warm and nice! We took advantage of it by hiking with some new good friends, Luke and Danielle:

Madelynn News

Here she is! She is scooting backwards, rocking on hands and knees, and very mobile. But not quite crawling yet. She gets stuck frequently as you can see here:


Last week Madelynn was tested for Celiac Disease. Since it is a genetic disease, Joel and I have decided to test all our kids. As you may know, Joshua does not have Celiac. And now, Madelynn does not either!! Hurrah!

Scary Story, Happy Ending

"Hey Renee! C'mere. You have to see this."
I stop in mid-stride and turn towards the bathroom. Joel had just finished giving Madelynn a bath and the other two kids were in bed already.
Madelynn is laying on her back on Joel's legs and she's crying. Joel points to her mouth and I look inside.
"Do you see that? What is that?"
I look closer at Madelynn's palate, the roof of her mouth. It's discolored, the color of green/gray playdough. I put my finger in her mouth to scrape it off and Madelynn just cries harder.
I feel a heaviness come over me and I groan inwardly.
Both Joel and I just look at each other.
"I'll go google it..." I lamely suggest and walk away.
I stare at the computer screen. The results of my googling didn't give much comfort: Cancer. Ulcers. Tumors. There should be no discoloration of a normal baby's palate.
I picture myself standing up in church asking for prayer for God to heal Madelynn. 'First Emily, then Rachel, now Madelynn?' This was too much.
I sit on the couch with the phone and thank God for a free 24 hour Nurse Help Line.
After a quick explanation to the nurse, we both agree that perhaps the discoloration is from the green veggies she ate today or the newspaper she was chewing on about an hour earlier.
I hang up, relieved.
A few minutes pass and an idea occurs to me. I find the newspaper Madelynn had been "playing" with and inspect it.
"Aha!" There was a small chunk missing! Joel and I agree to do a little "investigating".
"Q-tips," Joel suggests. I go grab them and bring them to Joel.
I leave the room as Joel forces Madelynn's mouth open but she just giggles. Finally she opens her mouth and Joel scrapes the palate with the Q-tip.
Then I hear laughter.
"What? Did you get something?" I ask.
Joel shows me something on his finger.
"It's a potato skin!"