My Bookend kids

I often find difficulty in painting my children adequately for my Blog readers. Many of you know them in person, and therefore picturing them is easy. But if you have never met them, a mere set of words or photo doesn't necessarily sum this up.

This video below makes me smile so big every time I watch it. We have been talking to Isaac about the fact that his three little siblings really want to spend time with him. He is an introvert by nature and not in need of people nearly as much as they are. So he often turns their requests down. But after a long evening discussion with JB and I about the importance of giving people some of your time, we noticed him really attempting to spend time with each of his brother and sisters.

He took time yesterday to color with Abigail which is an activity they both enjoy. He also devoted some Lego time to playing with Sidge instead of just playing in the same room with him. I also thought it was an incredibly smooth move for him to offer to read about roller coasters to Hannah. Isaac loves coasters, and Hannah loves doing anything with you so this was perfect.

But this video so adequately portrays the different personalities of my two bookend kiddos (oldest and youngest.) Isaac is serious. He is an old soul. He only laughs and smiles when it has truly been earned.

Hannah is just silly. She is constantly goofing around and trying to make people laugh. The combo created this video of Isaac attempting to discuss roller coasters (a very serious topic) and Hannah trying to  be a goofball. As always.

Enjoy!

Hannah's Preschool Class

The 3 & 4 year old class at co-op. Hannah will be in this class for two years.

I am not sure I can ever, adequately put into words how amazing our homeschool co-op is. Every week I go, I am just blown away by the quality of people and kids that fill its doors. We meet 10 Mondays in the fall and then another 10 Mondays after Christmas. It is simply such an incredible time for us. While last year, all of my kids were feeling some growing pains as they got used to the new environment, this year they cannot WAIT for Mondays, and when we aren't in session, are visibly sad about it. 

I am also really excited because Hannah's behavior has really leveled out both at church and co-op. All of her teachers say she is simply doing marvelously.

And yes, of course, she dressed herself int he picture above. A summer dress and blue jeans. Why not?

Military Moments (with Amanda!)

I am so excited about a new weekly Blog post from my Amanda. She is going to be doing a "Military Moments" post where she discusses and shares ideas and stories from military life. These posts will hopefully be running every Saturday. If you have something you are interested in sharing with her, please reach out!

Hello Everyone! My name is Amanda Feeser,and I’ll be bringing you a new weekly blog post.

First, a little about me and my family. My husband and I are both from Arkansas and we met at college there. We were married in 1999, and he started seminary in Memphis, TN. We were appointed to a church in Parkin, AR (near Memphis), and we lived there while he went to seminary.

Just before he graduated, we were appointed to a church circuit in Portland, Arkansas. He graduated from seminary while we lived in Portland, and both of our boys were born there. We have been plagued with infertility issues, and needed the assistance of medication to get pregnant with both boys. That’s a whole different story, and an ongoing issue in my life.

Also, while we were in Portland, he was approached by an Air Force chaplain who asked if he had considered the military as a career path. He talked to me about it and immediately we knew this was what God was calling us to do.

Just after our oldest son was born, Ron graduated seminary and we took a quick trip to Nashville so he could be endorsed by the United Methodist Church to be a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. He went to a lot of training and classes with the military and after almost the first week of his first training, he called and told me he was being led to go active duty. I was excited and pregnant for the second time. So he filled out the extra paperwork, we had the second baby in 2006, and moved to our first duty station in the summer of 2007.

We lived in Colorado Springs for over three years, and then got an emergency move to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey (where we met Wendi!). We were there just under two years, and then got an assignment to Fort Meade, Maryland. We stayed there for four years before receiving our current assignment, which is Moron, Spain. We will be leaving here at the end of the summer and we are awaiting word on our next assignment.

Just before moving to Spain, we took custody of Ron’s cousin and she came to live with us. She was 16 at the time and we’ve loved getting to know her better and having her become a part of our family.

That is our last ten years in a nutshell.

The most significant thing I left out is that we are foster parents with a huge heart for foster children. We have fostered seven children in Colorado and Maryland, and our plan is to move back to the states and adopt a sibling group from foster care. We don’t have anyone in mind, but there are over 400,000 children in foster care in the United States, and that is just horrible. So we will get our home study done again as soon as we have a home and begin the process for what will be the third time getting certified as foster parents.

That’s enough about me for now … let’s talk about the weekly blog post. I have a few ideas already about topics I’m interested in related to the military, but if there are things you want to know about, don’t hesitate to let me know and I’ll do my best to research and write about what I find.

Have a great week and I’ll meet you back here next Military Monday!

*Please note that content in guest blogs is not necessarily shared by the station manager (i.e. Wendi!)

Girl Hair Cuts

***This post contains pregnancy talk.

The girls and I got hair cuts yesterday. My friend from church, Rachel, was giving the cuts. She has a small shop in her house. After years of infertility, Rachel and her husband adopted an amazing little African American infant boy named Bryce. This last year they decided to try embryo adoption. Rachel is about 17 weeks pregnant with TRIPLETS. And TODAY they are announcing the sex and ethnicity of their three babies on Facebook. Can't wait to find out. 

As is always the case, I am encouraging Rachel to be allowed to complain or be overwhelmed with pregnancy with me. No matter how much she wanted these babies, some people have tough pregnancies, and Rachel has been really sick. But she's hanging in there. Would you join me in praying that these babies stick around until 34 weeks and are born healthy with few complications?

First up for her haircut? Abigail. The girls had to stand up for their cuts because their hair has gotten so long. This isn't really on purpose. I just haven't gotten around to getting their hair cut. Abigail has had her hair cut many times, butt his was only Hannah's second cut.

And next up? Hannah Joy!

How to homeschool bigs when you have littles

When it comes to homeschooling, if you are going to decide to get on this merry-go-round, you have to be prepared to answer questions from the public on the topic. One of the most frequent questions I get goes something like this:

"I only have three kids, and I'm not homeschooling and already, I have difficulty playing or teaching one or two of the kids while still supervising the others on the days I am home with the kids on my own. Do you just schedule school time when the girls are napping? Or have something else that occupies them? I just can't envision it."

This is a great question and a very valid one. And it touches on one of the most challenging parts about homeschooling. If all I had were two first graders, it would be easy (in comparison), but managing the younger siblings is what challenges me the most. I have these two boys plus a four-year-old and a toddler which honestly means, the biggest part of what I am trying to do is crowd control and crowd management. Oh wait, I'm also supposed to be educating? How in the world can I do that to?

So without further ado, here are the things you need to remember if you are going to homeschool kiddos with other littles. 

Always remember that ... 

1. ... the hard time is now. Once they are all self-sufficient, the great difficulty in management will be lessened. So this is a season. This is a tough season because I have a two-year-old that is only entertained by things for 67 23 seconds at a time. 

2. ... they ARE getting enough of you. I read a statistic once that the average kindergartener in public/private school gets 17 minutes a day of one-on-one time with a teacher. I try to remember that while I am "teaching" my kiddos each day. They may be doing mostly independent work. They may not have me to themselves. But they are getting enough.

3. ... help is a good thing. I am so blessed that my husband's parents live on our farm with us. They can provide a spell for one of the children, especially one of my littles. This helps tremendously. If you have family or close friends willing to give you a break, take advantage of that break. 

4. ... you will let someone down. I tell my husband that my hardest thing I feel as a Mom is that I feel like I am constantly letting someone down. Someone is always needing me. And I can't be there for everyone. There are many times that it is just me. And how does that work?

4. ... small bursts equals a full day. You don't have to get all of school completed in one fell swoop. Here are some of the things I do to get lots of little bursts of education into one day (which equals one full day of homeschooling!)  

• If Hannah is awake, I will have the boys do something that they can do independently (like their iPAD apps.) When she is asleep, we try to maximize this time -- especially with subjects that require me to be right with them.
• If Hannah is in a good mood, I will have us all sit down and do something (like me reading to everyone) while she is hanging out with us. 
• In order to motivate the boys to get some of their work done, I will set a timer at the start of a lesson for 60 minutes. I tell them that as soon as the lesson is done well, they have the rest of that hour to play. It is great motivation. And it also reminds me that when I am done with them, I will have time with the girls.
• We don't have TV, but we do use Right Now Media and Netflix. I use the girls' favorite shows for when I really need them. 
• I am constantly trying to multitask. For instance, if the boys are writing their letters, I may stand up while they are really "on task" and put away some dishes or sweep the floor while I can watch what they are doing. 
• I have the kids help with nearly everything I can. Laundry, dishes, dogs, vacuuming, etc. They are involved. This allows me to have them "stay busy" while I am working with another kid. 
• I'll often swap how we do things depending on how crazy it is. For instance, generally the boys read with me each day for 15 minutes each. But if it is just too crazy, I will tell them that this particular day they are going to do their reading themselves. 

5. ... you need to do do what it takes. If you feel you need to be in a co-op, get in a co-op. need a tutorial? Try that. Having trouble keeping up on your house? Skip eating out a meal a week and get a housekeeper instead. Hire a teenager to come in for a few hours a week to help babysit. You get the idea. We are all in survival mode.

6. ... you need to use your tool box. I try to keep a lot of aces up my sleeves. Coloring on the table in the kitchen. Play dough on the floor in the living room. Some music to dance to in the bedroom. Bikes in the driveway. Helping mom cook in the kitchen. I am continually herding cats. I move one girl to do build with blocks so she stops bugging brother who is trying to do his math. I move another to the table to cut pieces of paper so I can focus on math with one of the boys. I don't have a huge house, but I try to have lots of little nooks and crannies so that people can find their own place with their own things. I have a tool box with a lot of things in it, and I try to use them as I need them.

6. ... it's okay to seek other advice.  Here are some articles that have been helpful to me:

• Homeschooling with preschoolers in tow

What about you? Have a tip? Please share how you make things work in your house with lotsa littles!

Quick Glimpse

Isaac has warmed up to the idea of me recording him playing piano. Here is a song that I've enjoyed listening to him play.



He's now been playing for about 1.5 years and simply gets more in love with the piano every single day! We are so thankful for his teacher and how wonderful she is. She has put Sidge on a different book track so that he doesn't feel he is "behind." And it is also works better with his more analytical brain. In addition, Abigail is now taking beginning lessons, and she is just so stinkin' cute learning to play.

Oh, and just because I want to prove I'm "doing it", this second video is me playing Swan Lake. I am actually going to play at the kid's recital this year. I feel that if I am making them do it, I should do it too! I also think it is a good way to show that our teacher can teach an old grown-up like me.

Speaking of old, I turn 40 in May. Forty!



I think nearly every day that I should just quit because I don't have time to learn piano, but then I remember that this is good for my brain and that it is also helping me to "stay with" the kiddos a bit as they practice. Isaac has WAY left me behind at this point, and Sidge is on his way.

Tooth #19

So somewhere along the line, I missed posting about Abigail losing tooth #2. So I am skipping to tooth #3 and the 19th lost in our house. Here she is with her dollar. This tooth was loose for awhile and was actually knocked out in a wrestling match with Isaac last night.

Me: "Abigail isn't that great. The tooth fairy brought you $1."
Abigail: "I don't know."
Me: "Don't know what."
Abigail: "I think you left the dollar."
Me: "I most certainly did not."
Isaac: "That's because Dad did."

We Bought a Farm: First Goose Egg of the Season

Two duck eggs (back row), goose egg, and then chicken eggs in front rows.

Check out how big that egg is!

Friday Funnies

Hannah: "I'm going to sleep with my new big tiger because he is a really, really handsome guy."

*****

JB: "Isaac do you want to ...." (Paused because of distraction)
Isaac: "Build a snowman? No Dad. I don't want to build a snowman."

*****

JB: "Hannah what did you do while I was gone?"
Hannah: "Ate a croissant for breakfast."

*****

Me: "You and Sidge can empty the dishwasher."
Hannah: "I don't want to do that."
Me: "Yes but you have to. I'm the mom."
Hannah: "Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that part."

Style be-YOU-tiful

I really enjoy interviewing my friends! I'm so grateful that they, without hesitation, are willing to open their homes for you and me, so we can take a peek at their decorating sense and also gather ideas!

One of these friends is Jessica.

Jessica is a fellow military wife and a mom of two. We met in Japan two years ago, but unfortunately as Jessica was arriving to Okinawa, I was getting ready to move again. So even though we didn't get to hang out much, I really enjoyed meeting her. She is one of those people that make you feel comfortable right away, really down to earth and easy to talk to.

Jessica is an interior decorator, so let me share her contact info with you so you can hire her! She is a fantastic person to work with. If you would like to acquire her services, please contact her at:
http://jessicajohnsoninteriors.com/author/jessica/

I hope you enjoy her interview as much as I do!

1. What makes your house a home?
I would have to say that my home for me could be anywhere as long as I have my kids and my husband. Being a military family we have travelled a lot, and honestly, the one thing I miss most is my bed. I know it sounds corny, or maybe I'm just getting old, but there have been 2-3 month stretches of living out of suitcases and you learn you really don't need all the other stuff.

2. What is your decorating style and why do you like it?
My style is Traditional with an eclectic twist. I like the formality and structure of Traditional style, but spice it up with unexpected eclectic pieces. I feel it adds interest and personalizes the spaces.
I like for my furniture to be centered off the focal point of the room and for everything to feel balanced. If it is not, I feel uneasy until I correct it.

3. What decorating accessories are a "must" in your home?
I have several "must" accessories in my home. I always start with a cute rug; from the rug I can build my color palette. Next, window treatments in all the windows to add warmth to the room. I almost always go with floor length treatments in the living areas. As I said, I do like Traditional. Mirror and lamps to follow. These two together really open up a space and make it feel larger. Last but not least, is layering with large down throw pillows and art. This is when I have to be very careful not to go overboard. We live in a small base house with an open floor plan and it doesn't take much to feel cluttered.

4. What are your go-to places to find unique decorative items?
My favorite places to find unique items is by far second-hand stores. whether it be our local antique mall, thrift store, or Goodwill, you just never know what you're going to find, and it's an added bonus that its affordable. I love finding old furniture with good bones and bringing it back to life. it's not just furniture; you can find amazing vintage lamps, dishes, table linens, brass pieces, the list goes on and on. Doing this with my mom and sisters pretty much sums up a perfect day for me.

Thanks Jessica for sharing your home with us! Until next Thursday friends, keep making your home be-YOU-tiful!

                                   Love,

                                           Angelica

Isaac & JB frolic and play (in Utah)

As per the "rules" of my Blog, I don't share that any of us have been on a trip until after it is over. This is just for the safety of our family. 

JB and our oldest son, Isaac, should be home any minute from a trip to Park City, Utah. John is required as a physician to get CME (continuing medical education) hours every year. While we were out of the States, he couldn't choose where he got this as easily, but now that we are home, he wants to try to get all of his hours with the WMS (Wilderness Medicine Society.) 

The last time JB and I attend a conference with the WMS was Cozumel, Mexico in 2009. This was so long ago, and yet, it is firmly engrained in my brain. For those of you who weren't "with me" on the Blog back then, you may not be aware of the tragedy that occurred. While on our third dive in the beautiful waters of Mexico, one of the women in our dive group died. I was the last one to speak to her. I was holding her hand. I still can't think about it without such intense emotions being conjured up.

Okay, I didn't intend to go off on that tangent. If you'd like to read more about that experience, you can do so here. 

This is actually supposed to be a happy post. JB had to do CME. I really couldn't leave the kids for five days -- it's just a little too long for Grampa and Grama to have to watch four kids. But JB really didn't want to lose a whole week with his family. So he opted to take our little Isaac. The idea is that he will take turns taking the kids to these CME events as they are old enough to entertain themselves during a conference. 

Here are some photos JB sent me from their week:

They got to visit the Olympic village!

So fun!

Remnants of the olympics!

JB caught up with his childhood friend, Craig, who lives in the area, and the three of them went to ride snow tubes together. For our rollercoaster-loving boy, this was great fun. 

Here's a video of one of Isaac's two rides.

We had to come up with a lot of things for Isaac to do during the conference. I sent him with a lot of schoolwork, and also a lot of coloring pages. He is really obsessed with jelly beans right now.

He is also, as I just mentioned, a huge fan of roller coasters.

Here he is, all set up to entertain himself during the conference.

I love how he wrote "bean boozed" instead of "Bean Boozled."

Two of my favorite men in the whole wide world!

I love how much my husband adores his family. I love that he wanted to take his son and share this adventure with him. I love that Isaac got his daddy to himself for five whole days.

But I especially love that they are almost home!

My Mom Confession

Can you tell which water bottle belongs to my kiddos?

I LOVE my children. I would do anything for them. Anything. Well, anything except let them drink out of my water glass.

I decided, early-on in motherhood, that I didn't want to share drinks with my children. There were just too many things floating in it, and it wasn't worth it. If we are out, and they are thirsty and don't have water, I will let them drink out of my glass, but then I don't drink out of it again.

It isn't their spit that bothers me. It is what happens to the liquid I am then ingesting.

The other day we went to a Valentines Day party with our co-op. I grabbed a water for the girls to share, a water for Sidge, and a water for me. Can you guess which one belonged to the girls based on the picture above? I mean is that not absolutely disgusting or what.

I love my children. But I do not love backwash.

Confession complete.

Your prayers

If you read my Blog and know me, would you pray for me? I have been dealing with what has become nearly chronic migraines for the last 2-3 weeks. I am functioning but having to take a lot of medicine to stay at a reasonable level. I would really just love the Lord to heal me from these headaches and will take any prayers you can give me. Thanks all!

Mothers: When You Feel Like You Don’t Make a Difference, Remember This

A big thank you to my friend Tammy who sent me this article: When You Feel Like You Don’t Make a Difference, Remember This. What a great thing to remember when you feel like what you do as a mother doesn't mean anything.

P.S. This is a motherhood specific article. If you are dealing with infertility, I'd skip this one.

Tuesday Truth

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men."

- Frederick Douglass

Review: Home School in the Woods

Time for another awesome review! This one was from Home School in the Woods and we were chosen to review: HISTORY Through the Ages Project Passport World History Study: Ancient Egypt. We received our copy of this program digitally. It was incredibly simple. We got a zip file, unzipped it, and stored it in our "homeschool" folder on our computer. Everything we needed to get started was included right in those files. They were all PDF's which were easy to open and access. Even those of you who aren't very technologically literate, should be able to follow this program pretty easily.

The curriculum for this unit is designed to be done in about 8-12 weeks. It is technically for kids in grades 3-8, however, I did the program with my two boys who are in second grade as well as my pre-K daughter. The boys were able to easily follow and my daughter hung right with us. In fact, I let my three-year-old tag along many days and just let her scribble and color over her own set of papers and it worked out quite well!

I took a video of a day that all four of my kiddos got involved. You will see that I was able to tailor the lesson depending on their age while they worked. (And no big surprise that my three-year-old was most concerned with the smell of her scented marker than anything else.)

The unit includes nearly every facet of Egyptian life you can imagine: everyday life, agriculture, trade, education, writing, the sciences, the arts, great builder and their architecture, religion, medicine, government, the dynasties, kingdoms, famous pharaohs, fitting Egypt into the Bible, archaeology, and tons more! There is more included in this unit than you could ever possibly do. You really have to pick and choose what fits for your family and your kids. 

Here are just a few pictures of my kiddos as they prepared their travel suitcases and passports for this adventure:

Abigail isn't in Kindergarten yet, but she thoroughly enjoyed the unit and while she sometimes wandered away mid-unit, she usually stayed right with us until the very end.

The boys had a blast with this unit. We are only halfway through it and will definitely be seeing it through to the end. This is Sidge who is 8 and in the 2nd grade.

Isaac doesn't love that I post his picture, so he agreed to let me get a photo of him coloring. He is also 8 and in the second grade.

Each lesson is called a "Stop". These are designed to be about the length of what you would do in one day, but you are encouraged to do more than one "Stop" in a day or stretch them out over multiple days depending how long they take and how many of the things in the "Stop" you choose to do. There were a lot of art projects that were a little too complicated for us (or I didn't have the materials for them.) I would just skip those and move onto something else that fit us a bit better. 

Each of the stops has text that I, the teacher, am "assigned" to read. These are PDF's in the zipped folder. Very easy to utilize! I am also given an "itinerary" for each stop which tells us what we can do on that particular lesson.

There are also 10 MP3s which feature things like "Touring Down the Nile" which is an incredibly well-done little audio bit (9 minutes long for example). These are not throw together. The quality is very good and the detail is good! There are sound effects, and I was impressed by how well my kids sat and listened.

I wanted to take a special moment to mention that Home School in the Woods recently added Ancient Greece to their items for purchase. In addition, Ancient Rome will be out in 2018. You can find out more about Home School in the Woods by visiting them on Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, or Twitter (@HSintheWoods).

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me at wkitsteiner@gmail.com or on Facebook if you would like to ask me personal questions about this product. You can also leave a comment and I will reply. I know elementary parents often struggle with what to do for history, and this is a very inexpensive and well-done option. 

Girls Rule

It is incredibly uncommon for me to spend time with just my little ladies. But yesterday and today I got to do just that.

Isaac and Sidge were occupied with Dad and Grandparents and so I got to spend the night with just my girls. We all slept in my room for the evening, and then, in the morning, we went to church together and then went to get some Donuts! We also stopped in at the grocery store where we discovered that the Valentine stuffed animals they have been eyeing for an eternity were being marked down 75% as we stood there. Five bucks for each of those big stuffed animals pictured at right. Yes, I was a sucker and caved. Like we have room in our three-bedroom house for those giant things. Ugh.

I did learn that Abigail gets a lot more shy when her brothers aren't around. She really shut down talking to people in church and couldn't go to Sunday School because they weren't there. Of course, Hannah is unfazed by the absence of her brothers and was high-fiving the greeters at church that Abigail was clinging to my leg instead of saying hello to.

Oh, in addition, Hannah has started using the phrase: "What the hunk?" No idea where she got that from but it is mighty cute.

Oh, and while we are at it, one more funny thing. She climbed into one of the dog kennels today. It has a "doggie door" on it, but was pushed up against a wall. Therefore Hannah could swing the door in, but was unable to get out because the door would hit the wall. It was up against the wall to keep the dogs out of it since they had chewed a big hole in one section. Not so fun being stuck in a dog kennel! Good thing I heard her relatively quickly.

It was great fun to just be with my girls, but I must admit it is only half of my heart. Those boys have me wrapped as well. I just love each of my children in such unique and individual ways. They truly light up my life -- even when they are making me pull my hair out simultaneously.

We Bought a Farm: Becoming My Dog and Hiking the Land

I've been very purposeful in trying to keep my mood and anxiety in good shape. I am really only struggling mildly, and JB and I both think it is due to the absence of sunlight and my hormones conspiring against me at the same time. 

The pictures above were taken on my hike of the property. It feels almost like betrayal to take selfies with any dog but my Scrubby. But you know, these dogs are good dogs, and I am really falling for them. I take turns on each of my hike taking a different dog. They love it and are great hikers. Right now I keep them on leash, but I let the leash down frequently when we end up on opposite sides of trees, etc. And Arabelle, our female Australian Shepherd is proving to be the brains behind the operation, while Ritter is more the lover of the two. Man is she sharp. I fell once, and she was right back at my side in a second. She checked for me over her shoulder nearly non-stop, and did not even come close to bolting when off-leash.

One of the things I've been trying to do regularly is hike our property. This is the first time I mapped it using an online app. Hiking the entire wooded areas and back to our house is 1.68 miles. I did it in 49 minutes. That might not sound very impressive, but it is very steep. I mean there are parts where I am grabbing trees to make my way up. So I am proud of this. I thought it would be fun on this page to keep track of the times I hike the property to keep myself accountable. I'm also going to try to put a map on here at some point of the hike. I hope to be doing this at least three times a week.

• February 15, 2017: 1.68 miles in 49 minutes
• February 17, 2017: 1.76 miles in 51 minutes
• February 19, 2017: 1.72 miles in 47.50 minutes