LONDON! Day 2 and 3

Audrey and Brian are enjoying thier European adventure. They spent their first night at the Glebe Country house and the second night in London at the Beaver Hotel. The Beaver Hotel is situated in a quiet tree-lined crescent of late-Victorian terrace houses in a conservation area within Earl·s Court, a part of the borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

The Beaver Hotel, London

 There was much site-seeing to be had the past few days and they got a good start! Day 2:

Audrey at Curzon Gate; Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park

While day one in London concluded wth a fish and chips dinner at a local eaterie, this day, day 2, ended with some shopping and dinner at Harrod's. Day 3 found Audrey and Brian headed to Buncton Manor Farm. a 15th century moated farmhouse in the English countryside, where they will base out of the rest of their time in England. Brian says Audrey loves it there. Loves the weather, the accomodations and the ducks!

Buncton Manor Farm

After getting settled at Buncton Manor, Audrey was ready to tackle some very well known tourist attractions.  After all, what trip to London would be complete without seeing Big Ben?

Big Ben

 Or taking a boat across the Thames River and seeing London bridge?

From there, she was off to experience the history and pageantry of the Tower of London.

It is safe to say, she is having a great time so far. Just look at this happy (and tired) little tourist...

Audrey's Awesome European Adventure

Audrey and Brian left yesterday on their Awesome European Adventure, and made it into Heathrow this morning. I plan to post every day to every other day on their trip. They will be in England for about a week before taking the Eurorail into France and will end their adventure in Paris.

Night one: Glebe Country House

 They will be staying in 3 different places in London, all out of the city as Audrey is our farm girl and we really wanted her to be able to experience the English countryside, as well as downtown London. Tonight will find them staying at the Glebe Country House outside of London in Norfolk. And per Brian, today's plans include touring around the English countryside and spending some quality fun time with Audrey.

Wednesday night we had a send off party for them complete with a traditional English dinner of English roast, homemade yorkshire pudding,  and a lovely broccoli gratin. We finished the meal with a French dessert, a cherry cake called French Cherry Caflouti.  We toasted thier upcoming travels and a good time was had by all. On Thursday morning, trip day, we indulged in homemade lemon scones served with lemon curd (these were a big hit with the boys), and packed up and dropped off Brian and Audrey at the airport.
I am so excited for the two of them. It is going to be a great adventure, a trip that Audrey will remember forever (her first trip to Europe). As for me, I am using this time to do extra school with the boys and Charlotte, play with Baby Brooke,  thoroughly clean and organize, and continue on my journey to more minimalist living. Until next time, Katie

Birthday Bliss

This week finds me having a birthday. At our house we have a tradition of celebrating a "birthday week" so that the birthday girl (or boy) finds themself having a special week and not just one day. I can't tell you how much the kids like this tradition.  While this birthday is not a milestone birthday (not YET anyway...although 40 will be knocking pretty hard at my back door come next year), it is a special birthday, none the less, because this year I know exactly what I want  for the upcoming year and I know which direction I want to head! I encourage all of you to think about what you spend your time and money on, where you lay your priorities and where you want to see your life in 5 years. You cannot change your life overnight, but you CAN change the direction of it. Blessings to all of you! Katie

Beyond Play

TIP: I like having activities the boys can do to keep them productive and busy when I need to work with the girls one on one.  I have found some great educational/therapeutic activities for them at http://www.beyondplay.com/  It is a website used by both therapists and parents. I especially like their puzzles and sensory items. I also love that unlike some therapy catalogs, you can find  great stuff for as little as $5.95, making it an economical place to grab activities for little ones with busy hands.

From the Bookshelf: Apple themed books

          Our main theme for September is apples. These are a few of the books we are using as read alouds this month.  "How to make an Apple Pie and see the World" is a great book. The reader gets a great geography lesson, learning about which ingredients originally come from where.  "How do Apples Grow" is a wonderful science book which teaches about apples, their growing process and is very detailed.  I also like "Ten Apples up On top" for my preschooler, as she loves the rhymes and is learning to count. 

Faith & Family Review : "Eat, Pray, Love"

Faith & Family : Features : Crazy, But True

I ran across this book review on Danielle Bean's blog and wanted to pass it on (Danielle Bean is a homeschooling mom of 8, author, blogger, and editor of Faith and Family Catholic magazine). The book being reviewed was "East, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.  Love it or hate it, I hope that you, my homeschooling moms who read this blog, realize, as the reviewer writes, that God is present in the small things we do for our families, for our neighbors, for our children. God is present in our homeschools. We need not travel to Italy, India, or Bali to find him. He is right here.

Blessings to you,

Katie

Our Holiday-Part Two

Tim, Left and Sean, right at the train depot

The second week of our family holiday/road trip found us in Branson, Missouri, which is a 6 hour drive from Southern IL where we stayed the first week.   The kids  loved the train trip into Arkansas on the Historic Branson Railroad.

Audrey getting her ticket punched on the train.


We also enjoyed a day at Silver Dollar City...a 1880s themed theme park.  I was in awe of this woman weaving a beautiful shaw.  The next day, Brian went back to the park and bought it for me and surprised me with it later.

The park had many artisans.

The park had some great rides that the kids took full advantage of.

Brian, Charlotte, Audrey and Sean


Brian and I will be happy when the kids are old enough/tall enough to ride without at adult..

The last evening of our trip, we took all the kids to the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede Dinner Show. I can not express what a big hit this was with everyone. It was a wonderful show, with beautiful animals and the food was really good also.  The service there was top rate and after the show you could go look at all the horses.  My crew gave it five stars.

One of the biggest highlights for me was getting to visit with my old Jr High/High School friend, Lori Huggins Aydt who lives in Branson now and came to the time share and spent an afternoon visiting.

And, while this may have ruined another vacationer's day, the day we had thunderstorms received a warm welcome by this Arizona family. The kids had so much fun playing in the rain and reading with the rain in the background made for a wonderful day "off" from seeing the sights. 

When our week in Branson was done, we loaded everyone up and headed home to AZ.  We made excellent time, travelling 1344 miles in 23 hours. Brian is such a good road trip driver and the kids were all great passengers. Our love for family adventures continues!

The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide

This is a great guide for decluttering our lives and homes and therefore, our homeschools...

The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide

Francine Jay's principals for living a life with less stuff make this the "bible" of minimalists. Miss Jay, takes us room by room, giving practical tips to reclaim our space by seeing our clutter for what it really is...clutter and not for what it is not (mementos that we would be unto live without).
And, if you are interested in living a simpler and debt free lifestyle, I encourage you to subscribe to this blog:  http://www.rowdykittens.com/ . This is a great blog that is all about minimalist living, living debt free and living uncluttered lives. The author's mantra is "LOVE LIFE, NOT STUFF".  Highly recommend :-) ~~Katie

Our Holiday -Part One

We are back after a glorious two week holiday.  There is just too much to write about how wonderful (and busy) our trip was so here's some highlights and a few photos from the Illinois part of our trip. Really, it was too wonderful, and there is just too much to mention everything and everyone. It was nice being back home again...

Grandma Aunt Georgia and Papa Don's Country Home. Beautiful.

• Staying at Aunt Georgia and Papa Don's was amazing. We can't wait to go back. (You have to love people who let you come stay with them, with your five children, and while you are there they throw a cookout for you for more family and your friends to get to come visit and feed over 30 people in your honor)
• Audrey making her special Apple pie with "Grandma Aunt Georgia"

Audrey with the Apple Pie she made with Grandma Georgia



• Baby Brooke being completely loved on and spoiled by everyone...

• Audrey and her best Buddy Papa Don. Those two were joined at the hip, they were...

Audrey and her Papa Don

• 
  
  Getting to see so many of my high school friends at the cookout. I was completely touched that every single one invited came to see me and my family. :-)
• 
  
  My awesome cousin, Nancy, who bought the boys a Cranky train set that literally kept them happily playing for hours.
• 
  
  Visiting with family....parents, sisters, cousins....It was a mini-reunion...
• 
  
  Did I mention the food???? De-lish!
• 
  
  Visiting with my Stepmom, Kay. Amazing lunch, a surprise early birthday party for me and it was so nice to be home. How I love visiting on that backyard swing...

Here's a few more photos...

Welcome to our new homeschool year!

Welcome!  Today we begin our new homeschool year.  While last year's first day filled me with an adrenaline filled sense of panic (being it was my first year), this year's first day has me filled with excitement and anticipation.  This year I am excited about the POSSIBILITIES.  Like any other first day of school, a new year is a clean slate....a chance to make things better wrapped up in a feeling of "anything is possible".  This is especially true when your homeschool includes children with special needs.

I find myself so excited about what this new school year can bring for Sean and Timothy in the areas of independence, reading, and their overall knowledge of the world.  I have set specific goals for them, broke them down into smaller steps and now am excited to see how far we can go on these....working together.

My wish for you as you start your own new homeschool year is this:  set goals, work together, laugh together, enjoy the journey, remember that you never get these little years back, patience-patience-patience, Rome was not built in a day, never underestimate the value of reading your kids a good book and may you turn every day of this homeschool journey into your own wonderland...and if you need some inspiration, remember that if there is a child in your home, then someone's childhood is happening in your home, and that makes your home (and your homeschool) a pretty magical place!