Better Than Nothing

It's hard not to get down on myself.

I don't do speech often enough with my daughter.

I don't do music.

My house doesn't get clean enough. My routine is not established enough. There are always so many more things I could do.

But the first month of school is behind us, and while there is so much more that I deeply desire to do better, I should pause and celebrate the things that have gone well.

We made homemade strawberry jam. We are doing all kinds of creative things to strengthen hands and improve handwriting skills. The jam was delish!

We searched for plastic numbers in died spaghetti. Learning how many dots go with each number is a LOT of work!

We are learning all about our stop and go fingers!

And Reagan is growing and thriving, too.

I will try to get better, but we ARE beginning to learn Proverbs 1, are reading The Red Badge of Courage aloud on occasion, have reinstated library trips almost regularly and have at least thought about it enough to outline a weekly routine that--if followed--would help me enormously in the never-ending-is-it-ever-possible quest to get organized.

That is certainly better than nothing.

Endings and Beginnings

It was another one of those hard mama days this last spring. The approaching end of the school year meant the end of another year with Mrs. Sims...simply the best teacher in the whole world. 

Ryan's IEP team had a plan for this school year.

It was the not the plan I wanted.

But I thought I could take steps forward in faith, and be (as) open minded (as my typically closed mind could be).

I went and observed the class they suggested she would be in. The teacher was wonderful. The environment fabulous...for typical kids. 

But the teacher barely acknowledged me. She asked no questions about Ryan. She looked at the floor rather than looking me in the eye and I knew in my heart...she did not want my daughter in her class.

I get it. 

I really do.

Thirty two kids in a class is just too many. And one who will never learn the way the other kids do, who doesn't talk, and occasionally laughs so hard she wets her pants, can be just. too. much.


But she is mine and I love her more than life and even though it all made perfect sense I went to my car and cried. There was just no way I could leave my daughter at school each day believing she was looked at as a burden.

My hubby and I began to look into my older daughter's private school. We would need to provide an aide, we would need to pay tuition, but the door was open.

And then the restaurant I have worked at (very) part time decided to close at the end of the summer. Our income was cut as our outgo needed to increase. 

I chose to believe God would provide.

I felt peace.

Last week Ryan began her 4th year of kindergarten at the San Luis Classical Academy. We are just so excited. 

SLOCA, as we family members call the school, is a hybrid program. Tuesdays and Thursdays my daughters are on campus. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, they are home schooled, based on a curriculum provided by the school.

We do get to augment...

The end of one school means the beginning of another adventure.

The end of employment means more time to devote to my family.

I am excited about both the ends and the beginnings...