Backyard Party!

Emily absolutely adores her big brother! It's no wonder, with the all the attention he showers on her!

We often need to remind him that she does need to breath every once in a while!

The Kids celebrate with Uncle Tim on the awarding of Tim's graduate degree! Rumor has it this life-long professional student has landed a REAL job! Way to go Tim!

(Photos and text by Sean)

Books We Are Reading

I love to read. My husband wishes he loved to read. My kids are learning to love to read. As part of our summer schedule, the kids and I are reading an hour each day during Emily's second nap time. OK, most of the time I fold laundry and wish I was reading. But if I get the chance, I read with them too. Here's what we're reading currently.

Sean is reading Knowing God by J.I. Packer, and we are reading Stop Dating the church by Joshua Harris together.

I like to have a couple books going at once. Right now I am reading When People are Big, and God is Small by Edward T. Welch, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper, and Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney.

Evan is like his mother and has several books going at once. Some books he prefers to read in the daytime, some he looses for awhile, and some are developing interests he feels he must satisfy now! He is in the middle of The Boy knight by G.A. Henty, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, Davy Crockett by George Sullivan, and various military airplane books.

Amy is working her way through the Henry and Mudge, and Billy and Blaze series.

Emily of course can't read, but she loves to look at her little board books. Her attention span has lengthened a bit too and she asks us (points and grunts) to read her more than one book at a time now. It's very cute to see Evan and Amy reading to her.

The kids and I are listening to Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain on tape. And I am reading Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens to them.

At night, when Sean is home, we read individually to them. I am reading through the American Girl stories to Amy. And Sean is reading Boyhood and Beyond by Bob Schultz to Evan.

Whew! That's a lot of books! Obviously, we don't get through any of them fast, except maybe the Henry and Mudge books. But, reading is a big part of our day, and we like to meander through them, reading more of one book one day, and another the next.

While I put links to Amazon.com and other places that sell these books so you could see what they are like if you cared to, we didn't buy most of them. We are very blessed with a great library. Most of these books we've checked out, so we can't go too slow! The librarians have come to know us and we love them. Some of the books have also been gifts from family and friends. Thank you so much!

Many of these books have been recommendations from friends, family and homeschool catalogues. If you have a favorite book, let us know!

Christina

UCLA Research Study

Our son Evan was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome when he was 6 1/2. Recently we learned about a study being done at UCLA to compare the efficacy of two different behavioral interventions for tic disorders. Evan will go and meet with a psychiatrist every week for 10 weeks in either a Psychoeducation/Supportive therapy session, the traditional method of treatment, or a Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) session, the method being tested. He will be randomly assigned to a group by a computer.

When we talked with Evan about participating in the study, he was very excited. He also realized that even if the therapy doesn't help him, it will help researchers understand Tourette's Syndrome better, which will help others with the disorder.

Evan went last week for and initial assessment which lasted 5 1/2 hours! This week he'll have another assessment done, and then his first therapy. We are hoping that he will be able to learn some techniques that will help him control his tics, and that the education and support from psychiatrists specializing in this area will help our whole family. In case you were wondering, there is no medication involved in the study.

Please pray for Evan and Sean. It is a long drive to LA and back each week. They are looking forward to some good bonding time together. We are also thinking of taking the whole family along one or more weekends for trips to Disneyland or Sea World.

Waffles with Grandpa John

Last weekend, Sean's family came to see Uncle Tim graduate from Cal Poly. Grandpa John stayed with us, and as a treat we made waffles for breakfast. After trying many different recipes over the years, this has become our hands-down favorite. It is still good without the citrus zest, but super yummy with it. You can see the recipe at William-Sonoma by clicking here. In case you have extra (or want to make a double batch) they freeze well. We enjoyed them with whipped cream and blueberries!

Christina

Day by Day

I have had days when everyone woke up cheerful, we got all our school done for the day, Evan and Amy were kind and helpful, and Emily was a joy and delight. Yesterday was not one of those days. Maybe it was because we had "too much special" the weekend before, but everyone was having a hard time and everything seemed to go wrong. Actually, it started the night before when I threw up driving home from Karate. Those who know me know I easily get car sick, but this was the first time I lost it while driving! Thankfully we got home safe. Sean came home a few minutes later and graciously put everyone to bed, including me, and cleaned up the mess. He is still my knight in shining armor, even when the rescuing is not so glamorous.

Anyway, in the midst of the day as I was wondering why God had allowed just about everything to be a trial, He brought to remembrance this song.

Day by Day

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Power;
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faiths sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
Ever to take, as from a fathers hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

That God had deemed the trials of that day best is still a mystery to me, but I can put my trust in the Lord who is "wise and kind beyond all measure". The day did get a little better. We had a good laugh at this funny video Sean showed us when he got home. It was nice to go to bed laughing, with the words of this hymn on my mind.

Marine World Africa USA

We started a tradition of letting our kids pick a special place to visit for their 7th birthday. This year Amy chose to visit Marine World Africa USA, a theme park that also has animal shows. When I was a little, this park only had animal shows. However, Six Flags amusement parks bought Marine World out and added the "big rides." Grandma Ree, Papa, Aunt Shauna and cousin CJ also joined us for the day. We had a great time! The babies had a a lot of fun even though Emily missed her nap. And Amy and Evan got to ride an elephant with their Papa!

Christina

Blogging!!!

Today marks our first foray into the wonderful world of BLOGGING! Through this site we hope to keep you [our family and friends] updated on the wonderfully entertaining happenings in our home. Whether it involves adventures in the homeschooling of our two older children, or the first steps of our little baby, we endeavor to keep you amused as to what God is doing with us. And since Sean has steered us into the path of this time-consuming project, you can rest assured he will be the author of this and many late night articles for our blog.

We begin by telling you, while reminding others, we are a family of five living on the beautiful Central Coast of California. We affectionately call this part of the state “God’s Country.” The air is clean here. Crime is low. And people smile at one another. The sun rarely hides behind the clouds and the rain only seems to come when it’s needed. Really. It’s a blessing to live here. We are thankful.

We provide a Classical Christian Homeschool Education for our children. Primarily because we feel lead to do so. While homeschooling has its challenges, we are frequently validated by our decision as we watch our children thrive. We are thankful for that, too.

Our children are precious! Our inquisitive Evan is 9 years old. While we try and convince him there are several years left of homeschooling, he has his eyes set on college. Evan is a reading machine and enjoys karate classes when not kung-fu-ing his Dad.

Amy (our almost 7-year old) is the social butterfly of the family. She loves to spend time with her closest friends and participates in gymnastics and swimming. The more energy we can burn out of her, the more likely she will be to sleep at night!

Our little lady is our sweet 1-year old, Emily. She has a contagious smile and an enormous craving for grilled-cheese sandwiches! We are so fortunate to have such an easy-going beautiful baby. Again, there is a lot to be thankful for.

While I can’t say we’ll be the most diligent of bloggers, we welcome frequent visitors and comments.

Until next time, Cheers!
Sean and Family