Character sometimes hides in the oddest places...

Well...we finally have a computer again & I have to say...I've missed you all! We have gotten several wonderful comments (including a beautiful handwritten letter, thank you Audrey) from you our sweet friends who have missed hearing about our goings on. Thank you for caring & checking up on us. In general we are doing well. So, one of the things I mentioned before briefly was something we have dubbed our "public school project". I didn't say much before partially because their wasn't yet much to say & partially because it was very hard for me to let Caleb go (we asked Aus if he wanted to try the experiment, he said "no way! I don't want to be gone all day just to do MORE work!"). I spent his first day gone in a puddle of tears. I can't remember the last time I prayed so much for that child. I know that sounds silly- people do this every day, but I hadn't!! So he came home that day fine & full of spunk & so the experiment began. I promise I am getting to the character part, but because so many of you have asked, I thought I would explain why we did this at all. Caleb seemed to equate public school with "being big" & seemed to continually feel he was missing out on something, so even though he enjoyed being home, he continually hinted at the awesomeness of public school. To make this an even tougher battle, his only memories of public school was kindergarten (ya know centers, story time, snack time, etc). So finally after hearing this for the umteenth time we decided to just send him. We are in a good & safe school district & second grade is a pretty safe year so why not. Also, & most importantly to me, he was not in any way working at his full potential for me. He seemed to think he couldn't do many of the things I knew he could, & I knew school would help very much with this battle when we went back to homeschooling. So...fast forwarding to now...he's had his days of fun & his days he's begged me to stay home, all in all the experiment is going just as Toby & I had hoped. So... this is where we found out something precious about Caleb's character, who knew it would pop up at Westview Elementary! Caleb has been friends with a group of boys several of whom ended up in his class. Caleb & I were glad for this at first but as it turned out these kids were only interested in being friends with Caleb as long as he was NOT friends with the uncool kids. The thing is, Caleb saw these kids needed friends ( he says one of them occasionally punches himself cause everyone thinks he's so dumb) & he LIKED them. They were fun so he didn't care as much that the other kids didn't like them. He even seems ok that these boys will only now play with him outside of school, but ignore him in school. How blessed I am at all of this. His character is growing! Thank you Lord for this. We still plan on homeschooling him next year (it seems now that this is a no brainer for reasons I have not mentioned) but I am thankful for this full experience that we have all learned much from!

Happy Anniversary to Georgia!!

Dear Friends,
Our computer has died a quick & painless death (it just decided to quit turning on) but because of that I cannot keep updated on the blog much. So here is the quick skinny on us, our wonderful children, and all of the events going on, not the least of which is the anniversary of Georgia Faith bursting into our home. Tomorrow (Feb. 3rd) is the anniversary of the day Toby began his trek to bring her home. It began with trouble at the airport & all of us a bit unsure that the American would be allowed to bring the Liberian child home. On Feb. 4th we not only will celebrate Austin's birthday, but also Georgia's first year here. In a nutshell, it has been a wonderful whirlwind. Toby & I also celebrated our 11th anniversary. We went away for a night & had the best time! Farming out the kids is good for all! Caleb is trying out a short stint in public school (for all that read that in shock...call me) & loving it but is remembering why it is sooo nice to school at home. The others miss him but are troopers during "the experiment". Our holidays were simple & nice & we are currently once again sitting at the Lord's feet searching for His perfect direction, every ready for the adventure of the Christian life. We love you all, more than you know!!