Homeschooling Update....

I know it's been awhile since I last updated everyone on Morgan's and my homeschooling adventures. So, here ya go.

Morgan and I took some time off over the holidays from schooling. It was a much needed break for both of us. Morgan is continuing to progress. She is doing great. She is also starting to do some of her work independently. I couldn't be more proud of her desires to do that.

I have been concerned that maybe she wasn't progressing as fast as I thought she needed to. And, thought perhaps there was more that I could do to help her progress faster. After a ton of research and interviews at different establishments, Jason and I have decided to get her some one on one additional tutoring at Huntington Learning Center. My hope is that the combination of the work I am doing with her here at home along with the tutoring they will provide, that we can get her where she needs to be much sooner with her Reading.

Morgan went to Huntington today for evaluations. When I went back to pick her up, Carol, the lady evaluating her, sat down with me to discuss how everything to discuss where they believed Morgan to be and what they could do for her. Of course, I had a ton of questions. What's new? lol. She said that Morgan was doing an excellent job with the testing. (Let me back up for a second. I told her upon our initial visit about Morgan's lack of self esteem when it comes to doing her school work.) Today, she told me that she saw exactly what I was telling her. She and Morgan discussed this. I had also told her that I would prefer to be able to put Morgan back in school next year, most likely private school. We also discussed that further today as well. Her opinion after talking with Morgan and working with her this morning, was that I made the right decision in bringing her home. She told me that she had NEVER advised a parent to homeschool their child. But, based off her initial assessment of Morgan, that she felt it would be in Morgan's best interest to be kept home with me another year until she goes to Middle School. She said that Morgan was a very bright and intelligent child. And, that it saddened her to know and see the results of Morgan being in school thus far. I know that a lot of you will not agree with that.

I have many family and friends that are public school teachers. I am not discrediting them at all. They are all wonderful people and wonderful teachers. But, Morgan is proof that one form of education is not suitable for ALL children. Kids are different. They learn differently. What works for one, might not always work for the other. I will refrain from stating my opinion on our public school systems. My opinion is a very biased opinion. And, it is one rooted in bitterness with how our public school has handled this situation with my child. I will say that the problems are not our teachers or our staff. They all do a wonderful job. It is with our school system itself. Enough said about that or I'll get on a soap box with it.

Where are we now??? I have a meeting Monday with Huntington to discuss Morgan's evaluation results. At that time, they will tell me where she is at currently and lay out the tutoring course they will take with her. In the mean time, she and I will continue to do our school work here at home. Only, she will also be going to Hunnington 2 days a week for work there. Jason and I both feel very much at peace with the path we have chosen for her at this time.

I am starting now to look ahead at the next school year. It's still undecided at this point. There are two options that we are looking into. A lot of that decision will depend on where Morgan is at with Reading and her confidence levels next August. Option 1 is to enroll her in Grace Christian Academy. If we choose to do that, Abbey will most likely be switched from public to private school as well. Abbey will be allowed to voice her opinion on that. She does great in public school. I have no problems with her there. So, it will mainly be her decision to switch. Option 2 will be to enroll Morgan in a co-op program with a local church school here. In that program, she will attend school 3 days a week and will be taught at home, by me, the other 2 days a week. At this time, we are looking more heavily at the second option as I feel that doing a program such as that would also help to get her re-adjusted to attending school on a regular basis again. This would also prepare her to start Middle School the following year.

What can you do to help??? By continuing to pray and support us as we continue through this journey. Also, please keep the feedback coming. I really appreciate it all. Your feedback will often help me see things that I might have over looked or see things in a different light all together. We cannot thank you all enough for all of your prayers, support, encouragement and feedback.

For the first time since starting this journey, I feel at complete peace with where we are at in this and the directions that it is taking. I think Jason will agree with that one as well. We are both very thankful and feel very blessed with the opportunities that have been given to us to make this all possible.

Happy New Year's

Time to ring in a New Year. Only this year, we will ring in a new DECADE! What's one to do with that??? Party like it's 1999 of course. And, we did just that!

We have a tradition with some friends on New Year's. We all get together for finger foods, drinks, and lots of memories and laughs. We watch the ball drop, count down and toast in the New Year. With 11 adults and 12 kids, it was sure to be a good time. And, a good time it was.

We all shared a lot of laughs, told a lot of stories, most of which were probably true. Beer spewed, coke spilled, food ate to the point that we were stuffed, and we still laughed some more about it all. The kids had their sparkling apple cider in their "kids" wine glasses, courtesy of Tonya. They loved that!

I am so blessed to have such great friends to carry on these traditions with. The biggest blessing this New Year's was that David and Linda was able to join us in the celebration.

As midnight approached, we topped off, or refilled, our champagne glasses. We counted down from 10 while watching the ball drop. Then, we raised our glasses and toasted the New Year and great friends. All of the kids thought it was great to go around the room toasting everyone's wine glasses. We were more than happy to oblige. And, of course, the night wouldn't have been complete without a phone call from Stacy that had us ROTFL.

We woke up New Year's Day singing, "I gotta a little crazy last night." We had a great time. I am so thankful for all my great friends and the times we share together. We laugh together; we cry together; we share our lives together; and, sometimes, we get a little crazy together. I love you each and every one for all that you are and all that you bring to my life. Happy New Year's!

Out With The Old and In With The New......

A look back at 2009.........

2009 was full of it's ups and downs. The year started me off on a path of self discovery. And, what a path it was. I let go of a lot of old stresses that were dragging me down. I reconnected with many old friends through the joys of Facebook. I strengthened already existing relationships in my life. I, walked away from a few that were bringing me down. I, also, met many new friends, a few of which will be life long friends. Each of these relationships took me on a wild ride. A couple had their ups and downs. Most were worked out. Some are still to be determined. And, one, I'm still trying to work and find my way through. Either way, it has been a ride that I have enjoyed greatly and will always hold close to my heart, even the ones I've let go of.

There's an old proverbial saying, "When God closes one door, he always opens another one." I have always believed in that ancient old proverb. 2009, once again proved it to be true. There were many doors closed and many more opened. One door, in particular, closed at the end of 2009. And, with it, a new one opened. I have been very sad by the closing of the one. Yet, very excited by the opening of the other. Do I sound bi-polar saying that??? lol. I guess that is just some of life's constant struggles we find ourselves in. What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right???

I think 2009 will go down in my history as the year that I finally came into my own. I will treasure 2009 always.
I have let go of many things. And, I took on and tackled a lot of new ones. I was also made aware a lot of who I am. And, I have to say, I like the person I see staring back at me in that mirror.

A look ahead at 2010.....

2009 was my year of self discovery. 2010 will be the year I relax and enjoy the person I have become. Because of my heart condition, there were so many things that I have let go of over the years from fear. Guess what??? I'm no longer afraid of those limitations. I re-discovered my addiction to an adrenaline rush in 2009. I'm not going to spend this new decade worried about the "what-ifs." Instead, I'm choosing to jump back into life and let my feet land where ever they may. I already started doing so in 2009.

So, what are MY plans for the upcoming year....... Well....... There are many!

1. Plans are in the making to take a girlie cruise with a few of my closest friends at the end of February. Can't wait for that one. Fun in the sun, on a boat, sipping margaritas with no husbands or kids for a week. I mean honestly, does it get any better than that??? Mexico.....Here WE come!

2. As with every year, I will be making several trips to one of my favorite cities, Nashville. Looking very much forward to doing so. I always have a blast when I go there. This upcoming year will be no exception. I just might throw in a few extra trips there this year if time permits.

3. I have several trips planned to do my most favorite activity in life, and that's digging my toes in some sand while sitting by an ocean. Hell, I may even pick up a surf board this year. I will also be parasailing this year when I go, with a water proof camera, of course.

4. I'll be spending a lot of the time in the mountains hiking, hiking, and oh.....did I mention hiking?!?!. I plan on doing some over night hikes and off the trail hikes this year. Yippee! I think I may even learn to go rock climbing and repelling with a couple of those hikes. My goal with the hikes in 2010 is to prepare myself to do the 26 + mile round trip hike up to Mt. LeConte in the Spring of 2011.

5. I plan on learning to snow board this year. Something I have wanted to do for a long time but fear held me back from doing so. Not this year. I'll go down that mountain much faster than I could ever walk down it.

6. I'll spend lots of time with family and friends enjoying those relationships.

7. I am planning on taking a couple of photography excursions. And, y'all know, I WILL enjoy that! One of which, will take me snow mobiling next winter. Jason isn't too thrilled with that, but has agreed to let me do so anyway.

8. I think the most important thing I will do this year is to continue to make me the priority. I found in 2009 that the more I take care of myself, the better I am at taking care of others. Before, I always put me last on my list of priorities. I, now, see the errors in that. I will accomplish this by just simply relaxing and enjoying life and being me; becoming more as one with God, nature and myself.

In summary, my one resolution for this year will be to turn my world upside down and say what a ride it was.

Christmas in the Heart of Dixie.....

Christmas was a very busy holiday for us. It was also a very difficult holiday. This was the first Christmas after having lost Roy. I'm not going to go into that. Instead, I'm just going to talk about how we spent our Christmas in Dixie....

We kicked off the Christmas season with our annual trip to pick out and buy our Christmas tree. The girls and Holly were excited about that. After getting the tree home, we spent the weekend decorating it. Yes, I said weekend! Y'all know me and my OCD tendancies, especially at Christmas. I had to make sure that all 2000 lights were placed perfectly on this 7 ft. Frasier Fir. Of course, I, then, had to strategically place all of my "special ornaments." All the while, the girls anxiously awaited to hang the rest of the ornaments with Jason saying, "Be patient. You know your mother." lol. I finally finished and turned the ornaments over to the girls. The tree was completed with Jason placing the angel on top as he does every year. It was once again, our perfect Christmas tree. We loved it. We turned off all of the lights and turned the tree on for the first time this season. It light the room with a warm glow.

Logan, Cici and Maddie came into town from San Antonio, TX to spend the holiday with us. We met them and Adam over at Nana's to celebrate Christmas. Nana fixed our traditional lasagna and CHEESECAKE! Christmas would not be Christmas without Nana's cheesecake! Maddie loved the lasagna. She wore it well. Abbey and Morgan loved carrying her around and playing with her. She is walking and talking now. She is just way tooo cute! Of course, with the boys, you never know what is going to happen when they get together. It's always very entertaining to say the least. This time was no exception. As they do every year, they sent Josh a picture message showing him what he was missing out on with Nana's cheese cake. And ended with me trying to take pictures of the 3 of them and Jason receiving a cup check. Only those 3.

The Garrison Family Christmas was held at Aunt Nancy's club house this year. Marshall was able to bring Thelma for a short time. It was a nice trip out for her. She enjoyed being there and we were all thrilled that she was able to join us even for a little while. However, she tires easily, and wasn't able to stay very long. When Marshall left with her to go back to Autumn Care, a sadness fell over the room. Her presence was missed by everyone the rest of the night. We all still enjoyed it and each other. We were very thankful that she was able to attend for the short time that she did, and wished she could have stayed longer.

Jason and I can never make it through a Christmas holiday without a marathon wrapping session. This year was no exception. Once again, we sat in the floor wrapping, wrapping and wrapping some more. A few hours later, we put away all of the gift wrapping stuff. After the mess was cleaned up, with the tree lights glowing and Christmas music playing, we had our annual Christmas by the tree dance.

Christmas Eve day was a busy day. Lots of cooking and prep work to do before going to Mom's. Once that is done, the girls and I bake and decorate Santa cookies. We also have an annual tradition that is very dear to our hearts. It's always the first thing the girls ask about when Christmas comes around. We bake a Happy Birthday cake for Jesus.

Then, we were off to Mom's to celebrate Christmas with her and Mike. We had more food than we new what to do with. Mom says every holiday that she isn't doing that much next time because it doesn't all get ate. And, with each new holiday, she cooks even more than the last time. lol. She doesn't get any complaints as we all LOVE her cooking. Plus, we have enough leftovers to do us through to New Year's. We opened presents and sat around talking. Mom came up with a new game for us to play. We all had a big laugh at that one.

After arriving home, we tucked the girls into their beds with visions of sugar plumbs dancing in their heads. Jason and I, hosted Santa once again. We helped him place the presents under the tree and offered him milk and cookies.

Oh Christmas Morning!!! The girls woke us up at 3:00 am with much excitement. We tried to persuade them into going back to bed and sleeping another hour or 2. It didn't happen. So, we hopped out of bed and followed them to the tree where we opened presents. The girls were so excited and happy with all of their gifts. Thankfully, they let us take a nap. It was much needed. Once we got up for the 2nd time, we cooked breakfast and had our traditional birthday cake for dessert.

Later we went to Felicia's mom's for lunch. Once again, we ate too much. It was all very YUMMY and worth it though. We laughed and had a great time there too. After leaving there, we went to the nursing home to spend Christmas with Marshall, Jennie, and Thelma. Thelma was so happy to have all of us with her there on Christmas. I actually think her face was lit brighter than the Christmas tree. That, for me, was the best Christmas gift this year.

The next day, we went to my Dad's and celebrated Christmas with him and Sarah. Of course with Dad, nothing is ever boring. He is always the life of the party. This year was no different. So, naturally, we had a good time. I love having a father that brings so much humor to life! That's always a gift.

If you are tired after reading this blog, then you can imagine how tired we were after all of the celebrations. It was a good Christmas. And a very peaceful one. Now it's time to celebrate the New Year. I'll post those updates in the next blog. I'll also update this one with pictures in a day or too. I hope everyone had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!