Finally... a Moment to Update!!!

After only 5 months of schooling here in the States, Beautiful E passed her first grade English exams! At the end of each school year we have our children tested by an independent testing organization. This year E was able to participate and to our great joy she passed with flying colors. She basically started homeschooling in January of 2008. She passed her total battery of tests in the 79Th percentile. She is now officially in second grade English and will continue in her 4-5 grade math. We finished up the school year with bugs, snakes and lizards! The " House of Reptiles" brought their show right into our living room. We invited about 20 other home school kids to come join us for our end-of -the-year fun! It was a creepy good time!
Last week was day camp for 5 of the 9 kids. The three little girls were first-time campers and experienced all kinds of new things : canoeing, hiking, archery, the"big swing", and lots and lots of fun camp songs. Our 14 and 15 year-olds were counselors. They had a lot of fun helping with all the little ones and they were able to get tons of hours of community service. A great time for everyone.
Three of the girls were also in the ballet Alice in Wonderland. The two little 6 year old girls were ladybugs that danced around the rose bushes and A was the Caterpillar. She has been dancing for about twelve years now and she was fantastic! I never thought I would say I was proud that my child smoked(a hookah), but of course after watching her I can so that...I am. She was so funny and flexible as she danced I was truly amazed!
While the kids were at camp I was able to organize my books and buy all the curriculum for next school year. This is a huge blessing since last year I did not have my curriculum until right before the school year began. Last summer I was very involved with the adoption and the fund raiser. I am relieved I will be starting in the Fall on top of my game!
Our oldest son finished his high school education a year early at the local community college. He made honor society and held a 24 hour/wk job. Sometimes I can't believe all that he can accomplish at 17, but then he has always been focused and goal oriented. He was also just promoted to frozen food manager at the store he works at.
As for our two oldest daughters...our 21 year old is busy with work at Cold Water Creek Spa. It is fabulous having a daughter that is a professional when it comes to pedicures! I love them and she is so gracious to comply when I am tired. ( I try not to take advantage). Our oldest daughter just finished her college education. I was able to view her thesis defense. WOW!!! is all I can say. She wrote on the Filioque Clause of the Apostles' Creed. By the way, it was this clause that was the main root of the Schism between the East and West churches. The topic was difficult and controversial to say the least and I was blown away at her ability to maneuver through all the difficult and challenging questions her board threw at her. She handled her subject like a pro and was unflinching as she calmly addressed their challenges. She passed without a problem. I was so thankful that I was able to be there and witness just how far she has grown since her homeschooling days. She is a beautiful, intelligent woman who will make a great contribution to this lost world. We are excited for her as right now she is on a three week tour of Europe. She was able to go with a good friend and the girls are having a blast. Holland, France and Germany are on the lists of stops. She called today and said she toured the Louvre museum for 11 hours. What a wonderful way to finish her education!
We are looking forward to a restful summer vacation. I am hoping I will be able to update more often now that things are slowing down...or are they???? We will see. I will try to post some pics soon...