Yes, I'm going to try home schooling

Wow, it's been six months since I've written a post. Time flies when you're having fun! I'm not interested in writing a long recap of the last six months, but I will say it's been memorable. Baby David is now 23 pounds, and in the 99 percentile for height and weight. He is happy, healthy and doing great. We took the girls to Disneyland for the first time in August along with David and our Japanese homestay guest, Mai. Adam and I both received new assignments at church that are keeping us busy. We love our congregation, so we're looking forward to serving.

And the big news; I decided to homeschool. This is something I've been thinking about and researching for a long time. I've considered it before, but at this point it finally feels right. Adam and I discussed the endeavor at length and then came to a consensus that we would give  "the experiment" a year. We'll evaluate the viability of our plans next June.

So why am I doing this? I don't have a problem with the schools in Kent per se. I wasn't upset with their school teachers. I don't plan on teaching them about Jesus all day long. I actually enjoyed having free time to myself while they were at school, so have I lost my mind? This is what some of my friends have questioned me about. :) And I don't blame anyone for thinking I'm crazy.

It all started getting real on the last day of school. Teryn came home from Kindergarten with a stack of papers to work on over the summer that represented her curriculum for first grade. Reading, math, sight words. I decided I wanted to find out what she could do with these assignments and sat her right down to test her. Out of 86 sight words she could read 79. She finished three pages of math within 5 minutes and didn't make a single mistake. I asked her to read a few pages from the readings, no problem again, no mistakes. That's when I realized she was capable of progressing in a timeframe different than what the public schools would expect of her.

I'm practical. I'm not going to expect the system to change for my child. She's not "gifted" or "highly capable" from the school district's perspective. So I decided that if I wanted Teryn to do more than just review the stuff she already knew I was going to have to teach her myself. I recognize that not everyone can do this, for a variety of reasons. I can, and I'm going to try. I may fail. But for this year my children are going to learn in our home from me. We'll see what happens and I will happily share what I find on this blog.

I have one week of experience. Just one. So far I feel pretty great about how things are going. We are reading, writing, adding, subtracting, studying French, cooking, cleaning, harvesting our garden, sculpting with play dough, learning to play the piano, and having great discussions throughout the day. My kids are delightful to me. They seem genuinely interested in everything I've tried to teach them so far. My days seem to have a fluid, natural flow. We rest, we eat, we talk, we learn from books and CD's and DVD's. So far, it's really actually, unbelievably working.

The kids are happy. On our second day of class their aunt and uncle came to town from Idaho and they got to go fishing in the middle of the perfectly sunny Seattle afternoon. It was lovely.

I am happy. I feel a sense of satisfaction I hadn't anticipated. I expected this to feel more like torture, but I'm finding it feels totally pleasant.

I'll keep you posted, but, so far, so good. Tres bien, tres tres bien.

David Hollister Shumway

My son, David was born on December 27, 2013. It's been two months since he was born and those have simultaneously been the shortest and longest two months of my life. This time around I have opted to stay home and focus on raising my baby rather than working and employing a nanny to fill in at home. The first few weeks I barely slept and felt like a zombie some days, but that resolved itself quickly as David began to sleep better and eat more. At this point, I'm only getting up with him for a feeding at 3 AM most nights. He is a great little sleeper, and he loves to cuddle. I love devoting my time to him. I don't take anything he does for granted. I pay attention to everything and find that I've never enjoyed my life as much as I do right now. The phase he's in now is characterized by cuddles, kisses and cooing. What's not to love? These are a few photos from the day we came home from the hospital.

When I got home from the hospital my daughter was playing around with my camera and lost it. It wasn't until tonight that I found it. I get the feeling I'll be updating my blog much more regularly now that I have use of my camera again. 

My Uncle Stephan recently came to town and I took this photo of him holding David.  

I'm sure there will be many more posts about motherhood, babies and raising a boy. Tonight, I'm going to get some sleep while I can.

Family Portraits

Every year during the Fall we try and take family portraits. These priceless photographs not only document our family journey, but they also come in handy when I'm putting together Christmas cards. This year a good friend of mine with a photography business took them for us. I was nervous about taking them while seven months pregnant, but they turned out to be my favorites. I look forward to future years which will include David, but in the Fall of 2013 it was just us four.

23 Weeks

On September 14, 2003 I gave birth to my first child; a daughter named Jenessa Michelle Shumway. She weighed one pound, two ounces. I was 23 weeks along. The doctors at Utah Valley Medical Center explained to us that babies are not considered viable outside the womb until 26 weeks. I have seen some miracle babies that have survived, but Jenessa only lived and breathed for one hour and then her tiny lungs gave out and she passed away.

Today, exactly ten years later, I am 23 weeks pregnant with Jenessa's little brother, David. I can't help but reflect on such a strange coincidence.

Almost nothing about my pregnancy with David has been the same as with Jenessa: I live in a different state, I'm not juggling a pregnancy, a job and school at the same time, I feel super healthy as opposed to super sick, I am surrounded by family and I feel prepared for what pregnancy/labor/motherhood is all about. I am a new woman with a whole new outlook than when I was 23 years old.

I forgive myself for what I didn't know and couldn't understand at 23.

I believe everything that happens in our life happens in a divine right order. There are lessons we as individuals need to learn and they can be learned in no other way. I believe a kind and loving Father in Heaven sends us what we need exactly when we need it.

Baby David is doing great. Because I have "high-risk pregnancies" I have an ultrasound every two weeks. Every two weeks my doctors tell me some variation of the same thing, "Everything looks great, see you in two weeks."  I'm grateful for their expert attention, which brings me peace and comfort, especially during this twenty-third week. Perhaps there is a little guardian angel watching over me and David as well.

Prayers

Tonight during bedtime prayers Mia said, "Please help Mom not to be sick tomorrow, and next month and always." It made me laugh out loud. Poor kid, she really has no concept that my sickness is 100% pregnancy induced. This week has been one for the record books though.

I spent Sunday night in the ER with contractions, which were stopped and we were sent home when it was determined that all was well.

Tuesday I had my cerclage surgery, which required about 24 hours of recovery.

I have on-going nausea and vomiting.

No wonder Mia is over Mommy being sick.

I'm 14 weeks pregnant and feeling optimistic about the next 22 weeks. I think the worst is behind us.

It feels good to be having this baby here in Seattle. My family and in-laws have gone above and beyond to help me during all the sickness and surgeries. My friends have been helping with the girls. The weather hasn't been blistering hot. Adam has been such a blessing because he has been willing and available whenever I needed him.  I have experienced so much support during this pregnancy. It feels like all our prayers are being answered and I'm so grateful.

SMASH

I've been hooked on the NBC show SMASH since it first aired in 2012. I'm a huge Katherine Mcphee fan, but my devotion to the show goes deeper than that. I love the way the dramatic and emotional songs from the show parallel  my own internal struggles.

The most recent episode featured a song called, "Heart-Shaped Wreckage." I love this song. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I still believe in love that lasts forever. There is not a love in this world that doesn't produce some wreckage...that goes for any relationship.

Ruth Bell Graham is credited with saying, "A good marriage is a union of two good forgivers."

May we all be good forgivers sooner than later.

Adventures in Raw Food with Reiko

Our second client from Japan arrived 2 days ago. Among other things, Reiko Ueda is interested in sampling American-style raw food. I am no expert in raw food, but I am an expert in trying new things and doing research. Over the next month while Reiko is staying with us I intend to incorporate one complete raw food meal each day, some days we will have two and occasionally three. So far eating raw is much easier than I anticipated. I love fresh fruits and vegetables, so what is there to be intimidated about? Like everything else in life, raw food diets can be as easy or as complicated as you want them to be.

Today we made a green smoothie for lunch that turned out to be delicious. Here is the recipe if you feel like putting your blender to good use. I'll keep you posted if we discover any other winning recipes.


Kale and Pear Smoothie with Herbs
Serves 2

2 cups kale

1 1/2 cups water

2 ripe pears, cored
1/4 cup herbs (parsley and cilantro both work great)
1 frozen banana (remove the peel, cut into 1-inch slices, and freeze in a plastic bag overnight)
1 cup ice
1 Tablespoon flax seeds (optional)
Protein powder (optional)
1/4 avocado (optional)

Blend water, greens, and herbs for 15 seconds - 1 minute (depending on your blender) on high. Then add the pear, banana, ice, flax seeds (if using), protein powder (if using), and avocado (if using) and blend for an additional 30 seconds - 1 minute.