Homeschool Co-op, the Best of Both Worlds

Several of you have asked about B's school situation. When deciding where to send him, we looked at the basic 3 options- public, private or homeschool. With SuperDaddy's crazy work schedule, we needed more flexibility than public school offers. Private school tuition for 2 children (B now, SJ in a couple of years- planning ahead as usual) was technically financially possible, but would have left our finances tight. With my son's wild, sensitive, creative nature, we did need some structure. Our good friends had sent their son to a Homeschool Co-op and it looked promising.
The Co-op we chose is a good match for our family, and it has worked beautifully. What it means is he goes to school 3 days a week and we teach at home 2 days a week. The school days are only 4 hours in the morning, still leaving afternoons free. The teacher sends the lesson plans home, so I just follow along when I teach-easy as pie! The school is a Co-operative, and that means that parents are required to work at the school 5 hrs per month. The school has been around for a while and is very well organized and structured, which I appreciate. The communication between school, teacher and parents is terrific. And the cost is 1/5 of what the private school we were considering costs.
For our family, it means that we can spend more time together. The kids can lounge around with Daddy on homeschool days. We can take off as a family after school and still have the whole afternoon. We can (haven't yet, but would love to!) take off for a long weekend and just do school whereever we are. Every weekend is a long weekend! The kids also still get to spend plenty of time with their grandparents, a huge bonus.
Another question often asked, "What do you do with SJ while you're teaching B?" Well, I bought her a few coloring books, workbooks, and jumbo crayons at Goodwill. I also downloaded and printed some favorite pages for her. I keep her workbooks and crayons with our other homeschool supplies, and only bring them out when it's time for school. She sits and colors and does worksheets happily the whole time. I don't make her sit there, but so far she's wanted to. I've noticed she's doing some actual learning too!
So for us, the Homeschool Co-operative is the best choice for our family. I don't begrudge anyone else's choices for their children, it just works for us. I'm thankful we each have the choice to make a good decision for our children.
And I'm happy to answer any other questions about the school, I'm just not getting very specific here in a public forum.

Opians Running

SJ and Mommy have been watching the Olympics and had fun cheering the Ethiopian track team on. While in the shower tonight, SJ set up her guys. "Mommy, look. Opians running!" Opians means Ethiopians, if you haven't already figured that out.
By the way, SJ has been home 4 months. She's fluent in English, loves to play jokes on her brother and has grown 4 inches since January! This girl is living up to her name, praise the Lord.

Off to meet Eyerusalem!

I'm gonna sneak out after the kids are in bed to meet Eyeruasalem and welcome the Mizes home. I hope to see some of you there!
EDIT: We did not do a big airport welcome, we were pretty sure SJ would not fare well. We were right and she barely tolerated the 4 grandparents we invited to the airport. I was touched at how well adoptive parents already know their kids so well. BECAUSE, the Mizes wanted a BIG welcome and they got it! There were probably 40 people there and OE hugged and kissed EVERYONE. I was stunned at how comfortable she already was and that she knew this was her party! She gave me a big squeezy hug and made me cry, this precious one. I showed her a picture of SJ and she seemed to understand that I also had an Ethiopian princess. OE opened lots of presents, played with her new brothers (who already tried to put hairbows on her!), and ran up and down the terminal. I was so honored to join the celebration and look forward to many years of watching OE grow. And yeah, it is among the funnest events in life, big ridiculous airport welcomes. Thank you Mizes for including us, and for letting me post her pic!

So I'm not Crazy!

About a month ago, at the beginning of our machine/vehicle/appliance breakdown period, my keys mysteriously disappeared too. It's been a rough month, $8K toward repairs/replacements, managing repairmen and scheduling, and doing without AC for a week in August.
When the keys disappeared, I thought I'd lost my mind. I'm generally pretty good at putting my purse in the armoire, plugging in my phone, and keeping track of my stuff. I had arrived home one day, and when I next was ready to leave, my keys were nowhere to be found. I hadn't used my keys in between and was so confused.
This morning, my SIL called and said she had found my keys in their diaper bag! I figure SJ (who I can't keep out of my stuff) must have moved my keys from my purse to the bottom of the diaper bag while SIL was visiting. The keys literally walked out of my house, no wonder I thought I'd finally lost it!

The Mizes have left for Ethiopia!

N and K Mize left today for Ethiopia to pick up their 4 yr old daughter. (They also have 3 boys at home!) They were in limbo with USCIS regarding immigration visas for their girl, but the situation was resolved today. We'll be counting the days til they return and we get to make a crazy fun scene at the airport! Airport homecomings are sooooo fun, hee hee, can't wait.

Off to School!

B started school this week, he is officially a Kindergardener! He was not very excited about school, but hopped out of the car happily when I dropped him off.

Earlier this week, the kids were playing "Restaurant". They dug out some paper plates, forks and cheese crackers. The table is made of couch cushions with a blanket "tablecloth" and was set up in the play room. Creative little ones, aren't they?

GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS!

Heavy on my heart this last week have been some sweet friends, Julie's mom Margot, the Mizes, the Easts and their church family, and my friend, C.
Each family's prayers have been answered. Margot's cancer was contained, no spreading! The Mizes have word they will travel soon to pick up their daughter! TVUUC rededicated their sanctuary and the congregation said this tragedy has drawn them closer together. My friend C got "normal" results on a test relating to her pregnancy.
All in all, my heart is singing with thankfulness. My God reigns!
http://beeleradoption.blogspot.com/
http://www.princessadoption.blogspot.com/
http://eastiesandcompany.blogspot.com/
http://ramblesrantsandraves.blogspot.com/
EDIT! The Mizes leave on 8/15! They are going to pick up 4 year old Eyerusalem. We are thrilled for them!