Moving Forward --- new doors, new paths

This week’s quote for our Destination Disney meme is one of my favorites from Walt Disney ===>

To me, this quote can be applied to so many areas in life, but I’m going to apply it to mine in the 2 areas that I seem to be the most focused right now --- my kids and homeschooling, and my job. . .

Ever since Gracie was a tiny little thing, I dreamed of her one day playing the violin.  Any time I would mention it, though, she would say she wasn’t interested.  She wanted to take piano lessons instead – so, she did.  Then, one day, out of the clear blue (and after I had long given up on having a violinist in my family), she came to me and said “You know, I think I would like to try the violin now.”

Why?  Because she had a good musical foundation by that time, and she was struck with curiosity . . . what might the violin be like? 

We were fortunate enough to get her in with an excellent violin teacher, and she’s been doing great with both violin and piano!  Her curiosity definitely led her down new paths, as she’s playing with the Central PA Homeschool Orchestra for the second year now!

As for me, I talked a bit about my new work adventures in last week’s post.

When we’re curious, it gives us new ideas.  New ideas lead us down new paths and through new doors. 

True, those doors don’t always open to success.  But, many times, they do.  We just need to do as Walt suggests in the quote and KEEP MOVING FORWARD.  No looking back at the things that maybe didn’t work out quite as planned.  Those things are all part of the process that led you to TODAY!  So, it’s all good! 

What are your thoughts on this week’s quote?  Share them on your blog and come back to this post to link up.

Costumes Fit for Pirates!

Several weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to review a Snow White costume from HalloweenCostumes.com.  At first, I was going to decline, but then I thought of our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World, and all the little girls you see waltzing around the parks in their princess attire.  I’ve never even considered having my kids dress up in the parks, and I knew there was no way I could get Gracie in a Snow White costume – she’s just not the flowery, princess type.

But, then it struck me --- my kids are quite taken with Pirates!  I inquired about the possibility of reviewing some pirate costumes instead, and was thrilled to receive both the Kids’ Elizabeth Swann Pirate Costume and the Kids’ Jack Sparrow Costume.  Gracie and Ian were both excited and couldn’t wait to wear their costumes to Walt Disney World!

Upon arrival, I realized that these costumes are the exact ones that you could buy at Wal-mart, Target, or wherever you generally shop for Halloween costumes.  When I pulled them out of the package, they were pretty wrinkled.  I wanted them to look nice for a day at Disney, so I ironed them. As I was doing so, I thought “gee, I bet the real pirates didn’t iron their clothes!” so, in hindsight, maybe I should have left them wrinkled.  I don’t know!

 The Elizabeth Swann costume comes with the peasant-style top with attached vest and shoulder sash, brown cropped pants, pirate hat, and boot tops.  Because my Gracie is so skinny, the  boot tops wouldn’t stay up on her legs.  We figured that, in the Florida heat, she probably wouldn’t want them anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal.  However, we realized, upon arrival in Florida, that I had forgotten to pack the hat.  In all honesty, I wasn’t very impressed with the hat that came with the costume anyway – it was very misshapen and was difficult to work with to get it to look just right.  So, on our first day at the Magic Kingdom, we made a quick stop in the store beside Pirates of the Caribbean to pick up a hat for Gracie.

  The Jack Sparrow costume includes the vest with shirt front and sleeves, bandana w/attached beaded braids, and brown cropped pants. The hat and boot tops sold separately.  Ian was not entirely thrilled with the bandana and braids (he said they made his face itchy!), so we bought him a hat too.  Some of the time he wore it along with the bandana, other times we removed the bandana and he just wore the hat.  We had ordered Ian the child’s size small costume (for ages 4-6).  The pants that came with it were way too large around the waist, so we had to take them in a good bit so that they would stay up on him; and he’s not particularly thin (very average, I’d say).

The kids had a blast walking around the Walt Disney World Resort in these  costumes.  We had several people comment on the “adorable pirates”, which made them smile!  Again, this was our first experience dressing up at Disney – but we had so much fun that I’d definitely consider doing it again. 

Here are some more pictures of my pirates:

 

All in all, I’d say we had a great experience with HalloweenCostumes.com.  They package arrived very quickly and we all had fun with the costumes.  Even though we aren’t big Halloween people around here, I know they’ll want to pull them out again later this year and do some trick-or-treating in them. 

In addition to the two costumes mentioned above, HalloweenCostumes.com offers a full line of Pirate costumes for the entire family!  Be sure to check them out – you may want to order a few for your next Disney vacation!

NOTE: I received the costumes mentioned above at no charge, in exchange for my posting about them on my blog.  All opinions expressed herein are entirely my own. 

Up on the Housetop

Gracie’s violin ensemble group performed last night for a Tree Fest.  I tried taping a few of the songs, but most of them had too much background noise (people were walking around looking at the trees while they performed).  This one came through the best, so I thought I’d share:

Gratitude Challenge – November 14

Today is one of those days when we’re on the run. . .
Gracie rehearsed for the Central Pennsylvania Homeschool Orchestra, and got a spot as First Violin. I wanted her to try out for the experience of the audition – actually getting a spot was a huge surprise.  And First?!  Quite an honor for an 11-year-old who’s only been taking lessons for 2 years. 

Anyway, today I’m very thankful for the wonderful people in Gracie’s life who teach and encourage her to develop her musical talents.  Last year, I expressed my gratitude for her piano and violin teachers. These ladies are both the perfect match for Gracie – they are excellent teachers with a serious side. They aren’t afraid to challenge her, and they both know that she will rise to the challenge. They have both taught her so much over the years.  I love hearing her sit down at the piano or go upstairs and pick up her violin – the music in our home has certainly come a long way over the years – and it’s a beautiful thing!

Now, in addition to these 2 special ladies, we’ve added her orchestra conductor, who has been another great source of training and encouragement to Gracie. Having been a part of a violin ensemble in the past, and learning to play duets both in piano and violin, have trained her to be able to play along with others (who are playing different parts).  The orchestra experience is brand new, but she’s been comfortable with it. Again, the conductor is no-nonsense – he makes his expectations known, and he expects the kids to rise to the challenges that he presents them with.  I’m anxious for their performances in the spring.

Ever since we brought Gracie home from Vietnam, I knew that God had a special purpose for her life – a purpose that could only be fulfilled here in the USA, with a chance.  I don’t know, but it could very well be that her purpose is her music. It will be interesting to see where she goes with it. 

So Many Milestones

Over the past few months, it seems like we’ve had our fair share of “milestone moments” here in our family.  Man, if I stop to really think about all this, it makes me want to sit and cry! 

Not only did my “baby” start school this year (thank goodness we homeschool because I could NOT bear to send this precious little guy off to school!), but he also played soccer for the first time.  He lost his first two teeth.  Among other things, he’s enjoying learning to read.  In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate the 6th anniversary of Ian’s Adoption Day.  Wow – where does the time go?

Speaking of time . . .

This past Sunday was the 11th anniversary of Gracie’s Adoption Day!  I remember laying eyes on her for the very first time – she was SO tiny!  Now, here we are, 11 years later, and she’s becoming a young lady.  Not only is she growing and changing, but she’s doing seventh grade work (successfully) and, in addition to taking both piano and violin lessons, she also secured a spot playing first violin in the Central PA Homeschool Orchestra.  I don’t mean to be one of those bragging parents, but I am proud of her! Just a few years ago, she was so shy that we couldn’t get her to talk to people (even people she knew!)

And as for Ashley, well I almost can’t believe all the milestones we’re experiencing with this girl!  I’m trying to adjust to the fact that she’s a senior and preparing to graduate.  She’s such a great young adult – I really enjoy spending time with her and she’s so helpful around the house!  She’s been doing a lot of traveling on her own these days.  And last week, we got her senior pictures taken (hard to believe).  Yesterday, she got her drivers license (man, that was a long time coming and a testimony to our very busy lives!)  In just a few short weeks, we’ll be celebrating her 18th birthday.  The only thing she asked for was that she and I could go and spend a night in Lancaster at a certain hotel, eat a nice supper somewhere, and shop the outlets – so that’s the plan!

Treasure every moment with your kids!
Trust me, they grow up WAY too fast!

That’s my advice to my youngest brother and his wife.  They just recently experienced a major milestone in their lives as well --- they returned home from Korea with their first child, and they’re now a family of 3!  Adoption has kinda come full-circle in our family now; and I’m so proud!

Field Trip Saturday

As was previously posted on my blog, we didn’t get to go away for the weekend as originally planned.  Staying home, though, did have its positive elements, as we had some local excitement here yesterday morning (and without it I wouldn’t have been inspired to write this poem).  Anyway, since we stayed home in PA for the weekend, we decided to make the most of it and go on a road trip yesterday.  It was actually my parents’ idea; so we all loaded up in the  van and set out . . .

Our first stop was in the quaint town of Wellsboro, PA. We stopped at a grocery store for some picnic food.  I wish I would have had all day just to spend browsing the shops in this neat town.  We’ll have to go back sometime.  I was impressed with their streetlights – they’re gas!

And they were all decorated so nicely for fall.

From there, we went to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.  I’ve lived in PA all my life, and I honestly don’t believe I’ve ever seen it.  My parents find that extremely hard to believe, but I usually have a pretty good memory about our trips (think: Disney!)  Anyway, talk about breathtaking!

After the Grand Canyon, my parents wanted to take us to Elk County.  On the way, we stopped to see the Austin Dam.

  

Our next stop was Benezette, PA to see the Elk.  Apparently, many years ago, elk were brought into the area. They’ve since multiplied and they are EVERYWHERE – literally right in peoples’ yards, etc.  Apparently, though, we picked the day to visit that EVERYONE ELSE in a 5-state area chose as well.  The town was PACKED with people.  It was getting dark, so my pictures didn’t turn out too great; but at least you can see that we saw some elk.

 

Here are my favorite pictures (my “treasures”) from our day away:

Our Homeschool Goals for 2011-12

The Homeschool Crew is back in full swing, so it’s time to resume our Blog Cruise.  The Blog Cruise is a bi-weekly meme, where members of the Crew share their answers to homeschool questions, thoughts on homeschool-related topics, or personal experiences with homeschooling.

We’re got a great line-up of topics for this year. I’m looking forward to participating.  You’ll be able to see the full list of links for the Blog Cruise on the Crew’s blog.

This week’s question is:

What are your homeschool-related goals for the year?

This year, my oldest daughter, Ashley, is a senior!  I’m not sure where the time and years have gone, but our main goal for the year is getting her through to graduation!  Actually, we probably could have graduated her (credit-wise) last year; but there was still so much that she wanted to learn.  So, we picked more curriculum and here we are.  That’s one of the neat things about homeschooling.  In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if she doesn’t do a class or two yet next year (college isn’t in her plans at the moment).

Gracie is in 7th grade this year.  Again, I’m not sure how that happened (except that, in our defense, she did start kindergarten right after her 4th birthday).  One of our goals where her school year is concerned is to become more active with our science studies – in the past, we’ve definitely learned science (reading books, studying nature and birds, etc.) – but this year I want to get more serious with the textbook!

She has added orchestra to her already busy music  schedule of piano and violin lessons; and she got first violin (which is quite an accomplishment for a 2nd year violin student, but will require quite a bit of practice too!) In any case, music is definitely an area where she excels.  I’ve been reading Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson – and a personal goal of mine is to learn not to be so uptight with my schedule.  Some things are more important than the texbooks, and I need to learn to relax.

Speaking of learning to relax . . . Ian is doing kindergarten this year!  He’s SO different from my girls.  While I thought I had exactly what we needed to do school with him this year, I quickly learned that sitting him at the table or a desk with some workbooks doesn’t really work. In so many other ways, he’s taught me to be a different kind of mom; and schooling is apparently no different.  I’m definitely learning to lighten up a bit; and I’m learning to teach him through games and hands-on sources.  He’s such an absorbent sponge – it’s so fun watching him soaking up things!

A personal goal for me is to start getting up earlier (I’ve been having some sleep issues since my friend Sue passed away, and I really want to overcome  them!) and get a few hours of work done before the kids get up so that I can focus more clearly on school (without being distracted  by e-mails, etc.)  Setting work hours and actually sticking with them is a goal I have every year and have not been successful at accomplishing!  I’m determined though!

What are your  goals for this school year (or year in general)?  I’d love to hear them.  Please share by leaving me a comment.

Magical Blogorail - KIDS Share!

Last month, in a special Magical Blogorail loop, our teens had opportunity to share their  favorite attraction(s) at Walt Disney World.  You can find Ashley’s post here.  This month, some of our younger kids are sharing as well.  So, I’m turning my blog over to Gracie today . . .

Welcome to those of you joining me from The DisneyFAITHful and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the 3rd stop on our Magical Blogorail.

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I think it’s kinda hard to pick JUST ONE favorite attraction at Walt Disney World, so I’m going to follow my sister’s lead and pick one from each park. Mom said that “attractions” means rides OR shows – I’m picking all rides . . .

Magic Kingdom – The Haunted Mansion

I’m choosing the Haunted Mansion as my favorite because the other attractions/rides at Magic Kingdom get a little old to me.  I’ve only been on the Haunted Mansion once, and I like all the special effects.  I like searching for Hidden Mickeys and I know there are a lot of them in the Haunted Mansion; so I need to search for  them!  I also really like the waiting line – there are lots of cool things that you can see and do while you wait, which makes the time spent in line go faster.

Epcot – Soarin’

I like Soarin’, also, because it has a lot of Hidden Mickeys that I want to search for. I like feeling like I am up so high in the sky.  The breeze and the smells – just the whole feeling of this ride is really neat.

Hollywood Studios – Rock ‘n Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

I don’t really know why this is my favorite.  Usually I don’t like roller coasters, but I really like this one.  When I was 8, I decided to try both this ride and the Tower of Terror.  I hated the Tower of Terror, but I liked the Rock ‘n Roller Coaster so much that we got right back in line and rode it twice. 

Animal Kingdom – Kilamanjaro Safaris

It seems like it has been awhile since we have had much time to spend in this park.  The last two trips that we made to Walt Disney World we only had a few days at the parks and we only spent an hour there last time.  We went there just to ride Kilamanjaro Safaris, so I’m picking that as my favorite.  I like being able to see all the animals “in the wild”.  Also, the Flamingo Island is just one big Hidden Mickey.  Mom says for our next trip, this winter, we will have a full day to spend at Animal Kingdom, so I might change my mind!

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Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is My Dreams of Disney.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

1st Stop ~ Magical Mouse Schoolhouse
2nd Stop ~The Disney FAITHful
3rd Stop ~ Ramblings, Reviews & Reflections
(YOU ARE HERE!)
4th Stop ~ My Dreams of Disney
Final Stop ~ Return to Disney

Garage Sale Treasures -Week 17

Last evening, at Ian’s soccer scrimmage, I ran into a friend who tipped me off to a yard sale where I might be able to get some clothes for Gracie.  Gracie’s my hard-to-buy for child because she’s tall and (very) thin!  I totally forgot about the sale until after lunch – but we still decided to go check it out and see if there was anything left.  We started at the first table, that had mostly Juniors 00 size jeans on it (Aero brand).  Gracie has 2 pairs of jeans in that size (we had to buy the “ultra skinny”) but my mom had to put elastic at the sides because they were too big around the waist.  Ashley did find a nice pair of tan dress pants on that table though, and we also grabbed a pair of pajama pants, a pair of shorts, and 3 polo shirts.

Then, we moved on to the girls’ table and found some 14 slims (with draw-up waists – she needs those!) and another pair of shorts that we couldn’t pass up. We got all this for $21 (right before a big storm kicked up, so we headed straight home – no more sales today):

2 pairs of shorts – 00 Aero and 12slim Limited Too
(as you can see, the pair on the right is brand new)

3 polo shirts (short-sleeved) – XS – 2 from Aero, 1 from American Eagle
(the shirt on the let is brand new)

1 pair of dress pants – 00 Hollister &
1 pair of pajama pants – Abercrombie

3 pairs of 14slim jeans – Mudd, Levis (brand new), and Old Navy

I think we made out pretty well for only hitting up one sale today.  Gracie should have plenty of jeans for winter (especially adding these to the 2 pairs she already had from spring, and another pair I picked up at a yard sale earlier this year).

Did you find any treasures this week?  If so, be sure to share.  (You can click on the button at the top of this post to see more Garage Sale Treasures.)

Disney Wordless Wednesday - 6/29/11

  Gracie – caught in a rare moment of silliness!

Gracie’s 7th grade year . . .

OK, how is it possible that my baby girl is in 7th grade already?!  Granted, we did start her in Kindergarten almost immediately after her 4th birthday (she’s my intellectual child and she wanted to learn to read TODAY!)  But still . . . the time passes much too quickly.

There are some areas where I feel she’s not quite ready for full-blown 7th grade work (as you’ll see in the schedule below – i.e. science); but otherwise, we’re plowing along and it looks like she’s got quite a busy schedule this year:

Bible ~ Wise Up: Wisdom in Proverbs from Positive Action for Christ  (we had received the 4th grade curriculum to review last year, so this will be a bit different)

Math ~ Basic Mathematics from Abeka  (Gracie’s my math lover and has always excelled in math; therefore, she loves the busy-work of Abeka math.  We stick with what works.)

Language Arts ~

• Growing with Grammar – obviously, for grammar!
• Student Writing Intensive (B) from Institute for Excellence in Writing – again, obviously, for writing.  We used some of Level A last year and Gracie really improved her writing.  So, we’re anxious to really dig deeper this year!  (I also have the Teaching Writing: Structure & Style dvd’s that I’ll watch again – love these!)
• Phonetic Zoo (B) from Institute for Excellence in Writing – for spelling
• Books of her choice for reading (which will probably include the Narnia books, among other things)

Science ~ Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy & Physiology from Apologia – we also bought the Notebooking Journal to go along with this.  I wasn’t 100% convinced that we were ready to move onto General Science this year; so we chose this since Ashley is doing Anatomy this year as well. 

History ~ The Mystery of History, volume 1 (round 2) from Bright Ideas Press

Geography ~ we’ll use Wonder Maps from Bright Ideas Press with our history study.  We also have Visualize World Geography from Tender Heart Press coming to review.

Foreign Language ~ Vietnamese (Level 1) from Rosetta Stone

Art, Music, Etc. ~ Gracie will continue with both piano and violin lessons (once/week) and will be adding orchestra rehearsals in as well (approximately twice/month).  We also plan to work through A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers from Bright Ideas Press.

miscellany monday ~ 6/27/11

ok, first of all,
how is it nearly the end of June already?!
seriously?!

secondly, as much as I’ve always said I hate hanging laundry outside,
I’ve been doing it more lately.
I have lines in the basement, but it’s been SO DAMP lately that it takes awhile for the clothes to get dry.
Outside, in the heat, not so much!

third -
I had a seriously PROUD MAMA MOMENT today.
Gracie tried out for the Central Pennsylvania Homeschool Orchestra today -
and she made it!
Basically, I wanted her to try out for the experience of the audition -
I honestly wasn’t expecting her to get in on her first try.
Yep, I’m proud!

four – we visited my brother and sister-in-law yesterday.
Their estimated travel to Korea to pick up their son has been pushed back
to later in the fall (Oct./Nov.)
I feel for them – I’m so excited to meet my new nephew, Grant.
And his bedroom is just gorgeous!

fifth on the miscellany list today -
did you see my post this morning about the Where’s Edna scavenger hunt?
You should SO play along (especially if you homeschool or need a good planner!)

number six -
calling all Disney bloggers!  I’m updating my Recommended Disney Resources page
to include links to my Disney friends’  blogs.
E-mail me with your button and a link to your blog and I’ll include you.

and last . . .
what do you think of my blog?  look better?
Getting my own domain last week kinda created a spiral effect -
with the new name, I decided I wanted a few changes.
Then,  couldn’t figure out how to do them (or I didn’t have the patience).
Thankfully, I have some sweet friends that stood by me and helped me accomplish it.
Betty @ Peace Creek on the Prairie made my cute social media buttons
and helped me move everything around where I wanted it.
Shannon @ Moutaineer Country gave me a great idea for resizing things that I NEVER would have thought of – she saved me a TON of time and stress.
I’m pleased with how it all turned out.

Happy 11th Birthday to . . .

. . . Gracie!

It’s hard to believe that my baby girl is 11 years old today!  She’s been growing and changing so much over this past year.  I’m very proud of the young lady that she is becoming.

She’s a great student who excels in math and loves doing brain puzzlers.  She is musically talented and enjoys playing both the piano and the violin (and she says she can’t possibly pick a favorite).

She loves retro, 70’s, things (like the shirts she’s wearing in both of the above pictures).  She hopes to one day drive a VW Beetle, or maybe a van like this one:

She is mostly a homebody, but there are some special places that she loves to go (including Disney World) --- one such place is the beach.  Often, she even gets to spend her birthday at the beach (this year is one of those  times!)

Tonight we’ll be celebrating with her supper of choice – lasagna! 

Gracie ~
I love you and am so proud of you!
Looking forward to another great year!
Love, Mom