We've moved!!

We have now been in Lossie for 3 months.  I love this little town we've moved to!! The move went really well. We only  ran into a little problem while trying to put the kids bunk bed together. Their room is on the third floor and the ceiling slants. Rob quickly solved the problem by sawing off an inch or so of the legs!
We've explored some of our town. The kids enjoy going to the library and just a few blocks away is the park.  There are so many things within walking distance: the post office, the Co-op (a grocery store), the butchers, the fish and chip shop, and, my favorite, the beach!
It's such a wonderful place God has brought us to!! I believe wherever God puts someone, He can give them a love for that place. I'm glad He sent us to a town we had already come to love.
So, this is the beginning. In March we are holding Bible lectures and Lord-willing from there we can move forward to Bible studies or even services!  As we begin with Lossie, our desire is to eventually reach the area of Moray county. Please, pray that we will come into contact with people who have a desire to learn about God and are open to hearing truth!

Lossiemouth beach from the hill

hall we're renting for the Bible lectures

letterboxing for the lectures

Time for School

Last year I worked with Harry on improving his penmanship, phonics and math. We had a very loose schedule and it was simply preparing him for beginning school. This year, just last week, we began school in earnest! In our desire to make Scotland as much of our home as possible, I have come to the conclusion that I want his school learning to be close to what kids in schools here would learn. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to incorporate some Scottish/ UK history. After thinking about it a little more, I thought it would be a good idea to use mainly UK textbooks.

My mom homeschooled us for a little bit before we had to attend the German schools (they do not allow home education). When we returned to the States she was able to teach us at home once again. I thought I would go this route and use a familiar curriculum. Although I would still like to use many textbooks that I am familiar with, I believe I will try to use more UK material.

For Harry this means he is not in Kindergarten, he is in Primary 1. This is similar to Kindergarten and a little of 1st grade. In history he'll be learning about Florence Nightingale, the London fire, Guy Fawkes and many other simple historical happenings/figures in the UK. He'll have a bit of science, geography, art and music. We'll use books and also some online resources. I found a website that shows what children might learn in each school year. This has been really helpful to me.

Kathy only joins us 2 days a week. We do a Bible time together every day. Right now I'm just focusing on her knowing her letters and numbers. She is also working on tracing and perfecting her shapes. Drawing is not one of her strengths!! :) She does love making up stories and singing.

It's been really interesting doing all this with a baby crawling around wanting your undivided attention! Much of the time Audrey plays pretty well on her own. Then the other part she is trying to see what they're doing and trying to grab their books or pencils. I'm trying to move her to one nap in the afternoon. So far I always lay her down at 11:30, but it makes her afternoon nap so late. This means she stays up later instead of going to bed with Harry and Kathy. I tried one nap today and it worked very well! She was a little crabby when lunch time arrived, but she ate quickly and was able to lay down right away.

Here are some of the UK sites that I use, as well as the curriculum plan for Scotland:

http://www.crickweb.co.uk
http://www.everyschool.co.uk/

https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/primary

Until next time...

Audrey

One year ago on August 3rd we went to Regional Hospital in St. Paul for a scheduled c-section. I had hoped for an attempt at natural birth but this little lady, just like Kathy, was in a transverse position. She was also past her due date.
Three days later we were hoping to be released. A nurse came and informed me that she was having a doctor listen to her and they were going to do an ultrasound. Soon they returned to tell me that she would be transferred to St Mary's NICU in Rochester to be closer to us. Her condition: coarctation of the aorta, and she would need surgery. Two weeks after she was born we were able to take Audrey home.
At 6 weeks old she got to experience a 13 hour trip to Scotland. She did really well on the flight, even better than the older two :)
Audrey is getting better at standing and loves to follow her brother and sister around. She has 5 teeth. Out of everything that she is able to eat she loves peas!  She will get very excited and start banging on the tray when she sees me get out the peas!!
Harry and Kathy love having Audrey around. They sometimes have the idea that she can do a lot more than she actually is able to! 
I am so glad that we were able to have both grandparents watch her open presents and eat cake.  On Saturday we skyped with them (it was 9 am their time!). It was great for them to share this special FIRST birthday with us!!

Our Spring in Pictures

Don's parents visited us in May. We enjoyed showing them the sights. This is Dunrobin Castle.

 

I've been doing some sewing again. One of my projects was this onesie dress for Audrey.

We've had some beautiful days. The kids love being outside.

Don and Harry attended a men's camp out  right before Father's Day.

The girl's and I had our own fun!

Audrey started crawling the beginning of June. Now she is pulling herself up and standing with support.

A Post Dedicated to All Things Kathy

Well, my big girl is three!  She is definitely all girl! She was not late, but a few days early. I was eager to try a vbac and up until a week before she was born I was very hopeful. Then that week before her due date the midwife informed me that she had turned back around. I was scheduled for a repeat c-section on her birth date, but went into labor the Friday before. My biggest so far, she weighed in at 9  lbs 4 oz!! 
Kathy has had quite the adventurous life for a 3 year old! When she was 5 months old we began deputation. She was a year old when she took her first trip on a plane across the Atlantic to Scotland. Then at 2 1/2 she took that trip again to live in a, to her, foreign land.
We celebrated with a party on Saturday. She had a tea party with just the girls!! :)  Then on her birthday, yesterday, we had cake with just the four of us (Don, me, Harry and Kathy). She, like Harry, opened gifts from the grandparents while skyping with them.  Before lunch I took her to get her hair cut and she sat still very well! They put sparkly hairspray in her hair since it was her birthday. I'd have to say, except for having a cold, she had a pretty good birthday!  I'll be taking pictures this weekend, weather permitting!  Hopefully she'll be feeling better and up to picture-taking then. 

Here's her 3rd Birthday Interview:

What's you're name?  Kathy

How old are you? 3

Favorite food? Pasta with cheese

Favorite color?  Pink and purple

Favorite snack? Cookies/biscuits

Favorite movie? Princess – Cinderella, Rapunzel (Tangled)

Favorite toy? princesses

Favorite animal? monkey

Favorite book?  princess

Favorite song? I don’t really know

Favorite thing to take to bed? A monkey

Favorite place to go? A poke (this is how she says ‘park’)

Favorite restaurant? Applebees (we went here many times while on the road in the states)

What games do you like to play? On my computer (she got a vtech laptop for her birthday)

What do you want to be when you grow up? Four

Another Post dedicated to all things Harry

Harry had a great time at his party on Saturday. We had quite a full house. I attempted an Angry Bird cake and Piggy cupcakes. They didn't turn out too bad, but I am definitely not a cake decorator!  Harry, the awesome son that he is, declared it was the coolest cake ever! The party went great. At the end of the day Don went out to grab some pizza for us...I was tired!
Then since he was all dressed up Sunday, I took some pictures.
He's getting to be so big. Such a handsome guy, just like his dad!!

 

Here's a short and fun questionnaire I did with him Saturday. I plan on trying to do one with them every year and see how their answers change.

What's you're name?  H-A-R-R-Y

How old are you? 5
What's your favorite food? bananas and pasta
What's your favorite color?  red and green and blue and black and grey
What's your favorite snack? bananas
What's your favorite movie? Cars 1 and 2 and my new Thomas movie
What's your favorite toy? red race car I just got today
What's your favorite animal? elephant, hippo and a giraffe and a pig
What's your favorite book?  The Monster at the End of this Book (said repeatedly)
What's your favorite song? uh, I'm not sure, I don't like any (not quite true, he likes "Send the Light" and many children's songs)
What's your favorite thing to take to bed? my stuffed animals
What's your favorite place to go? the zoo
What's your favorite restaurant? Applebees

What games do you like to play? the Batman game, Mario Cart and Mario Brothers

What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know, uh, I just want to be someone who lives at home with mom and goes wild....I just want to be the dad, sitting around the house being wild and sometimes I do things for her. (I'm assuming from his last statement that the "mom" would be his wife he's referring to, otherwise, nope, you are not living at home with ME the rest of your life)
 

A Post dedicated to All Things Harry

Harry I consider our miracle baby. The year before I became pregnant with him I had 3 miscarriages. The doctors were able to correct the problem that had been found and 5 months later we were expecting Harry. I waited with trepidation for the first three months to pass and they did without any problems at all. I also experienced the added blessing of NO morning sickness!
Harry was born 8 days late on February 27, 2008.  He was a quick learner and was crawling by 6 months and walking by 9 months. He continues to learn things quickly. He loves to think things through and try to do things on his own. He's my affectionate little guy and we love him dearly. We thank God for blessing us with this special guy, our first born.
He's had a fun day today with a gift at breakfast and cake (and more gifts) after lunch. Then he got to Skype with both grandparents and open the gifts from them. Skype is such a great modern technology!! It's so nice that even thousands of miles away we can have them be a part of his special day!
On Saturday we're having an Angry Birds themed birthday party...we'll see how this goes :)  I plan on taking some birthday pictures then and doing a fun birthday questionnaire.
So, Happy 5th Birthday to my little man, Harry!!