It's been a week since we said goodbye to Spinnaker.  We were very lucky to have touched based months ago with a DR who comes to the house.  It was important to me to have Spinnaker put down at home, with all of the animals around, and I never really knew how I would handle the kids being there.  I thought I would have them go out and play, but all wanted to be there.

Reichen didn't leave my side all afternoon once we brought Spinnaker to her little pallate near the fire place.  He comforted me as much as he comforted Spinnaker.  The picture that Steve posted of her there in the end looks so good, her little mind seemed so with it but she had long lost the use of her back legs, her front legs resembled a tri pod as she stood in those final days, and she literally fell on her face several times and that is when I knew.  I possibly selfishly kept her a live longer than I should have, but she was the first time I have ever had to make such a call or decision and it was very difficult.  Last Christmas (2007) I thought it would be our last year with both Spinnaker and Sandy.  Spinnaker due to her age, Sandy due to the fact that she was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Sarcoma.  I felt so lucky to have them both this past Christmas, and my goal was to get Spinnaker thru till Christmas and Sandy is appearing 100% cancer free after the very aggressive removal of tissue around her growth when diagnosed. From what I have found out on the internet is amazing Sandy is alive.  Spinny has had a wonderful life, and it was time.

Our DR was amazing!!!  I had never met her before, we had spoken about 6 times on the phone over the months as I kept her updated on Spinnaker's condition.  She was so patient with us, and was here a good two hours.  She gave Spinnaker something to literally make her sleep, her little head fell asleep in my clutched hands.  We stayed like that for about 15 minutes when she gave her the final meds.  I didn't even know Spinnaker had passed, she had to tell me, it was so peaceful.

The hard part was watching Steve load Spinnaker into Tristin's (vet) SUV.  She took her to the gal who creamated her for us.  We put a towel over her from our Hash House Harrier running days.  It was a towel used when I got my naming in the Hash...in true Hash House Harrier manner I kissed her before we closed the trunk and said, "ON-ON Spinnaker".  Reichen approached her with a Star Wars drawing he had done to be cremated with her and the vet tucked it under her paw.

Steve had surpirsed me with a CD that he made of songs that had reminded me of Spinnaker over the years, and when he came in the house an hour before the vet arrived he put it in the player and it really did mean the world to me.

Q...was so unplanned...named after James Bonds techy butler...

I had called our local SPCA about two weeks before Spinnaker's death just to inquire about a dog that I knew had been there awhile it ended up she had been adopted out and I was really wanting to hang up that phone quickly before some bait was thrown my way....:)

So Melinda (the SPCA director) said, "are you wanting another dog Neve"?  Quickly I said, "No"!!!!!!!!!  Our plans are to go around the World in 7 years and we came to a plan and a  commitment 20 months ago when we decided to do this that all of our animals will probably have gone to heaven by this point and that we could not ruin our plans by adding to the family with pets.

She then proceeded and said she had the "perfect dog for us!!!!".  A male yellow lab who is about 10 years old...and did I mention he is deaf....100% deaf!!!!  The chances of him being around in 7 years I think as not an option.  I didn't even have to see him, I told her we would take him.  He walks funny (bad hips), is all scared up from a life that we will never know he had (he was found a stray).  He is a perfect "old shoe"...he just lays around, wags his tail and eats like a champ.  He literally sleeps ON the kids, lets them build forts around him...and he is perfect.  He sat beside Spinnaker in her final moments.

This is Steve posting while Neve is visiting DC with the kiddos along with our latest canine addition "Q" (who was rescued from our local shelter to help fill the inevitable void that we experienced last night).  Here is Spinny and Q resting beside her.

I can honestly say that Spinnaker's transition to the after-life was very hard on me since she always filled our family with unconditional love, especially greeting me at the door every evening (...when she could physically) or more recently looking up knowing Daddy is home.  Although I may have taken her welcomes for granted at times due to our busy schedules, tonight, I walked into my empty home longing to see Spinny and kneel down and pick her up to carry her outside to walk.... 

I do love you Spinny and you will always have a place in my heart!  May God Bless you...  NOW you can run and swim freely til your heart's content ;-)

I doubt there are any readers of our blog who do not know dear Spinnaker personally, it was me and Spinny long before I met Steve and had children.

My precious Chesapeake Bay Retriever!!!

Spinnaker has been going down hill very fast since this summer, we took no trips without her due to this, and she just returned from a trip to DC and inauguration with us.  While there she was at her worst and we came home for me to head off to a homeschool conference in Charlotte.  I came home rested with a cup running over and this morning was finally ready to make one of the hardest decisions, if not the hardest decision I have ever had to make.  We are lucky to have made contact with a wonderful vet that is coming to our home this evening when Steve gets home.  Please have her in your thoughts and prayers as we kiss her good-bye, she is ready...that I know.

This is a collage, so to enjoy all of the pictures you need to scroll to see the right side.

We took these pictures over Reichen's birthday when we ran away to the bungalow to celebrate.  You can't tell by the pictures that we actually had to carry her out there onto the sand and the beach...and that she fell while trying to potty.  I love these pictures...I love my little Spinnaker...

My gorgeous boys joined our family.  We just finished our annual reports for Ukraine and I can not brag enough...

Reichen started 3rd grade in the Fall (he didn't start K until he was 6 so I have him back one year selfishly wanting to hold him at home from collage until he is 19).  Karsh started 1st.

These boys amaze me...Reichen has started College Algebra and masters everything that is thrown at him in Math.I have him in two Algebra programs but he honestly grabs his College one as a hobby he enjoys it so.  I would have him do just that, but I don't have answer keys to all of the problems with the textbook and we are at that point where my son is smarter than I am, and it takes me a lot of time to check his work.  So I suspect we will stay with the High School program too, the instruction is good, all problems and and practices are shown how to work thru...and mom feels a little more in the loop.

Karsh is my natural student, things just flow into that brain of his, you never really know what he has grasped until he just spits it out and plunks answers down.  He's doing long division, absorbed his multipication tables in days with little effort, the summer before Kindergarten...and he is amazing at what he can build.  I always say Karsh is the brains of our family.

They both drool over History and want to incorporate Art History with each lesson.  They beg to do extra History Lessons during the day, they drop names of famous ancient battles and the details of them, they can look at a globe and rattle off mountain ranges and rivers from around the World.  I don't know what I have done to deserve such wonderful children who love our homeschool it makes it a delight to teach. They ask to go to the symphony, hop in the car to drive three hours one way to see the Opera...and they LOVE to travel.

I say all of this...as this will be our last post here.

The title of this blog is "insearch of our family"...started four years ago...and this family has long been found.

My new blog is in the works, while I have shared assignments, extensive travel plans and trips... for a long time with my local homeschool mom groups and national curriculum group we are now going to have a way to streamline that some...

It is not complete but we have decided to keep it public and I will share the information here before we start back to school on Monday.

The attached picture was taken on the Atlantic Ocean, the night we watched a baby loggerhead turtle swim out to sea that had made it's way up to lights where campers were.  We had spent two weeks there and were fortunate to be embraced by the crew who inventories turtle nests...and the night we saw the baby loggerhead turtle and prayed for him/her as he swam out into will always be one of the best nights of my life. 

So many are asking me, and I am not certain if I shared this last year.

But this company is WONDERFUL, and I have ordered ALL of our children's wooden toy weapons from them and all of withstood massive use.

They are made in England I think (last year I could have told you everything about them).  Anyway wanted to get this info out there since I am getting a lot of inquiries about them from friends and readers of our hs blog.

Wonderful folks to work with!!!!!

http://www.chichesterinc.com/TYMEAGAINInfo1.htm

On May 4th I got a call from a gal inviting us to go to the next town over to see former President Bill Clinton speak. Mind you I am a huge Obama fan and have been since his Democratic convention speech four years ago. I joked with the gal and said, "no thank you I am an Obama Mama!!!!". She and I laughed and she said, "well atleast your nice about it, some have actually hung up the phone on me". We joked back and forth and chuckled at how much we all love our candidate.  I hung up the phone and left it at that.  I don't leave much opportunity on the table when it comes to exposing the children to things and in the evening at 9:00pm it occured to me that of course I should accept this invitation and go. I hadn't gotten any further in conversation with the gal as to where it would be...when...what to bring etc... and went to my phone and glanced at the caller ID...I called the number back just hoping that someone would answer. I had changed my mind and decided this is history and my children must see him.  It was 9:02 when I dialed back the number that had called. I had no idea if it was switch board or what and a lady casually answered, "Hello". I told her about my change in heart and I was lucky that what she described as a back line and phone that never rings was ringing and she decided to pick it up.

It was a gorgeous day!!!!  Little did we know that the next day would throw my Barrack into the situation of being our nominee...that NC would decide it!!!!

The crowd was small as you can tell in the pictures, I joked I think I had more people at my wedding than were here to see Clinton on the front porch of a small town home.  I was amazed at the intimate setting. We put our chairs out under a huge tree outside of a lovely Southern home across the street, ate our packed lunch and waited for his arrival.

When it ended we were heading back to the car when we noticed a crowd of like four waiting behind the home...we positioned ourselves there as Clinton walked by and into the SUV to head to his next stop. I did have to share a funny...as we watched there was only one secret service agent infront of us...a gal walked by behind him, confidently and I whispered under my breath, "that must be his girlfriend"...lesson learned to watch what you mumble around children. Brownyn (age 3) started screaming out loud, "where is his girlfriend? I want to see his girlfriend!!!!" She seized that mumble and went on and on and on....I almost died.....

The Obama sign was around the corner in a neighbors front lawn.

I am adding some notes to this...see the bottom of this entry. 

We have been on the run since March... Saint Patty's in Savannah, a week later Charleston South Carolina as we said good- bye to Steve's mom. Four days camping out under the stars at Shakori Hills music festival...nine days at Vogel State Park in Georgia and we just returned from nine days at Dreher Island in South Carolina. I can't say it is letting up anytime soon...we leave for 9 days to tube in the mountains of North Carolina in two weeks...then onto Floydfest in Virginia and we finish with camping on the Ocean at Hunting Island. I did the math and I figured this year we will be spending 60 nights on vacation in our pop up. After Europe we decided that is how we would spend vacations in 2008. The children love it.

I hope to share the memories of these trips... until then I come to the family blog to share notes that I promised to share from my pre-conference experience during MY vacation two weeks ago at the four day Charlotte Mason conference here in NC.  Steve worked from home for 3 1/2 days and took the kiddos on to Dreher Island to allow me to run away and to soak up the sunshine of why I homeschool.  He then took the kiddos camping where I joined them two days later.   They kept us wonderfully busy at the conference, if I thought I was going to get some rest I was wrong, but each and every minute was life changing .... I arrived a day early to attend a workshop on using math manipulatives in the UPPER elementary grade levels.  My boys are all really gifted in Math.  Reichen in his last semester of 2nd grade tested at a Algebra Level in math,  the scores urged placing him in the algebra curriculum but I decided to start him in the pre-algebra curriculum to make things more concrete.  I don't use computers, websites or any "computer games" with any of the children so all of his teaching have come from manipulatives, thoughts and discussions.   I loved this conference in that I really got a chance to see math with manipulatives at the higher grade levels.

Here are my quick notes to those who I promised them to...

Bare with me, I typed this quickly for my homeschool group. If I
waited till I had a moment to type it all pretty with thoughts in a
row it would never get done. So I thought I would share what I have.

I spent the extra $80 to go to the conference a day early to attend
the pre-conference workshop on using manipulatives in the upper
elementary grades. I love math and I love manipulatives and this
workshop was life changing in how I will teach math.

If anyone wants maybe before or after the kids co-op I can spend some
time going over this with them.

Here are the quick notes I typed and shared with my HS group.
I hope to get my notes down better...but wanted to share some things
from a Math Seminar I went to. I spent five days at a Charlotte
Mason conference and paid an additional amount to attend a pre-
conference on using math manipulatives with upper elementary
students. We of course covered using them with the lower level to.

The Pre-conference was taught by Dr. Milton Uecker and honestly was
life changing in ways to help students view math. I thought his
ideas were perfect with our current strong core knowledge curriculum.

Some quick things that we did and that he shared.
We really need to work on children understanding math.
Sure a child can add 4 plus 1 and get 5. Sure they can divide 16 by
4 and get 4...but can they easily tell you a story about that
problem.
I would have assumed yes that they easily could...but was pretty
shocked when I just sat my boys down and asked them to tell me a
story giving 61 divided by 13 as an example. I got a lot of "ummms"
before they came up with a story. Our goal should be that they can
do this easily that examples pour from their mouths.

He said "speak Math"!!!!!!!! Math is a language!!!!!!
Have interactive dialogue...assess both the understanding and the
ability to solve problems.

Do a pictorial bridge.

We can use  manipulatives that we get  in the higher level
maths. He also had us (the parent students) draw our base ten blocks.
a square= 100
a line =10
dots =1

This was huge drawing our base ten blocks!!!!!!!!

So we had to draw them in addition to playing and manipulating them. 

Multiplication: The rectangular model
When you see the problem ask
"what is the question"
"What is known"
"What is the length of the sides (factors)
"What is unknown"
"What is the area (the answer)"
****He made us solve 14x3= by drawing the picture with lines dots.
He then made us show "the proof" of it.
I immediatly put 14 x3 down on the paper and multiplied but he
prompted us to look at the drawing and see the 3x10 and the 3x4.
****He then made us show 15x12 and then to prove it "the proof" we
had to show the sub products. Show the kiddos (using the drawing)
how you have 5x2 and 10x2 and 5x10 and 10 x10 those added give you
the 180.
This is a great way to show math and not just fall back on
the "carry".
****He had us do 21x23 and break it down to the "sub products"
3x1 and 3x20 and 1x20 and 20 x20. Have them draw it...Have them use
their base ten blocks then have them physically show you the "sub
products"....then have them tell you a story about it, describe it,
talk it and then go back to the "carry" multipication so they can
see how they relate and how we got our number.
He had us multiply the 22 x13 with the carrying.
He then showed us to multiply it by looking at it as
"3x2" and "3 x20" and "10x2" and "10 x20"
This is hard to describe but if you write it down you will see it.
It was in this simple math problem that he showed us to "look for
factors in the edges"...."answer the area".
It was in this example where he made us look at the "square"
(exponent) in the problem from our picture AND the base ten blocks.

Division the Rectangular Model
Again on this sheet he made us ask
"What is the question"
"What is known"
the answer to "what is known" is "the area and one side (factor)".
"what is unknown" and that would be "the other factor or side".
He had us figure out 182 OVER 14 (or 182 divided by 14)
Tell the students that the numerator is "the area"
the denominatior is "how many times can I can 14 out of 182".
Use your base ten blocks to do this. You then are showing the
students how to break down the number is "subs"
Model it!!!!!!
Talk it!!!!

Some of my notes that I wrote are....

Define "what is one". If you use manipulatives you need to define
was it "one". For your one could be the smallest block or if doing
decimals one could be your hundreds block.
To think math you must "talk math".
Bring thoughts out in the open access.

Manipulate math, understand it, ask yourself "does the answer make
sense?. "Does the answer make sense" is a biggie!!!!!!!!!!

Build a model to show you got the answer right.
Give something beyond the answers.

You can spend 10 minutes after breakfast showing children the
difference between "squared" and "cubed" and they will probably
retain it forever.
Model "squared" with a 100 base ten block.
It is the same distance over and up.
Then have them show "squared" with any numbers you can think of.

Model "cubed" with a 1,000 block
the same distance over and up...and height.

While doing the most simple math problem as "what were you thinking
about while doing it". Teacher listens to description....AND if
needed the teacher supplies the right word (math term) for what they
were thinking. For examples "6 cookies shared with 3 people" and we
introduce the word "divide".

Teach our children that we EXPECT them to "prove it".
Hey that's fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

Teach them when we multiply we are really counting.
Express a math problem in as many ways as possible...make them see
the relationships with their base ten blocks and drawings.

When dealing with fractions
"think about them"
"think about the answer"
"does your answer make sense"

When doing algebra Illustrate the "=" sign as a "scale"
Illustrate it as a scale.
Make a visual scale on your kitchen table.  We all know how I use my kitchen table in math.
Tape an "equal" sign to your kitchen table.
Tape two lines on the opposite side...make it look like a scale.
Cut out an "x" from a piece of paper...
Now show the problem.
Teach children that the = sign is "Same Value As"

In summary he wants children to see the edges and the rectangles in
their math problems. It all really comes down to that...see the
edges and see the rectangles in your manipulatives.


While we take a break from typical school year math over our summer
what a great way to show children math for a few minutes a day.

It is hard to explain but I did a quick search and found this from
him.

Go directly to pages 24 and 25
http://www.childlightusa.org/review/Winter2007_Review.pdf

Sorry so rushed but laundry to do...and kiddos to enjoy...

Every once in while you run across  someone with such a gift that you leave the person so inspired. I had that moment, that meeting and that privledge when I met Annette (pictured with the boys above and I did ask her if I could put her here) :)  from www.woolcreations.coms locally in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  I have always described myself as someone who can imagine art, creations etc... but I have never been one to pull any of it off with my own bare hands, I can dream it I just can't create it.  I ache over dreaming things up and not having the ability to pull them off.  So when I met Annette I finally felt like I had found someone who could not only take my grand visions and execute but actually execute beyond any dream I had.  My boys are real into Knights, battles and history in general but when I saw Annette's gallery of handmade wool items and some hobby horses that she had made I knew instantly I wanted to get some custom tournament hobby horses made for my two youngest sons. They had birthdays coming up and I thought special tournament horses to fit their "green knight" and "blue knight" alter egos were in need.  I sent Annette an email and heard back instantly...she was up for the challenge!!!!

What I got days later exceeded any expectation I could have ever imagined.  The pictures she sent me of the two horses not only took my breath away but put tears in my eyes.   It was so hard to keep the secret from Karsh and Tristan...how lucky we were to get to visit Annette's "studio in the woods" to pick up our creations and to drool over everything she created.  Magic comes from those hands... As we walked to the little cottage door that is her studio I swear you had to watch your step that you didn't disrupt some gnome gathering fire wood running thru the garden...it was just magical!!!!

Annette's magic worked wonders again when I needed help planning a birthday.   My youngest son for months has told us he wanted a "Beethoven" birthday theme...how does one plan a "Beethoven Birthday"?  With everything in place (so we thought) he came to me with a new idea of what he wanted...a piano cake with "rats playing the piano". We have yet to totally figure out where this idea came from...but Tristan like his mama dreams big, his description so detailed I knew we couldn't produce. He is my child who will start telling you his dream and 50 minutes later is still telling it to you in much detail.  Searches on the internet left me with a few choices of rats...and then he told me he wanted a Beethoven rat, a "girl rat" (conducting) and another rat playing the violin. Three rats specifically...I assume he wanted the girl after going to the symphony with my Charlotte Mason homeschool group where the conductor was a pretty female but his images were so real and so vivid and I didn't know how we would produce what he was dreaming up.  Then I thought of Annette...no sooner had I mentioned Tristan's dreams and desires then she sent me a picture of a rat in an orchestra that she had created after reading my email.  These precious wool rats were much to beautiful  to dare sit on icing of a cake...but with my minimal baking skills we did create a piano cake with the rats at the corner doing their work, and used a loved beenie baby rodent at the bench...We dressed talking tree up to resemble Beethoven and when it was done got to take a break from creativity for a few moments.

A huge thanks to Annette for creating horses that my son's go few places without...rats worthy of sitting at Beethoven's piano and a lily pad fit for the Frog Prince of two princesses. More pictures to follow when I catch up on life some...

Annette's website is  www.woolcreations.com  She dreams big right along with her clients...We honestly feel like the luckiest folks alive to have found her!!!  Check out her gallery!!!!

I thought this morning that I should update friends and family with the news that Steve's mom passed away March 24th.  We got a call early in the morning on Easter  that Steve's mom was given CPR at her home during the night and was in the local ICU in Charleston South Carolina.

Friends from Virginia who read in our wedding had just arrived to visit us for the weekend and they stayed with me while Steve went on ahead to his mom. Steve is the youngest of five siblings and they were all there when she died peacefully on Monday after being removed from lifesupport. 

surprised

it

We spent Halloween at one of my bestfriends house in Northern Virginia...her two boys are the most precious children and took Reichen out trick or treating...his first "outing" without mom.  Angie, her hubby and I took the other kids out...her hubby pulled Bronwyn dressed as Nefertetti in the wagon...Angie in true Angie style made the wagon up a throne and blanket!!!! I couldn't find my white toga for Bronwyn so we had to use a pink play silk but she still looked adorable. 

Steve joined us a few days later for his birthday that we spent in Olde Towne Alexandria at one of our favorite restaurants...children and all... I can't get an internet connection at my parents house so have several emails etc... to get to and am just now catching up...

Her Artist Pack gave me the idea of my doing my wall with the artist and art...it motivated me to seize the opportunity. By using our timeline the children have learned not to mix up the time frames of the Renaissance with the Impressionist...or even the more recent Picasso...by using the timeline they know that Picasso actually died in my lifetime http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/AP/Artists.htm

I don't have a great picture of our timeline but if you look behind my kiddos doing art in the laundry baskets (yes this is common here at our house)...the timeline is in the background and has since been added to a lot, I will try to get a better picture up.  I wanted to add I did the background with package paper and used gold paint as my line (I wanted it to blend with my decor and not be on white paper) also I put the differnt figures on differnt colored paper based on the continent that the image placed in. Sure some have more than one continent associated with them and in that case we did a star, or moon or something to be added to the cardstock. Since I feared that I would never beable to match a specific orange in the years to come I immediatly used different colored oranges to represent Asia and therefore it wouldn't look bad as the years go by. Blue is Europe, Black is Africa, Orange is Asia...Gray is North America (with little presence as we are studying Ancients first)...Green will be South America.

So I needed one more picture for the collage...and I LOVE the picture of the kids at the airport looking out at the planes in their Superman PJs, people were loading and I didn't want to stand in line and we just waited there as they all loaded knowing we had assigned seats and there was no reason not to.

I just got a minute to upload these... and wanted to share.

Before we left we decorated two french doors...one with card size pictures from different artist (you can see it in the background of the puppy picture)...this took awhile and I tried to pick pictures that we would see on our trip or the masterpieces that certain artist were known for.

I have to find where I got the picture of God creating Adam (on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel) it was the perfect size and image to use. I taped them to their playhouse where they got to paint like Michelangelo did...standing with neck back.  This small exercise really sunk in with even Bronwyn (age 2 1/2)...in Italy you see images of this painting EVERYWHERE  and everytime she saw it she would yell, "Michelangelo"!!!!  Brownyn didn't stick to the painting long...but she did paint Adams "privates" pink before she abandoned her mission and I found that funny:)

Picasso was a fun artist for the kids to capture...we had watched a movie (forgot the name but hope to come back and update), but it was Picasso (no Actor...the actual Picasso) painting on glass and then changing it by adding more and more layers to it. The kids actually watched this video as background entertainment for days they enjoyed it so. It is not the kind of video that you really sit in a chair to watch, it was perfect just to have playing as we did other things.  We went overboard emphasising to Bronwyn, "Funny Picasso!!!! Look there is only one eye... etc... etc...". I just really wanted her to grasp something from the study and she did when we overemphasized the funny placed lips, eyes, even boobies...she'd laugh.  As the kids painted I had them write the name of who they were,  and then we taped them to their back. As they painted I described the artist (things we had read and studied and knew)...things so simple as, "you lived a long life, you liked women, you died with  money...etc.. etc...". These lessons really were absorbed by the children.

 This is a tiny fraction of things we did this summer to prepare the children for our trip...I have no doubt they helped so much in them understanding...Surrendering the french doors (or any wall space) to different artist was also a good idea in that they were there infront of the kids often. Bronwyn would point to them and say, "funny Picasso"...

 An entry for those planning on hitting Rouen with children (nothing of interest if not)...

The children had seen two or three of these cathedral paintings here in Raleigh and a good six or so in Paris...but this video showed them change on the screen before us much like the light show on the cathedral and it was a good way of seeing the true impression that was taken in by Monet.

Need to come back and polish off this entry some...but busy day so this will have to do for now.

Next Geneva, Chamonix and on to Italy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

This comes to you from the kitchen table with all of my maps and literature out before me. I thought I could finish this entry yesterday (that was my goal) but much of the information I have to share here is on maps and in brochures and just the thought of tackling them was enough to keep me from posting a thing.

I am on my lap top which really is too small for my chubby fingers and I find that I move at a snail’s pace on it so as usual bare with/

Speaking of chubby…no asking me where the pictures of me are…let’s just say that I have noticed the folks who ask me , “where are the pictures of you?” are usually the ones who don’t share pictures of themselves (for the same reasons)…so there said it…but it’s true!!!! Anyway when I can figure out a way to lose the pounds, wrinkles and more importantly the number of chins I have I will share some pictures of me J In the meantime adorable kiddos will have to do…

This computer also seems to think it is fixing my spelling and in many cases fixes what is not broken…I don’t know how to turn off that feature…but that in itself is making this almost impossible to complete.

So I have finally divided all of my brochures and scrapbook stuff (I’ve never scrapbooked so it is humerous I have tons of  envelopes of such stuff that I call “scrapbook stuff”)…anywho much to share if you hit this part of France.

Our iternerary had us staying in Puy Du Fou for the night but as we loaded into the car and knew we had a few hours of driving to get to our next destination we decided to proceed and drive during the night. The kiddos played among the big campers as we cleaned out the vehichle and got ready to head to our Prehistoric part of our trip and hit Dordogne France, one of  my favorite areas!!!!

I forgot the exact amount of time spent in the car for this drive but I think it was 2-3 hours…not a biggie, very doable.  The kids were exhausted and once fed drifted off to sleep and Steve and I proceeded with me nagging that I really did want us to move to Europe for five years…and then a one year trip around the world. Steve’s just nodded his head, “keep dreaming honey”, but I know deep down he thinks I am going to take the kids around the world and leave him to earn the money at home J

The Lascaux caves, and the surroundings were next on our trip!!!!

We all remember pictures of these famous caves in our History books growing up, but there is so much about them that I did not know.  I barely remember going to them as a child…I did go…but it is a fuzzy memory.  It was not until I was planning our trip that I came to realize that the Lascaux caves you visit today are not the real Lascaux caves painted by prehistoric ancestors.   Anyway the cave has been remade into Lascaux II…seems that all of the visitors to the real site were doing a lot of damage just by breathing in Lascaux I and it is now closed to visitors. Number II had images of the destruction and I must admit it was a lot of destruction in a very small amount of time, very interesting to see. I  thought I would be disappointed in going to a reproduction and I am happy to say that it was a thrill and until now as I type I actually had forgotten that it was not the “real deal”. They have remade every curve of the caves to resemble the real cave…it was wonderful. I found our tour guide to be pretty cheesy, you can’t go thru without one and we ended up in an all American tour…no children (school had started in the States) so just your “typical” tourist , I feel safe to say all American tourist who laughed at every dumb joke the guy cracked, almost nervous laughs, but it was pitiful to watch…I would have preferred a more educational viewing, but it was fabulous when he chose to stop the stupid jokes..

So I had not remembered that the cave was remade…but I also had not remembered that the cave only had one very faint picture of a man…all other figures were animals. I also had not really ever realized that it was not full of hunting scenes. Maybe it’s just me but I think of the Lascaux caves and for some reason I thought hunting images were on the caves and they are not. Was this a shrine to animals??? Possibly.

Lascaux was a perfect example of the speech I gave to the children everywhere we went…as we stood in the Roman Forum, as we stood before some of the most famous painting in the world in Paris and Italy, as we stood in front of some of the most famous sculptures in the world…as we stood before grand masterpieces I kept telling the kids, “you will probably come back one day…but you might not ever see it the way you see it now”. In the Roman Forum the boys picked up rocks…jumped on rocks, jumped on huge columns, could touch where Cesear had stood.   The day will come and soon where  a brightly colored orange rope will separate us from the stones. The day will come, and soon, where all of Michelangelos sculptures will be like his beautiful Pieta and behind glass, the day will come where it is not our ability to follow rules that will keep us from being able to touch Monet’s paintings…

The Lascaux caves really were the perfect example for me to tell the children to enjoy what is here and enjoy it NOW.

WOW how would I have ever known that two huge lessons would be served up to me on  a silver platter to drive my point home. I think it was within 60 hours that a Monet painting that we had just seen in Paris was destroyed by vandals who entered the museum…just in the past week someone put red paint into the Trevi fountain in Rome, where we stood!!! I made certain the children saw these articles and that we discussed them, I hope we can take them back, I hope more than anything that they can afford to go back one day…but even if they can they will view these masterpieces from different angles I have no doubt.  I stood on Stonehenge as a child…I’ve kissed The Little Mermaid….two things I could not do today.

Anyway within two weeks of time my lesson was really driven home…

The Lascaux cave has been desrcribed as “The Sistine Chapel of Prehistoric Times” and I think that is a wonderful description.

This is important to note if you ever go…the tickets are not sold at the cave (replica) they are sold in a town near there called Montignac…at this location you will find a lot of information about other tourist attrations in the area…enjoy many do what you can the children will love it!!!!  Also since you can not go thru the caves without a tour guide you kind of need to know when the English guide will be, they will of course tell you, this was wonderful in that it made us take in sites we might not have done if we were able to just drive up to the cave and go in. This was our busiest part of our trip in that we hopped from place to place…and the prehistoric era had our full attention in everything we did.  This was a wonderful time and we took in so much…

Lascaux caves   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

Official site of the Lascaux caves   http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/lascaux/en/

This area is called Dordogne in France, it is just a perfect spot on Earth. I love the homes made of stone, the rivers and folks canoeing on them, the picnics to be had on the side of the road…it really is a beautiful area.  We pulled up at one small Inn starving for food and were saddened that they did not start serving dinner until 7PM (this happens a lot)…we usually eat late but this was a cozy little Inn and I would have done anything to have had a meal there, I was starving and the road trip was waiting…I even offered to pay them more to create us a meal, but it appears the chef goes home (or somewhere) and was nowhere to be found.

I said it every day and still do…each and every day spent could have been a vacation in itself…I could spend years in this area.

In Montignac get maps and any literature you’ll need…it is a wonderful place to stock up on brochures and to ask the gals behind the counter as to what you should see.   A trip to a good Tourist office is worth its weight in gold.  I said earlier that the drive from Puy Du Fou to this area was about 2-3 hours and I might be slightly underestimating that…now as I type I remember at night driving thru Montignac looking for a place to stay that would put us right near the place to get tickets in the morning, there was no lack of camping spots but being early in the morning hours we always had to weigh if it was better to put up the tent and disturb sleeping kiddos to then turn around and take it down hours later or just find a nice place to park and sleep (which was never in our plans pre trip). We ended up beside a river with a nice parking spot and since the kids were asleep just pulled over and fell asleep there.  In the morning Reichen and I then walked back to the town of Montignac and returned with tickets and picnic goodies…there is a picture of the children eating beside a river  that was taken that morning.  This was the spot where we watched people canoe down the river and picnic on the side of the road.

My map of this area is heavily marked with hours of operations and tidbits of information…there is a huge disadvantage to going in the summer for obvious reasons, most of all the crowds…but once September hits the hours of operation change at these locations…so I have all of our sites marked and then the hours that they are open. It is not unusual for places to close for two hours during the lunch time hours.  This is the only disadvantage and you need to give yourself some time to map out such information.

I never visited this site till now but it would be a good place to look at ahead of time and to even request brochures ahead of time.  http://www.dordogne-perigord-tourisme.fr/Web_GB/sommaire/jeu_sommaire_GB.htm

So tickets were bought in Montignac for the Lascaux caves and Le Thot.

I am happy they talked up Le Thot and the other sites to see for they were all a treat and a wonderful day of entertainment.

In this area of France they offer tourist packages from Prehistoric studies, Medieval studies and Renaissance studies…we stuck with Prehistoric since we had the other bases covered in other stops on our trip…but boy what I would do to have been able to take in all of the sites.

We entertained ourselves at Le Thot prior to going to Lascaux, it is a museum about Homo Sapiens and how they lived and how they worked and the animals that shared their world.  We also purchased rocks with images from Lascaux’s caves here for much cheaper than we would have purchased them any place else. I am guessing about $4-$5 each…but they were really enjoyed by the kids and included the minimal paints needed to color them.  Here is a site I just found that best describes le Thot http://www.best-of-perigord.tm.fr/sites/semitour/anglais/thot_uk.html.

From Lascaux we made the small drive (all fo these are near eachother) to Tursac and to the Prehistoric Parc…this was wonderful and I almost passed it up thinking it might be a little park in the backyard of someones home. The children really enjoyed this little park. It was a lovely walk thru the landscape with little stops that hade an example of a prehistoric hut, fire, hunting, even a mammoth and an outdoor exhibit of how they were hunted.  What really caught everyones attention was these fat orange slugs…there was a total fascination with these orange slugs…I have a picture from the area that shows them…they were bright orange.

From the Park we rushed to an amazing under ground cave that had an amazing story to it…seems they thought it to be where the devil lived years and years before ever venturing into it. The story is that even a sheriff of the town wanted it filled in due to all of the stories without knowing what gems were beneath.

Here is the best site I found to this cave… http://www.perigord.com/proumeyssac/ it was fabulous, I was very surprised at the access to it, they didn’t mind if people touched the stalactites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalactitesand stalagmites http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalagmite    (think the "tights" need to hang on from the ceiling)  which bothered me so…I don’t know I have been caves with very few of them and strict rules not to touch them so surprised me how liberal they were with the tourist in the cave.  There was a small playground where the children played till the sun went down and it was a fun and educational day…what better way to absorb the prehistoric era.

The night ended up being one of our most challenging decisions…we really wanted to go to Carcassone…our prhistric activities were way more than we ever dreamed they would be and our day was gone before we knew it. We had to be in Geneva the next night to meet friends for dinner…we had to say bye bye to Carcassone…which was fine. The thought of the wall city really excited Reichen the most, but this was one of those times where again we had to remind ourselves “there will be a next time”…

We were on the road awhile when I suggested we get a hotel for the night. This would be our only night in a hotel…and it came at the perfect time…Because of the size of the family we needed to get two rooms, they connected and you never would have known they were not one room except for we had two baths. AHHHHHH and we had ICE…we spent about $150 for that roon that night and the ice itself was worth every penny of it. It as the perfect time to stop and take baths. The children took out their knights and gladiators and pirates and while missing our travels on the road it was a nice refreshing evening to be had.

The hotel chain was called Hotel Campanile…I really appreciated this staff who even made calls to other hotels near by trying to see if they could and would fit our family into one room…we were told it was against the law due to how many of us there were.

The town we stayed in was called Cahors…

The hotel was not lavish but it certainly was clean and all we needed http://www.campanile.com/en/default.aspx.

In the morning we drove for a good hour on our way to Geneva when we decided we were going the wrong way…as we truned around to the minute we passed the hotel were had stayed at the night before….this was one of those moments I really would have liked a GPS system!!!!!!!!

I just found the receipt and the night for both rooms was 138 Euros…so a good $150…but again it was worth it!!!

This is only the first few days of our trip…it ends with our arrival at Puy Du Fou one of the most breathtaking spots on Earth for what they have pulled off there. It is a good spot to stop and add to in the next few days for I just the thought of capturing Puy Du Fou in the way it deserves exhaust me. It is a special place… I will share a fantastic YouTube video and their website and will come back and start the rest of travels with our day there…Watch the video closely especially if you have children into Vikings it will show a ship coming out of the water with vikings on board...just stunning. It should show five shows...Knights, Vikings, Musketeers, a Falconry show that had me in tears and Gladiators and a medival feast in a castle.

As you read this please remember I have five children needing me as I type an almost seven month old baby who is becoming very active and a two year old bossing me at all angles and at the same time home schooling…if I am not clear on something please understand the effort it takes to even pull this off…I hope it makes sense I hope to  share links of everything for others and would be more than happy to answer any questions that I can. Just know I type quickly because I have to.

 It started occurring to me that I wanted to go to Europe for a month in late summer early Fall about 9 months ago right before little Aynsleigh arrived.  I love traveling, and Europe was strongly calling my name. As mentioned it is not a good time to go due to the exchange rate but my calling was strong and I thought we could take many steps to help us pull it off. We are a family of 7 so our steps had to include keeping everyone happy and safe. I spent a great amount of time preparing the children for the trip…had I not there was no way it would have been as successful as it was and much of the money spent would have been wasted if I dare allowed the children to just flush each lesson I worked hard and still do to keep the stories, the artist the history alive and in our conversations and readings. I really cannot put a time frame on the amount of work and effort that went into preparing for our trip but it was not done alone and the children were champs embracing our studies and sharing in my excitement…our strong school curriculum gets a lot of the credit but we find as we study something we are always led on what a home school mom described best, “rabbit trails”.

I booked our tickets thru my trusted travel agent just after Aynsleigh was born, got our passport pics taken at Costco (inexpensive) and started getting our passports ordered.  We home school and are using a very strong history program that sparked the boys fascination with Rome and on his own Reichen started embracing Medieval studies  and legends and the house caught on fire with energy and excitement waiting for our trip.

This blog will have many layers to it, diverse readers …most of it is written  for our sake and a way to track what we did, where we stayed, about how much we spent and links of places we studied ahead of time and many  links to places that we hope to study now.  There are many people who have approached us telling us that they  want to do such a trip and some  who have shown an interest in traveling with their family to Europe and wondering where to start and financially how they can pull it off.  I suspect I will ramble on things we could have done better…ways to save money…special detail to areas we stayed and that will be for the purpose of those seeking such a trip.  I can say that each and every day surpassed any and all of our expectations…we have been asked a million times what was our favorite thing we did and none of us can answer…I could not dare organize the trip in my mind that way…it was all simply perfect.  I hated to delete things from our itenary but had many special things that we added.  I had to remind myself that there will be more trips if I didn’t I fear I would have cried over sites unseen.  I can honestly say that not once did anyone say they wanted to go home…and only one day was there a complaint about the time on the road, it was the stretch from Geneva to Florence and Tristan whined that we had been in the car “all day”, and he was right with stops to Chamonix. Turin, Pisa, and the Italian coast he was correct. Only three spans (Normandy to Puy Du Fou, Geneva to Florence, Rome to Venice) of our trip had us in the car for about 5-6 hours …for two of those trips the children slept thru them for they were at night after enjoying late nights at a location and the other was Geneva to Florence however that day was filled with some wonderful side trips

Financially we started planning right when the trip entered my mind…We all caught ourselves every step of the way when I was craving a restaurant  and it would have been so easy to go  and I thought, “hmmm would I rather spend that money here use it to get us all a sandwich under a Campari umbrella in Europe  ( I call those moments “chasing my Campari umbrella moments”).  I don’t know how much I saved this way but those thoughts were in my head for months with just about every financial decision I could make.

I booked our tickets thru Tram who has always done my tickets…if others use her know she works during the day at a job but is always available in the evening hours and has always found me wonderful deals. I have used her for a decade now, she has advice to share, almost motherly at times…but she has always been pretty spot on in what she says.

I booked our vehicle thru www.autoEurope.com they are here in Maine and their employees are VERY knowledgeable and professional. They are not just customer service folks in a que each and every one convinced me highly they were very professional and full of advice.  NOTE if you go this route check their website for deals, we had an excellent deal on our 9 passenger Euro Van that they could not give me on their own but if I mentioned the website they could honor/match it. ALSO if you do this check with your Visa or MasterCard if you use a platinum card it was brought to our attention by my father that there is an insurance that they offer as a benefit, you have to pay for the car with that card to get it, in any case would rather you hear that from the card company vs. me but it is a HUGE benefit. We actually just days before our trip called them back and changed our payment to such a card so we were insured and did not have to pay insurance we were surprised our insurance carrier who use to insure such trips recently had changed their stand on it. Also make sure when booking that the countries you want to go to are allowed in what you rent. Eastern Europe and some others are not allowed in some cars…so make sure, shockingly Italy was not available at some of the rates- check and don’t read it in the fine print when it is too late.

Updated for I just found my reciept we spent just under $2,000 on this 9 passenger van though we only have 7 passengers we needed room for tent etc...This was $700 off the original price, this was evidently a good price for September and the length of time we had it. We paid no insurance since covered via our platinum card...we put some 6,000 miles plus on it and will update the cost of gas so folks are aware it is more there. ALSO we used a Diesel car!!!!! Gas is cheaper if you use Diesel...there was an odd sound to the car from the outside but that was recommended by our agent and glad of course that we did that.. The car was manual with air condition and had a CD player. One of my biggest regrets was not getting the GPS. GPS was offered to us for $12 a day, that didn't peak my interest at all...UNTIL we got lost a few times and I really think it would have been worth it. Highway signs are different there in that they don't really say "Washington DC 22 miles away" they have exits that will say "Washington DC" (for example) and the direction...well within that direction lies all of the other cities not getting a mention on the sign up on your map. ALSO the round about is a huge thing...you get in the circle and find your direction. On our honeymoon I don't remeber the trouble we had this trip with direction...anyway I would get the GPS!!!!

I packed way more clothes than I needed…I always do…packing the kids clothes was important to me but for myself I really wish (and so does Steve) that we packed little for us.  We did bring bags of raisins, a few containers of peanut butter, some tuna fish cans (we never used), some plates, utensils, cups and mayonnaise in packets a picnic blanket (a must).  If I could do anything again I would have stuck with my intent to make more peanut butter baguettes (French bread) sandwiches. Going to markets in Europe is fun, cheaper…filled with fresh items and just the thing to do. Ice and coolers if there are items that I never saw and could not find…if I did it again I might actually have taken a cooler from here packed but then I still don’t know how I would have handled the ice part of it.  Food at restaurants is expensive…everyone told me but I really think I thought I was above it all with a plan that I did not keep to well. I don’t know why I didn’t keep my plan as much as I would have liked, we all love French Bread, a bag of chips and a piece and an apple…things that could be found all over the markets and could be enjoyed on the side of the road. Don’t get me wrong we picnicked…but we should have done it more…we should have done it every single day and not just every three.  Driving thru Dordogne you would see cars on the side of the road colorful blankets brought out and a couple dining on the side of the road. In France everyone sports his or her baguette as if a status symbol. In Dordogne while we ate on the side of the river we watched a young man walk by us…a few minutes later he walked by us in the opposite direction with his bread and a bottle of wine…a few minutes later he rowed by us with a lady on the river both eating their baguette and drinking their wine. So simple and so beautiful…it all appeared almost effortless.

Just an idea on Markets/Grocery Stores

A baguette (French bread) cost less than one Euro

A good Cheese for the family cost about $3

A salami meat that they call sausison (sp???) can serve us all for about $3…mustards are cheap and good…jelly is cheap and good.

Bottled water…get it here at the market…make sure you like the brand before committing to a big number of bottles, I found one that I did not care for…pick one you like stock up on them.

We flew KLM…I love KLM!!!!!!!!!!!  They are Dutch and laid back as far as airline employees go, they were always  smiling and truly either seem to really love life or convince you well that they are there to help you. Anyway flying over the Atlantic with a nice crew and children all around you helps jump-start you off in a good way.

We boarded our plane in DC, from Dulles on September 11^th…there was an interesting calm to the airport, I am convinced different than anything I have ever witnessed in airports before.  I prepared the children and ourselves and it must be noted if you have never flied abroad that the time change can do major damage on you if you don’t take your mind there and embrace the time you get on and realizing that you will land on a new day…the beginning of daylight in a new area and if you have not slept you are starting a trip tired…without sleep etc… 

I preached to the kids that they would board in their PJs and that I would get them comfortable but they were to go to sleep knowing that in 6 some hours we would be going from 6PM to literally a brand new day of about 7AM.  I prepped them better than I did myself… I forewarned them that movies were not going to be had in this direction of the trip for they cut into your sleep and you could easily never go to sleep.  We ate and then I tucked them in. I got extra blankets and made them a fort in their seats…I bet a good 20 people remarked them, one grandma actually was journaling for her daughter (how special) and sharing how our children were in Superman outfits and how they were set in a fort to sleep. I took the blankets and canopied the kids into a cocoon together by tucking it behind their headrest and behind the headrest of the seat in front of them (ours). I used a blanket to make a wall and it really helped to get them off to sleep.

Due to a flight change we had to hit Amsterdam before catching a short flight to Brussels…I really would advice folks to do direct flights even it involves driving four hours to a major airport to do it…legs take wind from your wings. Since our trip was almost a month we could afford to have a little wind taken…but if your trip were much less I really would not want to lose time and most of all energy on a leg like that. 

We arrived in Brussels and instantly drove to Waterloo …note they had a children’s “treasure hunt” guide and the children get a present if they answer the questions, I got the guide (free) but with so many children it was just best for us to go our pace but if you go keep that in mind that this is offered.  At Waterloo there were two short videos they show you one tugged my heart strings it started with young children playing on the grounds and there was the “leader” evaluating his “troops” they were all dressed in their handmade warrior clothes, each different and each taking their rolls so seriously…they resembled my children,  on any day I see my oldest Reichen evaluating the troops in our backyard…in the eyes of these young kids I saw my children at play just the same…it was sweet to see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo

http://www.waterloo1815.be/en/waterloo/

 the site of Napoleon’s last Battle…the children knew of Napoleon and could pick him out of a line up in appearance but we have not studied him with the exception of his relationship to Ancient Egypt and his efforts to secure it’s artifacts and his men’s finding of the Rosetta Stone. They enjoyed the time there and it was a great way to stretch the legs after a long flight. My intent was to go to Dinant also before settling into our camping site in lovely Brugge…time had gotten away from us in additional leg and the length of time to get our car and we sadly did not do it.  The Napoleon wax museum and their circular area to view the war was well worth it’s purchase as well we also took a wagon ride around the battlefield, I forgot if the ticket was inclusive or not but do recommend the whole kitten caboodle if not.    For anyone really into Napoleon I found this site while on some other hunt and it looked promising for those wanting to capture more Napoleon in their vacation  http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/itineraries/index.asp

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 As I researched our trip out I found that Wikipedia actually was a good source of information for within Wikipedia are tons of links that open more information…as I blog instead of describing the area Joan of Arc was burned at I am going to give links since those links can share way more than I can and I will also share books etc… if time permits that I used for the kids to understand the many things we did. I can not stress enough that taking the long almost obsessive amount of time to educate them on where we were going made the trip worth it in that if I missed the 2^nd floor of the Musee d’Orsay it was noticed by Reichen…there were many times (more than I want to admit) where my 8 year old was reminding me of things we had learned…not things I taught as much as things we learned together.

So our trip has begun…fresh from Waterloo and the relaxed it provided at this time of year we headed to Brugge I am going to guess about an hours drive away. Steve and I had stayed there on our honeymoon exactly 8 years before. The guidebooks mentioned a campsite within walking distance of the Old Towne that had our name written all over it. We drove on the street and were convinced we were in the area…back and forth we drove. I have never seen a campsite just go out of business in Europe before, I am sure it happens but I have never witnessed it…most seem to have been there from the beginning of time and it never occurred to me that times might have changed.  We pulled over at a gas station where we were told the campsite is no longer. She informed us there were no other campsites in Bruges. It was getting late at this point and we were eager to have our castle set up…we proceeded to the next town where we saw no mention of a campsite. We then headed to the coast…the Atlantic coast only about 40 minutes.  Where we ended up in Ostend.  We did not stick around Ostend however I have no doubt it could be a vacation in itself and if we go back I plan to spend a few days there relaxing…there was a museum there that looked like it catered to children it was not what we were searching for this trip but if you were there a few days it might be something to look into.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostend,_Belgium

see below where I clarify that we ended up in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bredene.

During the non summer times campsite staff is not there as late as the summertime and we feared we might have to enter a site and pay in the morning which was fine…but in doing so it usually meant the road access to drive your vehicle thru was not there and that we literally would have to carry all items over a gate of sorts…with five children that task is not as easy as it was when Steve and I did this on our honeymoon.  So this story will provide some humor as we go thru our travels…not finding an open campsite and being very tired I pulled over and asked a police officer where we would camp with our tent (looking for a campsite with water, green grass etc…) he said to follow him and he took us to this safe little parking space with about 10 campers in it. None were just big vehicles like ours they were true campers. At the time I poo poo’d that idea greatly, I had never stayed at such a place plus had the safety of my children to think about…it ends up I think every little town in Europe has such a place for “free camping” and while I questioned its safety that night I look back on it and folks were beside their campers socializing and eating and in hindsight it was probably as safe as anywhere. I have only camped in wonderful sites before…running water…hot baths…playgrounds etc… and knowing that we were all maybe able to skip the showers (and boy did we) we were not really able to skip the other bodily functions that we had little control of. So we drove on within the town…filled with campsites that seemed to house “summer homes of nice campers” and knowing that just a month ago this was a true “beach town” filled with activity, swimsuits etc… we were driving a long what a month ago would have clearly been a boardwalk but to us right then we just wanted a place to sleep. All of the camp grounds were “locked” for safety and no one was manning the offices…five of them or so connected to each other and one in particular had a parking lot back outside of the office that appeared kind of safe…we felt we had no choice but to sleep in our van that night in their parking lot and check in in the morning. As we were scouting out what seemed like such a life changing decision a car pulled up that ended up being the family who ran the campground…they were I think just returning from dinner, they were very pleasant and opened the gate and allowed us in with instruction to just stop by in the morning and pay.  Ahhhh showers, bathrooms…campers outside socializing…we were the only tent and pretty humorous to see late at night with all of the bright and shiny campers that resembled summer mansions on the coast in the camping industry.   On our honeymoon we seemed to find campsites with big bushes that separated the sites on this vacation not as much, though we were fine with that.  This site had an open patch of grass for their tents, and sure in the middle of September we were the only tent however I feel safe to say had we been there one month earlier there would not have been room for us. This would be our only really nervous night until we were let into the campground as to “where do we stay…can we walk over the fence”…we were tired and not as bold and confident that night I suspect in the future and in the past things like this didn’t stress us out as much as it did that first night.  The cost for all of us camping totaled 22 Euros each night…one token worth a Euro was needed for hot showers. A clean, very nicely equipped site with a wonderful playground that would have been enjoyed so much more if our time was spent around the tent and not out and about.

My days delay in posting this entry was actually to find the information about this site and here it is www.campingduinzicht.be. I did not get the impression that this family spoke much English but they certainly did what they could to help us, there is a big chance during the summer months they have help that can speak English. I only share that incase someone tries to make reservations over the phone.  I am also noticing that I have ID’d this town as Ostende previously their brochure calls it Bredene!!!!! Ostende though I do know was just a second or two down the road.

Here is info on Bredene  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bredene

While we did not scratch the surface of this town I know a month earlier it would have been hoping with beach seeking families and could have been a vacation in itself…we used it as a place to sleep and I am certain it could have been a vacation for some on its own.

We awoke to seeing the beach community around us that we had only imagined was there…as we drove out and turned left to go back to enjoy Brugge for the day and night we saw the huge sand dunes on our right with paths and people with beach umbrellas and baskets making their way to the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. There was tremendous comfort in that…we have a home just a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean on this side of the pond…so it was neat to imagine that we could enjoy this same Ocean as they did.

Brugge  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugge …wonderful Brugge…everyone should check it out. I find Brugge to be pretty inexpensive and a storybook of a place. If you mention it most everyone will says, “Ahhhh Brugge is beautiful, I love Brugge”.  Steve and I stayed in a little B&B when we came for our honeymoon…we just found it and lucked out at the time, I think I could find it if set lose for the day…but we were camping with children and times sure had changed in 8 years.  We lucked out to find a parking lot that charged 6 Euros for a day to park…it was safe, unmanned but locked. A local guy told me it was a ‘secret for the locals” and seemed surprised that I stumbled upon it…a few wrong turns and our trip moto “let’s get lost in _________ (pick a city)” found us this.

If anyone wonders why I long abandoned taking pictures of a church etc… without someone I know in the picture the above Brugge link should shed some light on it. I realized I could find the perfect picture of a famous landmark on the internet to grab so why use my mediocre skills to try to capture its picture. So all of my famous landmark pictures have the children in them. Sadly when I share them via a collage I have to cut out a lot of stuff and more sad is that I have not really found a way to capture landmark and children together in a great way. I have a nice camera and this upset me.

We had a lovely day!!!!  Just like you shouldn’t go in a grocery store hungry it might have been a mistake to enter Brugge hungry. I will in a heartbeat spend money on a meal that is good and that is had in a scenic place but I do think I made a mistake in judgment when in hunger desperation I sat us down in the famous City Square to eat. The memories of the Clock in the Square and people watching and all will probably be worth it, but I fear I will always remember the most simplest meal to be had that we paid 125 Euros for and thus a good $150.   I had smoked salmon served with toast and the children fries and a soup and Steve maybe a more hearty meal but nothing real memorable. You must remember that all water in Europe is bottled…you will be asked if you want “bubbles” or “no bubbles” so be prepared or you will probably be served the carbonated water…but the price of the water all around for all of us adds to the bill a lot which is again why I stress have your grocery store/market stops in your time schedule and do them.  There was a little boat that departed back near where we parked that took people on a tour thru Brugge…I think it cost us about 30 Euros or so and I am really glad that we took it.  We were the last group on it for the evening, I think it was about 6:30PM and after that we went back to the Town Center and after an evening of Brugge headed back to our campsite almost an hour away (but an easy drive) to wake in the morning and head to France. Just to note we ate here on our honeymoon and loved it it is in our notes from our honeymoon and I remember Derek the inn owner telling us about it   We were to hungry to search it out this trip but I really wish we had.  Wanted to mention on a side street the kiddos saw a lady dressed in old traditional garb making lace and that was a real treat to them.

I would highly recommend the little boat cruise to anyone.

The weather was without a doubt picture perfect our first few weeks or so…not a drop of rain …We took the highway to Rouen France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen_Cathedral

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_I_of_England#Later_years_and_death

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_clock

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc

www.fayencerie-augy.com  updated where kids saw the artist doing faience

www.rouentourisme.com  updated from brochure of light show (maybe they do every summer)

…not far from Paris and still in the Northern area of France in fact near the Normandy Beaches, Paris, Claude Monet’s home etc… this area itself justifies several more days than we were able to give it.  Rouen was a lovely stop…we found a parking garage underground and a wonderful Information office (clearly marked “I”) on all maps and filled with people who for the most part want to help you. We were lead to believe it would be hard to park our van in cities…that Europeans have small cars etc… I will not argue that they do indeed have small cards, but there are also a lot and I do mean a lot of campers and vans similar to ours in the areas we were at. Sure it is more problem then having a small car…but without any huge exception we did always seem to find a spot for us. In this garage we really lucked out there was a place parallel to the wall that was meant for us and we pulled right along it and went out to enjoy Rouen. I have been guilty of blogging more about food than other things in the past…but when you have children and you want the best of experiences I have to say food in my life is a big issue.  I wanted the I named a good 15 years ago while in Greece “the Campari Umbrella experience”…I would spend for good food and in Rouen I wanted just that.  What we found was a decent little café where we could eat out on the cobblestone streets feet away from where Claude Monet propped easel to pain the Notre Dame Cathedral.  You will find such places everywhere, many have pre made sandwiches and pizzas and locals are gathered there too…it is not my cup of tea I really want food that is fresher…but you could be suckered into such a thing easily if hungry and looking to save a Euro or two…again I’d rather pay the Euro or two for a hot meal for there is nothing I love better than to take the first bite of food from a place I might not ever get the chance to return to.  The little place we ended up at was fine and the meal he made was done behind the counter while offering premade items as well.

We drove along the Normandy Beaches http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Normandy

We arrived at 4:00AM…we set our alarm for I think 8:00 and we slept in the van in an area at Puy Du Fou set up for campers, as safe as can be, campers all around and right there yards away from the entrance…free.  The children at this time were all asleep and I know they drifted off to sleep with great expecatations and excitement for the day that was ahead of them...I was like a child myself with excitement.

We are home…with so much to share!!!!

I have spent hours putting together our photos (and have not finished) and have had no time to blog or write up stories but will. I have had so many people approach me about wanting to do a trip such as ours and am willing to share what I can to help people pull such a trip off. It is not a good time to travel to Europe…the dollar to the Euro is at an all time poor, but we went anyway for Europe was calling and each and every day exceeded any expectation I could have had and any dream that I could have imagined.  Unpacking for 7 took me by surprise and I have to say was the hardest part of the whole vacation…I underestimated how tired we’d be upon or return.

I am posting some pictures (a small fraction) of our trip until I get to the others…they are in order as  we experienced things.  I think many won’t be able to be enjoyed without words to go along with them and I hope to really sit down and do that this week as everything is fresh in my mind.

If you subscribe to the blog and are notified when I post things I urge you to reconsider that option and to just check back in in about a week IF you are interested. The reason being is I know due to time that I will have to update and post when I can thus posting small updates at a time  and I hate the thought that people will be getting bothered with so many notifications as I do so. I don’t know how it is done but to unsub from the notifications might be a good option as I do this.

Our trip took us to Brugge, Rouen and the Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen where Richard the Lion Heart’s heart is buried and Claude Monet painted it often and Joan of Ark was burned at the stake…there you will see that at 10:00 at night they did an amazing light show on the Cathedral to a slide show of Monet’s many different painting of the façade…so the picture lightly funky is from that.

Claude Monet's garden where we literally slept in his garden and were lulled to sleep by the sprinklers raining on our van (so much to share)...

Normandy to one of my favorite little towns Etretat…the cliffs that Monet painted and grand memories of our honeymoon and our stop there 8 years to the day before.  The children got their armor there…we ate mussels in a delicious cream sauce and got photos in front of the cliffs that Monet painted.

The Normandy Beaches…and St Mont Michele which was obviously impossible to capture on camera at night…but was stunning…I share the pics though am clearly aware they are awful quality.

On to a secret called Puy Du Fou that was nothing more than magical!!!!

The Lascaux Caves…and a huge underground cave…a prehistoric museum…and a prehistoric park (notice the orange snail/slug found there).

Geneva to meet a family that is dear to me as we went thru the process of adding to our family together…for some reason I embrace them like family and have loved them since our first correspondence via email.

On thru Mont Blanc to go to Italy…and as we approached it’s mouth to go in I hollered, “turn around we must go to Chamonix for lunch and a few hours”…with seconds to spare Steve turned that rented van around and we found ourselves minutes later with hot chocolate and crepes before us as we looked up at the beautiful Mont Blanc. I spent many of Christmas morning skiing in Chamonix as a child and it too was  a stop and place to stay on our honeymoon.

From there on to Florence, Tuscany, Rome and Venice…we missed Pompeii which I think saddened Reichen as much as it did me…but there will be future trips.  Florence was magical and we chased down our favorite art with map in hand on every street corner.  Rome where the boys carried their armor and Tristan put on his warrior face. Venice, after having the most beautiful weather one could ask for the whole trip hit us with nothing short on a monsoon…unprepared and having left our rain gear at home accidentally we all wrapped in garbage bags and I was dying to label them as “Armani”.

Up thru Austria where we hiked up a neighborhood hill for food and cursed the person who shared the restaurant info every step of the way, it was steep, we were tired and hungrier than I had ever been. When we got up there and took our first bite of food overlooking cows and mountains from the hill top I would have kissed the gal on the lips for the wonderful recommendation.

On to Meersburg Germany a small town on Lake Constantine…a wonderful town that when it appeared certain Steve was going to take a job in Germany I looked on a map and picked Meersburg as a place I would want to live.

To the Neushwanstein Castle where I fell in love with Ludwig II…when our tour led us to his bedroom and scenes from “Tristan and Isolde/Iseualt” we all were in awe as we read two different versions of the story about a month before we left.

The Black Forest and it’s dark squirrels that came to us for nuts…

We surrendered an additional stay in the Black Forest for a day and night in Paris!!!!…we were one of the last people to go up, all the way up, in the Eiffel Tower that night…a wonderful dinner on the Champs d’Lysee…

So much more to share…please note the pictures are just a fraction of these days…and what I share is only a fraction of the wonderful trip. I have promised to share great detail…prices…safety concerns etc… and will be as open and honest as I can so others can get ideas and evaluate if such a trip could fit into their budget.

If you notice a tendancy of Bronwyn being on the perimeter of many pictures we have captured her at her finest...true Diva literally making us beg to take her picture. When you proceed to take a pciture  without her she gradually pokes herself into the frame only to turn her back on you and glance under her eyebrows casually checking to see if you are getting her. I was asked during a 4th of July party if she was in acting lessons...if they only knew!!!!!

So so so much more later…my intention was only to share pics in these few minutes but you know me get me started and I won’t shut up J

We're leaving in a few minutes for an almost month long trip thru Western Europe!!!!!  As I've packed I've wondered, "what on Earth was I thinking?"...packing for five kids and ourselves it not the easiest thing in the World.

We leave our beloved pets with a petsitter who will be here...A Spinnaker who is having a lot of trouble getting up and falling down often and a Sandy who appears to be doing way better than we ever thought she would be doing at this time due to her cancer diagnosis.

Everyone is so excited...Bronwyn is saying she is going to , "Europe" and she wants to go on a "pink plane...Okay??????".  Tristan rattles off "Belgium, France, Italy, "what's the one that begins with an "A", what's the one that begins with an "S", Germany the Netherlands.

Reichen and Karsh are beside themselves with enthusiasm...having been totally into the Roman Empire. I've ordered them all new and matching Italian made Roman Armor to be given to them the night before we arrive at Puy du Fou. Reichen so wants to be a knight of the round table...he wants his name on a chair...he wants to put his shield and sword on display as he eats so my plans are to set them up around a table wherever we end up eating for dinner. It's not easy hiding them from them :)

I hope to blog while there with hopes of sharing how camping thru Europe really is. I keep saying it is very doable financially but must admit we are spending WAY more than I thought we would and packing has not been easy. Gas alone will be upwards to $3,000...it is an awful time for an American to go to Europe, the value of our dollar is not good there.

Our journey takes us...

To Belgium, Denant, beautiful Brugge...

Claude Monet;s home, Rouen, the Bayeaux tapestry, the beaches of Normandy, St Mont Michele, Puy du Fou, the Lascaux Caverns , Carcassone, the biggest Egyptian Museum outside of Cairo in Turin, Cinque Terre (ahhhh), Tuscany, a photo op at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Vinci to Leonardo's museum where they have made some of his scientific experiments, dreams come alive. On to Florence...to the Vatican where we hope to have a private viewing since a member of the Swiss Guard is related to a dear friend...to Rome...to Pompeii, to Venice where we have masks packed to paint and decorate.

To Innsruck Austria, to Neuschwanstein Castle (the castle that Disney used to make the Princess castle at Disney), to the Black Forest, to Luxembourg (added only because in a search I found picture of a family having a lunch infront of gorgeous ruins...then on to Amsterdam to the Van Gogh Museum....

Things we have to delete from our trip...and might pull off but I doubt...

Paris...Oktoberfest...Berlin.

Just a slight dose of what is in store if my BIG dream of traveling around the World with the family in 7 years really does happen :)

I think I have typed up an update at least three times and none have posted…so here goes…my last attempt.  I am typing quickly while the boys are outside playing King Arthur and Bronwyn and Aynsleigh are both napping.  I have had several wonderful emails asking for some updates and hope I have time to finish this. There is so much to share!!!!

In four weeks from today we are heading to Europe for a month…we’re taking all of the kiddos with a slight schedule that has changed often based on what we are studying and what seizes the boy’s interest. We are hitting beautiful Bruges, North France, Normandy and  Claude Monet’s home, St. Mont Michel and then onto  Paris before we head down to the South of France. From there we are spending most of our time in Italy…Venice, Rome and I hope Florence. In Italy in Turin there is a big Egyptian Museum that the boys really want to see so I hope we can do that as we head North. We will be stopping to meet up with friends in Geneva and to visit a few castles on the Romantic Road of Germany before heading home. There is no doubt the trip will leave us exhausted and I hope it will be as fun in real life as I imagine it to be.  I might not blog there but I do hope to blog our trip with the intention of trying to convince families that traveling can be done with children and some ideas on how to financially pull off such a trip in Europe.  I have worked real hard to educate the children on what they will be seeing…I lived in Europe as a child for 7 years and was fortunate that my parents took us everywhere!!!!  But I stood in front of many things not really knowing anything about them which is normal I have no doubt.  We have studied artist and Empires taking constant breaks for the children to absorb what they can so they understand ahead of time what these wonderful adventures are.  As we drive thru the Alps they will know that Hannibal took his elephants over those mountains. As we look at the Sistine Chapel they will have painted upside down under the table to know that that is how Michelangelo painted.  Even Tristan knows he is going to see “the big naked David” while in Italy.

A lot has happened in the past six months of our life…big changes a lot of smiles and sadly some tears. As most know we have four dogs and two cats…over the past four years some of my  pups have had a lump of some sort that left me running to the vet in tears only to find out that it was just fatty lumps, then they roll their eyes at me wondering why I am not rushing off to the Dr to address my own fatty lumps that have developed over the years. So in the Spring when I felt one on Sandy I waited the ten days or so until she was getting her summer haircut to have it checked. The results came back instantly that she has spindle cell sarcoma, I was not expecting this and will never forget my vet, who I adore, walking thru the examining room door very calmly saying, “cancer”. A rapid growing malignant cancer. The vet knew when he removed it to send to pathology that it was spindle cell and therefore he removed a lot of tissue around it and was pretty aggressive in what he took out. Anyone who knows me knows my last penny would be spent on my animals (and has at many times in my life) and when I was having to make the decision to pursue chemo etc… my vet really sat me down and made me think about it. He made me remember that Sandy LOVES being outdoors, she loves to bark at squirrels and white cars/trucks, she loves “working” and relaxing under trees. He made me really stop and think that to treat her with chemo or radiation would involve loading her in the car with five children, waiting at the State Vet School in lobbies…treating her skin for possible burns…keeping her from all that she loves. He also pointed out that statistically most if not all of my dogs will die of cancer and that all are in their final few years and where would I stop.  He reminded me that I am a pet lover who is sure to have pets in my life at all times and  when would I stop …and would the expense of $6,000 a cancer treatment actually prevent me from opening my home up to other animals. It was a hard decision and one that I made with many tears but we have decided to give Sandy comfort and to spoil her rotten and to let her live out her life the way she would want. She is such a special pup…a former homeless man’s dog that literally stood in front of my car I am convinced to this day in order to stop me so that I could help her with the puppies that she had birthed off in the woods.   I have dreams of writing a children’s book about her she is so special.  Then in the past few weeks Spinnaker (my oldest and literally tied to my heart) has had to be picked up off of the floor whenever she lies down. She is filled with fatty lumps and while I see no sign of pain it is obvious that she is having trouble getting up and sometimes holding her pee. It was Spinnaker and me long before Steve entered my life...she was a young pup swimming in Echo Ally in downtown Annapolis, tied up outside of brunch restaurants while we drank bloody Marys in downtown.  She has had a wonderful Chesapeake Bay Retriever life.   Three nights ago she fell and I screamed so loud and ran from her…I don’t know why I selfishly couldn’t watch or see to help her. I can’t explain it and certainly am not proud of it…I just ran from her it hurt me so much to see her. Steve literally yelled at me to come and be with her and told me she needed me. I am disappointed in myself for my actions and of course quickly ran to her and comforted her but my fear what is in me that made me run from my precious pup when she needed me most. I honestly don’t think I can handle the passing of my pets…my brain just can’t get around it. We watched ‘Rocket Gibraltar’ last night and it found me reminding everyone that if I die make certain that I am cremated and that the cremated ashes of all of my critters in my life are combined with mine and that we are set out into the Ocean. My old poetic soul Reichen said he wanted his ashes in there too and I told the boys they will have wives one day and that that is where they would want to be. Little Karsh in his angelic voice said, “I am not going to get married I am going to stay with you mama”…all three curled up around me and we sat in a huge cuddle for several minutes. I definitely have mama’s boys!!!!!  I don’t know what the next months or the year has in store for me in dealing with a pets loss of life, I found out Sandy had cancer two days after booking our trip to Europe and would not have booked it had I known. She does seem very well though they have told me this could happen quickly I am not seeing any signs of it yet I don’t think.

The biggest news is the birth of Aynsleigh!!!!! I have three children with birthdays within a five day span. Party central in this home for the last few days of February and the beginning of March. I was in such a panic my last few months of pregnancy. Steve was traveling Monday as early as 6:00am and returning as late as 8:00pm on Friday and after Bronwyn’s birth in 22 minutes I just feared what kind of situation I would be in. Every scenario passed thru my mind, overwhelmed me and made me very anxious.  We got our hands on “Emergency Childbirth” assuming she would be born at home with no time to get anyone here…thoughts of Steve not even being here filled my head.  I wanted a healthy baby and the whole family to be there…that was very important to me. We interviewed two midwives to do a home delivery…one didn’t show up at the original appt (though she did come to my house for a second chance)  and the second I loved but she was a good hour plus drive away. The cost was $3,500 and I was very surprised when I found out our insurance (which is wonderful) didn’t cover that and of course we would be expected to pay it even if they didn’t make it in time. My gut feelings are so strong on things…almost in a scary way…and I had two feelings tugging at me strongly. Not feelings for how I wanted things, but more feelings of what I thought would happen. I really thought a midwife would not make it here in time and I think I was fine with that but I wasn’t fine with an out of pocket expense of $3,500 if that was the case. More importantly I was not fine with any hired help having to bring their child here while I was in labor. I think that made me more uneasy than anything. While I wanted all of my children right there in the room with me I didn’t want to have to worry about someone else’s child  being in my home at such a time, I really could not be guaranteed of that. My gut started thinking I was going to be home by myself when I went into labor…it was a strong gut feeling and I prepped myself for an unassisted birth not because I wanted it as much as I really just thought I would be kidding myself if I didn’t let my mind grasp that. That is when Steve read Emergency Childbirth and started getting real nervous about things. He started to think I should have an induction which I never entertained for my gut wasn’t leading me there…and even all but one of my midwives was steering me in that direction due to Bronwyn’s birth and Steve’s travels.   Others had some concerns of how all 4 of my children would handle the birth and on a scale of 1-100 that didn’t register as a concern of mine at all. I KNEW they could not only handle it but that they all had shown an incredible desire and wish to be there when Aynsleigh entered the world. I was not going to budge on that, if I knew anything it was that my children would be there in the room with me and would witness Aynsleigh’s arrival.  Sono after sono showed the cord around Aynsleigh’s neck …thinking the chances were high she’d come at home I had them do one more sono a few weeks before her due date and it too clearly showed the cord around her neck. That didn’t seem to concern anyone too much for statistically many babies are born with the cord around their neck (neither T or B had it around it theirs) but it was scaring me on a level that was so strong I couldn’t get past it.  I kept thinking something was going to go wrong. I have never found myself to be a parent that worries too much…but this worry was so strong and powerful that I really got worked up into a stress. My dearest friends kept reminding me of my worry and they casually reminded me that I kept having a feeling that something was not right…that something was going to happen wrong. I so feared that I was going to be having a non assisted birth not by choice at this point…until seconds before labor I couldn’t have told anyone what I felt was going to happen and I had no plan for I didn’t feel I had the luxury to have one… I was left with no real plan as to what to do. My hopes then were that I would have time to get to the hospital. My wishes were that Steve would be in town, the children would be there and that she would not be born on Karsh’s birthday or Bronwyn’s. It was way more important to me that she was not born on Karsh’s birthday. Karsh and Reichen spent their first 3 and 6 years not having a birthday celebrated and I certainly did not want them to ever have to share their day with anyone else in their immediate family.  Several midwives had said that their experience was the 3^rd baby was not as fast in coming as the 2^nd…I found some huge peace in that. My desires were now to make it to the hospital. The week of my due date we read a story about Dream catchers for a newborn baby and we all took that sweet thought and each made a dream catcher to put up for Aynsleigh’s birth. We made little Indian Outfits our of tan pillow cases and decorated them and got a tee pee from the toy library for the kids to sleep in while I was in labor…the whole time not knowing where the dream catchers would be hanging or where the tee pee would be set up. At this time I was really hoping to make it to the hospital and have my midwives (who do not do home delivery) deliver Aynsleigh.

24 ½ hours before Karsh’s birthday at 11:30 at night  I felt a sensation that I was possibly willing to entertain as a contraction. I called my midwives (mind you was in total denial for Bronwyn’s birth) and they urged me to come in. We had just turned off the TV and said good-night to Jon Stewart and all of the kiddos were asleep. We woke up everyone grabbed the tee pee,  all of our fort blankets and the dream catchers .  We  packed the children nothing else for I wanted to “have the baby and come home”, so Pjs were all we had,  I  had packed the children nothing…we all headed to the hospital and rolled into labor delivery to a staff that took one look at the mama in labor and the four kiddos and hubby with her and I think were wondering, “hmmm how is this going to work out”. I was settled at about 1:30AM with thoughts that Karsh’s birthday was the next day!!!!! The nurses told me I was in labor but my denial still did not have me convinced…

We were put in their biggest room with no tub (I really wanted a tub if I was going to be in the hospital) and no room for our tee pee…but we made the best of it and made a fort for the children using the sofa in the room and tons of blankets, sleeping bags and pillows that we had brought from home for just that purpose and they were picture perfect. There was a lot of excitement…but not much in the way of contractions where I just felt things were not going to happen. I really started doing the math in my head and really thought Aynsleigh was going to arrive on Karsh’s birthday. I prayed not…but as I laid there not really feeling things going into full gear I just started thinking that. The nurses would not let me go home because they knew of Bronwyn’s fast birth…and I felt like I was laying there with little happening. Things started to pick up in early morning.   At about 4:30AM –5:00AM I was till awake and everyone but Tristan and me had just drifted off to sleep. Tristan curled up in the bed with me…Steve and all of the others were asleep, the kiddos in the fort and Steve in a chair. Tristan and I had the most precious moments…tender, sweet unforgettable cuddling and loving. Those 2 ½  hours will probably be some of my most precious moments to remember…it meant the world to me.  Tristan is such the mama’s boy…has always just melted into my arms and belly and chest…holds my hand often, grabs my hand as he falls off to sleep and takes my hands and brings them to his cheeks all of the time. He is extremely sentimental and loving.  At about 7:30AM Tristan fell to sleep…everyone else was asleep but Steve kept coming in and out of it to check on me…

At 7:58 my water broke…the nurses kept telling me that when it did things would go fast and they were not kidding.  My precious Aynsleigh arrived in 12 minutes…having no pain meds on board I can say it was Bronwyn’s and Tristan’s birth x1,000. She not only had the cord  around her neck the midwife appeared to almost be panicking and I did not know why. Her arm was over her head!  While I didn’t have the most warm and fuzzy midwife in the practice delivering I am 100% convinced I had the perfect one for this birth, I will always think this along with the cord around the neck was the gut feeling fear that had seized me so.  Though Aynsleigh was born very fast I can  remember the panic in the midwife’s voice, the sweat that she had worked up and the absolute exhaustion that I was feeling. We woke up the children right when my water broke and could not stir Tristan…Karsh, Reichen and Bronwyn were all there…right there…and saw their sister come into the world. They were troopers and so excited and always say how happy they were that they were there. Tristan slept about three feet away  and woke up about 20 minutes after the birth.  For the first few months he really took it hard that he slept…I have really had to remind him of how important his role was to me in the hours before Aynsleigh’s birth.  I have pictures of him in the bed with me and show them to him often so he doesn’t feel like he missed anything. So baby Aynsleigh arrived at 8:10AM three days after Bronwyn’s birthday and one day before Karsh’s…and ten days before I turned 40.

When Tristan was born I begged to be discharged at the eight hour mark…maybe it is because I worked in a hospital for 15 years…but I find not comfort in being in one and within minutes and I do mean minutes I was calculating the eight hour mark of when I could go home with the whole family and baby Aynsleigh. The staff told me things have changed in the past few years…that now they don’t allow people to go home so quickly for they had found many had to turn around and come right back. I was determined to go home…I felt I couldn’t rest until I got home and wanted so much for my whole family to cuddle up in our home, with our music, our food. Thank goodness a crane was out our window and a huge construction project for that kept the kids entertained and they were  perfect troopers. Aynsleigh was 7 pounds and 15 ounces and 19 ½ inches. There was some concern over her jaundice and the young Peds on duty really told me that they wanted her to stay for 48 hours and I was asked to stay as a patient for at least 24 hours more.  I can not express how much that I was just not feeling the need to do that. They were very kind to me and even said that they trusted my judgment knowing I had five children now and that all were with me…they never made me feel like I was jeopardizing Aynsleigh’s health they just made me feel like they had to legally advice me to stay and that that was protocol. Mostly Karsh’s birthday and images of it the next day were hanging in my head and of course my strong desires to take us all home.  My wishes were to go home, to stop on our way to see our Ped (who I adore and trust more than any DR I have ever met)…to have him give us an “all clear” and to head home and sleep for our grand day the next day with baby Aynsleigh in attendance.  The staff had to present me an “AMA” form to sign if I chose to leave. It is a form I am very familiar with from my hospital days that just covers them…it is a form that I was leaving and discharging ourselves Against Medical Advice. I did know from my schpiels to patients in the past that insurance might not cover a visit if you sign one so I called my insurance company who said they would cover the visit even if we signed the form. Without hesitation and actually with the staff’s blessings I signed the form and we loaded up the family of seven and headed to our Ped’s office for what we thought would be a quick blessing and then homeward bound.  Slightly less than eighth hours had passed since Aynsleigh’s birth when I entered his office. I had that enormous high of carrying my new precious arrival but was moments away from just needing to collapse from not having slept one minute in almost two days.  I was so proud of my bundle of joy but knew I was on the edge of needing to sleep and crash!!!!! As we arrived all four of the older kiddos were sound asleep in their car seats and Steve stayed in the car with them knowing they too had barely slept.  I really thought I was going to just have my DR eyeball Aynsleigh and be on our way so I thought Steve and the children would be in the car waiting just a few minutes while I went in to have Aynsleigh evaluated (our Ped didn’t have privileges where we birthed or obviously would have rounded there to see her).

As I held Aynsleigh I heard the DR approaching our door to enter and speaking with a medical student…my friends and I still giggle over the conversation that I heard…but he obviously was prepping the young med student on me as he approached with chart in hand and I heard him say, “this next patient is a force of nature”…..I never questioned him as to what that really meant but I do get a chuckle out of it.  I’m not certain I want to hear the answer I guess J

I presented my dear Aynsleigh all proud and he looked at her and ordered a blood count and had her temperature checked. There was some slight commotion going on and he clearly became concerned. They brought out warming blankets tucked her into my shirt and she had a hematocrit that made him say was on the line of what could cause a stroke. I lost it…so tired…and still feeling like she’d be fine just let me take her home and once we were all rested she’d be fine…I really felt she would be fine…that she was fine!!!! My strong gut instincts told me she’d be fine just let us go home, please just let us go home.   I love our DR… as the office started closing he stayed with me, staff had left and he stayed with me knowing that I really wanted to get home…to be in my space…to wake in the morning to Karsh’s birthday and our new complete family, he knew this was important to me and he tried to make it happen. He finally came in the room and told me he trusted my mother instincts as much as anyone he had ever met…and that if he ever sent anyone home like this it would be me…that he felt I could handle many things…he also said she was on the low side of what he takes stroke precautions for …but none the less she was in the range.  He had a heart to heart with me and said she really needed to be in the hospital. It hit me like a ton of bricks that of course she had to go back into the hospital. He made some calls and we were admitted to “his” hospital…not the one we had just left a good 30 minutes away. I felt better being at the neighborhood hospital vs. the teaching one at this point. Steve and the kids had now been out of the car and were awake and were in the small examining room with me. I knew we had to go back in…I trusted our Ped more than anyone in the World…and I knew he would not steer me to do this if he didn’t think it was a must. At this point it was probably about 7:00PM…Steve took me across the street and he and the kids got us settled and Aynsleigh was put under heating lights with her dear dream catchers  hanging overhead  and I was at the point where I was too tired to even think.  I kept telling Karsh that I promised I would make up his birthday to him…our plans were a zoo trip and I promised him if he would let us celebrate the day after that I would go all out. What a special little fella he took the news so well and didn’t even show an ounce of disappointment.  There was a lot of problems with getting us readmitted…seems once a newborn leaves a hospital they are considered “contaminated” and not welcomed back to the newborn area. So a newborn nurse was sent down to the Peds floor to take us.  That probably would have been good news to many, one on one care…but she parked herself in our room to watch Aynsleigh and I just really needed the rest and in my typical fashion I felt like I had to entertain her…I just wanted it to be me and Aynsleigh and if I needed her to press a button…but no I had her in the room…the three of us.  At 10:00PM a neuro DR came around on a consult and was really pleased with the way Aynsleigh was looking. Her concerns were minimal yet I do know that Aynsleigh had gotten better and that we did the right thing admitting her back in.  She said her opinion was we could leave bright and early in the morning after our Ped rounded.

At 8:30AM, on Karsh’s birthday we were  discharged…the troops came up to get us…and we tucked in to celebrate Karsh’s birthday while I had minimal sleep. I spoiled him rotten for days…celebrated “his day” for days…and my little guy was a champ!!!!!!

Any concerns for Aynsleigh’s health were immediately washed away…what an easy going baby she was…two days later my two dearest friends came to town and three days later Aynsleigh, with brothers and sister in tow was in her sling and we were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in downtown Raleigh. They block off the square and we had the best time. My friends stayed for the weekend…wine was a flowing and just special moments having two of my bridesmaids with me in my home. We all use to talk about parties, men and traveling and I laughed as I found our conversations more about the aches and pains of getting older…where has time gone????  It was such a women’s weekend…even Bronwyn stayed awake with “the girls” as we watched the Dixie Chick’s movie twice in one night after everyone else was in bed. 

So that is the story of Miss A and her arrival…she honestly as corny as it sounds, “completes us”…Steve can’t put her down…from a man who literally laughed out loud when I told him we were pregnant (honestly he laughed as if he was doomed to never experience retirement)…he could not imagine , we could not imagine life without her. She is days away from being 5 months old…she is the most easy going baby…chunky little monkey who just watches her brothers and sister with such a desire to be right there in the middle of them. They love her dearly!!!!!!  She sports the same cloth diapers that Tristan wore four years ago, the same cloth diapers that have been washed every 48 hours for 4 years…now in tatters but lovingly put on her with reminders of Tristan and Bronwyn wearing the same diapers with each snap.

Now I’m typing quickly…everyone is in, Steve is making dinner and Princess Bronwyn has awaken with demands that only Daddy could take her out of her crib…WOO WEEEE we  know who rules this house…

I can not think what could make Bronwyn or a child more spirited…Bronwyn really thinks she was born into royalty and I don’t know if we can ever tell her she was not. Her demands in hindsight are pretty funny…but she literally has me jumping thru hoops all day to meet her needs and wants. The second you met the 99^th need she’ll serve you up another. Getting into my make-up is a once a month occurrence and just this week she actually removed two huge screws out of her crib, crawled out from the base of it and replaced the screws into the crib. She put on a big show for all of us as she showed us how she removed the screws, placed them to the side and returned them. She is a hoot…but very tiring indeed.  Smart as a whip that little girl…I don’t remember her ever not talking…

Other news- BIG NEWS for us at least- Steve took  four weeks of paternity after Aynsleigh was born…during that time a manager at his current company called him and interviewed him for a non traveling position. The day he returned to work he was offered the position and now we have a hubby and daddy who is not traveling. I don’t know how I have done it without him Monday thru Friday for over two years…my first few weeks of having him home brought me to tears many times as I almost felt like I was debriefing from the constant true survival mode that I was in. I mean I have had root canals, OB appt, Ped appts,  sonograms everything in life with my four children right there as I went thru them. 

Steve is home now about 5:30 every evening with zero travel and a job he loves…it is so wonderful…we so needed this!!!!!

Other huge news and what I have had many questions about is our schooling and how it is going. I never in a million years would have known how fulfilling home schooling would be and how it fits into our life so well.  I really hoped to take the time to really share so much more about this for others who have asked. My hope in the near future is to actually do away with this blog since we are no longer “insearch of this family”…and to actually do a school specific one. Time just really prevents me from sharing so much of the excitement in the household over schooling and learning. I have had some wonderful mentors to learn from that is for certain…

We are using a Charlotte Mason approach and I have added things here and there that seem to suit the children the most.  As most know Reichen started Kindergarten when he was 6. Mainly because he joined our family at the age of 6 and I was not going to put him directly into school…he needed some mama time!!!!  That has had a domino affect  on when to start all of the others.  At first I felt it only fair to keep two years between the kiddos for Reichen’s sake and so not to ever make him feel he is the one behind. And while I always say Reichen is the oldest soul I have ever seen I really have always thought that Karsh is possibly the youngest soul I have ever met…which gave me reason to start him this Fall at age 6.  I guess my gut feelings are not too good in that I really have recognized Karsh for his Art thinking he might struggle some with academics. I did have a slight, one occasion reason for thinking this. Last June/July when my math curriculum arrived I sat him down for the first time to test the waters of him doing Math. I put five simple math problems in front of Karsh and explained addition to him (I had never done this before for I wanted him…like Reichen…to catch up on their being kids minus school that they had missed out on).  Karsh did the first two problems and honestly was glassy eyed at even attempting the third. I asked a few other home school mamas what they thought as I assumed “learning disability”, after all he was five. Each and everyone said , “NO” totally normal not to worry. I still thought there was going to be an issue, I didn’t know what…but something seemed different and maybe it was as simple as he loves to do art (he and Tristan will both sit for hours doing art, discussing it and carrying each others pencil boxes outside and set them up with paper to do art together under a tree).  I don’t know I just thought Karsh would struggle in school and so I never ever brought up the subject again to him and was going to reserve the teaching to start this Fall 07 when he entered Kindergarten officially (at the time not knowing if we would do public school or hs). So fast forward only 6 or 7 months to this past January…as I verbally quizzed Reichen on things Karsh kept answering the questions…before Reichen…and kind of under his breath. This went on about two more times when we handed Karsh the abacus to show him how numbers go from 10-20 etc… and there was nothing to show him he counted by 5’s, 10’s he could add numbers like 81 and 12 and used the abacus in a way that was amazing. He could “see” that to get 81 he had to hold back 19 beads and tilt the abacus to produce 81. He could “see” math on a level that was astonishing to me.  Reichen with a very advanced Math curriculum is working at 3 grades higher than he is…and tested in State test at the end of  4^th grade math while in 1^st grade…and while Reichen excels in Math I have had to teach him Math. Karsh needs minimal teaching, I can show him how to do something and he almost shrugs his shoulders like, “give it to me, I got it”.  I am just shocked that this was in Karsh and I had no idea…but then again it wasn’t in him obviously that last June or July or was it just not in him that day?  He will look over at what Reichen is doing and wants me to show him what we are working on…he loves Math!!!! Karsh is slated to start Kindergarten this Fall and in days learned 90% of his multiplication tables.  More so than thinking about when should my kids start Kindergarten I put the spin on it as to when do I want them to go off to college…and I want that when they are 19. So while Karsh is clearly doing Math way beyond the Kindergarten (and Math and Geography and History) years I still don’t want him to go to college until 19 so that is where I will keep him.  In our State you have to test your children once a year if home schooled, you are offered the chance to administer the test yourself but I never want it questioned and hired a company to test Reichen and Karsh (even though he was not officially in school yet) in May. Reichen tested in the 4^th grade math and would have tested higher I think except things like the way the test wrote fractions were different than the way I wrote them. Reichen has long tackled fractions but I write them with a diagonal line and these were written with a horizontal line and he just didn’t see them as the same. Same with Karsh he didn’t touch the fractions on the test yet has been doing fractions since the first few days of doing math in January. Karsh tested on a 2^nd grade level and the only thing he tested at a Kindergarten level for was quickness. Seemed they had a timed portion and I think he did three basic math problems of like 2+1 in three minutes time. I can’t stress how easy something like 2+1 is to him, this is a child who can regroup multi digit numbers to add and subtract.  Neither child had ever been timed on anything, I am certain that Karsh didn’t even really understand the instruction…and thus did three simple Math problems in three minutes while I am certain his mind was wondering with boredom.  He reads at about a 3^rd grade level but I have noticed if he reads over a word and it doesn’t make sense he doesn’t catch himself so I need to work on that with him.

Tristan watches everything that Reichen and Karsh do…he has been reading since the Winter and I totally owe it to him watching Karsh and wanting to be right there with him. Back then I would have thought that they might be on the same level…but Karsh has taken off like a rocket and there clearly will be a huge difference in where they are at least in these first few years of Elementary age education, there is no comparison on a school level between the two at this point like there had been back in early January. Tristan does do the same math that Reichen came home with from his last days in kindergarten in public school…he counts by 10s and 100s…adds and subtracts multiple digit numbers (no regrouping)…but Karsh and Reichen clearly are Math gifted. Reichen due to learning…Karsh just naturally I think.

Reichen has read the first Harry Potter book on his own…and lately has been reading “Children’s Homer”…he loves the story of “Troy” and I think enjoys the travels of Odysseus even more. He has the map out of the journey of Odysseus and travels it with his finger and describes it with such passion.  He grasp things so well.

Studying History has set our home on fire!!!! It has helped to have Steve around in the evenings as we walk thru Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, India and China…the History Curriculum I have purchased is very rich. I am literally begged to teach History lessons by Reichen and Karsh.  Their interest in History is actually the major reason I have booked our trip to Europe so many of the artifacts we have studied will be at museums along the way. Reichen is disappointed we are not going to make it to Greece this year…but he sure is excited about Rome.  I’ve said it before and hope to say it forever that being the mother of this young boy is such a thrill!!!!! Reichen can go from Alexander the Great to Achilles to Leonidas, to King Arthur to Lancelot to Harold the King of the Vikings in minutes time…the latest kick is a Knight’s Templar, complete with castle building and costume making. 

Oh gosh I could go on and on…

I uploaded some pictures last week…this summer finds us doing no real traveling in preparation for our trip to Europe. I catch myself as I drive thru Chick Filet for my lemonade addiction and think about how that money could be spent in Europe on a drink…we have worked hard to pull this trip off.  I hoped to have us spend this years family day and Christmas on the road but not certain we can do that after this trip to Europe…we’ll see. My goal was every other Christmas to travel and every other one to be home…we are due this Christmas to be on the road but will be have it in us and will the money be there after this trip to do so.  We just find ourselves spending it at the bungalow in Wilmington instead….much will depend on the animals I guess too.

Hugs to all,

Neve

This was taken on the Eno River- I got the best pictures on this day. We left Bronwyn and daddy for a few hours and went for a walk in the woods along the river.  The painting picture in there is the making of some binoculars. 

This picture is of Bronwyn eating ice-cream on the water in Wilmington.  A few weeks before I had her in a sling and she dove into MY ice-cream and I was left no choice but to surrender it to her. I knew when I gave her the ice-cream on this day that I would be recreating the scene of that day.

This collage marks our first "Family Day" and our family's first Christmas in the USA together.  We went camping in Key West at Bahia Honda where we camped right on the Ocean. A marvelous State Park in the Keys.  Some cute things captured...the most amazing sun sets, our favorite restaurant "Martin's" where we celebrated our family day dinner and Christmas Day brunch.  We hit a few saloons and bars and in one were surprised to look up to see a big picture of Hemingway with "KARSH" written under it!!! The boys played Christmas Morning Football with a coconut.  The picture of Reichen and Karsh sitting outside of the tent in folding chairs is of them waiting to see "our raccoon" that visited us often.  We fell in love with one certain reggae player and actually followed him around on a few nights to where he was playing. The boys came home loving Bob Marley...and "Buffalo Soldier". The picture of the boys with a man playing the conch shell was taken while our favorite reggae player was on break. This guy was so nice to have the boys up on stage and tried to teach them to play.  One of my favorite memories will always be those red netted stockings. We stopped at a store to buy a tarp for the tent and the women behind the counter gave us these stockings to give to the kids.  Who would have ever known that these stockings could have provided so much entertainment. We hung them behind our driftwood Christmas tree and they waited for the boys on Christmas morning.

This collage is of a week in Newport Rhode Island...I spent two days with the family there camping in Jamestown and then took extensive sailing lessons with JWorld in Newport RI from Monday - Thursday. On Friday I did a live aboard and left Steve to fend for himself with the kids while my small class of three sailed to Block Island and around the area. It was a wonderful course and a long dream of mine.  One of my favorite places was Mystic Ct...the picture of the children on the bridge was taken there.  Steve took my favorite picture of the kids out at a lighthouse (I was on the boat and was not there)...I love that picture!!!!

For some reason we have had our share of box turtle rescues!!!! I forgot the story on this little guy but we let him go behind our home on the 14th hole of the golf course. I have let all of "our" turtles go there and have since found out that you should not relocate turtles that they will spend their lives searching for their home. I know most have been close enough to our home to probably by OK however I saved many from the road to bring them home and to release them only to find out this news. Tristan on his own put this flower on the turtles back, I love the picture of Bronwyn laughing at the turtle as it walked away.

On a sad note...in late Summer or Early Fall Reichen came running into the house to say that Buoy (our dog) was biting on a box turtle in our yard. Sure enough I go outside and Buoy does have a box turtle and is chewing on the shell as if a bone, thank goodness the turtle was closed up protecting herself. I got her inside, she hung out in our bathtub till we could get her to NC State's vet school and their "turtle team". She had a small chunk taken out of her shell in the front above where her neck would be, there was no damage in what would effect the inner body cavity. It was hard to decide to put her back outside or take her to the turtle team, we chose to take her. From the second I brought her inside she was VERY social, head out, ate what we fed her and we took her to the "turtle team" where they agreed she was very social, said she was a "she" and said they all really liked her. They were to hold onto her for about a week to treat her with antibiotics and then were going to get back with me to rehab her and release her here near our home. I called them at 7 days and they said she was doing GREAT (as expected) and that they would be calling me in a few days.  About five days went by and they called me to say that "Jedi" (the boys named her) had died. I was so crushed, evidently another turtle came in that was pretty sick and spread an illness that took out many of the turtles that were at the school. I questioned them thinking they might be making up this story thinking that we planned to keep her as a pet and wanted to reassure them that if they felt they had to say this due to that that I never would have kept her....they convinced me that it was true. We were all really attached to Jedi and I am saddened in that I highly suspect she would have lived if I had not taken her into the vet school.

This collage was taken of Reichen doing his first dissection!!!! A local mom's club member had sent out an email to the area saying she would offer such a class to some of our "older" children. I approached Reichen to see if he'd be interested in doing it and he jumped at the chance. I was glad when she said "sure".  I had no idea what to expect, I did think he'd go thru with it though. I was TOTALLY shocked when he stayed a good hour after everyone else had left and was the only student to dissect the brain and to get into the skull.  He had turned 8 that week and I think the second youngest child was 13.  This week he is doing a shark disection with the same teacher...Karsh has asked if he can do it too. I still need to check with the teacher to see if Karsh is welcome. I hope she says yes. Santa brought them some anatomy models and Karsh has really enjoyed them.

The boys made lap books of Claude Monet's home in Giverny. We spent the month of January studying Claude Monet, his life and his art after Raleigh had a wonderful Monet exhibit. 

Obsessed with my new camera I captured our study of Osmosis. It sounds a lot more intimidating than it was...we just made "naked eggs" by putting eggs in vinegar until their actual shell came off. From there we put the naked eggs in corn syrup, water and colored water. The boys really enjoyed this. Just putting the eggs in vinegar would entertain the youngest of children I am convinced.

This just captures Bronwyn being Bronwyn!!! She sports this little look more than any... These pictures were taken at our local museum Exploris. Every Saturday they offer some different craft from a different country. We have really taken advantage of this due to a membership at the museum. On this day the kids learned about Prayer Flags from Tibet, how the wind blows the message of each etc... Here is Bronwyn making hers :)

These were taken at an Air Show we went to.  The lines were large to get to talk to the pilots...Tristan waited to ask his question, "do you count airplanes?", the pilot was sweet and responded, "I love counting airplanes!!!!".

Kiddos around the table.

The Wilmington's Children museum has been marvelous to us. We bought a membership there when we bought the bungalow in Wilmington to gut and restore. Many weekends Steve pulled up to the museum and dropped us off so that he could get stuff done without us under his feet. Here are three collages from the museum. A membership there has allowed us to actually hit several other Children's museums for free due to a courtesy that the museums have with eachother. It has been money well spent!!!!

When it was time for Bronwyn to have her first haircut I knew I wanted no one else to do it but George the owner of George at the Four Seasons in Georgetown, Washington DC. I love George and he did my hair for almost a decade when I lived up there. They treated my princess like royalty and she just stayed put as if prepped for the occasion.

Kris Kringle Day!!!! We celebrated this growing up in Germany on December 6th...we put our shoes outside and if we had been good all year Kris Kringle would come and visit us with goodies, chocolate coins and just a little treat of some sort. If you were bad you'd get a chunk of coal and some switches from a tree.  I remember getting pre packaged chocolates wtih switches and coal in them. World Market sells European candy and advent calendars and I found some marvelous "coal candy". I loved the pics of the kids looking out in the morning for their shoes (which I had to move onto the porch swing since I feared our dogs might get into them). They looked out and thought, "where are our shoes?". I had prepped them that if they got coal and a switch with their candy that it was probably a joke...and of course they did :)  This is a wonderful little tradition costing no more than about $7 a child. I was so happy to find the candies of my childhood at World Market.

May 2006 -  Ukraine reunion in Georgia!!!!

A special weekend at my college roommate's small farm in Virginia!!!! Anne lost her hubby when she was about 5 months pregnant with her second child. Her husband was a Hornet fighter pilot but sadly went down in a helicopter on his last day at a base in California.  Their dream was to retire in Virginia and to live on a farm together. Sadly she is doing without him, but she did share that the day she looked at the farm three jets flew overhead, a sign from Jason that she should make the move from Arizona and move to Virginia. She broke down at the site of the jets in an area no where near a base. She asked the owner of the farm who I think had lived there a decade atleast if it was normal to see jets such as this fly overhead, he shared he'd never seen them before and she has never seen them since. Anne does more in an hour than I could do in a year...a marvelous mom to a daughter age 6 and son age 4...and horses...and dogs...and cats!!!!!  Just in the past few months Anne found someone to move onto the farm and just a few weeks ago packed up her kiddos to go on a mission assignment to Mexico for I think two years.  I am so proud of her!!!!

 Here are some pictures taken over the past year of the children.  

Well I got an email from blog city telling me we needed to renew this account if we wanted to keep it...a quick reminder that I don't think I have blogged on it since we came home 23 months ago.

I suspect for the rest of my life I will get a little restless at the Holidays with an intense urge to pack and travel and head to Europe, I just feel like my Christmas celebrations should be spent in Europe and for those that know me I really feel like five years of my life should be spent LIVING in Europe!!!!!  I just feel like I should be walking around Prague right now with roasted chesnuts. Last year we curbed some of that by heading to Disney World for Reichen's first "celebrated" birthday and then going camping in Key West where we literally camped on the Ocean for Christmas and our family day.

I have spent the past few weeks going to the library with the kids every two days and grabbing Christmas books...I'm trying to read to them every traditional Christmas book I can find since the last Christmas was not spent too traditionally (we had a piece of driftwood as our tree and pictures of us standing proudly around it outside of our tent), Christmas morning football was spent in the Ocean throwing a coconut!!!!!.  I love how the Children have gravitated to the Nativity stories vs. the Santa Clause ones. There is a slight obsession with the Drummer Boy right now and it has been joyful to be apart of such excitement and to have children to celebrate it with!!!!  I have to pinch myself most of the time I just feel so lucky!!!!

We added to the family several weeks ago...hubby came home with a Mercedes as a surprise so I thought I would trump him with my own surprise...a shelter pup who had been there for five years!!!!! "Mama Dog" as I knew her at the shelter was found about five years ago running down the street with a red collar and leash...I spent a lot of time trying to locate her owners at the time and spread my search pretty far. There was no luck. I knew I couldn't have four dogs and I tried to market her to everyone I could. She is "older", "limped" and a lazy ol' pup. I remembered her as being really chunky and she got her name because they housed her with small dogs who she mothered, loved and slept with. My friend Lori adopts old (senior) labs and emailed me about one of hers dying just about the time my mind drifted to ol' "Mama" a lot.  Lori and her hubby have always impressed me with opening their home to senior pups at a time when dogs cost the most and you are sure to witness their deaths in a few short years. Her email inspired me and I am convinced it is why we added to our family. I picked up the phone and asked that they deliver Mama to the home, we waited in the driveway and the boys bathed her and cleaned her up...I hadn't laid eyes on her in years and she has fit in beautifully with our family. She is a hodge podge of all of the other three retrievers in our home. We love her dearly...and with the ortho needs, the limp and her age I think financially I just might really have my own Mercedes right here at my feet. I never could think of a better name for her and so "Mama" she is still. Just the other night Karsh was letting her outside before night time and I laughed as he yelled, "go potty Mama...did you go potty???"....I guess I better let the neighbors know that "Mama" is our dog and that I am not wandering around in the night peeing on trees.

I can not believe two years ago we were in Europe getting ready to receive our referral for the boys...daily I think of what we were doing on that specific day two years ago. I remember Prague, Tristan chasing pigeons and while having no idea what beautiful children would be joining our family I was at an enormous peace about it. A dream came true when we got the referral for Reichen and Karsh... While I have never been deeply religious the whole experience really made me a lot more so.  The trip seems like years ago...I do not remember life before my children...these past two years have been VERY difficult in that Steve is traveling almost every week and has been since the week we returned from Ukraine but thank goodness that is the only difficulty and it has nothing to do with health etc... of our family. We are a family always on the move, vacationing often...road trips on a whim...and what troopers my children are.  I am hoping to spend a month in Europe with them this summer and I just feel like I was blessed with children who can travel and adapt easily to the different surroundings. They have such an appreciation for life and adventure.  After getting rained on for two camping trips over the summer I decided we needed a pop up trailer/tent!!!!! We got one!!!! A nice one with two king size beds and a table that converts to a bed as well. I really drooled over a minivan back in the Spring, but it wouldn't be able to pull this thing and I feel like that decision was for a reason. I'm so insane...we are actually redoing the pop up with minimal effort and money and replacing the decor to be a little Tuscan inside...I figure we have redone the bungalow we purchased in Wilmington so now I need to move my efforts somewhere else, as if I have nothing to do. Crazy I know.... I hope I am giving my children some wonderful memories. Our neighborhood has strict guidelines as to what we can have and not have and clearly we can not have a pop up in our yard or driveway....but we did enjoy it for a few days and the boys loved camping out in the driveway in it until we had to move it. Twice in the past year we have camped right on the Ocean...literally opened our doors to be right on the Ocean!!!! We spent four fabulous days in the Virginia mountains at a music festival...it was like a Woodstock relived. I had surprised the family with VIP tickets to it that allowed us on stage for all of the artist. It was four days, four stages...music till 2AM and we stayed in a borrowed pop up (trying it out before our purchase) right beside the main stage. It was wonderful!!!! We drifted off to sleep with music blaring!!!! I had bought the boys some Superman PJs that arrived the day we left...who would have known that they would stay in them for the full four days we were camping. They were recognized everywhere we went as Superman and they were just so cute!!!! The local paper got a picture of them in their capes listening to music. I made the huge mistake of not buying a set for Bronwyn...and had to make her up some kind of quick Superman outfit. She puts her hands in the air as if to fly and yells, "man!!!!!". She will not let you do anything for the boys that you don't do for her as well....

When we  returned from Ukraine we  delivered our beautiful daughter Bronwyn 9 weeks later...a huge surprise when she decided to come in 22 minutes and to come at home. I remember posting "the last member of our family has arrived!!!".  She is a delight, so full of energy and rules the roost there is no doubt. She holds court with all in the family and couldn't be any bossier. Tristan didn't talk till pretty much around his second birthday and Bronwyn I am convinced was born talking. She also was born very opinionated about her clothes, shoes and socks...we went thru months where you had to put her to sleep in her shoes!!!! Just last week I took the kids to the Monet exhibit in town and she insisted on two different socks, one was a blue newborn sock that covered her toe!!!! The other a very frilly pink sock and a very frilly girlie outfit...she was not about to budge and I was left no choice but to have her in the two different socks.  She talks and bosses up a storm...she often will point with a pouty face and say "Tee Tee..." tattling on everything that Tristan has done. She is so loved by her brothers, she can do no wrong and is just rotten beyond belief...she is fun and must do everything that the boys do. I have pictures of her dressed all frilly swinging a light saber in the best Star Wars battle... The boys are really into Star Wars and Harry Potter and I kid you not she has a wand and will point it and try to say "Windgardium Levalosa" and even says clearly "Ridiculous" with the wand (evidently that is one of the spells according to Reichen who knows the stories inside and out). Teh boys are always making masks...and they must make her one...we have the cutest picture of Reichen and Bronwyn standing proudly sporting some super hero masks that they made. Reichen gets the occasional bloodly nose and will wad up tissue to put in his nostril one day she was fussing up a storm and it was because she wanted waded tissue in her nostril...a cute picture of Reichen holding Bronwyn with her wadded up tissue in nose too....

Reichen turned 8 last Friday...I can't believe it!!!! To me 8 is just such a high number for my precious little baby!!!!!  There is a saying I heard that says to have children is to watch your heart run around outside of your body and Reichen certainly displays that for me. I can not stress how much fun it is to be the mother of a 6-7 and now an 8 year old!!!!! I love seeing life thru his eyes!!!!!! I love getting to relive a childhood and experience many things that I did not as a child. I was lucky to grow up in Germany from age 5-10 and saw so much but at the same time I missed so much, my toys  were in storage in the States and seemed to revolve around only three bears in hindsight. I never think I went to the library and many classic stories that I should know of I never knew of...so what a treat to get to cuddle on the sofa and read classic stories that I never knew existed. I have made one of the best decisions of my life and that is to Home School Reichen!!!! He is so bright and energetic and I feel like we cover so much more doing this then he could ever cover in school. I don't plan on doing it forever...a year at a time, but there is no doubt that I have made the right decision. I taught him fractions in minutes by taking a magnetic board out into the driveway while he was playing basketball...we sat down and just casually learned fractions, looked around and set up examples of fractions etc... It is marvelous to have a table of children learning subjects on different levels and being so eager!!!! Last year Reichen got on the bus at 7:45 and got off sometimes as late as 4:27...I live with guilt over that and he missed out on so much since he was tired at the end of the day and the day was pretty much gone. What a difference these past months have been and I am trying to embrace every moment with them as I realize they are growing up much to fast.

Reichen loves geography and we never open a book without our globe in front of us...he points to where the story takes place, where the characters are from and I feel like this has been such a gift to him. One of the local home school moms is doing a fetal pig dissection class tomorrow...she marketed it to the older kids but Reichen loves Science that I approached him and asked him if he'd be interested. His face lit up and he was so excited, we have spent a few days on the computer preparing him for it. I have made certain he knows that if he walks in and turns around that I do not care and that the money spent is minimal and he can do what he wants, but I will be very surprised if he does not go thru with it for he is just so excited.  This decision has helped us to travel a lot this Fall, we have followed Steve on some of his travels and now have the chance to go back and forth to our little bungalow near the beach, camping etc... with no preparation or worries of missing school.  I found a wonderful niche of other HSers who incorporate Harry Potter and other fun things into their days activities and plans, these ladies are real movers and shakers, filled with ideas and such wonderful imaginations...it has been wonderful to learn from them and to be around such wonderful minds they leave me wanting to do more, drooling at magical moments to be had and just make me a better mother.  We spent Reichen's birthday in the mountains and had a wonderful trip!!!!! Friday we drove two hours to a ranch where animals roam free and you drive thru the several miles or so in your vehicle and feed them...it was AMAZING we have pictures of the kids on top of the SUV feeding giraffes!!!!!!!! Giraffes with their heads thru our sun roof!!!!! Reichen was so excited... It was a rainy morning and very drizzly, I just assumed we'd be four wheeling around the place in deep mud and can not believe that five minutes before we arrived the sun was out, the sky was blue, the breeze was perfect and we were the  only one of two cars there!!!!! The kids had such a wonderful time!!!!!! I feared when I planned the trip that the animal lover in me might be selling my soul some, I feared how the animals would be kept etc.... and was so happy to see the most beautiful open and free space provided for them to roam freely!!!! It was like a safari...what a great time!!!!!

Karsh is doing wonderfully!!!! I feel for him being sandwiched between Reichen who loves attention and gets it from just everyone who he meets...and Tristan who is very active and also demands so much attention.  About six months ago I really noticed a strength in Karsh and his love for art work!!!!! He and Tristan will sit at the kitchen table for hours doing art, drawing and imagining.  They love it!!!! Karsh has had such an impact on Tristan with his art and it is so cute to watch Karsh's imagination while he draws and tells us what he drew and what his thoughts are of it.  We never read a book without discussing where it took place, where the characters are from, who the Author is and in Karsh's case a pretty nice discussion on who illustrated it and the techniques they used in doing their work. He clearly appreciates the work behind the pictures of a book and it is marvelous to watch. I felt a need to really recognize Karsh for his artwork...he now has a palette to display his work for I have surrendered the kitchen windows and the kitchen french doors to display his work. He is so cute as he finishes his masterpieces and tapes them up for all to see. We have done "art shows" where we drool over his work and he tells us with such confidence and pride about what he has done, drawn and how he did it. It is adorable to see...and he just beams with pride as he discusses his work. He will say often, "I am an artist!!!!".

A few weeks ago I started to cry looking at Tristan....he still sleeps with us and every night when he gets tired says, "mama please may I hold your hand when I go to sleep"...what a gift!!!!!  He had fallen off to sleep with his Buzz light year outfit on and I looked at him and he just seemed like he had grown a foot overnight.  Steve was traveling, all the kiddos were tucked into bed asleep and I just started crying at the thought of him ever outgrowing being Buzz Light year!!!!! Costumes and being characters are such a big part of the children's life...but the innocence of him stuffed into a Buzz Light year outfit that is possibly a size to small just made me pretty emotional. Tristan is obsessed with letters in the alphabet...he has been pretty much before he even spoke...he is reading now!!!!! I actually check out Level 1 and 2 books for him and he and Karsh read together. He blows my mind. I do know that all kids evidently catch up by age 8 in this arena and that this does not really secure me some excellent future reader but it sure is exciting to see him sounding out words. Yesterday I asked him to spell "COLD" for me and he said, "C-O-D"...he just loves to spell and read and sound out letters. Gladly all of this was done without those talking toys placed in front of toddlers...I cringe when I see the commercials of a baby holding onto a talking table barely able to stand while this thing blurts out the A-B-C's to the toddler and the father calls the mother into the room and says, "look he is learning his A-B-Cs". YIKES!!!!!! Where this madness started I will never know but it is saddening.

I just finished my annual report on the boys...when you adopt from Ukraine you agree to send yearly updates for the first few years and then every few years from that point on. Sadly it appears many do not do this and it has effected the American/Ukraine relationship when it comes to adoption. It is an honor for me to do so...a great chance to brag about my kiddos, to see how much they have grown and to really reflect on the past year. I came to realize that my children have never needed to go to the DR outside of their "routine" physicals and check-ups by age, and realized how lucky I am that they are so healthy. Karsh had stitches within months of coming home and I feared that we might just be hanging out in the ERs with three boys but knock on wood that has not been the case.

We are really excited to share that we are expecting another little girl in March!!!!! Amazingly she has the same due date as Bronwyn March 19th!!!!! We are so excited!!!! Bronwyn has been real excited and when you say, "Bronwyn are you going to be a big sister???" she scrunches her little face and says, "sista...".... I can't wait to play dress up, princess, salon etc... with my little girls.  Bronwyn likes to put diapers on all of her stuffed animals and all that I suspect she will have the baby on her back trying to change her at all hours of the day.  We are preparing for a homebirth, mainly because Bronwyn was born at home in 22 minutes.  I am pretty scared...a midwife could live five miles from me and not make it here in 22 minutes so we are really putting our research efforts into an "unattended homebirth", not to be rebels but mainly because I think we would be kidding ourselves if we imagined much differently. All of the children have watched actual footage of women delivering, no fuzzy block outs...the full birth and all are excited and my dream and what I imagine is that all will be there as their baby sister Aynsleigh joins our family.  Tristan is always drawing the family...just in the past few days he drew a picture of me driving the SUV with everyone in seats behind me...he always includes Aynsleigh in the family and I just love it!!!!! He says, "I want baby Aynsleigh to come out now!!!!". When Karsh first witnessed a birth on video he said loudly, "WOW neat!!!!".  Send all thoughts to a safe delivery for us please...this is one of the most anxious times of my life that is for certain.

When Steve returns home I hope to get his help in sharing some recent pictures of the kiddos...we have some real cute ones!!!!  We prepared some Hogwarts acceptance letters to the boys (Hogwarts is Harry Potter's school)...I hid the letters in special bags that the boys made for the occasion, I supplied them brooms, hats, a golden snitch that I made and an antique cauldron I found in an antique store. I hid them in my backyard, five brooms and bags and hats all in a row up against a decorative fence (one for Aynsleigh of course). One of my favorite pictures is of Tristan whose face was all lit up when he discovered them. He was afraid to approach them but gathered his brothers around saying, "look!!!!!!". He approached slowly...it was so sweet and the wide eyes and opened mouth are some of my favorite photo captures to date....

For those in the adoption community waiting to travel our thoughts are with you...there appear to be a lot of bumps in the road lately as they switche procedure and hold Americans to some different and more difficult standards. It is worth the wait I promise. We had a few bumps and each and every one of them lead us to our children...each day mattered in the dance that it would take to bring home our specific children. Hang in there our thoughts and prayers are with you!!!!!

 A Prayer for the Children
by Ina Hughes

We pray for children
who give us sticky kisses,
who hop rocks and chase butterflies,
who stomp in puddles and ruin their new pants,
who erase holes in math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who've never squeaked across the floor in new sneakers,
who've never "counted potatoes"
who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
who bring us fistfuls of dandelions and sing off-key,
who have goldfish funerals,
who build card-table forts,
who slurp their cereal on purpose,
who get gum in their hair,
put sugar in their milk,
who spit toothpaste all over the sink,
who hug us for no reason,
who bless us each night.

And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind,
who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store,
who pick at their food and like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed,
and never rinse out the tub,
who get quarters from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at
and whose smiles make us cry.

And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry
and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children
who want to be carried
and for those who must.
for those we never give up on,
and for those who don't have a chance.
for those we smother,
and for those who will grab the hand of anybody
kind enough to offer.