Been a While

Well, I know it has been a while.  This school year has been a whirlwind.  I am teaching Kindergarten this year and have 5 kids that I had last year.  It has been interesting to see the growth over the last year and a half.  In September we had a school fire and we put together a new school in only a weeks time.  The high school was building  a new building that was scheduled to be done a few weeks later, so the construction company put in overtime and had it ready in a week.  As they were moving out of the old building, we were moving in.  It has been quite a year.  We are teaching with virtually no curriculum.  It has been challenging.  Thankfully most of the teacher's guides are online, but that does not help with student books.  The other challenging thing has been the fact that we didn't get to take most of our item from the half of the building that was saved due to smoke damage.  For some teachers it has been harder than others.  I was okay with it, since I didn't have as much, but teachers who had been there 20 plus years and lost everything, well, that was a grieving process.  We are working through it and we will be better for it in the long run.  I am thankful that the fire was on the weekend and no one was hurt.

This past weekend my baby girl turned 13.  I officially have a teenager in the house.  We also have celebrated 10 birthdays with my beautiful girl.  I am so lucky and blessed to have such a beautiful young lady.  I love her so much and know that God placed her with us for a reason.

Christmas is right around the corner and we are counting down the days.  Have you started your shopping yet?  Not one thing has been bought in this house.  Nothing!!  I'm usually almost done by now, but I have no desire to shop.  LOL!  We are going small this year as we have been saving for a substantial trip next year and we don't have as much to put towards it.  The trip though will be a once in a lifetime experience.  I'd tell you where we are going, but it is going to be a surprise for my beautiful girl.  She will not know where we are going until we get there.  LOL!!  That oughta be a fun 2 days in the car.

Well, I guess that is all.  Just wanted to get on and update.  Thanks to those that still read.  I know my posting is very sporadic.  Thanks all and if I don't get back on between now and then, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!  :-)

No more homeschool

Sad day for me, but I have officially removed myself from most homeschooling groups.  I have signed a new contract for next year, so I decided it was time.  We loved our homeschooling years and will never regret going broke to stay with Anna and do what we thought was best for her.  We met a lot of great people on the way and had lots of fun, but it is officially on to a new chapter in our lives.  Anna is doing good in school.  I will teach somewhere between PK and 2nd grade next year.  Exciting and scary all at the same time.

New Year Update

First of all, today is my hubby's birthday.  He is 39 years young today.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY HONEY!!  I love you and the tank looks great.  (He redid his aquarium today with sand instead of gravel.)


Second, I am clear of pneumonia.  Praise the Lord my lungs are completely clear and my breathing is back to normal.  I am still taking 2 breathing treatments a day, but I can handle that.  I have been back to work for a week and a half.  Besides being exhausted, which is perfectly normal for me after a long day of work, I have suffered no ill effects from the pneumonia.  I am so glad.  On the down side, I was docked for 3.5 days of pay.  That is going to hurt, but we are not worried about it. 


Third, I had a doctor visit with my RA doc.  Anna and I waited for over an hour past my appointment time to get back.  UGH!!  I can't stand long waits, but unfortunately, I can't go at another time right now because I can't ask off work, since I have no days left.  The best I can do is leave early.  So...long waits it is.  The doctor agreed with me the the meds I had been on are not a good fit for me and for the time being I am off of them.  I will not go back on them as they were lowering my immune system too much and were part of the reason I have basically been sick since September.  I am glad that he agreed.  I will however remain on the Plaquenil and pain pills and we will add in a different new medicine at a later time.  He and I both felt that since I have been doing okay on the Plaquenil alone that we would let it be.  I am glad he agreed, because I took myself off the other meds right before Christmas.  Now the only odd thing was that he knew I had been in the hospital and I KNOW for a fact that I never told him.  Weird, but okay. 


I guess that's all for now.  I am praying that the worst of my sickness for the year is over.  I had the flu and pneumonia shot before I left the hospital, so hopefully that will help.  By not being on the other medicine, I am praying that my immune system rebounds.  I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year.  It may be 3 weeks into the year, but its still Christmas in our house.  I am not in a rush to take it down, so if you come over, don't be shocked.  LOL!!  I hope to check back in soon.  Take care.  God Bless!

More Sleet, Snow and COLD!!

Ok, I've decided that we have had enough snow, sleet and cold for a long time.  It's been just about two weeks since our last round of cold and ice storms and here we are again with another.  It was mostly sleet and ice.  School dismissed at 12:00pm today and the Lubbock teachers were allowed to leave at 11:30am.  As soon as I had coverage in my room, I rounded up Anna and we made the slow treacherous journey home.  A drive that usually takes us 45 minutes took us almost 2 hours today.  Not too bad and certainly could have been longer, but I HATE driving on ice.  Completely hate it!!  It's scary how many people passed me at unsafe speeds.  The roads were almost all covered in ice.  We drove 20-25 MPH all the way home.  It wasn't until we were 5 minutes from Lubbock that we could drive faster, 30-35 MPH in town.  The sad part is that all that was slush in Lubbock has now frozen over and will probably stay that way for the next 2 days or so.  Sunday it should all melt down again and be okay.  I'm glad I have a job, but having it so far out is not so fun, especially in this kind of weather.  I'm actually praying that we have classes cancelled tomorrow morning and that I do NOT have to drive this again tomorrow.  If I do, it will be about 2 hours to drive in and about 2 hours to drive back and I will have to stop at a gas station at some point because I used more than I planned today trying to thaw off the car.  Sigh.  Just complaining, I guess.

On a plus side, my evaluation was done this week and I did really well.  I am pleased, especially since I've been out of the classroom for so long.  I obviously still have some teaching in me.  LOL!  I never really stopped teaching, since I homeschooled for so long.  I miss it a lot and when I asked Anna, she said she misses parts of it.  I think she really just likes that there are other kids around her all day everyday.  She too hates the long commute every morning, but we are in it for the long haul this year.  Who knows what next year will bring. 

Guess that's all for now.  Need to wind down with some gaming time and get to bed.  Night all. 

Brrrr....

Baby it's cold outside!!!  I am ready for normalcy.  Anna and I have been in the house for two full days.  Tomorrow will be three.  My initial plan right now is to drive up to Post tomorrow afternoon and spend the night in a hotel.  This is of course all dependent on the roads.  We are expecting 2-3 inches of snow tonight and they are advising all of us to stay off the roads.  Praying that we don't have to miss another day.  Anna and I missed on Friday because of the weather.  We got up at 5am with the intention of going in.  We were in the car by 6am and trying to be on the road by 6:20am, but we just didn't get there.  The roads in Lubbock were okay, but when we got to the highway we travel to get to school, I could not keep my windows clear of ice.  The sleet was immediately sticking to the windows, despite my defrost being on high and my wipers going full blast.  We had pulled over 3 times before we hadn't even gotten to the prison, which is about 10 minutes out, and I just could not keep them clear.  To top it off, the highway was icy and it was dark.  Black ice and dark do not mix, so I decided it was in our best interest to turn around and go back home.  I spent the better part of an hour after we got back trying to find a sub for my class to no avail.  There was not one that was able to go in at all.  My aide was already out because her daughter was sick and she also could not get a sub.  My class ended up getting split between the other three teachers.  I felt awful and cried for over 2 hours because I felt so bad.  Using my last day of sick leave because of weather was not what I had planned.  I was very upset about that, but then the weather got worse and I was very glad that I was at home and didn't have to drive in the worsening conditions on the road.  We have stayed home since then.  J got sent home at around 1:30 to 2:00pm.  I was glad to have everyone safe and sound at home.  I am also very glad that we have a working heater. 

Tonight, the sleet is back and we are expecting more precipitation.  I do not know what tomorrow will bring, but I will have my eyes watching the news and checking things fully before I drive that way.  I'm hoping it'll clear up a bit, but not counting on it.  We can't afford for me to be docked a full days pay for missing, so here's hoping....

Birthday and New Job

Well, my birthday is tomorrow, and with the new job, where really no one knows me, I really don't think I will even get so much as a Happy Birthday, unless the cute little boy in the class across the hall remembers that we have the same birthday.  (It could happen, but doubtful.)  Oh and to top it off, I will be eating a PB&J sandwich for lunch, since I don't get paid till after 9am tomorrow morning.  I used the little money I had left to put money on Anna's lunch account.  Why on earth the child wants cafeteria food is beyond me.  It always looks nasty and smells worse to me, but, she wants it, so I put money on her account.  She will be having her first cafeteria meal tomorrow.  I fully expect her to be starving by the time she makes it to my room at the end of the day. 

So, I guess this is something I will miss about working my old job.  There was almost always someone who made at least something for your birthday and at least wished you a happy one.  Glad we are going out as a family tomorrow after work.  I'm going to need it by then.  Location will be determined based on what I feel like after work.  LOL!  I have one restaurant that I like, but don't care to be embarrassed by their birthday antics, so we will likely not go there, BUT we will go somewhere. 

I guess that's all for now.  I see an alert where my momma wished me a Happy Birthday on FB, so I'm going to make myself happy and go read it.  I'll be back, as apparently this is an outlet for me.  Talk later.....

Do you miss your old job?

A co-worker today asked me if I missed my other job and if I was glad I went back into teaching.  I told here there are pros and cons to each...I miss the people I used to work with, but I had been there forever.  I like teaching, but right now, it still feels like the first year all over again and I still feel like I am missing info I need to make this a most successful year, but overall, I don't think its too bad.  We certainly couldn't be at a better school for getting back into the swing of things.  I really like the staff and for the most part, I feel like things are okay.  I wished I had started earlier in the year, like oh you know, with the other teachers, but I think it will be okay.  Still not sure about a lot of stuff, but I have come a long way. 

They are doing great with Anna and she seems to be adjusting pretty good.  She loves being around other kids all day long, but really does not like our early mornings, the drive and having to go to bed by 8:30-9:00pm, but overall, I think she likes it.  She really does not like homework. She also does not like the fact that if she gets a bad grade, I make her correct it.  But again overall she likes it.

I couldn't ask for a better position.  I think God truly knows what he is doing, even if we don't.  I am trying to rely on him for strength to get through this year.  I certainly can't do it on my own....

Whirlwind...Timeline

Ok, I digress....I was keeping this timeline so I could post it about a month or so ago and I just keep adding to it instead.  This is the ups and downs of me getting back into teaching after being out for 7 years.  I would not change anything about those years.  Staying home with my daughter was the best thing I could ever do and I will never regret it, but for now we are in a new season in life.  So, without further adieu, my whirlwind teaching timeline.  (Warning: I get emotional in parts....deal with it, or quit reading!  LOL)


Teaching Timeline:

June 28, 2013-Get idea in my head that I might just want to teach again.
July 2, 2013-Apply to renew teaching certificate (Thanks to sister)
July 5, 2013-Fingerprinting for Teaching Certificate
July 8, 2013-Fingerprinting and background check complete (while I continue to wait impatiently to see if they are going to renew my license or not)
July 9, 2013-Check status in morning and realize that I am a licensed teacher once again, attempt to homeschool Anna and throw in the towel after one subject.  Apply to two different districts by days end....
July 18th, 2013-Find out one district is only waiting on my references.  Realize that it will be at least August before they can get the reference on my former principal.  Work education sale at work.  Come home to an application for another school district around here. 
July 19th, 2013-Fill out application for other district and photocopy required parts.
July 20, 2013-Mail off third application
July 22, 2013-Get online and see plenty of jobs that would be my "ideal" job have shown up, but then realize that they are not available to apply to on the application link yet. Wonder if August will ever get here.  (I'm not a very patient person when it comes to waiting.)
August 1, 2013-Talk to previous principal (boss) and ask her to be a reference.  Had to have her, since I have taught before.  Get her e-mail address. Talk to LISD district office about my application, as two references have not come back in.  Come to find out they ONLY do e-mail references now.  YIKES!  Panic sets in.  About 4:40pm, I call back and a nice lady named Stacy in HR is able to add the two missing e-mails and resend my reference forms out to those people.
August 3, 2013-Receive a phone call from a school about positions in both kindergarten and first grade. Offer me an interview on the 4th.  I accept.  Interview coming up.  (You do realize that the 3rd is a Saturday and the 4th is a Sunday.  These types of things just don't happen in schools.  God's timing is impeccable.)  
August 4, 2013-Interview lasts about 25 minutes.  It is nerve racking.  I interviewed with 5 people; principal, asst. principal, and 3 teachers already in there teaching kindergarten.  It was for the kindergarten position.  I left not knowing how it went.  They have more interviews and then the pick the one that they think will work best for them.  They then contact their district office and then district office contacts the person they chose.  It's all in God's Hands.  Always has been, always will be.
August 11, 2013-Feeling down.  New teachers went back on Friday in the district I wanted.  I didn't go back and the jobs available are dwindling.  Maybe I wasn't cut out for this?  Maybe I was reading between the lines wrong?  Disappointed at best.
August 18, 2013-After contacting the principal, head of student services and the superintendent of the school district about enrolling Anna, we decide that we will keep trying to get a teaching job, but quit fighting tooth and nail to get Anna enrolled in school.  If God truly wants me there, he will provide a place for her as well and in his timing.  We will continue to homeschool until things open up.  If it is God's will, the doors will open. 
August 20, 2013-Looked on a local districts site that I had no intention of applying at and they have two positions open in grades I would love, kindergarten and first.  I stayed up till 10:30pm filling out the application in full and getting it turned in. 
August 21, 2013-Application is finished and all turned in.  Its done.  Not in my hands.
August 27, 2013-School has been in for 2 days.  I had a moment this morning where I almost packed Anna up and took her down to the school to say test her and find a place for her NOW!  It has somewhat passed now.
August 28, 2013-I received a phone call for an interview from Hart ISD.  I never even applied there.  They received my name and number from someone else.  I would accept, if it wasn't 1 and 1/2 hours away.  It is a very tempting offer, but all my money would go to gas to get there and back.  Driving 3 hours a day is not do-able.
August 28, 2013-Applied to Post on a new Pre-K position that was just added.  Chances of getting it are slim to none.
August 29, 2013-Called for an interview from Post.  I can't believe it.  Interview was more of an I will tell you about the school, and will you accept type of thing.  Went to district office and met Superintendent.  Met other teachers, saw room that could be mine.  I accepted.  I start Tuesday, September 3, 2013.
August 30, 2013-Filled out all the paperwork, worked in my room, signed a contract and enrolled Anna for a new school year.  I can't believe that this is happening.  I also worked in my room for a brief amount of time.  Had to go to my other job, so I did not get to stay long.  Anna is scared and excited at the same time, as am I.
August 31, 2013-Begin preparing for my new school year.  It's really hard to prepare a classroom and work another job.  Especially when the classroom is 45 minutes away.  I am starting to see reality.  I have a class list, and the other teachers decorated my door and placed names down for me on desks and in lockers.
September 1, 2013-Had another bad dream about all of this last night.  Nerves are taking over.  Need to find peace in God.  That's sometimes really hard for me to do.  We have been through so much and times have been trying.  Feel like I'm doing the wrong thing and just want to go back to my comfort zone.  This job is certainly not that.  J reassures me that I can do this and it is the right thing.  I need to stop dwelling on all the bad stuff and focus on the good.  Lord, please help me.  I printed out some color sheets on the topics we are studying.  It's not ideal, but I need something to get me by until I can get settled in.  Starting the new school year a week late and relying on the help of others is very hard for me emotionally.  I have had to humble myself and accept the help. 
September 3, 2013-First day was okay.  I am all kinds of emotions right now.  Not sure I'm cracked up to be a teacher anymore.
September 4, 2013-Today was a little bit better.  Still uneasy.  This is a big change.
September 12, 2013-Getting sick.  I've been here less than 2 weeks.  I can't call in yet.
September 13, 2013-Sicker than a dog.  Called in to both jobs.  Feel really bad about calling in.  Ran fever and chills all night long.  Went to the doctor.  Bronchial and throat infection.  It's knocked me down bad.
September 14, 2013-Called in to work again.  I am still so sick. 
September 15, 2013-Starting to feel better.  Still weak and light-headed.  But getting there.  I was pretty sick.  I don't usually get knocked down so hard.  Two jobs is starting to get to me.  Only two more weeks left.  I can do this. 
September 16, 2013-Back to teaching today.  Starting to feel better.
September 23, 2013-Sick again.  I need some rest so I can get well.  Oh well, back to work.
September 24, 2013-So tired.  Only 4 days left at Mardel.  I love working there, but I can not do both.  Too hard for me.
September 26, 2013-Missed lunch with co-workers today because of breathing treatments.  I can't seem to catch a break.
September 27, 2013-Called in to both jobs again.  Spent entire morning at the ER.  I could not get my asthma under control.  Ended up with a steroid shot, new antibiotics and a steroid dose pack. I also received two breathing treatments in there.  Hopefully I can get well after all this.  I am off work till Monday.
September 28, 2013-Missed my last day at Mardel.  I stopped by to turn in my keys.  They gave me some gift cards and good-bye cards.  Bought some stuff for my classroom.  So grateful for them, but feel bad that I couldn't work my last two days there. 

How can you tell....

How can you tell if it is just pre-teen hormones, laziness or seriously a child with autism just doesn't get it?  How can you tell if it is time to throw in the towel or seek outside professional help?  How can you tell what kind of help your child needs if you can't figure it out for yourself?  How can you tell someone that you feel like a horrible mother when you can't figure out how to help your own child succeed in learning?  How can you tell if the whole world is falling apart?  How can you tell everyone who thinks you are strong and a super woman that you are hurting inside?  How can you tell them that you are lost in this fight to desperately help your child?  How can you tell someone who truly doesn't understand what its like to constantly have to re-train them over and over and over again with the same thing and still it doesn't sink in?  How can you tell them that your heart is hurting?  How can you tell.....

Literal Life

VERY PERSONAL STORY-AUTISM RELATED-if you can't handle Autism and the life that comes with it, quit reading.

Everything in Anna's life is literal.  She doesn't see two sides of anything unless you show it to her.  From her reading to things people say, she only sees things one way...her way.  Recently I've toyed with the idea of putting her back in school, but I just can't seem to make that decision.  We took Anna for a Doctor appointment with her developmental specialist this past week and she again reminded me that homeschooling is the best choice for Anna.  She said, "That's the best thing you can do for her."  It made me feel a bit better, but I still have toyed with the idea the rest of this week.  I've bought her curriculum for next year, not knowing if I was going to use it or not.  I wanted to be prepared and keep it as cheap as possible.  Well, last night I had an epiphany.  No matter how hard school is, or how hard our life gets, she needs to be homeschooled.  With her literal view of everything, and the older she gets, she will become a target for people to use her.  She will be an easy one for people to say, go do this for me.  Since she doesn't see that some people don't have her best interest at heart, it could lead to trouble, because she will do whatever they ask and then think about it a lot later.  We already see some of this with her "friends" she is hanging out with, but we can more closely monitor that.  She needs some processing time.  Sometimes it takes her weeks to process things.  I will find out things a week or sometimes several weeks later, because it took her that long to fully process what is said.  She has these same issues in school which sometimes challenges our days to the max.  We sometimes have to move on for that day and continue the next day.  She gets very frustrated with us when she doesn't understand things, but we also sometimes forget that she needs this processing time and get frustrated with her.  We are all only human.  We try hard to be compassionate and there are some days that it just doesn't work out.  Things do eventually work themselves out, but not always in our time. 

So, anyhow, back to that homeschooling bit.  I will continue to do it as long as I feel it is necessary for my daughter.  She will feel successful.  She will not be put down.  We will not have people taking advantage of her and using her for their benefit.  She is our daughter and we will do whatever we think we need to, even if it is a big challenge and very hard sometimes.  We will continue to remind her that movies are not reality and we will continue to try to get her to see two sides to things that she needs to see two sides.  We have made great strides already and I have no doubt that we will continue to make great strides, even if we are slow to achieve them.  This is all a prat of our life.  We will do the best that we can with it and with the daughter we have been completely blessed with.

Summer & School Front

Well, we have not done the 2-3 days a week with math, so I have a strong feeling that we will have to play catch up again. I'm hoping to start back to school in the next 2-3 weeks. I will have all our new curriculum in hand by the end of the month except for math and that will be a few more weeks out. We have on the other hand tried to enjoy our summer. I have worked like a crazy person, but Anna has had a rather relaxed and enjoyable summer. She did get to go to horse camp and I will have to make another post with all those pictures. We also took a mini trip to Dallas for my nephews birthday. (Also another post.) Other than that, we haven't done much else. Cleaned and played with the dog. He has quite a personality by the way. I will have to post soon about the crazy dog. He is so human-like its not funny. Anyhow, so I apparently have a lot of posts coming up if I'll just sit down and write. For now though its late and I need to go to bed. Hopefully I'll get some spunk soon and you can see our fun. Good night all and Happy 4th of July weekend!! Be safe!

School's Out

I made an executive decision today and decided that we were done with school for the summer. I flipped through the remaining 2 weeks of lessons looking for new content that would help us for 4th grade, but there was nothing. I decided then and there that we were ready for the summer break. Now granted our break may only be a month long and we will more than likely start back in July, it is still our summer break. We will continue to do two math worksheets every day or every other day through out the summer, but that will take less than 30 minutes to an hour out of the day, depending on the pages we do. So, it's official. We are on summer break.

Now, hopefully I can get her into the horse camp she wants to go to. I may have dropped the ball on that idea. UGH! Bad Mommy moment!! I told her that if we didn't get horse camp that I would let her take private lessons for a month or so. I'm hoping that it'll come through. She was way excited about horse camp again this year. I can't believe that I let that drop.

Anyhow, that's our update for now. Have a good weekend all.

New Routine and other things

We are slowly getting into the groove of a new routine. With me still working full-time, it has been a change to homeschool and do this. Anna and I are getting used to it though and we get done what we can.

She was super excited about school today as we planted two types of flowers this morning and I had her make predictions for them. We planted daisy and sunflower seeds. She has predicted that the sunflower will sprout through the soil first and that the daisy will grow tallest. She also wrote down step-by-step directions about how we planted the seeds. It was fun. She finished her writing with this sentence; "I think that planting the daisy and the sunflower was very fun. Everybody should plant flowers." I would think that she had a good time with it. We also are going to try taking a daily picture to monitor their growth. That will be fun to watch as well.

As for the other things, she has discovered the truth about all the seasonal myths. She is handling it well, but she was not happy to say the least. She couldn't believe that Santa was not real. She figured the Easter Bunny out last year, but still insisted on the other. This was half instigated by a friend from church telling her that none of it was real. I had a conversation with her Sunday about it all and we gave her several days to think about it. This morning I discussed it with her again. She understands, but isn't happy. I told her that Santa is about the spirit of giving and is a fun character for kids. She is not to tell anyone. I also told her that it will not stop Christmas or Easter. We will still buy her things, but that now she knows who really cared enough to bring her the things she asks for. Like I said, it was hard for her, but she is going to be fine. It did not completely devastate her. OK, well, I have other things as well, but they will have to wait. We are heading out for some lunch and errands before I go to work. Take care all.

Back to work

I started back to work yesterday. It wasn't a bad first day back. I kind of enjoyed it, but cleaning up after being gone for almost 5 weeks was a lot of work. I managed to get everything back in order the way I like it, start a new "to do" list, and start ordering again. I was kind of glad to be back and kind of not. I enjoyed being home with Anna. I got her back started on schooling and we had a routine down. (We are of course starting a new routine with me back at work.) It was good though. We have completely messed with the dogs sense of anything routine. He doesn't understand the change in schedules and he is a little angry with us, but nothing that a new set of blinds wouldn't fix. LOL!! He climbed on the couch and ate the blinds wherever he could reach. How fun was that. It almost makes me wish we had a camera to record his little outbursts. I bet they are hilarious! (Not replacing the blinds, but you know.) Alright, getting ready for work now, so I better be going. I'll try and check in soon. Take care.

Changes and Surgery

Well, lots of changes have happened. We are back homeschooling as of Friday. Anna is much calmer and mornings are a lot smoother already. We are excited and happy about this change. I am glad we came back to it.

As for the surgery, tomorrow morning, bright and early at 5:30am, I will be admitted to the hospital for exploratory and then full surgery. There is a possibility of a hysterectomy, but I won't know what all they do until I wake up. I am not in the least bit worried about the surgery, just the recovery. This will put me out of work for 6 weeks. I am a little worried about that, but I will be able to pick back up when I am cleared.

I will have some time on my hands afer surgery, so maybe I will get on here at least once more? Hey, you never know?!

Anyhow, if you all have time or can, prayers are appreciated for a successful surgery and a good recovery. I know I am in good hands. Thanks so much.

Asked Anna...

her opinion on going back to homeschool or staying in regular school and she listed some good points for homeschool.

1. You only gave me spelling tests at homeschool. At school I take a test in everything every week.

2. We did history. (Anna LOVES history, but since it isn't tested in school, they have done none of it.)

3. There was no math tests every week. (I never tested her. I checked her work everyday so I knew how she was doing.)

4. No one made fun of her clothes everyday. (She has a little bully picking on her at school. This girl picks on her outfit everyday. EVERY DAY! How depressing is that for a child.)

Anyhow, we haven't made any permanent decisions yet, but I really am seriously considering pulling her back home for school. Not sure how yet, since I want to remain full-time, but I'm starting to side with yes we will probably go back to it. I know a lot of people are against it, but this is whats right for our family. I'll make a more permanent decision by end of month or so. Please continue to pray. Thank you.

Thinking...

about pulling Anna back home for school at the end of this school year. I have good reason of course, many of which I am not sure I should post, but I don't feel she is getting what she needs in school overall. That's what it all boils down to. I wish I could say more, but for now that's all I think I need to say. Prayers are appreciated to ensure we are making a sound decision for Anna and our family. Thanks all.

ARD done...

IEP set in place. Praying that we got everything in there that will be neccesary for Anna to succeed in school. They say she is adjusting quickly and well. She already has several "friends" and is very social with the other kids. Her reading teacher said that her reading is very good. She has tested her and has had Anna read to her. (She always has read well...once she decided to do it. LOL!) It made me feel a little better, but as her Momma, I will still always worry. Glad that's done and that we are seeing some swift action in this. I pray that all is enough for her to succeed.

Guess that's all. I better go find something better to do with me afternoon. Take care all.

She's In

She's in public school for now. It is a tough thing for me, but Anna is resilient and she came out the first day saying she liked it and she likes all her teachers. They switch classes for everything. She is getting more "hot" lunches, because they are tons cheaper. We have a meeting tomorrow morning to find out what help they will be given. The ARD was a lot faster than I anticipated, but I'm glad. We'll know tomorrow how far they'll go to help her. She is slightly behind in math...but this is not through any fault of her own. She was at a school that hadn't started multiplication or division yet, but this school she's at, they have. (I actually love the way they start them out on division AND I think she actually grasped the concept.) Guess that's the update for now. I'll check in later this week after the meeting tomorrow. Take care.

Hard Decisions

Well, I think we/I have decided that we have to at least try the public school. No one really truly knows or understands why the decision is so hard for me, except my dear husband. It is hard. VERY hard. We will go out this weekend and get a few basic school supplies that Anna didn't have to have for private school and then we will register and start at the new school Monday. I will continue to pray, but I have to at least give it a shot. If after that six weeks time period I still feel hesitant or not comfortable, then I will make that decision to bring Anna back home. (My sis-in-law was my encouragement for this. She called right after I posted the last post and encouraged me to at least try it. If it doesn't work, then there really is nothing lost but 6 weeks or so and I can always pull her back home if I absolutely hate it.) I will give it my best shot and continue to pray. Thanks for those who cared enough to encourage and pray for me. We will continue to need prayers.