A Day in the Life of Sprunger Academy

We started school back up last week. So far, so good. Here is Brooke's curriculum all ready to go.




















Here is Ashton's.



















Here is some preschool stuff for the little girls.




















Here is Brooke working on her spelling.




















Here is Ashton doing his writing.



















Here is Brooke giving a "reading lesson" to Kate and Ava.


















Here is Gabe happily entertaining himself.



















Ahhhh.....life is so easy and peaceful around here, right? WRONG! Funny how a blog post can be made to look anyway the author wants. I'm actually laughing to myself looking at these pictures and how great they make things seem over here. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job as these kids' mother and teacher, but it's far from perfect over here. All of the above moments in the photos did indeed happen, but they were short blissful moments in between tears, quarrels, time-outs for discipline...in short, life with 5 kids.

Not to mention the fact that toddlers are hard. Gabe, even though he is usually content, has reached a clingy and difficult stage. He began this "velcro" stage this summer, and I hope it ends soon. He has been following me around the house lately crying unless he is held. Constantly. I remember my other kids going through a clingy stage around age one, so I think it's normal. In fact, I've always thought that age one is the hardest age...into everything, bravery without the brains to match, falling all the time, a weird fascination with trash and toilets... As much as I love Gabe, age one is hard. But guess what? Gabe is even harder without the other kids around to amuse him. Yes, one toddler is harder than one toddler plus 4 older children. True! Another benefit of homeschooling!

Anyway, in reality, this is what I saw most of the time Gabe wasn't being held:






















Yes, I took a picture of Gabe crying and coming towards me, mad that he wasn't being held.
And this picture was taken as Brooke was reading on the couch. Gabe climbed up beside her and tried to grab the book. When she wouldn't let him, he threw himself face-down on the couch crying.



















I know things will get better. I know Gabe will grow up, which, when I think about it, is really sad in itself:(

Okay, I started this post about 3 days ago. I only allow myself maybe 10 minutes a day to "blog" after the kids are in bed. So...an update is that things are already becoming a little better. The kids are getting in a routine and getting more independent with their schoolwork, which gives me time in the mornings to spend with Ava, Kate, and Gabe. Brooke has started this great thing where she begs to take a "recess" from her schoolwork to play with Gabe. She takes Gabe upstairs and plays with him there, which he loves because he loves attention, which is a great time for me to get housework done. Yes, things are coming together.

By the way, I don't know how many homeschoolers read my blog, but if you're interested in a review of any of the products we use (see pictures above) let me know. I like to talk "homeschool curriculum." If that makes me a nerd, so be it. If using the '90's word "nerd" makes me a nerd too, so be it.

Sisters

These two cuties usually wake up around the same time and play together in the morning before everyone else is awake. The morning after Kate's birthday, Kate saw her birthday candy on the table and asked if she could have it. I told her to go outside and eat it on the deck. Ava followed her and stared at Kate eating her candy. Before I could ask Kate to share, she started giving Ava pieces and letting her lick her lollipop. Of course I grabbed my camera before this sweet moment could end!


























Most of the time, these two are either fighting or playing together. It changes from one minute to the next. Regardless, where one is, the other usually is too.

Drew

Remember Drew? I posted about him here. My good friend Mandi and her husband Matt are in the process of adopting Drew from China. Unfortunately, adoption is expensive. Matt and Mandi have HUGE hearts (this is their second adoption), but not huge wallets. God is providing a home for Drew, and I'm excited to see how He will provide the funds necessary to bring him home. They are fundraising right now. Would you like to be a part of bringing little Drew home to his forever family? If so, click on that adorable face you see in my sidebar and make a donation towards giving this child the gift of a family. What better to invest in than the life, the soul, of a child?

Beautiful Ava

We were at a wedding about a month ago and this is what was behind the church. So...we were all dressed up, the sky was overcast, we had a beautiful setting, and we had time to kill before the reception. As an added bonus, no one had stained their clothes yet and everyone was in a relatively good mood. My dad took the photo of our family (in the header of my blog) and I snapped this one of Ava. The photos of Gabe by the fire hydrant (previous post) were taken here too.

Gabe

Happy 4th Birthday, Kate!!!

Our sweet and yummy precious girl turned 4 years old last month! (I'm a little behind on my blogging I guess, especially given that it was Ashton's birthday yesterday, but that will be a post for a differet day.)






















































Chad made and decorated her princess cake. Pretty good, huh?

I love these pictures of Kate playing in our garden. She is so beautiful.





















































Her nickname is "Yummy." Why? Because, despite the fact that Kate is strong-willed and opinionated and yells thing like "Don't argue with a 4-year-old!" to her siblings when they disagree with her, she is still so affectionate and yummy to me. Happy birthday Kate; you are so loved!

WOW!

What do you think of my blog's new look??? My friend (who traveled with Chad to China to pick up her daughter ) Mandi gave my blog a make-over. She is very talented, don't you think? Anyway, she is designing blogs to earn extra money that is needed to bring Drew home from China. Drew will be Matt and Mandi's 5th child. If your blog needs a make-over and you want to help support Drew's adoption, please go over to Mandi's blog and leave her a comment and a way to get in touch with you.