Family Tree

I have been trying to make time to be "creative".  It is one of those things that when I make the time, the payback is so great!  I always feel rejuvenated, but making the time is the hard part!  It seems that our days are so full of just "surviving" that we often forget to take time for these things.

My latest "creative project" has been our "family tree" in our entry way.   I got the idea about 6 months ago, and started collecting the photos that we needed.  This past month, Tony was able to paint the wall for me, and my sweet daughter, Alexis, drew me a tree and sent it to me by email.  So I have to give her credit.  The tree is from "A Taylor Designs".  :-)

After we got the wall painted, I decided  that I wanted to use black, cream, and turquoise frames. So I spent a couple days painting some of my frames.

Tony helped me by sketching it on the wall for me, and then I spent the last week painting it. :-)

I am so excited with how it came out.  We still need to get a picture of Tony's grandparents, Grandpa and Nana Anzalone.

Here are a few pictures of my "family tree"...

More Boots!

Another great thing that happened in September, is that a long awaited for package arrived.  Our dear friend from the US, who sent Matthew boots, earlier, also sent Teddy and Carla boots.  They were mailed in June, and took a really long time to get to us!  It's funny because so many things have improved here over the years, that it is often easy to forget that we live in a 3rd world country, but then every once in a while we get a glaring reminder.  Our mail situation is one of those.

We were sad, to learn that one of the gifts that had been sent, had been taken out of the box, BUT we were thrilled that both pairs of boots arrived safe and sound!!

Here are a few pictures of the kids getting their boots...

Living Hope Academy...

Friday we just finished our first term!   Unbelievable!  It seems like we were just getting ready to start and here we have our first 7 weeks under our belt and are looking forward to our first vacation week.    Over all the kids did really well.  We all seem to be adjusting to the schedule and our days are full.   One of the things that has been really different for me this year, is that school is taking quite a bit longer than it has in previous years.  Of course for Teddy, it has been increasing every year, but I have been able to be finished with my part usually by noon.  This year, I am taking a break to fix lunch and then after lunch we all head back up for at least an hour sometimes 2.  That is is taking some getting used to.

One of the things I am hoping to accomplish during this break, is to get more of our meal prep done, and in the freezer.  Also hope to make several "mixes" that will be time savers, too.   Since we are all home for the mid-day meal, it just works better for us to have our main meal of the day at that time, instead of in the evening.  But, with more time needed for school during the day, it is taking some "creative planning" to make that work, and still enjoy a nice dinner together.  :-)

It is exciting to see the kids making progress!  Teddy has done an in-depth study of the Pacific Islands and is currently in the middle of a study on Australia.  He is just about to conquer Long Division and Complex Multiplication problems.   Next he will be moving onto some pretty complex work with fractions.  (I'm so glad Daddy is near by to help out with Math!!) He has also been learning a lot about the Human Body.   Just finished studying the digestive system. Also an in depth study of how the kidneys work.  Really quite fascinating   Not sure who is enjoying it more, Teddy or me? ;-)

Carla and Matthew have been learning about ancient history.  I was a little concerned at first, that it might be over their head, especially working as ESL, but I have been very pleased with how much they have understood and retained.  In Science they learned all about the Water Cycle, and we spent some time on Weather.  Now they are starting a study of plants.

Carla is doing great with her reading, and she seems to really enjoy it.  She is struggling a little in Math, but, is making progress, and we are very pleased with that.

Matthew has made unbelievable progress with his small motor control.  If you compared his work today with what he was doing even 6 months ago, you would never believe it was the same kid.  I am so proud of how hard he is working in this area.  He is still struggling a lot in the "decoding" part of learning to read.  Not because he doesn't know the sounds of the letters, but his problems with speech, make it difficult for him to put the sounds together in a way that he can hear the word.  We are working on some different things, and praying that we will find the right combination for him.  I have no doubt that this little boy will learn to read.  He has never failed to accomplish anything he set his mind to do, be it learn to walk...talk...feed and dress himself...write and cut.... It just might take a little bit longer to accomplish, but what is that in the whole scheme of things? :-)

We thank you so much for your prayers for our family.  It is such a blessing to us to know that you are praying for us.

Blessings, Joy

Matthew's "pizza"

Even Carla's babies enjoy school! ;-)

We enjoy "field trips" to the beach!

We spent time in Monti Cristi learning about culture things.  Here Teddy is showing a couple tagua "nuts" and the plant they came out of.  Tagua is known as "vegetable ivory".  

Here we saw how a hat is made. 

President Eloy Alfaro, brought the coast and the highlands of Ecuador together by building the first railroad connecting the two. 

Matthew enjoys swimming lessons 2 afternoons a week.  

I couldn't resist this one...he's like a duck in the water! :-)

Carla and Teddy enjoy Tennis classes 3 afternoons a week. 

Carla and Matthew made farms after we read Charlotte's Web.  Here they are painting their barns.

Teddy planned the menu and cooked breakfast all my himself for the family one Saturday morning. 

It was great!!  Chocolate chip pancakes with Strawberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce AND chocolate banana milkshakes!  YUM!!

Tony and Teddy working on Viking Ship model.

Sorry this is sideways...I can't figure out how to rotate it! :-(  This a a picture of Carla with her "robot" she made!  

  

Light Brownies

I'm going to share a long time family favorite with you today.  This is a recipe I got from Tony's Mom, right after Mandie was born.   It is super easy and very yummy.  One note, they don't keep well.  About 2 days is the max.  So if you have a small family you may want to half this recipe and bake them in a 9x9.  That has never been much of a problem for our family, as we seem to eat them pretty much the same day we make them or by the next day anyway! ;-)  We made this recipe countless times for fundraisers when my 3 older girls were in high school.  In fact, Ashley's Senior year, she made these so many times she could probably do it in her sleep!

Light Brownies (sometimes called Blond Brownies in our family)

Lightly grease a 9x13 pan and preheat the oven to 325 F.

Mix together:

3/4 cup of butter or margarine (melted)
2 cups of brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups plain flour

Spread into prepared pan.
Top with 1 cup of chocolate chips.
Can add chopped nuts, too, if desired.

Bake at 325 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.