Hello Everyone!
We have not disappeared into a black hole! :) I finally have remembered how to post on this again. So sorry about our lack of updates. Since it has been so long, there is so much to share. But I thought I would do some basics first.
We are in our own house again and we are so excited! For those of you who don't know, we sold our house and were living in my (Jen's) parents house. Don't get me wrong, they were awesome. But it is hard to raise your family without your own home. Luckily, my mom and I see eye to eye on almost everything. But I am a typical woman and wanted my own place. So we are now renting a duplex in Hudsonville. It is such a blessing... our whole reason for selling is that we have felt compelled to get completely out of debt. That has been a little challenging because of our real estate business. To spare you the gory details, God moved many mountains and provided in many other ways. We are within 6 months of being completely out of debt. What a relief! We wanted to rent something cheap but nice. God brought us this duplex where everything inside in new, trendy, and spacious... and cheap! We adjusted instantly, even Tori. (An absolute miracle... bless her sensitive heart.) So we are truly doing great.
Tori is in 2nd grade and I am still homeschooling her. This past week, reading finally clicked. She has been able to read but it has been like pulling teeth. I have been very patient (nothing short of a miracle) and haven't pushed her. I knew it would just connect and she would love it. Sure enough, it did. Now she is reading like crazy and LOVES it. Whew! Mommy will admit she was a little nervous. It is a big responsibility to be in charge of your child's education. So I was feeling the pressure. But our philosophy and goal of homeschooling is to develop a passion for learning in our children. So if I had to force feed it, she would of eventually learned to hate it. So God is good! :) She is in gymnastics this year on Pre-team. She is loving it and progressing well. Her first meet in the end of January. Mommy will have to admit that she is secretly hoping she grows out of her love for the sport. It is involves long hours and unfortunately mommy knows what is coming. But if it is her dream, then we will help her every step of the way. I am very proud of her hard work. Plus, she is on a team of 14 girls and I LOVE the social aspect of it for her. However, she has a lot of dreams and passions. So we will see.
Elli is not starting school yet. She turns 5 on December 8. She is counting down the days. The weird thing is that she is already reading. She seriously can sound out many words and read them. I have never done a single structured thing with her but she learns from Tori. Mommy is pretty excited about this! It will make school next year that much easier. She is also in gymnastics and doing great. She is developing into a very independant little girl. I love to watch her. Just today, her & I were talking. I asked her if there was anyone from her gymnastics class she wanted to invite to her birthday party. I specifically asked her if she wanted to invite Jade, a girl she has been in class with for awhile. She said, "Mommy, she doesn't like me." I thought, how strange. So I asked her why she thought that. She said, "Well, she is always telling me, 'Don't touch me!'" I tried super hard not to laugh. You see, Elli has absolutely no personal space. To her, touching is saying I love you. But that is obviously not the case with Jade. :) So I told Elli not everyone liked to cuddle. She was seriously baffled. That is my Elli! She has never met a stranger and love to hug everyone! What a blessing.
Mark & I are doing great. I thuoght I had better tell you quick about the pics I uploaded. The one of the girls in pink is when we went to see High School Musical 3. They are girly girls all the way. The ones of Mark & I are from our Adventure Race. We did our first race which was a dream come true. We did a 6 hour race that combined Trail Running, Mountain Biking, Canoeing, and Orienteering (finding your way in the woods with a compass). We loved and plan to do many more.
We have not disappeared into a black hole! :) I finally have remembered how to post on this again. So sorry about our lack of updates. Since it has been so long, there is so much to share. But I thought I would do some basics first.
We are in our own house again and we are so excited! For those of you who don't know, we sold our house and were living in my (Jen's) parents house. Don't get me wrong, they were awesome. But it is hard to raise your family without your own home. Luckily, my mom and I see eye to eye on almost everything. But I am a typical woman and wanted my own place. So we are now renting a duplex in Hudsonville. It is such a blessing... our whole reason for selling is that we have felt compelled to get completely out of debt. That has been a little challenging because of our real estate business. To spare you the gory details, God moved many mountains and provided in many other ways. We are within 6 months of being completely out of debt. What a relief! We wanted to rent something cheap but nice. God brought us this duplex where everything inside in new, trendy, and spacious... and cheap! We adjusted instantly, even Tori. (An absolute miracle... bless her sensitive heart.) So we are truly doing great.
Tori is in 2nd grade and I am still homeschooling her. This past week, reading finally clicked. She has been able to read but it has been like pulling teeth. I have been very patient (nothing short of a miracle) and haven't pushed her. I knew it would just connect and she would love it. Sure enough, it did. Now she is reading like crazy and LOVES it. Whew! Mommy will admit she was a little nervous. It is a big responsibility to be in charge of your child's education. So I was feeling the pressure. But our philosophy and goal of homeschooling is to develop a passion for learning in our children. So if I had to force feed it, she would of eventually learned to hate it. So God is good! :) She is in gymnastics this year on Pre-team. She is loving it and progressing well. Her first meet in the end of January. Mommy will have to admit that she is secretly hoping she grows out of her love for the sport. It is involves long hours and unfortunately mommy knows what is coming. But if it is her dream, then we will help her every step of the way. I am very proud of her hard work. Plus, she is on a team of 14 girls and I LOVE the social aspect of it for her. However, she has a lot of dreams and passions. So we will see.
Elli is not starting school yet. She turns 5 on December 8. She is counting down the days. The weird thing is that she is already reading. She seriously can sound out many words and read them. I have never done a single structured thing with her but she learns from Tori. Mommy is pretty excited about this! It will make school next year that much easier. She is also in gymnastics and doing great. She is developing into a very independant little girl. I love to watch her. Just today, her & I were talking. I asked her if there was anyone from her gymnastics class she wanted to invite to her birthday party. I specifically asked her if she wanted to invite Jade, a girl she has been in class with for awhile. She said, "Mommy, she doesn't like me." I thought, how strange. So I asked her why she thought that. She said, "Well, she is always telling me, 'Don't touch me!'" I tried super hard not to laugh. You see, Elli has absolutely no personal space. To her, touching is saying I love you. But that is obviously not the case with Jade. :) So I told Elli not everyone liked to cuddle. She was seriously baffled. That is my Elli! She has never met a stranger and love to hug everyone! What a blessing.
Mark & I are doing great. I thuoght I had better tell you quick about the pics I uploaded. The one of the girls in pink is when we went to see High School Musical 3. They are girly girls all the way. The ones of Mark & I are from our Adventure Race. We did our first race which was a dream come true. We did a 6 hour race that combined Trail Running, Mountain Biking, Canoeing, and Orienteering (finding your way in the woods with a compass). We loved and plan to do many more.
We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! Be blessed!
