Unpacking vs. Packing

Well, I must say that it has been my experience that unpacking is so much more fun and goes way faster than packing does! Confused...don't be. We never heard back from Bank of America and they tried to auction the house for $406,000 (which is the amount the previous owner owed). Of course, no one bought it so it went to foreclosure. It should be listed anywhere between 2-6 weeks. Lonnie and I found another home that we put an offer in on too and we didn't get that one either. So, Lonnie and I have decided that we are just going to stay where we are. We have a beautiful home and will just do some adjusting to make it work. We will be adding garage cabinets, more shelves in the storage room upstairs, cabinets on the other side of the laundry room, cabinets in the bathrooms and whatever else we deem necessary! :) It kind of stinks not getting what truly was the house of my dreams but we have been so blessed and both of us really feel good about this decision. The unfortunate part is that now I get to unpack EVERYTHING that I packed up...like 30+ boxes of food! Oh, well at least all of the cabinets are all nice and cleaned out! :) Another great thing is once I clear out all of the boxes in what used to be the playroom I can set up the "real" schoolroom! I guess that I better go get unpacking!

We are all still alive!

Wow! It's been over a month since I have posted anything! Things have been busy around the Durham home lately. As we are all aware school is out and summer is in full force! The children's behavior has really been so much better since they have been home, which is definitely welcomed! :) Little Mr. Gage has really enjoyed having his siblings home too. He's so cute. So what's on the agenda for this summer? I'm glad you asked...first off we are still waiting to hear back from good old Bank of America on the home we put an offer in. Supposedly they have everything they need and we are just waiting for them to close. We definitely have been learning patience through this process. Second off we have implemented our homeschool trial period for the summer. We do school everyday, except for Sunday, for about 3 hours. So far so good. I was shocked at how much they didn't know. For example, Michelle does not know her numbers, and both Mason and Michelle have trouble identifying lowercase letters. So we have been doing a lot of review of numbers and letters. After three years of preschool I find this kind of crazy, but I have to remind myself that it is not her fault and we just need to make progress. We have started working on reading the BOB books. Michelle can read the first two of them all by herself and Mason has no interest in learning to read. I think because it takes so much focus that this is going to be a challenge for him. He is, however, really good at putting the letters in order and saying their sounds. Saige and Gage also sit in with us while we do counting, reading, and phonics. Last week I introduced the "+" and "=" sign along with addition. When reviewing them yesterday I was happily surprised at how much they remembered and they even did an addition worksheet! It is so rewarding to see them learn and the pride that they have as well! We have really been praying hard and contemplating on what is the best thing to do for each one of the children. I have felt so at peace with our decision to homeschool them. I know that we have and will continue to receive criticism from others but quite frankly this is not their choice to make. We are entitled to revelation for our family and trust me we have received it! It still kind of freaks me out that we are doing this, but I have learned on numerous occasions to trust in my Heavenly Father and whatever His plan is. I am so grateful and humbled at the opportunity that I have to be the mother to these four amazing children. I love them so much and still cannot believe that I have been entrusted with them. Talk about an overwhelming responsibility! Yikes!!! Anyhow, I am rambling on now but just wanted to document what we've been up to and how things are going!