Luv'N Lambert Life

Mental Health, Homeschooling, Epilepsy and More

Archives for 2011

Still We are Busy! {Thoughts from Me}

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The past few days have continously been busy for me.  One day spent planning and seemingly getting no where.  The next two spent cleaning out the girls’ bedroom.  It’s a major job that needed doing but it’s left me little time for anything else.  Add on top of that an unexpected night out with friends, watching them ride some of the craziest amuzement rides in Myrtle Beach.  All equals one tired me. 

The kids, of course, are LOVING having their MaMa living nearby and having her here is helping me to get a lot of necessary things done.  Between the two of us, Laycie hasn’t been able to get away with much.  She spends most of her time following MaMa around which is allowing me to get many things done I don’t normally get to.  The other kids come back and forth between our houses, playing and enjoying the best of both worlds: home and Grandma’s to visit.  Mom is simply enjoying having a house again, as well as her babies to love on, though she greatly misses my nephews and really wants to see my neice. 

This weekend will be spent, hopefully painting trim work in the girls’ bedroom, as well as working more on the reorganization in there.  I’m praying to be selected for a recent release of a review which would be perfect for all of the kids to play with in the girls’ bedroom but I’m not giving details to that one yet.  Just keeping my fingers crossed, as it comes just a few moments after mentioning the “need” of one in there today.

Tonight, I will be printing out some pages for my home and school management notebook.  I really need the organization that such a notebook provides and haven’t taken time to complete any binder I have began in the past.  I’m hoping to change that this year.  I also need to work on reading through some of the things I need to review soon.  I am enjoying the opportunities provided so far. 

Well that’s all that we are up to at this time.  Just simply staying busy but hopefully it will all come together for us very very soon.

Simply Busy Busy Busy {Thoughts from Me}

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The past two weeks, I have simply been too busy to even log onto the laptop.  I have been online but only using the iPad which doesn’t allow me much capability for communication past simple replies and answers.  There just seems to be no time for me.

My Mom moved here two weeks ago to finally live in her own house after 6 years of living with one of her children.  Our great-grandmother passed away several months ago at the age of 104 and her single-wide mobile home had sat empty the past few years while she grew older in the nursing home.  After her passing, my Mother was offered her house as a “home” just to have someone staying there to keep it up, help with the small bills it has and also be closer to my family.  No strings attached.  Mom is enjoying being able to design a home again though I believe it’s going a bit slower than she likes.  It will get there though.

We have been busy cleaning and organizing the house and accompaning shed, which she is quickly turning into her planting shed.  We’ve also been working on several things in my house and organizing here too.  We’ve spent a few days out thrifting, searching for the perfect storage items and various decor to use.  It’s been great fun!

On top of all of this, I’ve been searching out curriculum for this upcoming year, buying books at the thrift stores as I come across them and working out plans for everything.  The next few days I will be forcing myself to sit down, organize all our school materials and write out the plan for this coming year of school work.  I’m excited and I know when it’s time to start the new stuff in the next few weeks, the kids will be too!

I’ve also been recieving my review materials from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Review Cruise.  You can find a link to it in my side bar to read all my fellow crew members reviews.  In the next month I will be reviewing How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids by Rachael Carmen from Apologia, Before Five In A Row by Jane Claire Lambert and Big IQ Kids online premium site.  I’m looking forward to all of these reviews and hope you are too!

Well, that’s what we are up to for now.  Hopefully, I’ll be settled into a more normal routine before much longer!  But for now it’s a busy busy Lambert Life for us!

It Could Be Much Worse {Epilepsy Awareness}

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I am a member of several different groups online.  Many of which are for parents of special needs children and several for Epilepsy.  Even though I love to participate in them, some days it hits me more than others just how LUCKY we are with this disorder.

My children’s seizures have always been controlled, for the most part, by medication and environment variable control.  My own seizures have always been controlled in the same way.  Other families are not.  Other families have children who have to take 3 or 4 or more medications.  Other families have children who must have an electronic device to help them control this disorder.  Other families have children who must endure a massive surgery removing a portion of their brains, risking so many complications. 

I hear of these children every day.  I pray for these children every day.  I thank God that my children are blessed not to need these things.  I thank God that we can control this disorder simply.

I am often asked how we handle having two daughters with Epilepsy, especially when I have it myself.  God has a chosen to bless me with these children and I’m thankful that He gave them to me.  I have never let this disorder get me down and I refuse to let it rule my children.  I know, from seeing others, that we could have it so much worse.  I know that one serious neurological episode, one serious tramatic event could change our life forever.  I know someday I may have to make the decision to remove a portion of my daughters’ brains.  But I have Faith that God is in control of this disorder and will take care of my girls just like he has me. 

I do not limit them from enjoying their lives but they are aware of their disorder, as I have stated in previous posts.  I make them aware in the case they realize its happening as they grow up.  I make others aware so that they know how to deal with their Epileptic activity if something was to happen while they are around my daughters.  I make others aware so that my girls can live as normal a life as possible.

I don’t always talk about this disorder.  Some days I wish I could just hide it away and ignore it exists.  Some days it’s easy to do but naturally I am always looking for the signs: the tiredness, the staring episodes that sometimes lead to a convulsion within a few days, the stuttering, the forgetting of things they know how to do but because of their disorder can’t remember.  All the effects that this disorder causes to happen often in our lives. 

I remember once when Emmalee was 2, she climbed to the top of her baby slide like she did every day but she couldn’t remember “how” to slide back down.  It broke my Momma heart to see my sweet girl “forget” and know she couldn’t help it because that is something this disorder does to you.  It broke my heart more to watch her lay seizing, knowing their was nothing I could do to help her the next day. 

And still I’m reminded daily that it could be so much worse for us.  My girls could go into a seizure and not wake one day.  However, I can’t dwell on what could happen, no more than I can dwell on what has happened.  As their Mom, I must make sure that they don’t either.  This is why I try to provide them with as much normalcy as possible.  Why should their life be any different just because they have Epilepsy?  We must make a few exceptions and changes for them to co-exist normally but no more than someone would for any child.

I’m thankful for each normal day my daughters are able to have and pray that they are able to live their lives without too much complication.  Only time will tell if that will be allowed but for now we are simply maintaining our day to day life and living as if tomorrow brings the cure to this lifelong disorder that we carry.

God bless! <3

Beware: I Stand Up for My Beliefs {Thoughts from Me}

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The Lord is amazing.  I cannot state that enough.  Recently, I have made several prayers that all at once were answered today, lifting a HUGE, undeniable weight off of my shoulders.  I’m so thankful that He chose to answer this in His time and way and as quick as He did.

Let me just add that if something “seems” too good to be true, it generally is!  It is awesome to fight a battle called Epilepsy but if you are going to go at some full blown guns first, know what it is you’re talking about.  Especially if you are in the position of leading a foundation and its members into that battle.  I shake my head at these wonderful change makers who really have no clue what it is they are battling.  The first step to change and prevention is knowledge and that comes from research, not from interogating physicians to get your way.  Know what you are fighting against before you begin the fight and both sides of the battle instead of your own opinionated view upon it.  I see now it’s not the original members of this particular foundation that were wrong but instead that they had a differing opinion from the leader who only accepts their own as the only correct one.  I wish them all luck in their business but I honestly now see why more people don’t share about this disorder than already do.

The devil will not stop my efforts to support and share about Epilepsy though.  There will be plenty of future blog posts from me on this subject, as well as many others.    I will continue to speak my mind as I always have, but perhaps I should come labeled with a warning from now on: I will not necessarily agree with your viewpoint but I do respect your views.  Or maybe, Beware: I strongly stand up for what I believe in, homeschooling and Epilepsy being the main two. 

To each of you, I wish a blessed night and a beautiful week.  God bless all!

205 Followers

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Wow! I am not even sure when we hit 205 but I wanted to say Welcome to each of you. Right now I am busy helping my Mom get settled into her new home so I havent had time to post! That is our big news we have been waiting to share. Hopefully by next week she will be fully settled and life will regain some normalcy so that I can blog again. Until then please bear with me! Hope each of you have a very blessed week!

2011-2012 Curriculum Part 1

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As I mentioned in my last post, this year we will be stepping out of unschooling and into more structured school-style.  Think relaxed but formal.  I think a little more structure is necessary for our days and what better place to start than with school.
Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t use grade levels in our school.  I consider both Winston and Emmalee to be Elementary level and in comparison to public school, they are on different levels in different subjects throughout the spectrum.  I do not place them into one single catergory because of this.
That said, I do consider my youngest to be in preschool.  She will be beginning “real” studies with us this year.  We will work through various workbooks, learning letters and numbers, number relation and early writing skills.  I’m not 100% sure what curriculum I will be using with her yet but hope to figure it out very soon.

Winston and Emmalee will be continuing much of the curriculum we used last year.  We will be adding and changing several things but I am still working out the details.  The books we will be using are as follows:

This book is part of the What We Believe series published by Apologia Press.  We began it last year but will dive into it further this year.  I hope to add the accompaning color book at some point before we finish the book.  It is a look at Biblical Worldview written for Elementary level students (ages 6-14). 

For Science, we will be working through Apologia’s Exploring Creation series.  Astronomy, Botany, and Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day are the current titles we own but I hope to add the others soon.  We LOVE this science program.  Each book fully covers its subject, instead of working in bits and pieces like other science curriculums.  Each book also relates the subject to the Bible and teaches a child to see science through God’s eyes instead of the world’s view.
For Reading, we will be working through Pathway Readers reading program.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this reading program.  The books are simply written but very enjoyable.  They are Amish style, keeping twaddle to a minimum.  They are perfect for Charlotte Mason type homeschools. 

For Grammar, we will also be using Pathway’s Climbing to Good English program.  We haven’t use this yet so it will be new for us.  I really think it’s perfect for my kids though and that they will really enjoy it.  I guess we will see!  We will also continue working with Scott Foresman’s Grammar and Handwriting books, which we also LOVE (and they are FREE).  

For Math, we will continue to use Miquon.  We absolutely LOVE Miquon.  It’s perfect for us.  The kids love the simple activities.  They also love using the Cuisenaire Rods for each activity.  Some days we even pull out Lego’s to use instead, which the kids love even more!
For History, we will be using multiple things and I am totally EXCITED!  History is by far my favorite subject to teach.  This year I found a great deal on Tapestry of Grace, Classic Edition.  I know there is a newer version and I should probably invest in that but if we like Year One Classic this year, I will go with the new version next year.  Just going to take our time and see how it goes!
Along with TOG, we will be using both Mystery of History Volume 1 and Story of the World Volume 1.
We will be using these with TOG as our main history curriculum and Mystery of History as our secondary history, while using Story of the World stories and activities to add to and fill in as I feel necessary.  Using the three of these together will give us the best well-rounded version for History over-all.
These are the things I know we will be using this year but I’m still working out details.  I have other curriculum we will be using too but I haven’t quite completed that list for us.  I’m really looking forward to our lessons this year and I know the kids are too.  Now just to finish writing up schedules and lesson plans so we can get started.
What are your curriculum plans for this year?  I love hearing what other’s are using so please comment, share a link and share! <3
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