Another month has come and gone...

I've said it before. Adoption is hard. Lately, the waiting is taking a toll on my heart.

I am constantly thinking about P. I walk a fine line (not always that well, might I add) of keeping my focus with the family that's living right here with me in our home, and daydreaming about our precious daughter all the way in Ind*a. I feel so torn. I long for the day when we're all under one roof.

At the beginning of this month, the POA that we sent arrived where it needed to be and I had the hope that we would finally get the court date that we had been waiting for. Well, the days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into a month. That month has come and gone.

June came and went. July has done the same. Unfortunately, we are still without a court date.

I feel so discouraged, so drained, so tired of waiting, and the worst and possibly ugliest of emotions...so jealous. I see families that were matched after us traveling to bring their little ones home, or have been home for a while now. Yes, I rejoice with them. Each and every child home to their forever families is a huge victory that must be celebrated, but I wonder why we aren't celebrating this victory yet? Why after 25 months in process, and 15 months since we've laid eyes on our precious daughter is she still not home?

I'm really trying to lean into Jesus. I'm asking and praying for His strength to sustain me in this time where I feel so hopeless and impatient.

I know this post sounds so gloomy and depressing, but some days, that's reality. I want to be real with you all and share both the mountains and the valleys that I experience throughout this adoption process. It just so happens that we've been hanging out in the valley for a while.

I know that we won't be waiting forever. Someday, we'll finally be boarding that plane, driving to the orphanage, and holding our girl for the first time.

Please continue to pray with us. Pray that AUGUST will be the month that we have our first hearing. Pray for a quick court process so that we can bring our girl HOME!

2016-2017 Homeschool Curriculum {1st grade}

Here's a little peek into the curriculum we'll be using this school year! So far, each year I've done exactly what I HAVEN'T wanted to do...switch curriculum. When we first started, I promised to myself that I would never do such a thing. Each year, I SWORE that I had found THE perfect curriculum. But, the more I learn about my kids and their learning styles and the more we find our homeschool groove, it just happens. That's the beauty of homeschooling for us so far. I have the liberty to change things up. BUT, I'm hoping that what we're using this year will stick! ;)

So, here's what we have planned for the upcoming school year!

Mason :: Age 6 :: 1st grade

{DISCLAIMER}
I am not affiliated with any of the following companies. The views and opinions expressed are my own. 

Reading/Phonics - All About Reading level 1 and 2

We started level 1 last year and are just about to finish up. However, reading has been very challenging for us this year. Mason has worked so hard, but he's really struggled through this subject. He's definitely not ready to move onto level 2 yet so we're going to go back through the lessons at a faster pace. I recently bought the games with Ziggy Zebra so we'll play those too! Our goal for this year is to gain confidence in reading and have lots of opportunities for practice. We'll move on to level 2 when he's ready!

Math - RightStart Math level A

We're still working through this level since we started mid-year last year. We made the switch from Horizons K math and never looked back. RightStart has been a perfect fit so far!I love how RightStart engages the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic senses. Yes, this program is expensive, but so far it has been worth every single penny. The bulk of the cost involved all the manipulatives, which will be used year after year.

Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears K

We're still working through the K level. With math and reading struggles last year, handwriting got put on the back-burner. Such is life. We'll start 1st grade once we're done. He'll also be working on Tapestry of Grace copywork using memory words.

Science - Elemental Science (Intro to Science)

I needed a science curriculum that was full of fun science experiments that I could easily have younger kiddos sit in on, but still be engaging enough for a 1st grader. The experiments look fun and cover basic chemistry, physics, geology, meteorology, botany, and zoology.

Bible/History/Literature/ - Tapestry of Grace Primer

I am SO excited for Tapestry. I'm slightly overwhelmed with how to plan out our year, but mostly excited! This curriculum uses great books, interactive hands on projects, games, and a conversational approach. We'll be taking a broad sweep through history from creation through modern times through various unit studies.

Devotional- Adventures in Obedience

We saw this program at our local homeschool convention and are planning on doing this 3 evenings a week as a family! We'll go through character development cartoons using the Cat and Dog Theology books along with reading missionary stories from the I Heard the Good News Today! book. We read a few missionary stories with Sonlight last year and the boys really enjoyed them!