Homeschool catch up & family

  Whew, I need to catch up.  I was pretty much off the pc for awhile.  We had some family in for a few weeks last month.  Our cousin brought her mom down with her, so that was a huge surprise.  It was very nice to see them.
   Then some of my in-laws came for a visit.  They rented a beach house near us.  In all, it was a lot less stressful than I thought it would be.  Both women are former teachers, though one was an elementary teacher.  When they visited last summer, they were very against home school.  I'm sure they still are.  But, after looking at our Phonics Road, math and some of the things we have gone over, as well as just observation, the former elem teacher, was impressed.  She mentioned that what we are doing is good for right now.  We talked briefly about what we would do with our little guy if we had to place him in school.  Would he be bored?  How far ahead would he be?  Things like that.  And, my husband is coming around a little more.  He said we would continue with home school for now, though he'd have questions later on.  I am happy, but sad because it is causing friction between him and his folks.
  Anyhow, on to my review.  Last was week 16, and if you count the weeks, you'll see we took a small break.  I think I took 2 weeks to cover one of those weeks, and then with family here...But, that's the great thing about home school.  We can go at our own pace.  And considering we are technically kindergarten....

Family Christmas

      A friend mentioned that she loves the holiday season, because it's about family, and that's what makes it so special.  I couldn't agree more, and why I usually love Christmas as well. 

 There are a few that really stand out. 

 There are some I'd like to forget. 

   Last year we traveled across the US to be with our family and friends for the holiday.  It was pretty cool.  We got to play in the snow, and the kids had a blast.  This year, my mother in law will be visiting us.  Which is wonderful, as I miss her, and otherwise we'd be alone for the holiday.  It should be a nice, relaxing holiday.  I'm counting on it, after the year it's been.  We are an almost whole family this year.  I don't feel as broken, and last year, we almost were.  It makes me think of one of my favorite Christmas songs, "O Holy Night", and the lines, "A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."  How true it is.  How true it is.

This and That

 Okay, so what am I writing about? What am I sharing?
   It's only the beginning of December, yet I am asking myself that already.  I have a bit of pain and loss I am yet dealing with, and have friends dealing with the same, with whom I can share in understanding.
   As a home school  mom, finding my way, I find that I have things I want to share about our days. Just as a stay at home mom in general, I find that there is a lot to talk about.
   But I also find myself immersed in epigenetics, vaccines and medicines.
 All of those are me. I thought about trying to separate them, into different blogs, and I do have separate topic pages, but for daily thoughts, I can't really separate them. You see, everything is connected, and is our family.  Dealing with the loss of an infant, brings about our emotional health.  Not only as a family, but how it effects a marriage directly.  What we eat and what we surround ourselves with-epigenetics-can have a direct impact on our physical health, as well as our emotional health. Which leads to choices we make as a family, like vaccines, medicine and home schooling. What do we want our children surrounded by? What can we give them, or not give them? What is safe and healthy for all of us? And can we help others in the process?
  So, I suppose at this point, my blog is a mixture of things. I imagine a week will be filled with both journalism, as well as general thoughts about our family life, unless there is nothing particularly newsworthy.