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This was Mack’s first timed Math minute. He freaked out when I said I was timing him. I wish I had known beforehand, so I could have started recording earlier. But, here is Mack-man fighting between shutting down and pushing through to answer all the addition facts.

There are benefits to home schooling. I don’t always see them, but today I’m seeing pretty clearly…..

We have the pool to ourselves. And the sun decided to come out and play today!

Don’t worry. We did Math and Language Arts and a few chores. We will finish up the day with History and Science and some reading. But I am definitely enjoying a mid-day break!!

I took the kids for their 6 month dental cleaning. The girls got a clean bill of health–no cavities!

Mack, yet again, had a negative report. Did he have a cavity? Two cavities? Three, maybe?

Try six! What in the stinkin’ world?!

After gasping, I let her explain that they were all in between teeth and super small, but needed to be taken care of. And she asked, “Does he like sweets?” Well, yes. He loves all things candy. But still!!! Six????!!!????

Gracious. (Can you tell I’m still in shock?)

So, we stopped at the local grocery store and went straight to the dental hygiene section. I bought a few kind of floss, a couple new kinds of toothpaste, mouthwash and new toothbrushes.
I put this stuff at the kitchen sink, and I told Mack that he most definitely will be having mom or dad brush and floss his teeth for him after every meal. No complaining or excuses!!
His reply? “But she said I can only brush after dinner.”

He was referring to the fluoride treatment he got today that the dentist doesn’t want brushed off, so she said to wait until after dinner to brush. Today only. So despite the absolute confidence with which Mack spoke about only needing to brush after dinner, I told him I thought I would bypass his advice on dental hygiene…considering he is the one with SIX cavities.

I told the hygienist that I suppose Mack being the baby of the family AND a boy wasn’t working in his favor in the cleanest teeth department. Meanwhile, we may have to skip his next three birthdays to pay for all the cavities!!!

We are celebrating Molly’s 8th birthday today by taking a trip to Cleveland, Ga to adopt a baby from Babyland General Hospital.
Molly wanted to get up while it was still dark, so we did! And we were eating breakfast by 7:15 am, a good 40 minutes from home.

This nap happened after filling bellies with pancakes and eggs. But we finally arrived.

Boys pretended to be asleep while we waited for the hospital to open.

Mack played around the entire time.

He stared this cow down and then punched it in the nose. ?! Boys!

This is the doll I would have chosen, but Molly had her mind set on a newborn baby boy.

She carried this baby around most of the time until she found one with a cuter outfit. She quickly decided to exchange baby boy #1 with baby boy #2. As we walked away from baby boy #1, Josh said to me, “You’re having a hard time with that, aren’t you? You feel bad for him.” And I said, “Strangely, I do. ”
But Molly was happy with her second choice.

Molly and Josh talked through names for the baby…Bartholamew was all Josh offered. Molly decided upon “Drew Lee Dorminy.”

The witnesses

Taking an oath to care for Drew and love him forever

Welcome to the family, Drew!

We went to Anna Ruby Falls, and despite typical newborn rules, we let Drew come out and explore with us!

He is eating well.

And this was a cute pic of Ruby from the day.

Bear with us as we adjust to a newborn baby in the house again….Molly is taking this quite seriously. It’s sweet. And funny. 🙂

So I’m in Philadelphia, PA roaming the streets and just enjoying the sights and sounds. From our hotel room I can see the top of the largest Catholic Church in the city. It is gorgeous!

While in the cathedral, I saw a confession booth (not sure of the technical name).

I immediately thought of Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we can find mercy to help us in our time of need.”
I’m thankful that Jesus made the way for me to go into God’s presence at any time for any thing. Sometimes I confess my sins to my kids—when I’ve responded harshly and need their forgiveness. And I ask God to forgive me, and He is faithful and just to forgive my sins. Sometimes I confess my sins to Josh–for being selfish in our relationship, among other things, and he forgives me and we are put back into a right relationship. And I ask God to forgive me so that I can, too, be in right relationship with Him. This is possible because Jesus died on the cross, taking on the sins of the world, was buried and rose again, conquering death….and making a way for me to live eternally with Him in heaven. Jesus made a beautiful way for me to come into God’s presence for all I need. I am thankful for my High Priest.

We have a friend in Sunday School who recently got a tiny puppy dog. Molly LOVES Julie’s little puppy, and she held it and took it all around the class party a few weeks ago.
She knows I am not going to get her a dog, like, probably ever…. So GG’s birthday money came in quite handy today when she found a puppy to buy. I told her this is the best kind of pet she’ll ever have. Quiet. Doesn’t shed. Doesn’t poop or pee. Doesn’t chew up anything. Doesn’t cost anything more than she spent at the store.

So thank you, GG, for the birthday money.
And, Julie, if Snow needs a little friend to play with, just call Molly!

My body is adjusting to an earlier wake-up call and fuller days. It feels like I’m gonna die around 2:00, but somehow we push through. “Somehow” included a siesta this rainy afternoon.

We’ve had a great first week.

Monday started out with a personal letter to each kiddo letting them know how excited I am to be their teacher and see how they grow and learn.

They all seemed excited to get started.

Ruby’s favorite part of the day is Reading.

Molly has enjoyed her reading time as well, but singing geography songs is probably her favorite.

Mack’s favorite part of the week was football evaluations. And snack time ran a close second.

These are the sisters waiting for the brothers to finish the evaluation.

My favorite part of the day is rest time….kidding….

It might be starting our school day in God’s Word….

Or maybe having breakfast with this cutie.
We have had a productive week! Sonlight curriculum includes plenty of reading out loud, so my voice is quite tired. Good thing Ruby reads so well! She shares the reading load. And Molly helps me by reading certain directions to Mack when he is stuck. Mack helps my prayer life as I constantly pray for wisdom on whether to keep him focused or let him have a break.

We had a ladies night with Sunday School girls, and we all brought a picture from elementary school. Here’s the one I brought:

I was about 7 or 8, I believe. It reminded me that at that age I was the Teacher’s Pet–big time. Mrs. Smith would bring dolls from her house and let me stay in from recess and play with he dolls or help her grade papers. I helped her all throughout the day. Can you say “showing favoritism”? It reminded me that I was probably much like Molly, whom I find on Sundays wearing a teacher’s name badge in Sunday School and checking kids out at pick-up time!! So funny. She is definitely an administrative helper type.
I was also about this age when I asked Jesus to save me from my sins and live within me. While going through old pictures, I found a picture of my pastor at the time, Brother Fred Lowery. What a kind and loving man.

I love how memories flood your mind all with one picture. I hope my kids and I are making memories that they will look back in with great fondness one day! I’m glad we get this time together. And I sure hope my body continues to adjust to our new schedule!!!!

I realize many posts are about Mack’s little crazy self…he’s just at that age where he is really coming into himself. He also talks non-stop, so his chance of saying something crazy is high.

On the way to Upward Football evaluations, he turns to his two older sisters and says, “Now I don’t want y’all to be sad but this day is all about me. ”

Really? Gracious. Partly concerning and partly understandable since he has been a part of plenty of things his sisters have done. Football is clearly his deal. Just ask him.

So what exactly does a home schooling family do to get started back into their school routine? I suppose the answer to that question has as many answers as one could imagine. I’ve been preparing all summer off and on by organizing curriculum, cleaning out old supplies and filling in with some new supplies (including fresh, long pieces of chalk that Mack and Molly spent an afternoon cutting into tiny pieces!!???), and reading as many encouraging books in regards to home schooling as I could get my hands on/fill my kindle with! But there had to be a jolt to our system or a meeting or something to mark the beginning of a new routine (the ending of staying up late, sleeping late, swimming, playing, getting together with friends, etc). We didn’t have a need to buy new clothes or check off specific school supplies lists. We didn’t have a teacher meet and greet. It’s just mom as teacher….again…just like the past four years. Bless them.

So I decided that Principal Daddy would need to lead a family meeting as we turn our attention to a new school year. After we had our own little talk, we called the kids downstairs. He moved to sit by me in the couch so that, as he said, “we can show a united front.”
The students took their seats:

The principal got on to the teacher for using her phone during his speech:

He encouraged them to take full advantage of the privilege and blessing of being able to learn. He challenged them to obedience. He also shared consequences. We are going to try a chore jar and see if we can nip some complaining and disobedience. Mack, much later in the evening, came to me a little worried that he would have to do a chore from the jar. I told him he probably would, but it is all to help him remember to obey the first time. Molly piped up and said, “Yeah, I’m sure I’m gonna do plenty of chores. ” At least she is prepared for consequences.

I also bought each child a new pair of pajamas since we have been known to spend an extended amount of time in our pajamas while working on school. I also found some very cute scriptures on these adorable vinyl sheets that will stick anywhere without ruining the surface. They each got their own set to put anywhere, and I cannot tell you how proud I was to see them get excited about placing the stickers in just the right spots! I’ll have to share more about those another time.

So, here we go. Another start to The Dorminy Academy of Scholarly Endeavors. Kidding. Here we go at the beginning of another year of teaching and learning for all of us…an adventure I did not see coming and that brings me to my knees on many occasions, but that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Presenting, Ruby Elizabeth at 9 years of age entering 4th grade:

And Molly Lee at 7 years of age entering 3rd grade:

And Mack Joshua, age 6, entering 1st grade-ish:

I cannot wait to see all the ways each of them will grow and all the wonderful new concepts they will learn. I am grateful for the time I am with them, getting to know them and praying that I am training them in the things of God, which is what matters most! Oh that I will remember that when I feel woefully inadequate for the task of being their teacher.

We ended the night with pound cake, ice cream and strawberries, which makes saying goodbye to such lazy days a bit easier.

So this morning Mack saw that Molly was wearing her cowgirl boots and decided he would wear his cowboy boots…with shorts. It’s so cute that I just went with it.
Talk about a double standard if I’d have made him change but let her keep her boots on.

Sunday School was quite full. We missed Josh, but Chris Lee did a great job teaching. We had plenty of time for care groups, and I really did enjoy catching up with our group.

After church we went to IPP’S.

YUM! It was so good, and we had enough leftovers that I don’t have to cook today. A day without cooking is a great day indeed.

This morning I had a BAD hair day. I believe it was because I have washed my hair several times this week, which doesn’t help curly hair. It dries it out and just makes my hair tired. 🙂 Soooo, instead of going with a ponytail, I thought I would try a twist and pin style I had seen on Pinterest. It took me about 5 minutes, and I was fairly pleased that it turned out decent.

And just a minute ago I got to read to this little cutie:

That is the only bad thing about them learning to read for themselves….they no longer need me to read to them. These are some of my favorite times!