Book Review: Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince

 

I spend a lot of time pre-reading books for my kids. I found this book on an 8th grade must read list. 

Taking Flight falls into reading categories such as Young Adult Ballet, Dance, Orphan, Africa history, War Orphan, Adoption, Dreams, hope, and memoir. 

Taking Flight is a fantastic read about dreams, overcoming, and hope. Michaela shares her heart as she tells her story. She was born in Africa to parents who accepted her as a girl and planned a great future for her. Her parents died and she ended up living with an abusive uncle who sold her to an orphanage. She was then adopted by an American couple and grew up in the United States. From a young age, even before leaving Africa, Michaela dreamed of being a ballerina. Her family helped her achieve her dream and her mother encouraged here to share it. “I have been blessed with a hardy dose of hope,” says Michaela. “It was hope that enabled me to survive in Africa in the face of abuse, starvation, pain, and terrible danger. It was hope that made me dare to dream, and it was hope that helped that dream take flight.”

This will go on the recommended list for my 8th grader.

Elizabeth

COVID quarantine week 4

Hello!!!

It has been awhile since I've updated my blog. Here goes. I might find some pictures to post at some point.

Today is Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

On March 13, 2020 the government of California pretty much shut down the state. Our church services moved completely online. Elijah's state gymnastics meet was cancelled even though they were trying to limit the number of spectators per gymnast in attendance. Esther's state gymnastics meet was also cancelled. Those are the things that I can think of that disrupted our lives.

What has changed for our family? Not too much really. Yes, Eric is working from home. His 9 hour work day is more like 14 hours, but he is helping with some of the madness. I'm still teaching the kids. School is still in session for us. The big changes are with our afternoon activities. The gyms are closed so the kids do not have gymnastics 4 days a week. They are literally crawling the walls. Eden is walking and loves being outside so we are trying to balance time for her outside. Ezra needs attention and does crazy things to get it. I miss my BSF discussion group and the other parents in the gym. I don't mind being home but I do miss adult interaction.

The good. We have spent time together as a family. Most days we sit as a family for lunch and dinner. As a family, we are doing our BSF study. We are still able to eat fairly well and whole foods. We still have TP from before this mess started. We have refused to be driven by fear and are going to store when needed for our usual groceries. When it isn't raining, yes, it has rained a lot in the last four weeks, we have enjoyed time outside walking our long driveway and exploring coyote trails.

I would like to say that my house is clean and sanitized. That I've done massive amounts of 'spring' cleaning and that I have a huge load of treasures to take to the thrift store. I would like to say that all the half done projects around the house have been finished. Oh and the boxes that have been sitting around for the last year. I would like to say I have them all unpacked and everything has its place. Reality is the house is messier than normal. No sanitizing going on here. Boxes are still untouched.

Other than not being able to leave, not much has changed in the Miller house. Oh, Eden is walking!! The boys are exercising their creative juices with LEGOs. The house is a mess. The bathrooms still need to be cleaned. Laundry baskets are full of clean clothes. BUT we have had good meals. We are safe. We are healthy.

Elizabeth

August Recap

Back to School!!

The month of August with pictures.

The way I'm relieving stress and anxiety.

Official first day with our Charter School

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Y State 2017

Miss E spent most of the 2017 Spring season nursing injuries. She was well enough to pull everything together and compete for the last meet of the 2017 Spring season; Y State. Here is her meet.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

School Year Recap

A Brief Update/Reflection

 

My how all three kids have grown since August 2016!! Growth comes in ways other than physical, but that is where it is seen the most. 

Miss E is now sporting braces along her top teeth. We are patiently waiting for one of her bottom teeth to erupt to avoid oral surgery. She is still a gymnast and will be competing level 4 again in the fall. She upped her hours in the gym to 16 hours per week in July. She is still our avid reader. She independently read over 10,000 pages this past school year. Daddy does not like books at the dinner table so we are often telling her that she can continue reading after she eats. She has learned that reading can be used as a procrastination tool, too. She has a very compassionate heart and loves serving the Lord through song. She helps lead worship in one of the children’s classes at church.

Little Man is definitely building arm muscles with gymnastics. It is pretty impressive if I do say so myself. He had a great time competing for the first time this past winter and is looking forward to the next level and competition season. Gymnastics has been really good for him and he works really hard in the gym. In school he grew a lot in reading. With a little bit of help, he read 10,000 pages. He read over 5,000 pages independently. For this guy, this is pretty impressive reading. He is our active child. Always busy doing something that involves movement; be it handstands in the living room, climbing trees, making forts, wrestling with his sister, playing soccer in the road, or just running to chase Dad as Dad leaves for work, this kid is never still. He has a sweet spirit and a heart to talk with the Lord about everything. He blows me away as he brings his requests to our Father.

Baby E is a charmer. He has pretty much everyone wrapped around his little smile. He distracts the girls at the gym, even coaches, as he flirts with them or back at them. He has friends everywhere; young and old. He is two, so he is testing his independence and will let you know what he wants. Baby E is very physically active. He rides scooters, peddles a bike with training wheels with very little help, and pushes himself around on the plasma car. He can pull his legs up to his chest while hanging on a bar, has mastered jumping, and loves doing push-ups. He spends a lot of time watching gymnastics so maybe that will be in his near future, too. He truly is a joy and I can't wait to see how the Lord shapes his little personality.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Finishing the Winter Season

Conference Championships

&

Level 4 State Championship

Little Man finished his first competitive gymnastics season strong. We did have a few learning moments in his last two meets though. One very important skill for men's gymnastics is counting. When you do more swings on the rings or high bar or more turns on the mushroom than is required your score will get dinged pretty heavily. He lost two ribbon colors with these mistakes. He took everything in stride, his coach was disappointed, I said live and learn, other parents were really upset that the extra 'effort' was not rewarded **big smiley face**. Now that everything is settled from the season, we move on. Little Man leveled up, he will be doing level 5 this next season with bonuses!!

Ribbons
Green = Superior
Purple = Outstanding
Yellow = Excellent
Orange = Good
White = Fair

BlackJack Men's Championship, Las Vegas

Meet #3 had us traveling again, this time out of state to Las Vegas!! This meet was HUGE!! The BlackJack Men's Championship & Winter Cup Challenge is a national meet. There are two parts to the meet; Junior Olympic and National Team. Little Man competes at the JO level.

We stayed at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino where Elvis definitely has a presence.

Little Man did a great job. This time around he was given an actual score, for simplicity I adjusted his score to the ribbon color he is used to getting. He did get two medals; vault and parallel bars.

After Little Man's meet we were able to watch the Winter Cup finals. It was really cool to see some of the Olympians we heard about from Rio compete. The Men are intense and so much fun to watch.

Ribbons
Green = Superior
Purple = Outstanding
Yellow = Excellent
Orange = Good
White = Fair

Blessings,

Elizabeth

First Season Level 4 Highlights {Fall 2016}

Here are the highlights of Miss E's Fall Season; a little late. The season was rough, but she made it through. Miss E had three preliminary meets. Her goal at each meet was to get an All Around score of at least 30. With an AA of 30 she advanced to Sectionals in which she needed an AA of 32 to move on to state. She hit her minimum AA scores and competed at the state level. The state meet was rough. As Mom, I wished we were afforded the option to sit it out.

All of that is now behind us. She worked really hard and has improved immensely over the winter and spring months. Right now we sit at the cusp of summer and have a lot to look forward to. She will compete in the fall again as a Level 4, but she is stronger and determined to move on.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Funnest.Meet.Ever.

West Coast Team Challenge 2017

When you get the list of meets before the season starts and you see there are two meets in which traveling will be required you experience a little bit, or a lot of, trepidation. The cost of just the meets is high and then you have to add travel, food, hotel, etc. it can be a little bit overwhelming. Bakersfield is several hours away from us to the north and although we could have done the meet in one day, we decided to take two.

This meet was a blast! It was loud! It was fun! It was an experience that I wished we had more often at our meets. As parents we took 2nd place for parent spirit. Being that we only had 5 families and the team that took 1st had at least 3 times as many people, we were pretty proud of ourselves.

Little Man is competing Level 4 in a division that offers bonuses. Bonuses are just extra skills that are added into the routine. There are 10 bonuses and he executes 7 of them. Vault is the only event that does not have a bonus at level 4. 

Here is the breakdown for the ribbons:

Green = Superior
Purple = Outstanding
Yellow = Excellent
Orange = Good
White = Fair

Our next meet is in Las Vegas!!

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Boys Gymnastics {1st Prelim}

Welcome to the world of boys gymnastics!!

Little Man is enjoying himself and is learning a lot. Boys gymnastics is quite a bit different from girls. The events, scoring, and the way meets are run is quite a bit different from what I'm used to with Miss E. I will admit that it is fun to see another side of this sport.

Little Man is competing Level 4 Division 2 right now. His goal is to be competing Level 4 Division 1 by the end of the seaons. The difference in divisions hings on certain skills which are called bonus in scoring. I'm still too new at all of this to completely understand what is going on. His meets right now are scored with colors instead of numbers. The following is the break down.

He did a great job at his meet. You can tell me if you think he had fun.

Blessings,

Elizabeth
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October Book Shelf

Miss E's Book Shelf

1. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

2. Pippi Goes on Board by Astrid Lindren
3. The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
4. The Fast and the Frozen by Geronimo Stilton
5. The Rival Detective by Walker Styles
6. Pippi in the South Seas by Astrid Lindgren
7. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
8. Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon
9. Meet Me in Horrowood by Geronimo Stilton
10. Telescope Troubles by Nate Ball
11. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

Little Man's Book Shelf

1. Meet the Knights by Julia March
2.Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel
3. Finn & the First Order by Elizabeth Schaefer
4. Henry and Mudge in the Green Time by Cynthia Rylant
5. Henry and Mudge and Annie's Perfect Pet by Cynthia Rylant

6. Henry and Mudge and the Tall Tree House by Cynthia Rylant
7. Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon by Cynthia Rylant
8. Meet the Justice League by Lucy Rosen
9. There was an Old Lady who Sollowed Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
10. Mr. Putter and Tabby See the Stars by Cynthia Rylant
11. Super Animals! by Rico Green
12. Tribes of Chima by Ruth Amos
13. Smash Trash! by Laura Driscoll

Read Alouds and Audio Books

1. The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket
2. How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell
3. Ragweed by Avi
4. The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket
5. How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell

September Book Shelf

The kids have a challenge with their school to see how many pages they can read in the school year. There are little prizes for different levels. The highest level is 50,000 pages which awards them a trophy. Miss E has her eyes set on that goal. At 10,000 pages they get a medal, which both kids have earned the past two years.

Here is what we have been reading this month.

Miss E's Shelf

1. The Christmas Toy Factory by Geronimo Stilton

2. Mighty Mount Kilimanjaro by Geronimo Stilton
3. The Mouse Island Marathon by Geronimo Stilton
4. Otherwise Know as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume
5. Key to the Treasure by Peggy Parish
6. Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume
7. The Treasure of Easter Island by Geronimo Stilton
8. Rider Woofson: Undercover in the Bow-Wow Club by Walker Styles
9. The Search for Sunken Treasure by Geronimo Stilton
10. The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
11. Attack of the Dragons by Geronimo Stilton
Independent pages read: 1294

Little Man's Shelf

1. Ted and Friends (12 phonics readers) by Phil Roxbee Cox and Stephen Cartwright

2. Ice Age Collision Course: Scrat's Space Adventure
3. The Crimson Dynamo Returns! (Iron Man Story)
4. Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel
5. Pup and Hound Scare a Ghost by Susan Hood
6. Carnival Capers! by Eric Esquivel
7. Star Wars At-At Attack by Calliope Glass
8. Star Wars Death Star Battle by Trey King
9. Hiccup the Hero adopted by Catherine Hapka
10. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
11. Poppleton Everyday by Cynthia Rylant
12. Poppleton and Friends by Cynthia Rylant
Independent pages read: 658

Read Alouds and Audio Books

1. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
3. The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket 

Elizabeth's Shelf

1. Just Friends by Jenn Faulk

Gymnastics #1 {2016 Back to School}

Miss E's fall competition season has started.

The first meet:
 South Bay, YMCA Chula Vista, CA
September 10, 2016

Competing Level 4

The meet was rough. There were a lot of extenuating circumstances leading up to just getting to the meet. Traffic was bad due to a middle of the night fatality which rerouted traffic across the county. She was also struggling with one of her skills and had the thought of having to scratch the floor going through her mind. She pulled her skill together and was able to compete at the last minute, YEA!! Growing involves learning and sometimes you just have to start somewhere. Until next time...

Blessings,

Elizabeth

August Book Shelf

I thought it would be fun to track our reading for the month. Here is what we have been reading. What are you reading?

Elizabeth's Shelf

1. Bill O'Reilly's Legends & Lies The Real West by David Fisher

Miss E's Shelf

Age 9, 4th grade, avid reader

1. Silver Pony Ranch: Sweet Buttercup by D.L. Green

2. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
3. Superfudge by Judy Blume
4. Greetings From Somewhere: The Mystery of the Forbidden City by Harper Paris
5. Special Gifts by Cynthia Rylant
6. Geronimo and the Gold Medal  Mystery by Geronimo Stilton
7. Soup Saturdays with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume
8. Thea Stilton and the Spanish Dance Mission by Geronimo Stilton
9. Cool Zone with the Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume
10. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
11. The Karate Mouse by Geronimo Stilton
12. A Series of Unfortunate Events A Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
13. Grizzly Trap by Justin D'Ath
14. Phantom of the Subway by Geronimo Stilton
15. The Hunt for the Secret Papyrus by Geronimo Stilton
16. Following the Trail of Marco Polo by Geronimo Stilton
17. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
18. Who Was Ferdinand Magellan? by Sydelle Kramer
19. Flight of the Red Bandit by Geronimo Stilton
20. Complete Adventure of Olga da Polga by Michael Bond
      The Tales of Olga da Polga, Olga Meets Her Match, Olga Carries On, Olga Takes Charge

Little Man's Shelf 

Age 7, 2nd grade, emerging reader

1. Charlie the Ranch Dog:Rock Star by Ree Drummond

2. How to Track a Dragon adapted by Erica David
3. Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble by Cynthia Rylant
4. All About the Dragons by Judy Katschke
5. Charlie the Ranch Dog Stuck in the Mud by Ree Drummond
6. Poppleton Forever by Cynthia Rylant
7. The Amazing Adventures of Superman! Creatures from Planet X! by Yale Stewart

Read Alouds

It is very important that Daddy gets involved in our reading time. I want my kids to know that reading is not just a 'girl hobby'. Daddy reads the bedtime story while I start our day with Bible reading and a chapter book.

1. The BFG by Roald Dahl
2. The Secret of Pirates' Hill by Franklin W. Dixon
3. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
4. More About Paddington by Michael Bond
5. Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures The Intrepid Canadian Expedition by Sara Pennypacker
6. Matilda by Roald Dahl

Audio Books

We have started the habit of listening to books in the truck as we drive around town. It has been fun to listen to other people read to us.

1. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
2. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket
3. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket
4. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
5. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket

Socialization...classroom experience...break for mom...BSF

Today is the first day of C'lectives for the big kids. What are C'lectives? They are classes that are offered by our Charter School. Some of the classes are core classes while others are more elective or enrichment in nature. Why are my kids in C'lectives? This question is always funny to me. I get asked and then people give me their replies. I've heard, oh, you have them in these classes so they get socialization; oh, you want them to have that classroom experience... the honest, real answer is that I am a BSF lifer.

Now, what is BSF?? BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) is a wonderful Bible Study that I've participated in for over 10 years. On Tuesday mornings, Buddy E and I will be at our local BSF class. BSF has a wonderful, the BEST, children's program. The only problem is that there is only room for children from birth to Kindergarten. The big kids are too old to join Buddy E and I. So, what is a mom to do? I could ask for help from Daddy. Daddy could stay home with the big kids on Tuesday mornings and then go into work late, then he works late, and then Wednesday he tries to get back in the groove and then, and then, and then... you get the idea. For the past three years this is how we have tried to make Tuesday mornings work and it just didn't work. So, I found some classes for the kids to take. More on that in a minute. What is a BSF lifer? A person who will stick around BSF as long as they are welcome. As long as I have a child under the age of 6, I'll be at BSF Tuesday mornings, Lord willing. Then after the kids outgrow the preschool program, Lord willing, I'll move to the evening class which has a school age program. Side note: Eric takes the big kids to BSF on Monday nights. He is in a men's class which has the school age program. It is the BEST!! Let me know if you are interested in BSF and I'll get you some info.

Back to C'lectives. The big kids are taking a full day of classes on Tuesdays this year. They both woke up really excited this morning. I hope the excitement lasts at least through December. Miss E is taking PE, Art, Primary Writing, and Spanish. Little Man is taking Spanish, Art, PE, and Computers. I'm losing a day of instruction, but Tuesdays will be an important day for us.

Upon picking the kids up this afternoon everyone was pretty happy. Miss E is not excited about her Primary Writing class, but writing is something we need to work on so she will need to get over it. Next week in PE the kids get to go swimming so they are looking forward to C'lectives next week.

What are you adding to your week to help with instruction or give a creative outlet?

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Our Summer Break

At Domicile Lessons we've decided to take a full break from school for the month of July. The kids are really excited. I'm kinda on the fence. It is nice to have a break, but on the other hand I struggle when our routine is messed up.

What have we been up to??

Week 1: Miss E competed in Y Nationals. We celebrated the 4th of July with friends from church. We learned that Baby E does not like being in his car seat after dark. We also learned that there are a few songs that he will 'jam out to' which will cease the crying for a little bit. To wrap up our week we enjoyed a family day at Sea World which included staying for their little fireworks show.

The cleaner fish is one of our favorite stops at Sea World.

 Week 2: We ended up staying close to home. Little Man had has second trial class at the new gym which brought our time at gymnastics up to 13 hours this week. This was just a taste of what August will bring to our family. The plumber had to pay us a visit as our hot water heater is upset. I'm really not a fan of cold showers no matter how hot it is outside.

Week 3: This was an extremely hot week for San Diego which included a heat advisory. We tried to beat the heat with a sprinkler play date with good friends, a trip to the library cool zone, Rita's Italian Ice, and a trip to the beach. The girls also got a little pampering done with hair cuts. We ended the week with a movie night after church at church.

Week 4:  Again we tried to beat the heat. We saw "Finding Dory" in the theater and spent another day at the beach. Miss E had her annual Gymnastics banquet. She was awarded 'Most Improved' and was also given the 'Honesty Award'. Little Man had his last practice at the YMCA and Miss E got her double back handspring. It was quite exciting!!

He rides in style and then naps. A huge win for this mom.

Our summer has come to an end. Now to get back settled into a routine.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Gymnastics #10 {Y Nationals}

Y Nationals is a huge meet that I believe is open to all the YMCAs across America. Our gym does not travel as a rule so when Y Nationals came to Long Beach this year it was our opportunity to participate.

It was a fun event and pretty overwhelming. We were at the Long Beach Convention center. There were three different levels competing at the same time. We got to watch from the stands for a birds eye view.

This was not Miss E's best meet, but it was her last meet as a level 3 gymnast. She missed a skill on the bars and she later told me that sometimes that happens. She wasn't upset, she just said her facts and moved on. I'm proud of her.

She ended the meet with several medals and overall, feeling good. 

Changes Better Called New Opportunities

Changes... sometimes they are hard and sometimes they are just a part of life; sometimes they bring anxiety and sometimes they bring excitement. There are times in life when people come and go. Our recent experiences with 'see-ya's' are to people who have had a great impact on our lives who are moving on to better opportunities. The most recent 'see-ya' has helped me to see the Lord open doors to new opportunities for one of the kiddos.

This guy has been doing gymnastics since he was 3 1/2. He started a little bit younger than his sister, but he showed great skills early on. Due to schedule conflicts he was never able to 'move up' in the program. At roughly 5 1/2, the boys coach invited him to join the 'big kid' class. Technically you are not supposed to join the 'big kids' class until you are 6. It did not take long for everyone to see that he had skills beyond the beginner class and we moved him to the intermediate/advanced class. During this same time, talk was going on about starting a boys team at our gym. 2 years have passes since the beginning of those discussions and there is still no movement in that direction. I've had many talks with Little Man and he would love to compete and be a part of a team like Miss E. So, we are taking him out of our current gym and moving him to a gym with an established boys program. 

I took Little Man over to a gym to 'try out' and he was invited on the spot to join their team. We've got a few more steps to take before he is officially a part of that team, but I am seeing the Lord moving us in this direction. It is an exciting time for this guy!!

Miss E will stay where she is. I will become a literal taxi. Schedules are going to be crazy for awhile, but I'm excited to see the growth in both kids. 

Blessings,

Elizabeth

Update #1: The first 'try-out' class went really well. The coach was impressed with Little Man's strength and skills. He was really tired and didn't have too much to say. We will do one more class in a couple of weeks before we make our final decision on what to do.

Update #2: Our second 'try-out' went really well. The new coach actually said that they would like Little Man to compete in their in house meet the end of July. I said thanks but we would not be able to. This is going to be a great move for him. August 1st, he will become a part of a team and will be a boy's level 4!!