The Answer To Why...

People ask me almost daily why we are homeschooling our girls.  Is it poor schools in our area?  Are we extremely conservative and sheltering?  For religious reasons?  Special needs?  Fear of school shootings?  So...here is my answer...
No, no, no, no, and no...
The truth is, my husband and I were both extremely opposed to the concept of homeschooling.  That was prior to having kids and any idea of what a homeschooling lifestyle would actually look like.  I think we both envisioned ankle length denim dresses and a quiverful of children seated at small desks in our living room reciting archaic poetry.
Now, as I explain myself you will see that for me (I won't speak for my husband on here) a Christian conservative worldview is at the core of my logic although religious pursuits are not the mainstay of my decision.  Also, I want to preface my explanation with the fact that I am not judging anyone else in their educational choices for their own children.  I believe that children are a gift to us from God and that He has made the perfect match.  As such, we are each entitled to make the educational decision that best suits the needs of our children and families as we seek His direction.
With that preface I have already summed up my entire explanation in a nutshell (faint of heart, feel free to quit reading).  I have two beautiful girls, they are the most precious gifts I will ever receive.  I am blessed to have an incredibly supportive husband who is completely like minded with me in our desire to have me stay home with my girls.  This has provided me with an opportunity that many do not have, and for which I am immensely grateful.
If someone gives a child the gift of a toy, what is the intention?  To be given away for another child to play with?  No, the gift was given for the enjoyment of that first child.
This is how I feel about homeschooling.  I have the unique opportunity to enjoy life to the fullest with my gift everyday, I have no reason to give it to someone else.  Now, I can come up with a lot of  things that I do not like about the other children I would have to share with, but ultimately that is not the point.  I just want to enjoy the time I have been given, recognizing that many aspects of our life could change at any time making this no longer a possibility...so, for the here and now I enjoy the gift.

Easter

Alex took this picture of the girls and I in our backyard recently while we were playing.

Sophia has a new interest in books and daddy's chair. She doesn't like to be excluded from our book reading, which has led to some new seating arrangements in the chair.

The girls looked a little cuter in the hats than Alex and Livan did!

Easter at Alex's parents house!

Alicia takes the Easter egg hunt very seriously...



Scoping out the yard looking for more eggs, but she was sweet enough to purposefully leave some for her little sister to pick up all on her own.

Sophia really couldn't have cared less about the hunt, but she found all of the grownups enthusiasm quite amusing!

Just an Update.

A few weeks ago I was in the kitchen and the girls were playing together. Alicia was driving the little car around and around with Sophia in tow.

Then the next time I looked I realized that the roles had reversed and Sophia was riding around and around with Alicia pushing from behind. It seems like everyday the girls are able to play better together. Sophia is walking all over the place!! No more crawling for this little girl.
We recently took advantage of some warmer weather and took the opportunity to play outside. Alicia had a blast making bubbles for her sister to chase.

Both girls have been enjoying a slide that our neighbors passed on to us.

I keep some toys in a bottom drawer for the girls to play with while I'm in the kitchen, but lately the drawer itself has become the toy.

Grandma Linda was here for a visit in January. She and Alicia had a blast with the unlimited carousel rides at the Wild Animal Park.

Alex and I took advantage of her visit and had a little getaway to San Diego!! We had a great time. Alex was thrilled that we were located so close to Dole's distribution center!! This is their barge in the background full of their containers....this might not sound interesting to you, but to my husband...very exciting stuff!!

This is the hotel that we stayed at!! It was beautiful!

Did I mention that it rained the entire week that my mom was here!! Literally poured!! Fortunately there was one day without rain, and we took advantage of it. Grandma was just thrilled to feed the birds!

Grandma loves deer in her yard, but she doesn't get to pet them!!

Sophia's 1st Birthday

Sophia turned one this past week. It's hard to believe that it has been a whole year already. She is quickly turning into a little toddler and less of a baby, and has the sweetest little personality. She has lots of love for everyone around her, and always a smile! We had a little party for her last night and these are some pictures from that...and yes I did coordinate my entire family's clothing to match the decorations. Aren't they cute! The birthday girl with her Tia Vanessa.

Manny loves it when we have people over, because he gets some extra love and attention. I have to keep an eye on his grandmother though...she likes to feed him under the table, and she's super sneaky!!

Alicia tried to be patient, but I caught her red-handed peeking at her sister's gifts.

Sophia and Silvia waving to the camera...just one of many of Sophia's new tricks...

Sophia's party had it all...good company, good food, even crafts!

A very proud Abuelo with his oldest grandaughter

Me and my girls...

He's a big dog, but don't tell him that he's not a lap dog...

singing the birthday song...Alicia helped to blow out the candle.

Watching this little girl get a grip on her first cupcake was quite a sight...She sucked all of the frosting right off of it, and ate the cake later.

Her big sister thought they were delicious too.

A very happy messy little girl finishing her cupcake

and a quiet end to the evening with Alicia after everyone had gone home and Sophia was in bed.

two months in review...

Brace yourself for a long blog and lots of pictures. The sequence of the pictures is in reverse for the most part, so this is a backwards review of the events of the last two months. Before I start I would like to announce that our little Sophia started taking her first steps today!! She is turning into such an amazing little person!! Her ability to mimick sounds and behaviors is amazing, and she has proven to be quite flexible and is almost as skillful with her feet as she is her hands. Alex has been taking vacation for the past week and we have had a great time. He has really had a chance to bond with both the girls and we did a lot of fun stuff like the zoo, shopping, dinners out, the mountains, and more.
This shot of Alicia is from Christmas morning...She was all amazement as she checked out everything that Santa had done in her sleep; he ate his milk and cookies, filled the stockings and brought gifts...he knew exactly what she wanted and more!! Amazing!! After a little practice Sophia started to get the whole gift idea...open the paper and find a toy! She found it to be a great new experience and Manny was right there to check out all the new toys as well.

Alicia got a new bike from her Abuelo's on Christmas Eve. It still needs a little practice, but she will be cruising the neighborhood in no time at all. We hosted Christmas Eve for Alex's family this year and had a blast with them!

Sophia was the star of the show on Christmas Eve...as her first gifts were opened she started to get crazy!! She was sooooo excited about her new stuff and got totally into it! We had never seen her so exuberant before and it was a blast to see her little personality shine!

This is just a shot from the family Christmas! Our girls were truly spoiled!!

Alex and I by our Christmas tree!

The girls and I in the backyard waiting for Alex's family to arrive on Christmas Eve

Alicia was in her first Christmas program at our church. You can see her performing in the next picture. She is in the bottom left corner...yes that's her seated on the riser and playing with a microphone cord while everyone else is standing and singing. She's always been little miss independent. This was after the curtain rose and she was missing and suddenly a little body was seen dashing across the stage in the background. Thanks to the kind teacher that snagged her and led her to her place.

Who would have believed that during the rehearsal she stood like a little angel and sang her little heart out!

Alicia turned 3!! If you want homemade cupcakes that taste like cornbread topped with marshmallow fluff, just let me know...I'll send you the recipe!

Alicia's playdoh set from Jenny was a huge hit and this is a picture of her making ice cream sundaes with Vanessa.

Alicia got to celebrate her birthday combined with her Abuela who's birthday is one week after Alicia.

Alicia thought that she was big enough to experiment with salsa now that she is three.

Alicia loves to help me in the kitchen and it is no wonder why...it usually ends with something like this!We started a christmas tradition of a gingerbreadhouse...100% from scratch! Alicia took the task of applying the candy very seriously...so did daddy!

We hung lights outside for the first time and Alicia was thrilled to be out helping daddy do this!

Alex was thrilled just to find lights to hang since Costco, Lowes, Target, and Home Depot were sold out for over 100 miles. So where did we go? The big K...that's right Kmart...who knew? Alex hung them as soon as we got home...that is why he was putting them up in the dark!

Grandma Peggy, JP and Jennifer were all in town during Thanksgiving and the girls and I were able to spend a few hours with them. It was great, we don't see them very often, and we had a good time relaxing and picking pine cones, playing fuse ball, and more...Thanks so much to Kevin and Cindy who let us share in their Thanksgiving!

This is a shot from Thanksgiving with Alex's family. We saw more of the extended family than we do for the average holiday and had a blast. Alicia loves to play with Briana and Susi (the dog).

Briana takes very good care of Alicia and is truly a sweet heart. Alicia had a blast running around and playing on her swingset.

Here what would at first glance look like a happy family is actually...Jenny holding Sophia on the swing, and Joe (the host) standing behind. Thanks Joe and Iliana...we had a blast!

Alex's grandma really enjoyed Susi too, but I think she prefers Manny.

Alicia was able to help with the Christmas decorating, and only a few ornaments were lost in the process.

Grandpa Charlie came to town to visit for a few days. He was able to put a ceiling light in Alicia's room which made a huge difference!! This is Sophia and I when we were all out to dinner.

We took Grandpa Charlie to go see Santa with us, and Santa was at Bass Pro Shop so I think he really had a good time. We love to take the girls there, they love the big fish tank and all the animals...having Santa there really put it over the top.

Alicia got to check out the ATV's with Grandpa while we waited in the Santa line.

We celebrated Silvia, Vanessa and Alex's birthdays together. This is Alicia singing a very dramatic rendition of Happy Birthday to everyone!!

Don't miss the other post on our trip to the snow.