Lake Swan 2014

It is so funny how the Lord works.
Last summer we took a trip to Lake Swan with the intention of meeting people who we would eventually be working with when Tim began a job at Trinity that we assumed was over a year away.
Well, we all know how that worked out.
You can read about it here if you need a refresher.
That trip last year was really God-ordained because Tim started that job in September.
Lake Swan is special to us now, and for as long as Tim has this job with Trinity we will go every summer.
It is so much fun for the kids with the lake, volleyball court, putt putt golf, and all the older kids who pay attention to them.
It is fun for me because someone cooks us three meals a day, and I don't have to do the dishes.

It is a fun family time.

We are so thankful for each and everyday together.

We do not take it for granted and know it isn't promised.

Costa

Another really fun event from early summer was a trip Tim and I took to Costa Rica.
We have literally never taken an actual vacation alone in our nine years of marriage since having kids (and I got pregnant 8 months after we got married).
We did travel to Savannah once for a long weekend, but I try to forget that trip.  I contracted the swine flu and was more miserable than I have ever been the entire time we were there.
Our good friends Debra and Tony planned the trip with me as a surprise for Tim's birthday.
I was trying to surprise him by just taking him to the airport without telling him where we were going.
The more I thought about it, I decided I should at least email his assistant to make sure the dates were ok (and I made this decision after purchasing the plane tickets . . . whoops).
It ended up that he had made plans to be in another state on the same days for some sort of conference with the President of the college.
That caused a little bit of a scuffle, but you know what I always say (or sometimes) . . . all is well that ends well.
Once we got that all squared away, we could enjoy our 5 am wake-up call and head out.

The first few days we spent lots of time eating good food (in the super hot weather) and hanging out at the beach.

It was so nice and relaxing.

The day before Tim and I left we made a little trip to the Los Suenos area, which is a super nice resort.

We zip lined early in the morning and then took some pictures at the resort afterwards.

The zip-lining wasn't my favorite.

Having to jump off a ledge high in the air 12 times and almost have an anxiety attack isn't my idea of fun.

But I did it and am glad I have pictures to document it.

All in all, it was a wonderful, relaxing time with good friends.

And it was also the best birthday present I will ever give to Tim.

Just sayin!

Backing up to Memorial Day

Oh hey there little blog.
I have to back up all the way to Memorial Day to get caught up.
Tim had to exhibit for the college at the homeschool convention in Orlando for the weekend.
Surprise of all surprises the family tagged along. 
The convention was at the Gaylord Palms hotel, and it was super nice.
The kids and I pretty much hung out all day while Tim worked, and then we planned to go to Disney on Sunday before leaving.

We got to have breakfast with Shrek and friends too, which was very fun for the kids.

And then we went to bed Saturday night with a coughing Lexi who woke up puking in the middle of the night.

And then woke up the next morning having trouble breathing.

So instead of Disney we drove straight to All Children's Hospital on Sunday, which is basically the same thing.

It was actually really scary, but we are so thankful it was something modern medicine could fix.

The trip was actually great, and again we are thankful for these opportunities we have been given through Tim's job.

At the end of Homeschooling 1st grade

I did a post at the beginning of the year to give you an idea of how our homeschooling year was starting.
You can read it here for some background.  
We had a big move at the beginning of the year, and I had hoped to move again during the year.
We ended up staying in our current home, which made getting a homeschool schedule in place a lot easier.
Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart (or for a mom who has babies and toddlers in the house, but that is for another post).
It is a very large responsibility, and while I am thankful to have the opportunity I would not say it if for everyone.
George is an excellent student, and he made my job much easier than it could have been.
There was a lot of planning and a lot of late nights organizing.

We finished our last official lesson today.
And it felt . . . GOOD, SPECTACULAR, AMAZING . . . you get the picture.

I wanted to write out five things I have learned from homeschooling.
These weren't necessarily the only things I learned, but they were important things that I didn't necessarily expect.
1.  Deepening Relationships . . . I think I have a good relationship with my children.  I try to really talk to them and know their hearts.  Homeschooling made that relationship even deeper.  There wasn't anything about George's life that I wasn't a part of this year.  Unlike when he went to traditional school and would try to explain something to me that I couldn't understand because I wasn't there.
2.  Sibling Love . . . The relationship between my children has strengthened.  Having George at home has allowed the kids to spend every waking hour together.  They are truly each other's best friends, and not much gives a mother more joy than to watch that grow.  (It also means they fight more, but that is neither here nor there in this list of positives.)
3.  Patience. . . This one may sound obvious, but I am used to knowing that I need patience in rearing babies and toddlers.  Having patience in a school situation with a first grader is a whole different story.  I expect my teaching to make sense the first time, every time.  Unfortunately, I am not a trained first grade teacher, so this is not the case.  
4.  The Basics . . . I never expected to learn so much actual information from a first grade curriculum.  Each and every subject we studied this year taught me things I never would have learned sans this experience.  
5.  Money Saver . . . I knew we saved money by not having to pay private school tuition, but I didn't think about the little things that cost less.  George ate lunch at home everyday.  We could have leftovers or anything else that was there, and I didn't have to think about special things at the grocery store that would go in a lunch box.  We didn't have to buy uniforms or school t-shirts.  We didn't have to buy teacher gifts (although that would have been nice for my husband to do:).  There are so many little things that add up.
I will say (and I stick by this no matter how many people try to tell me different) that no one way of schooling is a one size fits all for every family.  I don't think there is only one right way, and I truly believe each family makes the decision that they think is best for their family.
Next year we have enrolled the boys in a university model school.
They are in a classroom 2-3 days a week with a real teacher and then they are homeschooled on the days in between.
I will also be teaching the 5th grade class at the school.
This will be another big change, but one we are very excited about.
After all is said and done, I like things about both models and I think this university way of schooling will be a great balance for the Bettelli's.
I am thankful for the time God has given me this year to have this experience.

Ethan and Preschool

When we moved back to the Clearwater area we thought we would be moving further north in a short time, so I didn't want to start Ethan in preschool and then have to pull him out.
But once that didn't happen I put him in the same little preschool George went to in downtown Clearwater.
It is the cutest school, and he had the same teacher George had three years ago.
I love all the little "extras" that they do to make the kids feel special.
They put on a circus, and the 3 year olds dress up as clowns.

He wore a hat that my sister wore about his age for Halloween.

It was adorable.

They also put on a Donuts with Dad breakfast.

Both Tim and my dad went, and Ethan just beamed from all the attention.

They also do a Mother's Day tea.

The kids sing us songs, and then we have a little tea time and art show in the fellowship hall.

Another really fun thing that the school does is offer gymnastics every Wednesday for all the students.

I remember it being one of George's favorite things.

We got to watch the "gymnastics award ceremony" last week.

What a hoot.

Again, it is just the cutest school.

I am so thankful that Ethan got the opportunity to experience it.

One blessing of not selling our house:)