Schultz Family Christmas–in August!!!

I have been going to the Schultz Family Christmas since before I was a legal Schultz!  It’s always so much fun to get together and see how the family is doing.  It used to be held on Christmas day.  But as the family got larger it became more difficult to hold it then.  So we had changed it to the Saturday before or the Saturday after Christmas – which ever was actually closer to Christmas.  This worked for a while, but then also became difficult to manage.  So now we hold it whenever the person in charge can manage it.  There are 6 Schultz siblings Robert, Martha, Herb, Louise, John, and Doris – though Uncle Herb passed away a few years ago, Aunt Barb still takes her turn.  This year it was Andy’s parents turn to host and it turned out to be a beautiful day!  I was a little worried as we have been having terrible storms – but God was good and provided a beautiful breeze and blue skies!  It was great to see much of the family, but still missed seeing those that just live too far away to make it in!  I didn’t take too many pictures – maybe I can get a few from Uncle Donald later – but we did have fun!Our newest craze – Qwirkle!  Such a fun family game!Do you see the look I’m getting?  That’s because I had just taken several wonderful pictures of him and he was saying “Really?  You want me to smile MORE?!?!?”Here are a few of the wonderful pictures!  Man, I love this kid!!!! Daniel and his PopPop!  I am so thankful for Andy’s family heritage!  All Godly men and women.  So thankful for the influence and example they are to me and my kids!  God is so good!

First Day of School!

Today was our first day of school!  It is later than we usually start – but we’ve had a very busy summer and this was the first day I had all the kids together!  I surprised them with a field trip to the Franklin Institute to see “Mummies of the World”.  What an amazing display!  if you get the opportunity to do this tour – go for it!  Andy was able to go with us!  I so love it when he goes to these type of things as he can easily translate the dates of the mummies to Biblical times.  It was really neat to see these people who had lived so long ago.  I was a bit worried about how Daniel would handle it – but he loved it!  He was fascinated with all the details and examples of mummies.  I really wish I could have taken photos – but with the delicate nature of the objects that was not allowed. 

After the Mummies exhibit we toured around the different rooms.  Isaac’s Loft is always a favorite……as is the newly redone Benjamin Franklin room.  The kids also enjoyed the new Changing Earth room.Here they are making a news cast about the weather via green screen.  Afterwards you could watch it on a TV outside of the room.Matt rode the Sky Bike and was showing off a bit!

It was a good first day!  Now only about 179 to go!  Tomorrow we are going to start Math, English, Spelling/ Vocab, Spanish (for Matt) and Science.  I am waiting on Literature, Writing, and History until after our staff retreat next week.  I’m really praying that this will be a better year than last! 

Decisions, Decisions!

Life is full of them, and often I hate making them, but they must be made. After much prayer and pleading with God to give us the right answer about our decision, we have made one. We will continue to homeschool Matt as we have the past seven years. Andy and I have had many discussions and have talked with others about what options for education were out there. We feel, at this time, God still wants us to keep Matt home and continue to work with him. The main clincher to the decision was we feel we are the best influence on his character. God calls us to raise him (Deut. 6:6-7) and to teach him His ways. God also calls us to pray for him and his heart. A verse that has really spoken to me the past few days is Ezekiel 11:19-20 "And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God." God can take my son's heart and turn it toward Him. That is our prayer.

So, tomorrow is day one. We start fresh. We will take it one day at a time. He is on a sort of probation period. The local middle school has to finalize their rosters by October 1st. We will watch the next 17 school days (we are on vacation next week) and see if he is trying to cooperate and get his work done. He has been doing well in the trying department this past week, but their has been no school. We will continue to pray he will grow in maturity and wisdom with his Heavenly Father.

I Never Thought....

I would go where I went today. Today, Andy, Matt and I walked over to Jones Middle School, the public middle school of our neighborhood. We inquired about enrollment and took a tour of the school. What brought us to this point? Last night Andy and I decided that we had done more than enough to try to get Matt into the routine of school. We have done 13 days and instead of getting cooperation, we got arguing. It breaks both our hearts. We so desperately want homeschooling to work, but in order for it to work he has to cooperate. He has made it clear that he does not wish to do school....period. We have let him know that no school is not an option, he has to do school. Andy and I came up with a list of our options and are checking them out.

Today was step one in visiting Jones. He would go to school from 8:00-4:00pm and have at least one hour of homework four nights a week. He would have to get up at 6:30 am and walk to and from school (one of us would walk with him). That means he would see Andy about 30 minutes in the evening for three nights. This upset Andy more than anything. He would also start school Sept. 4th, which means no beach vacation for him. This is more upsetting as we really enjoy spending time together as a family at the beach. It would also mean no Disney vacation for him as we are planning to go in May (my mom is taking us) and we have decided that if he goes to school we will not be pulling him out. In talking with the teacher who toured the school with us she made it very clear it would be a huge adjustment for him. It would be tough. She was almost discouraging us from considering the possibility. I really felt she wanted to say - STAY HOME! But wasn't allowed. We are praying.

Our second option is Cedar Grove Christian School. They give a pastor's discount that would help and if I got a part-time job we could swing the cost. I called this afternoon and the sixth grade class is full. God has closed that door. It has been my prayer that things would be abundantly clear as to what we are to do for our son's education. This was pretty clear!

Our third option is PA Charter Cyber School. They have virtual classes that he would have to sign in and listen to/ watch on the computer and then do the course work. He would be completely responsible to the teachers teaching the classes, I would only be a go to person if he has questions. We are researching where and when there is an informational meeting we can attend. Again, we are praying.

We are also still considering our "normal" homeschool. On the way home from Jones we talked with Matthew about how he was feeling. He obviously does not wish to attend Jones - that's a lot of time away from home. We expressed to him our reasons for homeschooling, one of which is that we realize the short amount of time God gifts us with these children. We desired to spend as much time raising and growing them as we could. God had blessed us with the opportunity and affordability to homeschool. At this point Andy shared how much he enjoys going to his parents house, because he misses them - even at 39 years old! This was also the point at which Andy started to tear up. I have seen Andy cry only a handful of times, it takes a great burden to cause tears to fall. This affected Matt tremendously as he realized how much we would miss him. I believe he is getting a glimpse at how we are all hurting and the effects of a disobedient attitude. I do not know how all this is going to turn out. I do know there needs to be change. Please pray with us and for us that we would do what is right for our family and what God desires for our son.

He's Home

Tonight, while at pre-teens, I received a phone call that I needed to come and pick Matt up from camp. The counselors and all the staff had exhausted their list of things to do to calm a homesick child. It had gotten to the point where his counselors, Ben and Brook, were spending too much time with one child and neglecting the rest of the cabin. Therefore, I had to go and get him. I am, to say the least, a bit frustrated. Matt is the kind of kid that gets something in his head and obsesses over it until there is an outcome - good or bad. He had decided before going that he didn't want to be there. We asked him to think positively and to make the choice to have a good time, but he chose to dwell on the fact that he wasn't home. Please pray. Pray that we would handle this the way God would want us to. Pray that we will take the necessary steps to help Matt work through this horrible anxiety he is dealing with. Pray for Sarah as she is still at camp and wasn't told her brother was gone until after we left. Pray for me, that I would be compassionate and not angry towards Matt and we would all be taught the lessons we need to learn through all this.

Camp

When I was a kid I went to Camp Sankanac every summer from the time I was seven. I LOVED camp and looked forward to spending a week away from home in the country! It was THE highlight of my summer! When I was older I was able to go for two weeks and eventually the whole month as a worker! I made such great friends and learned so much about my Heavenly Father - it truly molded me into who I am today.When I had kids I thought this same feeling would be imitated by my own children. Since they were young I have talked about all the great aspects of camp. Well, we dropped both Matt and Sarah off at Camp Men-o-lan yesterday afternoon. Sarah has been dying to go since she was seven and was thrilled beyond belief to FINALLY be able to go to a week long camp. Matt, on the other hand, not so much. This is his third year going to week long camp and probably his last. He is a kid that hates change and hates being away from home. But we think this is a good opportunity for him to learn much about his Heavenly Father and to, more importantly, learn to listen to what God is trying to speak to his heart in the setting of His creation. Please pray for Matt and Sarah as they are away. Pray that they would learn much and grow in their relationship with Christ. Pray that Matt would think on the positive and not dwell on the fact he isn't home. If you would like to write them a short note you can find the camp's address on their website, just hit the highlighted words above to be connected to their website. They would LOVE to get mail!

All is well...

...with Matthew. Today he went for his 11 year-old check-up and found that test results had come in. He, at sometime in his young life, contracted mono - you know - "the kissing disease". But don't tell Matt that because he doesn't know that that's its nickname! The doctor said he could have had it as early as eight weeks ago or as long as ten years ago - though he has never heard of a one-year-old contracting the disease. He must have contracted a mild form of the illness, however, as we never really noticed anything physically wrong with him. He had complained about being tired a while back, but we just chalked it up to our crazy schedule and late bedtimes at the time. The good thing is is that he is over it and has built up antibodies to protect him from it in the future. The rash apparently "signals" the end of a virus, though we will probably never know which one - it could be the mono or something else. But to say the least is a healthy boy and did very well with his check-up! Thank you all for praying!

A Day of Peace

Today was a pretty quiet day - I love these days. I am not feeling well (sinus trouble) and so need calm days when that is the case. We got up and went to Sunday School and Matt received a medal for completing his Discipleship Class. He had to take a test and everything! I LOVE his Sunday School teacher - Miss Denise. She is so amazing. She works full time and volunteers for all kinds of things at the church, including the 4th-5th grade Sunday School - which has mostly Pastor Kids - you know what trouble they are!!! It can be a brutal group! But she loves them and teaches them the most amazing things! He learned a lot through this class, my prayer is that it is not only head knowledge, but will become heart knowledge as well.

After Sunday School Daniel and I came home. He was falling asleep during worship and I was feeling miserable. I came home, fed him lunch and put him down for his nap. I probably should have taken a nap as well, but I know if I sleep during the day it will hard to go to sleep at night. So I cleaned my kitchen, we are having a terrible problem with ants, and cleaned the living room from most of the stuff we brought home from being gone a week. I still have a few loads of laundry to complete, but it will get done by Wednesday.

Tonight we had fun just hanging, playing the Wii. My mom got this for Matt and Sarah as their birthday present this year. It is a lot of fun! We laugh and giggle at each other for the silly things we do. We really like the Sports program - my favorites are golf and bowling! We are saving up for two more remotes - they are pretty expensive. Then all four of us can play at the same time. While we were playing Daniel was running around like a goof with a swimmy diaper on his head - a little trick his daddy taught him! He is just too funny!

Tomorrow is a school day for us and I am not sure how much we will get done as I am sure our street will have a block party - meaning lots of loud music. We will do the best we can and catch up on another day whatever we don't finish.