The Ryals Family

He Got it!

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:30:15 PST

Joshua received some mail today.

You know he's been watching the mailbox, like a hawk, for days now.

And today was the day. His license came!

A Valentines I Won't Soon Forget

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:09:00 PST

Valentines Day is a great day to give a little extra attention to the ones you love. And there's no better way to say I LOVE YOU than with CHOCOLATE!!!

We discovered a new store (well not really new... just new to us), that sells wonderful German chocolate. I thought these chocolate Hippos were funny. Perfect for Joshua.

These are some kind of chocolate covered cookie cones. They looked really yummy. Since they didn't have nuts in them and were not chewy or sticky they would be just right for Seth. Orthodontist approved! ;o)

And for Noah, chocolate covered sunflower seeds. One of his favorites. We have had these before from Trader Joe's. Another yummy choice!

Mike received some German mint chocolate squares. I also got him some of this coffee that's made in Italy. He has been eying it for a while now.

What happened next was the scariest thing that has happened to me ever!...

Take a close look at the picture above... do you see it? Yep, that's my van leaving my street...

And this one was right before that when it was going by my house...

And here its leaving my driveway...

Okay... do you see it now? Someone is in MY van getting ready to drive away!!!!

Can you make them out now?...

Yea, you guessed it, it's Joshua. He got his drivers license on Friday. This is the first time he is going out alone.

He was not happy about me taking all these pictures. He will get over it soon enough! Not only is he going out without me or his daddy, he is taking his brothers with him. Mike had arranged for the boys to go to a friends house for the evening so we could have some alone time. He stopped at Whole Foods on the way home and grabbed dinner so I wouldn't have to cook. It was great! I didn't have to do a thing. He also gave me a present which was a DVD copy of my favorite movie, Pride and Prejudice. We had a relaxing dinner while watching Mr. Darcy win Lizzie's heart AGAIN! It was most agreeable!

What We've Been Up To...

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:19:01 PST

Wow! I can't believe its February already. After the hustle and bustle of Christmas we have finally settled back into somewhat of a normal routine again. The past month has been filled with many good things like...

Training our new puppy, Phinehas. He has been a great addition to our family. As you can see even our first born (canine), Mordecai, has grown to love him too. Don't let the above photo fool you though... Mordecai is still the top dog around here and he's not about to let some little scrappy puppy come in and steal his place. He reminds Phinehas of this quite often!

In January, Joshua and Seth started attending Civil Air Patrol meetings. (You can check out their website here.)They have decided to join CAP and I am so excited. CAP is like military for kids. They teach leadership skills along with many other important skills. The boys go to a meeting once a week and practice drills, learn new skills, have PT (physical training). They will be entering as cadet airman basic, but have the opportunity to move up the ranks by passing written and PT tests. As they progress ranks they have more and more leadership responsibilities.

CAP is actually affiliated with the Air-force and can in some situations be sent on real life missions. If they so desire they can start learning to fly at age 14. The CAP cadets run the local air-show that comes to town once a year. They plan and run everything! Adults are there to supervise and for safety reasons, but the cadets pretty much do it all.

The boys have already had the opportunity to take a class on first aid and blood born pathogens. They are going to learn soooo much. I wish we had discovered this years ago. The boys have officially joined and are waiting to receive their id numbers. They have purchased their BDU'S (battle dress uniform) and are learning how to wear them and how to press them. This is no joke...the pockets have to be pressed completely flat and the coat and pants should have no wrinkles.

Joshua wouldn't let me get a picture of him ironing... so this is what I got. He was being silly. Along with signing up for CAP Joshua has decided to take some classes at our local community college. They have a program specifically designed for homeschoolers that want to earn some dual enrollment credits before they graduate high school. He has taken the placement test and is looking into the EMS program. We are still waiting to hear when he can actually begin classes. We found out that through CAP he can earn credits also for EMS training. They have an EMS division within CAP. I know the skills and knowledge they obtain through CAP will help them now and in the future.

Sometimes as moms we can worry about our children who seem to have not found their direction, but then it just happens. The Lord brings it all together. One of our favorite verses in the bible is... And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Now that doesn't mean that we wont have bad things happen to us or that we only experience GOOD things. What it does mean is that we can have confidence that whatever IS happening to us is in God's hand and He is working ALL of it for our ultimate good. Our number one goal is to live a life that brings glory to Him no matter what we are going through. So we continue to draw near to Him and trust His plan for our lives.

A Great Christmas and a Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:18:05 PST

We had a great Christmas this year. Life was busy and the time flew by. This year we celebrated Christmas a little bit different than years past.

Usually we travel to a tree farm every year to purchase our Christmas tree, but because of a family member being in the hospital, me getting sick with a bad cold, and Mike working extra holiday hours we were not able to squeeze in a day trip. So... we went to a local tree stand and pick out our tree.

can you believe it was warm enough for the boys to wear short sleeves?!

While I did some Christmas baking the boys decided to put together a gingerbread house. Seth got the mixer out and was fixing it because the bowl had stopped spinning. He's the one I call on whenever I need something worked on.

It was quite a job, but they finally got it together and decorated. The icing ended up being a little runny, but they made it work. As soon as they were done they wanted to know when they could eat it. I told them not until Christmas Eve.

Seth constructed this cute centerpiece for our table. He really enjoys seeing what he can make using only things found around the house.

On Christmas Eve we were so busy with family and friends that the boys forgot to eat the gingerbread house. At some point on Christmas Day they remembered and dove right in. This is what it looked like when they had finished.

Here is the tree all decorated and ready for Christmas morning.

We celebrated Christmas with Mike's family a week early, so we celebrated Christmas Eve a little differently than normal. One thing we always do on Christmas Eve is to open our stockings. We each have a designated stocking, which gets filled with unique gifts that we would normally not purchase throughout the year.

Mom and dad were coming and we thought it would be nice to invite a few friends. So everyone brought their stocking and we had a great time together.

Zeah opening her stocking...

Ezra opening hers...

Looks like Joshua got something he was excited about in his stocking, red licorice from the Fresh Market...

Silas, Sabina, and Annalena going through their stocking. Oh, Sabina got some German chocolate. Yum!...

Along with many other things, Seth found a reindeer pez in his stocking...

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. The boys opened up their presents from us before church.

Noah found a really lite box and was struggling to open it because SOME one taped it real good!

Noah's favorite presents were a pair of wool socks for skiing and this hoodie he is wearing. He is opening the last present. Looks like there is a note in side...

Seth really liked his wool socks too...

who knew it could be that easy to please boys!

He also is opening his last gift... and guess what?... it has a note inside too.

Joshua loved his new hoodie also and his new study bible.

and of course the socks too!

You guessed it. He too had a final present to open which included a note inside.

Each note described the official rules to a few fun games...

They finally figured them out and ran downstairs to find a new ping-pong and pool table. We have had smaller tables before, but never one close to official size. It's just not the same trying to play on one of those little tables. I'm sure we all will have fun with this one.

Somehow, I forgot to get a picture of all the Christmas cards sent to us this year. Here they are after I took them down to put on our kitchen table. It is our tradition, at least for a few months, to pray for each family that sent us a Christmas card. During dinner we pull one card off the top of the pile and then after praying we put that card on the bottom of the pile. We end up rotating through the cards several times throughout the next few months. It's nice to remember and pray for the families that thought of us.

We are so grateful to have spent the holidays with loved ones... family is sooo important. we have been richly blessed by the Lord!

Early Christmas Present

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:14:24 PST

We received an early Christmas present.... Introducing PHINEHAS the newest member of our family.

lookeyhowsweet!!! I love his tiny little pink paws. He is our little cutie!

Phinehas is 6wks old. His mother is a beagle, but we are not so sure about daddy. Like Mordecai we wanted to give him a biblical name. After spending quite some time search through the bible, we found the perfect name for him.

Phinehas, the one he is named after, was the son of Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron the priest. Phinehas showed great courage to stand for Gods commands when many others had turned away. Because of his actions and loyalty to the one true God, the Lord made a covenant of peace with him and his descendants after him. Him and his descendants would be a perpetual priesthood in the line of Levi. His actions were credited to him as righteousness. (Numbers 25) (Psalm 106:28-31)

So far Phinehas has been just like a baby... Eat... Poop... Play... Sleep...REPEAT!

He's just so stinkin' cute!

2011 Christmas Recital

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:21:00 PST

One of my favorite events of the Christmas season is Seth's Christmas recital.

Months before December he starts practicing his song. This year he played "Hark the Herald Angel Sing". As usual he added a little something extra to make it his own.

Here Seth is waiting for the recital to begin. Slightly nervous, I think.

But still all smiles.

It's hard to get a good picture during the performance, so after it's over I have him go and pretend to be playing.

Here's the whole group.

And here he is with Mrs. Denise, his instructor.

Seth, you did a great job and looked soooo handsome in your pinstriped suit. I love to hear you play and I love having a home filled with music.

Seth's 13th Birthday Party!

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:40:01 PST

Happy 13th birthday, Seth! It was time to celebrate!

Joshua helped light the candles on the cake. Again, you wanted Cinnabon cinnamon buns for a cake.

Daddy "delivering" the cake.

There were so many candles on your cake I had to stick some on the side. Your cake looks like a tank.

Wonder what a thirteen year old boys wishes for?

As soon as you saw the candles on the cake you knew they were the trick candles that wouldn't stay blown out. We were all laughing because you blew them out on the first blow. They never relighted. So you were still tricked!

Time for gifts.

A gift card to a local sporting goods store.

A bag of candy.

And last but not least... A new bible! You have been wanting a new bible for a while now. I love to see you reading the word on your own.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2

You had a great birthday surrounded by good friends!

Happy 13th Birthday, Setharoonie

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:28:44 PST

Well, it is official, you are now a teenager. We like to refer to this age as young manhood. Although some moms and dads shutter at the teenage years, we have come to really appreciate this special time in our kids lives. It can be a great blessing!

Here you are not yet 24 hours old.

One of your favorite places to be... Bapa's leather chair.

Your big brother was always eager to take care of you. Here you guys were watching TV together.

Here you are practicing sitting up.

Sometimes you were a little stinker... Like when you were suppose to be playing with your toys. I left the room for a minute and this is what I came back to.

This is a really cute picture of you wearing your daddy's hat.

One of my favorite baby pictures of you. I love your joyful smile!

After enduring colic for the first 3 months of your life, we cherished your smiles most of all.

Here you are at your one year birthday.

You loved your brother and always enjoyed playing with him.

Here you're around 4 years old.

I really like this picture of you at Nana and Paw-paw's beach house. You were dancing around the room with those dancing flowers on your head. From the very beginning you were a performer...

and you still are to this day. You continue to amaze us with your creativity, musical talent, and your determined spirit. Since you were 4 years old you have pretty much known what you wanted to be. We can see how God has blessed you with many talents to get you there. You have such a sweet spirit that is always eager to share with others. We continually thank the Lord for you. What a special blessing you have been to our family! Happy Birthday, buddy.

Our Braces"ville" journey

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 11:33:22 PST

Today we arrived at Braces"ville". I have mixed emotions upon our arrival. I'm sure if you have been there you know what I mean. Some are fortunate enough to not have to go this route, but for those who are not, it is bitter-sweet. Thankful for the opportunity to travel this road, but shocked at the heavy taxes collected along the way. I know after our two year journey we will be glad we took the trip. And with two more boys I have no doubt we will travel these roads again.

Trip to Stuart Virgina

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:59:33 PST

On one of our trips to Roanoke we met a cattle farmer at the local downtown market. He was selling grass fed beef. After talking with Mr. Sparks for awhile we knew we wanted to try some of his beef. The thing we like most about his beef is that he doesn't feed his cattle ANY grain or give them any antibiotics or growth hormones. Mr. Sparks encouraged us to come out to the farm and take a tour.

Here we are arriving at his home... look at all that green grass.

After spending some time chatting he took us out to check out the fields.

He has several fields so he can rotate his cattle among them.

And here we get our first look at his cattle.

This guy had been in the mud. Who knew cows liked mud?

This is where the cattle get their water. Fresh well water I might add.

Okay, here is the super cool part of his farming technique. When he puts his cattle in a field he only gives them one strip of land to graze on at a time. Then when the cattle have eaten all the grass in that strip he moves them on to the next strip. So that they are always eating fresh grass. When they have gone through the whole field he then rotates them to another field.

Happy grazing cows.

Here are just a few more pictures of his cows.

We had a great time at the farm. It is really nice to know where our meat is coming from. Mr. Sparks takes excellent care of his cattle and our family really appreciates it.

Healthy happy cows....

.... make healthy happy hamburgers. Eat on cows!

Mill Mountain Science Center

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 12:55:48 PST

Sometimes life serves you lemons...

like finding a leak in your basement. Not just a leak, but one that had obviously been there for a while evident because of the black mold surrounding the area.

And to make matters worse someone in our family is highly allergic to mold... guess who?

that's right me!

So, while Mr. Handy Man himself demolished part of the wall in our school room I thought it best the boys and I hit the road. I was not waiting around to see what kind of yuck was on the inside of that wall.

We decided to head for Virgina to visit Granma and Bapa for a few days until the dust settled back home.

hopefully mold free dust

Another reason I love the blessing of homeschooling is when LIFE happens you can make adjustments as needed. So we just packed up most of our school supplies and hit the road. On the second day there the boys were getting a little cooped up so we decided to take an impromptu field trip.

We ended up at the Mill Mountain Science Center. Here Seth and Noah were trying to build nests like the birds do... it's a lot harder than it looks.

all i have to say is, if i were a momma bird the boys and i would be sleepin in the grass!

Seth looking at turtle shells.

They had this really cool bee hive indoors. The cool thing about it was the sound the bees made. If you put your ear up to the yellow tube you could hear their loud hum.

After exploring everything there was to find inside the science center we went outside to take a hike on one of the many trails.

The boys discovered a small playground and wanted to stop and rest/play there for a few minutes. Of course I thought of all these cool pictures that I wanted to take of them, so they humored me for a little while.

The boys climbing a small rock-wall slide.

Here are a few of the pictures I took of them.

The trail ended at the star.

This was the view at the star.

It was good to get some fresh air. We all had a good time together.

We continued our walk for a little while. The boys found walking sticks and had fun playing around with them... boys will be boys!

We missed daddy being with us, but thankfully he was working hard to clean up the mess. Looks like we discovered the leak before it got too bad. It was nice to have a change of scenery... it did me well!

2011 Airshow

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:54:41 PDT

Every year there is an airshow in our town, and every year we miss it. Well not this year. Finally we made it to the show!

Here the boys pose under a huge plane.

ya know the older they get the less cooperative they are at posing for pictures.

Boys looking at turbines.

Seth and Noah trying on all the gear.

After Noah saw me taking pictures, he decided he didn't really want to try it on anyway...Hmmmm.

Here is a plane getting ready to go up.

Below are pictures of just a few of the different stunts we saw while at the show.

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you, that is a person standing on that airplane.

It was pretty amazing (or crazy either one!) watching that lady ride on the outside of the airplane. She was doing all kinds of tricks. The plane even went straight up and up-side-down with her strapped on the top.

Here she is getting down after the ride. As you can see we saw many amazing feats at the airshow. I am really glad we finally made it to one. It was a nice day with the family.

Joshua's 16th Party

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:48:36 PDT

It was a lot of fun celebrating your 16th birthday.

Again you wanted Cinna-Bons cinnamon rolls for your cake. They are oh so yummy!

You were surrounded by some of your very best friends... Lucas, Levi, Andrew, and Nate.

Look at all those candles.

Wonder what you're wishing for? After "cake" everyone went out for a nice friendly game of air-soft in the dark. What you didn't know was that your mom had planned a surprise attack.

I gave each of your friends a can of whip cream and told them to attack you.

Looks like it was a successful mission.

You were completely covered and so you thought you would be nice and share some with your mom... you came and gave me a big hug and rubbed it all over my head.

let me just tell you that stuff is hard to get out of your hair.

After we ALL cleaned up it was time to open your gifts. Look at that greasy hair from the whip cream.

You had a great celebration. I can't believe you're 16 now, but more than that I can't believe what a fine young man you have grown into. Your dad and I are so proud of you and we love the way you make us laugh... it's hard to stay irritated at you for very long and I think you know it too! We love you buddy!

Happy Birthday Joshua!

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 19:17:20 PDT

Happy, happy 16th birthday! I can't believe what I just typed. 16??? Where does the time go?

Just the other day we were bringing you home from the hospital.

Just the other day you were 6months old, content sitting in your swing with your up-side-down paci.

okay... i am so NOT going to make it through this post without crying!

Just the other day, you were 11 months old, and loving life at how fast you could crawl, get into the laundry, and scatter it all around the room.

Just the other day you were 1, giggling with the goats at the petting zoo.

i loved those cute little bells on your shoes!

Just the other day you were 2, thrilled to be at one of the best places in the world... Bapa and Granma's house, hanging out with your best bud Gibby.

Just the other day you weren't much taller than the couch and you thought it made a nice pillow.

Just the other day, you knew life didn't get any better than riding on a real train for the first time while slurping down a Hi-C juice box.

Just the other day, you thought there wasn't anything greater than sliding into your little pool while wearing your favorite goggles.

Just the other day, you were 3 and oh so proud of your new soccer trophy.

Just the other day, you were 7 and busily building leaf piles with yours brothers and then jumping into them.

Just the other day, you turned 16 and your mother realized that she had ONLY two sweet years left and that you had grown into a young man.

told you i would make it through with out crying

Happy Birthday Noah

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 14:01:56 PDT

10yrs ago you came into the world 9 Lbs and 1 oz.

This is one of my favorite pictures taken at the hospital. They had just finished making your footprints. Daddy thought it would be cute to have a picture of your feet with ink all over them.

and he was right. I love it!!!

Here is your hospital picture. Look at that round head!

Here you are at about a year old.

What a cutie!

Love the curls!

I can't believe that you are double digits now. How the time flies. The Lord has truly blessed us with a wonderful gift!

You thoroughly enjoy all of life...

AHEM, well except for when your mom makes you stop playing the video game to pose for pictures to go on the blog FORTHEWHOLEWORLDTOSEE!!!!!!!!! SHEESH

Noah's Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 14:52:56 PDT

This year for Noah's birthday party he wanted a cake from Baskin-Robbins.

yum!

He had several of his closest friends come to help celebrate this special day.

Time for presents. Yeah! A nice new football.

And a few Halo action figures and legos.

Now for the big one from mom and dad. What could be in such a big box?

Another box of course! Look at that paper fly. And what do you think could be in that box?

You guessed it... a third box.

pay no attention to the wrapping. This was a last minute idea and I ran out of paper. I just had to roll with what I had!

Okay, back to the boxes. Surly, there is a present in this box. Right?

NOT YET! But finally there is something other than a box.

What is this?... A note from the TOOTH-FAIRY???? Evidently, the tooth-fairy has been slack on her job of collecting Noah's most recently lost teeth and has decided to make up for it by leaving a birthday present under his pillow.

WOW! How did she know you really wanted a rip-stick. Happy birthday, Noah!

Summer Fun

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:07:27 PDT

Summer is finally here and we are enjoying the break from school.

The boys saw this ball at Costco and begged me to buy it for them.

I thought it was kind of a waste of money and rather silly, but what do I know?

Well, I do know that they have enjoyed this ball a lot... and with it only costing $30 I like it too!

They have had a lot of fun rolling down the hill in our backyard.

Here is Joshua and Noah pushing Seth down the hill.

They convinced me to get in it and boy do you get dizzy in that thing!

There goes Joshua.

And last but not least Noah...aka...Mr. Dramatic!

strawberry picking

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:35:45 PDT

One tradition we always try to do in the spring is to go strawberry picking. We go along with another family and it's always a lot of fun.

Noah looking for just the right strawberry.

Joshua found three perfectly shaped strawberries...

for juggling that is!

Hey, he's pretty good at that.

Seth and Noah combining theirs.

We filled our bucket...

so now its time to go.

That might look like a lot of berries, but half of those will be gone by the time we make it home.

See told you so!

Seth's Spring Recital

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:45:53 PDT

Here are a few pictures of Seth's spring piano recital. I love the recitals. I love hearing Seth practice and practice his music for the recital. I just love to hear him play!

Here Seth is waiting for the recital to begin. He seemed a little nervous this time for some reason. He played wonderfully. The piece he played was "Our Detective Agency".

As usual Seth rearranged the piece to make it his own. I love that his teacher gives him the freedom to make a few changes here and there.

Seth also has composed several songs himself. I especially like to hear those songs.

We are extremely proud of your hard work and dedication this past year. Keep up the good work!

It's That Time Again

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:12:18 PDT

I started my garden last week. I'm a little late due to moving my garden to another location.

I still have a 2x2 box on my deck and three 4x4 boxes in the middle of my backyard. My 4x4 boxes no longer get sufficient sun for most of the plants I want. because of that I plan to add additional 3x6 boxes in my side yard. I've been busy clearing the area and hope to get at least one box constructed within the next week.

In the meantime I did plant some herbs in the 2x2 box.

I planted Cilantro, Basil,...

Oregano and Thyme. I can't wait to have fresh herbs again!

I also planted some early spring crops to see if they would grow in my shaded 4x4 box. I planted radishes, bush beans, onions and spinach. We'll see what happens.

Masters End of Year Celebration

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:02:36 PDT

Well another year of Classical Conversations has come and gone. Seth and Noah were really looking forward to the End of Year Celebration. This year their tutor took them to Celebration Station to reward them for all their hard work.

Seth was excited to finally be big enough to ride the big go-carts by himself.

Go Seth! Watch out, Logan is hot on your trail!

Noah had fun riding the smaller go-carts...

He didn't quite meet the height requirement for the big go-carts. He was bummed, but it gives him something to look forward to next year.

It was a beautiful day. They enjoyed getting soaked on the bumper boats.

It was girls against boys.

I think the boys lost!

Well, he wasn't completely soaked.

Mrs. Sherri riding with Noah on the big go-carts.

He's ready to go!

Looks like they are having tons of fun.

Here they are waiting for another turn.

Now Noah will try his hand at golf.

Noah the score keeper.

hmmmm, wonder who will win?

Now it's Seth's turn.

Batter up!

ahem, I mean FOORE!

Noah riding the bumper boats.

Wow! What a fun day. I can't believe another year has gone by so fast. Good job guys!

History Mystery

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:20:29 PDT

Seth had his last Writing class for the year. They ended the class with a mystery!

This year they have been writing about the Middle Ages. Their last project was to write a 5 paragraph research paper on someone of their choice that lived during the Middle Ages. From their paper they had to take notes and prepare a presentation pretending to be that person.

Afterward, the class tried to guess who you were. Here is his presentation...

Any clues as to who he's suppose to be?

That's right, William the Conqueror!

Here's the whole class. They all did such a great job!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 07:42:05 PDT

Hey dad, you have always been an inspiration to me. You show me who I am supposed to be. you are a leading example to me constantly. Josh

Dad you are a hard worker and a caring father who protects his family. You have provided for our family for so long! we love you dad!!! Seth

Dad, you are always hilarious! You are a good dad. I like it when you take me out on a Daddy-Day. Noah

Happy birthday, Sweetie! I hope this has been a nice surprise. I echo everything the boys said above. Although I might add that you are a wonderful hubby! Thank you for encouraging me when I'm unsure, understanding and taking care of me when I'm not feeling well, but most of all thank you for being a man of God. I appreciate your thirst for wisdom/knowledge, your stance for truth, and your dedication to our family. Love you, Baby!

The Joys of Homeschooling

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 14:26:56 PST

There are many things I love about homeschooling. One advantage is having more time to work on each child's individual needs. Homeschooling allows you to think outside of the school room box when it comes to education. For example boys tend to be movers and do better when they are allowed to move around a little.

Recently, I was reminded of this lesson. After eight years of homeschooling you think I'd know everything about how to home school. But I don't! At the beginning of this school year I was dreading getting back to the books a little. Why? For one thing, I love summer and hate to see it come to an end. I enjoy the free time to do the things that I don't get to do during the school year. And well... honestly, homeschooling can be quite tiresome sometimes.

As a home school mom, you tend to be very critical of your ability to teach your child well. So inevitably when your child struggles to get a concept and you've tried everything you know to do, but they still are not quite getting it, you can start to panic. Then fear creeps in and you start having thoughts like, "I don't know what I'm doing... I'm not qualified to do this... I'm ruining my child's future!".

It's in those moments that I have to regroup, refocus, and reflect. I need to get alone, have some mommy time and reflect on the Lords calling for us to home school. Usually, what I find is that I have been relying on my own strength too much. I have let doubt and/or fear creep in and steal my peace. So I get into the word and readjust my focus back to the Lord and His calling on my life. That doesn't mean we still won't have struggles, but I can have peace knowing that He is there to guide our steps in this adventure called homeschooling.

Sometimes a solution can be as simple as a hammock! For a while now our youngest has struggled with learning to read well. He could read, but not to my liking. The other two boys took off with their reading, but for Noah it has been a constant thorn. It was a nightmare to have him sit for 15mins to read aloud to me. He was constantly squirming in his seat. I was at my whits end. Until one day I was talking to another mom about our struggles and she told me her sons story. He too did not enjoy sitting still to read until... they bought him a hammock and now he does his reading in his hammock. Later I repeated the story to Noah and asked him what he thought about having a hammock in his bedroom. He went nuts! His begging for a hammock was nonstop!

So guess what Noah got for Christmas?... You guessed it A HAMMOCK! A few months before Christmas we set up an incentive reading plan. When he read 5 books (that I approved of for school) then we would be rewarded with a trip to the bookstore to get a fun book of his choice.(he loves Calvin and Hobbes) Noah is very competitive and likes rewards, so for him this plan was working well...

But after installing the hammock we have seen his reading level soar! He absolutely loves his hammock. He sleeps there. He does his math there. And the best thing about having a hammock for a bed, as he would tell you, is you can make up your bed in about 10 secs flat! Unhook it from one side of the wall and fold it to the other side. DONE!

Although there are struggles there are also many victories. And for that I am thankful and can press on knowing that He who is faithful will equip me for whatever He calls me to do. Lord, thank you for struggles. For without them I would not see my need for you!... And thank you for HAMMOCKS!

Nowadays, you never know where you will find Noah doing his school work. I had a good chuckle the other day when I went downstairs to do laundry and found Noah standing in the corner... reading!

Look Who's Drivin'!

noreply@blogger.com (The Ryals) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 19:06:45 PST

He did it! Yesterday Joshua got his learners permit. He was so excited he wanted to drive home from the DMV. Even though he had never driven the van, he was just eager to drive... and I was okay with that.

Really!

okay, maybe i was a little nervous with him driving me and his brothers in our new van for the first time... whatwasithinking!!!

No, really he did great! Mark this down as another "proud mama moment". I still can't believe I'm old enough to have a kid driving.

I sure hope his enthusiasm for wanting to drive lasts... I could get us to being chauffeured around for awhile. Keep up the good work! We are proud of you!