Finding Joy

It's no surprise to many of you that my husband travels for work quite a bit.  'Tis the life of a professor, speaking at other universities and conferences and working with distant collaborators.  Sometimes, my attitude about David's work trips is okay, well, at least not that bad.  At other times, like this past week, it can be really crummy.  David went off to Telluride, Colorado to run a conference.  The conference was designed so that there was plenty of free time in the afternoons to enjoy the beautiful surroundings.  I knew I should be really happy that David could get out and do something he really loves, hike and run on trails, but, in all honesty, I wasn't.  I was really, really mad.  I was mad that I was missing out on things because he had to go on this trip.  The fact that he actually could enjoy it was like rubbing salt in my wounds!  Okay, normally, my reaction to his travels is not this, well, extreme, but there were special circumstances this time,

My grandpa died and his memorial service was held on Tuesday of this week.  Going would mean flying with all five kids (three of them requiring car seats on the plane) from California to Pennsylvania.  Maybe some of you are brave enough or sentimental enough to do that.  Not me.  It was also the week of our church's VBS.  That's exciting, right?  Of course it is.  But, my three boys go to bed by 8pm, and VBS ends at 8:30 pm, so although I really wanted to be able to be there for the assembly time and especially the carnival on the last day, I just could not make that happen logistically.  I know some of you probably would have just said, "Ah, the boys will be a little tired, it's ok."  There are three of them, ages three and under, and they're really, really loud.  Plus, I really value my sleep.  A lot.  I was simply disappointed that I couldn't be there.

But, the point of this post is not to complain.  It is to say that my husband left and I was mad, but I knew that God did not want me to spend my week grumbling and complaining and making him feel really guilty for traveling.  So, I asked God to help me to find joy in my week.  I tried to capture some pictures to help me remember the joyful moments.  The week was not all joyful bliss.  There were lots of potty accidents to clean up.  At least two plates were broken.  There was the typical bickering and talking back.  I could go on and on, but God helped me with these pictures to focus on the joyful moments of my week and thank him for this wonderful family he has given me and the many opportunities I have to teach them about Jesus and what He did on the cross for me!

On Sunday, Josiah ate his first s'mores!  He like it a lot!

On Monday, I took the kids to Pretend City.  Thanks for the coupons, Mama Esther!

Matthew had so much fun pretending to be a fireman!

So did Jonathan!

Maggie played with the boys in the garden.  Mary had a lot of fun, too, but she was mostly off doing her own thing, so I didn't get any pictures of her:(  The kids thought the best part was riding the shuttle back to our car, ha, ha!

On Tuesday, our mommy small group got together for lunch.  The girls had fun playing hide and seek with Isaiah.

On Tuesday, the girls' flower girl dresses arrived, too!  They are so excited for Cousin Chealsee's wedding!

On Wednesday, my friend Denise came over with her daughter Misha.  Denise and I talked about homeschooling while Mary and Maggie taught Misha everything they know about being princesses and taking care of babies!  That evening, another friend, Esther, brought me Boba and udon and we shared a time of meaningful fellowship after the boys went to sleep!

On Thursday, I took the kids hiking in UCI's Open Preserve.  We hiked from our house all the way to the botanical gardens.  It was fairly narrow and steep in some spots, which made it a little tricky with Josiah in the stroller, but we all made it!

It was a really hot day, so everyone was really excited to find this fountain in the gardens.  The water was so cool and refreshing!  I don't have a picture of this, but two friends surprised me that evening with boba!  YUM!

On Friday, we went to a Splash Pad and got wet and sandy!

Mary's approach was to stand on top of the sprayer!

Cute Maggie!

The sin of discontent is so pervasive. If we are not careful, it seeps in and takes every joy away. God is teaching me that joy is serving him where he has me. Right now, he has me in the home serving my family. I don't serve them because they appreciate it. I don't serve them because they deserve it. I serve them because by serving them I am serving Christ, who voluntarily gave his life to bring me back into fellowship with God.

The 2014-15 School Year

Happy First Week of August!  For the Mobleys, the first week of August means it time to start thinking about school again.  There are many different educational philosophies out there.  If you had asked me before I started homeschooling what my philosophy was, you would have been met with a very long blank stare.  As I've tried different things over the years, some of which we have liked, others of which we have not, I believe myself at this point in time to be some eclectic mix of three philosophies: Classical, Montessori, and Charlotte Mason.  (Don't worry if you don't at all know what that means...I only learned these terms last year through an online Parent Certification Course offered by our charter school.)  I don't follow any one approach to a tee, but I take the parts I love from each and apply them as best I can. I also tend to be fairly traditional in the sense that I choose to use textbooks.  I have friends who don't and formulate lesson plans on their own.  Hats off to you!  Me?  I am lazy and am easily overwhelmed by choices, so I prefer to use curricula that are scripted for me.  And, let's face it, I have almost six kids.  I don't really have a lot of time to sit around and prep materials/lessons.

Now that you know more about me and where I come from, these are the resources I plan to use to teach my kids in the 2014-15 school year.

MATTHEW & JONATHAN--PRESCHOOL
Long Story Short--I love this devotional book!  It's really engaging for kids of all ages!

Before Five in a Row--The idea behind this is to read the same book to your child every day for a week, but each day emphasize a different aspect of the book.  On one day, you might examine the artwork and try to use that same medium; on another you might count the animals.  I really love this curriculum for preschool!

MAGGIE--GRADE 1
Devotions
Long Story Short

Math
Saxon Math 2--I love Saxon math because of its incremental approach.

Language Arts
Spell to Write and Read--It took me a while to get into the swing of this approach to spelling, but I now love it!  This approach makes the seemingly illogical English language actually logical after you have learned the basic phonograms and spelling rules.
First Language Lessons Level 1--I like that this book is very mom-intensive and very logical.
Writing With Ease Level 1--The theory behind this book is that asking young children to formulate an idea and remember that well enough to write it and write it correctly remembering to use proper grammar and punctuation is expecting too much.  Instead this book focuses on teaching children to copy excellent writing from the classics and to begin to practice the skills of narration and dictation.
McGuffey Readers--There are great moral/character building stories in this book.
Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book--Before joining Spring Charter School, we used Zaner-Bloser, but this is the handwriting that is offered through our online bookstore.

History
Story of the World Volume 4--I love this history series.  It is so interesting and engaging for young children.  The Activity Book is full of lots of fun activities to reinforce the lesson and geography practice with each chapter.

Science
Apologia Science Human Anatomy and Physiology--I love this creation-based science curriculum written by authors that love God and his creation and really try to share that love with young children.

Special Interest
Maps Charts Graphs B
Steck-Vaughn Critical Thinking Level B
Atelier Art Level 2--I stink at art, but I have so much fun watching these DVDs and trying to improve at art alongside my kids!
Draw Write Now #4--My kids are teaching themselves to draw thanks to these workbooks!  I have fun trying, too!
Latin for Children Primer A--This is new for us this year.  I read really good reviews, so we're going to give it a go.
piano lessons, class to be determined

Life Skills

Life skills seem to happen pretty naturally around here, with all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and gardening that needs to be done.  And, with a family this size, everyone has to help in order for it all to get done.  There's also soccer, running, biking, scootering, and just playing.  Aside from that:

Horizons Health Grade 2--I really like this curriculum because it comes from a Christian perspective and helps me to teach my kids health and safety lessons that I may otherwise just not think about or purposely try to avoid!

MARY--GRADE 3

Devotions
Long Story Short
Inductive Bible Studies

Math
Saxon Math Intermediate 5

Language Arts
Vocabulary from Classical Roots 5
First Language Lessons Level 4
Writing With Ease Level 3
Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Success
McCall Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading Book C

History
Story of the World Volume 4

Science
Apologia Science Human Anatomy and Physiology

Special Interest
Maps Charts Graphs C

Steck-Vaughn Critical Thinking Level E

Atelier Art Level 2
Draw Write Now #4
Latin for Children Primer A

Rosetta Stone Spanish--Another item that will be brand new for us this year!
piano lessons, class to be determined

Life Skills
see above description plus Horizons Health Grade 2

My First 10K!

 

Before I knew I was pregnant, I made a new running goal for myself: Run a 10K!  I found this training plan online and completed one week of training.  On Father's Day, I was shocked to find out I was pregnant with Baby #6.  That's when the intense mental debate began.  I really didn't know whether it was wise to continue with the training plan or not.  After a little bit of googling about running and pregnancy, I was somewhat relieved to find that the general consensus seems to be that running during pregnancy is actually fine if you were already running prior to your pregnancy.  Some recent studies have even concluded that exercise actually benefits the fetus.  I was inspired by a few blogs written by women who continued to run through pregnancy but still had some doubts/concerns going through my head, like, "What if the baby doesn't get enough oxygen if I push myself too hard?" or "What if I get dehydrated and that harms the baby?" When I brought the decision up to David, he simply said, "There's no reason you can't train for a 10K just because you're pregnant!"  Granted, he's actually never been pregnant and hasn't himself experienced the dramatic changes your body goes through during the first trimester with nausea, exhaustion, and hormones raging out of control, but he HAS lived with me through this four times.  I know I would have thrown in the towel if he wasn't there encouraging me.  When I woke up feeling sick and tired and running seemed like the last thing I really wanted to do, he would encourage me to just get out there, insisting, "Running always makes you feel better."  Often I ran the first mile or so wishing that he could feel the way I felt but always came back glad that I got my run in!

Thanks to him, I was able to complete this goal today, though I'm not sure if it really counts because I didn't even enter an official race.  You'll have to take my word for it that I really did it!  David just mapped out a 6.2 mile course for me, and I took his fancy and expensive GPS watch with me, so I could know how much I had completed at any point in time and, most importantly, when I had reached the finish line!  David and the kids even came to cheer me on at the finish (with donuts in hand)!

So why not just enter an official race?  Lots of reasons!

1. Money--You can call me cheap if you want, but I just didn't want to shell out any money for an entrance fee. 
2. Fear of failure--I didn't want to bring shame upon the Mobley name!
3. Time--To actually enter a race means driving somewhere and allowing time for registration and stretching and everything.  Nah, I'll pass.
4. Competition--I'm pretty competitive, so I was also concerned that the competitive spirit would get the better of me, and I would push myself more than I ought while pregnant.
5. Bathrooms--Okay, please don't laugh, but I wanted to run somewhere that I KNEW would have facilities if I needed to use them.  If you're laughing, you have never been pregnant.  

My goal was to complete the race in 60 minutes, averaging roughly 10 minute miles.  Surprisingly, I beat that goal and completed the course in 55:44, just under 9 minutes a mile.  The run was definitely more difficult than I anticipated.  I was mentally prepared for mile 4 to be the most difficult.  For some crazy reason, I had it in my head that miles 5 and 6 would be easier once I got through mile 4.  Ha!  I pushed through mile 4 but then hit a gradual incline making mile 5 feel pretty tough.  The last 1.2 miles of the course, I really had to fight a mental battle with myself to just keep running.  And, then, at last David's watch showed 6.2 miles.  I made it!  I have never been so glad to come to the end of a run!

Although I wasn't actually looking around for motivational documentaries, I happened to watch two in the past two weeks that I found incredibly inspiring.  The first was Run for Your Life, a documentary about Fred Lebow, the creator of the New York City Marathon.  Later in his life, Fred Lebow battled brain cancer, a battle which he ultimately lost.  During his battle with brain cancer, he accomplished one of his life goals and ran his own marathon!  If he can get out there and run 26 miles with brain cancer, certainly I can get my pregnant body out there to run 6!  The second was Town of Runners, a documentary about a town in Ethiopia, which is the home of many Olympic runners.  The girls in this movie emphasize their belief that success comes from hard work.  During mile 5, I realized that my run was supposed to be hard and that I shouldn't quit just because it feels hard.  These girls encouraged me to keep going even though it was hard!

I realize that running 6.2 miles is really no phenomenal accomplishment.  Recently, I have met some pretty awesome runners, marathoners, ultra-marathoners, and competitors at the national level.  I will never be that caliber a runner!  Yet, I still thank God for the health He has given me that enables me to run and for enabling me to accomplish this fitness goal, however meager it may be in comparison!  I thank God for my husband who makes time for me to run, handling breakfast for the family solo three days a week with nary a complaint!

So, now what?  My next goal is to be able to run from my house to Quail Hill and back, a 10-mile loop.  I developed a plan to accomplish this goal in seven weeks time, provided the pregnancy continues to allow me run.  After that, I plan to do a reverse training plan and taper my long runs down to 4 miles over twelve weeks, again assuming that my body continues to cooperate with running!  This is what the next seven weeks will look like for me (ideally):

Week	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
1	30 min cross	4 m	30 min cross	3 m	stretch	7.0 m	off
2	30 min cross	4 m	30 min cross	3 m	stretch	7.5 m	off
3	30 min cross	4 m	30 min cross	3 m	stretch	8.0 m	off
4	30 min cross	4 m	30 min cross	3 m	stretch	8.5 m	off
5	30 min cross	4 m	30 min cross	3 m	stretch	9.0 m	off
6	30 min cross	4 m	30 min cross	3 m	stretch	9.5 m	off
7	30 min cross	4 m	30 min cross	3 m	stretch	10.0 m	off

David's First Trail Race!

This evening, David ran his first trail race. a 5K at Irvine Regional Park in Orange.  Another friend from church, Patrick, also came out for his first trail race, too!  Despite the loose sand and big rocks, these guys still had smiles on their faces at the end!  I'm guessing they're even ready to sign up for the next one!  Below are a few pictures from the evening!

Although David did not finish quite as fast as he hoped, coming in at 22:50, he still managed to place second in his age group (35-44) and 10th overall!  Not too shabby a performance for his first trail race!

David's ready to run!

So is Patrick!

Mary asked me to take her picture.

Twice.

Make that three times.

Maggie asked me to take her picture.

Twice.

Make that three times!

Jonathan made no such request!

Neither did Matthew!

Or Josiah, but who could resist his smile!

Pretty impressive when your kids occupy every swing except one on the swingset!

Congratulations, David and Patrick!  You made it!!

Summer Equals Reorganization!

Part of summertime fun at the Mobleys always involves a bit of reorganization and spring cleaning! I had big plans for David to build cubbies in the laundry room for shoes and bags and jackets. When he realized my plan involved removing the door, he exercised his veto power. Instead, we settled on building cubbies for the entryway.  Bye-bye inexpensive do-it-yourself home improvement.  David was concerned that his carpentry skills were not up to par for the highly noticeable entryway, so we hired the cabinet maker who the University had hired to build other cabinetry in our home.

Because we have set back arches in our entryway, it was a bit tricky coming up with the final design. We tossed around so many iterations, played around with different dimensions, and finally settled on what you see in the picture. Everyone is so pleased with the new cubbies, especially me, since shoes and bags are being put away in their proper places with more consistency.

I decided to use the space between the cubbies to display our unique collection of hats, mostly handmade by my mother-in-law. At least this portion of the project was inexpensive, coming in under $15! I bought three pieces of craft board from Lowe's, painted them with clearance paint, and attached them to the wall with screws. (Yes, another excuse to use David's power tools!!)  I first tried screwing Bulldog clips into the boards for hanging the hats.  Right away, I realized this was not going to work out, since I was the only one who could hang the hats.  Add that to the list of things I need to do on a daily basis?  No, thank you!  So, I replaced the Bulldog clips with clothespins.  Now, everyone can retrieve his/her own hat and everyone, except Josiah, is capable of hanging them back up!

Then, of course, coloring had to be involved, so I made everyone a special sign, like this one, marking their territory!

Here Comes the Caboose!

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting Baby #6 sometime in February! This is all according to God's wonderful plan for our family and we are ready to embrace every part of it, the joys as well as the challenges, knowing that God will use it to conform us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ!!

Frequently Asked Questions:
Are you crazy???
Pretty much!  David got up at 4:30 am to run 13 miles to the beach and back.  I take all five kids shopping with me everywhere.  Craziness abounds in this family!  Adding a bit more with a sixth child will be indistinguishable.

When are you going to stop having kids?
Well, we believe #6 will be the caboose, provided she is a beautiful red-head. No, seriously, our van will be at maximum seating capacity and I will turn 40 two months after the baby's birth, so we do believe there are logical reasons to be more proactive in limiting the growth of our family after this child is born. 

How are you feeling?
Well, I feel pretty nauseous most of the day and have trouble eating much until the evening. I also feel really, really tired. Once, I went to bed right after dinner. Yes, that left clean-up and baths and bedtime in David's hands.  I admit it.  I am a really crummy mom. 

What can't you eat/drink?
Well, I try to avoid the typical no-nos, like soft cheese and sushi. I have no reservations about drinking caffeine while pregnant, but a horrible effect pregnancy has on my body is that I detest the smell of coffee.  My stomach churns even at the thought of my typical espresso style beverage of choice.

What kind of cravings do you get?
Milk tea with boba is my number one craving. Number 2 is udon noodle bowl (yea, I hang out with lots of Asians, ha, ha). Number 3 is popcorn with LOTS of salt!

Are you still nursing Josiah?
Yep, the little guy is still nursing about once a day. I take an extra calcium supplement and plan to continue nursing him until he's ready to be done. I'm guessing that's going to be soon as pregnancy causes the taste of the milk to change, but I'm really in no rush to wean him.

Where is the baby going to sleep?
Initially, with us. Then, in our walk-in closet. Then, wherever he/she belongs.  We have three bedrooms, one for the parents, one for the boys, and one for the girls.

Are you going to find out the gender?
Yes, we are. I hate that we won't be surprised this time, but we've got to be practical, so that we can plan for the future arrangement of rooms before we become really sleep-deprived.  Sometimes practicality trumps all.

Do you have a preference?
Honestly, we just want a healthy baby, but it would be icing on the cake if it was a girl. Then, we'd be symmetrical again, four boys and four girls!

How are you going to do it all?
With God's grace! Practically speaking, we are working on teaching the girls to take over more of the cleaning, so that some of their chores can be passed off to the twins. Many hands make light work. The girls have plans to make dinner for six weeks post-partum, too. Mac n cheese and brownies -- the meal of champions.

Where are you going to have the baby? 
We are again planning to birth the baby in the comfort of our own home assisted by the wonderful team at South Coast Midwifery.

Hopefully, that covers it for now!

I Can Use a Power Drill!!!

This is how our Saturday began...
Me: Do you think you'll be able to work on the laundry room today?"
David: (looking very skeptical) "Well, I'm going to take the kids to running club and stop at the Farmer's Market. Then, I was hoping to spend my time with Jonathan and then work on my Sunday School lesson.
David: (quizzical) "Wasn't there something else you wanted me to do today anyways?"
Me: "No."
David: "Well, if that's the case, then I'll make the laundry room a priority."
Me: (There's really noooo way it's gonna get done today.) "OK."

 Now, you can see why I taught myself how to use a power drill today!!! I've watched David do this stuff so much that I wasn't completely clueless, but I was a little worried that I would screw something up and David would come home disappointed! The first step was to find the tools I needed. Power drill. Got it. Drill bits. Searching...searching...still searching...who would imagine they would be in this red walletish-looking thing??? Wall anchors. Got 'em. All supplies in hand, I got out the ironing board hanger and was ready to proceed with gusto until I realized I didn't even know how to put an anchor into the wall. So, I watched a quick YouTube video and then proceeded. My first mistake was to drill the hole too big. So, I tried again a bit higher, repeated three times for the other three holes, screwed the holder into the wall, and, much to my surprise, it didn't fall down. It even stayed up when I set the ironing board and iron in place.

Motivated by this initial success, I proceeded to drill and screw and drill and screw. When it was all done, I really wanted to take a picture and submit it to Better Homes and Gardens because I was just so surprised that I actually did it all myself.  Okay, I know it's not impressive at all really, certainly not the quality of work that is featured in magazines.  David probably would have completed this project in less than an hour.  Me?  Well, it took me the better part of the day. Still, I am thrilled that I have acquired a new skill, and I can't wait to have another opportunity to use it!  I'm also delighted to have my cleaning tools and supplies organized!