So, in summary, for GW's 9th Grade Year:

English - Reading, Listening, Writing
Algebra 1
History
Typing
Personal Finance
Basketball

Next up, is JA.  Right now, he is in 8th grade, but I'm already thinking ahead for him.  In the state of Florida, any high school student (including home school students) are able to dual-enroll at the local community colleges as long as they can pass the entrance exam.  The cost for this:  FREE!!!!

As a result, we will be strongly encouraging/requiring JA to enroll and spend his high school years earning his Associates in Arts degree.  Once he earns his AA degree from the community college, he is automatically accepted into any of the Florida state universities.  Total savings on a college degree:  $8000 (the cost of 2 yrs at the local community college if he attends after the age of 18).

We have also considered having him CLEP out of part of the AA degree since our local community college will accept up to 45 hrs of credits by exam towards the 60 hrs required for the AA degree.  There is a cost to this, but there is the potential for saving a lot of time (i.e. it may take less time studying for the CLEP exam than he would spend in the class)  This would free up time for him to volunteer and get a better idea of what he wants for a career.  It would also keep him away from the philosophies/ideologies that are polar opposite to what we believe that are so prevalent in colleges these days.  We haven't made a final decision on this as of yet.

In the meantime, here is what is on his plate for 8th grade:
Jensen's Format Writing
Saxon Algebra 1
American Heritage Series (AHS)
Life Science (yes, I know it's 7th grade, but he hasn't had this yet)
Financial Peace University (FPU)
Additional Reading:
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?
It Couldn't Just Happen
TBD

He also must attain the rank of Star Scout.  He has everything for this except for 3 Eagle Required Merit Badges.

A note about the Life Science JA is taking.  This is a FREE course available in iTunesU.  While having an iPad for this makes it easier, it is not required.  You can download iTunes to your computer and access all of the courses there.  There are a TON of FREE courses available from Kindergarten up through College level classes (including MIT, Harvard, Stanford and others).  If JA doesn't end up taking advantage of the free AA degree, I will probably pull some of his coursework from iTunesU.

Now, a word about Robinson Curriculum.  I still LOVE Robinson Curriculum and will continue to use it for the other kids.  (and I am essentially using it for Ben, it's just he is watching videos rather than reading the books).  For JA, I changed the writing portion to Jensen's Format Writing because JA really needs a "tell me how to do it" writing curriculum.  This got really good reviews (especially for reluctant boy writers) so I chose it.  Then I changed his reading portion.  A few months ago, he had the opportunity to shadow a friend of ours who is a surgeon.  He was able to sit in on three surgeries and came home saying he, too, wanted to be a surgeon. Knowing what a commitment this is, I wanted to expose him to the type of material he needs to know as early as possible to gauge whether this is really something in which he is interested.  Hence the Life Science course.  I also wanted him to be able to do the FPU and AHS courses with GW, so that is why he is doing those.  I have just added on the two books to help fill out the 36 weeks of class work that we try to squeeze in each school year.

One year ago today, we met TJ for the first time.  His transition has been completely different from BG's.  In many ways, they are a study in opposites.  TJ came to us with a huge smile on his face and more than ready to join a family.  BG came to us with a look of questioning consternation; unsure of what was going to happen next. 

Today, while both boys are definately attaching well, TJ doesn't want his picture taken at all, so I have to sneak them in when I can.  TJ pushes back against "family" more than BG does, but I think it is more a matter of figuring out the boundaries (which he didn't have in China) than a true dislike of family.

Either way, TJ's life has changed - and so has ours.

We are finally getting closer to closing on our new (to us) home.  We got the bank approval (it is a short sale) last week and had the inspection on Monday.  The inspection revealed typical maintenance issues that need to be addressed in most any home (including the one we live in now!).  The tentative closing date is Nov 28th.  So, we should be celebrating Christmas in our new house.  I guess we'll have to figure out where to put the Christmas tree.

In the meantime, here are a few more pix.  These are from back in Aug when we took the kids to see the house.

Lately, my life has been filled with Alphabet Soup.  No, not the kind you eat, but the kind where letters of all kinds get put together and are associated with members of your family.


One of the other challenges we are facing with this alphabet soup is where does the alphabet begin and where does the attitude end?  Some of the problems we are seeing may easily be attributed to either.  The problem is you handle the root cause very differently. 

Needless to say, there has been a lot of stress in our family lately.  Some good, some bad.  Right now, we are taking one day at a time and trying to figure stuff out.  And trying not to be overwhelmed by it all. 

<crickets>




<crickets>




<crickets>



We signed the contract on August 11th. 


The sellers signed the contract on August 16th. 


We heard from their bank asking for us to fill out a mortgage application on August 22nd.


We sent that back in on August 23rd.


They pre-approved us for a mortgage on August 29th.


Unfortunately, we are still waiting for their bank to approve the contract because it is a short sale. 


Fortunately, we are in no rush to move, so it doesn't matter....








Yeah, right. 

Our church is doing a series on Changed Lives. As a part of this, they asked members of the church who would like to share how God has changed their life to share their story. I was blessed to be able to share our story. You can watch it here Changed

One of the things that we will miss most about living in our current home is the beautiful sunsets we see out our front door each night.  These are just as they were taken.  No photoshoping, color adjusting, or anything.  Just God's beautiful handiwork.

Back in mid June, we decided to consider looking for a larger home.  I posted about it here and here.  We had decided to put an offer on the home I mentioned in the 2nd post. It is a short sale and our realtor told us that sometimes, the price can go UP from the asking price depending on what the bank will accept.  That scared us off a little and we decided to wait and try to get our financing in order. We finally thought we had everything figured out (but not done) and decided to put in an offer.   However, we found out that two days earlier, on July 19th, someone else put a contract on it. 

Needless to say, we were bummed.  But we went ahead and started the process of getting the finance process started. I kept praying all along that if that house was supposed to be ours that it would come back on the market and we would get a chance to put an offer on it.

In the meantime, we continued to look at a number of homes that are on the market, but none of them had a layout that really fit our needs.  We also started investigating a home that we knew had been for sale earlier in the year, but no longer was on the market.  We discovered that it had been foreclosed and would be going on the market at the end of August.  Since this home is also in our neighborhood, we would drive by it regularly hoping to meet the current homeowner and ask for a tour.  We were finally able to tour it this past weekend. 

After walking through it, at first we weren't sure it would really meet our needs.  But we sat down, drew out a floor plan and figured out how it would work for us.  We just needed to wait until the current owner moved out.  In the mean time, we continued to look at other homes. 

Last night, we saw a 3rd home in our neighborhood that is out of our price range, but we felt it was overpriced and would eventually come down into our range.  However, after walking through it, we decided that it just wasn't a fit for our needs. 

We re-iterated our interest in the home from the earlier post to our realtor.  She had told us that it is not unusual for contracts on short sales to fall through.  She promised to call the realtor today and talk to her about a backup offer.

When she called today, she discovered that the realtor was getting ready to re-list the house.  The original contract fell through!!!!! And the original accepted offer was for LESS than the asking price!Our realtor asked her NOT to re-list it yet as she had a buyer ready to put a contract on it.  Needless to say, CP and I were both very excited.  We asked for one more walk-through tomorrow with the kids and the offer will be signed after the walk-through. 
On top of that, the key to the financing (which we had been told could take up to three weeks) came in the mail today - one week after we sent in the paperwork! 
God is such a God of details!  And also of timing.

If we had put the offer in on the house back in late June, we might have been close to moving.  Not something we needed to be worried about right now with Dad in the hospital.  As it is, he can come home and be halfway through his recovery before we have to move. 

And oh yeah, July 19th, the day the house went under contract the first time - is my Birthday.  God gave me a special birthday present by tying up the house until we could put an offer on it!

Sorry for the post drought.  Life is finally settling into a more normal routine now, so there is less to blog about on a regular basis.  The one main thing that is keeping us busy at the moment is the effort/decisions regarding our house.

We have decided that we are going to move (yea!) which means we have to get our house ready to sell (yuck!).  So, we have been busy running all over our town getting estimates for the major projects we need to do:  flooring (carpet and laminate) and countertops. 

We had been considering replacing the cabinets in our kitchen, but after seeing many homes on the market and just sold in our area with white cabinets, we decided to just replace the countertops.  We are also putting in Stainless Steel appliances, but since I work for a company that manufactures appliances, I can order them online at a great discount :-) 

I was dreading having to move all of our furniture to replace the flooring in the house, but we found a local company who will move the furniture for us (yea!).  We just have to unplug everything - that's a piece of cake!

Then, of course, we have to start de-cluttering/packing/purging.  This is a good thing, except I have no idea when we will find the time to do it.  We seem to always have something going on even though the only scheduled things we have are church (Sun AM only), basketball, and Boy Scouts.  I guess we'll just have to turn down some spontaneous offerings and git'r done!

The current housing market seems to be so overloaded with homes that people are mainly interested in homes that are up-to-date and move-in ready.  That's fine, except we aren't people who care much about being "up-to-date".  As a result, our home, which is perfectly functional, apparently needs some updating to be able to sell easier in this market. 

I didn't think this would be a big deal.  We need new flooring (an off-white carpet over the past 7 years with 3, then 4, then 6 kids that ranged in age from 9mo to 14 can wear a carpet out), a new countertop (formica just doesn't cut it anymore), new kitchen appliances (minus the dishwasher which we had to replace shortly after coming home from China) and possibly new kitchen cabinets (they are perfectly fine, but not the new, warm, wood look that has become popular).  I was thinking we could get out for around $10k. 

Well...


apparently even though labor is cheap now,



materials are NOT!

Our first quote for replacing the kitchen cabinets (only - not the countertop) was $12k!!!!

I nearly fell out of my chair. 


We then got a quote for re-facing the cabinets and replacing the countertop with granite (but still need a tile backsplash) for $9900. 


We haven't even gotten a quote for the flooring.  It has been strongly recommended that we go with hardwood or laminate.   Right now, ripping up the carpet and painting the concrete to look like tile is sounding pretty good to me!

LOL!

OK, I'm sure we won't get by with that.  But now I'm having second thoughts about selling right now.... 
I'm just not sure we'll get back what we will end up having to put into the house.  Fortunately, homes in our neighborhood are selling, so there is hope.  I just wasn't expecting to have to spend so much just to move...

Breathe, breathe, breathe....

Thanks for the comments and suggestions on my Decisions post.  They are appreciated! 

We are considering the possibility of adding on to our home.  However, the builder who came over today said that due to setbacks, we would have to go up - rather than out - to expand our house.  With the current cost of materials, he said we were looking at around $50k.  When CP explained why we were considering this, he said that with home prices where they are, we would be better off to move.

Location considerations - Our metropolitan area has less than 2.5% Asians, but our particular neighborhood is quite multi-cultural.  I do think about this when trying to decide where to move.  Also, a number of other things are influencing our choice:

• Distance to Chinese Bible Study
• Distance to Chinese School
• Homeschool classes
• Distance to our Dr.
• Distance to our Chiropractor
• Distance to our church

I have been praying about whether we should stay close to where we are or move to the less expensive area.  Yesterday, I got two confirmations from God that we should stay close to where we are.

1)  We had signed JA up for Classical Conversations in the fall.  The location is close enough to our home that he can ride his bike there.  This will take the burden off of CP of having to drive him there and pick him up each week.  However, there was a chance that they were going to cancel it because they didn't have the minimum number of students.  I found out yesterday that they reached the minimum number yesterday!

2) One home (in our neighborhood!) that is at the top of our list dropped $50K in price yesterday!!!! I was stunned - especially since it has only been on the market less than 30 days. It is now within range of what we were hoping to spend. 

3)  We also found out that another home in our neighborhood that we are interested in should be hitting the market very soon.  It is a foreclosure and we know what the bank was owed for the home, so we have a good idea of what we can offer for it.  It is also in our range.  We just need to figure out if we can get inside to see if the layout will work for us. 

So, we are still praying and waiting.  We don't want to fall into the trap of the "American Dream" of bigger is better.  But we are also being realistic as to what a family of 9 needs.  I do know this - God will show us the way - if we are willing to listen.

Ever since we decided to bring GW home, we have wondered if we really have room long term for all of us in our home.  We are a modern day Brady Bunch - Mom, Dad, 4 boys, 2 girls and Grandpa!  We live in a 4 bedroom 3 bath home with a 2 car garage.  The 4 boys have the master suite; the 3 adults share a bathroom and the girls have their own bathroom.  Even by American standards, we have a large home - 2300 sf. 

But....

In just a few short years (5.5 to be exact), we will have SIX teenagers in our house!  And who knows how many cars we will have.

We have been thinking lately with interest rates where they are that now might be a good time to buy.  (Though it might not be a good time to sell)

Our problem is - we can't decide
1) Where we want to live.  This is a big decision as it can swing the price significantly.  We can afford to spend more on a home (thanks to CP's inheritance from his mom), but do we NEED to spend more?  Should we save that money for other things in the future?

2) What we really want in a house.  We need 5 bedrooms, but we could take a 4 bedroom house as long as there is a room that Grandpa can use for a bedroom.  We don't know for sure if we want a pool (we could always add one).  They make for cheap entertainment for the kids. 

3)How big of a house we need.  Can we get by with just a slightly larger home but with a 5th bedroom?  Or should we make the move worth the effort and go for something big enough to include a nice room for homeschool and room for a ping-pong table?

Of course, the boys just had a huge upheaval in their lives, so the thought of moving them again so soon is a concern.  We have considered a few homes in our neighborhood which should minimize the impact, but this means a more expensive home. 

And given this whole idea of living radically, all this talk of "need" just doesn't sit right with me.  Should we just stay where we are?  My dad grew up in a house smaller than this and there were 8 siblings and his granddad lived with them too. 

I have been praying about this, but right now, I just don't have the answers...

I have been in church all my life.  Many times, I have heard people say that things will happen in "God's timing".  I used to believe that.  My perspective on this has changed over the last year. 

I do believe that God is in control (another familiar cliche in church circles), but I also know that God has given man free will.  Man's free will can make things happen in a different manner than God would prefer.  People talk about God's will - and I believe in God's will - but I believe there are "levels" to his will. 

Let's take the Israelites, for example.  God freed them from Egypt, but they chose to not trust God about defeating the inhabitants of the Promised Land.  As a result, the Israelites didn't enter the Promised Land until 40 years AFTER God had originally intended.  Numbers 14:26-35

God's perfect will was NOT for the Israelites to die in the desert - his perfect will was for them to enjoy the blessings of the Promised Land.  God's permissive will allowed the Israelites to choose (free will)  disobedience and to suffer the consequences of their choice.

Now, lets look at our adoption of DJ.  I don't believe for a minute that God's perfect will is for him to be a part of our family.  I believe that God's perfect will was for DJ to be raised by his birth parents.  DJ was finally made available for adoption in late 2008.  I believe it was God's pleasing will that we would have adopted DJ back when we first saw his picture in 2008.  However, for various man-centered reasons, that didn't happen (i.e. free will).  As a result, God's permissive will is that DJ will be adopted by us in 2011.

Now, we have been waiting 73 days for our LOA.  Why?  I don't know why on the spiritual level, but we have found out why on the earthly level.  A man chose to do (or in this case, not do) something that needed to be done.  As a result, we are waiting significantly longer than average for our approval.  Do I believe this is God's will?  Yes - His permissive will.  Is God in control?  Yes, DJ will be come a part of our family, just not when he should have. 

You see, I think we try to package God into a nice, neat simple box and say nice little platitudes that make our "faith" easier.  However, I just don't buy into these platitudes anymore.  My understanding of God and faith have become more complex and mysterious over the past year.  And in other ways it has become more simplified.  Do I think I understand it all?  Absolutely not.  Do I think I need to?  Absolutely not. 

What I do know, is that I need to be willing to say "Yes" when I hear God's command. 

Are you?

Our neighborhood has a garage sale once a year. 

This year we didn't really have a lot of stuff - mostly girls clothes, some boys clothes and a bunch of other odds and ends.  The biggest stuff we had was a table and chairs and our 55 gallon fish tank with lots of accessories.  Unfortunately, neither the table nor the fish tank sold.  However, we ended up selling $220 worth of items (I have no earthly idea how it ended up adding up to that much.)
But the best part of all - CP and I agreed ahead of time that all of the proceeds of the sale were going to Show Hope! 

So, I thought I had found the car that God wanted me to have. This weekend, I went looking, but didn't find what I was wanting. However, on Monday, one of the dealers called and said they had just taken a trade of exactly what I was looking for.

Long story short, I went by today for a test drive, but we couldn't agree on terms, so I'm still in the hunt...

I have been at my current job for almost three years. It has been a challenging three years with lots of learning accomplished. Recently, I was moved to a different position within my company - one I wasn't totally happy with. About a month prior to this move, I had lunch with a former colleague who had recently left to work for another company in our town. She was really excited about her new position and encouraged me to look into applying. At the time, I wasn't that interested. However, when I was moved to my new position at work (one which just didn't fit well in my long term career plan), I thought I'd look.


I know - I must be crazy to be looking for a new job in the middle of a recession in a state that has a 12% unemployment rate and a county with an 11% unemployment rate and facing severe layoffs in the coming months. However, I had a job so I had nothing to lose.


I went to the new company's website and poked around their Careers page. I saw a job posting that looked like it had been written just for me!!! I e-mailed my friend and asked her if she could submit my resume for me since she was an insider - she gladly agreed.


A few weeks later, I got a call about a phone screen. The first interviewer didn't seem to go very well, but the second interviewer seemed much better. I waited.....


It was a few more weeks before I finally got a call for an on-site interview. This went very well also. After a few days, I was made an offer.

Things seemed to be lining up perfectly - except for one little thing: we are in the early stages of an international adoption and I will need at least a month off early next year to travel to bring our son home. Would the new company be willing to work with me?


I woke up early one morning after I got the offer and lay in bed praying for God to show me whether he wanted me to take this new job or not. I got up shortly after that and headed outside for my God time (i.e devotionals). When I got to the sliding door, I saw a butterfly on our pool fence - I had never seen one there before. I wondered why there was a butterfly there. Then it struck me - butterflies are a symbol of metamorphosis - CHANGE.

I knew then I had my answer. I called the new company and asked if they would be willing to work with me for the time off and they agreed - and I accepted the job.


So in my Memorial Box goes a picture of the butterfly that I took that morning.



P.S. For those that remembered I would talk about our Costa Rica trip today - well, since I am leaving my job (working for an airline) we will lose our flight benefits. That's why we took the spontaneous trip to CR last weekend!

Ok, it's happened again. When we started HJ's adoption, my car (a 1996 Eagle Vision with 140,000 miles) started having all kinds of maintenance issues. The biggest one was that the a/c went out. That doesn't go over too well when you live in FL. The cost to fix the A/C was about $1800 and the car was only worth about $2000. So, we decided it was time to get a "newer" car. We ended up giving the Vision to a family who had moved here from New Orleans after Katrina.



I bought a 1996 Infiniti I30 with 60,000 miles on it for $6800 out the door. Well, it now has 104,000 miles, a dent in the front quarter panel, and a large rust hole on the trunk. None of these issues were enough to convince me to get another car. However, it has recently developed a leak in a hard to fix place. Everytime it rains (can you say daily?) the drivers' side footwell floods. We have already tried to fix the leak once to the tune of $400 and the car is only worth between $1500 and $1800. So, we will find another deserving family to donate this car to and I am now in the hunt for a "newer" vehicle.



When I went to buy the Infiniti, a friend suggested that I purchase an older luxury import for the following reasons:

1) Older - cheaper

2) Luxury - owners tend to take better care of them

3) Import - better reliability overall

After researching Consumer Reports, I settled on the 1996 I30 and I think I got a pretty good deal.



I've been researching again and the I30 is still coming out on top. Interestingly enough, there don't seem to be many available under $8000 with less than 100,000 miles in my area. So, I'm also looking at Lexus ES300s and some Acuras.



Anyone got a car they want to sell?