In Honor of Adoption Month: How We Got Here {The Hales}

I had the pleasure of meeting the Hales over the last year as I became an artist advocate for The Orphan Care Network. They are truly great people with even better hearts and it is a great joy to share their story with you today! Here is "How We Got Here", from the perspective of Heather Hale:

"I feel like most people start by saying “ I always knew I wanted to adopt” and I’d like to just start by saying… that was NOT me. I was NOT the little girl who dreamed about my wedding day and becoming a mom. I assumed I would get married and have kids, but I just didn’t think about it a lot… until I met Aaron. You might have guessed that it was a long and frustrating courtship, but in the end he won me over. He took me to Africa, he showed me the world and opened my eyes! opened my heart to new things! He always had a different way of looking at things, a different way of approaching life… even when it came to growing a family. Aaron... “always knew he wanted to adopt” This was something I knew very early on and while I thought it was awesome and you know... so sweet I figured I didn’t really have to worry too much about it. I thought we would probably get married, get pregnant and then later in life talk about adopting.

It didn’t really go that way. After being married for a couple of years, we found ourselves talking a lot about what our family would look like. It was clearer all the time that Aaron felt REALLY strongly about adopting first and while I loved the idea, it was hard to fully embrace it. As a woman I had that annoying internal clock ticking… I felt so conflicted… until something happened! I thought I was pregnant. It was probably less than 24 hours that I actually thought I might be pregnant, but it was enough time for me to feel sad and disappointed that this plan that we talked about… this plan to adopt first might not happen. That was the day I knew I was ALL IN. And it was more than that. It’s almost like I DID find out I was pregnant. There was a baby out there and I was going to be his mother! 

From that point on, it was a crazy roller coaster of classes and paper work and emotions and fundraising. It’s crazy to look back on that time because in all seriousness, the 26 year old me was so naive and clueless. But wow, at the same time, I was filled with hope and excitement and a tremendous love for this baby boy who I had never met. And really that’s all I needed. I didn’t need to know all the lingo or make sure that I read all the books, I just needed to say yes! And I’m so happy I did. "

Heather was born in Lubbock, Texas and studied graphic design at TTU.  She is currently the Art Director at Mays Designs in Austin, TX and mom to 2 sweet boys, Arthur (almost 4) and Ezra Golden (16 months). Her husband, Aaron, is a worship leader, singer/songwriter, and Director of artistry and advocacy at The Orphan Care Network. To learn and follow more of The Hale's adoption journey and advocacy,  you can visit their websites:

http://loveiswaitingadoptionstory.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-have-little-story-to-tell-you.html

http://names.aaronhalemusic.com

In Honor of Adoption Month: How We Got Here {Sapaughs}

So, November is National Adoption month, and for many churches, today was Adoption Sunday. 

In honor of a month dedicated to such a life changing topic, I am gonna share some stories of some different people who have gone down the path of adoption. like a blog series, if you will.  (Is that a real thing?) 

The thing with choosing adoption, is that it is not technically natural. There are a list of broken elements in the world that even make it an option. Children without parents due to tragic death, neglect, abuse, addiction, or simply an incapacity to parent - it's broken. Those couples who can not naturally conceive carry with them heavy heartbreak and disappointment, something that wasn't an original part of this world before the fall of man.

But in God's good graces, there is adoption. A process that heals hurts and changes lives on both sides of the story, as we have the privilege to love like Christ has loved us.

You may feel distracted or intrigued by the idea of adoption, but just not sure what step would be next. I hope that the stories shared will encourage you, and remind you that at one point these adoptive parents weren't sure either. Everyone's adoption story has to start somewhere. That's what I want to share with you throughout the month of November - the spark that has led so many down the adoption road. It is totally different for everyone - and I think you will be encouraged and inspired by the different stories you read. Maybe your interest will turn into an adoption story one day too! To God be the glory!

First up: Us Sapaughs.

I had always thought adoption was a really great thing for those who could't conceive, just not for me. Starting at a young age when I began planning my wedding and future life, I always just knew I would have like 6 kids of my own  - my mom was a baby machine, surely I would be too.... 

As much as that has been true in the sense that we have been very blessed with multiple healthy pregnancies and babies, in about 2006 God really began to soften my heart towards this idea of adoption.

We had several friends who had begun international adoption processes, and I always thought that was great, but it wasn't until my attention was drawn to a children's home in Galveston, just 30 or so minutes from our house, where kids had no parents, no families, no "normal" like I knew it that my perspective began to change.

I had heard a story of a lady taking in children from this home; in particular a child that  had been abused and was withdrawn and behind in lots of ways, and I heard of how much progress the child had made once she was shown consistent love and security......taken to regular doctors appointments.... basic things; the child went from not thriving to thriving just because of love & attention!

Simultaneously to me hearing these stories of the orphanage, My husband Kyle, was getting church emails circulating about babies or children that needed a home and did anyone know anyone interested in taking them in.

Children that didn't have a safe loving environment? A baby that wasn't wanted? WHAT?! This blew our minds. What made this extra real for us was the fact that we had a sweet 3 yr old at the time, and she was so loved and so secure and so safe. When I would hear the stories and look at her, aware that these kids exist, not just thousands of miles away across the sea, but literally right down the road -- it made my stomach hurt. We knew then that God was changing our hearts. 

We had no idea that within a year of God prepping our hearts, that we would be parenting a 17 year old....an older version of many of the kids we had heard stories about. We would have NEVER had that in our plan for ourselves - but isn't that how God does things?? The surprises He has for us along the way, the things we couldn't possibly plan for ourselves, even the really hard things that he calls us to - they are good and all for His glory and we end up not being able to imagine our lives without them.

We are currently praying and waiting to see what the next addition to our family will be via the foster to adopt process with CPS. We are excited to still be following in the path that God started us on some 8 or 9 years ago. It has truly changed our life (and our kid's life) in a real, raw, stretching, not always easy, but "oh so good" kind of way.

That's how we got here. 

1st Quarter Review

Many have been asking for me to post more about our curriculum choices and the "ins & outs" of Sapaugh Academy. So I figured there's no better time than now, as we just completed our 1st 9 weeks of school and today started on the 2nd nine weeks.

I like to evaluate pretty regularly, on an almost "as I go" basis; adjusting what is working and what  needs major improvement. I used to have a bad habit of saying to myself "self, next school you really need to do this better" but was convicted a year or so ago with the realization that there is nothing stopping me from making improvements NOW. I didn't have to wait until the start of the next school year to better manage my schedule or to do more hands on activities or whatever. I could do it now. So that became my 'hard thing" and the reason I evaluate regularly  - so I can make improvements now and not later.

In general we use a mixture of curriculums: Abeka (phonics, math, language, spelling, poetry), Saxon (math) Spelling Workout, A Reason for Handwriting, Tapestry of Grace (history/geography/literature), First Language Lessons, Word Roots (Latin), Fix-It Grammar, Excellence in Writing (history based), The Easy Spanish, Evan-Moor Geography (map skills), and Apologia Science. I know to some of you that is all like Chinese. There are a ton of curriculum options out there now and it can be quite overwhelming. But you have to do what you find works for your family. You won't always love what you're doing and the beauty of that, is that you have the freedom to switch it up and try something new if you'd like.

A couple things we added this year that I am very pleased with (so far...knock on wood) are Saxon Math (for Tanner's age/5th grade), Fix-It Grammar (for Tanner), and Excellence in Writing history based lessons (also for Tanner). The math was a switch from Abeka, which I have always been pleased with, but the clean, less kid-ish set up of the Saxon curriculum has been great for Tanner. In fact, upon switching, she has told me multiple times how much she likes it! That's always good.

The Fix-It Grammar is a "sentence a day approach to grammar/writing" taking excerpts from classical literature (right now we are doing sentences from Tom Sawyer). It is not overwhelming, but allows her to see and edit sentences, while identifying certain parts of speech and sentence parts. I highly recommend it. The only downside, is that is is written in IEW lingo - and since we had never done anything IEW, I had to (and continue to have to) familiarize myself with the way they teach their concepts; a little extra effort for me, but I think totally worth it! 

The same goes for the Excellence in Writing (IEW) history based writing lessons - they are challenging, but she is learning really great writing skills and it is def. worth it! Also, a added perk that the writing is centered around Ancient History, which is the time period we are studying in our history curriculum - so everything builds on itself and enriches other areas of learning. Love that!

Tanner also does Abeka Language. I am a fan of the younger grades with Abeka phonics, but don't prefer the 5th grade Language. Secretly, I just wish First Language Lessons went up past 4th grade level. (If you haven't checked out First Language Lessons - DO! It came highly recommended to me a few years ago and I love it! Quick and easy,  but with really great lesson content starting in 1st grade)

I also added the Evan-Moore Geography and Map Skills worksheets for all the girls this year and I like that! We talk about geographical areas we are studying in history, but we haven't tackled basic map skills, so these activities help with that; nothing fancy but gets the job done.

As far as our weakness this year - of course Spanish gets pushed to the bottom of the list. I have these visions that we are gonna all speak fluent Spanish by the end of the year, but then life happens, and the school priority list comes into play, and we end up not having done Spanish in like 4  weeks .....like as is the case now. But I am holding out hope....we CAN get back on the Spanish train! I know we can! 

Also, this has been the first year I have put a little in a mother's day out or pre-school program. After the hell that would break loose during some of our school days last year, I thought it would be best to remove little Miss Madden, so we would at least have a handful of "un-toddlerized" school time. That has worked pretty well. The only downfall being that Andie has a lighter load as a Kindergartener & will get done sooner than Presley, and has no one to hang with. I have found that on the days when Madden is home, they will actually play pretty well together giving me time to focus on Presley (Lord knows she needs it)

So. Blah, blah - ramble ramble. I feel like this is information explosion post, but I still hope that those of you interested still find it helpful! If you have any specific questions - leave a comment! I would love to answer -IF I have an answer ;)

Overall, still loving our choice to tackle at home education! It's rewarding it ways I never imagined. And I am free to make and live out my own schedule. Gotta love that!!!

Here is a link to a complete list of our curriculum for this 2014-2015 school year:

https://jennifer-james-5krn.squarespace.com/homeschool/