Friday, February 27, 2009

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, ANNA!!!


Today is Anna's 10th birthday! Her first double digit birthday. We were discussing this the other day and she starting talking about her first triple digit birthday... I told her I wouldn't be around for that one! :)

Here are a few early year pics of her. Good grief, she's a beautiful girl!!! She's also funny, random, quirky, dramatic, hard-working, merciful, godly, tender-hearted, friendly and incredibly generous.

Happy birthday, sweet girl! We love you more than you could ever know!!!!! Every day of your life is a gift to us!


Photo commentary:
1. Anna 1 month
2. Anna 6 month
3. Funny Girl!
4. Smiley kid! (Tommy always called her "smiley kid")
5. Ready to fly!
6. Don't Shoot!!! (she really wasn't shooting the baby, it was just one of those shots.)
7. She'd rather be outside than anywhere!
8. She's always getting "into" something.

Enjoy!!



Thursday, February 26, 2009

So much fun.... so little time.....

There's so much to do these days with birthdays, a big move across the ocean, selling a house, etc. My list is growing longer and longer every day. Very few things are getting checked off at this point. Almost seems impossible and it is definitely overwhelming.

BUT..... this weekend is going to be fun, fun, fun! Tomorrow is Anna's first double-digit birthday! She'll be 10!! It's hard to believe. We will also be celebrating Jakeb's 16th this weekend even though his birthday is not until March. We got a beach house for the weekend and are really looking forward to spending quality and quantity time with family and friends - not to mention eating a ton of good food. And it looks like the weather is going to be incredible!!

Jakeb is having some friends out on Saturday to play and eat. We ordered his favorite ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery, cookie do delirium, and will make over an hour drive to pick it up and pay way more than is reasonable for a cake but it is sooo yummy!!! It's his birthday! On his real birthday, we'll take him to Zushi in Houston. He loves sushi and we're pretty happy about that cause we do too and that restaurant is awesome!

We always fix the kids whatever they want for breakfast and dinner on the day of their birthday. Since tomorrow is Anna's birthday, I asked her what she wanted and she told me she wanted El Toro (a local Mexican food restaurant). I told her we'd be at the beach house so we won't be eating out. She matter of factly said "Oh, I thought we were catering." I think I laughed out loud. I at least snickered out loud. "Well, we won't be catering", I told her, "so what's your next option?" We're having bacon sandwiches. The kid loves meat! She eats meat for dessert. I bought plenty of turkey bacon (she loves turkey bacon) and will probably buy white bread too! It's her birthday!!

I will post some cute pics of Anna tomorrow.

Monday, February 23, 2009

My hero!

This girl is my hero! Really! She's awesome!!

Tori showed this to me just now and I knew it had to be shared. She said it's what she watches when she's having a bad day. It is sure to brighten yours!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEtP9zQAOI4

Friday, February 20, 2009

Anna's tearin' it up on the court!

Here are some videos and pics from Anna's basketball games this season. This is her 4th year to play Upwards Basketball. She knows what she's doing out there and it's fun to watch her play!


Anna and big sis', Tori.

Anna & big brother, Jakeb


Anna and the team & coach - post game pep talk.



Thanks for coming, Pawpaw!!




This wasn't Anna's shot but it's fun to watch when they play as a team.









Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Coaches rock! And teachers!! And parents!!!

Those who invest their lives in the lives of our children, thank you! Those who do the unusual or unexpected, or perhaps the unthinkable, thank you! Your efforts are not wasted. These boys are proof!



http://www.nbcdfw.com/sports/football/A_Game_of_Hope_Dallas-Fort_Worth.html

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Random Family Update

Life is happening even though it may not appear as such out here in the world of blog. Here are some random things that are going on in the Stunz household.

Tommy bought a new desktop computer today. No, not a Mac. We're just not that wealthy! But it is fast, or at least it will be when Tommy gets home and unloads it and hooks it all up. What a pain to transfer stuff this is going to be. We've had this old Dell for about twice as long as a typical computer life span is supposed to be. It has like about a 30GB Hard Drive, 540MB Ram and our new one has 6GB RAM and 750GB Hard Drive. I think that's quite an improvement and although still lame by some peoples standards, we are out of the dark ages. We also get a printer with WIFI so we can print from our laptops somewhere else in the house. I think I'm most excited about that. It also has a 22" flat screen monitor. That's almost as big as our tv. Not really but it's big and small at the same time. Our current monitor takes up the whole top of the desk.

Jakeb finished Algebra 2 today!! He's on to Geometry now. We had hoped to finish A2 in one semester but it wasn't all that easy. We're hoping to finish Geometry by the end of the school year but it may take him into the summer a little to finish. Jakeb's brain works more like Tommy's and Tommy liked Geometry a lot more than Algebra so maybe Jakeb will find it easier. Overall, Jakeb is doing great in school. I appreciate them both being willing for us to all learn together.

Anna is doing super great in school. By my recent calculations, we're ahead in several of her subjects so we're slacking off a bit in those so as to not finish them in March and beefing up lessons in a couple of other subjects that we weren't so ahead on. We're also getting to do some cool science projects and stuff.

Jakeb and Anna both have now been officially accepted to International School Singapore. We were sweating that one out for a little bit because Jakeb was in but they didn't have a spot for Anna. Her going to a different school would have meant two different school calendars. That would have messed up vacation plans for sure. Anyway, our small group prayed, and I'm sure that's what did it because early that week we got the email saying that they had a spot for her and to send money quick before it got snatched up. So we did. Well, the company did. We can't afford a Mac, we sure can't afford this school. Jakeb is super excited because ISS High School requires students to have a Macbook. So we will be purchasing one of those from the school program when we get there. That way it will be loaded with the software that he'll need. That purchase is on us. Ouch!

Tori got another hole (she already has two from birth) in her nose on purpose and it has a cute little sparkly thing sticking out of it. She waited all of 5 days after her 18th birthday to go get it done. We are totally fine with it and it looks cute. She loves it! I think people are mostly shocked and it's fun to watch and hear about the reactions from all of those people that think we're stick in the mud, traditional people that must be crazy with anger and shame at the thought of our daughter doing that to her body. Now when she gets the bamboo stick through her lips, we might go a little whack.

I got a massage on Friday. It was okay for the $39 intro price but there's no way I'd pay $65 for one which is the regular price. Plus, it messed up my hair and makeup and I had a line on my forehead for about 30 minutes and Tommy and I were going on a date.

Our house is STILL for sale. I know, it's only been 3 weeks.... but I really hate making my bed and keeping the house clean. We showed it yesterday and I wasn't ready. Anna and I flew through the house and got it ready. I ended up putting a laundry basket full of dirty dishes in my trunk on the way out the door. It was pretty funny! One couple is very interested but they have to wait until May or June to close which works perfectly for us but we certainly aren't going to hold it for them without a solid contract and financing. Another buyer has it "on her list". She didn't like where the a/c unit is placed. That's crazy. Like we're going to move an a/c unit. I don't like it there either but I never once thought that it would be reasonable to move it somewhere else. It is where it is.

The move to Singapore is happening and every day I experience little "deaths". Little things that are depressing and make my heart hurt. But also every day, there are new "life" things happening as well. This is proving to be the challenge we expected but we have to focus on the adventure or it will most definitely pull us under.

Speaking of new life. there sure have been a lot of babies being born lately. And even more to come soon. Congratulations everyone! So exciting and so glad it's not me. :) I'll just borrow yours.

Oh, and...

Tori's truck dances when she shifts gears. We're not sure what is up with that but Tommy's working on trying to figure it out. It makes for a rather comical ride. If you need a good laugh, ask her to come take you somewhere.

Anna didn't know the name for one of the seas in Geography. She knew it started with an "M" and that it was a long name. I always tell her to never leave anything blank, to at least try. So, the Mediterranean Sea is now the Miscelleneous Sea. :) Miscelleneous is one of her spelling words this week and she spelled it correctly. Good girl!

Jakeb is going to turn into a pecan pie. He's found that he loves them and eats a piece every time he's at work.

We ate Persian food the other night on our date. We love that place! The owner is from Syria, her husband is Iranian, the chef and the waitress or Spanish. Did I say we love that place? :) The owner made her special ice cream for couples on Valentines Day and even though it was a day early, she gave us some for free for our dessert. It was interestingly good. It was a vanilla ice cream base with crushed pistachios and rose flavoring. Not something I'd ever crave but we were happy to have the experience. It kind of tasted like eating perfume but in an ok way. Weird.

Then we went to The Dessert Gallery on Post Oak for some real dessert. Oh my!!! It took me three days to eat my piece of cake and the kids even took a few bites.

This is probably the last blog post I'll type on this piece of junk, antiquated computer. Yipee!!!

Well, that's it for now. My brain is sufficiently purged for a day or two.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Blogs We Like - Singapore


By now, you probably know that we are preparing for our move to Singapore in June or so. We have been preparing for this move since last summer and have been following some blogs to help us find out what's there, what's not there and see the sights.

Below are a few blogs we like a lot and thought we'd share in case you want to read up or see some beautiful photos. Often, these bloggers travel and post stories and photos from other locations. We pretty much have our trips all planned out by using these blogs. They often post things that they have no idea how helpful the information was to me as I've been able to read between the lines. We've learned a lot about what is there and what is not, what to expect, etc. We have even been able to connect with a couple of them. The country of Singapore is small (smaller than Brazoria County) so I'm hoping to get to meet a few, if not all, of these bloggers once we're there. We appreciate them all taking the time to share their journey with us. It has been a most helpful blessing!


http://millysmix.blogspot.com/ This one is my (Andrea's) favorite since she posts things from a family perspective.

http://www.oureverydaythings.com/ This is my NEW 2nd favorite. She takes some beautiful photos and is also family oriented.


http://seenthisscenethat.blogspot.com/ Mostly pictures he takes of destinations, parks, etc. in Singapore.


Enjoy!

Those of you who aren't wanting to hear much about our move to Singapore, here's your warning and now's your chance to remove our blog link from your reader. (Although I hope you won't.) Moving to Singapore is quickly becoming a major focus of where our family is headed and what we are doing so it will be hard to blog without the topic of Singapore showing up. :)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Bella-Full Dog Treats - In Full Swing


Anna, our 2.5 weeks away from being 10 year old daughter, began making dog treats to help her brother and sister pay for their trip to Kenya this summer. Here's the post from her official launch.

She's done quite well! She started making them just before Christmas and has raised right at $200! She has the process down and does almost all of it by herself except for the hot oven part and some of the packaging (which is totally cute, btw). She measures, she mixes, she cuts them out, etc. And she has fun doing it. It's so fun to watch her work. When Tori and Jakeb go to Kenya this summer, a piece of Anna will get to go too because she had a part in it. Inspiring!

If anyone wants to order some or order more, let us know.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Helpful Homeschool Links and Information

I've been needing to put this together for a long time to share with a couple of friends and also just to have all of these links documented somewhere. I got most of these from trusted homeschooling friends and we stumbled up on a few of them on our own.

If you're going to homeschool, whatever you decide to use, be okay with making adjustments to make it fit you and your child. You're probably not going to find anything that is perfect. However, Teaching Textbooks for math comes pretty darn close! That is my all-time favorite and I can't say enough good about it!

In most communities, you can find homeschool groups to join that enable you to network ideas and also participate in field trips, etc. There are also many co-op options in most areas. Just takes a little digging. The internet might just be your most valuable tool! We haven't participated in the groups or co-ops but they are always an option for something you might not feel comfortable teaching. For me, one of the downfalls of homeschooling is that I lack passion in teaching particular subjects. A trained and educated teacher might have been able to make Julius Caesar come alive for Jakeb or Alegbra 2 be fun or come up with a much better science or history project for a 4th grader. But since I'm not knowledgeable about those things (and other things) I almost feel like my kids are sometimes missing out. This is out-weighed, however, by many, many other benefits.

I'm sure this is not a comprehensive listing. When I think of or run across other helpful information or links, I'll post again. If anyone reading has anything to add, please feel free to comment.

My main pieces of advice for homeschool parents are:
1) If you're married, both husband and wife need to have a strong committment and dedication level. This has been a very challenging year for me (and fulfilling!) but without Tommy's support and help, I would definitely have gone bonkers! If you're single, make sure you have some type of support from grandparents or close family and friends or a homeschool group. It would be so hard to do this alone!
2) Be sure and physically look at your curriculum choices if at all possible. Either at a store or at a friends house. We were headed in one direction with Anna but when I physically saw it, it was absolute chaos on a page and would not have worked well for Anna's learning style at all! Saved us a ton of money!
3) Remain open minded to new ideas and techniques. If something is not working, be willing to try something new.
4) Be flexible but not so flexible that your kids think they are in control and can do whatever they want.
5) Relax every now and then, ditch the lessons and have fun being with your kids! Instead of reading about clouds in your science book, go outside and look at them. What a treasured time!!


Links we've actually used:

http://freetypinggame.net/ This site is tons of fun for the family to play with each other!

http://www.multiplication.com/interactive_games.htm Anna struggled with her multiplication tables at the beginning of the year. She knows them well thanks to this and some other fun math games we found. We love the Jump Start software games and I also found a music cd with the multiplication tables put to classical tunes. She HATED it but it was incentive to learn them when I told her that when she learned them all she wouldn't have to listen to it anymore. :)

Snagfilms (You can find some documentaries here that are hard to find. This has been helpful to enhance history and science lessons.)

The Homeschool Store This is a great store in Houston and the only one I've been to. They have a lot of new and used stuff. It's stuffed from wall to wall so bring your Starbucks and plan on staying for a couple of hours and you might consider leaving your young kids with grandma or a friend. You'll need to be able to focus if you're going to research. They do have a video corner and they welcome kids, of course.

Homeschool Tracker (LOVE this! I could not stay organized without it. I make my lesson plans on this and enter grades. It tracks attendance and spits me out report cards. Wonderful tool! We used the free download since we only planned on homeschooling for one year. I'm sure the one you pay for is much better if you don't mind paying for it.)

A Beka We used this for most of Anna's curriculum. I have some major issues with how "King James" it is but we just made our own adjustments. It was our fall back since we used it when we homeschooled Tori in the 4th grade. I couldn't find anything else that I was happy with so we went with A Beka again. It's laid out well for non teachers such as me with handy lesson plans and answer keys and such. I particularly liked the core subjects in these - History, Science and Language. The reading program has been very helpful for her and she has improved considerably. Anna really enjoyed the science and we liked how it brings our history and creation back to the Creator. Math was okay but we ended up switching to Teaching Textbooks.

Teaching Textbooks (math) My FAVORITE math. We use for Jakeb, Algebra 2 and Geometry. We even switched Anna from A Beka to this mid year. It's awesome for the student and the teacher!! Only starts at 4th grade right now, though.

Rosetta Stone for Homeschool They have a great setup for tracking the kids lessons and grades for homeschool use. You can buy one and the whole family can learn. Can only be loaded onto one computer.

Apologia We used this for Jakeb's chemistry. A challenge but great curriculum. The chemistry home lab kit is even available.

BJU Press We used their World History for Jakeb. We love how it's built around the bible. Very intense, though, and covers a lot of material.

Rainbow Resource This is a one stop shop for homeschool curriculum. We ordered most of what we needed from here when we got started. Their prices are good. It's also a good place to go dig around and see what other curriculum options are out there that you may not be aware of.

Amazon They actually have a lot of homeschool stuff. We order Jakeb's history from Amazon to utilize the free shipping over $25 option.

Christian Book Distributors Same here. Good resource to price compare.

Progeny Press This is what we've used for Jakeb's literature. You can order age appropriate books and a study guide to go with it. I'm thinking of getting one of these for Anna to finish out her year and have something different to do than A Beka. They are very reasonably priced. We also used this for Jakeb's Poetry. He didn't like it but it was a good study.

Wordsmith (Creative Writing) We used this for Jakeb. The A Beka writing program, Penmanship and Language A, was fine for Anna.

Vocabulary from Classical Roots We used this for Jakeb to prepare him for SAT. It's laid out well but is a challenge to teach. He has learned a lot, though, that will be helpful for him when taking the SAT.

Analogies 2 We got this for Jakeb also to use to prepare for the SAT. Again, it's not fun but necessary.



Recommended links that we didn't use:

Kid Test I totally meant to use this and forgot about it until now when I was going through all of my emails to get these links. I may still go do this for Anna & Jakeb to see if they're on track. It's not free but I can't remember how much it is. Maybe $25 or something like that.

Dive Into Math

HEP Bookstore Homeschool Store in Houston. This store offers SAT prep courses and other helpful classes like how to make your student's transcript and such. Great resource but I haven't needed it. I did get some great info from their website when we began though from the FAQ's page. You should definitely check that out!

http://www.bravewriter.com/

http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/

http://www.sonlight.com/

http://www.mathusee.com/


UPDATE
Here are two more links for some good science project ideas that I found. I actually pulled several easy ones to try this week for Anna's study of matter, air and weather but there are lots of others there for young and old kiddos.

http://www.hometrainingtools.com/articles/acat_science-projects.html

http://home.howstuffworks.com/science-projects-for-kids-weather-and-seasons13.htm


UPDATE 2
This is a great resource for parents of children with learning disabilities or issues. They also have a resource for homeschool support. Check it out!
http://www.thewoodlandslearningcenter.com/

Saturday, February 07, 2009

Pray for Jason.....Pray for Segera

Jason Culverhouse has already begun his 100 mile run in Huntsville this morning. He should be finishing around mid day tomorrow. Please pray for him and all of the other runners out there this weekend. It's quite an undertaking, mentally and physically.

Jakeb and Tommy will be two of the fortunate ones to get to pace him at different legs of the race. Jakeb will be running with him around dark tonight for around 6-10 miles and Tommy will run with him in the wee hours of the morning for about the same mileage. Pray safety for all, clarity of mind, no injuries and most importantly, for support/sponsorship and awareness to be raised for the children of Segera and Kenya.

Our family is going and we are so excited to get to be a part of this. I'll be posting pictures when we get back.

Here's our original post on this for more information about Brightpoint and why Jason is running for two days.

Friday, February 06, 2009

REALLY Inspiring Video

Ok, here's another video I ran across and found inspiring enough to share with you. The love a parent has for his/her child is always inspiring to me.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

REALLY Funny Video

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Enjoy!


Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Proper Etiquette

(she must be messing with her nose ring!)



I've been thinking alot lately about proper blog, facebook and email etiquette. For me, for my kids, and maybe for you. :) I was thinking of coming up with my own list of do's and don'ts but since I'm lacking a creativity and time these days I decided to google it and see what happened.

I found some good stuff out there and thought, "Why reinvent the wheel?"

This link on blog etiquette or blogtiquette as it is apparently called is awesome! I'm even adding it to my reader, I think it will be a fun one to keep track of.
http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/2008/05/blog-etiquette-or-blogtiquette.html

Here is an article on facebook etiquette I found interesting.
http://quarterlifecafe.honadvblogs.com/2008/08/04/the-new-facebook-etiquette/

And here is a list of the top 26 email etiquette rules. I love #6! and #8. #11 is my absolute favorite though. I hate to be left wondering....
http://email.about.com/od/emailnetiquette/tp/core_netiquette.htm

So go read them. Make your kids read them. Send this to all those people who send you all that junk. :)

And, let me know what your favorite etiquette rule is. Maybe you've got one that's not out there. Maybe it's something I do (or did in this very post) that you'd love to call me out on. Now's your chance! Please share...

Update: Here's one more link I found. Maybe the only one you'll need. She's got TONS of etiquette links listed including Twitter and My Space and others. http://communityorganizer20.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/social-media-etiquette-roundup-understanding-cultural-norms/

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

House FOR SALE

In our preparations to move to Singapore, we've been selling and getting rid of a lot of stuff lately. Haul after haul to Helping Hands Hospice and to the dump and some to other people to clutter their homes. We've been ruthless in our culling of things that aren't memorable, don't need, don't fit, don't want to store or are just flat out junk. We had a ton of junk!

Our house is by far the largest thing we are trying to get rid of. We'd like to get rid of it soon so we can get that checked off the list. And... we'd love to get it into a bidding war and sell it for well over the asking price. One catch, though. We haven't a clue where we'll live until June if it sells quickly. How's that for flying by the seat of our pants??? Maybe we can live with you???

The realtor.com ad link is below if you want to see pictures of our clean house. We're missing Jakeb's room cause he was painting it when Kim came to take pictures. But it's the cleanest teenage boy's room you've ever seen! If you know someone interested in buying a 4 bedroom house that's in pretty good shape (we think), tell them to call Kim Caldwell at American Realty, 979-297-5555.


By looking at the pictures online, I think I'd want to buy it!


http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/709-Centerway_Lake-Jackson_TX_77566_1106469217


BTW - I'll be strategically placing some of Jenny's business cards around. Since our home is pretty much a jhintze photography gallery, maybe I can send her a few clients when people come to look at the house.

Monday, February 02, 2009

It's the end of the world as we know it.....

I know that's a song cause I can hear the tune ringing in my head but I haven't a clue who sings it or if it's even a decent song. Oh well.....

That phrase rings in my head because it really is the end of the world as we know it around here in the Stunz household. Here are a few reasons why:

1. Tori has graduated high school and her daily schedule is almost completely her own.
2. Tori turned 18 yesterday and has officially entered adulthood.
3. A FOR SALE sign is in our front yard and a lock box is on our front door knob.
4. Our house HAS to stay on the ready for realtors at all times (what a stinkin' pain!).
5. Plans for moving to Singapore this summer are in full force (so much to think through!!).
6. The "pull away because I don't want to hurt" process seems to have begun in our church relationships and in some of our friendships (on both sides of the fence). It's natural but it's still painful to experience.
7. Jakeb is about to turn 16!!! Watch out....
8. Anna is about to enter the double digit age.
9. Bella's dog house is not bright neon yellow anymore. I made the kids paint it because although it was fun, it wasn't very appealing to potential buyers in photos on the internet.
10. There are no more major remodeling projects to be done around here. Just a few minor items to take care of. I guess I'll have to read a book. Can't do anything else cause the house will get dirty.

I'm positive that's not a comprehensive list but it's off the cuff. The end is just an opportunity for a new beginning, right? I'm not wanting to wish it all over because we've got a really great life right here and right now. But when you know that something is ahead, it almost seems like it would be easier to just rip off the bandaid and get it over with.