confirmation and precious gifts

On the homeschooling front, all curriculum is now ordered, all supplies have been purchased, and our notification has been sent to the state that we are an official homeschool. The past days have been filled with excitement, lots of preparation, and confirmation upon confirmation that we are exactly where we are meant to be. Here are just two examples:

One of my friends "accidentally" ordered two teacher's manuals for Latin, so she gave me one, leaving it for me on her front stoop while she was at school today. Attached was a note: Holly, HAVE FUN!!! No, this wasn't a sarcastic remark (after all, it is Latin we will be studying) but it was entirely genuine. My friends have been more than enthusiastic and fully supportive about our endeavor.

One of the most miraculous gifts to me was when my dear friend whose son was in the fifth grade last year at Anderson's school informed me that she had, "for some reason", kept all of her son's schoolwork, along with weekly class letters from the teacher (that Anderson was assigned to for this year) and her son's weekly assignment sheets outlining all that he did each week in class. Not only had she kept them, but she had neatly paperclipped the work from that week and carefully labeled it with the week and the quarter. Do you understand what that means? I now fully know what Anderson would have been doing at school each week. I will be able to gauge where we are in our home classroom in regards to where his class is! Since I am a fast typist, I can even duplicate quizzes and tests! Seeing that my dear friend had not known the reason for keeping these papers (and doing it in such an orderly fashion) reminded me that God had this planned all along. It is like He has handed me this gift on a carefully and beautifully crafted platinum platter!!

Anderson says he most misses recess and PE at school. This was when he was able to play football and kickball with his buddies. Thankfully, his buddy, Will, invited him and his other friends, Matthew and Sam, over after school on Friday. Anderson had so much fun having water fights with them. Each week, I'd optimally like to go to the school to pick up friends to come home with him. He will likely get more quality playtime with them now than he did at school.

On the Bennett front, I found four different activity books for preschoolers at Target in the dollar bins (gotta love those bins!). They feature shapes, colors, letters, numbers, etc. It doesn't matter to me that Bennett does a thing with these books, but I know he will feel special having his own "homework" books. Hopefully these, some playdough, and some watercolor paints will keep him busy while we homeschool.

I will close with a cute Boo story from today. I needed to plan my first week of homeschool, so I asked him if he would like to watch a show he had begged me to DVR for him last week. On Friday afternoon, he kept telling me that he wanted to see "boxing on I-Car-yee" (I-Carly, from Nickelodeon, which is a teeny-bopper show, but since Anderson loves it, Bennett does, too). Today, as he is marching up the stairs to the playroom to watch it, he informs me: "Mom, I-Car-yee box Soapie Marx (Sophie Marx), and Soapie is mean, mean, mean. She is a mean goil (girl), Mom." I have no idea who he is talking about, but the way he says it is deliciously adorable!!! I could eat him with a spoon.

setting up shop (or, in our case, school) and a Boo story

I am officially a teacher. I now know what it feels like to come up with lesson plans, order curriculum books and materials, organize school supplies, and plan field trips. It is hard to believe that less than 48 hours ago we made the decision to homeschool Anderson this year. Since then, I have been busy planning, dreaming and ordering--with Anderson's input, of course! After all, one of the purposes of teaching him myself is to allow him the freedom to question, investigate, and discover topics he is interested in without having to maintain the schedule required in a classroom environment.

In North Carolina, you have to give your "school" a name when you indicate that you are homeschooling. It is wise to choose a name that you are proud to put on your child's school records, so the boys decided on Wingate Hill Academy. This name has significance to our family, but since this blog can currently be read by strangers, I will digress.

Today, we are off to buy a few more things for our school. Once the curriculum materials are delivered, we will be off and running! So, it looks like next week, our school year will officially commence. Anderson and I are so very, very excited. We know it will be hard. We know there may be days we wonder what we are doing. But I am convinced that the joy will far outweigh the hardship.

Bennett will, of course, be a student at our school as well. He will have subjects like play-doh, watercolor, drawing, puzzles, "reading", etc. Since "Boo" has always wanted to do homework with "Bubba", he will probably be thrilled to have his own workspace in our school.

And speaking of Bennett, I have to share the sweetest remark he made this morning. First of all, he has been crawling up in my lap as I sit here at the computer ordering our supplies, wrapping his arms tightly around my neck, resting his head on my shoulder and whispering, "I yuv you foreva." Ah! Be still, my heart! But then this morning, he was upset that he couldn't find Anderson's NC State football. Here he was, all decked out in his NC State football jersey, and he couldn't find his favorite accessory to the outfit--the football. Well, last night, I found a junior NC State football for $8 and bought it for him for his birthday in a few weeks. To ease his troubled mind this morning, I told him I would give him one of his birthday presents if he would have a good attitude. Of course, his countenance instantly changed from gloom to joy. Then, I handed him the bag with the football in it. He peered inside, took a deep breath, and said, "Oh my gosh." (Yes, Laura, I've passed my habit onto him. We are trying to replace it with "Holy smokes", which works 50% of the time.) When he pulled it out, with uninhibited excitement he exclaimed, "This is my favorite football, Mom!" He was so sincere (because most two-year olds are, unless you are forcing them to apologize to their big brother for hitting him), and so elated. And an hour later, he has yet to put the football down.

adventures in homeschooling

So anyone who knows me well knows that I have always said that while I totally support other parents' choice to homeschool their children, I could not ever imagine doing it myself. When, oh when will I learn that when I say things like that, I end up doing the very thing I said I wouldn't?

Well, today, after about a week of what I call "God nudges", thinking mostly hypothetically about what it would be like to take Anderson out of school for a year to teach him as we travel, play lots of golf, have lots of time with our family, etc., I made a life-changing decision, one I almost swore I would never make.

Today, Anderson became a homeschooler.

just another manic monday

If Sundays are the laziest of days, Mondays are the craziest!

Today was our first full day with Hampton. Anderson stayed home because he has been suffering from those spring allergies and has felt rotten. Thankfully, he will be over them very soon. But, I am sure he was happy to stay home with his new baby. He took him for two walks today and fed him every meal; not to mention, he worked on Hampton's fetching and sitting skills. He did as much as he could and then would have to return inside to escape the pollen.

Although Anderson was home from school, I still had to drive carpool. My day started at 2 am when I got up to check on the puppy and take him out of his crate for a potty break. He was sound asleep, but he got up and "did his business" and happily went back to sleep. Then, at 6, I woke up again to take him out. Once again, he was asleep. So, I started my daily chores until he woke up around 6:30.

After carpool, it was off to Wal-Mart to buy more doggy supplies and other household items. As soon as I got home, Paul was repairing the fence where our beavers in the pond behind us had destroyed it. Bennett, of course, was "helping". I resumed chores, prepared an early lunch, helped Anderson with the dog, took a nice bath, then went to pick up the kids from school.

After school, it was off to the vet for Hampton's first visit! He is a healthy 23 pound 9 week old boy! Even the vet commented on his laid-back demeanor. Let's just pray he keeps that! :)

Following our veterinarian appointment, we went to Hibachi Express to pick up Japanese food and to Lowes Home Improvement so Paul could buy a new gate for the fence. We came home, ate quickly, hauled everyone (even Hampton) back into the car and went to Anna's house where she, Anderson, Hampton, Poppi (Anna's dog), Jackson and Webb played while Paul and I went to Bible study at Mom and Dad's next door.

Finally, we are home. I just finally finished my "Monday chores" and am settling in to watch Dancing With The Stars before bedtime.

And we'll do it all over again tomorrow...

sir hampton wallace brewer

Paul and I are the proud grandparents of a 9 week old Golden Retriever. He was adopted yesterday by his daddy, Anderson, who gave him the most beautiful name: Sir Hampton Wallace Brewer. He was named Hampton because Anderson just liked the name, and we like that it sounds similar to the name of previous sweet dog, Samson. Paul, however, likes to call him "Hamp" for short. His middle name was given because Goldens originated in Scotland, and Anderson likes the movie Bravehart (which is about the heroic and tragic life of William Wallace who fought for Scotland's freedom).

Hampton is an adorable and stocky boy. His father, Rufus, weighs 110 pounds and is absolutely beautiful and playful. His mother, Katie Mae, is a sweetheart who is more average in size.

We are so happy to welcome sweet Hampton to our home. Anderson is doing well being fully responsible for his baby, and Paul and I are happy to babysit and play with our granddog whenever we can. Bennett thinks Hampton is mighty fine and loves laying on the floor beside him to give him some "sugar".

photos from Easter weekend

Easter weekend

Again, I am sorry to say that writing on facebook has stolen the time I used to spend keeping up with this blog. I am ready to reclaim this time and resume my blogging. I prefer a blog because it fulfills several purposes--keeping friends and family informed on what is going on with the Brewers, and providing a journal of sorts for us to remember events of the past.

The last few days have been eventful and fun! It was Easter weekend, and we had plenty of festivities to celebrate it all weekend long.

On Thursday, two of my very best friends since eighth grade--Kara and Kasey--came over with their children. Kara lives in Arlington, Virginia and Kasey lives about 20 minutes away from me. We had dinner together here at the house, and we "big girls" enjoyed a glass of wine while the children played out back. I love old friends--no matter how much time passes since you see one another, when you are reunited, it is as if no time has passed at all. You pick up right where you left off.

I was sorry that I neglected to take more photos of our time together. Just before Kasey left, we did manage to capture a few photos of our kids and us. Here they are:

On Friday--Good Friday--I had my first chiropractic adjustment (which I am thrilled about) at 7 am. I then came home to find out that my dear husband was giving me the day off! So, I left Bennett with him, went out for a run, showered, then went to my parents' house where Mom was hosting a luncheon for all of the girls on her side of the family. The meal was delicious, the company was so enjoyable, and the setting was beautiful. Mom is definitely a mentor to me in being the "hostess with the mostest". That evening, the boys discovered that the Easter Bunny had left their baskets filled with candy on the screened-in porch. They received way too much candy (I will be speaking to the Easter Bunny about this. I think he (she) was craving chocolate when he (she) filled the baskets.), but they were happy boys.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a lazy day at home. My nephew, Jackson, came over to play with the boys. They played Star Wars (dressed up in their various costumes with light sabers in hand to battle), and played computer games. Anderson was having seasonal allergy issues, so in spite of the lovely weather, he was unable to enjoy being outdoors for any length of time.

On Sunday, we did not attend an Easter service, but we spent the day celebrating what Jesus had done for us by giving His life in our sted, conquering death and the grave, and rising again so that we might truly live FREELY! At 11 am, my sisters joined us for an Easter lunch that was oh-so-good! Following lunch, we had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard. It was a beautiful day for it! We all had a wonderful, relaxing time together, and while we paused to ponder the gratitude we feel for all that Jesus has done for us, it was also a time for giving thanks for family and friends. We are so incredibly, lavishly, overflowingly blessed!

(More photos from this weekend to come....)

i've been tagged...

I've been "tagged" by my blogging sister, Laura, to answer these questions. So, here are my answers:

"The Five"

Ten years ago I:

1. Was over 34 weeks pregnant with Anderson, my first baby, and was developing dangerous blood clots as a result.

2. Was working at the State Employees' Credit Union and was getting ready to quit due to the pain I was in as a result of the pregnancy.

3. Had been married for one year and four months and was the proud mom of a one-year old Siberian Husky named Samson.

4. Had just moved into our first house five months before which was in Holly Springs.

5. Was trying to convince my baby sister that YES, she would find a husband, and NO it wasn't a short boy she had a crush on. HA!

Five Things on my "To Do" list today (and they will probably be there tomorrow):

1. Run

2. Clean

3. Buy a birthday gift for Anderson's friend, Jack.

4. Coach the cheerleaders at their first game.

5. See my dear friend, Kara, who is in town from DC.

Five Snacks I enjoy:

1. Hundred Calorie snack packs (they keep you from snacking too much!)

2. Crackers

3. Apples

4. Cheese sticks

5. Chips

Five Things I would do if I were given a million dollars:

1. Be paying more in taxes (thanks, Obama).

2. Hire a maid.

3. Give at least $100,000 to those who really need it, like widows or orphans.

4. Take Paul on an exotic vacation and let him play golf while we are there!

5. Take my boys around the world!

Five Places I have lived (all in the Raleigh metro area!):

1. Dutchman Downs

2. Penny Road in Raleigh

3. University Towers at NC State

4. Trinity Park Apartments

5. Holly Springs

Five jobs I have had:

1. Secretary for my dad

2. Stay-at-home mom

3. ATM Administrator

4. Book store cashier

5. Accountant

racism and the election

I did not vote for Barack Obama. That is no surprise to anyone who knows me, yet they also know that if Obama had more conservative ideologies about the role of government in our lives, he would have had my vote. Heck, I would have campaigned for him. In other words, race was never, ever a factor in choosing a candidate. His liberal and sparse voting record, his lack of executive experience, the still "unknowns" about his past, his views on the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all, his controversial opinions on the Constitution, and his desire to weaken our nuclear defense convinced me that Barack was not the candidate I could support.

I wonder how many other voters--for either candidate--allowed race to be a factor in choosing their candidate? I'm sure there were white bigots who would never vote for a black man. I am also sure there were black Americans who voted for Obama simply because they shared a similar skin color, even though they disagreed with him on most of the issues. Racism appears in various forms, and choosing a candidate based on their race is racism, make no mistake about it.

Whites nationally preferred McCain by 12 percentage points, while 96 percent of black voters backed Obama and 3 percent backed McCain, according to exit polls. (Eleven percent of blacks voted for Bush in ’04.) If only 96% of whites had voted for McCain, I would say that black Americans would have a reason to be up-in-arms. (This is a double-standard which troubles me, but that's a discussion for another day.) Did only 3% of African Americans agree with some of McCain's positions, or did they simply want a black man to be elected president?

Regardless of why Obama was overwhelmingly elected by black Americans, it took more than just their vote for him to become our next president. And while I wasn’t one of the white voters who helped him achieve this historical feat, I can honestly say that I am more than pleased with what his election intimates regarding race relations in this country. We have a black president! It wasn’t too long ago in our history that Americans would not have thought this was possible, and his election shows how far whites have come in realizing that race should not be a factor in anything. Period. I was moved to tears right along with other blacks as I have watched them in interviews and news coverage, truly realizing what this election meant for them in particular. I am hopeful that maybe, just maybe, they now feel as American as I do, like they have a part of the pie—an equal share.

And now that we have a black president chosen by many white Americans, the race card—along with affirmative action, the NAACP, the Rainbow Coalition and any other organization that exists “for black people only”--can and should be retired. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton should retire, too! During the campaign, it seemed that even white reporters, news anchors, pundits, etc. walked on eggshells with certain questions or comments for fear of being deemed racist. No more political correctness, please. Can we all just be Americans? I’d even like to drop the titles which precede the word “American”…white, black, Native, Irish, Italian, Jewish, etc. are generally needless adjectives when it comes to labeling Americans. We live in a melting pot of races and cultures which have blended to become one people—American.

In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith discussed his reaction to Obama’s election. He was clearly moved, as was I, as he spoke about what the election meant for this entire country. He made this statement, which really helped me better understand how many black Americans must have felt as citizens of this country:
"The history of African Americans is such that we want to be a part of America, but we’ve been rejected so much it’s hard to take the ownership and take responsibility for ourselves in this country.” Then, he added this bit of wisdom, and I couldn’t have agreed more. “And it was like at that second, at that moment, all of our excuses were gone."

Amen, brother.

Samson

Last October, just before Anderson's fall break, Samson--our then ten year old Siberian Husky who was our first "baby" in so many ways--became totally lame. He had struggled with what appeared to be arthritis in his rear hips and legs, and he had lost sensation in parts of those legs as well. For three days, he could not get up, even to go to the rest room, and he was panting heavily--clearly in distress. We took him to the vet, and the prognosis was fairly grim. She tried to comfort us with the fact that one of her cat patients had recovered from this, but if we wanted to put him down, they would do that for us. We opted to wait. We brought him home, cooked him chicken and rice for every meal, and prayed over him.

I will never forget the day we brought him home from the vet and I was sitting in the pinestraw with him crying and praying for God to intervene when Anderson came over, placed his hands on Samson and prayed: "God, if Samson will be able to walk again, please let him walk again in three days. If he won't, then please take him to Heaven to be with you." I asked Anderson after he prayed, "So why did you ask God to do this in three days?" "I don't know," was his reponse, "I guess because the Bible says that 'the Son of Man will rise again in three days'. There's just something about three days'". Well, God answered that child's prayer. Three days later, I look out the window to see Samson walking across the back yard.

This past year, Samson has struggled to walk, but his happy heart and his playfulness have remained. We were so thankful that he was able to walk again that we were not as bothered by the fact that his hind legs were almost crippled. We decided that as long as he was happy, we wouldn't intervene. He was spoiled--getting a lot of chicken and rice and yummy leftovers.

Over the last few months, though, the reality that Samson was an old dog and that his quality of life was diminishing set in. He still whined to go on walks with us but could not make it out of the driveway. We wondered if he would get to the point where he no longer desired to live, and if he did, would we know? We prayed we would never have to make the decision to euthanize him, but we did not want him to suffer in any way.

Our neighbors, Brian and Kim and their sons, Ian and Casey, were a surrogate family to Samson. They always cared for him when we were gone, and even when we were home, they would take him on walks, feed him leftovers, pet him, and play with him. Our fences even had a gate so that their new puppy, Floyd, could come visit Samson and play. Brian called Samson his "buddy", and Samson knew that he was loved by them. No question.

This past Sunday morning, just a week ago today, we left for the airport to go to Disney World. Paul went out in the back yard to feed and water Samson and to tell him goodbye. Samson seemed perfectly fine. Our neighbors spent most of the day outdoors, and at some point during that day, they noticed that Samson seemed sick. He just didn't seem like himself. They gave him plenty of water, but when they offered him treats or even homemade chicken and rice, he refused to eat. By evening, they were very concerned about him. He was panting very heavily and was unresponsive, and Brian felt he needed to get him to the vet as soon as possible. At 6:00, Brian and Kim tried calling Paul on his cell and my parents at their home, but he could not reach any of us. We were checking out the attractions in the Magic Kingdom. Around 7 pm, Paul gets Brian's message, so he returns the call. It was then that Paul learned the heart breaking news. Bennett and I were waiting outside of the Lilo and Stitch attraction when Paul walks up to me and whispers, "Samson passed." Needless to say, we were shocked. We went ahead and told Anderson, even though it was the first day of our long-awaited vacation, because he never likes it when we keep things from him.

We learned that Brian had stayed with Samson for about thirty minutes when he realized Samson was fading. He petted him, loved on him, and reassured him as Samson breathed his final breaths. There is no one on this earth that we would have wanted to be with Samson during this moment more than Brian if we couldn't be there with him because Brian loved him so much. It brought great comfort to know that Samson went quickly and didn't seem to be in any pain and that someone he loved kept him company in those final moments.

Brian insisted on burying Samson for us, even though Paul repeatedly told him we would pay someone to come take care of him. Brian refused saying that Samson was his buddy and he wanted to do it. We live in some of the hardest clay on the planet. I can only imagine how long it took Brian and his sons to dig a hole deep enough to accomodate a 75 pound dog under an oak tree with roots! But they did it, and they outlined his gravesite with bricks so we would always know exactly where he was buried.

In the grief that you feel when you lose your beloved family pet, we have found solace in knowing that the blessings of God have been ours in abundance. Samson lived to be an old dog--eleven years old. God gave us an entire year to prepare for his passing, and that made such a difference in our grief. I always dreaded watching him die or going through the burial process because that has always been so difficult for me with previous pets. Mercifully, I was spared this part of the experience this time, and I am grateful.

One of the greatest blessings to us has been the love and service of our neighbors, the Baileys. Truly, Paul and I cannot think of another family outside of our own that has constantly demonstrated the love of God Himself to us. Galatians 5:14 says, "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" The Baileys have certainly fulfilled that to us.

Because we wanted to enjoy the rest of our trip to Disney World (which was so much fun and worthy of a post of its own), we postponed the grieving process as much as we could. When we drove in the driveway Friday night, Samson's absence at our fence was more than noticeable, and Paul's words from the night we first learned Samson had died echoed in my mind: I miss my dog.

Sure, people who don't have pets cannot understand that when a dog becomes your pet, he isn't just a dog. He's a family member. And as silly as it may even seem to some, you do grieve their loss in a similar way to the loss of any other loved one. I do believe dogs go to Heaven. Scripture says in Ecclesiastes that we don't know what happens to the beast when it dies, but I believe that dogs have spirits, and spirits live on. It brings me comfort to imagine that Samson can run again...something he has wanted to do for a long time and something he and I did together for years. And I believe he, along with Marcy, Amos, Jada, Nic and Katie will be waiting for me when I get there, too.

Bennett never called Samson by his name. He called him "good dog" because that is what he always heard us say to Sammy. I think that is fitting because in addition to being our friend, playmate, running companion, and guard dog, that was exactly what he was.

A good dog.