Happy Birthday!

Erik is 35!

Impromptu Pic

The kids are missing daddy while he's in Ohio for work. They talk to him every day and can't wait for him to return home. Today we took an impromptu photo and sent it to daddy. 

And yesterday (12/19/11)  marked the half way point in my pregnancy. 20 weeks down 20 to go. 

It's a............

BOY!

We have a healthy and very active baby boy! He was moving during the entire ultrasound. So fun to watch him stretch, open his mouth and move his limbs. 

We bought a couple shirts on the way home and put them in a multi-colored gift bag. The kids got to open it when we got home. Everyone is really happy! 

Big Boy Shoes

Corbin got his first pair of big-boy-shoes. Until now, he's only worn slippers. He's having more trouble walking in them, but he's starting to get the hang of it. They sure are cute. 

To find out or not to find out.....

....That is the question. 

As the ultrasound date approaches, we are still undecided if we want to know baby's gender ahead of time, or let it be a birthday surprise. We keep going back and forth. Glad we still have some time to decide. 

Today is Morgan's 10th birthday. Hard to believe, as it is every year on this day. Feeling sad for Melaina, who lost her sister and best friend. Feeling sad that the other kids didn't get to know her. 

As always, wishing she were here, but glad she is there. 

 ....to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:21

Growing Family

Surprise!! 

The Boucher Family is growing again! We have a surprise baby due the first week in May 2012. After a roller-coaster of emotions the first trimester, excitement is kicking in while the nausea is on it's way out. (WOOT!) 

This first ultrasound was taken at 7 weeks 4 days. A second ultrasound is scheduled for December 9th. We are hoping we'll get the 3D u/s, as this dr's office does them. 

Gavin spilled the beans to Papa early. We were hoping to send out Christmas cards to announce our growing addition, but Gavin was clearly excited and told Papa, "And we are going to have a new baby!" The kids are all really happy and are having fun making gender predictions.

Here's to a healthy nine months. (well, five months now)

Busy Bouchers

OK, I am totally not a scrapper and don't have much time right now, but I will try to throw together a few pages of our latest activities. I'm hoping this will be easier than trying to upload one by one.






That's all for now. :)

Adventures in Schooling

Thus far, our girls have been in public brick and mortar schools. In MA, Melaina was in 5th grade and Avery had started Kindergarten. They were both thriving. When we moved to PA, we got the girls into school right away. I immediately saw a difference in the district. We went from suburban living to urban living, and thus, urban schooling. After only a few days, I took Avery out. It wasn't a healthy environment for her, and being only 5, she didn't NEED to be in Kindergarten. (she had just barely made the birthday cut-off) Melaina had to finish her 5th grade year. What an experience for her. Very different than what she's been used to, but she kept her grades up, staying on the honor roll and made friends.

I knew we had to make a change. I was researching Cyber Schools and decided to contact Agora Cyber Charter for more information. The K12 curriculum looked fantastic to me. Before I knew it, I was enrolling the girls and feeling great about our decision. Yes, it's a big change. Yes, it will be a lot of work. Yes they will receive a great education in a safe environment.

This summer I have attended many Agora online seminars and an in-person expo. My questions have been answered and I feel more and more confident and thrilled with our decision. The girls are very excited to receive their school supplies. They will each receive a computer and printer, as well as boxes full of school materials. Cyber school does NOT mean they will be sitting in front of a computer all day. It is very hands-on. There are also social clubs, field trips and other outings with local Agora families. No need to worry about socialization.

This is just a sample of some of the course material.

This summer, K12 is offering online summer camps. Here is Avery doing Story Time Camp.

"Please join me for an interactive story hour and literature fun! We’ll listen to a different story from authors such as Marc Brown, Jan Brett, and Kevin Henkes, as well as visit author websites and view video clips on our shared author. During the week, we’ll also attend a virtual field trip and learn some great extension activities to go along with our story for the day."

Next week is Art Camp.
"How would you like to see the world through the eyes of an artist? In this camp, we’ll explore methods of well-known artists and learn how to develop our own methods to create works of art. This camp is great for experienced artists and for budding artists as well—whether you are 5 or 10, experienced or not, you can create masterpieces!"

Dipping my toes into the blogging waters

Much of my life is viewed and documented from behind my camera lens (often my droid lens if truth be known). I follow my husband, kids and cats around to capture their activities. Once in a while I step out from behind the camera. When I look back, years from now, I want to not only remember these moments, but see myself in them as well.

I wish I had been better at documenting our first decade together. In 12 years, we have moved 12 times, living in 11 cities and 5 states. We have West Coast girls, New England boys and a precious daughter who waits for us in the lap of Jesus.

Our journey thus far has been bumpy. High highs and low lows. Unpredictable, adventurous, scary and peaceful. We love our little life and, taking one day at a time, look forward to whatever may be around the next bend.