7 Quick Takes Friday!

1.

Guess what went out in the mail last night?  Yeppers, our I-800A paperwork for our adoption!  We're one step closer to bringing Peter home!  :-)  Writing a check to the Department of Homeland Security was odd....but felt like quite an accomplishment at the same time!  We have officially hit the last round of paperwork and entered into the "waiting" stage.

2.

We made the yummiest dessert yesterday from the peaches we picked the other day.   Here's the recipe - definitely check it out!  I'm slightly embarrassed to let you all know that we ate the entire thing in one serving between the 5 of us....

3.

We're taking the boys on a "secret surprise" tonight:   we're going to the symphony.  Either we're totally and completely crazy, or it will be a fun family date night.  Mike found 1/2 price tickets, so for $16 each, we're going to go see something that looks like this:

They bring in acrobats to do a "Cirque du Soleil"-like show while the symphony plays live underneath them.   I'm hoping it'll pay off and be a great night!   The catch is that it doesn't start until 8 pm, which is usually bedtime!  I'm going to bribe like crazy to try and get naps into my boys who haven't napped in years...Wish me luck!  

4.

My oldest munchkin hit a personal goal last night.   Both of the big two rascals take gymnastics lessons, and will be competing next year.   One of the things they have to do is climb up this incredibly long rope and ring the bell at the top.  To give you an idea of how high this ceiling is, here's a picture of the gym:

Picture taken from the "viewing deck" which is on the second floor of the building - there's at least one more story above the viewing deck before you hit the ceiling.

Climbing up to the top of that rope is HIGH, folks.  He'd never made it up before because he was scared - last night he hit a milestone, guys!

5.

So, most of you know that we're adopting our littlest rascal with the help of an organization called Reece's Rainbow.   They have been incredible - an amazing source of support and a great resource for us during this journey.  Now is a chance for you to help them, and I very much ask you to do so.  Simply follow this link and vote in support of this video.  (Watch it too!).   Thank you in advance!!

6.

I can't believe it, but today marks the end of 28 weeks of homeschooling.  We have four weeks left to go.  It seems a bit unbelievable to me, to be honest.   It's been a crazy journey, with a steep learning curve, but I think it was definitely the right choice for our family.   We're better for it, and the boys are thriving.   I'm already starting to make plans for next year, and I have to admit - I'm really excited!  

I'm trying to decide whether or not to do an "End of the year celebration."  If you homeschool, do you celebrate the end of the year, or have end of the year traditions?  We'll only be taking about a month off before starting up again (I'm trying to give us a bit of a "padding" so we can take off time when Peter first comes home), and I'd like to make that month really special.  What do you all do for summer?

7.

 One of my favourite Catholic bloggers is Simcha Fisher, and Thursday, she wrote an interesting piece on abstinence-only sex education.  I'm eagerly awaiting her next post on the subject (she leaves us hanging), but I'd be curious as to your thoughts.   What about your experiences with sex education?

Have a great weekend, all, and thanks to Jen for hosting!