Dubai

A vacation for the record books! Grandpa gets the award for "bravest man alive" for taking 7 children (age 7 and under) into a snow park BY HIMSELF (not to mention bunking up all week with my rowdy kids!)...coming in a close second is Jerry for taking his family half way around the world to jet lag for 10 days in the desert! And cousin Joe, get's the "coolest cousin ever" award for spending so much time tour guiding our crazy crew in the middle of the middle east!

Seriously though, we made some amazing memories on this trip. It's one ALL of our kids will be talking about for a long time. Here are some highlights of our sweet time with family in one of the coolest cities on earth.

Hanging out with the Giblin's and playing with all of cousin Matt's cool toys!
Playing in the Snow Park, in the desert!! It was Jeremiah & Tirzah's first time to see snow!
Exploring the fishing boats in Jumeriah Creek
Playing at the beach
Atlantis Aquaventure Waterpark-- a little cold, but SO fun!
Iceskating (a first time for most of the kiddos) Video of Jackson's iceskating trick
Singing and dancing to "Thriller" at the Burj Kalifa's fountain show.
Dessert adventure with camel rides, dune climbing, and dressing up like real Emirates! Camel ride video here
Playing and swimming with cousins!

Thanks again for making the trip Grandpa and Young family!

 Fishing village, Dubai Creek

 Beach babes

 Grandpa and his snow park crew. He was a very brave grandpa!

 Not exactly sure what was going on here, but they look pretty legit.

 Grandpa pondering over how many camels his daughter's are worth.

 This is the best!

 Dismounting a camel is the hardest part. 

Sun setting on the Arabian peninsula

Deacon's Big Day

Deacon's First Birthday (January 9, 2016)

Well I definitely didn't win 'mom of the year' on this 1st birthday party! We had just got back from vacation in Dubai and I had the thought, "Oh yeah, it's Deacon's birthday...we should make a cake!" Thankfully I have an amazing friend who, when we showed up at their house for lunch and fellowship,  had decorated and put out cute plates and napkins and even let me bum some frosting for the chocolate cake I managed to whip up last minute! Deacon was as happy as can be and non the wiser :) 

It took some coaxing to get him to try the cake (mommy had to stick a frosted finger in his mouth) but once he got a taste, his eyes lit up and he dove in! 

This little cutie is a source of constant joy to our family! I sure wish I could press pause and keep him this way, but with every month he gets cuter and more fun. He has such a great personality. He's nearly always happy, super friendly, has a great giggle (and growl) and is ALL boy! He loves to wrestle his daddy, tour the neighborhood with his adopted "uncle," chow down on Indian food, snuggle his mamma and be included in whatever crazy play his brothers and sister have going on. He's growing so quickly and we love seeing his sweet and funny personality coming out. We love you Deacon Klein! Our little "gooloo-mooloo"! (affection nickname given by his adopted uncle).

"What is this sticky stuff?!?"

"Mom, you've been holding out on me!"

Daddy hogging the cake ;)

Not even close to a sensible family picture, but it was the best we could do :)

Best buddies!

Homeschool Conference

In February, Jackson, Hudson, Deacon and I traveled to our capital city to attend a homeschool conference. While mommy was looking forward to the quality time with these three and the encouragement that comes with getting together with other homeschool mammas; the boys have been looking forward to it (and talking about it frequently) for 2 years! This was Hudson's first conference to attend, so he was extra excited, especially to make new friends and have the stories to come home and share with his younger siblings, as Jackson did after his last conference.

The boys loved their small classes they attended each day with other TCKs (Third culture kids), made new friends (and enjoyed the time with old friends as well), and generally wore themselves completely out each day. We stayed at a hotel with resort like amenities one can only find in India. The usual tennis courts, playground, and grassy area...along with a petting zoo, bouncy house, mini train ride, life size chess board & real life camels/pony/goat cart rides!

The boys each had a project they worked on for a few weeks leading up to the conference, that fit in with the theme, "Made in America." Jackson chose to research bald eagles, and Hudson chose baseball. It was really fun for us to include these projects in our day to day homeschool work and teach them how to research and write about their topics. They were especially enthusiastic about the art work they made for their projects and their costumes. At the conference they displayed their project books, while in costume, and had verbal Q&A time as  the teenagers and adults walked around to view everyone's projects.

In addition to working so hard on their projects, I was especially proud of how hard they worked on their talent show act. Jackson got a guitar for his birthday in October and decided to sing "Never Once" by Matt Redman, with Hudson accompanying him on the djembe. They both did so well and were so brave, performing for the first time ever, in front of nearly 100 people! Hudson also remained on stage to recite one of the several poems he has learned this year in school. He had to turn and face the wall with his back to the crowd, but he recited it with gusto.
Here it is:

"Work" by anonymous
Work while you work, play while you play
This is the way to be happy each day.
All that you do, do with your might.
Things done by halves, are never done right!

Here's a video of their talent show act.

The last night each child who participated in the talent show, fun run, art auction, and project displays received certificates. My boys did everything, so their name was called multiple times. Hudson was hilariously coming back each time with a new certificate with a confused look on his face like "why do I keep being called?" He was going up there so often, that when they called for moms to come up when the awards were over (to get a goody bag) he just immediately walked up there all by himself and stood next to the volunteers awaiting patiently for whatever they wanted to give him next. He is such a 5 year old boy...always in his own little world. Although I did have a flash back or two of myself at that age, walking strait off the stage to my mom at the end of my first tap-dance recital, totally oblivious to what the other kids on stage were doing.

It's such a rewarding feeling to see your kid's beam with enjoyment and pride over achieving their goals. Seeing them both thrive this year in homeschooling has been such affirmation to my frequently doubting heart, that this is the right "schooling" path for them at this time. They are both reading well (AND enjoying it!) for their ages, loving math, eager to explore and learn. Praise God! It is only by His grace that this school year has been so smooth and enjoyable. It has not always been this easy, nor will it be in the near future, as we add another student or two next year to our one room school...but I'll enjoy it while it lasts and use these memories to encourage me on hard days to come. The fruit is worth the labor!

What am I?

During our homeschool hours, we have some pretty funny conversations. Jackson often replies to my history lessons with something to the effect of, "well, true, BUT...." and goes on to teach me something, often not related to the topic at hand." He has the undeniable 'gift of gab' or 'gift of blarney" that my mom always claimed was a Giblin family trait (Irish, of course). It apparently is very strong in the male descendants.

Today was a good example, but Hudson stole the show with his typical comical reasoning skills.Jackson: Are there still Romans?

Me: No, Romans described people's citizenship, not their ethnicity. There are no longer Romans, because there is no longer a Roman Government. But there are Italians, Greeks, Turks, etc. still. Just like being "American," describes citizenship to the American government, not our ethnicity. Ethnically, you are Irish, German, Greek, and a mix of others.

Jackson: Well, I am Irish.

Me: Yes, you are partly Irish.

Jackson: Well actually, I'm Thai. And since we are related, you are Thai too. Me: No, you're not Thai, you were just born in Thailand, but you don't have ethnically Thai blood.

Hudson: Well I'm a Roswell-y, because I was born in Roswell!