Happy Halloween

As ususal we invaded my best friend, Hannah's house to Trick or Treat last night. Since we live in the sticks, we have to find an alternative and it's always an open door at Hannah and Wes's! I went with the Wizard of Oz theme this year for the whole family. Just in case there's any question, Hunter was a Munchkin , Gus was the Scarecrow, and I was the Tin Woman.


I made Avery's crown and I was very happy with the way it turned out!

The whole gang including Toto!!

The McClain "Wild Things" and The Kornegay "Wiz Kids"!!

We want CANDY!!!

We were lucky enough to have a trailer pulled by a golf cart to make getting around the neighborhood quicker and easier. We had a bunch of fun even though I wasn't feeling too great. So glad I was off work and could enjoy the night with my family and friends!

GO GATORS!!!!!

Okay, so my wonderful, awesome, super husband got us tickets to Saturday's Gator game and it was AMAZING!! Gus had never been and I hadn't been since I was a kid (with my dad) so we were in awe of the stadium, the excitement of the fans, and the noise! I was very excited to get to see Mr. Tim Tebow himself play. He's #15 in the picture below in case you didn't know!




Gus and I enjoyed our time together so much - it was a great date!!

The weather was perfect, the sun was at our backs and we had some great fans to sit with.

Yes, people, that's a rear shot of Tebow!!

I've never seen so much orange and blue together in my life - I definitely didn't have on enough this time, but watch out for next time....

We BARELY won!! It was a great game with lots of cheering and excited fans!

I soooooo hope we get the opportunity to go back next season!

Avery's 9th Birthday

On Tuesday, Avery and I headed south to Orlando to celebrate her birthday at Epcot. We had a great time spending the whole day together. We were worn out by the end of the day, but it was worth it!

Meet and greet with the Disney characters. Avery bought an autograph book to make the day more memorable.

Donald always makes a fun picture!

We were both excited to meet Princess Aurora in France! She was very sweet to Avery.

Hanging out in the Moroccan Market...

A Japanese tower....

Under the Sea with Nemo and Friends....

Can't believe my oldest is NINE!! It's gone by really fast. I love young lady she's becoming. She is so special to me!

What we've been up to lately

Life goes on and sometimes it seems like you don't have a minute to catch your breath. Can anyone else relate?? I am thoroughly enjoying spending so much time with Avery, but I still sometimes miss the days of chilling out and doing nothing while the little ones napped. Now, that is our best time to do schoolwork uninterrupted. I still know we are on the right path, though. Here's just a few pics of what we've been doing around our house this past month.....




Hunter is having a great time pretending to be John or Whitney and wants to be fed his "bottle." Of course he will always be our baby, so that's okay with us!


Avery and I are enjoying picking different recipes from the Paula Deen kid's cookbook and trying them out. Avery remembers reading the book "Stone Soup" in school, so she wanted to try that one out even though it's full of veggies! Sounds good to me! She had a great time making it and it was yummy!!

Avery has been picking out several dolphin books at the library one of which had some craft ideas in the back. She really wanted to make this dolphin mobile so we gathered all the supplies and got crafty! It was a joint effort, but we had fun and she loves it hanging over her bed.

The most exciting new adventure we're embarking on is DANCE CLASS!! I finally found a studio in Ocala that offered classes on the same day and same time for both of the girls. Avery is taking Tap and Meagan is taking Kinderdance (intro to dance). So far, they love it and Hunter and I hang out in the waiting area with the other kids/moms while they do their thing.

Gus and I are still working hard and of course Gus is getting geared up for hunting season. He went to GA last weekend to bow hunt, but no meat in the freezer yet!!

I'm so ready for some cooler weather with Fall, but knowing Florida weather, it's gonna be a while!!

Orlando Philharmonic Field Trip

Our first "official" field trip as a group took place last Wednesday afternoon. We all loaded up and headed for the big city of Orlando. These little girls were in my van (along with their lovely Mamas) and were so precious in their excitement at seeing the "skyscrapers" as we drove into downtown.

Of course, there was no photography allowed during the performance, but I snuck this one as the musicians were warming up. The show was titled "The Nature of Music" and was a special concert just for school children. We had been given a CD and curriculum to prepare our kids for the experience and it was great. Avery and I both learned a lot and REALLY enjoyed the show.

Along with the music we enjoyed, we were also treated to a performance by the Orlando Ballet Company dancing to Swan Lake and two opera singers that performed "Flower Duet." Our students were very well behaved and truly enjoyed the experience.

Of course, after all the being quiet and sitting still, they had to get a little silly!! Can't wait til the next adventure!

Back to School

Okay, so I'm a little late on this post, but as anyone that follows my blog knows, I tend to blog in spurts, so here is my back to school post! Miss Meagan is back at First Baptist Wildwood preschool in Mrs. Angela's class. So far, she has had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to a new class, new friends, and a new routine. The "highlights" have been that she had an "accident" in her pants so she could change into her spare outfit on week one and she gave herself a haircut on week two. What will next week bring......?????

Notice the shoes my little Miss Priss had to wear on the first day - they're peep-toe wedges!

Next, onto Avery's schooling for this year. I think most of you know that we have chosen to homeschool Avery this year, but some of you do not know why and may be surprised by our decision after she was in public school for three years. I feel like I have to be very careful how I say what I want to say because I know this is a very controversial subject. Let me start by saying that this is solely what we felt like what was best for our daughter and our family. I am in no way promoting/advocating this for anyone who may read this blog or knows me.

It's hard for me to concisely state "why" we're homeschooling Avery. I, of course, have several friends who successfully homeschool their children, but that never once made me want to give it a try. In fact, I didn't really even "get" why they homeschooled their children. My own journey started when I volunteered to be a member of the School Advisory Council for Wildwood Elementary last year (beginning of Avery's 2nd grade). After the first meeting, my eyes were opened wide to the challenges that school faces because of the demographics of students that attend there. I also could not believe the amount of money that was being spent on trying to bring up the "below average" students and that very little was being done for "above average" students. Let me say here that we were very blessed to have three wonderful teachers in Avery's three years at WWES. It's simply not about the teachers. There are many, many wonderful teachers at that school and public schools around the state and country that are doing the best they can with what they have, but sometimes that's not enough for all students.

So for the past year, I have been researching, praying, and talking about what I should do for Avery's education. I didn't feel like changing jobs was the answer (so she could attend the Villages Charter School). I do feel like the quality of education there is greater - due in large part to greater funding and mandatory parental involvement. I also knew we couldn't afford a private school and I also didn't want to spend a large part of my day shuttling Avery back and forth to Leesburg or Ocala. So, I started looking into homeschool for the first time and it was like a light bulb went off for me and it finally made sense. I asked myself - Q: "Why do I go to work every weekend and stay home all week?" A: so I can be the primary caregiver to my two younger children. Well, the thought occurred to me that just because Avery is eight years old, doesn't mean she doesn't have that same need anymore. And because she was in school all week and I worked all weekend, I had very little quality time with her at all and it really bothered me and it bothered her. I also wanted Avery to have the freedom to explore subjects she was interested in and not just what was on the State Standards for her grade. Avery is very artistic and creative and there just isn't much room for that in a standard school especially as she gets older. Of course we are covering the basics, but there is soooooo much more out there that we haven't even scratched the surface of yet and I can't wait to learn along with her!

I know this post is really long, but I just wanted to get this all out and make sure I explain myself fully. I know I don't "owe" anyone an explanation, but I really don't mind talking about it and I want to be understood and supported even if everyone doesn't agree with me. We are each responsible for our own children and what we do with/for them for the time we are raising them. I know in my heart that this is what is best for Avery Anne Kornegay for right now and that's all I can say for sure. She is so happy to be home with me and I am so enjoying her presence and zest for life! As far as Meagan and Hunter go, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I will be surely consulting God about that and I will be obedient to His will, just as I am doing with Avery. I truly feel God's blessing on us right now as we step out in faith and go against the grain to do what is right for us.

Here's my happy little homeschooler at the dining room table - ready to learn!

A couple of pictures from our first Co-op last Friday. We are studying The Story of the World and it it Avery's favorite subject by far!! I love that she has the opportunity to learn so much about world history at this age.

I am so thankful to all the other homeschooling Moms that have helped me take this leap - have been there to answer all my questions no matter how big or small and have welcomed me and Avery into their group with open, loving arms! You all know who you are and I love ya!!!

So far, I'm loving the freedom that we have to do what we want when we want. It has taken so much stress off of me which is a very good thing. I'm looking forward to alot of trips we have planned this year also which so far include a trip to the Orlando Philharmonic, Epcot, MOSI in Tampa, and a play! I'm going to wrap up this post since it definitely wins the award for "my longest post EVER!" Thanks for taking the time to read about my life and thanks for your prayers and support!

Hunter's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Hunter's 2nd birthday about two weeks after his actual birthday (the 8th) to be able to include my parents in the festivities. I basically used the leftover John Deere decorations from last year's party and threw in a Cars cake to make it different. Avery helped me pick out the cake cause she thought her baby brother would like it the best!

Our smallest party guests - John and Whitney looking oh so cute!

Mimi and Poppa Danny Wayne enjoying the party....

Nana Harper and Aunt Lisa - looking good, girls!

Time for presents - of course, Meagan was close by to "supervise"...

Hunter LOVED his Alvin and the Chipmunks music card that sang "Funky Town!"

And as you can see by his face, he also loved his cake and did a great job blowing out his candles, too!

The girls had something special planned for our guests - a Birthday Concert! Meagan and Avery had been rehearsing for about two weeks for the show. Avery made up tickets and a poster and even a tip jar! Avery played six songs on her keyboard and Meagan sang and danced - it was GREAT! Everyone enjoyed the show!

All together it was a great party!