Under One Roof

Daniel came home after 9 months of training with the good old USAF in April. All of his children had grown up so much, in fact he missed all of their birthdays, save Adele's. Devan had turned 9 and the twins turned 2. Sweet little Benjamin was a whopping 4 months! We had a highly anticipated and slightly emotional reunion at the Ontario International Aiport. The Madden Kids were like little barnacles, clinging to their daddy wherever they could find a space to latch on. He was clearly overwhelmed and delighted by them.

We spent the following 2 months living in different hotels/guest bedrooms/campsites/cabins while waiting to close escrow on our first home! I can't express our sheer joy the day we unlocked the door and let the kids explore the inside, run through the backyard, and marvel at the view. It was amazing. We've been home owners for almost three months now, and are still in awe of our new place.

It's perfect. The girls share a bedroom, the boys share a bedroom, we share a bedroom, and we have one to spare for guests! The backyard is spacious enough for kids to romp and because we are across the field from a state park, there is plenty of wildlife to observe. We have a variety of desert trees lining the perimeter of the yard, and a rocky hill towers above our property line. There isn't much light pollution so in the evening we can see a crystal clear sky and study constellations.

The neighbors here are lovely. Many of them have children and in the late afternoon garage doors open, lawn mowers and garden hoses come out, parents tinker around outdoors while the kids ride bikes, scooters, and play basketball. 

Daniel has been enjoying his seasoning at March immensely. It's only 7 minutes away from our house, which means we enjoy lunch as a family nearly every day. He's using all the training he went through working on KC-135's and is excited at the opportunities to grow in his field. The kids love that his work day ends shortly after 3:00, so there is plenty of time to play or do schoolwork before supper.

Since moving to the Inland Empire we've met scads of other homeschool families. I am so excited about the upcoming school year. We have enriched our curriculum by expanding to other publishers and supporting literary materials/outdoor excursions. We found a wonderful private school nearby that has more than 200 families enrolled, which includes a steady flow of field trips as well as organized sports.

I never would have dreamed this time last year we would be where we are today. God has surprised and delighted our family, blessing us beyond measure. I'm thankful to be on the mountaintop, though fresh on my mind is that you can't have a mountaintop without a valley.