Just A Glimpse...

We had a wonderful opportunity in Waco to visit the home of a new friend of my mother's, Dr. Wood. He wears a lot of hats: preacher, writer, hunter and taxidermist, to name a few. Although Levi was just beginning (little did we know) to come down with a virus while we were there, we all enjoyed looking around his home. Here is just a glimpse of what we saw:


Mr. Noah was a little intimidated by the bigger animals, at first. He stuck close to this little critter.

We are standing by the worlds longest complete Mastodon tusk. (the darker colored one) It was incredibly long...hard to imagine that one creature had 2 of those!

Dr. Wood shot this lion himself on safari. He also did the taxidermy and told Levi a lot about how it was done. Fascinating!

It took almost an hour of being there for Noah to come anywhere near the lion. Once he did, he had a lot of fun pretending to be scared!

Dr. Wood is starting his own museum in Waco. These are real bones (not fabricated) of a Mastodon.

All the bones in his museum are real. No fabrications. They used the fur of other animals (researched to be the closest to actual Mastodon fur) to cover the bones.

I had to leave early because Mr. Noah was WAY past due for a nap. When my mother and Levi returned, Levi had tears running down his face and my mother looked worn out. She said he was very rude to Dr. Wood and kept asking if he could go home. That seemed unlike Levi. I gave him a hug and quickly felt the fever. He had 102. Poor guy. He just didn't know how to express what was going on inside his little body. He ran high fever for several days. That, of course, limited our fun in Waco. But by Friday he was feeling pretty much better and we were able to get in one morning of swimming at Mr. Meyer's. We also saw "Space Chimps" while we were there. It was pretty cute...some language I didn't like, but what else is new? Anyway, we always enjoy our time at Grammy and Grandpa's house. Hopefully we can go again soon and NOT bring our germs with us!

Lots more to say about Mr. Levi. We have decided to home school him this year. A lot of prayer and thought has gone into this decision, which I do not take lightly AT ALL. I am in the middle of deciding on curriculum right now. Lots of options out there. So far, Levi is really looking forward to being home schooled. He's only had one moment of doubt in the idea...and I think that was an "I'll miss my friends" moment that he got over pretty quickly. We will be diligent in our efforts to keep him around other children on the weekends.

I find myself desperate for a solution. He is such a bright, gifted, funny, creative kid...and that is not being seen by his teachers because he cannot behave in the classroom. Some say ADHD. From what I saw this summer, I think it may just be a simple case of immaturity. Whatever it is, he's beginning to label himself as a trouble maker and I won't let his self-esteem go down without a fight! I know there are strong opinions on this matter. I hope, no matter your personal feelings, that you will join us in prayer about homeschooling Levi this year. It will be a big change for us, for sure!