The Week's Wrap-Up

It has been a busy week- aren't they all?  I find myself thankful for a quiet, cloudy fall afternoon.  I love how the changing leaves look with the greyish-blue clouds behind them.  Yesterday I was thinking how nice it would be to have a night out when Brian called and said some friends from our "old church" had invited us(just the grown-ups!) to have dinner with them tonight.  Looking forward to that.

Earlier in the week I saw a "Librarian's Top Picks" list.  This one, "And Ladies of the Club" was on it and sounded good.  It takes place just after the Civil War and is about the ladies of a literary circle.  Perfect!  I put it on hold and was very surprised when it came in:  1176 pages of small print!  I don't know if I'll ever finish this one but I'm going to try!

 This might be one of my all-time favorites.  Love it when they're being sweet to each other.

 Playing in the backyard one evening.

 Practicing gymnastics.  (Right now she is humming while baking a cake.  I love how she hums when she's working.)

 Typical Sammy lately. 

And typical Jack. 

Another Nice Day

The "niceness" of Sunday has carried over to Monday.
I love to listen to that candle as it burns- adds to the coziness.  It's nice and cool out- down to about 40 last night.
I guess we are taking a day off of school today- it really feels like a break!   The guys have all taken their annual trek to Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory in West Virginia.  This is the peak time to see birds migrating south- one day last week, I think it was Friday, over 1200 birds were recorded in one hour.  I'd love for them to see even half that!  I can't remember all the types of birds they saw in that count but there were some kestrals and golden eagles.  Sammy was so excited.  They all packed their backpacks last night.  I heard that little guy up at 3:17(!!) getting dressed.  He went back to bed and we next heard him putting on his shoes at 5:43.  Thankfully he got back in bed until 6:30.

The girls and I spent some time trying to restore some order to the house.  Then we headed to the library, where I found out that homeschoolers can check out books for 6 weeks instead of 2!  We also hit the Goodwill bookstore and Chik-fil-a.  Now it's quiet time around here before Kayla and I do a little school work.

And...did you know McDonald's is offering free coffee this week?

I love the gear:  backpacks, hats, sweatshirts, sketch books, bird books, binoculars, camera, and of course snacks.  They are such a handsome trio!

Sunday Evening

Church this morning, then Brian's parents came for lunch.
Last night I put a roast in the crock pot and let it cook until about 1:00 today.  The best roast I've cooked yet.  Triumph!
This afternoon was so nice with close to a two hour nap for me, a little football, and an outing to the park for everyone.
Dinner was the rest of the roast plus tomatoes and more veggies to make a stew.  Perfect.
Now for ice cream and an episode of "Foyle's War" (more British television for my PBS/BBC loving friends) with Brian on the couch. 
This really has been a great day.
A few pictures from the week:

 Everyone needs a little help climbing up on the bar sometimes.

 A view of our downtown from the playground today.

 Getting a little too big.

 There were 8-10 deer out back one evening this week.  Jack spent a long time staring them down.

Markers + afternoon quiet time= a five year old Indian

Amy Hest's "Sam" Books

I'm not sure how I came across the "Sam" books. 
Maybe because we have our own Sam and usually check out books with Sam in the title?
Whatever it was, I think Amy Hest created a loveable character in this little bear, and we've read about him over and over.
  Kiss Good Night is my favorite, (even without Sam in the title!).  It's bedtime on Plum Street and Sam's mama gets him ready in every way but can't remember the last thing he needs, which of course is his kiss good night.  I love giving out kisses to my little ones when we get to the end of this one.
Little Sam is sick in this one and needs to take his medicine but isn't too sure about it.  Haven't we all been there with our own kids?  Mama Bear is such a sweet comfort to her Sam.
Sam and his mom have made cakes together and set out to take them to their neighbors.  When they get home, there are two left for Sam and Mama Bear to enjoy together.  Such a cute story!

Linking Up to Read Aloud Thursdays   

Stories

"Something that happened would remind him of something that he remembered which would remind him of something that his grandfather remembered.  It was not that he 'lived in his mind.'  He lived in the place, but the place was where the memories were, and he walked among them, tracing them out over the living ground.  That was why we loved him."  from Wendell Berry's Fidelity

Does that remind you of someone?  

It makes me think first of my grandfathers, then of most old people, men in particular.

Both of my papas could talk.  They could tell you all kinds of things at the drop of a hat.  Seems like my Papa Crouse had way of pointing and nodding when he was into a story.  Papa Rutherford would often get so soft spoken as he talked, it was like he was so intent at remembering whatever he was telling.  Stories of their past, of their growing up, of being young men.  Stories from the place they knew as home for years and years.  Even now, when we go back to visit those mountains, I am reminded of them most everywhere I look.

How I'd love to hear another story. 

 

Just because.

Just a Few Things

1.  Loving this rain.
2.  Love little kids in warm jammies.

 

3.  Tonight at dinner, Lucy spouted off the classifications for living things that the other kids have memorized for CC.  Kingdom, Phylum, Class, etc...  Wonder what else she has picked up on?  It was pretty funny to see how we all looked at each other and laughed when she said it.  

4.  We're getting into Ancient Greece, then Rome.  I grabbed a book on the Parthenon from the library and mentioned to Jack that it would be fun to learn about it. 

 "I already know about it Mom."  

"How?"  

"I've read about it lots of times."  

And he told me what he knew.  Mostly from novels.  

I am sold on the fact that as parents we make our kids richer by putting quality books in their hands.

 

Sunday Afternoon

I doubt this could be a better fall afternoon.  Cloudy, cool.
Brian brought me a wood-wick candle yesterday, pumpkin butter.  You can hear the crackling of the flame. 
It has been a busy weekend, and yesterday our house was filled with giggles and little feet running back and forth in their fun.  Brian's sister and her kids came for a visit.  Here's Sam with Caroline.

 

I've gotten back into some Wendell Berry, Fidelity, Five Stories.  He can tell a story and draw the reader in like no one else I've read.  From the first short story, "Pray Without Ceasing:"

"The whole house in that moment seemed filled with a quiet that extended not only out into the whole broad morning but endlessly both ways in time."

Friday Afternoon

Right now is a castle cup kind of moment.
That means it is completely quiet and I have coffee in my castle cup.
The boys are out with their dad, Lucy is napping, and Kayla is so happy to be in her room with her newest Nancy Drew cd to listen to.
I have raced around this messy house sweeping and wiping down bathrooms with Chlorox wipes.  For now, everything smells fresh.
Even the windows are open.
I think I've needed some real down time.  I can get so worked up about the state of the house, all the things we didn't get done in school, etc...
One thing that's been big this week in school is writing.  Love that.  Kayla and Jack are doing great with their IEW, and Sammy has started some storytelling.  We visited some of our dear "older" friends and they gave us an old toybox that had a few goodies left in it.  One goody:  a memory game where you sequence some story pictures.

 Can you see the horse and cowboy on the toybox? 

We used those story pictures to tell stories.  Sam is pretty proud of his.  Here's one:

Bark's Dinosaur Bone

Bark found a hole.  He started digging faster, and then kept on going farther.  As he expected, he found a bone!  Bark took the bone to his owner.  His owner said, "Wow Bark!  You found a dinosaur bone!"

Odds and Ends

A few things:
*I always marvel at how much I love planning and preparing for school and how things rarely go as smoothly as I imagine they will.  The best laid plans, right?  I need to learn to roll with things a little better.
*Sammy has been sooo...excited to start gymnastics (as have been Kayla and Jack).  It seems like Sam is always on his head or doing flips.  Well, we had our first class today and it went GrEAt!  I wish you could see the smile on Sam's face once he got started- that kid needs a room filled with mats and bars in at home!  I had to wonder what was going through Kayla's mind when she got out on the floor; she's been so looking forward to this since the Olympics.  I head Jack say, "I thought it would be fun but wow!  That was better than fun."
*A few titles in our book piles lately:
for Jack:  Danny Dunn Invisible Boy  (we'll be getting more of these!)
               Hittite Warrior  (to go along with history)
Kayla:    Betsy- Tacy  (we'll also be checking out more of these)
               The Littles  (there are several books about the Littles- we found 5 this weekend at the                
                                     Goodwill bookstore.  Score!)
Sammy:  train books and more train books!  He and Jack set up our train set and he has loved it.
Lucy:  Elmo and Amelia Bedilia
Me:   I wanted something quaint and cozy so I checked out some more of Miss Read's books.  Also,
         The Envy of Eve by Melissa Kruger.  A very challenging book on coveting.
Brian:  Lost Communites of Virginia  Fascinating.  There was one story of people being baptized in the
            winter; they dug a hole in the ice first!

A Peek into Our School Day

Sometimes people ask me what our daily school schedule is like.
Sometimes they say I seem to be so calm and organized and that our days must be so nice.
Well.
Let me tell you a little about each.
I am neither organized nor calm, generally.   However there are glimmers!
One day this week, Sammy asked me, "Why do you have so much sin in your heart this morning?"
He was right.
I am more prone to impatience or frustration than I ever thought I would be.  Sammy is right to call it sin, and I am convinced my sanctification is all a part of this thing we call homeschooling.  The gospel has to be central to our day and our home or we will be in one sorry mess.  I need reminding often, even by a five year old.

Our "schedule" is a loose one.   Between 8:30 and 9:00 we get started.  I read aloud to everyone first from a chapter book, and we try to pray together before we get started.  We do math, spelling, word study, handwriting, and independent reading in the morning.  There's more "fun" reading in the afternoon or evening.  (If you know anything about our family, you know that we are a family of readers so books find their way into most every part of the day in one way or another!)
Our Classical Conversations memory work usually comes in the morning as well and includes a history sentence, geography, Latin, English grammar, science, math- skip counting, and timeline.  Much of this serves as the springboard to other activities we do.

Jack and Kayla are able to do some of this on their own while I work with Sammy.  Lucy plays so nicely during much of this time- which sometimes leaves lovely messes but that's ok with me.

What I love about history, and to a certain extent science, is adding related reading- both fiction and non-fiction.  The older kids usually do some writing (or dictations) to go along with what they've read.  There's time for history or science in the morning most days, although it sometimes gets pushed to after lunch.  I'm trying to get in a lot more nature study this year as well, which is mostly observation and sketching.

In the afternoons, Jack and Kayla work on IEW (usually history-based writing) and EEL (grammar) with me.  I love IEW.  It has been a wonderful help to the kids but also to me as we learn how to write with quality.  Sometimes we also throw in math games during the afternoon- which we all enjoy and should do more often.  I'd also like to throw in projects like lapbooks and art after lunch.

There are other parts of our day that I haven't included.
There are other things I'd like to add to our day.
We're always in process and I hope my kids are learning a lot and enjoying it as we go.

From Labor Day

The days are full and the weeks are getting busier.  I think that I am finally ready to settle into fall:  pumpkin, cinnamon candles, mums, football, etc...  It's hotter outside than it has been in a while so some of  those might have to wait a little.
Labor Day was a day off for us this year and we actually DID something so it felt like a day off and not a day to catch up around the house- which is obvious if you look around but that's ok.  Sunday night the guys camped at Brian's parents' place at Claytor Lake.  The girls and I joined them Monday to swim and just relax.  Granny and Grandpa brought up fried chicken and other goodies.  I think we all enjoyed it.

 Look who's swimming in the lake with his life jacket now!

 Truly.  The picture of relaxation.  She stayed like this for a looooong time.

Warming up after a swim.

A Legacy

That's my Grandma Pearl and Uncle Dennis on that cake.  We celebrated their birthdays last weekend.
I was struck hard by something as we were leaving that afternoon.
As I said good-bye and take care to my cousins and their children and everyone else, I saw before me the fruit of a grandma's prayers.
If you know one thing about Grandma, it's that she loves the Lord and she prays.  A lot.
I do not know the hours she has spent on her knees over her life.  My guess is that it's way too many to count.  I know she kept prayer journals and I am sure our names are written in them over and over.  She did not let you leave from a visit without circling up and "having prayer."
Now let me admit sometimes I liked this and sometimes I did not.  But that didn't matter because if Grandma wanted to pray that's what we did.
And I am humbled at what the prayers of just one woman have done for the kingdom.  I know it's the Lord who does the work but I also know He calls us to pray and He answers our prayers.
The fruit?  A family:  two sons and daughters-in-law, four grandchildren and their spouses, and eleven great-grandchildren who are seeking the Lord.
I don't doubt for a second that the times our names have passed from her lips have been used to grow us all in our faith.

 Daddy and Uncle Dennis with some of the grandkids.

 Yep.  The sign on Uncle Dennis' porch.

Celebrating 90

Everyone was done eating in the fellowship hall.
The candles had been blown out.  Presents opened.
And the ladies got to work.
I don't know how it is in other places but in small country communities, when the ladies get to work in the kitchen, it's a little more than just work.
It's relationship.
I saw them busy as bees, wrapping up leftovers, washing dishes, wiping counters.
And laughing or talking just as they have over a lifetime.
These women who are cousins, with the same grandparents who sent out nine children into this world  to work and raise families.
There have been seasons, to be sure.  Times when they have been together more than others but they are family.
And the one sister still living, the one left of the nine- my grandma.  She will be 90 on Wednesday.

And so we celebrated this one that is dear to us all in the fellowship hall of that little country church that is etched into Ennice, North Carolina and into our minds:  the place of my parents' wedding, choir specials, receptions, anniversary parties, funerals and 90th birthday parties.