Where We Were Headed

"Mommy, can we read some "Wittle Hou?"  (which means "Little House" in Sammy talk).  I love to hear that from him.  He is usually the one to ask for which ever of these books we're on. Right now, it's By the Shores of Silver Lake.
The day started out with a beautiful fall sky, clearing from a night of rain.  The air seemed so crisp and cool.  I tried to capture some of the sunlight but didn't quite get it.  Still, thought these were pretty.
It didn't take long before we were into school and having our ups and downs there.  Really even before school.  One never knows which way the wind will blow, only that it probably will.  I find myself asking (or is it begging) for wisdom, grace, patience, kindness, and joy each day.  I guess that's a good place to be, dependent on the Lord for all things.
As the day drew to a close, the kids were outside playing and I was finishing those tasks that never seem to get done.  There are plenty more, but to get a few done was so nice.  I lit a candle.
One by one, they came in.  Cheeks cool and red.
"Yes," I said to Sam.  We got his jammies on and headed for the couch.  He climbed up in my lap.  Kayla and Jack gathered around.  And we read by the lamplight.
"One more chapter Mommy?"  How could I say no?
Such a cozy ending to our day.
Where we'd been headed all along.

A Good Day

I thank the Lord for today.  It was a good day.  Meaning, I didn't lose my temper.  We all enjoyed our school work.  Dinner was reasonably good.  I don't feel frazzled and fried.  And, the house is not in too bad a shape right now.  Why is it that some days I can get SO much done and others, I might as well have sat on the couch all day eating candy?
By the way, I have a new minor obsession- the new pretzel M & Ms.  They are good and I wouldn't mind sitting on the couch all day eating them.  At least occasionally.  I tried to explain to the kids how my not buying the M & Ms at Walmart today was actually self-control on my part and they didn't get it.  Oh well.

I wanted to put up a few pictures of the kids.  Mostly because I have a sweet Lucy story but also because I like these shots of my kids.  I think they're cuties.

Lucy is all over the place now.  She likes to get under that table and see what she can find.  I think we've already fished more out of her mouth than all the other kids as babies combined.  As for what she should be putting in her mouth, she loves beans now.  Pinto, navy, baked, green.  You name it.  She loves it.
Cute story:  I kept her with us during the beginning of the worship service on Sunday.  When we were singing, she was singing, babbling, whatever you want to call it.  When we stopped, she stopped.  As soon as we would start up again, so would she.  The college girls sitting around us loved it.  So did I.  Might I have a budding singer here?

Love this from this morning.

Here's Jack at the Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory in West Virginia last week.  I guess this is the third year he and Brian have spent the day there.  They saw close to 100 birds (I think) migrating through the valley.  Even a few bald eagles.  Jack is so much like his dad.  They really enjoy watching these birds together and figuring out what they all are.  I love hearing Jack talk about wing spans, beaks, etc..to identify different birds.

A Slow Day

We are taking it easy today.  I know- only 2 weeks in??  Well, today is the day for Brian and Jack's annual trip to the Raptor Observatory in West Virginia.  I know they'll have a great time.  And Jack took his nature journal- that's educational, right?
Kayla and I will work this morning then head to the park with friends later on.
By the way, we successfully launched the rest of our butterflies Tuesday morning.  Jack was armed with a hammer to throw if any birds came preying.  Thankfully that wasn't necessary.  Sam and I saw a couple of the butterflies down the street when we went for a walk after lunch- at least we think they were ours!

A Sad Ending

Sunday afternoon we got home from church to find our chrysalides empty and five painted lady butterflies resting in our butterfly garden.  All the kids enjoyed watching them.  We'd been waiting and watching for a couple of weeks so this was a big day.  Jack was anxious to let them go, though.  He's got a compassionate heart towards animals and wanted them to be out in nature.  That's what makes the next part of the story so sad.
This morning we took a break from school and went out on the deck with the butterfly garden.  I unzipped it and we waited.  The first one ventured to the top.  We all kind of held out breath waiting for it to fly.  And it did!  It was really beautiful against the perfect blue sky.  It feels a little silly to say but I was so excited myself to watch it.  It was free, you know?
Until out of absolutely no where a bird swooped down and snatched our butterfly.
I could even hear it.
And all of our eyes were on it.
We were shocked.
I could not believe what had just happened.  It was as if that bird knew from the minute we came out what we were going to do and was waiting for just the right moment.

Then I turned to my children.
Big, round eyes.
A red face.
Mouths wide open.
Tears spilled.
Sadness.  Even anger.
I didn't know what to say.
We had a somber rest of the morning.

I hated that it was such a disappointing end to our lovely butterfly.  You know, I'm sure some people would say it's just a butterfly- get over it.  And while I kind of get that,  it's a little different when young ones are watching.  To them, this was a sad injustice.
And I get that, too.

Battles of the Good Kind

A new battle began inside

(I love it but wasn't ready to look around the corner and find  her standing up!)

while another raged in the front yard.

Luke (a.k.a Kayla) and Hans (a.k.a Jack) attack Sam and Daddy's fort.

Samuel reclaims stolen ammunition.

The battle continues, this time at the enemy's fort.

A sweet victory.  Yes- with a pool noodle.

A Budding Book Lover

 I mentioned that Lucy is on the move now.  I love what grabs her attention!

A Mixed Bag

It's done.  The first week.  I hesitate to say this because you never know what people think about homeschooling but let me just say it was a tough week.  Shepherding young hearts is not easy.  Especially when your own heart is a mess.  And mine is.  I concur with Paul when he laments that he does what he does not want to do and he does not do what he wants to do.  I have not been the mom and teacher I wanted to be this week.  I have felt frustrated, angry, and discouraged.  And do you know what?  I'll live right through it.
For me, homeschooling is not a statement against public or private school.  It's just what we want for our family, and we believe God is calling us to it.  So the fact that it gets hard sometimes is not a reason to say maybe we shouldn't be doing this.  It's all the more reason to press on.  If and when we choose another schooling option it won't be because we have tough days here and there.  It will be because that's what we feel is the next step for our children.
All that to say, while I'm glad to have this week behind me, I'm more thankful for God's grace that is greater than my weakness, greater than my sin.

So, what can I say about this week?  Well, first, we had a great weekend with family and I will post pictures when I figure out this new Mac (new to us anyway) that my parents handed down to us.  We love it!
Second, Jack's prayer request in Sunday school was for Lucy to start crawling.  Guess who decided to really get going Monday morning?  Oh my.  So we had to stop everything, pick up everything from the floor and vacuum because the girl is everywhere.
Our caterpillars came in the mail Tuesday and we now have cocoons in the house.  Five of them.  It really is pretty amazing to watch.
We went to Classical Conversations (CC) and it was great.  All the kids were troopers.  We're into European Seas, Charlemagne, and History timeline cards, to name a few things.
Kayla is memorizing this stuff like a champ.  Jack wrote a fantastic paragraph- which I might post later.
Samuel's turning into a dancing machine.
The craziest development is that Jack has a new idea to make some money.  He is charging Kayla to rent his toys.  She paid him 75 cents to play with Brian's old Star Wars figures for three hours.  I'm not kidding.

For your encouragement and mind:
"And let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galatians 6:9