I am going to inundate you with soccer pictures because it is what we do this time of year. I also feel like my brain has kind of checked out the past 2 weeks so soccer pictures are all I've got. Good thing my kids are cute! Enjoy.

First, Nathaniel's very first game ever, 2 weeks ago Saturday:

 Nathaniel & Clayton, ready to go!

Getting into position.

Nathaniel gleefully running in circles around the bunch of kids trying to get the ball. 

"Are you watching me mama?!"

He gets a throw in!

Stopping the ball in goal. For such a small guy he is an intense goalie.

Taking a goal kick. 

Next, one of Jeremiah's games, last Saturday:

 Lilly (in Nathaniel's new jersey) is there to cheer on her cousin.

Lilly persistently tries to sit in Nathaniel's lap. He wasn't to happy about it. 

 Jeremiah is #6 ("Because it is how old I am.") Aaron is coach.

Intense and ready to defend. 

The boy in front of Jeremiah is playing soccer for the first time. He is awesome. It's amazing.

 Jeremiah is a good defender. Here he is in action. 

 He also loves to be goalie.

 Good effort!

Getting ready to congratulate the other team. Good sportsmanship.

Look at those handsome soccer guys! On Saturday morning we suited up and headed out on a perfect early fall morning in separate directions for the first games of the season. I went with Nathaniel and cheered him on while Aaron and Jeremiah went and played with their team. It was the only time this season that both boys had games going on at the same time in separate locations. From now on we will be able to be at all the games for each boy. I have more pictures of Nathaniel's first game but no time to edit and post them right now.

This post is scheduled to publish on Tuesday. We will be driving to Atlanta to visit my Geiger grandparents, my cousin Susan and her 3 month old son Ian. We have a crazy busy week with some kind of event every day and some kind of soccer practice or game every evening, and a whole slew of things scheduled for Saturday.
This morning I was tempted to panic. But, I breathed deep and gave myself permission to
- let the house be messy this week; clothes will not be folded and put away, beds will not be made, the kitchen counters will not be cleared off, and you should see our poor neglected yard...
- do a bare minimum of school work; we will keep up with math and language arts but history and science can slide.
- prepare simple meals; the boys will not starve if breakfast is oatmeal every morning, lunch is an apple, pudding and some nuts every day, and who knows what I will scrounge up for dinner.
- put taking care of myself (getting up for early work outs, Bible reading, and being in bed on time) ahead of taking care of the house.
- have fun! I can rush through this week stressed out and anxious, or I can enjoy the activities and what they bring.
- not plan any daily events for next week. That's right. I am going to say "no" if anything comes up for next week because I know that we will need the time at home to re-charge and get our routine back on track.

Jeremiah's 1st public speech

We had a busy weekend and have a busy week ahead. So just dropping in briefly to share a video of Jeremiah's speech at the ground breaking ceremony for the library renovation in our town. We have been regularly visiting the library since Jeremiah was 2 years old. He was asked by the librarians to represent his age group by speaking about why the library was important to him at the ceremony.He wrote the whole speech himself. He practiced it a few times over the weekend. Last night he told me he was getting nervous so we prayed and asked God to give him courage even though he was nervous. This morning he was still nervous but eager to deliver his speech. I was literally shaking while he spoke, I was so nervous for him!  He did a terrific job! I am so proud of him!

Random happy things

I just feel good this week. Here are some random things that are making me happy:

- Cool air! Windows open, wearing socks and long pants during the day. I love it when I can layer clothes!

- Consistently meeting my work-out goals. I don't always have time for a full out workout every week day, but I at least try to get 10 minutes of something done. My general trend has been to get about 3 really good, high intensity 30-45 minute work outs and about 2 less intense Pilates or strength training work outs per week. I generally have more energy now, and actually look forward to getting my exercise. Imagine!

- I am happy with the way my clothes are fitting. Still not lots of weight loss, but a general slimming and toning. I am learning to be happy with the slower, consistent results. 

- Pinterest. Lots of good ideas on there. Warning: it can be a real time suck if I don't watch out. But I was inspired to finally paint the ugly red brick around the fireplace black as well as try out a few new recipes. Good stuff.

- Our home. The other day when we were all cozy during the constant rain I looked around and realized how much I love our house. It's not fancy. It could use some updates. It doesn't have the "modern open floor plan." But it is perfect for us and I love living in it!

- A part time job that works with our schedule and brings in a little extra money. Jude is spending a few days a week at our house now!

- Finding play shoes for Jeremiah at Goodwill today. And not just any old play shoes, but Star Wars shoes that actually light up!

- Anticipating a trip up to Philly for the whole week of Thanksgiving! Can't wait to see family!

Minimizing the kids wardrobes

The boys have never had a huge excess of clothes once they grew out of the infant stage. There are many reasons for this, but in general we have been able to keep the amount of clothing the boys have under control. Except for pajamas, where the heck do all those pajamas come from?!

A few weeks ago I had started the process of getting out fall/winter clothes in order to see what we had and if there was anything that was still needed. I felt pretty proud that Nathaniel's cold weather wardrobe was complete, yet pretty spare. Nothing extra, just what was needed. Then Aaron brought home a gigantic storage container full of hand-me-downs from a coworker. Oh my goodness! I am pretty sure the container contained 2 complete wardrobes worth of nice, brand name clothing in Nathaniel's size.

So then the minimizing rubber had to meet the road. We had way too many clothes. An absolute embarrassment of riches.  And yet I wanted to hold on to them. Truly. My usually minimal loving self just wanted to hang on to 3 wardrobes worth of clothes because they were all so cute and fun and nice. I knew Nathaniel wouldn't wear all of them. I knew that we didn't have room to store them. I knew that they were free so getting rid of them wouldn't cost me anything. I knew that there were people I knew who could also benefit from getting some of these clothes. But for a few days I just couldn't let go.

Finally I had a thought. I would combine all the clothes (what we had and the hand-me-downs) and create a simple wardrobe for Nathaniel by pulling out the items that matched and were in good condition. That way, he can dress himself every day and still look nice. Our favorite hand-me-down item was a navy vest with bright trim in different colors (see top of picture). It is colorful and fun and in our climate will get a lot of wear. I decided to base the wardrobe around that. Here is what we ended up with:
- 7 long sleeved t-shirts (all in same color family, all matching the vest)
- 2 button down shirts, 2 sweater vests (all can mix and match)
- 4 pair athletic type pants (matching all the t-shirts)
- 2 pair jeans (one nice, one play)
- 3 pair dressier pants
- 2 thicker type sweater/rugby shirts
- 4 pieces of outer wear (vest, corduroy jacket, fleece jacket, rain jacket)

That is a total of 26 items. And I still kind of feel like it is too much. But, we are going to go leave it like it is for right now. I can always give away more items later if I feel like they are not being worn.

Minimizing doesn't have to be drudgery! In this case I had so much fun taking the excess and creating a fun, attractive wardrobe that is simple and easy to maintain. I also have the great feeling of being able to pass on a huge bag of clothes to a friend to use!

A note on pajamas: We downsized from about 10 sets to 5. Nathaniel did that himself, choosing the ones he wanted. I feel like I can breathe again. Seriously, where do all the pajamas come from?

rainy, restful days

The rain has been falling steadily since Sunday night. It's like God knew we needed some rest and sent the rain to force it on us. We have been cozy and restful here in our house. Aaron home yesterday so we made a big breakfast of biscuits (that I still can't get to rise quite right) and eggs and sausage bought from the farmer who also supplies our milk. The windows are open wide and we listen to the peaceful sound of water falling. It is cool enough for me to wear my sweatpants and favorite hoodie. A cup of tea in the afternoon is welcome hot. Soccer practice is canceled for the rest of the week as the fields are soggy.

School work was skipped yesterday. So this morning we plugged in the twinkle lights in the sunroom and curled up on the couch with our books. The rain still falling, the day still gray, and we all cozy while we learned. The antics of Mr. Popper's Penguins brings much laughter. The bravery and faith of David Livingston has the boys complete attention.

I putter around doing housework to the music of boys playing Lego's. I hear of make-believe worlds that involve Robin Hood and Ninja's and a few Star Wars characters thrown in for good measure. Voices raise in disagreement then calm as they put into practice what we have been learning about communication to solve problems. I smile proud. Thankful for progress in an area I have bathed in prayer the past few weeks.

The rest of the week is full of activities and responsibilities, but for today we rest here cozy in our own little nest.

5 Minute Friday - Rest

I took a break from 5 Minute Friday with The Gypsy Mama, but I just love the idea so I am back. Five minutes on a Friday just to write, in the midst of the craziness a few unedited minutes.
This weeks prompt: Rest

Go

Rest: I love the word.

When I hear it my head fills with images of calm. I see a large bed with crisp white sheets and big fluffy pillows and imagine staying in it all day with books and tea and no responsibility. I see a pastoral scene that involves some combination of a lake and mountains and imagine wandering for the day. I see an ancient, shadowed church with stained glass and flickering candles and imagine silence and prayer and wonder.

Sometimes I yearn for a quiet, contemplative life. I wonder if it would be more restful, more fulfilling, more spiritually challenging. If I would see God better?

Then I look around and see my cup of coffee steaming and my little spot on the worn couch in the sunroom. A small table holds my Bible, journal, and current spiritual growth/parenting/inspirational book. It is a small oasis surrounded by the chaos of lego's and crayons and Star Wars figures that never seem to be put where they belong.

I look at the dining room table and see our Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals book amid the leftovers of breakfast and morning school work. Morning prayers have been done over breakfast and the promise of midday prayers to come over lunch and evening prayers to be said before little ones are tucked into beds.

I peek in the boys room and see the morning sun streaming in their window lighting up two blond heads snuggled together reading books on the old, comfy chair.

As I clean the bathroom I ponder again the plaque hanging there, painted by a dear friend, "Love is patient and kind..." it begins and I breathe deep.

I straighten the sheets on our bed and glance out the window. The morning light is reflecting on the glossy magnolia leaves. Amid the dusty spots and drooping plants and random boy toys (string, pot lids, old shovels) I glimpse our friendly cardinal having his morning dip in our bird bath. And I know that this bed will welcome our tired bodies after the sun goes down. And my husbands arms will hold me, offering rest and forgiveness and grace at the end of a long day and after a disagreement.

Then I see it, the rest that is to be found right here and right now.

STOP

Took more than 5 minutes today, I was mid-thought and did not want to stop. But I did not edit, even though I wanted to. :-)

HomeSchool Week 4

Learning about magnets on Science Day.
Using the "force" to move the paper-clip.

On the day that the kids in this county head out for their first day of school we are wrapping up our fourth week of school. So it seems like a good time to reflect.

I feel like we are hitting a good stride. I am comfortable and familiar enough with the curriculum that preparation time is pretty minimal now, and I have a good system going. We also have a good feel for how long it takes to complete the work (about 2 hours) so it continues to be do-able and fits well into our days.

The first 2 weeks I had pretty much cleared our schedule and we stayed at home. That was actually a welcome and relaxing break for us! The attitude in the house was very calm and relaxed. About 2 weeks ago our schedule started to get busier with the addition of other activities. This has made it feel like we need to "fit in" school or "get it over with" so that we can do other things. I don't really like that attitude toward our school time. So I may have to do some re-evaluation of our daily activities. I understand that there are going to be some weeks that are busier than others, but I also think that I have some influence on the mood that is set in the house by choosing how busy we are going to be.

Here is a brief rundown of each subject:
Math - Jeremiah can pretty much do all his math work on his own. We have completed 19 lessons. The Horizons math program is based on repetition and building on concepts in small steps. At first I thought this might bore Jeremiah but he seems ok with it. I like that he can work through it on his own, do a test every 10 lessons, and I can see that he is not missing any foundational concepts.

Core (History, Geography, Social Studies, Read-Alouds) - We love the Sonlight Core materials! So far we have studied the first civilizations of Mesopotamia (Sumer), Egypt, Crete, India & Babylon. We have also learned about the science of Archeology. We have read Charlotte's Web and Homer Price and are now on Mr. Popper's Penguins. The boys love read aloud time. They beg to do the vocabulary words and are content to listen to me read until my voice gets hoarse. We also love learning about other countries by reading a book called Missionary Stories with the Millers.

Language Arts - Consists of copywork, 10 spelling words each week, learning a rule of grammar, then doing some creative writing to put the rule into practice. Nice bite sized pieces of work each day with a good mix of the practical and creative. Jeremiah also does A Reason for Handwriting work each afternoon while Nathaniel naps.

Science - We finish all our other work by Thursday and reserve Friday for Science. The past 3 weeks we have been learning about magnets. The boys watch a few short experiments on a DVD then do the experiments themselves. Jeremiah has a science notebook that he writes all his observations in. We are also learning about animals through a combination of books and computer fun.

The most challenging thing for me is remembering to keep things fun and flexible yet also consistent. But I love watching the kids learn, and learning along with them.

Update: Minimized Wardrobe

It has been a few months since I decided to take the plunge and minimize my wardrobe. Here are some thoughts and observations:

- I really haven't missed any item of clothing that I stored away just in case. I also have rarely wished that I had more clothes. Seriously.

- It is easier to get dressed every day. I was never really one to try on different outfits because I was trying to be fashionable. I ended up trying different outfits because I could never be sure that something that I wanted to wear would actually fit me. It really is a relief to know that everything in my closet fits me and most of it matches. I can pretty much pick an outfit and go with it.

- In general I am dressing better. Because I had so many "comfy, wear around the house clothes" it was easy to just put on the most accessible, comfortable thing and that wasn't always the most attractive thing. I have noticed myself choosing outfits to wear around the house that I used to save for "special." This makes me feel more attractive and actually helps me tackle my daily stay-at-home-mom tasks in a more professional manner.

- Less laundry! I do one load of my own laundry a week. That's it! Monday's are my laundry days and it only takes 3-4 loads to get all caught up for the whole family. Amazing.
(Did you know that you don't have to separate whites and darks. It's true. I haven't color sorted laundry in years and everything has been fine. I always felt like I was breaking some kind of cosmic rule. Then I read a popular blogger who posted that she did the same thing and I felt completely validated. hee hee. If you start doing this just be sure to always wash with cold water.)

- I quickly reverted back to my European practice of wearing an outfit more than one day in a row if it was clean.

- I broke the 333 project rule of not including your work-out clothes in your regular wardrobe. The truth is that I love my yoga pants and I am a stay at home mom. At least one day a week my outfit consists of yoga pants and comfy t-shirt. That is my reality. I could buy more yoga pants (which kind of goes against the whole minimalist thing) or I could do what works for me.

- I am feeling inspired to get my rear and gear and loose weight. Since I am being more careful about what I purchase I just can't bring myself to go out and buy a new pair of jeans in the size I am in now (even though my current jeans are pretty thread-bare). I have decided to be more disciplined, make this pair last until fall, and hopefully be a size or two smaller when I buy a new pair.

- I made no impulse clothing purchases since I started this. I knew exactly what I had in my closet, as well as what I would still like to add or replace, so I wasn't tempted to pick up something "just because."

- I hope that being this intentional about clothes will help me to budget better and ultimately support clothing manufacturers that are ethical. The clothes from those manufacturers tend to cost more, but by not needing as much we can then actually afford to spend a little more per item. Here are some places I have run across lately, some via word of mouth and some via a simple Google search:
One Mango Tree
FairIndigo
Marigold
Maggie's Organics

- One day a few weeks ago I actually found Aaron going through his t-shirt drawers and getting rid of some of his t-shirts that he has had since high school! I was amazed. I have no illusions that he will ever be a minimalist, but that is ok, the point is that we start seeing how much we have and truly evaluating whether we really need more.

- This is really working for me and I am interested to see what I do when the seasons change and I take the fall/winter clothes out of storage. I think I will be purging again! I don't think that this makes me a better person than anyone else. I just hope more people will start asking questions before mindlessly consuming. Where does my clothing come from? Who made it? Heather at Sit A Spell wrote a beautiful and thoughtful post about the relationship between what we consume and others around the world called "Hi, my name is Heather, and I'm a recovering modern-day slave owner." that I highly recommend.

One moment at a time

I feel like we have gone from 0-100 in seconds. Our lazy days of summer are officially over as our evenings fill with soccer practices. Our days fill with school and Bible Study and having an extra kid in the house. Our weekends fill with soccer games and family lunches and church events and hang out time with friends. And in the midst of all that somehow the house needs to be cleaned and laundry needs to be done and the yard that has been neglected all summer needs to be weeded and mulched and mowed.

Yet, I don't feel hurried.

I breathe deep in the morning. Sitting on the worn couch, the window open, the cool morning breeze coming through I curl my hands around my coffee mug and breathe deep and thank God for this moment, this day. I know that it will be enough. I know that what I have is enough. I know that I will give enough. And there is grace in what is left undone at the end of the day.

Hints of fall are all around. Apples and sweet potatoes appeared at the Farmer's market. The mornings are cool and we can actually open the windows before the day gets too warm. The evening light is mellow and golden.

I am craving organization. I want to clean and simplify and bring beauty and order. I want to paint the sunroom. I page through soup recipes in the hopes that this will be the year my kids will embrace the bowls of hearty warm food. I want to spend evenings outside around our fire pit roasting marshmallows and just being together. I want to plant mums and paint my front door red and curl up with a good book on the loveseat on the deck. I want to light candles and talk late into the night by their flickering light. I want to finish the hat I am knitting and move on to more. I want to take walks outside and watch the boys collect fallen leaves.

Despite my long wish list, I don't feel hurried.

Slowly, but surely I am learning that each moment is good. Each moment is grace. Each moment is enough.

Jeremiah's 1st practice of 2011

This post could also be titled, "Aaron's 1st ever coaching session." He and Jason are the coaches of "The Fireballs" who had their first practice last night. It was a perfect early fall evening, slightly cool with a breeze and light turning crisp as the sun went down. He is going to be a great coach.

Jeremiah's skills have improved a lot recently and I think that soccer camp also gave him real confidence. He was so excited for the season to start and ran right out onto the field handling his ball and interacting with the other kids.

Jeremiah & Carter

Carter is a friend who is also 6 and also being homeschooled this year. They get along so well together and are really becoming good friends.

A gang of boys making silly faces

Riley & Levi, Carter & Clayton, Jeremiah & Nathaniel

These boys together are a hoot! This is the 3rd year in a row that Levi and Jeremiah are on the same team. I love having friends who also have multiple boys. There is a real difference between raising boys and girls and Summer, Kara and I can all relate to each other. It helps that all of these boys get along and enjoy playing together.

We are looking forward to a fun soccer season. It looks like Jeremiah's team has a nice mix of more and less experienced kids. All of the parents seem friendly, helpful and involved. So we are taking a deep breath and diving right into another busy, fun soccer season!

1000 Gifts - Soccer Edition

- determination

- shorts that come below the knees, socks that are a tad too big, a bright new ball

- getting worn out

- team mates, new friends waiting to be made
(My son is the smallest one on the team. The coach's 3 year old son is bigger than him.)

- running, playing duck-duck-goose

- a coach who is kind and thoughtful and willing to give extra attention

- big brother, who has been watched during practice for 2 years,
learning to watch and encourage

- one pretty excited boy, who waited for 2 whole years to finally be the one on the soccer field!

Random thoughts

Here are some random, end of week thoughts:

- For about 3 weeks now I have been trying to be more disciplined in what I eat and exercising every week day. I realized yesterday that I am finally starting to feel the positive effects of those changes. I realized I have more energy, I am more in control of my emotions, and even though I haven't lost tons of weight (about 3lb total) I can see a general firming and thinning in my arms and legs. Yesterday evening after the boys were in bed I realized I hadn't done my strength training exercises for the day so I got up off the couch and did them while we watched old episodes of "the Office" on Netflix. I was so proud of myself! I hate to exercise and used to come up with all kinds of excuses to avoid it.

- Last night was soccer "try outs" for the boys. I use that term loosely because really the kids all get together, run down the field and kick a goal, while the parents and coaches create a lot of drama about who gets to be on what team. In the past two years we have been very hands off during this process, trusting God to work out the details. This year Aaron got recruited to be a co-coach for Jeremiah's team. So he was smack dab in the middle of the drama of picking a team. Then apparently the age group that Nathaniel is in had some issues last year with a pretty intense coach, so none of the returning parents wanted to be on her team. Nathaniel ended up with a different coach, so we are breathing a sigh of relief.

But, all of that to say that our soccer season is going to look extremely different this year than it has in past years. We knew it was going to be busier since we would have 2 kids playing, but now with Aaron being a coach as well it just adds more responsibility and less flexibility. I think he is going to do a great job though!

- Nathaniel was so excited to finally strap his soccer cleats on last night and get to "play" soccer that he could hardly contain himself. He has been waiting 2 years for this day. He is one of the youngest and smallest ones in his age group but he is very enthusiastic and determined. Jeremiah was initially disappointed that Aaron was going to be one of his coaches. He wanted to be on Coach Neal's team again. But, he rallied and now thinks it is pretty cool.

- I just realized that our budget for providing snacks and drinks at select games and practices is going to double. Yikes!

- We have some friends who have 2 boys that are exactly Jeremiah and Nathaniel's age. These 4 boys together are something to see! Last night they were running around, hanging out, and enjoying each other. We gave them a ride home last night and it was so much fun to have a van full of singing, laughing boys! It's pretty neat to watch those relationships develop. Not only do they play soccer together their mom is also home schooling them so we see them often.

- We finished up week 2 of school. Great stuff. Loving the curriculum. Friday is our day for only doing science. It is a fun way to end the week.

- The boys have been watching old episodes of the "Lone Ranger." So now they spend the day playing various versions of that (cowboys, sheriffs etc.) instead of Star Wars. It is nice to have a break. Smile.

- We have finally had a break from 100 degree weather! The past few nights have gotten cool enough that we can actually open the windows and enjoy the fresh air. I close up the windows right around lunch time before it heats up again. The boys have been spending hours playing outside. I have started to slowly bring order back to the yard by taking on the weeding, pruning and general clean up after a summer of neglect a little bit at a time. It is so nice to be able to enjoy being outside again.

the calm before the storm

Nathaniel, the night of his birthday party.
It seems the theme this year was "weapons". He is now well armed.

I am slowly but surely learning the value of seasons, or chapters, in life. I am learning that not only can I not do everything at once, it is not healthy for me or my family to try to do everything at once. I am learning the value of building in extended, intentional times of rest in between times that we know are more busy.
These past 2 weeks have been intentionally a more restful time. I cleared our daily schedule of extra outings and responsibilities in order for us to adjust to school time and to just enjoy being at home together. We have spent the days puttering around the house, playing in the back yard, reading lots of good books, watching some tv, and getting good sleep. The evenings have cooled so we have been able to open the windows and be outside more. I have seen a marked improvement in the boys general behavior as they have had time to just "be" and not always be "doing."
I am glad we have had this time. Life always gets crazy for us in the fall. Tomorrow night will be soccer try outs. Next week we will find out which teams the boys are on and what their practice/game schedule is. Our evenings will be booked up again. Next week the Woman's Bible Study that I lead will be starting up again for the fall. And soon Jude will be joining us a few days a week. I will be trying to get a group of homeschooling friends together once a month for an outing.
It has been good to let ourselves just breathe these past few weeks. To rest, to reconnect, to prepare for a busy fall.

1st week of school 2011 - review

Using our study materials for History/Geography/Social (Core) studies.

Our first week of school went really well! My main goals for the first week were to establish routine and to stay calm and patient. I think both were accomplished.

I have chosen to do the 4-day curriculum from Sonlight so that we have an extra day free for other kinds of learning. So we spent Monday - Thursday of last week getting into the routine of doing school every day as well as adjusting to our new curriculum. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly we got through the day's assigned work. We were consistently finishing our school work within 2 easy hours. If this trend continues then I may decide to add more than just 1 Science lesson per week. Or maybe add more memorization? I'm still not sure.

At the beginning of the week I thought that this all seemed too easy. Could we really be learning by just looking at good books, maps and timelines and putting the pieces together ourselves? But now that we are getting the hang of the Sonlight curriculum I am really enjoying how it is put together. The Core and Language Arts portions really fit well together. For Language Arts Jeremiah is reading sections of The Beginner's Bible and doing corresponding copy work, vocabulary, language rules, and creative writing. In Core he is learning about ancient peoples and the first civilizations. For instance, on the day that he learned about the first civilizations being formed in the Mesopotamia/Sumeria region (from a secular history book) he also read the story of Abraham being called out of Ur (one of the major cities in the ancient Sumerian culture) from his Bible. Soon we will be studying ancient Egypt while we read about Moses & Pharaoh. I like this combination of secular and Biblical learning. I like how it is showing Jeremiah that the Bible isn't just a book of fairy tales or moral stories, but that the stories and events in the Bible fit into history. As he studies history, he can have a new and deeper appreciation for the things he reads in the Bible. And by doing much of map and timeline work himself he really is learning a lot.

Nathaniel enjoys participating in school as well. I have some special activities for him (another separate blog post on that later) but he participates in the Core reading and work with us. He also listens to our Read-Alouds (currently reading Homer Price by Robert McCloskey).

I was worried that I was going to need much more preparation time than I did last year. But so far I have been pleasantly surprised. This curriculum is set up so that I can just pull out my Instructor's Guide and start on our day's lessons. I spent about an hour on Friday afternoon gathering the materials we would need for the following week.

I am pleased with how our first week went. I am pleased with our curriculum. I think we are going to have a fun and educational year.

Nathaniel turns 4 years old

Jeremiah used some of his own hard earned money to buy his brother a gift.
I think it was appreciated.

A ukulele! "Now I can play with a band!"

Dear Nathaniel,
I blinked and here you are turning 4 years old! I know that I say this on every birthday but it really does seem like just yesterday that you were a warm, cuddly newborn. The years have flown by and turning 4 means that you truly are not a baby any more.
This past year has been a big year for you, son. You broke your collar bone. You mastered potty training. You decided that you wanted to be a part of our daily school time. You insisted you were big enough to sit through the church service with us instead of go to the nursery. You finally stopped getting up in the middle of the night to crawl into our bed.
Maybe it is because you are the youngest brother, but you are always in a hurry to grow up. This year you are insisting that on your birthday you will be turning 6. You try everything your brother tries. You skipped Veggie Tales, Elmo, Thomas, and Sesame Street and went straight to Spider Man and Star Wars. You participate eagerly in the foam weapon battles after church even though you are the smallest one on the field.
Yet even though you exhibit all the classic signs of "typical boy" (constantly dirty, pockets full of random treasure, running, jumping, squirming, weapons loving, loud talking, fearless) you have such a sweet, soft, loving spirit. You still need snuggles first thing in the morning. You still insist on sitting in my lap during Bible reading time after dinner. You still need countless hugs and kisses at bedtime. You still ask me to pick you up and hold you just because you want a hug. You give generously and forgive freely. Your heart is tender and your feelings easily wounded. You have a well developed sense of humor and love being the center of attention.
We love you son! Life with you is always exciting and full of fun. We can't wait to see how God will use all of your passion and enthusiasm to serve Him.

Nathaniel is learning his letters!

August 2007

When oma and opa were here 4 years ago, right before Nathaniel's birth, they bought this book for Jeremiah because they saw how interested he was in learning his letters. At 2 1/2 he was already recognizing letters and trying to sound out words. The book has little magnetic letters that a child is to use to match the words in the book. It is great for early letter recognition and spelling. I have almost gotten rid of it a number of times in our regular book purges, but it just seemed so useful that I hung on to it. Plus, opa and oma bought it so it has some sentimental value.

August 2011

This week Nathaniel has suddenly shown a great interest in learning to recognize letters so I decided to pull the book out during school time. Just look at this proud boy! Up until now my attempts at getting him to recognize letters have been met with joking around and calling every letter "C". Then, this week, something clicked. He was ready and has been on a roll ever since. I would say that now he is consistently recognizing and naming about 1/2 the letters in the alphabet. And while we work on recognition we work on the phonetic sounds as well. Might as well kill two birds with one stone right? So our Dr. Seuss' ABC's & Hop on Pop books which were so well loved by Jeremiah are being put to good use once again. Go, Nathaniel! Go!

A change from Pb&j

Yummy lunch of Lime-Cilantro Quinoa Salad & fresh green beans

I have struggled with my weight ever since I graduated from college. I have constantly fluctuated between 15-40lbs over my "ideal" weight. Controlling my eating habits and exercising on a regular basis are two areas in which I lack self-discipline. Recently I have realized that in order to make long lasting changes in both of these areas I need to just get started and take baby steps.

Thankfully this summer the eating part has gone better since we have started to really focus on eating whole, local foods. I enjoy eating fresh vegetables and fruit and they are both easy to find this time of year. I have also discovered some great recipes that I use for my lunches. One of my favorites is from 100 Days of Real Food (a terrific blog with lots of resources if you are trying to cut processed food out of your diet). The Lime-Cilantro Quinoa salad is fresh, nutritious and filling. A perfect summer time lunch. I have also made a Quinoa salad with cinnamon and dried cranberries which is also super yummy!

I am encouraged. In the past 2 weeks I have lost 4 pounds!

Lime-Cilantro Quinoa Salad
From 100 Days of Real Food, adapted from Joy of Cooking
Ingredients

Salad

• 3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry)
• ¾ cup dried fruit (I usually have cranberries and raisins in the house so that is what I use)
  
• ¼ pine nuts, toasted (I usually have cashews in the house, but I add them to the salad right before I eat it so that they don't get soggy in the fridge.)
  
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 bell pepper of any color, diced

Dressing

• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together all dressing ingredients.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.
4. Can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

It doesn't have to be perfect...

When we spend a lot of time at home I suddenly get itchy to "beautify" things. I start cleaning and moving stuff around and generally trying to create a homey environment. Yesterday as Aaron was getting stuff for his classroom out of a closet he unearthed a piece of art that we have always loved but haven't hung up in this house because we were waiting for money to frame it. And because we weren't sure exactly where to put it. It's a big piece. A large, black and white woodcut print that reminds us of Lookout Mountain. We got it from a hippy guy we used to know in exchange for helping him move some stuff.

Today, I just decided to use thumbtacks and stick it up on the large, blank wall in our living room. I'm still not sure how I feel about it there. I think I like it. It is very large. And it is definitely the first thing the eye is drawn to when you come in the door. But, I don't really know what else we would do on that gigantic wall. I like how the black and white of the print tones down some of the brightness and busy-ness of the rug, even though the print itself is very busy. I don't know. We will live with it for a little while and see how we feel.
But, the moral is, don't wait for perfect to do something in your home that will make you happy. We would love to have this framed one day, but for right now, thumbtacks will do just fine.

1000 Gifts - 1st day of school

This day has been marked on my Google calendar for weeks: "First day of school." Even though learning has been happening all summer in various ways, for us there has to be a day when our structured school time returns. When asked by strangers, Jeremiah doesn't know what grade he is in, but we are working mostly on 1st grade material. Nathaniel is eager to learn his ABC's and numbers.
The day starts slow. Nathaniel rises early and Jeremiah sleeps late. The storms of the night before have ushered in the coolest morning we have had in weeks and I can't resist sending the boys out to play before the heat returns. Breakfast is fried eggs and homemade granola. Around 9am we take out the school things and Jeremiah decides he wants to do Math first. Nathaniel has a hard time doing some coloring on his own when I need to focus on Jeremiah. We move between the dining room table and the sunroom trying find a new rhythm with the new curriculum. We do a lot of reading snuggled up on the sunroom couch looking at bright, engaging books.
I manage to stay patient and calm, which is really my biggest goal for the morning. I breath deep and tell myself to stay present. Be fully here. Notice these moments that feel endless but really are fleeting.
Around 11am we are finished with the bulk of our work. We will do our "read-alouds" before nap time. I make a snack and send the boys to play again. Jeremiah dresses like a cowboy while Nathaniel puts on his Transformer costume. Some kind of battle is happening throughout the house as they attack a "super evil fly guy." I smile and start to think about preparing lunch. Home schooling is something I never planned on doing, but turns out it works pretty good for us right now.

Swimming!

I thought it notable that today is the day that Jeremiah swam on his own for the first time!

His biggest disappointment at soccer camp was that he had a red bracelet (to show the life guard that he couldn't swim) instead of a green bracelet. Yet, he has been reluctant to practice swimming with me. But we figured it out - goggles. Yep, turns out Jeremiah doesn't like getting water in his eyes (takes after his mother there) so we got him goggles and today he was eager to try. Aaron worked with him and in no time at all he was swimming short distances on his own!

I am so proud of him!

1000 Gifts - It takes discipline

Admission: This weekend I found it very hard to practice the numbering of gifts even in the midst of disappointment and emotional turmoil. I forgot at times to fight feeling with feeling and push back the anxiety with thanks. And I learned again why practicing thankfulness on a daily basis is not just a "nice" thing to do. It is the building of a discipline. To practice thankfulness on good days is what makes it second nature to practice thankfulness on bad days. The daily practice of stopping in a moment and counting it a gift builds the "knee jerk" reaction of counting gifts even when I feel tired, drained, and unhappy.
So tonight I took a deep breath and decided again to see and feel and number these moments here. To fight back against anxiety and unmet expectations and whirling churning thoughts. With these:
- Jeremiah praying for patience, evidence of the Spirit working
- Nathaniel's hugs
- Aaron's comforting arms
- friends who help and pray and ask good questions
- friends (and family) who call to check up
- people who really listen
- my mom
- prayer
- how Aaron still reaches to hold my hand in the car, even after all these years
- a chocolate milkshake
- a game of animal safari
- morning and evening prayers, a new ritual that grounds us
- planning Nathaniel's birthday party
- Nathaniel's joy and enthusiasm at being celebrated, his desire to just invite everyone he can think of
- two boys, clean from the shower, snuggled next to me while I read aloud