Soccer season #5

 

 

It really is my favorite time of year. I may complain about it being busy and how we are gone 3 nights a week plus Saturday's. But really, I love it. The air is turning. The sun shines crisp. The sky is brilliant blue. I love watching the kids run wild and revel in the feel of their bodies. I love watching my husband coach with care and patience. I love sitting beside the field catching up with old friends and making new ones. I love that we are spending time as a family, enjoying the fresh air, and being part of our community.

just an ordinary day

Y'all. I don't like to be busy. But we are. I don't like it when every day on the calendar has something marked, somewhere we need to be. But that is how our calendar looks now and for most of the fall. I like margin, space, room to breathe. There is nothing we can really do about it. I could whine and complain about it, but that would only make it worse. The other option is to embrace this busy time with as much grace and joy as we can. I can choose to take one day at a time, grabbing moments of rest and solitude when I can.

I was pretty proud of myself yesterday. I got us out the door early in the morning to science class without rushing or getting frustrated. In the evening I got us out the door to soccer practice and then home late for showers and in bed without frustration either. I definitely deserve a pat on the back for that!

We have our little friend with us 4 days a week now.

Soccer season is starting up with its evening practices and weekend games. I am schooling both boys. I help out at Kids 4 Christ on Thursday nights. I will start working part-time for our church in a few weeks. Aaron is taking his graduate school classes as well as serving as secretary for the Pastoral Search Committee at our church. Small group meets at our house on Sunday nights.

I feel like I am in a losing battle against clutter and disorganization in the house. Every night at about 4pm I start wondering what we are going to have for dinner. I can usually scrounge up something but it isn't always as tasty or healthy as I would like. Our yard is being over taken by weeds after a summer of record rain falls and severe neglect.

Sometimes I let it all get me frustrated. But when I take a minute to look past the perpetually dirty toilets and never ending piles of laundry I can see the beauty of this life we have. I see my boys growing and learning and thriving. I see the gift of this home we can share with others. I see the lessons we are learning in how to love each other well. I see the beautiful community we are building with our brothers and sisters at church. I see that peace and calm can be a state of mind, regardless of the fulness of our calendar or the state of our house.

the party

 Cake at the park. It was a gorgeously cool day!

 

Every kid loves it when we sing the Happy Birthday Song.

 Blowing out the candles. 

 A crew of kids! Friends are so much fun!

Dylan climbed UP the slide!

 

Every birthday ends up being celebrated a bit differently. This year was surprisingly simple. Birthday boy wanted a cake from Costco (which they decorated to his specifications with a pirate ship) and for his friends to come to the Bounce House with him. So that is what we did. And everyone had a blast.

he turned 6

Nathaniel turned 6 yesterday. I feel like I should be more nostalgic about it, but I just haven't had the time. We will have a party on Saturday so yesterday we had the cousins over for dinner and celebrated with pizza and brownies with ice cream.

He is a special boy, this monkey of mine. This summer he grew and matured and suddenly looks so darned grown up.

1st Day of School - 2013

Here we are again at the beginning of another school year. No one is more surprised than me that we are starting our 4th year of schooling at home. Every year we re-evaluate our educational options, but the longer we school at home the more we see what a good choice it is for our family.

I actually had to wake the boys up this morning. The past week has left them (and me) pretty warn out. But Jeremiah had an appointment for an allergy shot so we had to be up and moving this morning. While we waited at the doctors office Jeremiah read from his reader and I read to Nathaniel from his read-aloud. He is super excited to have his own read-alouds this year. Back home we did handwriting, math, and the readings and map work for Jeremiah's Core. Nathaniel is very engaged with that too. By 11:00am we were done!

We are excited to be studying American history up to the Civil War this year. I have lots of fun field trips planned.

It feels good to be starting back with a more normal schedule. Our summer was fun but we are all ready for some routine and quieter days.

VBS - Upward Bound!

We survived  enjoyed another week of VBS! Our theme was a hiking/camping one. On dress-up night Jeremiah was a bird watcher and Nathaniel was an explorer. Obviously....

Every year about 2 weeks before VBS is scheduled to start I question my sanity in volunteering to direct such an undertaking. I feel like there are so many details swirling in my head that I can't remember a single thing. I feel exhausted. I feel frustrated with the work of trying to get people to volunteer, and then actually do what they volunteered to do. In short, I feel completely overwhelmed.

Then, on the Saturday before VBS we transform our church into the theme for the year and I start to get really excited. This year a cave leads into the sanctuary. Real trees everywhere invoke a forest, a (fake) camp fire is set up in the middle, and a huge mountain looms from the stage.

The scene is set.

On Sunday morning we worship in the transformed sanctuary. The adults are slightly uncomfortable with the unconventional seating and decor. The kids are entranced. Their eyes sparkle and the excitement builds.

All week long I feel a bit frantic and very very tired. But it is so worth it! The kids are having a blast! They are memorizing large portions of scripture. They are entertained by the funny skits and entranced by the Bible story tellers. I mean, Simon of Cyrene comes in bearing a cross... The music is on their lips and has them dancing in their places. Most of all, they are feeling loved! They are feeling the love of God made manifest through His people. It is a beautiful thing.

Our church is not large. We don't have a lot of money. We are always struggling with organization (or lack thereof). I know that in planning and executing VBS week I make many mistakes. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that when the kids come to VBS they experience love. And without that even the most organized, expensive VBS would be nothing.

Here is the main verse that all the kids memorized:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 –Philippians 2:5-11

summer and stuffed animals

Summer is winding down. Aaron has started back to work today. It is VBS week at our church. The city pool closes on Saturday. And Nathaniel's birthday is just around the corner. These are all signs that our summer time is coming to an end and our regular routine is about to start again. I must admit, I am looking forward to some structure and regular routine again. It has been a whirlwind of a summer. It has been much busier than we are used to, but it has also been good.

Last weekend Nathaniel got to go on his annual birthday sleepover with the Rapier grandparents. He had a blast and came back with new shoes (with real laces!), a new bike, and his very own Build-A-Bear named "Edward."  Jeremiah got a turtle named "Bob" from Build-A-Bear when he was 4 years old. He is not as into stuffed animals as Nathaniel is, but Bob sleeps with him every night. Nathaniel however has a whole pile of stuffed animals in his bed. Recently his favorite friend was "Peanut" a blue and purple elephant that he got out of one of those vending machines with the claw. When he heard that there was a store that you can pick your own stuffed animal, stuff them, name them, and choose clothes for them he was sure that it would be heaven! It was reported to us that it took him a while to decide with animal to choose. I happen to love that my boy, who is almost 6, still gets excited over a new stuffed animal. What a tender, loving little heart he has.

a desk

I love it when God gives us good things in the most unexpected of ways. I love how He shows His goodness and love through seemingly small things.

Jeremiah has been begging us for a desk of his own. We have a school desk area where the boys do their school work together. More and more lately Jeremiah has been needing some autonomy and independence. A space of his own. We have been putting him off. I have some projects in mind for rearranging the boys bedroom to make it more functional for the ages they are now. I was trying to wait until we had some extra cash and could make one comprehensive IKEA run. So, Jeremiah kept asking, and I kept trying to come up with other solutions. But, he really wanted a desk, "So I have a place to write my books!"

Yesterday, this "beauty" was sitting by the side of the road in our neighborhood with a "Free" sign on it. Suddenly I just couldn't put it off any more. It was a free desk for goodness sake! We borrowed a truck and installed it in a corner in the guestroom. I don't really like it. It is cheap, and kind of ugly, and really really big. But my boy is over the moon happy! He puttered around yesterday putting things in drawers and lining up his folders and generally making himself at home. Periodically I would hear him exclaim, "This is so awesome!"

So all that is left for me to do is smile and thank God for this lovely way of showing love to my son. I can't wait to see what masterpieces come from Jeremiah's imagination at this new spot of his.

Camp New Dawn

 

Last week was Jeremiah's annual week at sports camp at Camp New Dawn. It was his third year and he was excited. He was eager for a week of sports, swimming, crafts, and making new friends. Jeremiah's award this year was for being "the verse man." Apparently there was a competition between cabins to see who could memorize the most verses and Jeremiah did really well.

Nathaniel really, really wanted to go this year too. But he has to wait until he is 6 so he will get to join Jeremiah next year. We are so thankful for our friends who have a heart for running this camp. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice. Thanks for another great week of memories! Next year we will be sending two Rapier's your way! Hope camp is ready for it!

time for the tooth fairy again...

Jeremiah was well past 7 1/2 years old when he lost his first tooth. It was my expectation that Nathaniel would be similar. Imagine my surprise when this evening it was revealed to me that his tooth had started loosening last weekend and an unfortunate incident with a Wii remote this evening helped loosen it more and it was ready to come out!
So now my baby is snaggle-toothed. And I am not sure that I am ready for that. He isn't even 6 years old yet!
He is pretty excited though. He has already made the requisite calls to grandparents and is eagerly awaiting Jeremiah's return from camp so that he can show his brother.

Goldrush

Goldrush week was pretty epic! We drove down and spent the week at a youth conference in Atlanta with the youth group from our church. Aaron was there in an official capacity as a chaperone and the boys and I were pretty much just tagging along for fun. It was lots of fun to stay in hotel room, eat out for every meal, climb rock walls, play hours of fuzball (spelling?) air hockey and basketball, participate in some pretty awesome worship services, get to know the youth of our church better, and spend hours hanging out with friends.

A new look

I still remember when my mom got glasses. I was a teenager and she kept asking me to read things for her that were in small print. Over the past few months I have been noticing that the TV and computer screen can look blurry and that I would have headaches at the end of the day. Turns out I needed glasses. Choosing frames was my idea of a nightmare because 1) I hate making decisions, and 2) I have no fashion sense. Aaron helped me narrow the choices down to two frames. I texted pictures to friends and family and ended up choosing the frames that go the most votes. I like them. Now I just have to get used to wearing them....

As soon as I put them on both of the boys said, "You look just like Oma!" In this instance looking like my mothers is a good thing.

Where goes the summer?

 Proof that we did celebrate Father's Day a few weeks ago. My guys!

June is over.
I can't believe it.
It flew by and now July is staring us down. July is packed full and looking a bit intimidating at this point. I am not one who usually embraces "busy." I prefer to mix up busy with down time at home. But this is where we are right now. And everything filling up our month is fun and good and worthwhile so with some extra patience and grace I think we can enjoy the busy.

Aaron finished his June classes for his Education Specialist degree! He is a hard worker and a good provider for our family. He has also taken on extra responsibility by being on the pastoral search committee of our church. He is patient and funny and loving and wise.

I am starting a part-time job later this month. I was really unsure as to whether I should add the responsibility to my plate. But it seems that God has perfectly provided for us through this opportunity. It is going to take good time management skills, some sacrifice of free time, and family teamwork to make it all work but I think we are up to the challenge.