Snow Days

Snow ninjas

Monday dawned bright and sunny. We had Jeremiah's class and errands to run so I decided to make it an epic day out so that I wouldn't have to leave the house any more this week. I had no idea what the rest of the week would bring...

Tuesday we woke late for us and spent the morning puttering around. School work was started, bread put in the oven, laundry going. It was peaceful and cozy. Mid morning I looked out the window and noticed snowflakes coming down. I didn't think much of it. I don't watch TV and I rarely check the weather. I checked my Facebook feed and noticed that local schools were going to dismiss early. I texted Aaron and asked him if he would get to come home too. It was a pretty idyllic day. Falling snow, cozy house, appetizing smells, excited boys. Aaron slipped his way home. His usual 45 minute commute took him 2 1/2 hours, which felt like forever at the time but later turns out to be one of the shorter commute times of the afternoon. Friends were posting of 4 - 7 hour drives home!

School has ended up  being cancelled for the rest of the week. We have been hibernating here at home. Continuing with our school work. Drinking lots of hot chocolate. Scrounging up enough warm gear for the boys to play outside. Taking hot baths. Popping corn. Watching movies. Drinking lots of hot tea. Taking naps. Staying up late.

It has been a nice, unexpected break.

A Quick School Update

According to my handy-dandy Google Calendar that I used to plan out our school year back in the summer we are supposed to be on week 20 of our Core D from Sonlight. We are in fact on week 16. The fact that I am not stressing about this discrepancy proves that I am a "veteran" homeschooler by now. Ha Ha.

Maybe we spent too much time in front of screens over our 2 week Christmas break. But if I take a minute to step back I can see that we are doing and learning so much! Like our impromptu trip to the Aquarium with friends. Or the hours and hours that the boys spend playing outside with friends on the 9 wooded acres that surround our church, while I am working. The Jesse Tree readings we do during Advent, along with the extra Christmas books that we snuggle to read. Jeremiah avidly reading "spy" books and working for hours on his "Secret Agent File." Nathaniel drawing lots and lots of picture for friends. And sitting down every day to read a little bit to me - and getting good at it! We plug away at math and handwriting even on days that we don't always sit down and do our Core work.

In our Core work we are in the time of the colonists, right before the Revolutionary War. So much seems to be connecting in the boys heads. Things we saw in Philadelphia, books we are reading, a documentary we are watching - all of it is coming together and we are all learning so much.

In fact, when we sat down to watch a documentary about the colonists and the Revolutionary War the boys had to run and get the proper weaponry.

Christmas 2013

I am learning so much about taking life just one day at a time. We had a lovely Christmas Eve Day at the Rapier house complete with a lovely brunch, lots of presents, laughter, cousins, and delicious snack food. I could feel signs of a cold coming on but tried to ignore it as much as possible. Christmas Day and I was completely out of it. I made it out of bed long enough to watch the boys open their Christmas presents. We moved the party we were supposed to have at our house to a friends house. Aaron and the boys headed out to the party and I headed back to bed where I stayed for 2 days.
Even though we didn't really do anything special it was still declared by the boys to be "the best Christmas ever!"

He just keeps growing...

The other night during our small group Christmas party Jeremiah stood in front of me during prayer time. And I realized suddenly that I could comfortably rest my chin on the top of his head! Nine years ago I was pregnant with this guy at Christmas time and anxiously awaiting his arrival. Now he is so grown up.

Quiet-ing

It has been quiet here on the blog. Which is never my intention. This blog serves as the kids memory books really. Every now and then I will scroll back through old posts and I am so thankful that I took the time to record our memories. This year it has been harder. I have had some emotional, spiritual, and physical struggles and so it has been survival mode around here. But I think we are emerging. I feel energy returning.

We are enjoying a much slower and quieter pace after the hectic pace of fall. We are snuggling down and staying in and enjoying our own little nest. I feel more centered, peaceful, and purposeful. I love puttering around the house with no where to go. We work and play to the twinkle of lights and the soundtrack of Christmas music, reminding me that the Light has come and the darkness cannon overwhelm it. We "decked our halls" little by little and this year the boys pretty much decorated the whole tree by themselves. I stayed pretty stress free through the process and considered that a major victory. Our own family traditions are solidifying; Jesse Tree readings, unexpected surprises in stockings at random times, hot chocolate and popcorn while we read books from the Christmas book basket, friends over after the town Christmas parade.

We will not be traveling for Christmas this year. It will be a year for quiet celebration here at home.

Thanksgiving

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
-Psalm 103:1-5, 22

Philly Trip - Downtown Philadelphia

One of the days we were in Philadelphia we went downtown and viewed some of the historic sites. Some of the sites were closed due to the government shut down (Independence Hall, Liberty Bell) but we were still able to see some other things. It was a gorgeous fall day in the city and just walking around the old streets gave us the ability to picture some of the things we have been reading about in our books. Of course, no trip to downtown Philly would be complete without a terrific cheese steak sandwich!

Independence Hall

(Viewed from across the street. Due to the government shut down the whole block the building was on was barricaded off. I must admit I was very disappointed about this because we are going to be reading a lot about this building...Oh well...)

 Liberty Bell

We visited the Constitution Center. It was a great museum. Very interactive and full of detail. I really learned a lot here. My background is such that I don't particularly identify with, or feel patriotic to any one particular country, but it was fascinating to learn about the Constitution. And I can say that I gained a new appreciation for this country of my birth. Here are the boys, more American than I will ever be, with the preamble of the Constitution in the background.

 The boys met Betsy Ross! 

Did you know that George Washington originally requested 6-point stars on the flag because that was the common way to make a star back then. But Betsy Ross suggested a 5-point star because they can be made with just 1 cut and therefore could be made more easily and quickly. Smart lady! 

Cooking colonial style

The Betsy Ross House was open and a good place to visit. (Thanks dad for making us go in even though I was tired and ready to go home!) So many interesting things to learn and great details to see. Again, just being able to walk around the house really helped us visualize things from the books we are reading about the colonial period of American history. And really, how cool is it that George Washington himself walked through that very front door and had to duck because he was so tall?

Philly Trip - Re-enactment

I have so much to catch up on...So, one thing at a time.

On our first full day in Philly we went to a reenactment of the Battle of Germantown which occurred during the Revolutionary War. It was a beautiful day and such a fun, educational experience.

First we walked around the "Suttlers Camp" and talked to some of the reenactors. The attention to detail was amazing. The reenactors were friendly and informative. 

Then we watched the mustering of the troops. There were so many there! Each regiment had their own flavor with regiment specific uniforms, gear, and weapons. It was quite the spectacle.

 

 

 

 Then the battle began with lots of drumming and marching. The cannon fire was loud! There was smoke everywhere from the musket fire. It felt pretty realistic. Someone was narrating the battle over a loudspeaker so we were able to follow what was going on.

 

We really enjoyed the day. It reminded me of why we are enjoying our homeschooling so much. The combination of living books from our curriculum and experiences like this really teach the boys a lot, and it doesn't even feel like school work! If you get a chance to attend a reenactment I highly recommend it.

 

Suddenly it's fall

We woke up one morning and it was Fall. Soccer is winding down (just the championship games to go!), the yard is a mess of leaves no matter how often we rake, we went to the annual Harvest Party out at Mrs. Linda's, we all had our first cold/congestion illness, we are preparing for the Highlands Retreat, and suddenly we have to close the windows and make sure the heat is on at night.

I have lots of things to post about (including more about our Philly trip that was a month ago now), but right now we are playing catch up. Thankfully we are seeing our busy season slowing down. Soccer is ending which frees up our weeknights and the pastoral search committee, which was taking up so much of Aaron's time, is wrapping up too! I feel disorganized and slightly chaotic but am determined to keep calm and just tackle one thing at a time.

Yesterday evening I was home with the boys. It was calm and peaceful. We ate together and then had plenty of time after showers for some read-alouds, Bible reading, and prayer. We dug out our "Gratitude Journals" from last November and started again. It felt so good to just be. It was refreshing to take time for our evening routine, to not be rushed. I am determined that we will slow down and enjoy November and Fall.

Philly trip - Part 1

We just went on a trip to Philadelphia. The boys and I drove up, while Aaron stayed home holding down the fort. We went for a number of reasons. My dad turned 60 and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to be part of the celebration. We wanted to take some field trips that go along with what we are learning in school this year. We needed some Lieke cuddles. I needed a change of scenery and pace.

So we went. And had a terrific time! We took two days to travel each way, which made the journey quite relaxing and fun. We enjoyed our time with family and learned lots of new things. We came home rested and refreshed and ready to tackle "real life" again.