Field Trip - Apple Farm

 (This is what happens when you get ready to take a picture and the wagon ride lurches to a start.) 

We are adjusting to our new normal - incredibly busy. We don't prefer this kind of normal, but it is what it is for right now. So all we can do is breathe deep and do our best to stay calm, loving, and joyful even in the midst of the busy. Earlier in September we went on our annual Apple Farm Field Trip with a bunch of other home school families - 10 adults and 23 kids to be exact. We tried a different place this year. They didn't have u-pick apples, but they had a bunch of other fun activities that the kids enjoyed.

Being in the mountains soothes me. Especially as fall is nearing. It was a good day to catch up with friends, hold babies, watch kids run and learn to make friends, and eat some fried fruit pies.

Game Season

Last week kicked my butt. Between home schooling, disciplining challenging behavior, babysitting, soccer schedules, trying to tackle a few extra projects, a field trip, and the sudden need to get a new vehicle, by the time Saturday evening rolled around and Aaron was out with friends for his birthday I was more than happy to veg on the couch with a chick flik and some Ben & Jerry's. My introverted self was completely fried and needed to retreat for a few hours.

The foreseeable future continues to be busy. I just keep breathing deep, ignoring the house that isn't as clean as I would like it, and repeating, "I can only control myself." I get to choose whether I will be stressed out and irritable or whether I will be calm, peaceful, and gentle. It's up to me. I also get to receive and extend grace when I mess up and react with anger or impatience. For now, I am taking one day at a time, trying to enjoy each moment because these days will fly by and we don't get another chance. 

Etowah Indian Mounds - Field Trip

We are one month into our Sonlight Core D curriculum for this year. We are all really enjoying it! We are studying the early history of North America and it is fascinating. Last week we went on a field trip that fit in exactly with what we are learning. Just an hour from our house is the Etowah Indian Mounds historic site.

Here is a description:

Home to several thousand Native Americans from 1000 A.D. to 1550 A.D., this 54-acre site protects six earthen mounds, a plaza, village site, borrow pits and defensive ditch. Etowah Mounds is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the Southeast.  Artifacts in the museum show how natives of this political and religious center decorated themselves with shell beads, paint, complicated hairdos, feathers and copper ear ornaments. Hand-carved stone effigies weighing 125 pounds still bear some original pigments.  Objects made of wood, seashells and stone are also displayed.

Visitors can follow a nature trail along the Etowah River where they can view a v-shaped fish trap used for catching fish.  The trail also highlights how early civilizations used native trees for food and medicine.
While only nine percent of this site has been excavated, examination at Mound C and surrounding artifacts revealed much about the people who lived here. They were a society rich in ritual. Towering over the community, the 63-foot earthen knoll was likely used as a platform for the home of the priest-chief. In another mound, nobility were buried in elaborate costumes accompanied by items they would need in their after-lives.

We had a great day. Visiting the mounds really gave us a way to imagine and bring to life what we have been reading about during our school day. Plus we got to spend the day with our friends.

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.