My how they've grown!

First day of school last year...

and this year...

Back to School

Or, more accurately, back to the table. Being homeschoolers, we have the joy and privilege to journey through education together… and believe me, some days I learn more than the kids do! It also means that we get to do “school work” year round, giving us a more flexible schedule overall. That said, this week we got back into the more structured swing of things in preparation for the official school year as well as in anticipation of starting back up with the outreach program through our local school, where the kids get to go once a week to their own “homeschoolers only” campus to take classes like Pottery, Spelling Bee, Irish Dance, and Leatherworks. More on the excitement of that day later.

About half of the day today was spent on arranging school “spaces”, and the other half on… taking them down. Well, not really, but it’s hard for this mom to curb such enthusiasm about customizing one’s space when I spent a whole day on my F.A.M.I.L.Y. project. We also discussed other joys of homeschooling, such as having company on the chair next to you. Can you imagine the chaos in a classroom if every kid brought a blanket and a kittie? Yeeps!

Horses

The next best thing (according to my girls) to owning horses, is having good friends who own horses. Of course, my husband prefers the latter as there is no hay to buy, corrals to build, or whining about whose turn it is to muck out the stall. We have been very blessed to have good friends who not only own a few horses, but who have raised two amazingly sweet daughters that love to indulge our children’s love of everything “horse-y”.

Recently, while we were all “gettin’ our cowboy on” around our friends’ corral, I was struck by just how much the girls had grown. Not mine so much as our friends’ daughters. One just graduated from high school and the other is hot on her heels. What really got me, though, is that we met these girls when they were about my oldest daughter’s age, and now here they are, on the cusp of adulthood. It made me wonder who we are befriending now that will be present in the lives of our children when they’re that age. What toddler friends do we have that will be climbing all over my kids later, like mine do with our friends’ girls? Am I teaching my children to be patient, encouraging, and inquisitive, so that they can teach those traits to the younger ones later? I hope we haven’t lost our sense of urgency when it comes to raising Godly children who see everyone around them as precious and cherished in the sight of our glorious Heavenly Father!

Roller Coasters

Well, they say that children are willing to try anything… apparently, that includes roller coasters! We took a family outing to our “local” theme park and I was amazed at my kids’ willingness to try every single ride, waterslide, and crazy food item available. When dad and the two older ones decided to try one of the really big roller coasters, I thought the 6yo might have finally reached her limit. Apparently not. That’s right, my sweet baby rode a grown-up roller coaster that actually spends part of its time UNDERGROUND! Being the good mom, I declined to accompany them so as to document such an important occasion. Otherwise, I would have gone… really.

The amount of trust my baby girl had in her daddy to keep her safe, and the way that she was willing to try something so full of unknowns for her, made me think of the way we’re instructed to come to Christ as children, with childlike faith. Too often we let life experiences destroy our ability to trust and our willingness to try something unknown. It makes me wonder just how much we miss out on because we’re too proud to act like a child.

Go do something today… something scary and unfamiliar, and do it with the complete faith of a child.

Well, if it won't stop...

We figured we might as well come up with something creative to do with all the snow since it won't stop falling. This is what we came up with...
Hope you're enjoying the weather wherever you are! : )

Sick Day

What I'll be reading today... instead of taking kids to their once a week homeschool outreach classes. They're pretty bummed. This is the first day back after Christmas break and they've got all sorts of things to catch up on with friends.

Alas, Buttercup got the stomach bug last night and Dragon Boy was feeling a little warm as well. So far, Curlylocks seems to be holding her own, but hey, we always knew she was spunkier than the others! ; )

Guess that menu plan will be a-changing... crackers and toast all around!

Guess who had a birthday??

Yes, indeed, our very own Man of the House turned 40!

The kids had a blast making him both a bread "cake" and a chocolate-to-the-extreme cake. Princess Buttercup (the 8.5yo) even stated that it was too sweet for her, and would anyone like to finish her piece. Whoa! That should give you some idea. Guess we'll be scratching Triple Chocolate Fudge cake off the recipe list.

This of course led to a much, much later bedtime than usual. Dragon Slayer (the 6.5yo) and Curlylocks (the 4yo) were up quite late giggling all of the Triple Chocolate Fudge out of their systems. Another reason to scratch that recipe!

Happy Birthday sweetie!!