Buddies

So, today Mar is running a fever. She loves to stay in our bed when she is under the weather.

After she finished some soup, she whispered something in Tate's ear. They were soon running to his room and then into mine. I came in to find this...

She is happiest when they are playing together.  That's the best medicine-- time with your sweet brother. 

Resurrection and hitting the reset button

Easter has officially usurped Thanksgiving as my favorite holiday... they are pretty close, but there is something about Easter that each year just fills my heart. 


This holiday for Christians is a biggie, and unlike Christmas, much less stress.  No gifts, no cards to mail (although, I am changing that in 2015) no fussy decorations, no rat race.  Just grace.  Just redemption.  Just the Power of Jesus.  And, my precious children all gussied up...

This picture was taken with a grumpy two year old, and me standing in the rain trying to get them to smile.  No children were harmed.  But, it was a close one...

Our Easter weekend was wonderful and started with the 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt with Doodle and Papa.

Have I mentioned how nice it is to live closer to my parents.  Seriously.  So good for the kids.  And Marleigh and Tate, too.  ;)

We had a fun, busy, running-crazy-to-the-next-thing kind of weekend.  Ned got our garden planted while we hit up the birthday party of the century--bounce house, Easter egg hunt,
pinatas.  My kids were in heaven.  And exhausted. 

Church was a great period of worship and rejuvenation for the week.  

Tate was super excited about the min-photo shoot he had to endure.  Someone get this kid some coffee.  Or more candy!  :) 

We wrapped up the weekend with a big Easter dinner with our best buds, the Hopkins.  It was a rainy, cozy evening in and somehow even with the newborn baby, two toddlers and a five year old, the volume never seemed too loud and we really enjoyed our time together just being.  So thankful for friends that you can be totally comfortable with and totally yourself with.  

So, with all the busy of late, today I hit the reset button.  No school.  (I promise I plan on Marleigh finishing kindergarten this year.  Seriously.)  I let the kids do their thing.  Play outside in the mud with the chickens.  Take a bath in the middle of day.  We just basked in the nothing-special-ness of this day. The slower pace.  The cuddles.  The sweet simplicity of our life.  

Change

We have had a great February. 


We started out with Tater's party, I attended an awesome women's retreat/conference, and we celebrated Ned's birthday.  Somewhere in there we also bought a minivan.  Oh, yeah.  We are cool now.

And I realized that although I have gone through quite a bit of change in the last 6 years, it still kills me. 


I cried when we left my 12 year old 4 Runner at the car dealership.  Seriously.  Cried. 


I have had that car since I was a single woman.  It saw my marriage, drove us to our honeymoon, brought two kids home from the hospital, moved me 4 times across our great state and kept us safe. 
I am not one to attach to material things.  I love nice things and I take care of them, but they do not own me.  But, leaving that car hurt. 


I was explaining this to a dear friend of mine, and in her infinite wisdom she told me, "saying goodbye to things that have blessed us and been a part of so many memories is hard."  Yes.  Yes it is. 


So, this is a big ol' shout out to Goldilocks.  I pray that she blesses another owner as she richly blessed us. 

Tiny hearts

For several days, Mar was after me for painting our nails.  It seemed I always had something more pressing, some immediate thing to tend to.  School, laundry and life have a way of crowding out the idle, but necessary joy of the little things, don't they?

So, we finally dumped two bags of sparkly, feminine polish on the living room floor and dug in. Brother was fast asleep so we had the gift of quiet, together-time.

Now, after years of being her helper, Mar insists on painting her own nails.  I did help with her heart design on those toes.

I am not sure what else I could have accomplished in that 45 minutes of girl bonding and beautifying we spent, but whatever it was, I could care less.  

Tiny hearts on tiny toes.  Best part of my day.  

Three weeks in...

We have settled into a nice little fall routine.  Homeschooling, church, MOPS and dance classes are keeping us busy, but fulfilled. 

We just started our fourth official week of homeschooling and I must say it has been such a blessing to our family.  Marleigh is doing so well.  I had high expectations since she loves to learn so much and she is meeting and exceeding those expectations.

Now, that being said, we still have days when everything is not perfect.  (I love how some homeschooling mom blogs represent this home educating utopia.  Can I come live with them?)




Tate was not feeling the craft.  And did not want to say, "cheese."







But, for the most part we have a lot of fun and we have a lot of flexibility.  Yesterday, since the weather is fantastic in our part of Texas, we took school outside.  This really seemed to help with the wiggly little brother we have. We just arrived in Egypt in our Bible study, and we were working on Egyptian collars for our craft. 

 

So, for now homeschooling is our focus.  The kids are also having a great time once a week at our homeschooling co-op in Weatherford. 

 

Mar is taking dance lessons weekly, and is doing really well with it.  She loves her little friends and seems to be learning quite a bit.  She still has terrible stage fright, so we are touch and go on the spring recital.  We shall see...

 

And, Tate.  Sweet Tate.  He is talking more and more each day and keeping us laughing.  His little personality is so unique and wonderful.  I am in awe of how much I love my little boy.

Tate at his last well doctor visit.

The biggest blessing of homeschooling, that I have really embraced but did not expect, is the wonderful way it is preserving our family dynamic.  My kids bicker, yes, but they also have this profound love and bond that just fascinates me.  Home educating Marleigh (and Tate later) has given us all a chance to be together and foster those bonds even more. 

Blessed...



End of summer fun

Last week we had a great visit with some of our best friends... the Stevens girls!  Kandace and Brynlee (and Dr. Scott) still live in Floresville down south, so a visit with them is extra special to us.  We miss them so much... they are very special to our family. 

We decided to brave the zoo and the splash pad with our nuggets.  We had a great time. 
And, mama and Kandace got lots of good visiting time-- something I miss so much.

 

 

 

Movie night! With Daysie, of course!

 

 

 

It was a lovely week.  But, bittersweet as well.  It made me miss these folks even more.  They are some of the best people we have ever met... I know we will be lifelong friends (the kind you call first when your basement floods.  Just sayin'.) but I sure wish we were only 10 minutes down the road still.  But, that is why they invented road trips!

 

It was a great way to end our summer.  Blessed.  

 

 

Ready, set, school!

Our homeschool nook is ready and the curriculum is here. We can start school!

Our official start date is the 3rd, right after Labor Day. I am almost too excited to wait and I can tell Marleigh is, too!  

In case you are nosy, I am sneaking in pics of our nook. (I always love seeing how other moms "do" stuff, especially home educating!)  So, here goes...



The nook.  This is right off our kitchen.  I can totally see our dining room becoming the school room if I don't fill it soon with a dining table!

    Map and artwork purchased at Mardel...

 

    ALL of their curriculum, workbooks, activities...
 

These are Tate's busy boxes--thanks for all the great ideas, fellow mamas!

I am so stinkin' pumped to start this journey with the kids.  I really feel 100% called to this decision and although I am a little nervous and I know the days won't all be easy, I am ready.

A lot people ask me or Ned, "Why are you homeschooling?"  I would say about 95% of these folks are truly just curious. It is something they have never considered and really are interested in the why's and how's and all of that.  (The other five percent, well, who cares!)

I answer them as simply and clearly as a feel it in my heart-- God has placed a peace and calling in my heart for home educating my kids.  This in no way devalues another family's choice to use the public school system.  Since Marleigh was born, I had a feeling, no matter where we lived, no matter how stellar the school system or how many great teachers there were, that we would end up here. 

Let's be honest, there are a million and one ways to do this thing called parenting.  And it is hard.  Brutally hard, and wonderful and glorious.  But hard.  We each, as parents, make decisions every day that affect our kids.  What they eat.  What they watch.  Who they play with.  What clothes they wear.  I could go on and on.  And education is one of those great choices.  And, thank God, Americans still have a CHOICE.  I would never, ever question a parent's choice to put their children in public school.  I have many dear friends who are excellent, dedicated parents that have made that decision.  And their kids will be just fine.

I guess what I am getting at is this-- let's give each other a break and the benefit of the doubt. And when we make mistakes, let's pick each other up and learn together.
Let's learn from each of our choices and do what feels good for your family regardless of societal pressure.   Let's support one another and while you may think I am a crazy as a loon, trust me, God's got this! 

So, to answer some of the questions:

No, I am not worried about socialization.  (Have you talked to Marleigh?!)

No, I do not think they will grow up to be weird.  Well, no weirder than Ned and I.  Uh oh.  

Yes, I think I am smart enough, but thank the Lord for good curriculum.

I have a lot to learn, both as an educator to my kids and as a parent to them. And by the grace God, the kids and I will learn a lot together.