Joyfully Weary

A weekly reflection inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". " these are the small graces, the little moments when the miracles come... they are a reminder to the heart there is more to life than meets the eye... He is in the small graces.... small graces pointing me to the larger one... little glimpses of the kingdom come..." parking at church before 9:00am hanging with sister-in-laws; indulging our similar sartorial tastes fall picnics and park play dates that last 3 hours dancing dolphins - a perfect end to our ocean unit face paint autumn oreos yes, i ate all five & yes, i know how unhealthy they are - it was worth it a finished & hanging fall wreath This was a very good week.  Sunday night I  was able to visit my sister-in-laws and see my niece, Wren. Then the rest of the week was full of play dates. I'm incredibly thankful for my mom-friends, and for the quiet support and e...

When I shared our Ocean Unit I mentioned that National Geographic Kids Oceans   was one of our favorite books. There is one page in particular that Big Buddy loves - he'll study it for several minutes at a time. national geographic kids oceans, pages 58-59 Since he's so captivated by the picture we've read the text several times and decided it would be fun to create our own ocean layers... Our supplies : blue, black, and white paint, small bowls, stir sticks, bubble wrap, sponge brushes, white paper/foam board, sea life stencils, markers, stickers.  Step 1 : pour a little blue paint into the three bowls.  Step 2 : add a bit of white paint to one cup to create a lighter shade of blue. This will be the top ocean layer/sunlight zone. Step 3 : add a bit of black paint to one cup to create a darker shade of blue. This will be the bottom ocean layer/midnight zone. The remaining cup of blue paint is the middle layer/twilight zone. ...

It feels like it's been a long time since I have put together one of these posts. I think before I start, I should give you a little update on our homeschooling:  Big Buddy turned five in August. Since he is a young five, we have debated a lot on whether to "red shirt" him and wait until next year to officially start kindergarten, or to start this year. Like most children he has areas where he excels and areas where he struggles. Since the path is not an obvious one, we've decided to take full advantage of the flexibility homeschooling offers and continue to play it by ear. That being said, we are not calling what we do this year kindergarten. Instead we are just continuing to move forward on skills like math and reading while digging deeper into subjects that spark excitement. In addition to our theme units, Big Buddy and I are also working our way through  The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading  and  Singapore Math.   Mini Man turned t...

A weekly reflection inspired in part by Bob Bennett's song "Small Graces". "sometimes they slip by without notice sometimes they are very hard to see other times it's very clear when they are happening to me"  watching little lady light up with excitement when she spotted maca at church colors and light in our schoolroom lizzie, a dog for my kids to love, that i don't have clean up after or walk *she belongs to maca and papa maca's - who not only treat you to ice cream, but let you taste their's silly sibling games and the cutest little ponytail squeals of delight when she found daddy in one of her books pretty hand-me-downs and a girl who can't wait to try  them on  friends who insist on sharing their picnic lunches a midday treat of coffee and cappuccino crinkles  watching her mimic her brothers and being amazed at how much she learns  an old camera and a future...

Last month I turned thirty and for the most part it didn't feel like a huge deal; I'm not much of a sentimental. I did however take a little time to think about the person I've been and the person I hope to become. I can give you a long list of things that I still hope to accomplish: a marathon, a masters degree, foster parenting, etc. There is one thing that I want  need more than the other things though - I want to learn how to be dependent on God. Dependency does not come easy to me. I like to appear capable and strong. I tend to be more of an introvert and I hold my cards close. I like plans and having control. I prefer action and I hate waiting. When I was twenty some of my college girlfriends would frequently call me Miss Independent. At the time I loved the nickname; I liked the idea of not needing anyone. Independence can be a lonely place though. I've failed to develop friendships and let others slip away because I haven't been more vulnerable. Worst of...

This weekend we put the "final" touches on our schoolroom. I put quotes around final because with me things are never quite finished; once I get one thing done another idea or improvement seems to pop in to my head. I have a couple more things I'd like to do, but until we can budget more money and time I'm happy with our space. Last year we did our homeschool work in the dining room but I quickly realized we needed a change.  We don't have an eat-in kitchen and cleaning off the table for every meal got a little crazy. We debated for awhile on where exactly to put our schoolroom. We have a partially finished basement and a guest room upstairs that were options but ultimately we decided to use the extra room on the main floor. It is a good size and gets lots of natural light. I also like that the location is central so if the younger children are playing downstairs or having a snack at the table and I can still hear them. It does have one downside in that it ...