The time has (finally) come…

 

“People laugh at me because I use big words.   But if you have big ideas you have to use big words to express them, haven’t you?”   

-Anne with an ‘e’

 I think the Anne books are some of the most beautifully written – ever.   Period.  Full stop. 

I have been waiting 12 years for the day to start the series with my kids, and today was the day!  Eden is 5 and can sit through and understand enough of it to enjoy it, though I imagine she will use some of that time to go and play quietly by herself (which is also fine by me). 

We live a few hours from Prince Edward Island, and have taken the boys to Green Gables before (though they don’t remember).  Perhaps we will make another trip over this summer, to enjoy it, breathe it in first hand. 

Oh, this is going to be FUN!

The Season’s First Snow

The kids are doing remarkably well with our homeschooling this week, enjoying the new curriculum, jumping into their work early and without my prompting, working through problems (and even corrections)  — calmly and patiently.  I’m sure David is tired of hearing me talk about how terrific this week has been, but it’s been GREAT!   The icing on the cake, however, was the snow that came yesterday.  It started at about 8:00 am…

…and it continued all day.

 It was a snow day here in our county, but considering the time we took off this fall, we opted to work through the day anyway.  Before hitting the books, we did a bit of last minute yard clean up by removing the pile of gravel from the driveway.  Our front walkway was completed the previous day (nice timing!), and the gravel had to be moved in order to use the snowblower.  The kids were great about getting down to business outside (moving gravel is HARD WORK), and equally good about their school work. 

After lunch, of course, they were back outside. 

David took the afternoon off to watch the kids while I worked, but I did manage to snap a couple photos of them in the yard.   This makes me thankful for the father my kids have.   

I must say I am grateful for the seasons.  I look forward to throwing open the windows on the first sunny spring day, and I look forward to the crispness of winter, drinking apple cider and hunkering down by the fire with books on the day of the first snow.

And that’s exactly what we did. 

And it’s exactly 1 month to my favourite day of the year!  Happy Winter to All!

Time for Myself

I’m not good at finding it, but when I do, I always think:  Gee, I should do this more often.

Time for myself is so elusive.  I don’t really even mind it that much because my time is spent doing better things, important things.   This season of kids at home will be over before I know it and I don’t want any regrets over what I didn’t do with them, time I didn’t spend.  I don’t want to be a shussher.  I don’t want to always be ditching them for a little ‘me time.’  I want my kids to feel welcomed and loved and encouraged and included in our lives as a family.   That’s where my time is being spent.

I’m more than good with that.

But most days, by about 8:00 pm, my sleepiness starts to kick in.  At that point, I really just want to sit down but I know that when I do, it’s game over.  I won’t be getting off my butt again until the sun shows its face. 

Last night was David’s only evening without meetings.  He has a huge pile of responsibilities on his plate and is very good at taking it all in stride.  He got to tuck Eden into bed, then sat with the boys to watch Top Gear (a weekly ritual they’ve had for two or three years now).  I, thankfully, had supper finished long before meal time, which meant the kitchen was clean before we even ate our supper!  I LOVE when that happens.   I surveyed the tidiness and declared a rare bath time for myself

…with a glass of Cabernet

…and book I’ve had on my shelf for a couple of years now, The Kite Runner.

It was only a 45 minute break, and it did include at least 6 interruptions from my children.  But it was delicious to just sit and read.  I need more of that. 

Next time, I’ll use that lock that seems to be on the door some strange reason.

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Joy

This post has been linked to Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom. 

Have a wonderful joy-filled day!

A Gift

David is an absolute gift.

He’s flawed like everyone else.  He works constantly on building his patience as a Dad.  He is potter’s clay, being molded, shaped and transformed each day.

                Like all of us, he’s a work in progress.   

He works hard, but knows when to push ‘pause’ on the busyness to take time for a light saber duel. 

He’s a Dad with the unique ability to make the kids belly laugh until a beverage flies out of someone’s nose…and then laugh harder.

He sets an amazing example for his kids as a man who adores his wife and holds his marriage high. 

He demonstrates to our boys what it means to be a good husband, and epitomizes what our daughter should look for in one as well.  (Please God, give her a husband like mine!) 

David is a strong man of faith, on fire for Christ, proudly walking the walk.  

And he is a remarkable gift to this family. 

Thank you God. 

Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful Dads out there!! 

Eager Hands

So, we baked on Wednesday, as I had intended.  We opted for chocolate banana cookies instead of muffins – an excellent choice!  Both the baking and the painting that followed were an effort to stomp out the ‘someday’ I too often draw on in my day-to-day.   Between homeschooling and the business and all the other things I have on my plate, it had been too many weeks since we baked and painted together. It felt good to back at it. 

Though it was also a test of my patience. 

Those eager little hands love to help and take their sweet time doing it. 

Am I right?

But yesterday, it didn’t matter.  Yes, I could make the cookies in about a sixth of the time it took with my helpers, but that wasn’t the point.  Instead of rushing them along (as I have done a LOT lately), I took some deep calming breaths, focussed on my patience, and left them to it.  

The learned, giggled, got their hands dirty.  They enjoyed the supervision of their Mama who was simply watching contentedly, and encouraging them along the way.

And I don’t think anything could have made them happier.  

I want my kids to later reflect on their childhoods with memories of a Mom who had the patience to let them do these kinds of things, not one who was always rushing them along to the next task.  

I want to encourage those eager little hands! 

Focusing on the “worldly” causes me to lose focus on what’s really important.  Sure, I may have lost bit of focus lately, but I’m getting it back.    Oh YES, I am! 

____________

This post has been linked to Amy’s Finer Things.

How Did This Happen?

I have an 11 year old!  I don’t know how it happened exactly, but it’s true.  Just a short while ago he was a sassy little dirty-faced boy with his finger up his nose and today, Gabe is eleven.  David reminded me today that we have just two short years before we are parents to a teen.  Good grief! 

We hosted a party after church yesterday with his bestest buds.    Oh, the fun these kids have when they are together!  We’re at the stage now I don’t really need to plan anything for the party.  I throw a few fun things in a goodie bag and make a cake and the rest all happens on its own.  I’m delighted that is the case as it sure makes for an easier day!   And the kids can’t get any happier.

He wanted a Lego Star Wars theme, which meant that he put on a costume when his guests arrived, and of course, I made a Lego Star Wars cake.  I love the challenge of baking a theme cake, and this one was easy (slab + ramekins) and fun. 

This morning he got to eat breakfast in bed for the first time ever.  It was both a big deal and a huge success.   Homemade waffles with fresh berries and whipped cream and chocolate drizzle and shaved chocolate/ cinnamon on top, served with a mug of hot apple cider.  He was a very happy boy.

We didn’t do a whole lot of school today, just a bit.  There was just too much celebrating to do! 

Gabriel, you are a wonder.

I admire your confidence to be who you want to be,

The affection you show to those you love,

The importance you place on your faith at such a young age,

Your ability to make us laugh uncontrollably,

The way you appreciate beautiful words,

Devour a good book,

Express yourself so creatively,

and approach everything in life with a serendipitous wide-eyed wonder. 

But I’m especially pleased that you are just as happy to snuggle with your Mom at 11, as you were when you were two. 

I love you Gabe.    Happy Birthday!

Music Themes for Our Day

Our days are filled with music. 

When we wake up in the morning, we usually listen to Christian music, either from our own playlists or by tuning in to K-Love or something similar on iTunes radio.  The music is positive and uplifting and sets the tone for our day.  (Plus I never have to worry about what bad news or suggestive lyrics the kids might hear.)

To tackle our household tasks, we find that a bouncy mainstream playlist is the most motivating, best with some older tunes thrown in for good measure.  There’s nothing like Annie Lennox, the Gypsy Kings, Justin Beiber or the Beatles to get you moving.   Usher and the Black Eyed Peas get us all bopping around the house.  Every so often, we have a crazy-dancing interlude that makes us laugh uncontrollably and get a bit more enjoyment out of the dishes, dusting and toilet cleaning.    Music makes us feel great! 

When school starts, we usually listen to classical music.  Sometimes it’s just piano, sometimes whole orchestras.  This morning I made a quick playlist of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1, through to No. 9.  to enjoy during our morning.  (Sidebar:  I heard Symphony No. 7 last night when I saw the movie ’ The King’s Speech ‘ and spent most of the scene with my eyes closed because I am always just so moved by the beauty of that piece.  I woke this morning feeling particularly thirsty for it …)   

Yesterday morning as Gabe came down the stairs on his way to begin school, he said “Oh, this must be his ninth symphony, because it’s the only one he composed with a chorus !”    I looked at him, stunned.  “…because there are people singing,” he continued.  I have no idea if there is any truth to that (he tells me it’s fact and he’s probably right), but I was just stunned by his knowledge of that little tidbit.  Don’t you love the things we learn from our children?   Ask me again why it’s important to read good books. 

It seems that now might be a good time to reconvene the music lessons we dropped a few years ago.  Gabe took guitar.  Caleb took piano.  Neither of them were ready (and I’ve read repeatedly that a child starting early has no benefit over those starting later.  By the time they are both twelve, they will be at the same level.)  In any case, it might be time to start up lessons again. 

The background instrumental music we play is a wonderful addition to our homeschool morning.  It’s creating an appreciation of something beautiful, and I’m so pleased to have the flexibility to include it. 

Let me leave you with that ‘thirsty’ piece I mentioned:

Get… OUT!

I’m a big Seinfeld fan, so I can’t say that phrase (or even write it) without thinking of Elaine Benes.  Good grief, she cracks me up! 

But I say it today as a reminder to get outside and enjoy this beautiful gift of a world!  Sometimes we spend more time than we should in the cozy confines of our homes.  Sometimes, we just need to get outside a bit more. 

When we moved to this house, one of the major plusses was its location.  We could walk anywhere as a family, without issue.  We still walked at our last house too, and the kids did well going out, but complained the whole way back.  We did it anyway, but it certainly wasn’t as much fun as it is now.  It feels great being able to drive less.  It feels good to consume a tiny bit less of that oil on which we’ve become so dependent.  There is something really great about walking to the farmers market, the library, church, the grocery store, the mall, wherever.   It’s empowering.  It teaches our kids that you don’t have to spend money or get in your car and drive somewhere to be active.  All you have to do is get out.   Be active.  And start walking.  It’s dead simple.

Yesterday, we finally got our first real taste of winter here in our little piece of Nova Scotia.    The kids were out for hours in the afternoon, and after supper we enjoyed a lovely family walk in the dark… and a good old-fashioned snowball fight.  It didn’t require any money.  It didn’t require any special planning.  It didn’t require anything other than time together and clothing we already had… all of us in our full-on snow gear to take full advantage of the experience. 

It was beautiful and completely silent outside.  We chased each other as best we could along the sidewalks.  We fell into the snow (Eden yelling ‘cannonball!’).  We formed snowballs and lobbed them at one another.  We worked on the snow fort of the day.  We laughed and spent time as a family.  And those are the things that create the best memories for kids! 

Now it’s 8:30 am… a snow day here.  Homeschoolers don’t really have ‘snow days’ per se, but we’ll have a day with an extra injection of fun here, that’s for sure.  The children have completed their morning tasks (Morning High Five), and they’re outside again, coasting down the small hill in our front yard.   Later, we may bundle up and hike on over to the library to find a local bird guide to accompany our upcoming Science Lesson.  We’ll walk.  Because we can. 

More memories.   Get… OUT!    You make some too.

Time Keeps on Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin’…

I can’t believe how quickly time flies.  People say it all the time.  Heck, I say it all the time.  But it’s so true, and it seems to slip faster and faster with every passing year.  Already, we’re in August.   AUGUST, People! 

Crazy.

Our summer thus far has been amazing.   We had a couple weeks of intense humidity (like everyone else it seeems), but aside from that, the weather here in Nova Scotia has been gorgeous.   Warm days + cool nights = a perfect summer in my mind.

We’ve had lots of work-related projects, several home organization projects, some garden-expansion, some home decorating and craft projects (more on that later), a couple of amazing VBS programs, time for two of the kids at camp, some great days at the beach, some visitors from afar.  We have more visitors arriving tomorrow and again later in the season.   And more updates to our home are expected between now and late September and I’m very excited for those!  

This week, I’ve started planning for our 2010-11 homeschooling year.  I always get really excited at this stage of planning because I just find it so…  fantastic!   There is so much opportunity to learn and get excited about learning!  And there are so many amazing curriculums out there.  It’s fun for me, each year, to kick it up a notch for the new “grades.”  I use the term loosely.  It’s a number that is assigned on the basis of age to appease the broader community, but we don’t technically have ‘grades’.   They learn at the level they’re at, which really means that I’m teaching Grades primary to Grade 7 at any given time.   But based on their age, the boys will be starting Grade 5 and Grade 3.  

This year we’ll be starting some biology and history, things we’ve only thus far skimmed as the interest dictated by the kids.  But now we’re moving ahead full force.    I’m excited!

All this to say… I haven’t forgotten you!  I can see that I am still getting LOTS of people visiting each day even though I haven’t been posting regularly. 

I will try to pop back here more regularly.  I really will try. 

I’ve missed you.