Daddy Takes the Big Kids Golfing

It's one of their favorite things to do together!

No Truck? Moving Furniture? No Problem!

Be sure to note the clever use of seat belts to hold the china cabinet in place. Don't worry. Our ten year old son was also holding onto it.

Also, you should know that this china cabinet lived with us for only one week before I resold it on Craisglist because I found a different one I liked better.

My husband loves me.

Very much.

The end.

Anybody Remember This?

I found this game at a garage sale for a quarter. It brought back memories!

A New Season

For years my heart has wanted it.

For years I had my excuses.

They were lined out so neatly and I had convinced myself they were all very valid.

But you can only run from God's calling for so long before you get worn out. And your excuses are finally exposed as just that - empty excuses.

So several months ago we started talking about it. Pondering, what if-ing, considering. Convincing, dreaming, planning. And today it began.

I am a homeschooling mom!

I expected tears today (because everyone told me to expect it!) but the day went wonderfully. With the exception of one child (who will remain nameless) who will hopefully learn very soon that working quickly means finishing earlier, everything was great! I'm still figuring out the ideal schedule, but I expect that will take awhile.

I went through the day feeling several things over and over:

• I was made for this. This is my purpose.
• When is it nap time? (I imagine this is due to my 5 hours of sleep last night.)
• I am worshiping God in this endeavor.

This worship song has been stuck in my head. I love that as I am teaching my kids numbers I can worship God. I am so blessed that instead of rushing out the door to drop them off at school, I am cuddling with them on the couch while we read Scriptures and stories filled with moral goodness.

And once again, there's the matter of God ordering our steps perfectly. I can't tell you how endlessly I had searched and scoured the internet for the perfect curriculum to use. There's SO much out there. So much good stuff too. But nothing felt right. And I was feeling stressed out and nervous and thinking I had it all wrong and we needed to send the kids back to school after all.

A couple of days before our summer trip to Tulsa my cousin in Dallas mentioned a program she was starting with her daughter this year. I looked into it and it seemed promising. Then we found out there was a 3 day parent practicum right there in Tulsa. From then on it just kept coming together. It all seemed appointed.

This is a video explaining the program - Classical Conversations. Basically, we homeschool four days a week and one day a week we join other families for school. We're schooling based on the classical model, the "trivium".

One of my hesitations was my own feeling of inadequacy, especially when it came to classical homeschooling which involves Latin and some other intimidating things. But one of the speakers addressed that concern at the practicum saying that "homeschooling can be the redemption of two generations".

I'm so grateful. So excited. So content. So......tired!

Good night! ;)

The Box Store

The kids' newest love is setting up boxes and a card table to make a store for their friends. It was John David's idea but Julia (and sometimes a girl from the neighborhood) help run it. It's entertaining to watch them set it all up and try to get customers. John David has a dinosaur puppet that he really loves that should only be priced for no more than a dollar. But he has priced it at $15 because he doesn't want to part with it. He figures if someone is willing to pay $15 then maybe he could give it up.

They've made one big sale (a ds game) and some minor sales (silly bands and small toys).

I'm sure our neighbors will be glad when the shop closes for good since their small children keep wanting to buy things. (Hi neighbor!)

Taekwondo

John David was very, very excited to take a Taekwondo class when we were in Tulsa for the summer. These are pictures from the ceremony when he earned his orange belt. He was so proud! He hopes to continue classes here, but we're still looking into it.

He wanted to be the Grinch...

Aulora's Last Day of Preschool

I'm sooo behind on this post, but I just realized I never did it!

Aulora went to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays this past school year. These are pictures from her last day....

A picture with Miss Penelope, Miss Aimee, and her friend Judith (and Judith's sister).

Having a snack...

Lots of friends!

Aulora and Judith

The Girls Got A Hold of Joshua

Poor guy....

Weko Beach on Lake Michigan

Less than an hour from our house is Weko Beach. We took the kids there on Friday and we loved it! The temperature was in the low 80's and the crowd was perfect. It was a wonderful time of laying under the sun, building sand castles, going in the water (some of us more than others!), foot ball, chasing seagulls, and finding pretty rocks. I took a ton of pictures but I'll just post a few of my favorites....