What 10 Year Olds Do Best (Besides Eating)

(pictures are of John David and his best friend across the street)

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Zebus

Do you know what a zebus is? I didn't either until teaching my son his 5th grade math lesson the other day. A herd of zebu were mentioned in a word problem and after looking it up on the computer we both learned that a zebus is a type of domesticated ox.

I, uh, my kids are learning so much through this thing called homeschooling and, although it has taken over my life, I love it.

I can not believe what kind of house I keep these days and the things that I let slide by because there's just not enough time in the day. (Well, technically I guess there's time to do it but I don't want to do housecleaning at 10:00 pm!) I told John that the saving grace of all of this is that we live so far away from everyone that no one ever comes to our house so it doesn't really matter. And then he told me his parents were coming in a couple of weeks. [Panic!!] And of course I will be thrilled to see them when they come but it does beg the question - when will this house be taken care of and when will yard work be done?

My porch that is usually decorated for fall in early September hasn't seen a single change. Not even one lonely mum. I had flower boxes built and installed for our upstairs windows and I've yet to plant in them all year long. The garage is a mess, the outgrown clothes (the kids not mine!) are sitting in piles in the basement waiting to be dealt with, the wood floors need a good scrubbing, and my van hasn't been washed in......a really long time.

I could go on and on about the undone things around here, but that's not the point of this post. The point is zebu! Well, not really zebu but what the zebus represents. All the learning we're doing together! (And fortunately most of it is much more useful than knowing about a domesticated ox.)

I also love that my kids are friends. They play together so much and there is a lot of laughing (and whining and squealing too if we're being honest!). We are not perfect (by far!), but getting to spend our days together while we are loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, MIND, and strength is so precious.

A few nights ago they decided to play war and they pretended they were on an ice planet. They got out most ALL of the winter scarves, gloves, and hats. (It was a mess!) The next night they had another war but, this time it took place in the desert. That's why there are some shirtless kids in these pictures. Joshua was confused though and still thought they were on the ice planet.

I'm sure this game will be a favorite when we are cooped up for the winter!

edited to add: Since the writing of this post my porch has been decorated for fall, my flower boxes have been filled, the yard work is done (for now), and a few things were cleaned. My parents were here for Columbus day and while I did school with the older two my mom was making beds and cleaning the kitchen. How nice!

The Price to Pay

When your 10 year old is finally able to do the yard work it's great! Until you walk out and find a chunk of your beloved vines missing. In his defense, it is very difficult to get the mower through that section to the back yard. Bummer.....

Waffles...and My Son

John David loves to eat.

All the time.

The end.

Just kidding. There's more. But that could very well be a post on it's own, because the boy does love to eat so much. This morning he passed over the cereal and toast that everyone else was having and decided to make some waffles in the toaster. I went into the kitchen for something and noticed that he poured syrup first and then smeared on some butter. So already he was demonstrating a rather poor sense of order. I let it go until he was moving to put the syrupy, buttery knife back into the butter container.

Baby, that's gross. Please don't.

Why is that gross??

It just is. Don't.

I went out of the kitchen. The next time I came back in it got better.

I forgot to put one of my waffles in the toaster.

Are you eating it frozen?

No. I went ahead and put it in the toaster.

With the syrup and butter all over it??

Yes, wh---Ohhhhhh. Oops......

So my 12 year old toaster (we got it as a wedding present!) now has a pool of syrup and butter at the bottom of it.

I just love boys.

Updation

My husband, good man that he is, has again informed me that I need to update my beloved blog. He's right, I know. It's just that life is so all consuming right now. I'm trusting that it will slow down a little very soon (please Lord!!), but for now I'm keeping my head above water.

Homeschooling is not horribly difficult (not yet anyway), but it is time consuming. We had kind of gotten the hang of things and then we started our Classical Conversations program on Wednesday. LOVED it, but it was additional work plus being gone for the day. PLUS, Wednesday church classes for the kids started back too, so Wednesday was packed.

Overall I'm still in love with homeschooling, but at the end of the day I'm left wondering when I will ever get my house clean (when all the kids have graduated??), what am I cooking for dinner (oh for loads of money to hire a chef!), and when do I get to just sit on the couch and watch television/read/relax/update my blog? The weekends have been very key in keeping order around here. That's when I'm getting some cleaning and grocery shopping done.

The kicker here lately is the fact that we're flying out this week for my brother's wedding in Texas. Packing for five people (John does his own packing thankfully!) is a killer. These are the times I seriously consider the Duggar family's way of dressing. Red shirts and denim for everyone today, blue shirts and denim for everyone tomorrow, and so on. How much simpler would that be?

As far as the wedding goes, despite the torturous task of packing, we're so very excited! My wonderful parents made sure we had plane tickets so there wasn't a crazy long road trip. We're going to be seeing so many old friends and lots of family we haven't seen in too long. And of course there's the part about getting to watch my baby brother marry the sweetest girl ever. I'm getting a new sister!!! Her name is Cali and there will be plenty of pictures later, I'm sure. I can't to get so many bear hugs from them both!

When we return I need to post about:

• Aulora's birthday party
• John David is now a Bible Quizzer (my kid can quote 6, nearly 7, chapters of Hebrews - can yours?!?)
• The most ridiculous ND football game experience ever
• Our homeschool hutch from good old craig
• reviews for ipad/ipod apps for kids
• some book recommendations I've been meaning to get to

I'm sure there is much more but that's what my brain is coming up with for now. I also need to empty my Flip camera as well as my Nikon. Maybe there's some jewels in there. Who knows.....

Boo is Five

There are not words to say how deeply we love our Boo. The best kisses in the world, or sugars as we call them, are straight from her little lips. You have been blessed if you've ever seen her dance. You surely smiled if you have ever listened to her sing. Her names are many - Boo, Haulorta, Gaulora, Gaulorta, The Babe, Boozie, Booey Toots. She is loved by all!

Happy Birthday, Boo!!!

We threw her a party last weekend and pictures of that will come later when I have access to them....

Don't Worry, Joshua....

....shopping at Walmart wears me out too.

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....