First Day of School with MFW ECC

 

I must admit, I was more nervous than excited to start this school year.  I bought this curriculum last June and was reading the manual every night, getting really excited.  But then I put it all away, thinking that September was soooo far off.  It seemed that way back in June, anyway. 

 

My spring/summer project in the living room and kitchen wasn't originally done with homeschooling in mind, but I did find a way to adapt what I'd done to our need to bring the schoolroom out in the open.  The small bedroom we used last year wasn't working well for two kids and now I was looking at three (sometimes four!) so I had to move our HQ. 

 

I originally had knick-knacks and cookbooks on these shelves that sit on each side of our doorwall**, but those had to make way for bins with school supplies and notebooks.

 

(**I use this word "doorwall" all the time for our sliding glass door that goes out to the deck and my Wisconsin friends make fun of me.  Is that a Michigan term?)

 

I bought fabric bins at Target so that the kids' supplies were out of sight and yet easy for them to find.  Sammy and Owen have their binders tucked on the side and William and Luke just have theirs filled with workbooks and coloring books.  I will also sometimes print out coloring pages for them that pertain to whatever the older boys are studying. 

So here are pictures of each of the boys today - you can tell we homeschool because they aren't dressed to the nines and their hair is all messed up.  But that's part of the beauty of staying at home, isn't it? 

Before we did anything, we stopped to pray together for the grace to get through the day, and we did a devotional from this book I got the boys for New Year's last year.

Overall, it was a good day.  We started at about 8:30am after breakfast and finished a little after 2pm.  We had a 15 minute break around 10am and took about 45 minutes for lunch and "recess."  It's going to be a jam-packed week for us because we had Monday off (Labor Day) and I have appointments on Friday; most everything for this week will have to be packed into just three days.  We worked a little ahead this morning so I think we'll be able to do it.

I see all these pictures of kids going back to school today and I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to have mine home with me. 

Summer! (finally!)

Well, it was a LOOONG cold winter here in Wisconsin!  Yes, I'm still moaning about it because it truly hasn't felt like we had much of a spring either.  But today....oh, today....you. were. glorious!  82 and sunny - we'll take it!!!  We spent the afternoon at our favorite little lake and my lovely neighbor, seeing my post on Facebook, even met us up there for a bit. 

The real reason I love going to the beach is because I get to dress Luke in this "Tiggy Towel."  Hopefully he'll love it for at least another 10 or 12 years.

 

We had a BIG event last week:  William became the first person in our family to graduate from preschool!  Yay, William! 

 

Preschool wasn't offered when Chris and I were kids - at least not that I know of - and it wasn't offered in our school district until last year, so the older two boys never had the option. I waffled a lot on whether or not to send him because it was quite a drive - 20 minutes each way, so a total of almost an hour and a half in the car every day - but ultimately, I'm glad I did it.  Not only did he enjoy the heck out of it,  but I realized that it was really special for me to get that one-on-one time with him every morning in the car.  We had lots of nice talks and he loved to read the books he brought home with him to me.  I also loved hearing all about how the day went, when he would always tell me what kid "threw a fit."

 

On Friday, they held "Farewell Fun Day" at a park and although it was a bit chilly at first, we all had a great time.  I brought all the boys with me, of course.  You can see Luke fit right in...



 

 I had to snap a shot of this girl, who William had a little crush on.  He liked her because she was a "good listener" - to the teachers, not to him.

 

I'm so proud of William.  When I sent him to preschool, it was more than anything to get a BREAK from him.  We used to call him "The Kracken" as in, "UNLEASH THE KRACKEN!" when we woke him up from his nap.  There were times I really thought he might have a split personality.  He coined the phrase, "That's it!  I'm going to a new house!" 

 

But all that changed almost immediately upon going to preschool.  He learned right away that he did NOT want to get in trouble in school and that translated to home, too.  I credit his teachers with making him so eager to please.  They were both so wonderful to him!

 

 

One of them told me that once - ONCE! - she had to correct him a second time for doing something (drumming on a tabletop) and he started welling up with tears.  She realized how sensitive he was and was very careful with how she handled him after that.  She told me she loved how respectful he was of all his teachers and of the other kids, too.

 

I had considered sending him to kindergarten next year since I know he'd love it, but ultimately I've opted to keep him home with his brothers.  I could handle another 1/2 day schedule, but part with him for a full 8 hours a day?  Not a chance!  I tell the kids all the time that a big part of the reason I homeschool them is because they're MY kids and I simply love them too much to part with them for such a large portion of the day. 

 

I'll do a post soon on my plans for next year's schooling.  I'm so excited about it!

Redecorating

Inspired by a friend of mine, who has been using General Finishes Java Gel Stain on just about EVERYTHING in her house, I finally talked Chris into letting me just do this one little thing:  our mantle. 

 

 He thought that because the mantle was the same oak that matched every. other. thing.  in our house, it would look dumb to have it stained dark.  Boy, did I ever prove him wrong!

I think it looks great, don't you? 

Loss

On a normal Tuesday, during a normal, happy afternoon chat with my mom, everything changed.  She frantically hung up on me because there was a call coming in on her other line.  She saw the area code for Arizona, but it wasn't my brother's number.  It was the call she had worried about getting since he moved alone to Arizona 8 years ago. 

 

Daniel had been found unconscious by his co-worker when he returned from lunch that day.  He had eaten something that apparently set off a severe allergic reaction.  Paramedics were called and they got his heart going again, but he never regained consciousness.  My mom, sister and brother flew down from Michigan that Friday, knowing they were going to say goodbye.  It was heart-wrenching.  They officially disconnected the life-support on January 22nd.  Daniel wasn't yet 38 years old.

 

 

My sister was able to stay with my mom at Daniel's house for a full two weeks and my trip overlapped so I got to see a bit of her.  (I missed seeing my older brother by just a day.)  A sweet friend of mine offered to watch the boys for the 4 days Chris had to work and I was able to put my work on hold.  I flew out last Monday and stayed for 8 days.  It wasn't long enough.

 

Daniel's wishes were to be an organ donor and also to be cremated, so we honored his requests.  Here's a picture I took of my mom and sister as we scattered some of his ashes in the backyard.  They were reading a lovely poem I found.

 

 

Daniel was a big animal lover and had three cats.  My sister took his favorite, Kringer, back with her to Michigan and we had to give the other two to a rescue organization in AZ.  Here's a picture of Kringer on the way to the airport.  He doesn't look enthused about seeing snow for the first time, does he?

 So rarely do I have pictures of me and my sister or mom taken, so I snapped a couple while I was there.  It was odd to be kid-free for over a week and I missed them terribly, but I know it was a special time for us to spend together even though it wasn't under the best circumstances.

It was my first - and most likely my last - trip to AZ.  I have never been out West because I always thought of it as dirty, dusty and hot.  Since I was there in January/early February, I was wrong about the "hot" but right about the rest of it.  I was happy to get back to the snow in Wisconsin because I know soon I'll see the lush, green spring season I love so much.

New Beginnings

 

 

 

Don't you just love the new year?  It feels like a fresh start and who doesn't love those?

 

 

I don't want to make resolutions per se, but just think more before I do things (or don't do things.)  I said that in 2012 I wanted to be more deliberate, and I am going to stick with renewing my commitment to that in 2013. 

 

 

One of the things that's becoming increasingly important to me as my children grow is teaching them about God.  Especially with the older boys being 9 and almost 8, I know I am facing my last window of opportunity to really impress on them the need for faith in their lives. 

 

Several months ago, I got the idea to make these off Pinterest:



 

Prayer Pail with printable prayers

I love these things!  They are the centerpiece of our kitchen table and every night when we have dinner I ask the kids to draw a prayer stick if they want to.  William is always the first to do so and it's really improved his reading skills.  The 7 year old neighbor girl, who is often here for dinner, also loves these.  She started out barely able to read them, but she's gotten a lot better and is a more confident reader now.  By having this in the middle of the table, we have a visual reminder to stop and give thanks to God for all that we have.

Since my husband works afternoons and I'm primarily in charge of bedtime, I've started spending 1/2 hour or so reading from a childrens Bible.  We got one from our church library a few weeks ago and have gotten through most of it.  In the new year, we are going to start devotions.  I've ordered these two books from Amazon and am excited to get them!

I've never consistently done devotions in my own life, so this will be new for all of us.  I love that time spent with the boys because I get to learn right along with them.

What about you?  Anything new you're doing in 2013?

Unanswered Prayers

Five years ago today, I was crying.  I cried for all the things I knew I would never have in my life:  frilly dresses and hair bows, dollhouses, first pedicures, secrets about cute boys in school, lunches at Olive Garden, helping someone pick out a dress for prom.  I'm embarrassed now to say that I was crying five years ago on December 14th because for all the things I didn't have, here's what I did have:

 

He was beautiful and perfect and I wasn't as grateful as I should have been for him because I had been wanting something else so very badly.  What I got wasn't expected, but it didn't take me long to fall in love with this little blue-eyed boy.

 Although I had a hard time adjusting to the idea of another boy at first, his brothers were instantly thrilled.  Sammy wasn't yet three but LOVED babies and was so happy to have one in the house. 

 They say little boys love their mamas, but I've never known love like he has for me. He ADORES me and the feeling is mutual.  Who wouldn't love this face?

Another reason I'm so grateful I had a boy on December 14, 2007 is because if I'd had a girl, I would have been done.  So without William, there would be no Luke.  And, oh, how the world would be less beautiful without that little sweetheart! 

Although I still get wistful thinking about all the things I'll miss not having a daughter, I am blessed so much more than I could have ever imagined being.  They are my whole world.

Bringing Home the Tree 2012

We try to wait for it to snow, but for the second year in a row it looks like we might have a green Christmas....or at least won't get snow until just a couple days before.  So we went to cut the tree down today at our favorite tree farm near our house.  The sledding hill used to be our boys' favorite part, but for now they have to settle for Sydney, the friendly old dog that hangs out and greets people.

 

They told me they had been hard hit by the drought this summer and had lost between 6,000 and

8,000 trees.  The trees we chose from were from their second planting of the year but I couldn't really tell.  They all looked pretty good to me, but ultimately we chose this one:

 We looked around for a while, but when I saw this one I was inexplicably drawn to it.  I couldn't say why, but I immediately knew it was the tree for us and refused to look at any others.  Chris started to cut it down when we realized it had been inhabited.

I heard somewhere that finding a bird's nest is good luck.  I definitely took this one as a good omen for the upcoming year.  I am going to put it back in our tree once it's all decorated.  Maybe I'll even find a little bird for it.

 

Tomorrow will be a busy day celebrating this little guy's 5th birthday...

 

Happy (almost) birthday to my sweet William!