Another Chapter

Three years ago I sat in Silas' end-of-year preschool program with a lump in my throat.  I can't recall if the tears held back till the drive home or not.  

He was 5 and I distinctly remember feeling like the weight of the responsibility of his education was being flung in my lap.  I had no idea how it would really look to homeschool.  I couldn't picture what lay ahead of us.  Simeon and Lieren were 3 and Blaise had just turned 2.  And while we were completely committed and excited to homeschool, it all felt overwhelming and daunting.

Fast forward 3 years.  This week we all sat together in Blaise's preschool graduation.  I felt teary this time too.  But not for any of the same reasons as when Silas completed preschool.  Oh sure, there's the reminders that the babies are growing up and how quickly time passes and when did I blink because I think they were all just crawling underfoot in diapers.  

But this time I sat in that audience and felt more grace and thankfulness than I had in a long time.  We have 3 homeschooling years under our collective belt.  And while we certainly don't have it all figured out, I have a bundle of confidence that I didn't have before.  We have community.  We have resources.  We have loads of friends walking this journey with us.

And we can't wait for Blaise to join us!

AWANA

We have been so blessed by the Awana program at church this year.  Last Wednesday was their awards program...

 Simeon and Lieren finished the first book and received extra awards for reviewing.  Silas completed all three Sparks books this year!

So Like Her

Took this quick photo on Mother's Day last week.  People do say I am so like her.  

Love you much, Mom.  Thankful for time together.

Friends and Alligators and the Beach

We came home from Disney on Thursday night, quickly settled ourselves back in, and a group of our favorites from Illinois arrived at noon on Saturday.  The days of the week they were here flew by. And of course there were tears when they left.

Mini-Vaca

Two weeks ago we went on a little mini-vacation to Disney for 3 days before the crazy of summer starts.  I think the kids loved staying in the hotel best of all!

Heading out on day 1...

Hollywood Studios...

 Blaise is a non-meeter of the characters...

 This was the closest he got to BB-8...

 But he LOVES Chewbacca!  I have the sweetest Disney photograph of Blaise giving him a hug.  We also have pictures from them with all of us.  Fun memories.

 Heading to the pool that afternoon...

 We went back to Hollywood Studios for the evening and for their Star Wars fireworks that night.  It was excellent!

 Day 2 was spent at Magic Kingdom...

 We were tired by the afternoon and headed to the hotel for more swimming.  The we came back to the Kingdom for more evening adventures.

 When it's late in the day, there are Extra Magic Hours, and the lines are short, you meet all the princesses!

 And then head home when you can't keep your eyes open...

We woke up on day 3, went swimming, checked out, then headed to Epcot for the rest of the day.  We had fast passes to our favorites.  But it was warm and the kids were tired so by mid-day, they were loading up on the stroller.  That thing is the best money I've ever spent...

 We miraculously got fast passes for some of us to the Frozen ride.  We had never been on it.  So fun!

 The topiaries at Epcot are still in bloom...

 Late that night we headed home.  We turned around and watched the fireworks from the parking lot.  A sweet way to end the week.