Monday, August 29, 2016

I am their PE

I am their PE. 

I am their geography. 

I am their writing. 

And their handwriting. 

I am their art. 

I am their history and theology. Their science and math. Their phonics, Latin, and literature. 

We are about 4 weeks in to this year. And  at the end of this day, I will say it is wonderful and hard and messy and rich. 

And tomorrow (in the words of my dear homeschooling friend Michelle), we will do it all again. 

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Back at It


Lieren has been so excited to be back in the studio the past couple weeks. She is in a ballet/jazz combo class and loves it! Her teacher is one of the best and we are enjoying the little bit of girl time away each week. 

Thursday, August 18, 2016

The "Beach" Tampa

We got to go to a traveling exhibit today in Tampa called The Beach. It basically a huge ball pit. It's been super popular around here and it was fun to take a break from our regular school afternoon routine and go play with Nana and Papa!


Thursday, August 11, 2016

Appointments and Such

With the commencement of the school year, we have been spending lots of time getting doctors appointments out of the way. 

A few weeks ago I took Silas and Blaise for well-child checks. Both are doing excellent. 

We had not been to the pediatrician since we moved here. After many conversations and calls and a couple switches, we finally landed with one. I feel like a good pediatrician is so important and had quite a time deciding! I was so pleased with our experience and love the kids' new doctor. 

She was sweet to let Silas "help". 

Then the next week I took Simeon and Lieren. I totally forgot to get a picture of them in their gowns but remembered on our way home. 

Lieren is still much closer to Blaise in height and weight than she is to Simeon. So hard to believe they are twins if you just see them out and about. 

They had to have a shot to get all caught up. It took us off guard since we weren't planning on it but they were brave and chose to go ahead and get it over with!

Big smiles once it was all done!

And all four visited the dentist. We also love our dentist so they kids look forward to going and often ask when our next appointment is. 

Yesterday we spent the whole afternoon with the dogs and the vet. Luther and Augustine needed their yearly visits and shots. We took Auggie first then drove home, switched dogs and brought Lu. 

We waited longer with Luther so books and pictures passed the time. 


I attempted to get a pic with Lu but he wasn't having it. He must have known the vet was about to come in. 


Whew! We were all exhausted when that was over. 

And finally today, Silas had to have a molar pulled. It wasn't growing in right so it had to come out. 

Silas was extremely good and calm about the whole thing. I was so proud. 

He is home now and watching a video. He says his mouth hurts some but he isn't complaining. What a great kid! I have pudding and jello and ice cream all stocked up for him tonight. He might be looking forward to that. Ha!

Monday, August 08, 2016

Preschool 2016

No tears for this littlest one who started to preschool this morning. His teacher is wonderful and I am so thankful he gets to spend these mornings right at our church. 


At the open house a couple weeks ago, Blaise was excited to find out three of his best buddies from last year are in his class. They will be superheroes together this year!


Wednesday, August 03, 2016

Happy Birthday, Nana!


We loved celebrating my mom's birthday yesterday. What a gift to be right down the road from each other!

Monday, August 01, 2016

First Day 2016

The first day of school is in the books!


We had a nice, peaceful first day. Math and reading and handwriting for all. I am scaling back this year, yearning for our days to reflect depth over anything else. We will begin CC in a few weeks, and will delve into many other subjects then. But for now, we are starting slow. I am praying for a heart to treasure the process over results. 

Last night as I put the final book in place, I thought about all I was hoping for this year. 


This morning when all the little people gathered, there were lots of moments that didn't quite match up to the simple ideal I had in my mind. Children will do that sometimes, you know. Bring chaos to the calm. 

But I found myself taking deeper breaths and slowing down, listening and not reacting. It is and will be a process for us all. A year-long process.