You know what's great about homeschooling?
Yes, I get to spend more time with my Drama Queen.
Yes, I get to teach her multiplication and division and subtraction.
Yes, I get to teacher her about helping verbs and grammar.
I get to listen to music and sing my heart out with her.
And drink hot tea.
And read books together.
And cuddle.
That's the best part of homeschooling!
Why is it when the hubby goes out of town everything falls apart? That's why I haven't blogged in a few days! Monday B-boo had dental surgery, and well, we all know how that went! That turned into a fiasco of well, gross things, for the past four days. On top of that, the bird dog got into a bag of m & m's hidden in B-boo's room. Really bad. That made for a lot of gross things on my carpet…a mixture of peanuts and chocolate on a tan carpet is never good, especially when you have a daughter who has a fatal allergy to nuts. (And no, I don't usually allow peanuts into the house, but this was a sealed bag, in a closed room…who knew the dog would find them!) Literally, at the same time, we had a…er…clog in the toilet. Great, just great. Hubby goes out of town and I'm at home with, well, I'm sure you can figure it out.
And the week just kind of went on like that. I think those things happen so that I can appreciate my hubby even more, because if he were here, he would have been the one plunging the toilet and moving the furniture around for the carpet cleaner yesterday. Not that I mind doing it, but it's just one of those things I love about being married.
On the other hand, while hubby was gone, the Talented One started getting up earlier and having an omelet for breakfast and a cup of coffee with me. I realize he's only 16, but it's been fun to have my young man moment with him. We don't have those often. I used to make him breakfast every morning, then he stopped wanting it. I'm not sure what happened this week, but it's been nice to be able to share those few moments with him.
Which is another reason why I like to get up early and enjoy the shifts of the morning. It's nice to have a few minutes with B-boo and the Talented One before everyone else gets up. Our time. Then, as soon as I drop them off, I wake up the Smart One and he has his omelet and we spend some time reading a passage from the Bible and discussing it and talking about what the day holds. If the little ones decide to get up, they are to quietly get ready for their day upstairs and then spend some time reading or coloring in their room until the next shift starts.
Once I drop off the Smart One, the little ones come down.I then make them breakfast, share things with them, memorize verses, sing together, etc. and then we ship them off.
And then, it's finally the Drama Queen's turn! And we get a whole 2.5 hours together to homeschool!
Anyway, back to the missing husband. When he's gone, it's hard to function. He likes to call me supermom, but really, it's because he's my partner in crime! For instance, he always calls me and asks whom he is taking where. In a family of 8, that is very important! Wednesday night I had four different place to be at the same time! Needless to say, for the first time in 6 years, I missed open house and meeting my kids teachers. We've always done open house together, so he missed it, too. I had to call in recruits to help get the kids to church and back! (Thanks, friend!)
And finally, he came home..to a clean carpet and a messy kitchen! And he's so good, he didn't complain at all about the kitchen, but instead told me how much he liked the clean carpets. Oh, and he took his shoes off, too!
I think I'll keep him. 🙂
This morning I woke up. I think it was more than just waking up in the physical sense, but the spiritual sense as well. God had placed it on my heart to pray and then pray some more. So I did. Then He reminded me that He was still in control; I wasn't. I'm not. And then He threw a test at me…first thing this morning! And I started to blow it, but then remembered to stop, drop, and roll, pray and give it back to Him.
So this morning, instead of attending meetings that were beyond anything I could do, I prayed while others met. Then I took my kids to school. And then, well, Isa and I went shopping for those art supplies I'd been promising her for the past two weeks. I was reminded that as much as I am trying to help another little girl who's had so many promises to her broken, I was starting to do a bit of the same thing to my own daughter. And so, we printed off those coupons and away we went!
We picked out paints and figurines and talked about the Christmas village we'll paint. We talked about how my oldest son and I painted those first pieces and how some have been broken over the years. We shared memories of the past and planned to make memories in the future.
Not long after we got home, I recieved some great advice. I was reminded to be grateful and live. And so we did. We painted. Then we went and visited my niece together and came home and sat down to paint some more. Before we knew it, B-Boo had decided to join in. Then, the Talented One came over. Ok, not to paint, but to join in the fun of sitting around the table and being together. Laughing. Loving. Living. And so we did. And it was a great day. A peaceful day. A day well lived.
Some of our Masterpieces
I've been thinking about motherhood. You know, the kind of mommyhood really, where you never thought you'd do this or that? I remember being a child and wanting a large family. I wanted 8 kids and I was going to be a great mom. I'd cook for them, sew for them, play with them, and we'd be the best family there ever was.
Well, I am 40 years old. I have 5 kids, plus guardianship of my niece and nephew. Seven kids. Yup! Ok, well my oldest is 21 and living on his own now, but I'm still his mom. I took my youngest son to a doctor's appointment this week, and as we were sitting there discussing some stuff, the doctor brought out a poopy chart. I didn't know such a thing existed! In case you'd like to know what a poopy chart is, you can see it for yourself right here. The next few moments were a discussion of poopies, what they look like, etc.
Never in my daydreaming of motherhood did I imagine myself someday looking at a poopy chart! And I got to thinking…what else did I not ever think I'd do as a mother? I mean, motherhood is VERY different than what I imagined it'd be. Better, but different. So here's my list of thing's I never imagined I'd do as a mom:
I'm sure there is much more, but this is what I could come up with on the spur of the moment. Anyone else want to share?
And speaking of moms who could never have imagined, please pray for my friend, Kayla and her son, Elijah. She's such an inspiration. Elijah has EG and is tube fed a special formula. In my book, Kayla has gone above and beyond in the motherhood category. You can read her story at Bristle Ridge Academy
This morning, I was driving my daughter to school, and she remarked that after today she would officially be a freshman in high school. My baby girl.
I realize that this is kind of silly. I mean, my oldest son is 21…TWENTY ONE! The next one down will be 16 next week. Maybe that's my problem. I realize my boys are getting older. It seems we've so many milestones this year. Twenty-one. Sixteen.
I enrolled my youngest son in middle school this week. My three sons….one in college, one in high school, one in middle school. Wow!
And now, my daughter will go to high school next year. Makes me want to cry. She had such a tough year this year, and yet she came through it strong and focused.
I will be homeschooling only one next year. And while I really looking forward to having that special time with her at home, it makes me kind of sad to realize that we're down to this; just the two of us at home.
And so the seasons change.