Weekly Wrap-up

Yes, those are supposed to be sharks.  I've been working with J and O this week, learning about water and doing some water experiments (sink or float; condensation) and so I thought I'd finish up the week reading a book about a favorite animal of the kids': sharks.  Then ... shark craft.  They loved them so much, their sharks sat by them at the table while they did their math worksheets and J even explained each math problem to her shark.  I love it when they can teach others what they're learning (to reinforce the lesson) so this worked out well.

Thoughtful Thursday: A Riot

While my husband and I were away on our WWK, we kept seeing all these fun wildflower patches along the road.  Randomly, C said, "I think large groups of wildflowers should be called 'a riot'."  He explained how wildflowers just kind of do what they want and grow where they want ... so they kind of riot against order and structure.

The idea stuck with me and I like it.  I love riots of wildflowers myself, because they are so unruly with all their colors and wildness.  Wildflowers don't really match my "in the box" comfort zone, but I can't help but love them.  Go figure.

Weekend Without Kids (aka: WWK)

As I mentioned in a prior post, last week I celebrated my 38th birthday.  My husband's gift to me was so awesome!  He planned a weekend without kids for us.

Tuesday Talk

I totally allowed Monday to fly by (unfortunately it wasn't in the "time flies when you're having fun" kind of way ... but I'll get over it) and didn't do my Monday Mastery post.  Maybe next week.  So instead, after another very tedious Tuesday, I'm blogging about a fun little chat I had with J on the way back from the grocery store this evening.

Thoughtful Thursday: Turning 38

My birthday is this week. I'm turning 38. So I decided to answer 38 questions about myself (for the record). These questions are all from this blog site. Don't mind the varied fonts and spacing ... I did this in Word and then pasted it ... so yeah. Deal.

Wednesday Walk Update

So I've walked twice a day every weekday except one since last Monday the 12th.  Some days have been lengthier and others are just a quick stroll around the block -- it depends on weather and energy and how late a start we're getting.  Overall, though, I'd say that I'm starting to actually look forward to our walks.

Monday Mastery: Taking Breaks

Parents all know that their job is 24/7.  But I have to think that for homeschooling families, that is even more so the case.  I'm not saying it because I'm trying to brag ... I'm just saying that much of the time, I'm pretty well tired.  Plus, it doesn't help the fact that I'm a bit of a control freak (my sisters would confirm this ... though, they may argue with the *bit* portion of the statement), so I find it really difficult to take a break -- to hand off the care of our children to someone else just for the sake of taking a deep breath now and then.

Good Message & Fun Video

I don't always post a recap about our pastor's message at church because I don't feel I can do them justice usually. Today though, I found the lead-in video that he used (he doesn't always use a lead-in video either, so it's a little treat when we get one) to be a really great illustration about holding onto our hurts, hang-ups and habits ... and our need to first decide to hand them over before we can begin recovery or further our Christian walk, etc.  Of course the pastor says things way more eloquently than I do, so instead of giving a long drawn out recap of why we don't give these HHHs up easily, I'll just post the video and call it good. 

Enjoy: What Gorilla?

Happy Sunday.

Fun on Friday

Some funny conversations I had with our kids said this week...

Thoughtful Thursday: Rainbow in the Sky

I'm beginning to think that yesterday was somehow a symbolic representation of my whole life -- or maybe just the motherhood portion.  But things were just so incredibly challenging all day -- by the end though, hope was restored for a better tomorrow.

A Word of Thanks

Today was an awful day! No, seriously! I had no patience, we skipped our walk and I think I've yelled at pretty much every kid at least once -- and one of them, way more than that. 

But there's something especially sweet -- even on the hardest of days -- when after finishing up the last "class" of the day (much later than we should have, but everything got pushed off because of ... well ... life), one child cleaned up her school supplies and then paused to look back in my direction to say, "Thank you, Mama, for teaching me today."

Blogging on a Tuesday

Not much to say, unfortunately, but found a couple spare moments and I thought, "Hey, I'm going to post to the blog for no particular reason."  It's not a theme day or even a day when I have something especially creative to share ... I'm just here.  Checking in with my readers and letting you know I'm surviving.

Just a Side Note

I'm realizing that my sister's suggestion that I use some theme days to inspire my blogging to be more regular has helped ... although, in some ways it's been constricting me.  Also, on days I don't have a theme set up, I'm still struggling to come up with something.  Life is so full right now!  I don't want to create 5 or 7 theme days and box myself in too much ... but I don't want my readers to think I'm only going to blog on Mondays and Thursdays (theme days) either. 

This whole blog thing is a journey in progress and I hope you'll continue to extend me loads of grace till I get a better feel for what works for me.  Thank you so much for your time and your patience.  Your ideas and comments are always appreciated!

Monday Mastery: School Year Kick-off

I don't know how well this fits into my "mastery" category, but it's been a busy day, so it'll have to do.  We'd planned to start school the day after Labor Day as we do each year, but my readers know how I spent Labor Day this year (hint: not finalizing my lesson plan for the first week of school).  So instead, I used the past week to plan a lesson (or five) and we began today.

Thoughtful Thursday: David, the Rock Star

I was driving with our son, H, the other day and a song came on the radio (I listen almost exclusively to K-LOVE in the car) and it was a fast-paced, slightly harder rock song (I can't remember what it was exactly, though for the story, it doesn't matter).  This is pretty unusual since K-LOVE tends to play softer, more easy-going songs for the most part.  We enjoy something a little bolder now and then.

Monday Mastery: We Got Her

Our daughter is home again thanks to countless hours of research and time on the part of friends and family -- civilians.  God is pretty amazing in the way He uses regular "Joe's" to accomplish mighty works.  We are truly blessed.

Thank you for prayers, which sustained us all and kept our daughter safe.  Ultimately, I know it was everyone's prayers that brought our daughter home.  We'll all need continued prayers as we heal from this experience and grow stronger as a family as a result.  Thank you in advance for any you are willing to offer up on our behalf.  They will be heard.

Keeping the Faith

While I continue to experience a wide range of emotions during this time of self-discovery for our teen daughter, I have tried mostly to keep smiling and to stay strong (in the Lord) because I know that how I respond to challenging times is a witness (either really good or really bad) for other people who learn of this thing we're experiencing.

Nothing Yet

These past couple of nights and days have been a whirlwind.  I can scarcely keep up with the incoming texts, calls and emails with prayers and encouragement for finding S.  We are so blessed by being surrounded by so many wonderful, caring people who love S and who love our family.

Thoughtful Thursday: Missing Daughter

Our oldest daughter left the house last night and has not returned home.  From the looks of things, she has run away (not the first time and not uncommon for children with attachment issues as she has).  We believe she may have caught a ride with someone she arranged in advance, but have yet to discover any clues about who that might be.