Two Things

Two things have given me huge smiles to start off this week.  My girls using their brothers' old ties for tails:

 And our latest crafty creation.  Let's be honest, we don't get crafty real often around here, but when we do it's a lot of fun.

I originally wanted to go for this, but decided that hot wax and six children under the age of eight with the world's clumsiest mother wasn't the best combo.  So we settled for a leaf rubbing garland.  We found lots of leaves waiting in the parking lot for us after church on Sunday, brought them home and and set to work.  Parker and Drew helped with the rubbings, I cut them out and Paige strung the finished leaves on the thread.  It was such an enjoyable Sunday activity and it really is so pretty.  The red and brown ones are my favorite.

I am glad that fall is here.  It's always been my favorite season.  I love the chill in the air, the smells, the food, the clothes, and the excitement for the Holidays.  It's also been nice to get back into a good routine around the house and with our homeschool, which I am enjoying SO SO much this year.  It gets harder and busier every year, but like so much else that has to do with mothering and family life, the rewards and fun are there building up as well.

I'm not going to lie, we have plenty of homeschool days where the kids are whiny and I lose my temper, dinner is late, the house is a wreck and I don't feel like I've given enough attention to anyone and that I'm spinning my wheels without getting much accomplished.  But last week we had the picture perfect homeschool day.  The weather was beautiful, and I decided to get the kids out of the house.  After breakfast and a quick cleanup, we got dressed and packed up some schoolbooks and headed to a park that we like.  The baby and I spread out a blanket where we could keep an eye on everyone.  The girls could run and play and be as noisy as they wanted without having to worry that they were interrupting someone's lesson, and the boys could take frequent breaks to get out those little boy wiggles.  We did what school we had brought without any complaints, enjoyed some much needed sunshine, and the kids were playing so well with each other.  The boys were offering to push their sisters on the swings, nobody was fighting, and everyone was just so happy.  We stayed well past lunch, came home just the right amount of hungry and worn out and after a meal and putting babies down for naps had a quiet afternoon where we finished up all that we needed to peacefully.  It was the sort of day that made me so glad to have them all home together, learning and teaching all alongside one another.

I love that Parker wants to be the "Junior Math Teacher" for Paige, and that when Paige sits down for a reading lesson, Claire and Emma have to sit down beside her and imitate everything she does and laugh over the pictures that go with her silly stories.  I love that all of them love to help me take care of the baby.  I love that Andrew is learning to say, "Sure Mom! What can I do for you?" when I tell him I need some help around the house.  I love that they learn how to behave by learning how to love and treat one another and serve and contribute to the family.  Honestly, I don't worry anymore that we're going to miss something here or there either educationally or socially because of our choice to homeschool.  There are trade-offs in almost every parenting decision we make.  For now, I know that we are doing our best to raise good little men and women that are smart, confident, loving, and faithful.

You'll have to pardon me there for that little aside.  I didn't really intend for that to all come out in this particular post, but hey, it's been on my mind.  So many things that I mean to blog about in neatly organized posts never get recorded because I don't have the time to get to them all, or when I finally do, I don't have the "perfect" picture to go with them, or I've forgotten what it was I even wanted to say.  So there's a bit about our world for now.  Hope you're enjoying a good start to the season as well!