Wednesday, July 30, 2008

You might have been homeschooling too long when...

... a dead bat is just too cool to throw out without examining it. (Yes, those are my hands playing with the dead bat.)
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Monday, July 28, 2008

Temporarily

I love the moment, the fleeting moment, the "nearly an illusion" moment when the laundry is done and put away.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

They've got it all figured out....

The girls are playing with duplos. We have acquired several Pooh and Tigger duplo figures over the years, and today they are playing that the Pooh's and Tiggers are getting married.

Mom: They're getting married?
Girls: Yup, that's why they are so excited.
Mom: oh.
Girls: They get married and then they dance.
Mom: mmm-hmm
Girls: then they go home.
Mom: yes....
Sofia: and they go to bed because they are so tired.


time passes

Girls: then they have to get new houses because they are married now.

time passes

Girls: then they go to the hospital to have a baby

time passes

Girls: and they have to knock on the doors when they visit.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Books arriving


Well, the school order for 2008-2009 was put in last week, and each day a new piece of the shipment has arrived. SO exciting! Not sure when we'll start. Past few years we have started in August, but I think we are all beginning to relax for real and I hesitate to end that too soon. So many changes over the past few months. But I've begun to get my stuff together.

This year will be the first year that I don't do STRAIGHT Sonlight.... I will be taking more control of Language Arts and Bible/character education. Hopefully I will pull my stuff together enough to post more about it here.

One thing I love about my family is that we all get excited to explore the new books as they come. Christmas in July.... for real.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

a parenting 'a-ha'

This morning, the kids and I spontaneously went to Tim Hortons to get breakfast. We were all having a lovely trip, made our order and headed home. As we began to pull out from TH, the car full of a fit of rare giggles and harmony, I got ready to rein them in and prepare them to come into the house quietly and calmly so that Daddy could sleep late. We still had about 2 miles before getting home. Two miles in which I could enjoy the giggles, or which they could stew in induced sobriety.

The aha came when I realized that by virtue of being me or being mom, I think several steps ahead. This is a strength as the COO of a small corporation (the pitman family). But good leadership comes in knowing when to deliver the next step. Kids, of course, live in the immediate. It would make no sense to them, and would therefore stress them out, to have them prepare for something that was 2 miles and 6 minutes away.

So I stopped myself, enjoyed the laughter, and waited until we drove onto our street to deliver the strategy.

I have to admit that there is a balance here. Because the kids also like to know what is coming next. What is coming up and how they fit in. But they're next steps are much broader than my detailed outlines of life.

Now, all I need to do is remember this Eureka for other times....

Friday, July 18, 2008

Hope

When we got home from our PA trip, we had peas ready to pick. This one is not quite ready for eatin', but how beautiful is that with the sun shining through and showing the babies.

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Hope, 2

While I was trying to point out the previous pea-pod to Anna, she thought I meant this one. This one is actually the size of my index finger-nail.... teensy! I have no idea how she found it, but wow!







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Practical Art, 2

The girls are working on a free coffee table (thankyou Izzie) to make it into a table for between their beds. They've sanded, cleaned, painted it white with old paint, and today they began to paint their own sides. We'll have one more creative session, then I'll varnish it for safekeeping. And the cool part is that in a few years, we can do it all over again.





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Practical Art, 1
















Here is my newly redecorated bedstand. I had the bottom smaller stand with drawer (that's glue, btw, not a beer can), but it was much too small for my clock, books and coffee. So I added the top piece of plywood. Then I had a blast gluing different magazine cutouts all over the top. So now when I wake up and go to sleep this is what I get to see.
















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Words for this season....



My friend Renee pointed me to this incredible fun word art website: wordle.
So much fun! Thank you, Renee.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

home... where is home


We have been on the road so long, that I am seriously wondering what home looks like, and if I really want to go back. Seriously, we left Waterville ten days ago, have travelled through several states, have had meaningful conversations with many different types of people, gotten some AMAZING healing and hopefilled prayer, and had some sweet time with family. My life is so full and relaxed right now.

When I think about going 'home', I love the thought of my bed, and my newly painted bedroom (paint color perfectly named 'peace'). But then I think about piles of mail, lawns to be mowed, gardens to be weeded, camp to get ready for.... *sigh*

Can't remember the last time I felt like I was on vacation, and I have to say, I think I like it.