Update on life and fall decor

“We catch a glimpse of each other, we sense the smell of God, and although we rush away from the holiest of moments, we are utterly changed.  Life slams us into God…..and we realize that behind all the ordinary stuff there is something more dazzling and real than we can understand.  Life is holy ground.”  quotes from Radical Hospitality.

Life has truly changed in so many ways this year.  With me working outside the home for the first time since my oldest was born, and my children being in school for the first time, our world has been completely altered!  This past week marked the end of our first quarter of the school year, so I believe this is a good time to reflect on all the changes.

There have been a few days here lately that I wonder what in the world we are doing!?!  I mean, how many people take their three children, one only 6 years old, and drive an hour each way to their school?  It is a little different, and so far as I can find, the answer would leave us in a category by ourselves.  Well, that is okay, because we are often creating new categories for ourselves.  I guess this started when Andy and I got married at the beginning of our senior year in college!  It was something that we both felt an overwhelming sense of peace about doing and we were just so anxious to begin our lives together as husband and wife.  I have no regrets!  Moving from Atlanta and leaving a corporate job to start an organic farm in rural Alabama was not exactly conventional.  But prayer lead Andy to feel strongly that it was what God wanted for our family, and God wouldn't give me a peace in getting out of it!

Love candlelight on a fall night

So here we are, the unconventional family.  And now, we carry on the tradition and commute to school.  Oh well, such is life.  I discovered a long time ago that I could walk around feeling sorry for myself and comparing my life to others, or I could fix my eyes on Christ and enjoy His presence and all the love that He showers me with every day.  Life will often leave me wanting and discontent, until I remember that it really is not about my circumstances, what I have or lack, but about enjoying living for Christ and looking forward to being with Him for eternity!  It's a sweet, good life with that perspective.

Every year I pull out this watercolor painting from my friend Bonnie.

In regards to the advantages of school, oh, there are so many!  These precious children of mine are making new friends, learning how to manage their time, and learning how to work hard.  Their work is a little more intense and time consuming than their home school load.  But they are all putting forth great effort and are very self-motivated.  They learned at home how to study and were often self-taught.  Those skills are coming in handy at school with homework and school work.  They have excellent grades.  I think Jack might make a B in Latin, but otherwise they have all As across the board.  Although grades do not reflect the most important things in life like godliness, kindness, humility, etc., it is nice to see them excel and use their bright minds to learn and succeed.

Love the warm colors around the house

Their teachers are more than I could have hoped for.  They are each so well chosen for my children.  God is so good.  The tender boy has the insightful, tender teacher.  He is thriving.  The sweet, but strong willed daughter, has the more firm, but very wise teacher.  She knows when to give and when to stand her ground.  And Jack has a variety of teachers, all experts in their subjects.  He is moving at a fast pace that is often extremely challenging for him.  He has shed a few tears a couple of days on the way home because of the homework, long day, and long drive.  But he is learning how to be a man and keep pushing forward when times are tough.  Perhaps this lesson will save his life, his marriage, the church he attends, or who knows what when he is a man, this learning to find His strength in Christ and not give in easily to his feelings?  It is such an imperative life lesson and I am glad he is being challenged.

It isn't fall until we bake pumpkin muffins!

We have not quite gotten the hang of the commute.  I have yet to purchase books on cd or a dvd player for the car!  These things are on my birthday list for November!  I think having the Bible on cd in the morning, along with other books, would be great for us while we are waking up and eating breakfast.  My girl is the only morning person and her loud, incessant questions and comments in the morning challenge the rest of us...a.lot.  I need to invest in some I-tunes cards and download some fresh music, too.  And on the way home, most days the younger two have done homework by the time their brother is out of school.  (We get out at 1, he gets out at 3.)  So Jack often wants to work on homework and the other two want to talk.  We should utilize our new headphones more often.  I guess I hadn't thought out a plan for making the commute a good one.  I'll have to get on that!

I love teaching in the classroom so much.  I forgot how fulfilling and wonderful it can be.  I love the curricula that has been chosen for me.  I adore my students and the staff at the school.  I just really feel perfectly suited and so happy,  I have found that teaching as a 36 year old mother of 3 has been a completely different experience.  For one thing, there is much more of a ministry with parents.  I am asked parenting advice very often by my students' parents.  I count this as a great privilege, especially since I have always been involved in women's ministry.  I guess this is women's ministry just in a different arena.  Having the opportunity to speak truth to 15 children is just pure joy.  We have the sweetest discussions and the teachable moments are always happening.  It's incredible and I love it.  I love that my own children are being discipled so intimately by other adults who are passionate about Christ.  I am seeing the fruit in all of our spiritual lives.

A little fall decor on the kitchen island

My precious husband has been so supportive.  He has become our primary chef, making dinner most school nights and often making the children's lunches.  In fact, now that the farm isn't full force, he often does the grocery shopping, too.  It's pretty incredible.  I enjoy doing the kids' homework with them and helping them prepare for tests in the evenings while he finishes dinner.  After four years of homeschooling, I would not be able to stand not knowing what they are learning!  We have this crazy excel spreadsheet of what needs to be sent each day to school (Jack has chapel clothes, pe clothes, and drama practice on various days.  Josh takes piano and art after school on special days, and takes play clothes for after school care on the other days that I work until 3.  And Lydie has to take ballet, tumbling, or art clothes on certain days, along with play clothes.  It's  a little crazy to try and remember it all!)  And then we have another crazy little schedule for cooking, cleaning the kitchen, lunch making, etc.  We have it all planned down to every detail because otherwise we would be lost.  It feels a little like we run a marathon from Monday morning until Friday afternoon!  We do spend the night close to school with my Mom and Dad on Tuesdays in order to get a break from the commute, which is a blessing for all of us!  And then there are projects, and special days at school, and field trips.  It makes for full, busy weeks!  The weekend time to be together and rest is much more valuable and appreciated now!

We are richly blessed!  We are part of an amazing community of like-minded people, we are making precious friends, and we are all learning so much!  When the commute gets to me I just remind myself that my husband is living out his dream, we have no mortgage, and the car that we put an insane amount of miles on each week is paid for!  There's always a silver lining!  Every day I look forward to what the day will hold for all the members of our little family.  I am so thankful!

Welcome, Fall!

 We welcomed the new season with a dove shoot.  Nearly thirty friends and family joined us at our farm.  The men and some of the kids went hunting.  And most of the ladies and girls hung out at our house to play and catch up.  Then we ate a feast, as every one brought a dish for a big potluck lunch.  I took no pictures at all of the day, but it was such a treat.  We enjoyed so much playing host and enjoying the bright, fall day together.  Looking forward to making it a tradition.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

The Viking ship project

Well, we survived our first school project.  Joshua was asked to make a Viking ship.  Thankfully, he is not a procrastinator.  In fact, he is just the opposite.  So he was done a week ahead of time.  Since we had never seen the ships from past years we really had no idea what to expect.  But I think his turned out nicely.  There were many that were much, much more extravagant.  But he enjoyed making it and his Dad enjoyed giving him advice.  And at least he made it himself and learned a lot.  The fourth graders had a parade up and down the halls holding their ships.  I was so proud of my little guy!

Lydie's field trip with her Daddy

Lydie's class is studying community helpers.  They had a big day last week going to the fire station, library, post office, and park.  There are 30 kindergartners divided into two classes of 15.  Both classes have 9 boys and 6 girls.  Andy got to know a lot of the kids and parents and I was so thankful that he could attend.  It meant the world to Lydie (and me) to have him there.  This age is so endearing.  Everything is exciting and new for Lydie right now.  She does her little school workbooks on the weekends for fun and is reading like a champ.  She is the textbook over-achiever.
She is still adjusting to the long afternoons away from me on the three days that I have to work in my classroom until 3:30.  We are both adjusting, actually.  I miss the children, but Lydie especially, so intensely on those days.  The boys are a little older and ready for the longer afternoons away.  But at the sweet age of six, it is extremely important to me that Andy and I are Lydie's primary influence right now.  We are praying about a way to approach the school principal with a creative solution.  Until then, praying for little Lydie and all the changes in her life.  She is such a joy and delight to us!

Jack's field trip

This month Jack's class went to local caverns to enhance their study of Earth Science.  I was able to take a personal day and go with him.  I had such a great day getting to know the other parents and his friends.  This class is a sweet group of kids, very polite and kind.  They have really embraced Jackson and he is making a lot of precious friends already.

Sixth graders...so fun!

It was a little cool for the butterflies to be very active.  But this one was beautiful.

Panning for treasures is always exciting.

Wow, the caverns are spectacular.

This was a fun day of going through the corn maze, enjoying the butterfly garden, panning for gold, and exploring the caverns.  I am so thankful that I was able to go with the kids! 

His big debute

Jackson tried out for the school play.  He was hoping to just get to know some new friends and "maybe get a speaking part".  He read as the part of a pirate (for Peter Pan), but he impressed the judges.  And as it turns out, he got a part with many lines in every act, playing the part of Wendy's little brother John. 

Once received the script and saw all of his lines, we were astounded and so was Jack.  He has practice every Wednesday after school until 5:00 most weeks until the play in May.  It's going to be a lot of work, and we are excited about all that he will learn.   He loves, LOVES his time with the other kids and says they have a ball.  We are so shamelessly proud of him!

Lulu turned SIX!

Our girl turned 6 on the 21st of September.  She is such a spunky, joyful, little thing.  She enjoyed her day of celebration.  First, a birthday banner to walk into.  Then cupcakes at lunch.  (Chocolate with sprinkles, a family favorite.)  I was able to let the principal step into my classroom for about five or ten minutes so that I could go to recess with Lydie's class and sing to her and serve her cupcakes.

Just as I knew she would, she has made a huge following of friends.  It's actually crazy how many buddies she has.  The grammar school (grades K-5) is out at 1:00, but the rhetoric and logic school (grades 6-12) get out at 3:00.  Every now and then Lydie and I need to go upstairs to do something where the big kids are when she is done with school and they are still having school.  EVERYBODY knows her and says hi.  I have no idea how, but kids from every grade love to talk with her and hug her.  It's so cute.  She has three really special girls in my class who just adore her.  So every afternoon after school Lydie writes them a note and leaves it in their desk.  Then they write her back and leave her note in my bag.  It goes on every day.  And the girls in her kindergarten class are so precious.  She loves them all and we have enjoyed the first few birthday parties this year, spending time with them and their families and getting to know them.

For dinner, Lydie chose Moe's, of course.  We let her open our presents that evening.  She got an electric diary (too funny), the doll from the Brave movie, and clothes.  By the way, clothes are not a dull gift for her.  She LOVES getting clothes for her birthday, and that started on her first birthday when she squealed at the clothes from her Nana.  It's so fun.

Lydie is still my little best friend.  She can be quite demanding and egocentric, still.  But she is simultaneously sensitive, giving, and kind.  She does an excellent job at school.  Her teacher marvels at her self control.  She is reading and adding really well and she loves to do workbooks for fun at home, always feeling disappointed when she has no homework.  (She is such a carbon copy of me, it's ridiculous.)  She is growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ, as we see her becoming so much more knowledable about God's word and integrating it into her decisions and worldview more and more.  We just adore her and look forward to watching her enjoy this fun, exciting year in kindergarten!  What a blessing!

16th

We have yet to celebrate our anniversary.  Maybe at the end of October?  There has been too much to do, so far.  But these flowers that Andy sent to school were so lovely.  They stayed this beautiful for weeks.  I confess, I did not even buy my sweet man a card this year!  But I can honestly say these have been the most amazing 16 years and I consider our marriage my greatest earthly treasure.  I am so excited to spend this life and eternity with my sweet Andy!

Lydie's ART birthday party!

party favor...paint!!

 My parents allowed us to use their new house for Lydie's party this year.  This was a fun way to be able to invite her classmates without asking them to drive an hour to our house!  She chose an art theme, and it was really a lot of fun and fairly simple, too.  And most importantly, she had a really great time and felt celebrated.

I opted out of cakes this year for the kids' birthdays.  These were fun, easy cupcakes...sprinkles, polka dot paper lines, life savors, and fun flags.

Place cards were art easels made from Popsicle sticks.

Rainbow pendants decorated the windows.

The kids decorated frames, made jewelry, and played with play dough.

Precious little kindergarten girlies and cousins!

Aunt Chelle helped with the jewelry!

Two of Lydie's precious new friends from school!

Dear Uncle Rick and Andy....The kids are done and you are still making jewelry.  Too funny!!

Blowing out her candles...SIX!

Lots of fun, girlie toys!  This one was a huge bag of make-up.  She has REALLY enjoyed it already!

                        

Our school's fall festival

My precious friend, second from the left, entertaining us with her singing group.  Amazing!

Dance crew at the fall festival

Lydie was the only one we could catch up with that day.  The boys were off  playing with friends and we hardly saw them at all.

The weather was beautiful!

All in all, a great day for fellowship and a great fundraiser for our school.  I did my part, as I was put in "jail" three times by my students and then paid to be released three times by my students.  It was great fun.  There were huge auctions for about 50 items or baskets that were donated.  Our family bidded on and won a package with a photographer.  Good fun, great company, fun memories!

School fun

A fun snack at school

We playfully ate fortune cookies as we read A Cricket in Times Square and the story's setting changed to the Chinese restaurant.  We remembered that God, of course, is really the only One who could ever tell the future.  It was all in good fun!

As we studied archaeology in science and history, I created our own little digging site for artifacts.

Jackson was all dressed up for Tom Sawyer day at school.  He and a few friends made up a really funny skit for literature class that was a raving success and received a perfect score of 100%!

"The question is not, - how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education - but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?"

  ~Charlotte Mason

Nursery Rhyme Day

There are so many things that I miss about homeschooling.  To be honest, the first month of school I didn't miss.one.thing!!  But then as the reality of commuting, balancing work and home, and our time away from one another set in, I can now definitely see both the pros and cons!  But there are many days that being a part of a school community, particularly a classical Christian school community, is pure bliss.  This was one of those days.  This was a day when all the cons were not even a factor and I enjoyed this day to the fullest!

Lydie (Bye Baby Bunting) and her best friend (The Old Lady in the Shoe)

Every year the kindergarten class works hard to prepare for Nursery Rhyme day.  Each child memorizes a nursery rhyme, dresses in character, and brings a themed snack.  All the parents and grandparents are invited to watch them recite their rhymes and eat snacks.  I have several sweet parents in my third grade classroom who have offered to step in for me when my own children have special days as this one.  So I was so thrilled when I was able to be a Mom and not a teacher at school, and enjoy seeing her with her classmates.

Humpty dumpty....darling!

Daddy came to watch Lydie...

and Nana!

Fun treats!

The children all remembered their rhymes, with only a couple seeming very nervous.  There are 30 kindergartners, divided into two classes of 15.  They are so adorable and I am so excited to get to know each child and family and see Lydia Joy grow up with them!

Precious Joshua' birthday

This year my sweet middle child turned ten!  Joshua had exactly what he requested: a night at the hibachi Japanese restaurant with family and a Saturday with us and his best friend at the Lego Discovery Center in Atlanta.  He opted out of a traditional party this year, but was still much celebrated!

Birthday morning!

For his presents he got mostly Legos.  He also got some "Beats" headphones for all of the time we spend in the car on our commute to school.  It was a sweet, fun birthday for all of us.

Hibachi style dinner with the family!

Our favorite: the volcano onion!

The quiet boy is in the limelight!

Precious cousins stopping by for dinner on the way to the Auburn game!

Joshua still has me wrapped around his little finger.  My soft spot for him weakens every year.  He is just a kind, quiet, loyal little sweetheart.  I prayed for him non-stop this summer, so utterly concerned about whether he would make friends at school.  As usual, he is full of surprises.  As I always say when refering to him, "Still waters run deep."  He has really, really thrived.  He has made lots of friends, his teacher adores him, and his gifts are being used more so than ever.  His lowest average in his studies is a 96, and that is in Latin with his peers who have received a year of Latin, 3 days a week, from a Latin teacher.  After three weeks of studying and giving it his all, he caught up and has made 100+ bonuses on his tests ever since.  He has such a good work ethic and bright mind, and I hope he always uses them for the glory of Jesus!

Fun with Legos!

A stop at Starbucks on the way to Atlanta!

He started piano this year.  As we suspected, he is a "quick learn".  He takes his lessons on Monday, and by Wednesday he has all of his songs memorized and can play them smoothly.  It is something else.  And he also continues with art and is an excellent illustrator.  I love to see his personality and talents shine and expand!  I am excited for him to play his second season of basketball this winter.  It will be quite a challenge for him and I know he will learn a lot.

 So thankful for another year with this darling boy.  Praying he will be a tender warrior for Christ and grow in his grace and mercy this year!

Happy

We had another wonderful week.  Actually this was an excellent week.  Lydie decided on Monday that school is fun, after all.  And she decided to trust that I would pick her up every day after carpool.  So she just gave in, relaxed, and had a blast.  Here she is at "The Teddy Bear Parade".  It was really fun to take her stuffed animal to school all day.  She got to come by my classroom for the parade.  I waved frantically like a weirdo.  It's just so cute seeing her with her classmates.  In a couple of weeks she has nursery rhyme night.  Grandparents and parents come to see the kindergartners dressed up, reciting their nursery rhymes.  She is reciting "Bye Baby Bunting".  Oh my goodness.  Cannot wait!  She has two best friends, Meg and Anne Coulter.  And they have the funniest conversations at recess.  I am loving hearing about it.  Little boys asking them if they will marry them.  Talk of whether to be teachers, doctors, or artists when they grow up and what the latest American Girl catalog had in it.  Good stuff.  Her teacher is tender, but firm.  She is perfect for Lydie who is tender, but also sometimes stubborn.  What a blessing!

Joshua is just thriving!  We were most concerned about him, as he has trouble making new friends.  And although all of the kids have done excellently with the adjustment, he has probably done the absolute best.  He has made so many friends!  I get to see him at recess and he is right in the group playing tag and talking.  Oh, it's such a relief.  I took cupcakes to his class on Friday, as it was his birthday.  And his teacher and a few friends prayed for him.  I had to wipe tears.  One little girl said, "Just thank you God that Josh is a really good boy and that he could be in our class."  Sniff sniff.  He has been inducted into the 4rth grade spelling club and math club.  This means he has 100% in spelling and that he can do his math facts correctly in a certain amount of time.  It's really fun.  His teacher is absolutely darling, and always thoughtful of him and loves him so much.  Thank you, Jesus!

And Jack has really adjusted amazingly to the logic school.  He is normally an A student, but has a B in two classes.  But considering the transition from homeschool to note taking, new curriculum, lockers, changing classes, and having seven teachers, I am very proud of him.  His teachers all say he is attentive and eager.  He has a literature teacher who is fresh out of college.  She has taken a special interest in him and noticed his gift with words.  I am excited about her influence on him.  All of his teachers are kind and encouraging.  He tells us funny conversations he has with his friends, which boys have crushes on which girls, and what the latest trends are in sports or video games.  It's amazing what the kids pack into their conversations between classes, at lunch, and in their 10 minute break each day.  We were really concerned about p.e. for him, as he is not athletic and has not really had that type of class with homeschooling.  But he actually loves it.  So that's a surprise and really good.

And I have to say I am amazed at how completely happy I feel with my own students.  Again, I know Joy is always available and I feel it every day because of Christ.  But happiness is a luxury, and I am so deeply happy.  I am happy for my children.  I am happy as a teacher with my students and my new friends who are on staff. I am happy to have this great ministry with the parents of my students, as well.   I am so happy to see how my husband has adjusted and sacrificed in order to help me at home.  I know there are many reasons that God has us here.  But when we are at school I have that deeply satisfying feeling that He is revealing that all this time, He had this place in mind for us.  All this time there was this enormous blessing waiting to be revealed.  Wow.  I am in awe.  And I plan on enjoying and praising God for this time and place!

Today we are all like vegetables.  We spend Saturdays doing laundry and just doing nothing.  Oh, it's so good.  Work hard, play hard.  Love that feeling!

Our first week of school

This is the first day of our second week at our school.  Last week went so well for most of us (excluding Lydie who had a rough last couple of days missing me).  The boys are adjusting with ease so far.  And I love, and I mean LOVE, teaching!  I forgot how much the routine and order of a classroom is so comforting to me.  I relish the ability to do one thing at a time with one grade level.  I love the predictability and structure.  My class is full of so many different personalities and strengths, but each child is a treasure and I have enjoyed so much getting to know each one.  What a sweet age third grade is- still loving and wanting to please, yet so well trained and self-controlled! 

I appreciate the support I am receiving from the staff.  So much prayer, insight, creativity, and encouragement every day.  I needed these boosts in my teaching and love it.  It is an amazing feeling to work at a place that I can support theologically and professionally.  The philosophy of the school is my ideal and I am so thrilled to be a part of the mission of this school!  It has been more work than I anticipated. But you know what they say about doing something you love?  That you'll never work another day in your life.  It's fun, good work.

My children are all growing under the leadership of others.  God so tenderly gave them each the teachers that they need.  I especially love the two very godly men who are/will be teaching them in the logic and rhetoric school. Also,  Joshua's teacher is so thoughtful and attentive to him as a new, shy student.  She has made observations and encouraged him in ways that most teachers would not take the time to do.  I am so thankful!  And as a result, he is thriving and making friends quickly, which is usually difficult for him.  I saw a couple of kids pat him on the shoulder to say good-bye when I picked him up today.  God is already answering prayers for us in Joshua's life.  It is good to see, and I pray that we see even more, that Joshua is coming out from under the shadow of his brother and finding his own strengths and gifts.

Jack, as usual, has made friends with all the guys and most of the girls.  He just fits right in.  Our prayer is that he would become a servant-leader for his friends, even though he is the "new guy".  I am so excited about the good habits he is forming that I struggled to instill in him.  Simple, but good things, like organization, neatness, and independence.  He has really done well with his locker, switching classes, taking notes, and keeping up with all of his assignments and tests.  And he is trying out for the school play next month.  His literature teacher has already discussed with me his "insightfulness" with the books they are studying in class.  So fun to hear other adults recognize the same gifts that I have.  (And as far as weaknesses, I am just waiting for his very particular history teacher to send me an email about his sloppy handwriting.  So glad she is more of the enforcer, and I am the cheerleader.  It's good to delegate!

Poor Lydie has struggled the most.  And to think that we hardly even prayed for her!  I expected her to jump in and not look back!  But instead, by mid week she was ready to go home and cried many tears.  Today she did much better and we are thinking she was just exhausted.  So we are going to sleep a little earlier this week and leaving school earlier, too.  She has half the school praying for her, as many children and teachers saw her crying.  I am pretty sure 50 people asked her how her day went today and hugged her.  She is loved, and she knows it.  I am sure she loved the attention and praise everyone gave her.  I think she will come around and love school as much as the boys!  I am SO excited for all of us and cannot wait to see what the Lord teaches us all this year!