It's been almost 2 years since my last blog post! The focus of this blog has mainly been the kids for obvious [very cute] reasons, but I'll take a sec to explain why I haven't prioritized blogging since April of 2020, and it had little to do with the global pandemic that had just begun right before that last post.
John and Sus both went to Windsor Elementary in the fall of 2020 for what started as a hybrid-model school year, where they were at home 3 days a week and at school for 2 with work to complete virtually. I actually LOVED this schedule of schooling because I had more time with my babies! I also hated this schedule of schooling because I had to get these kids situated on my computer with our struggling country internet for Zoom classes and online assignments. When I had access to my computer, that time was often spent grading the work of my online high school students, as I've been so blessed to continue working as an ELA instructor with ACCESS Alabama.
Eventually the kids went back to full-time school, which was a YAY for no more Zoom, but a BOO for two other huge reasons: (1) I lost that time with them, and (2) 7+ hours a day wearing masks and forced social distance from their classmates. Which leads to what's really kept me from writing for pleasure here or anywhere: once the school board decided that the kids would still be masked and distanced in the 21-22 school year, we decided it was time to try out homeschool.
SO, this year I continue teaching my online students, continue my leadership role at church, continue maintaining order and life in my household, add teaching 3/4 of my children (PreK, 1st, 2nd), add leading a homeschool group at my church, and add switching to French Press coffee because there is JOY found in that 4-minute steep.
That's where I am these days. Busiest season of my life, but by far the most fulfilling. The Lord has truly been my portion these last few months, in very tangible ways. I'm unbelievably thankful.
QUICK KID UPDATE:
Susannah is 8 now, and is just as lovely as little ladies come. She is an ideal student, even now that we're at home; and her enthusiasm for learning is what keeps me excited about our day-to-day! She wants a puppy super bad, and hopes to name it Oatmeal. She loves reading American Girl books and thankfully has not asked for a doll....yet. Susannah is in gymnastics for her 3rd year (not consecutive), and is growing so much there. My favorite thing about Susannah right now is when I catch her acting her age -- watching her reflection dance so cute and silly, creating imaginary worlds out in the woods, and even being scared (READ: TERRIFIED) of thunderstorms. She's always so calm and mature that it's really fun to see her act like a child.
John is 7 these days, and is a wild man child. The boy wakes up at 6 or 6:15 most days and is kind enough to keep our 7am get-out-of-bed expectation without a fuss; but when that clock strikes 7, the energy level in this house goes from 0 to 392 in record time. Sometimes this wildness about him drives me a tad bonkers, but he's extremely good natured in all his crazy. John does a wonderful job during school sticking to tasks, and I'm very thankful I can offer him the freedom to wiggle. The boy also has approx. 5,784 questions about everything throughout the day, so we're in the process of teaching him how to Google on Mommy's computer. ;) John tells me a few times a week that he's not getting married and DEFINITELY not having children when he grows up. He and his best bud Wes Sawyer have it all planned out: "When we're older, we're not getting married to ANYONE. We're gonna live TOGETHER. And we're gonna be SCIENTISTS." John eats more than I do on a daily basis and is football-obsessed. He loves the Team-Formally-Known-As-The-Washington-Football-Team-Formally-Known-As-The-Redskins-Currently-Known-As-But-Never-Called-The-Commanders and of course Auburn.
Mary is 4, almost 5, and is as sweet as sugar! This is quite a turnaround from 2 years ago. I don't remember if I've written about her old stubbornness, but that girl spent a lot of time in timeout and with the spankin' spatula when she was 2 and 3. But man, this past year of her life, she is the most agreeable, fun-loving, relaxed lil thang! Mary's learning to read right now in homeschool (it's early, but she's ready), and she actually read her first full sentence last week: SEE ME EAT. So proud of her! She's the most particular and not-relaxed about her clothing. She is modest by choice, not ever wanting to show her shoulders and preferring a below-knee dress or full pants above all. Any encouragement to wear a tank or shorts or - heaven forbid - jeans is met with extreme resistance. She's our cutest little Puritan.
Lastly, but definitely not quietly, Clark is 2, and he is a huge, adorable handful. As the only child with no school to speak of, he spends most of his morning feigning interest in what the big kids are doing and distracting them at every turn. His vocabulary grows every day, and he's often found singing or rapping to himself. We attempted to potty train him back in January, and it lasted exactly 3 hours. It was horrible. After a gallon of toddler tears and too many fits to count and no incentive that worked, I strapped that diaper back on, and we haven't looked back. We'll revisit it again this summer when we're not schooling. He won't go to high school wearing diapers, right? Clark doesn't know a stranger and is my first kid for whom a leash might actually come in handy. He's all over the place!
Recent snaps:
 |
| Nov 2021: when Pete was hunting one weekend, along with several of my best friends' husbands, we mamas took our kids to the beach for the weekend! It was our favorite fall weekend, by far. |
 |
| John has almost caught up. |
 |
| Christmas 2021 |
 |
| Christmas 2021 |
 |
| Loving our homeschool curriculum, especially when we get to BAKE! |
 |
| Celebrating John and Mary's first art show with our old co-op (that we elected to not attend this Spring but enjoyed some aspects of it, like this, in the fall) |
 |
| Mary's art |
 |
| John's snow globe |
 |
| In our church's Christmas play, An Out-of-the-Box Christmas, Susannah had one of the main roles and I ended up having one, too, in the eleventh hour. So fun to help the kids make this play a success! |
 |
| The packed house at the play! |
 |
| When the wood stove is rolling out the heat, sometimes we move dinner down to the basement. |
 |
| On the road to SC for Christmas! |
 |
| Cousin time is the best time. |
 |
| A family pic where everyone is looking AND looking pleasant! |
 |
| After Christmas, Pete and I left the kids in SC and headed to FL to celebrate TEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE! |
 |
| The one tourist-y thing we did while in FL: an airboat tour of the Everglades. |
 |
| NYE and back with our kids in SC! Cannot believe how good God has been to us these past 10 years. |
 |
| Back in January, we headed to Harrisonburg to see some of our TX family and got there just in time for some snow and some sledding. |
 |
| This was the first big group project my little students had: a diorama of Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Compromise does not come easy, so this was a growing opportunity. ;) |
 |
| Also in January, the boys got to go to MONSTER JAM, courtesy of Figgy and Pop! |
 |
| While the boys were watching monster trucks, me and the girls went to WORK. |
 |
| My favorite thing about homeschooling is when we can do it outside! |
 |
| We've had a great group of kids at our new homeschool group! |
 |
One of our favorite things to do on Art Fridays is Art for Kids Hub on YouTube! The kids' drawings of clowns this week (we were reading the weirdest book called "The Clown of God") turned out pretty darn good.
Other than the year and a half of months not represented here, that brings us up to the present. We're living the dream out here and are so thankful. This has been the most stretching season of my life. I'm not sure if Pete would say the same thing for himself, as he's had his own set of changes at work, but my part of this home life the past year has experienced significant change with significantly more responsibility. In all respects, I should be running on empty every single day. But I'm not. Yes, I feel stretched and sometimes scattered, but never empty. As I said in my little intro, Christ has been my portion like never before. We're thriving in this new life, myself included, not because we're doing everything right and always prioritizing or planning appropriately, but because of the abundance offered to us every morning in the mercy of Christ. It brings me to tears, even as I'm typing this. The goodness of God! I've never felt joy before like I've felt this year, working in our weakness and Christ's strength. How real His care for me has become in this great upheaval of my plans. He truly "holds all things together" (Colossians 1:17).
|
