I’m going to be spending the next couple of days hiding out in my kitchen cooking and baking with some of my most favorite people.  Life is GOOD!

I hope that you and your families have the most blessed and joyous of Thanksgiving holidays!  

Life has been so busy here lately that I have been neglecting writing anything about our homeschooling adventures.  That may be because we have been homeschooling for so long that it just seems like an ordinary part of everyday life to me.  It might also be because with all of the ADD, ADHD, SID and Aspergers in our family, we are practically the poster family for broad spectrum disorders!   At any rate, predictable routines and Charlotte Mason style training of habits is a BIG part of our life.

Even though we do not follow a regular schedule time-wise (we are not clock-watchers, but we are working on it!), we do follow a regular routine that begins when the first person wakes up each day.  Everything from meals to school subjects is covered in a certain order that begins at that point.  Like most families, our day begins with some people wandering about in a still-sleepy fog while others make breakfast.   After breakfast, everyone who is old enough to do so starts on some sort of self-directed school work, or reading assignment.  Personal Bible studies also take place during this time.  That leaves me available, at least in theory, to work with younger children on whatever they might be learning.

Because of our family allergies, most easy lunch options aren’t options for us.  We tend to break from whatever else is going on to work together to make big kettles of soup and homemade breads or biscuits for our lunches.  A lot of math and history can be covered during that time without anyone feeling the least bit pressured.  It is also a nice time to discuss everything from current reading assignments to current events.  Lunch conversations tend to be rather lively.

After lunch we delve into the harder stuff.  I spend time going over assignments and plans with each child.  Math tends to get covered during this time each day.  Tech and Lilly can also help younger children who might need additional help.  The more fun lessons and science experiments tend to also take place during this time.  Sometimes we also have a school-related movie or DVD to watch together and discuss. Sometimes we also do crafts and art projects.

Sometime between two and three in the afternoon, we tend to break for chores and any dinner preparations that haven’t already been taken care of.  Wildchild goes down for a nap and I sneak off to squeeze in a workout.  Personal projects of all types also tend to get the most attention during this time.  From here, everyone tends to go their separate ways somewhat until dinner time draws us all back together.

Just before bedtime, we reassemble to have our read aloud time.  We have found that the end of the day is the best time to curl up on the couch or flop on big cushions on the floor and listen to some great stories.  We end our day by praying together and starting our bedtime routines.

What does your day look like?  Please share!

… just how much I hate to shop?  Guess what I spent my weekend doing?  Yep, shopping.  We DID have a great weekend of thrifting and garage saling which met most of the few needs we still have heading into winter weather, but I am getting sick of crowds and looking at stuff, and spending money…  To make it up to myself, I think I may spend part of today doing things I do enjoy like sewing, cooking, playing outdoors with the children and cleaning out closets!  Yes, I am a freak.  Thank you for noticing.

That may not sound like a big deal, but to me it is HUGE!  For the past four or five years I have been borrowing Bibles from my husband and children, or just reading the Bible on-line.  Money has been tight, and I always hate spending any on myself.  It is not as though we did not have plenty of Bibles around the house, either.  Somehow it is always nice to have one of your very own.  I am so very grateful for my new Bible.  My husband has been thanked so many times that he has developed an involuntary eye roll whenever the subject comes up.  So, if you have been wondering where I have been hiding since my last post, I have been busy reading my little Bible and marking my favorite verses.  I’m feeling pretty spoiled.  Thanks again, Eaglewood!

I picked up the book that I have been putting off reading for about two years now.  I knew that I needed to read this particular book, but I had a bad bad case of “I don’t WANT to!” 

You see, I knew that there were some places that this book was going to take me that I just did not want to go.  I guess you might say that I had been a little mad at G-d and I was not really ready to let go of that.  I knew this book was going to make me really look at myself, my grief and my relationship with the Heavenly Father.  I’m a stubborn soul, I’m afraid.

Last night I finally surrendered to G-d’s gentle nudging, picked up the book and read all night.  You might have already guessed that it wasn’t as scary as I had been anticipating.  It wasn’t nearly as painful as I had feared.  I was ready to let go of the anger, the grief, and the burdens that I had been carrying so long.  And I did. 

Life is looking much brighter and better for me today and I am feeling much more at peace than I have since Samuel died.  It can be good to let go.

Garage saling and thrifting have been particularly good to us lately.  In one day alone, we scored 4 sweatshirts, 5 sweaters for various children, 3 pairs of jeans, 4 pairs of athletic pants, 2 pairs of slacks, 2 pairs of overalls, a jacket, a skirt, a blouse, a new baby gate, several brand new in the box and/or original packaging photo frames, and a book on horses all for less than $40.  That was really our best day this year for finding the good deals.  We have managed to meet most of our family’s needs for Fall and Winter extremely cheaply which makes me extremely happy.  We have also found a couple of nice paintings and several baby toys with which to feather our nest.

I like garage sales and thrift stores not just because I am a cheapskate (which I am), but because I really appreciate just how hard my husband works to provide for this family.  I love being able to stay home and teach the children.  I love having the time to make healthy meals from scratch (which has become especially important with our allergies) and do all of the little things that make life a bit nicer.  Eaglewood is going to be traveling on business for a couple of days and could use your prayers.  In the meantime, I would like to say, “Thanks Eaglewood for all you do for us!  We love you!”