You Don't See That Every Day

Spring is coming! I know its only January but I can see the daylight growing earlier and longer each day, offering hope of time outside not shivering. Our holiday break is over and we are back to the routine. Which is a good thing! The first day back to school was a lot easier for us than the second. We were up and going on time, with the only fussiness when it came time to do math. One child has a little problem with wanting to DO math. She's very good at it, and when she is in the right attitude, she can fly through it. The second day ... well, at 9am and I was just starting to eat breakfast, instead of starting school. And now that we are in week 2, well, I'm dreaming again about break time But about our break .. We packed it in this time. It felt like it to me even if the kids might not agree. The week before Christmas we took off from homeschool, although the older kids still had class at away-school. Choir concerts, singing at the Capitol, dentist and ortho appo...

There was a time when having something going on every night of the week made me so excited, and by the weekend I was ready for more fun. That time has passed. We have had something going on every night for the past 11 days straight, along with the daily events and fun things thrown in there to keep my homeschool kids from rising up and firing me. Last weekend we went to Seattle for the day to see my niece married to a great guy. It was fun to show the two younger girls who went with us, the sites of Seattle, even though those sights were found due to a couple of missed turns. Earlier in the week my sisters and I took the two youngsters to a Nativity 'festival'. We visited a place that had a large room/gym (?) full of Nativity scenes. It was like they could read my mind. I love Nativities, and am slowly gathering my own collection of them. But this collection from all over the world was just ... well it made me happy! These pictures are just a few of what we saw. The du...

Way back in the middle of summer, The Girl Who Swims, and Runs, mentioned she would not be running on the cross country team this year. Admittedly I was a little sad. I enjoy running, and I enjoy seeing my kids compete in sports. After a short talk together, basically "think about it some more, and "how are you going to stay in shape fro swim?" and "it is your last chance ever" she changed her mind and joined the team once again. This last week was the end of it. Her last high school cross country meet. And it was a fun one. She stayed in the top group most of the way and finished up in 9th place. Which meant she did not qualify for moving up to the State level. I wasn't sure how I would find her at the finish line. With some tears in our eyes, we hugged and she said "I don't have to run anymore!" So now on to her favorite sport: swimming. ((This girl has been a water baby since she was born. Never wanting to get out of the tub, always drawn ...

The weather people were predicting gale force winds and pouring/ dumping rains. The bicycle tire and brakes weren't working right. No one was in bed at 10:30 pm. That was Friday night. On Saturday morning, three of us got up at 6 am to head out for a triathlon. The Mr and The Girl who Swims would compete - I would spectate. The other children would sleep in and later clean house or something (more like the something of watch movies). We had a downpour as we left home but then a few miles down the road it was clear and sunny skies. There was a breeze ... ok, a wind ... but it wasn't blowing us off the road. The competitors had nearly perfect weather for this triathlon. My sister and I got to see both of my people swim - it was a bit of exercise for us too as we hurried from one pool to the other pool in a separate building, to see them in time; we managed to see our friends bike and run also. The weather held; all of our people finished the race without collapsing (alway...

The snow they teased us with never arrived. We had some flakes falling yesterday morning, making the air so beautiful and magical enough to tempt me outside on a run. I haven't run in two weeks and a few snowflakes got me back out there. But this morning we woke up to sunshine and cold temperatures. Not very enticing, but I'm still going to get myself out the door. In other adventures - we are now tree farmers. Back in December we (meaning mainly The Mr, and the Boy) planted over 300 hazelnut tree starts on the farm. We're planning for our future, but right now it looks pretty ... skinny. Swim season is over! Wow it went fast! For the past 3 months our Girl who Swims has been up before 5 am almost every day, to go swim. She didn't partake of sweets and desserts, except on Christmas and New Years, and she worked hard. All that added up to going to the State Meet this past weekend in 3 races! This is the first year she made it in an individual race - which was very ...

It seems like it was just Thanksgiving Day ... but now it's almost Christmas?! We've been going non-stop since turkey day .... The boy had his 19th birthday ... pretty low key this year. Welcome to being an adult, where birthdays aren't always a big deal.  We also had some fun company at our house. The niece and her new husband came for the weekend with their dad in tow. We really enjoyed getting to know the newest member of the family .... He fits in perfectly with this crazy bunch. We also had what we hope is a new tradition -- gingerbread house making. We recruited an honorary family member to be on our team too. Such a fun event at church! Swim has begun in earnest. The Girl Who Swims has had her first meet, and to me, she looks fast! She will have a couple of meets a week until February. I'm sure glad we have stadium chairs to ease our sitting and watching times. This past weekend we got our tree at the same tree farm we've been visiting for year...

Dear God, Thank you. Thank You for a week of unscheduled time, for time off of school, and time at home. Thank You for the ways You bring us rest when we need it. Thank You for bringing our girl home safely from California. I know, I worried needlessly, but thank You for seeing me through it. Thank You for cell phones so I could hear her voice each night she was gone, and texts at various times. Thank You for the fun she had at her first time at Disneyland. Thank You for the terrific swim team she gets to be a part of and the great coaches that take such care of our kids. Thank You for the safe driving this last week as our girl started swim practices at 530 each morning, which meant being up early and driving to the pool before most people are even awake. Thank You for hearing the prayers for her to be alert and awake each morning when she drives. Thank You for the choir that my other girl gets to be involved with. She loves to sing and is so excited to be 'first soprano...