300 days of beauty, days 52-64 [kaleidoscope]

I know, I know, I disappeared. I've been known to do that from time to time. May vortex, time spent in hospitals, general life exhaustion, and I can even blame it on the rain (which has fallen in exorbitantly copious amounts...I don't know if I can use all of those words together, but anyway...).

So this evening as I prepare to travel once again, I am determined to display a fraction of the last several weeks. All from my phone (couldn't find the cord to download from my camera...sigh), all from my ordinary life. A kaleidoscope.

And as a side note, the half-marathon I had been training for has been downgraded to a 10k. I know that sounds much like hurricane terminology, but the prospect of running a half-marathon was starting to feel much like a category 5 storm. The training was worth it, but this was not the season. I would like to try again, but for this weekend, I will enjoy running a 10k with my brother, spending a weekend in Chicago, and seeing a much-beloved cousin.



Alright, now for the parade of randomness...

My son is training for a 10k and asked to go on a run with a stop at the store. Not his usual request, but I agreed. He ran to the store just to buy me a honeycrisp apple because it was National Teacher Appreciation Day. He came back, panting and sweaty and placed this on the table next to me. I nearly cried I was so very touched.

We studied geography by taste-testing single source chocolate from different countries around the world. We savored it and will continue this study over the next couple weeks. LOVE.

I never tire of these gorgeous blossoms. They survived far longer than I thought they would.

We read on the front porch ALL DAY. The weather has been cruddy, so we relished this day.

A GORGEOUS tranquil evening and a date with my husband. We walked and talked for miles through our city, along our trails.

I was sick, so so sick. My sweet friend dropped these supplies off for me. I'm rich in friends, no doubt.

Back to the front porch and sweet Belle looking through her picture Bible. She loves Moses and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

We hadn't had the best day, this daughter and I, but in the evening, this is what I found written on her mug of tea. We don't have to be perfect, we can't be. We can give love and grace and mercy to one another even in the messy times.

Love my girl's window art, especially against the rain splattered backdrop and the newly unfurled spring leaves.

Again, the front porch...I sip coffee, eat breakfast, and read out there most every morning (weather permitting).

The zoo is always fun. Belle was on a mission to sketch flamingos on this zoo trip.

And tonight...my husband was helping with all sorts or "to-do" items. I'm exhausted after being gone most of the week and spending much time at the hospital and in a car. I'm chugging through one item after another and he writes this for me. A cup of warm tea and truth. What can be better for my very weary heart that desperately needs rest?

300 days of beauty, day 9

Having had a rough night of sleep (or lack thereof), I slept in this particular morning. I walked downstairs to these three happily and congenially building a massive train-track system for our Thomas trains. Cute. So very cute. 

These were favorite toys for all of them, but especially D. I was touched that he wasn't too old for this play with his sisters. It was his idea and with a smile on my face, I told them they could play as long as they wanted. Their hearts and relationship with each other held a higher value than my agenda. I don't regret this "lost" morning of school one bit.

Hello, Eastern Tennessee!

We have been a bit busy as of late. We are spending one month in Tennessee for my husband's work, illustrating probably the number one reason I love homeschooling--adventure flexibility. That being said, it takes a whole lotta work to pack five people for a month with whatever can squeeze into our car. And I do mean squeeze. Clown cars have nothing on us. Needless to say, I was very tired before we left and I'm still tired now. I've tried to channel my inner Dory with the lines, "Just keep moving! Just keep moving!"

On top of my endless to-do lists, before leaving we encountered a bit of a mouse problem. We did not find said mouse before we left and are hoping we don't return to an odoriferous fragrance or a scene from Ratatouille. Shudder. We have a friend is generously checking on our house guest (hopefully just one)...very thankful for this! I figure God has a sense of humor and He was just sure I needed that extra push to get my basement clean-ish before we left as I know I would have put it off otherwise.

Anyway, we are all very excited to be in Tennessee a second time and generally consider it our family sabbatical. We are thankful that my husband's work allows us to do this and that because of homeschooling we have the flexibility to take this trip. For one month we step out of our normal life. We step away from house and home projects and upkeep. We step away from our weekly commitments and life pressure. We all lay aside our individual commitments and we go adventure as a family. Last time, it wasn't all perfect or ease or stress free, but so very very worth it.

Loved this sign at Zaxby's...where can I get one?

Just to clarify, I really love my life. I love our city, our community, our home, our neighbors...we are blessed. But being able to have a more simple existence for one month gives us an opportunity to take a bird's eye view on our life, a slower pace gifts us unhurried family moments. We are going to something, not running away. My husband still works during the week. I still have school to do. But the weekends are ours, the evenings are ours, and during the weekdays, Knoxville and the Great Smokies are our playground.

hiking at the University of Tennessee Arboretum

Belle found this little critter, I don't even know how..."eagle eyes" she says. It looks like a leaf from the top.

lablab bug

Apart from the somewhat horrifically long drive out here, we are settled in and getting situated. We're tired still. We're not in a groove and we're all a little grouchy at times. In spite of our grouchy moments, the weather is gorgeous, the leaves are frosted in magnificent autumn colors and are reaching their peak. Fall lasts longer here. We have already eaten too much Southern fare...yummy fried and are trying to eat better. We have picnicked on the banks of the Tennessee River at the Concord Park Cove (our favorite!), we have wandered the trails of the University of Tennessee Arboretum (another favorite), discovered the smallest green frog I've ever seen, and identified a new bug. In case you were wondering the lablab bug is an Asian transplant which really loves Kudzu vines (which are everywhere). They also like to hitchhike into our townhouse. Yesterday, we day-tripped through Virginia and West Virginia and visited three reservoirs (we didn't feel like we had driven enough recently...).

kudzu vines by our home...down the road they have attached themselves to power lines...taking over the world!

Cece's birthday was several days ago and she asked to stay around here and rest and do simple things. She sketched fashion creations, we played pool, we explored our complex...simple. She also wanted to swim in the Tennessee River like she did two years ago. No, it is not warm, but that doesn't stop my Guatemalan princess. We had a lovely beautiful evening celebrating.

I always pick thematic literature and here is our read-aloud list to date:

1. The Mandie Collection by Lois Gladys Leppard--love these books...we read three last time we were here and we will continue with them! (Christian/historical/mystery/North Carolina)

we play games and read our books in coffee shops...

2. Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty (Historical/Civil War/Georgia)

3. Be Ever Hopeful, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty (sequel)

4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 

This is what I hope to do better while we here:

1. Get up earlier. I'm not what you would call a morning person especially if I have to wake up in darkness. Knoxville sits on the western edge of the eastern time zone. The sun rises at 8 a.m. and where I live that is never a reality. Surely I can get up at 7 and get an hour to read and write to start my day. I had a hard time with this last time and it seemed to get later and later. Carpe Diem!

2. Eat better. I found it challenging to not be in my normal kitchen without my normal grocery stores. Cooking began to feel quite difficult quite fast. Apart from the plethora or apples and muscadine grapes we bought from the stand near our home, we became a tad bit addicted to fast food. I was asked if I ate good food in Tennessee and what my favorite treats were. Hmmm. Grits? Fried pickles? Toe jam? Crushers (panini-pressed croissant breakfast sandwiches) and cinnamon rolls from our local coffee shop? Yes, most definitely the cinnamon rolls, way too many cinnamon rolls. I have a better handle on this and we WILL eat better! Our favorite apple stand is no longer there, so we'll keep searching.

3. Most importantly, I want to see God's sovereignty in his placement of our family into Eastern Tennessee, even though it is only for one month. I expected to see His hand in our family time two years ago during our first Tennessee stint, I didn't expect fruit outside of that and I was so very wrong.

In one month we made a sweet connection with an elderly woman in our apartment complex. To be honest, I was feeling self-conscious of my diverse children and wasn't sure how the South would treat us as a family. I would describe Ms. JoeAnn as a regal African-American woman. Our first day in Knoxville I nearly walked around her, but I didn't and I'm so thankful for the sweet conversations and relationship we had. We took her flowers the week we left and she cried. We wrote letters for a year and then lost touch. She moved or she passed on, but when we left, her parting words were, "I'll never forget you and I'll pray for you as long as I live."

There were others, so many sweet stories. I saw so clearly that every place we step we can impact the world for Christ. It starts with a heart to see every moment as a moment in God's world. It starts with a smile, a hello, a kind word, loving my kids, loving my husband, showing courtesy, taking time to listen...so many little insignificant nothings that create beautiful tapestries. This does not mean that we were proclaiming the name of Jesus from the rooftops, we were just living our life and God blessed it.

We have more relationships here now and we plan to take advantage of this time. The kids spent a joyful afternoon with our neighbors who live behind us. D has been writing to a friend he met here for the last two years and today we spent a sweet and lovely day with his family. Old-fashioned letters sparked a friendship and we all benefited from that effort today. We're not here just for ourselves. We tell ourselves and we tell our kids--every moment matters.

You'll be hearing more from us as we savor Eastern Tennessee! We have hoped and prayed that we would have second opportunity to do this. And we are thankful.

the definition of a beautiful day (and some school pics too...)

I have been avoiding writing. Even when I most felt the need to put my swirling thoughts to paper, I couldn't seem to muster up the mental fortitude to do it. But I needed to today, just a bit. To fight my mental and physical fatigue and jot my thoughts.

Today, I'm tired. School has been going really well these last couple of weeks. I like the flow and rhythm that I have set so far. But today was one of those days in which I couldn't quite speak with the patience required and deserved to my children. I felt myself talking and lecturing in circles, trying to instruct, trying to explain, trying to understand, but feeling like I need a course in "Navigating Your Child's Emotions 101." 

Even though today is quite "blah," I wouldn't consider it the norm. We have sparkling days, glimmering with smiles, laughter, goofiness, discussions, tea and crumpets, experiments, sidewalk chalk artistry, new feats, devoured literature, perseverance and a love of learning. Oh, and lots of character development...not just the kids, for me too. Sparkling still has its challenges and struggles or its nothing but a glittery veneer with Styrofoam underneath.

we did not kill the butterfly, FYI...

How my "today" looks is not my favorite look. I prefer the days where I put lots of check marks by school subjects, the house gets picked up, the kids don't argue (much), and I have motivation to move steadily through my whole day, in a perfect homemaker sort of way. I never have days that look perfectly like this, but I have days that feel in line with this and I like them. But every day brings its own look, its own battles, its own beauty, its own mess. And, His mercies are new every morning..." Praise the Lord.

So, here are my snapshots, my reminders of the beauty found in each day:

On this day where my window view shows gray skies with light breezy gusts rustling the trees outside, I'm thankful for the cooler temperatures. Fall is coming and it's my favorite.

D has spent the whole day helping an elderly neighbor with his yard. He loves doing it. He didn't expect to miss this day doing school, but because we homeschool, he can do this. And in my opinion, his work today is just as valuable if not more valuable than a day with his textbooks.

I have two sweet girls who graciously forgave me for my harsh words to them. It is hard to fail in front of my kids. It is good to fail in front of my kids (and ask forgiveness) because failing is a part of life, sinning is what we do. They need to know that I'm human, I need Jesus too. They have to learn to walk in this world. Confessing their sin to God and people, sharing their burdens, will be a protection for their souls. I want them to resist the facade of perfectionism and the Gospel-denying platform of shame. If how I deal with my failings and struggles points them to engage with God in everything, I will be well-pleased.

seriously, Arctic mermaids...

We're enjoying our last week of the pool. In spite of the gray skies, Cece and Belle will make the daily trek. They are die-hard and I love their happy pool smiles. I never tire of seeing their goggle-clad faces underwater. They literally smile and always wave at me when we're all underwater together. I can't quite find the right word to describe Belle's facial expression. Her eyes are bright, joyful, vibrant, wide-eyed, enthusiastic. I love it. Every image, I try and capture in my mind's eye. I meant to buy an underwater camera this year but didn't.

We've been working on some Spanish as a family and Belle has taken quite a liking to it. Unfortunately, the only phrase she can remember right now is ¡siéntate! which means "sit down!" She hears this phrase quite a bit, so it has stuck. The other night my husband and I took an evening walk and the girls scootered. All through the neighborhood, Belle was continually exclaiming, ¡siéntate! ¡siéntate! ¡siéntate! Usually she screams, "This is AWWWESOOOME!" So, I think this was her substitute. Hilarious.

What else? A neighbor randomly offered to bring us dinner tonight. What a gift. The girls and D are working together to make forts in the girls' room, but they have taken a break to happily watch some new episodes of Wild Kratts first. I love how much time they have to spend together. We'll walk to a farmer's market this evening (weather permitting!) and hopefully get in a couple chapters of Tuesdays at the Castle. Simple, lovely.

I'm learning to receive and give grace for the ebb and flow of each day. I don't have to be perfect. I can't be. It doesn't have to be my definition of a beautiful day to be truly beautiful.

this year's homeschool successes (and praises!)

Well, I have weathered the end of year vortex...mostly. I have odds and ends and frazzled threads to tie up, but [deep breath] our schedule is shifting, lightening in a soul-refreshing way. I have been evaluating how the year has gone. This could be why the word "FAIL" reverberates in my head a little too often. More on this another time, but for now, a few thoughts.

Schooling three different grades is hard. Before I knew what was happening, I was already being pulled under the bus. So, there is that. 

However, I still LOVE homeschooling. Most definitely a success and a praise. It is a good fit for me and our family.

I check with D often, but he continually assures me that he loves homeschool. D became self-paced and independent in his school this year. He'd already done this quite well, but this year he had a syllabus for each subject. I created his checklists, but he followed his assignments, kept up with the pace and on his own volition put in extra work to follow the schedules outlined for him. It was amazing to see. He started playing and has become quite proficient in classical guitar, played on a soccer league with his dad, helped coach a first grade soccer team, and is looking forward to being on the VBS music team this summer.

He's just a great kid, love him to death. He loves a challenge, so we're creating some lofty goals for him this summer. Still in the brain-storming process with this, but I was inspired by reading Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.

My baby koala chillin' in a tree (she camouflaged herself by painting her face with chalk...).

As for my princess kindergartner, well, fortunately, I don't stress too much about kindergarten. As I've said before, Belle's kindred spirit/alter ego happens to be Tigger. And can I just say that I don't remember any character from the Hundred-Acre-Wood ever getting Tigger to sit down to learn anything. She has been known to say, "It's so hard to relax myself!" Understatement.

I love anything with their handprints.

Belle learned a lot even in her Waldorf-esque kindergarten experience. She listened to Classical Kids and Colin, became best friends with the Kratt brothers, signed with Alex and Leah, began reading, worked sums, jumped into whatever her brother and sister were doing, and did kinesthetic activities of all sorts (some approved, some not.) I heard, "I'm doing an experiment!" quite often. Most of the time I reacted well. We'll be doing school throughout the summer as I'll have some more time freed up. 

I will miss the image of Belle walking down the hallway at their homeschool enrichment program with her backpack dwarfing her. Priceless.
 

Zoo field trip!

My biggest biggest praise/success story for this year? Cece loves school. Sounds ho-hum boring? Nope, it's amazing. A year ago this would not have been her answer. She struggled, she was emotional, she battled us, she didn't like to read, and it was just not fun. We didn't know at that point that she had dyslexia. (A big thank you to my mom and her fabulous posse of teacher friends (I call them the Fab Five), for being instrumental in getting us on the right track with our sweet daughter.))

I was definitely more relaxed this year. We did all sorts of things, but the theme was audio, audio and more audio. Audio textbooks and a whole lot of good, quality literature on CDs or mp3s. Some of her favorites? A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Sarah, Plain, and Tall (and the rest in the series) by Patricia MacLachlan, Tuesdays in the Castle by Jessica Day George, Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, and Savvy by Ingrid Law. She listened to over 40 books this year, so she could add many others to her favorites.

For fun? Ballet is her thing. Cece switched from gymnastics to classical ballet and loves it. She can still be found dismounting off picnic tables in the park and randomly performing other gymnastic feats. With the struggles she's had in school, she has been gifted with natural athletic ability. I'm so often thankful that she has something that is hers and that comes so naturally.

grinding maize...studying the Mayans

Our goal for Cece: steady progress. This does not mean fast. She's still grappling with aspects of her third grade math, random facts are torturous, her spelling resembles Chaucer's Middle English, but in everything, she's getting there. Steady. Sweet. Joyful.

She loves school. This can't be measured with a report card. I'm so thankful.

The evaluation process will continue throughout the summer and into the fall. It's the nature of homeschool, an ever changing machination of learning and home and life. Most of the time, the best piece of advice I can take comes from Isabelle. "Relax myself!"

I thought this penguin looked a little bit tense. Relax!