We successfully finished our second week of school. I'm working very hard this year to not let small interruptions waste our days and this week was our first test. On Monday the orthodontist called asking if we could combine two appointments on separate days to one day. This seemed like a great idea! Kill one morning instead of two! Franklin Covey himself would approve! So, off we went to the ortho on Tuesday at 10:10 a.m. Rachel was perfect. Just plugging along in a lovely retainer waiting for baby teeth to fall out, but, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on whether you are the orthodontist or the parent/kid) it was decided that Tim was ready for Phase Two in braces. Great. Five kids in braces. We can do that. We've had six in braces before ... no big deal ... sure, this was before we had 3 kids in a private high school and one getting married in December but, you know me, I roll with it. We like beans. We like rice. (
Internal whimper.)
Then, while struggling to schedule the date to be braced, our dearest dental assistant friend, Jodi, said, "You know we could do it today at 1:30?!" So, I said, "SURE!" (I am truly a glutton for punishment and am happy to share this gluttony with Tim who went from NO braces at 10:30 a.m. to braces at 1:30 p.m.! Go Tim!) So, Tuesday was a total wash. Nothing got done. No school. No laundry. No chores. It was just a fun day at Crane and Seager Orthodontics with 7 kids in tow! Whoop! Whoop! The blessing is that we came home with lovely, new, mouth jewelry in an adorably awkward 14 year old boy! He's THRILLED!
Did this get us down? Did we shrink at the challenge? NO WAY! We rallied on Wednesday! We bought lots of apples sauce and yogurt for Tim, sent him off to Heritage and doubled up on our school on Wednesday. We will not be deterred!
Lily and Eli spent the week enjoying When I Was Young In The Mountains by Cynthia Rylant. I know I said this last week but, I LOVE THIS BOOK! And, this is why. This book basks in contentment. The final page says,
"When I was young in the mountains,
I never wanted to go to the ocean,
and I never wanted to go to the desert.
I never wanted to go anywhere else in the world,
for I was in the mountains.
And, that was always enough."
How lovely is that?! How completely lovely. And, to be honest, that is how I felt growing up in Colorado. Why would anyone want to live anywhere but here? I was content. I want this for my kids. Contentment. But, not in Colorado or the mountains but in where ever God has placed them. Because, no place will be enough. Only He will be enough.
The author of this curriculum (F.I.A.R.) says,
"Contentment, the wonderful quality of peace and satisfaction,
with one's life and surroundings,
is birthed in love and faith."
To which I respond, "Amen."
Here is Eli's lap book:
We learned about West Virginia, coal, nutrition, contentment, baptism, snakes and fried okra (yum). The fried okra lesson necessitated a trip to the Lost Cajun (which is in no way related to the book) to sample fried okra (which is one of my favorite foods!)
FRIED OKRA ... YUM!
Lest you think I am only schooling these two darlings, Eli and Lily, I want to share some of what my other kids learned this week.
On Thursday afternoons the other 4 kids, Anna, Rachel, Lizzy and Winston, go to Olive Tree. They take co-op classes in Science, P.E., Art, Writing and Geography. This allows me 4 hours of play time with Eli and Lily. It's pretty awesome. My dearest darling nephew, Winston, even drew this amazing picture of a street in France based on a picture drawn by Winston's namesake himself, Winston Churchill. How cool is that?!
The older kids are learning exciting things like cursive and geography and fractions. It's a laugh a minute, really. Rachel typically cries once per day while doing math and Lizzy only sighs and hides in her room to attempt to read in quiet once per day. What more could I ask for?!
We also walked up to Sprouts one morning which was pretty fun. How cute are these kiddos?
We bought peaches and apples and razzle dazzled little old people with our very old, fat chocolate lab, Mistletoe.
And, finally, on Friday evening, after a long week of busy-ness, my dad stopped by for a glass of wine and "contentedly" sat and chatted with me and all of my neighbor mom friends. This is the life.
Tom Singer, "Grandpa Extraordinaire!"
