These are the days of mom’s perpetual excitement over the weather: How can it be this nice in December? Outside kids! We’re hiking today! Yes, again- look at that sunshine, in DECEMBER of all months!
These are the days of Classical Conversations- we made it through the first term! These are the days of packing lunches on Tuesday, hauling a huge whiteboard to class, along with my tutor box, books, and presentations. We listen to timeline or history songs or skip counting until Seth reminds us to pray in the van- the one thing that will get me to turn off the music. These are the days of being humbled by high standards, embracing the challenge, and learning together.
These are the days of Lorraine taking long walks with Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, and Charles Dickens. She only got lost once when her phone died (we tease her that she got stuck in a roundabout!) These days she grows radish seeds in the kitchen, reads about famous artwork, and practices public speaking. These are the days of “glowing” and “growing,” and logical syllogisms. (All who want to be my lover gotta to get with my friends. You want to be my lover, therefore, you gotta get with my friends.)
These are the days of Aggie getting carried away with Christmas decorating in her bedroom, and with homemade gift-giving all over the house. These are the days of science experiments with Skittles, drawing maps, and afternoon Latin which often ends with a glazed-over look on her face and “Can I go take a nap?” We are homeschooling, so yes, there is time for napping, sleeping beauty, and thank you for making my bed when you are done.
These are the days of going to Walmart with Seth who organizes my cart beautifully. These days, Skip is his shadow, and if Seth leaves, Skip is a whiny baby until he returns. These are the days of dog hair everywhere, and dogs on Seth's bed where he shares the heating pad with them while he studies pre algebra. These days, he plays Clair De Lune on the piano, and pop songs, and he must be forced to practice his trombone. These days, all Seth wants for Christmas is a tent so he can have his “own room” in the backyard, away from his brothers.
These are the days of Marcus and basketball cards, football cards, and Harry Potter. These are the days of Eldon loving all reptiles, especially geckos, most especially Mr. Rex. These are the days of a mealworm farm to feed hungry gecko! Of course we also regularly buy superworms and even crickets (Marcus hates this.) These are the days of Peter flying ahead in math, but still struggling with finding and tying his shoes, or remembering why we sent him into the kitchen. These are the days of consequences for arguing: burpees, or writing math facts, or copying the entire timeline.
These are the days of memory drills and writing from key word outlines, of weekly presentations at CC, of crayfish and owl pellets. These are the days just barely after the days when spelling lessons (or xtramath) could make any one of the younger boys melt into a puddle of helpless despair and tears. These days, it’s getting a little better, as they learn to cope with feelings of abject despair that come with getting an answer wrong, and to celebrate progress, not perfection.
These are the days of being embraced by a new church family, and marvelling at the way God has His people shining His light in this place. Christmas caroling, cookie wrapping, church decorating, we are becoming a part of the traditions here. (My favorite so far was the Messiah sing-along!) These are the days when I get to see the fruit of Josh’s all-night study sessions in his preaching and teaching, when I need to use self-control to refrain from giving him a high-five after a great sermon.
The Jubilee Christmas program at Our Savior was adorable (for me) and torture (for the younger three boys, especially Eldon.) Somehow, before he went down the aisle his bells got tangled in the string that held the star around your neck. They were heavy, so they kept pulling the huge star up around his chin; he had to fight with it the whole service. Meanwhile, Marcus was in the back with his scowling face saying clearly “My mom is making me do this and I am hating every second.” Then, as Pete was jingling his bells for the song, one flew off and hit Eldon in the neck! After service El had the deepest scowl and said to me, “My neck hurts because I got hit with a bell, and my bells got tangled and I just HATE MY LIFE!”
Bell injuries and tangled stars notwithstanding, the grace of God is evident here in this place! We continue to marvel at His provision as we watch His plan unfold.
Merry Christmas everyone!
