Shannon and I have changed up our early morning walks now that daylight greets us.
A new route: refreshing.
A name indicates what we seek.
An address indicates where it is.
A route indicates how we get there.
~Jon Postel
Seeking: fresh air, light, conversation, moving body, deep breaths, inspiring scenery....
I'm on the right route.
One of the beauties of homeschooling is the ability of the parent-teacher to weave together life and lessons. For some, creating that integration and balance comes naturally. For others, like myself, it is a constant work in progress.
But many of us, at one time or another, face huge waves of life that overwhelm our lessons.
Maybe it is a cross-country move, extended out-of-town visitors, caring for an elderly parent, home remodeling, early pregnancy nausea and fatigue, the birth of a baby, or an illness in the family.
We can use these waves as opportunities to embrace life (and all of its challenges) as a family and show our children that learning can happen anywhere and under any circumstances.
Don’t be afraid to let your children see and experience the waves of change within the context of a supportive family. I believe this will help develop their coping and problem-solving skills, give them a healthy understanding that life is not one long stretch of straight highway, and build strong family relationships.
There are several ways of shifting the balance to reflect our educational priorities, even when life seems to be up to our chins.
I'm over at Simple Homeschool, today. Head on over to read the rest.
Lilac. Hmmm. Levi, Luke, Leif, and Lilac. Has a certain ring to it.
Actually, that isn't one of the names on my list, though it would go well with my sister's botanically-named girls. (And just to be clear, no, we don't yet know whether we're having a boy or girl.)
Want to add any? Names to the list, that is. Now's your chance.
Just because naming babies is fabulous entertainment.
Already used: Levi Jefferson, Luke Monroe, and Leif Benjamin.
Names I wish I could use (last name clashers):
Swift (Laurel, that's just the coolest boy name, ever), Sylvie, Sawyer, Stella, Simeon...
Golly, I'm a one-letter-wonder, aren't I?
On the LOVE list: Beck, Hazel, Violet, Byrne, Lark, Wilder (Bella Art Girl, that's just the coolest girl name, ever), Per (Colleen, I want a Per, too!) , Wren, Adelheid, Ilex (Holly, if you hadn't used it, I would have. Well, if I had a girl.), Willow, Annika, Jude, Rilla, and Helm.
Looks like I'll have to have a few more kids....
ETA: I'm having fun with all the names in the comments!
Esme and Elle are perfectly lovely.
Lots of L names to choose from: Lucie, Larken, Lyric, Lincoln, Lilith, Lachlan, Lola, Laurel.
Whew! What will it be?
It's a fun theme at i heart faces this week: collages.
I've posted so many collages (created at picnik.com) over the past year or two, it was almost impossible to decide! I really wanted to enter my Hope collage, but there aren't any faces clearly visable, so my Lovely List project was next up. That's what we're all about here at Mt. Hope Chronicles. Hope and Lovely....
Check out other great collage entries at i heart faces this week.
This was the last of the Children's Performing Arts series this season.
The nesting instinct must be kicking in. Between early pregnancy nausea and fatigue and the BLACK background, I was having a hard time getting inspired here at Mt. Hope Chronicles. If I had the choice between blogging or sleep, sleep always won. I apologize for the scant number of posts in the past couple months, but my energy and positive attitude (and appetite) are finally starting to return. Look for more activity around here in the days, weeks, and months to come.
So, the biggest news: I'm about 14 weeks pregnant with #4 (for those who didn't catch the hint at the bottom of the open house post). I'm positive God knows what He is doing, even if I can't see the big picture some days. The boys are ecstatic to be getting a new sibling. We'll find out (I hope) in 6 weeks whether we're adding a girl or boy, but statistically we're likely to have another boy. I'm in for it....
In my sketchy absence, I totally missed my 3rd blog anniversary in February. Three years of Mt. Hope Chronicles. Good grief. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this adventure. Above is a picture of Leif posted in that first month of blogging. He was 6 months old (I'm starting to get baby fever!!). Below is a current picture of my littlest guy. Yeah, he's changed a bit. And he's going to be a big brother in less that 6 months!
So, with each blog anniversary that has passed, I've made little changes to 'the look' around here. There is a little less time to be messing around with aesthetics at the moment, but you might see a few more small changes over the next short while.
You might also have noticed that my Saturday Seven diligence accountability posts have dropped off the face of the earth. I had no idea I was heading into pregnancy when I set myself up. Sigh. I will say that my sister and I have been walking (or exercising indoors in inclement weather) consistently (usually 5 days a week!) all of this time. I'm REALLY proud of us.
Lessons with the boys have been tough, but we're hanging in there. I have quite a few catch-up posts in the works. Reading (both daily and intentional reading) has gone the way of blogging: if it's a choice between reading or sleeping, I choose sleeping. I've managed to finish up a few books, though, and need to post reviews. We missed family night at the pool for several weeks due to unavoidable conflicts, but we made it back last night and enjoyed ourselves.
Hmmm. What am I missing? I guess I'll leave it at that, for now, and try to pick up the pace around here. This blog serves as a family journal, of sorts, and I miss documenting the little things that make up a full, lovely life.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry
