A new goal & getting back in the rhythm of school

I've been neglecting my blog lately. As many of you have stated on your blog, time feels scarce, and it is easy for priorities to get out of whack.

However, part of the joy of the blog for me is the journaling aspect of it. I love going back and seeing what we were up to a year ago, a month ago. And since scrapbooking is totally out of the question for me at this stage of life, blogging works for me.

SO, I have made a personal resolution to do the best I can to post every other day for the next month - even if it is only one sentence. Gotta get back in the habit - Hold me to it, ladies. (smile)

We started back to school on August 4th. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy it. I've been doing a lot of deep thinking (amazing, I know!) over the summer months about whether I should continue homeschooling Punkin, whether Weaver is still the best fit for our family, what is God calling me to, how to carve out some healthy time for my soul to be renewed and refreshed. I've been doing a lot of reading about simplicity and simple living - but that is a post for another day.

It's good to be back to school. I love seeing the kids' faces as they get things. Punkin's progress over the summer in reading has been amazing, and her love for learning is more obvious than it has ever been. For example, today school consisted of a quick summary and some reading from Exodus 21-23. That's the laws God gave Moses after the 10 Commandments. The point of today's lesson was that there were a lot of laws, God cares about the choices we make, and the Israelites said they would obey. Then we did a little U.S. History and talked about the geography of the U.S. a little bit. I thought it was pretty boring day, actually. No experiments or activities - just us talking. A lot.

I was pleasantly surprised when during our nightly "high-low" game, she said school today was her favorite thing. And she had friends over this afternoon, so it wasn't that the rest of the day was even more boring. :)

We started back volunteering today. (We set the tables at the Senior Center for their noon meal. We did this one day a week last year, but this year we will be doing that once a month.) We took the month of July off, so it has been awhile since we were there. It was good to see friends, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. I enjoy being around older people. One of the men has especially captured my heart. He lost his wife in January - she had severe dementia and had not been able to remember him for awhile. He is almost completely blind. But, he has a very warm personality, and despite his vision, he can play the piano beautifully. I haven't asked him yet, but he plays well enough that I imagine it was how he made his living at one time. One of the ladies is especially fond of Little Man, and as a mom, I really enjoy her gushing over him. Punkin is a huge help, and is doing more and more without having to be asked. I love seeing that, and I think it makes her feel like such a big girl.

I still can't believe I have a 2nd grader.