Seattle Mom’s Day Out

August 25, 2008 KME 7 Comments

It’s not that I don’t want to blog. I love blogging. I’m just not sure how to fit blogging in to the mess that is my life. I mean the mess that is my kitchen and dining room. The older kids are off at a youth group retreat so I can’t blame them for the untidy piles of who knows what littering my house. The younger two are spending the night at a friend’s house. Again, no blame to lay there.

Rats. I guess it’s pretty much my mess. And here I thought I was really an amazing housekeeper underneath all the responsibilities of being a mom and homeschooling teacher.

Time for Breakfast

A bunch of homeschooling moms hit Seattle for breakfast.

I’ve been spending this week frantically trying to gather all my homeschool materials. How is it possible that I placed a huge Sonlight order and somehow forgot to buy the instructor’s guide for Daniel and Rachel? Argh! This year is going to be incredibly intense as Joshua begins high school and Rachel middle school. I suppose the rest of the kids need to be educated as well.

I’m not panicking. No, I’m not. Ignore the slight twitch in my left eye.

Did I mention we’re also spending time with my family from Michigan next week? Yikes. Oh, and three days after the family visit our homeschool co-op starts. Three days. So I’m just a wee bit stressed as I run from laundry to homeschool books to the computer (what else did I forget to order?) to co-op meetings, and somewhere in the mix get ready to see my parents.

Now I’ve got a twitch going in both eyes.

Thankfully I’m an extreme optimist. I work great under pressure, ignore the need for sleep, and thrive on coffee and looming deadlines. You can see why I couldn’t cancel my Mom’s Day Out, planned months ago, even though it fell on probably one of the busiest weeks in the entire summer.

How could I resist the opportunity to spend an entire day in Seattle with five other homeschooling moms? Great food, shopping and encouraging conversation. And, of course, there isn’t anything like a sunny day at Pike’s Place with the mountain off in the distance and bargains to be found.

time for dinner

Our Moroccan dinner – the belly dancer just left the scene.

Maybe if I close my eyes all of this work will just go away. Are the rest of you homeschoolers ready? When do you start school? Are you excited for the fall and new beginnings or fighting the end of summer with everything in you?

Kathy – off to tackle one more pile of books before bed.

Too Much Coffee

WFMW - Computer Game Chips

SHS Friends

Bible Study, Musings

Summer of the Heart

August 21, 2008 Tim 3 Comments

This time of year is always sort of bittersweet for me. August and September are the most beautiful months in our part of the world, and there is still some time before Summer is over. Our Fall schedule of home-schooling, Co-op, Physical Education at the YMCA, and various church activities doesn’t usually start until the middle of September, and so we have a few weeks left to cherish.

But already the seasons are turning, and the days are shorter. It is now dark at 9 pm, and today roughly marks the 1/3 point from the summer to the winter solstice. “Where did Summer go?” I ask myself plaintively.

let's go to the river

A visit to the water is always a treat.

I feverishly try to recount the sunny days in my head. True, we’ve had some hot weather, and quite a bit of sunshine, but there’s been a fair bit of rain mixed in, too. This week we’ve had cool temperatures, clouds and rain; it feels like Fall.

It is hard not to panic. “Wait!” Kathy and I cry. “We didn’t get our fair share of golden warmth! Kathy can’t face another gloomy Seattle winter without storing up some heat!” Indeed, most of my tomatoes haven’t even ripened, a sure barometer of an insufficiently-warm summer (or possibly a deficient gardener).

I take a deep breath, and reflect.

don't worry daddy

Silly Daddy, it’s okay.

One of the things I like best about being adopted into God’s family and a follower of Christ is that I don’t have to worry about being ‘out of time’. To the extent that I submit myself to the will of Jesus, I am never too late and never too early, I never miss an opportunity and I can always trust that everything will be done in its proper time. I am, after all, immortal, thanks to the gift of eternal life through faith in God’s Son.

let me grab a rock

What boy doesn’t love finding (and throwing) the perfect rock?

Of course, I don’t always subordinate myself to the will of my God, which is another problem altogether.

Still, I have a master who knows when the smallest sparrow falls, and He loves me and cares about every detail of my life. If He allows this Summer to pass quickly, then I can exercise my faith and believe that He has His purpose, and I can submit cheerfully to it, without feeling cheated or cut short.

Not the actual New Jerusalem.

I hug to my heart the promise of golden summers of Eternity, as the light from the Throne blazes out across the river, illuminating the twelve Trees of Life and their fruit, always in season:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place. — Revelation 22:1-6

Tim

Choosing a Church

WFMW - Let's Talk QT

Daylight Savings Time

Events, Joshua, Project 366

You May Be Tall But …

August 20, 2008 KME 10 Comments

I changed your diaper.

Sometimes there are irrational, odd thoughts racing around my mind. I’m not proud of them. Mostly I manage to keep them all to myself.

how'd they get so tall?

Next thing you know they’ll be asking for my car keys. Gasp!

Tonight Joshua and I drove our visiting guest to the airport. Looking at the pictures of me flanked by these tall young men with their deepening voices, long legs and huge feet I couldn’t help but think one thing:

I knew you both when you were babies with chubby cheeks and kissable toes…I changed your diapers.

I know, it’s embarrassing and a bit shocking – such talk should be avoided at all costs. I can’t help it. I’m a mother and the years have raced on ahead of me. I see the handsome, godly grownups you are becoming, but in the shadow, visible if I peer closely, I still see my firstborn baby and his little friend.

Give me your sword

Sigh. Go on, grow up. There doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it.

Help me!

You can tell I accept my aging gracefully.

Kathy
Project 366 – Day 232

The Passion

Socktoberfest

Travels with Faramir

Musings

Enjoying the Time

August 19, 2008 KME 5 Comments

It’s hard to be thoughtful and insightful when I’m blogging late at night.

butterfly village

I was awake, hours ago, at the science center.

rachel's my butterfly

Oh the other hand, the dishes are washed, the laundry is drying, and tomorrow’s lunch is made. That’s worth a pat on the back or at least a nap in the comfy chair.

I’m afraid the children are tired of living in photographic bloggy land. They no longer find my endless snap shot sessions amusing. What can I do to fix this? The younger two still pose cheerfully but the older kids are just plain not interested.

i'm grumpy!

Sometimes the kids will help by posing with grumpy faces.

Do you force your kids to pose? Sit nicely and smile? Can they run and hide?

I’m worried that I might be missing some special pictures because the family has got photo-fatigue.

a round of Bang

If I beg and plead (and bribe) the kids usually let me snap their pictures, but it costs me big!

Any thoughts?
Kathy

The First Flower of 2004

Dreams

Christmas Reflections

Events, Project 366, Rachel

My Equestrian

August 16, 2008 KME 5 Comments

We rescued Rachel from the perils of horse camp this morning. She’s been slaving away this past week, caring for the horses (can you say “mucking stables?”), taking riding lessons, playing in the lake and learning more about the Lord.

It’s a difficult life.

rachel's in the lead