The Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week…

We're adding some normal back into our lives. This evening, my husband will help me to un-decorate the tree and haul all the Christmas decorations to the attic. Yes, I am completely aware that it is the middle of January, but it is what it is. Yep. I'm certainly overusing that phrase these days. 

I'm supposed to call a probate lawyer this week. I went to my parents' house today to meet the company from which my Dad had rented a bed for Mom. The bed is gone. There is a big hole in the house. Lukas washed the dishes because I cleaned out their refrigerator. 

It seems like this week is a week of undoing. Undecorating. Emptying. 

In our homeschool this week…

We began a very loose routine yesterday. Parts of it feel great. We're not sleeping late so we can have our regular family Bible study time before my husband heads to work. It is such a blessing in our day to do this. Other parts don't feel great, but we're making it work. We began our schooling part of this day with art. Yep. We pushed academics during the fall, and now we're pushing art and writing and reading great books. Ava asked if she could read a certain Frog and Toad book yesterday. I tried to convince her in November that she was ready for it. She insisted that she must keep reading The Beginner's Bible, and I had so much going on that I didn't pick that battle. Now she has skipped half of the Beginner's Bible plus three other books on the Sonlight reading list she's working through. She is doing so very, very well. I'm so proud of her progress over the past year!

So this week will consist of a lot of laid-back schooling. Ava will read to me each day. Lukas will do his math. We will paint and sketch and paste and write silly stories. We will read The Black Stallion aloud. Daddy will read about Nate Saint to us before bedtime. It will be a blessing learning and living life together.

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

Yesterday, we had a meltdown in our house. I was discussing math with my 11 year old because I thought he was going to have to work 6 days a week to catch up if he wanted to finish by the end of May. It turns out that I was wrong, but I digress. Lukas said to me, "But Mom, we did what we needed to do. We needed to be with Nana." Yes. We sure did, Buddy. I was so proud of him. I wasn't at all concerned about him not being where we thought he would be at this point in the school year, and neither was he. My children learned the most valuable lessons in the past three school years. If you have a loved one who is ill or needs extra time and care from you, don't be afraid to slow down, skip a day or twenty. This is the blessing of homeschooling. These are the most important life lessons our children will ever learn, and they are far more important than any academic lesson there is to be learned.

I am inspired by…

Music. This is the last song I sang in church, and I made sure Eric recorded it since my mom was unable to attend to hear it, so it is also the last song my Mom ever heard me sing. Of course, I'm no Kari Jobe, but isn't this song beautiful? As I watched my mama slipping away a little more each day, I kept hearing the words to this song and pondering the lyrics and picturing Jesus saying these very words to my mama. I didn't realize Jesus was whispering to Daddy too. This song has been such an incredible blessing to me over the past month and a half. I hope it is a blessing to you too.

 
Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This coming weekend, Ava has been invited to two birthday parties. She's pretty excited about it even if it does mean that her own birthday party has been pushed to the next weekend. 

My favorite thing this week was…

I got a precious email from a friend yesterday, and I am so grateful to her for it. 

What’s working/not working for us…

I don't really care about what isn't working right now. What is working is doing what we need to do in the moment and not planning too far in advance.

Questions/thoughts I have…

I know a lot of people get stuck dwelling on why things happen the way that they do. I have certainly wondered why God chose to take both my parents home in such a short time, but I don't find myself dwelling there. I find myself noticing little things that are blessings, or little things that could be the reason. I don't even want to know a definitive reason. I'd like to think that because the Father loved my daddy more deeply than I could possibly imagine, He chose to rescue him from his grief, and, in that, I see one of the most beautiful blessings of my life. The reality of this for me is that...some blessings hurt.

Things I’m working on…

Counting my blessings. Organizing and cleaning my house. Cleaning and sorting Mom and Dad's house. Remembering to stop and let myself think.

I’m reading…

The Sound of the Trumpet by Gilbert Morris. The Black Stallion by Walter Farley (which just happened to be what we were already half-way through when my Dad passed away. It was a boyhood favorite of his).

I’m cooking…

Homemade macaroni and cheese, ham, mixed veggies. Check out The Pioneer Woman's mac and cheese recipe. It's so delicious!

I’m grateful for…

I could write a book about how incredible my husband has been over the course of the past couple months. Besides the fact that he immediately wanted to move to this little town two years ago when my mom got sick, he has been here doing so much for me. He took care of anything my parents needed that I couldn't do. He took over some cleaning and cooking duties when I was too busy taking Mom to chemo or Dad to an eye appointment. He helped plan both funerals and made phone calls. He tells me to slow down and take it easy and not to worry. He prays with me. This doesn't even touch the tip of the iceberg. Eric is so many wonderful things for me, and I am so grateful for him.

I’m praying for…

My children, my sister and her family, my husband, my extended family and friends of my parents.