It’s been a few years since we have been to the zoo, and our youngest has been eager to go and see real animals up close. He was super excited about the lions and tigers. He’s been asking for several months if we could go to the zoo. I thought fall would be a nice time as it wouldn’t be too hot. I was hopeful we could see animals being more active than in the summer months that we typically visit.
1o years ago Scott and I went before our church and made a commitment before God to raise our son as a disciple of our Lord Jesus Chris. Father’s day weekend, 2004, we rejoiced with our congregation as he was baptized. This was not a sign of our sons salvation. It was the sign of God’s promise to save and cleans sinners who call upon Him. Our son was not saved, but we rejoiced in the seal representing God’s power to save.
We recently celebrated my youngest sons birthday. Because he shares his birthday with our anniversary, we often celebrate his birthday over Memorial Day weekend… So, in his book he is 4 now though technically there are still a few more days till that occurs officially. I love this age… 3/4… I love how his personality is developing as well as his sense of humor. I love how his vocabulary is growing and he tries out new words, many big words and he misuses them.
It was a typical afternoon for me… rush the kids into the van, make a quick stop at Walgreens for cough drops and pictures… a quick glance at the clock tells me we should make it to practice in time as long as we don’t hit traffic.
And then…
the car just stops… it almost felt like I could feel it drop, the steering wheel locked and I did my best to coast and steer it to the side of the road… or the entrance of the bus circle at the high school.
Thursday we spent the day at Petrified Forest National Park, located in the painted desert of Arizona.
Here the kids worked hard to earn their Junior Ranger badges. We spent quite a bit of time learning and researching in the visitors center.
We also took a walk to look at the petrified wood.
We then drove through the Painted Desert. It was beautiful to see all the layers of colored dirt deposited.
When I started home schooling 4 years ago, I stepped back from most of my other responsibilities. I wanted time to figure out the ropes of homeschooling in addition to taking care of my family. But last spring, I started to feel a tug. I was ready to serve again. I wasn’t sure where or how, but I knew I wanted to serve in some capacity. (Keep in mind this is not because after 3 years of homeschooling I suddenly had the homeschool thing mastered… truthfully this year more than ever I feel more nervous about our school year….
I don’t homeschool because I hate the government. Nor do I homeschool because I think the public school system is all evil. Nor do I homeschool because I want my kids to be smarter than yours. In fact, raising super smart kids isn’t even my main goal of education.
I homeschool because I want to spend the time with my kids. That’s it, in a nut shell.
But, if I may be honest and come clean with you, it’s hard.
Why hello, dear neglected blog of mine… yes, the circus family is still alive and well. It’s just been a busy week at the circus, what with an earthquake, a hurricane, a Women of Faith conference (another blog post to come about that soon), a head cold, a fantasy football draft and home schooling….
Right now I have mounds, literally mounds of unwashed clothes and dishes to take care of, shirts to tye dye, food to buy, and our annual Labor Day weekend to prep for… but I wanted to stop and preserve a few moments that I didn’t want to forget…
In the interest of keeping it real, I’m going to tell you that I have not really been much for the whole green fad that has swept my generation. While we do recycle, that’s about the extent of it. Then a few years ago my pastor gave a sermon during a series on stewardship that hit home for me. He talked about the fact that while God did make the world for us to enjoy and inhabit, it didn’t mean he made it for us to squander and trash.
Dear Sweet Baby of Mine,
Every time I sit down or lay down I can feel you move around inside of me. You are more active than any of your sisters or brother were in the womb. Perhaps you are trying to tell us already that you are eager to jump in and join in the chaos and fun that is our family. The feeling of you turning over or kicking and punching my sides…it’s almost as if you are saying, “Hey Mom!