e.

i love you, little-boy-who's-not-so-little.  mommy has long roads to walk to learn more patience and a gentle spirit... and you are a precious gift Jesus will use to help me get there.  your smile takes my breath away.  your forgiving spirit and your quiet "go-with-the-flow-ness" are a priceless blessing for our home and our family.

you are growing, and soon you will be taller than me and i pray i can keep up, because you have places to go, and things to do, and people to see.  and they will love you, because you are wonderful.

love, mommy.  :)



just one...

a while back we did maternity portraits for a good photographer-friend.  as the last moment, when the sky was so beautiful it took our breath away, karen snapped a sillhouette of me and my favorite two assistants.  i love you, guys!

precious days... {homeschool projects}

i once said i'd never co-op again, after experience led me through some very hard times, and after a season where i realized i was spending more time managing parents and their issues than tending to my own children's experience and education.  for the last year-ish, we've found a solution that works very well for our family. 

our dear friends have the same number of kiddos and a very similar age lineup, and very comparable curriculum and style/ heart for our children's education and spiritual growth.  it's been a natural fit to spend a day a week together doing special projects that line up with what we're doing in our  own homes, and using our combined resources to give them a richer teaching.

i think it works for us because we respect each other's individuality, while learning from each other.  i only hope my friend and her students gain as much as i know our family does!

this year:

preschool time.  we alternate weeks to teach.  we're loosely building from early education at home, a book first given to me by a homeschool mama about 10 years ago when my oldest was a little guy!

history.  we both use tapestry of grace and are on the same schedule, so we take turns leading a project or two and /or teaching time on our current subject/time period of history.

science for our "middles."  beautiful feet history of science was our choice (i'm doing apologia's anatomy with mine as well). 

the "big two" are working mostly independently in their second year of the one year adventure novel.

the "second born" for each of us is working together to do a stop-motion film project.  if they can stay focused and on-task.  otherwise they'll be assigned a more supervised project.  ;)

we alternate weekly between my hubby teaching woodworking when we host, and the other momma teaching art.  there are some cool projects lined up for these subjects!

these moments are precious to me because i know it's a choice and a sacrifice for us each to give up a day of our own school, but it's a dear gift that helps me get done projects i always wanted to, and it provides encouragement and accountability for my children and myself!  (plus it's super-cool to see my hubby teaching something he enjoys as well!)