Schooltime!

Schooltime!

This school year has held many pleasant surprises and adventures so far. We are really enjoying our Early American History studies with Sonlight, and I'm thrilled to be doing more hands-on activities with the kiddos this year. I've decided to stop worrying about checking all the boxes and start chasing a few rabbit trails. Meaning, if something really piques somebody's interest, why not do a little more with that subject? It's been a great change of pace.

So far, the kids have been the most excited about the Native American crafts I have found for them. A couple craft kits, a few different library craft books, and we've travelled back in time! :) I posted a few pics on my Facebook page, and oh, the comments I received! People thought I'd been overrun by savages - and, I must admit, it looked like it! We've used the internet for a lot of things this year, too. I'm always a little wary about letting the kids look too much up; but with supervision, I've decided it's a most excellent tool. We looked up the buffalo hunt from "Dances With Wolves", which saved me a trip to the video store. I've found all sorts of cool pictures and articles that have related to different topics we've touched upon. All these things have just enhanced the experiences for us this year.

Right now, we are taking a short break from Sonlight and focusing on a unit study about the American Revolution. Day 2 through, and it is going great. We played a Jeapordy-type game to cover questions today and the prize was worth fighting for - Halloween candy! :D Connor and Chloe really stretched their minds and dug deep to answer some questions - Canon even got in on the action! I'm always surprised what these kids are learning, and at the ages they are learning it - and UNDERSTANDING it. I'm pretty certain that I didn't know what a constitutional monarchy was at 6, and I was a pretty sharp kid. But today we discussed George III and Parliament, and Chloe said it sounded like the same way the President and Congress worked together. Yep. Sharper than her momma. ;) One of the many reasons I'm thankful every day for the Lord letting us homeschool.

Life as we know it

Thursday evening, our community lost three Willard teenagers in a car accident, just footsteps away from my driveway. I knew that there had been an accident, Kelly had called to check on us. We were supposed to be heading to soccer practices and ju jit su at about the time of the wreck; but due to the rain, soccer practice had been cancelled. Connor and I were both feeling under the weather, so we had chosen to stay in for the night. I didn't know about the fatalities until later that night.


Their names were Abreana, Brady and Samantha. Two 16 year olds and one 15 year old. Heartbreaking. I didn't know any of them personally, but our church's youth pastor did. Many of our youth were close to them. It brings back memories of when one of my husband's best friends was killed one month before our wedding. It was terrible to lose Derrick, to watch Kaci (his fiance) grieve, and to watch Kelly mourn without being able to comfort him; but my mind cannot even wrap around the pain of losing a child.


Ree Drummond, a fellow blogger whom I just adore, posted that an old friend from her home town had lost a son in an accident Thursday night as well. She was talking about how disconnected she felt, not having seen the boy since he was tiny. She said that her prayers seemed useless, or ineffective, because she didn't even know HOW to pray in these situations. I agree with Ree, that somtimes prayer seems insignificant. But the fact of the matter is, they most definitely are NOT. Our Father feels the pain of these families, of those friends. He is acutely aware how much His children are suffering right now. However, He wants US to reach out to each other in times of need. Even more so, He wants us to reach out to Him. To lift our burdens to Him. That's all we as mortals can do, and it's all that is necessary. The power of prayer will never go unnoticed in the Kingdom.


As I was pulling onto 160 Friday and saw a police car sitting at the wreck site, my mind went in a million directions. Three children took their last breaths within sight of my back door while I was watching Disney Channel with my babies. How earth shaking that thought was. I started crying, and praying for those families. Immediately, I felt the Lord saying, "That's what I want from you, Ammy. Remember them. And pray for My children who are hurting." Without a doubt, I will. There have been friends and family members there every time I've pulled out of my driveway this weekend, leaving flowers, teddy bears and balloons. A small group was huddled in a circle Saturday morning in the ditch, praying. Our community is broken today. But with the Lord's help, and with each other's, we will heal. Rest in peace, Brady, Samantha and Abreana.

Fall

I love fall.
The smell of wood smoke,
the sound of crunching leaves
under my feet and the children squealing with delight. The sight of leaves turning color. The feel of the warm sun and the cool breezes. These are moments of bliss to me. And I've soaked up as much as I could this week of the wonderful fall weather we are having.

My girlfriend, Christy, and I took our kids to and apple orchard and a pumpkin patch on Wednesday. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. We picked out some apples and got to pick our own pumpkins right from the patch - a first for even me. The hay mazes and all the decorations were a lot of fun. And the chrysanthemums were gorgeous.

Today, Kelly and I took the kids to FarmFest - one of our favorite family days of the year. The kids get to climb all over the farm equipment, get up close and personal with the animals, and bring home all sorts of fun and quirky handouts. (Seriously, what 8-year-old needs a tube of lubricating oil of his very own?? Apparently mine!)

These are the weeks that I live for. These two days weren't outrageous vacations or action-packed adventures. But they were heartwarming, memorable days that I will cherish, and I believe the kids will, too. Sometimes less really is more. Thank you, Lord, for fall.