Man! Homeschooling is BUSY!

For all of you who have written emails and I have not responded, I apologize. I have been so busy I feel like just sleeping when I have a few minutes. I discovered that I read a page and a half to Caleb yesterday out of Pinocchio. I had one eye open (literally) and I couldn't remember a thing I'd read when I picked it up today. I can't believe I was able to keep reading. I'm sure I was asleep within seconds of finishing that chapter. I fell asleep on the couch. Abby put a blanket on me at some point, I was woken up a few times by little faces an inch from my own, and Willsie got me a few times with a cold spoon on the eyes. Luckily, he was just tapping and not hitting. It was blissful to have a nap. It hasn't happened for a while.

It didn't help that I was up until about 2am on Sunday morning and then had to be at an interview at the church at 8:00am. I got caught up reading the Pioneer woman's blog. I have different friends who read it and Sat. night I unwittingly clicked on the love story. Kent was playing games with the guys, the kids were in bed and I spent the next several hours engrossed in her love story. It brought so many of the feelings up that I had when I met Kent. I've been thinking of it off and on through out the following days. I really like knowing that there are other women out there that love their husbands (and husbands, their wives) in a deep, abiding, and eternal way. That there is mutual respect between the two sexes... Delight in the differences.... Patience and understanding when one is frustrated/stressed.

Kent and I have both changed immensely over the last 11 years (I can't believe it's been that long). I always knew it would be this fulfilling...marriage. There is such peace for me in my life knowing that I can completely trust in the love of my husband. We've known from the very start that we could trust each other because we've always been honest about our feelings. No matter how ugly, nasty, haggish, or irritatingly controlling I am, he loves me. I feel the same about him, most people don't believe it, but trust me....he does have his days.

Getting back to homeschooling. I brought up the subject of homeschooling. Honestly, it had been gnawing at me for a while. I would spend HOURS in front of the computer knowing I should be interacting with my children, yet frustrated when they would interrupt me. I was just escaping life with five kids, trying to revitalize myself but never feeling fulfilled, always depleted. Avoiding that which was the one thing that could help me the most... living in the moment.... Basking in the delightful things that my children are....My children asking me to play with them, my reply was always "in a minute", which obviously never came. I knew I had to do something drastic to get me out of the vicious cycle I had created for myself.

Kent and I were discussing life, which is a popular subject for us :) and I made a slight comment about homeschool. He became more and more excited as the wheels in his mind were churning. He knew long before I was willing to admit (and commit to) homeschooling was the right choice. It's only been what? 2 weeks since we started? I have already felt an amazing difference in the feeling of our home. I am choosing to be patient. There has been some whining here and there about the work and it's "hard". But overall it's been good. We are still finding our groove, but it's been so good for me to be busy doing the "best" things, versus, mediocre or good things. I'm finally feeling like I'm understanding my real calling as a mother and I can't say how good it feels to be starting on the road. I have felt like I have been just milling around waiting to start the race and then come to find out I was holding the starting gun the whole time!

I don't have pics of everything, but so far we went out to ride in the combines and the kids loved it (as did I)! Uncle Jeff and Auntie Kayleen told them all about the wheat and harvesting it. Jeff gave us some of the wheat and we brought it home to make rolls...mmmm, yummy.

We then went to the bee farm the next day and saw how they process the honey from the hives. We bought a bunch and the kids got to see it's the honey I use to make the rolls as well. Last night we went and picked chokecherries and we made the juice out of them today for syrup and jelly. Kayleen also gave a box of apples while we were there and we made applesauce this morning. I wish I had gotten the video recorder to work. The kids were saying things like,"This is awesome! MMM, I love applesauce! " They all wanted a turn cranking the food mill. The boys liked to pretend the juice and thicker sauce was lava. They are so into natural disasters like floods, volcanoes, and tornadoes.

Kent has been assigned science and art as the two subjects he will teach. He has been really excited researching different things and will be starting that in 2 days. He rearranged his schedule to go in a little later in the day so we can all have mornings together from now on and he can teach his subjects. FUN, FUN, FUN! Well, my eyelids are starting to get droopy. Hopefully that doesn't mean this post is too dull!