waiting for vacation

whenever spring rolls around, i start pining away for our vacation to florida. we go for 2 weeks...one with family..one with friends. it's become a routine in our lives. we used to be spontaneous....now we are settled into our faithful yearly vacation. i have to admit, i like it. my kids love it. i think it's good for kids to have tradition. things they can count on. daily rituals. of course, we don't stay on some rigid schedule, but my kids pretty know what to expect on any given day and time of year. even when we're at the beach, we have a routine. breakfast..beach...lunch...pool...dinner...play...bed. it's so simple and peaceful. i honestly would hate one of those in a different spot every day vacations with kids. or the dreaded disney. bleah. we do branch out and go into town and have dinner ONE night. otherwise, it's just sun and sand. mmmm, i can't WAIT!

homeschooling rethought

i guess it's not so bad. we can't really afford anything else right now and it would be kinda crazy to stick them in school at this point! i think we're going to sign Aidan up for part-time enrollment next year. he can take a couple of classes and be able to play sports. as for the other two....i really don't think public school is the answer. i think i needed a readjustment and a reaffirmation of my capabilities. anyway, spring is almost here, vacation is almost here and i think our family will feel refreshed.

a few weeks ago, when we had that last big snow, isabel was outside with a small wheelbarrow and a shovel. when i told her she had 5 minutes till she needed to come in, she replied that she needed 7 because "i have a long way to dig to spring".....

homeschooling blues

we are on the verge of sending our two middle kids to school of some sort. i really want them to go the the waldorf school BUT it costs alot. the method of learning there seems to coincide with my kids personalities. if i had the skill, the time and the energy....the waldorf way is how i would want to teach. it is filled with the arts. every kids learns to knit and play an instrument. they have a working farm. they have purchased 18 acres near where we live and at some point will be building a new school. i'm really hoping and praying we can come up with the funds for avery and cora to attend there. if only till isabel and elias are older.

does anyone out there know of any other alternative schools around?? i'm not ready to send them to public school...but have no idea what's out there besides waldorf.

grace

today has been a sucky day. the rain just will not stop. my kids are stir crazy. we have cable tv now...a first in the 14 years we've been married and i'm trying to figure out the boundaries and time limits for my kids. kinda hard when it's been raining nonstop for HOW MANY DAYS NOW??? my husband is camping (traditionally winter camp....this year scubadiving camp) and i am alone with my 5 tired of being inside children. SO, when the baby went down for a nap, i gave the 12 1/2 year old the monitor and said "i'm taking a nap, you're in charge". luckily, they play pretty well together and aidan does good with the little ones. when i woke up...aidan was in the kitchen getting ready to make spaghetti for dinner! i just came to get on the computer and checked the google search history and he had googled "spaghetti" recipes! is that not the cutest thing! maybe i need to show him where the jars of spag sauce are and the boxes of pasta....

all of this to say, i feel like my eldest youngin' saved me today. coming down to him thinking of dinner made my rain clouds dissipate.

p.s.....he also gave the 20 mth old a bath.

happy christmas

"i wuv da howidays!"......isabel pearl (3)
"cwisma wigh!!"......elias coen (19 mths...translated...christmas lights!)

aidan 12, avery 9 and cora shea 7 had nothing as cute to say:)!

we've had a crazy year. maybe just the fact that we have 5 kids makes it crazier.

the biggest highlights were trying to sell our house quickly only to have not. bats moving into our rental property and our renters suddenly moving out. realizing through that bad time that we have TONS of people who love us and who are ready and willing to step to the plate for us. even people we don't see very often but think of lots. gratisfest. that is probably the best part of our year besides watching our kids grow. to see most of the people we love best in the world come together for one weekend to play is perhaps the funnest thing ever.

so on this christmas day, i wish you a good one and a happy new year.....

you are my little bird

is actually the title of the one i got from the library. you are my flower is another one. so, the harmonies and simplicity are what i love about the album. can you tell i'm excited about this? it's just SO refreshing to find some kids music that isn't hokey OR disneyish.

i really wish we had gotten our christmas tree today. early, but SO warm!! we go every year to a farm, cut down a tree, go eat skyline, then hit the newest movie IN THE THEATER! yes, it is exciting. we only go once a year. i mean, think about it.....6 actual paying people X's however much a matinee costs these days. let's just say we drop about $30-$40. oh well, it's christmas, right? it's once a year, right? it's a tradition that hopefully will end when the last kid hits 18! if my kids have kids and expect the yearly movie with the grandparents...they're in for a shock. it'd probably knock out our retirement...:) see......i can't posssibly live in the now. i'm already thinking how much it will cost to take our kids and their kids to a movie. can you see how crazy i drive myself??

music to love

i recently found a cd at the library in the childrens section by elizabeth mitchell. i'd never heard of her before, but i liked the artwork. it is amazing. my kids all love it. even my 12 year old skater boy! her voice is completely pure and clear. the songs are very folky and easy to remember. the album i checked out is you are my flower. it's a collection of folk songs. if you're looking for perfect music (in my mind) for little kids.....this is it. i just ordered all of her cds!!

update

IF anyone reads this anymore!

the bats were gone, then came back. i also just heard from a friend about an entire small town that was infested with bats.....for about 8 years now. every house. they are petitioning the government to allow them to kill the bats. i guess they've done everything and nothing works. the bats have an amazing ablity to get back in where their "home" is. isnt' that lovely. anyone want to buy a house!!

life is busy. thus no entries. hopefully ang will put me back on her list.:)

our house that we live in never sold. so, we're staying for a little while. it's really hard to live somewhere where you don't really think you're supposed to OR really want to. our house is big. that's a good thing. the yard is nice. that's a good thing. we live in a school district that allows part time enrollment for homeschoolers. that's a good thing. BUT we have no great friends nearby. that's a bad thing. especially for people who preach about living in community with others. we're trying to reach out to our neighbors. my closest friend on the street is a 60ish woman who babysits her grandkids two days a week. isabel and her granddaughter are best buds. beyond that, our neighborhood is fairly quiet. very hard to get to know anyone. it almost seems that people are content to be to themselves.

i think i'm just learning to be where i am. which is a very hard lesson for someone who has their funeral planned. it seems that i keep having these plans for us and then i look at my oldest son and say "where the HELL did the last 12 1/2 years go!". i mean, he's growing up and i'm planning and hoping for something BIG to happen. i think i'm realizing that he and my other kids are the BIG. it's still hard. i just don't feel like we fit in the life we've ended up in. i mean, mostly the neighborhood we've ended up in. but at this point, i'm not exactly sure how to change it....especially when our house sat on the market for three months with only about 6 people looking at it! anyway, maybe it is the plan...to get me to stop planning.

i've been thinking alot about vineyard central and missing the people there. we've been going to a presbyterian church up the road. it's close, we have a few friends there, i'm singing in the worship thing, and they have a great kids thing happening. BUT there are things about it that i'm not sure i'm ready for. like becoming members. like having to pay for "extras"...like the choir club my kids are in. or the advent crafty kids party. i think that's weird. it's also fairly stiff. which i'm not used to. the people are great. and i love the mix. there are alot of older folks in their suits hanging with the younger ones in jeans. i've not once felt judged or out of place because i dress down and have a piercing. that's cool.

but i still miss vineyard central. i'm trying to decide if it's the memory that i miss or what. my husband thinks one should attend a church meeting in their own neighborhood so to drive over to norwood would be odd. BUT, the people we seem to identify with are there. what to do. i feel mostly stuck. i thought our house would sell and the the perfect house in the perfect place would become clear. that did not happen. i feel as though God is enjoying this silence. wow, i think i just realized that maybe in the silence is where i can find my hope. the lesson i'm supposed to learn is just that. my house didn't sell because i am in the perfect house in the perfect place for now. for now. not yesterday. not tommorow. for right now. okay, i have to go rest in my revelation.....