this and that

a little bit of this and a little bit of that....

- I don't know how to get back into this old blogging habit of mine, but after probably a little TOO much time and effort mulling over the pros and cons, I think I will try. The desire is there, so if I can just find a little smidgen of time to do it, I'll be golden! I'm working on creating more margin in my life, so hopefully this is something that can come back in some way or another.

- In the days to come, I'd like to do some catch-up and post a bit about our summer.  The plan all along has been to print out hard copies of my blog eventually and have it as a diary of our life as a family.  I'd like to try and close that huge gap, if possible!  

- This fall,  Brian and I have spent a great deal of time thinking, reading and praying about our family life and homeschooling philosophy.  In particular, I've been thinking critically about how to use time wisely and thinking through what our family rhythms and habits will be. I imagine that it's harder to put these in place when the kids are older, so I'm doing my best to order our days and priorities accordingly.  It's been a joy-filled process and I'm quite excited about what lies ahead for our family and our little home school. 

- Levi and Magnolia are growing and learning and I love being a part of it all. Of course we have our moments (PLENTY of them), but overall our days are slow and happy and full of discovery.  We are starting each day with our morning basket (more on that to come), reading piles and piles of books, reading and reciting scripture, making art, listening to music, memorizing poetry and spending lots of time outdoors. It all feels very right and good. (a more specific and detailed post about this year's homeschool is forthcoming!)

- Brian graduated with his Master's in English and Creative Writing in May, so his time has freed up in a lot of ways.  He is enjoying more time to work on his own creative (non-school) projects and we are enjoying our less busy and less stressed Papa. He is currently using his degree in very important ways like telling his children the most magical stories every night before bed and writing his wife beautiful love letters on his typewriter. We're not complaining. ;)

- I think one of the reasons I stopped writing here for so long is that I didn't know how to write about the death of my Dad. I still don't know what/if I'll process through any of that in this space, but know that my broken heart has good days and bad days and I imagine it will be this way for a while.  The last months of his life were the most precious and hardest of my life. But, my hope is in the Lord. I put my Dad's picture where I see it often and I cry a lot and I make sure my kids remember their Grampy and we talk about happy memories. I think often about the day in January when my Dad broke down, knowing he was in his last days and he just wanted all of us to lay on his bed with him, just like when we were young. I am living those days right now and I'm well aware that these are very days that I will probably long for when I'm looking back at my life. So, I guess you could say that I'm savoring these seemingly mundane moments like never before.