{iPhone Rewind} :: May

I came home from Bible study and these beautiful flowers were sitting on my porch. When I opened up the card, I was overcome by emotion. They were from a sweet neighbor. They were thinking of me, knowing that the grief of losing Michael comes in waves, and that they were still praying for me. I cannot put into words how much this gift meant. The Lord is so near and so kind.

Living my best soccer coach life! I'm coaching U8 soccer this spring, and it has been so fun {and highly entertaining!} It has been a joy to watch the kids' skills develop over the course of the last few seasons, and I am so glad they are still enjoying the sport!

Aiden was SUPER excited about this library find!

Mr. Jesse came to town...and that means we got to read some books!

A nice spring night = backyard s'mores

We got to attend a women's conference and hear Kelly Minter speak. It was a sweet day of worship, biblical teaching, and fellowship with many of our CBC ladies!

Maddie and I went on a walk to see the new Farm goslings! And I was the Mama Bear eyeing that Mama goose eyeing my girl...

Aiden lost another tooth! He kept walking around the house saying, "I just can't believe it!"  :)

National Apple Pie Day! #sillyholidays #funmemories

The boys wrapped up their year with the Father/Son program with a Citizenship unit and got to shoot some airsoft guns for target practice. Popping balloons was definitely a highlight, though I'm not sure it beat dodgeball :)

Eli was excited to finish 2nd Grade Math! He has worked hard this year and done so well!

We had our friends C and E over, and we got to play with water balloons and water guns- our first glimpse into summer!

We have been slowly crossing subjects off our list, inching closer to summer!

We were so excited to welcome our friend Mr. Drew! He was in town for a conference in D.C., and we loved getting to see a Texas friend for a few days.

We finished school, and this has basically been my view for the remainder of the month...my living room is now a permanent fort :)

We have beautiful orange flowers blooming in our front yard {and so far, the deer haven't found them}!

More summer things: games...

...and painting :)

Last Day of School!

Today we wrapped up another great homeschool year, and now we officially have two third graders and a second grader! {queue the Mama tears}

Eli has worked really hard this year, and he has really started to push forward into more independent work. Math continues to be his strongest subject, as he pretty much breezed through his curriculum. The only reason I didn't accelerate him was because I was having to focus so much attention on the other two. Thankfully he wasn't bored, but I will have to watch that. He made great strides in reading and spelling, and even though he said grammar wasn't his favorite, he did really well with it. While Spanish was his least favorite, he really enjoyed history, geography, and earth/space science this year.

Maddie was a little hesitant with having to repeat 1st grade math this year, but once she started understanding the concepts, gaining more confidence in her math skills, and seeing the progress she was making, she actually said out loud, "I LOVE math! Math is my favorite!" I was dumbfounded haha, and I tried not to let the shock show on my face. She worked so hard and was so proud when she got to start her 2nd grade math book in the spring, and I was so proud of her. I also looked up one day and realized how easily she was reading everything. Another subject that was hard fought and came with a lot of tears. We still had hard days, but overall, I found her saying she LOVED varying subjects that she had previously thoroughly disliked, so we had many wins this year. On any given day, she LOVED history, science, math, grammar, geography, Spanish, reading, Bible, spelling, and manners. Writing was consistently not her favorite, but she really does well with it when she can focus enough to actually write :)

Aiden asked every day, "Do we have to do school?" Haha. Sweet kid still just wants to play. School just isn't his thing, and that's ok. Because he still works hard to get his work done, so that he can go play! He also did really well with a refresher on 1st grade math and he still keeps up with his brother and sister on most other subjects. We did have quite a few tears this year over reading and spelling; it reminded me a lot of Maddie, though I am wondering if his struggles are different, so we will be spending some dedicated time this summer to focus on reading. I'm hoping that without all the overwhelm of his other subjects that it will help him feel less pressured and, therefore, less frustrated. He did love history and science and geography this year, so I am hoping to tailor more subjects for him next year.

We have our state-required evaluations next week, and then we will be ready for summer! We will take some time off, but will still pick back up a little summer school. We will keep up our reading and math, as well as finish out our history chapters, and we will also be adding an art class. When I was describing our summer to someone the other day, they said it didn't really sound like we took a break haha. I promise that we do! Even with our "summer school schedule," the work itself doesn't take that much time. Reading with Aiden might take the most time, simply because we're trying to bring up his skills. But math is more of a review, and history is just listening to our chapter and completing a coloring page during the summer. And art class is fun! There will still be plenty of time for the pool, hikes, VBS, time with friends, and lazy days of summer  :)

I'm so thankful for another successful homeschool year!

Strawberry Picking, Year 5

One of my favorite traditions: picking strawberries! This was our 5th year to visit Wegmeyer Farms, and it was a great day for strawberry picking. We were going to wait until we finished school, but looking at the weather and our schedule...it worked out best for us to go today, so we loaded up and made the trip!

The weather was perfect and the strawberries were in peak season! The kids have had lots of practice picking the best, most ripe strawberries, so we came home with some really great ones. And it was really fun to hear them talk while we searched for the best ones... "Mommy, remember when we came and it was SO muddy?" or "Mommy, remember when the cicadas were all over the plants and were SO loud??"  :)

I absolutely love this tradition, and that our sweet friends introduced us to it our first summer in Virginia. I have watched our babies grow up in this strawberry patch, and I look forward to many more years to come!

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What the Lord Has Taught Me in Motherhood

The Lord has used motherhood to teach me so much- about myself, about what it means to love and sacrifice for others, about Him. It started long before I became a mother, in those long, hard days when my heart ached for nothing more than to become one. In the dark days, when I became one briefly, and then knew too quickly the heartache of saying goodbye too soon. When I carried the title in my heart and womb only, but my arms were still empty and aching for a role that still wasn’t mine. But in that time, I learned to trust the heart of my Savior. While I did not understand His ways or timing, He was teaching me that I could trust His character and heart. He was still good, still working, and still holding me close. 

Then when I finally became a mother, my arms filled with not one but 2 babies, I quickly learned how woefully underprepared I was. I couldn’t rely solely on my type A planner self, because twin babies, who may benefit from that, basically throw all of it out the window. And then when our 3rd baby arrived before the twins were 2 years old, I found myself drowning in the reality that I am not enough. But in that time, I learned, once again, to trust the heart of my Savior. While I like control and self-sufficiency, I had to realize that I am absolutely not enough. But that’s ok, because my Savior is more than enough- for my daily needs, for my babies’ needs, and for us to face whatever the day holds. He is in control, He knows what we need, and I don’t need to worry about any of it.

And today, on this Mother’s Day, I think of my own mom. I think of what an incredible example of love and sacrifice she has been to me over the years. How she has shaped for me the vision of motherhood that I desire for my own children. I am thankful for the legacy of faith and prayer that she passes on. She is the patience, grace, and safe place I pray to be. And even now, I am continuing to learn from her. Because over the last few months, I have watched her and my dad grieve a hurt that no parent should have to. And she has done so still reminding me to trust the heart of my Savior. That while it hurts and we don’t fully understand His plan in all of it, He is still good, still working, still holding us close. 

Today I’m thankful for my mom and the countless ways she has loved me and my brother. And more importantly, how she has always, always, pointed us to Jesus. I’m thankful for the ones who call me mom, who I get to hold in my arms. I hold on just a little bit tighter today, even if it draws a few eye rolls and “you’re squishing me!”s. And I’m thankful that the heart of my Savior can be trusted for every stage of motherhood, whatever comes. That He is always good, always working, always holding me close.