Pics as promised!

Here's a typical day at our homeschool...  Hardly!  I had to take a picture of this one-of-a-kind moment when all four kids are at the table working quietly at the same time.  Let this be proof that it wasn't all crazy all the time!  They're drawing self-portraits with acrostics of their names written out below, also to be kept for all of posterity.

Box-head Patrick and his side-kick Lillian

Now, a pic of me and my oldest, Sarah Frances.  She's all about the side ponytail these days.  Also, this is a glimpse of my new haircut.  Yesterday I went to Bouffant Daddy where they specialize in curly hair.  If you know me only from childhood or only while I was in the middle of having kids, you may be surprised that I now have naturally curly hair.  Hormones...what can I say?  But I gave in and got a cut to accommodate the curls.  Not quite sure what I think about it yet.  I still do a double take when I pass a mirror.

Go! St. Louis Marathon

Catherine and Sarah Frances, waiting for their turn to go to the start line for the Go St. Louis Read Right and Run Mararthon.  They were to read 26 books, do 26 "right" (helpful) deeds, and run 25 miles before the day of the race.  I'll admit, this final 1.2 was more like their completing a half marathon, but it was so fun regardless!




Sarah Frances is the taller of these two girls.  She ran almost the entire time and finished in just under 9 minutes! (so says the Daddy of the girl she started and finished with)



Catherine is on the far right of this picture.  She says she was running until she saw a girl who'd fallen and gotten hurt on both hands and knees.  So they walked together until Catherine started seeing all the parents near the finish line.  Then she picked up the pace a bit. :)

We were all so proud of them both!

And on the way back to the car we passed Kung Fu Panda!



We also walked along the street at the bottom of Art Hill and stopped to take a pic of the crew.  Patrick is almost 5, Lillian is 3, Sarah Frances is 8 1/2, and Catherine is 7.



Sorry in advance, Mrs. Teacher

I sincerely apologize to my children's teachers next year for their lack of ablility to sit still and listen to teaching.  I'm sorry that they will whine and cry every day about having to do math.  I hate it for you that it's so hard for them to focus.  That they are so distractable because they've not had a quiet, undistracted school day in 2 years. 

I hope you're better equipped to handle it than I am.  At least you'll be paid for your efforts.  So...good luck to you.  And, again, I'm really sorry.  I am.

Musical Beds and Messed Up Minds

Some Tuesdays we bring dinner to campus because it's our only opportunity to see Brian all day; some weeks it's just better for the family if we don't.  Yesterday we stayed home. 

Most Tuesdays he gets home at 9:20pm so wiped that he doesn't do much more school work.  Last night he stayed up working on a paper till 2am.  This is largely so he could be finished with what is due today so that he can focus on what he's preaching tonight at Midweek.

I used to stay up with him when he pulled a late night, as in stay awake.  Then I changed to sleeping on the couch until he was finished and we still "went to bed" at the same time.  Now I just go to bed, most of the time.  But tonight I slept on the couch. 

So at 2am, he moved Catherine (who was scared of the storms) from our bed to hers, found Lillian in bed with Sarah Frances and moved her to hers, and woke me up to move from the couch to the bed.  Then Lillian was awake enough to come find us, so I took her back up after she wiggled all over us for 20 min. or so.

Then Satan started attacking my mind, and now I can't sleep after my 3hr nap for thinking of all the ways I'm inadequate as a friend, wife, mom, daughter, sister...

I'm going back to the couch so I can read my Bible, which is sure to put me to sleep.  Hopefully soon, too, since I'll be waking up in 2hr 15min to get ready for bootcamp.  Oh, what a night!

Wise Counsel

So Brian and I have been going to counseling.  It's been wonderful.  One thing to know is that up here, in seminary world, most everyone is in counseling, and if you're not, your friends will tell you that you should go.  There is no stigma attached to it like you might find in the South, even among Christians. 

One of the things Brian and I are learning about each other is what our individual needs are when he walks through the door in the evening.  We're so not on the same page throughout the day here that re-entry can be a shock if either of us has had a particularly hard go of it.  And we're learning that we say we just get it and don't care if the house is a mess, but both of us get instantly more stressed if he walks in to a messy house. 

So I was reminded of what Annette Johnson once told a group of us.  They raised 4 kids, all born within a 6 year span (sound familiar?), and they reconnected like this.  When Johnny got home, the kids knew it was Mommy/Daddy time, and he and Annette sat on the couch--uninterrupted--and caught up.  Brilliant!  Her encouragement to us was to make the kids understand that the marriage comes first and to get real time with your husband so that when the kids all leave you still know each other.

So for about the last 2 weeks, when we're home and Brian walks in the door, and the house is mostly straight (or not), we set the timer for 15min. and park it on the couch to hear about each other's day.  I'll have to say it's made a huge difference for us.  The anticipation of "our time" brings as much joy to both of us throughout the day as the 15 min. we're there.  It's also good that I am eager for his return for him, not just for his help.  It also lets us carve out quality time for us, not just taking the left-over time around 9pm when all the chaos settles and we're consequently wiped.  Plus, I actually put on shoes and lipgloss and sometimes even think to bring a beer up from the downstairs fridge. OK, so I make one of the kids do that.  But it's good.  And it helps.  Yay for wise counsel!

The Blue Hutch: If you are in the area, come on by!!!

The Blue Hutch: If you are in the area, come on by!!!: "A LOT of Kids' Clothing and toys! Lil' Tike items Baby gear (bouncy seat, Medela double pump) Tricycle Retired Thomas t..."

Playah

Yeah, I'm a playah.  Hard-workin' playah.

Delirium is almost as fun as kissing my husband after I've had a glass of wine.  Almost, but not really.  Kissing is cooler.  Yeah.

But delirium is fun too.  Especially if it's from playin' with so many fun friends.  Yesterday four Herrons came to play in the morning and stayed for lunch.  Then 3 neighborhood girls hung around all afternoon, including the time that 4 Kicklighters were here.  Before Browns and Kick's dined on some fabulous dinnah (grilled cheese), my neighbor Lindsey and her daughter came to hang some too.  Today Marne and her 3 little Woods stayed for lunch after carpool.  This afternoon we've been cleaning out like mad for a garage sale on Saturday.  And now I'm pooped.  The best kind of pooped.

But off again! to the Kirk to meet said cool-kissin' husband for some much-needed, restful worship.  Taxes are on the agenda for later tonight, and I hope I'm in better shape to help him then than I am now.  Unless I pick up some 2-buck Chuck on the way home.  Hee, hee.