Grass stained knees

finding our sweet spot

So maybe the third time really is the charm.

Here we are at the end of September and it feels we are ankle deep into our third year of Homeschooling and the water feels warm and refreshing. While I know from experience that it can be an ever changing situation, I am beyond relieved that there seems to be a general air of peace in our home as we begin another year of this journey. 

I think every last one of us has felt a great relief to welcome the structure of our school day back into the rythym of our week. And admittedly the presence of two toddlers buzzing around has presented a certain amount of challenge at times, we have had relative luck settling into 2nd grade.

So far, minus a little glitch while Grandmother was in town, (because understandably, who wouldn't rather play with Grandmother than do schoolwork), I'm thrilled to report that our top pupil seems eager to please and happy to tackle whatever falls on our daily agenda. It feels like a good time to share some moments since our official start... 

a simple surprise

So I found a small treasure the other day at our local antique mall. I almost didn't pick it up. It caught my eye and I walked on without it but as I continued to browse, something told me that it needed to come home with us. I thought it might amuse the big brothers as a passing distraction.  

Turns out it was a major score.

The moment it's contents were emptied they attacked that pile, albeit in very different ways.

Samuel combed through sorting and finding matches, which were thankfully abundant. His piles grew and grew and each time he would spot another familiar acquisition there would be an exuberant "Oh Yeah!".

Caleb on the other hand, declared an immediate need for string, in his little mind, within the contents of that pile, a beautiful necklace lay in wait.

There we sat, just the three of us, under the shade of our tree sifting through that pile. We admired the colors and textures and wondered out loud about the previous lives of these little nuggets of goodness. It was easy to imagine each one having had it's own unique story of time and place and fashion trend.

I wish I could have captured an audio of Caleb's sweet little voice sifting through that pile, over and over hearing "Oh Mama, look at this one, it's soooo beautiful!" and together we would pay homage and admire it for all it was worth.  

Guess what? Turns out there was a beautiful necklace lurking in that pile. He worked long and hard, with so much heart completing that masterpiece. It's jingle around my neck has made me smile for the last several days. It is a treasure that I will keep forever. One that will remind me of my biggest boys and a special afternoon spent under the shade of our favorite tree.

apple time...

Hello September, my it's nice to see you!

The arrival of this month means so many wonderful things: cooler weather, a brand new school year, college football, fall food and one of our very favorite things of course, the chance to spend the day in the fresh air surrounded by crisp apples.

We ventured to a new orchard with our co-op friends. It was a pretty spot and a much closer drive than last year's destination, however, I think I can say with much certainty that we will not be returning. Ever. Again. As it turned out, the proprietors were super grumpy and less than happy to see our children. As soon as we hopped out of the car, greeted our buddies and cozied up to the picnic tables to have a quick bite before picking, the grouchiest lady marched over to tell us that large groups of people were unwanted in their orchard and we would only be permitted to stay for one hour. WHAAAATTTT????? We just stood there looking at her, waiting for her to start laughing and tell us that she was just joking... What do you mean 3 mothers and their children were not welcome to spend time on your hillside??? We didn't even want to mention the 3 other mothers and their respective children still in transit, eager to join our gathering. Apparently, according to grouchy apple pants, the previous day a large group of families had descended upon the orchard and stayed for 3 hours (3 whole hours in the fresh air, can you imagine??) Well, they allowed their children to run around in the sun and probably even permitted them to laugh loudly. She told us she was sorry but they "ruined it for everyone else", honestly her exact words. I can't remember the last time I experienced something so absurd.

Regardless of our chilly reception, we managed to enjoy ourselves. I believe we actually lingered for about 2 hours and managed to avoid coming face to face with the orchard's bouncer.

 

We managed to keep our children close and "reined in". I think I actually announced more than once that "running and having fun was not permitted on this hillside".You can imagine the faces of the children, sure that once again mama had lost her mind!

It really ended up being a good time spent with good buddies, but I've got to be honest, I'm really looking forward to our family apple picking trip in two weeks. At least I know we will be welcome when we show up on that beautiful hillside!