A Joy I Missed

The new year has started, and a joy fills my heart that I have not had in a long time. The joy of homeschooling! This is our 7th year in homeschooling. I can say that it has been a wonderful 7 years. I absolutely LOVE homeschooling. I love the time spent with my kids, I love teaching them, I love seeing them accomplish an educational goal through hard work(not always without whinning), I love watching the relationships grow between siblings whom live and grow together 24/7(this is not easy), and I love how I am learning so much along with them. Through these past 7 years I have had some times of ease, where I was on top of things and still had some free time left over. This was in the beginning :o). As we had more children.....time got tighter and the work load grew(as to be expected). Along with the normal growth, we had a big move, morning sickness, a baby with health issues, and then a renovation that turned our home literally upside down. These things really slowed me down and made schooling exceptionally hard. It was one of the hardest(emotionally and physically) years I have had. We made it through, but it was not always pretty. Well, we are now in a completed home with a much healthier toddler. This week was the first week where I have gotten so excited and joyful about the planning and teaching. Not to say it has been smooth, but even with the bumps in the road I have felt an excitement that I have not felt in a long time. There are less distractions and more time to spend with my kiddos. I actually have time to work on curriculum and plan lessons. I am loving it! We have simplified life and spend a lot of time at home. Our nights our filled with reading and playing games with the kids. It has been a long time since that was even an option. I am welcoming back this lifestyle that I so missed!

My eldest girl's Ginger Bread Mansion from Christmas

After Christmas, we went to a small town in Ga to visit my In-Laws.

Had a lovely time seeing more of the area and meeting their friends.

Their backyard is a pecan orchard

Breakfast time

My Mother-n-Law has a store in the downtown. Kids loved playing and working in it.

another tractor :o)

Would have been a great picture had the boy on the left had been more of a participant. :o)

Front of In-Laws Home

Cute lil' 6 year-old dancing in the yard

Christmas

I could not think of a better way to share our December with you,

then through pictures.

My eldest had a birthday a few days before Christmas. She took her besties out to eat and then to ride go-karts along with some laser tag.

She loved her new bike basket....so did her lil' brother.

The days leading up to Christmas were a fun time.

My 2 littlest ones often dressed up as Mary and Joseph.....so cute!

Our kids took part in our church's Christmas Pageant. What a fun time that was!

Mimi(my mom) held our annual "Grandkids Cookie Decorating Party

Christmas Eve before our church service

Christmas Eve party

Their smiles will give away the excitement they experienced opening their presents.

Christmas Day

Cousins

To Boston and Back

A few weeks back, we made a last minute trip to Boston. Dad had to go on business, and we joined in to see the sights. After we decided to go, we were packed up and gone in less then 24 hours. The timing of it worked great in giving us a much needed break from the renovation. We were ready for a fun road trip, lots of adventure and quality time spent with the kids!

The Boston Musuem of Science was AMAZING!

He sat and stared at this boat for a LONG time.

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We knew Boston would be a bit chillier then what we were used to, but had no idea what we were headed to. The night we got to the New Jersey area, a freak snow storm hit. This snow storm made a few bumps in the road for us, but we sure did enjoy the snow!

We spent a day in Plymouth, MA. This was the coldest I felt the whole trip.

After freezing on the beach, we headed to Plimouth Plantation where the kids got to explore an amazing replica of the a 17th century english plantation, and an indian village. We also got to tour a replica of the Mayflower This was a great educational trip!

Our last day was spent in NYC.

The Twin Towers Memorial was amazing, beautiful, and incredibly sad.

I was brought to tears a few times during the tour.

The 2 pools that represented the 2 towers. They contain the names of all who died.

The missing posters that were left by desperate families looking for loved ones.

Hardest part for me.....the faces of those who perished.

Central park was a nice change. I could not get over how beautiful it was!

Balto!!!

On the way home.....quick stop in Virginia

Had a great time!

Took some pictures this afternoon of the girls