We've finished our school year and along with that comes a sigh of relief! We've worked hard, learned many things and continued to grow in true knowledge found only in Christ. No more math worksheets, spelling words or writing assignments.
I was at the park the other day and making conversation with another mom. After hearing we home educate she remarked how I must love to teach. I gave a mumbled reply but thought about it later. Do I love to teach? I don't know that I would put it that way. I do love to learn. And that's what I've been doing all along. I've been gobbling up all the juicy tidbits the children are supposed to be learning. My excitement (I'd like to think) gets them excited.
As I look back and consider how things went this last school year I return to the mission statement I had carefully made last summer. I need to stay focused on the task at hand and sometimes all the curriculum choices and outside activities can seem overwhelming. Making this mission statement helped keep me on track as we considered what our options were and if they supported our mission statement. If you're wondering, here it is - To prepare faithful disciples to witness to the gospel in all of life. Hey no pressure, right? Easy - peesy. Not. So. Much.
Sometimes the lessons aren't as easy as doing a sheet of long division. Or writing a paragraph on the beauty of a whooping bird. Sometimes we wish we could avoid the hard lessons and still learn. This came to our family in the form of a diagnosis.
I remember vividly the feeling in the pit of my stomach 15 or so years ago when I heard over the phone that Mom had cancer. I wanted to get on the first plane to Texas and be with her, thinking somehow that would help if I were just there. I never got on the plane. She wanted me to stay put and reassured me that with grandma and grandpa and Dad there, she had plenty of help. I respected her wishes but hated being so far away.
Wayne got on a plane last night, headed for home to be with his Dad. Leukemia. He wanted to be home. To be with his Mom and Dad and brothers because a son never stops being a son even when he's become a father. Will went along - the lessons continue. He learns how Dad handles hurt. How the Pastor man, so used to being strong for others in the face of grief with the power and strength of the gospel now handles his own grief. Being vulnerable enough to share his struggle with his flock. And allowing the body of Christ to serve him through their prayers and support. He learns that family stick together even in hospitals. And that God is present in these moments. Bringing us closer to Him, to each other. These are the teachable moments, the lessons to be learned. This is how we prepare ourselves and our little disciples to witness to the gospel in all of life - even cancer. Thankfully, we don't have to worry about an exam! Jesus took it already and got a perfect score on our behalf!
Please pray for our family, for my father-in-law Jake.
May God be glorified through this and His will be done.
Maybe it's living in an area that has an ample winter experience but when Spring rolls around our spirits are instantly lifted! Neighbours come out of hibernation and the local park is filled again. Moms are awed by how much each other's kids have grown over the winter. We dig out our sand toys, search for buried sun hats and take in some fresh air!
One afternoon found us at a local nature trail that allowed us to notice the signs of spring surrounding us. We observed the buds appearing on the surrounding trees, closed our eyes to listen for the different bird sounds and carefully choose a few "souvenirs" to bring back to our spring nature table.
After our fiasco last spring of encouraging nature to "come to us" by hanging bird feeders and then being ATTACKED by nature, this year we've been beyond blessed. I am so excited to announce (drum roll please) that we are expecting - baby robins!!!!
Mama Robin has chosen our humble play structure to build her nest! Appearing seemingly overnight, the kids were thrilled to discover this everyday miracle!!!! We originally found only 1 egg but mama worked hard and produced a total of 3.
What an amazing color! I had to work fast to take this picture because mama was not amused - she let me know by chirping at me from the nearby fence. Unfortunately for her, choosing a play structure to nest her brood would not be a serene environment she would soon realize - too late! And so we patiently (or not) await the hatching of "our" babies. And I'm thinking - after mama's done with her handcrafted nest, it would be the perfect addition to the nature table!
But we continue to be awed by God's great creation. We recently went on a bird banding field trip with local home schoolers. I can not say enough about this amazing experience! Bird banding is the process of catching birds in nets and attaching a tracking band to their leg and taking down information about it - age, weight, wing span, etc. and keeping track of the migration of birds.
We got to see several different species of birds close up and observe the process of bird banding along with other neat tidbits of information from the workers who are intimately familiar with these little guys. Did you know that a bird can play dead?
It was hilarious! This one even opened an eye to see if we were "buying his performance".
I continue to be amazed at God's creativity and design, in providing for their needs and am blessed beyond words to share these moments with the little souls he's put in my care.
I am reminded in my reading for today:
And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they do not reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!" Luke 12
