Life Science

One of the nice things about belonging to a homeschool group, is that there are times when someone else provides a day of learning for my children.  Yesterday was one such day.  One of the moms in our group is a self-proclaimed Science Geek, and she offered to do a Science Day for the kids.  She set up our usual First Friday meeting room as a lab, complete with equipment and experiments.  She somehow managed to provide four experiments each, for four separate age groups of kids (31 kids total!), which kept them busy and learning for the better part of two hours.  They mixed and built, tasted, smelled and logged, magnetized, melted and exploded.  It was awesome.

I was wearing Genevieve on me in the carrier the whole time, three full hours by the time we got home.  She had slept all that time, so she was starving when we walked in the door.  I had the boys make their own sandwiches and eat while I nursed her, which left me famished.  The older boys had served morning Mass, it had been a long day already, and I didn't have it in me to make my lunch while still holding Genevieve.  I held her out to Blake, "Here honey, could you please take her, just for a few minutes?  I have got to eat something."  He took her, and as I walked out of the room, I heard my thirteen-year-old boy say:  "I haven't held you all day!  I don't think I've even seen you."  I looked up at the clock - it was 1:00.  If he went to school outside our home, he'd never see her before 4:00, and it certainly wouldn't be noteworthy that he hadn't held her during the day.  He cradled her and talked to her while I ate in peace, and I couldn't help but think that he's experiencing something that most teenaged boys never will.
 

Homeschooling isn't perfect, and it isn't for everybody.  Some days are so hard they leave me in tears, others have me questioning my very sanity.  But there is good in this life we're living.  There are relationships and time and love, and I pray these things outshine the struggles, when we all come out the other end and look back.

Thirteen

And so it begins.

Happy birthday, to my dear eldest son.

We're blessed to know you.

A Family Event

Well, we have ourselves a runner.

Blake ran a local 5k race over the weekend.  We weren't sure what to expect, as it was his first official 5k, and he hasn't been running as much since track season ended.  I told him that if he could do it in under 30 minutes I thought he'd be doing great.

I was at the finish line with some of the little ones.  I couldn't believe how strong he looked as he came in!  He ran it in 25:49, and was barely winded.  I ran this race years ago, and I remember it being kind of overwhelming.  It's on the city streets, and it seems to take you further and further away from the park, and all the while you know you have to get back there somehow!  I really thought he might end up walking some of it, but he didn't, he ran the whole 3.1 miles.

I'm so thankful that he's found something he likes to do, that is so good for him.  I think he has a lot of potential, and I can't wait to watch him grow and develop as an athlete.  I'm also hoping that having a runner in the house might get me back into it.  We'll see.

And in one of those full circle, how funny is that, kind of moments, I was standing with Blake right after he finished the race and I looked up and saw an old friend from high school.  I ran cross country and track with him, and he was the best runner on our team, far better an athlete than I could ever dream of being, and my son had just beat him in a race!  Of course, he's 30 years old and was pushing a stroller as he ran... but still! ;o)

The other highlight of the night was the One Mile Fun Run.  Open to any and all participants, we challenged the younger kids to try it out.  I even put my running shoes on and jumped in there with Isaac.  He was so cute!  He would run all-out for a minute and then just stop.  I would ask him if he was done, and he'd say, "No, me run!"  and start running again.  We did that for about a half mile, then he stopped and asked me to pick him up.  So we dropped out, and walked over to the finish area to wait for the other boys, except when we got there, Isaac took off running again.  He ended up looping back around and running through the finish line while everyone cheered, thinking he had finished the whole race.  It was the cutest darn thing ever.  I wish I had pictures.  Owen, Peyton and Oliver all finished the mile in around 12 minutes.  They all looked so proud!  I don't think it occurred to any of them that they could run a race like their big brother.

The weather was beautiful, and it was such a fun way to end the weekend, all together as a family, being active.

Dear Mr. Smith,

I am writing to inform you, regretfully, that the following pictures are of our eldest son with his new lunch of choice. It is called a "double-decker". Should his four counterparts follow in his ravenous footsteps, we will surely be eaten out of house and home, as they say. We will miss you dearly when you take a second job to pay for the groceries.

God bless you in your efforts as our bread-winner and bringer-homer-of-the-bacon. (and it wouldn't hurt to bring home some bread and some bacon, they're hungry again)

Your Loving Wife,
Mrs. Smith