Domestic Adventures

A: Bye, Emmaline. Have a fabulous last day of kindergarten.

E: Bye, Mom. Good luck with that Micah.

It was morning and I was not quite ready to be up and busy with the day yet. I was sitting in my favorite chair with my Bible reading a few Psalms when Emmaline wiggled up underneath one arm and worked her way into my lap. I said nothing to her, but started reading aloud. After two Psalms, Emmaline leapt from the chair all lit up with ideas. “Let’s write a praise to God!” she exclaimed, so I followed her into the kitchen with pen and paper ready to record her thoughts.
This is Emmaline’s praise with not a word of help from me. I was too tired to do anything but take dictation, but was so glad for Emmaline beginning the morning with such joy.

Lord, you have me in your hands,
For you never forget me!
In heaven we have everlasting life with you - in heaven.
You bring us to your palace.
You died on the cross for us.
It’s You, Oh Lord, it’s You.
You’re the Only One that can save us from our sins.
I love you Lord.
I love God forever.
I really do!

Along with year end programs are year end field trips. Today all the school families picniced at Kelly Park near Rock Springs. I’d never been before and couldn’t get over what a pleasant place it was. The whole park is nicely wooded with trails and boardwalks crisscrossing throughout. The main attraction, of course, are the cool (okay, cold!), clear springs. The beachy areas are shallow enough for the kids to play and you rent can tubes to ride the mile-long stretch of river.
We rented two tubes and Micah and Emmie rode along with us. We walked the trails and looked for wildlife. We spent hours watching the kids splash around while talking to all the other parents I hadn’t had a chance to get to know until now. A thoroughly lovely way to conclude the school year.

For almost a year Emmaline has subscribed to Ladybug Magazine. Even grown-ups love to find something fun amidst the junk mail and bills, and Emmaline is tickled pink when there’s something just for her.
Recently, we discovered Lego Magazine so now Micah gets special mail too. Lego Magazine is mostly comics featuring lego people with ads for the latest and greatest lego must-haves in between; an absolute thrill for Micah. And bonus: it’s free!
Once again, seeing them excited to read (or pretend to read) just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

It’s End of the Year Program season. Monday night, we went to see the school’s year end musical program. Each grade sang a few songs and there was a special slide presentation for the graduating eighth graders. Emmaline performed her little heart out. It was beautiful

Thursday, we went to school for kindergarten day. Last year, we attended as an incoming family. This year Emmaline and her class showed off all their kindergarten skills. Above, they are reciting their class motto: “We kindergarteners stand for truth and excellence!” I love this motto and am thinking of adopting a variation for our homeschool next year.
Each of the kids also presented their parents with two books they’d been working on throughout the year. One is a letter book tracking their handwriting progress and the other is a treasure her teacher put together. Inside are pictures from the beginning, middle, and end of the year and a collection of “Famous Sayings” from each of the kids.

A few of my favorites:

“I introduced the class to Mrs.Bickish as we did our first day tour of the building. Emmaline enthusiastically told her, ‘I’m a brand new grader!’”

“At prayer time one of the boys requested prayer for Emmaline not to color scribblescrabbly. She said, (in a what do you mean kind of tone)’I color politely.‘”

“It was Emmaline’s turn to give the weather report. She said, ‘Sunny, a thousand feet warm, a tiny bit windy, no fog; that’s all.’”

At long last I’m back - and with pictures of our new floors. They really are just what we wanted, beautiful, easy to clean, and we can sock skate on them!
We are still awaiting new baseboards and some transition pieces that had to be special ordered. Also, the kitchen still needs to be done, but that’s waiting because we’re so indecisive about our tile. We had originally picked out some mottled/neutral/brownish tile, but since we’re now planning to redo the whole kitchen, suddenly that tile seems less appealing.

Kitchen plans are still being finalized, but in the meantime we’re going ahead with the floors. Yesterday the carpet was ripped out leaving our house dusty and echoy. Today and tomorrow, new floors!

E: (choking on tears) Micah poofed me into a cat! And I don’t want to be a cat!
A: Do his poofs actually work? You’re a cat now?
E: Yes! (sniffle, sob)
A: Oh, okay. Poof! You’re Emmie again.
E: No! Only Micah’s poofs work. I’m still a cat. (stomps off dejectedly)

I have at long last updated the link to one of my favorite writers, Catherine Newman. Catherine is a very different parent than I am. She is a hippie, all-natural, who-needs-a-marriage-certificate, let-your-boy-wear-all-the-pink-he-wants kind of mom. I am decidedly not. However, she is me in so many ways. She is worried and anxious, she loves her children so fiercely, she sees the absolute beauty of childhood and treasures the preciousness of it all - but sometimes not until after she lets loose an emotional tirade. Her writing is absolute magic, which is probably why you’ll find her articles filling Family Fun and more recently Wondertime magazines. I followed her blog Bringing Up Ben and Birdy at Baby Center for several years before she moved here. Though she no longer writes for Baby Center, her old entries are absolutely worth checking out - if you have a few hours, that is. The hilarity and reality of if will suck you in, even Trent has spent long hours reading and often laughing too hard to speak.
So go. Enjoy.

It’s May! The end of the school year (and super early mornings) is finally in sight. I am also looking forward to the FPEA Homeschool Convention later this month. Grammy is going to be watching the kids for us, so Trent and I have a stay in a nice hotel sans kiddos and get to explore all the great homeschooling possibilities. I’ve done some research ahead of time so as not to be completely overwhelmed by all the vendors, but I think there’s still a good chance I’ll be overwhelmed - in a good way, of course. Our convention program came in the mail a few weeks ago and I immediately went through the list of seminars. Oh, that one looks good, and this one too, and all these. If I can be in tow or three places at once I think I’ll be fine. I was especially thrilled to see that Kathy Koch, author of How Am I Smart? will be speaking a few times. If only I’m able remember all the great stuff I know I’ll learn. Better take notes.