How does you handle holiday family juggling?

Time in CT usually means time with the cousins (or at least two of them)!

There aren’t any cousins on my side but there are 9 all together on Patrick’s side.  My in laws welcomed 9 grandkids over just 5 years! 

Besides hanging out with cousins, we took advantage of the wide selection of hockey equipment found in New England over B-more, visited Kringle and Yankee Candle factories, and ate lots of food.  Can you say monkey bread?

It should also be noted here that we’re thankful for the wonderful guy who got PJ all geared up for hockey.  He was even able to find a helmet to fit his head…even if we did have to pay twice as much. 

Note to shoulder pad manufacturers:  Please make the head opening a little bigger or provide snap openings or something.

Oh, we also took in a CT Whale game.  It’s the most attuned the kids have every been.  The Whale even won!  See Ty’s victory violin? 

He’s been taking his air violin everywhere these days

MIA (whispering):  Mom, I’m whispering because I don’t want PJ to hear.  I know Santa isn’t real but how does he do it?

MELISSA:  Do what?

MIA: Get to all the houses in one night?

MELISSA:  I thought you just said he wasn’t real?

MIA:  Not to deliver presents, silly. You know, on the fire truck.

MELISSA:  Oh! Do you want to know how he visits all the kids on the fire truck in one night?

MIA: Yes!

MELISSA:  Well, since he’s not real, anyone can dress up as him.  Each neighborhood has its own fire truck and Santa.

MIA:  Oh!  That makes so much more sense!

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Patrick recently received a text that our USCIS application to immigrate an orphan (or orphans) had been received.  The text (allowable by a special form for the PAPER REDUCTION ACT), also informed us we would get written confirmation via the mail in a couple weeks…SERIOUSLY!?!?!  I thought I was opting out of that when I…never mind.

MELISSA (to know one in particular): Can someone please explain the government to me?!!?!

PJ:  Nope.  And I can’t explain the HOA either.

Touche!

warm days this fall,

it would almost be a sin

not to do some

leaf jumping.

Did you jump this fall?

But sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pay for the pictures, post them on the blog, relegate them to the basement and move on.

This past week was bittersweet as we’re excited about homeschooling but grieving the end of something unique.

Last Wednesday was field day.  One word…HOT!  The kids were troopers even though the temps felt above 100.  It’s so nice that Beachmont let’s us end the day with a pool party.

PJ cleaned up winning first place in the long jump, sack race, 25 yard dash, and 50 yard dash.

Yesterday was in-class awards.  PJ received a certificate for excellence in Grammar and Math.

Mia received her certificate for excellence in Bible appreciation.

Today was the Grammar School Celebration.  All the classes did short presentations.  The first song Kindergarten performed is representational of how the classical model of education uses songs to help the students memorize everything from vowel sounds to timelines.

The next part is the school song in American Sign Language and an end of the year poem.

This is PJ’s class reciting couplets they wrote about biographies they read.

Last night Mia cried all the way home and probably cried herself to sleep.  She wasn’t pouting or tantruming.  She was grieving.  You see, last night was our last official group event for Welcoming Angels (Orphan Hosting Program sponsored by AWAA).  It was the last time (at least for a long time) we would see the 5 precious children who wiggled and giggled their way into our hearts in just a few short weeks.

It’s really amazing how quickly one can become attached to someone in such a short period of time.  We are not hosting but all of the host families are friends of ours and we have been at every event.  Mia became particularly attached to one of the little girls. 

“My friend is an orphan,” she said suddenly through tears.  “They are all orphans.  We have to pray that God finds them families close to us.”

That sparked a conversation about how God answers prayers, about how to handle it when He doesn’t answer them the way we want, and why everyone needs a family.

Fast foward to this morning. 

We’re driving up the school driveway when PJ says, “Mom, have you ever heard of an 8 passenger minivan?”

“Yes,” I reply, “I think it has 3 seats in the middle row.”

“Yeah,” he says, “my friend has one.  I’d rather have a 15 passenger van though.”

“Me too.”

He continues, “If we had a 15 passenger van, we could adopt 10 more kids.”

I swear I don’t script these things.  It’s evidence to me that our kids are watching our every move.  What is important to us becomes important to them.  Quite frankly, I can’t think of a better thing for my kids to have on their minds.

If you go by the number is the “W” column, baseball has been 100% better than soccer as PJ says.  The 7/8 Mets won their 3rd in a row tonight.  Bigger than that, though, were the 2 times PJ got on base.  He’s really struggled with his timing but if tonight’s an indicator, he’s coming out of his slump. 

Does it still count as a slump if you start there?

Yikes! My oldest is officially 8 today!

He came into the world determined to know how it worked and hasn’t stopped amazing us since.

Baseball is currently running through his head…learning how to be a better batter, finding out he loves catching, keeping up with the Orioles (standings, schedules, and scores)…at least when he’s not building with Legos or curled up in the corner of the sofa with a book.

Happy Birthday, P! We love you!

P.S. You can click here for pictures from last night’s birthday dinner of PJ’s famous Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Noodles.

Since the heart of classical education is developing children who love and know how to learn, we love that teachers use lots of ways to reinforce the information being taught.  This week, we had the privilege of seeing PJ’s class perform 2 plays that reflected what they had learned in their ocean life science unit.  The kids memorized lines, painted sets, and created costumes.  We celebrated the performance with an ocean-themed party.

The first play chronicled the journey of a misplaced jellyfish and effectively told about the 5 ocean habitats.

The second play followed a hermit crab through the year and introduced various kinds of ocean life.

Here are some still pictures for you enjoyment