Happy New School Year!

Hello new school year!  Wow and wow.  Look at that! This is my ninth year teaching my kids at home!  When Mister was four, it all began.  (If you do the math it won't work out to nine years.  That's because we held him back a year, but that's another story, which I have actually blogged about).  I can honestly say that this is the best thing I do with my life. And the hardest thing too.  I mean, being a mom is hard enough, but to add teaching on top of it?  Wow and wow. But I am so thankful I get to do this.  I have the amazing support of my husband and family and friends.

So I always like to give a little blurb about everyone in our little school family.  Here goes...

That's me.   The wife, the mom, the crazy lady who signed up for homeschooling nine years ago.  Actually, I knew I was going to do this before we even had children!  Cra-zy.  I think I knew of homeschoolers growing up and they were the matching homemade outfits kind of homeschoolers.  We are not that.  (But it is totally cool if you are!)  I really don't want to be known mainly as homeschoolers, but as a loving family. And crazy. Cra-zy.  Family descriptive word.

So I'm feeling silly, but I'm mostly serious. I'd like my kids to raise their hands, I'm that serious. But instead I try to deal with the loud and the interruptions.

You should know that I love coffee.  If I forget my afternoon cup of delight, something just doesn't feel right.  Not physically, but mentally.  Like I am incomplete.  And then when I realize I haven't had my coffee yet, I'm the happiest mom ever because that means I'm going to have a cup of coffee.

It's the little things, friends.

I've said it before, but I'm positive I'm from England.  I just love everything British (except Downton Abbey. Sorry, friends.)  Give me a rainy day and I will shine.

I believe it's a woman's prerogative to change her hair color. Often.

I love to read, but I'm in some kind of mental fog right now when it comes to literature.  I think it has something to do with my kids.  Maybe.  I'll get back to you on that one.

My favorite book in the world, ever, is To Kill a Mockingbird. And I just haven't been able to read Go Set a Watchman yet.  Maybe when the fog clears.

I love Jesus. And one of the best things about loving him, and one of the hardest things too, is being so different sometimes.  Not just different from people who don't care about Jesus, but sometimes different from those who do.  It's an adventure following Him.  I can recommend no better life.

And here is Petite, my sweet little first grader!  Today, after her first day of school, she said she was just so excited about school! And the first grade! And everything! And she was just dancing the whole time she said it. I  need this little bundle of crazy joy.  She has such a sweet and soft heart toward Jesus.  She still loves Minnie Mouse, but she loves anything pink and girly, too.  She'd wear a dress every day if she could.  If you see her wearing a skirt over jeans, it's not a religious thing, I promise you. It's just her.

This is Brown-Eyed Girl, and wow, has she grown up in a  year!  She is looking more like a young lady all the time. And that is both precious and scary.  She is still a little girl at heart, and I'm so thankful for that.  She loves Pokemon plush toys, and any other stuffed animals she can get her hands on.  She loves to sew and makes some amazing creations all of her own design.  She loves to read and write and works hard to do a good job in school.  This girl is a gift, something really special.

And now for Mister, my poor guinea  pig child.  You know, the one you test everything out on first.  His first few years of school, I was a bit of a Nazi. We made some good memories, but I pushed a little too hard.  He's my dreamer. He wants to do something BIG and I can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do with that because after all, He is the one who put that desire in my boy.  This kiddo is sweet and sensitive, a faithful friend, and a goofball, too.  He loves to do a gazillion things, but right now he is into making comic strips, building a paintball course in the back field, and karate.  He's a good kid.  You can't have him cause he's mine.

And I can't forget this little bundle of pure sweetness. We have a new student this year!  Baby B is almost six months old and learning like crazy. It just amazes me to watch babies develop and grow.  What a gift that this kiddo gets to grow up with his brother and sisters around all day, to learn from, get spoiled by, and play with.  This makes me so happy.  Look, it makes  him so happy!  There are always loving arms to hold him and that is a good life for a little guy.

Happy Back-to-School to all of you, friends!  These are precious years.  Here's to savoring them!