Getting Ready for Graduation Daybook

Outside my window…

Bright sun. We'll probably get into the low 80s again today, which is lovely for the tomatoes we planted over the weekend.

I am thinking…

about all the details for Superman's graduation, the graduation party, and taking care of out-of-town guests coming in for the special event.

I am thankful for…

the end of these long two years with my husband back in school. The result has been so worth it, and it was the best time to do it, but I won't lie- it has been difficult. I described it the other day to a friend as feeling like we've been living with a ghost for much of this time. Between work and school Superman was only home a few nights a week and even when he was home he wasn't really available to us. Time as a family had to be carefully planned. I can't even describe how happy I am to know the simple fact that when he's home he's actually home.

Always Learning…

We’ve been planting things and taking care of the yard. On my to-do list is gathering a few garden titles for our latest learning basket.

From the kitchen…

Friday will be the big cooking day! We're having guests Friday night and the graduation on Saturday so my sister is coming over Friday morning to help me chop vegetables and cut fruit and get ready to barbecue Friday night.

I am wearing…

my cleaning clothes- track pants and an old t-shirt. This morning I'm finishing the last of the re-organizing and getting the lower level dust and dirt free.

I am creating…

Idea lists for future projects Ender might be interested in, and choosing what we will learn from the tour of continents in the fall. I'm also setting up a little schedule for Ezra who *desperately* wants to be part of school with us, so I'm setting up a new list of montessori work for him.

  

I am going …

to make time or quiet this week. We are busy but not rushed, and having a bit of quiet of the end of the day really helps my introverted self keep recover from all the craziness.

I am reading…

I picked up a few YA award and Mark Twain Nominees at the library this week. I'm starting with Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

I am hoping…

for a great weekend celebrating Superman's accomplishment!

I am hearing…

Little boys building towers together. I love to listen in on their conversation when they think I'm not paying attention.

Around the house…

We've been working hard on the re-organizing/spring cleaning over the last few weeks, and I'm happy to say that there are only 2 areas left to go! The kitchen (which is in decent shape because I worked on it over Christmas break) and the laundry room/pantry (which is a scary place to visit right now). I'm trying to finish those areas before Friday.

One of my favorite things…

Quiet time to myself in the morning to pray and read before the boys get up.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . .

GRADUATION DAY!!!

Knights

 

We read Knight at Dawn in April as one of our chapter books at night, which led to a LOT of knight questions!

 

On our next trip to the library Ender found the knight and castle section and he picked a few books that he thought looked interesting. His selections included:

 

Castle by Richard Platt

A Day in the Life of a Knight by Andrea Hopkins

Castle and Knight by Fleur Starr

Stephen Biesty's Castles by Meredith Hooper

Knights and Castles by Judith Hindley

Castles by Stephanie Turnbull

If You Lived in the Days of the Knights by Ann McGovern

 

There is also a Knight lapbook available at homeschool Share, and we used a few pages from the lapbook or the links listed there as coloring pages. The boys colored knights and weapons and shields while I read. :)

 

Their favorite books were Day in the Life of a Knight and the Castle Cross-sections book (the first Castle book linked above). The first had a simple story line for Ender to follow, but also shared several interesting facts. The second has amazing pictures and Ender poured over those for many hours. I thought for awhile that it might turn into a drawing project, but he told me ysterday that the castle and knight books were ready to go back to the library without going any further with the project.

 

He hasn't yet made a step toward another project though, so our next project is still a mystery!

Perspective

Superman came home from work last night and walked into a living room full of blanket/pillow/couch/chair forts, took one look at the very dirty boys hiding in them and asked, "long day?"

 

It had been indeed. Superman had been off to work early, I got up shortly after to try to get a head start on housework, and the boys? Well, they both got up too early for how much they'd been up over night. Ender has had a run of bad dreams lately, and Ezra has been up and down at night for a few weeks now. We were ready and on time for church, but the tears started in the car on the way back home, continuing into lunch (all because no one wanted the same thing as anyone else). There was no good solution for all the tearfulness, so we did what we always do in times of tears- we went outside.

 

It worked for awhile- there were rocks to move, flowers to plant, sidewalks to sweep. The boys are happiest when they are busy working.

 

The fresh air doesn't hurt either.

 

But  eventually there were tears again over sharing tools, and then tears over going inside, even though going inside meant Daddy was on the way home (and dinner needed to be made). I promised fort building while I made dinner, and that calmed things down for a bit.

 

When dinner was ready, the tears came again and no one would sit long enough to pray much less eat. It took a few tries, but we finally made it respectfully through a prayer and through the meal. On to the bath tub, where the arguing and tears hit a crescendo. Superman asked if I knew why everything was going so strangely.

 

I was busy giving myself the "get through the bath, get them dressed, read, get them to bed" pep talk, because at that point I was pretty exhausted. It was quickly followed up by the "woe is me/tomorrow HAS to be better" talk.

 

After getting little boys into pajamas, combing hair and brushing teeth, we read together as we do every night. Everyone was quiet as I read, and if possible they grew even quieter as Daddy read. It was the first bit of peace we'd had all day. I carried Ezra to bed, and he was already half asleep as I put him down and sang to him. I prayed with him, then it was Superman's turn with Ezra. I went into Ender's room to rock with him and sing to him the song I've sung to him for almost 5 years now every night before bed.

 

I prayed with him, and together we thanked God for our family, for our church, for the blessings of our day and for strength and grace as we moved into the next day. I told him again for the millionth time how much I love him, how much Daddy loves him, but God's love for him is so great it is more than Mama and Daddy put together.

 

Ender said, "Tell me more about God."

 

I told him again about Jesus and his sacrifice, I told him again how God calls to us, how God loves us and wants us to walk with Him.

 

"I don't mean tell me the things I already know," Ender said. "I mean tell me more. There has to be more to know about God. I want to know everything about Him."

 

There is so much to know, Son.

 

We pray for you daily, often more. We pray that you follow His path and come to know Him for yourself. We pray for your redemption, we pray for your precious soul.

 

We pray that you will see that you cannot walk alone.