Yearn for Surrender: Our second week of school... not quite a routine.

On Monday (9-14) we started our first full week of school. With the Sunday School packet delivery behind us I was much more relaxed as I started the week. We did have some unique parts to this week. My parents came for a VERY short visit Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning. I will share all about that in the next post. The other unique part of week two was mold removal. We learned earlier in the summer that we had mold in our basement and attic and the time had finally come for them to remove it. This meant that we had to do school at church on Thursday and upstairs on Friday. It made things much more chaotic, but we survived.

I found this in the living room. She drew this before learning about it in Science.

T has OT on Monday afternoons. We are very thankful for her zoom sessions that keep her active in our basement. One day she built the most challenging brain block card!

T: I almost can't believe I made this!

One more pic because she was so proud!

My night ended in the very best way. He chose to lay this way and rest his paw on my arm.

On Tuesday (9-15) we had a pretty typical school day. The year truly started better than I could have imagined. After school we decided to meet up with Charissa and her crew at a park by the Lake. A really crazy game developed while we were there. This game might not have been the safest, but I felt like it was almost meant to be. The night before I had come across some photos of kids jumping on hay bales. I was remembering doing that as a child and how much fun it was. I was lamenting in my head about how my kids had never known this simple joy. Anyway, the picnic tables were all lined up with a bit of space between each one. The kids had a blast running and jumping from one table to the next. I know it wasn't as safe as the bales, but they didn't get hurt and made a great memory.

Suburban hay bale jumping.

M's early mornings make morning Bible times tricky on Monday and Tuesday. We are still trying to figure out how to navigate this issue, but we have tried 4:30 pm Bible time. It has some pros and cons. T enjoyed playing with kinetic sand durning Bible time. She needs to keep her hands busy so she can focus.

T: Do you like my creation?

T: Sunshine is helping me wind down and journal.

Wednesday and Thursday (9/16 and 9/17) are going to be in the next post. Friday (9/18) started with a beautiful sunrise walk. The heartbreaking wildfires continue to produce beautiful sunrises.

The phone never does it justice, but I am sure you can imagine.

This summer I discovered roasted green beans. I know I am probably a little late to the party on this, but the magic that happens when you roast them deserves a mention. A little olive oil and sea salt and these guys are perfect. They taste a bit like sweet potatoes.

Oh the yumminess

I wanted one thing for my Birthday this July, a lounge chair. In July this chair was out of stock. Most chairs take up a lot of space, but this one folds totally flat. It finally arrived in mid September and I couldn't wait to try it out. Just 15 minutes in the afternoon sun provides such great vitamin D. I will be using this in all the seasons I can, fully clothed and with a coat on if needed. I just want to be able to enjoy sun on my patio.

Buttercup: Let's open this so I can smell it!

During this week in history learned all about the Iroquois Native Americans. T assembled one part of a lapbook each day. Lapbooks are like tiny personal presentation pieces that are very popular with homeschoolers. This was a first for both T and I. We both really enjoyed it and we both learned a lot about the Iroquois.

T: After I finished I taught Daddy all about it.

After dinner Brandon and I were cleaning up the kitchen and the kids were in the family room. They seemed happy so we didn't disturb them. Once we finished up we were invited to a fashion show!

T: Do you like my costume?

M: I am a superhero and a Packer!

Brandon decided to get into the costume fun and surprise the kids when they came around the corner in their costumes.

Apparently it was a bit itchy!

After the fashion show started a game of Phase 10. This game can go on and on and on. Sadly, T could not seem to get past level two and morale became lower and lower.

A pregame photo!

Thankfully, just when morale was getting sketchy we heard a knock on the door. Our dear friend X with kiddos S and T were smiling at us. They had been out for a walk and talked with a neighbor. When she learned it was T's 6th Birthday she gave him $20. He decided that he didn't really need it so they were coming to our house to give M and T the $20. What beautiful generosity! After they gave us the money the kids began to play. We got out some bikes and scooters and they played in the front yard for an hour or more. It was such a great way to end the day and begin the weekend.

Actually I have one more photo from the day. Brandon loves to get these sleeping T and Sunshine photos. I don't put all of them in the blog, but this with Sunshine covered up is pretty precious.

Sunshine: Just doing my job!

On Saturday (9-19) the kids were up and playing with S and T early in the morning. They had so much fun playing with the crazy bike and the skateboards.

Check out this train.

Getting along and having fun.

While we were playing and enjoying life a very disturbing trend was beginning in our state. COVID cases increased dramatically.

This is what a non-flattening curve looks like!

Our kids (with our help) came up with a great way to use the $20 from T. They invited S and T to go and get ice cream with them. The kids did all the ordering and paying. Brandon stood at a distance.

Keeping the generosity going!

Sadly, they were out of dairy free ice cream so T had a soda and M had a juice box. This was a very hard thing do deal with once they got home.

Great friends!

After ice cream there was more playing in the front yard. It was a full day with neighbors. It worked out very well as S and T's dad was out of town and all the playing allowed for my friend to get some non-kid time. It was a win/win for everyone!

Watching these kids laugh filled me with such joy!

S and T get along well!

We ended our Saturday with a family movie night. This has become a lovely part of our weekly rhythm. This week we watched 42. T is always moving and Brandon and I decided to take some pictures of her in action so you can see what a cozy movie night is like at our house.