First Week of School & Finding Our Feet

(Just a few more hours before the giveaway is closed. Email me with your mercies in order to be entered in the drawing for one of two prize packs! I'll announce the winners in my next post and will start to work on "the party," ie, publishing the grand list of God's goodness you all have shared with me! And a quick note on the first photo: the girls saw a rabbit dart across the yard...)

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Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 

 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 

 Impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,

 when you lie down and when you get up.

 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 

 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 

Our big four have now finished their first week of school. I am (we are!) so excited about the new school God placed in our path. It's a perfect fit for our family and I'm praying God uses all that the girls learn and do at school to prepare them for Kingdom work, both now and in the future.

What a privilege and joy to take part in university model schooling...truly a gift from God. And truly a unique arrangement - where the big ones are at school two days a week and we're all here together, homeschooling, on the other three days.

Jesus reminded me really quick this week that hearts are more important than academics and efficient schedules. And once again, my spirit chafed. Oh, will I ever learn? But He gave me the grace to give thanks for all the time it took to work with this one or that one, addressing heart issues during our homeschool days this week. I will admit it: I wanted efficiency more than I wanted to work with souls who need Jesus or who need discipling as Christ-followers.

Here's a quick peek into how our Tuesday (at home) looked at one point, early in the day - and this was all happening nearly simultaneously...

EG: asking me deep (really deep) questions about her own heart and walk with Jesus

CJ: shredding a napkin all over the living room

LC: crying over the shredded napkin - apparently it was "special"

CA: leaning over the ledge (we have sort of a loft half-wall thing upstairs) to get a balloon, losing her balance, bashing her gums on the ledge (thankfully not falling OVER the ledge)...crying, bleeding

MK: dejunking her hoarded mess up in her bed

AH: I don't know where she was or what she was doing.

Me: trying hard to praise God for all these "delays"...this slow, SLOW start, being convicted of the backwardness of caring more about getting things done than I do about leading little souls to Jesus.

So, don't look at us if you want a cozy, quiet view of homeschooling! Actually, I see a lot of potential for positive change in these areas as we find our feet this year. And even if there is not change in the ways I'd like, God help me give thanks in it all, for you are always, always good! And I am so, SO glad that I get to have my girls around me. Jesus has made us rich in giving us this bustling feminine brood.

 Oh my goodness - my little listmaker: that would be AH. All the other big ones imitated her idea. They had checklists for getting ready in the morning and checklists for what they were going to pack in their lunches. Hilarious! Quote of the day, as written on one of their lists: Don't forget to use deoderant!!! You don't want to be stanky on your first day of school.

These two were hamming it up for the pictures. I couldn't get any good ones indoors. And, you can't see them in this photo, but all the girls had a sweet, personalized bag tag for their lunchboxes and backpacks. These were a gift to us with AH was added to our family. Such a perfect and practical idea!!

 and I just thought this was pretty...rarely anything other than a ponytail...lookin' all graceful and ladylike...