Friday, October 25, 2013

What a Summer!

It's been a summer I won't soon forget.  Can't believe it's over already,  (with a sigh of relief) I'm glad it is.  We as a family have finally hit a few "life goals."  My husband changed jobs and we've moved to another state.   We now live in the same state as most of my family resides in so the girls have had plenty of opportunities to see relatives.  I thought the girls might regress in their bravery after the move, but they haven't, which I'm so pleased to report.  We had a huge family reunion in August and there were so many cousins their age I couldn't count them all.  By the end of the day the girls were playing in different directions from one another and were answering yes and no questions and laughing out loud with those around them, which is so out of the box for them.   One step closer to our dream.  We found an old farm house with a little land out in the country and are striving to become more "self sustainable."   I've noticed the girls being just as comfortable in our new house as they were in our old and when asked, if they want to move back, I get a resounding "NO!"  They love being able to roam the backyard, hideout in their clubhouse and play under the pine trees.  We've collected shells at the beach, feathers wherever we can find them and are soon to start our leaf ID collection.  We've hiked my old stomping grounds, the woods,  I grew up in as a child and I'm also starting to introduce them to sewing.  We've watched a moth change from a fuzzy yellow caterpillar to a Virgina Tiger moth, I even have to admit that was a pretty cool!   We're planning for spring already,  with growing a garden and starting a 4-H compliant project raising chickens in our backyard. 
I have to report, we've switched curricula.  Another homeschool mom I love and respect, suggested Sonlight and so I looked into it and was impressed.   The girls and I Love LOVE Love books.  I lean toward a more eclectic/Charlotte Mason with a touch of unschooling thrown in kind of teaching style.   In my opinion, Sonight so far, is a much better fit for us.  
We've plugged into our local library and we started attending the same church my family goes to.  The church has been a tremendous resource for us and we're meeting other homeschool families around the area.  One family we've met lives right around the corner from us on 6 acres.  They also homeschool and are into homesteading.  My husband and our newly found friends are talking about joining forces to dive into aquaponics together in the neighbor's pole barn. I find it refreshing that there's an abundance of  people who share our values and ideas about how we think life should be lived close by.
I hope to impart upon my children a sense of community and being responsible for themselves as well as the Earth they've been blessed with.  My hope for them is that they grow braver everyday being surrounded by a close knit group of folks they can look up to and count on.  "It takes a village to raise a child."  I'm so happy to say after a long road around the world, we've finally found our very own village to plant some roots in.  Plants some roots and watch the children grow.   
 Praise be to Him , for God and Life IS so good! 

I hope you have had a splendid summer as well.  May your children be blessed and feel secure in the love and care you're giving to them.  Furthermore, if you're here seeking support or advice about your SM children, I hope they're blessed with a big brave bold voice, one small or gigantic step at a time.  Don't give up!  May God bless and keep you all.

  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 on 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.      Deuteronomy 6:5-7