A Photogenic Fall

Whew! What a crazy twenty four hours right?!  Hubby and I stayed up late to watch election results so I'm a bit sleep deprived. I will refrain from discussing politics on this blog, I will leave that to the rest of my blogging friends who are better with words.  I am, first and foremost, a person of faith so I will do what I always do - pray for God's will to triumph no matter who is ruling this country or this world. 

But, one thing I am always happy to discuss is the season of autumn.  I feel like this year, autumn is passing by so quickly.  Perhaps it has to do with my busier life having sent the oldest to a brick and mortar school.  Perhaps it has to do with aging or perhaps it just really is the nature of things. Autumn in my neck of the woods is spectacular and this year was no exception despite a dry summer. Nature has a way of shushing my normally frantic brain to silence and awe in the month of October (and November!)  This quiet has spilled over to my digital life unintentionally.  I meant to blog more when I fasted from social media but instead I found myself enjoying the freedom from the online ball and chain.

So without further ado, let me share some pictures to distract you from the crazy political goings-on in this great land....

deer spotting

thankful

morning staples on my front porch - coffee and prayer journal

only God can make a tree...

...and pumpkins

spot the husband

gourds

my joyful child

can I just tell you? this man still gives me goosebumps 20 years later (16 of it married)

rolling, rolling, rolling

jack-o'-lanterns in the making

I love where I live

they love where they live

beautiful evening for trick or treating

On the next post, let's talk about running (for real this time, you know who you are lol)

A Catch-Up Post And A Quick Getaway

When we sent the oldest child to a traditional school I (mistakenly) assumed my life will be all rainbows and unicorns with one less child to homeschool. I had all these grand plans of what to do with the extra time given to me.  Insert laughter here.  The real deal is that a college prep high school life is busy and we haven't stopped being the educators of this child, albeit in a supporting role.  That extra time I thought was my reward after eight years? I am happily spending it helping with some homework, planning/preparing a boxed lunch, ironing uniform, carpooling, etc. and so on.  I am not kidding about the "happily" part because it is always appreciated.  Every time that boy exits my car and in front of his friends says "I love you, mom!"  my heart just melts a little bit.  And for those of you wanting to know how he is surviving, he is doing fairly well. We did not really place a huge expectation on his shoulders (at least not for the First Quarter) other than hard work and he is doing just that. Bring on Second Quarter!

And with that quick update out of the way let me share photos from a recent quick and glorious getaway. We rented a sweet cabin in one of the state parks.  We were blessed with magnificent views, lots of opportunities for fishing, hiking, swimming and napping!  I meant to post this sooner but all good intentions are usually just that. I do have a few hundred pictures waiting to see the light of the internet so fear not!  

I hope you are all having a successful school year!  Photos to share for those of us whose real life is almost as good as rainbows and unicorns :-)

we didn't mind waking up early for this view

the daily hike to go fishing

a slice of heaven

the husband teaching the youngest the art of fishing

this one did not need any fishing lessons

I have graduated from fishing to spectating

board games

putt putt golf

this sweet girl!

swim

playing connect four

loving our nap time

this super active boy is why I need a nap lol

Back To School/ Back To Blogging

I am on the tail-end of an eight-week (Ignatius of Loyola's) Spiritual Exercises retreat, hence the blogging silence.  At one point I was in a retreat within a retreat, it was awesome.  On top of the Spiritual Exercises, I attended our homeschool group's annual retreat (it is always fantastic but this year was exceptional).  Right after that I attended the catechist's retreat at my parish as I will be helping with the junior high CCD class.  I think I could exist in a state of perpetual retreat!

Anyhow, I'm sure you are all wondering how my oldest did on his first foray into traditional school.  I waited to write about it because I was trying to process everything. As you might expect I had to tackle this new adventure from the spiritual side first.  I prayed a novena to St. John Marie Vianney (patron of our homeschool) specifically to ask for blessings on this child on his first year out of our homeschool. I also tried to spend as much quality time with him since I will be losing his company as my daily Mass/running/exercise/grocery shopping buddy. We added evening walks to our repertoire of quality time where we, along with the newly-turned teen daughter, got to muse about many things both serious and light-hearted.  It is so fun to be around these two as I am learning to navigate motherhood in the teen years. Can I just tell you that I am very blessed to have the relationship I have with my children?  If the only thing good that came out of our homeschooling is the beautiful relationship we have with them I will consider it all a success. But then again there are so many graces that come from a faith-filled life.  And all the credit goes to Christ alone.

The first day of school went well. The morning was relaxed as we took pictures and prayed with him.  My voice started cracking in the middle of prayer as my mind went back to the many morning prayers I have prayed with this child.  And this time around that blessing prayer now involved his other educators.  Okay, I might still be misty-eyed thinking about that as I type.  As for my son, he was a bit terrified when it hit him that he is attending a brick and mortar school (where his dad also went).  But when he got home that afternoon, he told us that as soon as his feet hit the school grounds all of his anxiety went away (thank you Holy Spirit!)

He seems to be coping well, he survived writing his first high school essay and we are seeing a sense of responsibility and initiative that we hope will be sustained.  He thanked me last night for all those Latin lessons as he thinks he did well on his Latin pre-test.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

Usually I dedicate my picture posts for all of you who aren't on Facebook.  Since I am also not on Facebook while on retreat, I have no witty dedication to offer lol.  So here it goes,  pictures for all of us who prefer blog pictures to Instagram ;-)  And no, I am not planning to join Instagram in the near future -

someone is not a morning person

getting ready to drive his boy to school

holding an upside down sign and his favorite dessert made by his siblings, the sign said "Congratulations, you survived the first day of school!"

As promised on my last post, I will write about the race I ran in July and also a retrospective on my first year of running.  I hope you had a good first day of school, traditional or otherwise.

Pondering Summer

This year is a year of milestones in our household.  Our eldest is officially done with homeschool as he prepares to enter a brick and mortar high school.  Our only daughter will celebrate her thirteenth birthday this week. Our youngest will be in first grade in the Fall. These events have me thinking back to the past eight years (and maybe back a little). I have questioned my sanity and my competence as mother, educator, household manager, human being. Adding to the nostalgia/freaking out, my husband pointed out that this is really the last Summer of what we have always known as normal life.  As the kids slowly work their way out of our homeschool, our family life is being re-shaped. We will no longer be the captain of our calendars, ruler of our universe of seven as we relinquish some of our freedom to another. It's intimidating and exciting all at once. The silver threads growing on my scalp is testimony to the roller coaster of emotions I've been under.

Faced with these new life events, I am doing what I know to do best...pray...a lot! I find that in prayer I am truly me, there is no hiding from the truth of my life and who I am - fears, hopes, laughter and tears. In prayer I am truly free, I am truly human - exposed, vulnerable.  I am known. I am seen, I am heard. I am loved. I truly do not know how I can exist meaningfully if I don't pray.  And the more I pray the more I'm called to pray, if that makes sense. 

My current favorite personal prayer (as it currently matches my state of mind) is the Suscipe by St. Ignatius of Loyola.  It is the perfect prayer for someone who has a lot of control issues, ahem. The beautiful words are as follows:

Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.

Amen. Sigh.    

I have a few more weeks to savor this normal life before we get catapulted into the strange world of brick and mortar schooling.  My goal is not to waste valuable time unless it's wasting it with my kids.

Here are some pictures to share for those of you who have chosen to waste your time on this blog :-)

roses are white...but I do have red roses too

a new addition this year to my flower bed

 

happy little flowers

a cardinal made a nest on the rose bushes

the oldest teaching the youngest how to ride a bike

I ran a race...blog post coming up