It's nothing, but it's everything...

My New Art Space.

I had kids' art supplies in different rooms all over the house.  So, when somebody wanted to create, we had to "get stuff out" from numerous places....and then put it back when finished.   Or, put it away even if we weren't finished so we could use the space for dinner, etc. 

My neighbor has an "art table" in her house.  The stuff is all together and accessible. 

I copied her.  

Don't worry, I asked first!  I didn't even have to buy anything, just rearrange. 

Here it is.....I promise it doesn't look like much, but it's sooooooo much.  We've used it everyday since I put the space together.  It's nothing, but it's everything....

Hanging on the wall:  colored pencils, crayons, scissors.
On the right side of table:  paper, paint brushes, popsicle sticks, tape, glue, ribbon, etc.
Below in the cabinet:  Play-doh, paint, beads, markers, other supplies.
Shhh, under the table:  trash can, yarn, rubber stamping supplies.

Look what I created the same day that I made the art space!

A nameplate for our house.  I bought the supplies at the end of the school year hoping to finish it this summer.  It took a few hours.  In case you can't tell, the colors are black, white, and BLUE because I love blue.

What's your favorite color?  Do you wear your favorite color, decorate your house with it, or both? 

Crazy. Helpful. Caring. Gap Fillers.

You could have blinked and missed the few posts I wrote about our journey to adopt that started last December.

Two steps forward. One step back.

Somehow in the past few weeks the journey became a sprint. Still the forward and backward thing. But, now at what seems like lightening speed.

 Oh, we had to re-do our entire packet of paperwork after ours was, unfortunately...lost.

At least we have some bragging rights now, "Oh yeah, well we had to do our whole packet twice"!

 About two days ago when we thought we would finally be licensed (allowing us to receive kids) we found out that there is yet another new necessary form. 

We need to have at least one person who is willing to care for our foster kids (they will be foster kids until the adoption is final) in case of emergency.  Oh, is that all?

Hmmm.  Who do we know who would be willing to take in children for an indefinite period of time?

No huge list here.  Okay.  The list is blank.  Not sure if this is a good idea or not, I posted the situation on a few of my homeschool groups' pages.  Almost immediately, no I think it was immediately, I had a handful of ladies saying they were willing to do be our "respite care provider" in case of an emergency.  Although they are in my groups, I didn't actually know most of them.  As I'm writing this the offers are still coming!!

They were sincere.  Caring.  Responsive.  Busy, I'm sure, moms.  Incredible.

Ezekiel 22: 30  "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. 

 These ladies saw a gap and were ready and willing to fill it.  Thank you ladies.

What gaps do you think you were meant to fill? 

 

Summer School

Levi (my 3 yo) had swimming lessons for the last two weeks, so school continued after it's official ending.

 I didn't have to teach, I just had to get in the water and push him away from me in the water (or so it seemed) so that he would have to learn to swim.  He learned.  It was awesome!!  Here's a clip of his teacher teaching Levi by playing with him in the water.

Video Clip of Levi Swimming!

One of the days during the swim lesson there was an International Swim Lesson.   Swim classes from all over the world gave the exact same swim lesson simultaneously.  Fortunately, ours was at 10:00 A.M.  Here are some pics of our local lesson.  The swim school was trying to beat a world record for number of people attending.  I don't think they made it, but the kids will remember it. 

Me and Levi

Caroline and her friend on the right.

My summer school is consisting of getting ready for the next school year.  This week I'm ordering some books and signing Luke up for chemistry and pre-calculus co-op classes.  Oh, and I'm spending time at our neighborhood pool with the kids...and "Levi the Shark!"

What does your week look like? 

Triathlon!

On Sunday, Luke and I competed in a local triathlon.  

His first!  

He's hooked..  

His friend, who's done them before, also competed.  It was sooooo much fun.

Unlike running marathons, triathlons give you variety.  Once you are sort of tired of one event, you switch to another.  It's the best.  

It was so funny when my son told me that he overheard one competitor saying to another, that he had ran a "light" 24 mile run yesterday.  "Yeah," the other guy said, "that 70 miler the other day really wore me out." 

I remember when I did my first triathlon, there were guys doing the same thing...talking about their bikes that cost thousands of dollars.  A different league.  It's all good. 

Here we are before the race at about 6:20 in the morning...at an outdoor pool.

If the race is small, you usually end up with a medal!

After the race!  We all got medals.

Me and Luke.

We're looking for more triathlons to compete in this summer.  For years I hoped that one, some, or all of my kids would enjoy running and competing with me. So it was exciting to compete with one of my kids!  Who's next?!?

 It's not about the win, it's about the drive, the commitment, the ability to finish what you set out to do. 

Just in case you're wondering, it was a 400 meter swim, 10 mile bike and 2 mile run.  Short and fun.  We even made it to church on time afterward!!

I was so excited to be able to do this, and so thankful for my health!

"So take a new grip with your tired hands, stand firm on your shaky legs, and mark out a straight, smooth path for your feet so that those that follow you, though weak and lame, will not fall and hurt themselves, but become strong."   Hebrews 12:12

 

 ... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:1-2

Doesn't everything point back to God?!  Even running and triathlons!

What excites you that points you to the Creator?

Mission Complete!

My goal when I started this blog at the beginning of the school year was to blog about our homeschool journey

 for a school year 

 so that I could, in some way, encourage or help others.

Our school year is over and I blogged about it and our life for the year.  

Mission Complete!

The school year culminated with school pictures of the kids.  I haven't done that for a few years and I was so excited to get that accomplished this year too.

 Now... 

Decision time.

Do I continue blogging?

Yes.

 Sometimes it seems that I have diarrhea of the mouth when people want to dialog about homeschooling.  I get homeschooling.  I live it.  And, I like sharing about it and how it's woven into our family's story. 

So the story continues.  

Luke

Josh

Caroline

Jesse

Sophia

Levi

Time to...

1.  Order a hard copy or digital version of my blog.  It's my family scrapbook for the year!

2.   Get to know my fellow bloggers better!

Would you share a comment about yourself, your family, your blog?  Or all of the above?