The Electric Company

Remember the public television show from the 70's designed to teach children to read? I used to love it! Now, thanks to DVD box sets, I can enjoy these programs again, and my children can discover and enjoy them too!
My favorite? Easy Reader, of course. Some of the segments are truly "groovy". Josiah is watching an episode now, which is what has prompted this little foray down memory lane.
We have been sick, and it has been hectic around here.
Easter was great! This was Daniel's first. He looked like such a little man. And of course the older boys were handsome as ever.

We had a coffee and pastry bar at church before service to raise money for the school. Yum. It was a great opportunity to chat and connect with friends before coming together to worship.
Worship was amazing, and then we saw a monologue from the perspective of Jesus -- very moving.
After church, we had friends over to help celebrate life in Christ.

It was early to bed Sunday night, as it would be early to rise Monday morning.
And rise early we did. School started Monday after a week off for Spring Break.
I love school. I love teaching and being able to be with my children throughout the day. It certainly keeps me busy though, which is why blogging has slowed down a bit.
Over the break, I learned about lapbooking. Where has that been all my life? I am quite excited about this new (to me) learning opportunity and experience, and I started my students on lapbooks right away.

The Latin students are on Ch. 19 in Latina Christiana I. It's about the constellations, which is perfect for this kind of project.
My Rhetoric students are doing a lapbook on fables.
They will be first attempts.
Hopefully, I will learn more about how to create and use these fun resources in the near future. I think they can be a great learning tool.
After school, Josiah helped Daniel discover bubbles. It's so awesome to watch your child see something for the first time.

Yesterday was a beautiful day. Spring, I think, has finally sprung!

Today was filled with doctor visits and medical tests.
A few weeks ago, at homegroup, Scott talked about the miraculous and asked why we don't expect it in our daily lives.
I thought about that as I drove from doctor to doctor today.
I prayed for Daniel and Isaac and Josiah and Joe.
I remembered that by his stripes we are healed. He died not only to save us (which I believe with all my heart), but to heal us.
Heal us, Jesus.

Time keeps on slipping into the future . . .

" . . .Of all the gifts that a parent can give to a child, time is the most precious." --Robin R. Meyers

Time flies. The older I get, the more true this seems. All I have to do is look at my sons to see it. My oldest will be the big 1-0 in a few months, entering his "tween" years; soon, my five year old will be six -- hardly a baby at all, now, but a big little guy; and even the baby will be nine months old in a couple of weeks. Nine months.
We won't even get into how much older I am now than I used to be.
There are days like today, when nothing too out of the ordinary happened. It was a day. A pretty good day. Not spectacular. Not devastating. Just a day.
Or was it.
My children are growing up so fast I can almost hear their bones and muscles and skin lengthening and stretching, their minds expanding, their spirits opening, and it is happening on days like this.
Ordinary days.
It is on days like this that lifetimes happen. Days add up, and before you know it, years have passed. Whole lives are lived on ordinary days. Extraordinary lives, because there is magic in these days too. It's true. Magic in each and every one of them. You just need to know where to look for it. What to listen for.
I find it in my son's eyes. They light up with wonder at little things, they laugh, they search my own eyes with love, for love.
I hear it in their voices, excited with new discovery and spilling out stories of their adventures. It rings in their laughter and bubbles out in their giggles, bouncing around my head.
I feel it in their hands, varying in size, the three pairs of them still seeking me out for a hug, a squeeze, a touch.
I feel it in my husband's kiss, the brush of his hand against my arm, his fingers feeling for mine as we drive down the street.
It was in the cups of tea I shared with mom today.
In the morning spent looking at houses with grandpa.
"Life happens while we wait for something to happen, and so it's no wonder that when we get there nothing seems to be happening!" -- Robin R. Meyers
I want to embrace the life that is happening. It all comes back to time. Taking time to see. Giving time to our children, our loved ones, to let them enchant us. Letting go of our perception of what is ordinary, so we can become aware of the ordinary magic of our everyday lives.

Some pictures from this "ordinary" day:
Isaac the scout













Josiah is crusin' the universe





























Daniel wants to know, "Bedtime story, anyone?"