Finally

The summer of 2014 could be called the summer of rain. Rain is a good thing but there is such a thing a too much of a good thing. The temps have been crazy mild and the garden has been stunted greatly.

Usually by the beginning of August I am canning beans every few days. We do not even have enough beans matured for a good meal let alone canning. The past week and a half has been sunny and warm for the most part and it is helping. I just pray we have enough time to get some beans mature enough for canning.

The first two tomatoes to turn on the vine. We usually have tomatoes from mid-July on but not this summer.

A wonderful, pleasant surprise. I walked out to the garden to take a quick bean pic for this post and I saw a couple of good sized beans! Praise the Lord! The sunshine is doing some growing. 

Benjamin-Day One of School

Benjamin asked to start school today. So, we started with his reading and writing program today. I chose Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) Primary Arts of Reading and Writing. Day One went wonderfully. He is more than ready to read. Here we go!

We began our school time with reading "Leading Little Ones to God" and prayer.

I had Benjamin write his name for the first day of school.

We worked our way through day one of our program and we were finished. 

We cuddled on the couch and took a picture to send to Dad at work.

Benjamin and I took Emmy for a walk. 

Value, Accounting, Blessing

The topic of what is value was brought up in Sunday School yesterday. I began to think about what I value and about how what I chose to spend my time doing shows what I value. Ouch!

When I returned home from my wonderful summer trip I was pretty much a useless slug for a few days. I still struggle to get back on track in a few areas. I have not redeemed the days of summer with productive work. I began to feel as though I was floundering and flopping. Then I began to make a list of what I have done: laundry has been done, we have eaten every day, swim team practice drop off and pick up, Benjamin took two weeks of swimming lessons, baseball games were attended, I took Levi and Elisabeth to camp, groceries have been gathered, garden has been weeded (thanks to help from my Mom), Driver's Ed has been completed, a license has been issued, and a few other things. Honestly, this list is not too shabby.

I posted on Saturday that I was in the process of  clearing, purging and reorganizing the school closet and shelves. My oldest three made homemade pizza dough and sauce and made wonderful yummy pizzas for our Saturday evening dinner while I kept on with the purging.
I did not complete the job on Saturday, I left a crazy mess to continue with on Sunday afternoon but  I needed sleep more than I needed to finish in one day. Sunday morning comes early and I didn't want to sleep through Sunday School.
I began this post looking at this whole past month as a month of struggle but as I wrote it all out, I saw the blessings, I saw the life I have been living, I felt defeated when I began but finished feeling beyond blessed. Once I began to get the words down on paper I ended up seeing the blessings, the accomplishments and the joy.
I may begin writing more posts on paper first because this post is nothing like the original draft. Thankfulness from counting the blessings.

An after photo, I still have a few things to do but the big clean out and purge has been completed. Now for the curriculum to arrive so we can start school.

The Annual School Closet Clean Out

Oh the mess but it must be done. Clearing out, purging, and reorganizing for the new school year. 

I am giving things a little more thorough purge than in previous years. Out goes the preschool stuff since we are past that age. Notebooks are getting a go through and only work samples are being kept for the big kids. 

 

Between purchasing new pens and pencils during back to school sales and what I keep finding while cleaning I'd say we are set. Let's see how long it takes to get these scattered throughout the house again once we get back to the books. 

One good thing about working today inside is that there is a William Powell movie day going on TCM today, along with open windows, laundry on the line, Blessings playing on their homemade slip and slide outside. There will be make your own pizza night so I can keep cleaning.

Friday

Friday morning pancakes with my best egg cracker. 

Benjamin's reaction to my announcement of out going to meet friends at the lake. He collapsed into the floor of the eye doctor's office.

Loaded for the lake

See this boy? He passed his driving test on Friday. 

The kids at the lake, I sat in a chair and soaked up the sun.