Wowers, what a week!  The weekend prior was busy with a Friday outing and Sunday Easter Festivities so we started out feeling like the weekend just rushed past us.  Wednesday, Phil got home from work and fell asleep sitting up on the couch.  In the evening, he went back to work with all 5 little ones in tow.  Thursday was "take your child to work day".  I have to say, I marvel at my husband and what a wonderful Dad he is.  He took the children to work with him ALL DAY!  I dropped them off after breakfast, with a packed lunch, games, and a few odds and ends to keep them entertained and they spent the day with Phil and his students.  I ignored all the things I ought to have been doing and went back to the "drawing board" with my felted bowls.  I am ever so slowly dialing in the right combinations of wool and the right techniques. 

Friday was long and filled with frustrations and disappointments.  Sometimes training is such a challenge!  Each child is so unique in their personalities and strengths and weaknesses.  I am so thankful that the Lord has really placed it on our hearts to homeschool our children because it really allows us focus in on building their character and helping them form their relationship with Christ.  We see them in every situation from playing to learning to social interactions to responsibilities and it gives us such a complete picture of who they are.  The flip side of that is having the endurance to manage with patience and love, navigating through not having all the answers, watching them learn the hard lessons, and being there as family and raising Godly children as our first priority when sometimes we would rather be doing something else LOL!  This week we had an issue with one child working through some hard life lessons, working on thinking it through before you act, and working on social skills.  I also had a struggle with endurance with another child and those feeling of "I am growing weary in doing good" and "Will my dedication ever pay off"....the reality is, my focus needs to be that my dedication isn't about a pay off, it is about an act of love and an act of service before the Lord.

Sometimes it is hard to find comradery and understanding in the way we raise our children.  It is different.  It isn't the way our culture does things.  Sometimes it leaves us feeling isolated and lonely, and discouraged.  We have struggled a bit with this lately. 

Here are a few delights:

The delights of Easter chocolate.




 I wonder if my family ever gets tired of me saying, "Look at the sky!  Look at the sky!  Isn't is amazing, incredible, beautiful!" This cloud formation was so odd.  Dark storm clouds and this lit up little white cloud with sunshine flooding in.  I couldn't quite figure out how this scene was all pieced together.  It faded so very quickly but what a show!



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