A Fly On My Homeschool Wall

Pixie and Super Star and a couple of their friends went to a big Christian "You Are Loved" celebration for teen girls.  They get all physically pampered and beautified, fed dinner, and are then spiritually fed and beautified.  It's a fun night for 200+ girls. This is the week that I have to admit that big families do have their drawbacks, and one of those drawbacks is that kids can be lost in the crowd. In spite of all my best efforts, Belle has been lost for weeks now, and I just found out. Ladybug's, Brother's, Rose Red's, and Super Star's needs are loud and big and fierce, and I've focused on them for a very long time.  Belle's needs are so quiet. I didn't hear them or see them. I checked in verbally with her almost constantly, but I didn't follow through with actually looking at her schoolwork or keeping up with the sit-down meetings that we used to have. She's been perfectly on top of her Symposium work. I though...

photo by Little Princess Last weekend the predicted 1-3" of snow accumulation turned out to actually be 6-11".  And it was a good, wet, packing snow that was fun to play in almost all week . . . before the kids wore the snow down to the mud, and sledding had to stop. This is just a little guy, but he was gifted with personality. The bigger fellow had nothing but his size going for him. :) The dryer almost never stopped running because in addition to all of our regular laundry, I'd throw a couple of loads of coats and bibbies in after the morning play, so they'd be dry in time for an afternoon play, and I'd throw in another couple of loads before bedtime, so the clothes would be dry for the next morning play. Belle's afternoon at the farm was cancelled--not much to do when the farm is sleeping under a thick blanket. But Pixie went to dance 3 nights and started her American History class at the community college.  The teacher is totally happy...

It is early Friday morning.  I've completed my personal scripture study (I'm in 1 Corinthians right now--reading The Message Bible ), and in taking a moment to play a little on social media I felt inclined to write this post. It has been a week of challenges and blessings. The greatest blessing of which has been a lessening of the darkness of my mind.  I knew things were bad--I can see how dark my posts have been even though I've struggled to be as positive as I could be--but oh! Light! I hope it stays for a while. My family could enjoy a season of having a bright, happy mom. Monday was very Monday-ish.  I won't detail the problems, but it was one small thing after another that left me wiped out, frustrated, angry, and impatient.  I was as careful with our first day of school as I could be, and I cannot remember any problems with school--Ladybug's school, Morning Meeting, Symposium, Academy/lunch, preschool, and one-on-one school all passed seamlessly t...

He and Lola came with us to the insurance office to sign over the title and accept the insurance check for our totaled car.   This mask was in their toy box.  I spent the week in bed (mostly).  This means the teens have had to work quite hard at managing the household on Sir Walter Scott's days at work.  And Sir Walter Scott has carried the weight of working to support us and taking care of us during his "off" hours.  It has been hard for me to ask this of my family, but I have been quite badly affected by this miscarriage (I am of quite advanced maternal age).  I think that my time in bed has prevented a hospital stay, and I know that the service and learning are good for them . . . in theory.  In reality, it's really hard to look at their tired faces and keep asking for more. But we found out that Pixie was accepted to BYU-Idaho.  It was pretty much a given because this school's goal is to welcome all students who want to further...