Day Twenty-Eight: School Slows Down, Soccer Speeds Up

They can't wait until next week and that's all I need to hear. Sweaty, dirty little bodies slide into the truck and it's non-stop incessant chatter all the way home about this play and that pass, this goal and that kick. When school slows down and we are already closing a few of our books, out come the cleats and shin guards. It's time for this soccer momma to set up her chair and cheer on her kiddos. (Daddy will be there soon too, but praise God, business is bustling for him!)

This year, Oliver is one of the oldest on his team, which helped him score three goals in this first game :)

Oh dear, Emily, that boy is big.. watch out!

What's going to happen?

Yeah, she got it!

A few moments later, she's ready for more.

Cousin Caleigh races to get the ball.

Post-game fun with the team.

Meg's third year of coaching. She has ten little soccer stars.

She coaches with confidence and grace. She was also scheduled to prepare

 and give the first devotions of the year to her division. 

And... dealt with shenanigans like this :)

Mid-game wrestle with second-cousin, Cole.

Taking a break.

The coach :)

A celebratory moment for the hard working players... and Molly, who prefers to cheer with Mommy.

Day Four: Teach Them Diligently

The kettle boils and I walk with my tea to the laundry room where I fold a load. The phone rings and although I've made a resolution not to answer after 8:30 a.m., I pick it up anyway. The person on the other end is crying and I'm drawn in and the kids are taking turns riding by me on the Lil Tykes grocery cart. I'm calling to them to quiet down. I cover the phone and blast them through a huge breath, "Shouldn't you be doing your math?" I have a knot in my gut as I'm pulled in two different directions. That nagging, guilty feeling rises upward, suffocating me and I realize this has happened a couple of days in a row... and, I hadn't met with the Lord that morning either--tell-tale signs of that one happening all over the place.

By lunchtime, there are still two kids in pyjamas and one can't find her spelling book. I'm losing my patience and that friend on the phone--well, she's on her way over for more support. I'm bustling around tidying up and promising myself tomorrow will be better.

  

By evening, I've gotten angry that I have to make dinner early as we have weekly obligations to run to and as I lay my head on my pillow that night, I cry. I turn my face into my pillow and beg God to reveal what went wrong. One thing about a prayer like that is, if we're open, He answers quickly. I quietly weep and He gently shows me where I went astray. Not that spontaneity, as I shared about yesterday was the problem, not that dropping everything for a friend in need was either, but it was the deference from my goals and ground rules that stole my peace and joy. 

 

I've been at this home educating thing long enough to know exactly what my children need, what I need and how to make things flow smoothly in our home. Children love boundaries, they love schedules and routine and they flourish in predictable days. They also love spontaneous moms who are flexible and not so tied to rules and schedules that they can't break them... once in awhile. With this knowledge, I set goals for myself and for them at the beginning of each year. I write up schedules for each of them and ask my husband, a couple close friends and sisters to hold me accountable. But when I don't want to leave the warmth of my bed or have my feet to hit the cold floor early in the morning, when I don't meet with the One who encourages me, speaks to me and sends me lovingly into my day, I might flounder.

 

  

 

When I look back over the years, I can see the mercy of God, despite the odd bad day. My children are all reading, they can quote Scripture and poetry. They're all moving forward in math at a good pace. They have a love for books and being read to. My openness about my day to day struggle to get myself and my children motivated is not to put myself down or to give the impression that every day is a failure. Instead, my desire is to encourage homeschool parents that although we all have less than productive days, our children will learn as we work to correct and change those moments into life lessons, apologies and the catalyst to get "back in the saddle" without delay.

So, what does a great day look like around here? Mommy gets up early, communes with her Creator, realizes she can't do it alone, throws a load of laundry in, cracks some eggs in a pan, hugs each child as they wake, encourages them in their chores, and meets them in the school area to begin on time. Ah, the good life! Every one of us loves a day that begins as such. Even when Oliver doesn't want to read another page, when Molly wants to finish her art instead of begin history, when Emily would rather wrestle with Oliver, when Meghan is dying to FaceTime a friend, I can rally them and bring them back into focus quickly because we began well. Children really do want to be smart, they want to succeed and they are often happy to please when they understand what it's all for in the first place. I can offer them a good education when I'm prepared and I have begun well myself. 

If you nod your head with me that you also have moments (or full days) when things just don't go the way you'd planned, might I be the inspiration to keep you diligent? Let's stay focused and teach them well in 2014!

 

Evening Of Reflection

He gathered us in the family room where he stoked the last flames of 2010. We nestled into comfy spots around the room while my husband asked each child what important thing they remembered from the past year. What needed to be changed? We prayed, one at a time, and asked God to guide us in 2011.

I left that room knowing my short-comings are going to take a big God to work through and demolish one by one. Habits and thought patterns that I'd like to sweep up into the dustpan of last year, linger like dust-bunnies that skitter off with every attempt to capture them. I won't take them with me into 2012. I can't, for they weigh me down and stifle my purpose and my goals. Thankfully, He IS a big God. He can do it. He would have done it by now, had I stopped taking control back into my own hands. On this first day of the new year I give it all to Him freely. While I still feel in these first hours that I can give them to Him, I will. And each day from this point on, I will renew that commitment... for my own good.

My husband had his own things to say goodbye to and as we kissed the new year into our home, he declared adieu to a decade of what he wanted to let go and I gripped him with tears brimming.

Our God is involved in our lives to the extent that we allow Him to be. He is ready to provide a way for us to successfully live according to His plan... the only good plan. That, my friends, is hope. Hope for a new year.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord... (Psalm 37:23)

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12 )

God Bless Your New Year

My word for 2010 is "closure" (believe it or not!). My scripture is Psalm 16. My dream is to trust His word for my future and my hope is in His mercies which are new every morning. With that hope, I can get back on the proverbial horse when the goals I've set for this new year are unmet one day or I've failed to live up to the standards the Lord and I have set together. It's inevitable in my humanness that this will happen... however, He already knows this about me and He's willing to work with me anyway. What a God we serve!

From our family to yours, may God bless your new year and may you know His mercies when you fail and His joy in you when you are victorious!

If you're looking for inspiration for change in 2010, read this beautiful article by Ann Voskamp:

www.incourage.me/