Are we there yet?

I am not sure where "there" is, but this last week has been sooo long I feel like I should have gotten somewhere by now.

I always pictured homeschooling as so calm and structured, with devotions every morning, lots of school work being accomplished, and the occasional fun and educational gathering or field trip with other families.

Not this year!

Mornings are nutty, but once Dante is off to school things are calmer here. Lately though there have been a lot of appointments and running around. Amelia needed blood drawn, Micah and Amelia each had a dental cleaning, Roxanne needed the vet, and Nikita has been going to do stable chores every morning to make up for her upcoming trip. Thankfully Nana and Poppy have been driving her there, but it is still a disruption to our mornings and is effecting her schoolwork.

Despite the lack of time sitting at the table practicing handwriting, we have gotten a lot of informal schooling done. The girls love setting the table and counting out place settings, Amelia helps with the pony and goat chores, and Signing Time is always available to teach them signs and increase vocabulary.

And Micah is a cub scout now! Monday I was so far behind that I paid Alexander to take Micah to his den meeting. Micah absolutely loves it. Zachary even walked him up to Nana and Poppy's to sell them some popcorn for the fundraiser. He is so cute in his uniform. (Still missing our camera so no photos!)

Sadly, I returned to work at Cracker Barrel yesterday, ending 5 months of leave. It was Leif's first time ever having to take a bottle, and he did not appreciate it. He is such a good baby though, Jamie reported that instead of crying too much he fell asleep after struggling through just one ounce of mommy milk from a bottle. He was hungry when he woke up at midnight though!

When I slow down to think about it, our busyness has not been bad, but a sign of how God has blessed us. We have good medical insurance for all the specialist appointments, we have a great dentist for the little ones nearby, we are able to go on fun field trips (Nana went with us to Westview Creamery on Wednesday), and the teens are willing to volunteer their time to help others. And I have an employer that let me come back after five months off! Unfortunately these days whenever I slow down enough to appreciate these things I usually fall asleep...until Leif decides it is time to nurse again.