Box Day

I should be in bed.  :)  My babies are asleep, and I'm exhausted after a long week.  But I've been wanting and wanting to get this post out and it's so hard to do when all of my kiddos are awake and "needy."  ;-)

Our school supplies arrived this weekend.  :)  God is ever faithful and true, and He has been so good to the kids and I.  Last year was so hard, but He assured me that this year, and the years to come, would be so much better because I clung to Him through it all. 

One of the blessings, in addition to being able to use free Sonlight books, was the ability to put some money aside and order everything that I needed to have a "complete" curriculum.  Last year was great for what we could handle at the time, but this year I really want to dig deep and challenge the kids and their ability to learn.  I ordered workbooks in areas they struggle, consumable items (those don't get loaned to me), and a few missing items from my shelves.  I even ordered a few books for Lexi that are part of Sonlight's nursery school program. 

Today, after hearing me talk and talk about how much better this year will be and how excited I am about our curriculum for this year, Aimee finally said, "Mom...you've got me wanting to start school.  I'm excited now.  I want to start now."  She has to wait one more week.  :)  I want to have my To-Do list empty before we start, so I have no tasks hanging over my head when we're busy learning.  I've already pulled out and washed all of our winter clothes, and this week I will find room for them in our closets.

But...

Andrew came across one of Aimee's schoolbooks for this year.  It's a chapter book for 4th grade and up, about the Wright brothers and how they came to invent the airplane.  It has a bi-plane on the cover.  If you know Andrew, you know he loves bi-planes.  And jets.  And bombers.  :)  So he asked me to read it to him.  I honestly thought he would be bored after the first few pages.  It's a chapter book, with no pictures.  Just words.  And he's 6.  And a boy.  And easily distracted. 

I ended up stopping after two chapters so he would go to sleep.  He begged me, "One more page!  Just one!  One more page!!"  He learned about wind resistance and the importance of aerodynamics.  And that if you draw your design out on paper, and work from that, your model will be significantly better.  He's already planning on drawing the "perfect bomber" tomorrow on paper, and we'll work with measurements and build it from scrap wood. 

I loved seeing his brain work as he listened to the story.  He asks such well-thought questions.  He truly amazes me.  I thought he would be bored, but instead sparks were lit.  I'm so excited to dive into our books this year and watch my kids learn.  Aimee is studying American History this year, and Andrew and Amerie are studying different world cultures.  I love our curriculum.  :)  I love Sonlight.  I love my kids.

And above all, I love the Lord.   I know I let Him down every day, even though I try my best.  But He loves me anyway.  And He has been so faithful and so good to us.  I'm amazed at how perfect life can feel in the middle of so many "imperfections."

We serve an awesome God.