Pioneer Park

Yesterday afternoon, after their school work was completed, the kids and I (minus Josh) went to a park located 10 minutes from our house. This great park is located about ten minutes from our home and is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon with its abundant trails, open spaces, and playgrounds. We had a really nice time and enjoyed the perfect fall afternoon. This is one of my favorite things about homeschooling - the ability to take advantage of beautiful days and spend them outside instead of indoors. 

The girls brought 'Terry' (the tandem bike) with them to ride around while Andy and I walked together. 

I don't know why I loved this tree so much, but I did. While Bob misses the trees of the Northwest I am loving the trees in the Midwest. They give me a kind of comfort the trees in Oregon never did. 

I don't even know what we were laughing about. I just know I love this kid to pieces. 

I never realized how certain things about the Midwest give me such comfort. I feel like living here is like a giant hug and a welcome back from our journeys. A place to recharge before heading out again. The woods here especially give me comfort. A place to steady myself and catch my breath. Don't get me wrong - I love living out west. I cannot wait to get back out there, and hope that when we have to head out next that we can venture back out that way, but for now being here is so perfect.  

School Days: The Week of September 17 - 21

School is well in full swing in our household. We began homeschooling when Josh started back at the public school on July 31st. I really, really don't like starting school that early and next year, if I have anyone still at home with me, I will not being until the Tuesday after Labor Day. Indiana law requires that I homeschool the kids 180 days a year. They do not care which 180 days that I pick. During the years when I take an actual summer break instead of schooling year round I find that the kids have a hard time transitioning back into a school routine. To combat that this year I had the kids start off with two school subjects and then added a subject or two each week, so that they could ease into the full swing of school life. As with any kid and school some days are more of a struggle to get things done than others, but we almost always get what we need to do done.

This school year is certainly more hectic with Josh being gone full time and Sarah being gone part time. I thought that their absence might make things easier because it meant my work load would be lighter, but I am finding that this is not the case at all. Joshua still needs help and oversight just as he always has it just looks differently than if he was at home. Plus, I miss him a lot. His absence in our family is felt, but I know that this time away is so good for him.

Here is a look at pieces of our week last week:

Andy was helping Elizabeth to make a Roman pillar out of cookie dough. The idea was to create the pillar, bake the dough until it became crumbly, and then remove it from the oven. This is supposed replicate what a lot of the architecture felt like as it was going to ruin. 

Elizabeth completed a project about the solar system. She choose to do Astronomy this school year for science. 

Sarah was working on a writing assignment. 

This is supposed to represent a Roman banner that was carried into war. 

A homeschool week wouldn't be complete in this house without spending some time outdoors. 

I love the sky here. 

Reading time! 

I can remember when we first started learning braille about 3 years ago getting a book like one and thinking how in the world would Sarah ever be able to read a book with braille so close together and on both sides of the page? I thought the task would be impossible. And here we sit. Sarah reading a book that I thought I could never teach her how to read. This is one of my greatest accomplishments and one of the things that I am most proud of. 

As Close To Perfection As It Gets For Me

Summers in the Pacific Northwest are magical. Day after day of non-humid sunshine-y weather. Only a couple of weeks of really hot days. Amazing. Equally so, nothing beats the Southwest's winters. Only 6 weeks of cold-ish weather in Southern New Mexico. Sun all the way through. February is in the low to mid-80's. That sure beats the Midwest and East Coast to me.

But Spring and Fall? The Midwest (and East coast too) have those two seasons perfected. And between the two fall takes the cake by a landslide. The horrid humidity of the summer months (my least favorite season in the Midwest BY FAR) are seemingly gone. In its place are an abundance of days filled with puffy white clouds rolling by lazily in the sky. Windows are thrust open. The house is deep cleaned. Apple picking is done over and over. And my favorite part of all: corn mazes.

In all of the places we have lived, NO ONE beats the Midwest in their corn mazes and pumpkin patches. This is THE place to be for the most fun, most creative, best corn mazes and pumpkin patches in all of the United States. Seriously. All of my kids (and this is getting harder and harder to accomplish as they all age) are super excited to head out to the corn maze that opens next weekend in a nearby farm. After four years of super disappointing pumpkin patches and lame-o corn mazes we are ready to rock-n-roll this year. 

Yesterday was near perfection for me. The windows were all open. The sun was shining through into the house. Beautiful clouds decorated the sky. Football was on TV. I was in my element deep cleaning the house. I actually stopped myself at least twice and just soaked in how much I appreciated (and very much still do) being here in this season. I think as a person ages and goes through really hard times she realizes and appreciates the moments of grace that are given to her. I know that I certainly do.

I got all of the cleaning completed that I had on my 'To Do' list. I got to top the night off watching Chris and Al on Sunday night football. (I love watching the NFL. Chris and Al are my most favorite, favorite commentators. We are on a first name basis only.  Joe Buck and Joe Montana are my least favorite if you are wondering.)

I feel like Fall is God's gift to me for making it through the Midwest summer. (Because they are my least favorite season here. I would take winter over summer in a heartbeat. When you move to a place that has very little humidity in the summer - like just about anywhere out West -  it completely and utterly spoils and ruins you to ever appreciate humid summers again.)

I plan on savoring every minute of this Midwest fall. I don't know how many of these I am going to get to enjoy before we head out to our next destination. I have it so good right now, and I am not gonna forget it.

Life is good in Indianapolis!

The Layover

A conversation was had and advice was given that we will not be here long. This destination is not meant to be anything more than a layover. That news fell on my ears several weeks ago, and I don't know what to make of it.

It is good for us to be here. It is where we need to be. For so many reasons. And I am so thankful to those who made it possible for us to be here.

And yet...

I long to be out West. There is a freedom and a comfort in living out West that cannot be captured or felt in any other part of this country. The beauty of the West is a sight to behold. It is wild and free. It cannot be contained or subdued.

For those like myself, once you live out West it has a tendency to haunt you should you move away from it. I see the West in movies and long to gulp in the air the actors are breathing in and out. I watch a sunset from my back yard and recall what it looks like when it seems there is no end to the earth and all is sky.

But before we can go back there is work to be done here. Important work that can only be accomplished where we are right now. In this place. In this state.

And while I look forward to the day when I can be wild and free again I don't want to rush my time here. I want to make sure that I learn the lessons I need to learn and focus on the tasks at hand remembering each time my heart beats anxiously to be out West again that life truly is a journey and not a destination. That it is my job as a human to BE right where I am right now in this moment.

As much as I look forward to what is yet to come,  I am finally at a place where I am happy right where I am at. I do not feel like I am in a rush to get anywhere. My only job is focus on right here, right now. Which is exactly what I plan on doing because I know all too well that that future I dream about will come eventually, and I will look back when it gets here and feel sadness that I did not enjoy this part of my journey more.

So, while this place is most likely a short stop I hope I am able to take what I need from here. To learn that there is no rush to get 'there' where ever 'there' is. To breathe deeply consistently enough that it becomes part of my every day living instead of a novelty. To slow down. To savor this moment in my life, in our life, as it will pass by so quickly. To learn that happiness is not a destination; it is not some place that I will arrive at, but rather something within me. Something that I have access to any time, all of the time. I hope that I will learn that life will always be beautifully messy. It will never be perfect, but that it is perfectly mine. That there is no greener grass. All grass has weeds no matter how perfect it looks from over the fence.