A Very Happy Day!

Lexie's adoption has been finalized in court!!!! She is 100% our very own little girl and we couldn't be happier!

 In this state even the birth certificates will read that she was born to D & I.  There is no access to the old birth certificate docs, even in the court files.
.
 It was all such a big and memorable day...

 ....and I would go and leave the camera in the parking garage under my seat.
 Seriously?  What is wrong with me?

D. comforted me with the fact that we have the cell phone.
And so, here we are with the judge and two very dear friends who joined us to share our special day. It would have been lovely to have the court room full of family and friends, but distance made that impossible.  We love you guys, and missed your presence!

Great quality, eh?

Itty Bitty - 3 months old

Mind Food

"Oh mom, do I have to read the appetizer."

"Excuse me, the what?" 

Sigh. "The appetizer, right here."  and he points to the title above his reading story.

"Well, yes you do. But that is called a title, not an appetizer."

"Oh, okay!
 But, Mom, I think appetizer makes more sense then title, and I WOULD rather just read the story."

You just have to love the way a six year olds mind works.  It is so creative and imaginative!

It isn't all that hard to imagine how he came up with this nomenclature.

An appetizer comes before a meal.  Right?

A story is a  meal for the mind.

So it naturally follows that what comes before the story would be the appetizer.

This made me think of  what Charlotte Mason's wrote in "Towards A Philosophy of Education".

"As soon as a child begins his education, he begins learning as a student. Our role is to make sure he has plenty of food for his mind. 

He needs intellectual nourishment of good quality, and he needs lots of it.

Each of us naturally has a limited amount of ideas in our minds, but we know where to get more. 

The best thoughts that the world has are stored in books.

We must introduce our children to books--the very best books.

Our concern as educators is to have abundance and orderly serving of them."

I really love this quote!  It sums up a great deal in a beautiful way. Mind Food! Yes!

And you know, children aren't the only ones that need intellectual nourishment, mommies need it too.  

I had a wonderful conversation about our need for mind food with my sweet friend Kim.  It is easy to be so busy mothering that we forget that we must feed ourselves, too.

Life is busy and full and it can be hard to grab those moments to read books that furnish our minds with ideas that are alive.  Things we will think about and ponder.

"An inspiring idea sparks a new habit of thought, 

and, therefore, a new habit of life.

....

In attempting this important task, 

we seek and have the promise of receiving the help of God's Spirit. 

We recognize Him as the Supreme Educator, 

teaching humans things that men have labeled as secular, 

as much as He teaches them things that are considered religious."

- School Education p. 173

Are you reading anything interesting, thought provoking? educational?

I would love to hear about what you are reading.  I am always looking for recommendations and suggestions.

You can check out what I have been reading in my sidebar on Library Thing. 

School = Leisure?

Did you know the word school originally meant leisure?

“Latin scola "school," borrowed from Greek skhole,

originally meaning "leisure," then later, "discussion" and "school."

(Education was originally affordable only to the leisure classes.) The Latin word is found in almost all European languages.”

When I read that I found it amusing.  Leisure?  Hah!

 Not so much.

 School, or homeschool, is anything but leisure for me.  But it is a privilege for me, and for my kids.

Sometimes it is easy to forget that not everyone receives an education. 

I happen to live in America, in this country “we” think it is our RIGHT to have an education.  Never mind the fact that in Africa over 40% of kids never have any sort of book education and out of the 60% that do, only 1/3 are able to finish primary school.

So, though I may not consider it leisure, school is still for the privileged of this world. I, for one, am extra blessed because I get to teach my own kids.   

It is startling how ungrateful I really am, and how blind I am to my own ungratefulness.

In the midst of all the drama and the craziness of this thing called homeschooling, I want to stop and say thank you to God.

1) For my kids
2) For my education
3) For the freedom to educate my kids
4) For a great husband who supports me/us making it possible for me to homeschool
5) For wonderful resources, and inspirational books that help me to be a better teacher/mother

Right now, I am in the midst of planning our next term, hopefully coming up with a new plan that will work with baby girl on board. 

 Honestly, I feel less than enthusiastic.  Overwhelmed might be a better term.  I know when we get past this emergent and beginning reader stage things will get easier. 

I’ll take a deep breath, and I’ll thank God.

1)      For paper, even if it is all over the floor

2)      For all the pencils and books that litter the room

3)      For the happy faces of my boys, hard at play outside in the frosty air

4)      Itty bitty, snuggled up against my chest, sleeping

5)      For My man, hard at work in the office.

Life is good, and I am privileged!

Worth it All

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.
-- Anonymous