The New "Us"

We moved to a new city. We have a new house, a new neighborhood, daddy's got a new job and we all have a completely new routine. Life feels so different!!

Homeschooling has been super fun. We did have a bunk day last week where the boys were just plain rowdy, but other than that, our routine has been great for everyone and we're enjoying each other so much. One huge benefit  that's come out of homeschooling is the relationship between Eli and Laz. They are encouraging one another, working together and generally play well together. Elijah sees Lazzy as a playmate rather than a baby who isn't as old, smart or fast as him. Elijah's attitude toward his brother has softened and it's a sweet thing to witness as a mama.

Elijah begins almost everyday at his drawing table. He spends about an hou

r during quiet creating books and movie scenes and we often draw in the evenings, too. Can we say OBSESSED?? I mean, this boy can focus!

Elijah is on lesson 9 of 100 lessons toward reading. This is the only true lesson I give every day and it's pretty fun. I have to resist moving forward too quickly because he's doing so well. Being his teacher is such a privilege! I literally get to watch his brain grow. How amazing!

Elijah has been riding a two wheeler for almost 2 years now but his bike was getting a bit too small. Thankfully, we have new friends here with slightly older boys and passed this gem along to us. So, we continue to spend almost every afternoon riding bikes in the church parking lot behind our house, but now, we're going "500 miles on the hour!!".

We are intentionally keeping Lazzy on the balance bike until next spring, simply because I literally cannot run after him. The absence of pedals is what makes him a slow poke and I'm selfish. It works.

Ok, so maybe this is something only an obsessively organized person would notice, but I feel a lot better about the state of our homeschool bookshelf!

On the left is the before. I was able to go through and take out the materials we ended up not using for K this year. Some things I'll keep for next year, but most of it is going to Goodwill. On the right, We have everything we need to succeed and also incorporated the printer and cd player - two very important parts of our schooling :)

And that's us lately. Play dates, BBQ's, homeschooling and gearing up for fall. With a new baby coming and a dear friend flying in from Malawi next month, I've got some serious bedroom re-organizing to do upstairs but that's for another post.