ONE City Night

I love the city.

I don't consider myself a city-girl because I don't think that I would love living in the city.  I do love living in the suburbs.  But I do love going to the city.  I love everything about it.  I love the train rides, the busy Oglivie Station, the crowded sidewalks, the bridges over the river, the gulls flying overhead, the skyscrapers all around, the coffee shops on every corner, the business women walking quickly with suits and gym shoes,  the gardening attempts at bringing some nature to the city in flowering pots and strips along the sidewalks.  I love it all.  (Well, I should say almost all...I do NOT love the scary revolving doors that move at lightning speed when trying to leave the train station...this i do not love.)

Yesterday I boarded the train (solo!) at 3:03 pm with heels and lipstick on, a chai latte in hand, and Shauna Niequist's Bread and Wine for company.  It was lovely.  It is not often that I have exactly 80 minutes to myself with nothing needing to be done.  I love being with my kids, and I love the hustle and bustle of my day-to-day life, but I loved this, too.  I was practically bursting with the reading time to myself, glancing out the window at the towns going by and sipping my delicious chai.

My husband has worked in the city long enough now for me to be familiar with the way to his office, and I love that I know exactly where to walk, where to stop for the bathroom, which bridge to cross, and which elevator to take.  After stopping at his office, we proceeded to the Sears Tower. (I know it's now the Willis Tower, but I really have a hard time not calling it the Sears Tower.)  After getting passes and going through security, we rode the elevator to the 67th floor, not something I do everyday.  We were escorted to the private Metropolitan Club where we enjoyed a wine and appetizers night spent talking and networking with people, all there supporting the ONE campaign.  Did you know that in recent years, extreme poverty has been cut in HALF?  This is amazing news!!  But there is still so much work to do, and it was such an honor to attend an event for such an incredible, worthy cause.  I really loved getting to be a real "grown-up" for this event, sipping wine at a fancy club, talking with people about the world's problems and what we can do about them.  Best way to spend a Tuesday night.  And I was so so proud to watch my hubby in action, watching him describe what he does and how he does it.  So thrilled to be connected to this awesome work that is his job and essentially, his ministry.

Our view of Chicago from the 67th floor

After this event, we grabbed dinner with Zach's boss and his wife, who are becoming fast friends to us, and it was again, not something we get to do everyday.  Loved it.

Not a good-quality pic by any means, but here we are at the German restaurant where we went for dinner.  Our friends ordered this pretzel that was gigantic!

Our train ride home was definitely not lacking in excitement, either.  Zach and I were so tired that we drifted off to sleep.  And you know there is drama on the train when you are swiftly woken up by a man screaming at the conductor, and you know there is even more drama when you hear the conductor announce on the overhead speakers, "If you are intoxicated, pretend you are not."  Yep, gotta love late-night Metra trains.

We crashed into bed that night, exhausted but full.  Full hearts, full minds, and grateful, so very grateful, for our lives that are ours.

If you are interested in more about poverty and hunger issues that are happening at home and abroad, please check out the websites for ONE and for Bread for the World.  We CAN make a difference!!

Thankful Thursday

It is 6:58 am, and I have pages of lists on my table waiting to be tackled.

But first, I just wanted to hop onto the blog to give a moment to Thankful Thursday.

There are always so many things to be thankful for, but this morning, I am particularly thankful for the following:

- waffles for breakfast with my kids
- how my boys giggle when they hear how big the number is to a question like this, "Mommy, how many minutes are in 900 hours??"  They are amused by the smallest of things.  I love this about them.
- that two dear women from our small group babysat our children so Zach and I could go to a meeting at church last night
- that meeting at church - so rich and good and encouraging (SO thankful for our church and its authenticity)
- an unexpected hike through the woods with my hubby before this meeting (we can't remember the last time we had a walk, just the two of us, without kids.  I mean, we love walking with our kids, but this was lovely.)
- how thrilled my boys were to get their math curriculum in the mail for the fall...that is the first thing I found when I got up this morning: the boys in their jammies, pouring over their new books on the couch.  I am soaking up their love for learning!
- the anticipation of our camping trip this weekend with one of our favorite families (for a combined 10 kids and four adults!) .... can't wait!
- for summer and a fun schedule for the kids and me, including a trip to the splashpad and park yesterday with a bunch of other mamas that I love

Sammy's Thankful List...
- that we went to Veteran Acres
- that we had a picnic with Nana in the shade
- that we went to Savannah and Dawson's house
- that Daddy had a safe flight to Washington D.C. and a safe flight back
- that we got to make a fort and that we made a fort out of Trio blocks and that we hid the Ninjago book two times
- that God let us watch Faith Builders

Micah's Thankful List...
- that we have a house to live in and food to eat
- knowledge
- memory and brains
- that we have neighbors and friends and family
- that we live in a safe country
- that we get to do lots of fun things every single day
- that we get to have a computer to play awesome games and have so much fun
- for people who invent the games and invent the computer
- for electrical stuff, like phones and cars
- that we don't have snakes in our house
- that we have lots of supplies to live
- for our hearts

Now, off to get ready for the day so we can pack for our camping trip!

What are YOU thankful for today?  Do share!

An early Happy Weekend to you all!

Much Love!

We Do Not Have it All Together

On our drive to church yesterday, I said it Zach, "Ugh!  We're going to be late!  We are always late!  Nothing screams to everyone, 'We do not have it all together,' than being late to church!"  And then I realized...wait...we DON'T have it all together.  So why would I want people to think otherwise?

I've been thinking about this lately...how people want to present to the world around them that we have got life down.  We are on-top-of-it people.  Why do we do this to each other?  Why do we frantically run around our houses before company is coming so that they can think we have a super clean house?  Why do we stress when our kids are misbehaving in public (because heaven forbid others know our kids are not perfect!)?  Now, I am not saying that I am not going to stop cleaning my house for company or not care about being late to church.  But I DO want my motives to be pure, and I do NOT want to worry about other people's opinions of me so much.  Honestly, when I go to someone's house and it is not perfectly together, I consider this a gift to me.  I then feel safe to not have MY house perfectly together when they come to me.  Honesty begets honesty.  I really believe this.  When we open up our lives to others, saying, "Hey!  I don't have it all together," I think this permissions them to say the same thing.  And isn't it freeing to expose ourselves to others like this?  Isn't it nice to have a  good, safe friend some over and not worry about dirty dishes in your sink or dust on the shelves?  I believe we need to let ourselves be more real with others around us.  And I guarantee you, they will appreciate it.

So, let me be the first to admit, I do NOT have it all together.  There are cobwebs in my ceilings and dirt in my windowsills.  There are weeds in our flowerbeds and a big hole in our backyard where my boys decided to dig a hole.  My refrigerator is in desperate need of cleaning, and the pile of paperwork on my desk is growing so large, it is starting to spill over.  We are always about five minutes late to church, and we could have a garage sale with all the stuff that is collecting in our car.  Our one-year-old screams for everything she wants, and we haven't figured out a way to tackle this yet.  And most days, I throw my hair into a ponytail, skip the make-up, and throw my flip flops on to head out the door.  

So on this sunny afternoon, just wanted to make it clear that when we show up late to church, it is definitely because we do not have it all together.

Happy Monday!

Homeschooling Rhythm

Right around this time a year ago, we had just decided that we were going to take the plunge and home educate our children.  I went to my first-ever homeschool convention, started researching curriculum, and began brainstorming ways to make our space and home work for a homeschooling life.  I began the year with much anticipation and excitement and lots of questions about how I was doing and if I was doing enough.  

Well, we just ended our schooling year last week, and I can confidently say that it was a success.  My boys learned and grew so much, and most importantly, they had a time and space to love learning.  I recently asked a dear friend of mine to mentor me in this homeschooling journey, desiring to do my part to be the best homeschooling mama that I can be for my kiddos.  Her wise advice to me:  You are not filling a bucket...You are lighting a flame.  My job is to light a flame for the love of learning.  Well, the last official day of our homeschooling year, after he finished the last chapter of his science book, I sent Micah off for free time.  He picked up a book about the presidents of the United States and sat down to read.  Seriously.  So I think we have succeeded at the love-of-learning thing.  

Did every day go smoothly and peacefully?  Did I always follow a plan and keep a good schedule?  NO and NO.  There were days when the schedule did flow well, when the girls took good naps and the toys were picked up and the boys and I sat together and worked through lots of material.  There were days when they created and read and cut and patterned and when dinner was neatly on the table when Zach came home from work.  But there were also days when Zach would come home from work with markers and scissors and scraps of paper strewn across the floor, math books and language arts books and who-knows-what-else piled on the couch, toys and diapers and shoes and children in all corners of the house.  There were days when we would be out with friends or at a museum or some other adventure and come home and not even open our books!  There were days when I would text Zach at 4:00 saying WHEN ARE YOU COMING HOME??!!!!!  It was not perfect, by any means.  But it was glorious.  On the days I questioned myself, on the days when I wondered, "Are we doing enough?  Am I teaching enough?  Is this going as well as it should be?" my friends would reassure me through the phone that all is well and that homeschooling is unpredictable and what we were doing was working for US.

The thing that I had to learn to embrace this whole year was our own homeschooling rhythm.  Because we did find our rhythm.  And it DID work for us.  Some days felt accomplished, some days didn't.  Some days went smoothly, some days brought enough chaos to end in tears.  But it worked for us.  We had the best time learning and creating and growing together, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  

So now at the end of this first year, as I just returned from my second homeschool convention and as we just invited grandparents over for an "Open House" for the boys to be able to show their work from the year, I am thrilled to say that I can't wait for next year.  I can't wait to keep schooling.  I have stacks of curriculum and books and resources waiting for the fall and we can't wait to dive in.  

I am thankful, so very thankful, that God has called us to this homeschooling life.  It is not always easy, and it is not always pretty, but it is good.  So very good.

Happy Summer!

Pictures from our Open House, an event that I plan to make a yearly tradition...

p.s. Thanks to all of our parents for supporting us in our non-traditional decision for schooling!  We are blessed!

June 2, 2013

June 2, 2013 was a great day.

There are certain things I want to capture, so here goes...

Number 1: Today was a baptism service at church.  I could not stop crying.  It was one of the most beautiful and moving and simply amazing experiences I have ever had at church.  My friend wisely used the word "thick" to describe the atmosphere.  It was so thick with the Holy Spirit, and the stories of changed lives and people's desires to publicly declare to the world that they belong to God and are now set free, coupled with truths being declared in worship, left me weeping and rejoicing all at the same time.  Best Sunday morning.

Number 2:  Sammy and I went on a date today.  While we ate burgers and fries, we discovered that we most like the opposite kind of fries.  He likes the kinds with the potato skins left on, I like the kind without skin.  Without saying it aloud, we just started exchanging fries.  Every fry he found on in his pile that didn't have the skins on, he passed to me.  Maybe you had to be there, but it was so precious.  He was chatty and smiley and happy, and I loved being with him.  We wandered through the toy store so he could pick out something with some gift cards he had.  We split a treat at the cafe of the bookstore and then spent some time in the children's section where we happened to run into some of our best friends.  So fun!  Loved my special time with my sweet boy.

Number 3:  Micah ate four tostadas tonight for dinner, each spread with refried beans.  When Zach told him he must be going through a growth spurt, he asked for Zach to get out the tape measure.  So precious.

Number 4:  While the boys were trying so hard to play with Sammy's new toy from the toy store without the girls getting into it, I took the girls into their room to sit on the floor and have a "tea party."  We passed out the pink plastic Cinderella plates and cups and I treasured these sweet, although brief, moments with my two babes.  They sat still and smiled with delight at pretend tea being poured into their cups.  Sigh.  Loved it.

Number 5: When Sophia goes to bed at night now, she waves to each member of the family and says, "Ni-ight!!!" with a huge smile on her face.  Everyone adores her and dotes on her as the baby of the family, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Number 6: Zach and I planned an at-home date tonight.  We really try hard to do this weekly, and I treasure this time together.  So after the kids went to bed, we made tostadas and homemade guacamole and settled into the couch to eat.  We were planning to watch some TV together but instead, we sat on that loveseat for hours, just talking.  Conversations that we haven't had a chance to have flowed, and we did some good talking about the kinds of parents we want to be, the ways we want to teach and discipline our children, and the ways I want to change as a mother.  It was deep and safe and healing and tiring all at the same time.  My husband listened to me pour out my heart, and I am so glad we had this time.  Best Sunday night ever.  What a way to end the weekend.  Thankful.

Here's to a new week!  A new chance to capture the rich moments happening all around us and to give thanks.