At the suggestion of two people close to me, I am attempting to post on the blog again. We haven't stopped having adventures, I've only missed documenting with info here. There are tons of pics from me and the kids saved on our devices.

This photo with Jar Jar Binks was taken at the old Dr. Pepper Bottling Works in Dublin, Texas. Here is a link to the area we traveled.  http://www.dublinbottlingworks.com/

I started this blog to keep track of our growth and learning. There is no way to stop growing and learning, at least I don't think so. My children amaze me everyday. Sometime this is with the amount of knowledge they have on a topic I was completely unaware they had any prior knowledge about, and sometimes it is with a dirty counter they are trying to pass off as being clean. Either way, when I examine the situation even a tiny bit, I can see the learning that has taken place.

Updates on children? Mady recently purchased her 3rd car. It is a 2015 Mazda something she picked out and loves because it seats all her doggos well. She has worked hard to be able to purchase something she likes, I am very proud of her work ethic and admire her passion for animals. She owns 5 dogs now and currently fosters one. She works a regular schedule at a pet supply store. She trains her dogs and occasionally helps with others dogs as well. She house sits and pet sits. She has an adorable hedgy named Penny. I know from having the pleasure of being with her in the presence of others, people love her, and are inspired by her. I see so many people that want to help her reach whatever goals she sets. Sometimes, not everyone wants help in endeavors.

Cami (formerly known as Niki) is still hilarious. I think sometimes she curbs her jokes in fear others may be offended. She has two cats and 5 rats she is raising with her fabulous boyfriend, Andrew. If Andrew ever reads this, I am sure he will not be surprised to find anecdotes including his name. Cami is taking a year off of most things to chill. Things often have patterns, and I anticipate her dreaming up vast adventures for herself and Andrew. They are very helpful at home, and our house will not be the same if they move out on their own. Cami and Drew DoorDash a few days a week, and I think Andrew is looking to add in an hourly job somewhere soon. One of my favorite things to do with them is drive the 15 minutes into Weatherford late at night to pick up something not so healthy for arteries but Oh So Good For Your Heart. French fries. We have some deep conversations, and some conversations about completely made up scenarios regarding the universe during these drives.

Ezra is a young man with a plan of becoming a truck driver. I love it! I am of course completely selfish in the fact that I hope he will let me go drive with him once a year, somewhere with an unforgettable view I may never have a chance of seeing again. He is 13. If he changes his mind I guess I'll have to find the views in the car. He enjoys playing games on his PC a great deal and is in the process of earning money to build his first computer alone. He is highly motivated. I am highly motivated to take this opportunity to help him learn how I like the kitchen cleaned! This kiddo amazes me in his steadfastness. He still will not eat pizza and will not eat any other brand of fried Asian noodles besides Ramen. When he tells me something, I have full faith in his words. So, I think he will be a truck driver, at least for a little bit.

Luke has this seemingly all encompassing memory. He can shoot off facts about what I think is almost anything, He is even better at taking the facts and applying them to life situations. His weakness is his twin brother. He has a giving heart, and would do just about anything for Ezra. Ezra is very good at looking out for himself, and doesn't seem to believe in the give and take Luke is attempting to nurture. Luke continues to give anyway. I just remind him that Ezra will not likely give back in the manner Luke expects. Luke has developed a recent interest in mechanical engineering. I have no idea how to accommodate this interest currently, though I would like to. He plays XBox a good deal, and is very focused. He likes taking care of plants and his brother.

I currently landed a job as an ER nurse and start in about a week. There is a steady live in boyfriend, along with a few parts of that adventure I am not currently ready to share. I have had the opportunity, thanks to some amazing friends, to travel to Mexico a few times for about a week at a time each quarter after our family's month long stay there a few years ago. I have a long term plan to spend a couple years living there once I become a travel nurse. I feel an unbelievable amount of gratitude for my family and friends as I type this update. My life is everything I dreamed of, and because of that, I am dreaming bigger now. I hope I have opportunities to help others imagine, and realize their dreams. I think this planet is as close to heaven as I will ever be, and I'd like to make it more like that for others. Look for more pix to come! 

Testing. Testing. 1,2,3. Is this thing on? 

Introspection Design Artist

How deeply would I like to research something? How involved would I like to become in something I research? I think immersion is my preferred method of learning. I did not sign up for any classes this semester, and therefore I have some free time on my hands. I have begun planning for the spring semester however. In the meantime, I am going to attempt to keep track of somethings I am interested in, and learning about here.

http://barakasamsara.com/

(http://www.imdb.com/search/title?genres=documentary&keywords=nature&sort=moviemeter)

This is a fabulous documentary. Completely beautiful, and mesmerizing. Amazing video images from all over the globe.
Personal Interest-surround myself with beautiful things, there are also some terrifying, and disturbing video images in this documentary (factory farming, American obesity, distorted views of beauty, prison) but there is beauty in truth, no?

http://www.uta.edu/nursing/
I have been working toward this for awhile. Still working toward it, now as a single mother, still trying to help my children learn at home, with tons of support from family, and friends. It should also be noted there is occasionally tons of stress to go along with this.

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/children-coping-with-divorce
I want to help my children feel happy, and be healthy. There are many, many people in our support system right now. People we trust to help us all maintain stasis, to help us all feel less overwhelmed, and more connected as a family.

http://www.willowparkbaptist.org/
I am not Baptist. I am not a christian. I have a neighbor that is. The church offers resources for divorced people. I wanted to attend the Dave Ramsey portion of the meetings. Apparently, I cannot attend without attending the entire 16 week course. I want as much support for my kids as possible. I'm rethinking my commitment to this, and to my neighbor. I want to help my children learn what they value and why, without fear. Fear is a great part of Christianity. This is a great deal of the support in this community. Just because it is the free support that is offered, does not mean that I have to be usurped by them. I am attending willingly, for support, and knowledge, and ideas about supporting my children.

Vacation Week

The kids, Mady's boyfriend, and I went camping. We were close enough to home that I was able to drive back and forth to the house while Dom worked (he was suppose to be off, but you know how that goes). All the kids were able to camp as long, or not as long, as they wanted. Mady's boyfriend showed us some Parkour tips, and tricks, and we showed him how to change oil in vehicles. We were able to spend some time with a new group of friends. Niki enjoyed being with the older kids and came home with a new crush. This crush was quickly replaced with an online flame from Canada. (I'm not ready to deal with all these new relationships :-). ) We set up camp relatively easily and disassembled it just as easily. We shared a campsite with many friends over the course of 3 nights and 4 days. They were all very generous and we are fortunate to have met so many amazing, caring families, who are also funny and intelligent. I am not sure if I mentioned it or not, but I love to be outside. I love to feel the wind and sun on my skin, see all the vibrant colors, and listen for new sounds in nature. I do not enjoy hunting or even fishing very much, however I do believe these activities are a necessary element of survival. Mady and Niki enjoy camping. Mady more so with friends than just family.

I am aware, as most parents are, each of my children enjoy different activities. I try to make sure there is something for each of them to spend their time on when we leave the house to attend an event. I enjoy being with my children. I enjoy watching them pursue activities they have chosen alone, without coercion. I also enjoy pursuing activities I have chosen on my own. Something I noticed about myself recently is I may not be doing my best with helping each of them become independent. I have fostered the relationships which are developing between myself and each of my children. I am feeling as though I want each of them to do a little more with others now. I feel as though they need differing perspectives. I witness subtle changes of attitude, and not so subtle, all day everyday. I enjoy witnessing each of my children testing themselves and their siblings with whatever new social tools they have acquired. I also notice when the tests seems to be to challenge themselves in the presence of their siblings. I am proud of each of my children. They amaze me everyday with their patience, and spirits of adventure.

Some of our adventures this week were spent with Dominic. Thursday, a couple days after we arrived home from camping and packed everything away, we headed out to the Perot Museum in Dallas. We were suppose to ride the train to Dallas from Fort Worth. The boys enjoy riding the train and it seemed like a good way for everyone to calm down after our visit at the museum. It is fascinating how a scenario can change so much just by adding one person. I sometimes lack the forethought to plan ahead for many common things which may cause a trip/event to leave a negative memory rather than the positive one intended. With children, this isn't usually a problem. Children may not have much patience, but they adapt to change very easily, much more easily, than say, 30 something year old men, and if they do not, there is always ice cream. Especially 30 something year old men not accustomed to being with children ALL day everyday. This is what I do. I. Just. Do. It. I do it because I want to, because I love my kids. Some individuals that do not spend their days with children, I can see, have chosen not to do so for a reason. One reason cited by said individuals, is they do not have patience. What I see is that, some adults do not seem to understand that children have needs, and their needs are as equally important as any adult needs.

OK, combine one adult that does not quite understand that children have needs, with one adult that doesn't plan well for things that could go wrong, and 3 children that were 2 minutes late for the train, and we have a day beginning not so well. I could type about the entire day, but I can just say that it ended up for me as most days do when I am with the kids. I was exhausted and happy. Delirious even, as I rode the train home and watched our 3 drowsy children relax. The trip was really about that train. The museum was interesting and I would like to visit again. The train was the part all the boys (including Dominic) enjoyed though. Even after we were late, and had to wait an hour and 30 minutes for the next one. I didn't have any agenda that day other than to experience something new with Dominic and our kids.

Friday, the new experiences rolled on. Dominic took us to a matinee showing of the movie Epic. Cute movie. This day was all about promoting Dominic's values for his kids. The day was full of candy, pizza, nachos, popcorn, and just fun. Everyone enjoyed the movie. It was an enjoyable way to spend the day. Once we arrived home everyone rode their bikes.

Bike riding, train traveling, camping, Parkouring, and just plain adventuring made our week together fabulous, and a bit busy. Delirious love. It's different with kids.

First Camping Trip of 2013 Summer

This is the May 15th post :-) Today we invited friends to visit, and stay the night while we prepared for our first camping trip of this season. So, to become prepared for our camping trip, we needed to create a huge mess of paper mache while we ate pizza and drank gourmet sodas. Creating got us in the spirit we needed to talk about some of the previous camping trips we have experienced, and discuss this trip. After a full day of screwing around, er...planning, we ventured to our favorite local hotspot to purchase some sustenance for our 3-4 day trip. This trip, only one of my fabulous offspring is joining me. This is exciting! I think this means it will be more simple, which I really do enjoy sometimes. Our tent has held up through over 50 campouts, and I am guessing, a few hundred children. Our last lantern purchase has been our best, and we love toting our white, down comforters along with us to camp. One of our latest traditions has become drawing on the comforters with permanent marker. It does fade once the comforters have been in the sun for picnics, and washed upon our returns home, and that makes it more fun, because we are beginning to see layers developing. Just like in our family. Mady has invited her boyfriend to join us on this trip. I am looking forward to at least being present with them in the car. I am uncertain what kind of time we will each make for one another for the duration of the trip beyond the car. I am planning on hiking at least 2 days about 10 miles each day. I hope they will join me for part of the trail. These two are a dynamic pair and their care for one another rubs off on those surrounding them. Caring for others can be an intense part of growing up. To continue on my path of learning to care for others, (outside my family as well as in) I enrolled in a General Psychology course and Chem I with a lab for summer sessions. Mady will be away with her grandmother during most of this summer, learning to train horses. Our family is beyond excited for her. She has asked for her Algebra course to be sent to her, along with a grammar review, and books added to her Amazon account. The boys continue learning spelling through online searches and Scrabble while I continue to read to them. Their hand eye coordination is improving every day, and they are very active between mud runs, riding bikes, trampoline jumping, fishing, and the occasional hike. Niki is enjoying marking off, or checking off, accomplishments right now. My plan is to establish a month long schedule for her once we return from this short trip. I think we can develop a couple of lists and she can chose what she works on each day. This way she gets to chose and she can check off the lists and see what she has accomplished. Her reading is slightly above her grade level according to her age/grade. She has participated in a couple of art shows this year as well as gymnastics. She is interested in participating in art classes, which I also need to add to the weekly lists. We all volunteer in our local community in small ways almost everyday. Some of the most exciting news of the last 9 months has been Dom beginning a new career. He is enjoying his job immensely. He gets to blow things up! He is also taking some welding courses. We have learned so much in the 2 years that I have not kept this blog up, mostly about ourselves, and our family. What works for us, and what does not work for us. What we can become accustom to, and what we do not want to become accustom to. I am looking forward to the next couple of years. I am looking forward to some sleep too.

365

Something to pass on. Something good. Adventurous spirit. Happiness. Courage. Respect. Standing Up. Kindness. A Sense of Humor. Thankfulness. Endless Love. What do these words mean to me? What do these words mean to you? The answer may differ based on circumstances, time of year, or feelings. How does one pass on an adventurous spirit? Be adventurous. Examples of adventure (again, subjective from person to person.) One person may believe a trip to a Farmer's Market is adventurous, while another person may find that much more like an average day. Merriam Webster defines adventure as: "an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks." Yes, that is a definition I agree with. Unknown Risk. Uncertainty. Well, that could be everyday life, couldn't it? Yes. One of my adventures for this week involves the end of some old relationships only, I thought the relationships had ended long ago. There are some unknowns in this situation. Another adventure of the week involves taking a few teenagers camping. I do not think of myself as 'old.' I was a teenager not very long ago. I think I can relate to teenagers fairly reasonably based on that fact alone. I want to have fun. I want to take some risks. I want to watch people succeed with the risky goals undertaken. I miss just loading up in my gas-guzzling truck and taking off, possibly not having a plan as to a destination but always with a tent and a few bucks. This idea seems very risky, unreasonable, and dangerous to (some) people. So risky, unreasonable, and dangerous to some in fact, I have been talked out of doing it. Let's skip to the end so I can ramble about endless love. A never ending intense feeling of affection, agan based on Merriam Webster's definition. For such a thing to endure takes a great deal of dedication. Everyday dedication. From ALL the people involved. I think there must be give and take of devotion and appreciation from ALL involved. Some people are naturally care givers. Some people are not care givers at all. All these people exist together. And here I am existing. Not feeling a balance, attempting endless love. So let's have a bit of a log of demonstrations of Adventurous Spirit, Happiness, Courage, Respect, Standing Up, Kindness, a Sense of Humor (please let me demonstrate that one!) and Endless Love. All these words are present in actions in my life, and thus in the lives, and actions of my family everyday as we influence one another. Adventurous spirit. Everyday is an adventure. An adventure to find ways to be my best version of me, and help others be them best selves. Today's adventure is coloring one child's hair red, building a massive Lego tower (among other things) with one, riding bikes with one, and planning a camping trip with one. I watch each day as each of the amazing young people I am privileged to share time and space with, embark on personal adventures which do not directly include me. I wonder if I can help. Sometimes the best help I can give, is to butt out. Sometimes, it is to butt right in. All this butting leads me to conduct science experiments at any time. I seek out simple and complex explanations for each experiment, read them, take the explanations apart, and put them back together in a new way as I understand the explanations. I have determined that in the morning, I will be doing an experiment in which I make plastic. Chemistry! FUN! I am also placing a large piece of butcher paper on the wall for everyone in the house to make observations of one another's displays of kindness. I think my family is very kind, and I want to see if they agree. I am classifying this as 'Good Citizenship.' We are also currently reading 'American History Stories...You Never Read in School...but should have' by Mara L. Pratt, M.D. for a traditional view, 'Above All, Be Kind' by Zoe Weil for a humanitarian world view, and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams as suggested by some friends, for fun. These things make me happy. I love to experiment, and read, and share as much as I can with the people around me that are interested. Sometimes, it takes courage just to do these simple things. I am thankful for the capability to pursue my personal passions as I encourage others to try to do the same. Have courage to explore passion.

Reading (Some kids actually do not want to)

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/060899.htm#.UXqHrivwIR7 Reading Level Assessment

A link for classic audio books online. http://freeclassicaudiobooks.com/order.htm A link to the Federalist Papers online. http://www.teaparty911.com/info/federalist-papers/no1.htm Two links of interest to refer to during the day.

Medicine

Seasoned tofu, bean sprouts, fish oil, olive oil, all these are healing for a body and are new things we have included in our lives. Wal-Mart and community college=more new beginnings for our family. Dom is finishing up one of two summer sessions while I work at Wal-Mart for a bit. Dom made an 89 in his summer computer class, sixteen weeks in a usual semester crammed into five weeks during the summer, can you hack it? I chose not to. I didn't see enough personal benefit in it worth the stress it would cause our family (you know four kids and mom and dad) and beginning a new job. I prefer my journey to be in a classroom with actual people not people's virtual attitude transmitted to me via electronic mail. Dom felt disappointed for not achieving his goal of an "A" in the computer class. I reminded him of how many projects he did in such a short amount of time, his comment was, "ya, but one week I didn't even do any work..." I asked him if he felt he could have done better and he stated he could have if he had worked a bit more on the big project for which he earned a "B".

One thing I am certain of for my previous semester was that on my history final there were multiple correct answers to the multiple choice questions which would explain for me why I earned a high "B" as my final grade. I did not study many hours for the entire class. My history instructor was an older gentleman and always seemed as though he were truly trying to convey some deeper message to his class. I wrote down side notes which interested me and read up on those while I was not in class. I then passed on fun tidbits inspired by Mr. Tibbitts to my children. I enjoyed the class a great deal, as far as learning from it, I am not certain I learned much more in the actual class than I already knew. Learning for me really has to be something I personally want to learn about. I have no doubt in my mind that Mr. Tibbitts has a passion for history and would love nothing more than to pass on that passion to some pupils that gave a damn, but he has doubt that there is a pupil out there that gives a damn and for this, I am sorry.

Our kids enjoyed hearing about Teddy Roosevelt and the Japanese air raid. After the brief oral history Dom and I gave them we talked while we viewed Pearl Harbor and paused when Dom or I felt we needed to emphasize certain points about the actual history such as true facts regarding statistics. We are currently awaiting DVD's for the History Channel's America: The Story of Us. Dom and I figure we can use the DVD's as a starting point and reference the local library to delve deeper into subjects we want to learn more about together.

Dom and I both have a Government class coming up. Every person I have spoken with has had something to say about a local legend: Killer Miller. I am not sure this instructor even exists let alone instructs but everyone says, "I heard..." no one I have personally met has had anything positive to say about an instructor named Miller whom they've never met.
We will be taking a trip down to Austin this year with Mady to view the capital and maybe some homeschool action or other legislation scheduled to take place. While there, we will of course be visiting our all time favorite swimming hole in the Lone Star State, Blue Hole.
Enough about school. On to play lego's and drink a glass of real sangria before bed. Goodnight!

Beautiful Eyes

Father's day was fabulous. We cooked breakfast, and later dinner, for the dad's in our lives with joy and love on our minds and in our hearts. We printed mushy poems and colored pictures on them while we contemplated what one may see if one looked deep into dad's eyes on Father's Day. It occurred to us dads probably have no bigger dream than to see their families happy and healthy. Happy Father's Day Daddy. We love you.

Not Afraid

Family goals for the summer include:

Complete tiling and painting the inside of the house
Moving towards a healthier lifestyle through changes in eating habits
Being more active in daily life
Family spanish lessons
Volunteering in our local community through Scouts/4-H
Supporting one another in personal goals

We are not afraid to set goals and work to reach those goals, no matter what kind of time frame the goals are set to.

I enjoy observing our kids when they don't know I'm observing them. I think I should make more notes during those times.

Niki, Luke, and Ezra were on the patio this afternoon when Ezra ran inside and exuberntly yelled, "Watermelon! I want watermelon!" We had some small seedless watermelons in the fridge. I asked Ezra to please get one watermelon from the fridge and set it on the table for me. Once Ezra set the melon on the table, I began cutting it up, he ran back outside. I took the melon out to Niki, Luke and Ezra on plates along with chocolate raspberry smoothies (which they tasted and quickly spit out) and went back in the house to look up recipes for dinner. I cracked the window on the patio so I could hear the kids. Since we are doing a bit of remodeling, somethings from the house are outside on the patio. The kids asked if they could play with the things from the house. I let them know that was fine as long as they were careful and put everything back when they were done. I listened as Niki asked Luke and Ezra to put all the things away so they could eat watermelon. Niki handed out slices of watermelon to Luke and Ezra. Ezra wanted to selected his own slice so he told Niki, "No thanks, I'll get one."
Luke, being Luke, took the slice Niki selected and took a bite. He decided he didn't want any melon and set his piece back on the plate. Luke went back to the bathroom cabinet we have on the patio and climbed inside. Ezra finished his watermelon and walked over to the cabinet and knocked on the door.
"Pooka, can I have a turn please?" I smiled when I heard this and had to peak out the window to see what would transpire.
Luke, opened the door and asked Ezra to get in the cabinet with him. Ezra did.

I know to many homeschoolers/unschoolers this is a typical scene. Our family has local friends that attend school. Each time I am with them I personally witness siblings fighting, almost the entire time we visit with them and if they are not arguing, one of them is telling the other "get away from me." It leads me to wonder how these children treat other children when adults are not around?

Our family was recently at a state park for the weekend. We decided to pack up camping gear and head to the lake to grill and swim, then hit the road. I forgot our raft as I was packing up the car. Everyone was waiting on me to leave. I retrieved the raft and asked the group of people next to us if they would like to have it (it cost $3) because I did not have time to deflate it. Two families told me no. I was really perplexed by this. We have shared the little bit we have and have been given so much over the last two years with unschoolers. Even when we were out as a group of unschoolers, we shared with anyone around us, even if we didn't "know" them. This was the first time in a long time when I tried to share something and someone refused. The last family told me to just leave the raft, they were sure someone would use it. I didn't want it to end up being litter and I didn't want it to go to waste so, the kids suffered through as I deflated the raft. It was a fun weekend. Everyone enjoyed the park.

All or Nothing

People maintain blogs for many reasons. The purpose of this blog originally was to have a record. On and off we have managed to do that. As I was taking pictures of the family this week I began to reflect on what should be in our blog. I write the entries most often by myself. I have been wondering if other family members would enjoy contributing otherwise, our blog is only my perception of events, my view.

Our family is together all day almost everyday ( I love our life and I am proud of it) and while we make efforts to practice alchemy with no budget to speak of, not every memory is a happy one. Dominic and I have recently talked about weather or not love really is just revenge. Fortunately, we have decided it is not and we are both worth more than the way we have been behaving and treating one another. Our children should know that relationships are not always fun and easy. I believe it is not too difficult to build a bond that will last a lifetime, but it is also not too difficult to leave kinks in your chain that will leave a relationship weaker if those places are toucheed on later. So be careful with people's hearts, and the golden rule is always a good measuring stick, everyone is someone's dad, mom, sister, or brother, think of how you would have others treat your family members and have at least the same amount of respect. These are some of the values we are passing onto our kids everyday.

In a little while...

Creating flower fairies at midnight by glow of computer light while motorcycle parts flash across the screen and a Lego XBox game fills the living room with those bizarre outter space sounds. These are the things I am grateful for.
Dom and I visited the ever popular local hangout, yes, you guessed it Wal-Mart last night, originally in a search of long jump ropes. Of course we found none. Where does one purchase these?

Anyhow, we did purchase all sorts of fun dollar items to drag to my sister's house today. My sister purchased an above ground pool for her new house and fun in the summer sun! I am unbelievably excited. I think it is because my sister has her own home now and when we were little, and summer came around, we always wished we had an in ground pool. Thankfully we didn't, we would have had more crazy shenanigan's while the parents were off to work! I have not let the kids in on the new pool purchase yet. I thought it would be fun to surprise them. Dom woke me up early and I have been thinking about that pool ever since I got out of the shower.
Mady mentioned she was bored yesterday, something she hasn't mentioned in a distinctly long amount of time, for Mady that is. I let her know we have stocked our home with at least 1,000 fun, interesting, entertaining things to learn and occupy ones self. If the books were counted in that list there would surely be over 2,000 fun, interesting, entertaining things. She wasn't interested and said I was a boring adult. Once we brought somethings home to make flower fairies I was no longer boring. Niki and I listened to some John Mayer and made flower fairies and laughed while Mady tried to repair the "Turtle" necklace she purchased last summer on our exploration of Texas swimming holes. Mady was upset when I suggested she restring all the pieces on a new jewelry wire. She said the necklace wouldn't be the same. I told her it would still remind her of all the wonderful memories we made that summer if she let it and it was perfectly logical to restring the necklace so it would be stronger and not break again. While I understood her emotional attachment to the necklace remaining in exactly the same state in which she purchased it, I think it would be easier to restring the necklace. This is how many people would see it I suppose. I don't want Mady to be upset if the necklace breaks and the pieces scatter to the four corners in some store or restaurant but Mady remains attached to keeping the necklace in the exact state she needs it. I educated her on some of the possible outcomes from not restringing the necklace and told her the logical course of action for most people. Ultimately it is her choice, her joy or her pain which affects me if I allow it. I could have restrung the necklace myself after she fell asleep, I could have purposely knocked the necklace off the table in effort to prove my truth but that would only have upset us all. This seems like an opportunity for Mady to learn and grow. My truth is that Mady, and all our children, will learn all they need to know to thrive in a world from these small opportunities to learn and grow and discussion about them.

In a little while we will be sipping tastey drinks in the summer sun while floating peacfully in the cool of the pool with my sister. I'm sure there will be some crazy splashing episodes as well ;-)

Prizes, drawings, and posting 'Oh my!'

Visit Ordinary Life Magic (Too) for a chance to win this fun book!