Westward Bound!

Our oldest son was given an amazing opportunity to travel across America with his Grandmother and Great-grandparents this Spring.

We thought it would be a great way for our son to see America and learn some history hands-on all while getting to know his family better.

They are hoping to spot some buffalo.

As well as view the Grand Teton Mountains!

We also thought it would be a great chance for him to spread his wings a bit before graduating from our humble homeschool!

I have been so excited for my son to take this trip! We've been helping him make plans for more than a month and I had not shed ONE tear over his leaving us UNTIL I found this picture yesterday! This picture was taken of him when he was only 15 months old at an air show. Here he was so little, but up in this big airplane looking out on the big wide world, seeing things from a perspective that I could not see (since I was on the ground taking the picture!) And it hit me, my son is leaving me and he's headed off to see the big wide world-without me!
As a homeschooling mom, I have taken back my children from the hands of a school allowing ME the pleasure of those little daily "aha" moments. It's the daily living and learning that we have so come to cherish. In church yesterday, the lady behind me leaned in and whispered something like, "your children are all so amazing! I love to watch how they all help each other. Even the youngest boy helps with the baby. There aren't a lot of families that really love each other like that, and it's so clear they all love each other very much. I'm sure it's not like that every day, but it's probably most days, huh?"

I was blown away by her words. All I could say was, "thank you, yes, we have some days like that, but most days are great! Yes, there's a lot of love to go around!"

Here he is having some last minute silly time with his sisters!

With that said, one might begin to understand the empty feeling we are all having now that Brandon has begun his trip! But we are not saying "goodbye", just "have a safe trip!", because "goodbye" hurts way too much and I've had my share of goodbyes this side of Heaven.

Here they are all together one last time before Brandon left.
We just bought two laptop cameras, so we're hoping to skype while he's away. That should make it easier all around. He told me yesterday that he's glad he has a camera to skype with, "at least I'll be a able to SEE you now", he said. I think that means he's going to miss me too. :o)

I realize every day how blessed I am to have been given this precious boy from God. I am so blessed to be his mom these last 15 years. He is truly a gift and a blessing and we pray God blesses his trip as he makes some amazing memories!

Have a safe trip Brandon! We can't wait to hear all about your adventures out west!

Spring Homeschooling days...Salamander Races!

What a wonderful Monday we had homeschooling. We went outside to take advantage of the warming weather and my son asked if he could look for salamanders. I said, "sure". He ended up finding about 7 salamanders! When it was time to come inside for more school work and lunch what were we to do with all the salamanders? Why not have a salamander race?!

My son grabbed some chalk and wrote START on the pavement. Those wiggly little creatures didn't really want to comply with the rules however,  and they began to wriggle in the wrong direction!

What a fun way to wrap up our homeschooling morning! Later, we did a science experiment outdoors on evaporation. We poured water on the pavement and drew a line around the wet puddle. In an hour we were to come back and check on our evaporating puddle-and it was gone! I love seeing my kids get excited about learning. We're nearly done with Language Arts seatwork for 2nd grade so we are having fun diving into more science experiments that had been put on the back burner through the winter months.
It's nice to have this extra time with my kids and I realize I am giving them not just the gift of time with mom and dad but the gift of time with their siblings.

I told my husband that it's days like this when I feel like I was robbed. Robbed of many special moments with my kids we could have spent, when we were all in different places during the day. He agreed and thought we were doing the best thing for our family. We have difficult days when we lose sight of God's plan and stop focusing on heart issues and the whys of why we homeschool our kids, but we have many, many great days. Lots of "aha!" moments that I cherish.
I'm looking forward to the next salamander race! What are you looking forward to?!