The Adventures Continue
It's been a long journey to this 17th year of homeschooling, 20 years of marriage and parenting, and 43 years of life. Two children are now adults, one finding her own way far away and the other about to graduate high school. I feel like we're in all the phases of life at once except grandparenting. It's been beautiful to look back upon all the adventures we've shared together, recognize all that we've learned, and yet how much more there is to learn and explore. The youngest is in preschool, so we have about 14 years to do a whole lot more!
This October marked the 5 year anniversary of our 5 year old son's accidental death and adventure to Heaven. It has been the greatest consolation being assured by our faith that his Baptism promise and being under the age of reason, that Heaven is his new home. We are certain of his intercession for us, and we've given him a lot to pray about. We still miss him terribly, and his baby brother reminds us of him constantly. But in it all joy and an increased desire to get to heaven ourselves to be with him. Shortly after his passing, our family acquired a tagline to have #Adventures4Eddie and we sure have. Edward Joseph, pray for us.
Some would ask how did our 2020 and since then go? I simply say at first it didn't change anything for us, but then things got much better - with the right perspective! As homeschoolers, we kept on doing our lessons as planned and visiting with like-minded family and friends as usual. We graduated our oldest at St. Brigid's Academy. My husband was an "essential worker," so he enjoyed the less hectic commute. When our state was closed up, we vacationed in Florida. We didn't have all the usual field trips, but we found all the great parks, lakes and paths in our area we now frequent.
We found more time to finish projects, like our basement, and we planted a food garden. We no longer enjoyed shopping in town, but we learned how to shop smart so we didn't have to go as often. There was such a lack of morality and virtue online and television, it made it easy to cut it out of our life. We had more time to do what we always wanted to do. Then we made it a habit and kept it going.
We found a huge group of friends and new homeschoolers that enjoyed hanging out without any "restrictions," so we did that every week and called it our "Pray and Play" group. Sometimes we had nearly 50 guests! We have a great homeschool teen group that formed as well. It was wonderful time of fellowship. The past three years, we've had more social time than before. Interesting...
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the day approaching. - Hebrews 10:24-25
There were many openings in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel, so my husband and I finally committed to a Holy Hour. There were more openings to volunteer, so we did. When the pews opened back up for Mass, we went more often than Sundays. So much, the Church became our second home. One received her First Communion, and two were Confirmed! While the world complained it was being repressed, we found a lot of opportunities and felt much peace, grace and refinement in our family life.
Granted, it took time to come into that peace, and the older children couldn't comprehend the evils in the world and it was hard to be considered different sometimes. There WERE days that challenged us. I took it all as an opportunity to grown in the "Abandonment to Divine Providence." That's the title of the book I've been reading, and it makes it all so much clearer from God's perspective. Even these challenges, it's part of His permissive will for us to work though... with Him.
God is good all the time.
This past summer went by the fastest I can recall. Friends have stated the same. We spend a lot of time outdoors, bowling, volunteering and visiting. Our gardens did well. The camps, conference, and VBS were wonderful and fruitful. By the time fall of 2022 arrived, the pace stayed steady with all the good things and the teens are busy-busy with their youth ministry team and friends. A part of me misses when there wasn't as much to do, but it is all the good things busy.
Many of our adventures these days look like trying things we haven't before, and not saying we can't. So some of the adventures are small milestones reached in little moments at home, such as writing a book, finishing a project, or cooking over the campfire. Other adventures are bigger, such as kayaking and ziplining, checking out a new state trail, or leading something at church. What's important is that we're always moving forward, and including God in everything we do. He's blessed us abundantly because of this.
I spent a LOT of days researching, planning and creating our homeschool curriculum, as there were a lot of changes. I rearranged shelving and learning areas. I think I hit a gold-mine of books, lessons and curriculum. It has been our best year of learning thus far. I may have said it before, but what we're doing is no doubt a God-send. Somehow I can manage teaching a preschooler, two in level 2/3. and three in high school. The subjects we struggled with the most are improving with less resistance. Grace. It's all grace.
So what did I change? (I put many of the links in the side bar of this blog.) First I fell in love with The Good and The Beautiful language arts program for everyone. I've never experienced lessons like this in anything we've tried over 16 years. It's beautiful, gentle, relaxed but more thorough in all the areas we had struggled. I can already see leaps in skill levels in reading, writing, grammar and literature. We reintroduced the Morning Basket and filled it with Catechism, Geography, Read-a-Louds and Science. On Wednesdays we have History together using the audio and worksheets from The Story of Civilization. They all make sure we don't miss it. On Fridays we all take 2-3 hours for art, because it's our favorite subject. I'd like to share a quick overview what our week looks like. As always, it's a tool to guide us and we have flexibility to change plans.
No doubt there have been incredible difficulties along the way, too personal to mention, but overall I look back and see peace, joy, charity, growth in virtue, and adventure. Again, I'm focusing on the good! If it isn't going well, we take it to prayer. No more venting and pouting. There are still many things we're handing over to God in total trust and surrender. Accepting whatever comes, and asking Him what we should do next. Then, if we have a good moment, or an answer to our prayers, we take it to God in thanksgiving. Our favorite place to be is worshiping God in His house and receiving the Sacraments.
"Fill my cup, Lord. You take care of everything!"
Thank you for taking a moment with me to reflect on the grace God has bestowed on our family. My hope is that someone will be inspired by it, even if only myself. Something to look back upon and see how far we've come. The lessons we've learned the past few years are simple: Have humility for right ordered perspective, surrender everything to God's care, frequent the Sacraments for the grace to overcome, and love love love in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, until death when we hope to find ourselves entering Heaven.
In a few weeks we'll enter Advent, which I intend to treat like Lent - preparing my heart and home for the coming of the Christ Child. I'll quiet the house in minimalist fashion, best I can with a large family that homeschools. We'll plan a way to slowly add our holiday decorations, culminating on Christmas Eve and stay up through the month of January. We'll wrap up our Bible in a Year, and dive into our Catechisms, as well as other great living books. I'll favor more tea times and nature strolls with the children over scrolling online. I hope to hear the rhythmic sound of my sewing machine once again, and massage my wrists by the fire, sore from crocheting. Evenings will be spent at church, or in the company of family around a boardgame or piano. The kitchen will smell of wholesome foods, that care for our nutrition and leave all comfort to come from God. This and more. These things I pray for our Advent.
Life is Good. God is Good.
