Field Trip: George W. Bush Presidential Museum

For our first field trip of the spring semester,

our little homeschool class took a trip

 to the George W. Bush Presidential Museum recently 

on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

This place never disappoints.

I have been here at least two other times, and there

are different things to experience every time you visit.

I am always filled with awe at the multiple catastrophe's this President

had thrust upon him during his two terms in office, and the grace and dignity

 with which he led our country through them.

Did he do that perfectly?
Of course not.

He's a mortal human being.
He did do the best he knew how with the resources available

to him at the time and with the wisdom of the counsellors

he had surrounded himself with.

I am always reminded that President Bush was a principled man.
He developed these principals through his private devotion to God,

an understanding that his was a position ordained by God,
and the subsequent sober responsibility that comes with that position.

Last summer, I had the distinct privilege of walking through the collection

of the portraits he has painted of the wounded soldiers who have gone to

battle under his leadership.
Seriously??
Come on!!!
Incredible!
He learned to paint so he could capture the scars and stories

of these brave men and women who went to battle for him 

and for their country.

And he did all this AFTER he left office.

Maybe as a way to process all that he made decisions about,

maybe as a way to honor these men and women,
maybe as a way to find value in all of the brokenness.

If you ever come to Dallas, you won't regret stopping in.

Busy February Weekends

As much as I try to keep our weekends relaxed and at home,

inevitably there are places to go,

people to meet,

and birthdays to celebrate.

This month has been no different.

Many times there are multiple activities overlapping at the same time. 

Don't get me wrong.

I don't resent having friends who invite us to things!!!!
I just love staying home all day and value that time of regrouping and refreshing

for the upcoming week. 

Of quietly waking up and enjoying unhurried mornings that are less stressful.

Even though we "homeschool,"

our children go to their co-op every morning to complete seat work

and to participate in some traditional classes.

So we are leaving our home every day.

Even though we are back and grounded by lunchtime,

it's still the momentum of getting prepared to leave,

packing supplies,

getting up and doing chores and thinking about meals

and getting out the door.
Then it's the transition of everyone returning home at the same moment

hungry and needing their space.
Weekends are my day {Saturday} to catch up on necessary baking,

meal prep, and laundry.

Sometimes I'm cool enough to get all that done during the regular weekdays

along with everything else we are doing.

But most of the time.....not.

We are so blessed with opportunities for fun

and many friends that enrich our lives!!

Thanking the Lord for our busy {and not bored} days!!

I love Valentine's Day

After Christmas and Resurrection Sunday,

Valentine's Day tops my list as favorite special day to celebrate!

What's not to love about showing extra love and joy

to those around you??

This year I was pretty blitzed from coordinating

our homeschool Valentine Banquet the night before,

so I relied heavily on my stash of Valentine goodies that I always pack

away every year after shopping clearance racks.

I'm so glad for this stockpile because I relied on it heavily!!

We enjoyed a special lunch together after schoolwork was done

and that was the extent of our activities this year!

Blessings!!

Valentine Banquet 2018

Last week was a busy one!!

Our little school co-op administrator decided he wanted us to 

go ahead with our annual Valentine Banquet this year

and we spent several days preparing for that.

What fun my girls had creating cupcakes together that

reflected the theme,
Let Me Call You Sweetheart.

All the children served tables and helped clean up.
Some helped with making signs.

It was a collaborative labor of love and we

all had a lovely time!!

{Even though the lasagna entree ended up taking an

additional hour to bake than was planned and gave me 

a heart-attack,

so we had to quick change up the program a little

to accommodate extra baking time!

Meh~whatever......we still had a blast!!}