Our Week

My parents stopped by and Daddy got to meet Alex!  Linda visiting with Alex

 

Bella’s GI visit and her new G button!

Where there is a will, there is a way.  Bec’s GF breaded pork chops!

Me and my babies

Alex

Sammi is studying mushrooms.  One thing I find fascinating about Sammi’s education is her reaction to knowledge.  I was public/private schooled.  I totally learned to play the memorize/regurgitate/forget game that we call education.  I played the game well graduating 7th in my high school class.  Sammi, on the other hand, has never crammed for a test.  She doesn’t understand that concept.  Kinda scares me since she will have to learn for high school/college.  But she learns and retains (and I lot better than I do).  She has been informing me what things I should be doing with Alex at his age.  She read about it in her child development section of home ec at the beginning of the year.  She currently ingesting a book about cat behavior.  I just find her knowledge interesting.  Is this who she is or is it a product of her educational model?  Hmm…I think I will have to wait and see.

Sisters playing

A bird’s eggshell, with finger for size reference   Sammi grew these carrots in our garden.  Jason used them for dinner.

Our newest garden bed

Dying Easter Eggs

Easter morning

All 9 of us went to church!

UIL for Becca

Homeschool Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic

The big kids hid the eggs and the the littles hunted.  Jessi taught Joy to look for “EGG!”

Art Club – the girls made bird houses   Jessi has started her harp lessons.  We can’t wait till her harp gets here!

Our family and my niece, Katie, went to see Mirror, Mirror, which I really enjoyed!  Joy’s favorite part was the arcade outside the theater!

I also learned an important lesson about unconditional love this week.  When a baby is born we love them completely, everything they do is wonderful.  But somehow as they age, our love changes.  We have expectations and when they aren’t meet, we are disappointed.  Loving our children regardless of their decisions is hard.  I’m not saying excusing their poor behavior or saving them from learning life lessons.  I’m saying, “I love you because you are my child,” without any qualifiers, the way God loves us.  For the millionth time, I am so grateful to be a parent.  It is the single hardest and best thing I could have ever done to help me become a better person, to further reach for the ideal I am striving for.