September's Arrival

When September arrives we are reminded of the changes that are ahead.  The changing colors of the leaves, the changing schedule from a new school year, and the change in temperature.  The mornings start off with the crisp coolness and by afternoon the air becomes warmer.  This month sends me into nostalgia as I remember my own days of back to school time.  I did not like going to school so that memory is one that keeps me from enjoying the transition into fall.  Now as a mother, I'm finding myself in full stress mode when it comes to helping my own children navigate school.  So far it's been an easy start and I'm thankful for that but there's eight more months to go.  I enjoy fall but I've always been a summer girl.  Well, I guess I can be thankful in knowing that summer is not officially over, according to the calendar, for another eighteen days.  

Another student was added to my school van so I've been out the door earlier than usual.  The sun is rising as I'm driving, making the view in front of me beautiful.  I wish I could take a picture of the sun beginning to move it's way up the mountain filled horizon as the vibrant colors paint a peaceful picture in the sky but I'm not allowed to be on my phone while driving, obviously for good reason.  So I just enjoy the moment of capturing God's gorgeous design with my own eyes.  After I drop the three boys off at their school seven miles away I come home to a quiet, empty house.  Rob is at work and the kids are in school.  I turn on a podcast or music and begin to clean the house.  The clutter in this house builds up fast and does not seem to go away regardless of how much I get through.  Messes are a big cause of anxiety and that explains why I'm always stressed but I'm also learning to take it for what it is.  We have a lot of stuff and not a big space to put it.  Also, when I do put things into place no one seems to know how to put it all back where it goes.  Other moms please help me!  Repeating myself constantly and sounding like a broken record is not working.  I've already gotten rid of so much and I've threatened to go through with a garbage bag again.  As I'm dealing with the feelings of stress at home my husband has been feeling stressed from work.  Pray for us!  Still, life is good and we are thankfully working through it.  

My husband's friend's wife gave us a butterfly bush and it's been filling with little butterflies, which is hard to see in this photo.  I need to get my better camera out.  

We invited my parents over for a Labor Day barbecue.  We don't see my parents often but I try to squeeze time in with them as much as I can.  They live twenty-seven miles away and with busy schedules it's hard to see them and I feel bad because my father could use the company.  Taking care of my mother puts a toll on him, especially with lack of sleep added to it.  My siblings are over two hundred miles away so the time they get with them is few and far between.  I'm all they have here in Pennsylvania and it's a tough one for me.  

My daughter was excited to come home from our town's carnival with a goldfish she won.  I was in a bit of a shock since we were not prepared.  Luckily we had a small fish bowl stuffed in the garage so we washed it and filled it with water.  The next day she went with her dad for pebbles and goldfish food.  Unfortunately, little Goldie did not make it and received a very quick funeral down the toilet.  She was upset but also understanding.  We were not properly prepared on taking on a goldfish in the moment but made a promise to buy her some new fish soon.  Rest in peace, Goldie.  

And here is my little princess this morning, with her hair curled wearing a new shirt from Old Navy.  She was reluctant on letting me snap a picture but I could not resist.  Later this evening I will be watching my son in his first cross-country meet.  I'm grateful for a good start of the school year. 

So Much To Do ...

It's 9 o'clock in the morning and I've already managed to get some things done and before I continue on with a day of housecleaning and running this one here and that one there I thought I'd take a moment to pause.  While my husband and kids are working their butts off in work and school I feel guilty when I sit mine down to blog.  There is so much to get done around the house from laundry, to sweeping and dusting, to grocery shopping and meal planning, yard work, reorganizing, decluttering and so much more and yet here I am just soaking in a few moments of peace.  I miss my family when they are gone but I also enjoy the quietness.  I spend an hour in the morning driving students to school and then I'm back at it for another hour in the afternoon.  Even with this part-time job it still feels like I'm a full-time housewife.  It still counts, right?  While I'm alone I will either put on some music, or listen to my Bible app or a podcast/YouTube video while getting the cleaning done.  But taking these moments to write either on the blog or something on Word feels therapeutic.  Writing has always been my escape.  

My kids seem to be off to a good start with school.  At least, they aren't doing any complaining.  Matthew has been staying after for cross country practice and last Friday was the first time he got to perform with the marching band during the season opening football game.  It felt like a full circle moment as I remembered my time with the high school marching band in the 1990s, although I was in the colorguard.  He plays trumpet.  

We were supposed to meet my niece and her family who were camping in Gettysburg last weekend but they were all sick.  So, we spent the evening in Gettysburg anyway.  We did not visit the battlefield this time but we did enjoy a little shopping and dinner at a buffet.  It was disheartening to find out General Pickett Buffet had closed down, we enjoyed many meals there over the years.  We did find another one a few miles down the road that we did not even know existed.  It was located on the bottom floor of a hotel that looks like a barn.  

I don't have many pictures taken from the weekend.  I'm trying to just soak in the moments by being in the moment but sometimes I need to remind myself that it's great to have those pictures to document for memory sake.  Any time I take a picture my kids will ask, "Are you going to put that on Instagram?" Last night when I asked my husband for the picture of the restaurant he asked, "Is this for the blog?"  Ha ha!  Okay, yes then!  

Now it's time to get my butt into gear as I try to figure out how to get it all done.  Being a housewife and mother is filled with chaos but, nevertheless, I'm grateful for it all.  I'm thankful for this life.  

Back To The Grind

 My alarm went off at 5:40 am.  I spent a few moments still laying in bed praying to God and asking Him to help my children get through their first day of school and the rest of the year.  I went across the hallway to wake up my eighth grader and then stepped into the kitchen to make a cup of coffee for both me and my hubby.  My eleventh grader, who doesn't have to leave until a half hour after his sister, wanted me to wait until 6:30 to wake him up.  I could hear the nervousness in his tone and see it in his expression.  The bus came to pick up middle school and then high school.  I don't have to start my school van run until Thursday, since the kids I pick up are going to a different school in another town.  I intend on taking these two days to focus on the home.  But for now, I'll enjoy the quiet with a cup of coffee and this blog.  

It's hard to grasp the idea that my children are growing so quickly.  I'll be thinking about them all day hoping that everything is going well.  

The weeks ahead are going to be very busy in the evenings with back to school nights, cross country practices/meets, band rehearsals, Friday night football games, and dance starts for the girl in September.  Speaking of dance, on Sunday we picked up her first pair of pointe shoes.  I almost cried when the woman at the store said "Congratulations, you just got your first pair of pointe shoes," as Brianna smiled from ear to ear.  

It brings such a shock to all of us with how quickly summer went by.  Gone are the days of sleeping in and moving at a slower pace.  The weather is cooling giving us a taste of the upcoming autumn season and we are already anticipating when summer vacation arrives again.  The calendar is filled with many activities, which began to give feelings of stress and anxiety, but I was reminded in my daily devotional reading that God is in control.  Now that my children's days will be in a set schedule it's time to get my own routine going.  Housework, meal prepping, exercising, daily devotions, work, and of course, time for this blog.  

Good luck to all the kiddos heading back to school.  

Brooke is loving the one on one attention this morning.

The Last Week And Turning 13

 We are winding down on the last week of summer vacation and I look back and wonder if we did enough.  We did not complete all 30 hikes for the summer club and my son, who is very frustrated in me over that, reminded me of that yesterday.  I feel bad.  But vacation starts with this feeling that we have so much time and then suddenly it ends.  My father was hoping to take him fishing and that did not happen either.  We went on one vacation to the beach and the kids had a little time with friends but I had not seen any of mine in a long time.  I did, in fact, enjoy the slower paced mornings where I can read my Bible and sip a cup of coffee in quiet while the kids were still sleeping.  By next Tuesday we will all be awake early and rushing to make it out the door on time.  I read a few blogs from homemaking, homeschooling moms and I just envy that slower paced lifestyle but that's not us right now.  Well, some days are but not all.  My kids love to be active and it's definitely what they are.  

Added to the chaos of the last week was my daughter's thirteenth birthday.  My youngest!  I can't believe how quickly time passes.  I once heard someone say that when you have kids the days are long but the years are short and that is so true.  I think of that newborn baby with lungs filled with fluid struggling to breathe on her first day of life.  Then how loud and demanding she was as a toddler.  Oh, that little one sure gave me a run for my money.  She's still a whiner because she is very sensitive.  She also has a sweet, compassionate heart who cares so much for others.  I know she will do great things with her life.  Brianna, I'm so proud of you!  Here's to the teenage years!  Ahh!  Teenager?  I'm struggling with that.  

Every year we give our kids a choice if they want to have a party or go somewhere special for the day.  This year she wanted a party with friends.  We made a decision to have it at a roller skating rink and she celebrated with about a dozen friends.  The night before she made cupcakes for the party.  Half chocolate, half yellow.  This girl loves to bake.  Brooke loves to watch hoping a crumb will fall to the floor.  

Even with the expense, it was nice to have a party somewhere I did not have to worry about entertaining or cleaning.  Her and her friends seemed to have a blast, even though some of them (including my kids) were not avid skaters.  My parents came along to watch.  

On the day of her actual birthday we spent most of  it at home relaxing and enjoying each other's company.  While I was at a quick morning meeting for work Rob took the kids to get donuts for breakfast.  Then we hung out until her hair cut appointment.  

After my son finished his cross country practice we grabbed Subway for dinner (birthday girl request) and had a picnic at a nearby lake.  We were joined by a very friendly duck who insisted we share our subs with her (or him?).  

Then we were back home for cake and presents.  My talented husband is always making cakes for the kids' birthdays and this year she requested an ice cream cake.  Not bad for his first time making an ice cream cake.  

I now have two teenagers in the home.  No more babies.  No more small children.  Two teenagers becoming more independent, unique in their own ways, and opinionated.  I struggle with missing their younger stages but I do enjoy what it is now.