First Day of School Pics 2019-2020 - Yes, those are Handcuffs.

These boys are growing way too fast and it is hard for my heart to keep up.

Thing 1 started high school! He has the flown the homeschooling coop and is doing a hybrid program where he attends 4 half days a week. He is looking forward to electives in backpacking and beekeeping! (hmmm, I wonder if a hive would fit back by our chicken coop).

How is it possible my "baby" is in 5th grade? I think I should have held him back.

And our resident middle schooler is looking forward to TRACKS with his best friend  (an outside-in-the-woods school one day a week). 

We had a GREAT first day together just the three of us - and the noisy parakeet, co-dependent dog, dwarf hamster and chickens. We enjoyed a big breakfast and Bible time all together as a family, rode bikes and climbed trees for PE, and then got down to business with some seat work.

Homeschooling tip --- handcuffs help.
Kidding!!!! (mostly)

Pantry Mini-Makeover

Our bifold doors could not hold up any longer to two teen and one tween boy! I'm pretty sure they would have to be made out of titaniam to survive that much usage. Plus the pantry is located in such a small hallway so that if any door was left open no one could walk through. Super annoying! So when they broke AGAIN recently I decided to try a teen friendly doors off design. 

banished by-fold door

before

after - ta-da!

I'm watching them as closly as our dog on a squirrel to make sure things stay in their proper places. Only time will tell how long this system lasts - but I'm already wondering if there is a no-door fridge out there somewhere that would support our house of boys....hmmm.

3 Pics of Life with Boys 🤔🙄😳

When you ask your teen to save the box top. 🤔

When your teen randomly buys a stuffed kitty at a garage sale and then doesn’t know what to do with it. 🙄

When a boy goes to get a snack in the middle of a nerf battle???🤪

I Blinked

I blinked and these three turned 15, 13 and 10! How did that happen?! We had so much fun celebrating each of them - my spring babies.

Thing 1 had a bunch of guys over for football and battlefront and lots of pizza!

Thing 3 celebrated with cheesecake and lasertag with a couple good buddies.

Thing 2 had his bday on spring break in AZ and requested this shirt!

But before we left we managed to surprise him with a Narplings party!

On Grief this Easter Season

The tears came pouring out again unexpectedly as I searched through an old pile of frames in the basement. My dear friend all smiles surrounded by her four young children and husband stops my search. This time I don't even try to push grief away. I cry as if it were 10 days, not 10 years since death snatched her away with no warning. Clicking doggy paws pause at the stop of the stairs and in a moment my hand is full of black fur as she leans against me.

I ask God for the thousandth time why she had to go. The heavy ache in my heart reminds me of His Words to Adam and Eve, "What have you done?"  Did they hear the heart twisting pain in His question? Did they see the sorrow wasn't about the broken rule but what it meant for them? For Him? For all creation from that day forth? Death had entered into perfection and tainted it all. Every relationship, every plant, every animal - all of creation was now undone.

God knew. And He saw it all - all the hatred and sickness and sorrow and horror from generation to generation- all at once. And He saw the cross as He watched their slumped backs turn away from the garden for the last time. He knew He would get us back and He knew all it would cost Him.

How we all long for The Day when grief is finally out-run! There will be no more death to seperate us.

 I will see her smiling face again.

Older posts on Grief
This Side of Heaven   Jesus Wept   Life and Shoulds   In the Storm  Picking Up the Stitches  

Finding A Healthy Whole  Perfectly Perfect     Record of Faithfulness:Remembering Jo 

A few recent snapshots from life with Boys #iloveraisingboys

Thing 3's breakfast EVERY morning at the hotel on our recent vacation.

Thing 2 rock climbing with a broken arm.

Thing 1 being silly with me in Zion.

Rock sliding/running. 

What happens when I ask Thing 1 to take the coffee cake out of the oven while I dry my hair.

Whenever she is left alone for 5 mins with her older brothers...something like this always happens.

30 (ish) Dangers In Marriage and Parenting

"Warning: Avoid Death" the sign on the farm equipment warned at the Walworth county fair. I remember my dear friend Heather thinking this was so funny that she made t-shirts with it imprinted on them for our husbands. We all had a good laugh over this straight-forward advice. But not all dangers are obvious.

If you google "dangerous" it says:

dan·ger·ous

Dictionary result for dangerous

/ˈdānj(ə)rəs/

adjective

1. able or likely to cause harm or injury.

likely to cause problems or to have adverse consequences.

"it is dangerous to underestimate an enemy"

After 18 years of marriage, 14+ with offspring, we've stumbled our way through many things no pastor or parenting book warned us about. So I humbly (read: humorously) submit my own list for your reading amusement.

Dangers to Avoid:

• asking your wife if she has PMS (hubby wants it noted he has NOT done this)

• eating mom's secret goood chocolate stash

• leaving the TP roll empty

• a tween with Axe body spray 

• shopping with an over-tired toddler and no snacks 

• someone waking said toddler before naptime is done

• someone waking pregnant-tired mom before naptime is done

• the clearance rack at Target (sometimes good and bad are two sides of the same coin)

• 3 hours alone in Target (ditto)

• walking into Target 

• driving by Target (ahem...)

• the REI garage sale 

• skipping a pill

• a momentarily unattended child with hair and scissors

• permament markers and boys

• Natural Family Planning

• eating a tiny sliver of your delicously smelling chocolate b-day cake before it is decorated that your husband asked you to take out of the oven but didn't tell you NOT to eat a tiny sliver of it

• buying her an appliance for any special occasion (again, hubby has avoided this bc we have a rule about not buying me anything with a cord unless I specifically ask for it)

• happy hour at Starbucks

• miscommunicating with your hairdresser (okay, not directly marriage or parenting related but impactful on both nonetheless. Hence an emergency mid-week consolation lunch date with hubby after I accidentally became a red-head. oops.)

• dogs with IBS (so long carpet)

• potty training (ditto)

• thinking "I've got this" about anything 

• boys being quiet (RUN!!!)

• not returning the kitchen drawer scissors (scotch tape, etc.)

• sending your son into 7/11 without SPECIFIC instructions as to what size slurpee to purchase

• sneaking black beans into the brownies (sorry again, hon)

• walking barefoot through the toy room

• legos hidden in the shag rug

• walking into a pet store with your child

• looking at puppy pictures

• diaper blow-outs

• feeding a toddler too many fruit snacks to keep him quite during the Christmas Eve service (so. much. vomit.)

• letting a boy chug a soda and candy during intermission at the play (ditto. what goes down too fast comes up wayyyyy too fast and wide)

• comparison

• spending too much time on social media

• living, schooling, parenting, etc. to meet outside expectations

• telling yourself a story about "them"

• looking to them to fulfill you 

• believing your not _______ enough

• not asking for help

• not taking care of yourself (put your own oxygen mask on first!)

• believing lies about yourself, them, God

• taking them for granted

• not soaking up enough TRUTH, LOVE and HOPE 

My Jesus once told me, 
           A thief (read: our dangerous enemy) is only there to steal and kill and destroy. 
                                     I came so they can have real and eternal life, 
                                           more and better life than they ever 
                                                          dreamed of. 
                                                          (Jn.10:10 - MSG)

We all want that abundant life. Some dangers we can avoid and some we need to trust Him through. I hope this list brought a smile of recognition and encouragement on the journey.

Blessings! 

Funny Things

This is my place to record so I can remember some of the funny things my Things do that make me smile. 

After reading the email inviting Thing 1 into the highschool program we were all hoping for, he immediatley asked if he could go back to the store to buy that Yeti for the hot chocolate machine they have. I think that feature was at the top of his list of pros for that particular school. That and he can still be home by 2 every day. :) I'll take it - and all the time he can still be at home with us...they time is going by way too fast.

While on a tour at the Glen the guide asked Thing 3 (age 9.5): "And why do you think the sidewalk ends here?"
T3 paused a moment and then replied, "I don't know. Maybe it is the beginning."

Last night while watching live tv - a rare occasion around here while Mountain Men is free on Amazon - an actual commercial came on TV. It happened to be for incontinence undergarments (another reason to stick with streaming). It actually showed a woman in these disposable underpants and T3 exclaimed, "Why would they do that?!" in grossed-out-little-boy-shock. (It really wasn't pretty). I giggled at his response and then he added, "Seriously, they could have used a dummy!" By then I was practically ROTF. Hopefully the internet will be back up and running tonight so we can be safe from depends commercials.

A few weeks ago I bought a spiralizer while running errands with two of my Things. T2 (age 12.5) exclaimed as he saw the box, "What is that?!" "Gross!" "Delicious! Ha! I doubt it!" "Mooooooom! We DO NOT have to eat this DO WE?!!!" And on and on he went. And the slightly naughty side of me just kept quiet and smiled and let him believe that zuccinni noodles were in his near future. A mom of three boys has to get her kicks where she can.

Awhile ago when my parents were visiting T3 (age 8 then) hollered up the stairs, "Mom, grandpa wants you to come here. And you'd better listen because he is your Dad!"

On the way to church:
T2 (11) - "Something smells like chips." Turning to T3,  "Your pants smell like sour cream and onion potato chips."
T3 - They do not!
T2 - Do Too!
T3 - Do NOT!
Loooonngggg sighhhhh from the front seat. And they wonder why I won't volunteer anymore in their Sunday school classes...

Picking up boys from the pool I asked how things went. "They told us we can't throw T3 around for exercise anymore."
😳

Me: It's National Coffee Day!
T3: It is?! Can I stay home from school?!?!
Me - LOL.  He knows how I roll.

I wonder if that Yeti comes in pink....

Write Your Name

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

Brody 
Daisy
George
Lila 
Henry
Sam 

Do you remember flipping through the baby book of names while looking forward to the day you would hold your child? My kids love to hear the other names we considered for them. And we may or may not have, just for kicks, convinced one of them that we changed his name when he was two. Don't worry, we told him the truth eventually (I think). Names are important and our interest in them from a young age testifies to this truth we know deep within us. They mark our identity.

As a homeschool mom I constantly discern between what I think is important versus what is unessessarily carried over from public education. One question that comes up regularly is, Do I have my kids write their name on their work? I know with 30 students this is needed but with 3 I can usually discern who wrote what. Usually.

But still I press on with them writing their name for 2 reasons: 1) I want them to OWN their work - even if it is subconcious. 2) I want them to be in the habit so when they are at outside classes (days where I outsource their education for enrichment or I just don't want to teach 8th grade science...ahem), I want them to remember to put their name down. My goal is to raise them for others to enjoy as much as I do and I want the other teachers I partner with on my good side. Hence the big bag of Lindor chocolate truffles I bought to go in their Christmas gift bags...but I digress.

Yesterday, after reminding them AGAIN to write their name and date (because I also think it's important for them to know where in time they stand at that moment even if many days look alike as a homeschooler),  I overheard my 9-year-old comment, "I need to get a stamp with my name on it."

Me in the other room: silent smirk.

Then I remembered their dad has one from his office that has a FB style thumbs up with his name. The apple doesn't fall far from the Graf tree....and I think I know what I'm putting in their Easter baskets this year along with the traditional flip-flops and candy.

 The Bible God says He calls us by name and we are His.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1
Knowing that I am His tells my heart all I need to know deep down inside about who I am. I pray you find the same peace and confidence in being called by name by the One who formed you.

Addendum: I literally had the following conversation just hours after crafting this post.
Me looking at my oldest son's online grades: Why are you missing two assignments in science?
Thing 3: I did them but I forgot to put my name on them so she returned it and and I gave it back.
Me - long internal sigh. Note to self - buy more truffles for science teacher.
             
At least we still have 4 1/2 years left to get this down before he goes to college.