~ {pretty, happy, funny, real} ~
Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

So, a few Thursdays have come and gone without my attempt at weekly posting.  Of course, around here that doesn’t mean a lack of things going on.

PRETTY flowers!  My geranium planter really…blossomed, and my Texas roses began to bloom last night.  These are the Lafter roses from Antique Rose Emporium.  I’m also pleased to report that the three tomato plants in pots on our porch have begun showing yellow flowers.  Looking forward to fresh tomatoes!

HAPPY girls!

Happy kids enjoying the first homemade (healthy, smoothie based, low-sugar-ssh-don’t-tell-them) popsicles of the season.

Happy Trooper goes climbing.

And I am happy to have re-enrolled the children in Seton Home Study School for the 2016/2017 school year.

The first time I ever heard about homeschooling was in my public school classroom, and I was 11.  A substitute teacher was announced for the day, and the girl in front of me turned to me and hissed, “He homeschools his kids. They think they are so much better than the rest of us.” With the implicit belief in the veracity of my peers, I ticked that fact away that homeschoolers were pompous and went on with the day.

Later I saw the same substitute teacher with his kids at a high school basketball game, and looking at his daughter, who was my age, I thought to myself that she didn’t look as if she thought she was a cut above the rest of us. In fact, she looked very much like someone I’d want to have for a friend.

Homeschooling isn’t for everyone.  It’s a calling.  Like every calling, it’s not “one size fits all.”  It just happens to be our calling, and part of our family story.  It may not be part of yours. That’s fine. We do NOT think we are better than anyone else, and never will.

FUNNY

I looked up from rinsing the dishes to see this. Oh, kids.

REAL

Changes around the house continue, large and small.

The main bathroom is now a lovely shade of “Woodlawn Silver Brook,” the “Endless Love and Laundry” sign is across from the laundry room, and the wainscoting is up in the laundry room.

I added some baskets and straightened up the sideboard.

It keeps our tablecloths available.

I’m kind of stuck on tablecloths.  We’re finally at a stage in our family where we can put these on the table before dinner and no one tries to pull them off.  So now the person in charge of clearing and washing the table picks one of our random assortment and decorates the table before dinner. It adds a dimension of beauty to our day, and transitions from school day to after-school quite nicely.

And then, we switched places betwixt the sideboard and kitchen table.

We have another large table in the living room, and someday I’d love to make an opening in that wall where the sconces are, ideally to make a counter with barstools on the living room side, adding some more natural light to the kitchen thanks to the living room’s massive window, and adding more seating.  But that’s on the 10year plan. 😉

Sunshine shows off our new microwave, since our 1995-era dinosaur of a microwave went out with a pop one evening.  I considered going back to a microwave-less existence, but then proceeded to burn three things in a day on the stovetop trying to reheat or bake. Including green beans.  I’ve never burned green beans.  So to Lowes we went!