Summer breeze..School tease.

Monet: Cliffs & Sailboats at Pourville

It’s that time of year where I’m itching to be finished with our schooling, but I’m determined to not cut it short for my selfish sake.  It wouldn’t be the first year we school into the summer with higher math.  And so be it, as it’s important.  In the past, math, latin and foreign language (i.e.Spanish in our case) was cause to home school well into the middle to late summer.  Sometimes with high school work, it just has to be.  If you need to squeeze in 5 sciences in four years, another reason to use those summer months.

When I see my children really learning, and our home schooling is a mastery program, then I would not want it any other way.  Sure, I need a break, they need a break….but having taken two up through the ranks, who are grateful now that mom made sure they were “really prepared” for college, I know in the end they will be thankful and it will pay off for them.

I can’t tell you how many times I myself, had to attend summer school because we moved SO MUCH through the years.  It’s not a long drawn out day..just a couple hours in the morning and the rest of the day free.  So, it’s not like it’s terrible torture :)

So, my oldest one still plugs along with math – his isn’t easy, it’s “going further in algebra”, geometry, both plane and solid,  sprinkled with intro to Trigonometry; while both he and his  younger brother are signed up for the library program, something I try to enforce each summer. 

The library, youth group and vacation bible school will take up a good part of our summer, along with family reunions (two I think!), and weddings.  We’ll head to some sights in Ohio, historical, the zoo, and my favorite Amish country….and before we know it, we’ll be preparing for our school year once again.

May God bless you in all your educational pursuits! 

Happy Summer!

Memorial Day Blessings

God bless you and yours in His abundance this Memorial Day Weekend.

Looking back with appreciation…

Sometimes I think hindsight holds the greatest revelation.  In looking back over our family ancestors I have discovered so much richness, so much insight and so much more appreciation for our families; and especially for some individual people.  Their determination and tenacity alone owes them much admiration and respect.

My mother-in-law’s family; she as the baby

First, both sides of our families had a large amount of siblings.  My husband’s side was particularly prolific. My husband’s paternal grandmother, Grace,  came from a modest family of eight children and at age 14 was already working as a nanny/housemaid.  By age 21 she was working with another family and by age 24 she was the housekeeper at St. Francis Xavier parish rectory in northeastern Ohio, where she met her husband to be, my husband’s grandfather William– the family parish still to this day that holds several stained glass windows named for the family. My husband’s family helped founded and build the original parish. German immigrants.  Not so strangely as we’ve learned, Germans that lived in the lower southwestern part of France.  William’s siblings of seven sons and three daughters resided near and around the farmlands of the family parish.  The original patriarchal family that immigrated in 1828 to Carroll County Ohio – Franz Joseph and Anna Maria are buried in an even older parish St Mary’s of Morges in the area.                          

Grace at age 21

Having come myself from a military family that moved nearly every year throughout my younger years, I can SO appreciate stability and staying in one place…really planting one’s roots and blooming where you are planted.  My husband and I met at church, we were wed at the same church, and all four of our children were baptized there and have made other sacraments there as well.  We have a history of 24 married years there and 26 as singles. I never imagined my life as a Catholic wife and mother would be so….simple and ordinary.  The more my older children attend college, the more I see the value in a simple life.  The more I hear the horror stories out there about the corruptions and evils going on, the more I appreciate a smaller town and not having to keep up with the Joneses. 

So, as I pour over our ancestry, mostly staunch German on both sides back up through the 1600s now, I am very grateful for the rich family God has blessed us with – not in monetary terms – but in relational good examples, strong determined faith-filled people that passed that precious heritage down to their descendants each generation.  I am proud to be a part of that family and I know they await us in heaven and are cheering us on while still fulfilling our lives on earth.

My husband’s grandfather’s  family 

All in a day’s work…

It has been the longest last couple weeks EVER!  …Really, what have we NOT done??  There was the finishing up at our co-op and then Confirmation, then First Communion at our parish for which it was my class; in between our break, Mother’s Day and our oldest son’s college graduation.  We return to our parish school of religion tomorrow for our final day of class and May Crowning ceremony.  Then the next weekend is Memorial day weekend and we may be having some friends over to eat and visit after church that Sunday. 

We have been finishing up school also; this means assessments for Mother of Divine Grace and standardized tests for the state.  My third grader is completely finished with everything including testing.  My 8th grader will likely be done at the end of this week, with luck!  Then he will go to a home school formal on Friday evening, with dinner and games and dancing.  It will be a nice way to end the school year.  Next month this young man will turn 14!  More on him in another post….

So..,my oldest son graduated from college, it was wonderful, and he left with his friend’s family and a few other friends in tow to head to Florida for a week+ and have a blast, and a much needed break from the last roller coaster of 4 hard years of work!  I am just in awe of how a 18 yr old home school young man can hold down 2 jobs his first year, commute, participate on campus in a zillion things, and pull off top-notch grades.  By his final year, now at age 22, he held down 3 jobs and continued to produce and grow his art work, do well academically, as well as build his radio audience.  His fans really miss him – they had such a nice sending off for him the last evening he hosted his radio show.  Now his sister has picked up a summer job as DJ for the college station, and has up to 20 hours already, and also works as a writing consultant in the college writing center, plus works yet another job in town.  I will say my kids are workers and productive.  Neither my husband or I could say we were anywhere NEAR as productive and working like they have through college.

But enough about those wonderful kids!!  Yes, mother could go on and on gushing over them with pride :)

While our son has been gone, we snuck his car in for so much needed car work that he had just been too busy to get done.  Surprise! Now it’s done, and we cleaned his car inside and out and got it shaped up for him – as part of his graduation gift. (Well, I did all of it)  This meant a lot of work from momma today.  I think this was THE most productive day in the way of housework, yard work and other things such as going to three stores, getting bills mailed out, preparing papers for PSR (vacation bible school!)…and doing loads of laundry and cleaning.  I planted flowers…finally…and put down my mulch.  Later today we started the fire pit and enjoyed it while tidying up the back yard, putting the finishing touches around the Blessed Mother Statue and St. Francis.  It is looking like summer …after a long strung out spring….

And so friends, I just wanted to catch up with you as it’s been a while since I’ve really been able to write a piece to blog.  Life is busy, life is moving, life is really very full lately. 

Many blessings to you and thanks for stopping by!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Isn’t she lovely?  Yes, indeed…..thanks to Aquinas & More Catholic Goods for posting this beautiful image.  May God bless all the dear mothers, and those who are mothers to others who may not have had children of their own, but who are certainly mothering many who are in need. 

Friday: End of Week Revelations

Two simple but powerful quotes for today; this first one from my Twitter:

MarcoRubio: Just when I thought I had seen it all,#NYT Ed board says should have no age limit at all on morning after pill. 11,10 yrs old?

And this one taken from a friend’s status on Facebook:

“Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and wisdom.” M. Scott Peck

The second one seems to address the first one – if you are a person of integrity, Judeo-Christian values….

Pray.Pray.Pray. and take action where you can. 

Katy Perry, Autistic girl Jodi DiPiazza Sing at Night of Too Many Stars

This is SO inspiring!!  Really a beautiful thing...