Lessons Learned

There have been a lot of lessons learned around here this past week. Some have been humorous, some have felt like a big accomplishment and others feel like they should have been learned before.

The kids are done with swimming lessons this year. Brendan learned to dive and Tori jumped off the diving board all by herself and swam to the side! They both did great and I'm proud of them. I know it looks like Tori is going to hit her rear in the picture but it's just a weird angle. She cleared the board!








Owen learned that he can't yet take his shirt off by himself. I'm not sure why he thought that would be a good idea this morning but he got himself stuck and was not amused by it.





Rachel learned that pine trees are picky. Ouch!

Yesterday, I received our homeschool supplies that I had ordered. There were 2 big boxes and 1 smaller box. Imagine my delight when I opened one up to find all these great books! I knew I was getting them but it was still exciting to hold them all.

Later I started to go through the instructor's manual. I'm not kidding, it is the largest binder I have ever seen. Now, one of the reasons I bought this curriculum was because they have an instructor's manual with everything laid out for the whole year. I just didn't realize how huge that would be! And how overwhelming it would feel. I began to get a little depressed thinking about school starting soon and wondering how in the world I was going to get through the year on my own. The lesson I am learning (again) is that I can't. I can't get through anything on my own. But if I lean on God and look to Him, He will give me wisdom and strength and patience and everything I need. I have been guilty of trying to do it all on my own. Like my nephew said when he was 3, "I can do it by me-self!"

It gets frustrating to have to learn the same lesson over and over again. To feel like things are going so well and you really have a handle on things and then to fall flat on your face and realize that once again, you became prideful and started thinking you could do it all and you didn't need any help. Okay, God, I'm back on my knees again and ready to stand but only with Your help this time.

And now I need to find a place to store our new books.