Just Another Frantic Friday

How did May get so stinkin' busy? Back in January, after a nice long Christmas break, I was all, "Just get me through April, Lord!" And, make no mistake, April was b-i-z-z-y. In fact, April's busy-ness actually began in March with a week-long trip to North Carolina for training in my new role as a Support Manager with Classical Conversations. It was a great time of deep thinking surrounded by some really brilliant folks who love God and are passionate about Christian, Classical home education. The highlights for me, by far, were the long, deep discussions I had with CC's founder, Leigh Bortins. Her determination to equip and inspire parents to disciple their children unto the Lord is unflagging, and the lengths to which she is personally willing to go to accomplish that is, in a word, awesome. Of course, April was full of end-of-year homeschool stuff and prep work for the homeschool conventions, then came the actual 6-day stretch of the two events (color me pooped!), followed by a week of standardized tests, piano recitals and competitions and wrap-up/follow-up of the conventions. Next week, the kids and I will be joining CC families from OK and TX at Great Wolf Lodge, next Friday is Hannah's 21st birthday (WHAT!?!), then there's an OCHEC board meeting followed by a 3-day speaking engagement at a local homeschool event. I am by no means complaining. It's the good kind of busy, and most of what's on the calendar is stuff we do as a family, but I'm just caught a little off guard by how full this month has gotten. Around here, a full month seems to coincide with a full laundry hamper and an empty pantry. I must remedy both tomorrow.

So...whatcha dooooin'?

Hey. It's me. Dana. Are we there yet?

It's May, which makes me want to go camping. Not camping camping, mind you. What I really want to do is load up the kids, stake our claim in a cabin somewhere (indoor plumbing? yes, please!) and spend a week or so drinking my morning coffee outside and drinking in the family I love so much. Maybe we'll get around to that this year.

I've been looking back through pictures and watching digital videos and feeling all "Sunrise, Sunset"-y. I've read back through the posts on this blog and the old, defunct blog and realized that a LOT of life just keeps whizzing by, and that I rather like having these little word-picture snapshots. Here are a few that come to mind...

I miss my mom. I don't say it, I don't Facebook it, but I miss her. I just combed through tens of thousands of digital photos to find all of the video snippets of her so I could hear her voice. And then I thanked God for digital video recordings and thought of all the people all through time who never heard that voice once it was silenced on Earth. It's not a particularly remarkable voice, but it's the one that plays on the tape in my head, and I miss hearing it with my ears. Mom did not like to be photographed or recorded. I don't either. Looking through my photos, though, makes me want set aside my preference in favor of recording the only mom my kids will have. I'm surely not remarkable, but I love them with all that is in me, and that is worth capturing.

We have seven kids now. ZOINKS! The original five are still around. Hannah will be 21 next week, Olivia is 15, Seth is 12, Claire is 7 and Jesse is 3. We are also honored to be caring for two children in foster care, a toddler girl and baby boy. Baby Boy will be going home to his mom in the near future. Interesting story...and one that is still being written. I'll tell more of it another time. Toddler Girl's situation is complicated, which means that we could have the pleasure of her company for a long time. Again, more on that another time. It's busy, messy and loud here, and that's a good thing.

We did the homeschool conventions last week. Six days straight of setting up, conventioning, taking down, setting up, conventioning, and taking down. It was exhausting and glorious. Just about the time we all get good and rested up, it will be time to do it again, which is fine by me. In talking to a friend, I described it as planning all year for a week-long party, and then having all of your favorite people show up. Do you homeschool? Do you attend a homeschool convention regularly? I highly recommend it.

I've got thoughts, funny stories and goo gobs of things I hope to remember and write down. Let's see if I can do it before another year goes by...