More garden pictures and news...

The Princess in the garden.
Cucumbers!!!
Growth!!
Tomatoes!!!
Sam and a Blue Jay.

So, the news?

We've decided to home school Benjamin next year.

As some of you know, Benjamin is our son who has been receiving special ed services through the local public school for PDD-NOS, an autism spectrum disorder. While he is very social, he does still have some deficits and is somewhat delayed for his age. Bringing him home is a huge commitment, but one that has been a long time coming and fraught with much hand wringing, discussion, and prayer. This year we have seen fewer milestones met, he's received fewer services, and has seemed spread very thin when he gets home from school. We've also noticed more conflicts with him regarding the authority of his teachers and parental authority. So, the decision has been made and the school has been notified.

I am very excited. I firmly believe that this is the right thing to do. I also realize that this will be a big job and will take considerable preparation over the summer to get ready.

One thing I have already begun is serious decluttering. We live in a very small space. Our house is 1100 square feet, with 3 Bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. When we bought it, it was just right, but then we only had three children; with five kiddos, things can get very cramped in a hurry!

Now, please don't think I am complaining! We actually bought a house we could afford, and that was a true source of comfort when my husband was furloughed for two months in 2009. Since then, the job situation has recovered entirely and we are in financially better shape, but here we are still in the cramped quarters and probably will be for at least another year. But you know what? We have clean, running water, toilets that flush, walls and a roof that keep wind and rain and heat and cold out (or in as the case may be), a large back yard and everything else that we really need. Sometimes that is very hard to remember, but it's the truth. And drastically decluttering will make it that much better!

Another thing that I have been doing is getting up earlier. I used to jump out of bed at 6:45, hurriedly preparing breakfast for Benjamin in order to get him out the door and on the bus by 7:20. Now I am getting up at 6:20 and it is making a difference. My goal is to get up everyday at 5:30, to really get a jump on my day. I am hoping to start using that time to exercise, plan, and study the Bible/pray. I think it will make a huge difference in terms of the success I will have next year.

So, there is the news and the plans and such. I will try to blog more often, especially when those tomatoes get ripe!

Have a great day!

mere