end of the school year

I have way to much to blog about. I will try to be brief but you can just stop reading if you want when I end up not being brief because I tend to be wordy.

We have officially wrapped up our TLC school year but not without many fun and exciting things to do before and since!

Let's see, thinking waaaaay back to the beginning of June (my how time has flown this month!) I must tell you about Isabella's participation in a homeschool choir. She and some other local homeschoolers sang patriotic songs at a local church for a group of senior citizens. Bella's piano teacher Amy pulled the group together and taught the kids the songs. They were wonderful! We sang again at a local nursing home. She and Amy's daughter Leah did a little duet of My Country Tis of Thee. So beautiful! I was so proud of her and we both agreed it was such a blessing to be able to bless others just by singing songs!

We had some friends come visit that week too! Bella's best friend from kindergarten and her family moved to Atlanta last winter and we were so excited to see them while they were up for a wedding. It was so great to see Bella and Jema together again, it was as if they hadn't been apart at all, just picked up where they left off. That's how it often is with those special friends that you don't get to see a lot. Thanks again for coming Jana, Jema, Mara and Jama! We miss you and hope we'll see you again soon!

As you may remember, we have enjoyed raising Monarch caterpillars in the late summer and early fall. Last year in the fall we found a caterpillar for a black swallowtail. It made it's pupa and we saved it all winter in the garage. We have been watching it daily this spring, wondering if it would actually hatch and it did!!! We were so excited. We didn't have it for long before it took off into the wild blue yonder but we got to snap a few pictures before it took off!

We had a really special day the week before school got out when our friend LuAnn came to talk to the TLC about her trip to Africa. It was so touching to see the pictures of all of the children there. I can't really explain the amazing work that God is doing there through this family and the work that they have started without taking pages and pages. Suffice it to say, God is good and we are blessed to be a part of what is going on through prayer and by supporting our missionary friends. We had drawn the kids in Africa some pictures and LuAnn brought us pictures that they made for us in return! The kids were so blessed. This experience has been so enriching for them. They have a true love for these kids in Africa. I love this connection and can't wait to see what God does with it.

One afternoon the kids, without being asked, the kids decided to clean out the toy shed. They call it the Pipsqueaks club house. I was totally amazed at the job they did organizing and cleaning up! It was so amazing and totally blog worthy. They have kept it clean now for a few weeks, putting everything where it goes every afternoon. I am amazed and very appreciative. One less thing on my to do list!

The night before our last day of school we did our TLC Academy presentation and dinner. We had it at the church and the kids recited their Bible memory verses, sang Jesus loves me in English and Spanish and sang the 50 states of the USA. They each also received the TLC Academy Godly Character Award. I picked two of the Godly character traits that we had studied this year for each child, for an area where they excelled or worked really hard. Isabella's award was for Responsibility and Patience, Hannah's was for Creativity and Obedience, Nova's was for Tenderheartedness and Generosity, Isaac's was Diligence and Initiative, Ian's was Self Control and Honesty, and Mika's was for Forgiveness and Loyalty. It was so much fun and they did a great job! They surprised me with lots of cards and flowers! It was a great night. After a lovely dinner together all of the kids came back to my house for a TLC Academy sleep over! The next day was the last day of school and Bella's birthday. We spent the morning doing string games that the kids have learned. The have all gotten pretty good at it. They can do "Jacob's Ladder" so fast and Hannah and Bella are getting very good at Cat's Cradle. We had a great day. We've had such a great year! I might have gotten a little melancholy that it was over but I was simply too busy that day!

That evening Isabella had her dress rehearsal for her recital and my mom, dad, sister Angela and niece Madi all came up to watch her rehearsal and join us for a special birthday dinner. It made Bella's day so special. I can't believe my baby is 8 and I am so happy that she had such a wonderful birthday!

OK, so now school is out for summer but since homeschooling is obviously just a natural extension of our lives we are really never "done". We have started our summer reading and are studying an area of science each week of the summer. This week is anatomy...Ian wants to dissect something. I'll let you know how that goes if we get to it. We went to the Berkshire Museum last week and saw the really cool frog exhibit. We also got our vegetable garden in (finally) all except the popcorn plants but they are ready to go in tomorrow. We also found mosquito larvae growing in Ian's fish bowl so we are watching that life cycle unfold (we moved them out of the fishbowl and out to the deck since we certainly don't want pet mosquitoes). We also picked 31 pounds of strawberries last week and froze and canned them all. We can't wait for cherries, raspberries and blueberries so we can do the same with them! So, as you can see we're always learning, whether we are "doing school" or not!

Jason had knee surgery last week, he is doing good and we are so grateful to have him at home from work while he recovers! We are looking forward to enjoying the hazy lazy days of summer (if they ever get here!) doing some fishing, going to support our local collegiate baseball team, and just being together as a family! I can't believe it's almost July already!!!! This summer is going by waaaay to fast. We're going to do our best to slow down and enjoy it!