Spokane

The kids and I spent 5 days in Spokane and Coeur d' Alene last week. Five wonderful days that I did not want to end. We stayed with my Mom and she was gracious enough to allow myself and our 5 kids to completely trash her house while we played and had fun and had no responsibility. I realized that I don't just "play" at home because it always seems there are so many other things that need to get done. We spent 2 days at the lake in Hayden, ID and I thought, "why don't we do this at home?" Oh, because at home, I have a house that needs cleaning, laundry that needs washing and groceries that need to be bought. My prayer for this year is that God would show me more ways to play with my kids. That that would become more of a priority that cleaning. After all, will the house get anything out of me cleaning it? Will it grow up to know that it was loved and cherished? Will my house be able to learn about Christ by me spending so much time with it? Nope. My house will only have cleanliness to show for itself and where will my kids be in all of this. So, as I look at these pictures of our fun in Spokane I get all sappy and want to make sure that I'm allowing God to show me moments of "play"... I'm sure this year will be full of opportunity.

We decided that even though Jackson is technically old enough to start school that we will start him a year later since he just turned 5. We also decided to not have him do another year of preschool. So, the only other option. Teaching him at home. Notice I didn't say "homeschool"? As I explained before, that's because I just don't have enough fingers and toes to do that kind of math. Okay, maybe that's not it, but I figure I'm only keeping up on what he already knows not actually teaching much as he's already had 2 years of pre-k. So, it's not homeschool.

I also have a bit of advice for those of you interested in going to the Learning Palace store. Never go there with 3 tired and hungry kids. It's just not a good idea. Your 2 year old will want to pull everything off the shelves. Your 3 year old will think that's fun too. And your 5 year old will want to buy all the toys because they might just help him learn something. By the time you leave, the person working at the store might suggest that you come back next time when someone can watch your kids. Not that I would know any of this from experience. I'm just saying. Needless to say, the kids were all excited as we got into the car and headed home for lunch with the "homeschool" supplies in hand!