Archive | December 2016

Slipping To September

New month, new school year! This year I gave the kids the option to “chose” their school year… We get asked this question A LOT through the years and the kids never really know how to answer it. We don’t align to a specific grade and in Trinity’s case, I didn’t register her OFFICIALLY until she was 7 but she has been schooling much longer. (this saves us on testing until it is required by state law) I gave Echo Kindergarten and Trinity chose Grade 3. The boys, they got creative.20160902_092005

20160902_092531Emanuel went with Grade Dinosaur. Gavin  decided on Grade Minecraft. Zander went all out with Grade Mom is the Best Teacher. (mild suck up action there).20160902_092300

20160902_09193420160902_092505I even wrote my own “grade” level.img_20160901_145635

img_20160901_145914img_20160901_145728Poor Echo continued to get eaten alive by the mosquitoes.20160902_094206_burst03

I went all out and tried blue hair… it faded a bit too quickly for my tastes but was fun for the short time it lasted.20160917_161906

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Note Echo's temporary blue streak thanks to hair chalk.

Note Echo’s temporary blue streak thanks to hair chalk.

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September was also the month of our Uncle Ted and Uncle Sean visit. Ted was here 1 week and Sean 2. It was amazing to have 3 of my boys together for the span of time. So much fun.20160904_194456

With Cookie the new Fat Sheep

With Cookie the new Fat Sheep

img_20160902_225119img_20160903_224059We also did Renaissance Festival with the boys and Shandai and Ravyn (no kids of course). Costumes for those who wanted etc etc. I will post the many many images and share the fun in a future post.20160904_150726_hdr

We ate out at our favourite Indian place.img_20160907_205323

Sean took Ken and myself out for a super fancy dinner as well!

Fancy outfit... ignore the bathroom

Fancy outfit… ignore the bathroom

Super pretty room

Super pretty room

Played with the Uncles.20160911_143258

20160911_20052920160917_110934img_20160905_13504520160903_180525Worked out hard.img_20160905_125054

Learned as much as we could.img_20160913_120225

img_20160913_140312img_20160914_160251img_20160907_144836I snuck in my craft time whenever possible.img_20160908_225318

At the pool

At the pool

img_20160909_151616I think we all had fun walking outside to the park.20160930_135721

20160930_141108There was a robot kit to make with the uncles.20160910_135835

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20160910_14381720160910_145139And Sean even taught Echo how to play WoW (World of Warcraft) which I hadn’t seen in AGES.img_20160916_140158

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Don’t forget swimming.20160918_180441

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And the most unusual students.img_20160914_121812

As well as some amazing sunsets.img_20160923_194653

20160915_191530New school year, new start! We made the most of it with lots of fun, workbooks and working together. Keep an eye peeled for an overflow blog post. There are just too many pictures to share!20160911_143236

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Gifts from Ethiopia!

Gifts from Ethiopia!

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This entry was posted on 13/12/2016, in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

June… July… August…

Well, moving right along! August is a few things – Echo’s birthday (HERE), full on summer, this year a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Mike (HERE). Sunshine and walks to the YMCA with a little school mixed in. August is always a balance of sunshine and activity.20160803_175259

We had full on track and field fun for Zander. I was lucky enough to make it to one of his meets. He may not be fast but he really has some stamina. And he LOVED it.img_20160804_202321

fb_img_1471563205010fb_img_1471563193930img_20160811_212313We spent as much time, if not more, at the YMCA. I am amazed at our ability to do that 2 mile one way walk, 3 hours at the YMCA and then walk back. There is some grumbling and arguments, but we did it and for the most part we ENJOYED it.img_20160823_131208

20160822_123421We visited the beach.img_20160803_175143

Hung out at parks.img_20160823_212334

20160823_153620We tried out the new YMCA facilities at Forest Lake, which included a lazy river!img_20160831_193125

20160831_182548Went to ANOTHER YMCA in Shoreview with our YMCA buddies who live down the road from us to try out the outdoor pool complete with diving board.20160814_140036

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Zander

Zander

Gavin

Gavin

20160814_131012_burst0120160814_13081920160814_130703We continued our swimming lessons AND our time at our local YMCA pool, of course.img_20160814_185517

20160822_11285620160815_11110620160825_182830We had the Schwartz family over to celebrate Echo’s birthday.20160817_194631

20160817_205347_burst01Spent time in the pool in our own yard.img_20160811_142013

20160810_141527_hdrI snuck in crafting time as much as I could.img_20160819_101105

img_20160826_224505And Echo played in the rain.img_20160812_203309

We learned about the Summer Olympics.img_20160825_142248

img_20160818_115238And FINALLY moved our large and gorgeous Narnia cabinet into the classroom.img_20160818_151951

img_20160829_121516Cousin Robbie came for a visit on his new bike.img_20160821_185707

img_20160821_19310020160821_193417We gamed with Aunty Shandai and Uncle Ravyn.20160820_220244

And I tried my hand at some baking.img_20160829_165725

Even our garden… well the cucumbers… are flourishing.1471552528098

Some schooling AND school planning even occurred. Sometimes in fancy dress!img_20160811_112524

1472589140749We made this summer COUNT and I am so proud of us for it! So enjoy our August while I ready September. The year is coming to a close and I am ACTUALLY catching up!!img_20160810_143842

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Post workout

Post workout

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The Reality of Living…

is that if you are in a state of constant balance and rational thought process one has to wonder if you are truly living outside your self made limitations. I know I have talked previously about expanding past what you are sure you can do and into new terrain (right now I am deep in my recorder lessons with the intent of moving to the piano eventually!) –HERE-. There is a level of discomfort when we step outside and try something unknown.

The reality of life is that safe is truly NOT safe. We are created for change, for challenge and for growth. To sit where we are safe and rational and completely in the know is to ignore these realities.

In fact, sometimes those feelings of safety and careful comfort are masking a greater problem. I am not suggesting you run out, quit your job of X number of years, join the foreign legion and start a new, that is just… well… insane? But, to sit there in the comfort of constant familiarity and ease for ALL facets of your life is neither stimulating nor healthy.

A challenge can simply be reading a book that expands your knowledge base or makes you think. Extending out of comfort could be trying for that promotion you are not quite sure you will get. It can be adding something new to your routine, trying to meet new people, attempting a new skill. It is bumping you out of your absolute norm and finding something to stretch you out a little.

The reality of life is that we are not rational and calm and balanced, we are full of doubts and fears, joys and celebrations, anguish and tears. We are silly and stubborn, cuddly and prickly, we are opposites rolled into one being. This is somewhat of a balance, you can’t just be silly… cuddly and joyful… that would make you a kitten. But at the same time a lack of balance creates opportunity.

Ken explained to me that with Depression there is a huge amount of uncertainty and discomfort. Things are not balanced, they are way out of whack. BUT there is a drive to distract. This is where you convince yourself that the reality of life is calm, collected, rational. This all leads to further UNHEALTHY lack of balance. So we have to balance our lack of balance… be rational in the midst of irrational thought… embrace it all and make sense of the combination.

Definitely easier said than done. I know that I have my moments (and I am considered the balanced and “healthy” one). Tears over the dumbest, most random things… and I don’t mean pregnancy hormones cuz – NOT POSSIBLE THANK YOU. Unsettled thoughts of worry and angst go hand in hand with a yearning for a balanced and easy/rational/simple life. Remove the idea of scripted/created drama and I have to admit – I am yearning for a farce. I don’t truly want easy balance in all facets of my life – I want to stretch and grow. I want to learn new skills, teach my children new things, do one outrageous thing every so often (ok outrageous to ME maybe not the cooler masses). I want a basic structure of security and balance but, well, too much comfort makes you complacent.

Complacency in and of itself can lead to even more problems. When we get into a rut, into a cycle we often don’t see the total picture. We don’t come across opportunities with the same mindset, and that is a shame.

So basically, life is flux and yet not. Change and stability fight for dominance as we try to figure out what we CAN change and what MUST stay the same. We will always be figuring out how to live in the reality of life with depression. There will never be a “cheat sheet” full of easy solutions. And that is ok. 

The reality of living is that we don’t know what is going to happen, we can’t control all the variables and we really don’t have all the answers. BUT we can get the tools, build a support system and accept the challenge. img_20160908_192031