Effervescence

My steps carried me past the sanctuary as I moved through the building. I peered into the darkening room. My feet stopped moving; I took several steps back. 

The light.

Dusk had come. Nighttime was on its way.

But the light. The light wasn't finished for the day.

A burst of color caught my eye, but that is not what made me pause, not what arrested me. The effervescent light on the stone, climbing to the arches, dancing all around the rainbow brilliance, like bubbles rising out of a clear spring...that is what brought me to a standstill.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:5

Curveballs

Christian started school last week; they ease into it there, so he had two half days and three full days. Labor Day was a day off, of course, and then it was back to school...only this time Michaela and Eliana had their first day of class as well.

Tuesdays, we are attending a once-a-week class that supplements homeschooling. This is our second year participating in the program Classical Conversations. The girls have really enjoyed it, and it has given our days some structure that I had a hard time achieving otherwise (read: never truly accomplished).

But today was our first day of schoolwork at home, officially. I took Christian to school, and before I left, I gave Michaela some instructions about what she could work on until I got back. We began History shortly after I returned, and it was good...but we are definitely going to face some curveballs this year. 

We have had a non-schedule for so long; this year I am committed to changing that. It will take a lot of work, and perseverence during those difficult times of adjustment. I worked hard this summer to prepare for large portions of our schedule, and feel more prepared in many ways than I have in years. So, although it will be difficult to cultivate some new, healthier, more purposeful habits, in the long run it will be so much better for all of us!

Yes, this first day was a bit like staring down a curveball. But I still have a couple of pitches left. Or days in the week.

I love baseball analogies.

The End

Way back at the beginning of our travels, I mentioned to my mom that Wendy had said that if they (my parents) wanted to come visit in Florida that it would be totally okay. Wendy was going to be heading back to get ready for school, but I was not going to be ready to leave when she was because Mike was still going to be out of town, and I wanted to stay away while he was gone. (I don't like being at home by myself.) (The kids don't count at night.) Mom was very interested, and over the next few weeks we looked into plane ticket costs, and dates, and in the end it worked out! She was going to be off work the exact dates that were going to be my final week in Florida. I found a good deal on a flight for them, and it even worked out that our flights home would be leaving about a half an hour apart from one another! (And in the evening, too...no crazy early flights for us!!)

They flew in on a Wednesday, and after some comedy-of-errors moments, we finally caught up with one another at the airport. I thought it would be fun to surprise them by meeting them inside, rather than just picking them up in the drive outside of the airport. I was waiting where I thought they were going to come out. And waiting. And waiting. And no one who looked like my parents ever came through the gates opposite security. We finally figured out that there had been a communication problem, but we worked it out and we found one another (Well, I guess I found them...I told them to stay put!), and then we went to Steak and Shake! After (a very late) dinner, we drove back over to the beach; it was 11:30pm or something crazy like that by the time we arrived.

But after that? We just hung out and relaxed. And it was so wonderful. Mom and I went to the store on one big trip and I wish I had a picture of the beverages we bought. It was really just juice and some fun soda, but one thing was sure...we were not going to be thirsty! 

Life at the beach agreed with them...it wasn't so hot that it was miserable! They got a kick out of watching the kids in the pool, and just enjoyed the view from the condo, whether inside or out.

So much fun! 

The crazy thing is I didn't get pictures of them with the kids really...don't ask! I don't even know what to think of myself! Maybe just that I was enjoying the time, just being there and soaking it up.

It was a fantastic way to end our summer, and I'm so grateful that all of the pieces fell into place so that it worked out. 

And that is the end of the story of our summer!

Eliana

found the sun too bright sometimes

watched the big kids and took mental notes at first

liked to look at magnified, weird, dead stuff

wanted to do it herself

wanted to know if this was a mermaid's tail

did not want to go anywhere near the ocean

nor the wet sand

did not care at all for me taking pictures of her when she was upset

rocked the sunglasses

hard

slowly made her way into the ocean with some help

was very comfortable in the dry, dry sand

ended up with sand in and on every body part

thought to pick out tiny seedy parts of a plant in order to prepare a meal for the grasshoppers

wandered during the volleyball games

wanted someone to dig with her

wanted to do whatever the big kids were doing

was charming for the camera

turned five

got braver in her old age

took a little slap in the face from a wave

didn't like saltwater in her face so much

enjoyed putting sand on Mommy's foot

was very fun to take pictures of

was easy to take pictures of

was oblivious to the picture taking process

played and played and played in the sand

and didn't want to leave the beach in the end.

Christian

is an engineer in the depths of his soul and in every fiber of his being

loves to be useful

anticipates tubing

is less thrill seeking than his cousins and older sister

 

enjoys a wild ride to a point

feels the same way about bugs as his mom

doesn't mind touching dead animal parts

does not hesitate to jump in the pool

turns bleach-blonde in the summer

covers a crab's tracks

has insanely long eyelashes

has very cute feet

cannot have too many shovels on hand

has to get caught by the camera

delights in making faces for the camera

has improved his swimming skills

laughs a lot

can be serene

is purposeful

digs himself a hole

gets in said hole

enjoys the unexpected