"It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!" (and Ford's Preschool)

Happy fall (a.k.a. the MOST wonderful time of the year -- after Christmas, of course)! Last Friday was officially the first day of this glorious season, but I've had my fall decorations out since September 1st, my fall-smelling candle burning since August, and we've already gone through two bags of candy corn (yikes).

Many places are still hot (ahem, ALL the places we've previously lived), but here in the central valley of California...IT ACTUALLY FEELS LIKE FALL! It warmed up a little this weekend, but last Thursday the high temperature was 68, and it was 54 degrees when we walked out the door for church yesterday (when church was over it was 70, but whatevs). People here tend to complain about the weather, but I like it. Because even when the temperature hovers at 100 degrees, IT'S NOT HUMID. And that, my friends, makes all the difference.

Anyway, in addition to indoor fall decorations, I bought my mums about three weeks ago, and they're still alive. They must be scared to die, because I give them the evil eye any time they start to wilt (and after giving them the evil I move them out of the sun).

Completely unrelated to fall (kind of), after Labor Day Ford started a preschool program at the Child Development Center on base. He goes Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., and they even feed him lunch before I pick him up. The CDC is less than a mile from our house, so we almost always walk/stroll/ride bikes to drop him off and pick him up. This schedule has helped a lot in establishing our new homeschool schedule (more about that later).

It might seem strange/counter intuitive to send one of my children to preschool after deciding to homeschool the older ones, but it works for us. Bonus that it's a super affordable program within walking distance of our house (thanks, government!).

Happy Monday!

9/11

(You can read my thoughts from 9/11/12 and 9/11/14 here.)

Someone posted this (kid-friendly, 5-8 year old-ish) video in one of my Facebook groups, and the girls and I watched it this morning. It's so important to teach our children about our nation's history (even recent history!). I personally think parents should guide the discussion with their children about 9/11, rather than leaving it just to school teachers (although schools should talk about it too!). People 30-ish and older remember that day with acute clarity; it's important to pass along the memories of how we wept as a nation, and witnessed such bravery in the aftermath.

Sydney, Lorelei, and I specifically discussed the bravery of the people on the planes, and of the firefighters, EMTs, policeman, doctors, regular people, etc. who worked so selflessly after the attacks. We talked about how scared the people on the planes, inside the Towers, and at the Pentagon (where their Daddy used to work!) must have been. We thanked God that no one we knew lost their life, and we prayed for the people in the world who feel like they have to do bad things.

Never forget, my friends.

September, Finally

(Pretty much every year I mention how happy I am it's September, but I want to let my Aunt Shannon know that I think August is great because it's her birthday month! One of our nephew's as well. But besides those two days, August is brutal.)

Happy September, everyone! I've been absent, because in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, I've not been motivated to post on social media. I'm originally from the Houston area, my dad still lives there, and while he and his home were unscathed by the storm, I have SO MANY FRIENDS whose lives were affected. I know personally at least a dozen people whose homes were (badly) damaged, or destroyed altogether. THANKFULLY I can't name a single person who lost their life due to the storm (I know there were some -- heartbreaking). Through Facebook I've been keeping up with the damage control and clean-up process, and I can't help but feel guilty that I'm not also helping. People say the news coverage doesn't do the damage from the storm justice; that it's surreal to see a previously healthy, thriving neighborhood look like a war zone. AND THE SMELL. The smell is what my friends keep mentioning; I'm sure it's unimaginable.

Anyway, it's felt weird to post random pictures of my kids on Instagram or to write on this blog about how I get my kids to clean their rooms, while the majority of my friends are helping their parents tear out water-damaged sheetrock and put most of their earthly belongings on the curb for the trash company to collect. I'm ready to get back to it, but first I want to share how I've personally helped with Harvey's aftermath. It's not much, but every little bit helps:

Make a donation to the American Red Cross.

Make a donation to the Texas Diaper Bank.

Buy one of these shirts from Magnolia Market (100% of the proceeds go to Harvey relief if purchased by September 30th).

Now that I've written all that, I'm not sure how to finish... Okay, here's something for you: this year we decided to homeschool Sydney and Lorelei. Homeschooling has been on my mind for years now (although before I had children I said I would NEVER homeschool them), but this school year is the right time for us to give it a go. We're doing a program called Classical Conversations, which provides the curriculum (minus reading/spelling and math -- we choose our own curriculums for those subjects), and we meet with a community group each Tuesday morning. Yesterday was our 3rd week meeting with our community group, and I'm thankful to say we're happy with our schooling decision this year. More to come on this subject!