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!