I just never get tired of taking the first day of school picture. These pictures sure are different than the one's I took when the boys were entering school. Nathan needed time to say goodbye to his cat and Nolan had to get all his gear in hand even though he didn't take it all to school. I was glad to be going to work today as the butterflies were fluttering in my stomach too. I needed something to take my mind off the newness of it all. Everyone survived and seemed to think school was ok. 
Nathan informed me that it was really the 2nd day of school he was worried about. They were sure to get homework.
Yes, yes, I know. I haven't blogged in a while. There are many reasons. The first is probably that I just haven't FELT like it. This summer has held many mysteries. I've just felt very unsettled. I think it has to do with all the changes in our lives. We pulled the kids out of private school and enrolled them in public school, I requested a transfer to a new job, Mike's job moved location and is now requiring more hours and work out of him. All this on top of everything we are already doing.
Yet, summer was good. We didn't have any exciting vacations. In fact, mostly we hung around the house. I do love to be at home. We are still so thrilled with our home and our neighborhood. Every day we feel blessed to be here.
I finally was given my transfer. I'll be working at a Career and Technology Center instead of in an Autistic Support classroom. The boys are both entering middle school and all that entails. I continue to fight with our yard. That English Ivy and I are fighting to the death. So far I'm winning.
I've spent quite a bit of time contemplating what is really important to me. Should I continue with my graduate studies? Do I need to focus my time on our home and family? Can I do both? Do I sacrifice one for the other? How do I determine what NEEDS to be done versus what I want to be completed?
Nathan will need an IEP again this year. He is entering 7th grade. He hasn't had an IEP since 2nd. That's quite a long time. How much work will it take on my part to make sure he's getting what he needs at school? I don't know. So far we've been very happy with the staff at the Middle School. I love the philosophy of their principal. Nathan's old enough for transition planning and every day I think about what do both boys need to be successful (and I don't just mean can they make a lot of money) in the future. I'm focused on the future but also on the present. I must prepare my boys for tomorrow while enjoying them today. And yet, I can't forget that I have a husband who works so hard to provide for our family.There is nothing I love more than making life easier for my men. I want them to be successful but to also remember how much they were (and are) loved by the actions I complete each day. Be it by making the boys learn to cook, handle their own money and do their own laundry or by making them pizza and serving them so they know they are loved. Such a dichotomy. Yet I believe they need both. To serve and be served.
So Mike and I had decided that with all the changes happening this year I wouldn't take classes. Yet as time progressed I began to wonder if this was the best idea. I get reimbursed for classes. That may not be the case forever. The laws are changing and it will require more credits for a degree that will cover fewer students. Even if I never use the degree, if it costs me nothing but time, I can't go wrong.
Yet I'm worried. What if the boys start school and they need tons of help? Well, I guess that's what I did last year. Plus I was teaching at church. I can do it for another year, right?
So many decisions. How to reconcile it all? I'll keep you informed.
These pictures were taken at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. We visited the Lorikeets. For $1 you could buy some nectar. When the Lorikeets are hungry they flock to the nectar. As you can see by the pictures, the birds were very hungry. The boys (especially Nathan) loved this experience.
I thought I'd spend more time sewing, more time blogging this summer. I find that I just don't have the desire for too much of either. Maybe it's because I've been trying to get some other projects out of the way. Maybe not. I find that my life is full of seasons. I'm still trying to figure it all out. I've been feeling melancholy lately. I think some of it has to do with the book I've been reading. I love Alicia Paulson's blog for so many reasons....the sewing, the cooking, the book recommendations, her cute husband (ok....you didn't read that...). I took a few of her book suggestions and went to the library. I started with Little, Big. The book is very other-worldly and I'm enjoying it but I find myself feeling so lost and melancholy while reading. I finally had to put it down and start up with a light mystery. This has helped. I think some of my melancholy comes from the boys starting Middle school and Jr. High this year. I'm ready for it and I'm not. There's a part of me that wants to shirk the world and keep them close. To take nature walks and read the classics. To have the freedom to come and go as we please. Homeschooling them in the past was good and bad. So much of the good I'm still craving. I know I can't live in my little bubble forever. I'm almost hoping the last few weeks of summer fly by so that I can see all the good that will come of the new schools. It is the waiting and wondering that I'm not so good at.
The picture at the top of this post is of my new bedroom curtains. I took this idea from Martha Stewart. I'm really pleased with them. Well, I'm off to some new chore. I think it should be to clean the kitchen floor but I'm not convinced I'll actually do it. I might just sit down with my mystery and let the afternoon move on at its own pace.
I just never get tired of taking the first day of school picture. These pictures sure are different than the one's I took when the boys were entering school. Nathan needed time to say goodbye to his cat and Nolan had to get all his gear in hand even though he didn't take it all to school. I was glad to be going to work today as the butterflies were fluttering in my stomach too. I needed something to take my mind off the newness of it all. Everyone survived and seemed to think school was ok. 
Nathan informed me that it was really the 2nd day of school he was worried about. They were sure to get homework. 
