My Essentials

I recently got an email offering potentially free products should I blog about 'What's Essential'. Well,  I love the products already (Nordic Naturals), and I really liked that theme. So, I'll take inspiration wherever I find it!

 As a homeschooler, person of faith, and parent there are so many times throughout any given day when I question whether what we're doing is an essential part of our lives--if it's something that truly matters; something that has real value to our family. Is the curriculum we're offering challenging enough? Is the food we're eating nutritious enough? Are the programs we're involving the kids in important enough? 

We find ourselves often boiling things down--trying to shake off the 'cultural stigma' that envelopes each of these questions, to strip off the layers of indoctrination that are impossible not to have. There are so many levels of baggage with somethings. For our family there is a constant evolution of removal and addition; taking away the things that aren't essential but are inherited. Often, I pick certain times in history and think, 'would Laura Ingalls have had that toy?', 'would the Israelites have spent 6 hours a day doing school work?'. Sometimes I look toward the future and consider, 'will it matter when she's 23 if she could read chapter books at age 7?'

 

Ultimately, these questions are just a gauge. We are not the Ingalls--no matter how much we dream. We are not living in ancient Israel, and the future is really out of our control. But, it puts things in perspective; it helps me remember that the focus, the essence of our days should be: love, joy, fun, and gratitude. Shedding everything else, if we can't laugh together at the dinner table, bake cookies for friends, dance for no reason, swing for hours, have tea parties to our hearts content, and constantly offer thanks to the Creator for the bounty of goodness in our lives...well, nothing else really matters. 2 plus 2 will equal 4 whether my three year old agrees or not, the order of the presidents will go unaltered should we save memorizing them for another day. These four words are our essential things, these are the fundamentals that we want to build our family foundation on. So, all things, from how we eat, to what we wear, to gardening and our work, how we spend our money and how we spend our weekends, they are all measured by these essentials.

If everyone spent their days focused on these 4 things, if education encompassed these ideals primarily--books second, if our nation were filled with people who craved these things over riches and power--well, that's the world I want to live in, be a part of. The most powerful way I can make it happen, that anyone can make it happen is to keep them from being secondary as they often seem to be. Imagine if they were everyone's essentials...

 

Sun Days, Glum Days & the like.

We've had a few sunny days & I feel like a new person. Inspiration comes with Vitamin D exposure. --I wrote this yesterday & am now actually doing some posting. Today I have stumbled back into the pit of gloom, again the weather has betrayed me...

I'll share a few things we've been up to.

While the sun stayed for a few days we enjoyed:

Opening windows & doors, friends visiting, grilling, eating outside, checking on the bees, digging up some carrots, baking...

We had to say goodbye to some dear friends--they leave NC for Texas this week & we visited for hugs & kisses on Saturday. The kids ran wild, we ate cake, listened to some sweet tunes & tore ourselves away...

Today we were feeling worn out from sunny-day over-expenditure, so maybe the rain is a good excuse for slacking & resting. Instead of Naomi's Charlotte Mason group, we visited the library around the corner. She crafted while Leviah & I gathered. They were glad to see us (lev) leave, but before we did Naomi got her first Library Card! Perhaps she'll be better about avoiding fines than I.

And lastly I wanted to encourage you all to listen to this story (the Lucy part in particular). Well, I just had to share it. It's not life changing, or monumental, but it really was a pleasure to listen to. Like a good movie or book I thought you might want some 'entertainment' for a bit. We missed the beginning & I listen to it now as I wait for uploading pictures. hm.

little girls just wanna have fun

so, I heard Naomi singing some Cindy Lauper the other day while we perused a local thrift store--this really is the life I've always dreamed of; & while I almost blogged about my pride of her eclectic music repertoire--which includes your choice of any one of a thousand traditional kid riddles, it also consists of family faves like the Decemberists, Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble (her favorite man), Sound of Music, newly added The Princess & the Frog, Sound of Music--did I mention Sound of Music?

:butterfleviah:

BUT, it occurred to me that the clearly charming & adorably mischievous personality of Leviah rarely gets mentioned. Below is a tune that reminds me of her by an artist I just noticed today to be completely delightful--we must download more! (listen to "dream")

so. here are a few things about our little lioness that are really beginning to shine.

1. she gets everything. you say, "go give this to da-da"--she complies

2. she is clever. she plays tricks on us & looks out of the corner of her eye to see if we noticed.

3. she's insane. she climbs, falls, jumps, walks, falls, screams, shouts, tickles, dances, prefers to be upside down, falls...this girl climbs to the top (spotted of course) of our attic ladder with NO assistance & in very slippery footie pjs--might I add.

4. she's sweet. she hugs, kisses, snuggles (temporarily), senses others' pain, welcomes guests.

5. in so many ways I see her dad which is probably why I am much more patient with her sometimes frustratingly strong will than he. But she's a delight to watch grow.

As far as I can tell Naomi is most definitely our pleasantness & Lev is our strong loving lion cub--let me tell you, she can roar!

Young fotografer

fonetics are sort of silly. I realize it as I try to teach them. how frustrating it is for there to be exceptions to ANY rule for a 4 year old, but language? should be cut & dry...

and as much time as I spend telling Naomi how things are done, she manages to amaze me on a regular basis by coming up with her own set of rules. She's awe-inspiring, artistically-inspiring, enthusiasm-inspiring, and if I'm not being too braggy, down right breath-taking.

She loves her baby sister in a way I didn't expect and it makes me so proud. She has her share of attitude, perhaps more than her share, but she's tender-hearted when you cut to the chase (sometimes a macheti is required for that kind of cutting)

Here's a recent foto-op with her sister. I had to share.

Turtle Drive

Inspired by a Turtle adventure, Naomi & I are keeping up with the mainstream and will post our occasional inspirations for all to take or leave.

To start...
Isn't it interesting how nature fits into our suburban lives? We (the Grim's) are gardeners and outdoor types, but in our quaint little neighborhood very rarely does the natural surprise us. We've got a cat, bees, & frequent visitors like squirrels & coons, but for some reason a turtle is what it takes to amaze us.

While headed out the the mailbox I found this little guy crossing our drive. So, Nomer & I ran out with our cameras to snap a few shots (Naomi got a "play" digital for her birthday a week ago). What excitement. We followed that critter for at least 30 minutes and came up with some pretty fun shots. We learned a lot & I have been pondering since--how many exciting, adventurous occasions I miss day-to-day by oversight.


Naomi is renowned for the re-telling of details she perceives as exciting: i.e. when I almost hit a kid on his bicycle, the time she threw up in a cup, the "wormie" da-da smooshed in the yard, etc. (all of which took place last night, by the way). Perhaps I can encourage this enthusiasm towards things that might not be so irregular by sharing this "blog" project with her.

At any rate, perhaps this "diary" will help prevent my disinterest for the sake of my children...

So, here we share!

You can flip through the "photo album" for more Turtle shots...