Spring is here. The grass and trees have that lovely brand new shade of bright yellow-green. The Purple Martins arrived last weekend. As I write a light warm rain falls and the birds are singing by my window. Boots would like to go out and harass the birds and other neighborhood critters but the ground is too wet for her. She is a bit miffed and swipes at me every time I try to pet her.

The sale on our home in Benton went through last Wednesday. I am glad to be out from under

Middle Boy and Oldest saying “goodbye ” to the old school room. They look so big in the room now…

the burden of constant worry the house came to represent. I cried because I loved that house. I cried because it was the only chain holding me to a disappointment I was only too ready to let go. I finally feel like I can plan for the future again. Life feels brand new.

The kids even had their last piano lesson with their teacher in Benton last week. The crew needs more instruction than can be provided over Skype. I’m not sure what to think about their last lesson with her being on the same day the house sold. It just feels like something I should take note of…a memory stone to place along this path. Something to ponder over.

Sparkles chose to drop music study for now. Supposing that really means forever. She wants to study art. I remember my art teacher in high school used a book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I’ve thought about picking it up for her until

poetry and breakfast

we can find a teacher. Oldest and Middle Boy chose to continue their music studies. The local homeschool community let me know where to find music teachers for them. Oldest chose to study guitar and drop piano. Middle Boy chose to continue his piano studies. We even lucked out enough to get lessons for both of them at the same time and place.Their first lessons were last night and they both came home happy and excited to continue their studies.

I transitioned into a the selector position at work over the weekend. Now, my primary job at work is gathering the groceries for the online shoppers. This morning I shopped for twenty-five families. I picked us up some fruit and little

on their way to Benton

cakes for our poetry breakfast time on my way home. The kids already had the table set and the candle lit. Today we all shared our watercolor clouds with each other and wrote little poems on them. Middle Boy wrote a haiku and Sparkles wrote a piece that rhymed. Sparkles and Oldest recited poems from their language arts curriculum (The Good and the Beautiful) and the rest of us selected favorite poems from the past year to read again. Today we read from A History of the World in 100 Objects. The objects are presented in chronological order. I thought it would be a fun book for us to read through together…over the next one-hundred weeks or so. I have some poetry and freewrite ideas based on the book too.

last week’s poetry breakfast

Shannon and I celebrated thirteen years of marriage on the first (yes, April Fool’s Day). Last year I was away on our anniversary and this year he was away. We went out a few days afterward for a nice dinner together. How does time go by so quickly?

 

 

 

on their way to Benton
road trip with Dad
removing the last few things
Oldest and Middle Boy
lunch at August Moon in Murray
Fortunes for Oldest, Middle Boy and my husband (top to bottom)
Middle Boy and Oldest saying “goodbye ” to the old school room. They look so big in the room now…
goodbye old house
goodbye swingset
Middle Boy in tree
Middle Boy in another tree
on their way back home
homemade cottage cheese
Littlest with doll made by co-worker
last week’s poetry breakfast
the blanket through March
Bourbon Trail
at our anniversary dinner
learning to cable
cookies
the Elkhorn
Sparkles
Oldest and homemade loaf of bread
our books this week
poetry and breakfast
piano practice
math quiz
our resident writer
Do not pet me!
rain, rain go away