Today we remembered our soldiers.

The men and women who died protecting our freedom.

Those who still give of themselves to preserve peace.

For us, this is an annual tradition.

For as long as I can remember, I have taken one day out of the year to specifically remember.

I was raised to believe that this was right and necessary.

To not take for granted the peace and freedom I've been blessed to enjoy my whole life long.

This year was different for me though.

I suppose it basically boils down to my naivete.

Or maybe it was my habit of generally believing the best of people.

Perhaps a bit of both.

Regardless, it took me by surprise and caused me to assess more fully why I wear this bright red flower on my coat each November.

You see, this year, I learned that some people out right refuse to wear a poppy.

To observe a day of remembrance.

To honor those who did and still do sacrifice so much to preserve our freedom.

"Why would we want to wear this reminder of war when we are constantly surrounded by it?"

I had read this last week.

And it had struck me as so very wrong.

We are not surrounded by war.

We have no idea what that is like.

Not even close.

We are not glorifying it by wearing a poppy and taking a day to remember.

We are showing how grateful we are for those who made it possible that we would never have to experience it, live through it, die in it.

Today I watched my children as each 'BOOM!' of the 21 gun salute echoed across our city.

They covered their ears with their hands.

My oldest, extra sensitize to sound, huddled down close to the ground holding her head.

In between the blasts she would ask, "Is it done yet, Mom?! How many more?"

Over and over again.

"It hurts my ears!", she exclaimed in agony.

I knelt down to talk to her.

To calm her fears.

"Honey, it's only a sound. You don't have to be afraid. It will be over very soon."

I held her close as the last few shots came and went.

And I wasn't afraid or scared or even anxious.

I too desire peace.

I too do not love war.

Therefore, I wear a poppy.

I wear a poppy to remember that freedom wasn't free.

I wear a poppy to show my gratefulness for the peace that was provided so that I do not live in fear for my life or my children's.

I wear a poppy because I can tell them that sound is only a noise.

I wear a poppy because I can tell them that they do not need to be afraid.

I wear a poppy because I can be confident in my statement that it will be over soon.

I wear a poppy because the cost was so very high yet men and women stood up and paid that price.

I wear a poppy because my family and I daily enjoy the benefits of that.

I wear a poppy because I refuse to be a thankless generation nor to raise such.

I wear a poppy because we enjoy peace and we are not surrounded by war.

We need to remember that.

With this playing in the background, we set to constructing Venice.

We used blocks to construct the buildings in our waterplay box and used plastic boats for the gondolas that carried various figurines around the block!

 They learned a few new vocabulary words, too!

In art, we completed a color wheel and learned about primary and secondary colors.

We also experimented with pastels and watercolors by drawing a scene of Venice with pastels, filling in the windows yellow and painting over the picture with blue and black watercolors, creating a nighttime effect!

This was a bit technical for Taitum so her and I worked on this together.

Piper, on the other hand, was very intent on her artwork.

She enjoyed this so much that later in the afternoon she asked if she could do it again and when on to create another beautiful nighttime scene of Venice!

The girls carved...

In language arts, we talked about the lullaby Papa Piccolo sings to the kittens to help them fall to sleep.

Piper and Taitum then came up with some lullabies they thought would be appropriate for various animals.

I wrote it on the board as they came up with ideas so we could sing the whole lullaby together at the end!

This was a lot of fun and caused many giggles!

We took some time to act out some of the action words found in the story.

This one is 'curled up'.

Graphing cats...

This song was posted on my Facebook the other day.

I love it.

So I'm sharing it!

Enjoy!

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

[Chorus]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

[Chorus x2]
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name

Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name
Lord, I'll worship Your holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I'll worship Your holy name
Jesus, I'll worship Your holy name
I'll worship Your holy name

When I attended the homeschool conference this past year, I heard many good speakers and lots of good advice.

But it was a bit of an overload for this first timer.

I probably should have taken notes but with a nursing baby in tow, that just didn't happen.

Anyhow, five months later, there is one specific comment that has stuck with me from that day.

It was made by Marlene from Homeschool and More.

I can't give you an exact quote but it was something along the lines that as a homeschooling family, your home is going to be different.

The couches are going to be used a lot more, mess is going to be more frequent, your home is going to be lived in more since your kids are home all day.

Therefore, we need to view our homes differently.

They are not going to look Pinterest perfect. Ever.

Homeschooling is a lifestyle and this is part of it.

I've been mulling that over in my mind.

And trying to incorporate this simple but profound (to me) statement into my attitudes and goals for our home.

I used to be irritated by our walls being covered in art work and memory verses and chore charts.

Now I tack stuff up there proudly.

This is my children's beautiful creativity.

It may never make the cover of Martha Stewart magazine but who cares?

This is our place of learning and growing and creating.

It makes our home perfect for us.

What I am having a hard time with is letting things go.

Although I've accepted that our home may look different, I have a difficult time accepting the fact that as a homeschooling mom I can't do everything all the time.

I have this really terrible habit of focusing on what wasn't accomplished in my day rather than what was.

The living room was supposed to be dusted but it didn't happen.

It doesn't matter that I made all the beds, dressed 26 princess dolls, caught up on laundry, taught reading, math, science and Bible, nursed a baby four or five times, taught a kid to how to bake cookies, scraped playdough off the floor, and had a homemade meal on the table that evening.

Nope.

All I can think about is the dust.
And that my schedule says "dust the living room on Thursday".

I know this is ridiculous.

So I'm trying to let it go.

It's great to have a plan, a schedule for the day.

And I think I should keep striving to accomplish as much as possible in the run of a day.

But I also need to learn to let go of what didn't get done.

Instead I'm working on seeing all that I did do and take joy in that.

This all sounds so simple and small but it is so important for my well being and the peace of my family.

Friday favorites are therapy.

A reminder of the blessings bestowed on me.

The very sweetest things can't be captured though.

Not really.

But this is the next best thing. 

Look back with me on the wonder of the past week or so.

 Forever in a dress up princess dress.

Which drives me crazy.

Especially when it's time to take it off.

But I know - someday I'll miss this.

So I choose my fights.

 And address her as 'Princess'.