The second, third and fourth day...

There's a couple of things I have learned from being a parent, that I truly never understood before this experience.

One is that my relationship with God is more important than water on many days. Yes, water. Because we all know you can only live something like three days without water.

This is me...with a marker mustache.

I can be thirsty - parched even, during the day - and still manage to address difficult or challenging issues in my home, cook something, run errands, whatever comes up as a mom, you know?

And I'm fine. I'll survive. I may have a headache at night, but I'm good. I can manage.

But you throw any issue at me that even slightly overwhelms, and take away my relationship with God - my Savior - my Jesus, and I am reduced to nothing more than a heap of tears, an angry tirade, or a mom who simply gives in and up and hides under the covers.

The second thing I've learned from being a parent, is this...

No amount of planning, preparation or even lack thereof can dictate or change a child's behavior. 

This goes back to the idea that the only person I can control is me...not my kids, not my husband, not my neighbor or my dearest friends.

Lego animals for Mystery of History lesson 2

I can only control my behavior and choices.

So, the homeschool day in my head that I love to envision - the one where everyone listens, everyone works quietly and independently, everyone does their work with a cheerful heart - yeah, that homeschool day doesn't exist. Never has. Not in four years.

"Mom, I want to wear camo."

The first year would have been my best shot at homeschool utopia since I only had one child to teach. But that one child - it could have been any of them - he just has a mind of his own. And many days they don't cooperate. Many days they don't want to listen, participate, work together, work independently, work quietly, work quickly, or work...at all.

Daily notebook work

But at some point there is a rhythm that occurs and we begin to hum along as best we can...as if traveling a bumpy, dirt, farm road. Smooth, smooth, smooth, pot hole, smooth, smooth, swerve for the cow, smooth, smooth, smooth, smooth, smooth, pothole and cow, pothole, pothole, smooth, smooth, smooth.

This year I love our science and history. And I think I love our math. We shall see with math, because only time (and grades) will tell.

Our science and history are so interwoven with the Bible that I can't help but soak it in. And my prayer, is that their little hearts will be as parched as mine and soak in the Word of God like a summer rain.