Good times with family

I don't think I put this in my intro, but I may have.....anyways I apologize if I am repeating myself. 

My husband is deployed right now, so in this time we decided to move the kids and I back to stay with family. It would have been lonely in South Carolina with no husband around. I had a few friends, but none of their spouses were gone, so of course they aren't that keen on hanging out and doing random field trips with me and the kids. I have never been one to really be super independent and love to do things on my own. Some solitude is nice, but 6 months to a year is too long for me. 

So here we are, in Texas, for 4 months now. I have been driving between my parents and Steve's parents house and trying to share our time as best I can. I carry my work around with me, so I can sew at either place. It's a pain, but I think it's worth it. Usually my kids get to hang out with their grandparents for a week or so a year, that's not much. But these past few months (and the 2 or 3 months ahead of us) they have gotten to really share some special time with their Grandparents and extended family. 

There are so many learning experiences that are touched on when you are surrounded by so many people. I can't even think of all the things that they have learned since being here. My Mom takes them to church when they want to go. She reads to them, sings to them, shows them a few things on the keyboard here and there. My Dad builds things, plays games, taught Adelyn to play (most of a game of) checkers. They also bought a trampoline for the kids to play with! 

My inlaws recently took the kids to help pick out 2 dozen chickens. They had a blast. They got to choose the colors of birds they wanted. I wish that I had asked if I could buy a duck too to leave at their house. If I thought it would travel well, I would have bought it and carried it around with me. They got to see bunnies big and small. They spent the week helping build the coop and learning to clean their water and give them food. 


We got a very small taste of the farm life, and I must tell you it looks so appealing to me. I would love to raise the kids to be self sufficient, grow their own food, care for their own animals. And, the absence of traffic, loud noises, and neighbors that aren't close enough to see in the windows also sounds pretty nice too :)


While Papa and Oma were measuring and building the coop, Steven was building with scrap wood...towers and treehouses and such pretend structures. Adelyn made her own plans (she used the term blueprints) for a doll house. She drew what it should look like and then added dimensions. I was so proud of her creativity. I'll have to help her build it soon, so she can see her project finished. 

                                 

So even when you think you are just visiting family and going to have some fun, it ends up being educational. And, they aren't the only ones learning...I have learned a lot as well. It's fun to feed your curiosity and I am trying to make it a point to do that more (for myself, not just them). 

It's still really difficult to not worry that they are 'behind'. It almost seems like if you are homeschooling you need your kids to be ahead of the pack in order to prove that you have made the right decision. I have tried to stop comparing my kids to anyone. They will read when it's time, and although I mostly leave their school work up to them these days, I do encourage some reading lessons occasionally. They would work in their math books all day everyday if I let them. They love it and I am so happy about that. I couldn't hate math more :) although I am thinking more about math as it gets more difficult than just adding and subtracting. 

I just bought a cash register for them to put their math skills to use! I can't wait for it to get here. I'm going to help them set up store with price stickers and such....I am probably just as excited for them to play with it as they would be, if they knew. It will be a fun surprise.