School Days *round 2*: Gr 2

age: 7 (8 in the new year)

year in school: 4

grade: 2

class: 2s only

ok, i'm finally writing this in March 2017...

um, 

in case you missed it, 

the school year actually began in September 2016.

i'm a little behind.

oh well.

my little one.

my girl.

so full of life and love.

She could not have been happier when she found out her teacher.

unless she had the chance to stay with her gr. 1 teacher of course 

She had the same teacher that her brother had when he was in grade 2.

she is still at the age that it is exciting to follow your brother through the teachers.

*i remember grade 4 being so exciting to have a teacher that didn't already know my brother*

She has enjoyed this school year.

a class full of friends.

a crazy, excited class, full of energy.

for a girl who is full of energy that is perfect for her.

she loves reading, writing, art, music, drama and math.

she likes gym.

she loves to learn new things.

she loves that her teacher is an avid birdwatcher.

she loves to see birds and be able to tell him what she saw.

side note:

a chicadee landed on her finger recently and all she could talk about was how she would get to tell her teacher all about it.   

then she laughed ,as she went on and on about the bird,  and said, "i'm just like Mr. G, talking about birds all the time!"

My little one enjoys going to school in the mornings.

but she also love the weekends.

She always comes home with stories about her friends, the teachers, different activities they did.

she loves to share what she's learned.

she has had a few struggles in the friendship department.

girls.

gah!

girls and their girl-ness.

friends one moment...

not anymore...

not unless you...

ok, we can be friends again...

why are you playing with her and not me...

i'll give you this if you,,,

we have walked this road with her this year.

she has come home upset, mad, thinking it's silly.

we pray about it.

we discuss what can be done.

we make choices with our girl to walk this road called life together.

she is strong.

she wants to be friends with who she wants to.

she doesn't want the drama that some people bring to life.

but, she also wants people to like her.

she doesn't like to be manipulated...

but she kinda wants that thing they're offering.

she has been growing a lot this year on the social side of life.

her school work is great.

she is still learning a lot from her teacher, and the other teachers who do classes with her.

she loves social studies.

i seriously think it's a favourite this year.

my girl.

you are on March Break.

you will be 8 tomorrow, 

and i'm excited to see how strong you finish off your grade 2 year.

keep being you, 

with your contagious personality, 

with your unique sense of style,

with your love for God and others.

XC Ski

i have a boy.

last winter we obtained xc skis, poles and boots for him.

his daddy took him out and taught him basics of xc skiing.

we had an excited boy.

fast forward to this winter.

he could not wait to do some xc skiing when the snow came.

his daddy and he went skiing a few times, and this year he began to improve on his classic skiing and also began to learn how to skate ski.

so excited.

he was loving it.

then the opportunity came for him to sign up for an elementary school XC ski race.

at the end of january he raced in a classic race with other grades 3/4 boys.

he finished 33rd out of 68 boys.

he did his 2km loop in 16:35.

he had so much fun.

he didn't care if he came in first, or even in the top ten.

he loved being out on the trail, doing something he has grown to love.

and the weather was spectacular as well.

beautiful sunshine.

last friday he had the opportunity to do his second race.

chilly day.

cloudy, and that wind...

brrrrr.

we forgot his ski boots.

the rental ones didn't fit comfortably...

we live 5 minutes away and we had time so i headed home and got his boots   

-sitting right where his skis had been-

when i made it back he still had plenty of time to play around before the 1/2 boys and girls raced.

then it was his time.

this race was classic and skate.

he said he would just classic, 

but then as he watched the 1/2s race he said he may do a little skate, 

since that's a lot of fun.

i waited for him at the finish line.

there were kids coming in that i thought he could have been in before, 

so i wondered how he was doing.

was he too tired?

did he fall?

was he  having a rough time?

finally i saw my little man skiing along.

he finished 57th out of 64 grade 3/4 boys.

finishing his 2km in 23:13

did he have a rough time?  

nope.

he was so happy when he finished.

he was tired, but i got to hear his adventure.

he told me that the basket on the end of his pole fell off.

when he noticed he was about half way.  

he turned around and went back to look for it.

he said it was back where the 1/2s turn off and head to the finish.

then he put the basket back on. 

and continued on his way.

what a kid.

he didn't want to lose the basket.

*he didn't know that his dad had an extra pole at the house, or that his teacher would have gone out to look for it after the races*

he skied a lot further than his race distance, 

and still had fun.

and then still went and played around with all the other kids.

i am so proud of this kid.

he enjoyed the races.

i loved watching him.

he loved finding out how fast he did it in.

he loves figuring out what position he came in.

he would like to one day win, but he wants to have fun.

he wants to enjoy the races.

he knows some kids will be fast.

he knows some kids will do the sport a lot and train a lot.

after one of his friends raced, he had to go find him to tell him good job.

way to go kid.

Jour de neige numéro six

Seriously.

it is the 6th bus cancellation day in January.

last week they were cancelled tues, wed, thurs.

this week... 

buses cancelled tues, wed, thurs.

so far 

*insert 2017's evil laugh here*

last week 

tuesday i kept the kids home.

wednesday i kept them home.

thursday i drove them to school.

this week

tuesday i kept them home.

wednesday i drove them to school.

today i kept them home.

first:

 i didn't feel like fighting them to get them ready for school.

which i knew would happen, as at bed time last night, they had already voiced that if it was a snow day they would like to pleeeease stay home.

secondly:

i was tired.

i stayed up too late and i knew i'd be a grumpy bear if they gave me the littlest argument.

thirdly:

i was going to do some snowday homeschooling with them.

it was going to work, 

it was going to be the most fun ever.

we were going to have a jolly ol' time.

so to begin our day

i let them sleep and began to plan how i wanted the day to go.

what did i want them to learn today?

when they got up 

*at the same time somehow*

i informed them that we were doing school at home.

my boy nodded,

"uh, ok"

my girl...

"no i'm not!" 

and stormed to her room.

i told her either get dressed and ready to go to school or we'll do school here at home, her choice.

not long after she came out and i laid out the day for them.

first, i would shower and get dressed and they could play.

then we'd have breakfast and do Bible time.

Bible Time

i have been working on teaching my kids about the armour of God.  

Therefore, put on the full armour of God, 

so that when the day of evil comes, 

you will be able to stand your ground,

and after you have done everything,

to stand.

Stand firm then,

with the belt of truth buckled round your waist,

with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

In addition to all this, 

take up the shield of faith,

with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit,

which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:13-18

today we finished with the Sword of the Spirit

and then concluded by praying through the verses we had for each piece of armour.

i told the kids that it was actually nice to have the time to not feel rushed but to have all the time we needed to complete the study we did.

i sent them to play as i figured out what to do for their math time.

i wanted it to be interesting and fun.

for some, math and fun do not mix...

for my kids i knew it could.

i went on the headache that is pinterest to get ideas.

i printed off a couple Number of the Day sheets and gave them each their own number.

then i got out the dominoes, two dice and graph paper.

it was time for math!

they each did their number of the day page.

when that was done i had something special for each of them.

the boy:

he got the graph paper and the dice.

he would roll the dice.  

with the two numbers showing he would draw on the graph paper # x # 

then solve the problem by counting the squares.

the girl:

would pick a random domino and writing down the problem, add the two numbers.

they each, at some point, said to themselves

"this is fun."

that made me smile.

Time for Language Arts

it's Thursday, and Thursday means mail!

they had to write a rough copy of a note to someone.

my boy wrote to his great grandma and the girl wrote to her grandma.

i edited (with them) their rough copy.

they then filled out a final card to be mailed.

after they were done their card they were to journal or, in the boy's case, continue writing a story.

outside for Recess! 

and the melt down began.

it was not a fun recess.

it ended with one kid coming in in tears and sending himself to his room.

the other i sent to her room for a little break until everyone was calmer and i would get lunch ready.

the situation was resolved and lunch was enjoyed.

after lunch they sat at the computer for art.

*we did take a wee break as another meltdown happened.*

then they did get their drawings done.

reading.

i had one read out loud to me as the other one did their chores and then read independently.

then we switched.

i loved listening to these two read out loud.

they are getting so confident in their reading.

second last subject:

Français.

yep, i decided to tackle french.

i have one kid who doesn't take any french yet and one who is in his second year of it.  

*only because he was in a 3/4 split last year and enjoyed it with the grade 4s*

as of the beginning of the day i had told them if we were counting at all it had to be in french.

that was fun.

i had printed off 3 work-sheets each.

we did some conversation french on our first page.

second was a word find but that was just extra.

the third was colors.

simple, yet they enjoyed them.

last class of the day...

Home economics 

haha

tonight we are having meatloaf.

so, the kids helped me make it...

actually they prepared it completely.

it will be going in the oven soon.

after making the meatloaf we sat at the table and i thanked them for a great day.

they both had fun.

they asked if we can do it again on the next snow day.

i'm not a home school mom.

but i enjoyed my day today.

now they are watching Alice in Wonderland in the living room and i am sharing this day with you.

side note: 

the kids weren't the only ones with a meltdown today...

but we all survived, no meltdown lasted long.

no school today

today is yet another bus cancellation day here in Muskoka.

i think in the month of January, we have had 4 bus cancellation days.

i don't say snow days because not all of them were truly snow days.

i don't consider it a snow day if it's not due to snow.

i can't do it.

*ok, sometimes i do, 'snow day!' sounds more exciting than 'bus cancellation day!'*

we have had snow day, horrible gross road day.

we have had possibility of a butt load of snow day

and today we have a freezing rain day.

*i have a friend that had fog day before Christmas, we haven't had that one...yet*

last night i heard the weather report for today.

there was a freezing rain warning for our area that would begin in the morning then turn to snow and back to freezing rain in the afternoon.

we have had days predicted like that and had the buses still drive.

sometimes the buses had no issues for the freezing rain came after the after school bus time.  and people were so happy the buses didn't get cancelled.

sometimes the buses were good before school but after school the roads were treacherous, and people were furious the buses didn't get cancelled.

we have had days predicted like that and the buses were cancelled.

sometimes the buses had no issues for the freezing rain didn't come until later in the evening.  people were furious that the buses were cancelled.

sometimes the buses were good before school but after school the roads were treacherous and people were glad the buses were cancelled.

see what i'm getting at?

anyone?

bueller?

no matter the decision made, someone out there will probably have an issue with it.

i, for one, take it as it comes.

sure, some days i go "seriously?  why are the buses not driving?  oh well.  do i want to drive them in?"  

sometimes yes i do, sometimes no i don't.

some days i go "seriously? i can't believe they are not cancelled...Lord keep our bus drivers safe out there as they transport my kidlets to and from school, thank you for them"

i'm not perfect and we do not have perfect happy-go-lucky snow days, all the time.

i'm blessed to be able to be home for my kids, so snow days don't hinder us.  

i don't need to find babysitting, or call in sick to work when a snow day happens.  

i live close enough to the school that i could drive my kids in if i needed to that day.  

they have come to appointments with me when buses were cancelled.

i know that on a snow day the work load is not the normal at school.

there's a lot more review as well as a variety of extra activities since the population of the school is so small on those days.

so i know my kids aren't missing learning something new on a snow day, they won't be behind.

last week we had 3 bus cancellation days.

last week was the first week back after Christmas holidays HAHA!

oh Muskoka, you always amuse me.

am i always this optimistic?

nope.

but a lot of times i am verbally positive while my brain is cringing and wanting to complain.

i find when i make an effort to not complain and to find the positive, the blessing, the fun in the situation i am able to allow God to turn my complaining, grumbling, frustration into thankfulness.

it helps me refocus.

the people making the decision are making this decision to keep my children safe.

(i don't care if their reason is to avoid lawsuits or genuine concern for my kids, if the safety concern is number one, i'm all for it)

so, 

thank you people in charge of making the decision.

i've said it before i'll say it again...

i'm glad i am not you.

*Jan 2014 snow day post*

jody

I sit here and look around my living room.  The kids and my husband are all in bed.  The dog is sleeping.  I'm assuming the cat is upstairs with my husband, probably snuggled in on my side of the bed.  

I sit here in quiet 

except for the dog snoring, the dryer running downstairs and the odd car driving by.  

My home is quiet and at peace.  My Christmas tree lights are on.  I love the Christmas season.  There is even a gift under the tree already.  It's for me from my girl.   She made it with her daddy.  I sit here on my rust-orange couch, surrounded by signs of the love my little family has for each other but my heart is heavy.  My eyes hurt from a cry I broke down and had at 7:30.  

My family is healthy.  

in fact, my dad was had his final cancer update appointment and has been told they don't need to see him anymore.  My dads fight with cancer was scary, yet so short in comparison to the other fight I'm thinking about tonight.

Today was the first day of the winter.  The shortest day of the year.  The darkest day of the year.  Christmas is 4 days away.  

My kids have their last day of school tomorrow.  But today... Today I went to celebrate a life.  

Cancer sucks.  It really does.  

Lung cancer in a healthy, active non-smoking young woman, young mom, sucks.

My boy asked me about cancer last night.  We chatted about it.  He told me he wishes that they would be able to make a pill that they could give someone with cancer and it would get rid of it in a month.  That made me smile.  Today I wish it had existed a couple years ago, when she was first diagnosed.

I was not a part of her inner circle of friends.  But I definitely considered her a friend.  We had great talks, good laughs, lots of fun.  We have prayed for each other, discussed depression together, chatted running, encouraged each other.

Jody had an infectious laugh, always.  

Her smile lit up any room.  

She was a determined, strong woman.  

Her humor was perfect.  

Her love for God...it ruled her life.  

Her boys were the most precious gifts and she knew it, and showed it.

I remember one long walk and talk we had.  I had just been going through some issues and we met at Tim Hortons.  Neither of us wanted to sit, so we went for a walk with our drinks.  When we had walked the rather large block we then sat outside Tim Hortons still chatting.  That was so long ago now but it gave me a glimpse into Jody as I had never had before.  We had ways gotten along but that walk, that talk... I think it cemented Jody into my heart.  

God used her that night to encourage me in exactly the way I needed, and I pray I was able to do the same for her.

We never ended up having another planned time like that or a talk so long and deep, and open, but when we got the chance, whenever we did hang out the times were always full of laughter, and joy.  She was full of it, she knew that no matter what was going on at the time, no matter how hard or tired she was, that her Lord and Savior was with her, helping her through it.  So she was able to have joy, no matter what.  And I believe that is why her laughter stayed contagious.

the last specific conversation I recall was brief.  It was in the fall.  We were in bracebridge for the XC runs our sons were running.  I was walking near the finish line and saw her.  I knew she had been having a rough time so didn't know if she'd be there.  I walked over and she approached me, slowly.  I just asked how she was doing that day.  She smiled, as always, and said "it's a hard day today."  i said "but you're here.  they are doing so well today."  She said they didn't need to know how bad it was today but they just needed to see her there.  Her boy called her and she headed over to him, so proud of him.

I remember pausing, before I headed off with my boy, and watching her hug her son.  

That is the last specific memory I have of Jody.  

I have been praying for her for so many years through so many life events.  I have seen miracles in her life.  I have questioned God, and asked why?!  I know God is in control, I do believe that Jody lived her life to the full, and she is not having a hard day today.

I am thankful for the opportunity to have Jody in my life.  

i will miss her.

but I do not need to pray for Jody anymore.

 I will continue to pray for her boys, her family and her inner circle of friends.  I will pray for those who have lost that person they call at any time day or night.  For those that are missing her as a part of their daily life.  I will pray for those who are missing their confidante, their best friend.  i will pray for those that as they celebrate Christmas this year, have a broken heart because they do not get to hug her, or laugh with her, or just hold her.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit

Psalm 34:18

School Days: Gr 4

age: 9

year in school: 6

grade: 4

class: 4/5 split

to see how last year started click HERE

a new school year has dawned.

the summer was a lot of fun but now it's time to be back in the routine that school brings to life.

my boy was excited to get started back into school.

to find out who his teacher would be.

to see his friends again.

even to get on the bus again.

grade 4 was going to be amazing!

we had a great first morning.

they got up well and we were ready early.

we went outside for the first day photos.

beautiful sunshiny day.  

--> fast forward now to October. 

almost 2 months into the school year as i continue this post.

My son loves school.

but...

He has had some anxiety so far this year.

math is hard.

it has had him in tears.

it has had me in tears as i cuddle him, pray with him and just cry with him.

i encourage him as his favourite part of school is now a struggle.

he isn't finding it to be 'easy math' anymore.

it is getting better.

he is doing better, slowly.

he struggles with the sentence questions.

give him numbers and he is a wizard.

write them out and it gets difficult.

other than that struggle he has been enjoying school.

he was a part of the cross country running club this fall.

two races, five weeks of wednesday 7am runs.  

his class has been to Algonquin Park and to a morning called Racing Against Drugs.

i have the honour and privilege of volunteering in my boy's class this year.

one morning a week, and any extra activities.

i have been able to take reading groups, and individuals to read.

i love being in his class, and he seems to enjoy it too.

he has a good group of kids in his class.

he has a full class of kids, so that too is different than the last few years.

his current favourite subject in school is:

gym.

not surprised.

oh my boy, i pray for you daily.

you are in fourth grade.

that is crazy!

when did you get so big?

enjoy your year, 

do your best, 

have fun,

love others,

respect your teachers.

love you buddy.

see you when you get home.

*1st day of school photos taken by me with Gertie.

photo on the rock taken by me with Chester.

41

hi all.

last year i had trained for months and ran 40km on a trail to celebrate turning 40.

(read about it here)

then came home to an amazing birthday party.

this year was a lot different.

this year i turned 41.

since my parents will not see my boy for his birthday next week they came to celebrate both our birthdays.

on the sunday (since my husband would be at work monday) we did the gift thing.

my boy and i opened our gifts.

he got Star Wars Risk and a remote control BB8

I got a pizza stone for the bbq, some books i had been wanting, a cute little dragon from my girl and tickets (to a concert in August) from my hubby.  

my boy's choice for dinner that evening - boston pizza.

on my actual birthday i slept in a little.

took my dad for a walk on our new 1km trail out back.

got a phone call from my mom-in-law.

went to lunch with my parents and kids.

then my parents headed home and the kids and i went to the boardwalk on the trail for some swimming.

HOT day!

lots of fun with them.

My 2nd jump as a 41 year old. 

then we went to the dollarstore for some candy, and i bought myself some Reese PB Cups... 

tried a couple stores to find myself a Jones Soda, but, alas... no Jones for my birthday.

after a few minutes of the kids playing at the park, while i enjoyed my pb cups, we headed home.

we headed across the tracks to let the kidlets do some scootering...

until my boy went into the ditch.

for dinner dan made french toast and i wanted to watch The Princess Bride. 

and my boy remembered to give me my new colouring book Harry Potter Magical Creatures. 

it was my birthday,

i'm now 41.

it didn't feel special...

41 feels no different than 40 did..

or 39 for that matter.

it felt like a normal summer day.

but it was wonderful.

Limberlost Challenge

this year i ran The Limberlost Challenge.

i ran the 14km.

it was fun.

i loved it.

i had to go through a big big big big big big big big big big mud pit.

i got muddy.

i finished my race.

dan ran the end with me.

i passed the finish line, i finished my race.  

i was so happy.

*as dictated by my girl*

*my turn to tell you how it was*

I had originally hoped to be in the top 10 of my age group this year.

but i did not train enough.

i went into this year with not having run more than the 10km i ran at Band on the Run one month before.

i was not prepared but i was planning to run it anyway.

i love the Limberlost Challenge.

my hubby made the decision to run the 56 one week before so we signed up.

(obviously even though i was planning to run it i was hesitant to sign up)

Dan hadn't been feeling the greatest and was planning to take it easy, and not push himself too much.

he was aiming for a 7 hour finish.

i was just wanting to cross the finish line, i didn't care how fast, although i will be honest, i wanted to break 2 hours. knowing that would be crazy hard.

the night before the race happened.

thunderstorms.

rain.

lots of both.

the morning of the race happened.

rain.

we set up for the kids to hang out 

(a friend was coming to hang with them)

and got ready for the race.

a wet morning.

but everyone was excited, and spirits were high.

the 56km race headed out.

dan hung back and didn't rush.

the 28km race headed out.

our friend showed up so i could get ready for my run.

my turn!

off we went.

last year i was determined to be at the front at the beginning so i didn't get caught behind the crowd entering the trail or crossing the first bridge.

but, i forgot that this year - mainly because i wasn't ready for the race.

i love running trails.

i spent a lot of time running with people who had never run it before.

i chatted with many of them.

we ran similar pace for a bit.

i really enjoy the many people on the trail.

so many encouraging people, and i love also encouraging those i pass or who pass me.

i am so thankful for everyone who run the aid stations.

the trail was pretty much one big trail of mud!

hills to slide on, puddles to go through.

mud, mud and more mud!

I think I wore the right shirt for the day

it was beautiful.

and exhausting.

i was running and chatting with a couple in the last 2km.

i felt done.

i hurt.

i was walking a little more often than i wanted to.

when suddenly someone jumped on me.

i now had less than a kilometre and someone jumps on me.

it was Dan!

he was finishing his second lap.

i was going slower than last year.

and he was faster than originally planning to run.

we ran together for the end.

i told him to go on, 

but he wanted to cross my finish line with me.

i was about to walk the last little hill when he took my hand and we ran out of the woods together.

i finished my race with my husband!  

it made me so happy.

I didn't make the top 10 of my age group.

but i am happy with my time, and results.

Results 14km (look up my bib #329)

and off he went to lap 3 of 4.

i will train better next year.

i think.

when dan was on his 4th and final lap we went to see him at the one mud hole.

which was even bigger now.

we saw the first place guy pass.

pretty sure it was him.

but the second place guy didn't pass us.

(we were pretty sure he hadn't already gone by)

and then Dan came.

we were pretty sure he was in second.

he was hurting but doing well.

we headed back to the finish to see him.

He came in 2nd overall.

1st in his age.

he had a great run.

Results 56km (bib #766)

so that's what taking it easy looks like.

haha.

i absolutely love that race.

i am already looking forward to it again next year.

against such things there is no law

good beautiful morning!

the sun is shining, 

summer break is here, 

my kidlets are sleeping 

and i just finished a cup of tea and my Bible time.

i am going to try to get up each morning, when my hubby leaves the house, and start my day with some time in God's Word.

that would mean getting up at my normal school year time, so this should be possible.

it's just wether i'll actually spend it on quiet time with God or whether i'll fill it with a shower or a task that can wait...

one day at a time.

This school year i made it a point to sit with the kids and eat breakfast with them.

other years i have given them breakfast and continued on making lunches or cleaning something, 

but this year i began thinking about the times i sat and had breakfast with my mom and brother before school.  

i wanted those memories for my kids.

so i ignored other things and made sure to sit with them.

sometimes we read Shel Silverstein poems.

I LOVE Shel Silverstein.

sometimes we read a book they had from the library.

sometimes we were just able to get breakfast down and get along.

and, yes, sometimes we watched Good Mythical Morning on YouTube.

i LOVE that show!

but the one thing i tried to do every school morning was to pray with them before they went to get dressed.

most mornings i was able to get some focused Bible time with them while we ate.

this year i decided to focus on a couple specific verses.

Galtaians 5:22-23

but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.

We made these to remind us what the different qualities were.

in September we spent the month talking about the whole verse.

as of October i began to focus on a fruit for a month.

a fruit a month took us right to June

we discussed at the beginning of the month what the fruit was, and how could we live it that month.

sometimes we had goals.

sometimes we got rewards.

sometimes it was easy peasy.

sometimes it was crazy, pull your hair out difficult.

over the months i began to really learn about the qualities in these verses.

as i taught the kids i realized i had to also work on them.

there was a lot of prayer!

a lot!

i was praying for strength to live that fruit, and a lot of times it got easier.

sometimes...like the month of gentleness...i had some fails.

i encouraged the kids to remind me of the fruit as i would remind them in times of struggle.

i love that when we teach our kids something we usually learn something new as well.

that was me this school year.

one of the things i noticed this year about the fruits of the spirit:

they build up on each other.

without the previous fruit it's hard to have and show the next one.

especially when you get to the self-control one.

without the previous eight self-control is near impossible.

if my actions are not rooted in love than it's hard to see why i should live the next one, or two.

self-control was our last one as school let out.

it was a difficult month.

we were tired, it was hot, there were class trips, outings, lots of activity on the weekends.

we were exhausted and self-control was our focus.

it was not a perfect month.

we did not have a pinterest type of self-control learning: 

all perfect and tied with a ribbon.

pat-on-the-back for me great parenting.

look how wonderful and self-controlled my family is...

no.

it was a difficult month.

self-control in the tempers, fighting, whining.

HARD!

but the times when we were able to control things were amazing.

again, i repeat, there was a lot of prayer about it.

i had to remind the kids how much they loved each other, and how without remembering kindness or gentleness that self-control was hard.

i am so glad that i spent this year focused on the fruits of the spirit with the kids.

they did say they were sad to be done the list.

and asked what we were doing next.

i have no idea.

but i will continue to work on these fruits, praying for my kids as the summer continues.

may we live our lives in such a way.

we do it because we love God, and are thankful for His son Jesus Christ.

we seek to live these qualities with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

against such things there is no law.