I know a lot of the fanfare has lately revolved around my baby niece, Lilah, but here is the first girl that made me an auntie! Kaitlyn wanted some photos with her baby boy, Koda. He’s slobbery, and a tad temperamental (ha!), but he is completely and utterly devoted to his mama. When she was 17 she recused him as a puppy, and he’s been by her side since.

Kaitlyn is soon moving down to Georgia for grad school, and sadly, Koda will be hanging back here in Cincy for now. She wanted some fun loving shots to hang in her new home, so we planned out a date, and then came the huge snowfall! We decided to brave it, along with the temperature high of 24 (!), and ended up doing this quick 15 minute backyard mini-session. I have to say, I think the snow was the perfect touch.

Love you, KK! Going to miss your face!!

If you see four kids and (who are we kidding) a mama walking around in pajamas, a house in disarray with a sink full of dishes, the sound of Pandora’s classical music station filling the air, and a mom begging her children to be quiet and sit still long enough to complete their work, then you most likely have entered our house during school time. Welcome. Feel free to pull up a chair, or wash dishes.

People have asked where we’ve been, and are we still photographing. The answer is yes we are alive, well, and yes we are still photographing. :) The crickets have been chirping as dust settled here on our little blog space, but I’m here to tell you it has been of complete necessity. It was so very needed. Adjustments had been made around here and blogging, for the time being, had to take a back-burner. Right now we’re on our schooling winter break, which means our days run a little slower and are more laid back for a few weeks. The house is also more clean, because we all actually have TIME to see about it….now if we can just manage to paint the few rooms I’ve been wanting done before we start back, I’ll feel quite accomplished!

This year has been interesting, to say the least. I’ve been in full-on reflecting mode the past couple weeks, and have realized how much unexpected change has taken place in 2013. I’ll save you from details for now, but suffice it to say that I have truly learned where I am meant to be, and how to be there. The first part of that equation was an easy realization–I’ve always known my family came first–but that second part, the how to be part is newly learned for me. And I’ve never felt better.

These kids are getting older. I blink, and we’ve waved goodbye to the baby stage. Their schoolwork is getting harder. School days are much longer. When I wrote about our little schooling house a couple years ago I was still trying to find the proper place for drawing the line between homeschooling and running a business from home. I have tried all the mind games, goals, and rule making to keep me in line. I’ve said I would limit myself to computer usage during the daytime Monday/Wednesday/Friday, tried “no computer until after lunch,” and so on. Nothing worked. Like a magnet, I was constantly pulled back to the computer to answer one more email, work on part of the next blog post, or edit a few images. The kids incessantly complained about me being on the computer. I failed continually at making the mark, and I felt guilty. Very guilty. I decided on a different approach this year. I went cold turkey, and it changed my life. No computer AT ALL until kids are in bed Monday through Friday. Instead I’m now fully committed to them when they are awake, because they need it, and most importantly, they deserve it.

I’m happy to report that our first half of the school year went better than I even anticipated. In a variety of ways, I have seen each child grow and blossom. What a blessing I am able to witness. Honestly, I feel like a different person than a year ago. I’m busy, very busy, but my days feel right and the guilt is gone. Best part? I haven’t heard a single complaint about me “working too much” or being “on the computer all the time” in over 5 months. Win.

Compiled below are a few glimpses into our lives during the first half of our school year.

This year Priya began 8th grade, and most often spends her days working independently at her desk in her room. I sit with the boys at our dining room table for their school day. This was their sheer excitement for the start of our year as 6th, 1st, and 4th graders.  ;)

Our school day has changed just a bit from our one I posted a couple years back, but it’s fairly similar. After breakfast we read The Bible as a family and normally begin school around 8:30. I wish I could make it 8:00, but I’m just not there yet. Getting up at 7:00 just about kills me, so it has lately been 7:30 before I’m up and making breakfast. Our typical school day lasts from about 8:30-5:00.

I love this photo because it is exactly what my morning resembles. Three boys doing their own math, as I play the conductor of my little symphony going from child to child answering myriad questions.

With Priya entering 7th grade last year, her work load was a lot for us to get used to. Working with her and the two older boys meant that we didn’t spend as much school time with Gabe as we had hoped, so we really picked up the pace with him this past summer. He finished up his reading lesson book with Baba, and we all celebrated the great accomplishment (our tradition) by going to dinner at the place of his choice. He chose the same place his bother did a couple years before.  ;)

Since then, he’s been doing SO well, and still loves having that precious quality time with Brett. He begs for his reading lesson! I just adore watching my loving husband as he has taught all four of our children to read over the years. He’s learned quite the lesson in patience through it all!

This year Riah jumped into a grammar and writing course that his big brother has been taking. He has done quite well, and I’m amazed at what he has learned in just a few months.

Adin, my nature lover, has recently been very interested in outer space. We went stargazing one night at a park where an amateur astronomy club meets, and they were all so kind letting the kids look through their telescopes and teaching about what they saw. I’m thinking this may be a reoccurring field trip for our family, and perhaps we’ll be adding our own telescope in the mix at some point.  ;)

And our Priya, dear Priya….I just hope someday I can properly relay to this child how much she has taught ME. I have never learned more about myself than seeing my own reflection in my first born, good and bad. She makes me want to be a better person, a good mama, and a Godly role model. Since day one, she has been my reminder of the magnitude of my responsibility I have been gifted in being a parent.

Priya’s 8th grade year has not been without its bumps in the road. It has been a VERY full work load with Latin, Literature, Current Event (debate), History of Science, Logic, and Math. Brett has been helping her with her math and Latin, and I took on logic this year, as well as making sure she is staying on track throughout the day and week. She meets with a group of students every week, and it has been so good for her.

If you know us, you know we love our food, and we’ve always taught our children how food arrives to our plate. Recently, we all looked more closely at genetically modified “foods” and it has made the kids even more passionate about watching what we eat. Priya decided to tackle the topic for her Science Fair project, where she will find out how many favorite processed snack foods contain these hidden ingredients. She began by collecting a list of favorite snack foods or drinks from her class friends, checking to see if any contained GMO ingredients.  They all did!  Then she had the idea to bring everyone a healthier alternative to try that was GMO free. :)

LOGIC, oh dear. I never ever would have dreamed I would be teaching my children logic. But here we are, some days in a pile of tears, but we continue to press onward! It’s been tough but rewarding, and I love seeing the fruits of our efforts.

Even though I’m a complete homebody, we have still managed to venture out and explore. I took the kids to Florida in October, and doing school on the beach or by the pool was heavenly. In fact, I think I’d like to go back right about now.  We took an fantastic boat trip in the Sarasota Bay where they pulled in nets and were able to study sea creatures up close, straight from the water!

Most of our school days are like this…

In between dancing or gymnastics through our halls, Gabe sneaks off and loves doing extra writing and showing off some things he has recently learned. We’ve loved watching this zeal in him.

Riah began piano in the summer, and has grown to love it immensely. If we wonder where he is, this is his default. He seems to constantly end up here. (I’m not complaining.)

As stated, our house gets a bit messy, but it is well adored and cherished. Adin is typically found with his nose in a nature or survival book, inventing a trap, or carving wood.

Our curriculum has seen cleaner, more put together days, but look how much love it has received being passed down from little hands. Well, love may not be the most precise word for their math books….

Winter days mean evenings like this…

Normally, it is just one or two boys piled up on Baba while he reads aloud, but my heart was a flutter seeing all my babies stacked together here a couple weeks ago. I’m just thanking God for these precious and few days I have with them, for I shall blink and this time will pass. Treasuring these moments.