A Beautiful Day on a Beautiful Mountain.

Not this mountain - the one besides it, but this one is so tall and round ..its much more photographic.

July and August are ski season here, and looked forward to by the kids as a great break from the normal routine. This year we have had so much snow that the trip has been delayed over and over again. We snuck up twice in between storms and then last week we could look forward to a day when the mountain was clear, the winds low, the kids healthy, and yep we could go skiing.

Even for the views it was worth it, we came home exhausted, but happy.

Nothing else to do

What makes the routine normal?

For the last week we've managed to combine out of town guests and sickness. An interesting but regrettable combination. Its Gran and Gramp's annual visit and all the kids now have temperatures, sore throats, runny noses and are becoming couch potatoes. Fortunately the Olympics have been a distraction to the situation.

Tuesday was the last time we had any sort of routine. It has left me with the realization how important the breathing spaces in our day are. Our morning and afternoon tea, the space after lunch when I sit with a cuppa and relax, the moments before dinner when Dad comes home and we somehow re-group as a family.

Strangely many of our routines are centre on school or around food. Its strange what makes it all hang together - cups of tea or coffee or Milo and conversations or joking as we do the dishes. I used to hate dishes as a kid, now they are a respite to gather my thoughts, reconnect with the person drying/or washing and resettle.

The Ongoing Journey

With sending my engineer to school being somewhat out of the question, and him still continuing to resist Mum's attempts at teaching he has been let loose into the world of unschooling.

There are several reasons for this but mainly the realization that as much as this tension has taken its toll on me it has also taken its toll on him.

He is constantly down about school, and while I can get him happy in individual subjects it takes a hugh effort every day to get him there. Effort that is taking a toll on the Artist - who thinks mum has become lost somewhere on the kitchen table, and the Naturalist - who knows where mum is but isn't sure he will get to spend any time with her...

So we will be giving him a break to get himself sorted out. Realize that life and the family learning pattern won't stop and wait for him to get himself sorted. His younger brother will be ahead of him within weeks. (Up to now I had been pacing the younger one to at least give the illusion of being a little behind his sibling. ) Time to realize what he is throwing away and maybe that the grass isn't really any greener on the other side of the fence.

Or if he truly is a different learner the option of plotting his own course and realizing what he needs to learn in order to be him. The latter is going to take some effort to convince me.. but just maybe he is different enough that he has a point. And isn't that the point of homeschooling.

In Grace and in Love

God is amazing - he constantly takes our fears and our failings and offers us a second chance. His love in picking up up putting us on our feet again, and in the meantime teaching us and making us grow.

This week has been full of examples of God bringing good out of what seemed wrong. The highlight the chance to lead worship for the first of our churches new reflective services - contemporary litergy, we're still working out what it will look like. Made more special was that this was one of those things that has always sat on my heart and yet is something that for the last 10 years has been frustrated by circumstances around me.

This was a week to re-address the need to work with the kids one on one where they are at - and enjoy them.

A week that finished on a mountain in the snow - and after a day where everything seemed to go wrong. As we walked away I had an undeniable feeling of joy for a day which stripped away some of the frustration and revealed what could be achieved if I put love first.

There is much to thank God for this Saturday as we come to worship. Much to rejoice in.