The post I really needed to write.

I need to say goodbye to our beloved, annoying pussycat. I've tried to write this too many times and stopped, but I think I needed to take time to write it.

I don't think that there have been many moments in the last 10 years when we haven't been aware of his presence.

When we haven't known that somewhere in the neighboring sections he was looking out for us,
keeping watch over us,
waiting for us,

or that on one of our beds,
or beside the fireplace there was a silvery gray figure curled up, half awake, half waiting for someone to give him a cuddle, go for a wander or do something interesting.

I didn't think I ever saw you lift a claw in anger or defense against a person, and yes you should know that at the end of the ten years the baby whose cot you slept in, whose bed you snuck into finally decided that having you there was good.

Annoying,

Well you always knew what he wanted, normally because he spent half of the school days and almost every evening trying to get our attention off the books and onto him.

You could remove him on his desk and have him jump up, back before you re focused on what you were doing.
Often what he wanted was to go outside after hours, stalemate....two strong willed creatures meand him refusing to give way - ok at 3 am sometimes we would give in to the incessant crys, when it was quiet out there and there were no cars of the road. Road sense never was your strong point.

Truly you were always in the middle of things, comforting my daughter when she was sick, putting up with the boys attempts to box you or cage you - umm why were they so slow to realize you would stay put for hours if someone would just scratch behind your ears.

We will miss you Zeke
 

And then there was a snowboarder

Every year since my youngest was 5 we've been able to head up the mountain for a few days of skiing, thanks to an amazing package that they put together for the local school kids. I think the highlight of my winter is to enjoy a beautiful blue-sky day on the mountain, and the co-0rdinator of the group is good at waiting for those blue-sky days.

Over time we left the beginner slopes behind and found that we could enjoy racing each other through the snow. Well, they can enjoy, I can hope to catch up with them at the bottom.

But along the way one child has consistently wanted to add snowboarding to his options. To board rather than glide down the mountain. So this year we left him behind in the beginner slopes, and with a little bit of help and a few lessons...

He made it top to bottom of the mountain. Not fast, and totally exhausted each day, but he made it.

Snow in the Backyard

Normally snow doesn't fall here. An hour south can be blanketed, half an hour to the east and the roads close on cold winter nights but here snow was unheard of until Monday morning. But this time we had one really really cold snap, and for the first hour of the day enjoyed snow in the backyard...

We got to make a snowman on the drive ..even if it is only 12 inches high!

So why has Gollum taken up residence here?

I've enjoyed working through the Lord of the Rings both as a read aloud and as a Omnibus book this year. My sensitive kids who at 9-13 weren't sure when we started that this series was a safe read ...but as "What hasss he gotss in his pocketssees" took over we've been fine..now thanks to Dad's read aloud voices,... we have "niccee fissshheesss, niceee Hobbitssess" ,  now the only pause in how to finish the Two Towers is to see what Gollum gems will bet us past the spider...umm no so easy when some family members still do roof patrols in their room each night trying to rid the world the house of all daddy longlegs...

A Long Journey

Its been a long journey to find out how to work this home-school thing. Lots of false starts, lots of work, lots of things I wish I had known at the start. But this year slowly order seems to be growing.

Its not that we have it perfect, its not that I have the right planning system, because I now only seem to use a spreadsheet, and largely wing it.

Its not that we've cracked the secret of homeschooling three kids by lunchtime, and have done lots of cool stuff after-wards. We do get rewarded with dessert if we make it through the days school though.

Nor is it that we have found the perfect most amazing curriculum out, but now I can see how what we have been led to use fits together and its been good, yes in its own way fun and rewarding, but it has been a long road to see how all the pieces that used to seem so competitive for our time interweave.

Slowly I'm starting to drop the pressure and work towards a simple " We will do the work today that God wills." I'm not good at it, but I can see that its a lot better than trying to plan and make that planning happen. Especially for someone with a track record for being way to stressed out about it all.

Haiku fun

Teaching my youngest Haiku last term, this is my example, courtesy of a persistent cat.

Zeke's, gray, snakelike tail

Lying across my blank page

Begs my attention.

Please don't take out the trash....

because we love our Zeke

I guess it was really too cold to sleep on the floor in front of the heater this morning.

Swimming

It might be crazy, but having finally got order in our home-school days for the first time in months ... we have two weeks of swimming. I see Chaos looming, although this time at least we are prepared,

Routine sorted,
Marking pile up to date
Muffins baked,
Togs in the dryer...


Ready for the week...

Breathing Space

It's been a while since I've been here. Summer has gone, the Autumn leaves have turned golden and dropped, they've even been picked up, the winter vegetable garden is in, soccer started, and well maybe we are starting to get a handle on how this year will work.

 So hopefully I'm back to the blog again.

From My Artist's Pen

“Augustus was savior of Rome, and Jesus the Son of God is Savior of the world”

The saying is actually made up of two saying, one by Publius Nigidius Figulus, “The ruler of the world is now born” concerning Augustus, and the other was said by Mark, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. Mark was one of the apostles of Jesus, and he later wrote a book about the life of Jesus. He went out to preach the gospel but was killed for his faith. Publius was part of the senate when Augustus came to be Caesar of Rome. He wrote many books and supported Caesar

Another way to put the saying is: “Augustus saved Rome from collapsing, making way for Jesus, Son of God who was later killed on a cross to save the whole world from death.”

Mark was trying to spread the Gospel to the world. We are not told who in particular he was writing to, but being one of the first gospels, he could have been writing to everyone. At one point he was Peter’s scribe and Peter restored him to faith in Jesus. Publius and his friends were trying to find safe rules so that men and gods could talk to each other. He was also trying to support Augustus.

If Augustus had not saved Rome, then Rome could have been turned upside down before Jesus even got there. And if Rome was in turmoil then it would not have been worrying about Jesus and may not have killed him of the cross. If Jesus did not die on the cross then the world would not be saved from death, because sin leads to death and through the death of Jesus, we have life.

It is like a test. To understand the test you have to study and lay the foundations of what you are studying. It was the same idea when Augustus took hold of the throne of Rome. As you continue to study for your test you build on what you already know. In the same way Augustus built Rome up, he cleaned up the streets and kept the peace. As the time of the test gets nearer and nearer, new ideas and thoughts go through you head. Jesus son of God turns up as a common Nazerite, grows up, lives a perfect life and begins his ministry. Then the test come at last and you pass never having to look back but go on into some new subject. So Jesus took the test, died on the cross and saved us from our sins never having to go through death again.

In the end Augustus and Jesus proved the saying true. Augustus saved Rome in the Civil Wars and he closed the gates that could only be closed in a time of peace three times. He took good care of Rome, and sort of prepared it for the coming of Jesus. Then Jesus came into earth, and lived a perfect life. The Jews with the help of Rome killed Jesus on the cross. But on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and through his death saved the world, giving us life and freeing us from our sins.

Remember Daniel and his visions. One of those visions was about a statue of Nebuchadnezzar, with a gold head and stone feet. Well, in Daniel’s dream the statue crumbled down to nothing. Rome is like the statue and in the end Jesus is what brought it crashing down. He brought it down, through his good works and the works of the apostles.

The saying was “Augustus was savior of Rome, and Jesus the Son of God is Savior of the world.” Augustus saved Rome and brought peace so that Jesus could come and save the world from sin and death. The saying is actually two sayings one by Publius, who was part of the senate and the other was said by the apostle Mark, who was one of the twelve that followed Jesus. Publius supported Augustus. The saying also shows us how God used Augustus reign to bring salvation to the world. Daniel’s dream also proved the wisdom of the saying true. Therefore the saying is a wise saying.