sunset/moonrise

Last night we were up, up, up with this little man.  

He's teething. And screaming.  

I'm whining. And yawning. 

Together we are quite the pair.

But I am pressing ever onward.  Starting this morning with school for the twins.  They are learning so much, I am nearly moved to tears each day during our academic time.  

They are reading letters on cereal boxes and asking how to spell things so they can label their drawings.  They have mastered colors and shapes, and after we finish up the alphabet (we are on V!) we will concentrate on letter sounds.  I'd also like to introduce patterns. And some sight words.

I'm just so excited, dang it! I have a list a mile long of exciting new concepts and topics I want to teach them.  In fact, we used some of Josh's collected Scholastic points (bonus of being a teacher!) to buy books on geology, planets and an entire calendar packet (days, weeks, months) that I can't wait to use!

Imagining next school year, complete with calendar time and separate periods for different subjects, makes me about as happy as buying new school supplies!!!
{grin}

This morning when it was just Wyatt with me downstairs I happened on Joyce Meyer's Enjoying Everyday Life. I watched for just a few minutes, and I swear she was talking to me.  She talked about duty. About our everyday duties. She said you don't always want to do those duties, or feel appreciated once you've done them, but they are yours to carry out.  

It really hit home for me.  My life as a stay-at-home mom can easily become monotonous, and I don't always want to carry out the duties that are mine to complete.  But if I can own them, and know that completing them is for the benefit of my family, they become easier to bear.  Doing the laundry turns into a labor of love, and making dinner becomes a way to nurture them.

{This moonrise had me gearing up the kids to run outside and capture it on camera}

This got me thinking about my duties.  And this morning when Josh came downstairs in fancy clothes because he didn't have any more jeans, I committed to taking my duties (like, um... doing our laundry) a little more seriously.  

I always feel like I have a lot of plates in the air, and while one of those plates was an exercise commitment  other plates had to be set aside. I am adjusting, shuffling and choosing what gets my focus.  Now it will be: school for the twins, consistent discipline, dinner each night, and household chores (namely laundry and dishes, but also cleaning).

It is easy to see these duties as a ball and chain that hold me forever captive, but I don't see it that way.  With the two year anniversary of my SAHM-hood approaching, I find myself looking ever backward to where I have come from. 

I know that being home is a privilege.  

Raising these boys is a blessing.  

Caring for my family is an honor.

For I, too, believe that:

"The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home."

-Confucius

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For a peek at Wyatt's twin, be sure to head over to my sister's blog today.

Holy hilarious!!!