Snow Day

We started school a little late this morning. Snow is a bit rare here in the Northwest so we had to get out and enjoy it for a bit.

There wasn't a lot of snow but for sure enough to make snow angels and small snowballs.

I think the happy faces say it all. (The older two decided it was cozier to stay inside by the fire.)

Signs of Spring are popping up but Winter is still lingering.

The kids were finding every surface they could to make more snowballs.

Even the odd pool tool worked for playing in the snow.

The best part?

Coming in cold and warming up by the fire while working on school. Now that's the stuff.

Motivated Monday

I waited to work on my Motivated Monday post until yesterday afternoon because of the specific project we were working on. We have been spending a lot of time watching The Food Network in our house and were inspired. We decided to make cupcakes for extended family and deliver them for Valentine's Day. While the kids worked on seat work I baked and baked.

In the late morning we frosted and decorated. We had five dozen cupcakes and made a cream cheese frosting to go on top. Yum!!! 

They were so much fun to decorate and tasted even better.

Simple heart tissue paper in plain white gift boxes made for a perfect way to deliver them to the recipients.



My only regret is the distance we live from my parents. We thought of you, Mom and Dad! I hope everyone had the chance to be with a loved one yesterday. Happy Valentine's Day!

Group sports

I know that organized sports aren't for everyone. We choose to participate in them for several reasons. For one, we homeschool so we are home a lot and we have some really social kids. Kids who went to school for a few years and have some good friendships from that time.

We don't write homeschool on the school line at sign-ups. Not because we distance our kids from homeschoolers but because we want them to be on teams with kids they already have friendships with.

The twins are particularly gifted when it comes to athletic ability. For obvious reasons they feel so different than a lot of kids. Having confidence and being known for their ability when we go to events helps them to feel like they belong. 

That comes with challenges, too. We have lots of conversations about humility and where our identity truly lies. Sports shouldn't be the place they find their value. It is a part of them, something they love, but if they didn't have sports they would still be valuable.



The twins were both selected for select traveling teams this year. We have been crazy busy and it has been somewhat challenging. But these two light up and are in their element when they are doing stuff like this. It wouldn't feel right to say to them, "We aren't a sports family, that's too busy," when it has such positive effects. We try to balance it and time and family are important factors to consider. The younger three love to participate in sports or other activities and the twins will be there cheering them on when it's their turn. It's a mixed bag. The older they get, the harder the lessons become. Attitudes, emotional growing pains in addition to dealing with coaches and teammates can be difficult but we value the opportunity to help them navigate those situations when they are young. Each season we weigh the pros and cons and make the decision what to participate in. Everyone knows just because you play this year doesn't mean you will next year. It depends. We always put family first and I may be going out on a limb here, but sometimes the greater good is doing what works best for someone individually. I wouldn't be honest though if I said I wasn't looking forward to an extra curricular activity free summer. But that's just my story and I'm sticking to it.