I don't know about you but we've hit the ground running with our summer! We wrapped up our school year with a fun pioneering field trip, heading back in time to 1852.
The way of life "back then" was a great eye-opener!
The kids learned how to mine for gold...
And how the miner's lived.
Life was not glamorous and they worked hard...Especially in times before the washing machine!
This was good hands-on learning!
The children thought drying the clothes was fun...
It takes determination to wring out the clothes and get the clothes pin just right!
Doing their own panning for gold and gems was a highlight!
But I think the stage coach ride was the favorite activity of the day.
The next stop was Dallas, Texas! Can you believe it? No, not really on the stage coach...We ventured back to 2011 for that trip:)
It's that hard part of life when the first chick is preparing to leave our nest (sniff, sniff). God has been preparing my heart but this trip was a big reality check! I was so thankful for a very special highlight...getting to meet a dear bloggy friend while we were in the area. This joyful moment was a refreshing distraction from the overwhelming purpose of our trip.
Patty was so sweet to make the trek to pay us a treasured visit. It was a blessing to meet her and it felt like I had known her forever despite the fact that we had never met! We chatted up a storm and she is an absolute doll. Our time together filled my heart with a big cup of grace! Thank you, Patty.
Then we were off to tour the campus of my son's first college choice. He feels like this is where God is calling him to be. It's a wonderful and faithful place....But it's just so far away! I am learning to surrender in new ways as a Mother in this place of life...Jesus I Trust In You.
I have to say that I am incredibly grateful for the gifts and friendships that help us through these transitions in our lives. My dear friend Joan, for example, is in the same boat... as her daughter is also looking at the same school. It was a tremendous blessing to meet her here, at this same place in life, to share our motherly emotions about the inevitable changes looming in our lives. Yes, God does provide.
So our summer started out Hitting The Ground Running but I'm slowing down now. I want to spend the next year enjoying every moment that I have in the here and now, taking time to enjoy my family unit and the gifts all around us!
I'm so glad you and Patty were able to meet up! Great photo of the two of you. I can't imagine having a child go off to college, seems like so far away but I know the time goes by quickly.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great field trip!
ReplyDeleteMy sister loved her first year at UD this past year, and is making plans to head to Rome for the first semester of her Sophomore year in the fall! It sounds like such a wonderful place, even though it IS so far away!! I can't imagine how hard it is going to be when my children start heading off to college... :( Praying for you!!
Oh my, Tiffany... I've had two go through college and one has permanently left the nest... has his own home! Thankfully, he is close by, and we see him often. The second to go through school is living at home saving for his own place. I am so proud of them both! Hardworking young men.
ReplyDeleteI have a daughter who will be a senior in h/s next year (all homeschooled). I'm starting to get a little panicky thinking about that! It does go by so quickly. When I am playing with my younger children, I get choked up from time-to-time remembering when the older ones were little. It certainly makes me appreciate even more my time with the younger ones.
+JMJ+ Oh, and I was only a babe myself when I had my first! I know this comment makes me sound like I'm 100! ;-)
What a great adventure! I think I'd have liked all the mining myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd how great that you and Patty met up!
UD must be such a special place...hear so many great things about it. Their presence in Rome, when we were there was undeniable and something I wrote about and photographed on my blog.
God bless you all during this milestone time.
that mining place looks like a very educational site. how wonderful you could visit there. and double happiness for you and Patty to have met! my heart goes out to you in this preparation time for your son's next step in life. how exciting for you and him too that he wants to go to a Catholic school.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great attitude towards your child leaving home! Putting him in the arms of Jesus will keep him safe. Is he starting this Fall? What a big transition and you were blessed to meet Patty and then your girlfriend.
ReplyDeleteYour mining adventure for the little kids looked like a blast! How fun to realize you can "step back in time" and then go home to the modern age.