Watts New(s)

There is absolutely no way that I can give a comprehensive update of everything that has happened in the past year.  It all happened way too quickly!! We had the normal illnesses plus the dreaded swine flu and the measles last fall.  Yes, I said measles!! Three of my four girls got the measles even though they had been vaccinated.  We had a decent soccer season–Kalyssa’s team even won some this time!  It’s hard to believe that we are gearing up for the new season already! We celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Then, with the new year came the big changes.  Shannon and I separated.  It was originally supposed to be a trial 3 month separation, but here it is almost July and we are still living separately.  Approximately a week after that Shannon lost the job he had held for 10 years.  He found a position that paid less and I went to work as well.  In June, he took a position with a company that has better pay and better benefits, and I was able to come back home to be with our girls.  Regardless of our differences one thing we agree on is that homeschooling is still the best option for our girls.  He has agreed to provide for us financially so that I can be a stay-at-home, homeschooling Mommy once again.  I have no way of knowing what the future holds for our family, but I do know that a lot of people are praying for us, and that makes all the difference.  Regardless of what happens, we will be okay.

I had an off-the-wall thought this morning.  It probably isn’t an original idea, but still this is my take on it.  I was thinking about the story of The Three Little Pigs this morning while I was in the shower.  Don’t ask me why this occurred to me in the shower because I will never know–perhaps because that is the only place of relative silence in my otherwise busy house.  Anyway, it occurred to me, what if the Big Bad Wolf wasn’t really bad?  What if he was simply suffering from a cold or hay fever and desperate for help?  I mean, think about it.  When you sneeze, it sounds like you are huffing and puffing right before the actual sneeze.  And, if your sneezes are like mine, you could definitely blow a straw house down with it!!  I don’t remember the Big Bad Wolf ever actually saying he was going to eat the pigs.  Maybe he just needed medicine for his cold and was looking to his neighbors for help.  He was so desperate that he was willing to do anything to get it even go down the chimney of a house!  So, that was my deep thought for the day.  What if the Big Bad Wolf wasn’t really bad?

Have you ever noticed that the more tired you are the more energy your children have?  It seems that on the days when all I want to do is "veg out" and read or rest my children want to run and play and turn the living room into a gymnasium or playground.  For some reason today I am extremely tired and sleepy.  I got enough sleep.  I even got to sleep in a little (until almost 7:30).  Maybe I got too much sleep.  Maybe that’s the problem.  Or maybe I am still catching up on sleep from the weekend which was quite busy.  Whatever it is, I hope I have more energy this afternoon when the children will most definitely get their second wind!!

 I am sitting in my rocking recliner watching the joy on the faces of my children and their father as they all play with a huge canister of Play-doh.  What is it about Play-doh that brings such joy to children of all ages?  Some might say it’s the texture and tactile experience; others might say it is the smell; still others might say it is the ability to create and re-create things as many times as you want.  I think for my kids it is the knowledge that Daddy likes to play right alongside them and has just as much fun with the stuff as they do!

It’s been a rough few weeks.  Things have not been going smoothly at our house.  I haven’t yet "wrapped my brain" around everything that is happening.  I am in a fog, and it has been hard to keep up with our school related work.  I decided to just relax and just let the learning happen without being a slave to our curriculum.  And, surprisingly, it has.  The kids are surprising me at every turn.  They have started directing their own studies a little more, and they are more "caught up"  than I would have imagined.  There are some things that have fallen by the wayside, but since we work year round, I am not worried about those things.  I am continually amazed by my own children!  And I am extremely proud of them!  I just hope I tell them enough.