We've been eating at home all month. It started the first week because of necessity, then I decided it would be a great goal to eat all of our meals at home, all month. Well, the boys think it is so great that they want to eat at home for the rest of the year. They aren't planning to eat out until mid-January, and they plan to go to Red Robin where we will have a birthday coupon.
Papa wears threadbare socks and never says a word. In fact, I noticed that a couple of his socks could use a good darning. I've darned socks before, but I think the instructions here are the best I've seen yet. I'm going to darn a sock or two this afternoon, because Papa deserves it.
We've been hitting the thrift stores more often again, mostly looking for bargains in children's clothing. I have kids that think the thrift store is just as good as any other store. They tell people that their clothing is from the thrift store without a hint of embarrassment.
Papa works for us day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and he never complains about it. There are times he doesn't love his job, times that it is stressful, and yet he is steadfast. Papa provides for us, and then he comes home and gives 110%.
Imagination. I am awed by my boys imagination. The spend hours everyday immersed in imaginative play. I love to hear them. They've built up an entire imaginary world involving a stuffed bear, and for years now have kept it going.
Papa reads to the boys every night. Mostly he reads fiction they are interested in, but he also took them through a great book on Darwin. He takes the time to ask them what has happened in the story so far. Papa doesn't see homeschooling as something that I do with the boys during "school" hours; it is a way of life and he jumps in and learns with us.
(I know I've been away a long time. I think about blogging, and compose parts of posts in my head, but I just haven't jumped back in. I think that my sudden desire to actually get things posted is in part spurred by the fact that NaNoWriMo starts next month, and I need to hone my diversionary tactics.)
