So this past July we remembered our sweet Brady as a family; its been 7 years! I can hardly believe it some days, as it seems like just yesterday and yet so far away all at the same time. He would be 8! As we shopped for fall clothes for the boys, my mom and I realized the sizing gap we have because he isn't here to shop for. I have XS, S, and L. Missing our medium boy :) So crazy how some months can go by and there isn't much found to remember him (though he is surely missed every day) and then some days a very obvious void is sensed. The boys always remember him and speak of him fondly, and even Walker and Lincoln talk as if they knew him. I think Aiden feels the most loss though, as he constantly wishes for a boy closer to his age to play with and share a room. He does a great job at being Walker, Lincoln and Aynsli's big brother, but he longs for his comradery with his closest brother. This being said we truly see God's hand at work, and blessing that has come out of the pain. We are so encouraged at what He is doing, and will do in our lives and the lives of others. Would I love to go back and change things, yes absolutely, but after knowing the growth that has taken place as a result, I wouldn't change. That's so weird to say, and please don't take it the wrong way.
Sweet Aynsli is doing so well lately. She has started preschool through our district in order to get the speech therapy she needs. She loves going and I know she is learning a lot. Instead of singing a few words to songs she can sing the entire thing now! She blows me away. What she has been through, and how well she has adjusted. Thank you Lord!
We started our third year of homeschooling this year. Its tough. But so rewarding. I have doubts sometimes, but I believe that is the enemy trying to thwart my efforts to disciple my kids and grow them up in the Lord. I would encourage every one of my mom friends if you feel the urging by the Lord to homeschool your kids then you should. Because the enemy will tell you every day that you shouldn't and you can't and you don't know how. But with God everything is possible. I don't think that it is for every family but we are, as parents, called to disciple our kids, and I don't feel there is enough time in a day to teach them everything they need to know (even with homeschooling). We are learning amazing things this year and I give glory to Lord every day because I am blown away with how they learn it and put everything together! They are learning a timeline of the world and it incorporates Biblical events with secular events so they can see how it all fits together. Something I never learned til now! We get to travel on off-times and take days off, as well as go to neat places. Life comes at us at all different paces and we get to roll with it. When our evenings become busy with friends or sporting events its fine because we have had family time together during the day and there's no homework at night (wahoo!). I'm thankful for our co-op this year and all the resources on the internet these days, they are endless.
We, as a family, are hoping to make a change to a simpler, more sustaining, economical way of living. What that exactly is, we aren't sure yet. But hoping to pray about it and see where God is leading us. In this day and age (even with homeschooling) there is a struggle to have the latest things, make more money, be busy, go more places, and save for retirement and college. You can get trapped in a rat race of working hard and long hours, to provide more for your family when all they really need is you. Luke and I don't want to get to the end and have regrets that we should have done things different for our family. I do see God working so much already with all we have been through and our choice to homeschool; its been amazing! However we both still feel a pull to have a homestead of our own where the cost of living is not so high. So we will see what the future holds.
We have made so many choices over the past year to become healthier as well. I have changed over many of our cleaning products, candles, lotions, make up, medicines, and other health products to become completely free of toxins. It is shocking to know how many toxic things we were using on a daily basis. This process has been so fun and rewarding! Its much easier than you think and actually cost effective too!
I was a little long winded with this post, but want all of you readers to know I am blessed by every one of you. And so appreciate all the encouragement you have given my family over the years. God placed every one in my life for such a time as this. So..thank you, and God bless.
Kate
