our fall {and a preschool update}

just a little glimpse into the details of what our fall is looking like...after some very intentional decisions...

{some fun pictures of our "school time" the other day to keep your eyes happy :-)}

pat and i both get up around 5 am and workout and read before the kids get up at 7 am.
all 6 kids are sleeping GREAT! SO thankful for this!

between 7 and 7:30 am all 6 kids (and pat) get dressed and eat breakfast. pat and r, j and b leave at 7:30. he drops them off at school on his way out of the neighborhood.

at 7:30, i turn around and am left with 3 adorable little boys staring at me :-)

we do school right away. from 7:30-8 am-ish.
it's already changing. the first couple days were so, so simple and short.
already i can do more and longer with them.

we have mastered circles, squares, blue, green and pretty much can recognize the letter "L" (next will be "S" - the first letter of each of their names). we have used paper/pencil, dry erase boards, and shaving cream. we read a Bible story - that neither of them get - but they can already sit and listen to it much better. they are learning ephesians 6:1 ("children obey your parents, in the Lord, for this is right.") lincoln has more of it memorized than sawyer :-) levi NEVER has to go in the pack n play - he just plays around and is happy to do so! SO much progress, right?!?

i am tempted to feel overwhelmed at HOW MUCH lincoln needs to learn this year to be ready for kindergarten next year. and then, i give it up. i will do what i can do. that's all. i can't be consumed by those thoughts...

a couple mornings a week i go to the gym.
wednesday mornings are "grandma mornings" - either my mom or pat's mom come over.
thursday mornings i'm doing a Bible study at our church. the last time i did one of these "women's Bible studies" was 6 years ago! the year Bailey was born! after that, it just wasn't the right time. i was investing my time into more one on one relationships AND my family. and then the kindergarten schedule (half day) the last 2 years made it impossible. i thought a LOT about joining one this year. and when i say a LOT, i mean a LOT (like, lost sleep over it!) i did do a study in my neighborhood last school year and knew i couldn't do both. but i LOVED spending time with my neighbors that way - getting deeper. BUT, it was during naptime - and i eventually had to decide "no" on that one - KNOWING i needed some quiet time in my day in order to make it through the afternoons! so, back to the church one. i said, yes and signed up. hoping and praying it was the right decision. yesterday was the first one. my decision was confirmed over and over...ALL 3 boys did GREAT in their classes! (l and s are in the same class) it's just going to be good. i'm thankful.

i'm back to grocery shopping on friday mornings.

after lunch each day, i put levi down for his nap, and then send lincoln and sawyer to their beds.
i go in and read a book to each of them - one on one.
it's a sweet time, and i KNOW it's good for all of us.

then i have about 1 1/2 hours of quiet before i pick the older 3 up from school.
and then i have 30 minutes with the older 3 before the little ones get up. this is also SO good for us.
i can hear about their days and pray with them and look into their faces before i'm pulled in so many directions again.

homework hasn't been too bad...yet.

so, we play then eat, take baths and get ready for bed so that when pat gets home around 7 i can run away :-) and he has an hour or so with them.

after he gets them in bed, we sit on the couch and talk and pray together. i LOVE knowing i'm going to have that time with him at the end of my day. he gives us SO much of himself! he pretty much falls asleep next to me after that. and i stay up and catch up on blogs or nursery stuff for church or email or whatever...and TRY to head to bed around 9:30/10 - and then read for a few minutes...and start all over again!

we aren't doing ANY sports this fall (gasp!) except rebekah is doing swimming 2 evenings a week for the entire school year.
we aren't doing AWANA at church. or daisy's. or cub scouts. no no no.

it feels SO good. 

i think joshua is the only one that might be missing a sport. but we hope to spend our saturdays doing fun things TOGETHER as a family this fall...instead of dragging everyone around to sit and watch each other play. just for this season. it's what right for us this season.

fall 2011 for the cassada's.