Well, I did really well about blogging about our adventures this summer.
Except the opposite.
We have had a few big changes in the family and, even if I had time to blog (which I haven’t,) I really didn’t know what to write.
And, truth be told, I’m really not up to telling the whole story right now, for a couple of reasons. A) Because I have had to explain the situation every time anyone we know sees our family, and it gets kind of exhausting, and B) Because I usually feel a prompting in my spirit when it’s time to write about something, and I just haven’t felt that yet.
However, I didn’t want to not get to post about our first day of school…it’s a big year for us, and I need to be documenting it. So I’m going to go ahead and write this thing, and then maybe one day I’ll write the prequel.
We started school on Monday! I did not have the time this summer that I was hoping to have to really prepare myself. So the theme this year should probably be “Flying by the Seat of One’s Pants.” However, ain’t nobody got time for making that long of a banner, so I chose…
Don’t get me wrong, I have totally swiped this idea from other people. But with Ava going into her first year of Challenge and all the challenges we will face as a family this year, it seemed fitting.
But then when I was prayerfully thinking about what verse to center this year on, this is where God took me:
Nope, no “Be strong and courageous,” or “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” (my New Testament professor would be relieved on that one!) God is calling our family to some heavy verses to go with some heavy circumstances, and here we are.
I have a feeling that this year will be much more convicting and sanctifying for me than for anyone else.
(And I do want to clarify that I am not choosing this theme with an arrogant, “I can handle any challenge that comes my way” type attitude. The truth is, I CAN’T handle these challenges and I have no intention of doing them with my own strength. God has put our family on this path, and I humbly accept the challenge knowing that He’s going to be carrying us the whole way.)
We don’t have any chalkboard signs, but here are my kiddos on the first day of school!
Ava is starting her first year of Challenge A with Classical Conversations! She also got to move up to the church youth group, which would terrify me, except we are so blessed to have a sweet bunch of teens at our church. We are so proud of her independent, clever self, and I know this is going to be a huge growing year for her!
Harlie is going into 5th grade! Since this is my first year working with her, I know a large part of it will be spent assessing where she is and how she learns. She is an attentive student and I know she will do great things! She also would like to tell you a pizza joke…never mind, it’s too cheesy.
Israel is going into 4th grade! This is his first year of Essentials with Classical Conversations, which means that he will be working almost completely independently. He is still my Lego-loving artist, and I love seeing what he brings to the table. He also has the best dance moves out of the 8 of us, so just keep that in mind when you’re trying to decide who to invite to the party.
Egan is going into 2nd grade. He can be the most challenging to school, I’m not going to lie. He finally got to start piano lessons this year and is the only Linker playing fall ball, so he will be getting more time in the spot light than he is used to. Also, since we started using jumping jacks as a disciplinary tactic this summer, he is in wonderful shape.
This is Arrow’s Pre-K year! He will be the first Linker to not attend a brick and mortar preschool. I just loved our preschool in Tallahassee so much and knew that I would not be able to find the same thing here. Ava has volunteered to do his formal schooling – so we shall see how that goes! He is a young 4 (July birthday,) so I am not even 100% sure that next year will be his official Kindergarten year. I’m super wishy-washy like that.
Oliver is going to continue to entertain us this year and give lots of free snuggles! Did you ever see a sweeter face?
Well, there you are. That’s Linker Academy for the 2018-2019 school year.
CHALLENGE
accepted.
karathecucumber 