Co-op Day Meals in a Flash {Breakfast and Lunch}

The hardest part of getting out the door on co-op day is, hands down, the food. You’d think it would be gathering up backpacks, or making sure I have my tutoring supplies, or checking to be sure everyone has actual clothes on. Nope. It’s the food.

Homeschool moms are conditioned to a completely different rhythm in the area of food prep than our institutional school counterparts. We provide three meals a day for however many people are in our family— and most of those are hot meals, set on the table and not served out of lunchboxes. Co-op day breaks us out of our norm on so many levels. First, there’s the breakfast that must be prepared, served, and cleaned up in a timely fashion. No dawdlers! There’s a train (van) to catch! Next there’s a packed lunch, which let’s be honest, we’re kind of newbies at. And finally, there’s walking in the door, exhausted… and wondering who is going to be the adult tonight and make dinner for all these people. Oh, wait. It’s you.

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Heat, Handicrafts, and Games Galore

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It’s been hot. So hot. I know I’m a broken record about summer in the South, but goodness… it’s not tolerable. I’ll happily be outside with my kids in 40 degree temps, but double that and add 10 and no, I’m going to pass.

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Summer School

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A funny little trend hits my Facebook newsfeed this time of year. I have a feeling it’s peculiar to homeschoolers. (O.k., I know it’s peculiar to homeschoolers.) It’s the July Back to School pics.

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On Manhood

You probably haven’t noticed (because hey, we have a lot of kids) but Jack has been missing most of this summer. He’s been in our hearts, he’s been on our minds… but he has rarely been in our actual midst. The reason is simple: Jack has spent the bulk of his summer throwing himself headlong into the things he loves best. In other words, Civil Air Patrol, and all that it entails.

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FREEDOM

Yesterday we celebrated Independence Day, and it stirred a lot of thoughts in my mind about freedom. I’m grateful to have a US passport. I’ve seen many other nations and count it a blessing that the Lord chose to plant me here, on this soil, in this time. I recognize that being born here grants me rights and privileges that many do not enjoy.

But if you’re a Christian, your greatest freedom is in Christ. Period. And that’s a big part of what motivates our family’s ministry; bringing the Good News to unreached people invites them into that freedom for eternity!

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Living Hope

A sweet friend messaged me some encouragement the other day. I love how God uses people like that; a small nudge of the Holy Spirit, responded to in a timely fashion, often hits just when and where hurting souls need it most. This friend has two small children and no doubt, her days are full and hard and her hours are choked by the physical work of car seats and sippy cups and oh my gosh, don’t put that in your mouth! But she took a few moments from her most important job and reached out to me, and it mattered.

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The Things We Read in June

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Summer, in my mind, is most marked by an abundance of two things: vegetables and books. I know most people think of sand and sun and water. But not me. I’ll take my veggies and the time to read as much as I can manage, thankyouverymuch.

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The Creative Type

We are, on the whole, a fairly creative family. We’ve got writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and essays. We’ve got guitarists, bass players, a keyboardist, two violinists, a cellist, and a couple of people who can sing well enough to pass muster in a pinch. We’ve got knitters, two seamstresses, an excellent tailor, a videographer and scriptwriter, and more than a handful of folks who can most definitely take your average meal or dessert and turn it into something pretty darn extraordinary.

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