Craziness of Life

Well, life has continued its crazy journey.  I'm so very thankful to say that the plumbing DID get fixed, though it took several more days and a trip to Lowe's for a longer snake!  My dh and I got to go away for the weekend to Gatlinburg, which is where we honeymooned, towards the end of August.  I love my kiddos, but it was really nice to get away, just the two of us, for a couple of days.  I was able to take said kiddos up to my parents for nearly a week right after that and attend the family reunion from my Mom's side.  I hadn't been able to go for several years, so it was great to take a week off school and visit with family.  My parents and I were able to can 25 quarts of tomato juice while I was there, which they kindly shared with me.  I opened a jar earlier, and now the smell of homemade marinara is wafting through my house as it. 

Home-grown tomato juice!

 School as been going well.  Weeks two and three were somewhat rough as there was a LOT of reading for my two rhetoric students.  They are extremely strong readers, so when they struggle with the amount of reading, I know it's pretty bad!  We pared a little, but mostly I just gave them the space they needed to get it done.  Some chores might not have gotten done exactly when they normally would, but it's all about give and take.  Things are going much smoother now.  My oldest still hates algebra, but it's not a tearful battle each day now!

My youngest is learning to read!!  I love seeing the look of wonder on her face when she sounds out a word for herself, and it does funny things to my heart when she jumps up and down clapping and shouting, "I'm reading! I'm reading!".  Yes, there are times when I want to pull my hair out when she isn't really listening, or just doesn't want to do her work, but it is more than made up for at these moments.

How is school going for you?  I hope everyone is having a great year so far!!