Only The Papa would choose to have a pirate birthday party. Yes, he has an excuse...his birthday does fall perilously close to International Talk Like a Pirate Day. But honestly, how many 56-year-olds do you know who would make THAT their birthday party? Okay, so you must run over to the family blog and see the pictures. I was going to post one or two here, but all the good ones are over there so go enjoy...

I'm sure that most of you are too young to feel a pang on hearing of the death of Marcel Marceau, but I did.

Our first full week of all our school subjects, including Tapestry of Grace Year 1, was a rousing success judging from our discussions tonight. This year we have a 6th, an 8th, and a 10th grader...close enough that we can have some pretty good discussions as a family since we're all studying the same topics in history, Bible, geography, and even some of our literature. I'm trying to get and stay organized enough that if we have to go on autopilot for a few weeks while I get my hip fixed, it won't totally destroy our year!

We watched our beloved Fighting Irish sink to a history-making 0-4 start yesterday. I'll fall back on the old standby, "It's a rebuilding year."

Bethany is spending Mondays this year helping Aubrey school the little ones at her house. She's doing art and other activities, as well as assisting with phonics, read-alouds, and whatever else helps to manage the day. The older boys go to Tae Kwondo and Abby goes to ballet on Monday afternoons, so Beth's presence allows the younger ones to stay home and have their naps instead of standing around for an hour and a half at the gym. Beth is working two or three days a week, taking college classes two other days, and interning with Aubrey one day, so her year is full and varied. I thank God for sisters that spend much of their lives serving each other...

I just feel like putting in a plug for one of my favorite homemaking blogs. If you haven't already found Meredith on your own or from my sidebar, please go take a look at Like Merchant Ships. Whether you are a new, a seasoned, or a future homemaker, you'll find ideas here to delight the senses and be a blessing to your family, friends, and neighbors. Tell her I sent you :-)

And sharpen your pencils: the Blog Marm has posted a new writing nugget at Just Write. See what you and your kids can do with it!

Snip, snip, that's all, friends! Barely under the wire before Sunday snippets became Monday mendings :-)

Labels: Blogstuff, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Kids, People, The Papa