Serendipity-do-dah!

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Alphabet_pictures_007Is your family traveling down the serendipitous path of delightful and directed learning with us this year? Can they sing the fairy songs and sign the alphabet and count in unison with silly gnomes? Do they have an appreciation for wildflowers and plant families that is growing every day? Do they paint and draw and model with beeswax? Are welt felt folk your new best friends? Are you loving this?

Me too.

Gnomes_and_gnumbers_013 I enjoyed the fall so much and so did my children. We've brought beauty into our lives and established a rhythm that works for us. Much of that joy emanated from a home in Texas and the infectious enthusiasm of Katherine and her children. We had established a synergistic relationship that made homeschooling a big bunch of children a whole lot less lonely. Real life co-ops aren't practical in my life for a myriad of reasons, but this virtual co-op was a blessing beyond compare.

Fairy_dust_pictures_046 Honestly, I'm feeling a bit sluggish without Katherine walking the Alphabet Path with me.It's a little lonely. But I've been so encouraged by the kind words and enthusiasm of women who have shared that they've caught the Serendipity bug, too.  I think it might be time for us to "co-op" a bit.

If you are using Serendipity, please send along a link with a blog post about what you're doing and how you're doing it. (elizabeth.serendipity spam @ gmail.com--scrape off the spam and close the spaces) If you don't have a blog, send me an email and pictures, too, if you'd like. Put "Serendipity-do-dah! in the subject line. Even if it's only remotely related to what's on the Serendipity blog, consider sharing so that we can all ride the wave of your enthusiasm. I'll gather them all together and we'll have a Fairy Fest on Monday, January 21st. It's mid-January; we're rapidly approaching the lethargy and  burnout of February. Let's not let it catch us.

Now here's a challenge!

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I have been a slug for three days now. I can't seem to motivate myself to do much of anything...I want to de-clutter; I want to write curriculum; I want to do all sorts of things. Just not very much;-) But I think Rebecca might be lighting a fire beneath me. She is reading It's All Too Much and she's moving along quite nicely. Now, Rebecca is coming to visit me in a couple of weeks. One would think that fact alone would motivate me. Do I really want the woman who is on an organizing, de-cluttering tear to see my chaos? Apparently so, because I'm sitting here, doing very little, and thinking maybe when she gets here, she'll help me:-).
Today, Rebecca broke down how she "did" her sunroom. She took Peter Walsh's advice to heart and then she shared it with the world. I might be getting just a little motivated. I could do that. I could go room by room and list its purpose and make a plan. At least, I think I could. Tomorrow. I'll start tomorrow. Right after soccer, ballet, and basketball. I'll start with the storage/craft room. I promise.
Maybe.

Final Thoughts

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According to the eight principles of Attachment Parenting International, I'm most definitely an attachment parenting advocate and practitioner. This is the way we're raising our kids. I've written about it (I'd link the whole blog if I could) and talked about it, and, most importantly, lived it. It is what works best for our family. It is not the only holy way to raise a family. And it is not "nutters" (though that's a very cute term).  The only holy way to raise a family is to prayerfully discern what God is calling your family to do. We've done that. And we continue to do that. Attachment parenting is what we committed to do when we sought God's wisdom for our particular situation. We have also welcomed each and every baby in God's time, without tinkering with the plan through the use of NFP. We prayerfully considered what the Church allows (but doesn't require) and discerned that God's grace was sufficient and we had no grave or serious reason to delay welcoming a child. He says that complete openness and attachment parenting are mutually exclusive, and that attachment parenting is the most important of the two. They are not mutually exclusive. If attachment parenting and openness to life are God's plan for your family, God will give you the grace to live that life with abundant joy. You will not be the failure he predicts. You will work harder than you ever imagined. And you will fall asleep in prayer more nights than not.You will make heroic sacrifices of time and you will live your life outside the popular culture. But God will not abandon you and you will not fail. You will thrive. And so will your marriage. And so will your kids. It can be done. I'm not supermom. I'm a humble, sinning mom who gets up every morning and begs for strength and courage and grace and a dozen other things. But I do not need to be supermom. I have a very big God. And this abundant life is what He wants from me and this is what He helps me to do, every single day, according to His plan.