shaggy boys: Busy Sittin' on the Deck

I have spent a lot of time on my back deck this summer.

I mean a LOT. Like a couple of hours almost every morning. I have found that the hours between 7:30 a.m and 10a.m. are usually the one time that both teens and infant are asleep. So I take this time on the deck by myself (okay..sometimes I am accompanied by Levi or one of the older boys).

At the beginning of the summer, I would go to the deck armed with stacks of books..and then find myself just day-dreaming. It finally dawned on me that I had been craving this time for a while. I leave the books in the house. Sometimes I use this time to plan. A sermon, a talk..or (ahem) the upcoming Homeschooling 101 workshop/panel for the SAHERO conference on Saturday, July 24th. I treasure this opportunity to just reflect, ponder, dream and listen.

I listen to the cicadas, the birds, the windchimes..I enjoy the breeze.

The breeze, in these Texas Hills, only visits in the mornings. I try to savor the breeze.

Mostly, it is time to just Be. I spent a lot of time last Fall insisting it was important for the boys to have this sort of time..Well? Now it's my turn..

So I have been treating myself to this little luxury on my deck

My mind (like many minds, I'm sure) is just too busy. Our lives become too busy..and I find myself wanting to just stop..and let the busyness happen around me. I find the more I do this..the more I can enjoy my family and friends for who they are. I am less inclined to fit them into my idea of who they could be...and see them more clearly. This new clarity includes my understanding of my sister.

The reason I say this, is because my sister and I have a very delicate relationship. For numerous reasons, we have a very intimate, but cautious, relationship...and we are both working to create a new bridges between us.

That said, other than the week we spent at the hospital when she gave birth to Levi, we have not seen eachother much since. We live in separate cities. We have very differing lifestyles..so we talk baby business and logistics on the phone..and pass Levi back and forth. It feels too disconnected.

So ..I am glad to say, she is coming up this weekend!

We are going to cook. My sister is truly an amazing cook! We have not done any once-a-month cooking in years. We are hoping to start a new tradition of dedicating one weekend a season to mass cooking. Where we can cook, have food in our perspective freezers..and hopefully,create some new bonds.

I am looking forward to her visit this weekend.

Meanwhile..the boys continue (still) working on garage building.

Pictured here is Austen..searching inside the lift for a missing bolt.

Cody has also been doing a bit of searching. Soul searching, that is. He is carving out time most afternoons to write, write, write and discuss life with his mom. As Cody sorts through the college maze..he seems to be leaning more and more towards the University of Houston as his first choice.

At first I thought it was because this was his girlfriend's back-up school. It is not. Cody wants to study management information systems through a Business School...or Computer Information Systems/Psychology if it is a school that does not have a Business program .

Cody is still applying to UTAustin and Yale...just in case. However, he knows his odds are slim for Yale..and homeschoolers don't rank. So no matter how well he does/or does not do on SAT's /ACT's..or how much he has studied..admission to UTAustin will depend on space available after admission of the top 10% of children applying from Texas schools that rank their students. AND if he does get into UT, it will probably be the most financially difficult. Cody is unwilling to take out a loan. He feels he should be able to get scholarships and work. Cody is pretty sure he can get into UTSA, Schreiner University, and UTHouston..now if needed. (But it is not needed.)

Mostly, though? Cody feels that UTHouston has a decent MIS program...that it is affordable (unless another school gives him some sort-of amazing offer), and he likes Houston. This also allows him to spend less time on stressing over academics..and simply studying and continuing to hang in the garage..