happy at home

It's been nearly 2 weeks since we've returned from our oasis trip to Maui. It was bliss. It was paradise. It is now in the past, but parts of it linger in me. Just as a good trip should.
Growing up, I was always told by my mother, that we had gypsy blood in us (this was something that she was proud of!). Every summer, my mother and I would take off for a long roadtrip to the East Coast, and it was always full of spontaneity and side roads. Those summer trips taught me, that my heart thrives when it is given adventure and freedom. 
It's been almost two weeks of back to life. Back to homeschool, back to meal making, bread making, our usual walks on the fire break, our daily rhythms and routines. And while we have settled back into our lives here in Beaver Creek (for a few more months at least), I am happy to say that something in my heart that was awakened on our trip has stayed with me, and I have been feeling a very nice sense of balance in my heart and mind.
On our trip, I began a new journal. In it, I started to write about my search for happiness, peace and balance. I wrote about ideas and ways to implement some of those bigger ideas into daily practices. And I'm happy to say that I am doing it.
Painting, meditating, yoga, walks. Good gentle music, deep breathing, simplifying and praying.
It feels good. It feels like fresh air in my heart and soul.

 ...

In other news, we have been moving along with some new literacy activities in our homeschool studies.
A realization hit me the other day, that Noah will be in grade 1 next year, and I really want him to be well prepared for it. While talking with my good friend Natalie (an RCMP spouse and teacher), she gave me a good idea on how to use a morning message with Noah and Katia.
A morning message is a simple note that I write each day to the kids.
We read it together and then I ask Noah and Katia to look for certain words (site words), sentence structure (periods, capital letters, spacing) ect. It is also a fun way to talk about an idea or special event that we might be doing (St.Patrick's Day).
Another fun activity that I found via Pinterest was a word "sound it out" activity. I drew some very simple images of 3 letter words (bat, sad, mad, cat, dog, web, bug ... ect). Then I taped up the picture on our white board, and I get Noah to sound it out. He has done really well with this activity and seems to like it alot.
Finally, the last literacy activity that we have been working on are the Bob readers. Noah has caught on to these books and has already read through the first 3 books in the series. He really enjoys the books (they are simple and easy), and I can see that he is so proud of himself (as he should be!).
I really enjoy sitting down with him, or laying in bed, as we read the books together. It is such a nice bonding time and we are all so proud of him.
On a complete separate note, I bought the kids Where the Sidewalk Ends, and we have been reading a few poems every night at bedtime. They LOVE the poems.
So that's it from out end.
A few pictures from the last 2 weeks. Katia making lasagna from start to finish, family movie night, a visit to a White River First Nations culture camp (pictured, raising a wall tent and an elder starting a fire), a collaborative drawing done by Noah and Katia, and homeschool.
 xox

ps. the cat ears have returned!