The Van Wart Family: This and That

Our weeks are flying by around here. I seriously can't believe how quickly Friday comes every week. I really have to be intentional about mentally slowing down during the day, and trying to live in the moment. Because there are so many moments during the day that need to be enjoyed and remembered. Those moments are what make the day so sweet.

Like these...

I finally re-covered our dining room chairs and painted the cane back. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. The kids seriously destroyed the old fabric with food, spills, paint, markers... destroyed. I love my new fabric, and I may or may not be crazy strict about the kids eating on them. :)

We moved Max's crib into Bella's room, and Bella has been sleeping on the top bunk in Jack's room. We've been trying to have Jack and Max share a room for oh... 9 months now. It just wasn't working. Max kept waking Jack up. Max was capable of putting himself back to sleep in the middle of the night, but during that process, he was waking Jack up, and then Jack would get up and come to our room, and then Max would see him leave, and then Max would get hysterical, and then the whole house would be partying at 2am every morning. :) Awful. Not cool. What did we learn? Give the baby their own room. Whatever you have to do to make that happen, just do it. It's worth it. Max was sleeping 12 hours through the night after one night of sleeping in a room by himself. There are just no words for how happy this makes me.

I am taking a break from Facebook and Instagram. I think sometimes we all can get to a point where we just need a technology break... whatever that may look like. With our days being so busy, and our weeks flying by, I want to quiet my spirit. I want to listen to... silence. I want to watch... nothing. I want to be still and respond to the Holy Spirit. And that's super hard sometimes, am I right? We have too much to do. I could fill every minute of the day with something on my to-do list. So that means, something has to give.

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

Homeschooling is going great. It's amazing how much Bella and I have both learned in the past month. We would not be where we are without the support and advice of two sweet friends, Kate and Holly. They are two friends who also homeschool, and they have helped me stay balanced. I've learned that I have the tendency to push too hard... to the point of frustration and past the point of productiveness. I have really high expectations, but I didn't know when to say 'enough for today'. Once I CHILLED OUT :), and relaxed, our school days have been so much better. Bella is enjoying it, and big announcement... She has started to read! Holly and my mom told me that teaching your child to read is the coolest experience. They were right. It was truly incredible watching her piece everything together in her mind each day, and then one day all the pieces just fell into place. I put her first reader in front of her, and she began to read it.