An extra hour! Yay! I love this time of year. (Do you?) Don’t get me wrong, I’m as sick of winter as everyone else come February, but for some reason I’ve always immensely enjoyed the time change in the fall. To me, life seems to slow down and I become more contemplative. This time of year kind of feels like that time at the end of the day when eyes get heavy, yawns come easily, and that yummy feeling of sleepiness envelopes you. And then I can’t help but reflect on how richly blessed I am…and also how I desperately need my Heavenly Father’s help to live each moment well.
Okay, enough with the philosophy. 
How are the Horsmans? Well, life is simultaneously exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating and fulfilling. (Alliteration! One of the many “dress-ups” that Elijah and Zeke are learning to use in their writing class. They earn points for using as many “dress-ups” as they can in each essay they write. They would probably tell you that they dislike the whole process, but getting the opportunity to read a really good essay out loud in class? Pretty fun! They are also becoming very proficient at parsing a sentence. And if you don’t even know what “parsing a sentence” means, then you were probably born before 1950, since this is about when “real” English grammar ceased to be taught in public schools. “Why study English grammar with such intensity?” you ask. I must confess, I scoffed at the whole idea too, but an intricate understanding of their mother tongue will greatly help them in learning another language; Latin, in particular. They will be delving into Latin in junior high and high school, which means I will also be delving into Latin soon! Wow! I love classical education!)
And Phoebe and Noah? If you get the chance, ask them about the Boston Tea Party, or what the parts of the axial skeleton are, or to skip count by eights for you. It’s very cute!
And then there is Ellie. She does her best to thwart our every effort to have a peaceful day of learning. One day, a week or so ago, when I was at my wit’s end with her, I prepared a bubble bath to entertain her for a little bit. While Elijah, Zeke and I sat at our big table and parsed sentences, I could hear her splashing and playing happily. But what didst my eyes behold when I peeked in on her a half hour later? A bathtub full of stuffed animals! Somehow or other, she had managed to stealthily take a few trips back and forth from her bedroom with armfuls of stuffed animals! What a monkey!
Well, my children are all up and about. and duty calls. Stay tuned this week for some photos and video of my brilliant children. I promise. For now, I’ll leave you with Elijah’s last completed essay:
An Arduous Journey
In the year of 1620, a group of Englishmen, who became known as Pilgrims, voyaged to the New World. This theistic group of rebels were not in search of prosperity. They wanted freedom. Freedom from the restrictions of the English church. The vessel they migrated on was called the Mayflower. This ship had formally been used as a cargo transporter. Unluckily, a terribly, terrifying tempest broke out. Catastrophic waves struck the ship, and the people were rocked from side to side. Rain plummeted from above, pounding on them, and they could hear the incessantly howling gale. The people were forced to retreat into the gun deck, which was meager and reeked of rotten food with hardly enough room for everyone. Children whimpered faintly and cowered on the floor. The women clasped their children close by, and comforted them, at the same time comforting themselves. The men quivered from cold and fear, and reassured their children and spouses that they would make it out of the storm they were engulfed in.
One day, still in the gun deck, Impulsive Goodman John Howland became sick of being secluded form the outside world. He resolved to climb upstairs to the main deck and survey the storm. Without any type of warning, the ship flipped over violently. John flew off the ship! During the chaos of the flip, he flailed for something to grab onto. Amazingly, he managed to grip a dangling cord. Large waves, which felt like stones, rolled over him. He was amazed at the potency of the storm as he hung on to the rope as if his life depended on it. And it did.
Fortunately, the other sailors, who saw him in his perilous position, where able to carefully fish him out with the boat hook. They successfully brought him back on the boat. Back on board, he was trembling, shaken by what had just happened. He gratefully shook hands and thanked his gallant rescuers.The other Pilgrims greeted him and now beckoned him to stay in the gun deck. John thanked God for preserving his life.The voyagers heaved a heavy sigh of ease and praised God. Still, they couldn’t help but ponder the rest of the unpredictable, arduous voyage that was to come.
