Silver Falls, OR

For the first time ever, my entire family got together for a camping trip. We camped in a beautiful park that has at least 10 waterfalls, of which we hiked into three. It was a lovely time, my folks, my sisters & their own. I got them all to myself for a weekend.

The bigger cousins in a cave under the falls.

The whole family (all but me.)

I'll post more photos of the trip soon!

Perko Family News Update

For those of you locals I haven't brushed shoulders with in the last 24 hours, & those who are frequent Thousand Word readers, I thought I'd post our family update. Like brush fire, the news we have is spreading fast.

Ralph got a new job!!! Please note the exclamation marks....this is a good, good thing. First off, Ralph has been tolerating his telecommuting job for the last few years, but he's been ready to make a change for a long time. Second, this is a dream job for Ralph. He'll be working in a top notch all-the-coolest-&-newest Science Lab...right where he belongs. He made it through a rigorous 8 hour interview that included an hour long presentation he was asked to give. And they LOVED him. I couldn't be more proud and thrilled for my sweet, hard working husband. This is a good, good change!

However, this change includes a move. This is a mixed emotion thrilled-again, sad-again thing for all of us. We went to visit the area when Ralph had the interview last week, and I think it's going to be a great place for our family to live. So the boys and I got a taste of where our new life will be...and the biggest blessing: I had contacted the director for Classical Conversations in the area and we were able to meet up on the day of Ralph's interview. So now, the boys and I met some of our fellow school friends also.

We have so enjoyed our time here in our lovely community. I feel a bit weepy when I see familiar faces, when I look at those beautiful mountains. I feel sad to think I'll not get to enjoy another year of watching all of these little people who are such a part of mine and the kids' lives grow up. I love our village, but I have perfect peace that God is carefully orchestrating our future & all that lies ahead. I look forward to this new chapter, new season for us.

So in short, we're moving. The news is out. We told the kids this morning and I was surprised at how beautifully they handled it. I'm expecting more feelings, lots of them from all of us, but am grateful for this day. I have so much more to share...my mind is a bit spinny. I will, but for now I'm going to go to bed.

Good night, good friends. I hope to see you soon!

Details:

• We are moving just hours away, so we can come visit and will! (My folks are here)
• Ralph begins work August 2. We will try and move the week prior into temp housing.
• We will have a brand new Classical Conversations home there, I prayed and prayed about this one. God has been so good to bless us with that for another year.
• I really, really want to see all of my local friends as much as I am able. Please call me if you have a free afternoon or evening!
  
• I will miss you, my little village!
  

Peace and Quiet: Time for Mum

Tonight I'm participating in the blog hope over at Our Worldwide Classroom. The question is;

What's your sanctuary?
Your place?
Your thing?

Even when you can't leave the home behind what do you do at home with a houseful of children to find some time for you?

Time to recharge, relax, be still, calm the mind and the spirit, so you can be 'there' for your children.

I've been improving this area of my life more & more as the boys grow more independent.

I sprinkle my days with quiet time, peace and me time.

Morning: In the mornings I get my coffee and head to my chair. My boys get up earrrly, but they've learned to stay in bed until 7 and then creep around as not to disturb me if I'm still asleep. I try and beat them up most days but I'm not a creature of habit this way...I like to stay up some days and get up early others. Back to the chair, this is where I pull out my journal and Bible study and spend some time talking to my maker.

Exercise: This is one of the best ways I love on myself. I workout in my own living room with the boys buzzing around or off playing. I feel so recharged & healthy taking care of me. It does something to my brain too, keeps me sane.

Quiet Hour: I've only just started up again with the boys. When I had one napping it was easy to consistently have the others rest along with. I got a bit of a break, if only to wash dishes. But now it's harder to enforce the rest time. But recently a new friend reminded me that I'm not the only one that needs quiet, the boys need a break from the noise & will like eachother more if they get a break. So I set a timer, stock them up with a pile of books and toys and we all find a cozy corner to take some quiet in. Starting out at 1/2 hour, my goal is to get to an hour.

Hobbies: I love blogging. I love to write, to network, to read. I take photos. I oftentimes take the boys outside somewhere and let them explore while I explore my camera and shoot a little nature and little boys. I read, novels and books about teaching and things. I love to curl up on the couch with a book right in the middle of the day with a cup of tea. Dreamy.

Couple Time: I love hanging out with my husband. We go on dates when we can, but take time to talk and hang out as we can during the day.

Night: When I blog it's usually when everyone else is in bed. I enjoy watching 'stupid tv' (tv that makes me laugh) and just resting all by myself on occasion. But sometimes I just need to go to bed early and that is a great use of my quiet time. Sometimes I sneak off with a friend for a cup of tea and lots of time to chat too.

Come on over & share in the fun...tell us how you fill up at "Time for Mum".

I'm reading... just finished a sweet novel called "The Girl on Wish Lane". I really enjoyed it.
That and the boys and I'm reading Farmer Boy to the boys. I love, love the Little House series.
Now I have a long list of books I need to read. I'm intending to write down my list and see if I can work through them in the next months of summer.

Projects....I'm planning a bit of decluttering and organizing. However, this week I'm challenged to take on some character projects with my boys. Kindness, gentleness, negotiations, and Bible studies are my projects this week. A little extra boy time and love is my project.

In school...I guess I just told you. Charachter focus. I may just get to some outdoor studies and other fun stuff this week but we'll just see. Right now we're having fun playing. And reading. An interesting note...Nate is taking off on reading...on summer "break."

Recent dates...we got to go out just this evening. We went to Diego's and walked around town. I even got to pick up a new field guide...insects. :) It was dreamy.

I'm thinking...about how to pace myself, enjoy the couple of weeks I have at home and then the next little trip, off to hang out with my sweet in-laws then a friend I haven't seen in...9 years, & only once at that. Very excited! We have kept in touch through blogs and fb...it will be fun!

The boys....are enjoying summer break. Today they stuffed all their clothes with blankets and clothing and ran around like little sumo wrestlers. Then they made a store in their room and bought/sold things all afternoon.

For exersize...I have completed my 90 days of P90X! I enjoyed it so much I'm doing it again...but this time I"ll do a different program. This means new routines and different workouts. I started this morning. I love this program!

God is...redeeming.

Faith: what I'm thinking about

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1

I've been thinking about faith today. Or rather, being faithful. That is, having faith in all things I do, faith that God indeed has my back

he says he'll never leave me

and faith that He knows my future and I can trust Him with it.

he says he has good plans for me, plans of hope and a good future

Because if I really believe, truly believe that God has my back, that if God has good plans for me and isn't going to leave me, I can move freely in Him in everything. I can trust Him to help me be patient with my kiddos when the patience is thin. I can trust Him in my relationships when they're at their shakiest. I can know I don't have to worry about rejection and hurt by others because He loves me....what more is there? I can trust Him in everything.

The God of the stars, the God of the Universe, the God that grew each tiny leaf on each tall tree in the vast forests loves ME. *sigh*

And I have faith that He loves me. A seed-size faith. Well, maybe a little apricot pit. But faith. And yet He loves me beyond what I can understand with my tiny little ant-sized brain. Remember....

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord Your God is with you, He is might to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

So I'm free. I'm free to
trust,
love,
hope,
be kind,
rest.
Rest.

So I'll get up tomorrow, not knowing, not being sure...but with faith. Faith that what He's said He'll do. And I can rest, He said that too....

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Matthew 11:28 (The Message)

Rockaway Beach, May 2010

I've finally gotten a chance to pull up some photos of our Memorial day beach trip with the Braaten Family. Enjoy the photos, maybe I'll get you a commentary later. For now I'm packing for the next trip....

(but I must introduce sweet baby Gentry...) Sweetie cheeks!!

LEGO Quest Kids

Really, is there anything more interesting for three little LEGO-loving boys to do that a little LEGO challenge here and there? The boy's have just participated their first LEGO Quest "Wrapped Objects." The challenge was to make something with your LEGOS, then wrap it up. We enjoyed the work of it so much, and fully intend to make this challenge part of our weekly life.
And, yes, they don't wear shirts around here, much.

The boys all three enjoy LEGOS so much but sometimes we hit sort of a dead end. The toys are purchased and put together, then taken apart again, inspiration for putting them together in unique ways doesn't always come. I've been looking for a way to challenge the boys for awhile now, so you can imagine that I was happy to have discovered this blog.

Join us over at LEGO Quest Kids to see theirs and other creations hosted by Sam up in Canada. What a wonderful group to participate in!

(See the post below to see what else will be keeping us happy-busy this summer!)

Summer Fun

While the boys and I are certainly taking a summer break. But what I know after a few trial breaks is that we at the Perko house need to be busy-boys.

So though we're not doing much seat work this summer(I may load them up when we're sitting in the car for long drives) we plan to participate in several fun projects and investigations to keep hands and minds busy here at the Boy's Noise School.

Mondays offer a LEGO challenge over at LEGO Quest Kids. The boys love a challenge, and they love LEGOS. There's always something fun for them to build and share with other families that are participating.

Tuesdays Barb over at Sketchy Tuesday offers a challenge to sketch each week. My boys love the weekly slide show & the anticipation of the next subject to draw.

Then on Fridays we'll be participating in Outdoor Hour challenges with Barb at Handbook of Nature Study. We've been loving our studies so far. I'm learning with the boys new questions to ask, new techniques of of observation. It's wonderful.

Hopefully these fun activities, plus a lot of camping & visiting in between should fill our summer nicely & yet leave enough time to swim, watch some fun weekend movies, play games, and of course, read, read, read....

What are you planning for the summer?