Year 2, Day 81: 10 hrs to go!

You know you are counting down to your own personal get away when....lol.  Ok, I'll stop talking about the homeschool conference simply because tomorrow is the day!  And then Saturday too!  So, I might not get to say much until Tuesday....but back to today.

It was the last day of the mission week for the boys and boy were they exhausted!  So exhausted that Benaiah and Jared opted not to stay overnight at the lock in at church.  Justin is beyond exhausted and "peopled out" meaning he needs a lot of time away from people so he can recharge.  He's having a bit of a struggle finding some friends within the boundaries of the youth group.  It's not uncommon, especially when you are homeschooled and simply think differently than others.  So, we are talking about it often, and how and who to befriend.  For now, there are a couple of girls that he gets along with very well, and it's all very innocent.  I remember those feelings though of not fitting in at all because of being homeschooled and just having a different focus on life (i.e. books vs. sports and girls/boys).  Ok, I was a little bit boy crazy, but I was much more horse crazy then.  And I had a 30 something famous CCM musician on a poster on my wall instead of some teen heartthrob.  (That 30 something turns 60 this year and he's still going strong! Michael W. Smith is his name, lol).  SO, poor Justin, I know exactly how he feels.  I even asked Benaiah what kids are doing at Justin's and his ages, what are they talking about, and is it really just sports or girls?  And yes, I guess a lot of it is that.  I reminded Justin that Jared only had two best friends, and the rest of the kids he hung out with was mostly because one of his friends was the extrovert and leader of their group.  Jared and I both were loners.  And Justin is hyper aware that his hormones are changing his brain and he gets pretty upset that he can't remember.  Just tonight I had to have him find all the clothes that were missing from his drawers!  I didn't want to make him because I knew he was exhausted, but he couldn't find any bed shorts, and many t-shirts were missing.  So, we did find them, and I made him hang stuff up or put it away, despite being tired.  I think Justin was very frustrated at himself and not really at me and possibly has learned his lesson.  I'm glad he has all day tomorrow and all day Saturday to have alone time.  I'll make sure Jared knows to leave him alone.

Meanwhile, our extroverts are fine.  Abishai has loved being out and about this week and therefore has had a hard time calming down for naps and bedtime.  He's just so much happier when everyone is home though, and he woke up today chanting, "Daddy, Babee (Justin)" when he heard Jared closing cupboard doors.  He also said it when he woke up from his nap.  When they did come home, I let him out the door to go down the hallway stairs, and he got upset that he couldn't get down the stairs fast enough before they came up!  Abishai just needs his peeps!  I can see in the future when everyone else is in college and moved away, it will be just Abishai and us, and our house will still be full of people because he'll be bringing them home left and right.  At least I hope to create an environment for that.  Or, he'll never be home because he'll be out with friends.  I just love how all the kids are so different just like my siblings and I were/are.  It's fascinating!

Keturah did her thing with homework and reading, and loving the peace and quiet.  I wasn't as productive as I could have been, but I think I'm ready for tomorrow.  There really wasn't much to do to prepare because I'm not bringing kids.  Which is weird.  I only need snacks and drinks for myself.  I only need my basic meds and things like money and something to write notes on.  I do have Keturah's carryon bag for books I purchase, but I'm thinking of leaving it here tomorrow and waiting to purchase books until Saturday, i.e. not impulse buy.  But what about the goody bag?  And lunch stuff?  Ok, fine, I'll bring it anyway and leave it with the wonderful people who will watch it for me.  Yes, there really is a service like that at a homeschool conference!  We just have to provide a donation.  I think it's some high school kids or something.  Cool!

Ok, pics for the day:

Not many hrs left!

Abishai loved playing with all kinds of new toys at the doctor's office today.

Yes, this kid, who is a lover of people, played happily with the Barbie house.  Sweet!

Then he found these bunny rabbits around the waiting room and set them up (I think) to watch him play the triangle/tee game.

Hugs for the bunnies!

Abishai is smiling while eating his snack, promise!

Neat game on the computers at the library where Keturah had to  tell the ant to go north, south, east or west to collect all the jelly beans.

Sharing a computer with brother.  We got a bunch of books on Egypt today and 4 more Pokemon books for Justin.

A boy and his sticks!  Give this kid some woods behind his house please!  We possibly have a lover of the outdoors!

Why yes she wanted to see how many goldfish of each color was in her bowl.  And yes, I suspected there were more yellow than red ones.

Monkey see, monkey do!  Following Sissy's lead!

Always snuggly! (Before nap).

Still snuggly!  (After nap).

Happy boys, two with their devices and one with his cars.

Keturah is taking this decorating her own room thing to the max.  Check out her drawing!  She might have a converted attic room with slanted ceilings, so yes, her room might look like this!

She made me promise not to loose this!

Such an organizer!

And Keturah, the crafter, made up one of her kits she bought at Michael's the other day.  I can't wait to have a corner dedicated just to handicrafts and paper crafts in the new house!

Justin's closet is now dubbed "the black hole" because it swallowed up all the clothes that were missing!  He even had clothes under the suitcase, in the diaper box, and beside the diaper box and dirty socks ON A SHELF to the right.

This is the 2nd half of all the clothes we found in the closest!  I thought he had more clothes!  Live and learn, buddy!  No more procrastinating putting dirty clothes in the wash and hanging up clean ones!

Aw, look at that handsome 14 year old in the front row next to his best friend David.  Benaiah had a great week!

Jared helped drive the kids to the different places this week.  Benaiah's in the way back.

Praying at one of the ministries they worked with.  There are more pictures on the Creek's student ministry Facebook page.  All these tall folks filled with lots of love and energy makes me feel so small sometimes.  How can little kids grow up so quickly and so big?  They should still be babies!  But look at them! What a great moment to behold!  So proud of all of them for giving up a week of their spring break to do this!  It remind me of the Workcamps we did as teens during the summer with our church.  We had crews that would work on poor people's homes of a certain area making new decks, wheelchair ramps, painting and new roofs.  Sweet memories!  Including the one that the Creek attended and I had no idea Jared was part of it until many years later.  That's a story for another time.  For now, rest up kids!  Back to school next week or the week after!  We are proud of you!