Finding a new normal once again...

This transition thing is not easy.  I remember a few months in to our new life in Glasgow we finally felt a bit normal walking down the streets and going about our daily lives. Of course, we were still learning every day and we didn't consider ourselves experts at anything!  At the one year mark we felt good, like we had accomplished a great feat yet we still knew there was so much more to learn.  The same feeling has caught up to me once again.  Here we are, just about one month into the school year and things feel normal although I know we will continue to learn day by day what it is to be a family in a foreign land.

Jason is doing extremely well.  Thank you all so much for your prayers and kind words.  He has made it over the difficult part and has settled nicely into school life.  He now says that lunch is too short (only an hour to play with the guys!) and classroom time drags on and on.  I've had one glimpse of his teacher and he assures me that she is a very kind woman. 

{I've decided that I am decidedly "pro-teacher".  I know that teachers are for the most part good, well-meaning people.  There is no reason for me to march into that school and demand a conference just to suit my own needs.  In fact, I envy her the safety of that big school building where she can hide away and not face parents.  Parents are scary, crazy people.  I know, I'm one of them!}

I'm very happy (let's be honest, I'm relieved) to know that Jason is just where he should be academically.  Good news-- I didn't mess him up!!!  Trust me, that's every homeschool mom's worry.  Please keep that in mind when you talk to one.  In fact, keep that in mind when you talk to ANY parent, we're all doing our best to not mess up!

I still miss Jason during the day, but right now Cameron is thriving on my attention so I don't have too much time to worry about it.  Cameron has started Brownies (which she LOVES) and is back at gymnastics.  I have created a much more difficult school schedule and she is tearing through it like a champ.  I feel like this year will not only strengthen her character but also her academic skills and prepare her for whatever lies ahead.

Hayden is exhausted.  Last week she started full days.  Remember, she is only 4, not 5 until December.  If we were back in California we may not have started her in school until next year.  She still loves school but she is begging to go to bed by 7 every night.  She loves her teacher and is pretty excited about eating in the lunchroom and having PE.  

Brownies uniform ( it's been over 20 years since I was in Brownies and they still have yet to make a cute uniform!)

Her first homework.

The guys, walking home from school on a rainy day.