Sometimes in our busy life as a homeschool family I forget to take the time to have fun as a family. Some of that probably has to do with the fact that I am a task-oriented person. So I have to work at being spontaneous and having fun with my children. I had a taste of that last month when we went to the beach and left our school paperwork and my business paperwork and computer behind for a week. We took advantage of beautiful, sunny days on the beach, and we talked about the things around us that struck our fancy. I did not take any books or school plans with me. I have been known to stow away a book or two to read outloud while we were on vacation. And I have been known to bring stuff along for a unit study at the beach. But this time I just wanted to be a mom and have fun with my kids. And if we learned something together then that was just a bonus.

What I really wanted to do was to spend time tying heartstrings with my children. I wanted them to look back on that vacation and remember the fun and spontaneous moments we had. I wanted them to remember playing in the sand and running in the surf.

This week we had a couple of days of "Indian Summer." We had temperatures in the 80's, which is not a common occurence for us in November. So I took the time to tie a few more heartstrings with my children. Yesterday, I took the boys fishing at their favorite river while theie sister was at piano practice. It was so nice outside that we continued fishing after piano practice. The boys caught a few, small fish. But the main thing they enjoyed was just being at the river together. They made some great memories on that river bank.

Today the weather was still warm, so we planned an evening bonfire. I took the boys to the grocery store to buy hotdogs and marshmallows. And when their daddy got home from work they built a fire together. So daddy and I both got to tie some heartstrings today. We spent a couple of hours outside by the fire. We cooked our hot dogs and roasted our mashmallows. And we had a great time as a family. We made some nice memories.

In the morning, two of our sons have planned to get up early and go fishing in our creek. They have been setting a minnow trap and have been catching minnows and small fish, so they want to head out early in the morning and try their hand at fishing in the creek. The weather will soon change, and we will be staying indoors more and more, so I hope they enjoy their early morning excursion.

So my advice to you would be to seize the moment. And if God gives you a nice, warm day before the cold weather sets in, take advantage of it and tie some heartstrings.

Have a blessed day! Tami

(11-11-06 editing to add this picture that sums up our trip to the beach)