This is my handsome John, dress ready to go to his chior's spring concert in June.  He is as darling as ever, although his hair is now shorter.  He is full of life, we call it joi de vive, he makes me smile all the time.  Whatever he is doing he is fully engaged at all times.  The only downfall to this that I can see, as it seems all characters have a down side, is that he is prone to interupt and think that everyone is as interested in what is going on in his head as he is.  We are working on this, and I think it is a small lesson to learn for being such a happy boy. 
John loves learning and therefore most of school, except for being asked to print neatly.  He loves lego, playmobile and history.  He looks up to Wallace as a role model and loves being with his family.  He is my cuddle bug right now and I love that.  I am thankful for my little boy.

Wallace is writing a short paper for English today about a tour that he has taken.  He choose to write about Worcester Cathedral which is on of the cathedral that he sang in and we toured this summer in England.  This is a wonderful place but  almost has too much information to be put into a one page paper. It has an amazing and rich history.    From this tour alone we could study  many different topics. Here are just a few that I can think of quickly: architecture, the picture above is of the crypt and that center pillar is one of two holding up the entire building, John Lackland and the Magna Carta, he is buried in this cathedral, the pilgrimage of the Camino de Santiago because they found a pair of 600 year old boots from a Pilgrim buried in one of the walls, the English Civil War as the cathedral was greatly damaged during this time, and lastly the making of stain glass because the have several window with unusual colours and symbols. I always find it interesting how one thing can spring board on to another.

Wallace is really struggling this year to learn to write a cohesive piece of writing.  It is one of the primary goal I have for him this year to prepare him to go off to high school next year.  I know that I would not have been as good as he is at his age. I have a small degree of knowledge that I have obtained that over a long period of time and I am having trouble imparting my limited wisdom to him.  I have yet to find a really good course of study that sets it out in a ordered form.  Do step one, then step two etc, that is what us science/math types like.  I figure the best way to go is just slowly plod along and working on it over and over again.  I am sure we will both get better at it over time, if we don't kill each other first.  This is a good place for me to practice being calm when facing great frustration.

• 
  on our trip to the UK this summer
  It has been a long time since I blogged!
  Life has been busy and complicated but I am finding that it never slows down and doesn't get any better unless my attitude does.
  Michael is working a lot of hours, 70-80/week, and he is working nights. This is not the easiest shift. He is working on a project at work, and we are starting week 12. My mom used to always say you either had the time and no money to do things or the money and no time. For the longest time it was the first it is now the latter. Hopefully things will slow down a little bit and we can get some of the projects that we want to get done, done.
  Wallace is in grade 8 and just turned 13 in September. I can hardly believe I could possibly have a child that old. He is challenging in all the ways that 13 year olds are but we still have fairly open communication, for which I am very grateful. I have changed my way of parenting greatly in the last year and lean on Micheal's wisdom and knowledge when dealing with those issues that are specifically male or how boys react/relate to life.
  John is 7 almost 8 and in grade 2. I love the fact that he is cuddly because I find myself in great need of his affection right now. He has discovered the love of reading and is reading through the Magic Tree House books, in order I may add. He will wait until the right book is in at the library so that he doesn't get ahead of himself. It is really quite funny.
  Me, well there has been a lot going on in my head the last little while, not really sure where to start, not really sure if that is the kind of stuff I want to share on a blog anyway. If I keep this up for a little while we will see. I am firmly planted in the sandwich generation, looking after and homeschooling my boys, trying and often failing to be a good wife, and looking after a sickly parent. My mom and dad live in a granny apartment in our home. My mom still works full time and my father suffers from young onset Alzheimer's, which if it has ever touched your life you know it is a nasty disease. My days are full, to the brim but I try (and not always succeed) to simply lean on Jesus and take it one moment at a time.