Life Zooming Past

When we first had Hazel everyone warned us not to blink, because she'd be grown before we knew it. Sure enough, life feels like it's zooming past so quickly I can barely keep up with it (let alone get it all documented on here). Here's a small glimpse of our busy (yet painfully slow some days) January and February. 

As of January 1st we now have a Young Women in our house. Hazel has looked forward to advancing to Young Women's for a while now, and she's thrilled! This week COVID restrictions lifted enough to have an in person welcome activity. She's growing in to such a remarkable young lady! We got to select a flower to represent her and present it along with some of her best attributes. We picked a lilac for a few reasons: 

•  A lilac is purple! Hazel has loved the color purple since she was 2 and never wavered on this choice. That's true to Hazel in general because once she sets her mind to something, she's all in! 
• A lilac is one of the first flowers to bring beauty in the spring. Hazel is wise beyond her years and truly helps beautify everything around her. Her bedroom is always neat and clean, she's happy to help cook, and is always ready to share information that beautifies the mind. 
• A lilac smells wonderful and its smell spreads far and wide. Hazel can't help be spread her light and goodness to many in her path. 

Conrad is also officially a Sunbeam! He has no idea that he's a Sunbeam or even what Primary is. Maybe we'll go back to church sometime this year before he's no longer a Sunbeam? We can only hope! 

We have a new nephew - Miles! He was born to Gabby on January 2nd. She hoped he wouldn't be born before the new year and that she wouldn't have to have a repeat C-section, and she got her wish on both accounts! I haven't been in state to hold one of my newborn nieces or nephews since Brenna, so it was wonderful to meet him. He's adorable (and he clearly loves his Aunt Justine because he smiled for our picture)! 

Hazel and Eliza's book club has been such a joy. This group of girls is just wonderful! They're kind, helpful, fun, and smart. In January they read Little Women and dressed up for our meeting. Aren't they just the best!?! 

We learned to make bread so we don't have disasters like Jo. 

This month we read Wonder and did all sorts of kindness activities. These book club meetings have been a highlight of the school year for sure!

Something I've learned over the last three years is that for me homeschooling is hard between New Years and the end of February. I don't know what it is, but it's hard to get going everyday. It's hard to fit everything in. It's hard to stay motivated. With the hindsight of the past two years, I kept reminding myself that this will pass. I gave us permission to work at a pace we could handle, took a few days off, and was surprised to look back over the last two months and see how much we learned. We got math and LA in everyday along with lots of other fun learning activities we don't always get to enjoy. The beauty of homeschooling is that learning and life become intertwined. When it's hard to seperate learning from life, we're always still learning, reading, and making memories.  That's good enough for me! 

Walking like a flock of flamingos

The last bit of life for today... Let's appreciate this amazing snowman the kids built one afternoon! 

Remind you of anyone... I laughed SO hard when I saw it. Nicely done kiddos!

If this whole post feels hectic, rushed, and disjointed, it's perfect because that's how most of our days feel right now. A little hectic, sometimes rushed, definitely disjointed and all over the place, but wonderful nonetheless. I wish we could stop these cuties from growing up. Instead I'll settle for hanging on with both hands and trying to soak in as much as I can.