Thoughts for a Wednesday morning

I love the "village" that we are raising our kids in! I'm pretty sure that nowhere in the world is there another group of families as wonderful as the group that is our support system. I love that we can carpool. I love that on a random day I can leave the park with different kids than I came there with (not because I want to get rid of my kids, but because I love that my kids have great friends, and I love that they have the opportunity to expierence different things at someone else's house). I love that our friends are friends with each other. I love that we are all like-minded in the things that matter most and that there are so many families that I feel comfortable leaving my kids with. I love that we homeschool and have had the opportunity to hand pick all of the people that our kids spend time with and the activites they are involved in. I love that quite a few of the kids Jonathan is inviting to his 12th birthday have been coming to his parties since he was 4 & 5 years old. So often people talk about the good old days (most often when we grew up or when our parents grew up). I too can get nostalgic wanting a "Brady Bunch" or "Leave it to Beaver" type of childhood for my kids that doesn't really exist in today's society. When it gets right down to it though, I think our "village" is doing a great job with what today's society has to offer. Yesterday for example, Madi and Jonathan spent the morning at a homeschool camp put on my a local homeschooling teen (who we've been friends with since she was 5). They swam there, jumped rope, had blueberry muffins, and learned about life in the early 1900's. Then a group of us met at the park to talk, play and have lunch. From there I took Jonathan to his Orthodontist appointment. At the Orthodontist Jake and his buddy TJ played in the awesome playroom that they have for siblings and patients. Madi had gone to a friend's house where she swam and played some more. Then we picked up Madi, dropped Jake at TJ's house, went home to do some Math and AWANA, and peeled potatoes for Jonathan's supper because his braces had gotten tightened. Very soon it was time for their favorite part of the day THEATRE! Mike was home by 5:30 to mow the lawn, and we were all back home to eat supper as a family, do a few chores, a little more math, and watch Dancing with the Stars. Even Marcia Brady didn't have it that good! Thank you to all of you who play a part in creating this great environment for my kids to grow up in!