I was especially weary going into Advent this year. We had just wrapped two thirds of our year with Exploring Countries and Cultures, My Father’s World Kindergarten and HomeGrown Preschooler. I had also finished my first semester of Directing our Classical Conversations group. To be honest, I was running on empty.  We take the month of Advent off every year, but this year I really felt that I needed it more than ever.

I’ll be honest and admit that I felt guilty about having zero activity for an entire month. I had to remind myself that we weren’t slacking off, we were resting. We weren’t being lazy, we were being active about self care.

The weather in Florida is beautiful these days. Open window weather as my son calls it. The boys have spent hours and hours outside. This time of year is precious to them. I think they grow and mature more during these outdoor days of December than at any other time of year.

Our break had several ups and down. My husband and I got away for our 10th anniversary while the boys spent time with their grandparents. We celebrated birthdays and buried a loved one. We worked through behavioral issues and grappled with the insurance company over our youngest son’s therapy needs. Overall, this month has been full of opportunities for rest and it has been a great reminder that we need to have times of rest as a family, especially now that we are dedicating so much of our time to serving other homeschool families.

Lots of changes are on the horizon for Farmhouse Schoolhouse. Not just our actual home but on this space too! The farm will see new additions this spring in the form of a small barn in the back hollow and a few goats. The blog will have new features, partnerships and we are delving into some different curriculum choices for the coming year. I’ll be sharing more about all these things in the coming weeks.

For now, I just wanted to check in and say hi.

We are enjoying the last days of our Advent rest. We start school again on Monday.  I am organizing the house and cleaning out the classroom. Did I mention that my husband made one of longstanding dreams come true? A library wall!!! This means I can totally order more books, right?

Next week we’ll be updating on our MFWK journey, our ECC journey, a great post on nature study with living books and a few reviews. There will be coupon codes and a blog giveaway next month as well. We’ll see you in 2017!