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Hearts Unleashed 2014: Week 6 {Catch the Moment 365}

February 15, 2014 By Erika Zane

15 Feb

Week6 copy

  • Day 36: Dylan’s first day of preschool (after a 1 month hiatus)!
  • Day 37: Ice cream – Wyatt usually asks us to help him whenever he’s eating out of a bowl.  Usually just the last few bites.  Dylan’s been taking the initiative to help his little brother a lot lately.
  • Day 38: Though Wy’s usually thrilled with his brother’s attention, he doesn’t always want it…
  • Day 39: We went to a birthday party at our neighbor’s house this Saturday.  It was for a little girl D’s age and he had so.much.fun.  It was a princess party.  Good thing he loves princesses!  I was sitting with him playing with his sticker book after we got home while Wy napped.  I tried to grab the tripod and remote discreetly, but that’s not really easy to do, so it turned into photo-booth time with the remote.
  • Day 40: The boys were playing in the kitchen.  Dylan was tackling daddy and Wyatt came running over and dove into daddy’s arms.
  • Day 41: Wyatt likes to slide this and his little step-stool all over the kitchen.  Somehow he’s not killing the floor.  This is a daily occurrence, as he must to be a part of every kitchen activity, of course.
  • Day 42: Wyatt’s a little mover.  Anytime there’s music playing, he grins and jumps up to dance.  He also sings a long with this one song that plays on the radio often.  I wish I could remember which one right now.  Both boys love to sing and dance.  I hope that lasts for a long-long time!
  • For more posts like this, check out Behind the Camera and Dreaming

Why is it so hard for adults to find a rhythm in life?

Do you feel that way?

Kind of like dancing, I think the key is loosely relying on a routine while letting the rhythm of the day carry the pace.

I honestly yearn to plan better and organize my life.  I find, though, that the more I try to control, the more seems to go against me and the less I’m filled with compassion and grace.  I am a planner, though I know no one thinks of me that way.  I’m a planner in the sense of the bigger picture.  I have a map in my mind of what I want out of life that highlights what’s most important, and I it makes decision making pretty easy.  Unfortunately, I’m not so great at shorter-term plans that make up day-to-day life.

I’ve thought about and talked about possibly home-schooling my kids.  With my personality and life stage, it kind of feels like a pipe dream.  The rhythm of our life with Dylan home just wasn’t really flowing, no matter what I tried.

Dylan was in a Montessori school before we moved back to Colorado.  It was a perfect fit for him and he loved going to school.  We initially signed him up because I felt like such a constant mess with a newborn, sleepless nights, constant lactation issues, and a very independent, energetic, and curious 2.5 year old who gave me no time for a nap.  It ended up being the perfect place for him.  His school gave him so much confidence in his abilities and cultivated his independence in such positive ways.

When we moved, we put him in a non-Montessori preschool that was really more of a daycare in their mentality.  School started precisely at 9 and pick-up was by noon and not one.single.minute earlier or later would be tolerated.  I do think part of the problem was that we rushed things and should have waited until we were settled to get D in school, but that school wasn’t a great fit for this family either.  Beyond their policies, Dylan just didn’t seem like his vibrant, confident, capable self at that school.  He didn’t have any friends when I came in to help with his Christmas party.  In fact, he just seemed really unhappy despite saying he liked his new school.  His words and his actions just didn’t line up.

As you saw on at the beginning of Week 6, he started preschool again.  At the beginning of January, we pulled him out of the preschool we had him in and started the preschool search.  We found an awesome local Montessori preschool, that was unfortunately full, so we placed him on the waitlist.  Then, last Monday (after about two weeks) we got the call that a spot had opened up.  He started last Wednesday and I’m so happy to report he’s thriving!

Do you see a common theme in this weeks photos? The theme I see from last week and extending into my week 7 photos is: D’s confidence.  I find his desire to do things himself and to help his brother amazing.  His teachers tell me ever.single.day how well he’s adjusting and that they enjoy having him.  I also had the pleasure of seeing, first-hand, how well he gets along with the other kids in his class when I helped with his Valentine’s Day party yesterday.*

So much of my life there’s been a clear right or wrong answer.  Parenting, is the hardest thing I’ve ever done because it doesn’t work that way.  There are so many different options out there, and each decision feels like the biggest decision I’ll ever make.  What I’m learning is, if I let go of the things I cannot control, and I do my best with the things I can, the decisions get a whole lot easier.  I cannot control the day-to-day or even Dylan’s personality but I can do everything in my power to encourage him and help him grow into the confident, compassionate, godly man I see budding in him.  I think, right now, with this school, we’ve found a good rhythm for our family.

*Another difference in schools.  At his last school, I had to sign up to volunteer and they told me what time to be there.  This school, I just stuck around because I had time and they happily put me to work.  Their open-door policy is apparent and refreshing.

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Filed Under: #catchthemoment365, #HeartsUnleashed2014

« Hearts Unleashed 2014: Week 5 {Catch the Moment 365}
Hearts Unleashed 2014: Week 7 {Catch the Moment 365} »

Comments

  1. Alisha says

    February 15, 2014 at 12:59 pm

    Day 39 – GORGEOUS!!

    • Erika Zane says

      February 21, 2014 at 11:30 am

      Thanks so much Alisha!

  2. Sarah Halsteaed says

    February 15, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    Erika I love every single one. Especially the middle one!

    • Erika Zane says

      February 21, 2014 at 11:32 am

      Thank you Sarah! That means so much!

  3. MIchelle says

    February 15, 2014 at 1:23 pm

    I am glad you found a great place for D! 🙂

    • Erika Zane says

      February 23, 2014 at 1:12 am

      Thanks Michelle 🙂 me too

  4. RaD says

    February 15, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    Yep, parenting can definitely scare you when it comes to making decisions about your kiddos and their future. Take it one day at a time and listen to them. They may be small but you can still tell if you are doing right by them by just how they are (in your case observing that your boy wasn’t happy).

    • Erika Zane says

      February 23, 2014 at 1:14 am

      Definitely. Thank you for the encouragement! It’s nice to know I’m not alone.

  5. Allison Fort says

    February 16, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    Beautiful photos – I especially love the shot of your little dancer!

    • Erika Zane says

      February 23, 2014 at 1:14 am

      Thank you Allison! That one’s one of my favorites, too. I think that will be one I’ll look at years from now and cherish.

  6. cori @ cori's big mouth says

    February 16, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    I love the collage you turned your photos into! Love the display! Looks like you had a wonderful week! Beautiful photos!

    • Erika Zane says

      February 23, 2014 at 1:16 am

      Thanks so much Cori! I ended up doing the collage again after your comment. It took me way too long to respond! Sorry!

  7. Courtney says

    February 16, 2014 at 8:06 pm

    That middle pic…you’re going to make me cut my hair off again!

    • Erika Zane says

      February 23, 2014 at 1:18 am

      hehe thank you so much! I go back and forth. Every few years I grow my hair out and then cut it off again. I had it down to about mid-back, maybe a little above last summer and then went to a bob in September, I think. Then pixie and shorter pixie and now I’m growing again. I may leave it this length for a while. It’s hard to commit 🙂 I start missing my hair when it’s this short!

  8. Erika Zane says

    February 21, 2014 at 4:30 pm

    Thank you Allison!

  9. Carrie says

    February 23, 2014 at 5:58 pm

    Adorable pictures! I love the one in the middle, such pretty light.

Trackbacks

  1. Aurora CO Lifestyle Photography | Hearts Unleashed 2014 | Week 7 says:
    February 21, 2014 at 1:14 pm

    […] celebrated my birthday last week.  You’d never know that by looking through my pictures.  I posted Wyatt dancing that […]

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About me

Hello and welcome.  It’s been a while.  For Lent this year I decided to fast from the thing that took too much of my attention from what is truly important: Social Media.  Though there are countless amazing benefits to Social Media, after about a month offline so far, there are seemingly just as many negatives.  I never realized how much of my brain had been hijacked by it.  I’ve had so many revelations about how much easier it is to move forward when I’m not constantly reminded of the past.  But I still want to record my family as they grow at this ridiculous speed and, I’m realizing, so many of our family’s memories are here.  Those along with so many of the struggles and stages we’ve worked through.  Maybe in the midst of COVID19 isolation and my kids around me so often, I’m brought back to a time when they were too young for school and with me so often.  Writing here during that time helped make up for the limited adult conversation in my days and the overwhelm provided by my… little treasures 😉 My husband, fur babies, three fiesty kids, and I hereby extend an invitation to visit this little sneak peak into our life. We’re super flawed and broken and there aren’t too many dull moments around here.  And I promise it’s not always as magical as some of my golden hour, sun-soaked images would suggest.  There’s usually too much coffee in my system and we welcome all the prayers.  Come on over if you want to process with me.

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